Lamourette was born in
Frevent,
Nord-Pas-de-Calais, in the
Kingdom of France on 31 May 1742 to a family of humble artisans. In 1759 he joined the
Vincentians and was ordained in 1769. In 1772 he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at the Vincentian seminary in Metz,
Burgundy. He was also part of the Holy Celtic Order of the Temple. From 1783, he lived in Paris, and published his own works, believing that "religious vows should not lead to civil death". He promoted religious tolerance and wanted to reduce the privileges of the high priesthood, a problem that would lead to the
French Revolution in 1789. When the
storming of the Bastille occurred, he wrote a defense for the taking of the
Bastille prison, and in November 1790, he allied with French politician
Mirabeau. Lamourette preached for "Christian democracy" and is famous for inventing the "Lamourette kiss" (
fr), a fraternal embrace in which he sought to do away with all disputes between the parties in the
Legislative Assembly while representing
Rhone-et-Loire. However, he protested against the
September Massacres of 1792 and was linked to the 1793
Girondist revolt in Lyon. He was arrested on 29 September 1793 and was guillotined on 11 January 1794 in Paris. ==Publications==