PUBLICATION 
 
 -OF THE- 
 
 HOWARD MEMORIAL LIBRARY 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, LA. 
 
 Notes Gathered from the Archives of the Cathedral Church of St. Louis, 
 New Orleaiig, Louisiana. 
 
 -B\ - 
 
 CELESTIN M. CHAMBON, 
 
 Curate of the Catkedral 
 
 200 Copies Only Printcci 
 
 NEW ORLEANS, 
 
 
 1908 
 
PUBLICATION 
 
 OF 
 
 Howard Memorial Library 
 
 Notes Gathered from the Archives of the Cathedral Church 
 of St. Louis, New Orleans, La. 
 
 BY 
 
 CELESTIN M. CHAMBON, Curate of tKe Catkedral. 
 
 Reprinted froii 
 ]March , 
 
 The Morning Star of 
 7, 14, 2], 1908 
 
 Part I. 
 The Saint Louis Parish Church of New 
 
 Orleans and the Capuchin Fath3rs 
 of France and Spain in Louisi- 
 ana.— 1717-1788. 
 
 It is impossible not to feel the peace- 
 ful repose, the strange stillness which 
 pervades the atmosphere of the Saint 
 Louis Cathedral: romance and religion 
 blend there more closely than at any 
 other spot in this quaint Old City. But 
 few, if any, of the vast throngs that 
 daily cross its threshold have ever 
 given a thought to its predecessor, an 
 humble church of old wherein, for more 
 than sixty years, Capuchin Fathers 
 toiled and ministered to the settlers 
 and colonists of the earlier New Or- 
 leans. 
 
 This Saint Louis Parish Church, as it 
 was called, has long since disappeared, 
 its priests are dead, and nothing re- 
 mains to tell the tale, but a few docu- 
 ments, almost all incomplete, disorder- 
 ly, and some, partly altered by legend. 
 Xevertheless, each and every one is a 
 fragment of history, a vision of the 
 past, and all of them deserve to be 
 
 gathered so as to give not only a mere 
 accumulation of facts, but also the true 
 significance of their compilation. 
 A Store of Wood, a Tent, Then a 
 Stucco Church, 
 were successively the first places of 
 worship in New Orleans. 
 
 ******»***«» 
 
 Although the Saint Louis Parish 
 traces its origin to the very first of the 
 foundation of New Orleans, it was not 
 the first religious edifice in this city. 
 According to the historian Charlevoix, 
 the Saint Louis Parish Church was pre- 
 ceded by another church and two tem- 
 porary shelters devoted to religious 
 purposes. 
 
 "I have at last arrived in this fam- 
 ous city called La Nouvelle Orleans, 
 writes Charlevoix to the Duchess of 
 Lesdiguieres on Jan. 10, 1722 * * * 
 about a hundred huts placed here and 
 there, a large store of wood, one or 
 three houses and half of a miserable 
 store comprise the town; the humblest 
 village in France can boast of better 
 homes. It was in this little store the 
 Lord was first worshipped, but hardly 
 had He been placed therein, when they 
 had Him removed to place Him under 
 a tent." To our eyes, an utter dis- 
 
regard of religion, but, little else eoiilcl 
 be expected from the settlers who first 
 cleared the land and built some hun- 
 dred huts along the river. They were 
 not May Flower Pilgrims, but mostly 
 traders, soldiers and adventurers, whose 
 religious feelings had been undoubted- 
 ly dulled by their life of travel and 
 hardships. 
 
 However, shortly after Charlevoix 's 
 visit, and possibly at his own instiga- 
 tion, something more decent than a 
 tent was offered to the Lord as a house 
 of worship. This was a small stucco 
 church, the first regular church ever 
 built in New Orleans. Loveinstein, in 
 his history of the Saint Louis Cathe- 
 dral, asserts that this church had been 
 dedicated to Saint Ignatius, its rec- 
 tor being a Capuchin Father named 
 Matthias; but of this we find no rec- 
 ord whatsoever. All we know of this 
 first parish church of New Orleans is 
 its destruction by a terrible hurrican 
 which occurred on the 11th of Septem- 
 ber, 1723. 
 
 Again New Orleans was without a 
 place of worship, and the prospects of 
 the Church in this new country would 
 have been hopeless if a religious or- 
 ganization had not been already 
 planned and fostered in Louisiana. 
 
 **«***»**»*» 
 
 Organization of the Catholic Church in 
 Louisiana. 
 
