Peter Joseph Lavialle (July 15, 1819 – May 11, 1867) was a French-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Louisville from 1865 until his death in 1867.
The Right Reverend Peter Joseph Lavialle | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Louisville | |
 | |
| Church | Catholic |
| Diocese | Louisville |
| Appointed | 7 July 1865 |
| Predecessor | Benedict Joseph Flaget, P.S.S. |
| Successor | William George McCloskey |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | February 2, 1844 by Guy Ignatius Chabrat |
| Consecration | September 24, 1865 by John Baptist Purcell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 15, 1819 |
| Died | May 11, 1867 (aged 47) Nazareth, Kentucky, United States |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
Biography
editLavialle was born in Le Vigean, near Mauriac, Cantal, to Guillaume and Marie Jeanne (née Faure) Lavialle.[1][2] He studied theology under the Sulpician Fathers.[3] In 1842 he accepted an invitation from his relative, Bishop Guy Ignatius Chabrat, to join the Diocese of Louisville, Kentucky.[4] Following his arrival in the United States, Lavialle continued his studies at the diocesan seminary and was ordained to the priesthood on February 2, 1844.[5] He then served as a curate at the cathedral until 1849, when he became professor of theology at St. Thomas Seminary.[4] In 1856 he was named president of St. Mary's College.[4] He was appointed to succeed Antoine Blanc as Archbishop of New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1860, but he refused the honor.[3]
On July 7, 1865, Lavialle was appointed Bishop of Louisville by Pope Pius IX.[5] He received his episcopal consecration on the following September 24 from Archbishop John Baptist Purcell, with Bishops Jacques-Maurice De Saint Palais and John McGill serving as co-consecrators.[5] During his short tenure, he conducted diocesan visitations, invited the Dominican Fathers and founded a convent for them, erected four churches in the episcopal see of Louisville alone.[3] He attended the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore in October 1866.[4]
Exhausted from his labors, Lavialle retired to St. Joseph's Infirmary and next to Nazareth, near Bardstown, where he later died at age 46.[3] He was buried in the crypt of the Cathedral of the Assumption.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Cantal Archives". Filae.com.(registration required)
- ^ The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Vol. VI. Boston: The Biographical Society. 1904.
- ^ a b c d Clarke, Richard Henry (1872). "Right Rev. Peter Joseph Lavialle, D.D.". Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States. Vol. II. New York: P. O'Shea. pp. 586–592. Retrieved May 4, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c d "Louisville". Catholic Encyclopedia.
- ^ a b c "Bishop Peter Joseph Lavialle". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
- ^ Undercroft/Chapel of Bishops, Cathedral of the Assumption, Louisville, Kentucky