AUGOUARD, PROSPER-PHILIPPE

AUGOUARD, PROSPER-PHILIPPE. – Titular Bishop of Sinta, Apostolic Vicar of French Congo. Born in Poitiers on 16 September 1852, he entered the Congregation of the Holy Spirit and was sent to Gabon and then to Loango. While Brazzà was reaching the Congo on the right bank and Stanley on the left, the missionary managed to reach the village of Nfoa (later Brazzaville), which he made a flourishing center of activity, calling upon the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny to cooperate there. Exploring the banks of the Congo, the Ubanghi, and the Alima, he founded new centers of Christianity amid extraordinary difficulties posed by the elements and by cannibal populations. In 1890 French Congo was established as an apostolic vicariate, and A. became its first titular bishop. He received honors and awards from the French and Belgian governments. He died in Paris on 7 October 1921. He wrote many letters, published posthumously: Lettres et 28 années au Congo (Poitiers 1905).