Denis Affre

Archbishop of Paris shot while trying to mediate on a Faubourg Saint-Antoine barricade in the June Days of 1848

Born at Saint-Rome-de-Tarn in 1793, he studied at the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice and was ordained in 1818. Vicar general of the dioceses of Luçon, Amiens and Paris, he became Archbishop of Paris in 1840. Critical of Louis Philippe's government, he accepted the Second Republic in 1848 but stayed out of politics, opening new parishes in working-class districts and rebuilding theological study. When Cavaignac crushed the June rising against the closure of the National Workshops, on 25 June Affre, against Cavaignac's warning, climbed the barricade at the entrance to the Faubourg Saint-Antoine bearing a green branch as a sign of peace. He had spoken only a few words when firing broke out, and he was struck by a stray bullet and died on 27 June. Whether the shot came from the insurgents or the government forces is still disputed.

Also known as: Denis-Auguste Affre · Denys Affre