Paul Sabatier

Born in 1858 in Ardèche, France, Paul Sabatier became a Protestant clergyman, historian, and later a professor of church history at the University of Strasbourg. He studied theology in Paris and spent much of his career balancing religious life with historical research.

He is most remembered for Life of St. Francis of Assisi, published in 1893. The book played a major role in reviving modern study of Francis and the Franciscan movement, and it brought Sabatier international attention. His writing was notable for treating religious history with a modern critical approach, which also made his work controversial in some circles.

Over time, Sabatier devoted himself increasingly to scholarship, publishing on church history, modernism, and religion in France. He died in Strasbourg in 1928, leaving a reputation as an important interpreter of St. Francis and a significant voice in religious historical studies.