{{short description|French Catholic bishop in the United States}} {{use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{infobox Christian leader | type = Bishop | honorific-prefix = [[The Most Reverend]] | name = Jean-Baptiste Lamy | title = [[Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Archbishop of Santa Fe]] | image = Lamy.jpg | church = [[Catholic]] | archdiocese = [[Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Santa Fe]] | term = July 29, 1853 – July 19, 1885 | successor = [[Jean-Baptiste Salpointe]] | other_post = [[Vicar Apostolic]] of New Mexico (1850–1853)<br />Bishop of Santa Fe (1853–1855) | birth_date = {{Birth date|1814|10|11}} | birth_place = [[Lempdes]], [[Puy-de-Dôme]], France | death_date = {{death date and age|1888|2|13|1814|10|11}} | death_place = [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]],<br />United States | buried = [[Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi]] | signature = Signature of Jean-Baptiste Lamy (1814–1888).png }}{{ordination | date of priestly ordination = December 22, 1838 | date of consecration = November 24, 1850 | bishop 1 = [[Peter Bourgade]] | consecration date 1 = May 1, 1885 | consecrated by = [[Martin John Spalding]] | co-consecrators = [[Jacques-Maurice De Saint Palais]],<br />[[Louis Amadeus Rappe]] }}
'''Jean-Baptiste Lamy''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒɑ̃ batist lami}}; October 11, 1814 – February 13, 1888), was a French-American [[Catholic]] [[prelate]] who served as the first [[Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Archbishop of Santa Fe]], [[New Mexico]]. [[Willa Cather]]'s novel ''[[Death Comes for the Archbishop]]'' is based on his life and career (albeit renamed to "Jean-Marie Latour" for [[artistic license]]), as is [[Paul Horgan]]'s nonfiction work ''[[Lamy of Santa Fe]]''. He sometimes [[anglicisation|anglicised]] his name to '''John Baptist Lamy'''.
== Early life ==
Lamy was born in [[Lempdes]], Puy-de-Dôme, in the [[Auvergne (province)|Auvergne]] region of France, 10 km east of the main regional city of [[Clermont-Ferrand]]. He completed his [[classical studies]] in the [[minor seminary]] at [[Clermont-Ferrand|Clermont]] and [[Theology|theological]] coursework in the Major seminary at [[Montferrand, Puy-de-Dôme|Montferrand]], where he was trained by the Sulpician Fathers ([[Society of Saint-Sulpice]]).
== Career ==
He was [[Holy Orders|ordained]] a priest on December 22, 1838.<ref name=catholichierarchy>{{citation|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/blamy.html|title=Archbishop John Baptist Lamy}}</ref> After a few months as an assistant priest in his native [[diocese]], in 1839 Lamy asked for and obtained permission to answer the call for [[Missionary|missionaries]] of Bishop [[John Baptist Purcell]], of [[Cincinnati, Ohio]]. From 1839 to 1847, he served as the primary missionary priest for [[Danville, Ohio|Danville]] in [[Knox County, Ohio]], establishing that town's first Catholic church as well as that of [[Mount Vernon, Ohio]].<ref>[https://knoxhistory.org/index.php/local-history/authors/religion/jean-baptiste-lamy Jean Baptiste Lamy] Knox County Historical Society. Retrieved December 22, 2024</ref>
== Episcopacy ==
[[file:Lamy Cathedral.jpg|thumb|Bronze statue of Lamy in front of St. Francis Cathedral]]
While serving as a missionary in North America, serving at several missions in Ohio and [[Kentucky]], on July 23, 1850, he was notified that [[Pope Pius IX]] was appointing him as bishop of the recently created [[Apostolic Vicar]]iate of [[New Mexico]], created as a result of the outcome of the [[Mexican American War]], which created a need for the American Catholic Church to replace prelates and leadership previously provided by the Church in Mexico. At the same time, he was appointed [[Titular Bishop]] of [[Agathonice]]. He was [[consecrated]] a bishop on November 24, 1850, by Archbishop [[Martin John Spalding|Martin Spalding]] of [[Archdiocese of Louisville|Louisville]]; Bishops [[Jacques-Maurice De Saint Palais]] of [[Archdiocese of Indianapolis|Vincennes]] and [[Louis Amadeus Rappe]] of [[Diocese of Cleveland|Cleveland]] served as co-consecrators.<ref name=catholichierarchy/>
After an arduous journey on primitive transportation, Lamy reached [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]] in the summer of 1851.<ref>Check, Christopher. [https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/jean-baptiste-lamy-the-apostle-of-santa-fe Jean-Baptiste Lamy, the Apostle of Santa Fe] ''Crisis Magazine.'' February 13, 2012.</ref> As such, Lamy was joining a long list of French people who explored, traded, and settled in New Mexico since the 16th century; specifically, French priests dominated New Mexico's Catholic Church from 1841 to 1914.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://frenchinnewmexico.com/|title=The French in New Mexico and the American Southwest|website=The French in New Mexico}}</ref>
Lamy entered Santa Fe on 9 August 1851 and was welcomed by the Governor of the territory, [[James S. Calhoun]], and many other citizens. However, Juan Felipe Ortiz, a Spanish priest who was responsible for administration of the Catholic Church in New Mexico, told Lamy that he and the local clergy did not recognize his authority and would remain loyal to Bishop [[José Antonio Laureano de Zubiría]] of the [[Archdiocese of Durango|Diocese of Durango, Mexico]], who had visited Santa Fe just a few months before.{{sfn|Lucero|2009|p=242}} Lamy wrote to Zubiría asking him to explain the change of responsibility to the New Mexico priests. When his request was unanswered, he went in person to Durango to meet with Zubiría, showing him the papal document that appointed Lamy. In light of this, Zubiría had to agree to inform the priests of the change.{{sfn|Lucero|2009|p=244}}
