EASTER OF MONSIGNOR ADOLPHE DUCHENNE

“Once animated by the same spirit, how strong, gentle, and close-knit will be the charity that animates the great Franciscan family, our beloved Congregation.” Father Duchenne (August 28, 1860)

Today, let us again, together, praise the Lord and joyfully celebrate the memory of Bishop Duchenne, a model of charity and faith, and a builder of unity. Bishop Adolphe Duchenne was Bishop of Arras, Boulogne, and Saint-Omer.

A pastor deeply attuned to the social realities of his time, he marked his episcopate with great attention to the poor, workers, and families in distress; strong support for religious congregations, especially in their educational, hospital, and charitable missions; and a profoundly evangelical and missionary spirit, inspired by the social doctrine of the Church, likely by Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical (Rerum Novarum).

He encouraged and supported the presence of the Franciscan Sisters in his diocese; he recognized their essential role in the Church's mission in Calais, especially in times of crisis and urban poverty; he saw in them a living witness to the Gospel, at the heart of the people.

"We must act only for God; all our works must be offered to Him, and they have merit only insofar as they are done in a state of grace and out of love for Him." (Bishop Duchenne)