The Diocese of Fort Wayne, 1857--September
22--1907, A Book of Historical Reference, 1669-1907. By the
Rt. Rev. H. J. Alerding. Fort Wayne: The Archer Printing
Co. 1907.
Transcribed and posted in digital format.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----
PAGE
PREFACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
. 5
CHAPTER I. A
Bird's-eye view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 9
CHAPTER
II. Northern Indiana within the jurisdiction of the
Bishops of
Quebec, Baltimore, Bardstown and Vincennes. . . . . . . . . . .
. 21
CHAPTER
III. The Right Rev. John Henry Luers, D.D. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 30
The First Bishop of Fort Wayne.
CHAPTER
IV. The Right Rev. Joseph Dwenger, C. PP. S., D.D. . .
. . . . . . . . . . .38
The Second Bishop of Fort Wayne.
CHAPTER V.
The Right Rev. Joseph Rademacher, D.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 46
The Third Bishop of Fort Wayne.
CHAPTER
VI. The Right Rev. Herman Joseph Alerding, D.D. . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 53
The Fourth Bishop of Fort Wayne.
CHAPTER
VII. Domestic Prelates of His Holiness . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
The Right Rev. Mgr. Julian Benoit, V.G.
The Right Rev. Mgr. John H. Oechtering, V.G.
CHAPTER
VIII. The Clergy, Diocesan and Regular . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Surnames: A + B + C +
D + E + F + G + H + I + J
K + L + M + N + O + P + Q + R + S
T + U + V + W + X + Y + Z
CHAPTER
IX. The Churches--Prior to 1857,
inclusive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 200
[Pages
200-230 are on web page 9]
[Pages
230-266 on the web page 9B]
NOTRE DAME. St. Joseph County. (South Bend)
Sacred Heart
Church. [1831]. .200-201
FORT WAYNE. Allen County.
Cathedral
of the Immaculate Conception. [1837] . 201-207
LAGRO. Wabash County.
St.
Patrick's Church. [1838] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
208-210
LOGANSPORT. Cass County.
St.
Vincent De Paul's Church. [1838]. . . . . . . . . . 211-213
PERU. Miami County.
St.
Charles Borromeo's Church. [1838] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
213-217
LAFAYETTE. Tippecanoe County.
St.
Mary's Church. [1844] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217-220
HUNTINGTON. Huntington County.
SS.
Peter and Paul's Church. [1845] . . . . . . 220-222
DECATUR. Adams County.
St.
Mary's Church. [1846] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
222-224
ST. JOHN, LAKE COUNTY.
St.
John Evangelist's Church. [1847] . . . . . . . . . . . 224-227
FORT WAYNE. Allen County.
St.
Mary's Church. [1848] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227-230
MISHAWAKA. St. Joseph County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [1848] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230-234
[The name was changed from Holy Angels'
Church to St. Joseph's in 1861]
MICHIGAN CITY.
Immaculate
Conception Church. [1849] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234-237
[Michigan City: St. Ambrose's Church and
St. Mary's Church in early years]
NIX SETTLEMENT.
St.
Catharine's Church. [1850] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .237-239
[See also St. Joseph Church, Roanoke,
Huntington County, IN]
BESANCON. New Haven, Allen County.
St.
Louis' Church. [est. 1851] . . . . . . . .239-241
HESSE CASSEL. Allen County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [1851] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241-243
LOTTAVILLE. Lake County.
SS.
Peter and Paul's Church. [1851] . . . . . . . . . . . 243-244
PULASKI. (Pulaski & Indian Creek)
Pulaski County. St.
Joseph's Church. [1852] .244-246
AVILLA. Noble County.
Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. [1853] .246-249
LAPORTE. Laporte County.
St.
Peter's Church. [1853] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
249-252
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [1853] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252-255
LAFAYETTE. Tippecanoe County.
St.
Boniface's Church. [1854] . . . . . . . . . . . . .255-259
MONTEREY. Pulaski County.
St.
Ann's Church. [1855] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259-260
ST. VINCENT. Allen County.
St.
Vincent's Church. [1856] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
261-262
UNION CITY. Randolph County.
St.
Mary's Church. [1856] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262-263
KEWANNA, P. P., Fulton County.
St.
Ann's Church. [1857] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263-265
CHAPTER
X. The Churches--From 1858 to
1867
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
CHESTERTON. Porter County.
St.
Patrick's Church. [est. 1858] . . . . . . . . . . . . 266-268
VALPARAISO. Porter County.
St.
Paul's Church. [est. 1858] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.268-270
HANOVER CENTRE. Lake County.
St.
Martin's Church. [est. 1859] . . . . . . . . .270-272
CRAWFORDSVILLE. Montgomery County.
St.
Bernard's Church. [est. 1859] . . 272-273
LAPORTE. LaPorte County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [est. 1859] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.273-274
NEW HAVEN. Allen County.
St.
John The Baptist's Church. [1859] . . . . . . . . . .
.274-276
SHELDON. (now Yoder, Allen County)
St.
Aloysius' Church. [est. 1859] . . . . . . . 276-277
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County.
St.
Patrick's Church. [est. 1859] . . . . . . . . . . 277-279
ANDERSON. Madison County.
St.
Mary's Church. [est. 1860] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
279-281
COLUMBIA CITY. Whitley County.
St.
Paul of the Cross' Church. [est. 1860] . .281-283
DELPHI. Carroll County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [est. 1860] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .283-285
GOSHEN. Elkhart County.
St.
John's Church. [est. 1860] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .285-287
KLAASVILLE. Lake County.
St.
Anthony's Church. [est. 1860] . . . . . . . . . . . . .
287-288
KOKOMO. Howard County.
St.
Patrick's Church. [est. 1860] . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .
288-290
JAY. Jay County.
Holy
Trinity Church. [est. 1861] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .290-291
ATTICA. Fountain County.
St.
Francis Xavier's Church. [est. 1862] . . . . . . . . . .
.291-293
OXFORD. Benton County.
St.
Patrick's Church. [est. 1863] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.293-294
PLYMOUTH. Marshall County.
St.
Michael's Church. [est. 1863] . . . . . . . . . . . 295-297
EGE. Noble County.
Church
of the Immaculate Conception. [est. 1864] . .. . . . .
297-298
KENTLAND. Newton County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [est. 1864] . . . . . . . . . . . .298-300
WABASH. Wabash County.
St.
Bernard's Church. [est. 1864] . . . . . . . . . . . . .
300-302
FORT WAYNE. Allen County.
