MONLUC, JEAN de. - Diplomat, born at Condom in 1508, died at Toulouse on 13 April 1579. He belonged to the Dominican Order and in 1553 was appointed bishop of Valence and Die. In the service of Francesco I and Enrico II he carried out important diplomatic missions with considerable success: in 1560 to Scotland; in 1572-73 to Poland, where he succeeded in securing the royal crown for Enrico di Valois.
From 1560 M. secretly drew close to the Calvinists, and three years later he was accused of heresy before the Tribunal of the Roman Inquisition, together with other French prelates. In 1566 Pio V declared several bishops deposed, among them M.; but he, protected by the government and Parliament of France, retained his office. He subsequently gave his support to Caterina de' Medici in the policy of compromise and tolerance which she initially pursued toward the Calvinists. In the final years of his life M. probably withdrew from the Protestants.