Journal of Undergraduate Research
Keywords
Bishop of Boston, archives, religious tolerance
College
Family, Home, and Social Sciences
Department
History
Abstract
French and American historians have been writing about Bishop Jean Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus for almost a century. However, when I discovered this man, I noticed that an element of his life remained in the shadows—how he united the Catholic and Protestant communities. He was a Catholic Bishop in Boston where Anti-Catholic sentiment was at its height among the Protestants. When he built the first Catholic Cathedral in Boston, it was largely funded by prominent Protestants, among whom was President John Adams. His three decades in Boston came to an end when he was requested by King Louis XIV to be the first Bishop in Montauban, France after the revolution. Huguenots had been in control of several regions during the revolution, but with the return of the monarchy, came the reestablishment of Catholicism. This was a crucial time for the Huguenots and Catholics to find common ground, which is why the King imported Bishop Cheverus.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Marie and Ryskamp, Dr. George
(2018)
"The Bishop of Boston: What the Archives Have to Say About a Hero of Religious Tolerance,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2018:
Iss.
1, Article 51.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2018/iss1/51