St.
Paul's Church. [est. 1865] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
302-304
COVINGTON. Warren County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [est. 1865] . . . . . . . . . . . 304-305
LEBANON. Boone County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [est. 1865] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.305-306
ARCOLA. Allen County.
St.
Patrick's Church. [est. 1866] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 307-308
REYNOLDS. White County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [est. 1866] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
308-309
DYER. Lake County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [est. 1867] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 309-311
KENDALLVILLE. Noble County.
Church
of the Immaculate Conception. [est. 1867] .311-312
WINAMAC. Pulaski County.
St.
Peter's Church. [est. 1867] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.312-313
CHAPTER XI. The
Churches--From 1868 to 1877 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 314
CROWN POINT. Lake County.
St.
Mary's Church. [est. 1868] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
314-315
ELKHART. Elkhart County.
St.
Vincent's Church. [est. 1868] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
316-317
MARION. Grant County.
St.
Paul's Church. [est. 1868] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . .317-318
MONROEVILLE. Allen County.
St.
Rose of Lima's Church. [est. 1868] . . . . . . . . 318-319
LOGANSPORT. Cass County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [est. 1869] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
320-322
MUNCIE. Delaware County.
St.
Lawrence's Church. [est. 1869] . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.322-325
LAFAYETTE. Tippecanoe County.
St.
Ann's Church. [est. 1870] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325-326
LOWELL. Lake County.
St.
Edward's Church. [est. 1870] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 326-327
Rural Richland Township. Benton County.
St.
Anthony's Church. [est. 1870] . . . . . 327-328
WALKERTON. St. Joseph County.
St.
Patrick's Church. [est. 1870] . . . . . . . . . . 329-330
FORT WAYNE. Allen County.
St.
Peter's Church. [est. 1871] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
330-332
HOBART. Lake County.
St.
Bridget's Church. [est. 1873] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.332-333
BARRYDALE. near Otterbein area. St.
Bridget's Church. [est. 1873]. . . . . . . . . . . .333-335
[Barrydale, formerly known as the
"Ditch", appears to have been located in Benton County. A
Barrydale Church is seen in Pine Township, Benton County, near the White-Benton
county line, north of Otterbein, and just south of Hwy. 18, which runs between
Fowler and Brookston. Perhaps, this is the same church.]
OTIS. Laporte County.
St.
Mary's Church. [est. 1873] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .335-336
AUBURN. Dekalb County.
Church
of the Immaculate Conception. [est. 1874] . . . .336-337
SCHERERVILLE. Lake County.
St.
Michael's Church. [est. 1874] . . . . . . . . . . . . 337-339
TIPTON. Tipton County.
St.
John's Church. [est. 1874] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 339-341
FOWLER. Benton County.
Sacred
Heart Church. [est. 1875] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
341-344
LOGANSPORT. Cass County.
St.
Bridget's Church. [est. 1875] . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.344-345
REMINGTON. Jasper County.
Sacred
Heart Church. [est. 1875] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345-346
DUNNINGTON. Benton County.
St.
Mary's Church. [est. 1876] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346-348
GARRETT. Dekalb County.
SS.
Peter and Paul's Church. [est. 1876] . . . . . . . . . .
.348-349
[When a new
church was built ca. 1928, SS. Peter and Paul was renamed St.
Joseph's.]
PORTLAND. Jay County.
Church
of the Immaculate Conception. [est. 1876] . . . . .350-351
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County.
St.
Hedwig's Church. [est. 1876] . . . . . . . . . . 351-353
CHAPTER XII. The
Churches--From 1878 to 1887. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 354
FRANKFORT. Clinton County.
St.
Mary's Church. [est. 1878] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
354-355
HAMMOND. Lake County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [est. 1879] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.355-358
EARL PARK. Benton County.
St.
John the Baptist's Church. [est. 1880] . . . . . . . 358-359
GOODLAND. Newton County.
SS.
Peter and Paul's Church. [est. 1880] . . . . . . 359-360
ELWOOD. Madison County.
St.
Joseph's Church. [est. 1881] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
360-362
NORTH JUDSON. Starke County.
SS.
Cyril & Methodius' Church. [est. 1881] . .362-364
RENSSELAER. Jasper County.
St.
Augustine's Church. [est. 1882] . . . . . . . . . . . 364-365
HARTFORD CITY. Blackford County. St. John
Evangelist's Church. [est. 1883] . 365-366
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County. St. Mary's
Church. [est. 1883] . . . . . . . . . . . 366-369
TERRE COUPEE. County.
St.
Stanislaus' Church. [est. 1884] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
369-370
WANATAH. La Porte County.
Most
Precious Blood Church. [est. 1887] . . . . . . 370-371
for Wanatah area see also the Chapter XV
entry for:
SCHIMMELS. La Porte County.
St.
Martin's Church. [est. 1860] . . . . . . . . . . 405-406
CHAPTER XIII. The
Churches--From 1888 to 1897 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 372
HAMMOND. Lake County.
St.
Casimir's Church. [est. 1890] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
372-373
EAST CHICAGO. Lake County.
St.
Mary's Church. [est. 1890] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373-374
FORT WAYNE. Allen County.
St.
Patrick's Church. [est. 1890] . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.374-376
WHITING. Lake County.
Sacred
Heart Church. [est. 1891] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
376-378
MICHIGAN CITY. LaPorte County.
St.
Stanislaus' Church. [est. 1892] . . . . . . . . .378
GAS CITY. Grant County.
St.
Genevieve's Church. [est. 1893] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.379-380
ALEXANDRIA. Madison County.
St.
Mary's Church. [est. 1896] . . . . . . . . . . . . 380-382
DUNKIRK. Jay County.
St.
Mary's Church. [est. 1896] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .382-384
EAST CHICAGO. Lake County.
St.
Stanislaus' Church. [est. 1896] . . . . . . . . . . . 384-385
LAFAYETTE. Tippecanoe County.
St.
Lawrence's Church. [est. 1896] . . . . . . . . .385-386
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County.
Sacred
Heart Church. [est. 1896] . . . . . . . . . .386-387
HUNTINGTON. Huntington County.
St.
Mary's Church. [est. 1897] . . . . . . . . . . .387-388
HAMMOND. Lake County.
St.
John Baptist's Church. [est. 1897] . . . . . . . . . . .
.388-389
CHAPTER XIV. The
Churches--From 1898 to 1907 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 390
FORT WAYNE. Allen County.
Church
of the Most Precious Blood. [est. 1895] . . 390-391
HAMMOND. Lake County.
