Gobel was born in the town of
Thann in
Alsace to a lawyer to the Sovereign Council of Alsace and tax collector for the
Seigneury of Thann. After outstanding success in his early schooling in
Porrentruy, he studied at the
Jesuit college in
Colmar, then
theology in the
German College in
Rome, from which he graduated in 1743.
Clerical career Gobel was ordained a Catholic priest in 1750 and then became a member of the
cathedral chapter of the
Prince-Bishop of Basel,
Simon Nikolaus Euseb von Montjoye-Hirsingen, based in
Porrentruy, In 1771 he was appointed the
auxiliary bishop of the
diocese for the section that was situated in French territory, being named by the
Holy See as a
titular bishop in partibus of
Lydda. He consecrated the next Prince-Bishop,
Friedrich Ludwig Franz von Wangen zu Geroldseck, on 3 March 1776. Found to have been living beyond his means, he was relieved of his duties by Wangen zu Geroldseck's successor,
Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach, in 1782. After this he began to espouse "reformist" ideas. His political life began when he was elected deputy to the
Estates-General of 1789 by the clergy of the
Bailiwick of
Huningue. The turning-point of his life was Gobel's action in taking the oath of the
Civil Constitution of the Clergy (3 January 1791), in favour of which he had declared himself since 5 May 1790. The document gave the appointment of priests to the electoral assemblies, and, after taking the oath, Gobel had become so popular that he was elected
constitutional bishop in several dioceses. He chose the
Archbishopric of Paris, and in spite of the difficulties which he had to encounter before he could enter into possession, he took up office on 17 March 1791 and was consecrated on 27 March by eight bishops, including
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. which has never recognized him as a legitimate holder of the office, and continues to hold the
canonical archbishop,
Antoine-Eléonore-Léon Le Clerc de Juigné, as the legitimate Archbishop of Paris during that period.
Politics On 8 November 1792, Gobel was appointed administrator of Paris. His public display of
anti-clericalism was most likely a careful tactic to ensure the sympathy of politicians: among other things, he declared himself opposed to
clerical celibacy. On the
17th Brumaire in the year II (7 November 1793), he came before the bar of the
National Convention for his activities as civil commissioner in Porrentruy, and, in a famous scene, resigned his episcopal functions, proclaiming that he did so for love of the people, and through respect for their wishes. The previous night, a delegation from the Commune led by
Hébert,
Chaumette and
Cloots had demanded that he publicly renounce his faith or be put to death by the people. The followers of
Jacques Hébert, who were then pursuing their
anti-Christian policy, claimed Gobel as their representative. Gobel, on being thrown into prison, suffered the agonies of acute remorse. He hastened to do all in his power to repair his misconduct; he sent his written confession to the Abbé Lothringer, and signed the document, not as bishop of Paris, but of Lydda. He entreated the Abbé to give him the benefit of his ministrations in his last moments, to come to the
Conciergerie at the time when he was leaving it for the guillotine, and to pronounce over him the form of
absolution, not forgetting the clause "ab omni vinculo excommunicationis". Gobel's penitence was likewise attested by the Abbé Emery and the Abbé Gaston de Sambucy. All of the alleged conspirators were sentenced to death on the morning of 13 April and guillotined that same afternoon. ==Bibliography==