Charles-Joseph-Benoît d’Argenteau
Charles-Joseph-Benoît d'Argenteau (17 March 1787 – 16 November 1879) was a Belgian diplomat of the Holy See, archbishop and nuncio in Munich.
Biography
He came from the noble family of Argenteau and was the son of Count Joseph-Louis-Eugène d'Argenteau and his wife Marie-Josèphe Countess of Limburg-Stirum. His father was chamberlain to Charles Alexander of Lorraine, governor of the Austrian Netherlands. His uncle Florimond-Claude de Mercy-Argenteau (1727–1794) was Austrian ambassador to the French court at Versailles from 1766 to 1792; his older brother and heir to the title, François de Mercy-Argenteau (1780–1859), was Napoleon's ambassador to the Bavarian court, later governor of Brabant and chamberlain to King William I of the Netherlands.
Charles d'Argenteau joined the Napoleonic army in 1807 and took part in campaigns in Portugal, Spain, Russia and Germany. Awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor, he left the service in 1814 with the rank of Hussar Colonel. He then became adjutant to the King of the Netherlands William I.
After the sudden death of his fiancée, Cécile de La Tour du Pin (1800-1817), on the eve of their wedding, he experienced a change of heart and entered the service of the Curia in Rome. Papal Household Prelate before September 4, 1824, Pope Leo XII appointed him Protonotary apostolic on December 9, 1824. He received priestly ordination on August 10, 1825.
On October 2, 1826, Charles d'Argenteau was appointed titular archbishop of Tyre. He was consecrated bishop the next day by Cardinal Secretary of State Giulio Maria della Somaglia, Cardinal Bishop of Ostia and Velletri; co-consecrators were the Latin Patriarch of Antioch Lorenzo Girolamo Mattei and Archbishop Antonio Luigi Piatti. He left Rome on February 15, 1827, and traveled to Munich, where he served as nuncio to the Kingdom of Bavaria for eleven years. On April 27, 1837, he retired to Liège, where he became dean of the chapter of Liège Cathedral.
Promoted by Napoleon III to Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor, he died in Liège on November 16, 1879.
References
- Georges de Froidcourt, La Vie Tumultueuse de Charles d’Argenteau, Officier d’Empire et Archevêque "in partibus" 1787–1879. Liège (1959).
- Philippe Bountry, "Prélats Référendaires et Officers de Curie en Fonctions sous la Restauration (1814–1846)". In: Souverain et Pontife. Recherches Prosopographiques sur la Curie Romaine à l’Âge de la Restauration (1814–1846). École Française de Rome (2002), pp. 40–41.
External links
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