All
Saints' Church. [est. 1896] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 391-392
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County.
St.
Stanislaus' Church. [est. 1898] . . . . . . . . . 392-393
FAIRMOUNT. Grant County.
St.
Cecilia's Church. [est. 1899] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
394-395
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County.
St.
Casimir's Church. [est. 1899] . . . . . . . . . . 395-396
SOUTH BEND. St. Joseph County.
St.
Stephen's (Magyar) Church. [est. 1900] . . 396-397
HAMMOND. Lake County.
St.
Adalbert's Church. [est. 1902] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
397-398
INDIANA HARBOR. Lake County.
St.
Patrick's Church. [est. 1903] . . . . . . . . . . 398-399
MISHAWAKA. St. Joseph County.
St.
Bavo's Church. [est. 1903] . . . . . . . . . . . . 399-400
INDIANA HARBOR. Lake County.
St.
John Cantius' Church [est. 1906] . . . . . . .400-401
CHAPTER XV. The Missions
and Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 402
[Pages
402-418 are on this web page 15]
[Pages
419-428 are on web page 15B]
LEO. Allen County.
St.
Leo's Church. [est. 1856] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 402-403
LUCERNE. Cass County.
St.
Elizabeth's Church. [est. 1858] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
403-404
SAN PIERRE. La Porte County.
All
Saints' Church. [est. 1858] . . . . . . . . . . . . 404-405
LIGONIER. Noble County.
St.
Patrick's Church. [est. 1860] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
SCHIMMELS. La Porte County.
St.
Martin's Church. [est. 1860] . . . . . . . . . . .405-406
CICERO. Hamilton County.
Sacred_Heart_Church.
[est. 1863] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406-407
MONTPELIER. Blackford County.
St._John
Evangelist's Church. [est. 1864] . . .407-408
PIERCETON. Kosciusko County.
St._Francis'
Church. [est. 1864] . . . . . . . . . . .408-409
CLARK'S HILL. Tippecanoe County.
St._Rose
of Lima's Church. [est. 1867] . . .409
COLFAX. Clinton County.
St._George's_Church.
[est. 1867] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409-410
FRANCISVILLE. Pulaski County.
St._Francis'
Church. [est. 1867] . . . . . . . . . 410-411
ROANOKE. Huntington County.
St._Joseph's_Church.
[est. 1867] . . . . . . . . . . 411-412
MEDARYVILLE. Pulaski County.
St._Henry's_Church.
[est. 1869] . . . . . . . . . .412
ROCHESTER. Fulton County.
St._Joseph's_Church.
[est. 1869] . . . . . . . . . . . .413
LADOGA. Montgomery County.
St._Patrick's_Church.
[est. 1872] . . . . . . . . . . 413
ALBION. Noble County.
Sacred_Heart_Church.
[est. 1875] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .414
BLUFFTON. Wells County.
St._Joseph's_Church.
[est. 1875] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .414
BREMEN. Marshall County.
St._Dominic's_Church.
[est. 1875] . . . . . . . . . . . . .414-415
WARSAW. Kosciusko County.
Sacred_Heart_Church.
[est. 1876] . . . . . . . . . . 415-416
MILLERSBURG. Elkhart County.
St._Henry's_Church.
[est. 1879] . . . . . . . . . . 416
SUMMIT. Dekalb County.
St._Michael's_Church.
[est. 1880] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
ADAMS COUNTY. Adams County.
St._Mary's
of the Presentation Church. [est. 1883]
. . . . . . . . . . . . 417-418
KOUTS. Porter County.
St.
Mary's Church. [est. 1884] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.418
WHEATFIELD. Jasper County.
Church
of the Sorrowful Mother. [est. 1886] . 419-420
HAMLET. Starke County.
Holy
Cross Church. [est. 1890] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
ROLLING PRAIRIE. La Porte County.
St.
John Cantius' Church. [est. 1891] . 421
ROME CITY. Noble County.
St._Peter's_Church.
[est. 1891] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .421
ALBANY. Delaware County.
St._Anthony's_Church.
[est. 1895] . . . . . . . . . . . .421-422
GENEVA. Adams County.
St._Joseph's_Church.
[est. 1895] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .422
CULVER. Marshall County.
St._Mary's_of_the_Lake
Church. [est. 1897] . . . . . .422-423
VEEDERSBURG. Fountain County.
St._Mary's_Church.
[est. 1897] . . . . . . . . .423
RED KEY. Jay County.
St._Patrick's_Church.
[est. 1898] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .423-424
MOROCCO. Newton County.
Sacred_Heart_Church.
[est. 1899] . . . . . . . . . . 424
KNIMAN. Jasper County.
St._Michael's_Church.
[est. 1900] . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424
OTTERBEIN. Benton County.
St._Charles'_Church.
[est. 1902] . . . . . . . . . . . .425-426
WOODVILLE. Porter County.
Church_of_the
Immaculate Conception. [est. 1902] . 426
EAST CHICAGO. Lake County.
Holy_Trinity_Church.
[est. 1907] . . . . . . . . . .426
BUNKER HILL. Miami County.
St._Michael's_Church.
[est. -] . . . . . . . . . . . . .426-427
ROYAL CENTRE. Cass County.
Sacred_Heart_Church.
[est. -] . . . . . . . . . . . 427
WINCHESTER. Randolph County.
St._Joseph's
Church. [est. -] . . . . . . . . . . .427-428
KNOX. Starke County. [A
Station]. [est. -] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 428
MATTHEWS. Grant County.
A
Station. [est. -] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 428
CHAPTER XVI. The Congregation of Holy Cross, (C.S.C.) . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
CHAPTER XVII. The Congregation of the Most Precious Blood,
(C.PP.S.).
. . . . 443
CHAPTER XVIII. The Religious Communities of Women. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . 447
The Sisters of Holy Cross, Notre Dame, 1843.
CHAPTER XIX. The Religious Communities of Women, continued . . . . .
. . . . . . 456
The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, Fort Wayne, 1863.
CHAPTER XX. The Religious Communities of Women, continued . . . . .
. . . . . . . 460
The Sisters of St. Francis, Lafayette, 1875.
CHAPTER XXI. The Religious Communities of Women, continued . . . . .
. . . . . . 464
The Sisters of St. Joseph, Tipton, 1888.
CHAPTER XXII. The Religious Communities of Women, continued . . . .
