orig. François-Joseph le Clerc du Tremblay
born Nov. 4, 1577, Paris, France
died Dec. 18, 1638, Rueil
French mystic and religious reformer.
He joined the Capuchins in 1599. His fervent ambition to convert European Protestants to Roman Catholicism coincided with cardinal de Richelieu 's plans for French domination of Europe, and he became Richelieu's secretary in 1611. He became known as the "Gray Eminence" (for his gray Capuchin cloak), and his close collaboration with Richelieu (the "Red Eminence") gave him powers akin to those of a foreign minister, especially during Richelieu's campaign to finance France's participation in the Thirty Years' War , which Joseph's policies did much to bring about.