Antonio de Sedella, OFM Cap. (born Francisco Ildefonso Mareno; 1748 – 19 January 1829) was a Spanish Capuchin friar who served as the leading religious authority of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Commonly called "Père Antoine", he is a noted figure in the culture of the city. A street and a restaurant in the city's historic

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the (; ; ), is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans () was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a ...

are named for him.

Life

He was born ''Francisco Ildefonso Mareno'' in the town of Sedella located in the

Province of Málaga The province of Málaga ( ) is located in Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and by the provinces of Cádiz to the west, Seville to the northwest, Córdoba to the north, and Granada to the east. The province ...

and, as a teenager, entered the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

by which he was given the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

''Antonio''. Presumably a short time after his

ordination 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 ...

as a priest, he arrived in New Orleans in 1774 as an official of the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...

after the transfer of the colony of Louisiana to Spain by France a decade earlier. Named

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of the Church of St. Louis in the city, after gaining a reputation for rigidity in his early dealings with the people of New Orleans, he later became known to them for his dedication to the prisoners of the city, as well as to its large slave population. He baptized the famous

Marie Laveau Marie Catherine Laveau (September 10, 1801 – June 15, 1881)''Marie Laveau The Mysterious Voodoo Queen: A Study of Powerful Female Leadership in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans'' by Ina Johanna Fandrich was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of ...

(1801–1881), who later gained a large following as a voodoo priestess, and presided over her wedding in 1819. In his depiction of Friar Antonio in the novel ''Père Antoine'' (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1956), the writer Edward F. Murphy portrayed him as a rigid ideologue, who was responsible for the destruction of the city due to his refusal to allow the church bells to ring in warning, out of the religious prohibition of this on

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

, which was observed that year on the day the fire occurred. With the establishment of a diocese by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

for the colony in 1793, the new church was designated as its cathedral, and Friar Antonio was appointed as its rector by the

Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

. After the sale of the colony to the United States in 1803, the

appointed the Rev. Louis Dobourg, SS, as the

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the diocese. Sedella did not fully accept his authority until Dubourg traveled to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and word was sent in support of his decisions to

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

John Carroll, the leading authority of the Catholic Church in the country. Friar Antonio continued as Rector of the cathedral until his death on 19 January 1829. He was buried in the church three days later.

External links

Two sharply differing assessments of the man:
"Pere Antoine, Supreme Officer of the Holy Inquisition of Cartagena, in Louisiana" (Catholic Historical Review, 8:59-63)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sedella, Antonio de 1748 births 1829 deaths People from the Province of Málaga Capuchins 18th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests 19th-century American Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans People from New Spain Burials at St. Louis Cathedral (New Orleans) Religious leaders from Louisiana