Note 27 — Chapter II
Reading edition
Pierre de Bérulle, the descendant of an ancient and noble family of Champagne, was born on the 14th of February 1575, and soon became remarkable for his virtue and science. He was the friend of St. François de Sales, the founder of the Congregation of the Oratory in France, and was promoted to the conclave by Urban VIII in 1627. He did not, however, long enjoy his new dignity, having died at the altar while saying mass on the 2nd of October 1629, before he had attained his fifty-sixth year. He was the author of several theological works. An ably-written life of the Cardinal de Bérulle is due to the pen of M. Hubert de Cérisy.