Adrien Atiman (–1956) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

catechist and medical doctor.

Early life

Atiman was born in

Tindirma Tindirma is a village and commune of the Cercle of Diré in the Tombouctou Region of Mali. As of 1998 the commune had a population of 3,419. History Established in 1496, Tindirma was once a Jewish community founded by Iberian Sephardi Jews wh ...

French Sudan French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

, on the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

. He belonged to the Songhai ethnic group and was captured at a young age by members of the

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

, who sold him as a slave in

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

. He passed through different hands before arriving in

Metlili Metlili ( ar, متليلي) (also known as Metlili ) is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune, and capital of Métlili District, in Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 40,576, up from 33,759 in 1998, a ...

, Southern

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, where he was ransomed by the Missionaries of Africa, or

White Fathers The White Fathers (french: Pères Blancs), officially the Missionaries of Africa ( la, Missionarii Africae) abbreviated MAfr), are a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right (for Men) Founded in 1868 by then Ar ...

, who sent him to school in Algeria and Tunisia. Cardinal Lavigerie,

archbishop of Carthage The Archdiocese of Carthage, also known as the Church of Carthage, was a Latin Catholic diocese established in Carthage, Roman Empire, in the 2nd century. Agrippin was the first named bishop, around 230 AD. The temporal importance of the city of ...

and

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, was impressed by Atiman's performance and arranged for him to study medicine at the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...

Career

In 1888, Atiman left on a mission with the White Fathers for Karema, on the shore of

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

, where he arrived in 1889. Karema was a new mission station on land recently transferred from the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

. Here he established himself as a medical catechist, or ''médecin-catéchiste''. He married the daughter of the chief Wabende and had a son called Joseph. He frequently travelled to

Kigoma Kigoma is a city and lake port in Kigoma-Ujiji District in Tanzania, on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma R ...

and

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, where he could consult with other doctors in order to keep his medical knowledge up to date, as well as making long circuits through the countryside to provide medical aid in the villages.J. Grosjean
Atiman (Adrien)
''Biographie Belge d'Outre-Mer'', vol. 7-C (1989), 12–16. He was awarded four British decorations, including the Royal African Society's Wellcome Medal, and received three Belgian awards for care given to colonial troops during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

between 1916 and 1918. In recognition of his career,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

appointed him a Knight-Commander of the

Order of St. Sylvester Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr ( la, Ordo Sancti Silvestri Papae, it, Ordine di San Silvestro Papa), sometimes referred to as the Sylvestrine Order, or the Pontifical Order of Pope Saint Sylvester, is one of five o ...

Death

Atiman died in Karema at the age of more than 90, on 24 April 1956. He left a significant autobiographical account of his enslavement, subsequent freedom and integration into the White Fathers' mission.

References

People from Timbuktu People of French West Africa {{med-bio-stub