 Catholicism had penetrated into 
 Louisiana with civilization. De Soto, 
 La Salle, Bienville, in all their expedi- 
 tions, were accompanied by mission- 
 aries. Priests from Canada came down 
 the Mississippi with the traders and 
 the soldiers to christianize the South- 
 ern tribes and minister to the first set- 
 tlers scattered along the Gulf and the 
 lower banks of the "Great Eiver. " 
 
 But these missionaries were almost 
 without resources, completely isolated 
 and thus their ministry could not ue 
 progressive or fruitful; a more syste- 
 matic as well as a broader ecclesiasti- 
 
 cal government was deemed impera- 
 tive. 
 
 reports had reached Bishop Saint 
 Vallier of Quebec, about the laxity of 
 religion and utter disregard of moral 
 law then prevailing among the colo- 
 nists of Louisiana. These reports, to- 
 gether with other statements from au- 
 thentic sources about the spiritual des- 
 titution of the colony, induced the 
 Western Company's Commissioners to 
 come to a better fulfillment of the du- 
 ties they had shouldered in obtaining 
 the monopoly of trade in Louisiana. 
 "As we regard, particularly the glory 
 of God, reads the 53rd clause of th« 
 'Lettres Patentes,' we desire the In- 
 habitants, Indians, Negroes, to be 
 taught the true religion. The said 
 Company shall be compelled to build, 
 at its expense, churches at the places 
 where it forms settlements, as also to 
 maintain the requirsd number of ap- 
 proved ecclesiastics?, either with the 
 rank of parish priests, or such men as 
 shall be suitable to preach the Holy 
 Gospel, perform divine service and ad- 
 minister the sacraments; all to be un- 
 der the authority of the Bishop of 
 Quebec, the said colony remaining in 
 liis diocese as heretofore, and the par- 
 ish priests and other ecclesiastics which 
 the Company shall maintain there, be- 
 ing at his nomination and under his 
 patronage." 
 
 With the Bishop of Quebec's con- 
 sent, the Commissaries of the Council 
 of the W'sstern Company issued an or- 
 dinance, May 16th, 1722, dividing 
 Louisiana into three ecclesiastical sec- 
 tions. North of the Ohio was intrust- 
 ed to 
 
 The Society of Jesus and the Priests of 
 
 the Foreign Missions of Quebec 
 
 and Paris. 
 
 That district between the Mississippi 
 and the Eio Perdito, as also the coun- 
 try north of the Ohio, was tendered to 
 the Discalced Carmelitem Fathers, with 
 their headquarters in Mobile. The 
 French and Indian settlements of the 
 
 
 jL> 
 
 !')<)JJ 
 
Lower Mississippi were assigned to the 
 Capucllin Fathers of the Province of 
 Champagne, France. 
 
 Not long after, this division was 
 greatly altered. The Carmelites were 
 recalled and their district given over 
 to the Capuchins. But, they, not hav- 
 ing the requisite number of priests, 
 forced the Western Company to intrust 
 the religious welfare of all the Indian 
 tribes to the Jesuit Fathers. Thus, 
 Louisiana was finally divided between 
 the Capuchins and the Jesuits: the 
 former in charge of the colonists and 
 the latter in charge of the Indians. 
 Both the superiors of these orders were 
 vicar-generals of the Bishop of Que- 
 bec, each in his own jurisdiction. 
 
 The coming of the Capuchin Fathers 
 of Champagne in Louisiana was the re- 
 sult of a mere coincidence. 
 
 «»**jr»»***»» 
 
 It is no wonder that we find the 
 Jesuits among the pioneers of religion 
 in Louisiana. They are and have been 
 nearly everywhere where Christianity 
 could be propagated. But the presence 
 of the Capuchins, under these South- 
 ern skies, astonishes us somewhat. In 
 fact, their coming into this country 
 originated from a mere coincidence. 
 When the Commissaries of the West- 
 ern Company applied for missionaries, 
 the spiritual welfare of the Colony was 
 intrusted to Louis Francis Duplessis do 
 Mornay, Bishop "in partibus" of Eu- 
 menia and Coadjutor to the Bishop of 
 Quebec. 
 
 This prelate, who had been a Capu- 
 chin himself, resided in Paris and from 
 there supervised and directed the mis- 
 sionaries of the province. When the 
 Western Company applied to him in 
 1717 for missionaries to be sent in 
 Louisiana, Bishop de Mornay tendered 
 the offer to the Capuchin Order, from 
 which he came. They accepted grate- 
 fully and received the King's approval 
 on April of the same year. 
 
 However, their earliest appearance in 
 their new field of labor is not chroni- 
 
 cled before 1720, three years after 
 their assignment. F. Jean Matthieu de 
 Saint Anne is the first whose name has 
 been recorded in this country. He 
 signs himse'lf in the register of the 
 parish of New Orleans on the 22d of 
 October, 1720, as "Jean Matthieu do 
 Saintc Anne, Pretrc Missionaire et 
 Cure du Vieux Biloxi." Further on, on 
 the 18th of January, 1721, he again 
 signs himself as "Vicaire Apostolique 
 et cure de La Mobile." 
 
 In 1722 F. Bruno de Langres sailed 
 from France with several of his breth- 
 ren. F. Eaphael de Luxembourg, Superi- 
 or of the Capuchins' Missions in 
 Louisiana, arrived the following spring, 
 1723, 
 
 And Took Charge of the Parish Church 
 of New Orleans. 
 
