POISSY, COLLOQUIUM of. — The dissensions provoked by Calvinist preaching in the Kingdom of France, and the factions that had arisen from it, especially among the high nobility, together with the ambiguous policy pursued by the regent queen Caterina de' Medici, had given rise to dangerous disturbances.
While Pius IV, on 2 June 1561, appointed Card. Ippolito d'Este his legate in France, the court scheduled an assembly of the episcopate for 20 July, under the pretext of choosing the bishops to be sent to the Council of Trent and remedying the abuses introduced into the Gallican Church. P. having been chosen as the place of the gathering, the King, the Queen, the court, and 48 bishops were present there on 31 July. The chancellor Michele L'Hospital, opening the session, spoke of it as a national council, but Card. Francesco di Tournon immediately declared that it was not a council and that doctrinal questions ought not to be raised. The court, however, wished the Reformed to be heard. They came with 22 representatives of their communities and 12 Beza (v.), and were admitted to the assembly of the bishops on 26 August; then, on 9 September, Beza was able to speak against the Church and the «real presence». The cardinal of Guise, addressing the King, brilliantly refuted Beza's assertions on 16 September. On the 19th, Card. d'Este arrived, followed by the bishops, while the chancellor vainly attempted to prevent recognition of his mission. On the 24th and 27th, Beza replied to the cardinal of Lorraine, who in turn replied to him; Pietro Martire Vermigli then spoke, Lainez (v.), Jesuit superior general and theologian to Card. d'Este, who gave wide circulation to the speech he had delivered. But the Reformed continued to argue without yielding; they were no longer heard by the assembly, not even in private audiences. The bishops, for their part, under Card. di Tournon, drafted reform canons, which they presented to the Queen. Despite Card. d'Este's conversations with the Queen, the Reformed were able to continue debating privately until 11 February 1564, when it was decided to refer theological decisions to the Council. Meanwhile, however, on 17 January the King had issued an «edict of toleration», granting the Reformed freedom to practise their worship, though outside the cities; while Lainez, through his preaching in Paris, kept the Catholics steadfast. Since the Parliament refused to register the Edict, the Reformed unleashed a bloody reaction, to which the Catholics responded; the Parliament therefore yielded and registered the Edict on 7 March. But this did not prevent the religious wars that for many years drenched France in blood.