Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/326

 FRENCH

274

FRENCH

more than 1,500,000, of whom nearly 1,200,000 can be classified as of French Canadian extraction. As this immigration of French Canadians was almost exclu- sively an immigration of Catholics, we are led to in- quire what provisions were made for them in the different dioceses.

The French Canadians had left behind them in Canada a perfect Catholic organization, with parishes flourishing in all parts of the province, with episcopal sees in Quebec, Ontario, and the West — an organiza- tion comprising to-day many ecclesiastical provinces with archbishops, bishops, a numerous clergy, both secular and regular, as well as educational and chari- table institutions of the highest order. It was not to be expected that the immigrants should find in their new country the religious organization they had possessed in Canada. Nevertheless, they had to be provided for, and it became a serious problem for the hierarchy, of New England especially, to determine how these newcomers should be cared for spiritually. The question of language stood in the way from the very beginning. The French Canadians, though will- ing to become staunch Americans, did not know the English language, and even when they had learned it, they still preserved a strong attachment for their mother tongue. That this problem puzzled the bishops of New England, is shown by the time taken for its solution, and by the fact that in some instances they were reluctant, or often unable, to deal with the situation in the only proper way, which was, to give to these people priests of their own tongue and nation- ality. Even to-day this problem is not adequately solved. It was feared at the beginning, as it is feared now in some quarters, that to grant to the French Canadian immigrants priests of their own tongue and nationality would encourage them to form a sort of state within the state, thereby causing great harm to the nation as a whole. Time has shown the fallacy of that argument. The patriotism of the French American element is undisputed. They possess the sterling civic qualities desirable and necessary to promote the best interests of the republic. As a matter of fact, the French Canadian immigration has created no new state in the state; and the French Americans have willingly learned the English language while remaining as closely attached as ever to their mother tongue, in which they see the best safeguard of their faith.

The progress accomplished for God and country through the organization of French American pari.shes all over New England is the conclusive proof of their excellency from every standpoint. It proves, at the same' time, that further progress, religious and patriotic, can be accomplished by pursuing the same policy. At first, it w-as necessary to call priests from the Province of Quebec. That policy, inau- gurated in the Diocese of Burlington in 1850, by the lamented Bishop de Goesbriand, has proved to be a blessing wherever it has been carried out. These early French Canadian missionaries, of whom many are "still living, knew their people, understood their character and customs, had the same mentality as their flock, and easily succeeded in organizing flouri.sh- ing parishes entirelydevoted to the Church. As early as 1S!)0 Father Hamon notes that these newcomers already possessed 120 churches and chapels, minis- tered to by Canadian priests, and 50 large schools, affording education to more than 30,000 children. Let us recall a few dates which mark the beginning of this new impulse given to the Catholic Church in the United States.

The first I'ronch American parish in the ITnited States, after tlie foundation of Detroit, Michigan, was that of St. .lo.seph, at Burlington, Vermont, founded 28 April, 18.'), with the Rev. .Joseph Qu6villon as first pastor. In tlie same state, the parish of the Nativit6 de la Sainte-Vierge, at Swanlon, was organized in

1856, and that of St-FranQois-Xavier at Winooski, in 1868. In the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, the parish of Notre-Dame du Bon Conseil, at Pitts- field, was organized in 1867. In all, 22 parishes were organized by French Americans from that date to 1800, besides 15 parishes of mixed population, wherein the French Catholics were associated with their Eng- lish-speaking brethren. In the Diocese of Provi- dence, R. I., the parish of St-Jacques, at Manville, was organized in 1872, that of the Precieux Sang, at Woonsocket, in 1873, and that of St-Charles, at Provi- dence, in 1878. In the Diocese of Hartford, Conn., the parish of St-Laurent, at Meriden, was organized in 1880, and five other parishes between 1880 and 1889. In the Diocese of Boston, the parish of St-Joseph, at Lowell, was organized in 1869, and that of Ste-Anne, at Lawrence, in 1873. In the Diocese of Portland, Maine, the parish of St-Frangois de Sales, at Water- ville, was organized in 1869, that of St-Pierre, at Lewiston, in 1871, that of St^Joseph, at Biddeford, in 1872, and that of St^Augustin, at Augusta, in 1888. In the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, the parishes of St^Augustin, at Manchester, and St-Louis, at Nashua, were organized in 1872. Similar results were accomplished in the Dioceses of Ogdensburg, Albany, and Syracuse, and in the Western States. The accompanying table shows the actual religious organization of the French-American CathoHcs in New England — their clergy, parishes, etc.

Religious Organization in New England

Diocese

Parishes

Missions

Secular Priests

Regular Priests

20 13 38 39 30 25 21 16

2 7 5 31 40 15

1

33

14 59 48 40 38 42 28

31

16

Springfield

Burlington

Portland

Manchester

Providence

Fall River

14

11

16 17 8 17

Totals

202

101

302

1.30

To complete these figures for the United States would necessitate a study of all the dioceses, as there are French Americans in every state and territory of the Union ; a few statistics, however, of the priests of French extraction in the principal dioceses will help to give a more definite idea of the organization as a whole: Baltimore has 21; Chicago, 62; Albany, 19; St. Paul, 14; San Francisco, 3; New York, 25; Oregon, 5; Philadelphia, 3; Dubuque, 7; Milwaukee, 9; New Orleans, 96; Syracuse, 5; and Ogdensburg, 63.

Of the distinguished clergymen whose names are associated with the work already described, the following have already been called to their reward: Norbert'Blanchette, first Bishop and first Archbishop of Oregon City; .1. B. Lamy, Archbishop of Santa F^, New Mexico; Mon.signor Magloire Blanchotte, Pro- thonotary Apostolic, of Walla Walla, Washington; the Rev.'P. M. Mignault, of Chanibly, Quebec, who in the fifties was vicar-general of the Diocese of Boston, with the special mission of caring for the spiritual needs of his compatriots in the United States; the Rev. Joseph Qu6vil!on, of Burlington, Vermont; Monsignor Brochu, of Southbridge, the Rev. J. B. Primeau, of Worcester, the Rev. L. G. G.agnier, of Springfield, and llic Rev. ,1. B. B^'dard, of Fall River, Massachusetts; the Rev. J. Roch Magnan, of Muske- gon. Michigan. Men! ion should also be made of the Right Rev. Bi.shop Michaiid, lately decens(-d, whose father was a French .Acaclhiii, and who had been for many years at the head of the Diocese of Burhngton,