Born on October 18, 1860 in Lumeau in the Diocese of Chartres, France, Émile Marie Luc Alphonse Barillon lost both his parents at a young age. He was adopted by a school headmaster and his wife, both of whom loved him dearly and raised Émile as their own.^[1] On May 9, 1872, at the age of 12, he received his first Holy Communion. In October of that same year, Emile, a highly studious, intelligent and pious young man, was admitted to further his studies at the Maîtrise de la Cathedrale de Notre-Dame de Chartres (the Cathedral of Chartres), where he would begin his journey towards priesthood.^[2] He went on to join the minor seminary of St Cheron, and then the major seminary of Chartres where he received minor orders. 

But he was drawn towards mission work and joined the Paris Foreign Missions (MEP) at the Seminary on Rue du Bac where he was ordained a priest on September 20, 1884.^[3] Receiving his mission for Malacca on the same day, he departed for the Malayan peninsula on December 3, 1884, arriving in Singapore not too long after. 

Upon his arrival in Singapore, Father Barillon was first tasked to learn the Chinese language.^[4] In his first two years, he spent his time moving between Singapore, Taiping and Penang, picking up multiple dialects of the language as well.^[5] In 1886, he was sent to Penang to the Church of the Assumption where he was put in charge of the Chinese Catholics.^[6] Over the next few years when he was based in Penang, Father Barillon acquired land at Macalister Road and began building a small house for himself and a small church to cater to the Chinese congregation. The Church of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows was inaugurated in March 1888.^[7]

In 1889, soon after the completion of his new accommodation and church, he was called to aid Father Allard in Batu Gajah, Perak. While there, he made his way to Ipoh to acquire land and establish several churches, becoming the first parish priest of St Michael’s Church in Ipoh from 1890 to 1892.^[8] During his time at St Michael’s, he ministered to at least 300 Christians, baptising 141 in the span of a year alone.^[9]

In 1892, Father Barillon was called back to France to become the director of the seminary on rue du Bac.^[10] During his time in France, he became a professor of moral theology, director of aspirants in Paris, and a superior of the Seminary of Bièvres in 1902.^[11] That same year, Bishop Rene Fee passed away and on May 10, 1904, Father Barillon was elected as the new Bishop of Malacca. He was ordained on September 18, 1904 by the Archbishop of Pondicherry.^[12]

Bishop Barillon returned to Singapore as Bishop of Malacca and Singapore, and was placed at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd for a time. He aimed to catch up on all he had missed in the years he was away by visiting all the districts, his fellow clergy, and the faithful.^[13] While he was satisfied with the growing number of Christians and the construction of several new churches, he realised that financially, the missionaries were still constrained. He immediately set out on a fund-raising project with the assistance of the Society of St Francis Xavier to establish new chapels, churches, and to allocate allowances to educators and catechists.^[14]

When World War 1 began a decade later in 1914, the missionaries were put in a difficult position. Many returned to Europe to carry out military service.^[15] It became evident then that not only was Malaya lacking in foreign missionaries, but there were also few local clergymen around to help guide and lead the congregation.^[16] Thus, the idea for a seminary to be set up in Singapore was born. At the end of the war in 1918, many of the missionaries returned, allowing Bishop Barillon’s long-held plans to finally be put into motion. 

The Minor Seminary of St Francis Xavier was born and blessed in Serangoon, Singapore on February 2, 1925.^[17] This was where many aspiring priests would spend the first few years of their training, before being sent to College General in Penang for the final, more advanced stages. Bishop Barillon was able to witness four students of the seminary become clergymen and join the priesthood.^[18] However, the war prevented his other dream of setting up a home for the aged in Singapore from materialising, but his successor managed to complete this project in 1935.^[19]

As Bishop, Barillon continued to learn and gain ecclesiastical knowledge. He began work on a new directory of the Malacca Mission, which is said to have been published in 1923.^[20] While he continued his efforts to help expand the Catholic work within the region, his health had started to deteriorate in the early 1920s. He was assigned a coadjutor, Father Pierre Louis Perrichon, who faithfully remained at Bishop Barillon’s side as an aide and took over many of the duties until he himself passed away in 1932.^[21]

Without the support of his coadjutor, Bishop Barillon felt the strain of the years of mission and he decided to retire from his diocesan duties that same year.^[22] After his successor Bishop Devals took over, Bishop Barillon devoted much of his time to prayer and meditation. He succumbed to ill health on July 27, 1935 in Singapore and was buried there.^[23]