The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-16

William Henry Harrison home. a half-mile
distant. it is simply a part Of what seems
TO be very reliable tradition. This church
was also the scene of the Tecumseh incl
dent. Ii also became the seat Of the Cath
Ollie government Of the Northwest, as Vim
cennes became the seat OF the civil govern
ment.
DISTINGUISHED PRIESTS.
The Jesuit priests who founded the con-
gregation in I7Oa were Father Mermet and
Sieur Juchereau. Previous 10 that. during
the exploration period, il is probable. that
Father Marquette visited the mission. He
cid work in this territory. The first priest
appointed was in 1749. He was Father
Meurin, who labored with much success. In
1884 the diocese of Vincennes was estab-
lished, and Rt. Rev. Simon Gabriel Brute.
a native of France. highly distinguished for
his talents, learning and piety. was ap-
pointed bishop. His remains. with those Of
his successors, Bishops Balm. St. Palais
and Hailandiere, lie inferred under the
altar. The pastor now in charge is Father
Louis Guguen. a native Of Brittany. The
names of the four bishops whose remains
lie under the church are familiar 10 all
Catholics. They lay in inches in a chapel
DullC uDQer tle dlldT. ucIt - al ltd IA
his chapel. There is always a candle burn
ing before the c~rucihx. and services are
held periodically. 1t is the holy of HOLES.
and is entered with marked reverence by
all Catholics.
The entire church is one great tombstone.
1t covers a multitude of graves. On the
pews of this and the old churches .inscrip-
ions were made to the effect that suc a
$1,000 ~ .-,-;- tIfe ~4-v f4~ a nnrtofr
number of years lies buried under it. 1t is
the old European idea carried out. 1t was
but of recent years that the city Of Vim
cennes put a stop. by ordinance, to burials
on the church land. There lie inferred on
the stretch from the front OF the cathedral
down to the banks of the Wabash probably
more bodies than in any cemetery in In
diana. They date back to 1870. and include
thousands upon thousands of all nation
alities. There are g~raveyards over grave
yards. the dead burying the dead. The
burials of this holy ground at last became
so shallow that the rains unearthed the re-
mains, and the city was compelled to pro-
hibit burial as a sanitary measure. All OF
the tombstones, except one or two, have
been removed. and there is no mark to tell
the Latin from the Saxon, the rich from the
poor, the men who made history from those
who worked the fields. They sleep layer
upon layer.
ST. Xavier library. the Oldest institution
and the most remarkable of its kind in In
diana and possibly in the Northwest, ad-
joins the cathedral on the south. 1t Is
filled with rare volumes. Some of the
printed books date back as far as 147e-six
years before America was discovered and
within twenty-six years of the printing OF
the first book. The Oldest volume is from
the press of Faust, the alchemist and
scientist, made immortal by Goethe's mas
| terpiece and it's dramatization. Here lie
original maps of the explorers Allouez and
Druilletes, from which, in 1870. the French
prints were made. upon which France based
her claims. They are 14x1S inches, and beal
comparison with recent maps. In the same
lot, just south of the library. is the church
residence. which was occupied by tn,
bishops. and is now occupied by Father
Guguen. These two structures are almost
as interesting as the church itself.