Toussaint de Forbin Janson

Toussaint de Forbin-Janson also known simply as Cardinal de Janson (1 October 1631, Mane – 24 March 1713) was a French Catholic Cardinal and Bishop of Beauvais.

Early life

As a boy, Janson joined the Knights of Malta and then the army of the Kingdom of France (as was the custom). But he left the army in his late teens and went to study letters.

Ecclesiastic career

Soon after, he was ordained and at the age of 21 was appointed coadjutor bishop in support of his uncle, the Bishop of Digne. He was appointed titular bishop of Filadelfia in 1655 and was forced to leave the Knights of Malta. He succeeded his uncle as Bishop of Digne in 1664 and in 1668 he transferred to become Bishop of Marseille. In 1679 he became Bishop of Beauvais.

In 1673, King Louis XIV sent Janson to Tuscany to repair his relationship with his cousin, Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, wife of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. John Baptist Sleyne, Bishop of Cork and Cloyne (1693); François de Mailly, Archbishop of Arles (1698); Pier Secondo Radicati de Cocconato, Bishop of Casale Monferrato (1701); and the principal co-consecrator of: Ignace Cotolendi, Titular Bishop of Metellopolis and Vicar Apostolic of Nanking (1660); Gilbert de Vény d'Arbouze, Bishop of Clermont (1664); and Jules Mascaron, Bishop of Tulle (1672).