François Dominique Berré, OP (13 September 1857 – 4 April 1929) was a French prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in Iraq as a missionary, bishop and apostolic delegate.

Biography

François Dominique Berré was born on 13 September 1857 in

Saint-Méen-le-Grand Saint-Méen-le-Grand (; ; Gallo: ''Saent-Men'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is located west of Rennes between Montauban-de-Bretagne and Gaël. At the 2006 Tour de France, Saint-Méen-l ...

, France. He was ordained a priest of the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) on 20 August 1882. Transcription of obituary. As a Dominican his name was Father Marie Dominique. In 1884 he began his missionary work in

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

where he taught at the seminary and became head of the mission. After being imprisoned in Turkey for four years during the

First World War 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 ...

and deported to France, he returned to rebuild the mission and its orphanage. He also documented the massacre of Christians in

Mardin Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on ...

in a report to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 9 August 1921,

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

appointed him Archbishop of Baghdad. He received his episcopal consecration on 19 March 1922 from François Daoud, Bishop of the

Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Amadiya Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Amadiya (or Amadia) was a historical eparchy (diocese) of the Chaldean Catholic Church, until it was united with the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Zakho in 2013. History The diocese was established on 1785 and nam ...

. On 19 September 1922,

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

named him Apostolic Delegate to Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, and Lesser Armenia. He soon moved the delegation from Mosul to Baghdad and reported the details of the continuing persecution of Christians. He advocated for indigenous vocations with seminary training in local institutions rather than in Europe and believed that a Latin rite seminary could maintain students' ties to their non-Latin traditions and leaders. Berré died in Mosul on 4 April 1929 at the age of 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berré, François 1857 births 1929 deaths People from Ille-et-Vilaine Dominican bishops Apostolic Nuncios to Iraq Roman Catholic bishops in the Middle East