ALLARD, JEAN-FRANÇOIS-MARIE. - Oblate missionary of the Immaculate Mary, first Apostolic Vicar of Natal, b. 27 Nov. 1806 at La Roche (France), d. at Rome 26 Sept. 1886. Ordained priest in 1830, he entered the Oblates in 1837 and left for Canada in 1843. In 1851 he was named Bishop of Samaria and Apostolic Vicar of Natal. He organized work among white Catholics and the apostolate among blacks, founding for the latter the stations of Roma, St Monica and St Michael. Twenty years later, in 1873, his vicariate—with only 8 fathers and 5 brothers—counted more than 3,000 Catholics, including 1,000 Basutos. Retired for reasons of health, he spent his last years in Rome.
BIBL.: Petites annales des missions des Oblats de Marie Immaculée, 1908, pp. 407-10.