Paul-François-Marie Goethals, S.J. (11 November 1832,

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

– 4 July 1901,

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

), was a Belgian

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, missionary in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and the first

Archbishop of Calcutta The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Calcutta ( la, Archidioecesis Calcuttensis) is an ecclesiastical Latin Church territory of the Catholic Church in India. History The archdiocese was originally erected as the Apostolic Vicariate ...

Early years and Formation

Paul-François-Marie Goethals was born in

, into an influential and politically active family. His father, Ferdinand Goethals (1786–1860), was member of the founding

National Congress of Belgium The National Congress (french: Congrès national, nl, Nationaal Congres) was a temporary legislative assembly in Belgium, convened in 1830 in the aftermath of the Belgian Revolution. Its purpose was to devise a national constitution for the n ...

of 1831. Paul did his secondary studies at Collège Saint-Servais, a Jesuit high school in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, Belgium. After joining the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

he did his

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

studies in

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

(1856–1857) and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...

(1863–1867), both in Belgium.

Rector and Provincial

Goethals was the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the second

Collège Saint-Michel Collège Saint-Michel (German: Kollegium St. Michael) is a Gymnasium school located in Fribourg, Switzerland. It was established in 1582 by the Jesuit order as a boys' school. Personalities Rectors * Pierre Michel (1582–1888) * Jean- ...

, a Jesuit high School in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

(1868–1869) and soon afterwards the Provincial Superior of the Belgian Jesuits (1870–1876). Then he was the Rector of another Jesuit high school, this time in

Collège Notre-Dame de la Paix Collège Notre-Dame de la Paix is a mixed Catholic primary and secondary school in Erpent, Namur, Belgium. Its origins go back to 1610 and the creation of the College of Namur by the Jesuits in the centre of Namur. After the suppression of th ...

, where the

University of Namur A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

now stands. Everything seemed to have him destined for a successful administration career in Jesuit educational institutions. However, his destiny was changed when, because of his combination of leadership qualities and good knowledge of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, he was chosen as

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 Calcutta. The

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

mission was at that time entrusted to the Belgian Jesuits.

Archbishop of Calcutta

Goethals arrived in

, as the Vicar Apostolic, on 4 November 1878. When the

Catholic hierarchy The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gif ...

was established in India (1 September 1886), he became the first Archbishop of Calcutta. The 23 years with Archbishop Goethals at the helm were years of development and consolidation of the

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 ...

East India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadh ...

, with the establishment of the Jesuit Theologate (now the

Vidyajyoti College of Theology Vidyajyoti College of Theology (literally, ‘Light of Knowledge’) is a Catholic private theological college run by the Jesuits located in Delhi, India. It was started in 1879 in Asansol, West Bengal, as a modest 'Saint Joseph’s Seminary'. ...

) in

Kurseong Kurseong is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision. Located at an altitude of , Kurseong is from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throughout ...

, near

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

(1889), the arrival of numerous religious congregations who opened missions, schools and dispensaries. He is also the founder of the first indigenous

religious congregation A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religio ...

of women, the Daughters of St Anne, in 1899. Goethals actively encouraged evangelization and education in the

Chota Nagpur Plateau The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the bas ...

of Central India and was an effective help to

Constant Lievens Constant Lievens (11 April 1856 – 7 November 1893) was a Belgian (Flemish) Jesuit priest, missionary among the tribal peoples of Central India, particularly the Mundaris, Oraons. He is regarded as the apostle of the Chotanagpur (Jharkhand and ...

's work among the

Mundas The Munda people are an Austroasiatic speaking ethnic group of India. They predominantly speak the Mundari language as their native language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found mainly concentra ...

Oraons The Kurukh or Oraon, also spelt Uraon, or Dhangar ( Kurukh: ''Karḵẖ'' and ''Oṛāōn'') are a Dravidian speaking ethnolinguistic group inhabiting Chhotanagpur Plateau and adjoining areas - mainly the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Benga ...

and Kharias in the future state of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

. In and around

, in the foothills of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

, he also opened new missionary centres and backed the Jesuits' foundation of the St Joseph High School in Darjeeling. A boarding school in Kurseong keeps his memory alive with the name of ''

Goethals Memorial School en, 'Do All Things Well' , established = , type = Independent co-ed day and boarding secondary schoolHigher secondary section is also co-ed , affiliations = Roman Catholic, Christian Brothers, ICSE , headmaster = Br. Thomas Samuel , found ...

''. In Calcutta, Archbishop Goethals started a Catholic

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...

, establishes several new parishes and gathered a collection of more than 6000 books on India (religions, geography, travels, culture and languages) that became the nucleus of the present ''Goethals Indian Library and Research Centre'' (attached to

St. Xavier's College, Calcutta St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic, autonomous higher education college under Calcutta University run by the Calcutta Province of the Society of Jesus in Kolkata, India. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1860 and named after St. Fra ...

). The Archbishop was always intellectually open and quite active in the cultural and social life of the city. At one time, he was the president of the ''

Asiatic Society of Bengal The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

'', an association of scholars (founded by William Jones) devoted to promoting a better knowledge and appreciation of Indian languages and civilisations. He died in

on 4 June 1901.

Legacy

Goethals Memorial School

is a boarding school in

. It was founded in 1907 and was named after Paul Goethals.

Goethals Library

Goethals library is located above the chapel of

St. Xavier's College, Kolkata St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic, autonomous higher education college under Calcutta University run by the Calcutta Province of the Society of Jesus in Kolkata, India. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1860 and named after St. Fra ...

. In 1908 the college received a large collection of rare books, periodical and journals from

Paul Goethals. These well preserved collections are made into a library and named after Paul Goethals.

References

External links

* Official website of th
Goethals Memorial School, Kurseong
* Official website of th
Goethals Indian Library and Research Center, Calcutta

Bibliography

* Paul Goethals: ''A Catalogue of books on India, and Indian subjects'' (Calcutta: Publisher unknown, 1894) * Anonymous, ''Missions belges de la Compagnie de Jésus'' 'Belgian Missions of the Society of Jesus''(Brussels: C. Bulens, 1904) * Fidelis de Sa, ''Crisis in Chota Nagpur: with special reference to the judicial conflict between Jesuit missionaries and British government officials, November 1889-March 1890'' (

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

: Redemptorist Publications, 1975) * Henri Josson, ''La Mission du Bengale occidental ou Archidiocèse de Calcutta. Province belge de la Compagnie de Jésus'' he Mission of the West Bengal and the Archdiocese of Calcutta: Belgian Province of the Society of Jesus Volume II (

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

: Imprimerie Sainte-Catherine, 1921) {{DEFAULTSORT:Goethals, Paul 1832 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Belgian Jesuits Roman Catholic archbishops of Calcutta 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in India Belgian Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in India Belgian expatriates in India Jesuit missionaries