Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 9.djvu/743

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BSABQUETTB


690


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Bfay, 1852, the Fathers recommended that Upper Michigan be made a vicariate Apostolic. By a brief of 29 July^ 1853. Pins IX disjoined the territory from Detroit and under the same date appointed Frederic Baraga its vicar apostolic with the title of Bishop of Amyzonia in jxirtibtis. He took up his residence in Sauit Ste. Mane from which the vicariate and later the diocese took its name. Bishop Baraga found three churches and two priests in his vicariate, but after three years of administration his report showed not only an increase and permanency of missiofis but vast possibilities in development so that the Holy Sec did not hesitate to raise the vicariate to the dignity of a diocese, conferring at the same time upon Baraga the title of Bishop of Sault Ste . Marie . The city was at the extreme east end of the diocese^ so that, when many important missions developed m the west end, the question of moving the see to a more accessible place naturally suggested itself. The choice fell upon the town of Marquette and the Holy See sanctioned the removal 23 October, 1865, enjoining that the old name be retained together with the new one, hence the name of the diocese: Sault Ste. Marie and Marquette. Since the elevation of Milwaukee to an archdiocese (1875) it has belonged to that province. The bishops of Detroit, Milwaiucee, St. Paul^ and Hamilton^ Can- ada, had ceded jurisdiction to Bishop Baraga over the missions, mostly Indian, adjoining his territory. Thus the northern portion of Lower Michigan, the regions around Lake Superior throughout Wisconsin and Min- nesota from Port Arthur to Michipicoten and the Sault, were attended by him and his missionaries while he ruled the diocese. Bishop Baraga died 19 January, 1868. (See Baraga, Frederic.) His countryman Ignatius Mrak became his successor. He was conse- crated 9 February, 1869, resigned in 1877, was trans- ferred to Antinoe, in partHms. died 2 January, 1901. John Vertin became the third oishop. He was conse- crated 14 September, 1879; died 26 February, 1899. The fourth bishop was chosen in the person of Fred- erick Eis. He was bom 20 January, 1843, at Arbach, Diocese of Trier, Germany, the youngest of four chil- dren. In 1855 his parents emigrated to America and settled first at Calvary, Wisconsin, but later removed to Minnesota and from there went to Rockland, Mich- i^n, where the diligence and talents of the future bishop attracted the attention of the pioneer mission- ary, Martin Fox, who at once took a lively interest in him. Civil war broke up most of the colleges and young Frederick went from St. Francis, Wis., to Joliet, Canada, to complete his studies. He was ordained by Bishop Mrak, 30 October, 1870. Filling various im-

g^rtant pastorates, he was made, upon the death of ishop vertin, administrator of the diocese and Leo XIII raised him to the episcopate, 7 June, 1899. His consecration took place at Marquette 24 August, 1899.

Early Missionaries. — Jean Dejean, Francis Vin- cent Badin, brother of Stephen Theodore Badin, the first priest ordained in the U. S., Samuel Mazzuchelli, Francis Pierz, Francis Haetscher, C.SS.R., F. J. Bonduel, Dominic Du Ranquet, S.J., August Kohler, S.J., G. B. Weikamp, O.S.F., Richard Baxter, S.J., Otto Skolla, O.S.F., Andrew Piret, P. Point, S.J., B. Pedelupe, S.J., Jean B. Menet, S.J., 1846, the first stationary Jesuit missionary since 1703, J. D. Chonne, 8 J., Martin Fox, Edward Jacker, who discovered in St. Ignace the site of the old Jesuit chapel and Mar- quette's grave, John Cebul, Gerhard Terhoret, Hon- oratus Bourion, and John F. Chambon, S.J.