 A register in the Saint Louis Cathe- 
 dral archives shows his signature 
 August, 18th, 1723, as "F. Eaphael de 
 Luxembourg, Superieur de la Mission 
 et cure de I'eglise parroissiale." 
 
 A little later, January, 1724, he adds 
 the title of Vicar-General, which he 
 had received from the Bishop of Que- 
 bec. 
 
 ^*s***«*»*»* 
 
 Life of the First Capuchins in 
 Louisiana. 
 
 The first Capuchins who came in 
 Louisiana had much to contend with 
 upon their arrival in New Orleans. 
 Their congregation was scattered over 
 a large area, and added to their pov- 
 erty, there was a total ignorance of re- 
 ligion. Colonists were even imbued 
 with the skepticism and naturalism, 
 which at that time were already under- 
 mining the French nation. 
 
 F. Eaphael tells us when he landed 
 in New Orleans he could hardly secure 
 a room for himself and his brethren to 
 occupy, and much less one to convert 
 into a chapel, for the population was 
 indifferent to all what savored of the 
 church. Sundays, a little over than 
 tliirty persons attended mass. Un- 
 daunted, the Capuchin Fathers toiled 
 
on and at last were rewarded by see- 
 ing dormant hearts pulsate once more 
 for their religion. The garb of these 
 monks became a familiar sight and the 
 ceremonies of the Church brought the 
 colonists sweet recollections of their 
 mother country. 
 
 Less than a couple of years follow- 
 ing his ra-rival, F. Eaphael was glad- 
 dened by the erection of a church built 
 to replace the first one prematurely de- 
 stroyed by the hurricane of Sept. 1723. 
 It was of a larger sca'e than the form- 
 er, built of brick and dedicated to 
 Saint Louis, in honor of Louis the 
 Fifteenth, then King of France. 
 
 Thus, after years of hardships and 
 trials, tlic Capuchins were comparative- 
 ly established in a stately manner, and 
 their "Saint Louis Parish Church" 
 was destined to become, for a period 
 of sixty years and more, the center of 
 the colonial life in New Orleans. 
 
 f ******««x** 
 
 A Glimpse of New Orleans, Eighty 
 
 Years Ago. 
 and its prospects for the future. 
 
 When New Orleans completed its 
 first dccrde of existence, the Saint 
 Louis Parish Church was the only re- 
 deeming feature of the city. Although 
 it was comparatively a small and poor- 
 ly decorated church, its spire towered 
 over tlic other buildings with some- 
 what 01 mtiji sty. The Capuchins' res- 
 idence stood at its left, the Guard 
 House at its right. In front of its 
 porch, tlio "Palace d'Armcs" infolded 
 a square of green, through which two 
 diagonal alleys led to the harbor. The 
 homes of the colonial officials and com 
 mercial potentates were mostly situat- 
 ed on the water front or along Char- 
 tres street. The "Place d'Armes" 
 and its surroundings were then the 
 fashionable quarter. 
 
 As for the rest, it was forlorn con- 
 fusion, and, though the plan of the city 
 showed a large parallelogram of five 
 thousand feet of river front by a 
 
 depth of eighteen hundred, yet, the 
 greatest part of it was rather disor- 
 derly and squaliu, the ground being oc- 
 cupied but by a few scattered log 
 cabins, thatched with cypress, isolatea 
 from each other by willow brakes, 
 sloughs, brisling with dwarf palmettoes 
 and reedy ponds swarming with rep- 
 tiles. No one yet had built beyond 
 Dauphine street, nor below the Hospi- 
 tal — now the corner of Chartres and 
 Hospital streets— nor above Bienville 
 street, except the Governor, whose pal- 
 alace stood at the extreme upper cor- 
 ner of the town — now Custom House 
 and Decatur streets. 
 
 Such was New Orleans when it com- 
 pleted its first decade of existence. If 
 we deprive the vision of its halo, the 
 New Orleans of 1728 was nothing more 
 than a poor village, hastely built be- 
 tween a formidable river and dismal 
 swamps. Nevertheless it was New Or- 
 leans, and beyond the far horizon, the 
 wise could foresee its future glory al- 
 ready dawning. In his letter to the 
 Duchess of Lesdiguieres, Charlevoix 
 wrote tliese prophetic words: "My 
 hopes, I think, are well founded that 
 this wild and desert place, which tho 
 reeds and trees still cover almost en- 
 tirely, will be one day, and that day 
 not far distant, a city of opulence, and 
 the metropolis of a great and rich col- 
 ony." 
 
 We cannot, indeed, refrain from 
 wonder and admiration when we think 
 of the little village of 1728, an. I com- 
 pare it to the New Orleans of today, 
 graciously bending its mighty crescent 
 along the restless waters of the Missis- 
 sippi. 
 
 Part 11. 
 
