Maximilien Villain

Villain was the son of Adam Villain de Gand, governor of Lille, Douai and Orchies, and Philippine de Jausse de Mastaing.^[1] He was ordained to the priesthood on 12 December 1587 and was appointed to a canonry in the cathedral chapter of Tournai. On 18 December 1614 his name was put forward to succeed Michel d'Esne as bishop. The nomination received papal confirmation on 1 December 1615 and Villain took possession of his see on 28 February 1616. He was consecrated as bishop in Tournai cathedral on 14 March.^[1]

In 1621 Villain preached a sermon in memory of the deceased Archduke Albert.^[1] On 12 September 1636 he gave a silver reliquary containing relics of St Maximilian to his cathedral church.^[2] He had earlier commissioned two paintings for the cathedral from Peter Paul Rubens, The Triumph of Judas Maccabeus and The Deliverance of Souls from Purgatory.^[3] He died in Tournai on 29 November 1644 and was buried in his cathedral.^[1]

• Manuale pastorum ad usum ecclesiarum civitatis et dioecesis Tornacensis (Tournai, Quinqué, 1625)
• Methodus sacrum Missae sacrificium celebrandi romano ritu (Tournai, Quinqué, 1627)