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removed Category:Belgian Jesuits; added Category:20th-century Belgian Jesuits using HotCat

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'''Oscar Sevrin''', 22 November 1884 in Neuville-Wanne ([[Belgium]]) – 30 April 1975 in [[Kunkuri]], (India), was a Belgian [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[Catholic priest|priest]], [[missionary]] in India and successively [[bishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ranchi|Ranchi]] ([[Jharkhand]]) and [[Raigarh]]-Ambikapur ([[Chhattisgarh]]).

==Religious formation and early years in India==
Born in [[Neuville-Wanne]], in the [[Ardennes]] ([[Belgium]]) on 22 November 1884, Sevrin joined the [[Society of Jesus]] in 1903 and did his [[novitiate]] in [[Arlon]] (Belgium) After doing his [[Philosophy|philosophical]] studies at the Jesuit Philosophate of Louvain (1906–08) he left for [[India]] with a group of other young Jesuit missionaries. At that time, the [[Bengal]] state (covering the entire Eastern part of [[British India]]) was a mission area entrusted to the [[Belgian]] Jesuits. While teaching in the schools of [[Rengarih]] and [[Ranchi]] (1911–16), both important centres in the (now) [[Jharkhand]] state (India), Sevrin had his first contacts with the aboriginal population of the [[Chota Nagpur plateau]]. He then completed his Jesuit formation by doing [[Theology|theological studies]] in [[Kurseong]] ([[Darjeeling district]])<ref>The St Mary's Theologate of Kurseong was transferred to Delhi in 1971 and is known nowadays as the '[[Vidyajyoti College of Theology]]'.</ref> where he was ordained [[Catholic priest|priest]] on 1 July 1919.

==Bishop of Ranchi (Jharkhand)==
Sevrin embarked on an educational career, first as a teacher in the [[St. John's High School, Ranchi|St. John's High School]] in Ranchi (1921–31) and later as inspector of the Catholic missions schools in the whole area (1923–24) when, to everybody’s surprise, he was appointed [[bishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ranchi|Ranchi]] (9 April 1934). The diocese had been created in 1927 and Sevrin was its second bishop. [[Education]] remained a priority and he did much to develop an educational network for the [[Mundas]], [[Oraon]]s and [[Kharia people|Kharias]] in the vast area covered by the diocese. He promoted also the local press by creating the [[Hindi language]] magazine called ''Nishkalanka'' and composed a little [[catechism]] and other booklets (among them the ''Bible ka Itihas'') in order to build up a faith culture among the many new Christians of his [[diocese]].

==Bishop of Raigarh-Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh)==
In 1951 something quite unusual happened: Sevrin, at the age of 67, asked Pope [[Pius XII]] the permission to be relieved from his responsibility in Ranchi. He was giving two reasons: there was a local [[Oraon]] priest, [[Nicolas Kujur]], who, Sevrin felt, was quite capable of taking his place as the pastor of the diocese, and, second, he wanted to go to a neighbouring state where conditions of missionary work – because of great hostility towards Christianity – were extremely difficult. His new diocese, [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Raigarh|Raigarh-Ambikapur]] (newly erected), was formed of several little [[princely states]] where, as long as they were autonomous (till the [[independence of India]] in 1947), the presence of Christian missionaries was strictly prohibited. [[Illiteracy]] and the exploitation of the tribal people were rife. Sevrin, the new bishop, settled down in a small [[parish]] (Ginabahar) and started his work: education, medical help, economic and social development were going hand in hand with [[evangelization]]. Success got him many enemies and he had to face a number of ''malefide'' court cases. On the other hand, he acquired great prestige among the aboriginal population of the area, including non-Christians. He was highly esteemed.

In 1957, for the second time, he decided to resign to allow a local man to be the religious leader of his own people. Sevrin ordained bishop his own successor at Raigarh-Ambikapur: [[Stanislas Tigga]]. This did not mean retirement, however. Appointed spiritual guide and professor of religion in the high school of Kunkuri he remained active till his death at the age of 91 on 30 April 1975 in [[Kunkuri]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[India]].

==Bibliography==
*THOMAS, A.P.: ''Bishop Sevrin, Great Benefactor of the Tribals'', Allahabad (India), 1963.
*MATHIJS, F.: A Good Shepherd, in ''Jesuit profiles'', Anand, 1991, pp. 361–364.

==References==
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[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Belgian Jesuits]]
[[Category:Jesuit missionaries in India]]
[[Category:Belgian Roman Catholic missionaries]]
[[Category:Belgian expatriates in India]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in India]]

Oscar Sevrin - Revision history

imported>Rathfelder: removed Category:Belgian Jesuits; added Category:20th-century Belgian Jesuits using HotCat