imported>Darth Stabro: clean up, typo(s) fixed: President → president, June 28, 1865 → June 28, 1865, (2)

2024-12-13T19:40:55Z

clean up, typo(s) fixed: President → president, June 28, 1865 → June 28, 1865, (2)

New page

{{Short description|French-born American prelate}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Bishop
| honorific_prefix = The Most Reverend
| name = Placide Louis Chapelle
| honorific_suffix =
| title = Archbishop of New Orleans Archbishop of Santa Fe
| image = Placide Louis Chapelle.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Chapelle, {{circa|1903}}
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| church =
| archdiocese =
| province =
| metropolis =
| diocese =
| see = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans|Archdiocese of New Orleans]]
| appointed = December 1, 1897
| term_end = August 9, 1905 (his death)
| quashed =
| predecessor = [[Francis Janssens]]
| successor = [[James Blenk]]
| opposed =
| other_post = [[Apostolic Nunciature to Cuba|Apostolic Delegate to Cuba]] (1898–1905) [[Apostolic Delegation to Puerto Rico|Apostolic Delegate to Puerto Rico]] (1898–1905) [[Apostolic Nunciature to the Philippines|Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines]] (1899–1901) [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Archbishop of Santa Fe]] (1894–1897) [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Coadjutor Archbishop of Santa Fe]] (1891–1894)
| ordination = June 28, 1865
| ordained_by = [[Martin John Spalding]]
| consecration = November 1, 1891
| consecrated_by = [[James Gibbons]]
| cardinal =
| created_cardinal_by =
| rank =
| laicized = 
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1842|08|28}}
| baptised =
| birth_place = [[Fraissinet-de-Lozère]], [[Lozère]], France
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1905|08|09|1842|08|28}}
| death_place = [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], U.S.
| buried =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| nationality =
| religion =
| residence =
| parents =
| spouse =
| children =
| occupation =
| profession =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| motto =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Placide Louis Chapelle.svg
| coat_of_arms_alt =
}}
'''Placide Louis Chapelle''' (August 28, 1842 – August 9, 1905) was a French-born American prelate of the [[Catholic Church]]. He served as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Archbishop of Santa Fe]] (1894–1897) and later [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans|Archbishop of New Orleans]] (1897–1905). Following the [[Spanish–American War]], he also served as [[Nuncio|Apostolic Delegate]] to [[Apostolic Nunciature to Cuba|Cuba]], [[Apostolic Delegation to Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]], and the [[Apostolic Nunciature to the Philippines|Philippines]].

==Early life and education==
Chapelle was born in [[Fraissinet-de-Lozère]] to Jean Pierre and Sophia (née Viala) Chapelle.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.filae.com/v4/genealogie/searchresults.mvc/viewerosd?IsOnlyForPayingUser=True&StartPageIndex=0&NumberResults=7&IdActe=308bcd14-e1e9-49d0-99aa-be24f63b0707&IdPerson=1&FirstName=Placide%20Louis&LastName=Chapelle&Source=Loz%C3%A8re%20Archives&IsFree=True&Category1=207&BaseType=8&IsNewViewer=False&IsFromArchives=False|title=Lozère Archives|website=Filae.com}}{{registration required}}</ref> His mother died in childbirth in 1847, when Chapelle was five years old.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.filae.com/v4/genealogie/searchresults.mvc/viewerosd?IsOnlyForPayingUser=True&StartPageIndex=0&NumberResults=7&IdActe=bcf46c98-39bb-4ad6-b978-a5279545240c&IdPerson=1&FirstName=Sophie&LastName=Viala&Source=Loz%C3%A8re%20Archives&IsFree=False&Category1=209&BaseType=8&IsNewViewer=False&IsFromArchives=False|title=Lozère Archives|website=Filae.com}}{{registration required}}</ref> He received his early education in [[Mende, Lozère|Mende]] and completed his classical studies at Collège Saint-Augustin in [[Enghien]], [[Belgium]].

