Founders Of New Religious Movements Codexery

Pierre-Jean De Smet

Flemish Jesuit missionary who traveled 180,000 miles among Native peoples.

Last updated

The Sioux leader Sitting Bull was convinced by De Smet to take part in talks with U.S. officials that resulted in the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, earning the missionary the label "Friend of Sitting Bull".[1] Indigenous people called De Smet "De Grote Zwartrok," which translates to "The Great Black Skirt".[1]

Key facts and history

He began his novitiate at White Marsh, Maryland, and was transferred to Florissant, Missouri in 1823.[2][3] In 1821, De Smet traveled to the United States alongside eleven fellow Belgian Jesuits.[2] When De Smet moved to Florissant in 1823, he was accompanied by six enslaved African Americans.[3][4] 23 September 1827 was the date of De Smet's ordination as a priest.[3]

St. Joseph's Mission, located in Potawatomi territory near what is now Council Bluffs, Iowa, was co-founded by De Smet during 1838 and 1839.[2] The upper Missouri River valley system was mapped in detail for the first time by De Smet.[5] In 1841, De Smet established St. Mary's Mission in the Bitterroot Valley.[6] Eight voyages back to Europe were undertaken by De Smet to gather financial support for his missionary work.[7]

What the cited sources add

The same source states De Smet was plagued by a skin infection and visited Belgium for his health from 1833 to 1837.[8] The Catholic Encyclopedia records that De Smet was among the founders of the Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus.[9] The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that General Stanley stated De Smet alone could penetrate the Sioux camps and return safely.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Pierre-Jean De Smet" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Deze Vlaamse pater zat nog met Chief Sitting Bull aan tafel" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Pierre-Jean De Smet" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fanning, William. "Pierre-Jean De Smet." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 21 June 2019 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Pierre-Jean De Smet" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Literary St. Louis", Associates of St. Louis University Libraries, Inc. and Landmarks Association of St. Louis, Inc., 1969; "Descendants of people enslaved by Jesuits in Missouri want to be heard again", Descendants of the St. Louis University Enslaved, 2024-02-08 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. "Descendants of people enslaved by Jesuits in Missouri want to be heard again", Descendants of the St. Louis University Enslaved, 2024-02-08. facts only, no text reused. dslue.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Pierre-Jean De Smet" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Whittaker (2008): "Pierre-Jean De Smet’s Remarkable Map of the Missouri River Valley, 1839: What Did He See in Iowa?", Journal of the Iowa Archeological Society; Mullen, Frank. (1925) "Father De Smet and the Pottawattamie Indian Mission", Iowa Journal of History and Politics 23:192-216. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Pierre-Jean De Smet" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Baumler, "A Cross in the Wilderness: St. Mary's Mission Celebrates 175 Years", Montana The Magazine of Western History, Spring 2016, p. 19–21 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Pierre-Jean De Smet" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chittenden, 1905, Vol. II, p. 62 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Davis, ""De Smet, Pierre-Jean". facts only, no text reused. biographi.ca
  9. Fanning, William. "Pierre-Jean De Smet." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 21 June 2019. facts only, no text reused. newadvent.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Pierre-Jean De Smet (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Founders Of New Religious Movements

Sathya Sai BabaShri RamakrishnaSri AurobindoSwami VivekanandaTeresa of AvilaThomas MertonZhu XiL. Ron HubbardJoseph SmithMary Baker EddyCharles Taze RussellMarshall Applewhite

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →