Pope Francis has authorised the promulgation of the Decree on the recognition of the heroic virtues of the missionary Bishop Henri Baptiste Stanislas Verjus.
Versus (1860-1892) was a member of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
He may now be called Venerable Henri Baptiste Stanislas Verjus.
Bishop Verjus is recognised as one who contributed to the foundation of the Church in Papua New Guinea.
He spent just 7 years as a missionary before dying at the age of 32.
The recognition of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Henri Baptiste Stanislas Verjus is now needed for the Church to proclaim him “Blessed”
Verjus was born May 26, 1860, in Oleggio, in the Diocese of Novara, Italy.
He was fifteen months old when his family left Oleggio to live in Savoy which was then part of France.
Verjus left Europe on November 19, 1884 and, after a brief stop at Sydney, he installed himself on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, 260 miles east of New Guinea.
On July 1, 1885, with two Italian Brothers, Salvatore Gaspara and Nicola Marconi, he set foot on Yule Island which was to become the base and centre of the Catholic mission in Papua.
Verjus was named Vicar Apostolic of New Britain on May 10, 1889, and was ordained on Sunday, September 22, 1889 by Bishop Louis André Navarre, Vicar Apostolic of New Guinea.
Three months later, on December 28, 1889, he was named coadjutor of Bishop André Navarre, Archbishop of Cyr and Vicar Apostolic of English New Guinea.
In April 1892, Verjus returned to Europe to look for funding and new missionaries for the mission.
He died suddenly death at Oleggio on November 13, 1892, at the age of 32.
Bishop Verjus is recognised as one who contributed to the foundation of the Church in a region.
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