Guy Ignatius Chabrat
Encyclopedia
Guy Ignatius Chabrat P.S.S.
(December 27, 1787 – November 21, 1868) was a French
Roman Catholic
missionary
and Coadjutor Bishop
of Bardstown
, Kentucky
(1834–47). He was the first priest
ordained west of the Alleghenies
.
Chabrat was born in La Chambre
, Savoie
, to Pierre and Louise (née Lavialle) Chabrat; he was a relative of Peter Joseph Lavialle
, Bishop of Louisville
(1865–67). He studied at a Sulpician
seminary
and was ordained
a subdeacon
in 1809. In 1811 he accepted an invitation from Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget
to join the Diocese of Bardstown
, Kentucky
, arriving in the United States
in May of that year. He was ordained to the priesthood
by Bishop Flaget on Christmas Day
1811, at St. Rose Priory
.
Chabrat was first assigned to St. Michael's Church in Fairfield
and St. Clare's Church in Colesburg, while also attending to a mission
in Poplar Neck near Bardstown
. He briefly served as pastor
of St. Pius' Church in Scott County
(1823). Following the death of Rev. Charles Nerinckx
, he became superior
of the Sisters of Loretto
in 1824.
On March 21, 1834, Chabrat was appointed Coadjutor Bishop
of Bardstown and Titular Bishop
of Bolina by Pope Gregory XVI
. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following July 20 from Bishop Flaget, with Bishops John Baptist Mary David
, P.S.S.
, and Richard Pius Miles
, O.P.
, serving as co-consecrators
. He assumed much of the administration of the diocese for the aged Flaget, including the move of the episcopal see
to Louisville
in 1841. Threatened with complete blindness
, he sought treatment in Europe
and later resigned as Coadjutor Bishop on April 10, 1847. He retired to his native France on a comfortable pension, dying in Mauriac
at age 80.
Society of Saint-Sulpice
The Society of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life named for Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for St. Sulpitius the Pious. Typically, priests become members of the Society of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. Uniquely, Sulpicians retain...
(December 27, 1787 – November 21, 1868) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and Coadjutor Bishop
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
of Bardstown
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville consists of twenty-four counties in Central Kentucky, USA, covering . It is the seat of the Metropolitan Province of Louisville, which comprises the states of Kentucky and Tennessee...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
(1834–47). He was the first priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
ordained west of the Alleghenies
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
.
Chabrat was born in La Chambre
La Chambre
La Chambre is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-References:*...
, Savoie
Savoie
Savoie is a French department located in the Rhône-Alpes region in the French Alps.Together with the Haute-Savoie, Savoie is one of the two departments of the historic region of Savoy that was annexed by France on June 14, 1860, following the signature of the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860...
, to Pierre and Louise (née Lavialle) Chabrat; he was a relative of Peter Joseph Lavialle
Peter Joseph Lavialle
Peter Joseph Lavialle was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Louisville from 1865 until his death in 1867....
, Bishop of Louisville
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville consists of twenty-four counties in Central Kentucky, USA, covering . It is the seat of the Metropolitan Province of Louisville, which comprises the states of Kentucky and Tennessee...
(1865–67). He studied at a Sulpician
Society of Saint-Sulpice
The Society of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life named for Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for St. Sulpitius the Pious. Typically, priests become members of the Society of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. Uniquely, Sulpicians retain...
seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
and was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
a subdeacon
Subdeacon
-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...
in 1809. In 1811 he accepted an invitation from Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget
Benedict Joseph Flaget
Benedict Joseph Flaget was a U.S. bishop. He served as the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bardstown between 1808 and 1839, then as bishop of the Diocese of Louisville between 1839 and 1850 when the See was transferred to Louisville in 1839.-Education and Call to Ministry:At...
to join the Diocese of Bardstown
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville consists of twenty-four counties in Central Kentucky, USA, covering . It is the seat of the Metropolitan Province of Louisville, which comprises the states of Kentucky and Tennessee...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, arriving in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in May of that year. He was ordained to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Bishop Flaget on Christmas Day
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
1811, at St. Rose Priory
St. Rose Priory
St. Rose Priory, a house of the Dominican Order, was the location of the first Catholic educational institution west of the Allegheny Mountains....
.
Chabrat was first assigned to St. Michael's Church in Fairfield
Fairfield, Kentucky
Fairfield is a city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 72 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Fairfield is located at ....
and St. Clare's Church in Colesburg, while also attending to a mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
in Poplar Neck near Bardstown
Bardstown, Kentucky
As of the census of 2010, there were 11,700 people, 4,712 households, and 2,949 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,113 housing units at an average density of...
. He briefly served as pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of St. Pius' Church in Scott County
Scott County, Kentucky
Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 47,173 in the 2010 Census. Its county seat is Georgetown.Scott County is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
(1823). Following the death of Rev. Charles Nerinckx
Charles Nerinckx
Rev. Charles Nerinckx was a Roman Catholic missionary priest who migrated from Belgium to work in Kentucky. He founded the Sisters of Loretto religious order.-Early life and education:...
, he became superior
Superior (hierarchy)
In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at a higher level in the hierarchy than another , and thus closer to the apex. It is often used in business terminology to refer to people who are supervisors and in the military to people who are higher in the...
of the Sisters of Loretto
Sisters of Loretto
Sisters of Loretto or the Loretto Community is a Catholic religious institution, which, according to their mission statement, "strive[s] to bring the healing Spirit of God into our world" and is committed "to improving the conditions of those who suffer from injustice, oppression, and deprivation...
in 1824.
On March 21, 1834, Chabrat was appointed Coadjutor Bishop
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
of Bardstown and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Bolina by Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following July 20 from Bishop Flaget, with Bishops John Baptist Mary David
John Baptist Mary David
John Baptist Mary David P.S.S. was a French prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Bardstown from 1832 to 1833....
, P.S.S.
Society of Saint-Sulpice
The Society of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life named for Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for St. Sulpitius the Pious. Typically, priests become members of the Society of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. Uniquely, Sulpicians retain...
, and Richard Pius Miles
Richard Pius Miles
Richard Pius Miles, O.P. was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Nashville .Miles was born in Prince George's County, Maryland, and moved to Kentucky with his parents at age 5. After joining the Dominican Order in October 1806, he was ordained a priest on September 21, 1816...
, O.P.
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
. He assumed much of the administration of the diocese for the aged Flaget, including the move of the episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
to Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
in 1841. Threatened with complete blindness
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
, he sought treatment in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and later resigned as Coadjutor Bishop on April 10, 1847. He retired to his native France on a comfortable pension, dying in Mauriac
Mauriac
-Places:Mauriac is the name of two communes in France:* Mauriac, in the Cantal département* Mauriac, in the Gironde département-People:* François Mauriac , French writer, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1952...
at age 80.