August 18: The Troubled Bishop

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is August 18th, and our story is The Troubled Bishop. Bishop Louis William de Boer never had it easy. In 1792, the Reign of Terror forced the Sulpician priest to flee his native France. Once in America, Father Dubourg's troubles continued during his three years as president of Georgetown University.

There, trustees continually complained that he hired too many Frenchmen, and eventually forced his resignation. After that, Dubourg tried, and failed, to establish a Catholic school in Havana, and then moved on to St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, where financial difficulties plagued the school throughout his 13-year tenure as rector.

But all those troubles paled in comparison to the trouble that afflicted Dubourg after August 18, 1812, when Rome announced his appointment as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Louisiana and the two Floridas. Under normal circumstances, the Vatican would have named Dubourg a bishop, not an Apostolic Administrator. But because Pope Pius VII was Napoleon's prisoner in 1812, the Vatican couldn't issue the right papers. That proved problematic when Dubourg arrived in New Orleans to take up his see.

There, the rector of the cathedral, who'd long headed up the local church, only grudgingly recognized Dubourg's authority. The rest of the city took its lead from him, and gave Dubourg the cold shoulder. In 1815, a frustrated Dubourg sailed for France, hoping the now-free Pope Pius VII would resolve the dispute. He did receive his crook and mitre, but soon discovered that made little difference to New Orleans Catholics.

To spare himself some trouble, Bishop Dubourg took up residence in St. Louis instead, and invested his energy in building up the church outside New Orleans. To that end, he recruited Jesuit and Vincentian priests, as well as the Christian brothers and the religious sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to serve his diocese. Although Dubourg also tried to send religious to New Orleans and visited the city annually, the cathedral priests thwarted most of his efforts. He finally admitted defeat in 1826. He resigned his see and returned to France, where he died seven years later as Archbishop of Bassan.

Dubourg's story reminds us that leadership is rarely easy, especially when navigating bureaucracy, cultural resistance, and logistical hurdles. Reflect on a challenge in your life. Identify one step you can take to persevere rather than abandon your responsibility. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, August 19th, for another story of faith and courage in America.