Born at Rocher (Ardèche), January 11, 1839.
Taking of the habit at Montolivet, December 7, 1858.
Oblation at Notre-Dame de l’Osier, August 15, 1860. (no. 523)
Ordination to the priesthood at Autun, May 21, 1864.
Died at Notre-Dame de Bon Secours, December 15, 1870.
Théophile Dours was born at Rocher in the diocese of Viviers on January 11, 1839. He studied at the minor seminary of Bourg-Saint-Andéol and at the college of Aubenas. He did his last year of classical studies at Montolivet where he took the habit on December 7, 1858. He continued his novitiate at Notre-Dame de l’Osier from the month of July, 1859 until his oblation on August 15, 1860. Father Vandenberghe, the master of novices, saw in him “a model among the novices,” in spite of “a character that tended to be touchy.” At Montolivet in 1860-1861, Father Mouchette in his reports concerning the scholastics also found him to be “excellent, filled with good will,” but with “a heart prone to attachments.” Brother Dours continued his theological studies at Autun where he was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1864. There, too, they judged him very favourably. A summary of these assessments appear under his name in the Personnel Register of 1862-1863: “Very good spirit, a lot of common sense, intelligence a little above average. A strong inclination for study, has gifts for teaching, has clear ideas, a well favored memory. He speaks Latin very well, loves the recollected life of the scholasticate, judges his confreres rather harshly, sometimes a little over serious. He also has a bent and an aptitude for literature, meticulous in his thinking, writes with clarity and restraint. In short, a good candidate, the best in his class when his overall qualities are taken into consideration.”
After his ordination, Father Dours was appointed professor of philosophy at the Sacred Heart scholasticate at Autun. In 1865-1866, he studied in Rome for one year and returned with a doctorate in theology and a license in Canon Law. He once again taught from 1866 to 1870. In his obituary, one of his confreres wrote that he was successively or simultaneously given the responsibility to teach preparatory courses in dogmatic and moral theology, courses of Canon Law, church history and Sacred Scripture.
He was ill for one year with “a chest ailment.” During the summer of 1870, he was sent to his “native air of Notre-Dame de Bon Secours. He took to his bed in November and died on December 15, 1870. Father Rambert, his superior at Autun, wrote concerning his death: “Rev. Father Dours was equal to his noble and delicate functions of director at the scholasticate, not only with regard to his talents, but also, and especially by his virtues. His regular observance, in spite of his illness and the resulting sufferings, was always exemplary, and his prayer life never failed expectations. He was still young, never having done any ministry outside of the scholasticate, but having spent his entire religious life in the holy shadow of the novitiate and scholasticate houses, he had preserved the fresh bloom of the attitude of youth entirely dedicated to the service of the Lord and all the fervour of a novice in the priesthood.”
Yvon Beaudoin, o.m.i.
