Felix Dupanloup

Félix Dupanloup was a French ecclesiastic who was among the leaders of Liberal Catholicism in France. He was born in Saint-Félix, in Upper Savoy, an illegitimate son of Prince Camillo Borghese. He was educated at the seminary of Saint Sulpice in Paris and ordained priest in 1825. He became a renowned catechist and educator, founding an academy at St Hyacinthe and receiving a letter from Pope Gregory XVI praising his work. He was elected to the Académie française in 1854 and became the bishop of Orléans in 1849. He was a prominent figure in French public life for many years, defending the rights of the Church and the freedom of education. He opposed the definition of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council, but accepted it after it was proclaimed. He also championed the cause of Joan of Arc's canonization and delivered a famous panegyric on her in 1849. He died in 1878 at La Combe-de-Lancey, near Grenoble.