Gerberon Gabriel
Gerberon, Gabriel
A Benedictine of the Maurist Congregation; b. at St-Calais, Department of Sarthe, France, 12 Aug., 1628; d. in the monastery of St-Denis, near Paris, 29 March, 1711; educated by the Oratorians at Vendôme; became a Benedictine in the monastery of St-Mélaine, at Rennes, 11 Dec., 1649; studied theology in the monastery of Mont St-Michel; ordained priest in 1655; and taught philosophy and theology in the monasteries of Bourgeuil, St-Denis, and St-Benoît-sur-Loire until 1663. His departure from the Scholastic method of teaching theology, and his leaning towards Jansenism, influenced his superiors to relieve him of his professional duties. In 1663 he was sent to the monastery of La Couture, near Le Mans, and three years later, to St-Germain-des-Prés, where he devoted six years (1666-1672) to the care of souls and to literary pursuits. In 1672 he was sent to the monastery of Argenteuil, and in 1675 he was appointed subprior of the monastery of Corbie. Here he openly opposed the encroachments of Louis XIV in ecclesiastical and monastic affairs, and when it became known that he was the author of the second volume of “L’Abbé commendataire” (Cologne, 1674), a work which severely condemned the abuse of setting commendatory abbots over monasteries, the king ordered his arrest (1682). Gerberon escaped the hands of the law by fleeing to Brussels, thence to Holland, where he lived a few years under the assumed name of Augustin Kergré. In 1690 he returned to Brussels, and, in union with Quesnel and other Jansenists, wrote numerous pamphlets in favour of Jansenism. On 30 May, 1703, he was arrested at the command of the Archbishop of Mechlin, who intended to give him over to his monastic superiors. Louis XIV, however, imprisoned him at Amiens (1703-1707) and at Vincennes (1707-1710). After retracting all his Jansenistic errors, Gerberon was set free, and returned to the monastery of St-Germain-des-Prés, 25 April, 1710. He deeply regretted his errors, and died a repentant son of the Catholic Church.
Gerberon was one of the most prolific writers of the Maurist Congregation. Tassin (loc. cit. below) ascribes one hundred and eleven works to him, many of which, however, are spurious. Of the sixty-one works ascribed to him by de Lama (loc. cit. below), the following are the most important: “Apologia pro Ruperto Abbate Tuitiensi” (Paris, 1669), in which he proves against Salmasius and other Protestants that Abbot Rupert of Deutz held the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence; “Histoire générale du Jansénisme” (Amsterdam, 1700), 3 vols.; “Acta Marii Mercatoris” (Brussels, 1673); “Histoire de la Robe sans couture de N. S. Jésus-Christ, qui est r&eacuate;vérée dans l’église des Bénédictins d’ Argenteuil” (Paris, 1676). His chief Jansenistic work is entitled “Le Miroir de la Piété chrétienne” (Brussels, 1676). He also edited the works of St. Anselm: “S. Anselmi opera omnia, necnon Eadmeri monachi Cantuar. Historia Novorum et alia opuscula” (Paris, 1675).
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MICHAEL OTT Transcribed by Gerald M. Knight
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VICopyright © 1909 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, CensorImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Gerberon Gabriel
an indefatigable Benedictine author, was born at St. Calais, in the province of Maine, France, August 12, 1628. He became a Benedictine in the congregation of St. Maur in 1649. After teaching theology with reputation for several years, he declared himself in favor of Jansenism, and for this he was ordered to be arrested in 1682 by Louis XIV. He escaped to Holland, and in 1703 was seized hey the bishop of Mechlin and imprisoned at Amiens, and afterwards at Vincennes, for no crime but following strictly the Augustinian theory of grace. He died at the abbey of St. Denis, March 29, 1711. His chief work is the Histoire Generale du Jansenisme (General Historyr of Jansenism, Amsterd. 1703, 3 volumes, 12mo), but he wrote very largely also on the Jansenist and other controversies. Herzog, Real-Encyclop. 5:31; Hook, Eccles. Biog. 5:299; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Gener. 20:194 sq.