Antonin Guillermain (1 January 1861 – 14 July 1896) was a Catholic missionary who was Vicar Apostolic of Northern Nyanza in what is now

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

from January 1895 until his death in July 1896.

Early years

Antonin Guillermain was born on 1 January 1861 in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, France. He became a novice of the

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 ...

on 3 September 1883, and was ordained as a priest on 23 September 1887. His first assignment was as personal secretary to Cardinal

Charles Lavigerie Charles Martial Allemand Lavigerie (31 October 1825 – 26 November 1892) was a French cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tunis, archbishop of Carthage and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Algiers, Algiers and primate of A ...

, the leader of the society. He was then assigned to missionary work in Central Africa.

Missionary

Guillermain left Marseille on 17 July 1888 destined for

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

, with

Léonce Bridoux Léonce Bridoux, M. Afr. (15 January 1852 - 20 October 1890) was a Catholic missionary of the White Fathers who became the Vicar Apostolic of Tanganyika. Early years Léonce Bridoux was born on 15 January 1852 in Henin-Liétard, France. His fath ...

, Vicar Apostolic of Tanganyika, and five other missionaries. He was to remain in Zanzibar, replacing a missionary who had been assigned to Nyanza. He went on to Nyanza in September 1890, where he was assigned to the

Rubaga Lubaga is a hill in Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. It comes from the Luganda word ''okubaga'', describing a process of "planning" or "strengthening" a structure while constructing it. For example, ''okubaga ekisenge'' means to str ...

mission, near

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

. He was briefly held prisoner during the 1892 civil war between supporters of the Anglicans and the Catholics. At the end of May 1892 he and two other missionaries founded the mission of Notre-Dame de l'Equateur at

Buddu Buddu is a county (Ssaza) of the kingdom of Buganda in what is now Uganda. Location Buddu lies on the northwest shore of Lake Victoria in the Central Region of Uganda. Buddu is divided from the rest of the kingdom of Buganda by the wide and swamp ...

, opposite the large island of Sissé in the north of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

. Shortly afterwards he returned to Rubaga.

Bishop

The

Apostolic Vicariate of Victoria Nyanza The Apostolic Vicariate of Victoria Nyanza was a Catholic mission of the White Fathers (Society of the Missionaries of Africa) in the region around Lake Victoria from 1883 to 1894. History The mission of Victoria Nyanza was founded in 1878 by the W ...

was divided into three parts in 1894. Bishop

John Joseph Hirth John Joseph Hirth (french: Jean-Joseph Hirth; 26 March 1854 – 6 January 1931) was a Catholic Bishop in German East Africa, known as the founder of the church in Rwanda. Early years John Joseph Hirth was born on 26 March 1854 at Spechbach-le- ...

took the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Nyanza, the English

Mill Hill Missionaries The Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM), officially known as the Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill ( la, Societas Missionariorum S. Ioseph de Mill Hill), is a Catholic society of apostolic life founded in 1866 by Herbert Alfred Vaughan, MH ...

took the eastern part, called the

Apostolic Vicariate of Upper Nile Upper Nile may refer to: *Upper portion of the river Nile and its surrounding areas. *Greater Upper Nile (region), a region of South Sudan *Upper Nile (state) Upper Nile is a state in South Sudan. The White Nile flowes through the state, givi ...

, and Antonin Guillermain was assigned the western part, called the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Nyanza, now the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala The Archdiocese of Kampala is the Metropolitan See for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical province of Kampala in Uganda. History The present Kampala Archdiocese is the result of territorial changes: * Victoria Nyanza Vicariate (1883). It was ...

. On 12 January 1895 Guillermain was appointed Titular Bishop of Thabraca and Vicar Apostolic of Northern Victoria Nyanza. Guillermain moved the seminary from Rubaga to

Kisubi Kisubi is a neighborhood in the Central Region of Uganda. Location Kisubi is located in Busiro County, Wakiso District, on Kampala-Entebbe Road, about northeast of Entebbe International Airport. This is approximately south of Kampala, the cou ...

on Lake Victoria in 1895. He was ordained as bishop on 28 October 1895. He died on 14 July 1896. His unexpected death was caused by a

Viral hemorrhagic fever Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a diverse group of animal and human illnesses in which fever and hemorrhage are caused by a viral infection. VHFs may be caused by five distinct families of RNA viruses: the families '' Filoviridae'', ''Flav ...

. The next year

Henri Streicher Henri Streicher (29 July 1863 – 7 June 1952) was a Roman Catholic missionary bishop who served as Vicar Apostolic of Uganda from 1897 to 1933. Early years Henri Streicher was born on 29 July 1863 in Wasselonne, France. On 23 September 1887 he ...

was appointed his successor.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guillermain, Antonin 1861 births 1896 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Uganda White Fathers priests French expatriates in Uganda Roman Catholic bishops of Kampala