Alexandre-Louis-Victor-Aimé Le Roy, C.S.Sp. (19 January 1854 – 21 April 1938) was a French-born

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Superior General of the

Congregation of the Holy Spirit The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (officially the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary; ) is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are often known as Holy ...

. He served as

Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

(now the Archdiocese of Libreville) from 1892 until 1896. He was later consecrated

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Caria in 1921.

Life

Alexandre Le Roy was born on 19 January 1854 in Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron, France, the son of

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

farmers. Le Roy received a secondary education at the Abbaye Blanche in

Mortain Mortain () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mortain-Bocage. Geography Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the ...

. He went on to study philosophy at the Seminary of the

Diocese of Coutances In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

. On 10 August 1876, at the age of 22, he was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. After his ordination, he worked as an educator in the Collège Saint-Denis in

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

, the Collège de Cellule, France and

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

, India. Le Roy first traveled to Africa in 1881—he accompanied an expedition to

Bagamoyo Bagamoyo (''Mji wa Bagamoyo'', in Swahili) is a historic coastal town and capital of Bagamoyo District in the Pwani Region of Tanzania. Much of the settlement was founded at the end of the 18th century, though it is an extension of a much old ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, scouting for potential mission sites; he took the opportunity to write books and magazine articles, which were highly appreciated in Europe. He was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Gabon on 3 July 1892, with a titular bishopric ( Alinda); on 9 October 1892 he was consecrated as apostolic vicar, which he held until 24 May 1896. On 24 May 1896 he was appointed Superior General of his order. He was granted a titular archbishopric (

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

) on 13 May 1921. He retired as superior general on 18 June 1926, and died on 21 April 1938 at the age of 84. The Collège Saint-Alexandre in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

, Canada, was named in honor of Archbishop Le Roy. It was Le Roy who sent Father Amet Limbour to Canada, with a mission to found a school of agriculture for French emigrants to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Coat of arms

The following

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

for Archbishop Le Roy's coat of arms is taken from ''Armorial des prélats français du XIXe siècle''.

''Shield'': Au 1 d'azur à la falaise d'argent mouvant du flanc dextre d l'écu, baignée d'une mer du même mouvant du flanc sénestre, de laquelle naît un soleil d'or surmonté d'une croisette latine du même (symbole de la lumière de l'Evangile qui se lève sur l'Afrique); au 2 de gueules aux emblèmes du S. E. d'argent (moins le
rinceau In architecture and the decorative arts, a rinceau (plural ''rinceaux''; from the French language, French, derived from old French ''rain'' 'branch with foliage') is a decorative form consisting of a continuous wavy stemlike motif from which smal ...
et la gloire); à la bordure du tout de sable chargée de 14 coquilles d'argent (rappelant la Basse-Normandie et le Mont-Saint-Michel).

''Motto'': ''O Oriens veni et illumina.''

Bibliography

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Roy, Alexandre 1854 births 1938 deaths Clergy from Manche French Roman Catholic priests Gabonese Roman Catholic bishops Holy Ghost Fathers French people of Norman descent Roman Catholic bishops of Libreville