PARIS, François de. — Jansenist deacon, born in Paris on 30 June 1690, died there on 10 May 1727. Eldest son of a wealthy counsellor to the Parliament of Paris, he preferred the ecclesiastical life to the magistracy for which his family intended him, though he did not receive priestly ordination.
A catechist and preacher, particularly versed in Sacred Scripture, he wrote various works, some of which were published posthumously (moral commentary on the Pauline epistles), while others remain in manuscript. He subjected himself to severe penances, going so far in his rigorism as to abstain from Communion for two years until his director dissuaded him. Charitable, he took up humble employment in order to assist the poor. Buried in the cemetery of St-Médard, his parish church, the Jansenist movement of convulsions (v.) began at his tomb.