DURAND, ALFRED. - Jesuit, exegete, b. at Chantemerle (Drôme) on 12 March 1858; d. at Lyons on 31 July 1928. He studied Semitic languages and Egyptology in Rome and Paris; subsequently he held the chair of Sacred Scripture at the Jesuit scholasticate of the province of Lyons (1879–1923). From that year until his death he devoted himself to preaching, especially spiritual exercises for priests.
His writings, widely scattered throughout journals (Etudes, Recherches de science religieuse, Revue biblique, Revue apologétique, etc., and in the great ecclesiastical dictionaries), reveal a wealth of information, presented in a clear style, with judicious restraint and prudent assessments, and deal with the principal biblical questions debated in his time. Among his works, worthy of note are: L'enfance de J. C. (Paris 1908); L'Evangile de st Mathieu (ibid. 1924) and L'Evangile de st Jean (ibid. 1927), both in the Verbum salutis collection.