Auguste-Siméon Colas (29 December 1876 – 24 October 1968) was a member of

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons ...

and the last missionary archbishop of Archdiocese of Pondicherry. On 29 September 1930 he succeeded Archbishop Elie-Jean-Joseph Morel when the later resigned due to health reasons. He was the bishop until 28 October 1955. He was succeeded by

Ambrose Rayappan Ambrose Rayappan (25 February 1901 – 24 November 1999) was the tenth and the first indigenous Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore. He was born at Dharapuram, Tamil Nadu. He was ordained as a priest for the Roman Catholic ...

Early life

He was born on 29 December 1876 at the parish of

Saint-Sulpice, Paris , image = Paris Saint-Sulpice Fassade 4-5 A.jpg , image_size = , pushpin map = Paris , pushpin label position = , coordinates = , location = Place Saint-Sulpice 6th arrond ...

, France. He did his early schooling at

Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges (''lycées'') in France. The school educates more than ...

for two years. Then he entered the joint minor Seminary of Notre Dame des Champs. Desiring to become an official in the French army, for his secondary education he entered

Lycée privé Sainte-Geneviève The Lycée Sainte-Geneviève is a private ''lycée'', located in Versailles and providing preparatory classes for ''grandes écoles''. It was founded by the Jesuits in Paris in April 1854. It is often nicknamed ''Ginette'' and sometimes ''BJ'', ...

under the care of Jesuits. In March 1895, he entered the Saint-Sulpice seminary 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 ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...

. He entered

in September 1896. He was ordained priest on 24 June 1900.

As a missionary priest

Prevented from going to Indochina because of unspecified serious events, he was sent to Pondicherry mission. One hearing this news he exclaimed "then the society is afraid to make martyrs". He arrived at Pondicherry on 18 August 1900, and was appointed Professor in seminar-College, under the strict direction of father Elisabeth. After three years of service there, in August 1903, he was sent to Tindivanam as assistant to father Combes. In April 1904, he was sent to Chetpet, as vicar of father Darras. He was parish priest of Chetpet until 1915. This post at Chetpet really was father Colas's preferred position. 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 ...

French

Mobilization Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...

, he had to leave for France in January 1915. He was sent to Salonika. In March 1917, he was demobilised and returned to Pondicherry to regain his post at Chetpet. In 1925 father colas was put in charge of the parish at Tindivanam. He was also in-charge of the normal school and the school of catechists at Tindivanam built by father Gavan Duffy. With financial assistance from the father G. Duffy, he managed to finish the beautiful church begun in 1898 by father Combes.

As a Bishop

In 1930, Fr.Colas was named Archbishop of Pondicherry, succeeding Bishop Elie-Jean-Joseph Morel who gave his resignation for health reasons. The day of his Consecration, on 29 September 1930, Mgr. Colas said he had three major works to do: the union between missionaries and the local clergy, the development of schools and catechists, and the increasing vocations of native clergy. During his reign the number of Indian priests went from 22 to 72, and the number of seminarians from 52 to 76. And the number of nuns grew from 250 in 1930 to 411 in 1955. During his reign he consecrated several Indian bishops: Mgr. Oubagarasamy Bernadotte, first bishop of Coimbatore, in 1940. In 1948, Bishop Mark Gopu, who became his assistant and in 1953 was appointed Archbishop of Hyderabad. Archbishop

, priest of the diocese of Coimbatore, was consecrated by Mgr. Colas in 1953 as his coadjutor and became Archbishop of Pondicherry in 1955, when he resigned. In 1932, he opened a new minor seminary at Cuddalore, which was then the headquarters of South Arcot district in the British territory. He decided to follow the curriculum of studies offered in the British territory. Under his reign, in 1934 seminary at pondicherry was transferred to Bangalore and named St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary. When writing the concluding words for Fr. Lafrenez's book on the history of MEP mission in Pondicherry, Archbishop Colas concluded that:

Retirement and death

After the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

India gained its independence on 15 August 1947. Mgr. Colas was in favor of the incorporation of the French territories of Pondicherry to India. In 1955, it was made, and this event had no negative influence for the mission. At that time Mgr. Colas believed it was good to move the diocese to the Indian clergy. He therefore left it to his coadjutor, Bishop Ambrose and went to withdraw at the Pavillon St Augustin's Hospital Ste Marthe in Bangalore. He spent 13 years there. He died at Bangalore on 24 October 1968. His mortal remains were transported to Pondicherry, and the funeral mass was said by nine bishops and archbishops along with the priests of the diocese, and thousands of diocesans. He was buried in the priest's cemetery, adjacent to

Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry Immaculate Conception Cathedral (french: Cathédrale de l'Immaculée-Conception de Pondichéry, ta, தூய அமலோற்பவ அன்னை பேராலயம்) is the cathedral mother church for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese ...

Awards, honours and namesakes

* In 1932 he was made chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. He was promoted to officer in 1954. * A region called ''Colas Nagar'' () in

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry tal ...

is named after him for the services he rendered for the people of Puducherry. * A multi-purpose hall in front of the Cathedral was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colas, Auguste-Simeon 1876 births 1968 deaths Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in India Paris Foreign Missions Society missionaries Clergy from Paris French Roman Catholic missionaries French Roman Catholic bishops in Asia Roman Catholic archbishops of Pondicherry and Cuddalore Roman Catholic missionaries in India French expatriates in India 20th-century French Roman Catholic bishops