Tlee Vicariate, 1841-1847
75
Paris about the middle of July. It was in the Motherhouse of the Lazarists that he learned with unfeigned satisfaction that Odin's name had been withdrawn from the Coadjutorship of Detroit and that at the recommendation of the Propaganda he had been made Vicar Apostolic of Texas. On July 16, 1841, Gregory XVI had issued the Brief, Uni- versi dominic-i gregis, by which His Holiness separated the Province of Texas from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Monterrey, Mexico, and erected it into a Vicariate Apostolic. He had, at the same time, con- firmed the appointment of Odin as Titular Bishop of Claudiopolis. "Be- cause We appreciate how greatly to the advantage of religion in Texas it will be to advance its status beyond that of a Prefecture, We hereby erect that Province into a separate and distinct Vicariate Apostolic," read the Brief. 17 The letter of transmittal of the Cardinal Prefect clearly stated that "because of the absence of your Lordship [Odin], damage may befall that mission [Texas], the Sacred Congregation has yielded to the plead- ing and the prayers of your Lordship and R. D. Timon, the Prefect of that Mission." Odin's dignified and humble refusal to accept the Coadjutorship of Detroit and Timon's earnest appeal had had their effect. But this had been on one condition, Fransoni stated, "that the said Mission be erected into a Vicariate Apostolic and that your Lord- ship be placed over it clothed with Episcopal dignity, who thereby will be able to treat ecclesiastical affairs with fuller authority.... With this letter you will receive the Apostolic Letters of His Holiness Pope Gregory XVI, wherein the office of the Episcopacy of Claudiopolis and of Apostolic Vicar of Texas is bestowed upon you." 18 Fransoni, however, warned Odin as follows: "The Holy Father is so persuaded of this that he judges he ought, for the good of Religion, reveal his mind to Your Excellency, which is that you should by all means accept the Episcopacy and the office of Vicar Apostolic, and that should you propose again to renounce these offices he will refuse his consent." 19 Timon lost no time in reporting the good news to Bishop Blanc. to 17 Donald Shearer, Po11tiftcia Americana: a Documentary Hist{)r-y of t/re Catlzolic Clmrck i11 the U.S., 1784-1888, pp. 215-216. 18 Fransoni to Odin, July 3 I, I 84 I. The Latin text of this letter and an English translation form Appendix IV of the Dissertation of Sister M. Benignus Sheridan, "Bishop Odin and the New Era of the Catholic Church in Texas, 1840-1860." (Doctoral dissertation, St. Louis University, 1938, unpublished.) 19 /bid.
Powered by FlippingBook