Édouard-Charles Fabre (; February 28, 1827 – December 30, 1896) was Bishop of Montréal in 1876 and first
Archbishop of Montreal in 1886.
Life
Fabre was the eldest of 11 children in an important Montreal business family. His father
Édouard-Raymond Fabre was a bookseller and mayor of Montreal from 1849 to 1851, his mother, Luce Perrault, was involved in social work, charitable institutions, and home visits for the poor. His sister Hortense later married the lawyer and politician
George-Étienne Cartier
Sir George-Étienne Cartier, 1st Baronet, (pronounced ; September 6, 1814May 20, 1873) was a Canadians, Canadian statesman and Fathers of Confederation, Father of Confederation.
The English spelling of the name—George, instead of Georges, th ...
.
Fabre completed his classical studies at the
Séminaire de Saint-Hyacinthe in 1843. His father opposed his desire to become a priest and took the sixteen-year-old to live in Paris with his paternal aunt Julie so that the boy might see something of the world. She was married to the elder Fabre's business partner, Hector Bossange. Eventually, his father agreed that Édouard-Charles could study philosophy and theology at the seminary of
Saint-Sulpice at
Issy-les-Moulineaux
Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called in French. It is one of Paris's entrances and is located from Notre Dame Cathedral, whic ...
.
["Archbishop Édouard-Charles Fabre (1876-1896)", Archdiocese of Montreal]
/ref>
In 1846 Fabre finished his studies at Saint-Sulpice, visited Rome and met Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
. He returned to Montreal and resumed his theological studies at the episcopal palace under Jean-Charles Prince
Jean-Charles Prince (13 February 1804 – 5 May 1860) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, teacher, seminary administrator, editor, and Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe, Lower Canada from 1852 to 1860.
Life
Jean-Charles Prince was born 13 Februa ...
, coadjutor bishop of Montreal. After his ordination on 23 January 1850 at Saint-Jacques Cathedral, he was appointed assistant pastor in Sorel. Two year later, he was named parish priest at Saint-Joachim de la Pointe Claire
Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Local municipality (Quebec), Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and ...
. In 1855, he was installed as titular canon of the Cathedral.[
]
Bishop
On April 1, 1873, Rome appointed him coadjutor of Bishop Bourget. He received his episcopal consecration at the Church of the Gesù (Montreal). Upon Bourget's resignation for health reasons, in 1876 Fabre became the third bishop of Montreal. He managed to put diocesan finances back on a sound basis.[Young, Brian. "Fabre, Édouard-Charles", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 1990]
/ref> In 1886, Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
made him Archbishop of Montreal. The Diocese of Sherbrooke and that of Saint-Hyacinthe
Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie regi ...
were made suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
to Montreal.[
In 1882 he supported the establishment of a diocesan newspaper, ''La Semaine religieuse de Montréal''. Fabre held very conservative views, but was also a pragmatist. During a smallpox epidemic in 1885 he directed his priests to reassure their parishioners about vaccines and not to interfere with the doctors.][
Archbishop Édouard-Charles Fabre died on December 30, 1896, in his episcopal residence at the age of 69.][
The parish municipality of Saint-Édouard-de-Fabre, Quebec, was named after him.]
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabre, Edouard-Charles
1827 births
1896 deaths
19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada
Roman Catholic archbishops of Montreal
Pre-Confederation Quebec people