He was ordained to the priesthood on 24 September 1853 and then did pastoral work in Nîmes until 1874, serving as director of the Minor Seminary of Nîmes and of Collège de l'Assomption (1855-1859), and private secretary to Bishop Claude-Henri Plantier.

On 16 January 1874, Rovérié was appointed Bishop of Montpellier by Pope Pius IX.

Rovérié was granted the right to wear the pallium, traditionally reserved for metropolitan bishops, on 15 July 1890.

Pope Pius X created him Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria della Vittoria in the consistory of 27 November 1911.

Rovérié was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 1914 papal conclave, which selected Pope Benedict XV.