Théophile Raynaud was a French Jesuit theologian and writer.

Raynaud was born at Sospello near Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

. He entered the Society of Jesus on 21 November 1602, then taught grammar and humanities at Avignon

Avignon

Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...

, and philosophy and theology at Lyon and for a time at Rome. He died at Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

.

Works

In 92 separate works, covering almost the entire field of Catholic, he showed himself an erudite theologian and a writer of great fertility. His style, however, is often prolix and sometimes obscure, whilst in his controversial writings he indulges in satire and invective.

His collected works, revised by himself shortly before his death, were published under the direction of his confrère, John Bertet, in nineteen volumes (Lyons, 1665). A twentieth volume, entitled "Th. Raynaudi Apopompaeus" (i.e. the scapegoat), containing a number of writings which the author had purposely excluded from the collection, was published by an anonymous editor a few years later (Cracow, 1669); this volume was condemned by the Congregation of the Index.

The main titles of the "Opera" are:

• I. "Theologia Patrum; Christus Deus Homo";
• II. "De Attributis Christi";
• III. "Moralis disciplina";
• IV. "De virtutibus et vitiis";
• V. "Theologia naturalis";
• VI. "Opuscula eucharistica";
• VII. "Marialia";
• VIII-IX. "Hagiologium";
• X. "Pontificia";
• XI. "Critica sacra";
• XII. "Miscella sacra";
• XIII. "Miscella philologica";
• XIV. "Moralia";
• XV-XVI. "Heteroclita spiritualia";
• XVII. "Ascetica";
• XVIII. "Polemica".

XIX contains general indices.