1839day.year
Gulstan Ropert
(1839 - 1903)
French-American bishop and missionary
French-American bishop and missionary
French-American Catholic bishop and missionary who led the growth of the Church in Hawaii during the late 19th century.
Gulstan Rochat Ropert was born in 1839 in France and joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He was ordained in 1862 and soon sent as a missionary to the Hawaiian Islands. In 1881 he was appointed Prefect Apostolic of the Sandwich Islands, later becoming Vicar Apostolic and the first Bishop of Honolulu. Ropert oversaw the construction of churches and schools and expanded Catholic education across the islands. He navigated cultural challenges and political changes during Hawaii's movement toward annexation. His leadership strengthened the local Church and supported immigrant communities. Bishop Ropert died in 1903, leaving a lasting spiritual legacy in Hawaii.
1839
Gulstan Ropert