GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 4: Outside United States
Austria: AT-2
Catholic Church. Archdiocese of Vienna. Archives
Erdziözese Wien, Archiv
A-1010 Wollzeile
2 Wien, Oesterreich
Phone: 43 1 51552
Hours: See website
Access: Some restrictions apply
Copying facilities: Yes
History: The Diocese of Vienna was erected, 1469, and elevated to an archdiocese, 1722. In response to a call for missionaries, its Catholics founded the “Leopoldine Society” to support Native American missions in the United States, 1829.
1827 |
Bishop Edward D. Fenwick, O.P. [Dominicans] sent Rev. John Fréderic Résé (later first Bishop of Detroit) to Europe seeking financial assistance and German-speaking priests for the Cincinnati Diocese (then included Michigan and Wisconsin); his recruits included Rev. Samuel Mazzuchelli (1806-1864), O.P. |
1829 |
In response, Catholics in Vienna founded the Leopoldinen Stetiftung (Leopoldine Society) to support Catholic missions in North America, some of which served Native Americans. Named in memory of the Emperor’s daughter and based at the Augustinian Monastery, it solicited funds and German-speaking priests by following the strategies of the French Society for the Propagation of the Faith. |
1830-1910 |
The Leopoldine Society donated about $680,500 (3,402,000 kronen) to U.S. dioceses; those receiving notable funding for Native American missions were Boise (e.g. Coeur d’Alene), Cincinnati, Detroit (e.g. Ottawa), Grand Rapids, Green Bay (e.g. Menominee, Ho Chunk), Lead (Rapid City) (e.g. Dakota, Lakota), Marquette (e.g. Ojibwa), Nesqually (Seattle), Oregon (Portland in Oregon), and Tucson (e.g. Tohono O’odham) |
Before 1850 |
Because of the efforts of the Leopoldine Society, several priests served Ojibwa and Ottawa Indians in Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario, and Wisconsin, including Rev. Frederic I Baraga, Rev. Joseph F. Buh, Rev. Ignatius Mrak, Rev. Francis Pierz, and Rev. Otto Skolla, O.F.M. [Franciscans] |
1917 |
The Leopoldine Society ceased |
Holdings of Catholic records about Native Americans:
Inclusive dates: 1829-1917
Volume: Less than 10% of 9 cubic feet
Description: The records of the Leopoldinenstetiftung (Leopoldine Society) are found in two sub-groups of the Vienna Archdiocesan Archives. Prior to their current arrangement, the records were microfilmed at least twice and then described as noted in the entries for the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana) and the Bishop Baraga Association (Marquette, Michigan).
/1 Archive Sub-group T 7, Leopoldinenstetiftung
Inclusive dates: 1832-1914
Volume: Less than 1 cubic foot pertains directly to support of Native American evangelization.
Description: Central files.
/2 Archive Sub-group, Religious Societies, Leopoldinenstetiftung Central Files
Inclusive dates: 1829-1917
Volume: Less than 1 cubic foot pertains directly to support of Native American evangelization.
Description:
A. Volume 1-4: Registers, 1829-1854
B. Volume 5-10: Accounts, 1829-1868
C. Administrative Records, 1829-1917, 12 boxes, approximately 5 cubic feet
D. Correspondence with dioceses and missionaries in the United States, 1829-1917, 3 boxes, approximately 1.5 cubic feet, diocesan folders arranged alphabetically by diocese; the following pertain to dioceses with missions among Native Americans (diocesan totals are comprehensive and include letters not pertaining to Native evangelization):
Box 13, Bundle 6: Diocese of Boise. Idaho, 1885-1904, 19 letters
Box 13, Bundle 12: Diocese of Cincinnati, Ohio, 1831-1885, 101 letters
Box 14, Bundle 5: Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, 1910, 3 letters
Box 14, Bundle 1: Diocese of Detroit, Michigan, 1829-1852, 1881, 1884, 284 Letters; notable correspondents include Rev. Frederic Baraga, 1834-1849, 53 letters; and Rev. Francis Pierz, 1835-1849, 55 letters
Box 14, Bundle 5: Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota, 1889-1908, 20 letters
Box 14, Bundle 8: Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1841, 1883-1891, 22 letters
Box 14, Bundle 9: Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, 1877-1911, 97 letters
Box 14, Bundle 14: Diocese of Lead (Rapid City), South Dakota, 1903-1909, 7 letters
Box 14, Bundle 19: Diocese of Marquette, Michigan, 1881-1898, 14 letters
Box 15, Bundle 1: Diocese of Nesqually (Seattle), Washington, 1847-1856, 1885-1903, 70 letters
Box 15, Bundle 7: Diocese of Oregon (Portland), Oregon, 1848, 1884-1914, 120 letters
Box 15, Bundle 12: Diocese of Sacramento, California, 1883-1889, 7 letters
Box 15, Bundle 15: Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota, 1867, 1877, 1882-1895, 29 letters
Box 15, Bundle 16: Diocese of St. Louis, Missouri, 1830-1853, 1858, 1865-1868, 1881, 1896, 1912, 119 letters
Box 15, Bundle 17: Diocese of St. Paul, Minnesota, 1852, 1880-1888, 21 letters
Box 15, Bundle 18: Diocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1893, 1911-1912, 9 letters
Box 15, Bundle 20: Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1895-1897, 29 letters
Box 15, Bundle 21: Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, 1907-1909, 9 letters
Box 15, Bundle 22: Diocese of Tucson, Arizona, 1908-1914, 12 letters
Unless otherwise noted, the repository on this page holds (or held) the records described here and they are not held at the Ӱ Archives.
new2006/rev2020