Caspar Henry Borgess (August 1, 1826 – May 3, 1890) was a German-born American prelate of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. He was the second
Bishop of Detroit
The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It i ...
, serving from 1871 to 1887.
Biography
Early life
Borgess was born on August 1, 1826, in the village of
Addrup
Addrup is a village in the district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Geography
Addrup borders the villages of Gut Lage, Uptloh, Bevern, Calhorn and Stadtsholte within the Essen (Oldenburg) municipality. To the east, Addrup borders Lüsc ...
, part of
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
in the
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
The Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (, also known as Holstein-Oldenburg) was a grand duchy within the German Confederation, North German Confederation and German Empire that consisted of three widely separated territories: Oldenburg, Eutin and Birke ...
(present-day
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
).
He was the son of John Gerhard Borgess and Maria Anna Dinkgreve.
He came to the United States with his family in 1839.
They first resided in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, where Caspar's uncle, Rev. Otto Henry Borgess, was pastor of
Holy Trinity Church (1838-1845). The family finally settled in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, where he attended
St. Xavier College.
[
]
Priesthood
Borgess, who wrote that he "felt considerable interest in the many wonders so frequently rehearsed by" his uncle Otto,[ studied for the priesthood at Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West. He was ordained a priest on December 8, 1847, by Bishop Richard Vincent Whelan.] His first assignment was as pastor of Holy Cross Church, the oldest church in Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
. At the beginning of his decade-long tenure at Holy Cross, he became known for caring for the sick during the cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic of 1849.[
In 1859 he was named rector of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Cincinnati. In addition to his pastoral duties, he became chancellor of the Archdiocese in 1860.
]
Bishop
On February 8, 1870, Borgess was appointed by Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
to be coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...
of the Diocese of Detroit, Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, and 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 an ...
of ''Calydon
Calydon (; grc, Καλυδών, ) was a Greek city in ancient Aetolia, situated on the west bank of the river Evenus, 7.5 Roman miles (approx. 11 km) from the sea.
Its name is most famous today for the Calydonian boar that had to be ov ...
''.[ As coadjutor, he succeeded the late ]Peter Paul Lefevere
Peter Paul Lefevere, or Lefebre (April 30, 1804 – March 4, 1869), was a 19th-century Belgian born bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He was a missionary priest in the states of Missouri, Illinois and Iowa before he served as c ...
, who led the diocese for nearly 30 years while Bishop Frederick Rese
Frederick Rese (or Résé) (February 6, 1791 – December 29, 1871) was a German-born American Roman Catholic bishop who served as the first Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Detroit from 1833 until his death.
Life
Rese was born in Vienenburg, ...
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 Bishop Sylvester Horton Rosecrans
Sylvester Horton Rosecrans (February 5, 1827 – October 21, 1878) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Columbus in Ohio from 1868 until his death in 1878. He previously served as an auxiliar ...
, with Bishops John Luers
John Henry Luers (September 29, 1819 – June 29, 1871) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Fort Wayne in Indiana from 1858 until his death in 1871.
Biography
Early l ...
and Patrick Feehan
Patrick Augustine Feehan (August 28, 1829 – July 12, 1902), was an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first archbishop of the newly elevated Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois between 1880 and his death ...
serving as co-consecrators, at the cathedral at Cincinnati.[ 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 in ]Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
who mortgaged his farm to pay for the construction of St. Augustine's Church; when the man sued Borgess, the bishop threatened to excommunicate him. He even suspended a priest who published a letter about the St. Augustine's affair.[ In 1877 the Vatican reinstated a priest whom Borgess had transferred from ]Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
to Traverse City
Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...
over financial reports.[ He suspended the controversial pastor of St. Albertus Church in Detroit in 1885, and placed the church under ]interdict
In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...
when the congregation refused to accept their new pastor.[
These controversies and his poor relationships with his own priests led Borgess to first submit his resignation in 1879.] 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.[ In his retirement, he was given the ]titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
of '' Phacusa'' on August 14, 1888.[
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.][ He invited the ]Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
, under whom he studied in Cincinnati, to establish the University of Detroit
The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic universi ...
in 1877. He successfully petitioned the Vatican for a division of his diocese, leading to the erection of the Diocese of Grand Rapids
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids ( la, Dioecesis Grandcataractensis) is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in western Michigan, in the United States. It comprises 80 parishes in 11 counties in West Michigan. It is a suffragan see to ...
in 1882.
Borgess died in Kalamazoo on May 3, 1890, at age 63. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Augustine's Church but his remains were later moved to Nazareth College in 1906 and again to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in 1939.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borgess, Caspar Henry
1824 births
1890 deaths
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Roman Catholic bishops of Detroit
19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
German emigrants to the United States
People from Cloppenburg (district)
Xavier University alumni