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 RENTY

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RENTY

insignia of an archbishop, but without an arch- bishop's privileges.

The pilgrimage of the Seven Saints of Brittany was a widespread devotion during the Middle Ages, and probably antedates the year 1000. Four times a year, at Easter, Pentecost, Michaelmas, and Christ- mas, crowds of pilgrims on foot paid within thirty days a round of visits to the seven sanctuaries, Dol, St. Brieuc, Treguier, Leon, Quimper, Vannes, St. Malo. A paved road, that kept up an earlier line of Roman roads, was followed by these endless pil- grimages, whence arose the present custom of dedicat- ing chapels to the Seven Saints. The ancient Abbeys of St. Melanius, St. M<!en, Redon, and Paimpont, the abbeys of Canons Regular of Rille (founded about 1143), of Montfort (founded about 1152) were very useful in restoring the parochial services after the disorders of the early IMiddle Ages. Two thirds of the churches in the territory date from the eleventh or twelfth century, and were built by the monks and Canons Regular. The war of succession of Brittany (1341-64) between Jean de Montfort and Charles de Blois has an interest for the ecclesiastical historian owing to the fact that Charles de Blois has the title of Blessed. Dom Plaine has shown that the origin of the pilgrimage of Bonne Nouvelle at Rennes had nothing to do, as was often supposed, with a victory of Jean de Montfort over Blessed Charles de Blois. Some of the saints connected with the Arch- diocese of Rennes are: St. Mevennns or Meen, St. Armel, St. Sulinus (Suliac), son of Broguenard, Prince of Wales, Abbot of the monastery of St. Suliac (died in 606); St. Judicael (584-658), twice King of the Bretons, twice monk in the monastery founded by St. M6en, and founder of the abbey of Paimpont; St. Geldouin, canon of Dol (d. 1076 or 1077), who refused to become a bishop in spite of the appeals of Gregory VII; Venerable Robert d'Arbris.sel, founder of the order of Fontevrault (d. 1117), a na- tive of Arbrissel near Rennes; Blessed Ralph de la Futaye, founder about 1096 of the Abbey of St. Sulpice at Rennes, known originally as Our Lady of the Blackbirds; St. Yves (1253-1303), who held an official position in the Diocese of Rennes; Vener- able John de St. Samson, blind from birth, a Carmelite of Rennes and the great Breton contemplative, died in 1636, leaving many WTitings of a mystical character; Ven. PierreQuintin (d. 1629), a Dominican of Vitre, and one of the collaborators of Ven. Michel de Nobletz in his apostolate. Caradeuc de la Chalotais (1701-85), born at Rennes, procurator of Brittany, was one of the first magistrates to lead the way for the abolition of the Jesuits in France by his comptes-rendus of the constitutions of the Jesuits, read to the Parliament in Dec, 1761, and in May, 1762. Grimm said that the Jesuits might consider Le Chalotais as their destroyer in France.

Other natives of Rennes are the Benedictine Lobi- neau (1606-1727), famous for his " Histoire de la Bre- tagne" (1707;, and the Jesuit philologian Tournemine (1661-1739). Jacques Cartier (1494-15.52), the dis- coverer of Canada; the naval commander Duguay- Trouin (1673-1736), who took Rio de Janeiro in 1711; La Bourdonnais (1699-1753), another sailor who fought against the English in India; the writers Chateaubriand (1768-1S4S) and Lamennais (1782- 1854) were natives of St. .Malo. Dugue.sclin (d. 1380), famous during the Hundred Years' War, was born at Chateau de la Motte de Bron; the Chateau des Rochers where Madame de S6vign^ lived (1626- 96) is near Vitre.

The chief shrines of the archdiocese are: Notre- Dame des Miracles ct Vertus, in St-Sauveur'.s at Rennes, a i)lacc of pilgrimage siiu^e the siege of Rennes by the English undc-f llir Oiikr of Lancaster in 1357; Notre-Damc de lidiuic Nouvdlc, at Rennes, a Dominican's shrine, a place of [jilgrimage as early as