Statistics. — Bishop Baraga found in his diocese three churches and two priests. He left 15 priests, 21 churches, 16 stations, 4 religious institutions. Bishop Mrak left: 20 priests, 27 churches, 3 charitable institu- tions, 3 academies, 20,000 population. Bishop Ver- tin left: 62 priests, 56 churches with pastors, 24 mis- sion churches, 64 stations, 3 chapels, 1 academy, 20 parochial schools with 5440 pupils, 1 orphan asylum,


4 hospitab, 60,000 population. Present status: 85 priests, 67 churches with pastors, 37 mission chuiches, 23 chapels, 104 stations, 1 academy, 24 parochial schools with 6650 pupils, 1 orphan asylum, 4 hospitals, 95,000 population.

OEIeligigus Communities. — Orders of men: Jesuits, Franciscans (3 houses), Premonstratensians. Orders of women: Sisters of St. Joseph (St. Louis, Mo.), 5 houses ; Sisters of St. Francis (Peoria), 3 houses ; Sisters of Notre Dame (Milwaukee), 3 houses; Sisters of St. Joseph (Ccmcordia, Kans.), 2 houses; Sisters of St. Aj^es (Fond du Lac, Wis.), 3 houses; Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity (Alvemo, Wis.), 2 houses; Sisters of Loretto (Toronto, Canada) ; Ursuline Nims; Little Franciscan Sisters of Mary (Bale St. Paul, Quebec).

Rezek, History of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie cand Mar- ouette (Houghton. Mich., 1906) ; Tuwaites, The Jesuit RelationM (Cleveland. 1901); Ver^tst, Life of Bishop Baraga (Milwau- kee, 19(X)); Kelton, Annals of Fort Mackinac (Detroitt 1880); Jacker, Am. Quarterly Review, I, 1876; History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Chicago, 1883); Ada et Dccreta, CoU lectio Lacensis, III ; BeruJUe der Leopoldinen Stiftimg im Kaiser- thwne Oesterreich (Vienna, 1832-65); Diocesan Archives, Mar- quette, Mich.; CcUholic Directory.

Antoine Ivan Rezek.

Marquette, Jacques, S.J., Jesuit missionary and discoverer of the Mississippi River, b. in 1636, at Laon, a town in north central France; d. near Luding- ton, Michigan, 19 May, 1675. He came of an ancient family distinguished for its civic and military ser- vices. At the age of seventeen he entered the So- ciety of Jesus, and after twelve Vears of study and teaching in the Jesuit colleges of France was sent by his superiors (1666) to labour upon the Indian missions in Canada. Arriving at Quebec he was at once as- signed to Three Rivers on the Saint Lawrence, where he assisted Druillettes and, as prelimiifary to furtlier work, devoted himself to the study of the Huron lan- guage. Such was his talent as a linguist that he {earned to converse fluently in six different dialects. Recalled to Quebec in the spring of 1668 he repaired at once to Montreal, where he awaited the flotilla which was to bear him to his first mission in the west. After labouring for eighteen months with Father Dablon at Sault Ste. Marie (the Soo) he was given the more difficult task of instructing the tribes at the mission of the Holy Ghost at La rointe, on the south-western shore of Lake Superior, near the present city of Ashland. Here we meet for the first time the account of the work of Marquette as told by himself and his first reference to the great river with which his name will be fqrever associated (Jesuit Relations, LI I., 206). To this mission on the bleak bay of a northern lake came the Illinois Indians from their distant wig- wams in the south. They brought strange tidings of a mighty river which flowed through their country and BO far away to the south that no one knew into what ocean or gulf it emptied. Their own villages num- bered eight thousand souls, and other populous tribes lived along the banks of this unknown stream. Would Marquette come and instruct them? Here was a call to which the young and enthusiastic missionary re- sponded without delay. He would find the river, ex- plore the country, and open up fields for other mis- sionaries . The liurons promised to build him a canoe ; he would take with him a Frenchman and a young Illinois from whom he was learning the language. From information given by the visitors Marquette concluded that the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of California; and on learning that the Indians along its banks wore dlass beads he knew they had inter- course with the Europeans.

So far had he gone in his preparations for the trip that he sent presents to the neighbouring pagan tribes and obtained permission to pass through their country. However, before he could carry out his designs the Hurons were forced to abandon their vil- lage at La Pointe on account of a threatened attack of