Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.
RAVIGNAN, GUSTAVE-XAVIER DELACROIX de. -
Jesuit, orator, b. at Bayonne on Dec. 1, 1795, d. at Paris on Feb. 26, 1858.
Having abandoned the judiciary, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1822, and, having been ordained a priest in 1828, taught theology at the college of Saint-Acheul. In 1837 he succeeded Fr. Lacordaire in the pulpit of Notre-Dame in Paris, which he held until 1846, when he had to retire due to the weakening of his voice. In his conferences he studied the religious struggle, fundamental truths, the relations between reason and faith, dogma, and the Decalogue considered as a law of respect. To influence souls even more deeply, from 1842 onwards he added Easter retreats to the Lenten conferences. His preaching, composed of persuasive eloquence, profound religiosity, and animated by a sonorous voice and a broad, sober gesture that demonstrated his inner faith (his sign of the cross at the beginning of the conferences remains famous), won him admiration and esteem, but above all sparked many conversions, especially among intellectuals and the aristocracy. From 1846 onwards he dedicated himself to more intimate conferences, triduums, exercises, and spiritual exhortations in colleges and convents.
He was also a rigorous apologist in the defense of his Order: De l'existence et de l'institut des Jésuites (Paris 1844; 11th ed., Brussels 1898; followed by many trans.); Clément XIII et Clément XIV (2 vols., Paris 1854), against the exaggerations of Crétineau-Joly and Theiner. His conferences and other ascetic works, much sought after and republished, were published posthumously: Dernière retraite... aux religieux carmélites pendant le mois de Novembre 1857 (ibid. 1857); Entretiens spirituels... recueillis par les Enfants de Marie (ibid. 1859); Suite des entretiens... suivie de quelques passages de sa correspondance (ibid. 1863); Conférences du rev. p. de R. (4 vols. edited by C. Aubert, ibid. 1860); La vie chrétienne d'une dame dans le monde (ibid. 1860).
BIBL.: Sommervogel, VI, 1499-1507; IX, p. 797; A. de Poulevoy, Vie du p. X. de R., 2 vols., Paris 1860; 17th ed., ibid. 1907; M. Poujoulat, Vie du p. X. de R., ibid. 1890; P. Fernessole, Les conférences de Notre-Dame, I, ibid. 1935, pp. 191-287.
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“RAVIGNAN, GUSTAVE-XAVIER DELACROIX DE.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. X (1953), p. 342. Azione Romana digital edition, https://azioneromana.com/article/ravignan-gustave-xavier-delacroix-de.
