Philippe Joseph Viard (11 October 1809,

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

, France – 2 June 1872) was a French priest and the first

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the Catholic diocese of Wellington, New Zealand.

Early life

Born to Claude and Pierrette Charlotte (née Rolland) Viard in

, he attended the parish school of Saint-Nizier and then entered the minor seminary at

Argentière Argentière () is a picturesque skiing, alpine walking and mountaineering village in the French Alps, part of the commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, at an altitude of .St John's Cathedral, Lyon on 20 December 1834 by Archbishop de Pins. He was a curate in the

diocese of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishop ...

until 1839.

Marist

On 1 January 1839 he joined the recently formed Society of Mary. After a short novitiate Viard was professed on 19 May, leaving the following day with a group of Marists for New Zealand. The missionaries sailed from London on the ''Australasian Packet'' on 14 June 1839. They arrived in Sydney on 23 October, and sailed for New Zealand on the ''Martha'', arriving on 8 December. In May 1840 Bishop Pompallier sent Viard to set up a mission station at

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

with the help of a Maori catechist, Romano.

Vicar General in Auckland

On 4 June 1841, Pompallier appointed Viard his vicar general and recalled him to Kororareka. Viard accompanied Pompallier on his voyages around New Zealand on the mission schooner ''Sancta Maria''. It was at Akaroa in November that news was received of Fr

Peter Chanel Peter Chanel (12 July 1803 – 28 April 1841), born Pierre Louis Marie Chanel, was a Catholic priest, missionary, and martyr. Chanel was a member of the Society of Mary or "Marists" and was sent as a missionary to Oceania. He arrived on the is ...

's murder on Futuna Island in April. With Viard, Pompallier set out for Wallis and Futuna islands on his schooner, accompanied by the French corvette ''L'Allier''. Pompallier remained at Wallis while Viard brought Chanel's remains back to the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for it ...

in February 1842. Viard returned to Wallis in April with provisions and was placed in charge of the Pacific Islands.

Assistant Bishop in Auckland

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Wellington, Viard memorial

Viard was summoned back to New Zealand by Pompallier in September 1845 learning by letter that he had been appointed by Rome Bishop ''in partibus'' of Orthosia and coadjutor to Pompallier. Arriving at Sydney en route for the Bay of Islands in October, Viard was consecrated bishop by Archbishop Polding on 4 January 1846. A few months later Pompallier travelled to Rome and Viard was left in charge. On 23 May 1847, Viard ordained Jean-Georges Collomb ( SM; born 1816 – died 1848) in Kororoareka on Pentecost Sunday.Lillian G. Keys, p. 61 Collomb was named Vicar Apostolic of the newly created vicariate of Melanesia and Micronesia. Collomb died of fever in 1848 on Rooke Island, Papua New Guinea. On 15 February 1849, Viard received news from Rome that two dioceses had been created in New Zealand. Pompallier was to retain control of the northern diocese centred on Auckland. Viard was to be Vicar Apostolic of the Southern diocese, headquartered in Wellington, which was apparently Rome's attempt to solve the Pompallier—Marist quarrels, i.e. sending the Marists south of Taupo with Viard as their leader. he set sail from Auckland in April 1850 aboard the ''Clara'' and arrived on 2 May 1850.

Bishop of Wellington

Viard purchased land in Thorndon and the Hutt Valley. In Thorndon (now Hill Street) the Marist lay brothers began building a clergy house and a convent for the sisters. A foundation stone was laid for St Mary's Cathedral. Viard had a vast diocese and few clergy but was able to open missions or parishes in the Hutt Valley, Hawke's Bay and Nelson. The Akaroa mission was reopened for a time but troubles with the

Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch ...

caused its priests to leave. In 1852 the

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

parish and mission were opened and after that there was virtually no Marist help given to Viard until 1859. In 1860 Viard was appointed first bishop of Wellington. Practical questions continued to tax him during the next decade. In 1861, noting the diminishing number of sisters in the Wellington convent, he invited Auckland Sisters of Mercy to come to Wellington. He also brought French sisters from the Institute of Our Lady of the Missions to Napier,

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. With the arrival of new groups of Marists he was able to establish priests in New Plymouth and Christchurch in 1860, and in

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

in 1864. During these years he remained keenly disappointed that he did not have the resources to support adequately the Maori missions. The Taranaki wars also interfered for a time with the expansion of Maori work. A new phase of activity was precipitated by the gold rushes in Otago and Westland. From 1861 Viard kept a Marist at Dunedin permanently, and during the 1860s was able to send more priests to Invercargill and the Otago diggings. The miners of the Otago and West Coast diggings helped Viard build up his depleted finances. He visited Otago and Canterbury in 1864 and the northern part of the South Island and Westland in 1866. In Westland, Irish priests followed the thousands of Irish miners and their families to the diggings, and parishes were established at

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

, Kumara,

Ngahere Ngahere is a locality in the Grey District of the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. The 2013 New Zealand census gave the population of Ngahere and its surrounding area as 363, an increase of 5.2% or 18 people sinc ...

, Charleston, Ross, Westport and

Reefton Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is 44 km south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km to the north, Maruia is 63&nb ...

. Viard was greatly embarrassed when it was revealed that several Irish priests were active

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated ...

supporters, and he spoke out against their activities in 1868.

Final years and death

Since his appointment as Bishop of Wellington several requests had been made for Viard to visit Rome. On 8 July 1868 he left for Europe. From 1869–70 he attended the First Vatican Council in Rome, presided over by Pope Pius IX. In his absence

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

(Otago and

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

) was created a separate diocese under Bishop Patrick Moran. The affection Wellington people had for Viard was evidenced by the crowd which welcomed him back to New Zealand on 19 March 1871. His health had suffered. By 1872 it was evident death was near. He died on 2 June 1872, aged 62, and was buried in St Mary's Cathedral and his grave is now in Sacred Heart Cathedral. He was succeeded by

Francis Redwood Francis William Mary Redwood SM (6 April 1839 – 3 January 1935), was the first Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, Metropolitan of New Zealand. Life Redwood was born on 8 April 1839 on the Tixall estate, Staffordshire, England, a k ...

SM.

Viard College

Bishop Viard College in Porirua to the north of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

is named in memory of Bishop Viard.

References

Sources

* Lillian G. Keys, ''Philip Viard, Bishop of Wellington'', Pegasus Press, Christchurch, 1968. * Ernest Richard Simmons, ''Brief history of the Catholic Church in New Zealand'', Catholic Publications Centre, Auckland, 1978. * Michael King, ''God's farthest outpost: a history of Catholics in New Zealand'', Viking, Auckland, 1997. * Michael O'Meeghan S.M., ''Steadfast in hope : the story of the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington 1850–2000'', Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, 2003. *

External links

''Bishop Philippe-Joseph Viard SM'', Catholic Hierarchy website
(retrieved 12 February 2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Viard, Philippe 1809 births 1872 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in New Zealand Clergy from Lyon Roman Catholic bishops of Wellington French Roman Catholic missionaries French emigrants to New Zealand