Jean-Baptiste Salpointe (February 22, 1825 – July 15, 1898) was the first

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 ca ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and the second

Archbishop of Santa Fe The Archdiocese of Santa Fe ( la, Archidioecesis Sanctae Fidei in America Septentrionali, link=no, es, Arquidiócesis de Santa Fe, link=no) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the southwestern region of the United States in ...

Early life and education

Salpointe was born in Saint-Maurice-près-Pionsat,

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Agen The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. ...

and studied the

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

at the College of Clermont (now

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

after the fusion of the cities of Clermont and Montferrand). He subsequently studied philosophy and theology in the Theological Seminary of Montferrand. Salpointe was ordained a priest on December 20, 1851, and in 1859 he volunteered to come to the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, 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.Tho ...

Work in southwestern United States

In 1860, Salpointe was assigned to the parish in

Mora, New Mexico Mora or is a census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Mora County, New Mexico, Mora County, New Mexico. It is located about halfway between Las Vegas, New Mexico, Las Vegas and Taos, New Mexico, Taos on Highway 518, at an altitude of 7 ...

, where he served for six years. The expanse of that parish extended for over 200 miles from north to south. Among his accomplishments at Mora was his success in persuading the

Sisters of Loretto The Sisters of Loretto or the Loretto Community is a Catholic religious institute that strives "to bring the healing Spirit of God into our world." Founded in the United States in 1812 and based in the rural community of Nerinx, Kentucky, the ...

and the

De La Salle Christian Brothers french: Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes , image = Signum Fidei.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = , abbreviation = FSC , nickname = Lasallians , named_after = , formation ...

to come to the parish and establish schools there.

In Arizona territory

In August 1864, Bishop

Jean-Baptiste Lamy Jean-Baptiste Lamy (October 11, 1814 – February 13, 1888), was a French-American Roman Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Willa Cather's novel ''Death Comes for the Archbishop'' is based on his life ...

of Santa Fe was informed that 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 ...

in Arizona had been recalled by their Superior and that the

Arizona territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

was left without priests to care for the spiritual wants of its people. Salpointe was appointed

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the Arizona Missions. On February 7, 1866 Salpointe arrived in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

along with two priests from Santa Fe. At the time Arizona consisted of approximately 6,000 settlers in some half a dozen settlements and several mining camps, as well as the Native Americans that inhabited the territory. Salpointe set about building churches, organizing new congregations, and founding schools and hospitals in the territory. According to historian David Leighton, of the

Arizona Daily Star The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. History L. C. Hughes was the Arizona Territory governor and founder of the ''Arizona Star'', ...

newspaper, Salpointe helped complete the San Agustin Church in Tucson. This was the first cathedral church built in what was then called the Arizona Territory, now the State of Arizona. In 1868 Arizona was given the status of a Vicariate Apostolic by the

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 Salpointe was appointed its first bishop.

Back to Santa Fe

On February 19, 1885, Bishop Salpointe was appointed coadjutor to Archbishop Lamy of Santa Fe, but remained as administrator of the Vicarate of Arizona until the appointment of his successor, Bishop

Peter Bourgade Peter Bourgade (October 17, 1845 – May 17, 1908) was a French-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Tucson (1885–1899) and Archbishop of Santa Fe (1899–1908). Biography Early life and priesthood Bourgade was ...

, in early 1885. Salpointe then succeeded Lamy as

on July 18, 1885.

Retirement and death

Archbishop Salpointe retired on January 7, 1894, and moved to Tucson, where he wrote a history of the Catholic Church in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

. Salpointe died on July 15, 1898, and is buried under the altar of St. Augustine Cathedral in Tucson.

Salpointe Catholic High School Salpointe Catholic High School is a co-ed Catholic high school in Tucson, Arizona run by the Carmelite Order. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson. History Salpointe Catholic High School is named for Arizona's first Bishop, Jean ...

in that city is named in his honor.

Notes

References

* *
Archdiocese of Santa Fe

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salpointe, Jean-Baptiste 1825 births 1898 deaths People from Puy-de-Dôme French Roman Catholic bishops in North America French emigrants to the United States Roman Catholic archbishops of Santa Fe Roman Catholic bishops in Arizona People of the New Mexico Territory Occitan people Arizona pioneers People from Mora, New Mexico 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States