Jean-Antoine-Marie Pelamourgues (1811–1875) was a French missionary who was one of the first Roman Catholic priests to serve in the

Diocese of Dubuque The Archdiocese of Dubuque ( la, Archidiœcesis Dubuquensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It includes all the Iowa counti ...

in the state of Iowa. He served as the first pastor of St. Anthony's Church in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

from 1839 to 1868.

Early life and ministry

Pelamourgues was born in the city of

Graissac Graissac () is a former commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Argences-en-Aubrac.Aveyron, France. He was ordained a priest for the

Diocese of Rodez The Diocese of Rodez (–Vabres) ( la, Dioecesis Ruthenensis (–Vabrensis); French: ''Diocèse de Rodez (–Vabres)'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The episcopal see is in Rodez. The di ...

. After Bishop Mathias Loras was consecrated as the first bishop of Dubuque in

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in 1837 he set sail for Europe to recruit priests for his new diocese. While in France he recruited two priests, Joseph Crétin and Pelamourgues, as well as four seminarians: Augustin Ravoux, Lucien Galtier, James Causse, and Remigius Petiot. They made a difficult voyage of 54 days across the Atlantic Ocean in the Autumn of 1838. They attributed their safe passage to the intercession of St. Cessianus, whose relics had been given to Loras by Pope Gregory XVI while he was in Rome. The priests had celebrated Mass at an altar constructed over the relics.Kempker, J.F. "Very Rev. J. A. M. Pelamourgues, Missionary priest and educator. Distinguished in the annals of the Roman Catholic Church of early Iowa" The Annals of Iowa, A Historical Quarterly. Vol. 6, 3rd series, Charles Aldrich, editor. (Des Moines: Historical Department of Iowa, 1903) 117 The saint's relics are now under the altar in St. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque. After they landed in New York, Pelamourgues and the seminarians went to

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 ...

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to learn English, while Loras and Crétin proceeded to St. Louis to wait out the winter. In the spring the Rev.

Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli, O.P. (November 4, 1806 – February 23, 1864) was a pioneer Italian Dominican friar and Catholic missionary priest who helped bring the church to the Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin tri-state area. He founded several parishes ...

, OP, the only priest serving the Dubuque Diocese, traveled to St. Louis and escorted Loras and the others to Dubuque.

Pastor in Davenport

Bishop Loras went to Davenport, Iowa to make a pastoral visit and to dedicate St. Anthony's Church on May 23, 1839. While he was there the parishioners pleaded with the bishop for a parish priest. In July of the same year the bishop made a pastoral visit to the area around

Fort Snelling Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...

in present-day

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. Father Pelamourgues accompanied him on the journey. On the way back to Dubuque they visited the villages of the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

tribes along the way. Pelamourgues stayed in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin for a month before he was recalled. Original St Anthony Davenport

In September 1839 Father Pelamourgues was assigned the first pastor of St. Anthony's Church in Davenport. Until 1846 he also regularly visited Muscatine,

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

Columbus Junction Columbus Junction is a city in Louisa County, Iowa. The population was 1,830 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Muscatine Micropolitan Statistical Area. Columbus Junction is home of the historic Swinging Bridge, found one block south of Hi ...

, DeWitt and

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

, which is the north side of present-day

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. He also took pastoral responsibility for the people in Stephenson, Illinois, which was across the Mississippi River from Davenport. The town is now the city of Rock Island. Bishop Loras desired the conversion of the Native American peoples of his diocese to Christianity. He gave various priests the pastoral responsibility for a particular tribe. Father Pelamourgues was given the care of the

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(or Sauk) and

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tribes. Father Pelamourgues was not successful in this part of his mission. However, there is one story that illustrates that his failure was not from want of trying. When he was visiting Burlington, he was told of a Native American in Agency City. He immediately set out to attend the dying man but was stopped by a guard who informed him that if he entered the tribe's reservation he would be imprisoned. Father Pelamourgues determined that his responsibility was to the dying man and so he continued on. He was taken prisoner for two or three days until General

Joseph M. Street General Joseph Montfort Street (October 18, 1782 – May 5, 1840) was a 19th-century American pioneer, trader and US Army officer. During the 1820s and 1830s, he was also a U.S. Indian Agent to the Winnebago and later to the Sauk and Fox tribe ...

