Charles Arsène Bourdon

Charles Arsène Bourdon M.E.P. (1 May 1834 – 3 October 1918) was a French Catholic missionary and bishop in Burma and Singapore.

Early life

Charles Arsène Bourdon, born in Caligny, Orne on 1 May 1834, was descended from an old Norman family. He was ordained as a priest of the La Société des Missions Etrangères in 1860, and in 1863 was sent to Rangoon to join the Burmah mission under Bishop Bigandet.[1][2][3][4]

Career

In 1872, he was appointed the first Vicar Apostolic Emeritus of Upper Burma with residence in Mandalay, and a year later was ordained as Titular Bishop of Dardanus. In 1877, he returned to France due to ill-health but returned a year later to resume his duties.[1][2][4][5]

In 1887, he resigned from the Burma mission, and after a short residence in Hong Kong went to Singapore. Although not attached to the Vicariate Apostolic of Malacca-Singapore, he continued ministering to the people, visiting patients at the General Hospital, and serving as H.M. Military Chaplain, a post he held from 1888 to 1911.[1][2][4]

He died on 3 October 1918, aged 84, in Singapore.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Bishop Bourdon's Record". Straits Echo. 2 May 1914. p. 8.
  2. ^ a b c "Bishop Bourdon's Silver Jubilee". The Straits Budget. 11 January 1898. p. 16.
  3. ^ "Bishop Bourdon". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 30 April 1910. p. 7.
  4. ^ a b c "Bishop Charles Arsène Bourdon [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  5. ^ Schendel, Jörg (March 1999). "Christian Missionaries in Upper Burma, 1853–85". South East Asia Research. 7 (1): 61–91. doi:10.1177/0967828X9900700103. ISSN 0967-828X.
  6. ^ "Death of Bishop Bourdon". The Straits Times. 3 October 1918. p. 6.