The Most Reverend Jean-Marie Odin | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of New Orleans | |
 | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| See | Archdiocese of New Orleans |
| Installed | February 15, 1861 |
| Term ended | May 25, 1870 |
| Predecessor | Antoine Blanc |
| Successor | Napoléon-Joseph Perché |
| Other posts | Vicar Apostolic of Texas (1842–1847) Bishop of Galveston (1847–1861) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 4, 1823 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg |
| Consecration | March 6, 1842 by Antoine Blanc |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1800-02-25)February 25, 1800 Ambierle,Department of Loire, France |
| Died | May 25, 1870(1870-05-25) (aged 70) Ambierle,Department of Loire, France |
| Buried | Church ofAmbierle |
| Nationality | French |
Jean-Marie Odin,C.M. (English:John Mary; February 25, 1800 – May 25, 1870) was a French-born prelate of theCatholic Church and a member of theCongregation of the Mission. He served as the secondArchbishop of New Orleans from 1861 to 1870. Odin previously served as the first Vicar Apostolic of Texas from 1841 to 1847 and as the firstBishop of Galveston from 1847 to 1861. He has been called the father of the Catholic Church inTexas.
The seventh of ten children, Jean-Marie Odin was born in Hauteville, an hamlet inside the city ofAmbierle in theDepartment of Loire in France to Jean Odin and Claudine Marie (née Seyrol) Odin.[1] After showing interest in Catholicism at age nine, Odin's parents sent him to studyLatin under his uncle, the pastor ofNoailly.[2] After his uncle died, he returned home to study on his own
Odin eventually attended schools inRoanne inVerrières, then began his studies inphilosophy atL'Argentière andAlix. He finally ended up at theSulpicianseminary inLyon.
In 1822, while still in seminary, Odin was recruited by a representative of BishopLouis Dubourg to do mission work for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.[2] That same year, Odin immigrated to the United States, After arriving inNew Orleans, the archbishop sent him to Perryville, Missouri, to complete his formation as a priest atSt. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville, Missouri.[3] Odin professed his vows for theCongregation of the Mission (also known as the Vincentians) on November 8, 1822[1]
Odin wasordained to the priesthood for the Vicentians by Bishop Dubourg on May 4, 1823.[4] After his ordination, Dubourg performed missionary work inNew Madrid, Missiouri, and with Native American tribes along theArkansas River. He also became a faculty member at St. Mary's Seminary, later being named president.[5] Odin accompanied BishopJoseph Rosati to theSecond Provincial Council of Baltimore in 1833 as theologian. He briefly served as pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish inCape Girardeau, Missouri, opening aCatholic school there in 1838.[2][5][3]
On October 24, 1839,Pope Gregory XVI erected theApostolic Prefecture of Texas, to cover the territory of the newly independentRepublic of Texas. After Odin was assigned as vice-prefect apostolic under ReverendJohn Timon, he moved to Texas.[3] Odin worked to bring Catholics back Catholics who had left the church during theTexas Revolution as well as to proselytize among Protestants and Native Americans.[2] In December 1840, Gregory XVI appointed Odin ascoadjutor bishop of what was then theDiocese of Detroit, but Odin declined the position.[1]
On July 16, 1841, Gregory XVI appointed Odin as the firstvicar apostolic of Texas and titular bishop ofClaudiopolis in Isauria .[4] He received hisepiscopal consecration on March 6, 1842, from BishopAntoine Blanc, with BishopsMichael Portier andJohn J. Chanche serving asco-consecrators, at New Orleans.[4]
With the assistance of the Frenchchargé d'affaires, Alphonse Dubois de Saligny, Odin successfully negotiated the Texas government's confirmation of the church's title to fifteen acres inSan Antonio.[6] During his tenure, theTexan Congress returned several churches that had been secularized by the Mexican Government. He opened several schools and invited theUrsuline nuns as the firstreligious community in Texas to operate them.[7] In December 1845, the Republic of Texas was accepted into the United States as theState of Texas.
On May 21, 1847, Odin was named the firstbishop of the newly erectedDiocese of Galveston, which include all of Texas.[4] He recruited theBrothers of Mary andOblates of Mary to operateSt. Mary's University at Galveston, which he established in 1854.[7] He also completed arduous visitations into the more remote parts of Texas, and twice visited Europe to secure priests and material help for the diocese.[5] By the end of his tenure, he had increased the number of priests to 84 and the number of churches to 50; for his many efforts he has been called the father of the modern Catholic Church in Texas.[3]
Odin was appointed the second archbishop of New Orleans byPope Pius IX on February 15, 1861.[4] When Odin arrived in New Orleans,Louisiana had seceded from the United States and theAmerican Civil War had started. Like many other Catholic clergy in theAmerican South, Odin was aConfederate sympathizer.[8] He was one of Pope Pius IX's contacts in his unsuccessful attempts to mediate a peace agreement to end the war. Odin allowed priests from the diocese to serve as chaplains in theConfederate States Army and nuns from the diocese served infield hospitals across the southern states.[8]
New Orleans was occupied by theUnion Army in May 1862.[1][8] Union Army troops used several church buildings for offices, hospitals and barracks. With the finances of the archdiocese impacted by the war, Odin issued austerity measures in January 1863 that met with significant opposition. That winter, he went to Rome to obtain papal approval for his financial plan. While in Europe, he recruited 30 seminarians and fiveUrsulines nuns to move to New Orleans in early 1863.[9] In April 1863, Odin returned to New Orleans.[9]
Odin soon ran into conflict with Father Claude Paschal Maistre, a French priest who was a strong advocate of the abolition of slavery. Odin put Maistre's parish under an interdict in May 1863, accusing Maistre of "preaching the love of liberty and independence" to slaves and "exciting insurrection against their masters".[10] When Maistre officiated the funeral ofAndré Cailloux, a mixed-race soldier in the Union Army who died heroically, Odin expressed his condemnation. Odin discovered that Maistre had left France under a cloud of accusations of financial impropriety; he used this as a pretext to restrict Maistre.[11] Maistre was only accepted back in good standing to the priesthood after Odin's death.[10]
Odin incorporated the archdiocese in 1866 and closed the diocesanseminary in 1867 due to lack of funds.[9] He founded the diocesan newspaper,The Morning Star in February 1868.[9] Odin went to Rome to attend theFirst Vatican Council in 1869, but left the city early for health reasons. Suffering from neuralgia and in overall poor health, Odin went home to Saint-Georges-Haute-Ville to convalesce. He would never return to the United States[5]
Jean-Marie Odie died in Ambierle (Department of Loire) on May 25, 1870, at age 70.[5]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "John Mary Odin".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Archbishop of New Orleans 1861–1870 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | Bishop of Galveston 1847–1861 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | Vicar Apostolic of Texas 1841–1847 | Succeeded by None |
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