Felix de Andreis
| Servant of God Felix de Andreis CM | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 December 1778 Demonte, Cuneo, Italy |
| Died | 17 October 1820 (aged 41) St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
Felix de Andreis, CM (December 12, 1778 – October 15, 1820) was an Italian-born American Catholic missionary who served as the first provincial superior of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) in the United States and as Vicar General of Upper Louisiana, based in St. Louis.[1]
Andreis was born in northern Italy. His early theology teaching career was at the College of the Propaganda in Rome, a school that trained priests for mission work.
Louis Dubourg recruited Andres to America in 1815, to work in the Missouri Territory. He arrived in St. Louis in 1817 and was granted enslaved African Americans by Dubourg to assist with his work.[2] Later appointed vicar general by Dubourg, Andreis also directed several educational and spiritual endeavors, including acting as spiritual director of Rose Philippine Duchesne.[3]
Theologians approved Andreis' spiritual writings on April 15, 1917, and the cause for his beatification was formally opened on July 25, 1918, granting him the title of Servant of God.[4]
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Felix de Andreis, first superior of the Congregation of the Mission (Lazarists) in the United States and Vicar-General of upper Louisiana, b. at Demonte, in Piedmont, Italy, 13 December, 1778; d. at St. Louis, Missouri, U. S., 15 October, 1820. After making his preparatory studies in his native place he entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Mission, at Mondovi, 1 November, 1797, and was ordained priest at Piacenzia, 14 August, 1801. When only four years a priest, he conducted the retreats for those about to be ordained. His constitution was not robust and in 1806 he was sent to Monte Citorio, the house of the Congregation in Rome that seemed least likely to be affected by the rigorous religions persecutions of the time, which for while drove Pius VII from Rome. Here, Father De Andreis was constantly engaged from 1810 to 1815 in giving missions and retreats for the clergy or seminarians. He also gave many missions in the suburbs of the city. When the religious houses in Rome were suppressed, the Propaganda students attended his lectures on theology. It was no unusual thing for him to preach four times a day on different subjects.
In view of later events, it is worthy of reflection that Father De Andreis received such a conviction that he was destined to a mission involving the need of English that he resolutely mastered that language. In 1815 Father Dubourg, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Louisiana (which then extended along both sides of the Mississippi from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Lakes) arrived in Rome to secure priests for that immense vineyard. As soon as he knew of Father De Andreis he applied to Father Sicardi, his superior, to let him go to Louisiana, and when the latter declared it impossible, as his place could not be filled, he exposed the situation to Pius VII, who appointed the young priest to this mission. In company with five others, Father De Andreis embarked from France, 12 June, 1816, and reached Baltimore 26 July. They remained there at St. Mary's Seminary as guests of Father Bruté until 3 September, and then started on a tedious journey to the west, arriving at Louisville, 19 November, where at Bishop Flaget's suggestion they remained in his seminary of St. Thomas at Bardstown until Bishop Dubourg should arrive. Father De Andreis taught theology and laboured at improving his English. Bishop Dubourg reached there with thirty priests, 29 December, 1817, and they went to St. Louis in 1818. There the Congregation had its first establishment. Father De Andreis had charge of two schools, one for religious students, another for seculars, established by Bishop Dubourg. Land for a seminary was given at "The Barrens", a colony 80 miles south of St. Louis, in Perry County, and when the Bishop allowed his residence to be used for a novitiate, Father De Andreis became master of novices. Exhausted by the hardships of missionary work, he died after a short life of forty-two years, greatly esteemed for sanctity. The process of his canonization, begun in St. Louis in 1900, was completed in August, 1902, when the evidence was presented to the Congregation of Rites, at Rome.
Rosati, Life of the Very Rev. Felix De Andreis, C.M. (St. Louis, 1900).
References
- Back to citation Felix de Andreis - Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Back to citation "Vincentians and Slavery: History | Vincentians & Slavery | Education | DePaul University Division of Mission and Ministry | DePaul University, Chicago". offices.depaul.edu. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
- Back to citation Dictionary of Missouri Biography. University of Missouri Press. 1999. pp. 11–12.
- Back to citation Index ac status causarum beatificationis servorum dei et canonizationis beatorum (in Latin). Typis polyglottis vaticanis. January 1953. p. 68.