The Diplomatic Missions of Bishop Joseph Rosati, C.M.

When the wars of independence swept over Central and South America in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, they left in their wake a great deal of confusion in both the political and religious spheres. The situation was particularly difficult for the Catholic Church. Spain refused to recognize the independence of the new states and tried to persuade other powers, including the Holy See, to do the same. Unfortunately for the Vatican, the Spanish crown included the appointment of bishops within its definition of recognition. The popes and their advisors attempted to avoid open confrontation by appointing vicars apostolic. This move was resisted by the newly independent states, which felt that they were being reduced to the status of mission lands.

An additional problem was posed by the various powers of patronage that had flourished prior to the national period. Known as the patronato in Spanish-speaking countries, where this patronage was most extensive and deeply entrenched, it consisted of powers over ecclesiastical administration that had been granted to or usurped by the various European powers over the course of centuries.¹ Originally a way of endowing churches, the patronato in Spain came to be a type of religious vicariate. The most important right was that of nominating bishops—it was equivalent in practice to outright appointment—but the overall impact of patronage resulted in the diminution of papal authority throughout Spain and its empire. Even communication with the Holy See was limited. Thus, for example, no papal document could enter Spain or its dependencies without royal approval (pase regio). The Church was a national church in the full sense of the term.

In the course of time two different schools of thought arose concerning the origins of these powers. Papalists and ultramontanists believed that they were delegated by the papacy, were by nature temporary, and hence could be withdrawn whenever the papacy so decided. The opposing school, usually called regalists, believed that the rights of patronage were inherent in the very concept of sovereignty and were an intrinsic part of a ruler's authority. The distinction was far from unimportant. The governments of the newly independent states of Latin America, strongly influenced by regalistic thought, contended that the patronal rights of their former colonial rulers now devolved on them. The papacy, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to escape the suffocating embrace of civil government. This meant in turn that the stage was set for bitter controversies, delicate negotiations, political maneuvering, and a variety of compromises.

In negotiating with two newly independent states, Mexico and Haiti, the Vatican looked to Joseph Rosati, C.M., the first bishop of Saint Louis, to be its representative. In the case of Mexico he was never able to undertake his mission. As for Haiti, he was twice chosen the Vatican's negotiator, though through no fault of his or Rome's, his efforts did not bear immediate fruit. Biographies of Bishop Rosati refer to these missions but rarely in any detail.² This study will tell the story of these missions and attempt to assess their place in the life of a major figure in the history of the American Church.

Joseph Rosati, who like the other Vincentian missionaries in the United States anglicized his first name, was born at Sora in the kingdom of Naples on January 12, 1789. In December, 1804, in response to his conviction that he had a priestly vocation, he entered the local diocesan seminary. Three years later, on June 23, 1807, he entered the internal seminary (equivalent of a novitiate in religious communities) of the Congregation of the Mission, or Vincentian Community, at Sant'Andrea al Quirinale in Rome. Because of unsettled conditions caused by the Napoleonic invasions of Italy, he received a dispensation to pronounce his vows early (April 1, 1808). In the following September he undertook his theological studies at Monte Citorio, the Vincentian...