**POISSY, COLLOQUIUM OF** — The discord fomented by Calvinist preaching in the Kingdom of France and the factions that had arisen from them, particularly among the high nobility, together with the ambiguous policy pursued by the queen regent Catherine de’ Medici, had given rise to dangerous disturbances.
While Pius IV, on 2 June 1561, appointed Cardinal Ippolito d’Este as his legate in France, the court announced for 20 July an assembly of the episcopate, ostensibly to select bishops to be sent to the Council of Trent and to address abuses that had crept into the Gallican Church. Poissy was chosen as the meeting place, and on 31 July the King, the Queen, the court, and 48 bishops were in attendance. Chancellor Michel de l’Hôpital opened the session by speaking as though it were a national council, but Cardinal François de Tournon immediately declared that it was not a council and that doctrinal questions were not to be debated. The court, however, insisted that the Reformed should be heard. They came with 22 representatives of their communities and 12 preachers, Beza (v.), and were admitted to the assembly of bishops on 26 August. On 9 September, Beza was able to speak against the Church and the “real presence.” Cardinal de Guise, addressing the King, brilliantly refuted Beza’s assertions on 16 September. On 19 September, Cardinal d’Este arrived, accompanied by the bishops, while the chancellor vainly attempted to prevent recognition of his mission. On 24 and 27 September, Beza replied to Cardinal de Lorraine, who answered in turn; then Peter Martyr Vermigli spoke, Laínez (v.), General of the Jesuits and theologian to Cardinal d’Este, who widely circulated the discourse he had delivered. The Reformed, however, continued to argue without yielding; but they were no longer heard by the assembly, not even in private audiences. The bishops, under Cardinal de Tournon, instead drew up canons of reform, which they presented to the Queen.
Despite the colloquies between Cardinal d’Este and the Queen, the Reformed were able to continue private discussions until 11 February 1562, when it was decided to defer theological decisions to the Council. Meanwhile, on 17 January, the King had issued a “toleration edict,” granting the Reformed freedom of worship outside cities. Laínez, with his preaching in Paris, meanwhile strengthened the Catholics. Since the Parliament refused to register the Edict, the Reformed unleashed a bloody reaction, to which the Catholics responded, forcing the Parliament to yield; on 7 March it registered the Edict. But this did not prevent the religious wars that would long keep France in bloodshed.