Early life and career Affre was born at
Saint-Rome-de-Tarn, in the department of
Aveyron. At the age of 14, he began to study for the priesthood at the Seminary of
Saint-Sulpice, Paris, which was under the direction of his uncle, the
Abbé Denis Boyer,
S.S. He was an excellent student, and, while still a seminarian, soon became an instructor of
dogmatic theology at the seminary in
Nantes. In 1818, he was
ordained as a
Catholic priest. From 1823 to 1833 he served as the
Vicar General, first of the
Diocese of Luçon and then of
Amiens. In 1839, he was appointed as
coadjutor bishop of the
Diocese of Strasbourg. This post, however, he never filled, being called on to act as Vicar-Capitular of Paris, conjointly with MM. Auger and Morel, at the death of Archbishop Quélen. nevertheless he took no part in politics, but devoted himself to
pastoral care. He opened new
parishes in the working-class neighborhoods of the city. Among them were Ménilmontant, Plaisance, Petit-Montrouge, Maison-Blanche, Petit-Gentilly,
Notre-Dame de la Gare, Billancourt, Gros-Caillou. There have been conflicting claims as to whether the fatal bullet was fired by an insurgent or by the government forces. He was taken to his palace, where he died on 27 June. On the next day, the
National Assembly of France issued a decree expressing its great sorrow over Affre's death, and the public funeral held on 7 July was one of the most striking public spectacles of the period. The crowd following his
cortege was estimated to have numbered about 200,000 people. Affre was buried in the Chapel of Saint-Denis in the Cathedral of
Notre-Dame de Paris. His heart was removed and preserved in the chapel of the Carmelite Seminary, which he had founded. == Legacy ==