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{{Short description|Belgian clergyman and missionary bishop}}
'''Charles John Seghers''' (also written as ''Charles-Jean Seghers''; 26 December 1839 - 28 November 1886) was a Belgian clergyman and missionary bishop. He is considered to be the founder of the [[Alaska]] Mission.▼
}}{{Use dmy dates|date=FebruaryJuly 20112020}}▼
{{Infobox person
| NAME name = Seghers, Charles John Seghers▼
| image = Archbishop Charles John Seghers.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date |df=yes|1839|12|26}}
| PLACE OF BIRTH birth_place = [[Ghent]], Belgium▼
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1886|11|28|1839|12|26}}
| death_place = Near [[Nulato, Alaska|Nulato]], [[District of Alaska]]
| SHORToccupation DESCRIPTION = Catholic missionary bishop▼
}}
▲'''Charles John Seghers''' (also written as ''Charles-Jean Seghers''; 26 December 1839 -– 28 November 1886) was a Belgian clergyman and missionary bishop. He is considered to be the founder of the [[Alaska]] Mission.
 
==Biography==
 
===Early years and formation===
Seghers was born at [[Ghent]], in Belgium.
 
He attended school at the [[Jesuit]] High School of Ste. Barbe in Ghent, and the [[The American College of the Immaculate Conception|American College]] in [[Leuven]]. Ordained priest in May 1863 in [[Mechlin]], Belgium, he left soon after to begin his missionary work in the area of [[Vancouver|Vancouver, British Columbia]], Canada in November of that year.
 
===Missionary work===
While there, he founded St. Joseph's Hospital in [[Victoria, British Columbia]]. He returned to [[Rome]] to take part in the [[First Vatican Council]]. He was appointed as a diocesan administrator in 1871, and later Bishop of Vancouver Island (now [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria in Canada|Bishop of Victoria]]) on 29 June 1873. He made his first visit to [[Alaska]], which was included in his diocese, three weeks later. He made five visits to Alaska during his term as bishop. In June 1878, he left [[Nulato, Alaska]], where he had set up a temporary headquarters, and set sail to [[San Francisco]], where he learned he had been appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Oregon City, later to be renamed the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland|ArchdioceseCoadjutor Archbishop of PortlandOregon City]]. Although he personally would have preferred remaining a missionary, he accepted the appointment. He would later become the Archbishoparchbishop in 1880. In that capacity, he visited Rome in 1883, and took part that year in the [[Third Plenary Council of Baltimore]]. After petitioning [[Pope Leo XIII]] to be reassigned to Vancouver again, his wish was granted. This allowed him to return to missionary work. He established missions in [[Juneau]] and [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]], and also founded a school and hospital in Juneau.
 
