Pioneer Bishops of Arkansas

This blog will discuss bishops that served in Arkansas up to 1900.  For more information about Arkansas, see my blog of December 21, 2016.

The first Catholics to visit what is now Arkansas were Spanish explorers led by Hernando de Soto, accompanied by Spanish priests, in 1541.  Over 100 years later, French explorer, Louis Joliet, accompanied by Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit priest, came to the mouth of the Arkansas River in 1673.  Henri de Tonti, another French explorer, founded Arkansas Post, the first European settlement, in 1686 on the Arkansas River about 30 miles from the river’s mouth.  European settlers were few, however, and by 1803—when Arkansas became part of the United States—there were only about 400 such settlers within the state.  Catholic missionaries, such as Father Nicholas Foucault, had visited the Native Americans since the time of de Soto and won a few converts.  Priests from New Orleans and St. Louis made periodic visits to the few Catholics throughout the first 40 years of the 19th Century.  The first Catholic school in Arkansas was founded in 1838 at St. Mary’s mission, near Pine Bluff.

The 1840 census, taken four years after Arkansas became a State, found that Arkansas had about 100,000 people.  Washington County was the largest county with a population of about 7,000, followed by Pulaski and Hempstead Counties with about 5,000 people each.  Pope Gregory XVI created the Diocese of Little Rock in 1843, which at the time consisted of Arkansas and the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).  The following year, when the first Bishop of Little Rock, Andrew Byrne, arrived in Arkansas, he found less than 1,000 Catholics spread throughout the State and served by two Catholic churches.  In 1891, Pope Leo XIII created the Vicarate Apostolic of the Oklahoma and Indian Territory, and the Diocese of Little Rock and the State of Arkansas shared the same boundaries.

Andrew J. Byrne was born in Ireland in 1802.  He was a student in Ireland in 1820 when Bishop John England of Charleston, South Carolina, recruited him for service in the United States.  Byrne was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Charleston in 1827.  He served the Diocese as a pastor and as vicar general until 1836, when for reasons unknown, he relocated to New York.  He served as a pastor in Manhattan until he was appointed first Bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1843. 

The new Diocese of Little Rock included Arkansas and what is now Oklahoma and served less than a thousand Catholics in a frontier state whose people were often hostile to Catholics.  While never having more than 10 priests, Bishop Byrne was able to build a few new parishes, a dozen schools, and more than two dozen missions.  He also oversaw the construction of the first Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock in 1845.  Byrne avoided political issues, including the legality of slavery.  Byrne established a colony of Irish families in Fort Smith in 1849, but it was eventually unsuccessful.  He also brought the Religious Sisters of Mercy from Ireland to establish Mount St. Mary Academy in 1851—the oldest educational institution in Arkansas.  He died in 1862.

Edward M. Fitzgerald was born in Ireland in 1833 and came with his parents and seven siblings to the United States in 1849 to escape the potato famine in Ireland.  He was educated in Missouri, Ohio, and Maryland before being ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1857.  He served as pastor of St. Patrick’s church in Columbus from 1857 to 1866, where he healed divisions between his Irish and German parishioners—Fitzgerald was half German.  He became an American citizen in 1859 and ministered to soldiers of both sides during the Civil War.  Fitzgerald was appointed the second Bishop of Little Rock in 1866, a position he initially refused until ordered by the Pope to accept.

Bishop Fitzgerald was appointed Bishop at the age of 33—the youngest bishop in the Unites States at that time.  He sought to improve the fortunes of a war-torn diocese with a few thousand Catholics in nine churches served by half a dozen priests, by recruiting priests and lay people from Europe.  After the Civil War, Germans came to Logan, Conway, and Perry Counties, Poles to Little Rock, and Italians settled in the far northwestern corner of the state and in Little Rock.  Bishop Fitzgerald voted against the doctrine of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council in 1870—one of only two bishops to do so—because of fears that it would hinder evangelization in Arkansas.  He also established four Catholic hospitals (including St. Vincent’s in Little Rock, the first hospital in Arkansas) and many parishes and schools and, in 1881, dedicated the current Cathedral of St. Andrew.  He also established an African-American parish in Pine Bluff in 1895.  A stroke left him paralyzed in 1900, but he served as Bishop until his death in 1907.  At the time of his death, there were 20,000 Catholics in the Diocese, served by 41 parishes, 32 missions, 60 priests, and 272 religious sisters.

