Roman Catholic Cardinal. The elder brother of the famous statesman, Cardinal Armand-Jean du Plessis Richelieu, Alphonse-Louis was born in Paris to the nobles François du Plessis de Richelieu and his wife Suzanne de la Porte de Vezins. Declining an offer for the bishopric of Luçon in 1602, he joined the Carthusian monks later that year. His brother Armand-Jean took his place as bishop of Luçon. Prior of the Carthusian monastery of Bompas, his brother the Cardinal arranged for his promotion to the episcopate in 1626. Appointed archbishop of Aix-en-Provence, he was transferred to the metropolitan see of Lyon on November 27, 1628. Created Cardinal in the consistory of November 19, 1629, with dispensation for having a brother in the Sacred College of Cardinals, he was named Grand Almoner of France by King Louis XIII in 1631. Receiving the red hat and title of SS. Trinità al Monte Pincio on June 4, 1635, during the plague epidemic which struck Lyon in 1638, he himself assisted in the nursing of the sick. In June 1644, as Grand Almoner, he presided over the funeral of King Louis XIII. He introduced chocolate in France and it appears that his excessive consumption was his only vice. The Cardinal died of dropsy in Lyon. Originally buried, in accordance with his wishes, in the chapel of the Virgin Mary in the church of the Hôpital de la Charité of Lyon, when the hospital was demolished, his remains were transferred to the Primatial Cathedral of the city and reburied in its crypt. Forgotten by history, he was a great ambassador of France in Rome.
Roman Catholic Cardinal. The elder brother of the famous statesman, Cardinal Armand-Jean du Plessis Richelieu, Alphonse-Louis was born in Paris to the nobles François du Plessis de Richelieu and his wife Suzanne de la Porte de Vezins. Declining an offer for the bishopric of Luçon in 1602, he joined the Carthusian monks later that year. His brother Armand-Jean took his place as bishop of Luçon. Prior of the Carthusian monastery of Bompas, his brother the Cardinal arranged for his promotion to the episcopate in 1626. Appointed archbishop of Aix-en-Provence, he was transferred to the metropolitan see of Lyon on November 27, 1628. Created Cardinal in the consistory of November 19, 1629, with dispensation for having a brother in the Sacred College of Cardinals, he was named Grand Almoner of France by King Louis XIII in 1631. Receiving the red hat and title of SS. Trinità al Monte Pincio on June 4, 1635, during the plague epidemic which struck Lyon in 1638, he himself assisted in the nursing of the sick. In June 1644, as Grand Almoner, he presided over the funeral of King Louis XIII. He introduced chocolate in France and it appears that his excessive consumption was his only vice. The Cardinal died of dropsy in Lyon. Originally buried, in accordance with his wishes, in the chapel of the Virgin Mary in the church of the Hôpital de la Charité of Lyon, when the hospital was demolished, his remains were transferred to the Primatial Cathedral of the city and reburied in its crypt. Forgotten by history, he was a great ambassador of France in Rome.
Bio by: Eman Bonnici
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