 The Social and Religious Life of the 
 
 Early Colonial Times. 
 
 Although New Orleans by no means 
 in its beginnings suggested the splen- 
 dors of Paris, there was no lack of in- 
 terest in its social life. There was a 
 
Governor with a military staff and the 
 army officers, with their manners once 
 displayed at the Court of Versailles, 
 lent to the colonial life an air of gal- 
 lantry and grandeur. As in France, 
 in this time, the Government was in 
 close touch with the Church: the Gov- 
 ernor used to call on the good Capuchin 
 Fathers and his wife visited the Ursu- 
 line Ladies who had come to take 
 charge of the hospital and give the 
 daughters of the colonists the thorough 
 education imparted in French convents. 
 But besides the manners and usages 
 imported from the mother country, 
 there were also quaint customs which 
 gave to the Louisiana of colonial days 
 the characteristics so much talked of 
 in romance and so little known in his- 
 tory. There has been 
 
 Lately Discovered, in the Archives oi 
 
 the Saint Louis Cathedral, 
 a document partially illustrating this 
 subject. It refers to a meeting held by 
 the prominent citizens of the city at 
 which were discussed the most feasible 
 Avays and means of raising the neces- 
 sary funds for the erection of a pres- 
 bytery. 
 
 The following extract is translated 
 from the original: '"'This second day of 
 Nov. 1738, the inhabitants of the col- 
 ony assembled at the Hotel of the In- 
 tcndance, upon the requisition of F. 
 Matthias, Vicar-General of the Bishop 
 of Quebec, in presence of Mr. de Bien- 
 ville, Governor of the province of 
 Louisiana and Mr. Salmon, Commissary 
 of the Navy and First Justice of the 
 Superior Council. The , assembly had 
 been announced yesterday in the par- 
 ish church of this city, and the bells 
 were rung to call the meeting today." 
 Then follow "the deliberations which 
 could not be put into execution" on 
 account— says a later report — of a war 
 and general famine, which broke out 
 in the colony." In 1744, this same pro- 
 ject was revived and the following res- 
 olutions adopted: "A tax of fifty cents 
 
 will be imposed upon all the inhabi- 
 tants of the parish for each and every 
 head of negroes. In addition to this 
 the inhabitants have agreed upon a 
 personal tax proportioned to the 
 amount of real estate owned by 
 them, said amount to be decided by a 
 board selected from ten of the most 
 prominent citizens.". 
 
 Through the generosity of the parish- 
 ioners the presbytery was erected. 
 There dwelt the parish priest, F. Ea- 
 phael de Luxembourg with his assist- 
 ant, F. Hyacinthe, and the school mas- 
 ter. Father Cecil. It also served as 
 "a pied a terre" for the following 
 Capuchin Fathers, then in charge of 
 the country missions: F, Theodore, 
 from Chapitoulas, F. Philippe, from Les 
 Allemands; F. Gaspard, from La Ba- 
 lize; F. Mathias, from La Mobile; F. 
 Maximin, from Natchitoches; F. Phil- 
 ibcrt, from Natchez; F. Victoria Du- 
 puy, from Les Apalaches. 
 * * * 
 
 The War Between the Capuchins and 
 the Jesuits. 
 
 The decisions of the Western Com- 
 pany, gave to the Capuchins the ex- 
 clusive control of the colonists; as we 
 already know, the evangelization ot 
 the Indians had been intrusted to the 
 Jesuit Fathers. Their Superior, F. 
 Petit, resided in New Orleans, as the 
 most convenient place as also to have 
 his headquarters in which to direct and 
 support his brethren in charge of the 
 tribes and whose names, taken from a 
 report of that time are recorded be- 
 low: 
 
 F. Poisson, with the Arkansas. 
 
 F. Tartarin and Le Boulenger at 
 Kaskia. 
 
 F. Guypeneau among the Metchiga- 
 meas. 
 
 F. Doutrelcau on the Ouabache. F. 
 Souel among the Y^zoos. 
 
 F. Beaudoin, who was then attempt- 
 ing the dangerous task of establishing 
 a mission among the treacherous Chica- 
 saws. 
 
Notwithstanding the distinct and 
 separate jurisdiction of the Capuchins 
 and of the Jesuits, there occurred some 
 friction between these two orders, 
 which gave rise to a series of conten- 
 tions known derisively as the "War of 
 the Capuchins with Jesuits." 
 
