John Anthony Forest 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...

-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church

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...

. He served as Bishop of San Antonio

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio encompasses in Texas.The archdiocese includes the city of San Antonio and the following counties: Val Verde, Edwards, Kerr, Gillespie, Kendall, Comal, Guadalupe, Gonzales, Uvalde, Kinney, Medina, Bexar, Wilson, Karnes, Frio, Atascosa, and McMullen.On...

 from 1895 until his death in 1911.

Biography

John Forest was born in Saint-Martin-la-Sauveté

Saint-Martin-la-Sauveté

Saint-Martin-la-Sauveté is a commune in the Loire department in central France.-References:*...

, Loire

Loire

Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...

, to Jean and Marie (née Thollet) Forest. He studied at the minor seminaries in Saint-Jodard

Saint-Jodard

Saint-Jodard is a commune in the Loire department in central France.-References:*...

 and L'Argentière

Saint-Genis-l'Argentière

Saint-Genis-l'Argentière is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.-References:*...

 before entering Grand Seminary of St. Irénée in Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

s. While 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 Lyons, he accepted an invitation from Bishop Claude Marie Dubuis

Claude Marie Dubuis

Claude Marie Dubuis was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Galveston from 1862 to 1892....

 to serve as a 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...

 in the Diocese of Galveston

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston encompasses of ten counties in the southeastern area of Texas: Galveston; Harris; Austin; Brazoria; Fort Bend; Grimes; Montgomery; San Jacinto; Walker; and Waller.The chancery of the diocese is located in Downtown Houston. The Archdiocese's...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. With about fifty other seminarians, he sailed for New Orleans in 1863 but was initially refused admittance to the port by General Benjamin Butler

Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)

Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....

, who suspected the group were allies of the Confederacy

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

.

Forest 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....

 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 Dubois on April 12, 1863. Upon his arrival in Texas, he was stationed at St. Mary's Church near Smothers Creek in Lavaca County. He was afterward named 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 Sacred Heart Church in Hallettsville

Hallettsville, Texas

Hallettsville is a city in Lavaca County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,345 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lavaca County. The town is home to the Texas Championship Domino Hall of Fame and also hosts a dominoes tournament every year in January...

, where he remained for thirty-two years.

On August 27, 1895, Forest was appointed the third Bishop of San Antonio

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio encompasses in Texas.The archdiocese includes the city of San Antonio and the following counties: Val Verde, Edwards, Kerr, Gillespie, Kendall, Comal, Guadalupe, Gonzales, Uvalde, Kinney, Medina, Bexar, Wilson, Karnes, Frio, Atascosa, and McMullen.On...

 by Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...

. He received his episcopal

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....

 consecration

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 on the following October 28 from Archbishop Francis Janssens, with Bishops Edward Fitzgerald

Edward Fitzgerald (bishop)

Edward Mary Fitzgerald was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Little Rock from 1867 until his death in 1907.-Biography:...

 and Nicolaus Aloysius Gallagher

Nicolaus Aloysius Gallagher

Nicolaus Aloysius Gallagher was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Galveston from 1892 until his death in 1918.-Biography:...

 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...

, in the Cathedral of San Fernando

Cathedral of San Fernando

The Cathedral of San Fernando is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church located in San Antonio, Texas, in the United States. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the seat of its archbishop. The cathedral is also known as the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria y...

. During his tenure, he established several new churches, educational facilities, and charitable institutions. Due to his declining health, he received John William Shaw

John Shaw (archbishop)

John William Shaw was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of San Antonio and Archbishop of New Orleans .-Biography:...

 from the Diocese of Mobile

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile

The Archdiocese of Mobile is a Roman Catholic archdiocese comprising the lower 28 counties of Alabama. It is the metropolitan seat of the Province of Mobile, which includes the suffragan bishopric sees of the Diocese of Biloxi, the Diocese of Jackson, and the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama...

 as a 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...

in 1910. Shortly after Shaw's arrival, he retired to Santa Rosa Infirmary. He later died at age 72, and was buried in San Fernando Cemetery.