. . . . . . . 467
1. Sisters of Providence.--1845.
2. Sisters of the Most Precious Blood.--1853.
3. The School Sisters of Notre Dame.--1865.
4. Sisters of St. Agnes.--1872.
5. Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart.--1876.
6. Felician Sisters of St. Francis.--1880.
7. Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.--1902.
8. Sisters of St. Dominic.--1905.
9. Sisters of St. Francis.--1906, Marville.
CHAPTER XXIII. Institutions
of Charity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
The Diocesan Orphan Asylums:
1. St. Joseph's Asylum, for Boys.
2. St. Vincent's Asylum, for Girls.
CHAPTER XXIV. Institutions of Charity, continued. . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Hospitals:
1. St. Joseph's Hospital, at Fort Wayne.--1869.
2. St. Elisabeth's Hospital, at Lafayette.--1875.
3. St. Joseph's Hospital, at South Bend.--1882.
4. St. Joseph's Hospital, at Logansport.--1893.
5. St. John's Hospital, at Anderson.--1894.
6. St. Margaret's Hospital, at Hammond.--1898.
7. St. Roch's Sanitarium, at Fort Wayne.--1899.
8. The Holy Family Hospital, at Laporte.--1900.
9. The Kneipp Sanitarium, at Rome City.--1901.
10. The Sacred Heart Hospital, at Garrett.--1901.
11. St. Anthony's Hospital, at Michigan City.--1903.
12. St. Ann's Hospital, at Peru.
CHAPTER XXV. Institutions of Charity, continued. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
1. The Old People's Home, at Avilla.--1876.
2. St. Anthony's Home for the Aged, at Lafayette.--1897.
CHAPTER XXVI. Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
CHAPTER XXVII. Addenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
PREFACE
1.
The History of the Church is a record of the
mercies of God on the human family. Considered in this light, the
view that history is self-glorification is narrow in the extreme, and
lacks the Christian instinct referring all things to God. The
same holds good, be it the history of the Church in heneral, or any
portion of it. The purpose always is the glory of God and the
salvation of souls. Such is the
issue, and not the individual, not the missionary, not the priest; and
therefor[e] the Church records should be kept accurately and not
withheld from publication. Gratitude prompts us to thank and
glorify the Giver on High.
Sublime doctrines replenish the priest's mind,
heaven-born aspirations exhilarate his heart, the salvation of others
fires
his soul with charity; but the example of holy priests, zealous,
apostolic
laborers in the Lord's vineyard stimulates him to renewed and enduring
activity. To study these men, how they lived, labored, suffered
and died, will foster within him the heroic spirit of these grand
characters. The laity is similarly affected, when they read how
the laity, not more than two generations ago, brought exacting
sacrifices, underwent severe hardships of travel in heat and cold, for
miles and miles, over almost impassable roads, without breaking their
fast, to confess, and to receive, and to assist at the Holy Sacrifice,
and once more to hear the word of God preached to them. The
Catholic of the twentieth century can appreciate the changed conditions
only,
by learning how the parishes, now prosperous and flourishing, were
organized;
how the church-buildings developed from the rude frame or log structure
to
the magnificent edifices of today; what hardships and sufferings, even
the
little ones had to undergo, to receive a Christian education. And
the
lives of hundreds of priests and thousands of noble lay-men will more
than
compensate for the scandalous conduct of a few.
These and similar considerations suggested the
usefulness of the present work, and prompted its publication. It
is
a plain statement of facts made on reliable authority. Its
defects
are glaring, for the reason that hardly in a single instance all the
information
that was wanted, could be obtained. No effort was made to conceal
these
defects beneath glowing verbiage and glittering generalities. The
priests,
the religious and several of the laity of the diocese have made this
history
possible by freely giving their assistance. Without the
assistance
of Rev. Wm. C. Miller, who spent nearly one year on it, the history
would
not have been undertaken. He is deserving the full credit, and
the
gratitude of all who appreciate what has been accomplished in
preserving
these records of the diocese. The reader is requested to note the
defects
whether of commission or omission and communicate the same to us for
future
use.
II.
This history has been in preparation since
December 18, 1905, when the following circular was sent to the priests
of the diocese, with the request that the historical data be furnished
within six months:
"A. The history of your place before it
had a church. If the name of the place was changed at any time,
give the change or changes. Record the visits of the earliest
missionaries to your place or district. When did it become a
STATION, that is to say a place without a church, regularly
visited? Who were these visiting priests? Where did they
reside? Give some interesting particulars of this period.
Were there any note-worthy lay-men? What was the
number of souls at this time? What was the complexion of the
Catholic population as to nationality?["]
"B. The history of your place when it
became a MISSION, that is to say, when it became a place with a church
regularly attended. What priests had charge of it during this
time? Where did they reside? In each case, if possible,
give the year,, month and day when they took charge and when they
ceased to have charge of the mission. When was the first church
built? Describe this church. Who was the priest in charge
at the time of the building of the church? What was its
cost? How was the money raised? Give interesting
particulars of this period. Were there any note-worthy lay-men,
with reference especially,
to the founders of the parish? What was the number of souls at
this
time?["]
"C. The history of your parish:
1. The church grounds. How much ground has the
church? When was the
ground acquired? Was it secured at one time or different
times? What was the cost? What priest or priests had charge
at the time of these purchases? Where did these priests
reside? 2. The church. When was it built? Who
was the priest at the time? Describe the church, the style of
architecture, the decorations, the furniture, etc. How much did
it all cost? How was the money raised? Have improvements
been made on the church since its erection? What were
they? When were they made? What did they cost? Who
was
the priest at the time? What is the seating capacity of the
church? If the present church is not the first church, then give
the history of the former church or churches. 3. The
school. When was it built? Who was the pastor at the
time? Give the dimensions of the building. Its capacity for
school purposes. How much did it cost? How was the money
raised? Have improvements been made since? What were
they? When were they made? At what cost? Who was the
pastor? 4. The teachers. Who teaches the
school? Are the teachers male or female? Are they lay or
religious? If religious, of
what community? How many teachers? What grades are
taught?
Is there a high school or academy? How is the school
supported?
What is the attendance at school? Where do the teachers
reside?
If in a house specially for them, when was this house built? What
did it cost? Who was pastor? What improvements since?
When made?
At what cost? Under what pastor? 5. The priest's
house.
When was it built? Who was the priest in charge? What was
the
cost? Have improvements been made since? Is the present
house
the first? If not then give the facts, dates, etc., concerning
the
former house or houses. 6. If your church property has
still other
church buildings, mention them, giving full information concerning the
time
of their erection, their costs, their purpose, their improvemnts, etc.,
as
suggested by the above questions. 7. Give an account of the
cemetery,
its area, its cost, and other facts. 8. What is the
estimated
value of your entire church property? What is the amount of debt
on
the same? 9. Name the various societies in your
parish.
