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 c ...

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 ...

in Eastern Bengal 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 territori ...

. 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 pre ...

of Eastern Bengal and as the Coadjutor Bishop of

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 Ga ...

. He was also the Superior General 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 = L ...

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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, 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 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 ...

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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

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

Vincennes, Indiana Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville and Terre Haute. Founded in 1732 by French fur ...

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

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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