Jean-Jérôme Adam (8 June 1904 – 11 July 1981) was the

French 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 Franc ...

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Libreville Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904. The area has been inh ...

, Gabon, and an accomplished linguist who studied several of the languages of Gabon. He was born at

Wittenheim Wittenheim (; in Alsatian Wìttana, ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department, Grand Est, northeastern France. It is one of the northern suburbs of the city of Mulhouse, and forms part of the Mulhouse Alsace Agglomération, the inter-communal ...

in Alsace and educated in the seminaries of the

Holy Ghost Fathers , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

. He arrived in Gabon on 29 September 1929, and spent the next 18 years as a missionary in the Haut-Ogooué Province. During that time he prepared grammars for the Mbédé, Ndumu, and Duma languages. In 1947, Adam was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Libreville and bishop of the titular see of

Rhinocorura Rhinocorura ( grc-gre, Ῥινοκόρουρα, ''Rhinokóroura'', or , ''Rhinokoúroura'') or Rhinocolura (, ''Rhinokóloura'') was the name of a region and associated town (or towns) and rivers lying between Ancient Egypt and the Land of Israel. ...

; he became bishop of Libreville when it was elevated to a diocese in 1955, and he was made archbishop of the see in 1958. He retired in 1969 and moved to

Franceville Franceville is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of 110,568 at the 2013 census. It lies on the Mpassa River and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savor ...

, where he died in 1981.

References

* David E. Gardinier, ''Historical Dictionary of Gabon'', 2nd ed. (The Scarecrow Press, 1994) p. 31

External links

Catholic-hierarchy.org entry for J.-J. Adam
1904 births 1981 deaths People from Haut-Rhin People from Alsace-Lorraine 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa French Roman Catholic missionaries Gabonese Roman Catholic archbishops Participants in the Second Vatican Council French emigrants to Gabon Roman Catholic missionaries in Gabon Holy Ghost Fathers Missionary linguists Roman Catholic bishops of Libreville Roman Catholic archbishops of Libreville {{Africa-RC-archbishop-stub