Our Founder
Bishop Étienne Larue was born at St. Christophe in Brinnais, France, on 11 June 1865. He joined the Society of the White Fathers and was ordained a priest on 28 May 1891 in the Basilica of St. Louis in Carthage. He was later appointed professor at St. Anne Seminary in Jerusalem.
On 30 August 1899, he left Jerusalem for the Seminary of Philosophy of the White Fathers at Binson in the Diocese of Reims, France. On 1 July 1902, he travelled by boat from Marseilles to the Vicariate of Nyasa, which included areas that are now part of Malawi and the Zambian dioceses of Kasama, Mpika, Mansa, and Chipata. He arrived in Chilubula, Zambia, on 24 September 1902 and took charge of the mission.
In 1908, he returned to Chilubula and served as secretary and councillor to Bishop Joseph Du Pont, while also serving as bursar of the Vicariate of Nyasa. In 1909, he was appointed regional superior of the White Fathers in the Vicariate of Nyasa.
In 1912, when the Holy See divided the Vicariate of Nyasa into two territories, Bishop Larue was appointed titular Bishop of Turburbo. He was consecrated on 1 April 1913 at the Cathedral of Autun by Archbishop Villard. He later became the first Vicar Apostolic of Bangweulu, succeeding Bishop Joseph Du Pont, who retired to Europe.
Bishop Larue's spiritual last WILL
In union with our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, I declare to die for the salvation of the souls in the vicariate of Bangweulu that the holy church committed to my frailty. I mean all the souls, Catholics and pagans alike, and I beseech them all for the last time to have in view, throughout their lives, only one thing: to do God's will for their own salvation.
I thank all the missionaries of Bangweulu for their devotedness in the salvation of these dear souls. My last prayer here on earth for them is that they remain always united in the love of Christ and of his church from which derives the fruitfulness of all apostolate. With all my heart, I give to all and each one of them the grace of union which will bind them together in the blessed eternity.
To the society of the white fathers and mainly to those who have been my superiors and fellow workers in the apostolate, I express my last and deep gratitude for all the good they have done to me with their advice and encouragement. I beg their pardon for all the wrongs and troubles I caused them. I renew my desire of dying in the love of God our father. I recommend my poor soul to the prayer of all missionaries, neophytes (my children in faith) and I abandon myself to divine mercy. Amen