\nby Monsignor Joseph Rosati\n
\nBishop of S. Louis\n
\non his Mission to Haiti\n
\n-\n
\nMost eminent Signore,\n
\n-\n
\nWishing to give the Sacred Congregation, as was my duty, prompt knowledge regarding the Mission with the Government of Haiti that the Sanctity of Our Holy Gregory XVI, happily reigning, bestowed upon me, I have not neglected to write to Your Eminence various letters from Paris, from New York, from Port-au-Prince, and from Brest, in order to provide you a complete account. It now remains to me to explain what the result of it has been. But, so that Your Eminence and the S. Congregation may see at a glance all that has been done, I will pick up the tale, in brief, from the beginning.\n
\n-\n
\nHaving arrived in Paris after my departure from Rome, in agreement with Monsig. the Apostolic Internuncio, who forwarded Your Eminence's letter about the Mission to Haiti, I asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs to please pass it on to the Consul General of France in Port-au-Prince, and to task him, in particular, with deftly ascertaining the disposition of the Government and of the President of Haiti; and of recording it in a letter that the Consul could send to New York. With pleasure the Minister wrote to the Consul, and gave him the instructions, and the most precise orders to render me help and service of every kind...
"}]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/a7a94392-ed99-4f3c-b21d-b0d5a1b75a60/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}},{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_2","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"CMC0565_02_019_005_p050","height":4732,"width":3676,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/c114b79e-c741-40fb-8e05-a4942eb860e9/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/tif","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/c114b79e-c741-40fb-8e05-a4942eb860e9","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":2048,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":4732,"width":3676},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_2","metadata":[{"label":"Translations","value":"...Which has been most useful to me, as I will explain later. Having arrived in the United States, I went immediately to Philadelphia, where, on November 30th, I consecrated my Coadjutor Monsig. Peter Richard Kenrick, and where I also had the pleasure of finding Monsig. Lefevere already consecrated. After giving my Coadjutor instructions and the necessary information about the affairs of the Diocese, he left for St. Louis, and I for Baltimore. I communicated to the Archbishop the S. Congregation's plans for Sig. Jourbert, and my intention of bringing him with me to Haiti. I spoke with the selfsame Sig. Joubert, without, however, speaking to him of the Apostolic Briefs promoting him to the Episcopate and his elevation to the Apostolic Vicariate of Haiti, in case it was possible to come to an agreement with that government on matters of Religion. The Archbishop and selfsame Sig. Joubert and his Superior all realized that this was impossible, not so much because of Joubert's age but his health, which is very poor. In Baltimore I visited the community of black and mulatto nuns, almost all from Haiti, of which Sig. Joubert is the founder and director; I spoke to them of this country, and they assured me, that if the religion were reestablished, they are ready to go there.\n\n-\n
\nUpon my return to New York I prepared to depart, despite not having had any reply from the French Consul from Port-au-Prince. I thought, however, that this might be the result of some difficulties that had developed between that Consul and the government of Haiti; the gazettes informed us that the Consul had left Port-au-Prince and had retreated to a French warship. I therefore left New York accompanied by a good Savoyard priest on the 25th of January, and on the 29th, I arrived in Port-au-Prince. The sight of six French warships anchored in the harbor, the abode that the Consul continued to make in...
