Archdiocese of Saint Louis Collection

Fonds

Identifier: ASL

Staff Only

Scope and Content

Letters of the Vincentian John Timon to Joseph Rosati, 1822-1891, and letters, 1841-1842, from Pierre Jean De Smet, SJ, missionary to the Indians, to his religious superiors; pamphlets and papers concerning the St. Louis World Fair of 1904; clippings about Bishop Kenrick's Golden Jubilee, 1891; and photostats of transcripts of letters, mostly to Rosati, from Simon Bruté, Gabriel Richard, Stephen T. Badin, and others.

On microfilm: nineteen reels of diocesan correspondence involving Dubourg, Rosati, Kenrick, and Kain, priests and laymen of the diocese, and many members of the American hierarchy, with records of synod and council meetings; one reel concerning the Sisters of Loretto, mostly material in the 1820s and 1830s; and three reels of historical material collected by Henry van der Sanden (d. 1910), Chancellor of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and diocesan historian.

Dates

Creation: 1764-1912.

Creator

Catholic Church. Archdiocese of St. Louis (MO) (Organization)

Language of Materials

English.

Conditions Governing Access

Permission to publish any letters or other historical data contained on the microfilms must by obtained in writing from the Archivist of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Background

The Sulpician Louis William Valentin Dubourg, who had been the administrator of the Louisiana Territory since 1812, was named Bishop of Louisiana in 1815. Joseph Rosati was consecrated his coadjutor in 1825. When Dubourg resigned in 1826, the diocese was divided into the dioceses of New Orleans and St. Louis with Rosati as first bishop of St. Louis.

Peter Richard Kenrick was named Rosati's coadjutor in 1841, and succeeded him in 1843 to begin a 52-year term as bishop and archbishop. (St. Louis was elevated to an archiepiscopal see in 1847). Upon Kenrick's return from attending Vatican Council I (1869-1870) where he had voiced strong opposition to the doctrine of papal infallibility, he went into seclusion leaving diocesan affairs in the hands of his coadjutor, Patrick John Ryan.

When Ryan was named archbishop of Philadelphia in 1884, Kenrick resumed full control of the diocese. In 1893 Bishop John Joseph Kain of Wheeling, West Virginia, was named coadjutor and succeeded Kenrick in 1896.