March 22: Unpaid Debts

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is March 22nd, and our story is Unpaid Debts. As far as sound investments go, Uncle Sam isn't always the best bet. Just ask Francis Vigo. Born in Italy in 1747, Vigo came to the New World as a soldier in the Spanish Army. When his enlistment expired, he remained in Louisiana and launched a fur trading business in the Mississippi River Valley.

Over time, the business grew prosperous, so prosperous that by the time the American Revolution began, Vigo had become wealthy enough to bankroll much of George Rogers Clark's military campaign in the Illinois Territory. The transactions were simple. Clark had the Continental Army's worthless paper dollars. Vigo had gold. Vigo handed over his gold to Clark in exchange for those worthless dollars, with the understanding that the exchange was a loan, not a gift. Once independence was secured, Vigo would get his money back, plus interest.

In addition to ranking as the single largest financier of the revolution in the Northwestern territories, Vigo did the occasional bit of spying for Clark. One such tour of duty landed Vigo in the cell block of Fort Sackville as a prisoner of the British Army. He remained there until the local Catholic priest and fellow revolutionary financier, Father Pierre Guibal, intervened. When the war ended and Britain's American colonies became a country unto themselves, Vigo politely attempted to collect the money owed to him, but no money came.

Vigo soon asked again, and again, and again. In the end, he kept asking for more than 40 years, right up until his death on March 22, 1836. Not until 1875, though, did the U.S. federal government agree to pay Vigo's estate the $8,016 he had lent Clark, as well as $41,282.60 in interest.

But because Vigo had no living blood relatives, there was no one to whom the government could actually pay out the claim. So, they purchased a small bell for a town that had been promised one by Vigo in his will. The remaining money stayed in the U.S. Treasury.

Vigo's story is a reminder that courage and generosity often go unrecognized in the moment. True service sometimes requires patience and faith, with the expectation that rewards are not immediate. Consider a service, gift, or support you can offer without immediate recognition.

Commit to doing it faithfully and quietly. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, March 23rd, for another story of faith and courage in America.