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But I had reason to set down every fear as soon as I saw that the arrival of a Delegate Bishop of the Holy Father was received with great pleasure by all citizens of every class and every party, as soon as I saw them hurry in the hundreds to the parochial house, where I was to lodge, to visit me, to kneel before me, to ask for my blessing, and many among them kissed the ground after receiving it. The welcome made me by the President completed the dissipation of my apprehension. Having informed him by letter of my arrival, he granted me an audience on January 31st. When I descended from the carriage, I was received by his aide-de-camps, and he himself met me at the door of the hall; he showed me the greatest respect, he listened to me with great satisfaction, and received the Holy Father's brief with the sincerest expressions of joy and gratitude, telling me that he was very convinced of the unequivocal proof that the Holy Father had repeatedly given him of his paternal affection toward his Haitian children: he was very moved (touched) by the perseverance with which the Pontiff continued to concern himself with their temporal and spiritual wellbeing, having for the third time, spontaneously and of his own accord, invited Bishops as his delegates to Haiti to treat with him; that this required correspondence on his part, and that he considered it his duty to do everything possible to carry out the wishes of the Holy Father; and that he would certainly do so. There being the Laws of the Government of the Republic, he (the President) had to act in accordance with the same, and therefore he would appoint a Commission..."}]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/3a37d28f-bf14-4a75-86d4-e3e1adb77248/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}},{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_4","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"CMC0565_02_019_005_p052","height":4717,"width":3740,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/1a1fd173-5d89-41c1-90a3-eb658cef861e/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/tif","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/1a1fd173-5d89-41c1-90a3-eb658cef861e","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":2048,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":4717,"width":3740},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_4","metadata":[{"label":"Translations","value":"...that would work with me on the objective of my mission. I replied that the Holy Father did not wish for anything other than their wellbeing: that he would do for them what he did for all his other children in all parts of the World, that he made no distinction by country or color: to give him proof of this, I mentioned the affectionate reception that the Holy Father recently gave the Abyssinians who arrived in Rome, after my departure, to the College of Propaganda, where--for free and no differently than young men from any other nation--Moorish youths are maintained, cared for, trained, ordained as priests, and then sent back to their native countries; of the truly Catholic solicitude with which the Holy Father has procured and sent from the United States Catholic Missionaries to Liberia, on the coasts of Africa; finally, of the Apostolic zeal with which the Supreme Pontiff has raised his voice in his encyclical solemnly forbidding the inhuman trade of blacks. These things, having been unknown to the President, made a great impression on him: he clearly sees, he told me, that the Church does not hold the prejudices that entire nations do against our color.\n\n-\n
\nThe Commission was immediately named by the President, and composed of five members: General Inginac, the Senators Hardouin and Pietro Andre, and the two brothers Ville-valeix, Secretaries of the Government; the same who had been appointed to deal with Monsignor England. I was pleased with this choice, I found them well disposed, intelligent, reasonable, and animated by a sincere desire to conclude this business and finally see it brought to good order, and decorum reestablished between the Ecclesiastics and the people. We commenced our sessions on the 5th of February. Everyone spoke with the greatest respect of the Religion, recognizing it as an indispensable necessity to public prosperity, of the Holy Father whose...
"}]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/1a1fd173-5d89-41c1-90a3-eb658cef861e/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}},{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_5","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"CMC0565_02_019_005_p053","height":4729,"width":3754,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/e493d7be-2c8b-44b4-a19b-d6f74ebade20/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/tif","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/e493d7be-2c8b-44b4-a19b-d6f74ebade20","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":2048,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":4729,"width":3754},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_5","metadata":[{"label":"Translations","value":"...Fatherly solicitude they praised, and after reading in French the letter he wrote to the President, they admitted that its contents were reasonable and just, and that the Pontiff was right to be precisely informed of matters concerning the Religion in Haiti. They confessed they blushed at the scandalous conduct of the Ecclesiastics that had dishonored the Religion in their country; and they protested that they desired a remedy for so many evils. They, therefore, asked me to propose the means that would achieve the end they all longed for. I responded that, first and foremost, ecclesiastical and spiritual authority that was totally separate from civil and temporal power must be reestablished, that when Jesus Christ founded His Church He had established this authority to rule and govern it; that the lack of this was the source of all the evils and scandals that had desolated their country for many years, etc., etc. That the Bishops serving under the Supreme Head of the Church exercise this authority and spiritual jurisdiction in the districts commended to their care. They declared that they did not merely give their consent to this but also ardently desired a Bishop be installed in their country, and they added, But will the Holy Father then desire to give us a Bishop? I replied that the Holy Father was very disposed to granting them a Bishop with the authority and office of Apostolic Vicar and that, in time, when circumstances were better, he would give them not only one, but more Bishops and even an Archbishop; and I explained to them the reasons at present why an Apostolic Vicar invested with the episcopal character was much more suitable than a Bishop. This was not at all to their liking, and why, they asked me, being that we are all Catholics, does the Holy Father not treat us as he treats other Catholic nations? Why does he want to give us an Apostolic Vicar, as if we were Catholics in the countries of heretics and infidels? I saw that it was..."