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Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus

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His Eminence
Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus
Archbishop of Bordeaux
Portrait of Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus (1823)
Portrait of Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus (1823)
Church Roman Catholic Church
Archdiocese Archdiocese of Bordeaux
In office 30 July 1826 to 19 July 1836
Predecessor Charles-François d'Aviau Du Bois de Sanzay
Successor François Donnet
Other posts Bishop of Montauban (1823–1826)
Bishop of Boston (1808–1823)
Orders
Ordination 18 December 1790
Consecration 1 November 1810
by John Carroll
Created cardinal 1 February 1836
by Pope Gregory XVI
Personal details
Born Jean-Louis Anne Madelain Lefebvre de Cheverus
28 January 1768
Mayenne, Maine, France
Died 19 July 1836 (aged 68)
Bordeaux, France
Buried Bordeaux Cathedral
44°50′15.93″N 0°34′40.55″W / 44.8377583°N 0.5779306°W
Denomination Roman Catholic
Parents John Vincent Marie Lefebvre de Cheverus & Ann Lemarchand des Noyers
Education College of Louis le Grand
Seminary of Saint-Magloire

Jean-Louis Anne Madelain Lefebvre de Cheverus (also known as John Cheverus; 28 January 1768 – 19 July 1836) was a French-born Catholic prelate who served as the first bishop of Boston. He later served as bishop of Montauban and archbishop of Bordeaux, both in France.[1] He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1836.

Early life

John Cheverus was born on 28 January 1768, in Mayenne, then in the ancient Province of Maine in France. His father, John Vincent Marie Lefebvre de Cheverus, was the general civil judge and lieutenant of police in Mayenne. His mother, Ann Lemarchand des Noyers, provided John Cheverus with his early education and inspired his devotion to the Catholic Church.[2] By age 11, he had decided to become a priest.[2]

John Cheverus attended primary and secondary schools in Mayenne. He received his tonsure, a special haircut, at age 12, signifying his entrance into a religious order. Cheverus was named the commendatory prior of Torbechet while still a youth.

Cheverus entered the College of Louis le Grand in Paris in 1781. He completed his theological studies at the Seminary of Saint-Magloire in Paris. Cheverus was ordained a deacon in October 1790.[3]

Priesthood

France & UK

At age 22, Cheverus was ordained a priest in Paris for the Diocese of LeMans on 18 December 1790. After his ordination, the diocese named him canon of the cathedral of Le Mans. He was also assigned as vicar to assist his uncle, the pastor of Mayenne. When his uncle died in 1792, Cheverus succeeded him as pastor. However, his time as pastor in Mayenne was short-lived.[1]

As a result of the French Revolution, which started in 1789, the revolutionary authorities in Mayenne demanded in 1792 that Cheverus pledge allegiance to the new regime. After he refused to take the oath, they placed him under house arrest at the Cordeliers Convent in Mayenne. Wearing a disguise, he escaped the convent, fleeing to the United Kingdom. Offered financial aid on his arrival, Cheverus asked that it be given to clergy in greater need, saying:[2]

"The little I have will suffice until I learn something of the language. Once acquainted with that, I can earn my living by manual labor, if necessary".[4]

After three months in London, Cheverus was teaching French and mathematics. Within a year, he was ministering to a new congregation.[4] In 1795, Cheverus received a letter from Reverend François Matignon, a former professor at a seminary in Orléans. Now residing in the new United States, Matignon was the administrator for the Archdiocese of Baltimore of all the Catholic parishes and missions in New England. He urged Cheverus to come to Massachusetts; he arrived in Boston on 3 October 1796.[2]

United States

After arriving in Boston, Cheverus encountered strong anti-Catholic sentiments in all levels of society. He began working to change public attitudes toward Catholics and started preaching in public. His sermons were soon attracting many Protestant listeners. Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore asked Cheverus to become pastor of St. Mary's Church in Philadelphia, but his congregants in Boston demanded that he remain there.

In 1797, Cheverus made his first trip to visit missions for the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy peoples in what is today the State of Maine, spending several months there. He would return to visit the Native American missions several times over the upcoming years. He returned to Boston from Maine in 1798 during a yellow fever epidemic. Cheverus spent long hours tending to the sick, both wealthy and poor.[4][2] After the epidemic was over, Cheverus was an honored guest at a dinner held in Boston for US President John Adams.

