Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gobel (1 September 1727 – 12 April 1794) was a French Roman Catholic cleric and politician of the Revolution.
Contents |
Gobel was born in Thann, Haut-Rhin (Alsace), and studied theology in the Jesuit German College of Rome, and then became successively a member of the Jesuit chapter of Porrentruy, bishop in partibus of Lydda, and finally suffragan of Basel for the section of the diocese that was situated in French territory. His political life began when he was elected deputy to the Estates-General of 1789 by the clergy of the bailiwick of Huningue.
The turning-point of his life was his action in taking the oath of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (3 January 1791), in favour of which he had declared himself since 5 May 1790. The document gave the appointment of priests to the electoral assemblies, and, after taking the oath, Gobel had become so popular that he was elected constitutional bishop in several dioceses. He chose the Archbishopric of Paris, and in spite of the difficulties which he had to encounter before he could enter into possession, was consecrated on 27 March 1791 by eight bishops, including Charles Maurice de Talleyrand.
On 8 November 1792, Gobel was appointed administrator of Paris. His public display of anti-clericalism was most likely a careful tactic to ensure the sympathy of politicians: among other things, he declared himself opposed to clerical celibacy. On the 17th Brumaire in the year II (7 November 1793), became before the bar of the National Convention for his activities as civil commissioner in Porrentruy, and, in a famous scene, resigned his episcopal functions, proclaiming that he did so for love of the people, and through respect for their wishes.
The followers of Jacques Hébert, who were then pursuing their anti-Christian policy, claimed Gobel as their representative. At the same time, Hébert's rival Maximilien Robespierre viewed Gobel as an atheist - although he was not accused of apostasy, and never publicly professed atheism.
Robespierre's vision of a deist Cult of the Supreme Being was threatened by the opposition of atheist Hébertists (see Cult of Reason), and Gobel shared the fate of the latter. He was sentenced to death with Hébert, Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, and Anacharsis Cloots, and was guillotined.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Antoine-Eléonore-Léon Le Clerc de Juigné |
Archbishop of Paris 1791–1794 |
Succeeded by Abolished during the French Revolution Restored 1802: Jean-Baptiste de Belloy |