AUGOUARD, PROSPER-PHILIPPE

AUGOUARD, PROSPER-PHILIPPE. — Titular Bishop of Sintia, Apostolic Vicar of French Congo. Born in Poitiers on 16 Sept. 1852, he entered the Congregation of the Holy Spirit and was sent to Gabon and later to Loango. While Brazza reached the Congo on the right bank and Stanley on the left, the missionary was able to reach the village of Nfoa (which later became Brazzaville), turning it into a vibrant center of activity and enlisting the help of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny. Exploring the banks of the Congo, Ubahni, and Alima, he founded new centers of Christianity amid unprecedented difficulties posed by hostile elements and anthropophagous populations. In 1890 French Congo was erected into an apostolic vicariate, and A. became its first titular. He received honors and awards from the French and Belgian governments. He died in Paris on 7 Oct. 1921. He wrote many letters, published posthumously: Lettres et ses années au Congo (Poitiers 1905).