Léon-Paul Classe
|
Léon-Paul Classe MAfr |
|
|---|---|
| Vicar Apostolic of the Apostolic Vicariate of Ruanda | |
 |
|
| Installed | 10 April 1922 |
| Term ended | 31 January 1945 |
| Predecessor | John Joseph Hirth |
| Successor | Laurent-François Déprimoz |
| Other posts | Titular Bishop of Maxula Prates (26 April 1922–31 January 1945) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 31 March 1900 by Léon Livinhac |
| Consecration | 28 May 1922 by Désiré-Joseph Mercier |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 June 1874 Metz, France |
| Died | 31 January 1945 (aged 70) Bujumbura, Burundi |
| Nationality | French |
| Denomination | Catholic |
Léon-Paul Classe (28 June 1874 – 31 January 1945) was a Catholic priest who was Vicar Apostolic of the Apostolic Vicariate of Ruanda, in what is now Rwanda, from 1922 until his death in 1945. During his time as a missionary priest and then bishop a great many Rwandans were converted to Christianity. Classe was influential in persuading the Belgian colonial administration to favor the Tutsis as a ruling caste in the country over the Hutu majority.
Léon-Paul Classe was born on 28 June 1874 in Metz, France. When he was aged six his family moved to Paris. For his secondary education he attended Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet and then the junior seminary of Versailles. He went to the major seminary of Issy-les-Moulineux to study philosophy. In 1896 he was accepted into the White Fathers (Society of the Missionaries of Africa). On 31 March 1900 he was ordained a priest by Léon Livinhac, the Superior General of the Society. Several months later he was sent to John Joseph Hirth, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Nyanza, as an assistant.
Classe was one of the first two missionaries to be sent to Rwanda. The ruler, King Musinga, was at first hostile to his mission. Later, Classe was allowed to make many converts. In Rwanda he helped found the missions of Nyundo and Rwaza (north). In 1907 Hirth named him delegate vicar general in Rwanda., On 12 December 1912, Jean-Joseph Hirth was appointed the first Vicar Apostolic of Kivu, which covered modern Rwanda and Burundi. Hirth named Classe his vicar general in Rwanda.
Classe was an admirer of the Tutsi elite, whom he considered natural rulers of the country. In Classe's view, the political structure of Rwanda was much like the feudal structure of the Middle Ages in Europe. As a presumed expert on the country, his 1916 paper on the political organization had great influence on the thinking of the Belgian administration, which came to support the leadership position of the Tutsis.
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