John Joseph Hirth
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John Joseph Hirth MAfr |
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|---|---|
| Vicar Apostolic of Kivu (1912–1921) | |
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| Native name | Jean-Joseph Hirth |
| Installed | 12 December 1912 |
| Term ended | 25 October 1920 |
| Successor | Julien-Louis-Edouard-Marie Gorju |
| Other posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | 15 September 1878 by Charles Lavigerie |
| Consecration | 5 May 1890 by Léon Livinhac |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
26 March 1854 Spechbach-le-Bas, Alsace, France |
| Died | 6 January 1931 (aged 76) Kabgayi, Rwanda |
| Nationality | French, German |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Occupation | Priest |
John Joseph Hirth (French: Jean-Joseph Hirth; 26 March 1854 – 6 January 1931) was a Catholic Bishop in German East Africa, known as the founder of the church in Rwanda.
John Joseph Hirth was born on 26 March 1854 at Spechbach-le-Bas (Niederspechbach), near Altkirch in Alsace. His parents were Jean Hirth, a teacher, and Catherine Sauner. Hirth was fluent in both French and German. After primary school he entered the secondary school at Altkirch, studied at the minor seminaries of Lachapelle-sous-Rougemont and Zillisheim, and then attended the college at Luxeuil-les-Bains. After the German acquisition of Alsace he chose French citizenship in 1872, since he was refused dual citizenship. He studied theology at the Major Seminary in Nancy from 1873 to 1875, and was then admitted to the White Fathers (Society of the Missionaries of Africa) as a novice. He studied under Léon Livinhac.
Hirth completed his religious and sacerdotal education at Maison Carrée, near Algiers, took his oath as a member of the society on 12 October 1876 and was ordained a priest on 15 September 1878. In 1882 he was made the first Director of the minor seminary of Saint Anne in Jerusalem. In 1886, he was made Director of the minor seminary of St. Eugene in Algiers.
In 1887 Hirth was assigned to Uganda, arriving at Bukumbi on the south shore of Lake Victoria in October 1887. He was given the task of running a school of catechists and a minor seminary. Hirth lived at the Kamoga mission for three years while directing an orphanage of children of former slaves whom the White Fathers had freed and converted to Christianity. At the start of 1890 his superior as Vicar Apostolic, Léon Livinhac, heard he had been appointed Superior General of the White Fathers, and on 25 May 1890 he consecrated Hirth as his successor.
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