Pierre Dufal, C.S.C. (8 November 1822 – 14 March 1898) was a French-born

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 ca ...

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 ...

Eastern Bengal Eastern Bengal may refer to: * East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He served as the

Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Eastern Bengal Eastern Bengal may refer to: * East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British ...

and as the

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

. He was also the

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

of the

Congregation of Holy Cross , image = Congregation of Holy Cross.svg , image_size = 150px , abbreviation = CSC , formation = , founder = Blessed Fr. Basile-Antoine Marie Moreau, C.S.C. , founding_location = ...

Biography

Born in the village of Saint-Gervais-d'Auvergne,

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Pierre Dufal professed final vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross on 20 January 1852 and ordained a priest on 29 September that year. On 3 July 1860

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

appointed him as the

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Delcus'' and Vicar Apostolic of Eastern Bengal. He was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop

Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert (1802, Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône – 1886, Paris) was a French Catholic Archbishop of Paris and Cardinal. He was consecrated by Eugène de Mazenod and was appointed by Pope Gregory XVI as bishop of Viviers in 18 ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 25 November 1860. The principal co-consecrators were Bishops Jean-Jacques Nanquette of

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

and

Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière Celestine is a given name and a surname. People Given name * Pope Celestine I (died 432) * Pope Celestine II (died 1144) * Pope Celestine III (c. 1106–1198) * Pope Celestine IV (died 1241) * Pope Celestine V (1215–1296) * Antipope Cele ...

Vincennes, Indiana Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville, Indi ...

. Dufal was assigned as the Superior General of Congregation of Holy Cross on 25 August 1866 and resigned the position two years later on 19 July. He participated in the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

(1869-1870) as one of the council fathers. His resignation as the Vicar Apostolic of Eastern Bengal was accepted by Pope Pius on 28 July 1876.

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

assigned Dufal as the Coadjutor Bishop of Galveston on 14 May 1878. His resignation for reasons of health was accepted by Pope Leo on 6 December 1879. Dufal retired to the house of his congregation at

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

, near Paris, where he died on 14 March 1898 at the age of 75.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston
1822 births 1898 deaths People from Puy-de-Dôme Congregation of Holy Cross bishops 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States French Roman Catholic bishops in Asia French Roman Catholic bishops in North America French Roman Catholic titular bishops Participants in the First Vatican Council Roman Catholic bishops of Galveston–Houston 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in India {{France-RC-bishop-stub