Fnelon, descended from a long line of nobility, started his higher studies in 1672 at Saint Sulpice seminary in Paris. He was ordained a priest in 1676 and appointed director of Nouvelles Catholiques ("New Catholics"), a college for women who taught converts from French Protestantism. Fnelon, while never supportive of Protestantism, was nonetheless critical of harsh treatment toward Huguenots (French Protestants) and the many forced conversions that occurred under King Louis XIV. Fnelon instead held open meetings with Protestants to share the Catholic doctrine in a nonthreatening environment.
Fnelon's first important work, Trait de l'ducation des filles (Treatise on the Education of Girls), was conservative overall but also suggested noncoercive concepts for educating females that were very innovative for his day. His second and best-known work, Les Aventures de Tlmaque (The Adventures of Telemachus), outlined Fnelon's political beliefs through the account of Telemachus's search for Ulysses. It was written during Fnelon's time as tutor to Louis, Duke de Bourgogne, the grandson and heir to Louis XIV.