D’ESPREZ, Julien-Florian. – Cardinal, born 14 April 1807 at Ostricourt, archdiocese of Cambrai, died 20 January 1895 at Toulouse. Ordained priest in 1829, he immediately proved himself a pastor fully alive to his high mission, devoting himself tirelessly to the aid of cholera victims, with such zeal that his health suffered. He subsequently served as parish priest at Pont-à-Marcq, Templeuve, and Roubaix. In 1850 he was named bishop of Saint-Denis on the island of Réunion.
He faced a diocese entirely to be established anew, and he set to his task with alacrity, laying the first stone of the new cathedral in 1856. His delicate health and the colonial climate, however, seriously impeded the exercise of his ministry. He was therefore transferred in 1857 and in 1859 promoted to the archiepiscopal see of Toulouse, where he remained until his death. On 12 May 1879 Leo XIII created him cardinal, with the title of SS. Marcellino e Pietro.