François-Marie-Benjamin Richard

François-Marie-Benjamin Richard de la Vergne (; 1 March 1819 – 27 January 1908) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and served as the Archbishop of Paris.

His cause of beatification has commenced and he has the title of Servant of God.

Biography

Early life and priesthood François-Marie-Benjamin Richard was born in 1819 in Nantes and was one of eleven children.

Richard was educated at the seminary of St Sulpice where he studied theology from October 1841. He was ordained to the priesthood on 21 December 1844 by the Archbishop of Paris Denis Auguste Affre. He served as a parish priest from 1845 to 1846 before he was sent to Rome for further studies that spanned from 1846 to 1849. He was later made the Vicar-General of Nantes on 1 August 1850 and occupied that post until 1869.