JOSEPH and CHARLES DE LA CROIX: The heroism of two brothers

By Alfred de Riemaecker

This book holds a missionary story come full circle. It tells the story of the heroism of two brothers from Belgium, their tragic adventures, their virtues and their devotion to the Church. These memoirs of Charles De La Croix (1792 - 1869), a Flemish missionary to the U.S., were recorded in French in 1894 by a cousin, Alfred de Riemaecker. In 1994, another cousin, Albert J. D'Huyvetter (1915 - 1997), also a Flemish missionary to the U.S., recorded this English rendition of the memoirs of Charles De La Croix. A story of faith, it relates the lives of two De La Croix brothers. Joseph (1786 - 1813), a seminarian who resisted the schismatic bishop appointed by Napoleon, was forced into military service and died imprisoned in the Citadel of Wezel, Belgium. The younger brother Charles was also conscripted as a seminarian resistor. Later, after resuming his studies, Charles volunteered to come from Belgium to the United States as a missionary to Kentucky with Fr. Nerinckx. However, newly ordained in 1817, Charles came instead with Bishop du Bourg, Bishop of Louisiana and the Floridas. On arrival at St. Mary of the Barrens, Perry County, Missouri, at the direction of Bishop Du Bourg, Charles was the architect responsible for initiating construction of St. Mary Seminary there. Then in 1818, transferred to St. Ferdinand in Florissant, Missouri, Charles, as pastor, sought out and served local Catholic families. Here he was also director of the newly arrived Religious of the Sacred Heart, among whom was Philippine Duchesne. Besides these duties, Charles served as itinerant missionary to the Osage Indians of Plains of Missouri, and was honored to meet with Chiefs of the Osage Nation. Charles had occasion to work closely with the Lazarists (Vincentians) and early Belgian Jesuits. In 1823 Charles was named pastor of St. Michael Parish in Lower Louisiana. With poor health, in 1834 Charles made his final return to Belgium where he served many years, before his death in 1869. These memoirs of Charles De La Croix reflect and witness the spirit and history of the Church in Belgium and in the U. S. in the early 19th century.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1533060681
• ISBN13: 9781533060686
• Release Date: August 2016
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 116 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.3" x 8.0"