Joseph-Alexandre Baile

Who was Joseph-Alexandre Baile?

Joseph-Alexandre Baile was a Sulpician priest who was educated in France and came to Canada in 1825. He was ordained priest in 1826 and was a professor at the Petit Séminaire de Montréal by 1827.

Baile became director of this school by 1830, a position he held for sixteen years. During that period, Baile was often in conflict with Joseph-Vincent Quiblier, the superior of the Sulpicians in Canada to the point that he made many requests to be returned to France. By 1845, Bishop Ignace Bourget had convinced Quiblier to leave and Pierre-Louis Billaudèle became the Sulpician superior in Canada.

By 1847, Baile had taken over direction of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal and set about improving the quality of the theology courses at the school.