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Name: BERNHARD, Louis (Rev. Father)
Birth Date: 8.12.1872 Ribeauville, France
Death Date: 28.2.1939 Paris
First Date: 1898
Profession: Roman Catholic priest in charge at St. Austin's Mission, he planted the first coffee tree at the French Mission Station at Kabete
Area: Nairobi, Kabete
Book Reference: Gillett, Irish, Binks, KAD, Red 25, Red 31, Hut, North, Red 22, Red Book 1912, Red 19
School: Beauvais, Merville, Paris
General Information:
Binks - Father Bernard said in a letter of 25th Sept. 1931 - "Coffee was also planted by Dr Charters and Mr John Patterson at Kibwezi at the Scottish Industrial Mission during 1893. Later they also transferred plants to Kikuyu. ..."
Red 25 - B.L. & Ph. Priest of the Society of the Holy Ghost C.S. Sp.; Vic. Gen. to the RC Bishop of Zanzibar; Principal of St. Austin's Catholic Mission
Red 25 - B.L. & Ph. Priest of the Society of the Holy Ghost C.S. Sp.; Vic. Gen. to the RC Bishop of Zanzibar; Principal of St. Austin's Catholic Mission
North - In charge of St. Austin's Mission, Kabete 1902; Approved to perform marriages under the Native Marriage Ordinance April 1905
Red Book 1912 - Revd. L. Bernhard - Nairobi
Red Book 1919 - Father L. Bernhard - RC Mission, St. Austin, Nairobi
North - Land Grant application for Catholic Mission 11-11-1903, Kiambu, not granted
Web: Holy Ghost Mission, the Spiritans in Nairobi The two-storey mission residence which we see to-day was built in 1911. The 1900 house served the Spiritans well and their many guests, missionaries passing through or taking a rest, Mill Hill, Consolata, Missionaries of Africa, CSSp, personal friends. It was demolished to make room for our present church. New, very deep foundations were dug right down to the rock and the foundation stone was laid and blessed by Fr. Louis Bernhard on April 20 1913. To fix the date for posterity, an assortment of coins and medals were wrapped in the current issue of the East African Standard, put in a bottle and buried underneath. Appropriately, at the same time, a new water-driven mechanical system in the coffee factory was also blessed and set in motion "to the admiration of all." It will soon be harnessed to a dynamo to provide electricity.
Henry J. Koren, Spiritan East African Memorial, 1994: He was ordained a priest on January 1, 1898 in Chevilly and belonged to the group of one hundred novices who made their vows there on the following day. On August 10, 1898 he sailed for the Vicariate of North Zanguebar. Bp. Allgeyer placed him at Mhonda for his initiation year; there he received he usual task for newcomers, which was to take care of the children in its schools and leaming the language. Next, he performed the same task on Zanzibar island. Transferred to Kenya in 1902, he was one of the three Fathers who selected the 25 acre site for the new All Saints' mission to the Kikuyu in Kiambu, near Nairobi.
He became its director. His initial reception by the Kikuyu was rather cold, but after some visits to their villages they became friendly, and he could open three small catechetical schools. Meanwhile the Brothers put up a residence and a chapel in Kiambu itself, planted Reunion moka coffee and laid out a vegetable garden. The mission began to develop slowly and showed promise for the future. ln 1910 we find him at St. Austin's, Simonisdale (Nairobi), as its pastor. He remained there for more than two decades and became vicar general of ailing Bp. Neville. As such, he practically governed the vicariate. We may also mention that in 1923 he conducted the funeral of the famous convert known as Miss Foxley. For more than ten years she had devoted herself in an exemplary way to the care of the Kikuyu and other Africans who needed help. While on leave in France, he was elected to the Congregation's General Council and went to reside at its headquarters in Paris. He died there six years later.
He became its director. His initial reception by the Kikuyu was rather cold, but after some visits to their villages they became friendly, and he could open three small catechetical schools. Meanwhile the Brothers put up a residence and a chapel in Kiambu itself, planted Reunion moka coffee and laid out a vegetable garden. The mission began to develop slowly and showed promise for the future. ln 1910 we find him at St. Austin's, Simonisdale (Nairobi), as its pastor. He remained there for more than two decades and became vicar general of ailing Bp. Neville. As such, he practically governed the vicariate. We may also mention that in 1923 he conducted the funeral of the famous convert known as Miss Foxley. For more than ten years she had devoted herself in an exemplary way to the care of the Kikuyu and other Africans who needed help. While on leave in France, he was elected to the Congregation's General Council and went to reside at its headquarters in Paris. He died there six years later.