St. Francis Xavier Cathedral Library; University of Notre Dame Archives.
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Catholic Church. Diocese of Vincennes (Ind.) Records (AVI), University of Notre Dame Archives (UNDA), Notre Dame, IN 46556
Correspondence of bishops of Vincennes (1796-1897), including Simon Gabriel Bruté (1835-1839) and Celestine de la Hailandiere (1810-1875); sermons of Hailandiere (1826- 1836); historical notes by Hailandiere; papers from Hailandiere's seminary days at St. Germain, Rennes, France; journal of Jean F. Rivet (1799-1803), papers of Pierre Gibault, and an article on Anthony Fourcher, all early missionary priests; and 19th- and 20th-century printed material and transcriptions of correspondence.
Microfilm contains correspondence of Bishops Benedict Flaget, Simon Bruté, Celestine de la Hailandiere, Francis Chartard, Peter Kenrick, Paul Maes, and others; diocesan reports, legal papers, wills and estate inventories, real estate records, deeds, court documents relating to diocesan properties, and records of parishes; pastoral letters of the bishops of Vincennes and Indianapolis, 1871-1926, and of other bishops, generally from the mid- nineteenth century; death notices of priests of the diocese, 1881-1908; records of the trustees of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Vincennes; records of the Diocesan Church Building Insurance Company, 1891-1908, dealing chiefly with payments of claims for fire damage; sermons and notes for sermons; books and pamphlets from the episcopal library concerning anti-Catholic activities, the history of Indiana and the United States, William Hogan and the trustee controversy at St. Mary's Cathedral in Philadelphia, the American Tract Society, the Catholic Tract Society, and Protestant denominations, ca. 1750-1840; and material on early Vincennes history.
Diocese established at Vincennes (Indiana) in 1834; episcopal seat transferred to Indianapolis in 1898.
This collection consists of books, documents, and correspondencepertaining to or collected by the bishops of the diocese. Thefirst 17 reels consist of books and pamphlets from the episcopallibrary concerning anti-Catholic activities, the history ofIndiana and the United States, William Hogan and the trusteecontroversy at St. Mary's Cathedral in Philadelphia, the AmericanTract Society, the Catholic Tract Society, Protestant demoninationsand other topics of interest to the bishop of Vincennes. Some ofthe materials date from circa 1750, but most date from 1800 to 1840.A large portion of these documents are in French, and are sonoted in the following item by item description.
Reels 18 through 31 consist of correspondence, diocesanreports, legal papers, wills and estate inventories, recordspertaining to individual parishes, real estate records,pastoral letters, and sermons. Correspondents include BishopsBenedict Flaget, Simon Brute, Celestine Hailandiere, FrancisChatard, Peter Kenrick, and Paul Maes. Much of these reels arein French, and portions of reels 22 and 23 are nearly illegibledue to poor film images. Reels 22 and 23 are duplicates, andappear to contain correspondence of Celestine de la Hailandiere(1798-1882), bishop of Vincennes from 1839 to 1847. Reel 24contains deeds and court documents relating to various propertiesheld by the diocese, and records of the trustees of St. FrancisXavier Church in Vincennes.
Reel 25 contains some real estate records, notes forsermons, inventories of deceased persons' estates, andmiscellaneous documents. Reel 26 contains miscellany from earlyVincennes history. Reels 27 and 28 consist of pastoral lettersof the bishops of Vincennes from 1871 to 1926. Reel 29 is acompilation of death notices of priests of the diocese, 1881-1908. Reel 30 contains various pastoral letters from the bishopsof Vincennes, and also includes pastorals from bishops in otherdioceses. These letters generally date from the mid-nineteenthcentury. Reel 31 consists of records from the diocesan churchbuilding insurance company from 1891 to 1908, dealing chieflywith payments of claims for fire damage. It should be noted thatthe diocese was established at Vincennes in 1834, and theepiscopal seat was transferred to Indianapolis in 1898. A moredetailed listing of this collection follows. Some originalsexist in the Notre Dame Archives.