Little is known about the author of the major opus “The Anti-Christian Conspiracy,” which we just begun the publication with Shield of Faith Press (Part 1). Yet, a French author called Louis Medler was able to gather some quotes and documents about the great counter-revolutionary master. From his book, Mgr Delassus (1836-1921). Face à la conjuration antichrétienne, un maître contre-révolutionnaire, and some personal research, we can draw a few interesting insights about the character and intellectual formation of Msgr. Delassus.
1 — Biographical facts
Msgr. Henri Delassus was born in April 12, 1836, in the town of Estaires, Northern France (diocese of Cambrai, Nord department), son to Jean Baptiste Delassus, who is described as a “merchant” in the birth certificate of Henri Delassus (which means he probably was a wealthy farmer, selling a significant part of his products).
He was aged 10 when Pope Gregory XVI died in 1846 (and when Pope Pius IX got elected), and aged 12 when the Revolutions of 1848 took place all across Europe. When Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, in 1854, he was aged 18. Since then, Mary Immaculate has been Henri Delassus’ favorite devotion. The Anti-Christian Conspiracy is specifically dedicated to Her.
He was ordained a priest at Cambrai in 1862, at age 26. Two years later, Pius IX’s Syllabus was published along with Quanta Cura. In 1866, he was witness to the wedding of his brother Adolphe Delassus, notary in the town of Fournes-en-Weppes (Nord), and is described in the marriage act as a curate (vicaire), that is to say a secular priest assistant to a parish priest, in the region of Lille.
When the Vatican Council proclaimed the dogma of papal infallibility in 1870, he was aged 34. In 1874, he was made chaplain at the Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille Cathedral of Lille. In 1875, aged 39, he became the director of the local religious newspaper, La semaine religieuse de Cambrai, published every week. When Pope Pius IX died in 1878, he was already a wise 42 year-old man.
It is only when he was aged 63, in 1899, after an already long life of sanctification and 37 years of service in the local clergy of the Cambrai diocese, that he started to publish books against modern errors. Before that, he only published articles in his review La semaine religieuse. Here's a list of some of his major works:
- 1899: L'Américanisme et la conjuration antichrétienne (Americanism and The Anti-Christian Conspiracy). — Note that this is an entirely different book from "The Anti-Christian Conspiracy," and has already been translated in English.
- 1904: Le problème de l’heure présente: antagonisme de deux civilisations (Today's Problem: The Antagonism Between Two Civilizations).
- 1908: L'encyclique Pascendi et la démocratie (The Pascendi Encyclical and Democracy).
- 1909: Vérités sociales et erreurs démocratiques (Social Truths and Democratic Errors).
- 1910: L'esprit familial dans la maison, dans la cité et dans l'Etat (The Family Spirit in the Home, in the City and in the State). — This book also qualifies as "life-changing." it explains how the society needs to be inspired by family spirit in order to function properly.
- 1910: La conjuration antichrétienne (The Anti-Christian Conspiracy). — Our current translation project. Considered a must-read in French traditional Catholic circles.
- 1913: La Mission posthume de Sainte Jeanne d'Arc et le règne social de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (The Posthumous Mission of Saint Joan of Arc and the Social Reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ).
- 1919-1922: Les pourquoi de la guerre mondiale (The Reasons For the World War).
His writings gained so much attention and note from Pope St. Pius X that he was made a domestic prelate in 1904, and a protonotary apostolic in 1911 (this is where his Msgr. title comes from), those honorific titles being granted as a reward for his good work against the enemies of the Church. It is said that he has been close to Msgr. Benigni’s Sodalitium Pianum, but there is no proof of him being a member of the organization; it is known however that Msgr. Benigni held the French prelate and his Semaine religieuse in high esteem, as being at the forefront of the antimodernist fight.
He died on October 6, 1921 (aged 85) and his funeral was held at the cathedral of Lille on October 10. He is buried with his brother Adolphe and his sister-in-law, at Fournes-en-Weppes.
In short, Msgr. Delassus was a humble local cleric through most of his life, who hardly ever left his native diocese, and whose main duty was to manage the local ecclesiastical newspaper, until he eventually issued his famous antimodernist writings, only past age 60, and was honored by Pope St. Pius X as a worthy fighter against Modernism and modern errors.
2 — Intellectual formation
As a learned person, Msgr. Delassus has studied the readings of many authors, both religious and secular, but some had a more defining impact on his thinking on social and political matters. We shall list a few of them, which will help readers understand where his “worldview” comes from.
De Maistre. This author from Savoy has been the most famous French-speaking counter-enlightenment writer. Msgr. Delassus admired him as a “genius” and even a “seer” (those are Msgr’s own words), for his ability to predict the further developments of the revolutionary movement, and his ability to understand how the Revolution was not merely a temporary revolt, but a new era of the history of mankind.
