Mais, I Sin in French, I Gotta Go to Confession in French
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2009 Mais, I sin in French, I gotta go to confession in French: a study of the language shift from French to English within the Louisiana Catholic Church Emilie Gagnet Leumas Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Leumas, Emilie Gagnet, "Mais, I sin in French, I gotta go to confession in French: a study of the language shift from French to English within the Louisiana Catholic Church" (2009). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3415. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3415 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. MAIS, I SIN IN FRENCH, I GOTTA GO TO CONFESSION IN FRENCH: A STUDY OF THE LANGUAGE SHIFT FROM FRENCH TO ENGLISH WITHIN THE LOUISIANA CATHOLIC CHURCH A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of French Studies by Emilie Gagnet Leumas B.M., Loyola University of the South, 1980 M.Ed., University of New Orleans, 1983 May 2009 In memory of my grandmother Memere Lolly the last native French speaker in my family (August 5, 1908-July 14, 2007) ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a privilege to thank those who have made this dissertation possible. I begin with my advisor, Dr. Sylvie Dubois. I cannot say enough about the importance of her encouragement, advice and support of me and my work. I am grateful to my committee, Dr. Jack Yeager, Dr. Malcolm Richardson, Dr. Rafael Orozco and Dr. Jay Edwards for their willingness to serve and provide guidance when I needed it. My deep thanks go to my colleagues, Dr. Charles Nolan, retired archivist of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and Mr. John J. Treanor, vice-chancellor at the Archdiocese of Chicago, for their years of mentoring and encouraging me in my professional growth. I appreciate your guidance in suggesting where I might find relevant material and always being available to discuss Catholic Church history. I owe much to the archivists who made available the research material at their institutions: Barbara Dejean at the Diocese of Lafayette, Kevin Allemand at the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, and Monte Kniffen at the Provincial Redemptorist Archives in Denver. I am grateful to my former staff at the archives of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Ann Boltin, Renée Richard, Lisa Lewis and Katie Tessier. My deepest love and gratitude go to my family and friends for cheering me on with avid enthusiasm and support. During the writing of this dissertation, you have bestowed on me much love and patience. You have been true champions of my work and filled my life with joy, love and goodness. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT.... ................................................................................................................................ x INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1. THE LOUISIANA CATHOLIC CHURCH COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE .... 8 1.1 Traditional View of the Louisiana Catholic Church ............................................................. 8 1.2. New Approach: The Nineteenth Century Louisiana Catholic Church as a Network of Communities of Practice ................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Hypothesis .......................................................................................................................... 14 1.4 Geographical Boundaries of the Archdiocese, Then and Now ........................................... 14 1.5 Objectives and Archival Materials ..................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LOUISIANA ......................................................................................................... 18 2.1 The History of the Catholic Church in Louisiana ............................................................... 18 2.2 The Demographic Profile of the Louisiana Catholic Population ........................................ 19 CHAPTER 3. LANGUAGE CHANGE WITHIN THE CHURCH PARISHES ......................... 24 3.1 Language Change in Louisiana ........................................................................................... 26 3.2 Sacramental Registers: Description and Selection ............................................................. 27 3.3 Language Switch Over Time in Dioceses and Parishes ..................................................... 30 3.4 Spatial Diffusion of Language Change ............................................................................... 35 CHAPTER 4. LANGUAGE CHANGE WITHIN THE ARCHDIOCESAN ADMINISTRATION ............................................................................................ 44 4.1 The Archdiocesan Administration from 1803 to 1917 ....................................................... 44 4.1.1 Archbishop Francis Janssens (1888-1897) .................................................................. 47 4.1.2 Archbishop Placide-Louis Chapelle (1897-1905) ....................................................... 48 4.1.3 Archbishop James Hubert Blenk (1906-1918) ............................................................ 49 4.2 Language Policies ............................................................................................................... 50 4.3 The Archiepiscopal Council and the Council Minutes ....................................................... 51 4.4 Pastoral Letters to Clergy and Laity ................................................................................... 58 4.5 Observations about Language Shift in the Archdiocesan Administration .......................... 59 CHAPTER 5. PARISH ADMINISTRATION AND PARISHIONERS ...................................... 61 5.1 The Parish as a Community of Practice .............................................................................. 61 5.2 The Role of the Parish Priest .............................................................................................. 64 5.3 Language Practices of the Parishioners .............................................................................. 72 5.3.1 Assumption Civil Parish Case Study ........................................................................... 76 5.3.2 Iberville Civil Parish Case Study ................................................................................. 78 iv 5.3.3 Lafourche Civil Parish Case Study .............................................................................. 80 5.3.4. Orleans Civil Parish Case Study ................................................................................. 83 5.3.5 St. James Civil Parish Case Study ............................................................................... 86 5.3.6 Vermilion Civil Parish Case Study .............................................................................. 89 5.4 Parish Case Study Observations ......................................................................................... 91 5.5 Languages in Which Services are Conducted in 1906 ....................................................... 94 CHAPTER 6. SOURCE AND FACTORS OF CHANGE ......................................................... 100 6.1 The First Source of Language Change: The Irish Catholics in New Orleans ................... 101 6.2 Geographical Models of Population Density and Distance .............................................. 105 6.3 The Establishment of Protestant Institutions in Parishes .................................................. 113 CHAPTER 7. SYNTHESIS AND CONCLUSION ................................................................... 118 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 125 APPENDIX A: PARISHES ELIMINATED FROM THE STUDY ........................................... 138 APPENDIX B: MASTER SACRAMENTAL REGISTERS DATABASE ............................... 139 APPENDIX C: CHURCHES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANS WITH SACRAMENTAL REGISTERS BEGINNING IN FRENCH ................................................... 147 APPENDIX D: CIVIL PARISH INFORMATION SHEETS .................................................... 150 APPENDIX E: 1906 RELIGIOUS BODIES CENSUS DATABASE ....................................... 156 APPENDIX F: PRIEST/COUNTRY OF ORIGIN DATABASE .............................................. 160 VITA………... ...........................................................................................................................