Charles John Seghers

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Charles John Seghers (26 December 1839 – 28 November 1886) was a Belgian-born Catholic bishop and missionary who helped start the Catholic missions in Alaska. He served as Bishop of Vancouver Island from 1873 to 1878 and again from 1884 until his death, and as Bishop of Oregon City from 1880 to 1884, being given the personal title of archbishop in 1884.

Seghers was born in Ghent, Belgium. He studied at the Ste Barbe Jesuit High School in Ghent and at the American College in Leuven. He was ordained a priest in May 1863 in Mechlin and soon began missionary work in the Vancouver area of British Columbia. He founded St. Joseph's Hospital in Victoria and participated in the First Vatican Council in Rome.

He became diocesan administrator in 1871 and was named Bishop of Vancouver Island on 29 June 1873. Alaska lay within his diocese, and he made five visits there during his tenure. In 1878 he left Nulato to become Coadjutor Archbishop of Oregon City, and he later became archbishop in 1880. He visited Rome in 1883 and took part in the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. After requesting to return to Vancouver, his wish was granted, and he continued missionary work there, establishing missions in Juneau and Sitka and founding a school and hospital in Juneau.

In 1886, with two Jesuit priests, Pascal Tosi and Aloysius Robaut, and a layman, Frank Fuller, Seghers sailed from Victoria toward the Yukon. Fuller showed signs of instability, and Seghers decided to press on toward Nulato. On the night of 27–28 November 1886, Fuller shot and killed Seghers. Seghers’ body was taken to St. Michael and later buried in Victoria in the crypt of St. Andrew's Cathedral. He is remembered as the founder of the Alaska missions.