Henry Essex Edgeworth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Essex Edgeworth (born 1745 in Edgeworthstown, County Longford, Ireland; died 1807 in Mittau, Russia), also known as L'Abbé Edgeworth de Firmont, was a Catholic priest and confessor of Louis XVI.[1]
He inherited the title Edgeworth de Firmont from his family. At the age of four, he emigrated with his father (who had just converted from Protestantism) from Ireland.
Through his father and the Archbishop of Paris he became vicar-general of the Diocese of Paris and friend of the royal family and stayed with them during the French Revolution. After the death of Louis, he remained in France incognito, until he escaped to London in 1796.
In London, he was chaplain of Louis XVIII, with whom he later traveled to Russia. After the invasion of Russia in 1807 by Napoleon, he cared for captured French soldiers, from whom he caught a fever and died.
[edit] References
- ^ Henry Essex Edgeworth - Catholic Encyclopedia article
