The Right Rev. Joseph Rosati, C.M. |
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First Bishop of Saint Louis | |
Native name | Giuseppe Rosati |
See | Saint Louis |
Appointed | 20 March 1827 |
Term ended | 25 September 1843 |
Other posts |
Titular Bishop of Tanagra, Greece (13 February 1822-19 March 1827) Vicar Apostolic of Mississippi and Alabama (13 August 1822-13 July 1823) Coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas (14 July 1823-17 July 1826) Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of New Orleans (18 July 1826-4 August 1829) Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of St. Louis (18 July 1826-19 March 1827) |
Orders | |
Ordination | 10 February 1811 |
Consecration | 25 March 1824 by Bishop Louis Dubourg, S.S. |
Personal details | |
Born | 12 January 1789 Sora, Campania, Kingdom of Naples |
Died |
25 September 1843 (aged 54) Montecitorio, Rome |
Buried | Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
Nationality | Kingdom of the Two Sicilies |
Denomination | Catholic Church |
Joseph Rosati, C.M., was an (Italian-born) Catholic missionary in the United States who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Saint Louis between 1826 and 1843.
Rosati was born in the town of Sora, then in the region of Campania, part of the Kingdom of Naples. He completed his education in 1807 and entered the Congregation of the Mission, commonly called the Vincentian Fathers, in 1808. He was ordained a priest in 1811.
The Apostolic Administrator of Louisiana and the Two Floridas, Louis Dubourg, S.S., had gone to Rome for his consecration as a bishop. During his time in Europe, he traveled around, seeking personnel to help carry out his mission on the American frontier. One recruit he made was another Vincentian priest, Felix de Andreis, C.M., a friend of Rosati. He, in turn, recruited his friend to accompany him to the New World.
In 1816 Dubourg paid their passage to America and they sailed to in Baltimore, Maryland, then traveled by flatboat to Bardstown, Kentucky, where they were welcomed by the local bishop, Benedict Joseph Flaget. The two Italians taught theology at St. Thomas Seminary there, while they perfected their knowledge of the English language and adapted to life on the new continent. Dubourg himself returned to the United States on 4 September 1817, accompanied by a large group of priests and religious Order members, also landing in Baltimore. From there he sent a request to Flaget that he accompany the two Vincentian priests to St. Louis to prepare the groups' arrival.