Ephrem de Nevers (between 1607 and 1610 - 13 October 1695) was a native of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

, France. He was a Capuchin

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

priest and the first Christian missionary in Madras (Chennai),

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. De Nevers founded the first Christian mission in Madras on June 8, 1642, and was appointed the first Prefect Apostolic of Madras Capuchin Mission. Initially, it was known under the name the Apostolic Prefecture of

Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

. He served for 53 years as a missionary and died in Madras on October 13, 1695.

Birth and mission in the Middle East

Father Ephrem de Nevers was born between 1607-1610 in

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

in the Region of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, France. He was baptized Etinne (Stephen) and his family Leclerc a native of Nevers. He became a Friar Minor Capuchin in the Capuchin province of Touraine and took the name of St. Ephrem. He was a well learned man and particularly in Science and Mathematics. He was first sent as missionary to the Middle East in 1636 and he served in various missions in Lebanon, Syria and Persia. His Superiors always entrusted him with the affairs to look for new foundations for the Capuchin province of Tours, thus he traveled to

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

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Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, Diyarbakir,

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

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and

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. Father Ephrem de Nevers came to India in 1640 to report about the first Indian Capuchin mission in Surat and to take up new mission in Pegu, Burma. Because, in 1639, the French Capuchin Father Zeno de Beauge founded the first mission for the Propaganda Fide in India with a lot of opposition from the

Padroado The ''Padroado'' (, "patronage") was an arrangement between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Portugal and later the Portuguese Republic, through a series of concordats by which the Holy See delegated the administration of the local churches and g ...

clergy.

The Foundation of The First Christian Mission in Madras

Ephrem de Nevers came to Madras (Chennai) in 1642 to get a boat take him to Pegu. The English who founded the city of Madras in 1639, requested him earnestly to stay there for the spiritual benefits of the Portuguese Catholics. Since, Padroado diocese of Mylpaore was very close to this English settlement, Ephrem de Nevers refused to their appeal but seeing the spiritual desolation of the people accepted to found the first Christian mission in Madras, (This Capuchin mission of Madras was elevated to archdiocese of Madras in 1886 and later amalgamated into Mylapore diocese as

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore/Madras and Myliapor () is an archdiocese based in the city of Madras (now ''Chennai''), in India. It merged with the ancient diocese of Mylapore which now a part of Chennai. History * 9 Ja ...

in 1952). Thus, he was credited to be the first Christian missionary of Madras, he built the first church of Madras dedicated to St. Andrew the apostle in Fort St. George and in the same year 1642, Pope Urban VIII raised this Capuchin mission into Prefecture apostolic and Father Ephrem de Nevers was appointed the first Prefect Apostolic of Madras. He was a man of great intellect and a linguist who was able to converse in French, English, Portuguese, Arabic, Persian and Tamil. He founded the first English school in India in his priestly residence.

The Saint of Madras

The Padroado Portuguese system which resented to the missionary works of

Propaganda Fide The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregati ...

in India, arrested Ephrem in 1649, under the

Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in 15 ...

and imprisoned him for about two years in Goa. By the grace of Bijapur Sultan, Ephrem was released from the Portuguese Inquisition in 1652. Ephrem de Nevers returned to his mission of Madras and served with a great missionary spirit and brought many souls to the Christian faith. In an Anglican colony, Father Ephrem lade a strong foundation for a Catholic faith in spite of the oppositions from the Anglican clergy. He founded a new church dedicated to Our Lady of Angels for the local converts at Armenian street in 1658, (this Capuchin church of St. Mary's served as the cathedral of Madras archdiocese from 1886-1952,today, St.Mary's Co-Cathedral of Madras-Mylapore archdiocese and a famous shrine of St. Anthony of Padua). He was always acclaimed a holy and saintly priest and lover of all who possessed the real missionary spirit. Having served 53 years as missionary in Madras, Ephrem de Nevers increased his flock from 40 to 8000 and he died on 13 October 1695 and he was buried in the church of St. Andrew in Fort St. George. when the English demolished this first church of Madras in 1752, the tomb of the first Christian missionary disappeared from the soil of Madras.Thainis A, The First Christian Missionary of Madras (Fr. Ephrem de Nevers, OFM Cap. d. 1695). New Leader Publications (NLP), Catholic Centre, Armenian Street, Chennai, 2021, p. 163.

Notes

{{Reflist Roman Catholic missionaries in India French Roman Catholic missionaries Capuchin missionaries in India 1695 deaths