Joseph Dinouart

Who was Joseph Dinouart?

Joseph Antoine Toussaint Dinouart was a preacher, polemicist, compiler of sacred learning, and apologist for French feminism.

Born in Amiens, he was ordained as a priest in there in 1740. In his youth, he showed a talent for Latin poetry, but soon neglected this in favor of his religious studies. After writing a short essay on women's rights, he had a falling out with his bishop and moved to Paris, where he joined the Saint-Eustache parish. He soon left, however, to tutor the son of a police lieutenant. This position gave him a stable yearly income and allowed Dinouart to devote himself to the study of literature.

In 1760, he founded the Journal ecclésiastique, which he edited until his death. The collected work of this journal numbers more than 100 volumes. It contains extracts from sermons, treatises on morality and piety, and research on ecclesiastical law and councils.