Gilles-François de Beauvais

Gilles-François de Beauvais (7 July 1693-c.1773) was a French Jesuit writer and preacher.

Born at Le Mans, France, de Beauvais entered the Society of Jesus on 16 August, 1709, and taught belles-lettres, rhetoric, and philosophy. After ordination he was assigned to preach and give the Advent course at Court in 1744, during which year he published hisLife of Ven, Ignatius Azevedo, S.J. modelled on the original Italian biography by Father Cabral (a pseudonym of Giulio Cesare Cordara) (1704-1785), published in Rome in 1743 under the title Relazione della vita e martirio del venerabile padre Ignazio de Azevedo (De Bucher Sommervogel II, 1415; Borba de Moraes I, p. 213; Palau 260614). De Beauvais dedicated his version to King Stanislans of Poland adding several sections including the "Martyre du Vénérable Père Diaz et de ses Compagnons", pp. 193-262. The work is devoted to the life of the martyr Ignatius de Azevedo from Porto (1528-1570), who worked in Brazil as Visitator for the Jesuit Order. On 15 July 1570, he was killed near the Canary Islands together with his 39 companions at sea by French Calvinist pirates. In 1854, these "40 martyrs of Brazil" were canonized. A second edition of the book was published in Brussels in 1854, under the title Les quarantes Martyrs ou vie du Bienheureux Ignace d'Azevedo.

In 1746 de Beavais published his biography of Ven. John de Britto, S.J., which has been translated into English by Father Faber of the Brompton Oratory (Richardson, London, 1851). He wrote a number of other works of devotion and for spiritual reading.

In 1759, he was confessor of Mme Louise de France. De Beauvais probably died in Paris in 1773.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)