1466; Notre-Dame des Marais, at Fougferes, dating from the tenth century, but particularly famous during the seventeenth century; Notre-Dame de Paimpont; Notre-Dame de la Peini^re at Saint Didier, a pilgrimage from very early times. Be- fore the application of the Associations Law in 1901 there were in the archdiocese: Eudists, Recol- lets, Lazarists, Carmelites, and several orders of teaching Brothers. Among congregations of women originating in the diocese are the Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, founded in 1640 by Mile Morel du Verger for the care of incurables, with mother-house at Rennes; The Adoratrices of the Divine Justice, a teaching and nursing order with mother-house at Fougeres; the Sisters of the Im- maculate Conception, a teaching and nursing order founded in 1831 at St. M^en by Pere Corvoisier; the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, known as Sisters of the Oaks, or of the Junior Schools, founded in 18.50 by AmeHe Fristel, a nursing and teach- ing order with mother-house at Param^ and Ijranches at Halifax and Ste Marie in Canada; Little Sisters of the Poor, founded in 1842 at Rennes by Jeanne Jugan, Fanchon Aubert, Marie Jamet, Virginie Tredaniel under the guidance of Abb6 Lepailleur, and installed through the efforts of Abb6 Ernest LeliSvre in all parts of the world. Their mother- house at St. Pern in the Diocese of Rennes controlled in 1905 106 houses in France, 51 in Spain, 29 in England, 30 in America, 16 in Italy, 13 in Belgium, 4 in Africa, 3 in Oceania, 1 in Portugal, 1 in Turkey; 33,123 aged and infirm persons were cared for by 4475 sisters. At the close of the nineteenth century the religious congregations in the diocese had charge of 1 creche, 31 nurseries, 1 home for infirm children, 1 deaf and dumb school, 5 orphanages for boys, 14 for girls, 34 hospitals or infirmaries, 18 district nurs- ing homes, 2 retreat houses, 3 homes for incurables, 1 lunatic asylum. In 1909 the Archdiocese of Rennes numbered 621,384 souls in 60 parishes with 324 auxiliary parishes and 379 curacies.

Gallia Christiana, XIV (nova 1856), 739-67, 993-1017, 1038- 68; instrumenta. 163-70, 233-44, 245-60; Dcchesne, Fastea ipiscopaux, II, 249-74, 340-3; Tre8vaox, L'Bglise de Brelagne (Paris, 1839) ; de Corson, Pouilli historique de rarchevSch6 de Rennes (6 vola., Rennes. 1880-6); Idem, L'Bglise de Rennes d travers les dges (Nantes, 1885); De i-a Borderie and Pocquet, Hist, de Brelagne (4 vola., Rennes. 1895-1906); de Villeneuvb AND Maillet, Hist, de Rennes (Pari.s. 1845) ; Plaine, Hist, du cuUe de la Sainte Vierge dans la ville de Rennes (Rennes. 1872); Delarde, Le clergS el le culte catholique en Brelagne pendarit la Revolution: district de Dol (5 vols., Rennes, 1903-8); Cunat, Hist, de la CitS d'Aleth (St. Malo, 1851); Campion, L'enceinte romaine d'Aleth (Vannes, 1908); Marion, La Bretagne et le due d'Aiguillon (Paris, 1898); Podlain, Hist, de St. Malo. la citt corsaire (Lille. 1887); Crevedy, Les Sept Saints de Bretagne et leur pUerinage (St. Brieuc, 1898); Le Grand (de Morlaix), Les Vies des Saints de la Britagne armorique, annotated by Thomas and Aborall (5th ed., Quimper, 1901).

Georges Goyau.

Renty, Gaston Jean Baptiste de, b. 1611 at the castle of Beni, Diocese of Bayeux in Normandy; d. 24 April, 1649. The only son of Charles, Baron de Renty, and Elisabeth de Pastoureau, Gaston studied at the College de Navarre in Paris, with the Jesuits at Caen, and finished at the age of seventeen at the College of the Nobles in Paris. He wrote several treatises on mathematics in which he excelled. The reading of the Imitation of Christ aroused the desire to become a Carthusian, but obeying the wish of his parents, he married. In 1638 he abandoned public life and devoted himself to the service of the needy and suffering. Struck by the ignorance, in religious matters, of the travellers who found a night's rest at the Hospital (if St. Gcrvaise in Paris, he gave them catechetical instructions and imluccd others to do like- wise. In the course of his chiiritahlc Works he made the ac(iuainlance of Henry Micli.irl Bui-h (b. 1590 in the Dui^hy of Luxembourg; d. 9 June, 1066 at Paris; surnamed iler qule Heinrich) and induced him to found a congregation of shoemakers and tailors,