Chrysostome Liausu, SS.CC., (born Charles-Auguste Liausu; 17 March 1807 – 5 September 1839) was a French

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

. He helped start the Roman Catholic mission in the Eastern Oceania and was the Prefect Apostolic of Southern Oceania.

Biography

Liausu was born Charles-Auguste Liausu on 17 March 1807 in La Gardelle, in the

Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in south-western France. Liausu joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 1825 and took the name ''Jean-Chrysostome'', presumably after Saint

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his homilies, preaching and public speaking, his denunciat ...

. He was a cousin of Cyprien Liausu, who also became a Picpus missionary in the

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

. Liausu was part of a small group of French Picpus missionaries sent by Pope Gregory XVI and the ''

Propaganda Fide Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

'' to convert the natives of Eastern Oceania. Their superior

Étienne Jérôme Rouchouze Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Scientists and inventors ...

was appointed the Vicar Apostolic of Eastern Oceania while Liausu was appointed prefect apostolic of the region south of the equator including the

, the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

, the Tuamotu Islands and the

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

and Alexis Bachelot was charged with the region north of the equator (i.e. the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

). In 1834, Liausu and

François Caret François d'Assise Caret, SS.CC., (born François Toussaint Caret; 4 July 1802 – 26 October 1844) was a French Catholic priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a religious institute of the Roman Catholic Church. Life ...

Honoré Laval Honoré Laval, SS.CC., (born ''Louis-Jacques Laval''; 5/6 February 1808 – 1 November 1880) was a French Catholic priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (also known as the Picpus Fathers), a religious institute of the R ...

and Columba Murphy arrived in

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. Caret and Laval with Murphy as their assistant were sent to the

while Liausu stayed behind to maintain connection between the missionaries and the Congregation back home and to wait for the arrival of Bishop Rouchouze, who was arriving at a later time. Although initially faced with hostility from Mangareva's King

Maputeoa Te Maputeoa (baptized Gregorio Stanislas; reigned as Gregorio I; born c. 1814 – 20 June 1857) was a monarch of the Polynesian island of Mangareva and the other Gambier Islands. He was the King or '' ʻAkariki'' (paramount chief), as well as ...

, the three Catholic missionaries managed to land on a small island where the local chief and later Maputeoa's uncle Matua gave them support to learn the Mangareva language and the islanders learned about Christianity. Within one of year of their arrival, the missionaries converted the islanders at

Taravai Taravai is the second largest island in the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia, at 5.7 km2. Taravai is about 1.5 km southwest of Mangareva and about 300 m north of the island of Angakauitai. Off its eastern shore lies the tiny rock Î ...

Aukena Aukena is the 5th largest of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. Aukena is located about halfway between Mangareva and Akamaru, or about 5 km southeast of Mangareva. Aukena is approximately 2.5 km long and about 0.5 km wide, ...

and Akamaru to Christianity, established churches, and even made the islanders wear tunics. Maputeoa and his family were baptized on 25 August 1836. In 1839, he contracted

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

through his work with the Chilean soldiers. Liausu died 5 September 1839 in

having never made it to the

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liausu, Chrysostome 1807 births 1839 deaths 19th-century French Roman Catholic priests French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Chile Picpus Fathers People from Lot (department) Deaths from typhus French expatriates in Chile Infectious disease deaths in Chile