https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Christophe_Ernest_BonjeanChristophe Ernest Bonjean - Revision history2026-08-17T12:27:56ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christophe_Ernest_Bonjean&diff=494521&oldid=prevGlendaBancroft: Created first stub w/ refs.2026-01-28T17:52:32Z<p>Created first stub w/ refs.</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|French Catholic Archbishop (1823–1892)}}<br />
{{Infobox bishop<br />
| name = Christophe Ernest Bonjean<br />
| image = Archbishop_Christophe_Ernest_Bonjean_(1823-1892).png<br />
| church = Roman Catholic<br />
| archdiocese = [[Colombo]], Ceylon<br />
| term_start = 25 November 1886<br />
| predecessor = ''Office newly created''<br />
| ordination = 11 December 1846 as Priest and 24 August 1868 as Bishop<br />
| consecration = 25 November 1886 as Archbishop of Colombo<br />
| consecrated_by = Archbishop Joseph Hippolyte Guibert<br />
| successor = [[André-Théophile Mélizan|André Mélizan]]<br />
| birth_date = 21 September 1823<br />
| birth_place = [[Riom]], France<br />
| death_date = 3 August 1892 (aged 68)<br />
| death_place = Colombo<br />
| retired = 1892<br />
| nationality = French<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Christophe Ernest Bonjean''' (21 September 1823 – 3 August 1892) was a French Catholic missionary and priest who became the first [[Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Colombo#Bishops|Archbishop]] of [[Colombo]], [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]] in 1886.<br />
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== Early life and education ==<br />
Bonjean was born on 21 September 1823 in [[Riom]], France. In 1846, he was ordained as a priest of the Catholic missionaries, [[Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate|Oblates of Mary Immaculate]], and in the following year was sent to India.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Archbishop Christophe-Ernest Bonjean [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbonj.html |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref><br />
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== Career ==<br />
After beginning his missionary work in India in 1847, Bonjean went to [[Jaffna]], Ceylon in 1856 and joined there the Oblates mission. On 24 July 1868, he was appointed [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna|Vicar Apostolic of Jaffna]], and [[Titular bishop|Titular Bishop]] of [[Médéa|Medea]], and was ordained on 24 August 1868.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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In 1883, he was transferred from Jaffna to Colombo after the Southern Vicariate was divided in two with the [[Benedictines]] retaining the Diocese of Kandy and the Diocese of Colombo being given to the Oblates. On 1 September 1886, the Diocese of Colombo was elevated to an Archdiocese, and on 25 November 1886, he was appointed the first Archbishop of Colombo.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Archdiocese of Colombo |url=https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/archdiocese-of-colombo |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=Catholic Answers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us - Archdiocese of Colombo Sri Lanka |url=https://archdioceseofcolombo.lk/about |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=archdioceseofcolombo.lk}}</ref><br />
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Known for his educational reforms, Bonjean was regarded as "the father of the denominational school system". During the 1860s, he proposed to the government the establishment of schools administered by the main religious faiths: Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu, with each entitled to state aid. He fought for equal treatment of all schools and thanks to his efforts, in 1869, the government decided that any religious denomination could open schools for its children, and that a grant would be provided.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Arnold Wright |url=http://archive.org/details/twentiethcentury00arno |title=Twentieth century impressions of Ceylon : its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources |date=1907 |publisher=Lloyd's Greater Britain Pub. Co., London, 1907 |others=Public Resource |isbn=978-81-206-1335-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Remarkable legacy of a priest in education! |url=https://www.dailymirror.lk/amp/news-features/The-Remarkable-legacy-of-a-priest-in-education/131-253970 |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=www.dailymirror.lk}}</ref><br />
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Bonjean also recognised the need to improve education to prepare students for employment in the professions and in government. In 1892, he prepared plans for the establishment of a college for higher education which became [[St. Joseph's College, Colombo|St. Joseph's College]], Colombo when it opened in 1896 with over 300 pupils. He opened a number of elementary schools both English and Tamil. Recognising the need for more priests and missionaries he also founded the St Bernard's Ecclesiastical Seminary in [[Borella]].<ref name=":1" /><br />
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In 1892, Bonjean retired as Archbishop due to poor health, and died in Colombo on 3 August 1892.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=31 December 1892 |title=Obituary for 1892 |work=Times |pages=7}}</ref> <br />
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== References ==<br />
<references /><br />
{{authority control}}<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonjean, Christophe Ernest}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:1823 births]]<br />
[[Category:1892 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:French Roman Catholic bishops in Asia]]<br />
[[Category:French Roman Catholic archbishops]]<br />
[[Category:19th-century French Roman Catholic bishops]]<br />
[[Category:Roman Catholic missionaries in Sri Lanka]]<br />
[[Category:Bishops in Sri Lanka]]<br />
[[Category:People from Riom]]<br />
[[Category:Sri Lankan people of French descent]]</div>GlendaBancroft