Denis-Auguste Affre

Denis-Auguste Affre (born September 28, 1793, Saint-Rome-de-Tarn, France—died June 27, 1848, Paris) was the archbishop of Paris and an opponent of King Louis-Philippe. Affre is remembered for his attempt to end the riots in Paris known as the June Days in 1848, which resulted in his death.

Affre was ordained a priest in 1818 and became a Sulpician and a teacher of theology in 1819. He successively became vicar-general of the French dioceses of Luçon (1821), Amiens (1823), and Paris (1834) and in 1840 was named archbishop of Paris.

By 1827 Affre had become well known for his clerical reforms. His differences with Louis-Philippe began in 1843, and a long polemical debate over secondary education ensued in which Affre particularly defended academic freedom. He welcomed the establishment of the Second Republic in 1848 and the overthrow of Louis-Philippe on February 24 of that year.

On June 23, 1848, Parisian workers rose in an insurrection that was violently suppressed by Louis-Eugène Cavaignac, who was acting on behalf of the legislative assembly. Affre was grieved by the bloodshed. Led to believe that his personal intervention might restore order, he entered the barricades in the workers’ Saint-Antoine district on June 25. He had scarcely begun to speak when confused firing broke out. Struck by a stray bullet, he died two days later.

Among Affre’s several canonical and philosophical works are Essai historique et critique sur la suprématie temporelle du pape (1829; “Historical Essay on the Temporal Supremacy of the Pope”) and Introduction philosophique à l’étude du Christianisme (1845; “Philosophical Introduction to the Study of Christianity”). He also edited the periodical La France chrétienne, which he helped found.