Blanc, Bishop Anthony, New Orleans, Louisiana, to The Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, Rome, Italy, 1844 March 17

An article from a letter: On the subject of mixed marriages, between Catholics and Protestants, the clergy of the diocese have sent Blanc some very urgent observations about the difficulty they find in conforming to the rules prescribed. The two parties contend that the ceremony be more religious than the ritual permits. It is feared that if these ceremonies continue without surplice or prayers, many will not bother to come to the priests for their marriages and will not prepare themselves for it in a religious way. So Blanc would ask that priests be allowed to wear the surplice and bless the ring of the woman if she is Catholic and to read the last prayer of the ritual. The Protestants, who are few in number in most of their parishes, complain that the priests do not want to perform their marriages, something done in the diocese up to 1823. :: V-5-a Extract French 2pp. 4to.