Establiskment of the Dioceses, 1847-1948
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the country lying between the Nueces and the Rio Grande, but also all that territory of New Mexico lying east of the Rio Grande considered by Texas to be an integral part of its territory." 7 Odin, well aware of the impossibility of caring for so vast an area, presented the matter to the Seventh Provincial Council, which met on May 5, 1849. "The Bishops, gathered in Baltimore," he explained to the Cardinal secretary, "realizing that the Diocese of Galveston was already too large for the care of one bishop, deemed it advisable to beg the Holy See to send a vicar apostolic to look after New Mexico. The Holy Father saw fit to accede to the request and placed Bishop John B. Lamy in charge of the said Vicariate-Apostolic." 8 This arrangement had, therefore, left the region between the Nueces and the Rio Grande within the limits of the Diocese of Galveston and Bishop Odin proceeded to visit it for the first time shortly after his return from the Seventh Provincial Council of Baltimore. 9 Diocese of Galveston, Suffragan of New Orleans. Ever since the establishment of the Prefecture, Odin had leaned heavily on Bishop Blanc of New Orleans for advice, support, and guidance. This personal rela- tionship took on an official aspect in 1850, for the Bull of Pius IX Ad swpremum Apostolicae, issued on July 19, 1850, raised New Orleans to an archiepiscopal see, named Blanc as the first Archbishop, and designated as suffragans Mobile, Alabama, Natchez, Mississippi, Little Rock, Ar- kansas, and Galveston. Texas was thus placed within the new Province of New Orleans during the same year that the Vicariate-Apostolic of New Mexico was created, and the region between the Nueces and the Rio Grande was definitely made a part of the Diocese of Galveston. Odin, 1/bid., C. A. T. 8 /bid., C. A. T. Pius IX constituted New Mexico a vicariate-apostolic by a Bull issued on July 29, 1850, and named Bishop John B. Lamy as the Vicar. He was consecrated Bishop-Vicar of New Mexico on November 24, 1850. Three years to the day the Vicariate was raised to the status of a diocese and Lamy was appointed its first Bishop. His faithful services were rewarded when in I 87 5 he became the first Archbishop of New Mexico. Like Odin, he was one of the pioneer missionaries who rose to the dignity of an archbishop in the Southwest through a life of singular devotion and zeal. Shearer, op. cit., 287-288. 9 After the meeting in Baltimore, Odin made an extensive tour in the north and went to Canada, where he visited Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec. His efforts to secure new workers and to obtain help for his struggling Diocese were well rewarded. He arranged for the coming of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate to Texas, secured recruits for the Ursulines, and received "many gifts of money and effects on the way." For details, see Odin's Diary, May-September, 1849; consult also Odin to Purcell, Philadelphia, September 30, 1849, C. A. T.
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