}]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/e493d7be-2c8b-44b4-a19b-d6f74ebade20/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}},{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_6","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"CMC0565_02_019_005_p054","height":4851,"width":3830,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/d3aa76ba-bbf2-4a76-930d-8481b0c060c0/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/tif","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/d3aa76ba-bbf2-4a76-930d-8481b0c060c0","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":2048,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":4851,"width":3830},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_6","metadata":[{"label":"Translations","value":"...futile to argue on this point, and that they considered themselves scorned and humiliated. Thus I added: if they absolutely desired a Bishop, the Holy Father would absolutely not deny it; but there are many difficulties; the constitution, the laws, other established customs, etc., etc. These difficulties, they responded, would disappear, an agreement, a concordat, would be able to solve it, and we are certain, that by mutually explaining ourselves, we could come to a compromise. There was some discussion about whether it was necessary to come to an agreement: they observed that, with the current state of religious affairs in Haiti, it was not otherwise possible to satisfy both sides without first having a fixed and stable base that could serve as law. I declared that I had not been authorized to make a Concordat, but since they believed that a concordat was absolutely necessary, it would be possible to make a written draft of it, to send it to Rome, and if the Holy Father judged it appropriate, and gave it his approval, then it would be done. I then took my leave, and they asked me to write this draft, to show it to them at the next session, which was set for the 10th of February, it being their intention to present the observations that might have occurred to them, and to propose any modifications that they judged necessary. I accepted the task, I used as the basis for my draft the Concordat that Monsig. England presented to the Haitian commissioners in 1836 on his last visit, which they did not wish to accept, inserting some extra things in favor of the Religion. At the second session held on the 10th of February, I brought with me the requested draft, which is included here. After the members of the Commission read it, they gave their impressions, which I will talk about later, I consented to the modifications they proposed, from which they believed they could not back down. Therefore..."}]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/d3aa76ba-bbf2-4a76-930d-8481b0c060c0/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}},{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_7","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"CMC0565_02_019_005_p055","height":4890,"width":3886,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/b996b4c6-6da8-43b1-b6b6-9c963756c045/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/tif","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/b996b4c6-6da8-43b1-b6b6-9c963756c045","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":2048,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":4890,"width":3886},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_7","metadata":[{"label":"Translations","value":"...they tasked themselves with making the modifications I had consented to and giving me the draft at the 3rd session set for the 14th of February. Indeed, we met on the indicated day, and the draft that you will find enclosed was read.\n\n-\n
\nWe dealt with the method of executing the draft, and coming to common accord, we resolved that they would bring the draft before the President, and his approval received, we would reunite to sign it, ne varietur; once signed, I would take the draft to Rome, and if it received the Holy Father's approval, the Concordat would be made, settled, and carried out by the persons authorized by the Holy Father and the President for that purpose. But the delay occasioned by so many journeys displeased everyone, everyone being convinced that the need was urgent and accidents might occur that could wreck the entire project and all hopes of seeing the evils of the Religion in that unfortunate country, where so many souls were lost, quickly repaired. Therefore, to avoid such a danger, I suggested that, as the Government of Haiti was to send two commissioners to Paris in the spring, that these might be able to receive from the President the necessary authorization to approve and sign the Concordat in that City, where also the Holy Father could easily have it approved and signed in his name either by his Nuncio in Paris, or by another person His Holiness deemed more suitable. Here I was pleasantly surprised by the thoughtful remark that General Inginac made, which all the other members echoed. And why, he said, would the Concordat be concluded in Paris, and not Rome? For the third time, the Holy Father sends us a Bishop in the role of his Delegate. It is our duty to now send to Rome an Envoy of our own to place our homages at the Holy Father's feet, one vested with the power needed...
