WICHITA
ma
WICHITA
the period of its greatest fame, and at Corvey the
monastic discipline which had been on the dechne was
again restored. Wibald was one of the most influen-
tial councillors of the emperors Lothaire and Conrad
III. Combining true patriotism with a submissive
devotion to the Holy See, he used his great influence
to preserve harmony between the emperors and the
popes. In 1137 he accompanied Lothaire on a mili-
tary expedition to Italy and through the emperor's
influence was elected Abbot of Monte Cassino. When,
however, King Roger of Sicily threatened to destroy
the monastery unless Wibald resigned the abbacy, he
returned to Stavelot, having been Abbot of Monte
Cassino only forty days. During the reign of Con-
rad III (1138-52) Wibald became still more influen-
tial. All the emperor's negotiations with the Apos-
tolic See were carried on by Wibald, and he visited
Rome on eight different occasions on imperial em-
bassies. The emperor would enter upon no political
undertaking without consulting the abbot. In 1147
he took part in the unsuccessful expedition against the
Wends. During the absence of Conrad III in Pales-
tine (1147—19) he was tutor of the emperor's young son
Henry, but seems to have had little to do with the
political affairs of Germany during that period. Con-
rad's successor, Frederick Barbarossa, also esteemed
him highly and it was chiefly due to the abbot's influ-
ence that "during his hfetime the harmony between the
emperor and the pope was preserved. Wibald ac-
companied Barbarossa on his ex-pedition to Italy in
1152 and was sent by him on a mission to Constanti-
nople in 1154 and again in 1157. His sudden death
on his second journey back from Constantinople gave
rise to the suspicion that he was poisoned by the
Greeks. More than 400 of Wibald's epistles are still
extant. They begin with the year 1146 and have be-
come the chief source for the history of Conrad III
and the early reign of Barbarossa. The best edition
was prepared bv Jaffo, "Monumenta Corbeiensia" in
"Bibhotheca rerum Germ.", I (Berlin, 1S64), 76-602.
They are also printed in P. L., CLXXXIX, 1121-
1458.
Janssen, Wibald von Stahlo u. Corvey, Aht. Slaatsmann u. Gelehrter (Munster, 1S54) ; Mann, Wibald, Abt. von Stablo «. Corvei nach seiner polilischen Thdtigkeit (Halle, 1875); Tous- BAINT. Eludes suT Wibald, abbi de Stavelot, du Monl-Cassin et de la Nouvelle-Corbie (Namur, 1890) ; Dentzer, Zur Beurteiluna der Politik Wibalds von Stablo u. Korvei (Breslau, 1900).
MlCH.\EL OtT.
Wichita, Diocese of (Wichitensis), erected in 1887, from the Diocese of Leavenworth. The terri- tory of the new see was bounded on the east by the sixth principal meridian, south by the Indian Terri- tory, west by Colorado, and north by the northern lines of Greeley, Wichita, Scott, Lane, Ness, Rush, Barton, Rice, and McPherson Counties in the State of Kansas. At that time there were 16 priests in charge of churches, and 23 churches attended as missions; 9 parochial schools, 2 of which were t ought by the Sisters of St. Joseph, and 1 by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dubuque). The Catholic population numbered about SOOO, but there were no religious commvmities in the diocese. In 1897 the Holy See attached fourteen additiona.l counties located ea.st of the sixth iirinciiial meridian, the eastern boundary being the west line of the State of Missouri, and continuing the north line of the Indian Territory on the south. The first bishop appointed for this Diocese, Rt. Rev. James O'Reilly, of "Topeka, Kansas, died on 26 July, 1887, before his consecration. One year later, the present bishop, Rt. Rev. John Joseph Hennessv, was .selected, and w;is consecrated on 30 Nov., 1888, in St. John's Church, St. Louis, Missouri, of which he was rector. The ceremony was iierformed by Archbishop Kenrick of St. Louis, a.ssistcd by Bishops Hennessy of Dubuque, and I'"iiik of Leaven- worth. When the bi.-fhop took charge of \\ ichita, his territory was in a very discouraging condition owing
to a succession of years of drought and crop failures.
Many settlers abandoned their farms and availed
themselves of the opening of the new Territory of
Oklahoma. Since then, the Kansas portion of what
had been formerly known as the Great American
Desert has improved under better methods of
farming, and is now justly described as the garden
spot of the West. The City of Wichita, called after
an Indian tribe, had a population of about 20,000
when established as an episcopal see; it now numbers
over 60,000 and is the largest and most thrifty city in
Kansas, with the exception of Kansas City. It has
four Cathohc churches with about 3700 Cathohcs,
3 parochial schools attended by nearly 400 children,
one academy for young ladies with 175 boarders, one
industrial school for small children with 120 boarders,
one hospital with 125 patients daily, one orphanage
with 30 inmates, 1 convent and mother-house of the
diocesan Sisters of St. Joseph.
Diocesan Statistics. — There are 76 secular and 12 regular priests, 69 churches with resident pastors, 58 missions with churches, 7 hospitals, 35 parish schools, with 2400 pupils, and a CathoUc population of 32,000. There are 4 rehgious institutes of men: the Passionist Fathers at St. Paul, Kansas, the Fran- ciscans at Wichita, the Capuchins at Marienthal, and the Silvestrine Benedictines at Chicopee for work especially among the Italians. There are six religious institutes of women: Sisters of St. Joseph (diocesan), Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Du- buque); Sisters of Mercy (diocesan). Sisters of St. Dominic (diocesan); Sisters of the Precious Blood (Belleville), and Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother (Rome, Italy). A magnificent Romanesque cathe- dral of Bedford stone and granite w;is consecrated in 1912 by His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore.
Archives of Diocese; Catholic Directory.
John J. Hennessy.
Wichita Indians, a confederacy of Caddoan stock, formerly dwelling between the Arkansas River, Kan- sas, and the Brazos River, Texas, and now located in Oklahoma, within the boundaries of the former Wichita reservation. They call themselves Kiti- kitisch and sometimes Tawehash, the meanings of which are unknown, and claim to have come from the same stock as the Pawnee. The names of nine of the tribes formerly composing the confederacy have been preserved, but the only divisions now existing are the Tawakoni, the Waco, and the ^^■ichita proper. Pre- vious to the annexation of Texas (1840-5), the Wich- ita proper dwelt north of the Red River and aroimd the Wichita Mountains. The meaning of the name Wichita is unknown. These Indians were first met about 1541 in Quivara, during the expedition of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (q. v."!. Fraj' Juan de Padilla, who accompanied Coronado, and some companions remained with these to evangelize them, and three years later gained the palm of martjTdom. In 1719 the Wichita were visited by La Harpe, a French soldier, who found them given to cannibahsm; somewhat later they were forced to the south-west by the Osago and Chickasaw. In 1758 they destroyed the Spani.sh missions of San Sabd, near the Rio Colorado. In l.SOl the tribe suffered severely from an epidemic of small-pox. Their first treaty of peace was made in 1835, and fifteen years later the Wichita proper settled at Rush Springs, Oklahoma. They took refuge in Kan.^as during the Civil War, on the con- clusion of which the\' were placed on a reser\-ation to the north of the Washita River. In 1902 the reserva- tion was opened by the Government for settlement, and the Wichita received allotments in severally. They now number 310, in addition to ;?0 Kichai.
The Wichita were an agricultural tribe, but also engaged in hunting the buffalo. They cultivated corn, pumpkins, and tobacco, which they bartered with
