The bishop's December 31st mandement

Interior, Mende cathedral

On December 31, 1764, the bishop of Mende, France, issued a pastoral letter entitled, “Mandement by Gabriel-Florent de Choiseul-Beaupré, Bishop of Mende: The Bishop’s Charge to His Congregation/to Order Public Prayers Regarding the Animal (the Maneater Who Devastates the Gévaudan.)” In it, the bishop mentions the misfortunes of war, irregularity of the weather, and other woes, and then “this extraordinary scourge,” “a ferocious beast.”  Referring to St. Augustine (upon whom the Jansenists, a controversial religious group, based their beliefs), the bishop informed his flock, “you can easily conclude that your misfortunes can come only from your sins.”* He ordered a 40-hour prayer vigil to be held for three weeks in succession, starting January 6, 1765.

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*Thompson, Richard H. Wolf-Hunting in France in the Reign of Louis XV: The Beast of the Gévaudan. Lewiston, New York; Queenstown, Ontario, Canada; Lampeter, Dyfed, Wales, United Kingdom: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1991.