 Father Beaudouin, having received 
 a commission as Vicar-General from 
 the Bishop of Quebec, performed in 
 that capacity certain ceremonies in the 
 city. The Capuchin Fathers, together 
 with the Councilmen, protested against 
 what they considered an encroachment 
 upon their rights in their jurisdiction, 
 adding that according to their agree- 
 ment with the Vvestern Company, the 
 Superior of the Jesuits could reside in 
 New Orleans, but could not, without 
 their consent, perform therein any re- 
 ligious function. To this, the Jesuits 
 objected, maintaining that there was 
 no violation of the established rules, 
 as their superior acted not as a Jesuit, 
 but as Vicar-General of the Bishop of 
 Quebec. So the motive of the famous 
 war was a mere question of jurisdic- 
 tion; in reality a petty discussion un- 
 worthy of notice. Some writers, how- 
 ever, have exaggerated its import- 
 ance, but failed at the same time 
 to emphasize the shameful spolia- 
 tion of the Jesuits by the French 
 Government, which suddenly put an 
 end to the quarrel. For it was at this 
 same time, the 9th of June, 1763, an 
 act of the Superior Council of Louisi- 
 ana suppressed the Order of the Jesu- 
 its throughout the colony, saying it was 
 dangerous to the royal authority, to 
 the rights of the bishops, to the pub- 
 lic peace and safety. The Jesuits were 
 forbidden to use the name of their so- 
 ciety as also their habit. Their prop- 
 erty was confiscated and sold for $180,- 
 000. Moreover, the Jesuits were not 
 only deprived of their property, but 
 their chapel was levelled to the ground, 
 leaving exposed the vaults wherein the 
 dead were interred. They were com- 
 pelled to give up their missions, and 
 
 were placed on a vessel about to sail 
 for France. 
 
 Not only did the Capuchins forget 
 their dissensions, but interfered in the 
 liehalf of the Jesuits, going so far as 
 to offer them a temporary shelter along- 
 side their own. The latter, greatly 
 pleased by this solicitude, expressed 
 their gratitude by leaving their hosts 
 the books they had saved from the 
 spoliation. 
 
 It is sad to say that the same writer 
 who described the Capuchin war to its 
 triflling details, did not find a single 
 word wherewith to blame the spoliators 
 who marred our history with such a 
 shameful crime against the right of 
 property and human liberty. 
 
 Among the men responsible for this 
 horrible profanation, La Freniere's 
 name alone descended to us. Strange to 
 say this fate was an awful one. Less 
 than six j^ears after the exile of the 
 Jesuits he was charged with conspiracy 
 and put to death by the Spanish Gov- 
 ernment. In history he is ranked 
 among the martyrs of liberty; but who 
 could heartily give such a title to the 
 very one who shamefully wronged his 
 fellow citizens, and banished those who 
 had contributed so much, both to the 
 social and the material advancement 
 of the colony? 
 
 * » » 
 
 O'Reilly and Spanish Capucliins Land 
 in Louisiana. 
 
 Out of the nine or ten Capuchins 
 left in Louisiana, when the Jesuits 
 were expelled, five resided in New Or- 
 leans, with F. Dagobert de Longy at 
 their head. He had succeeded as su- 
 perior F. Hilaire de Genevaux, exiled 
 from the province some year previous, 
 for having refused to share in a scheme 
 of revolt planned by the councilmen 
 against the Spaniards. F. Dagobert 
 was well known and beloved in the 
 oolony. Having landed in New Or- 
 leans in the very beginnig of 1723, he 
 was already an old man when promot- 
 
cd to 'the Superiorship of his Order. He 
 lived long enough, however, to witness 
 the landing of the Spaniards, as also 
 the first years of O'Eeiily's adminis- 
 tration. It was he who stood on the 
 threshold of the church to welcome 
 that famous general in the name of 
 the clergy and parishioners, when the 
 latter, on the 18th of August, 1769, 
 surrounded by his escort in gorgeous 
 array, crossed the "Place d'Armes" 
 and proceeded to the churcii. 
 
 Amidst all the honors and solemni- 
 ties befitting the occasion, F. Dago- 
 bert promised fidelity to the crown of 
 Spain and blessed the new colors which 
 were hoisted in place of the white ban- 
 ner of France. 
 
 The change of government caused a 
 change of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. 
 The province passed from the hands of 
 the Bishop of Quebec to the hands of 
 the Bishop of Santiago of Cuba. At 
 first the new prelate confirmed i'. 
 Dagobert in his capacity of Vicar-Gen- 
 eral, with which he had been invest- 
 ed after the expulsion of the Jesuits. 
 This was the wish of Louis tha 
 Fifteenth, who asked, in the cession of 
 Louisiana, "for the ecclesiasticals to 
 be continued in their functions in the 
 province." But, soon, this royal wish 
 ■was disregarded and not long after 
 the landing of O'Eeilly, Spanish Capu- 
 chins began to fill the place of their 
 French brethren. 
 
 This action, however, did not pass 
 without trouble, and the same monks 
 who protested against the alleged en- 
 croachments of the Jesuits, tried, some 
 ten years after, to oppose the preten- 
 tions of the Spanish Capuchins. Con- 
 tradictory reports reached the new 
 bishop about religious conditions in 
 Louisiana, and led him to investigate. 
 For this purpose, he sent F. Cyrillo de 
 Barcellone, with four Spanish Capu- 
 chins, to New Orleans, namely: jj', 
 Francisco, F. Angel de Kevillagodos, F. 
 Louis de Qiiintanilla and F. Aleman. 
 
