Catholic, of Vault-on-Moudon. Son of Edouard, tutor, protesting, and of Teresa Fossati, teacher. In Lyon, where its family emigrated in 1883, he attended the college of the Jesuits and the Midsummer's Day college. When the family is established in Geneva (1894), it started studies of philosophy and theology to the great seminar of Freiburg (license in theology in 1900).

Ordered priest in 1899, he was vicar with the Chaux-de-Fonds the following year. Stay of studies to Rome (1900 - 1901), stay in Turin for health reasons and studies of history (1901 - 1903).

Arts doctor of the university of Freiburg (1905), he was professor of history of the Church and patristics to the great seminar (1907 - 1916) and extraordinary professor of general history of the Middle Ages at the university of Freiburg (1908 - 1920). Copublisher of the Review of ecclesiastical history Swiss (1906 - 1920) and cofounder of the review Charlemagne (1911 - 1912), it also launched the catholic weekly magazine the Echo of Vaud of which he was the writer of 1909 to 1919. As a Member of the federal Commission of archeology, he exerted the function of expert at the time of the excavations of the cathedral of Lausanne.

Parallel to the spiritual assistance that it offered to the Italian workers, it dealt with the foundation of the parish of the Saint-Redeemer in Lausanne as from 1912, as well as construction of the church, of which he became the priest in 1916. He was director of the great seminar during a short period (1919) before succeeding Placide Colliard as bishop of Lausanne and Geneva in 1920 (of Lausanne, Geneva and Freiburg since 1924). He enacted synodal statutes starting from the new Corpus Juris Canonici (1923) and defines the following year the limits diocésaines remained outstanding since the Reform. The collegial Saint Nicolas's Day of Freiburg became cathedral. As bishop, it supported the catholic Action and the Christian-social Movement. In parallel, it protected actively from the catholic organizations established in Freiburg, in particular the Company of the protection of the young girl, the association of academics Pax Romana and the International organization of the catholic students, just as it supported many works missionaries.

As a president de Catholica Unio, organization of assistance to the Christians, he became consultor of the pontifical Congregation for the Eastern Churches (1933). While keeping a basically preserving attitude, it took part, thanks to its personal radiation, with the integration of the catholics in the Federal state and, by its renouncement of the sterile denominational polemics, peace between the confessions. After the bursting of the Second world war , it reactivated the catholic Mission for the prisoners of war and gave his support for a certain number of refugees like to victims of racial persecutions.