la Chaize, François de
LA CHAIZE, FRANÇOIS DE
Jesuit confessor of Louis XIV; b. Château d'Aix (Loire), Aug. 25, 1624; d. Paris, Jan. 20, 1709. He studied at the Jesuit college of Roannes, entered the novitiate in Avignon in 1639, was ordained in 1656, and in 1658 made his profession in Lyons, where he taught philosophy and was later rector and provincial. From 1675 to his death he was confessor of louis xiv, coming to the court when Louis was giving public scandal by living with the Duchess of Montespan. La Chaize's policy of mildness rather than strictness was in time justified by the complete conversion of the king. His influence was long preponderant on the Council of Conscience, where he assisted the king in the appointment of bishops. He took a position akin to that of the bishops in the difficulties between Louis, and Innocent XI, who, inclined toward a strict stand, was displeased with La Chaize. He advised against extreme measures against Jansenists and Protestants.
Bibliography: g. guitton, Le Père de La Chaize, confesseur de Louis XIV, 2 v. (Paris 1959). j. brucker, La Compagnie de Jésus (Paris 1920).
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