Jean-Mathieu Soulerin

Jean-Mathieu Soulerin (6 June 1807 – 17 October 1879) was the fourth Superior General of the Congregation of St. Basil and primary founder of the University of St. Michael's College in Toronto, Canada.

Early life and career Soulerin was born on June 6, 1807, in the village of Ailhon in the south of France, where he spent much of his early life. As a young man he went to Annonay and enrolled at the Basilian college there, where he decided to become a priest. He was formally ordained into the Roman Catholic priesthood on December 20, 1834. In 1836 he briefly entered into the University of Paris to further his studies, and in 1837 toured Italy, Belgium, and England before returning to France. He was assigned to teach at the college in Feyzin, near Lyon, until 1842 when he was asked to return as the director of the college in Annonay. He remained there until he received an invitation from a fellow alumnus of the Basilian college, the recently installed Bishop of Toronto Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel, to establish a school in his rapidly growing city. At the time, just over one quarter of Toronto's population identified as Roman Catholic, particularly with the surge of immigrants arriving from Ireland, yet there did not yet exist any Catholic institutions of higher education. Soulerin and his companions arrived in Toronto on September 15, 1852, by way of New York. The college was, as it would be for much of its history, dominated by Irish Canadians. In 1856 he established the St. Basil's Novitiate which began to attract Catholic students from both across eastern Canada and the United States, particularly upstate New York. In addition to serving as Superior, Soulerin taught courses on logic, natural philosophy, and chemistry.

During the late 1850s, he was appointed vicar general of the diocese by Bishop Charbonnel, and would continue to do so under his successor, Bishop Lynch, in the early 1860s. From 1857 to 1858, when Bishop Charbonnel was away in Europe, he trusted Soulerin as the administrator of the diocese until his return. That same year, Bishop Pinsonnault of London named him a vicar general. In 1863 he also helped administer nearby St. Mary's Parish, and helped establish various Catholic missions throughout southern and western Ontario.

Return to France Having become well known for his success in Canada, Soulerin was elected as Superior General of the Basilian Fathers on January 19, 1865, and soon returned to Annonay. During his tenure, the Basilians would reach their peak in France and saw significant growth in both Canada and the United States. He was also named vicar general of his home diocese of Viviers. In 1878 he published Constitutions de la congrégation de Saint-Basile which laid out his vision for the order.

Soulerin died in Annonay on October 17, 1879, at the age of 72.

Legacy Today St. Michael's College is one of the seven primary undergraduate colleges that make up the University of Toronto. Soulerin House is the honorary name of the fourth floor of Elmsley Hall, one of St. Michael's undergraduate residence buildings. A stained glass window, toward the rear of the sanctuary of St. Basil's, depicts and honors Soulerin's memory as the church's first pastor.

Writings "Missions du Canada," Annales de la propagation de la foi (Lyon), XXVIII (avril 1856), 308–19 Constitutions de la congrégation de Saint-Basile (Lyon, 1878)