Ferdinand Brossart
Encyclopedia
Ferdinand Brossart was a German American
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He was born in the Diocese of Speyer, and served from 1915 to 1923 as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Covington
.
. Today it is a part of the city Woerth am Rhein and belongs to the new German State of Rheinland-Pfalz. His parents Ferdinand Brossart and Catharina née Diesel were simple farmers. They emigrated to America when Ferdinand was two years old. First they landed in New Orleans, but moved very quick from here, for the outbreak of yellow-fever. Then they settled down in Cincinnati. The Brossarts moved across the river to southern Campbell County, in 1861. Choosing to become a priest, Ferdinand Brossart studied at Mount Saint Mary Seminary
in Cincinnati, Ohio
and the American College at Louvain, Belgium. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Covington by Bishop Toebbe on September 1, 1872. Father Brossart became popular when Lexington suffered a smallpox
epidemic, sacrificing his health to administer to the sick and dying. The priest was appointed Vicar General in 1888, along with being assigned as rector of the old cathedral. His 25th. ordination-jubilee he celebrated on a pilgrimage in Lourdes
France. After Bishop Maes' death, Father Brossart was picked by Pope Benedict XV
in November 1915. Brossart is the only diocesan priest from Covington to have been chosen as bishop.
. Bishop Brossart served a long term, resigning on March 14, 1923, due to ill health. Brossart retired to St. Anne Convent
in Melbourne, Kentucky, where he died on August 6, 1930. The bishop is the namesake of Bishop Brossart High School in Alexandria.
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He was born in the Diocese of Speyer, and served from 1915 to 1923 as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Covington
Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington is a Roman Catholic diocese in Northern Kentucky, covering that includes the city of Covington and the following Kentucky counties: Boone, Kenton, Campbell, Gallatin, Carroll, Grant, Owen, Pendleton, Harrison, Bracken, Robertson, Mason, Fleming, and Lewis. ...
.
Early life
Ferdinand Brossart was born on October 19, 1849 in the village Buechelberg, Rhenish Palatinate, in that time belonging to the German Kingdom of BavariaKingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
. Today it is a part of the city Woerth am Rhein and belongs to the new German State of Rheinland-Pfalz. His parents Ferdinand Brossart and Catharina née Diesel were simple farmers. They emigrated to America when Ferdinand was two years old. First they landed in New Orleans, but moved very quick from here, for the outbreak of yellow-fever. Then they settled down in Cincinnati. The Brossarts moved across the river to southern Campbell County, in 1861. Choosing to become a priest, Ferdinand Brossart studied at Mount Saint Mary Seminary
Athenaeum of Ohio
The Athenaeum of Ohio – Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West, originally St. Francis Xavier Seminary, is the third-oldest Roman Catholic seminary in the United States and is currently located at 6616 Beechmont Avenue in the Cincinnati, Ohio neighborhood of Mt. Washington, in the former Saint...
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
and the American College at Louvain, Belgium. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Covington by Bishop Toebbe on September 1, 1872. Father Brossart became popular when Lexington suffered a smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic, sacrificing his health to administer to the sick and dying. The priest was appointed Vicar General in 1888, along with being assigned as rector of the old cathedral. His 25th. ordination-jubilee he celebrated on a pilgrimage in Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
France. After Bishop Maes' death, Father Brossart was picked by Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV , born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, reigned as Pope from 3 September 1914 to 22 January 1922...
in November 1915. Brossart is the only diocesan priest from Covington to have been chosen as bishop.
Bishop of Covington
Brossart was consecrated the fourth bishop of Covington by Archbishop Henry Moeller of Cincinnati on January 25, 1916. Bishop Brossart was responsible for placing the finishing touches on the current cathedral, though it is still unfinished to this day. During the First World War he had to suffer public attacks because he was a born German. He declared himself as a supporter of the American positions and developed a pronounced patriotic activity. In that frame he pushed also back the different emigration languages in his diocese (including his own motherlanguage) and allowed only Latin and English as the official prayer-languages. The prelate translated different German theological books into English, among them works of the famous monk Henry DenifleHenry Denifle
Henry Denifle, in German Heinrich Seuse Denifle , was an Austrian paleographer and historian.-Life and work:...
. Bishop Brossart served a long term, resigning on March 14, 1923, due to ill health. Brossart retired to St. Anne Convent
St. Anne Convent
St. Anne Convent is the home of the American Province of the Congregation of Divine Providence, a community of Roman Catholic Sisters. The convent houses the provincial offices of the congregation, the residences of two local communities, as well as Moye Spiritual Life Center. The convent is...
in Melbourne, Kentucky, where he died on August 6, 1930. The bishop is the namesake of Bishop Brossart High School in Alexandria.