Jean Vuaillat

Jean Vuaillat (1915–2009) was a French Roman Catholic priest, poet and biographer. He served as a priest in Lyon as well as small towns in the Loire and Rhône regions until he became a canon at the Lyon Cathedral in 1982. He published many poetry collections and several biographies. He won five literary prizes from the Académie française.

Early life Jean Vuaillat was born in 1915 in Lyon.

Career Vuaillat was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1940. He won five literary prizes from the Académie française: the Prix Véga et Lods de Wegmann for Solitude de neige in 1966; the Prix Archon-Despérouses for Douze psaumes in 1970; the Prix Marie Havez-Planque for Apprivoiser la mort in 1976; the Prix Capuran for Mariales et signets pour Noël in 1980; and the Prix François Coppée for Ciels d’arrière-saison in 1996.

Aside from poetry, Vuaillat authored the biographies of Saint Philip Neri as well as missionaries Jean-Pierre Néel and Benoît Berthet. He also published the biographies of composers Mozart and Gabriel Fauré.

Vuaillat was a significant book collector. He maintained a correspondence with Léopold Sédar Senghor, among many others.

Death and legacy Vuaillat died in 2009. He bequeathed half his book collection to the Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon; the other half was auctioned.

Works