Pioneer Bishops of Arizona

This blog will discuss bishops that served in Arizona up to 1900.  For more information about Arizona, see my blog of September 3, 2018.

Father John Salpointe came to Tucson in 1866 and two years later, Pope Pius IX appointed him to be the first Vicar Apostolic of Arizona.  At the time, there were parishes only in Tucson and Yuma.  Pope Leo XIII created the Diocese of Tucson in 1897 and in 1969, Pope Paul VI created the Diocese of Phoenix.

John B. Salpointe was born in France in 1825 and was ordained a priest there in 1851.  He came to the United States in 1860 and was assigned to the parish in Mora, New Mexico—a parish that covered 200 miles north to south.  As pastor, he brought in the Sisters of Loretto and the De La Salle Christian Brothers to establish schools.  In 1864, the Jesuits, who had been serving in Arizona, were recalled by their Order leaving Arizona without clergy.  Bishop Lamy of Santa Fe sent Salpointe to Arizona with two other priests in 1866.  Arizona had about 6,000 settlers as well as an indigenous Native-American population.  Salpointe built churches, schools, and hospitals.  Salpointe was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Arizona in 1868.

Bishop Salpointe was successful in meeting the needs of his young diocese, which then included Arizona, southern New Mexico, and El Paso County in Texas.  He recruited French priests to open churches and missions and invited orders of nuns to open schools.  He finished construction of St. Augustine Cathedral in Tucson.  Salpointe was named coadjutor Archbishop of Santa Fe in 1884 and became Archbishop the following year.  He retired in 1894 and returned to Tucson.  Salpointe wrote a history of the Church in the Southwest and died in 1898.

Peter Bourgade was born in France in 1845 and received his education there.  While still in seminary in France, Bourgade was recruited (along with five other seminarians) by Bishop Salpointe to come to the United States.  He arrived in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in 1869, and was ordained by Salpointe.  Bourgade first served as pastor in Yuma, New Mexico, but ill health forced him to return to France in 1873.  He returned in 1875 and served in parishes in Texas and New Mexico.  Bourgade was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Arizona in 1885 and became Bishop of Tucson in 1897 with the creation of the Diocese.   Bourgade served only two years before becoming Archbishop of Santa Fe in 1899.  During his brief tenure in Tucson, Bourgade established schools and an orphanage and also rebuilt the Cathedral.  His Diocese was reduced somewhat to include Arizona and four and a half counties in New Mexico.  Bourgade died from heart failure in 1908.

Pioneer Bishops of Alaska

The hierarchy was not established in Alaska until 1917.  For more information about Alaska, see my blog of January 16, 2017.

Pope Leo XIII made the Alaskan territory a Prefecture Apostolic in 1894 under the care of the Jesuits.  Father Pascal Tosi was appointed as the first Prefect Apostolic and he established his headquarters in Juneau.  Pope Benedict XV made Alaska a Vicariate Apostolic in 1917—five years after Alaska became a Territory—and named Father Joseph R. Crimont, S.J., who was serving as the prefect apostolic, as its first Bishop.  Crimont died in 1945 and was succeeded by Walter J. Fitzgerald, S.J., who served as Vicar Apostolic until his death in 1947.  His successor was Bishop Francis Gleeson, S.J.

Pope Pius XII established the Diocese of Juneau in 1951—making Alaska the last State to have a diocese.  The new diocese consisted of the southern half of Alaska.  Bishop Gleeson took charge of a new Vicariate Apostolic in northern Alaska, headquartered at Fairbanks.  The Diocese of Fairbanks was created in 1962—three years after Alaska became a State—and Bishop Gleeson was named its first bishop.  Pope Paul VI created a new Province of Anchorage in 1966.  The Province initially consisted of the Archdiocese of Anchorage and the dioceses of Juneau and Fairbanks.  The Archdiocese of Anchorage and the Diocese of Juneau merged in 2020.

Basilicas in Northern Colombia

I blogged about the following basilicas on May 1, 2020.

• Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Santa Fe de Antioquia.
• Cathedral Basilica of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Cartagena.

Basilica of the Lord of Miracles, San Benito Abad, Sucre

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1963.

The Basilica was completed in 1934 to house a 17th Century crucifix made in Spain with dark wood.  It has attracted pilgrims over the centuries.

Pictures are from Pinterest and Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy, Santa Rosa de Osas, Antioquia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1972.

The modern Gothic-inspired Basilica was built between 1950 and 1971.  It can hold 7,000 worshipers.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Lord of Miracles, San Pedro de los Milagros, Antioquia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1981.

