Born in Achiet-le-Petit, he studied at Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Paris and was ordained to the priesthood on 23 September 1865.

[1] In the Diocese of Arras, he served as a professor and superior of its minor seminary and also vicar general.

On 27 March 1885 he was appointed Bishop of Le Mans by Pope Leo XIII.

He received his episcopal consecration on the following 31 May from Archbishop Guillaume Meignan, with Bishops Clovis Catteau and Désire Donnel serving as co-consecrators.

Leo XIII created him Cardinal Priest of S. Maria Nuova e S. Francesca in Foro Romano in the consistory of 19 April 1897.