He was born in Saint-Calais (Sarthe),[1] the second of six children of Louis Dubois, a nailmaker, and his wife, Henriette-Félicité Derouineau.

He was educated at the Collège Ecclésiastique de Notre Dame in Saint Calais and at the seminary of Le Mans.

He was promoted to Archbishop of Bourges in 1909, where he actively participated in helping soldiers and their families during the First World War.

[2] He was created Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria in Aquiro (deaconry elevated pro hac vice to title) in the consistory of December 4, 1916.

In 1923, Dubois named the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre guardians of the Crown of thorns, a relic acquired by Louis IX of France.

His monument, sculpted in marble in 1929, is the work of sculptor Henri Bouchard,[6] and is located in the southeast corner of the ambulatory.

The British Government reacted to this incident by sending a naval squadron, thus giving rise to the Perote saying (Pera was the diplomatic and cosmopolitan quarter of Constantinople) "les Anglais ont envoyé de l'acier et les Français Dubois" ("The English sent steel and the French sent Dubois.")