Pierre Viret
Pierre Viret, who was born in Orbe in 1511, was undoubtedly Orbe’s most illustrious inhabitant. He is the only reformer of Swiss-French origin and a major figure of the Reform.
Pierre Viret was born into a family of craftsmen. Showing considerable talent for studies already as a young boy, he studied at Collège de Montaigu in Paris after finishing school in Orbe. This is when he became acquainted with the ideas of the Reform through the readings of Martin Luther’s works. Upon his return to Orbe in 1530, Guillaume Farel convinced him of becoming a preacher. He held his first sermon at the temple of Orbe in 1531. After being appointed a pastor by Berne, he travelled throughout the country to announce the new faith. He was at the head of the new church in Lausanne for nearly 23 years.
In avoidance of persecution and interdiction, he spent the last few years of his life under the protection of the Queen of Navarre, Jeanne d’Albret, and taught at the Academy of Orthez until his death in 1571.
In commemoration of the 500 years of his birth, a number of events will be organised in 2011.
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