Pierre Gibault
Encyclopedia
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
in the 18th century, and an American Patriot
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
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Frontier Missionary
Gibault was born 7 April 1737 at MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, the son of Pierre Gibault and Marie Saint-Jean, and was baptised the same day. He was educated as a missionary and ordained as priest at Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
on 19 March 1768, and was quickly appointed Vicar General
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
of the Archbishop of Quebec
Jean-Olivier Briand
Jean-Olivier Briand was the Bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Quebec from 1766 to 1784.He was ordained as a priest in 1739 and left for Canada in 1741 with another priest, Abbé René-Jean Allenou de Lavillangevin and the newly appointed bishop of Quebec, Henri-Marie Dubreil de Pontbriand, in...
for the Illinois country
Illinois Country
The Illinois Country , also known as Upper Louisiana, was a region in what is now the Midwestern United States that was explored and settled by the French during the 17th and 18th centuries. The terms referred to the entire Upper Mississippi River watershed, though settlement was concentrated in...
.
When France lost the Northwest Territory to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in 1763, Jesuit priests were expelled. Catholic communities had to rely on local laity
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
to lead their congregations. Fr. Gibault arrived in Kaskaskia
Kaskaskia
The Kaskaskia were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation or Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in the Great Lakes region...
on 8 September 1768, where he served Catholics of French and Indian ethnicity, as well as members of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment
Royal Irish Regiment (1684-1922)
The Royal Irish Regiment, until 1881 the 18th Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1684. Also known as the 18th Regiment of Foot and the 18th Regiment of Foot, it was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, its home depot in...
who were stationed there. He first arrived in Vincennes in 1769, where a crowd greeted him with cries of "Save us, Father; we are nearly in Hell!"
Father Gibault oversaw a circuit of parishes, including Vincennes
Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 18,701 at the 2000 census...
, Kaskaskia
Kaskaskia
The Kaskaskia were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation or Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in the Great Lakes region...
, Ste Genevieve
Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
Ste. Genevieve is a city in and the county seat of Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,654 at the 2000 census...
, and Cahokia
Cahokia
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the area of an ancient indigenous city located in the American Bottom floodplain, between East Saint Louis and Collinsville in south-western Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The site included 120 human-built earthwork mounds...
. He also visited settlements as far as Ouiatenon
Ouiatenon
Ouiatenon is a name that refers to a dwelling place of members of the Wea tribe of Native Americans. The name Ouiatenon, also variously given as Ouiatanon, Oujatanon, Ouiatano or other similar forms, is a French rendering of a term from the Wea dialect of the Miami-Illinois language which means...
, Peoria
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
, and St. Joseph
St. Joseph, Michigan
St. Joseph is a city in the US state of Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,789. It lies on the shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, about east-northeast of Chicago. It is the county...
. The territory was still considered dangerous frontier, and Gibault carried a gun and two pistols.
The Patriot Priest
Father Gibault was in Kaskaskia in 1778 when George Rogers ClarkGeorge Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark was a soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky militia throughout much of the war...
arrived. According to Clark, Fr. Gibault stated that he supported the Americans, but was concerned for his Catholic congregation. Clark assured him that by the laws of Virginia, they would be free to worship as they wished. Clark also informed Gibault of the newly signed treaty
Treaty of Alliance (1778)
The Treaty of Alliance, also called The Treaty of Alliance with France, was a defensive alliance between France and the United States of America, formed in the midst of the American Revolutionary War, which promised military support in case of attack by British forces indefinitely into the future...
between the United States and France.
Gibault convinced the French residents under his care to support the Americans. He further convinced the residents to recognize American continental paper money. Gibault often exchanged Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
milled dollars for an equal amount of continental promissary notes, and by 1783 estimated that this cost him 7,800 livres
French livre
The livre was the currency of France until 1795. Several different livres existed, some concurrently. The livre was the name of both units of account and coins.-Etymology:...
. Father Gibault, together with Spanish trader Francis Vigo
Francis Vigo
Francis Vigo was an Italian-American who aided the American forces during the Revolutionary War and helped found a public university in Vincennes, Indiana, USA....
, are considered to have funded most of the Illinois campaign.
George Rogers Clark Flag
The George Rogers Clark Flag is a red and green striped banner in the model of American Flags commonly associated with George Rogers Clark, although Colonel Clark did not campaign under these colors...
at the abandoned Fort Sackville, wrapping the British flag around a stone and discarding it into the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
. Gibault returned to Kaskaskia and reported the news to Clark.
When Lt-Governor Henry Hamilton retook Fort Sackville and Captain Leonard Helm
Leonard Helm
Leonard Helm was an early pioneer of Kentucky, and a Virginia officer during the American Revolutionary War. Born around 1720 probably in Fauquier County, Virginia, he died in poverty while fighting Native American allies of British troops during one of the last engagements of the Revolutionary...
, Gibault found himself confined to Vincennes. Hamilton then captured Francis Vigo, a Spanish citizen and therefore a non-combatant. Father Gibault conducted Sunday mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
, then led his entire congregation to Fort Sackville, where he informed Hamilton that all supplies would be denied to the garrison until Vigo was released. Vigo was released, and informed Clark of the capture of Vincennes. Gibault soon returned to Kaskaskia, and blessed a force of French and Virginians led by Clark to re-capture Vincennes in February 1779.
For his services to the Americans, Gibault was viewed disfavorably by his fellow clergy, who had remained loyal to the British government. Father Gibault actually requested a move to Quebec in 1788, but was denied by the Bishop due to a disadvantageous opinion that the government had formed of him.
In a letter from Cahokia dated 1 May 1790, Father Gibault detailed his services and the debts owed him to Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office...
. He asked, as a "concession," that the United States would legally grant some land in Kaskaskia- which had traditionally been used by priests- to him and his successors. The request was forwarded on and granted by President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, but the newly appointed American Bishop objected.
Without land or compensation, Father Gibault moved to New Madrid
New Madrid, Missouri
New Madrid is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri, 42 miles south by west of Cairo, Illinois, on the Mississippi River. New Madrid was founded in 1788 by American frontiersmen. In 1900, 1,489 people lived in New Madrid, Missouri; in 1910, the population was 1,882. The population was 3,334 at...
and became a Spanish citizen in 1793, pastoring the parish of Saint-Isidore until his death on16 August 1802. His body was sent to Canada, but his grave is unmarked.
Namesakes
- USS Pierre Gibault is named for Father Gibault.
- Gibault Catholic High SchoolGibault Catholic High SchoolGibault Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Waterloo, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville. The school is named in honor of Father Pierre Gibault.-Background:...
in Waterloo, IllinoisWaterloo, IllinoisWaterloo is a city in Monroe County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,614 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Monroe County.-Geography:Waterloo is located at ....
is named for Father Gibault.
- Gibault, Inc., dba Gibault Children's Services, based in Terre Haute, IndianaTerre Haute, IndianaTerre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
is also named for Father Pierre Gibault and was founded in 1921 by the Indiana Knights of Columbus.
External links
- "Pierre Gibault", entry from the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1909
- National Park Service
- "Father Gibault: The Patriot Priest of the Northwest", address by J. P. Dunn, 1905
- George Rogers Clark's memoir