Louis-Mathias, Count de Barral

In 1774–1775 he was the Conclavist of Cardinal de Luynes in the papal election that produced Pope Pius VI (Braschi).

In 1790, he refused to take the oath to the civil constitution of the clergy, explaining his views and those of the Pope to the electors of his diocese in a pamphlet in the form of a letter.

In 1801 he returned home, and wrote a forceful pamphlet on the subject of bishops resigning their offices at the request of Pope Pius VII.

During the long and harassing negotiations which Napoleon carried on with Pope Pius VII, while the latter was virtually a prisoner at Savona and Fontainebleau, Archbishop de Barral acted frequently as the emperor's intermediary.

On the second restoration of the Bourbons, however, he was obliged to resign, and from this time till his death, which occurred in the following year, he confined himself entirely to the administration of his archdiocese.