The eclectic Basilica was built between 1874 and 1895.  Many pilgrims come to worship God as the Lord of Miracles.  The church is decorated with gold and silver and has several works of art including 25 large paintings and a replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta.

The first picture is from a local source and the others are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Giron, Santander

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1998.

The Romanesque Basilica was built in the mid-19th Century.  A parishioner traveled to Spain to purchase bells for the church but was robbed.  He remained in Spain for a year until he could save enough money to buy the bells.

The first picture is from a local source and the other two are from Pinterest.

Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy, Yarumal, Antioquia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1999.

The Renaissance Revival church was built between 1866 and 1944.  It is mostly made of brick and has a dome and two towers.  The Basilica has a 1798 painting of the Virgin of Mercy that attracts many pilgrims.  The Stations of the Cross are oil paintings.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Frontino, Antioquia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

The Basilica was built between 1922 and 1947 in a Neo-Gothic style.  The Basilica was built by the Carmelites.

From Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Holy Christ, Mompox, Bolivar

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Benedict XVI in 2012.

I found nothing.

Co-Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Help, Socorro, Santander

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2015.

The Basilica was built in the 1870s using a combination of styles including Romanesque and Renaissance.  It is the largest stone building in Colombia and is the co-Cathedral for the Diocese of Socorro y San Gil.

Pictures are from Flickr and Pinterest.

Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquira, Cucuta, Norte de Santander

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2019.

All pictures are from local sources.

Pioneer Bishops of Alabama

This blog will discuss bishops that served in Alabama up to 1900.  For more information about Alabama, see my blog of March 18, 2017.

Alabama became part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Mississippi and Alabama in 1822, the Vicariate Apostolic of Alabama and the Floridas in 1826, and the Diocese of Mobile in 1829.  The Diocese of Mobile was renamed the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham in 1954 and in 1969, Pope Pius VI created a separate Diocese of Birmingham.  Pope John Paul II created the Province of Mobile in 1980, raising Mobile to the rank of an Archdiocese.

Michael Portier was born in France in 1795.  He was attending seminary in Lyon when he was recruited by an American bishop, Louis Dubourg.  Portier traveled to the United States in 1817 with Dubourg and about 30 other missionary recruits.  Upon their arrival, they spent two months with Charles Carroll in Maryland.  Portier resumed his seminary studies at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas by Bishop Dubourg in St. Louis in 1818.  Portier worked among the victims of a Yellow Fever epidemic until he himself became ill.  Upon his recovery, Dubourg sent Portier to New Orleans, the seat of the diocese.  Portier served as vicar general for the Diocese until 1825 when he was named the first Vicar Apostolic of Alabama and the Floridas.  He became the first Bishop of Mobile in 1829.

When he first came to Mobile, Portier found that he was the only priest serving 6,000 French, Spanish, German, and African-American Catholics in three parishes—in Mobile, St. Augustine, Florida, and Pensacola, Florida, in a territory that originally included Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas.  As bishop, he provided pastoral care throughout his jurisdiction, established new parishes (including ones in Montgomery and Selma), and consecrated the current Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in 1850 (to replace his original 1,000 square foot cathedral).  He recruited priests from Europe and invited religious orders, including the Visitation Sisters, the Daughters of Charity, and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, to establish schools and orphanages.  He also founded Spring Hill College and Providence Hospital.  By 1850, the Diocese included only the State of Alabama.  At the time of Portier’s death in 1859, the Diocese had 10,000 Catholics served by 10 priests in 9 parishes and 9 missions.

John Quinlan was born in Ireland in 1826, came to the United States, in 1844 and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Cincinnati in 1852. Quinlan was appointed the second Bishop of Mobile in 1859.  He led the Diocese during the troubled days of the Civil War and ministered to soldiers of both sides after the Battle of Shiloh.  After the war, he repaired damaged church buildings and was able to establish several new parishes, including the first Catholic parishes in Birmingham, Huntsville, Florence, and Decatur.  He invited Benedictine monks from Pennsylvania to establish St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman in 1876.  He also brought priests from Ireland to serve the Diocese.  He died in 1883 at which time there were 18,000 Alabama Catholics served by 45 priests.