 They landed on the 19th of July, 1773. 
 1'. Dagobert, leading the French Capu- 
 chins, and followed by a large crowd 
 went in a procession to the levee. 
 Standing in front of the "Place 
 d'Arines the new comers were received 
 with due honors and great demonstra- 
 tions of joy. The next day they were 
 formally presented to Gov. Unzaga. i: 
 Cyrillo then presented his credentials 
 from the bishop, whereup the Governor 
 expressed his willingness to carry into 
 execution the mandates of his superior, 
 the Bishop of Cuba. 
 
 Fathers Aleman and Angel de Eevil- 
 lagodos were at once appointed to par- 
 ishes requiring pastors, and F. Cyrillo, 
 with his two other campions remained 
 in New Orleans as F. Dagobert 's 
 guests. This arrangement, however, 
 was not destined to last, both charac- 
 ters being utterly dissimilar. F. Da- 
 gobert was more a father than a monk; 
 having come into the colony as a young 
 missionary, he had baptized and mar- 
 ried almost every one. He was kind, 
 meek, and always ready to render a, 
 service to the humblest of his flock, 
 thus inspiring love instead of fear and 
 mistrust. 
 
 Father Cyrillo was the very opposite 
 of this. Brought up in the Spanish 
 convents, where stern discipline knew 
 no master, he always abided by the 
 rigid rules of his Order. Therefore, the 
 manner in which his French brethren 
 exercised their duties seemed scanda- 
 lous to him, and he informed the Bish- 
 op of Cuba concerning what he con- 
 sidered lax methods of administration. 
 Gov. Unzaga interfered in behalf of 
 the French Capuchins, and wrote a 
 letter of remonstrance to the Bishop, 
 in which he censured the Spanish friars 
 severely. This offended the Bishop and 
 botk parties referred the matter to the 
 Spanish Court. The Government, with- 
 out expressing a decisive opinion, ad- 
 vised both prelate and Governor to 
 compromise their disagreement so as 
 to better preserve harmony between 
 
civil and ecclesiastical authorities. And 
 peace was once more restored: F. Cyril- 
 lo continued to minister with an in- 
 dominitable zeal, whilst 
 F. Dagobert Remained in Charge of 
 
 The Saint Louis Parochial Church 
 of New Orleans Until His Death, 
 which occurred on the 31st of May, 
 1776. 
 
 The funeral services were conducted 
 by F. Cyrillo himself, and he signed 
 the following entry in the mortuary 
 register: 
 
 "I, Cyrillo de Barcelone per 
 
 formed the funeral service of Eev. 
 Dagobert of Longuy of the province 
 of Champagne, a member of the Capu- 
 chin Order and apostolic missionary of 
 this Province for fifty-three years, 
 eleven months and eleven days, as it 
 appears from his act of obedience to 
 the Eev. Bartholome y Faxera. He was 
 rector of this Parish Church when he 
 died, at the age of seventy-four years, 
 nine months and eleven days, on the 
 31st of May, having received all the 
 sacraments of the Church in the pres- 
 bytery. 
 
 "New Orleans, June 1st, 1776. 
 "REA\ CYEILLO DE BAECELONE." 
 
 True Light Thrown on the Famous 
 Quarrel Between the Capuchins and 
 Jesuits — The First Auxiliary Bishop 
 of New Orleans Appointed in 1781 — 
 Father Cyrillo de Barcelona, Father 
 Dagobert and Pere Antoine — Full 
 List of Ractors of the Old St. Louis 
 Church, From Its Foundation Till Its 
 Destruction by Fire in 1788— The 
 Present Cathedral Rises on the Ruins 
 of the Ancient Edifice. 
 
 Part III. 
 
 True History of "Quarrel of the 
 
 Capuchins." 
 
 The same historian, who related, as 
 the world believes, so graphically, even 
 to the minutest details, the war of the 
 Capuchins with the Jesuitsi, deemed 
 "it not inappropriate" to give in full 
 
 the dreadful letters of Cyrillo; but, 
 tlie histoiiau had failed to offer a true 
 explanation of the cause and character 
 of the whole quarrel. 
 
 Some speak of F. Father Dagobert 
 as if he was a saint, others paint him 
 in the most uglist colors. But all ex- 
 aggerate, and it is more truthful to 
 say that F. Dagobert deserves neither 
 that excess of honor, bestowed on him 
 by some, nor the indignity heaped up- 
 on his memory by others. Gov. Unzaga 
 eulogizes F. Dagobert and refers to hijii 
 as a man loved and revered by the peo- 
 ple, a most deserving priest in whom 
 one could not detect a single one of 
 tiie crimes imputed to him. Moreover, 
 if he had been as this historian depicts 
 him, he could not have escaped Count 
 O'Eeilly's vigilant eye, as the latter 
 lived but a few yards distant from 
 him, and would have had him removed 
 for less than his accusers charged him. 
 "The declarations which are sometimes 
 found in the writings of that day, re- 
 specting clerical depravity," says a 
 writer, whose impartility is universally 
 recognized, "as a rule, had their 
 origin in montastic prejudice or secu- 
 lar antipathies. 
 The Clergy Must Have Shared in the 
 
 Virtues of that Period, 
 for, otherwise, their influence among 
 the people would appear incomprehen- 
 sible." 
 
