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A
suggestion for your Christmas list
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
If you are looking for Christmas gifts, I have a suggestion. It is the
recently published history of our Local Church. Copies should be
available through your parish. If not, the 128-page history may be
purchased for $29 (which includes shipping) from the Pastoral Office for
Planning and Communications at P.O. Box 1603, Lafayette, IN 47902-1603.
Our diocese was established by Pope Pius XII on Oct. 21, 1944, but
Catholics were to be found in the territory that would become Indiana as
early as the 17th century. While the western part of what today is the
United States was developed by the Spanish and the eastern states by the
English, the area now known as the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana was
part of New France. New France became part of the Diocese of Quebec when
it was established by the Holy See in 1674. Francois de Montmorenci
Laval was the first bishop. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II.
Bishop Montmorenci was responsible for a huge territory which extended
from Quebec to New Orleans and included the Illinois country. That was
the status quo until 1789 when the Diocese of Baltimore was established.
Two-thirds of the dioceses in the United States trace their heritage to
Baltimore, including our own.
As our nation developed, so did the Catholic Church. In April of 1808,
Northcentral Indiana became part of the Diocese of Bardstown, Ky., the
first diocese west of the Alleghenies. By 1834, Northcentral Indiana was
assumed into the new Diocese of Vincennes, 65,000 square miles that
included the entire state of Indiana plus eastern Illinois. It is
thought about 25,000 Catholics lived in that vast territory. Simon
Gabriel Brute was the first bishop of Vincennes. When he took up his
duties he had just three priests. (We think we have a priest shortage!)
One had been ordained for the Diocese of Bardstown and one was on loan
from the Diocese of St. Louis. By the time of his death in 1839, there
were 25 diocesan priests and 20 seminarians, many of whom had migrated
from France.
The Ecclesiastical See of Bardstown eventually was transferred to
Louisville. Vincennes was transferred to Indianapolis. The 24 counties
which comprise the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana were placed under the
pastoral care of the first bishop of Fort Wayne in 1857.
Father Anthony Prosen authored our diocesan history. It presents a most
interesting tale of missionary times, prodigious growth, a Church moving
through the 20th century, and the development of our own Local Church.
The Europeans who migrated to Northcentral Indiana were neither
religious nor political dissenters. Rather, they were French people who
were expected to be religiously and politically capable and willing to
present France’s mission among the native inhabitants with whom they
engaged in commerce. While the British discriminated against natives,
the French evangelized the inhabitants and inter-married with them. Many
of the French trappers and traders took Indian names.
One of the jewels in the Prosen history has to do with “Indian Bill.”
His tombstone in St. Mary Cemetery in Lafayette reads: “In memory of
William D. Davis, grandson of Cakimi, a Pottawatomie woman, sister of
Tipimibe, principal chief of the Pottawatomie tribe of Indians.” Known
to his contemporaries as “Indian Bill,” William Davis left his entire
estate to the Catholic Church, naming Father George Hamilton its
executor. While most of his estate went to the care of orphans, part was
used to build St. Mary Church in Lafayette, the same St. Mary’s which is
our cathedral today. Although it never happened, it was the intention of
Father Hamilton to have “Indian Bill” buried next to him in the
unfinished crypt of the cathedral. Father Hamilton is there. Indian Bill
is not.
People in the Greater Lafayette area are quite familiar with the Feast
of the Hunters Moon that takes place each fall outside West Lafayette at
a spot known as Fort Ouiatanon. The fort gets special attention in the
Prosen history. Indiana’s first native priest was born at Fort Ouiatanon
in 1741, Father Anthony Faucher. Ordained in October 1773, Father
Faucher served three Quebec area parishes. He died at the age of 70.
The history explains why St. Anne was chosen as the patron of early
churches. Wabash River travelers belonged to St. Anne Parish in Detroit
prior to the establishment of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Vincennes.
When the upper Tippecanoe River settlements were founded between 1855
and 1862, churches were titled to St. Anne in Monterey, near Pulaski and
at Grass Creek. It is surmised that St. Ann Church in Lafayette was
given its name because of the Detroit connection.
Here is an interesting sidebar: When the United States government began
removing native Americans from the Indian territory, land grants were
given to Indiana resident French and Indian descendants who by that time
were considered Americans, while those considered
Indians-not-yet-Americans were expelled. Since the American French and
Indian descendants’ principal proof of identity was their baptismal
certificate, preservation of Catholic identity was a priority.
Here is another tidbit. The second bishop of Vincennes, Celestine de la
Hailandiere, was told he could establish his residence at Lafayette,
Vincennes, Madison or Indianapolis. He chose Vincennes. John Henry Luers,
the first bishop of Fort Wayne, considered establishing his cathedral in
Lafayette. In fact, he resided in Lafayette for a year before moving to
Fort Wayne. By a single vote, the Lafayette City Council refused him the
property he intended to use for his cathedral. It was the second time
Lafayette was passed over. Finally, in 1944, Northcentral Indiana was
declared a separate diocese and Lafayette became the See City.
A fascinating part of the history recounts the multiplication of mission
churches, which Father Prosen breaks down into countryside churches,
railroad and Gas Boom era churches and convenience churches. Examples:
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pulaski County; St. Mary,
Boxley, and St. John, Arcadia, in Hamilton County; Immaculate
Conception, Woodville, in Carroll County; St. Mary of the Virgin,
Monticello, in White County; St. Michael, Talbot, in Benton County; St.
Anthony, Dehners Settlement, in Benton County; St. Rose of Lima, Clarks
Hill; St. George, Colfax; and St. Patrick, Redkey. The list is lengthy.
The back cover of the history lists current as well as former churches.
Ninety-five are named. Thirty-one of those no longer exist. Most of the
extinct churches served no more than a handful of families, 10
households, 15, etc.
Each parish is given a page in the diocesan history. Laced with
pictures, the history of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana is an
overview of who we are, where we live and how we came to be.
If you are into giving books as gifts, this is one that you might look
into. It’s the one and only published history of our Local Church up to
this point in time. It’s an interesting read, something to share with
future generations even as it brings the present generation up to date. |
