Caspar Henry Borgess | |
|---|---|
| Bishop Emeritus of Detroit | |
 | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Diocese of Detroit |
| Appointed | December 30, 1871 |
| Term ended | April 16, 1887 |
| Predecessor | Frederick Rese |
| Successor | John Samuel Foley |
| Other post(s) | Titular Bishop ofPhacusa (1888-1890) Coadjutor Bishop ofDetroit (1870-1871) Titular Bishop ofCalydon (1870-1871) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | December 8, 1848 by Richard Vincent Whelan |
| Consecration | April 24, 1870 by Sylvester Horton Rosecrans |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1826-08-01)August 1, 1826 |
| Died | May 3, 1890(1890-05-03) (aged 63) Kalamazoo,Michigan |
Caspar Henry Borgess (August 1, 1826 – May 3, 1890) was a German-born American prelate of theCatholic Church. He was the secondBishop of Detroit, serving from 1871 to 1887.
Borgess was born on August 1, 1826, in the village ofAddrup, part ofEssen in theGrand Duchy of Oldenburg (present-dayLower Saxony).[1] He was the son of John Gerhard Borgess and Maria Anna Dinkgreve.[2] He came to the United States with his family in 1839.[3] They first resided inPhiladelphia, where Caspar's uncle, Rev. Otto Henry Borgess, was pastor ofHoly Trinity Church (1838–1845). The family finally settled inCincinnati, where he attendedSt. Xavier College.[1]
Borgess, who wrote that he "felt considerable interest in the many wonders so frequently rehearsed by" his uncle Otto,[3] studied for the priesthood atMount St. Mary's Seminary of the West. He was ordained a priest on December 8, 1847, by BishopRichard Vincent Whelan.[4] His first assignment was as pastor ofHoly Cross Church, the oldest church inColumbus. At the beginning of his decade-long tenure at Holy Cross, he became known for caring for the sick during thecholera epidemic of 1849.[2]
In 1859 he was named rector of theCathedral of St. Peter in Cincinnati. In addition to his pastoral duties, he became chancellor of the Archdiocese in 1860.
On February 8, 1870, Borgess was appointed byPope Pius IX to becoadjutor bishop of theDiocese of Detroit,Michigan, andtitular bishop ofCalydon.[4] As coadjutor, he succeeded the latePeter Paul Lefevere, who led the diocese for nearly 30 years while BishopFrederick Rese was incapacitated. Rese, a fellow German who had been vicar general of Cincinnati before his appointment like Borgess, resided in Europe but had not resigned.
Borgess received his episcopal consecration on April 24, 1870, from BishopSylvester Horton Rosecrans, with BishopsJohn Luers andPatrick Feehan serving as co-consecrators, at the cathedral at Cincinnati.[4] When Rese died on December 30, 1871, Borgess automatically assumed the title of Bishop of Detroit.
During his tenure, Borgess earned a reputation as a stern disciplinarian who emphasized his authority. He refused to repay a man inKalamazoo who mortgaged his farm to pay for the construction ofSt. Augustine's Church; when the man sued Borgess, the bishop threatened to excommunicate him.[5] He even suspended a priest who published a letter about the St. Augustine's affair.[2] In 1877 the Vatican reinstated a priest whom Borgess had transferred fromMarshall toTraverse City over financial reports.[2] He suspended the controversial pastor ofSt. Albertus Church in Detroit in 1885, and placed the church underinterdict when the congregation refused to accept their new pastor.[2]
These controversies and his poor relationships with his own priests led Borgess to first submit his resignation in 1879.[6] However, the Vatican declined and he remained in office for another eight years. He submitted his resignation again on April 16, 1887, and this time it was accepted by Rome.[4] In his retirement, he was given thetitular see ofPhacusa on August 14, 1888.[4]
By the end of his tenure as bishop, Borgess had increased the diocese's Catholic population from 90,000 to 120,000, the number of churches from 56 to 90, and the number of priests from 69 to 99.[2] He invited theJesuits, under whom he studied in Cincinnati, to establish theUniversity of Detroit in 1877. He successfully petitioned the Vatican for a division of his diocese, leading to the erection of theDiocese of Grand Rapids in 1882.
Borgess died in Kalamazoo on May 3, 1890, at age 63.[7] He was buried in the churchyard of St. Augustine's Church but his remains were later moved toNazareth College in 1906 and again toHoly Sepulchre Cemetery in 1939.[2]
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| Preceded by | Bishop of Detroit 1871–1888 | Succeeded by |
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