Francis Xavier Leray (April 20, 1825 – September 23, 1887) was a French-born

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 'pref ...

of the

Roman 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 ...

who served as bishop of the Diocese of Natchitoches in Louisianan (1877–1879) and as archbishop of the

Archdiocese of New Orleans The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans ( la, Archidioecesis Novae Aureliae, french: Archidiocèse de la Nouvelle-Orléans, es, Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleans) is an ecclesiastical division of the Roman Catholic Church spanning Jefferson ...

(1883–1887).

Biography

Early life

Leray was born on April 20, 1825, in

Châteaugiron Châteaugiron (; ; Gallo: ''Chaujon'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in northwestern France. It extended on 1 January 2017 by merging with the former communes of Saint-Aubin-du-Pavail and Ossé. Population Inhabit ...

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.

, in France to René and Marie (née Roncin) Leray. He studied at the

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

in Rennes, France, from 1833 until 1844, when he accepted a recruiting appeal for

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Following his arrival in the United States, Leray taught for several months at

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

in Mobile, Alabama, then entered

St. Mary's Seminary St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Catholic seminary located within the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States after the Revolution and has been run since its founding by the ...

in Baltimore, Maryland, to complete his

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

studies.

Priesthood

In 1852, Leray accompanied Bishop

John J. Chanche John Mary Joseph Benedict Chanche, S.S., (October 4, 1795 – July 22, 1852) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop Diocese of Natchez in Mississippi from 1841 to 1852. Educated at St. Mary's Coll ...

Natchez Natchez may refer to: Places * Natchez, Alabama, United States * Natchez, Indiana, United States * Natchez, Louisiana, United States * Natchez, Mississippi, a city in southwestern Mississippi, United States * Grand Village of the Natchez, a site o ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, where Leray was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to priesthood on March 19, 1952. He then served as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of the parish in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

, ministering to the sick and dying there during the

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

epidemics of 1853 and 1855. Leray himself was stricken by the fever and barely recovered. In 1857, he was named pastor of the parish in

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...

, where he built the first Catholic

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

and in 1860 introduced the

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 ...

to establish a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

. 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 ...

(1861-1865), Leray served as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating i ...

. On several occasions, he was taken prisoner 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, but was released as soon as he was identified as a priest. After the war, he returned to Vicksburg, which was visited by

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 ...

in 1867. He was appointed vicar general of Diocese of Natchez in 1871.

Bishop of Natchitoches

On November 27, 1876, Leray was appointed the second bishop of the Diocese of Natchitoches, 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 ...

. He received his

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

in France on April 22, 1877 from Cardinal Geoffroy Brossais Saint-Marc, with Bishop Hailandière and Charles Nouvel de La Flèche serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

, at

Rennes Cathedral Rennes Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes) is a Roman Catholic church architecture, church located in the town of Rennes, France. It has been a monument historique since 1906. The cathedral, dedicated to Saint Peter, is the sea ...

in Rennes.

Coadjutor Archbishop and Archbishop of New Orleans

Leray remained in Natchitoches for only two years, being named

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and

Titular Archbishop 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 ''

Ionopolis Abonoteichos ( grc, Ἀβώνου τεῖχος ''Abṓnou teîchos'', demonym: ''Abōnoteichítēs''), later Ionopolis (Ιωνόπολις ''Ionópolis''; tr, İnebolu), was an ancient city in Asia Minor, on the site of modern İnebolu (in Asian ...

'' on October 23, 1879. He was also charged with the administration of the financial affairs of the Archdiocese, which was left nearly $600,000 in debt from the war; he managed to reduce this debt by at least half. Upon the death of Archbishop

Napoléon-Joseph Perché Napoléon-Joseph Perché (1805–1883) was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana from 1870 to 1883. Biography Early life Born on January 10, 1805, N ...

, Leray succeeded him as the third Archbishop of New Orleans on December 28, 1883. He received the

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...

, a

vestment Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...

worn by

metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the b ...

s, from Cardinal

James Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as ninth ...

in January 1884. Leray attended the

Third Plenary Council of Baltimore The Plenary Councils of Baltimore were three national meetings of Catholic bishops in the United States in 1852, 1866 and 1884 in Baltimore, Maryland. During the early history of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States all of the dioces ...

in November 1884, and continued his efforts to relieve New Orleans of its immense debt for the rest of his tenure. An advocate of

Catholic education Catholic education may refer to: * Catholic school, primary and secondary education organised by the Catholic Church or organisations affiliated with it * Catholic university, private university run by the Catholic Church or organisations affilia ...

, he increased the number of

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

s from 36 to 70 during his administration as well. In the hope of strengthening his failing health, he returned in 1887 to his native Châteaugiron, where he died shortly afterwards at age 62.

References

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leray, Francis Xavier 1825 births 1887 deaths Roman Catholic archbishops of New Orleans Breton bishops Confederate States Army chaplains French emigrants to the United States French Roman Catholic priests People from Ille-et-Vilaine Catholic Church in Mississippi Foreign Confederate military personnel Roman Catholic bishops of Alexandria 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States