At age 17, he was brought to the United States by his uncle Jean Chapelle, a missionary priest in [[Haiti]] who worked on the Vatican's [[concordat]] with the Haitian government and was on the eve of being appointed [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince|Archbishop of Port-au-Prince]] before his death in 1861.<ref name=messenger>{{cite journal|title=Archbishop Chapelle|journal=Messenger|volume=44|location=New York|date=1905}}</ref><ref name=uncle>"Haïti, état civil, 1794-2012," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZGTH-QTMM : 31 May 2022), Jean Chapel, 9 Sep 1861; citing Death Registration, Port-au-Prince, Ouest, Haïti, Louis August Barthelemy, The National Archives of the Republic of Haiti, Port-au-Prince.</ref> He studied for the priesthood at [[St. Mary's Seminary and University|St. Mary's Seminary]] in [[Baltimore]], graduating in 1863. At that point he was still too young to be ordained and therefore taught at [[St. Charles College (Maryland)|St. Charles College]] for two years.<ref name=bio>{{cite book|date=1897|title=The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography|volume=VII|location=New York|publisher=James T. White & Company}}</ref>

==Priesthood==
Chapelle was ordained a priest on June 28, 1865, by Archbishop [[Martin John Spalding]].<ref name=hierarchy>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bchapelle.html|title=Archbishop Placide Louis Chapelle|website=[[Catholic-Hierarchy.org]]}}</ref> His first assignment was as pastor of St. Mary's Church in [[Rockville, Maryland|Rockville]], which included several missions throughout [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]]. One of his assistant pastors was [[Jeremiah O'Sullivan]], later [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile|Bishop of Mobile]] (1885–1896).<ref name=owen>{{cite book|last1=Owen|first1=Thomas McAdory|title=History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography|volume=IV|year=1921|publisher=The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company|location=Chicago}}</ref> While there he furthered his studies at St. Mary's Seminary and earned a doctorate in theology in 1868. His educational pursuits led his parishioners in Rockville to petition Archbishop Spalding for a new pastor, complaining that Chapelle was "invisible during the week and incomprehensible on Sundays."<ref name=stpatricks>{{cite web|url=https://stpatricksmd.org/history-of-st-patricks|title=HISTORY OF ST. PATRICK'S|date= |website=St. Patrick Catholic Church}}</ref>

Archbishop Spalding took a great interest in Chapelle and brought him to the [[First Vatican Council]] (1869–1870) as a theological consultant.<ref name=bio/> After returning from Rome, he served as assistant pastor of [[St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church (Baltimore, Maryland)|St. John's Church]] in Baltimore before becoming pastor of St. Joseph's Church in the same city in 1871. The following year, in addition to his pastoral duties, he was appointed president of the theological conferences in Baltimore, which were held every three months.

Chapelle was sent to [[Washington, D.C.]] in 1882 to serve as pastor of [[Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle (Washington, D.C.)|St. Matthew's Church]], where he remained until he became a bishop in 1891. St. Matthew's was considered a prestigious post, as it was the place of worship for many government officials and foreign diplomats.<ref name=messenger/> He was instrumental in organizing the [[Catholic University of America]], purchasing the land where it still stands and recruiting President [[Grover Cleveland]] to attend the laying of the cornerstone in 1888.<ref name=messenger/> He also served as vice president of the [[Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions]] (1886–1891).<ref name=bio/>

In 1885, Cardinal [[Giovanni Simeoni]], the head of the [[Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples|Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith]], assigned Cardinal [[James Gibbons]] of Baltimore to investigate the administrative disorders of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans|Archdiocese of New Orleans]], which had fallen into considerable debt.<ref name=ellis>{{cite book|last=Ellis|first=John Tracy|date=1952|title=The Life of James Cardinal Gibbons|location=Milwaukee, Wis.|publisher=Bruce Pub. Co.}}</ref> Gibbons chose Chapelle as his secretary for the investigation, and Archbishop [[Francis Xavier Leray]] was so impressed with Chapelle that he requested to have him for a [[coadjutor bishop]].<ref name=ellis/> However, after Leray died in 1887, he was instead replaced by [[Francis Janssens]].

