Léger, Paul-Émile (Roman Catholic Priest and Missionary in Fukuoka, Japan).

Léger, Paul-Émile (Roman Catholic Priest and Missionary in Fukuoka, Japan).

In Fukuoka, Léger acted as a Roman Catholic missionary from the Sulpician society. After mastering Japanese, he became a preacher and eventually the local Cathedral’s curé. His main goal, however, was to obtain control of the petit séminaire so it could be transformed into a grand séminaire (a goal that would not be achieved until several years after his departure).

1933-1939

Person

Fukuoka, Japan

Gilles Routhier, “LÉGER, PAUL-ÉMILE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 22, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed May 30, 2021, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/leger_paul_emile_22E.html.

1904

alaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada

1991

Montreal, Canada

Roman Catholic Priest; Sulpician; educator; missionary; archbishop; cardinal.

English; French; Japanese.

Léger was a Roman Catholic Priest and Missionary who left Montreal for Asia on 17 September 1933. He and Charles Prévost were the first Sulpicians in Japan. His dedication to learning Japanese allowed him to become a known preacher. Ten months after his arrival, he became the curé for the local Cathedral. He left the post the next year for Aohori (Futtsu). The overall goal of the Sulpician mission in Fukuoka was to open a grand séminaire that required them to take over the existing petit séminaire. Léger found the task challenging and returned to Canada for a break from December 1935-October 1936. When he returned to Fukuoka, he directed his attention to training seminarians for ordainment. Unfortunately, his absence had aggravated the relationship between the Sulpicians and the local Bishop who wanted to turn the petit séminaire into a school instead of a grand séminaire. Ultimately, Léger left that struggle behind as he was recalled to Canada at the beginning of WWII. The colleagues he left behind were interned in 1941. The grand séminaire at Fukuoka was established in 1948.

Denise Robillard, “Paul-Émile Léger,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2008, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-emile-leger.

Gilles Routhier, “LÉGER, PAUL-ÉMILE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 22, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed May 30, 2021, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/leger_paul_emile_22E.html.

Quebec Since 1800 (Carleton, HIST 3301A)

Reilly Dwyer