Louis-Antoine-Augustin Pavy (1805–1866) was a French Catholic prelate who served as the second Bishop of Algiers from 1846 to 1866. He attempted to convert the Arabs to Catholicism. He denounced socialism, rampant among French colonists, as the devil.
Biography
Early life
Louis-Antoine-Augustin Pavy was born on March 13, 1805.
Career
Pavy was ordained as a priest in 1829. He served as the second Bishop of Algiers from 1846 to 1866. During his tenure, he was responsible for the construction of Notre Dame d'Afrique in Algiers.
Like his predecessor, he attempted to convert the Arabs to Catholicism. His 1850 request to evangelise the Arabs in villages across the Constantine Province was denied by the Minister of War, who feared they would feel disrespected. Undaunted, he gave speeches denouncing Islam from his pulpit in Algiers.
Meanwhile, Pavy made sure to cater to the French colonists who lived in Algiers. He was especially fearful of their growing adherence to socialism, which he compared to the devil.
In 1863, Pavy suggested that it was easier to preach in small towns than large cities, where spiritualism had become a problem. However, he did not see freemasonry as mutually incompatible with Catholicism.
Death
Pavy died on July 16, 1866, at the age of 61.