Abstract
Louis William Valentine Dubourg, a priest of the Society of Saint Sulpice, invited the Vincentians to establish a seminary for his diocese of Louisiana. Part of his fundraising efforts to support these and other works was this booklet, The Notice sur l’état actuel de la Mission de la Louisiane (Notice Concerning the Current State of the Mission of Louisiana). Printed in 1820, it circulated widely in Europe and was corrected, updated, and reprinted twice in 1822. Transcriptions given here illuminate differences between the editions. The booklet’s author is anonymous but is probably Charles de la Croix, the bishop’s secretary. The text, a narrative interspersed with passages from Dubourg’s letters, describes the bishop’s journey to Louisiana, the condition of his diocese, and the new mission’s construction. Other themes include North America’s evangelization and civilization, particularly of Indigenous peoples, illustrated with a woefully incorrect account of a Seneca chief’s acceptance of Christianity. The corruption of civilization is also explored. Another theme is that Protestants are good and could be successfully converted more easily in the United States than anywhere else. Finally, the author explains “the perceived importance of St. Louis as a center of commerce and Catholicism.”