 As to Cyrillo 's accusations, they 
 must not be attributed to bad faith; 
 for when he arrived in Louisiana, he 
 was totally ignorant of the customs 
 and language of the country. Misguid- 
 ed by his zeal, he saw in F. Dagobert 's 
 methods much to censure, and thought 
 it his duty to express his indignation 
 to the Bishop of Cuba. 
 
 But to depict F. Cyrillo as ambi- 
 tious and intriguing, would be doing 
 him a most undeserved injustice, as he 
 led a very saintly life during his stay 
 in the colony. When F. Cyrillo suc- 
 ceeded F. Dagobert as the head of the 
 parochial church of New Orleans, the 
 
King of Sjjain was informed that the 
 Sacrament of Confirmation had never 
 been administered in Louisiana, owing 
 to the impossibility of the Bishop of 
 Cuba traveling to such a remote part 
 of his diocese. Therefore, the King 
 resolved in his Council of the Indies, 
 July 10th, 1779, to apply to the Holy 
 See to give the Superior of the mis- 
 sions in Louisiana the power to confer 
 Confirmation for a period of twenty 
 years. This proposition was not fav- 
 orably received. 
 But Appointmsnt of an Auxiliary 
 Bishop 
 was suggested with his headquarters in 
 New Orleans whence he could visit the 
 missions on the Mississippi as well as 
 Mobile, Pensacola and St. Augustine. 
 The Pope favored the plan and ap- 
 pointed F. Cyrillo de Bareelone, Auxil- 
 iary Bishop to the See of Santiago of 
 Cuba, with the title of Bishop "in 
 partibus infidelium" of Tricali. The 
 new prelate was consecrated in 1781 
 and preceded to New Orleans, which 
 then 
 
 For the First Time, Enjoyed the Pres- 
 e:i^G of a Eisliop. 
 Cyrillo, bclr.g a really holy and saint- 
 ly man, infused new life into the prov- 
 ince. In 1786, he issued a pastoral let- 
 ter, urging his flock in eloquent terms 
 to attend mass on Sundays and Holy- 
 days, denouncing the wicked custom of 
 the negroes, who, at the vespers hour, 
 assembled in a green expanse called 
 "Place Congo" to dance the bambou- 
 la and perform the hideous rites im- 
 ported from Africa by the Yolofs, Fou- 
 lahs, Bambarras, Mandigees and other 
 races" of the dark Continent. 
 
 This zealous prelate proved tireless, 
 faithfully visiting the country parishes, 
 And Leaving on the Parochial Regis- 
 ter a Detailed Report of his Inves- 
 tigations, 
 urging everywhere tac careful fulfil- 
 ment of the mandates of the Council of 
 Trent. During his administration the 
 number of priests in Louisiana in- 
 ccreased rapidly and from the official 
 
 accounts we find five priests in New 
 Orleans and one early in the following 
 places: Terre aux Boeux, Saint Charles, 
 Saint John the Baptist, or Bonnet Car- 
 re, Saint James, Ascension; St. Gabriel 
 at Iberville, Pointe Coupee, Attakapas, 
 Opelousas, Natchitoches, Natchez, Saint 
 Louis, Sainte Genevieve, Saint Bernard, 
 at Manchac, or Galveston. 
 
 Bishop Cyrillo 's services in Louisiana 
 were cut short by the 
 Establishment of the Province Into a 
 Diocese Independant from the See 
 
 of Cuba, in 1793. 
 "His Holiness, wrote the King, on 
 the 23rd or Nov. 1793, having issued 
 the consistorial decree for the dismem- 
 berment of Louisiana and Florida and 
 the establishment of a new Bishopric in 
 these provinces, I have decided to with- 
 draw your office of auxiliary, and or- 
 der you to return to your Capuchin 
 Province of Catalongnia, with a salary 
 of $1,000 per year." 
 
 Bishop Cyrillo returned to Havana 
 and abided with the Hospital Friars un- 
 til such time as he could obtain pay- 
 ment of his salary, whereby he could 
 obej^ the King by returning to his own 
 country. We have no record of when 
 or how Bishop Cyrillo died. But this 
 much we know, his life was one of 
 trials and hardships, ending in poverty 
 and humility. Such was the man who 
 unconsciously started and fought the 
 famous "Quarrel of the Capuchins." 
 