"}]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/b996b4c6-6da8-43b1-b6b6-9c963756c045/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}},{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_8","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"CMC0565_02_019_005_p056","height":4909,"width":3904,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/f7a02736-79f6-4cce-ae28-d1865315de9d/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/tif","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/f7a02736-79f6-4cce-ae28-d1865315de9d","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":2048,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":4909,"width":3904},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_8","metadata":[{"label":"Translations","value":"...to settle and sign the Concordat. It is more than right: I am certain that the President will share our opinion, and he will take this course. Everyone agreed to it. The draft was brought to the President, and he approved it. Consequently, on February 17th, two copies of the draft were signed by me and by each member of the Commission, of which one remained with the Government in Haiti, and the other was sent to the Holy Father to sign. In the midst of this, I had a long meeting with the President, who treated me with his usual great respect, and he spoke to me in a heartfelt manner of the Holy Father, of the Religion, of the desire to see it flourishing again in Haiti, and of his intention of working in every way possible to achieve this. I spoke to him of the necessity of education and of religion education for the youth, of wonderful institutions founded by the Religion to this effect, of the fruit they made both in Europe and the United States; I told him that, in his country, these institutions were necessary and would bear fruit there. I spoke to him of the black Sisters of the institute founded by Sig. Joubert, he expressed a great desire to have them, he asked me for written information about them, and he gave orders to the Secretary General to write to Sig. Joubert about them. He asked me if he thought they would want to come to Haiti; I told him that they would willingly go, when matters of the Religion were settled. I spoke to him of the brothers consecrated to the education of the youth, and he expressed a desire to have them too. But I told him, all our plans would be in vain if the scandalous priests that dishonored the Religion and the country were not sent away. He replied that he was tired of it, and he blushed, and he said that the Bishop would have the power from the Government to send away those whom he judged unworthy of the Holy Ministry. The other members of the Commission assured me of the same. I then asked if he believed it possible to find in the clergy of..."}]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/f7a02736-79f6-4cce-ae28-d1865315de9d/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}},{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_9","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"CMC0565_02_019_005_p057","height":4776,"width":3786,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/c4ea9fac-7785-477d-9ebe-a5e6fa25d551/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/tif","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/c4ea9fac-7785-477d-9ebe-a5e6fa25d551","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":2048,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":4776,"width":3786},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_9","metadata":[{"label":"Translations","value":"...Haiti one who was capable and worthy of the Episcopate. He replied frankly that he did not believe it was so, that it was necessary to search for one outside the country. But, I asked him, in the event that the Concordat was settled, and the Holy Father agreed to appoint a Bishop, how would you how to search and find in a foreign country, among people unknown to you, an Ecclesiastic truly capable and worthy of the episcopate? Well, he replied, since the Holy Father already concerns himself with us, I will ask him to send us one of his own choosing, for who could choose better than he? I will send him the blank appointment, and he will fill in the name of the one he has chosen. I thanked God for the charming disposition that he deigned to put in the heart of the President and in the Citizens of Haiti in general, which has given me every reason to be most contented. I informed the President of the resolution that I had made of going to Rome to give the Holy Father a report of my Mission, and I presented to him the draft of the Concordat, hoping that this journey would be able to accelerate the execution of the plans we had made in favor of the Religion. He demonstrated the utmost satisfaction with it, and thanked me for undertaking the prompt and happy resolution of this business, he asked me if I would give him the pleasure of dining with him before leaving. Thus he threw a sumptuous banquet and invited three hundred people, among whom was the French Consul General, the English Consul, and the most distinguished Officials and Magistrates in the Republic. At the end of the meal, the President rose to his feet, and he and everyone there gave the following toast: To the Sanctity of Our Holy Father, Father Gregory XVI. May God grant him long years for the good of the Church and of the prosperity of the Christian people. Everyone there echoed it wholeheartedly. Other considerate and respectful statements of every sort were made, and several invitations. But among everyone the French stood out, and among them the Consul General..."}]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/c4ea9fac-7785-477d-9ebe-a5e6fa25d551/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}},{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_10","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"CMC0565_02_019_005_p058","height":4730,"width":3762,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/f616b885-a1bb-44be-966f-e555a22abb8b/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/tif","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/f616b885-a1bb-44be-966f-e555a22abb8b","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":2048,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":4730,"width":3762},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_10","metadata":[{"label":"Translations","value":"...Signor Levasseur, and the Commanders and Officers of the French navy. The Minister of Foreign Affairs had already written, as I have mentioned above, to the Consul General of France in Port-au-Prince and had warmly recommended to him my mission and my person. The very day that he returned to his Administration, he paid me a visit and spoke of the instructions that his Government had sent him; he told me that because of the