Charbonnel, Bishop Armand Francois Marie, Toronto, Canada, to Archbishop Anthony Blanc, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1853 March 26

A sudden trip deprived him of receiving Blanc's two letters of the 2nd and 9th on time. Whatever the success of Father Bernard O'Hara, Charbonnel cannot help sighing profoundly over his ministry. His refusal to follow his advice made Charbonnel write to Archbishop John Baptist Purcell who is about to leave the country, to revoke his public functions and to have him go to make a retreat. Charbonnel will never employ him at Toronto; his conduct at Toronto is more than Charbonnel can write. As for the other, Blanc is to send him the sealed note, telling him that Charbonnel will not give details about him until after he has carried out what the note contains but that in the meantime, he is unworthy of Blanc's confidence. After 10 months of asking, Father P. O'Dowd has been given Charbonnel as a coadjutor; he was a member of St. Sulpice at Montreal. He is an outstanding man according to reports but at the first inkling of his fate, decided by the Holy See, he took flight so that Charbonnel is no further along than he was and will probably be alone for almost 2 years, until the results of their council in 1852 from which he hopes for not only a coadjutor but for one or two divisions of the diocese into new sees for more than 30,000 Catholics, almost no priests and an immense territory in the midst of 100,000 Protestents. After 2 years the coadjutor will become the titular. Charbonnel does not know if Blanc knows what took place in Charbonnel's heart when he offered to make Charbonnel his coadjutor but God knows the happiness Charbonnel would have had. P.S. He sends regards to Fathers Perché and Rousselon. :: VI-1-e A.L.S. French 3pp. 4to.