Étienne-René Potier de Gesvres


Étienne-René Potier de Gesvres
Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura
Painting by Pompeo Batoni, 1758
ChurchCatholic Church
Appointed5 April 1756 (Cardinal)
Term ended24 July 1774
Other postsBishop of Beauvais (1728–1772)
Commander of the Order of the Holy Spirit (1758)
Previous postsVicar General, Archdiocese of Bourges (1726–1728)
Abbot of Notre-Dame d'Ourscamp (1723–1734)
Abbot of Saint-Étienne, Caen (1759–1774)
Orders
Ordination1725
Consecration6 June 1728
Created cardinal5 April 1756
by Pope Benedict XIV
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
BornÉtienne-René Potier de Gesvres
2 January 1697
Died24 July 1774(1774-07-24) (aged 77)
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
DenominationRoman Catholic
EducationUniversity of Paris
(Licentiate in Theology, 1718; Licentiate in Canon Law)

Étienne-René Potier de Gesvres (Paris, January 2, 1697 – Paris, July 24, 1774) was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

Biography

He was the son of François-Bernard Potier de Gesvres, Duke of Tresmes, and his wife Marie Geneviève de Seiglières. His uncle was Cardinal Léon Potier de Gesvres; Cardinal Nicolas de Saulx-Tavannes was a distant maternal cousin.[1]

Potier studied in Paris, where he earned a licentiate in theology in 1718 and later a licentiate in canon and constitutional law. He was ordained a priest in 1725 and subsequently served for two years as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Bourges, where his uncle was Archbishop.[2]

Appointed Bishop of Beauvais on April 24, 1728, he received episcopal consecration on June 6, 1728, in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône. He was also Abbot commendatario of the royal abbey of Notre-Dame d'Ourscamp (1723–1734) and of the Abbey of Saint-Étienne, Caen (1759–1774).[1]

Pope Benedict XIV created him a cardinal-priest on April 5, 1756, and on August 2, 1756, granted him the titular church of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura. In 1758, he was made a commander of the Order of the Holy Spirit. He participated in the conclave of 1758, but was absent in the conclave of 1769. He resigned his diocese on May 22, 1772.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Salvador Miranda. "POTIER DE GESVRES, Étienne-René (1697–1774)". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Retrieved 2026-03-03.
  2. ^ "Étienne-René Cardinal Potier de Gesvres". Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 2026-03-03.