difficulties that had arisen between him and the Government of Haiti, he had not been able to execute them, that he had written to me, but for lack of prompt opportunity, his letter had not left for New York, and he told me what he had written to me, that by all appearances, there was little hope of doing anything and that he advised me to reconsider my journey to Port-au-Prince. However, he added that, given that circumstances had already changed, he believed it was now possible to expect some success. He made me the sincerest exhibition of his services, offered me lodging in his house, and put his carriage at my disposal, assuring me that it was dangerous for foreigners not accustomed to the climate and the heat of the Torrid Zone to go on foot through the streets of Port-au-Prince during the hottest hours, which are precisely those intended for business matters. During my sojourn in Haiti, Signor Levasseur proved that his offers were not empty courtesies. Furthermore, he introduced me to the Commanders of his Corvettes of war that remained in Port-au-Prince, who invited me to visit these two magnificent ships. There I was received with the same honors they pay to the Admirals, flags unfurled as on holidays, troops lined up, and with a salvo of twelve blasts of artillery from one and then the other Vessel. The Consul told me, This visit gave me great pleasure. We have had the opportunity of teaching the Haitians a lesson and of showing them that they must respect the Episcopal office and..."}]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/f616b885-a1bb-44be-966f-e555a22abb8b/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}},{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_11","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"CMC0565_02_019_005_p059","height":4772,"width":3796,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2dc73587-70e4-439b-9dbc-ba4b55c017e9/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/tif","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2dc73587-70e4-439b-9dbc-ba4b55c017e9","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":2048,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":4772,"width":3796},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_11","metadata":[{"label":"Translations","value":"...that of the Delegate of the Supreme Pontiff. On the day of my departure, he also desired to gather at his house for a meal all the Consuls of the various powers of Europe that are in Port-au-Prince, as well as some of the principal civil and military Officers of the Republic of Haiti, to give me yet another token of esteem and respect. Finally, understanding that, as I had nearly concluded the business of my mission, I was thinking of returning to France, he offered me passage on the Corvetta Le Berceau, that in two days was to sail to Brest, and even if I needed eight or even nine days to prepare to leave, the Commander Lartigue, Captain of the Corvette, would kindly delay his departure to wait for me until I was ready to leave Port-au-Prince. I am unable to express with what respect, courtesy, and attention I was treated in this vessel both by the Captain and by the officers, as well as by the crew that amounted to two hundred and thirty. The Captain granted me part of his own quarters, the most beautiful of which served as the Chapel, he kept me at his table, and gave me attendants to cater to my every need. The good order, regularity, and conduct won my admiration. The voyage lasted 33 days. We arrived at the harbor of Brest on Easter day and stayed five days in quarantine. The following Monday we celebrated the Holy Mass on the Vessel, and the Commander, the Officers, and the entire crew took part: the Curate of Brest came to visit me during quarantine and offered me lodging in the parochial house. When I disembarked, he came with all the Clergy of the City to receive me and conducted me to the Church. Admiral Crivel, Maritime Prefect of Brest, sent me his carriage. I went to thank him for all the courtesies that I received from the French Navy. He came the same day to return my visit. He is..."}]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2dc73587-70e4-439b-9dbc-ba4b55c017e9/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}},{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_12","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"CMC0565_02_019_005_p060","height":4734,"width":3743,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/70896b5f-f2e0-4045-8269-88ef01f942af/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/tif","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/70896b5f-f2e0-4045-8269-88ef01f942af","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":2048,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":4734,"width":3743},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/depaul/iiif/2e4ae9dc-82ba-497b-9899-fffb58dbea79/canvas/_12","metadata":[{"label":"Translations","value":"...a decent man with respect and concern for the Religion, and he supports the Missions at every opportunity. To finish this subject, I will say, that after I arrived in Paris, I believed it my duty to also thank the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Navy, to whom I had been presented by Monsignor Internuncio of His Holiness, who also judged it suitable to present me to His Majesty, the King of the French, who received me with great goodwill. He spoke with great respect for the Holy Father and the Religion, and he was pleased with the good results of my mission in Haiti. We spoke for an hour and a half. I asked him, if it pleased him, to continue granting his protection to the Missionaries that would be sent to Haiti, and he readily promised. I am certain that when they must go there, he will give them free passage on the State's warships, as they often make these voyages. \n\n-\n
\nDuring my stay in Port-au-Prince, I learned everything about the scandals that had been conveyed to S.C., and the evil conduct of the Clergy was not exaggerated. It is impossible to imagine how far their impudence and insolence has gone, and what horrified me most is that the same Vicar General Torres, who resides in Cayes, though he may be elderly, is one of the most insolent. I did not wish to dirty my hands in this chaos. It was necessary to first make a complaint with the Government whose support is needed to purge that poor country of these pests; good and holy sacerdotes will also be needed as substitutes for those who will be sent away. They will not suffer much difficulty when a Bishop is appointed. I have seen with my own eyes how the people take to the Religion. In vain have Protestant ministers tried to seduce Port-au-Prince. They have two small local buildings, which they call Churches, but they are not well attended other than by foreign Protestants residing in that...