On July 23, 1853, the Vicariate of New Mexico was raised to the [[Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Diocese of Santa Fe]], and Lamy was appointed its first bishop.<ref name=catholichierarchy/> His early efforts as bishop were directed to reforming the New Mexico church, building more churches in the territory, creating new parishes, and establishing schools. He ended the practice of [[concubinage]] widely practiced by the local priests, and he suppressed [[Penitentes (New Mexico)|religious brotherhood societies]] within individual communities. He participated in the [[First Vatican Council]] from 1869 to 1870.<ref name=catholichierarchy/> [[Joseph Projectus Machebeuf]] served as his vicar-general.<ref name=howlett>{{cite book|title=Life of the Right Reverend Joseph P. Machebeuf, D.D.|last=Howlett|first=William J.|url=https://archive.org/details/liferightrevere00howlgoog|date=1908|location=Pueblo, Colorado|publisher=The Franklin Press Company}}</ref> Lamy was responsible for the construction of the [[Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi]] (commonly known as St. Francis Cathedral) and [[Loretto Chapel]]. Both churches were built in French styles familiar to Lamy — the cathedral is [[Romanesque Revival]], while the chapel is [[Neo-Gothic]]. On February 12, 1875, the Diocese of Santa Fe was elevated to an [[Archdiocese of Santa Fe|archdiocese]] with Lamy as its first archbishop. On May 1, 1885, Lamy consecrated [[Peter Bourgade]] as bishop; Bourgade would later become the fourth Archbishop of Santa Fe.<ref name=catholichierarchy/>
Lamy ended his tenure as bishop when he resigned in 1885. He was appointed [[Titular Archbishop]] of [[Cyzicus]] later that year.<ref name=catholichierarchy/>
== Death and legacies ==
He died of [[pneumonia]] in 1888 and is buried under the [[sanctuary]] floor of the [[basilica]]. A bronze statue, dedicated in 1915, stands in his memory outside the front entrance of the Basilica,<ref>{{cite news |title=Impressive Ceremonies Attend Unveiling of Statue of Archbishop Who Was New Mexico's Greatest Friend |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/84171440/albuquerque-morning-journal/ |access-date=August 26, 2021 |work=Albuquerque Journal |date=May 24, 1915 | via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and the village of [[Lamy, New Mexico]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]] | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n179 180]}}</ref> was named after him near the source{{where|date=July 2024}} of the [[sandstone]] for the cathedral.
Lamy was succeeded as Archbishop of Santa Fe by [[Jean-Baptiste Salpointe]], also from [[Puy-de-Dôme]], France.
The [[Archbishop Lamy's Chapel]] in Santa Fe, built in 1874, survives and is listed on the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]].
[[Willa Cather]]'s novel ''[[Death Comes for the Archbishop]]'' fictionalizes his life, missionary journeys, and the erection of the Santa Fe cathedral.
== See also ==
* [[Archdiocese of Santa Fe]] * [[Catholic Church]] * [[Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi]] * [[Loretto Chapel]]
== References ==
;Citations {{reflist |colwidth=30em}} ;Sources {{refbegin}} * {{cite book | publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux | isbn = 978-0-374-18300-4 | last1 = Horgan | first1 = Paul | title = Lamy of Santa Fe, his life and times | location = New York | date = 1975 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/lamyofsantafehis00horg}} * {{cite book | last = Lucero | first = Donald L. | title = The Adobe Kingdom | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xBm7ZGkXQJkC&pg=PA241|access-date=2012-07-13 | date = 2009-04-30 | publisher = [[Sunstone Press]] | isbn = 978-0-86534-669-7}} * {{cite book | publisher = Banning, Cal. : St. Boniface's Industrial School | last = Salpointe | first = Jean-Baptiste | title = Soldiers of the cross. Notes on the ecclesiastical history of New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado | access-date = 2018-03-31 | date = 1898 | url = https://archive.org/details/soldiersofcrossn00salp}} {{refend}}
== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060207153258/http://archdiocesesantafe.org/ Archdiocese of Santa Fe home page] * [http://newmexicohistory.org/people/jean-baptiste-lamy New Mexico Office of the State Historian: Lamy, Jean-Baptiste]
{{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{succession box | title = Vicariate Apostolic of New Mexico | before = Vicariate Created | years = 1850–1853 | after = Vicariate Changed to Diocese }} {{succession box | title = Titular Bishop of [[Agathonice]] | before = [[Ferdinand Oesterhoff|Ferdinand Oesterhoff, O.Cist.]] | years = 1850–1853 | after = [[Pasquale Pagnucci|Pasquale Pagnucci, O.F.M.]] }} {{succession box | title = [[Archdiocese of Santa Fe|Archbishop of Santa Fe]] | before = Diocese Created | years = 1853–1885 | after = [[Jean-Baptiste Salpointe]] }} {{succession box | title = Titular Archbishop of Cyzicus | before = Titular Diocese Created | years = 1885–1888 | after = [[William Benedict Scarisbrick|William Scarisbrick, O.S.B.]] }} {{s-end}}{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe}}{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamy, Jean-Baptiste}} [[Category:1814 births]] [[Category:1888 deaths]] [[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Mexico]] [[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in New Mexico]] [[Category:French emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:French Roman Catholic bishops in North America]] [[Category:French Roman Catholic missionaries]] [[Category:Participants in the First Vatican Council]] [[Category:People from Puy-de-Dôme]] [[Category:People from New Mexico Territory]] [[Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Santa Fe]] [[Category:Archdiocese of Cincinnati]] [[Category:Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States]] [[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops]] [[Category:Sulpicians]]