The Irish standard., 1915-09-01
Continued From Page 1907

Sourcieux, Rhone. The lessons in the
classics and other collegiate matters
were continued in the petits semin-
aires of Meximieux, Ain, and Lar
gentiere, Rhone; the studies in phil
osophy were made at Alix, Rhone,
and those of theology in the seminary
of Saint Sulpice, Paris. While at
school young Cretin applied himself
with all care to the development of
his character, to the acquisition of
virtue and knowledge, according to
the training given to him by his de-
voted teachers. Both the Reverend
Denoyel and the Reverend Matthias
Loras afterwards first bishop of Du-
buque), superior at Meximieux and
L'Argentiere for time, sent very en-
couraging reports to his parents about
the progress made by the young pupil.
The ordination to the priesthood was
conferred on him December 20, 1923;
and soon afterwards he was appointed
vicar in the parish of Ferney, once
the home of Voltaire, and eventually
became its parish priest. He built
there new and beautiful church with
funds largely gathered by himself on
tour through France, founded COL
lege for boys, and revived the Catholic
faith among his parishioners, many
of whom had become Indifferent to-
wards it, owing to the surviving in
fuence of the philosopher" and the
close proximity of the Protestants can
tons of Switzerland. But Cretin long
ed for a wider field of activity; at one
time he thought earnestly of going as
a missionary to China. His doubts
and perplexities in that regard were
solved by the advent of Bishop Loras,
first Bishop of Dubuque, Iowa, who
arrived in France in 1888 in quest of
priests or candidates to the priesthood
for his western diocese. He was one
of the few volunteers that offered their
services in behalf of the missions in
America. On August 16, 1888, he left
secretly his parish at Ferney, en-
barked at lie Havre with Bishop
Loras and several companions, and
landed in New York in October of
the same year. The winter of 1888
80 was spent in St. Louis, Missouri; on
his arrival at Dubuque, April 18, 1929,
he was at once appointed vicar gen
eral of the new diocese. For over II
years he exercised his priestly min
istry in these new and unopened re-
gions; and only once, in 1847, did he
absent himself, when he made jour
ney to Europe in the interest of his
missions. His time and priestly la
bors were divided chiefly between Du-
buque, Iowa; Prairie du Chen, Wis
consin and the Winnebago Indians
located in the neighborhood of Fort
Atkinson, Winneshiek county, Iowa.
In the letters written by him to his
friends and relatives in France, he
gives at times interesting accounts of
his missionary labors and of condi-
tions in the far west of America. One
of them, written in 1845 at Fort Atkin-
son, gives a graphic description of
meeting which Governor Dodge of
Wisconsin had with the Winnebago
Indians of the place about the sale of
their land and their removal to ter
ritory further to the west. During the
conferences which occupied several
days the Indians were asked to voice
whatever complaints they might have,
or whatever desires they might want
to make known to the government.
One of the prominent and elderly
chiefs held great discourse, in the
course of which he asked the repre-
sentative of the government that Cath
olic priests should be sent to them
for their instruction, instead of the
Protestant ministers, for whom they
had less respect, and to whom they
did not listen. The appointment of
Father Cretin to the episcopal see of
St. Paul took him permanently to St.
Paul and Minnesota, and the remaind-
er of his life, from the. day of his ar
rival in St. Paul, was spent in this new
field of labor. His episcopal career
was rather short, it lasted less than
six years; his death occurred Febru-
ary 22, 1857.
The episcopate of Bishop Cretin
was brief, but it was filled with works