Establiskment of the Dioceses, 1847-1948
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the promulgation of the Decrees of the Third Provincial Council of New Orleans, but also to reorganize his constantly expanding Diocese. The peculiarity of this Second Synod is that it was held in two sections, oqe in Galveston for the eastern half, and the other in San Antonio for the western half, a clear indication that the Diocese had reached such a stage of development that a general synod of all the clergy had become imprac- ticable, for distances were too great and the busy pastors of the scattered communities could not absent themselves so long. The officers of the Galveston section, which met on December 14, 1868 were: Notary, Louis Cham bod ut ; Promoter, John B. Bellaclas; Procurator of the Clergy, Joseph Querat; Prefect of Spiritual Exercises, Victor Gury; Secretary, Theodore Buffard; Masters of Ceremonies, Thomas J. Johnston and Peter Chandy; and Chanters, Victor Henrion and John N. Leonard. In addition to those listed, only thirteen others were present for nine had been excused from attendance. The meeting lasted until December 21. On January 4, 1869, the San Antonio section met: Fathers Joseph Anstaett, Mathew Sarry, Peter Richard, Louis Chaland, Stephen Buffard, Anthony Truchard, John C. Neraz, and John Dumoulin, acting in one official capacity or another. Fifteen others were present, and twenty-seven, were excused. Particular attention is called to the fifth chapter of the Statutes decreed by this twin synod, because the reorganization therein of the administra- tive setup of the Diocese eloquently proclaims the phenomenal develop- ment of the huge Diocese of Galveston, which had definitely become too unwieldy. This organization foreshadowed the impending partition of the Diocese of Galveston and the erection of a second diocese. The Statutes provided for the appointment of two archpriests: one for the eastern half of the Diocese, with jurisdiction from the Colorado River to the Sabine; and one for the western half, the territory west of the Colorado to the Rio Grande and south to Brownsville. The Vicar-General for the entire Diocese, Louis Chambodut, was named archpriest for the t'astern half, as was the Vicar-General of the San Antonio district, Joseph Anstaett, for the western half. The two archpriests, each in his respective district, were to administer the Diocese whenever the Bishop was absent. Since Dubuis was soon to leave for Europe to attend the recently called Vatican Council, it was specifically stated that the newly appointed arch- priests were to exercise special powers granted by the new regulation during his absence. Another new office created at this time was that of Rector General of
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