===Death===
{{listen
In 1886, with two Jesuit priests, [[Pascal Tosi]] and Aloysius Robaut, and one layman, Frank Fuller, he sailed from Victoria with the intention of reaching the upper [[Yukon]]. When they reached the confluence of the [[Yukon River]] and [[Stewart River]], Seghers decided the other two priests should spend the winter there, while he and Fuller would press on to Nulato. Father Tosi expressed concerns about this proposal, noting that Fuller had displayed signs of emotional instability. Seghers acknowledged the concern, and how the lateness of the season would likely impact his work. He gave as his reasons for going ahead anyway as his wish to fulfill a promise made to the people of Nulato to return eight years earlier, and that there were stories that an [[Anglican]] priest, who was allegedly at [[St. Michael, Alaska]], might arrive there and establish himself before Seghers. As they continued down the river, Seghers came to realize that, as traveling conditions and the boat deteriorated, Fuller's mind did as well. On October 16, he wrote in his diary: ''Peculiar conversation with (Fuller) in which, for the third time, he gives evidence of insanity.'' On November 27, Seghers and Fuller, with two native guides they had acquired at Nuklukayet, decided to spend the night at the fish camp at what is today known as "Bishop's Rock". Seghers was in high spirits, laughing frequently, thinking that he would finally reach Nulato the following day. Fuller, however, remained sullen, looking suspiciously at his companions and remaining agitated throughout the night.▼
| filename = The Official Account of the Death of Archbishop Seghers - read by Phil Schempf for LibriVox's Short Nonfiction Collection Vol. 051 (2017).ogg
| title = {{center|"The Official Account of the Death of Archbishop Seghers"<br>1893<br><small>Read by Phil Schempf for LibriVox</small>}}
| description = {{center|1=Audio 00:08:57 ([https://books.google.com/books?id=gqcMAQAAMAAJ full text])}}
| pos = right
| type = speech
| image = [[File:His Master's Voice (small).png|70px]]
}}
▲In 1886, with two Jesuit priests, [[Pascal Tosi]] and Aloysius Robaut, and one layman, Frank Fuller, he sailed from Victoria with the intention of reaching the upper [[Yukon]]. When they reached the confluence of the [[Yukon River]] and [[Stewart River (Yukon)|Stewart River]], Seghers decided the other two priests should spend the winter there, while he and Fuller would press on to Nulato. Father Tosi expressed concerns about this proposal, noting that Fuller had displayed signs of emotional instability. Seghers acknowledged the concern, and how the lateness of the season would likely impact his work. He gave as his reasons for going ahead anyway as his wish to fulfill a promise made to the people of Nulato to return eight years earlier, and that there were stories that an [[Anglican]] priest, who was allegedly at [[St. Michael, Alaska]], might arrive there and establish himself before Seghers. As they continued down the river, Seghers came to realize that, as traveling conditions and the boat deteriorated, Fuller's mind did as well. On 16 October 16, he wrote in his diary: ''Peculiar conversation with (Fuller) in which, for the third time, he gives evidence of insanity.'' On November 27 November, Seghers and Fuller, with two native guides they had acquired at Nuklukayet, decided to spend the night at the fish camp at what is today known as "Bishop's Rock". Seghers was in high spirits, laughing frequently, thinking that he would finally reach Nulato the following day. Fuller, however, remained sullen, looking suspiciously at his companions and remaining agitated throughout the night.
 
Between six and seven the next morning, the party arose and prepared for the final leg of their journey. As Seghers bent over to pick up his mittens, Fuller fired a single shot which killed Seghers instantly.
 
His body was taken to St. Michael for burial. The next year, it was exhumed and sent to Victoria, and buried in the crypt at [[St. Andrew's Cathedral, (Victoria, British Columbia)|St. Andrew's Cathedral]]. He is still referred to as "the founder of the Alaska missions."
 
==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web | first = Louis L | last = Renner | url = http://www.cbna.info/bishops/seghers.html | title = Archbishop Charles John Seghers | accessdate = 2007-05-09 }}
* {{cite book | title = Who was who in America; historical volume 1607-18961607–1896 | location = Chicago | publisher = Marquis | year = 1967 | oclc = 5357538 }}
{{refend}}
 
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* {{CathEncy|wstitle=Charles John Seghers}}
* {{Find a Grave|18734}}
* [https://www.uvic.ca/library/locations/spcoll/book/seghers.php Seghers Collection] at University of Victoria, Special Collections
 
{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{succession box |
title=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon|Archbishop of Oregon City]] |
before=[[François Norbert Blanchet]] |
after= [[William Hickley Gross]] |
years=1880&ndash;1884 }}
{{s-end}}
 
{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
 
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
▲| NAME = Seghers, Charles John
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Seghers, Charles Jean
▲| SHORT DESCRIPTION = missionary bishop
| DATE OF BIRTH = 26 December 1839
▲| PLACE OF BIRTH = Ghent, Belgium
| DATE OF DEATH = 28 November 1886
| PLACE OF DEATH = Bishop's Rock, Canada
▲}}{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2011}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seghers, Charles John}}
[[Category:1839 births]]
[[Category:1886 deaths]]
[[Category:PeopleClergy from Ghent]]
[[Category:Belgian expatriates in Canada]]
[[Category:Belgian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:19th-century Belgian Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:19th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:Flemish peoplepriests]]
[[Category:History of Catholicism in the United States]]
[[Category:AlumniCatholic University of the Université catholique de LouvainLeuven before(1834–1968) 1968alumni]]
[[Category:American College of the Immaculate Conception alumni]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic bishopsarchbishops of Oregon City]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic Ecclesiasticalarchbishops in Provincethe ofUnited PortlandStates]]
[[Category:CanadianBelgian peopleemigrants of Belgianto descentCanada]]
[[Category:OregonClergy clergyfrom Oregon]]
[[Category:People from Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:People from Juneau, Alaska]]
[[Category:People from Sitka, Alaska]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Victoria in Canada]]
 
[[fr:Charles-Jean Seghers]]
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