Augustin Ravoux (January 11, 1815 – January 17, 1906) was a French priest and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

who served in the area preceding

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by an archbishop who administers the archdiocese from the cities of Minneapolis–S ...

, in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Biography

Ravoux was born in

Langeac Langeac (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. It is located about 30 km west of Le Puy-en-Velay, and about 100 km southwest of Lyon. Population Monuments * Church of Saint-Gal See also * Commun ...

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

, France. He left his hometown for the

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

in nearby

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, ; , before 1988: ''Le Puy'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Loire Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of south-central France. Located near the rive ...

, and was inducted into the clergy via

clerical tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

on May 20, 1835. He received his

minor orders In Christianity, minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders—priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders— acolyt ...

nearly a year later on 28 May 1836, and became a

subdeacon Subdeacon is a minor orders, minor order of ministry for men or women in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed below the deacon and above the acolyte in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

a year after that on 20 May 1837. While a subdeacon at the ''Grand séminaire'' in Le Puy-en-Velay, Ravoux was recruited by Bishop

Mathias Loras Pierre-Jean-Mathias Loras (August 30, 1792 – February 19, 1858) was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic priest in the United States who served as the first Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque, Bishop of Dubuque, in what would become ...

, along with

Vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

Joseph Crétin Joseph Crétin (December 19, 1799 – February 22, 1857) was an American Catholic prelate who was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Cretin Avenue in St. Paul, Cretin-Derham Hall High School, and Cretin Hall at the Univer ...

, Reverend Pelamourgues, and fellow subdeacons Lucien Galtier, Remigius Petiot, and James Causse, to work as

Jesuit missionaries The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

out of the newly established

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. The Diocese of Dubuque was erected in 1837 and ...

. The group departed

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

on August 27, 1837, aboard the American

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Ol ...

''Lion'' until their arrival in

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

forty-four days later. Ravoux started learning the English language while ''en route'' and then formally afterwards at Mount St. Mary's University in

Emmitsburg, Maryland Emmitsburg is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States, south of the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania. Founded in 1785, Emmitsburg is the home of Mount St. Mary's University. The town has two Catholic pilgrim ...

. Traveled to

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

, where he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

along with Galtier on January 5, 1840. Although recruited to act as a missionary to the Dakota, Ravoux began his career in the Americas at St. Gabriel's Parish in

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien ( ) is a city in Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Often called Wisconsin's second-oldest city, Prairie du Chien was established as a European settlemen ...

, serving as its first regular pastor. It was at St. Gabriel's where Ravoux

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

his first Native American, in March 1840. He left Prairie du Chien to serve as a missionary in the

Minnesota Territory The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Minnesota and the w ...

in September 1841. Upon arrival in the Minnesota Territory, Ravoux spent a few days with Galtier in Mendota before then setting out on his travels. He reached Traverse des Sioux after four days where he began his study of the

Dakota language The Dakota language ( or ), also referred to as Dakhóta, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, commonly known in English as the Sioux. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lak ...

with Louis Provencal, a Frenchman who had been trading in the area for forty-five years. After a brief stop at Little Rock, Ravoux traveled to Lac qui Parle in January 1842. Early that spring, he returned to Mendota for the summer. Jean-Baptiste Faribault, a prolific and influential

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

trader with an established trading post in Little Prairie (present day Chaska), was an ardent proselytizer and invited Ravoux to his post to continue his linguistic studies. In 1843, Ravoux journeyed to Dubuque for encouragement from Loras and then to Prairie du Chien for a few months. There he authored the ''Wakantanka ti ki Chanku'' (The Path to the House of God), a

prayer book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

intended to explore the beautiful vocal abilities of the Dakota. The book was printed on a

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

belonging to Crétin, and translated from the French to Dakota by

Alexander Faribault Alexander Faribault (June 22, 1806 – November 28, 1882) was an American trading post operator and territorial legislator who helped to found Faribault, Minnesota, and was its first postmaster. Born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, Prairie ...

(son of Jean-Baptiste Faribault) and his brother Oliver and David. Upon Crétin's death on February 22, 1857, Ravoux was named in ''

sede vacante In the Catholic Church, ''sede vacante'' is the state during which a diocese or archdiocese is without a prelate installed in office, with the prelate's office being the cathedral. The term is used frequently in reference to a papal interre ...

'' the sole administrator of the diocese of the

by Bishop Kenrick of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, a position he served until the installment of Bishop Grace in 1859. Brigadier General

Henry Hastings Sibley Henry Hastings Sibley (February 20, 1811 – February 18, 1891) was a fur trader with the American Fur Company, the first U.S. Congressional representative for Minnesota Territory, the first governor of the state of Minnesota, and a U.S. mi ...

, aware of Ravoux's favorable reputation among the Dakota, recommended him to

baptize Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

the Dakota involved in the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

. Of the thirty-eight that were hung on December 26, 1862, Ravoux personally baptized 33. When Chief Shakopee and Medicine Bottle were captured in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Ravoux baptized them and administered their

Last Rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...

, accompanying them up until their final moments on November 11, 1865. Grave of Father Augustine Ravoux

The final fifteen years of his life he spent incapacitated at St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died at the age of 91 on January 17, 1906. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery. Upon his death he had been a

for the diocese for 42 years, and a prelate in the Roman Catholic Church for 19 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravoux, Augustin History of Saint Paul, Minnesota Pre-statehood history of Minnesota French Roman Catholic missionaries 20th-century French Jesuits People from Haute-Loire 1906 deaths 1815 births 19th-century French Jesuits Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States French expatriates in the United States Jesuit missionaries