 The lives and the deeds of both F. 
 Dagobert and Cyrillo, better than any 
 plea, show that the quarrel originated 
 from the contact of two men diversely 
 educated, but by no means sprung from 
 their ambition or jealousy. Instead of 
 "an historical illustration" that Gay- 
 arre deemed "not inappropriate" to 
 insert in his history, he has only suc- 
 ceeded in writing a tale "A la Rabe- 
 lais," but in a much less talented way. 
 The Saint Louis Parish Church De- 
 stroyed by Fire. 
 ^Vhen Bishop Cyrillo was appointed 
 Auxiliary Bishop to the Sec of Cuba, 
 with the special care of Louisiana and 
 
10 
 
 Florida, he resigned the rectorship of 
 the Saint Louis Parochial Church and 
 appointed in his stead F. Antonio do 
 Sedela y Arze. 
 
 This famous monk, iDetter known as 
 
 "Pere Antoine," Was the Last Rec- 
 tor of the Parish Church, 
 
 but by no means the less illustrious. 
 
 If we include the two priests who 
 had exercised the functions of rectors 
 in New Orleans, previously to the erec- 
 tion of the Saint Louis Parish Church 
 in 1724 or 1725, w© obtain the follow- 
 ing complete list of the rectors of the 
 ecclesiastical parish of New Orleans, 
 from the foundation of the city to 1788, 
 when the Saint Louis Parish Church 
 met with its unexpected fate: 
 
 F. Prothay Boyer, 1720 a Eecollet. 
 
 F. Joseph de Saint Charles, 1721, a 
 priest of the congregation of Saint 
 Theresa. 
 
 The Eev. John Matthew of Saint Ann 
 and J. Richard performed their sacred 
 ministry in New Orleans from time to 
 time about 1720, but never assumed the 
 title of rector. They signed "Rector 
 of the 'Vieux Biloxi.' " 
 
 F. Bruno de Langres, was one of the 
 first Capuchins who landed in New Or- 
 leans. He signs as rector of the city 
 from 1722 until 1723, till the arrival of 
 his Superior. 
 
 F. Raphael de Luxembourg, first 
 Superior of the Capuchins, and rector 
 from 1723 to his death in 1735. 
 
 F. Matthias, his successor was de- 
 prived of his functions in 1739 and was 
 succeeded by 
 
 F. Phillipe de Genevaux, also dis- 
 missed in 1741, and succeeded by 
 Charles de Rambervilliers, a holy man, 
 who did much to assure and maintain 
 The Concord Between the Jesuits and 
 the Capuchins. 
 
 He died about 1746 and left as his 
 successor F. Dagobert de Longuy. This 
 latter quarrelled again with the Jesuits 
 and was succeeded by George de Fau- 
 quemont in 1753. After the expulsion 
 of the Jesuits, De Fauquemont was sup- 
 planted by 
 
 Hilairc de Genevaux, who arrived 
 from France in August, 1764. The fol- 
 lowing year he was banished by the 
 Superior Council and for the second 
 time 
 
 F. Dagobert de Longuy was appoint- 
 ed Superior of the Capuchin Fathers, 
 which office he retained until his death 
 in 1776. Following him came. 
 
 F. Cyrillo de Barcelone, who himself 
 appointed as his successor F. Antonio 
 de Sedella in or about 1785. 
 
 The later had been in charge but a 
 few years when the Saint Louis Parish 
 Church, perished in the great conflagra- 
 tion that swept a large area of the 
 city, on March 21st, 1788. So, unex- 
 pectedly, there was erased from the 
 heart of the city this church, in which 
 during more than that sixty years the 
 people of New Orleans came to wor- 
 ship. Being the only parochial church 
 of the city during this time, it was 
 in colonial days, the center of the 
 social and religious life. 
 
 With the old parish church disap- 
 peared the last witness of romantic and 
 chivalrous Louisiana. But its ashes 
 proved immortal, as less than six years 
 after the awful Good Friday of 1788, a 
 majestic Cathedral rose on the very 
 sopt whereupon stood the ' ' Saint Louis 
 Parochial Church. ' ' So indelibly linked 
 with the history of colonial days in 
 New Orleans. 
 Cfr.: 
 
 Martin: History of Louisiana. 
 
 Gayarre: History of Louisiana. 
 
 Fortier: History of Louisiana. 
 
 Essays Educational and Historical, 
 by a member of the Order of Mercy. 
 
 Lovenstein: A history of the Saint 
 Louis Cathedral. 
 
 Sketch of the Catholic Church in 
 Louisiana, by James Augustin. 
 
 Castellanos: New Orleans as it was. 
 
 F. Camille de Rochemontaix: Les 
 Jesuites et la Nouvell France au 18me 
 siecle. 
 
 Archives of the Saint Louis Cathe- 
 dral: Records of the Trustee's Meet- 
 ings: Mortuary register of 1776. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 497 761