Barruel. Once a Jesuit priest before the suppression of the Company of Jesus, Barruel was a fierce Catholic apologist against the Enlightenment philosophers, most famous for his extensive work about the masonic origin of the French Revolution. This “theory” (which rather looks like a factual observation at this point) was rejected by De Maistre, who was only concerned about the intellectual and spiritual critique of the Revolution. Barruel completes Delassus’ viewpoint by adding the social and human factors in the picture.
Le Play. This famous sociologist has conducted very deep studies about familial structures and their influence over society. Le Play accused the Revolution of attacking the institution of the family, and therefore attacking the very principle of social order. Msgr. Delassus quotes him extensively in his political works, and shares with him the fundamental idea that the “family spirit” is the true foundation of a functioning society and a functioning government.
Saint-Bonnet. In a similar fashion to De Maistre, Saint-Bonnet has been described as a counter-revolutionary genius, but with a more specifically Catholic analysis centered on original sin and the Fall of mankind, as the most defining fact of human existence; the Enlightenment thinkers and the revolutionaries are fundamentally wrong in their ideas about society and politics, because they deny this most fundamental fact. He was also a convinced Legitimist, much like Msgr. Delassus, seeing the restoration of the Bourbons as a means to the restoration of the Catholic social order in France.
These authors had flaws and sometimes held unorthodox doctrines. Msgr. Delassus only used the best in them, and always defended sound Catholic doctrine.
3 — Character
If we had to describe Msgr. Delassus with a few adjectives, from what we know of him, it would be that: he was a learned, humble, and zealous.
Learned. He spent his whole life studying relentlessly, both from masters of Christian spirituality and secular sources, both from friends and enemies of the Church, with a particular ability to draw from his learnings the most insightful quotes and passages. We can be surprised to see in the Anti-Christian Conspiracy, here and there, a random quote from Tocqueville or Rousseau, two thinkers who were not particularly supportive of Catholicism, but who said something interesting which resonates with Catholicism. We can also be impressed by extensive quotes from Voltaire’s letters, Masonic and Jewish newspapers, Leftist thinkers, which indicates that he read and studied them seriously.
Humble. If we know little about him, it is because he did not put himself forward so much. He described his own work as being mainly composed of quotes from other authors, which is true to a large extent, but he did not try to present himself as an important thinker, even though he could claim this title thanks to his great insights and his powerful way of expressing ideas. He was focused on the message and on the cause, not so much on himself and his personal ideas. Friends and people who knew him say he was a kind person, with a good sense of humor, very calm, reserved, and wise. They described him as a good and friendly man. While insulted and harassed by left-leaning Catholics of his time, being portrayed by them as a kind of crazy far-right conspiracy theorist, a stupid and backward old priest, he was amused by that and did not take offense.
Zealous. Msgr. Delassus dedicated most of his priestly life to fighting against modern errors, especially in the social and political order, defending the true Catholic doctrine against the novators. In his diocese, he especially had to fight the ideas and actions of the “Christian Democrats,” very left-leaning and influenced by the worst revolutionary thinkers. He was worried that these Catholic leftists were, directly or indirectly, participating in the worst conspiracies of the enemies of God against the Church and against social order. As they grew more powerful and influential, he did not back up, and fought them to the face. He received a lot of mean criticism and hatred because of this fight; Pope St. Pius X eventually rewarded his valor. To him these words of Scripture can apply: “For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” (Psalm 68:10).
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I wanted to add a personal note of gratitude to this presentation. To some extent, I owe Msgr. Delassus my own conversion to Catholicism. I remember being inspired to convert to Catholicism while reading the first chapters of The Anti-Christian Conspiracy. It was in 2015, and I was a young student in Paris back then. I was thinking about conversion for a while, thanks to the apostolate of a friend of mine who had recently converted to Catholicism, but I still had some intellectual and not-so-intellectual hesitations.
He recommended a few readings to me, including Msgr. Delassus’ Anti-Christian Conspiracy, to understand the Catholic worldview and see the truth in it. I don’t remember that my friend particularly emphasized the “Catholic” aspect of Msgr. Delassus, he rather sold it to me on the insights it could provide about the problems of the modern world. But reading the first chapters, I was struck by this crystal-clear presentation of the twofold conception of life, of the fight between good and evil, between Satan and the Church of God. I felt like I had no choice but to be baptized and submit to the Catholic Church’s doctrines and morals, for there is no alternative between serving Christ and serving the devil.
I feel like translating his work and making it available for the whole world is a way to thank him. May you rest in peace, Monsignor, and pray for us if God has already made you one of His intercessors.
Tristan Berthelot