Charbonnel, Armand François Marie de
CHARBONNEL, ARMAND FRANÇOIS MARIE DE
Missionary, educator; b. Monistrol-sur-Loire, France, Dec. 1, 1802; d. Crest, Drome, France, March 29, 1891. Educated at the Basilian College, Annonay, he joined the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice in Paris and was ordained in 1825. He volunteered for missionary work and was sent to Montreal, Canada, where he served from 1840 to 1847. After refusing several bishoprics in France, Canada, and the United States, he was consecrated bishop of Toronto on May 26, 1850. There he founded St. Michael's College (1852) and led a successful struggle for Tax–supported Catholic schools. In 1856 he brought about the division of his jurisdiction by the erection of dioceses at Hamilton and London. He resigned from his see on April 29, 1860, and entered the Capuchin Order at Rieti, Italy. He was named titular bishop of Sozopolis in 1869, and made titular archbishop in 1881. The last years of his life were spent in France preaching on behalf of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
Bibliography: c. causse, Vie de Monseigneur de Charbonnel: Évêque de Torento (Paris 1931).
[r. j. scollard]