When Cheverus started fundraising for the Church of the Holy Cross in Boston, Adams was the first contributor. Most of the funding for the church, which opened in 1803, was provided by Protestants in the city.[5][2]

On 5 June 1806, Cheverus traveled to Northampton, Massachusetts, to minister to James Halligan and Dominic Daley. They were two Irish Catholic men being executed for murdering a local man. As was the custom, Cheverus preached a final sermon for the men, with them in attendance, at a local church before their hanging.[6] His sermon included the following excerpt:

I am ashamed of the (audience) before me... Are there men to whom, the death of their fellow beings is a spectacle of pleasure, an object of curiosity?... But you, especially, O women! What has induced you to come to this place? Is it to wipe away the cold damps of death that trickle down the face of these unfortunate men?... No, it is not for this. Is it then to behold their anguish, and to look upon it with tearless, eager and longing eyes? Oh! I blush for you, your eyes are full of murder![7]

Many of the local residents, impressed by Cheverus's speaking skills, asked him to stay in Northampton after the execution.[6]

Bishop of Boston

On 8 April 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Boston, taking its territory from what became the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The pope named Cheverus as the first bishop of Boston. He was consecrated on 1 November 1810, in Baltimore, Maryland, at St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral by Archbishop John Carroll, with Bishops Leonard Neale and Michael Francis Egan serving as co-consecrators. Holy Cross Church then became the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.[1][3] When Carroll died on 3 December 1815, Neale succeeded him as archbishop of Baltimore.[8] He requested that the Vatican appoint Cheverus as his auxiliary bishop. However, when Cheverus expressed his strong desire to remain in Boston, the Vatican relented.[2]

Cheverus supported the establishment in 1816 of the Provident Institution for Savings in Boston, the first chartered savings bank in the U.S. He believed the bank would help his parishioners establish good financial practices.[9][10] In 1818, Cheverus's friend and colleague Matignon died.[1]

In 1820, Cheverus oversaw the opening of an Ursuline convent in the rectory of Holy Cross Cathedral with a girls school for poor children.[11] By the early 1820s, Cheverus's doctors were recommending he move to a warmer climate due to his asthma.[2] However, he resisted their advice because he wanted to stay in Boston. In 1823, a request from King Louis XVIII persuaded Cheverus to return to his native country.[1]

Bishop of Montauban

On 12 February 1823, King Louis XVIII proposed Cheverus as bishop of Montauban in France, an appointment which Pope Pius VII confirmed on 3 May 1823.[3] The parishioners of Boston sent a petition to the pope asking him to rescind the appointment, but it was no use. Before leaving Boston, Cheverus gave away all of his personal possessions.[2] He left Boston for New York City in September 1823; over 300 carriages escorted him out of Boston.[5]

During the voyage to France, his ship hit a reef in the English Channel and was temporarily grounded. After arriving in France, he traveled to Paris to have a private audience with the king before going to Montauban. His reputation as the former bishop of Boston resulted in great attention from crowds in France.[2] Parts of Montauban were flooded in 1826, displacing hundreds of poor residents. Cheverus opened his episcopal palace to over 300 people.[2]

Archbishop of Bordeaux and Cardinal

King Charles X proposed Cheverus as archbishop of Bordeaux on 13 August 1826, and the appointment was confirmed 2 October 1826 by Pope Leo XII. In 1834, Cheverus suffered a stroke, limiting his physical activity.[2] He was elevated to cardinal by Pope Gregory XVI on 1 February 1836, in accordance with the wish of French King Louis Philippe I.[1]

According to author John Murray, Cheverus and a companion were approached by a panhandler one day in 1836 while walking on a street in Bordeaux. Cheverus, who could never refuse a request for money, gave the man one franc. "Monseigneur", said his companion "I think you have made a mistake. The man you have just given money to is a Jew." "Thank you", replied Cheverus, "It is true, I did not know it." Asking the man to come back, Cheverus handed him a five franc piece. He told his companion, "There are so few who would give him anything."[12]

Death and legacy

Cheverus died after suffering a second stroke in Bordeaux on 19 July 1836, at age 68.[1] Part of Cheverus's personal library now resides in the collection of the Boston Athenaeum.[13] He was buried in the Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux where his imposing tomb may be found on the left side of the nave.

