John Stephen Bazin
John Stephen (Jean Etienne) Bazin was the third Roman Catholic Bishop of Vincennes (now the Archdiocese of Indianapolis). He was born at Duerne, near Lyon, France, on October 15, 1796; died at Vincennes, Indiana on April 23, 1848. He was educated in his native country and ordained in Lyon Cathedral on July 22, 1822.
The Right Reverend John Stephen Bazin | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Vincennes | |
 | |
| Native name | Jean Etienne Bazin |
| See | Roman Catholic Diocese of Vincennes (Indiana) |
| Installed | October 24, 1847 |
| Predecessor | Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière |
| Successor | Jacques-Maurice des Landes d’Aussac De Saint Palais |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | July 22, 1822 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 15, 1796 Duerne, France |
| Died | April 23, 1848 (aged 51) Vincennes, Indiana |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Styles of John Stephen (Jean Etienne) Bazin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | The Right Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
| Posthumous style | none |
In 1830, he emigrated to the United States and began his labours among the Roman Catholics of Mobile, Alabama, where for seventeen years he toiled zealously for the religious instruction of the young, organizing the Sunday schools and establishing the Catholic Orphan Asylum Society. He was also the vicar-general of the diocese.
In 1846 at the request of Bishop Michael Portier, Bazin went to France to secure the services of the Society of Jesus for Spring Hill College of Mobile, Alabama, and of the Brothers of the Christian Schools for the Boys' Orphan Asylum. In both efforts he was successful.
When Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière, Bishop of Vincennes, resigned his see in 1847, Bazin was consecrated his successor on the 24th of October of that year. His episcopal career, which promised to be one of great usefulness to the church, was cut short by his untimely death only seven months later.
Despite his short term as bishop, Bazin was able to heal some of the rifts that had formed in his diocese. He reassured Theodore Guerin that her congregation, the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, could continue despite numerous issues they had had with Bishop de la Hailandière, who had banished Guerin from the diocese and threatened excommunication.[1]
In a letter to another bishop, Jean-Baptiste Bouvierr of Le Mans, Guerin described Bazin as "pious, humble, and of an amiable simplicity."[2]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mathias Loras |
President of Spring Hill College 1832–1836 |
Succeeded by Peter Mauvernay |
| Preceded by Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière |
Bishop of Vincennes 1847–1848 |
Succeeded by Jacques-Maurice des Landes d’Aussac De Saint Palais |
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Stephen Bazin. |
- Abbott, Maureen (2013). New Lights from Old Truths: Living the Signs of the Times. ISBN 9780989739719.
- Guerin, Mother Theodore (1937). Journals and Letters of Mother Theodore Guerin. Providence Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Missing or empty |title= (help)
