Croy, Gustave-Maximilien-Juste de

The fifth son of the Duke of Ann-Emmanuel de Croix and Augusta Frederica Wilhelmina Ernestina von Salm-Kirburg.

He began his spiritual career as a canon in the chapter of Strasbourg . In 1791 he emigrated with the whole family. He took refuge in Vienna , where he became one of the four canons in the institution of Liechtenstein.

In 1800, after the death of Pius VI , he was chosen by the cardinal-archbishop of Vienna as one of his conclaveists. He traveled to Venice , where he met closely with Cardinal Chiaramonti , who was elected the new pope.

He still lived in Vienna when he was appointed bishop of Strasbourg in 1817. The brilliant sanctuary ceremony took place only on January 9, 1820 in the church of Saint-Sulpice .

In 1821, after the death of Cardinal Perigorsky , de Croy was appointed to the post of the great distributor of alms of France .

Since the bishop lived in Germany for a long time, he was new to the French clergy, and Mr. Freysin was given the ordinance on November 11, “to work on submitting to church titles and all matters to be carried out” ^[1] .

According to the author of a very complimentary article about this church figure in the “Universal Ancient and New Biography”, there were fears that the descent from the famous kind of sovereign rulers would prevent de Croy from being impartial to priests of modest origin, “but they couldn’t bring him the slightest reproach, for birth, titles, favor didn’t mean anything in his eyes: merit, piety, zeal, love of work, administrative skills, former service were the only recommendations with which he was considered ” ^[1] .

In response to the reproach made in one of the salons of Saint-Germain suburbs, regarding the fact that he nominates people of dark origin as bishop, de Croy exclaimed: “The Church does not need big names, but big virtues” ^[1] .

The Archbishop of Paris, Iacent-Louis de Kelan, shortly after the appointment of de Croix as the great distributor of alms, challenged the prerogatives relating to this position. Louis XVIII unsuccessfully tried to hush up the conflict, inviting Kelan through the Marquis de Loriston to withdraw his claims. In turn, de Croy intended to get the pope to issue a bull, confirming his authority, rights and privileges. The conflict ended under Charles X , who decided on January 25, 1826, to deprive the great distributor of some of the powers assigned at one time by Cardinal Perigorsky to the detriment of the rights of the Paris archbishop. Offended de Croy resigned, but she was not accepted.

October 31, 1822 he was elevated to the rank of peer of France with a church title, and in 1823 he changed his chair, becoming the archbishop of Rouen . His rights were curtailed by an ordinance on August 26, 1824, which created the Ministry of Church Affairs, under the authority of hierarchical appointments. The royal decision caused dissatisfaction, since almost half of the priests appointed to the French episcopate were offered to Louis XVIII de Croix. The bishop of Hermopolis explained this with the archbishop of Rouen. In recognition of the merits of Prince de Croix, the king reserved a cardinal hat for him.

On March 19, 1825, de Croy published a pastoral instruction for his diocese, designed to restore church discipline among the clergy, and caused a storm of indignation in the liberal press. On May 3, the archbishop had to publish a pastoral letter in which he softened his attacks on the ordinance.

March 21, 1825 de Croy was elevated by Pope Leo XII to the rank of Cardinal with the title of Santa Sabina . He participated in the conclaves of 1829 and 1830-1831 .

After the July Revolution, de Croy, close to the doctrine of royalists and the party of legitimists , did not perform any court functions, focusing on managing the diocese, where he enjoyed considerable authority, thanks to wide charity (the archbishop spent more than 10,000 francs a year on public charity alone). Communication with the flock was somewhat difficult for de Croix, because due to a long stay abroad he forgot how to speak French fluently, and natural shyness created additional obstacles ^[2] .

In the 1830s, the cardinal reconciled with the archbishop of Paris, recognizing his outstanding services to the church, and during the visit of Kelan to Rouen, he arranged a gala reception.

In 1840, de Croy had to participate in the baptism of the Count of Paris ^{[K 1]} , but he did not appear at court, and immediately after the ceremony he left for Rouen.

He also served as the priest of the royal chapter of Saint-Denis .

• Commander of the Order of the Holy Spirit (10.28.1821)
• Grand Cross of the Order of Carlos III

• Bury Adels-Torn. Maison de Croy, étude héraldique, historique et critique. - Bruxelles: Société belge de librairie, 1894. [1]
• Courcelle J.-B.-P., de . Pairs de france, p. 231 // Histoire généalogique et héraldique des pairs de France. T. VI. - P .: Arthus Bertrand, 1826
• Courcelle J.-B.-P., de . Croy, pp. 78-79 // Histoire généalogique et héraldique des pairs de France. T. VIII. - P .: Arthus Bertrand, 1827 [2]
• Croy (Gustave-Maximilien-Juste, prince de) // Biographie universelle ancienne et moderne. T. IX. - P .: Desplaces, 1855. , pp. 534-535
• Dictionnaire des parlementaires français. T. II. - P .: Bourloton, 1890, p. 226
• Migne J.-P. , Berton Ch. Dictionnaire des cardinaux. - P .: J.-P. Migne, 1857. , coll. 779-780

• CROY, Gustave-Maximilien-Juste de (1773-1844 ) . The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Date of treatment July 4, 2016.