Give the dates of their organization, their membership, their purpose,
the
good accomplished, and so forth. 10. What is the number of
families
and the number of souls in your charge? 11. Mention any
remarkable
or extraordinary events in the history of your parish. 12.
How
many boys of your parish have become priests or have entered religious
communities?
How many girls have become sisters? 13. What lay-men have
done
your parish note-worthy services? What were these services?["]
"D. Missions and Stations. If you
have charge of any Missions or Stations in addition to the church of
which you are the resident pastor, then give information concerning
each of them, such as is suggested by the foregoing questions.["]
"E. The priests. Give a complete
list of the priests who served the Catholic people of your place or of
your district in the early missionary days, and of priests who visited
your place when it
was a station, and of priests who attended the same when it became a
mission, and of the priests who became the resident pastors. Give
the dates on
which their labors began and ended. It would be an act deserving
special
commendation, if a brief biographical sketch of each of these priests
were
given. If your parish has or has had assistant priests the names,
dates,
and brief biography of them is wanted.["]
"F. Above all, give your own biography."
CHAPTER I.
-----
INTRODUCTORY.
(A BIRD'S EYE VIEW.)*
*"Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana. Its History,
by Rev. H. Alerding, genially appreciated by the historian of the
Catholic
Church in the United States, John Gilmary Shea." New York
Freedman
Journal, January 26 and February 2, 1884.
[Page 7]
Indiana furnishes an excellent theme for
history. The little French colony on its soil grew around the
forts, thrown up by
France as outposts, to protect the Illinois country and the
Mississippi.
The more exposed lines, extending from Niagara to Fort Duquesne, were
simply
military posts, around which scarcely a sign of settlement arose.
The pioneer of the valley of the Wabash was,
in all probability, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de LaSalle. Doubt has
long hung
over his earlier exploration, about the year 1670; but the studies of
our
best antiquarian topographer, General John S. Clark, of Auburn,
embracing every known document and map bearing on the point, leave
little doubt that, about 1670, LaSalle passed from Lake Erie up the
Maumee, crossed to the Wabash, and descended it till he became
discouraged, and his men deserted. He
was seeking the great river, called by the Iroquois, Ohio, and by the
Western
Algonquin tribes, the Mississippi. Marquette subsequently passed
the
mouth of the Ohio, which he called by its Algonquin name, Ouabouskigou,
the
origin of our Wabash. There is no trace, in the "Jesuit
Relation," which
were printed down to 1672, of any knowledge of the Wabash river, or the
shores
of Lake Erie. The "Relations," prepared for the ensuing years to
1679,
which I printed from the old manuscripts, in all that they say of
missionaries
employed in the West, make it evident that no Jesuit ever reached the
Wabash,
before 1680. The early maps of Joliet, their friend, and
companion
of Marquette, do not indicate it.
Marquette and Allouez reached the Illinois
villages by the way of the Chicago river and the Desplaines; and the
Recollects with LaSalle did so by the way of the St. Joseph's.
During [8] LaSalle's personal occupation of the
Illinois country, Father Allouez kept aloof, as the great explorer was
bitterly hostile to the
Jesuits: but after he went back to France, the missionary was welcomed
at
the fort, in the Illinois country, by Chevalier Tonti. He
subsequently founded a mission on the St. Joseph's, where wandering
Miamis and Pottawottamies had gathered from Green Bay, in which
district he had long ministered to them
and the Maskoutens. The Marquis de Denonville, on the 1st of
October, 1686, granted to Father Claude Dablon, Superior of the Jesuit
Missions in Canada, a tract of land, twenty arpents in front on the St.
Joseph's River and of equal depth, at such point as he might select,
for a chapel and residence. A modest chapel and mission house
rose twenty-five leagues from the mouth of the river, and here Father
Claude Allouez died, August 27-8, 1689, and his remains, not
improbably, repose within the limits of Indiana.
Fathers Aveneau, Gravier and Chardon continued the St. Joseph's
Mission,
till hostility between the French and the Miamis prevented their labors
for
a time.
In 1719 Fort Ouiatenon grew up among the
Ouiatenons or Weas, another Miami tribe on the north bank of the
Wabash, below the
present Lafayette. Father Mermet had been their missionary, and
may
have labored here. Then Fort Miami was established where
Fort
Wayne now stands and finally, in 1733, the Poste au Ouabache, which
soon
took the name of its active commandant, a Canadian gentleman, John
Babtiste
Bissot, called from a seigneury he owned in Canada, Sieur de
Vincennes.
He had long been active in Western affairs, was brother-in-law to Louis
Joliet,
the discoverer of the Mississippi, and died nobly in an unfortunate
campaign
against the Chickasaws.
A chapel, dedicated to St. Francis Xavier, was
erected at this last post, and there seems to have been chapels at Fort
Miami
and at Fort Ouiatenon. On the 22nd of July, 1741, a child was
born
at the last of these, who received in baptism the name of Anthony
Foucher. This boy was destined to be the first native of the
Wabash Valley, or indeed of the Western country, who was raised to the
priest-hood. He was ordained by the Bishop of Quebec, October 30,
1774, and before he died, in 1812, a Bishop, from the Southern bank of
the Ohio, was [11] reviving the Faith among his
countrymen on the river of his birth.
Our reverend historian of the diocese of
Vincennes then takes up the earliest Register of Vincennes, opening
April 21, 1749, with the marriage of Julian Trottier to Josette
Marie. The officiating clergyman was the Jesuit Father, Sebastian
Louis Meurin, who continued the labors of Allouez and Mermet.
Stirring times of wars with England had come,
and the little posts at Vincennes, Ouiatenon, Kaskaskia, St. Joseph's,
Prairie du Rocher were filled with tidings of battle and
expedition. The Jesuit Fathers, Vivier, Lamorinie, Poitier,
DuJaunay, all labored among the French and Indians of Indiana, and the
line of these pioneer priests of the Society closes with Father Julian
Duvernay, who officated at the chapel of St. Francis Xavier till 1763.
Then the flag of France was lowered at all the
French posts in the West, and English soldiers came to plant, amid
these
French hamlets and their Indian friends, the flag of England. It
was
regarded with sullen discontent, and when Pontiac proposed to the
Indian
tribes a general rising, almost all the English forts were captured and
destroyed simultaneously. Among them perished Fort Ouiatenon.
