Christophe Ernest Bonjean (21 September 1823 – 3 August 1892) was a French Catholic missionary and priest who became the first Archbishop of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 1886.

Early life and education

Bonjean was born on 21 September 1823 in

Riom Riom (; Auvergnat ''Riam'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the ...

, France. In 1846, he was ordained as a priest of the Catholic missionaries,

Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary Congregation of Papal Right, religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a France, French priest born in Aix-en-Provence ...

, and in the following year was sent to India.

Career

After beginning his missionary work in India in 1847, Bonjean went to

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mos ...

, Ceylon in 1856 and joined there the Oblates mission. On 24 July 1868, he was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Jaffna, and

Titular Bishop 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 a ...

Medea In Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the ...

, and was ordained on 24 August 1868. In 1883, he was transferred from Jaffna to Colombo after the Southern Vicariate was divided in two with the Benedictines retaining the Diocese of Kandy and the Diocese of Colombo being given to the Oblates. On 1 September 1886, the Diocese of Colombo was elevated to an Archdiocese, and on 25 November 1886, he was appointed the first Archbishop of Colombo. Known for his educational reforms, Bonjean was regarded as "the father of the denominational school system". During the 1860s, he proposed to the government the establishment of schools administered by the main religious faiths: Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu, with each entitled to state aid. He fought for equal treatment of all schools and thanks to his efforts, in 1869, the government decided that any religious denomination could open schools for its children, and that a grant would be provided. Bonjean also recognised the need to improve education to prepare students for employment in the professions and in government. In 1892, he prepared plans for the establishment of a college for higher education which became St. Joseph's College, Colombo when it opened in 1896 with over 300 pupils. He opened a number of elementary schools both English and Tamil. Recognising the need for more priests and missionaries he also founded the St Bernard's Ecclesiastical Seminary in

Borella Borella is the largest suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka represented by divisional code 8. Demographic Borella is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic area. The major ethnic communities in Borella are Sinhalese and Tamils. There are also various other ...

. In 1892, Bonjean retired as Archbishop due to poor health, and died in Colombo on 3 August 1892.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonjean, Christophe Ernest 1823 births 1892 deaths French Roman Catholic bishops in Asia French Roman Catholic archbishops 19th-century French Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic missionaries in Sri Lanka Bishops in Sri Lanka People from Riom