returned. Davenport had a small French community and a larger, and growing, Irish community. Pelamourgues was aware that his ability to speak English was minimal at best, and so he studied so as to be able to both read and speak English fluently. When German immigrants started moving to Davenport he started to learn that language as well. He also taught English to other new priests to the diocese. When Pelamourgues first arrived at St. Anthony's, the church building was used for various community functions as it was the largest structure in the small town. He resided in the gallery of the church, which was separated from the rest of the space by rough boards. Eventually a residence was created for him on the main floor of the building. As soon as Father Pelamourgues arrived in Davenport he started a school at St. Anthony's, and he served as its first teacher. It was one of the first schools established in the small town.Schmidt, 54 Classes were taught in the church proper itself with a curtain pulled across the altar area. He had an addition built onto the building in 1843, and he convinced the

Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known by its initials BVM, is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded in the United States by Mother Mary Frances Clarke. Its founders were Irish Catholics. The BVM currently works in t ...

to open a school in Davenport. Financial difficulties forced the sisters to leave after a year. They returned in 1855 to teach the girls at St. Anthony's.

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opened four years later. Pelamourgues also desired brothers to teach the boys, but declined Bishop Loras' offer to send French Brothers. He said a French pastor was all an Irish community could handle.Schmidt, 56 He continued to teach the boys. He was known as a strict disciplinarian, and believed it was important to teach his students a trade. His most prominent pupil was John Forrest Dillon who would go to become the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, and a United States District Court judge appointed by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. In 1850 Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of St. Paul, and Father Crétin was appointed as its first bishop. Pelamourgues was assigned by Bishop Loras to replace Crétin as vicar general of the Diocese of Dubuque. After Bishop Crétin's death seven years later, Father Pelamourgues was chosen to succeed him in St. Paul. Pelamourgues was dismayed by the appointment and when he received his letter of appointment he responded to the Holy See with a letter declining the office. His reasons were accepted and Pelamourgues remained in Davenport. In 1865 when Loras' successor, Bishop

Clement Smyth Timothy Clement Smyth (February 24, 1810 – September 22, 1865) was an Irish born 19th century bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Dubuque following the death of Mathias Loras. B ...

, died, Pelamourgues served as administrator of the Dubuque Diocese. He was on the list of names that was sent to the Holy See to replace Smyth. Father Pelamourgues was also an early promoter of Davenport being named a

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when the question arose concerning the division of the Dubuque Diocese. In 1850 plans were being drawn up to construct a new church at St. Anthony's. It was a simple structure built of stone in the Greek Revival style. The building was 84 by 44 feet and completed in 1853. St. Anthony's was never a wealthy community in the years that Pelamourgues was pastor,History of Davenport and Scott Co
/ref> and so it took time to carry out the building project. Pelamourgues himself left Davenport and traveled to his native France in 1852 to visit his ailing father. As Davenport continued to grow so did St. Anthony's, and there were needs that Father Pelamourgues could not accomplish on his own. German immigrants began to settle in Davenport, and so he helped to establish St. Kunigunda parish to serve their pastoral needs in 1855. The following year he and Antoine LeClaire were instrumental in establishing St. Margaret's on the bluff to the east of downtown, and St. Anthony's lost its long-time parishioner and benefactor. While he helped establish St. Kunigunda he was opposed to a church that was only for German-speaking people. When the German pastor, Rev. Michael Flammang, refused to serve the needs of the Irish who settled in the west end, Pelamourgues threatened to build a new church under his nose. In 1867 Pelamourgues established St. Mary's parish on the Catholic cemetery property in the west end, two blocks from St. Kunigunda. He served both St. Anthony's and St. Mary's as pastor until a resident pastor was assigned to St. Mary's in 1868.

Later life

In 1868 Pelamourgues visited his native France, but circumstances arose that prevented his return to Davenport. He was involved in establishing one more institution in the city, however. In 1869 Mother Mary Borromeo Johnson of the Sisters of Mercy came to Davenport raising money for a new school in DeWitt. She saw the conditions at the county poorhouse, and was asked to take over care of the sick and poor. Through his attorney, Father Pelamourgues assisted Mother Borromeo in acquiring the property where the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary had initially established a girls' school at the end of Marquette Street for Mercy Hospital. Pelamourgues lived out his remaining days in Sainte-Geneviève-sur-Argence and died there in 1875.

References

Scott County Iowa USGenWeb Project – Chapter 20; Churches & Parishes
* ttp://www.celticcousins.net/scott/file29.html Scott County Iowa USGenWeb Project – Chapter 29; Religiousbr>Scott County Iowa USGenWeb Project – Chapter 7

External links

St. Anthony's Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelamourgues, J. A. M. 1811 births 1875 deaths People from Rodez People from Davenport, Iowa Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport 19th-century French Roman Catholic priests Religious leaders from Iowa

Early life and ministry

Pastor in Davenport

Later life

See also

References

External links