Of the state of religion, among these little
communitites of Catholics in the far West, we know but what can be
gleaned from the parish registers and from lists that have been
preserved of those who have made their
Easter duty; there is very rare evidence of immorality; the colonists
married
young, and if jovial, light-hearted and daring, more given to hut and
Indian
trade, than to patient tilling of the soil, they led moral lives, were
tolerably
regular in their devotions, and the little communities have no criminal
record,
no prisons, no deaths by violence, no execution. Each little
settlement
had its notary, and he or some other of the better educated read the
mass-prayers,
and catechized the children, when no priest was there to offer the Holy
Sacrifice.
At this time there were some eighty or ninety families at Vincennes,
fourteen
at Ouiatenon and nine or ten at the junction of the St. Joseph's and
St.
Mary's.
The infidel council at New Orleans, in 1762,
ordered all Jesuit chapels to be razed, and one in Illinois, though on [12] English soil, was actually destroyed. When
the English commanders came, the Catholics of Indiana felt
despondent. The
fate of the Acadians, who, born and brought up under the English flag,
had
been deprived of their homes and all they possessed, and had been torn
from
their native land to be flung as paupers along the Atlantic coast, was
before
them. A similar fate might be theirs. On the 30th of
December, 1764, a new era seemed to dawn, when Gen. Gage announced in a
proclamation, that the King of England granted to his new Catholic
subjects in the Illinois' country, liberty to enjoy their religion
undisturbed.
The people at Vincennes then sought to obtain
a priest; but the Bishop of Quebec, cut off from supply of clergymen
from France, deprived of the Jesuits and Recollects, who were doomed to
extinction, could not find priests to fill nearer pressing wants.
It was not till 1769, that the Rev. Peter Gibault reached the Illinois
country. At Vincennes, and the adjoining missions, there were
some 800 souls. They received the priest with joy; marriages were
solemnized, the children privately baptized were christened with due
ceremonies. The Mission was one to attract him, with its orchard
and gardens, but his field of labor included also the Missions in
Illinois, and his visits to Vincennes were made at stated intervals.
In 1772, the little Catholic community in the
Wabash valley were startled by an order of Gen. Gage, which seemed to
prelude a new
Acadian outrage. They were all commanded to leave the
settlements; when
they protested against the cruel order, he demanded the title deeds of
the
lands they held. It was evident, that it was the purpose to drive
the
Catholic settlers from British soil, doubtless to gratify the bitter
anti-Catholic
feeling in the English colonies at the East.
But the Parliament of Great Britain, on the
2nd of June, 1774, passed a law which precipitated the American
Revolution, by arousing all the bigotry of the colonies. This was
the "Quebec Act," by which the people of Canada were permitted to
retain their French laws and
customs, and the Catholic Church was maintained in all its
rights. The French settlements at the West, in our present
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, were by the act included in
the province of Quebec.
The Church there was thus formally recognized [13]
by the English Government, and the right of the Bishop of Quebec to
appoint
priests, of the priests to receive tithes, was guaranteed by law.
The
oath of allegiance required to be taken was such, as Catholics could
lawfully
take, not such a one as was tendered to the Acadians, who were
condemned
as Popish Recusants.
This guarantee of religious freedom filled the
Catholics on the Detroit, the Wabash, the Illinois and Mississippi with
joy;
but by the people of the English colonies, it was regarded in the light
of
a grievous and bitter wrong. It is denounced in our Declaration
of
Independence as an act of pretended legislation "for abolishing the
free
system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein
an
arbitrary government, and enlargin its boundaries, so as to render it
at
once an example and a fit instrument, for introducing the same absolute
rule
into these colonies." I cannot find that in the legislation or
judicial
decisions of those Western States, this act has ever been recognized as
having
been in force, but it certainly was at least till July 4, 1776, when
the
severing of all allegiance to England may have modified the condition
of
affairs; but this is a question for constitutional lawyers to decide.
When the Revolution broke out, the English
Government, which had appointed Indian agents, controlled the various
tribes of red men, and used them against the thirteen States; and it
became important to destroy this influence. The Continental
Congress had no resources, but Virginia claimed the country, northwest
of the Ohio, as part of her territory. In the summer of 1778, an
expedition from Virginia, under Colonel George R.
Clark appeared before Kaskaskia, after a brave and hardy march.
The
French settlers and their priest, Rev. Peter Gibault, received him
without opposition; and Clark, by the aid of this clergyman and of
Colonel Vigo, a
Spanish settler there, reduced Vincennes, capturing the British
commandant.
Indiana thus became part of Virginia, and came
within the sway of Congress. The people took the oath of
allegiance
to the commonwealth of Virginia, and its laws were extended over all
the
territory.
Virginia had been fiercely anti-Catholic; its
colonial statute book teems with penal laws against the Catholics, and
one may [14] be cited as a sample, which put
the testimony of a Catholic on a par with that of a negro slave,
something not to be received in a court of justice. In Virginia a
man might with impunity kill another in presence of a Catholic or a
slave.
This old spirit soon showed itself; for
shortly
after the temporary Government was organized by Colonel Todd, the
French
settlers were, as under Gage, summoned to produce the titles by which
they
held their lands. Yet, amid the uneasiness produced by this
hostile
act, the Catholic settlers did not waver in their new allegiance, but
bore
their part in the struggle. In the autumn of 1780, LaBalme, with
a
party including many from Vincennes, captured the British post,
Kekionga,
on the Maumee, and died bravely soon after, overpowered by numbers, at
the
River a-boite.
The course pursued by the Rev. Peter Gibault,
cut him off from all aid or recognition in Canada, so that he had to
struggle on alone, reduced with his people to great penury, by their
sacrifices for the national cause. During the long interval from
1779 to 1784, he was
unable to visit Vincennes. He came at last with Rev. Payet, and
revived
religion once more. The next year he took up his abode at
Vincennes, built a new log church, ninety feet long by forty-two broad,
the old church being remodeled for his residence. Here he
remained till the 11th of October, 1789.