In 1950, a plaque was mounted at the site of Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston. It reads:

Near this site stood THE CATHEDRAL OF THE HOLY CROSS, established 1803 by Jean Lefebvre de Cheverus, First Catholic Bishop of Boston; Missionary to the Penobscot Indians; Friend of President John Adams; Advisor to our State Legislature; One of America’s noblest priests. He stood by the bedside of Catholic and Protestant alike. This tablet placed by a group of Protestant Businessmen, 1950.[14]

The following places were named after Cheverus:

  • Cheverus Centennial School, an elementary school in Malden, Massachusetts[15]
  • Cheverus Hall, a student residence at Boston College in Boston[16]
  • Cheverus High School, a Jesuit college preparatory school in Portland, Maine[17]
  • Collège Cheverus, a French secondary international school in Bordeaux, France[18]

Cheverus is a principal character in the 2004 novel The Garden of Martyrs by Michael C. White, a fictional account of the Halligan and Daley executions. He is also a character in a 2013 opera adaptation, The Garden of Martyrs, by Harley Erdman.

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus — Cheverus, Jean-Louis Lefebvre, de, first Bishop of Boston, U.S.A., Bishop of Montauban; Archbishop of Bordeaux, France, and Cardinal, b. at Mayenne, France, 28 January, 1768; d. at Bordeaux 19 July, 1836. Ordained priest by dispensation when not yet twenty-three, he was appointed assistant to an uncle, whom he shortly succeeded as pastor of Mayenne, receiving faculties, also, to act as vicar-general. Refusal to take the oath imposed by the Revolution cost him his parish, and very nearly his life. He escaped from Paris to London, in disguise. Proferred aid on his arrival, he replied: "The little I have will suffice until I learn something of the language. Once acquainted with that, I can earn my living by manual labour, if necessary". In three months he knew English enough to teach, and within a year gathered a congregation. A letter from a former professor, the Rev. Francis A. Matignon, then pastor at Boston, told him of the hard conditions and crying needs of Catholic work there, urging, also, his peculiar fitness for bringing it to success, if he would only come there. The call was heeded. Arriving in Boston, 3 October, 1796, he wrote Bishop Carroll: "Send me where you think I am most needed, without making yourself anxious about the means of my support. I am willing to work with my hands, if need be".

His work in New England, covering twenty-seven years, included every form of missionary activity. He lived among the Indians, mastering their dialect; trudged on foot long distances, attending scattered Catholics; nursed the sick and buried the dead during two yellow-fever epidemics; collected funds and built a church in Boston; was business-man, adviser, peacemaker, servant, doctor for his flock, failing them in no form of helpfulness. This disinterested devotion to humble duties joined with extraordinary tact gradually won the respect of the prejudiced Puritans. Closer acquaintance, revealing Cheverus's brilliant talents, wide learning, innate refinement, transparent holiness, and Christ-like charity, deepened respect into confidence, veneration, and love. Ministers invited him to their pulpits. The legislature sought and acted on his counsels. At a state banquet to President John Adams (whose name had headed a list of Protestant contributors to the Catholic Church building fund), he was placed next the guest of honour. Named first Bishop of Boston, 8 April, 1808, he was not consecrated owing to the non-arrival of the Bulls until 1 November, 1810.