==Archbishop of Santa Fe==
On August 21, 1891, Chapelle was appointed by [[Pope Leo XIII]] to be [[Coadjutor bishop|Coadjutor Archbishop]] with the right of succession to [[Jean-Baptiste Salpointe]], the aging [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Archbishop of Santa Fe]].<ref name=hierarchy/> He was also given the title of [[Titular see|titular bishop]] of ''[[Arabissus]]''. He received his episcopal consecration on the following November 1 from Cardinal [[James Gibbons]], with Archbishop Salpointe and Bishop [[John Joseph Kain]] serving as co-consecrators, at the [[Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary|Cathedral of Baltimore]].<ref name=hierarchy/> A year later, in November 1892, Chapelle became a [[Citizenship of the United States|naturalized U.S. citizen]].<ref name=citizen>{{cite news|date=November 4, 1892|title=BISHOP CHAPELLE|work=[[The Santa Fe New Mexican]]}}</ref>

Upon Salpointe's retirement on January 7, 1894, Chapelle succeeded him as the third Archbishop of Santa Fe. That same year he persuaded Saint [[Katharine Drexel]] to reopen St. Catherine's Indian School, a boarding school for Native American children in Santa Fe, under the control of the [[Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament]].<ref name=drexel>{{cite news|date=May 7, 1894|title=ST. CATHERINE SCHOOL|work=[[The Santa Fe New Mexican]]}}</ref> He consecrated the then-unfinished [[Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi (Santa Fe)|Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi]] in October 1895.<ref name=cathedral>{{cite web|url=https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/NM-01-049-0173|title=CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINT FRANCIS|website=SAH Archipedia|date=17 July 2018 }}</ref> He [[Confirmation in the Catholic Church|confirmed]] approximately 40,000 people during his six years in New Mexico.<ref name=messenger/>

In civic affairs, Chapelle was an early supporter of the cause for New Mexico's statehood (which would be accomplished in 1912), saying in 1894, "As it is, we have no voice in the election of governor, judges or any other officials of importance, and we think we have a right to this."<ref name=statehood>{{cite news|date=June 4, 1894|title=The Archbishop on Statehood|work=[[The Santa Fe New Mexican]]}}</ref>

==Archbishop of New Orleans==
[[Francis Janssens]], who had been chosen over Chapelle to lead the Archdiocese of New Orleans a decade earlier, died in June 1897. Fifteen days after Janssens' death, Chapelle had an audience with [[Pope Leo XIII]], who made it clear that he intended to appoint Chapelle to the post.<ref name=nola>{{cite news|date=December 4, 1897|title=CHAPELLE IS NAMED|work=The Assumption Pioneer|location=Napoleonville, LA}}</ref> The priests of New Orleans also put forward Chapelle's name as their top choice for a new archbishop.<ref name=nola/> However, the local bishops of the province instead suggested the Belgian-born Bishop [[Camillus Paul Maes]] or the Irish-born Bishops [[Thomas Heslin]] and [[John J. Keane (bishop)|John J. Keane]]. The New Orleans clergy were determined to have a French leader for the largely French-speaking archdiocese, and enlisted French President [[Félix Faure]] to lobby on Chapelle's behalf to Rome.<ref name=optic>{{cite news|date=November 29, 1897|title=NEW FIELD OF LABOR: Archbishop Chapelle to Take Charge of the New Orleans Diocese|work=Las Vegas Daily Optic}}</ref> Chapelle was officially appointed the sixth Archbishop of New Orleans on December 1, 1897.<ref name=hierarchy/>

Over the course of his tenure, he succeeded in finally paying off the debt that had long plagued the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which had fallen from $590,000 when he visited with Cardinal Gibbons in 1885<ref name=ellis/> to $135,000 when he assumed charge in 1898.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|date=August 10, 1905|title=ARCHBISHOP CHAPELLE PASSES TO HIS REWARD|work=The Times-Democrat|location=New Orleans, LA}}</ref> The debt was erased by the end of 1903, but not without complaint from his priests about the new tax he imposed on them.<ref name=encyc>{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/chapelle-placide-louis|title=Chapelle, Placide Louis|website=Encyclopedia.com|publisher=New Catholic Encyclopedia}}</ref> Chapelle also reopened the diocesan seminary, which had closed due to financial pressure in 1881.<ref name=obit/>

However, most of Chapelle's time as archbishop was focused on his diplomatic missions. Due to his prolonged absences from New Orleans, he received [[Gustave Augustin Rouxel]] as an [[auxiliary bishop]] in February 1899 to tend to the archdiocese's pastoral needs.