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\nMy sermon on this occasion, as on others, was listened to with rapt attention by a crowd of people, who filled the Church with silence and respect. In conclusion, it showed me, that if these good people only had pastors, they would show a great aptitude for piety, and it would be very easy to make good Christians of them. They have great devotion for the Holy Virgin. The use of the Crown and the recitation of the Rosary is very common among them. They bring a large number of them to have them blessed and affixed with indulgences. Over the three short weeks that I spent among them, they became very affectionate with me: they came to me in the hundreds to kneel before me and ask for my blessing, and when they received it, many of them kissed the ground. They were reduced to tears when I announced, in Church, my departure, and a great crowd came to ask me, So you are going? Ah, we believed that you would stay with us. I consoled them by telling them that the Holy Father would give them a Bishop who would never leave them. When I left, as I traveled to the port, the streets were full of these good people, who accompanied me to the sea, and with hats in hand, they bid me a final farewell, which I could not repay them from the boat without being profoundly moved. A harvest of a million people, and almost all of them willing, offers itself to the evangelical workers!
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\nIn the fifteen days that I spent in Paris, I attempted to find some. I wrote to this purpose to His Eminence, the Cardinal Archbishop of Lyons, whose diocese has provided, and continues to provide, many excellent sacerdotes to the Missions all over the world. I wrote as well to the Archbishop of Besancon, Monsignor Matthieu, who has a good and very numerous Clergy. I consulted with Signor Libermann, already known to Your Eminence, and I obtained from the Archbishop of Paris the necessary permission, so that Signor Tisserant, a priest originally from Haiti, and Signor Bureau, a deacon who has already finished his course of Theology in San Sulpizio, can be admitted into his society and sent to Haiti. In Paris, I also spoke with the Superiors of the Congregation of the Mission to obtain some excellent Spanish sacerdotes from the same Congregation, who could do a lot of good in the City of San Domingo, and in other places where the Spanish language is spoken.\n
\n-\n
\nIf the Concordat that has been drafted is finalized, it seems to me, that it would be expedient to send to Haiti some time before the Bishop arrives there a prudent, intelligent, and active sacerdote, with a firm character, with the title of Apostolic Commissioner or Visitor, who would be tasked with visiting the parish priests, taking notes on their conduct, examining the testimonial letters of ordination, etc., of each of them, of returning to Port-au-Prince to command sacerdotes unworthy of the Ministry to abandon their parish and obtain from the Government the necessary orders to force them to leave. If this were done by the Bishop, or by others in the Bishop's name, it would not fail to garner him a certain hatred and hostility that could harm the exercise of the Holy Ministry.
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\nThe person that will be sent to Rome who is authorized to conclude and sign the drafted Concordat on behalf of the President of Haiti is to leave from that Island toward the end of May, or the first of June. I do not believe that he is invested with the power or faculty to modify the draft, which we have agreed upon; but only to conclude it in case the draft has the approval of the Holy Seat.\n
\n-\n
\nThis is as much concerns, so to speak, the historical part of my Mission: I must explain and submit to Your Eminence the reasons and motives that have caused me to act as I have explained.\n
\n-\n
\nYour Most Reverend Eminence's\n
\nRome from the House of the Mission at Monte Citorio\n
\n4 May 1842\n
\nMost Humble and Obediant servant\n
\nJoseph Bishop of St. Louis
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