Philadelphia sought him as pastor, France as a bishop, Baltimore as coadjutor; "I pray, I supplicate, I entreat with heartfelt earnestness", he besought the pope, "that I may never be transferred; that I may be permitted to consecrate all my cares to my small but beloved flock". He had conquered prejudice, but his delicate constitution could not withstand a harsh climate. Impending loss of health was made the valid excuse of his recall to France, and he was transferred to the See of Montauban, 15 January, 1823. His departure struck Catholics with consternation. Non-Catholics formally protested, "What will become of the American church?" cried Archbishop Maréchal. "You were, next to God, my greatest dependence". Montauban was a Huguenot stronghold, but shortly after his arrival there a resident wrote: "There are no longer Protestants at Montauban; we are all bishop's people". On 30 July, 1826, he was elevated to the Archbishopric of Bordeaux; Charles X made him a peer; and on 1 February, 1835, he was created cardinal. In Massachusetts his career became an apologia for Catholicity. Dr. Channing, the eminent Unitarian divine, asked: "Who among our religious teachers would solicit a comparison between himself and the devoted Cheverus?... How can we shut our hearts against this proof of the Catholic religion to form good and great men?... It is time that greater justice were done to this ancient and widespread community". (See BOSTON, ARCHDIOCESE OF.)

Hamon, Vie du Cardinal Cheverus (Paris, 1837, 1883), tr. Stewart (Boston, 1839); Shea, Life and Times of Archbishop Carroll (New York, 1888); Leahy, Archdiocese of Boston in History of the Catholic Church in the New England States (Boston, 1889).

References

  1. Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 Back to citation occurrence 1.3 Back to citation occurrence 1.4 Back to citation occurrence 1.5 Back to citation occurrence 1.6 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cheverus, Jean Louis Anne Magdeleine Lefebvre de". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 114.
  2. Back to citation occurrence 2.00 Back to citation occurrence 2.01 Back to citation occurrence 2.02 Back to citation occurrence 2.03 Back to citation occurrence 2.04 Back to citation occurrence 2.05 Back to citation occurrence 2.06 Back to citation occurrence 2.07 Back to citation occurrence 2.08 Back to citation occurrence 2.09 Back to citation occurrence 2.10 Back to citation occurrence 2.11 Dubourg, J. Huen (22 November 1856) [1845]. "Memoir of Cardinal de Cheverus (excerpt from The Life of Cardinal de Cheverus)". Boston Pilot (English translation from the French, first pub. in U. S. Catholic Magazine). Vol. 19, no. 47. Translated by Walsh, R. M. p. 1 (col. 2-7). Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  3. Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 Back to citation occurrence 3.2 "Jean-Louis Anne Madelain Cardinal Lefebvre de Cheverus [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Back to citation occurrence 4.2 Tracy, Joseph Vincent (1908). "Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company. p. 650.
  5. Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 Murray, John O'Kane (1882). "John Louis de Cheverus". The Catholic Pioneers of America (New ed.). Philadelphia: H.L. Kilner. pp. 376–381.
  6. Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 Sullivan, Robert (1964). "The Murder Trial of Halligan and Daly - Northampton, Massachusetts 1806" (PDF). Massachusetts Law Quarterly. 49. Massachusetts Bar Association: 211–224.
  7. Back to citation Marcello, Joseph (18 September 2013). "We can't do without a tragedy". The Recorder. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  8. Back to citation "Archbishop Leonard Neale [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  9. Back to citation "Boston College: John J. Burns Library". Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2010. Retrieved 03-23-2010.
  10. Back to citation "The Growth of the Catholic Church in Boston. From the Early Days to Cardinal O'Connell's Homecoming". The Sacred Heart Review. New Series. 47 (7). Boston: Review Publishing Company: 3–5. 3 February 1912.
  11. Back to citation Schultz, Nancy Lusignan (2000). Fire and Roses: The Burning of the Charlestown Convent. New York: The Free Press. ISBN 1-55553-514-3.
  12. Back to citation Murray 1882, p. 380.
  13. Back to citation "Rare Books". Boston Athenaeum. 2014. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
  14. Back to citation O'Connor, Patrick E. (3 October 2003). "Boston's first cathedral — long gone, but not forgotten". The Pilot. Archived from the original on 3 November 2003.
  15. Back to citation "Cheverus School History". Cheverus Catholic School. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  16. Back to citation "Residence Halls - Residential Life - Boston College". www.bc.edu. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  17. Back to citation "History of Cheverus | Private High School Portland, ME | Cheverus". www.cheverus.org. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  18. Back to citation "Site internet du collège Cheverus, Bordeaux". webetab.ac-bordeaux.fr. Retrieved 27 December 2023.

Bibliography

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