Name Franz von | Died 1828, Offenburg, Germany | |
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Franz Xaver Freiherr von Neveu (1749–1828) was the last Prince-Bishop of Basel, reigning from 1794 to 1803. After the Prince-Bishopric of Basel was mediatised to the Margraviate of Baden in 1803, Neveu remained Bishop of Basel, though without exercising temporal power, until his death in 1828.
Biography
Franz Xaver von Neveu was born in Birseck Castle on February 26, 1749, the son of Franz Karl Ignaz Freiherr von Neveu and his wife Maria Sophia Reuttner von Weyl.
He served as a page in the court of Simon Nikolaus Euseb von Montjoye-Hirsingen, Prince Bishop of Basel, at Porrentruy, and then spent 1762-69 studying at the Jesuit gymnasium in Porrentruy. In 1769, he began his studies at the University of Strasbourg.
At Strasbourg, he was ordained as a priest on March 15, 1777. In 1789, he became a canon (Domizellar) of Basel Münster. He became a member of the cathedral chapter on January 28, 1792. The French Revolution spread into the Prince-Bishopric of Basel, with French troops entering the prince-bishopric in April 1792. Neveu and the rest of the cathedral chapter fled to Arlesheim, then to Freiburg im Breisgau.
On June 2, 1794, the cathedral chapter elected Neveu to be the new Prince-Bishop of Basel, with Pope Pius VI confirming his appointment on September 12, 1794. At the time of his election, the northern portion of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel had already been incorporated into the Rauracian Republic in December 1792. As such, Neveu's temporal authority only extended to Bellelay Abbey, Moutier-Grandval Abbey, Erguel, Orvin, Biel, La Neuveville, and Schliengen.
The Treaty of Campo Formio (October 18, 1797) awarded the French First Republic a free hand in Switzerland, and on December 14, 1797, French troops occupied the remainder of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel. In 1803, this southern portion of the prince-bishopric was mediatised to the Margraviate of Baden, and Neveu lost the last of his temporal power over the prince-bishopric. He remained Bishop of Basel until his death.
He died in Offenburg on August 23, 1828.