Adrien Devals (19 November 1882 – 17 January 1945) was a French-born Singaporean Roman Catholic priest who was the Bishop of

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

, which also included

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. He was among the first group of settlers to arrive in the Bahau settlement, and was later put in charge of administering the settlement’s affairs.

Early life

Devals was born in Aveyron, France on 19 November 1882. He entered the Minor Seminary in

Rodez Rodez (, , ; , ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the communau ...

before entering the seminary of the

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (, , MEP) is a Catholic Missionary order, missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular clergy, secular priests and Laity, lay persons dedicated to missionary wo ...

in 1900. On 29 June 1906, he was ordained a priest.

Malaya

Devals arrived in

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

in September, where he became the assistant and later the parish priest at the Church of the Assumption. He returned to France in 1912 following the death of his father. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served as a nurse and later as an interpreter in a munitions factory with Chinese workers. He returned to Penang in 1920. On 27 November 1933, he was appointed the Bishop of

. He was consecrated as Bishop on 15 April 1934, and moved to Singapore soon after. In 1935, he established '' The Malaya Catholic Leader'', a Catholic newspaper which was the predecessor of '' CatholicNews''. Prior the founding of the Bahau settlement as part of the Grow More Food Campaign during the

Japanese occupation of Singapore , officially , was the name for Colony of Singapore, Singapore when it was occupied and ruled by the Empire of Japan, following the fall and surrender of British military forces on 15 February 1942 during World War II. The Japanese military ...

, Devals and Herman De Souza Sr. were sent to the site of the settlement to assess its suitability. In December 1943, he was among the first convoy of settlers to leave for the settlement, and was in charge of administering the settlement's affairs.

Personal life and death

Devals suffered from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. While he was farming in Bahau, he accidentally cut his right foot with a hoe. The cut became infected and turned gangrenous, and he was taken to a hospital in

Seremban Seremban (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Somban'') is a city in the Seremban District and the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The city's administration is run by the Seremban Municipal Council, Seremban City Council. ...

. Despite having his leg amputated, he died at the hospital on 17 January 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devals, Adrien 1882 births 1945 deaths Singaporean bishops