Le Camus, Étienne (LE CAMUS, ETIENNE) - Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII, p. 617

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

LE CAMUS, ETIENNE. - Cardinal, b. in Paris on 4 Sept. 1632, d. in Grenoble on 22 Sept. 1707. Doctor of theology in 1650, because of his preaching against abuses of the clergy and against the persecution of the Reformed, he was exiled by Cardinal Mazzarino and became a Carthusian monk. Recalled, he became chaplain to the king and then bishop of Grenoble in 1671. Because of his firm opposition to Luigi XIV in the question of the «regalie» and his open condemnation of the propositions of the Gallican clergy of 1682, he incurred the sovereign’s wrath, but thanks to this courageous and loyal atti-

Article illustration — (from C. Bellet, *Histoire du card. Le C. évêque et prince*, Paris 1888) LE CAMUS, ETIENNE - Portrait. Copper engraving by G. L. Kuller.

attitude, on 2 Sept. 1685 Innocent XI created him cardinal. Louis XIV refused to recognize him as such and prevented him from taking part in the Conclave at the death of Innocent; he did not, however, prevent him from doing so at the death of Alexander VIII.
The accusation of Jansenism, based chiefly on the rigour and severity of his life and on his relations with Jansenist personalities, gave the king a pretext for confining him to his diocese.

BIBL.: A. Lallouette, Abrégé de la vie du card. Le C., Paris 1720; C. Bellet, Histoire du card. Le C., Paris 1886; P. Ingold, Lettres du card. Le C., ibid. 1892; C. Faure, Lettres inédites du card. Le C., Grenoble 1932. Luigi Michelini Tocci