French-American Roman Catholic bishop, born in Contournat, France, on the 7th of November 1763. He was ordained priest in 1788, and in 1792 came to the United States. He was at once sent as chaplain to Vincennes, IN, then a military post in the Northwest. From 1795 to 1798 he was a professor at Georgetown College, and for the next three years was in Havana, as a tutor to the sons of a wealthy Cuban. From 1801 to 1808 he was engaged in duties at Georgetown College and in missionary labors, and in the latter year was appointed bishop of Bardstown, KY, in charge of the district between the Mississippi River and the Atlantic states and the Great Lakes to the 35th parallel. During his life he erected numerous colleges and convents, some of which were built at his own expense. He was the recognized American councilor of the pope, and was respected by all creeds and classes alike. He died in Nazareth, KY, on the 11th of February 1850.
