The Irish standard., 1915-09-01

the log Cndpel OF FdtHeT 1dlllcl,
Pierre Bottineau, who was born in
Lord Selkirk's Red river colony and
came to Minnesota in 1887; William
II. Forbes, who came to Minnesota in
1887 and was employed by the Ameri-
can Fur Company; August L. Larpen-
teur, who came to St. Paul in 1843 and
is still among the living; Louis Rob-
ert who was born in Missouri and
settled in St. Paul in 1874; Charles
Bazille, who came to St. Paul in 1874
and donated the block of land occu-
pied by the first state capitol.
Great care was taken by the bishop
to provide sufficient and suitable
priests, who were to minister to the
spiritual needs of his flock. At the
time Of his appointment there were
only three of them, two of whom were
laboring in Pembina and adjoining
missions, and one was dividing his
time between St. Paul and Mendoza.
After his episcopal conservation he
asked for volunteers in France, and
secured six ecclesiastics, two of whom
were priests, and the others were Or
dained soon after. In 1854 Father
Ravoux, who was then vicar general
Of the diocese, made journey to
France, and on his return brought
with him seven young ecclesiastics
who all were elevated to the priest
hood shortly afterwards and did good
service in the growing diocese of St.
Paul. Other recruits arrived from
other parts of Europe or also from
the eastern section of America. From
the very beginning a seminary was
maintained in the bishops house; one
or two of the cathedral clergy were
detailed for the work of imparting the
last instructions and directions to
the young seminarians, who, as rule
were in an advanced stage of prepara-
ton. The efforts made by the bishop
were crowned with success; the year
of his death, 1857, witnessed twenty
priests laboring in the diocese of St.
Paul. Of the more notable of the
early priests may be mentioned the
Following: Father Lucien Galtier,
who, from St. Paul, went to Keokuk
and afterwards to Prairie du Chen
where he died in 1866; Father Angus
tine Ravoux, who reached the ripe
age of 81 years and died in St. Paul
in 1906; Father George Anthony Bel
court, who after having spent a num-
Der of years in the missions of the
northwest, returned to eastern Can
ada, and died there in 1875; Father
Albert Lacombe, who in lS49 arrived
in Pembina and is still in active SER
vice in the diocese of St. Albert,
western Canada; the Reverends Fran
els de Vivaldi, Dennis Ledon, John
Fayole, Edward Legendre, ---
Rochette and Marcellin Peyragrosse,
who all came with Bishop Cretin;
Fathers George Keller, Valentine
Sommereisen, Francis Hirth, Anatole
Oster, Claude Robert, Louis Caillet,
and Felix Tissot, who all came with
Father Ravoux in 1854; Father Fran
els Pirec, who labored chiefly among
the Indians of northern Minnesota
within the years 1928 and was in
strumental in bringing large num-
Der of German Catholic settlers to
Stearns county; Father Daniel j
Fisher, who came to ST. Paul from
New York as a seminarian in 1852,
and labored for several years in the
diocese, but returned to the east,
where he died; Father Thomas Muir
ray, who for some time was stationed
with the bishop at the cathedral;
Father John McMahon, who was sta
toned at Hastings; Father Michael
Wuerzfeld, who in 1854 was instru-
mental in organizing the first congre-
cation of German Catholics, or what
is now the Assumption parish; Faith
ers Demetrius de Marogna, O. S. B.;
Bruno Kiss, O. S. B., and Cornelius
Whitman, O. S. B., the first members
Of the Benedictine community, who
came to Minnesota from ST. Vincent's,
Pennsylvania, in 1856, and settled
permanently in Stearns county.
The education of the youn, not only
the instruction in religion but also
in the branches of secular knowledge,
was matter dear to the bishops
heart. Lessons to children in the