Henri was the son of Humbert V, sire of Thoire and Villars, and his wife Leonora de Beaujeu, and a nephew of
Louis de Villars, Archbishop of Lyon. He was a canon of the
chapter in
Lyon, later
sacristan and
chamarier (the superintendent of the archbishop's finances). In 1333 he was appointed
Bishop of Viviers and in 1336
Bishop of Valence and Die. In 1342 he was elected
Archbishop of Lyon. On 28 April 1343, the
Dauphin Humbert II appointed him
vicar of the
Dauphiné, of which he was the last governor before the sale of the principality to
France in 1349. ==References==