Francis Janssens
The Most Reverend Francis August Janssens | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of New Orleans | |
 | |
| See | New Orleans |
| Installed | September 16, 1888 |
| Term ended | June 9, 1897 |
| Predecessor | Francis Xavier Leray |
| Successor | Placide Louis Chapelle |
| Other post(s) | Bishop of Natchez (1881–1888) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | December 21, 1867 |
| Consecration | May 1, 1881 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 17, 1843 Tilburg, North Brabant, Netherlands |
| Died | June 9, 1897 (aged 53) Aboard the steamer Creole in the Atlantic Ocean |
Francis August Anthony Joseph Janssens (October 17, 1843 – June 9, 1897) was a Dutch-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Natchez (1881–1888) and Archbishop of New Orleans (1888–1897).
Biography[]
Francis August Janssens was born in Tilburg, North Brabant, to Cornelius John and Josephine Anne (née Dams) Janssens.[1] He studied at the seminary of 's-Hertogenbosch from 1856 until 1866, when he entered the American College at Louvain, Belgium, with the view of dedicating himself to the American missions.[2] Janssens was ordained to the priesthood on December 21, 1867.[3] Arriving at Richmond, Virginia, in September 1868, he became rector of the cathedral in 1870 and served as vicar general under Bishops James Gibbons and John Joseph Keane.[2]
On April 7, 1881, Janssens was appointed the fourth Bishop of Natchez, Mississippi, by Pope Leo XIII.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 1 from Archbishop James Gibbons, with Bishops Thomas Becker and John Keane serving as co-consecrators.[3] During his tenure he completed construction on the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, which had commenced forty years earlier.[2] Janssens was promoted to the fourth Archbishop of New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 7, 1888, and installed on the following September 16.[3] During his tenure he convened the fifth Archdiocesan Synod in May 1889, founded more than twenty-five new parochial schools, dedicated a new preparatory seminary at Gessen in September 1891, and established the Catholic Institute for Deaf and Dumb at Chinchuba in 1890.[1] Janssens significantly reduced the immense debt incurred by Archbishop Napoléon-Joseph Perché; continuing the work of his immediate predecessor Francis Xavier Leray, he reduced it from $324,759 to about $130,000.[2]
Janssens' tenure also spanned the period of hardening racial divisions between whites and blacks.[4] He once said, "There is nothing in my administration of the Diocese that worries me more than our colored people; to see what is done by the Protestants to capture them and how often they succeed."[5] Believing that a separate parish would keep blacks within the Catholic Church and facilitate black leadership just as it had for Irish and German immigrants, Janssens established St. Katharine's Church[6] in 1895 as the first parish designated for black Catholics; attendance, however, was optional.[4] It was, however, his expressed hope "that anyone might occupy any pew or any seat anywhere in the church."[5]
Janssens died aboard the steamer Creole, bound for New York City, aged 53.[2] He is buried at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.[1]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "JANSSENS, Francis August Anthony Joseph". Louisiana Historical Association. Archived from the original on 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "New Orleans". Catholic Encyclopedia.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Archbishop Francis August Anthony Joseph Janssens". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "A History of the Archdiocese of New Orleans: The Turn of Century (1888-1918)". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. Archived from the original on 2009-09-16.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Bennett, James B. Religion and the Rise of Jim Crow in New Orleans. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ^ "St. Katharine's Church". Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
External links[]
Episcopal succession[]
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- 1843 births
- 1897 deaths
- 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States
- Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni
- American College of the Immaculate Conception alumni
- Roman Catholic archbishops of New Orleans
- Catholic Church in Louisiana
- Catholic Church in Mississippi
- Dutch emigrants to the United States
- Dutch Roman Catholic missionaries
- People from Tilburg
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond
- Roman Catholic bishops in Mississippi
- Religious leaders from Virginia