Background
François Leclerc du Tremblay was born on November 4, 1577, in Paris, France, to Jean Leclerc du Tremblay and Marie Motier de La Fayette.
François Leclerc du Tremblay was born on November 4, 1577, in Paris, France, to Jean Leclerc du Tremblay and Marie Motier de La Fayette.
François Leclerc du Tremblay, also known as Père Joseph, studied at the Collège de Boncourt, Paris. He studied under a private tutor at his family's house in Tremblay, near Versailles. Later he studied at the Académie de Antoine de Pluvinel in Paris and he learned theology in Capuchin houses of study.
François Leclerc du Tremblay appeared at court at the age of eighteen with the title of Baron de Maffliers, and joined the army to fought the Spanish in the northern provinces of France. In 1598 he returned to France. On February 2, 1599, he entered the Order of the Friars Minor Capuchins and took the name Joseph de Paris.
He was ordained in 1604 and served as the vicar of the guardian and master of novices at the convent of Meudon from June 4, 1604 till 1605. From September 1605 to 1606, he served as the guardian of the convent of Bourges and master of the seminary. Also he was the guardian of the convents of Rennes (August 1606), of Chinon (1607) and of Tours (from May 8, 1609 to 1610). On March 29, 1612, he was elected first definitor and counselor of his province.
François Leclerc du Tremblay became a preacher in the west of France where he founded a new religious congregation: the Benedictines of the Calvary. Also in that area, he met young Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, bishop of Luçon, who felt a great admiration for him. When Bishop Richelieu became secretary of State in 1616, he charged him with a delicate mission to Rome which he completed very successfully and which gained him the praise of Pope Paul V. In 1616-1625 he was the apostle of the crusade against the Turks. From June 13, 1625 to 1638 he served as prefect of foreign missions. Later, when Richelieu became prime minister, he appointed him to the secret council. When the cardinal undertook the siege of La Rochelle, he brought along François Leclerc du Tremblay, who, to the astonishment of the French general, gave the most useful advice to obtain the surrender of the city. On their return to Paris, the friar was entrusted with the organization of the cardinal's espionage against both his domestic and foreign enemies. During the Thirty Year's War, François Leclerc du Tremblay demonstrated incomparable skill. While the cardinal had to remain in France to advise King Louis XIII and defend his policies against his enemies, Tremblay, "his double", worked abroad making alliances with the foreign princes in Germany and Italy. When the health of the cardinal-prime minister started to fail, he, together with King Louis XIII, chose a successor: François Leclerc du Tremblay. But this never took place because the friar died before the cardinal.
On December 17, 1638, he died of an apoplexy, in the arms of Cardinal Richelieu.
François Leclerc du Tremblay was a mystic and religious reformer whose collaboration with Cardinal de Richelieu (the “Red Eminence”) gave him powers akin to those of a foreign minister, especially during Richelieu’s ambitious campaign to finance France’s participation in what became known as the Thirty Years’ War.
Jean Leclerc du Tremblay was a president of the chamber of requests of the parlement of Paris.
Baron de Maffliers
