François Désiré Drure

François Désiré Jean Drure, OCD (30 January 1859 – 27 May 1917) was a French prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in Iraq as a bishop and apostolic delegate.

Archbishop Drure

Biography

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François Désiré Jean Drure[1] was born on 30 January 1859 in Digoin, France. He studied at the minor seminary in Semur-en-Brionnais and the major seminary in Autun. He was ordained a priest on 24 March 1883. In July 1884 he earned a degree in mathematics from the Faculté Catholique de Lyon and in October became a professor at the minor seminary in Rimont. He then, with the endorsement of the bishop of Autun, joined the Carmelites at Montélimar where he took the name Father John of the Holy Family.[2][3] He took his final vows as a member of the Discalced Carmelites on 8 September 1892.[a]

On 7 November 1902, Pope Leo XIII appointed him Archbishop of Baghdad.[1] He received his episcopal consecration from Cardinal Girolamo Maria Gotti, another Carmelite, on 16 November 1902.[3]

On 5 March 1904, Pope Pius X named him Apostolic Delegate to Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, and Lesser Armenia.[1] He was visiting France when World War One began and hostilities in the Ottoman Empire prevented him from returning to Mosul.[3]

Drure died unexpectedly in his sleep at the chateau of Fragne near Montluçon, France, where the Carmelites of Meaux had taken refuge, on 27 May 1917 at the age of 58.[4][5]

Notes

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  1. ^ According to Filoni, Drure began his work as a missionary in Basra in 1893,[1] but other sources omit that or specify that he was in Montélimar when named to Baghdad.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Filoni, Fernando (2017). The Church in Iraq. Catholic University of America Press. pp. 121, 133–8. ISBN 9780813229652. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  2. ^ Semaine religieuse du Diocèse de Lyon (in French), 30 May 1902, p. 720, retrieved 10 June 2020
  3. ^ a b c d "Necrologie". Les Missions catholiques: bulletin hebdomadaire de l'Oeuvre de la Propagation de la Foi (in French). Vol. 49. Lyon: Bureau des Missions Catholiques. 18 June 1917. pp. 299–300. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. IX. 1917. p. 304. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Échos". Bulletin Religieux de l'Archidiocèse de Rouen (in French). Vol. 16. 30 June 1917. p. 612. Retrieved 11 June 2020.