Paul Bruchési

Louis Joseph Napoléon Paul Bruchési (October 29, 1855 – September 20, 1939) was a Canadian prelate.

Louis Joseph Napoléon Paul Bruchési

Bruchési was born in Montreal October 29, 1855, the son of Paul and Caroline Aubry Bruchési. He attended the Collège de Montréal before studying at seminaries in Issy and St. Sulpice in Paris. Bruchési continued his studies at the Roman College. He ordained as a priest in 1878 by Cardinal La Valletta.[1]

Bruchési served as secretary to Archbishop Fabre. He taught dogma for four years at the Université Laval in Quebec, served as a parish priest, and from 1878 to 1887 as a professor at the Université de Laval à Montréal. He became a canon in 1891, and vice-rector of Laval, Montreal. He was the ecclesiastical superior of the Sisters of Saint Anne and archdeacon for the parochial affairs of the archdiocese.[1] He served on the Commission representing Canada at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.

Bruchési was appointed archbishop in 1897. He completed the Home for Incurables and Saint-Jacques Cathedral (Montreal). He established St. John's Union for poor and infirm priests, and erected twenty-three parishes. Archbishop Bruchési directed the 21st International Eucharistic Congress held in Montreal in 1910. He was a member of the Royal Society of Canada, and a contributor to Semaine Religieuse and the Catholic Encyclopedia.[1]

In all, Paul Bruchési was a priest for over 60 years and a bishop for 40 years. He succeeded Archbishop Édouard-Charles Fabre and was followed by Archbishop Georges Gauthier.