Meanwhile, the treaty of Paris, in 1783, had
recognized the independence of the United States, with its territory
extending to the eastern bank of the Mississippi; and the clergy in
Maryland and Pennsylvania, who had at first, from fear of offending
Protestant prejudice against Bishops, deprecated the appointment of
one, had solicited that a Bishop should be placed
over them. Pope Pius the Sixth, in 1784, appointed the Rev. John
Carroll,
Prefect Apostolic; but the pastor at Vincennes was a stranger amid the
clergy
in the United States, while he was under the ban in Canada, where the
Bishop
had excommunicated all who joined the Americans, and still refused the
sacraments
to all, who had not remained faithful to the [15] British
cause. Yet, the northwest territory was still part of the Diocese
of
Quebec, although the Bishop exercised no jurisdiction. This
unfortunate
condition of affairs lasted, till the erection of the See of Baltimore
by
Pope Pius VI., November 6, 1789, when in express terms he directed "all
the
clergy and people dwelling in the aforesaid United States of America,
though
hitherto they may have been subject to other Bishops of other dioceses,
to
be henceforward subject to the Bishop of Baltimore." The Bishop
of
Quebec, though protesting pro forma against a division of his diocese
without
his knowledge, gladly relinquished all claim and jurisdiction over a
district,
whose spiritual wants he had neither inclination nor power to supply.
Down to this period, the territory of the
subsequently erected diocese of Vincennes was under the ecclesiastical
law of France, as
held in Canada. The priest received his tithes, the decrees of
the Council
of Trent were regarded as published as much as in Canada--the same holy
days
of obligation and fast days were observed as on the banks of the St.
Lawrence.
The diocese of Baltimore, as established by
the Holy See, included the whole territory then belonging to the United
States, and recognized by the treaty of Paris, in 1783. Its
Western limit was the Mississippi; Florida with the Gulf shore,
Louisiana, and all the territory west of the Mississippi, were in the
hands of Spain; over it the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba had, since
1776, extended his ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and through a Bishop
Auxiliary he was endeavoring to bring in the discipline of the Church.
Bishop Carroll with few priests, no seminary,
no institutions of any kind, found himself unable to meet the calls,
that came from all parts of the vast country, confided to him.
Natchez was visited by the Spanish ecclesiastics of New Orleans; but
the Northwest was destitute of priests.
That district had another difficulty.
The bigotry of John Jay, in 1775, prevented Canada from joining the
thirteen
colonies; the same feeling made him, in 1786, an indifferent
diplomatist,
when Franklin was willing to make any concession to induce England to
yield
it to us. England retained Canada not only, but for years
maintained
her military possession of Detroit, and her influence over the Indian
tribes
of the West, [16] whom she incited to hostility
against
the Americans. The Catholics of the North-West were true; living
from
infancy in intimate relations with various nations, they knew their
language,
their disposition, their ideas. But for their aid as agents,
interpreters,
deputies, the United States Government would have been powerless in the
West.
But the want of priests was felt by all.
The storm of the French revolution sent, at the opportune moment, a
number
of learned, zealous priests to this country. One of these, the
Rev.
Benedict Joseph Flaget, was sent by Bishop Carroll to Vincennes soon
after
his arrival, in 1792. Travel was slow and difficult. It
took
twenty days to reach Pittsburg from Philadelphia; and to reach
Vincennes
was often a matter of months. The good priest arrived at this
ruinous
log chapel, in season to celebrate Mass at Christmas, after restoring
the
tottering altar, and giving the church such renovation and decoration
as
time and means permitted. There was a community of 700, but in
the
long period when no priest was there, so great had indifference grown,
that
only twelve approached the Sacraments, at the great Solemnity. He
went
to work, however, with the zeal which characterized him through his
long
Apostolic career, and was consoled with seeing that the majority became
communicants,
just reversing the numbers that shocked him on his arrival. He
opened
a school, encouraged industry, thrift and charity. The
neighboring
Indians also received his care, and his labors during the ravages of
the
small-pox completely prostrated him. Having been recalled to
Baltimore,
he left Vincennes in the spring of 1795.
To replace him, Bishop Carroll sent the Rev.
John Francis Rivet, who had arrived from Spain in December, 1794.
Washington had seen the happy influence of Father Flaget over the
Indians, and wished a priest to aid the Government in carrying out a
beneficent policy, which would tend to their civilization, and who
would teach them the advantages of the Christian religion. Father
Rivet's offer of his services was accepted; he was directed to
establish himself on the Wabash, and a salary allotted to him.
Though the Government long neglected to pay this sum, needed for his
support, Father Rivet, says Bishop Carroll, "applies himself
incessantly in fulfilling the objects of his appointment, and disposing
the Indians to main-[17] tain a friendly temper
towards the United States. He is indefatigable in instructing
them in the principles of Christianity, and not without success."
The historian of the diocese of Vincennes shows, from the records, to
how many different tribes his zealous care extended. By any one
who remembers, how those Indians, under English influence, made war on
this country, defeated St. Clair and Harman, and yielded to Gen. Wayne
only after a stubborn fight, the service done the country by the
Catholic priests and people can be estimated. The English
Government knew and felt Father Rivet's power, and a priest from
Canada, a future bishop of Halifax, was sent to employ his influence
with the Indians, to induce them
to make no alliance with the Americans.
Rev. John Francis Rivet became Vicar General
in the West, in 1798, and continued his labors till he sank under them,
in 1804. Vincennes was then for years without a settled pastor;
visited at intervals by Rev. Donatian Olivier from Illinois, and by
Revs. Baden and Nerinckx from Kentucky.
When the See of Bardstown was erected, the
people of Vincennes applied to their old pastor, the newly consecrated
Bishop of Bardstown, for a priest. He visited them himself in
1814, and, with Rev. D. Olivier, remained some time in instructing the
people so long neglected, and for the first time administered the
Sacrament of Confirmation in Indiana. He visited them again and
again, as missionary and as Bishop, but it was not
until 1818, that Vincennes received a pastor, in the person of the Rev.
Anthony
Blanc, who, during a two years' incumbency, not only revived faith at
Vincennes,
but built two log chapels, one at seven miles and the other at twelve
miles
distance. Two other priests assisted him at intervals. He
was
succeeded by Revs. Dahman and Champourier.
The Catholic Almanac of 1822 thus briefly
gives its account of the Church in three States, which now form eight
dioceses, presided over by two Archbishops and six Bishops; "the states
of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois are daily adding more and more to the
Church. In each of
these, several large congregations of Catholics are found. They
are
chiefly French, who extended themselves through parts of this country
as
early as the 17th century. Vincennes, in Indiana, was formerly a
station
of the Jesuits, whence they made excursions among the savage tribes."
