LEMIRE, JULES. – French sociologist, born in Vieux Berquin on 23 April 1853, died in Hazebrouck on 7 March 1928. He became a priest in 1878 and taught at the Hazebrouck Seminary.
He worked and wrote extensively for the realization of Christian social ideals: he saw that only through vigorous action in the social field could the Church prevent the complete dechristianization of the people. Cardinal Manning contributed greatly to the formation of this conviction; he knew him personally and published a book about him: Le card. Manning et son oeuvre sociale (Paris 1893). He was mayor of Hazebrouck from 1914.
BIBL.: C. Droulers, Chemin faisant avec l'abbé L., Paris 1929; G. Gundlach, s. V. in LThK, VI, cols. 483–84. Fausto Fonzi