René Marie Lannuzel (14 December 1846 – 2 June 1898) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

and one of the pioneers of the

evangelization Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...

Early life

Lannuzel was born on 14 December 1846 in ''

Pen Allan Garo Pen Allan Garo is a Hamlet (place), hamlet in the commune of Plourin, located in the Finistère department of France. It is best known as the residence of notable historical figures such as René Lannuzel (a missionary in New Zealand), Bertie Joyc ...

'' demesne

Plourin Plourin (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Plourin are called in French ''Plourinois''. Geography Plourin spans an area of and has a population of more than 1,25 ...

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.Ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a secular priest and later associated with the

Capuchin order The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the o ...

, Lannuzel began his missionary career in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

and briefly served as captain of Breton volunteers during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

in 1870. In July 1880, he joined the ill-fated Port-Breton colony, founded by Charles du Breil, Marquis de Rays, in New Ireland (now Papua New Guinea). Departing from

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

aboard the ''India'' on 6 July 1880, he arrived on 14 October 1880 as the colony’s chaplain. Despite celebrating the colony’s first Mass, Lannuzel quickly recognized the chaos and mismanagement within the settlement. He sought guidance from the

Marist Fathers The Society of Mary (), better known as the Marists, is a Catholic religious congregation of pontifical right. Founded in Cerdon, France, by Jean-Claude Colin, the Society of Mary was recognized by an apostolic brief on April 29, 1836, and is ...

in Sydney but soon left the deteriorating colony. In June 1881, Lannuzel moved to

New Britain New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...

, where he founded the Beridni mission near Matupi, naming it Vila Maria in honor of the Marist Fathers. His efforts led to a few notable conversions, including the son of a local chief. In 1882, he returned to Europe, where he engaged with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Paris and Issoudun and presented his ethnographic collections in Rome, earning significant recognition. Drawing of the Reverend Rene Lannuzel inspired from one historical picture

Drawing of the Reverend Rene Lannuzel inspired from one historical picture

Later years

Lannuzel returned to the Pacific in late 1882, arriving in

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the '' Endeavour'', for ...

, Queensland, in January 1883. He attempted to collaborate with Father Louis André Navarre on a joint mission in New Britain, but personal differences led to the project’s failure. Disheartened, Lannuzel lived in Sydney and

, planning to settle on Thursday Island to facilitate the evangelization of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. However, lacking support, he abandoned this plan and relocated to New Zealand. In 1884, Bishop John Edmund Luck of Auckland appointed Lannuzel as the parish priest of

Ōpōtiki Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council, the mayor of Ōpōtiki and comes under the Bay of Plenty Region ...

, where he served until his death on 2 June 1898.

Legacy

René Lannuzel’s missionary work marked an early effort to establish Catholic missions in Melanesia. Despite the challenges and setbacks, his endeavors laid the groundwork for subsequent evangelization in the region.

References

{{Reflist French Roman Catholic missionaries 1846 births 1898 deaths