Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel

Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel (1 December 1802 – 29 March 1891) was the Bishop of Toronto from 1850 to 1860 and the only French and non-English priest to hold the post.

Early years

Born in Monistrol-sur-Loire, France to a French noble family, de Charbonnel was ordained Priest of Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in 1825.

Priesthood in Canada

De Charbonnel came to Canada in 1839 as a priest in Montréal and left for Toronto in 1847 as the city's Bishop. He resigned as Bishop of Toronto in 1860.

Return to France and death

The Bishop returned to France to return as a member of the Capuchin Order. De Charbonnel was later made Titular Bishop of Sozopolis in Haemimonto and later given the title of Bishop Emeritus of Toronto. He died in 1891 in Crest, France and interred at the Capuchin Monastery.

Legacy

De Charbonnel left his legacy in Toronto through the establishment of St Michael's College and other institutions including:

• House of Providence - a shelter for the sick, aged and orphaned
• instituted the St Vincent de Paul Society of Toronto
• established the Toronto Savings Bank

Much of the Toronto diocese's debt was removed using money from his paternal estate in France.

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Archbishop Armand-Françios-Marie de Charbonnel, O.F.M. Cap.
• Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel