Henri Faraud

Who was Henri Faraud?

Henri Faraud, a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, was the first Vicar Apostolic of Athabasca-Mackenzie in western Canada.

He was born in Gigondas, France and trained for the priesthood with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He came to Canada in 1846 as a result of a search for missionaries for the northern missions by Bishop Joseph-Norbert Provencher. In 1847 he was ordained at Saint Boniface in what later became Manitoba. Father Faraud initially worked at Île-à-la-Crosse, but moved farther northwest in 1848, and he ministered to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada for the rest of his career.

Bishop Alexandre-Antonin Taché, who had succeeded Provencher, worked to have the Apostolic vicariate created and Father Faraud made bishop. The first occurred in 1862, and Henri Faraud was made bishop in 1864.

Bishop Faraud spent the next 25 years in the north, which he rarely left. He authored several works on his work in the Northwest. Persuaded to retire shortly before his death, he spent his remaining few months at Saint Boniface, where he died. He was laid to rest in the crypt of Saint Boniface Cathedral next to the remains of Bishop Provencher.