Background
Père Antoine was born on November 8, 1748 in Sedella, Granada, Spain, the son of Pedro Moreno and Ana of Arze, and was baptized by the name of Francisco Ildefonse Mareno.
Père Antoine was born on November 8, 1748 in Sedella, Granada, Spain, the son of Pedro Moreno and Ana of Arze, and was baptized by the name of Francisco Ildefonse Mareno.
He was made Priest by the Bishop of Guadix in the convent of the Capuchins of Granada, December 21, 1771 came to the Mission of Louisiana in the year 1780 was Auxiliary Vicar 1787 was also instituted Curé of the Parish of St. Louis of New Orleans November 25, 1785.
As early as 1787 Gov. Miro suspected Père Antoine of a design to establish the Inquisition in Louisiana, a measure likely to arouse the hostility of the French inhabitants of the province and to interfere with further immigration. Friction had also developed between Père Antoine and Bishop Cyril and by 1790 had reached such a point that the latter requested him to return to his monastery in Spain.
Gov. Miro gladly agreed to supply the necessary sailing facilities and on April 28, 1790 notified the friar that the arrangements for his departure were completed. Antoine now refused to leave and not only produced a royal order of the previous December appointing him Supreme Officer of the Holy Inquisition of Cartagena in Louisiana, but demanded that the Governor should make ready immediately to furnish him with troops "at any hour of the night" to carry this order into effect.
He repeated this demand in even more peremptory terms the following day. With matters thus brought to a crisis, it was decided that the friar be returned at once to Spain for "canonical reasons. "
After his return to Spain, Père Antoine disappears from view for five years, but in August 1795 he reappears, bearing the new title of Honorary Preacher to His Majesty and reinstated in his parish in New Orleans by order of the King. During the confusion attendant upon the rapid transfer of Louisiana first to France and then to the United States, Antoine was frequently accused of political and ecclesiastical intrigues.
The accusations were believed by Archbishop Carroll of Maryland, who was in ultimate charge of the area of New Orleans, by Secretary of State Madison, and, apparently by Gov. Claiborne. At this distance it is impossible fully to determine the actual facts. Carroll's jurisdiction over New Orleans, although later confirmed, was at this time still doubtful, and the legality of his appointments may have been sincerely questioned by Antoine. The friar was evidently a high-spirited man, indisposed to avoid enmity.
He seems to have regarded the welfare of his own parish as more important than harmony with his fellow ecclesiastics. In 1805 a dispute arose between him and the Rev. Patrick Walsh, Vicar-General of Louisiana, who suspended the friar from his offices and appointed the Convent of the Ursuline Nuns as the only place in the parish where the sacraments could be administered. Antoine defied Walsh's authority, and claimed that the church was the property of the citizens of New Orleans; and the Catholics of the city held a meeting which elected a body of wardens who in turn chose Père Antoine as their parish priest.
Antoine further appealed to the Spanish King, who once more supported his claim. After Walsh's death his successors continued the assault on the friar, but Antoine maintained his position successfully.
From 1813 to 1816 he acted as a secret political agent for the Spanish government, communicating to its war department news of various filibustering conspiracies against Mexico. If in his political and ecclesiastical activities Antoine was unnecessarily assertive, the record of his relations with his parishioners shows entire devotion and unselfishness. When in 1819, with his position definitely established, he was offered the bishopric of New Orleans by Du Bourg, he modestly declined on the score of age and incapacity.
He continued to live a life of poverty in a little wooden hut in the rear of the church.
His funeral in 1829 was more of a triumph than a funeral. Both houses of the legislature, in accordance with the public sentiment, adjourned for the day and assisted at the interment. The courts likewise suspended their sessions, and the judges joined in the procession. The members of the City Council did likewise and wore crape for thirty days. The Masons of all lodges were asked to walk in the procession, and a special notice was given to the members of the Lodge L'Étoile Polaire to take part. The date-palm tree that overshadowed the hut in which Antoine lived and died, became, in memory of the friar, a famous landmark in New Orleans. The centenary of the appointment of Antoine as Pastor of New Orleans, November 29, 1885, was solemnly celebrated at the Cathedral, and a book, Centenaire du P. Antoine, was published to commemorate the event.
Quotes from others about the person
John G. Shea: "He wasthe scourge of religion in Louisiana. "
C. W. Bispham: " He did more for New Orleans, morally and spiritually, than any other known person. "
Antoine never married.