Bishop of New Orleans
Antoine Blanc took which position in Dec 1837?
Antoine Blanc Antoine Blanc ( 11 October 1792 – 20 June 1860 ) was the fifth Bishop and first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans . His tenure , during which the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese , was at a time of growth in the city , which he matched with the most rapid church expansion in the history of New Orleans . More new parishes were established in New Orleans under his episcopacy than at any other time . Early life and education . Antoine Blanc was born in Sury , near Sury-le-Comtal , then in the Department of Rhône-et-Loire , France . He attended the seminary at Sury-le-Comtal and was ordained in 1816 . On 1 July 1817 he embarked from Bordeaux with Louis William Valentine Dubourg Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas , who had traveled to Europe to recruit clergy . They arrived in Annapolis , Maryland in September . Blanc and a number of seminarians stayed with Charles Carroll of Carrollton until the end of October when they joined Dubourg in Baltimore . From Baltimore , they travelled on foot to Pittsburgh , the stage proving too dangerous . From there , they took a flatboat to Louisville , Kentucky , arriving on 30 November . They reached Bardstown , Kentucky on 2 December . Missioner . The following April , Blanc and Father Jeanjean were assigned to the mission at Vincennes , Indiana . Father Jeanjean was soon recalled . Blanc proceeded to build a log chapel at a French settlement on the Illinois side of the Wabash , about twelve miles from Vincennes . Dubourg lent Blancs services to Benedict Joseph Flaget , Bishop of the Diocese of Bardstown , whose area included most of Kentucky , Tennessee , Missouri , Illinois , Indiana , Ohio , and Michigan . In February 1820 , Blanc was recalled to New Orleans , and then assigned first to Natchez , then St . Francis Chapel at Point Coupee , Louisiana , with its mission chapels in the Felicianas and the Plains on the east side of the Mississippi River ) and then at St . Joseph Church in Baton Rouge . In 1827 , Blanc , Armand Duplantier , Fulwar Skipwith , Thomas B . Robertson and Sébastien Hiriart received permission from the state legislature to organize a corporation called the Agricultural Society of Baton Rouge . Bishop . In December 1831 , Bishop De Neckere appointed Blanc associate vicar-general of the diocese of New Orleans . Bishop De Necker died in 1833 , and Blanc was appointed administrator until October 1835 when he received the bulls naming him Bishop of New Orleans . Blancs jurisdiction included the states of Louisiana and Mississippi , to which Texas was added in 1838 . Later the territory was reduced when the diocese of Mississippi was established . In 1853 the Diocese of Natchitoches was founded in the northern part of Louisiana . Growth in New Orleans and the region took all of Blancs attention . In 1850 the Diocese of New Orleans was raised to an archdiocese , and Blanc became its first archbishop . St . Louis Cathedral remained its cathedral . Monsignor Blanc invited the Jesuits and Lazarites to Louisiana to establish seminaries for the training of priests . He also invited the Redemptorists and the Christian Brothers . He also wanted to establish convents and schools for girls and invited the Sisters of Charity , the Sisters of Notre Dame , the Good Shepherd Sisters , and the congregations of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and of the Holy Cross . These new communities of Catholic workers helped the communities and took care of their populations during epidemics and other trials . Blanc also devoted resources and attention to the lives of enslaved people . The new religious also supported the new congregations of English-speaking American migrants and Irish immigrants who had become established in New Orleans and the states since the Louisiana Purchase . By 1832 New Orleans had grown to be the fourth-largest city in the nation after New York , Philadelphia , and Boston . The crisis of a yellow fever epidemic resulted in fatalities of 5% of the population of New Orleans . Blanc died in 1860 in New Orleans while still in office . Legacy and honors . Blancs institution building during the rapid growth of New Orleans and the states resulted in the number of churches increasing from 26 to 73 , and of priests from 27 to 92 . Under his leadership , many schools , academies , colleges , convents , and asylums were established . - The Archbishop Antoine Blanc Memorial at 1100 Chartres Street was named in his honor and holds the archives of the archdiocese . - The Archbishop Antoine Blanc Assembly # 2047 of the Knights of Columbus , located in New Roads , LA is named in his honor . References . - Nolan , Charles E . A History of the Archdiocese of New Orleans