Saddiqa khatri at 12:06, 9 July 2024

2024-07-09T12:06:06Z

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{{Short description|Belgian Jesuit priest and missionary}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Archbishop
| honorific_prefix = [[The Most Reverend]]
| name = Ferdinand Perier
| honorific_suffix = [[Society of Jesus|SJ]]
| title = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta|Archbishop Emeritus of Calcutta]]
| image = Ferdinand Perier (1875-1968).jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Ferdinand Perier, third Archbishop of Calcutta (now Kolkata)
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| church = [[Roman Catholic Church]]
| archdiocese = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta|Archdiocese of Calcutta]]
| province = [[Calcutta]]
| metropolis = [[Calcutta]]
| diocese =
| see = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta|Calcutta]] ([[emeritus]])
| term_start = 12 August 1960
| term_end = 10 November 1968
| predecessor = [[Brice Meuleman]]
| successor =
| opposed =
| other_post = Coadjutor Archbishop of Calcutta'''''(1921–1924)''''' 
Titular Archbishop of Plataea'''''(1921–1924)''''' 
Archbishop of Calcutta'''''(1924–1960)''''' 
Titular Archbishop of Rhoina'''''(1960–1968)'''''

| ordination = 3 October 1909
| ordained_by =
| consecration = 21 December 1921
| consecrated_by = [[Pietro Pisani|Archbishop Pietro Pisani]]
| cardinal =
| created_cardinal_by =
| rank = Archbishop

| birth_name = Ferdinand Périer
| birth_date = {{birth date|1875|09|22|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Antwerp]], [[Belgium]].
| death_date = {{death date and age|1968|11|10|1875|09|22|df=y}}
| death_place =
| buried =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| nationality = Belgian
| religion = [[Roman Catholic]]
| residence =
| parents = Felix Joannes Baptista Augustus Perier'''(Father)''' 
Leonia Josephina Ferleman'''(Mother)'''
| previous_post =
| spouse =
| children =
| occupation =
| profession =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| motto =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| coat_of_arms =
| coat_of_arms_alt =
}}
{{Infobox bishopstyles|name=Ferdinand Perier|dipstyle=[[The Most Reverend]]|offstyle= [[Your Grace]]||deathstyle=|}}
{{Ordination
| ordained deacon by =
| date of diaconal ordination =
| place of diaconal ordination =
| ordained priest by =
| date of priestly ordination = 3 October 1909
| place of priestly ordination =
| consecrated by = [[Pietro Pisani|Archbishop Pietro Pisani]]
| co-consecrators = Bishop Santino Taveggia, P.I.M.E., Bishop Louis Van Hoeck, S.J.
| date of consecration = 21 December 1921
| place of consecration =
| elevated by =
| date of elevation =
| sources =
| bishop 1 = [[Oscar Sevrin|Bishop Oscar Sevrin, S.J.]]
| consecration date 1 = 25 July 1934
| bishop 2 = [[Louis Mathias|Archbishop Louis Mathias, S.D.B.]]
| consecration date 2 = 10 November 1934
| bishop 3 = [[Stephen Ferrando|Archbishop Stephen Ferrando, S.D.B.]]
| consecration date 3 = 10 November 1934
| bishop 4 = Archbishop Joseph Alexander Fernandes
| consecration date 4 = 1 May 1949
| bishop 5= Archbishop Niclas Kujur, S.J.
| consecration date 5 = 9 March 1952
| bishop 6 = Archbishop Vivian Anthony Dyer
| consecration date 6 = 9 August 1959
}}
'''Ferdinand Perier''', [[Society of Jesus|SJ]] (22 September 1875, [[Antwerp]], [[Belgium]] – 10 November 1968, [[Calcutta]], [[India]]), was a Belgian [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[Catholic priest|priest]], a missionary in [[British India|British]] [[India]], and the third [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta|Archbishop of Calcutta]] (now [[Kolkata]]).

==Early years==
Fernandus Augustus Maria Josephus Perier was born on 22 September 1875 in Antwerp, Belgium, the son of the wealthy merchant and his wife, Felix Joannes Baptista Augustus Perier and Leonia Josephina Ferleman.<ref>{{in lang|nl}} Fernandus Augustus Maria Josephus Perier, [https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11049-178334-69?cc=2138481&wc=M94F-GZ4:2101626067 Birth Certificate No. 4325], filed 22 September 1875, Register of Births for the Year 1875, Antwerp, Province of Antwerp, Belgium; in: ''FamilySearch'', "Belgium, Antwerp, Civil Registration, 1598–1906", ''Antwerpen'', ''Geboorten 1875 Juli–Dec'' [Births 1875 July–Dec], Image No. 114 (left page, item 10).</ref> After he finished his studies at the Jesuit College in Antwerp, Ferdinand worked for four years in commerce. He did so well with his knowledge of maritime law that, when he decided to join the [[Society of Jesus]] on 23 September 1897, he was the director of a successful shipping insurance company.