==Vatican diplomat==
===Cuba and Puerto Rico===
Following the American victory in the [[Spanish–American War]], and less than a year after his appointment to New Orleans, Chapelle was named [[Apostolic Nunciature to Cuba|Apostolic Delegate to Cuba]] on September 16, 1898, and [[Apostolic Delegation to Puerto Rico|Apostolic Delegate to Puerto Rico]] on the following October 11.<ref name=hierarchy/> In these roles, he was commissioned by the Vatican to participate in the negotiations of the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|1898 Treaty of Paris]].<ref name=uria>{{cite thesis|last=Uria|first=Ignacio|date=2022|title=Crisis and Renewal in the Cuban Catholic Church during the First American Occupation: The Role of Apostolic Delegate Placide Chapelle, 1898-1905.|publisher=Papers of the American Society of Church History}}</ref> Under the treaty, which was signed on December 10 that year, Spain ceded the heavily Catholic colonies of [[Cuba]], [[Puerto Rico]], and the [[Philippines]] to the United States. Chapelle was credited with the clause in Article 8 guaranteeing the Church's right to keep its properties in those territories.<ref name=uria/>

Chapelle visited Cuba and Puerto Rico in early 1899 to report on the Church's conditions there and suggest a plan for reorganization.<ref name=messenger/> In July of that year, he consecrated the two bishops he had recommended to the Vatican: Francisco de Paula Barnada y Aguilar as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba|Archbishop of Santiago]] and [[James Blenk]] (who would succeed him as Archbishop of New Orleans) as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico|Bishop of Puerto Rico]].<ref name=obit/>

===Philippines===
Given Chapelle's success in Cuba and Puerto Rico, another former Spanish colony was soon added to his diplomatic portfolio. In addition to his duties in New Orleans, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, he was appointed [[Apostolic Nunciature to the Philippines|Apostolic Delegate to Philippines]] on September 28, 1899.<ref name=hierarchy/> His mission in the Philippines was particularly difficult due to the [[Philippine–American War]], focusing primarily on the displacement of [[Friars in Spanish Philippines|Spanish friars in the Philippines]].

The Spanish friars had owned 400,000 acres of land that were leased to Filipino peasants under prohibitive rents.<ref name=stover>{{cite book|last=Stover|first=Earl F.|date=1977|title=Up from Handymen: The United States Army Chaplaincy, 1865-1920|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Office of the Chief of Chaplains, Department of the Army}}</ref> When the Treaty of Paris rejected the [[Philippine Declaration of Independence]] and annexed the Philippines to the United States, it also protected the property rights of the Church (and therefore the friars) — thanks in part to Chapelle's contributions. This helped fuel the [[Philippine Revolution]], during which the friars were driven from their churches and their property was confiscated by [[Emilio Aguinaldo]] and his fellow revolutionaries.<ref name=stover/>

Upon arriving in [[Manila]] in January 1900,<ref name=obit/> Chapelle sought to restore the friars to their former positions under American protection. However, he met resistance from General [[Elwell Stephen Otis]], the [[Governor-General of the Philippines|military governor]] of the Philippines, who believed that reinstating the friars would get them killed and usually turned any recovered Church property over to local civil authorities.<ref name=reuter>{{cite book|last=Reuter|first=Frank T.|date=2014|title=Catholic Influence on American Colonial Policies, 1898-1904|publisher=University of Texas Press}}</ref> Chapelle protested this policy, accusing General Otis' advisers of being "animated with a narrow-minded spirit of hostility to the Catholic Church, whilst they should look at the question presented to them from a disinterested and American point of view."<ref name=reuter/>

