Richard has had a letter from the bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget for some days from which he proceeds to read portions. The visit of the bishop is one of his most important functions and one of the greatest spiritual good of the faithful. To obtain that effect it is necessary that the people prepare themselves in advance. Otherwise, while the chief pastor fulfills his duties the parishioners gain little from it. Further it might be a cause of further evil by the failure of the people to use their means to enter on the road to heaven. 1. Since he is the only priest in the Territory of Michigan, he cannot go to invite the bishop to visit them because of the great distance and because he feels it necessary to provide them with the sacraments and prepare for First Communion and Confirmation. Hence two or three others must be chosen to go from Detroit and Riviere au Raisin to call on the bishop at his residence. In what state will he find the parish in case he does come to conduct a mission which would produce great fruit if there were a church spacious enough to hold the multitude of people. What a shame that while they have been able to build themselves houses of some merit they have not been able to build or have not wished to build a church in 11 years: And what is worse is the disorder of morals, the large number of children ignorant of the first truths of the Christian religion, older youths dissolute and inconstant, hardened old men, drunken men, profligate women, a multitude of scandalous sinners! For a long time he has lived only by his own industry or by the casuals procured from deaths. The first resource takes up time that might well be spent in spiritual exercises and the second is extraordinarily humiliating to a sensible soul. :: III-2-f Mss. French 2pp. 4to., 4