Jean Marcel Pierre Auguste Vérot, known commonly as Augustin Verot, (May 1804 – June 10, 1876) was a French-born American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

who served as the first bishop of the

Diocese of St. Augustine The Diocese of St. Augustine is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church, located in the U.S. state of Florida. It is a suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, covering much of North Florida, including t ...

in Florida (1870–1876). He previously served as the third

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the

Diocese of Savannah The Diocese of Savannah is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the southern United States comprising 90 of the southern counties of the state of Georgia.

in Georgia (1861–1870) and as the vicar apostolic of Florida (1857-1870).

Biography

Early life

Augustin Verot was born on May 23, 1805, in

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its c ...

in France. He studied at St-Sulpice seminary in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Verot was ordained into the priesthood for the

Society of Priests of Saint Sulpice The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...

by Archbishop

Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen Hyacinthe-Louis De Quélen (8 October 1778 – 31 December 1839) was an Archbishop of Paris. Biography De Quélen was born in Paris, in the Quélen noble Breton family. His motto "Em Pob Emser Quelen" and the older Breton expression for "Be ...

on September 20, 1828. He subsequently joined the Society of Saint-Sulpice and in 1830 immigrated to the United States, working in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. Verot taught science, philosophy, and theology at

St. Mary's College Saint Mary's College (in French, ''Collège Sainte-Marie''), is the name of several colleges and schools: Australia *St Mary's College, Ipswich, an all-girls Catholic school in Queensland *St Mary's College, Maryborough, a co-educational school i ...

in Baltimore and at its seminary until 1853. He served as pastor of Saint Paul Catholic Parish in Ellicott's Mills, Maryland from 1853 to 1858.

Vicar Apostolic of Florida

On December 11, 1857, Pope Pius IX appointed Verot as

vicar apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

of Florida. He was consecrated as

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

of Danabe on April 25, 1858, by Archbishop

Francis Patrick Kenrick Francis Patrick Kenrick (December 3, 1796 or 1797 – July 8, 1863) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third Bishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia (1842–1851) and the sixth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of ...

in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. Since the new vicarate had only three priests, Verot travelled to France in 1859 to recruit. He succeeded in bring back seven priests. Verot also secured funding to repair churches in St. Augustine,

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, and

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

, all in Florida. He erected new churches at

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

, Fernandina Beach, Palatka, Mandarin, and

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

, and staffed them with resident pastors. Verot also built Catholic schools and introduced religious communities to staff them. Five sisters from the Order of Mercy came from the Diocese of Hartford in Connecticut to open a girls' academy. Three Christian Brothers from Canada opened a boys' school in St. Augustine.

Bishop of Savannah

On July 13, 1861, Pope Pius IX appointed Verot as bishop of the Diocese of Savannah. However, he also remained as vicar apostolic of Florida. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Verot condemned the looting of the Catholic church at

Amelia Island, Florida Amelia Island is a part of the Sea Islands chain that stretches along the East Coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida; it is the southernmost of the Sea Islands, and the northernmost of the barrier islands on Florida's Atlantic ...

, by

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

troops. He personally evacuated several

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

from Jacksonville to Savannah through the battle zone in Georgia. After the war, Verot published a pastoral letter urging Catholics to "put away all prejudice ...against their former servants". He also advocated a national coordinator for

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

among African-Americans, and brought in French sisters from LePuy to work with them.

Bishop of St. Augustine

On March 11, 1870, Pope Pius IX elevated the Florida vicarate into the Diocese of St. Augustine and named Verot as its first bishop. Verot was amongst the first to advocate St. Augustine as a health resort, as well as culture of products which have since become valuable. He made an annual visitation of the whole diocese, establishing churches and schools. He worked revive the memory of Florida's early martyrs, Spanish as well as French. Verot's best-known writings are his ''Pastoral on Slavery'' and his ''Catechism.'' He took a prominent part in the Plenary Council of Baltimore and the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

between 1869 and 1870. At the Council, Verot called for the condemnation of the

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

that African-Americans had no souls and were not human beings.

Views on slavery

In January 1861, just before the start of the American Civil War, Verot delivered a sermon defending the rights of the Southern States and the legal basis of slavery in the United States. He also condemned the "false and unjust principles of

Abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

" and the

Know-Nothing movement The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

that persecuted Catholics throughout the nation. His sermon was published and distributed throughout the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

as a Confederate tract. For this sermon, Verot earned the nickname "Rebel Bishop". However, in the same sermon, Verot condemned the

international slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

(consistent with

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

's decree of 1839). He also called for legal protections for free African-American. Verot also wanted enslaved people to be allowed to choose their own marriage partners; to be treated with justice, fairness and morality; to receive adequate food, clothing and shelter; and the means to practice their own religion and be instructed on it.Gannon at p. 171

References

External links

New Advent Encyclopedia entry on Bishop Verot

Roman Catholic Diocese of SavannahRoman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine
*

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verot, Augustin 1804 births 1876 deaths French emigrants to the United States Seminary of Saint-Sulpice (France) alumni 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States St. Mary's Seminary and University faculty Roman Catholic bishops of Saint Augustine Roman Catholic bishops of Savannah, Georgia Sulpician bishops