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 SAINT LOUIS

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SAINT LOUIS

was at times difficult and even impossible to decide with certainty the exact confines of the diocese. The uncertainty of jurisdiction, which necessarily arose from this, influenced Rome to advise all bishops in the United States and Canada to constitute their neigh- bouring bishops their vicars-general; so in the archives of the diocese we find documents appointing Bishop Rosati vicar-general to the Bishops of Quebec, Bards- town, St. Boniface, New Orleans, Cincinnati and Du- buque. The State of lUinois was part of the Diocese of Bardstown, Ky., established in 1808, yet Bishop Flaget in exercising his episcopal functions along the Mississippi in the State of Illinois ministered to the wants of Catholics on the western side of the river, and so also Bishop Du Bourg, when residing at St. Louis, gave his attention to the faithful in Illinois, and in this Bishop Rosati also followed the example set. However, in the year 1832, Bishop Rosati wrote to Rome that as the western half of Illinois had hitherto been cared for by the ordinary of St. Louis it would prove more expedient to attach it to the See of St. Louis not only de facto but also de jure. Pursuant to this suggestion Rome, when erecting the See of Vin- cennes, in the year 1834, divided the State of Illinois and attached the western half to St. Louis and the eastern half to Vincennes; thus it remained until the year 1844 when the Diocese of Chicago was estab- lished.

The Dioce-se of St. Louis at the time of its erec- tion, as is found in Bishop Rosati's report to the Propaganda, dated 1 Nov., 182.5, comprised the northern portion of the so-called "Louisiana Pur- chase" including Arkansas. In Mis,souri Bishop Rosati mentions the city, St. Louis, where there was but a single priest, and, as he says, need of at least two more. Here the church begun by Bishop Du Bourg was still unfinished. Financial depression having driven away some and prevented others from paying their subscriptions, suit was entered for pay- ment of the church debt and permission asked of the State to sell the bishop's house and other church properties to meet the obligation. Thus the condi- tions prevalent were by no means encouraging; finally, in 1822, part of the church property was sold, including the parochial residence, as also a building in cour.se of construction for an academy. The pur- cha.scr gave Bishop Rosati a time in which to redeem it, and to secure necessar>' means he sent to Europe Rev. Francis Neill, in the hope that generous Cath- olics there would aid him in sa\ing the property. In his report to Rome, Bishop Rosati (besides St. Louis, which he styled the most imjxjrtant city of the State and one of great po.ssibilitics) mentions the following others: Carondelet, or \ide Poche, with a hundred very poor families of French origin; Floris- sant, cared for by Father Van Quickenborn, S.J., who was in charge of five scholastics, and at the same time directed a school for Indian boys; St. Charles, Portage des Sioux, Dardenne (now St. Peter's); Cote sans Desain, a French village distant about ninety miles from St. Louis; La Mine di Plumb (Old Mines), with about 200 French families; St. Michael's (Fredericktown); Ste Genevieve with resident priest; the Barrens (French Bois Brule, Latin Sylra Cre- mata), consisting then of about 200 families at- tended by one of the Fathers of St. Marj-'s Sem- inary, with 16 students of theology' in attendance. Here too was located the Loretto Convent with 17 sisters and some postulants; though .struggling with difficulties and lack of funds the sisters maintained a free school and cared for 24 orphans. The last Louisiana town mentioned in the report was New Madrid, with 80 French families. In Illinois Bishop Rosati notes Kaskaskia with 150 families, and Prairie du Rocher, with church and resident priest, the Rev. Father Olivier, aged seventy-five years, who was almost blind and unable to render any services to the parish.

"I have offered him a room in the seminary", writes the bishop; "he is a saint who has spent himself for many years in the service of Catholics about these parts."

Aside from this report we fiind, in other documents extant, mention made of Apple Creek (1816); Cape Girardeau (1816); Potosi (1816); Mine La Motte (1816); Harrisonville (1818); and the Osage Indian Nation Missions in Kansas (1822) with Rev. Ch. de La Croix as pastor. In 1818 Rev. Michael Portier was resident at Brazeau, Mo., and in 1822 Rev. Hercules Brassock at Drury, 111., but as no mention of these names is found before or after this time we can only conclude that these fathers were residing with English-speaking families with the purpose probably of learning English. The report of Bishop

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St. Louis

Rosati was dated 1S2.5, the diocese was established in 1826; yet the parishes and missions remain the same in 1826 as in 1825 and so continue until 1831. In 1827 we count 1 bishop, 4 secular priests, 8 Lazarist fathers, 8 Jesuit fathers; a total of 20 priests. In 1831 there were 11 churches with and 8 churches without resident priests; 20 missions; 1 bishop; 16 secular priests; 8 Lazarist Fathers; 11 Jesuits; a total of 35 priests. The Catholic population num- bered 8000. It should be noted that on 20 Aug., 1818, Ladies of the Society of the Sacred Heart, including Madame Philippina Duchesne, Superior, Octavia Berthold, and Eugenia Audet, with two lay sisters arrived in St. Louis and soon after located at St. Charles, Mo. In October of the same year the Lazarist Fathers came from Bardstown, Ky., and settled permanently at the Barrens. On 31 May, 1823, two Jesuits, Fathers Charles vanQuickenborn and Peter Timmermans, with seven scholastics and three lay brothers, arrived, and soon after located in Florissant, Mo., while on the same day of the same year twelve Sisters of Loretto took up their perma- nent residence at the Barrens in Perry County. On 25 November, 1829, four Sisters of Charity arrived at St. Louis from Emmitsburg, Maryland, and began their labours in conducting a hospital, to found which Mr. John Mullanphy had given houses and lots and other properties. On 30 May of the same year Bishop Rosati approved of the foundation of the Visitation Nuns at Kaskaskia, 111.; these later, in 1844, scttlcfl at St. Louis, being compelled to leave Kaskaskia because of the great flood of that year. On 5 March, 1836, Rev. James Fontbonne arrived at St. Louis with seven Sisters of St. Joseph from the Diocese of Lyons, France. Four Ursuline Nuns arrived on 4 Sept., 1848. The Rev. Joseph Paquin was the first priest to own Missouri as his native state. He was born at New Madrid, 4 Dec, 1799.