Joanny Thévenoud (March 14, 1878 - September 16, 1949) was a French

apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

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 ...

, best remembered for his missionary, ecclesiastical and public development work in Upper Volta (now

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Biography

Born in

Serrières-en-Chautagne Serrières-en-Chautagne is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Notable people *Joanny Thévenoud (1878-1949), minister in Upper Volta See also *Communes of the Savoie department The f ...

in 1878, he was ordained for the Congregation of the White Fathers in

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

on 28 June 1903, and was sent to

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

, where he arrived on November 11, 1903. There, he was appointed a superior at the missionary in 1907. In subsequent decades, he was responsible for a number of important development works in Upper Volta, including the ordering of the first dam in 1915 (

Akosombo Dam The Akosombo Dam, also known as the Volta Dam, is a hydroelectric dam on the Volta River in southeastern Ghana in the Akosombo gorge and part of the Volta River Authority. The construction of the dam flooded part of the Volta River Basin and led ...

), the establishment of a sewing centre for young Christian girls in 1917, a spinning and carpentry centre for men in 1927, and ordering construction of

Ouagadougou Cathedral Ouagadougou Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Ouagadougou (french: Cathédrale de l'Immaculée-Conception de Ouagadougou) is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ouagadougou in Ouagadougou, the capital of Bur ...

, built in 1934-1936. In the 1930s, Thévenoud brought the matter of

pawnship Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the pe ...

and

child marriages Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child under a certain age – typically 18 years – and an adult or another child. * * * * The vast majority of child marriages are between a female child and a m ...

to the colonial administration. Though slavery had been banned since 1905, one could still pawn a young relative to gain funds to settle a debt or pay taxes. To those without other property to mortgage, people became the

collateral Collateral may refer to: Business and finance * Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan * Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Collate ...

. The pawn served to offset the interest and debt maintenance, but did not work to pay off the debt. When the borrower had repaid, the pawn was returned. Authorities had tried to avoid getting involved in the local custom but by the 1930s, pressure from Thévenoud and his supporter, French Senator , forced the colonial administration to repress pawnship, treating it like slavery. Because so many of the pawned victims were young women and girls, the change in policy toward pawnship also resulted in a series of measures to ban

child marriage Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child under a certain age – typically 18 years – and an adult or another child. * * * * The vast majority of child marriages are between a female child and a ma ...

s. Thévenoud was appointed as the first vicar apostolic of Ouagadougou on 8 July 1921. In 1942, Thévenoud established the first

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

of teachers of the mission, and five years later, set up the Young Christian Students Association. He died on September 16, 1949, in Ouagadougou, and was buried at the cathedral.

References

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Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thevenoud, Joanny 1878 births 1949 deaths French Roman Catholic bishops in Africa White Fathers priests People from Savoie Roman Catholic missionaries in Burkina Faso French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic bishops of Ouagadougou