Nor did Chapelle find an ally in the civilian governor (and future U.S. president), [[William Howard Taft]], who wrote to [[Maria Longworth Storer]] to say, "Archbishop Chapelle has become absolutely identified with the Friars...I do not think it was necessary for him to get into this position, but that is where he is, and while, of course, his sacerdotal office compels respect, politically he has no force whatever."<ref name=reuter/> Chapelle's refusal to compromise on the issue of the friars' land cost him a good deal of political influence. Writing to Cardinal Gibbons in August 1901, Archbishop [[John Ireland (bishop)|John Ireland]] said, "From the general tone of [[Mariano Rampolla|Cardinal Rampolla]]'s letters, I can see that Abp. Chapelle does not count for much. At any rate, the American government will be much displeased, as [[Elihu Root|Mr. Root]] said to me, to see [Chapelle] return to Manila."<ref name=ellis/> Before departing his post, Chapelle wrote to Taft to declare [[Taft Commission|the commission]] "has taken, unconsciously perhaps, indirectly surely, a hostile attitude towards the Catholic Church and her interests."<ref name=taft>{{cite book|last=Pringle|first=Henry F.|date=1939|title=The Life & Times of William Howard Taft}}</ref>

Chapelle's actions were seen as worsening relations between the Church and the Filipinos, and his mission was regarded by many as a failure.<ref name=ellis/><ref name=stover/><ref name=reuter/> However, he had support from figures like Cardinal [[Lucido Parocchi]], who described Chapelle as "an angel of Providence to the Philippines."<ref name=messenger/> Nevertheless, after Chapelle departed for Rome in April 1901 to report on his mission, he was relieved of his duties in the Philippines and was replaced by [[Donato Sbarretti]].<ref name=reuter/> Meanwhile, he retained his positions as Archbishop of New Orleans and Apostolic Delegate to Cuba and Puerto Rico.

==Later life and death==
During the summer of 1905, Chapelle contracted [[yellow fever]] after completing his first [[Confirmation in the Catholic Church|confirmation]] tour around the archdiocese since his appointment to New Orleans.<ref name=obit/> He died on August 9, 1905, at age 62. He is buried at [[St. Louis Cathedral (New Orleans)|St. Louis Cathedral]].

Following his death, President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] sent the following telegram to Cardinal Gibbons: "I am deeply shocked and grieved at the death of my beloved friend, Archbishop Chapelle. His death is one of the most lamentable losses in the course of the outbreak of fever in New Orleans, which is causing much sympathy and concern throughout the nation."<ref name=roosevelt>{{cite news|date=August 10, 1905|title=Tribute From the President|work=[[The Washington Star]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=Placide-Louis Chapelle}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{succession box
| title = [[File:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe.svg|50px]] [[Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Archbishop of Santa Fe]]
| before = [[Jean-Baptiste Salpointe]]
| years = 1894–1897
| after = [[Peter Bourgade]]
}}
{{succession box
| title = [[File:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.svg|50px]] [[Archdiocese of New Orleans|Archbishop of New Orleans]]
| before = [[Francis Janssens]]
| years = 1897–1905
| after = [[James Blenk]], [[Society of Mary (Marists)|S.M.]]
}}{{Succession box
| title = [[Apostolic Nunciature to the Philippines|Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines]]
| years = 1900–1901
| before = Creation of Delegation
| after = [[Donato Sbarretti]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapelle}}
[[Category:1842 births]]
[[Category:1905 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Lozère]]
[[Category:French expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of New Orleans]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Santa Fe]]
[[Category:Apostolic nuncios to the Philippines]]
[[Category:Apostolic nuncios to Cuba]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States]]
[[Category:French Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:French expatriates in Cuba]]
[[Category:French expatriates in the Philippines]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States]]

Placide Louis Chapelle - Revision history

imported>Darth Stabro: clean up, typo(s) fixed: President → president, June 28, 1865 → June 28, 1865, (2)