3. Fr.GODET Louis Prosper Adolphe Marie. ( 1850 – 1855 ) Fr.Godet was born on June 24, 1821 at Guerville. He was ordained priest on May 17, 1845. He joined Petit Seminaire as a professor in 1846. He was elevated as superior of Petit Seminaire in 1850. From 1850 the gates of Petit Seminaire college were opened to all creeds following the instructions from Rome. However the response was poor partly due to the antipathy of the Hindus towards the Christians and partly because of Latin as one of the subjects taught and it had no relevance to the Hindus. It followed a syllabus equivalent to any French college or Lycee. Fr.Godet then served in the parishes of Kovilur, Yercaud and Our Lady of Angels Church Pondicherry and on April 12,1900 he moved to his eternal rest. 4. Fr.HENRY Joseph ( 1855 – 1883 ) Fr.Henry was born on January 10, 1820 and joined the MEP seminary and was ordained priest on April 4, 1850. He came to Petit Seminaire as a professor in 1851 and later he was made professor of major seminary in 1853. Fr. Henry became the Rector of Petit Seminaire in 1855. He was the head, heart and soul of the institution till 1883 with a short break of three years from 1859 to 1862. He was teacher par excellence, always preferring some lower classes like IV or V standards. He also took great interest in training the teachers. His delight was teaching Catechism for higher classes. The strength of the college steadily increased from 100 in 1850 to 200 in 1859 and 445 in 1873. The Hindu and Muslim boys were free to follow their religions. The major seminary building was rebuilt during 1874 – 1877 and the junior seminarians were also moved to this building as boarders. Thus, during his period, Petit Seminaire ceased to be a seminary but continued its existence as a public college. In 1880, Petit Seminaire stopped receiving the Government subsidy of 3000 francs per annum which was given to her since 1815. Till date she is maintaining this financial independence. In 1882, the Pondicherry Government took over from the Mission the Directorate of Primary Schools. Fr.Henry who served the institute for about three decades passed away on February 21, 1907.              Previous                                                           Next