Dominic Manucy was born in 1823 in St. Augustine, Florida, to Majorcan parents.  (His first cousin was Anthony Pellicer, who became Bishop of San Antonio, Texas.)  Manucy was educated at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Mobile in 1850.  He spent most of his young priesthood serving in Montgomery, Alabama, until 1874, when he was named the first Vicar Apostolic of Brownsville, Texas.  (An apostolic vicariate is a missionary diocese.)  Manucy was appointed third Bishop of Mobile, Alabama, in early 1884, while retaining his position as Vicar Apostolic of Brownsville.  He resigned as Bishop of Mobile in September 1884 planning to return to Texas, but he died in early 1885 before he could do so.

Jeremiah O’Sullivan was born in Ireland in 1842 and came to the United States in 1863.  He attended seminary in Baltimore and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Baltimore in 1868.  He served at parishes in Maryland and Washington, DC, (including as pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Washington) before being named Bishop of Mobile in 1885.  Bishop O’Sullivan built the towers for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and restored financial stability to the Diocese.  He traveled extensively throughout the Diocese and established many new churches and schools.  He died in 1896.

Edward P. Allen was born in Massachusetts in 1853 to Irish parents and attended Mount St. Mary’s college and seminary in Maryland.  He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1881.  He returned to Massachusetts in 1882 and in Boston and Framingham and was a prison chaplain.  He returned to Mount St. Mary’s in 1884 to serve as vice president and treasurer before becoming president in 1885.  Allen was appointed Bishop of Mobile in 1897.

Bishop Allen built many new churches, schools, and other institutions, including some to replace those destroyed by a 1906 hurricane.  He also built hospitals in Mobile, Birmingham, and Montgomery.  He ministered to the needs of African Americans by inviting the Josephite Fathers to establish missions and created St. Joseph’s College and a fraternal organization—the Knights of St. Peter Claver—for African American men.  The number of Catholics in the Diocese increased from 20,000 to 50,000 during Allen’s time as Bishop, due in part to immigrants coming to work in the Birmingham steel mills and others coming to work at the newly established Maxwell Air Force Base at Montgomery.  Allen was able to double the number of priests.  Bishop Allen died in 1926.

Basilicas in Central Colombia

I blogged about the following basilicas on May 1, 2020.

• Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Medellin.
• Cathedral Basilica of St. James the Apostle in Tunja. 

Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquira, Chiquinquira, Boyaca

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1927.

The stone and brick Neoclassical Basilica was built between 1796 and 1823 and replaced a 16th Century church.  The Basilica was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1967 but has been restored.  The church has a painting of Our Lady dating to the 16th Century and has 15 chapels.

Both pictures are from Wikipedia.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Martha, Santa Marta, Magdalena

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1930.

The Basilica is the Cathedral for the Diocese of Santa Marta.  It was constructed in the mid-18th Century in a Renaissance style, although the tower has a Byzantine-style dome.  Simon Bolivar was buried in the church from 1830 (the year he died) to 1842.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Mongui, Mongui, Boyaca

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1966.

The Romanesque Basilica was built between 1694 and 1760 using calicanto stone.

Both pictures are from local sources.

Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria, Medellin, Antioquia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

The stone neoclassical church was built in the mid-17th Century and rebuilt at the end of the 18th Century.  It is the oldest church in Medellin and served as the Cathedral from 1868 to 1931.  The main altar is made of gold-painted wood.

 The top picture is from a local source and the others are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquira, La Estrella, Antioquia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1986.

The Neo-Gothic church was built in the first quarter of the 20th Century.

From Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, La Ceja, Antioquia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

The Neo-classical Basilica was built in the early 19th Century and renovated and expanded in the early 20th Century.  An earthquake destroyed the façade in 1938 and it was replaced with a Neo-Gothic structure.  The church has an Italian pipe organ with 1,300 pipes.

The first picture is from Flickr, the second from a local source, and the last two from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Jardin, Antioquia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

The Neo-Gothic Basilica was built between 1918 and 1940 to replace an earlier church.  The church has 128 windows and skylights, and the interior is painted turquoise.

The top picture is from Pinterest and the rest are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, Moniquira, Boyaca

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

The Gothic Basilica was built in the early 20th Century and expanded in the mid-20th Century 

Both pictures are from local sources.

Basilica of St. Jude Thaddeus, El Santuario, Antioquia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2017.

The Neo- Gothic Basilica was built between 1898 and 1935.

The first picture is from a local source and the other two are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows, Firavitoba, Boyaca

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2019.

The Neo-Gothic Basilica was built between 1873 and 1937 and is modeled after a European church.  It was constructed with local stone.  A 1995 earthquake severely damaged the church, but it has been restored.

The first two pictures are from local sources and the last is from Wikipedia.