Perier went through the first two stages of the [[Jesuit formation]], the [[novitiate]] in [[Drongen|Tronchiennes]], a neighborhood of [[Ghent]], between 1897 and 1899, and the [[juniorate]] between 1899 and 1900. Then he studied [[philosophy]] at the [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Catholic University of Louvain]] for three years, between 1900 and 1903. Perier taught for two years, in 1904 and 1905, as a professor of [[grammar]] and [[Flemish language|Flemish]] at the second Collège Saint-Michel, a Jesuit high school in [[Brussels]].

At his request, Perier was sent to India. He arrived in Calcutta on 9 December 1906. His formation continued with his studies in theology at the Jesuit theological college in Kurseong (1907–1911), where he was also ordained on 3 October 1909. He then went to [[Ranchi]] for his [[Tertianship|Third Year]], the last stage of his Jesuit formation. Two years later, in 1911, he was appointed as the Procurator of the Mission and the Secretary of [[Brice Meuleman]], S.J., the Archbishop of Calcutta. His formation finally ended in the next year, on 2 February 1912, when he took his Profession of the [[Fourth Vow]] in Ranchi.

==Superior Regular and Coadjutor Bishop==
In August 1913, Perier became the Superior Regular of the West Bengal Mission as well as the Counselor of the Archdiocese. The next eight years were "the most strenuous years of his life".<ref name="Perier">{{in lang|en}} "Perier", ''Catholic Directory of India 1922'', [http://imageserver.library.yale.edu/digcoll:19470/500.pdf#29 pages 20–21]</ref> The [[First World War]] began in 1914 and Belgium, the main source of the Mission's funds, was [[Belgium in World War I|invaded by the Germans]] so the funds were gone until the [[Armistice]] in 1918. It was "a financial coup de force to keep it going"<ref name="Perier" /> but Perier's experiences as a merchant proved to be invaluable. When the Armistice was signed in 1918, he had already added two churches, one mission station and the whole [[Assam]] Mission to the Bengal Mission. But his success came at a great cost. Twenty-one missionaries died and the expenditures were only a third of the Mission's original budget. During his term as the Superior Regular, Perier went to [[Europe]] twice – at the end of 1914, after the war began, to attend the [[General Congregation]] of the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] and in 1920 to attend the Provincial Congregation of the Belgian Jesuits and to represent Archbishop Meuleman for his ''[[ad limina]]'' visit to [[Rome]].<ref name="Perier" />

On 11 August 1921 Perier was appointed [[Coadjutor Bishop]] of Calcutta and received episcopal consecration on 21 December, with the title of [[Titular Archbishop]] of [[Plataea]]<ref>Perier was the 11th holder of his titular see, which was originally established in 1671 for the [[Byzantine Rite]] Apostolic Vicars ([[Eparch]]s) of [[Eparchy of Križevci#Eparchy of Marča|Marča]] in modern [[Croatia]], then a part of the [[Ottoman Empire]], but the see has been vacant since 1965. See {{in lang|en}} "[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2p91.html Plataea] (Titular See) ''Plataeaënsis''", ''Catholic Hierarchy'' for more details.</ref> and the right of automatic succession, by Archbishop Meuleman. When health problems forced the Archbishop to resign on 23 June 1924, Perier, being the Coadjutor Bishop, automatically succeeded him as the third Archbishop of Calcutta.{{fact|date=April 2020}}

==Archbishop of Calcutta==

As the new archbishop, Perier was "a firm believer in an Indian clergy and in the papal policy as outlined in [[Pope Benedict XV]]’s encyclical on the missions," ''[[Maximum illud]]'' (Latin, "The Greatest Thing").<ref name="Perier" />
* Perier took great care to consolidate and develop the educational and missionary work among the people of the [[Chota Nagpur Division]] ([[Mundas]], [[Oraons]] and [[Kharia people|Kharias]] and others), initiated the mission among the [[Santhal people|Santals]], and supervised the development of new centers in the district of Darjeeling and surrounding areas.
* He created Dioceses of [[Ranchi]] in 1927 and [[Jalpaiguri]] in 1952.
* He invited many new religious congregations to work in his Archdiocese: the [[Salesians of Don Bosco|Salesians]], the [[Franciscan Missionaries of Mary]], the [[Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel]], the [[Brothers of Charity]].
* In 1937 he organized the first regular meeting of the bishops in India and built with it the structures which became the [[Catholic Bishops' Conference of India]] (CBCI) in 1944.
* He was the first mentor of [[Mother Teresa]] when she tried to follow her new vocation of service to the "poorest of the poor". Perier obtained the permission from the authorities in Rome to allow her to leave her convent, live in a slum and found the Congregation of the [[Missionaries of Charity]] (1950).
* He discreetly pioneered and encouraged [[inculturation]] in the seminaries of the Archdiocese.<ref>{{in lang|en}} "Adaptations of Seminary Training", ''The Clergy Monthly'', 1944–1945, Volume 8, pages 189–198</ref>
* He did not hesitate to resign in 1960 when he felt that the time had come for him to hand the Archdiocese over to his successor. He left on 12 August as the Titular Archbishop of Rhoina.<ref>Rhoina is the Latin name of [[Sultanhani]] in the ancient region of [[Lycaonia]] in modern [[Turkey]]. This see was established in 1933 for Rhoina but it has been vacant since 1968, with the death of its fourth and last holder, Archbishop Perier. See {{in lang|en}} "[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2r25.html Rhoina] (Titular See) ''Rhoinensis''" at ''Catholic Hierarchy'' for more details.</ref>
* He went to Rome to participate in the [[Second Vatican Council]] (1962–1965) for the first two sessions.
After his retirement, Perier remained in Calcutta from 1960 to 1962, with his own room at his former residence, the "Archbishop’s House" at 30 Park Street, and then moved to Kurseong for three more years, from 1962 to 1965. In 1965, he was back in Calcutta, this time with the rooms at [[St. Xavier's College, Kolkata|St. Xavier's College]], where he died on 10 November 1968.

