Léon Potier de Gesvres (15 August 1656 – 12 November 1744) was a French Roman Catholic prelate and Cardinal.
Biography
He was the second son of Léon Potier, Duke of Gesvres, Peer of France, and Marie-Françoise du Val.
He became Abbot commendatario of the Bernay Abbey in 1666 and the Aurillac Abbey in 1679.
He served as the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Bourges from 1694 to 1729. He never resided in his archdiocese and visited it only a few times.
He was created Cardinal-priest in the consistory of 29 November 1719. Pope Clement XI sent him the red hat with an apostolic brief of 23 December 1719. After his appointment, Potier never went to Rome , neither did he participate in any of the four conclaves (1721, 1724, 1730, 1740) celebrated during his cardinalate.
According to Saint-Simon, Potier was a hypochondriac who never did anything..
He was also Abbot commendatario of the Abbey of Saint-Amand (1720-1744) and Saint-Remy, Reims (1728-1744).
He was Commander in the Order of the Holy Spirit (1724).