[18] Father Champourier, sent
there in May, 1823, describes the Church in Vincennes as so "nearly
rotten and out
of repair, that at any little storm it becomes very dangerous to stay
in
it. Moreover, it is open to every wind and penetrated by every
drop of rain," and he appealed in the papers to the Catholics of the
country, for
aid in the erecting a more suitable church. He was the only
resident pastor, with a whole State, and even more, for his parish.
When Bishop Flaget visited ndiana 1829, he
found Catholics at New Albany, the Knobs, Black Oak Ridge and
Washington. The jubilee granted by Pope Leo XII was proclaimed;
Mass was offered at
all these stations, instructions given, marriages and baptisms
performed,
or revalidated.
A new Catholicity was thus growing up around
the old cradle of the faith at Vincennes. So promising did the
future seem, that Bishop Flaget met Bishop Rosati, of St. Louis, at
Vincennes in 1832, and after examining the condition of affairs and the
prospect of an increase by immigration, these two great Bishops
resolved, to address the Holy See and solicit the erection of Indiana
into a diocese, with the See at Vincennes; and for the mitre they
agreed to propose the President of Mt. St. Mary's College,
the Rev. Simon Gabriel Brute.
The first of our present series of Catholic
Almanacs, that published in 1833, gives its account of Indiana so
briefly, that we may
be allowed to copy it in full: "Black Oak Ridge, Davies County,
Rev.
Simon Lalumiere. Mount Pleasant, occasionally. Vincennes,
693
m. from Washington. Rev. L. Picot" This was all the actual
material
for the new diocese.
One of these, apparently the Ven. Father
Lalumiere, himself a native of the State, in the spring of 1833 said
Mass for the four or five Catholic families of Columbus, and preached
in the Court House; then said Mass at Shelby for ten Catholic
families. At St. Peter's, in Daviess County, the Sisters of
Charity, it would seem, had opened a school, and he began to talk of a
church at Washington, Indiana, and the Bishop who was expected.
"The Catholic population of Indiana is greater than would readily be
supposed,
and is constantly and rapidly increasing," he adds.
There seemed to be no very encouraging field
for a Bishop, but the Rev. Dr. Brute resigned his position at
Emmitsburg, for which he was so well fitted, and where as professor and
president he had produced
an indelible impression on the young levites, confided to his
care. At the call of his Superiors and yielding to the judgment
of those whom he respected, he assumed the arduous duty of building up
a new diocese. He had seen the struggles and difficulties of
others, and had no unfounded hopes.
The diocese of Vincennes as established
by the Holy See, in 1834, included the State of Indiana, and also about
a third of Illinois. Having accepted the Bulls, he made a retreat
at Bardstown, and was consecrated in the cathedral of St. Louis,
October 28, 1834, by Bishop Flaget, assisted by Bishops Rosati and
Purcell. He was welcomed with joy at Vincennes, and took
possession of his little brick cathedral and his palace, which was a
one story building, measuring twenty-five feet by twelve. He had
in his diocese two priests in Indiana, Revs. Lalumiere and ferneding,
the latter the pioneer priest of the German settlers, and one in
Illinois, Rev. J. M. J. St. Cyr, then at Chicago. There was,
besides, Rev. Badin's Mission at South Bend, with the Sisters and an
Indian school.
He made a visitation of his diocese, to
discover where there were Catholics to be attended, at what points
churches could
be established and maintained. Then, with some definite idea of
the
wants of the diocese, he went to Europe to solicit aid for the flock of
all
nations gathered in Indiana, old French settlers to the "manner born,"
Americans from Maryland and Kentucky, Irish and Germans. In
Europe he procured material aid, and appealed to his Breton countrymen
for priests to aid him. The men of St. Patrick's race did not
turn a deaf ear to the call; priests came, of sterling qualities, who
made Indiana the field of their long and untiring labor. How the
Bishop, after his return, devoted himself to his duties as bishop and
missionary, our reverend author tells most touchingly. His short
career one of constant visitation, closed in June, 1839, in a calm and
holy death, fit crown for such a life.
The Rev. Celestine de la Hailandiere, one of
the Breton priests who came to Bishop Brute's aid in 1836, had been
appointed coadjutor, and became the second bishop of Vincennes.
He was in Europe, at the time of Bishop Brute's death, and began his
labors for his diocese by sending over priests, vest- [20]
ments, sacred vessels.
He induced the Eudists to undertake a theological seminary at
Vincennes,
Father Sorin, of the Holy Cross, to begin the work at Notre Dame, which
God
has so wonderfully blessed; the Sisters of Providence, to begin that
institute,
which possesses such a special charm of spirituality.
On reaching his diocese, Bishop de la
Hailandiere began to introduce system and order; he held a retreat for
his clergy, followed by a Synod. The erection of the See of
Chicago, in 1844, relieved him of the Illinois portion of his diocese,
but his energy and activity were of
the kind that, directed by another, effect great results, but which,
when not accompanied by the power to direct and employ others, produce
discontent and confusion. He resigned the See in 1847, and
returned to Brittany, where he died in May, 1882. By his own
desire, his remains were brought across the Atlantic by his near
kinsman, the Rev. E. Audran, to be laid in the Cathedral, which he
never ceased to love.
Bishop Bazin, his successor, died in less than
six months after his consecration; and the mitre of Vincennes was
placed
on the head of the Rev. Maurice de St. Palais, a native of the diocese
of
Montpelier, who had been on the Indiana mission since 1836, an earnest
laborer,
cheerfully enduring hardships and perils of no ordinary
character.
His appointment was welcomed by all; and his first work the
establishment
of asylums, for the care of the orphans. It was to his zeal that
Indiana
is indebted for the introducation of the Benedictine monks, from the
famous
Abbey of Einsiedlen, who made St. Meinrad, so well known.
Bishop de St. Palais' labors in Indiana as
priest and bishop covered a term of nearly fifty years. It was,
therefore, especially under his care that religion developed, the
administrations of his predecessors having been too brief, to do more
than plan the good they desired to accomplish.
He died in June, 1877, Bishop of Vincennes,
having declined the appointment of Arch-bishop of Toulouse. He
was not even Bishop of the whole State of Indiana, the See of Fort
Wayne having been erected in 1857, which comprised the Northern part of
Indiana.
[21]
The Diocese of Fort Wayne, 1857--September 22--1907, A
Book of Historical Reference, 1669-1907. By the Rt. Rev. H.
J. Alerding. Fort Wayne: The Archer Printing Co. 1907.
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PAGE
CHAPTER
II. Northern Indiana within the jurisdiction of the
Bishops
of
Quebec, Baltimore, Bardstown and Vincennes. . . . . . . . . . .
. 21
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