==Legacy==
[[Édouard Hambye|É. R. Hambye]], a Jesuit historian, ended his brief biography of Archbishop Perier with the following [[epitaph]]:<ref>{{in lang|es}} Hambye, "Perier, Ferdinand", in: ''Diccionario histórico de la Compañía de Jesús'', Tomo III [Historical Dictionary of the Society of Jesus, Volume III], [https://books.google.com/books?id=36FRIxTEEnQC&pg=PA3098 page 3098]</ref>

<blockquote>“''Su lemma episcopal'', In omnibus quaeram Deum, ''fue de hecho el de su vida de jesuita y misionero. Hombre muy devoto, asceta y enérgico, paciente y dueño de sí, amó la liturgia y a los pobres y, siempre disponsible y amable, fue verdaderamente un obispo del pueblo.''" [Spanish, "His episcopal motto, ''In omnibus quaeram Deum'' [Latin, "In everything, ask God"], guided his life as a Jesuit and missionary. Devout, ascetic and energetic man, patient and self-possessed, he loved the liturgy and the poor and, always friendly and available, he was truly a bishop of the town."]</blockquote>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{in lang|en}} "[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bperi.html Archbishop Ferdinand Périer, S.J. †]", ''Catholic Hierarchy'', retrieved 12 December 2013
* {{in lang|en}} "Mgr. Ferdinand Perier", ''Catholic Directory of India 1922: 72nd Annual Issue of the Madras Catholic Directory and Annual General Register'' ([[Chennai|Madras]]: The Catholic Supply Society, 1921), [http://imageserver.library.yale.edu/digcoll:19470/500.pdf#29 pages 20–21]
* {{in lang|en}} [[Lawrence Picachy|[Lawrence] Trevor Picachy]], S.J., ''A Great Achievement: Episcopal Silver Jubilee Souvenir of His Grace, Dr. Ferdinand Perier, S.J., D.D., Archbishop of Calcutta, December 21, 1921 – December 21, 1946'', (Calcutta: Catholic Association of Bengal, 1946)
* {{in lang|es}} [[Édouard Hambye|É[douard René] Hambye]], S.J., "[https://books.google.com/books?id=36FRIxTEEnQC&pg=PA3097 Perier, Ferdinand]", in: ''Diccionario histórico de la Compañía de Jesús: Biográfico–Temático, Tomo III'' [''Historical Dictionary of the Society of Jesus: By Biography – by Subject, Volume III: Infante de Santiago–Piątkiewicz''], eds., Charles E. O’Neill, S.J., Joaquín María Domínguez, S.J. ([[Madrid]]: [[Comillas Pontifical University|Universidad Pontificia Comillas]], 2001)
* {{in lang|es}} Angel Santos Hernández, S.J., "[https://books.google.com/books?id=yPUOZeN7C0UC&pg=PA185 2.4. Brice Meuleman, Arzobispo de Calcutta]", ''Jesuitas y obispados: Los Jesuitas Obispos Misioneros y los Obispos Jesuitas de la extinción, Tomo II'' ([[Madrid]]: Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid, 2000), page 185

{{S-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{succession box |
title=3rd [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta|Archbishop of Calcutta]] |
before=[[Brice Meuleman]] |
after=[[Vivan Anthony Dyer]] |
years=1924–1960 }}
{{S-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perier, Ferdinand}}
[[Category:1875 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Belgian Jesuits]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Calcutta]]
[[Category:Belgian Roman Catholic missionaries]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in India]]
[[Category:Christianity in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Jesuit archbishops]]
[[Category:Jesuit missionaries in India]]

Ferdinand Perier - Revision history

Saddiqa khatri at 12:06, 9 July 2024