John J. Chanche

Chanche was born October 4, 1795, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was born to well-to-do parents, John and Catherine Provost Chanche, who had fled to Baltimore from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti), where his father had been a merchant, during the Haitian Revolution. He was christened the following August by Rev. William Dubourg. In 1806, Chanche entered St. Mary's Seminary, which was run by the Sulpicians, not far from his home. He received "first tonsure" from Archbishop John Carroll.

Chanche began his theological studies in 1814, and received minor orders from Archbishop Leonard Neale. He joined the Sulpicians and was ordained a priest on June 5, 1819 by Archbishop Maréchal. He was then appointed a professor at the school. In 1833, he was chosen as Master of Ceremonies for the Second Provincial Council of Baltimore, a major step by the bishops of the nation in organizing its structure. Chanche was named Vice President of the seminary, and in 1834 succeeded Samuel Eccleston, S.S., as its President.[1]

Chanche was offered the post of coadjutor first to the Archbishop of Baltimore and then to the Bishop of Boston successively, but declined both. He was still President of St. Mary's when he was appointed Bishop of Natchez in 1840.[1]

Styles of John Joseph Chanche, S.S.
Reference style	The Right Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	His Excellency
Posthumous style	none

The Diocese of Natchez was created on July 28, 1837, and although it encompassed the entire state of Mississippi, a large geographic region, nearly three years passed before Chanche was appointed as its first bishop on December 15, 1840.

Chanche was consecrated March 14, 1841 by Archbishop Eccleston at the Baltimore Basilica, assisted by bishops Benedict Joseph Fenwick of Boston and John Hughes of New York. Arriving at Natchez in May 1841,[3] he met there the only priest in the state, Father Brogard, who was only there temporarily. Brogard conducted services in the Mechanics' Hall. Taking up the role of a simple missionary, Bishop Chanche began to collect the Catholics and organize a diocese. Chanche set to work building a diocesan infrastructure.[4]

In 1842 Bishop Chanche laid the cornerstone of St. Mary Cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. In 1847 he asked the Sisters of Charity of Emmitsburg to come to Natchez, where they established Saint Mary's Orphanage.[5]

At the First Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1852, Chanche served the role of "chief promoter."

He died shortly after the sessions of the Council, at Frederick, Maryland, presumably of cholera,[2] leaving his diocese with 11 priests, 11 churches erected, and 13 attendant missions. He was buried in the Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore.[4]

In 2007 the body of Bishop Chanche was exhumed and returned Natchez to be reinterred in a special garden near the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the grounds of the original cathedral of his diocese at Natchez, now the Basilica of St. Mary.[6]

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson (Mississippi) has established the Bishop John Joseph Chanche Award for service. "The Chanche medals, named for the first bishop of the diocese, honor those who give of themselves to their parish or faith community. The awards are presented on the weekend closest to the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, the patronal feast for the Diocese of Jackson."[7]

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Natchez". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

• Bishop John Joseph Chanche, S.S.
• Photographs of a painting of Bishop Chanche
• St. Mary Basilica Natchez, Mississippi