Lecomte, Louis

(1656-1729)

   cleric

   Born in bordeaux, Louis Lecomte, a Jesuit, was a member of the group of mathematicians sent to China by louis XIV (1685). He there became involved in the quarrel over indigenous usages in Catholic rites. in his Nouveaux Mémoires sur l'état présent de la Chine (1696-1701), he affirmed that the Chinese had revelations of the true faith. This work, however, was censured and ordered burned by the theological faculties of Paris and Rome.