Bishop Louis-Joseph d’Herbomez, OMI (1822–1890)
Date of Birth:
January 17, 1822, in Brillon, France
Ordination:
October 14, 1849, by Bishop Eugène de Mazenod, OMI, Marseilles, France
Episcopal Ordination:
October 9, 1864, by Archbishop Francis-Norbert Blanchet, Archbishop of Oregon City, assisted by Bishop Modeste Demers, Bishop of Vancouver Island, as well as Father Leon Fouquet, OMI
Length of Episcopacy:
1863–1890
Motto: Si Deus est pro nobis, quis contra nos? (If God is for us, who can be against us?)
Bishop Louis-Joseph d’Herbomez came to North America in 1850 to work in the Oregon mission. He was initially stationed with the Yakima people (1851) and then sent to Puget Sound (1860). In 1858, he was named vicar of missions and moved to Vancouver Island. He was appointed bishop of the newly formed Vicariate Apostolic of British Columbia on December 22, 1863, and subsequently moved to New Westminster, the seat of the new ecclesiastical territory.
Bishop d’Herbomez attended the First Vatican Council in 1869, but during his return through France he was captured in Nancy by German troops. He was released a short time later. On his return to British Columbia, d’Herbomez oversaw the development of Aboriginal missions and the establishment of Holy Rosary parish, the first parish in the city of Vancouver. Bishop d’Herbomez died on June 3, 1890, in New Westminster, at the age of 68.