Recent from talks
Louis Amadeus Rappe
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Louis Amadeus Rappe
Louis Amadeus Rappe (February 2, 1801 – August 9, 1877) was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 1847 to 1870.
Louis Rappe was born on February 2, 1801, in Audrehem, Pas-de-Calais, in France to Eloi and Marie Antoinette (née Noël) Rappe, a farm family. He was one of ten children and labored in the fields until October 1820, when he entered the Haffreingue-Chanclaire College in Boulogne, France, under the instruction of Reverend Benoit Haffreingue. After graduating in 1826, Rappe attended the seminary in Arras, France.
Rappe was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Arras in France by then Bishop Hugues de la Tour 'Auvergne-Lauragais on March 14, 1829. After his ordination, Rappe served as a pastor in a parish in Wismes, France. In 1834, he was appointed chaplain to the Ursuline monastery in Boulogne.
In 1839, Bishop John Purcell escorted three young women from England to the monastery in Boulogne. Already interested in going to the United States, Rappe offered his service to Purcell. Although concerned about Rappe's inability to speak English, Purcell recruited him to be incardinated, or transferred into the Diocese of Cincinnati in Ohio. After arriving in Ohio in October 1840, Purcell sent Rappe to Chillicothe, Ohio for six months to learn English from the scholar William Anderson.
For his first pastoral assignment, Purcell appointed Rappe as pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish, based in Toledo, Ohio. However, the unofficial parish limits extended from Toledo west to the Indiana border and as far south as Allen County, Ohio. Rappe ministered to the Catholic laborers on the Miami and Erie Canal and the settlers along the Maumee River, both in Ohio. Concerned about the high degree of alcohol dependency among the laborers and its effects on families, Rappe frequently preached to them about the benefits of temperance.
Rappe arranged for the School Sisters of Notre Dame to enter the diocese, building a convent and school for them. In 1842, Reverend Louis De Goesbriand was assigned to Rappe as an assistant. Contemporary accounts described Rappe as being genial and affable and as an enthusiastic catechism teacher for children. He also established good relationships with Protestant pastors in the area.
On April 23, 1847, Rappe was appointed the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Cleveland by Pope Pius IX. He received his episcopal consecration at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Chains in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 10, 1847, from Purcell, with Bishop Richard Whelan serving as a co-consecrator.
Two days after his consecration, Rappe published his first pastoral letter, in which he expressed his desire "to be regarded as your friend and father, rather than your superior." At that time, the diocese contained 42 churches and 21 priests; the first and only Catholic church in Cleveland was St. Mary's on the Flats. He soon established the city's first parochial school, which doubled as a chapel.
Hub AI
Louis Amadeus Rappe AI simulator
(@Louis Amadeus Rappe_simulator)
Louis Amadeus Rappe
Louis Amadeus Rappe (February 2, 1801 – August 9, 1877) was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 1847 to 1870.
Louis Rappe was born on February 2, 1801, in Audrehem, Pas-de-Calais, in France to Eloi and Marie Antoinette (née Noël) Rappe, a farm family. He was one of ten children and labored in the fields until October 1820, when he entered the Haffreingue-Chanclaire College in Boulogne, France, under the instruction of Reverend Benoit Haffreingue. After graduating in 1826, Rappe attended the seminary in Arras, France.
Rappe was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Arras in France by then Bishop Hugues de la Tour 'Auvergne-Lauragais on March 14, 1829. After his ordination, Rappe served as a pastor in a parish in Wismes, France. In 1834, he was appointed chaplain to the Ursuline monastery in Boulogne.
In 1839, Bishop John Purcell escorted three young women from England to the monastery in Boulogne. Already interested in going to the United States, Rappe offered his service to Purcell. Although concerned about Rappe's inability to speak English, Purcell recruited him to be incardinated, or transferred into the Diocese of Cincinnati in Ohio. After arriving in Ohio in October 1840, Purcell sent Rappe to Chillicothe, Ohio for six months to learn English from the scholar William Anderson.
For his first pastoral assignment, Purcell appointed Rappe as pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish, based in Toledo, Ohio. However, the unofficial parish limits extended from Toledo west to the Indiana border and as far south as Allen County, Ohio. Rappe ministered to the Catholic laborers on the Miami and Erie Canal and the settlers along the Maumee River, both in Ohio. Concerned about the high degree of alcohol dependency among the laborers and its effects on families, Rappe frequently preached to them about the benefits of temperance.
Rappe arranged for the School Sisters of Notre Dame to enter the diocese, building a convent and school for them. In 1842, Reverend Louis De Goesbriand was assigned to Rappe as an assistant. Contemporary accounts described Rappe as being genial and affable and as an enthusiastic catechism teacher for children. He also established good relationships with Protestant pastors in the area.
On April 23, 1847, Rappe was appointed the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Cleveland by Pope Pius IX. He received his episcopal consecration at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Chains in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 10, 1847, from Purcell, with Bishop Richard Whelan serving as a co-consecrator.
Two days after his consecration, Rappe published his first pastoral letter, in which he expressed his desire "to be regarded as your friend and father, rather than your superior." At that time, the diocese contained 42 churches and 21 priests; the first and only Catholic church in Cleveland was St. Mary's on the Flats. He soon established the city's first parochial school, which doubled as a chapel.
Recent media