Louis-Antoine-Augustin Pavy (1805–1866) was a

French Catholic , native_name_lang = fr , image = 060806-France-Paris-Notre Dame.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris , abbreviation = , type ...

prelate who served as the second

Bishop of Algiers ) is the Metropolitan bishop, metropolitan Episcopal See, see for the ecclesiastical province of Algiers in Algeria. History * August 10, 1838: Established as Diocese of Algiers from Diocese of Islas Canarias in Spain * 1838: United with Roman Ca ...

from 1846 to 1866. He attempted to convert the

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

Catholicism 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 denounced

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

, rampant among French colonists, as the devil.

Biography

Early life

Louis-Antoine-Augustin Pavy was born on 13 March 1805.

Career

Pavy was ordained as a priest in 1829. He served as the second Bishop of Algiers from 1846 to 1866. During his tenure, he was responsible for the construction of

Notre Dame d'Afrique Notre Dame d'Afrique ( English: “Our Lady of Africa”) is a Catholic basilica in Algiers, Algeria. Pope Pius IX granted two Pontifical decrees towards the shrine on the same day on 15 April 1876: * The first decree invoked to canonically cro ...

in Algiers. Like his predecessor, he attempted to convert the Arabs to Catholicism. His 1850 request to evangelise the Arabs in villages across the

Constantine Province Constantine ( ar, ولاية قسنطينة) is one of the 58 provinces (''wilayas'') of Algeria, whose capital is the city of the same name. History In 1984 Mila Province Mila ( ar, ولاية ميلة, link=no, ) is a province (''wilayah' ...

was denied by the Minister of War, who feared they would feel disrespected. Undaunted, he gave speeches denouncing Islam from his pulpit in Algiers. Meanwhile, Pavy made sure to cater to the French colonists who lived in Algiers. He was especially fearful of their growing adherence to socialism, which he compared to the devil. In 1863, Pavy suggested that it was easier to preach in small towns than large cities, where

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

had become a problem. However, he did not see

freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

as mutually incompatible with Catholicism.

Death

Pavy died on 16 July 1866, at the age of 61.

Works

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References