Henri Teissier

Henri Teissier was a French-Algerian Catholic bishop who served as the Bishop of Oran from 1972 to 1980 and the Archbishop of Algiers from 1988 to 2008. He was born in Lyon, France, in 1929 and moved to Algeria with his family in 1947. He was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Algiers in 1955 and became a naturalized Algerian citizen in 1966. He was a member of the Secretariat for Relations with Non-Christians and the Vice-President of Caritas International for Arab countries. He was also a prominent figure in the ecumenical dialogue between Christianity and Islam, participating in various symposia and conferences on the topic. He witnessed the violence and turmoil that afflicted Algeria during the war of independence and the civil war, and he suffered the loss of 19 religious people who were killed by terrorists between 1994 and 1996, including his friend and fellow bishop Pierre Claverie. He remained faithful to his mission of serving the Church and the people of Algeria, despite the hardships and threats. He retired in 2008 and returned to France, where he died in Lyon on December 1, 2020, at the age of 91. He was known for his humility, courage, wisdom, and compassion. He was also a prolific writer and published several books on the history and mission of the Church in North Africa.