Draft:Charles Joseph Lemaire
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The Most Reverend Charles Joseph Lemaire | |
|---|---|
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Apostolic Vicariate of Jilin |
| See | Jilin, China |
| Installed | 11 July 1939 |
| Term ended | 1945 |
| Other post(s) | Superior General of Paris Foreign Missions Society Titular Bishop of Otrus |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 21 September 1929 by Jean de Guébriant |
| Consecration | 16 November 1939 by Auguste Gaspais |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Joseph Lemaire January 16, 1900 Bertry, France |
| Died | April 22, 1995 (aged 95) Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong |
| Nationality | French |
Charles Joseph Lemaire (Chinese: 惠化民; 16 January 1900 - 22 April 1995) was an French Catholic Prelate who serves as the Apostolic Vicar of Jilin from 1939 to 1945, until he was elected as the Superior General of Paris Foreign Missions Society from 1945 to 1960.
Early Life
[edit]Charles Joseph Lemaire in the village of Bertry, in Northern France. His father was the owner of a small weaving factory. At the age of twelve, he entered the minor seminary at Cambrai but left two years later and began working in his father's workshop. But shortly thereafter during the first World War, he found himself out of work and went back to school. In 1917 he and other young men in his area which was occupied by German forces, were made to work for the occupying forces until the war ended in 1918.
Ministries
[edit]Charles Lemaire entered the seminary of Paris Foreign Mission Society in 1925. The following year he was sent to Rome to continue his studies and was ordained a priest on 21 September 1929.
Following a further year of study in Rome during which Father Lemaire received the degrees of Bachelor of Canon Law and Doctor of Sacred Theology, he left on 8 September 1930 for his mission post in Manchuria, the Vicariate Apostolic of Jilin.
Following language studies, in May of 1932 he was appointed assistant and then parish priest of the Cathedral of Jilin, a post which he held until the end of 1936. From January 1937 until December 1939, he was rector of both the major and minor seminaries at Jilin.
Vicar Apostolic of Jilin
[edit]In 1939 when Bishop Auguste Gaspais, the Vicar Apostolic of Jilin, who is also a French missionary, was asked to take on extra duties as acting papal representative in Manchukuo and needed an auxiliary, Father Lemaire was chosen and appointed as titular bishop of Otrus. He was ordained a bishop by Bishop Gaspais on 16 November 1939. During the war years (1939-1945) he carried out the various duties of parish visitations and ceremonies of confirmation which Bishop Gaspais gave him to do.
Superior General of Paris Foreign Missions Society
[edit]During the war years, the Paris Foreign Mission Society had been unable to hold a general chapter to elect a new superior general according to its constitutions. The serving superior general, Father Léon Robert, wished to resign and so the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith allowed his resignation and on 16 November 1945 appointed Bishop Lemaire to take his place as superior general of the society until such time as a general chapter could be held.
It was July of 1946 before Bishop Lemaire was able to assume his new office in Paris but when he did so, he was assiduous in visiting the mission territories of the society, particularly Japan, Hong Kong and India.
It was 1950 before the Pairs Foreign Mission Society was able to have a general chapter and at that time Msgr. Lemaire was elected to a full ten year term as superior general. On the completion of this term, Bishop Lemaire had spent 15 years in all as superior of his mission society.
Later Life
[edit]After the election of a new superior general in 1960, Bishop Lemaire was assigned as the superior of Bethany House in Hong Kong, a post that he held another 15 years until the suppression of the house in 1975.
At the same time, the Bishop of Hong Kong, Lorenzo Bianchi, invites Bishop Lemaire to go to different parishes to celebrate the Rite of Confirmation.
Following that he retired to the procure of the Paris Foreign Mission Society in Hong Kong and when his health began to fail, to the Home for the Aged of the Little Sisters of the Poor to spend his final years in prayer and reflection.
He died on 22 April 1995 at the age of 95. His remains was buried in St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery, Happy Valley, Hong Kong.
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]Official Biography on the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong