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he had spoken personally to His Holiness, to the Cardinal Prefect, and to the Secretary in favor of the candidate first on the list in order to prevent the appointment of Odin, but to no avail. Blanc wrote Timon on March 14 that the official document was in his hands and added, "I am requested by the Propaganda to remit to Mr. Odin's hands [the document] with the most pressing recommendation to urge on him to accept the office and be consecrated without delay." It seemed that Odin would have little choice in the matter. Timon was quite perturbed by this unexpected turn of affairs. But when he received a second letter from Blanc, suggesting that under the circumstances it might be advisable for him to come to New Orleans sooner than he had planned, Timon decided to act. In an impassioned letter addressed from Cape Giradeau to Blanc he presented the reasons why he thought the appointment of Odin as Coadjutor of Detroit would be a sad mistake and said, "It will be easier to find a Bishop of Detroit than for me to find a second Mr. Odin in our poor Congregation." 1 Bishop Blanc had meanwhile sent an urgent summons to Odin, then in San Antonio, to come to New Orleans. He did not, however, inform him of the reason for the call. The letter reached Odin on March 30. By April 13 he was ready to board the Savanna in Galveston for New Orleans. He made the trip from San Antonio to Galveston in company with John Connelly, Angelo Luciano Navarro, Juan An- tonio Chavez, and Ignacio Cassiano. Antonio Navarro and his brother, Luciano, had accompanied the group only part of the way. Young Angelo Luciano, Juan Antonio, and Ignacio were going to the Col- lege at the Barrens." Having arrived in New Orleans, Odin went directly to the residence of Bishop Blanc, who apparently told him nothing that day. On April 16, during High Mass "the Bishop handed me the Bulls appointing me Bishop of Claudiopolis and Coadjutor of Detroit," Odin jotted down in his Diary and added, "[I was] so much frightened that I could not read them." 5 The astonished Vice Prefect of Texas begged Blanc after Mass to be excused from making a decision until he could consult with Timon as his superior. Blanc remonstrated and urged immediate acceptance and consecration. Odin firmly insisted on time to consider and weigh the matter. He immediately arranged for passage 3 Blanc to Timon, March 21, 1841; Timon to Blanc, April 28, 1841, Notr, DOIIU Archives. 4 0din, Diar,y, entry for February 30, April 1 3, 1 841. 5 /bid., entry for April 16, 1841.
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