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RELIGION
The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church on the Alabama Gulf Coast dates from the coming of
Iberville's colony in 1699. He was accompanied by Father Anastase Douay, who
had once been an explorer with La Salle Catholic missionaries were abroad in
the Mississippi Valley prior to this date, and Biloxi had hardly been located when
Father Antony Davion made his appearance. He and Father Dougé ministered to
the spiritual wants of the colonists until 1704, and even after, but in this year
came the induction, by Davion, of De La Vente as priest of a church formally set
up at Fort Louis. This step was taken in consequence of the erection of Mobile
into a canonical parish by the Bishop of Québec. From this time on the Church
has a continuous history in Mobile. La Vente alternated with Alexander Huvé, his
assistant, until 1710, while the later continued to about 1722. Father Jean
Mattheu, of the Capuchin Order, officiated at Mobile, 1721 to 1736; while Father
Jean Fran ois and Father Ferdinand, also Capuchins, as well as Jesuits, were
here from 1736 to 1763. From time to time numbers of other names appear as
officiating priests. The quaint manuscript records, showing births, deaths,
marriages, and baptisms, are preserved in the church archives at Mobile.
Excellent summaries and details from these records are to be found in Peter J.
Hamilton's "Colonial Mobile" (1897). After the occupation of Mobile by the
Spanish, in 1780, and the expulsion of the British, the church was called the
Immaculate Conception, a name it has since borne. After American occupation,
in 1812, for a number of years no substantial advance was made, and in 1825,
when Bishop Portier entered upon his office, the church in Mobile was the only
one in Alabama, and he was the only priest. The church building was burned in
1827.
The early priests were zealous missionaries, and with consecrated zeal they
labored to bring the untutored child of the forest into the fold of the Church.
Father Davion, above mentioned, was first a missionary to the Tunicas. In 1709
churches were erected at Dauphin Island, and also ten miles above Mobile for a
band of Apalache Indians, who had been earlier converted by Spanish
missionaries. Father Charles, a Carmelite, was a missionary among them in
1721. There were missions at Fort Toulouse and Fort Tombecbé, and also at
Chickasawhay. Father Michael Baudouin was for eighteen years among the
Choctaws. These missions were largely abandoned after 1763, owing to British
occupation. Until 1722 the parish of Mobile was a part of the Diocese of Qu bec.
In this year, with the subdivision of the southern country for administrative
purposes by Law's Company, there was a parcelling out, or assignment, of the
divisions to the different orders of the Church. The Illinois country went to the
Jesuits; New Orleans and west of the Mississippi to the Capuchins, and the
Mobile district to the Barefoot Carmelites. In a very short time a change was
made, and Mobile was given over to the Capuchins. During Spanish occupation
Mobile was in the Diocese of Santiago de Cuba. Later the northern part of the
territory now embraced in the State was under the Archbishop of Baltimore, while
the southern was under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Louisiana and Florida.
In 1825 the Vicariate-Apostolic of Alabama and Florida was created, and the
Reverend Michael Portier was appointed bishop. He was consecrated 5
November, 1826. On 15 May, 1829, the Diocese of Mobile was created,
embracing in its bounds West Florida and all of Alabama. Bishop Portier was
continued in his office, and served until his death, in 1859. His successors in
order were John Quinlan (1859-1883); Dominic Manucy (1883-1885); and
Jeremiah O'Sullivan (1885-1897). These men possessed marked ability and were
positive and uplifting forces in the life of the State. The incumbent bishop is the
Right Reverend Edward P. Allen (1897). During the life of the Church in the State
it has been served, in Mobile and at other points, by many priests of deep piety
and extensive learning, and men who have contributed their part as well in
shaping the growth of the commonwealth in high civic ideals. In addition to the
above-named clergy, the following prominent members of the Catholic Church in
Alabama should be noted: Father Abram J. Ryan, poet-priest; Margaret O'Brien
Davis, author; Lucian Julian Walker, journalist and author; Raphael Semmes,
Admiral in the Confederate States Navy; S.A.M. Wood and Alpheus Baker,
Brigadier-Generals, C.S.A.; R.M. Sands and D.S. Troy, Lieutenant-Colonel,
C.S.A.; Wm. R. Smith, poet, historian, lawyer, political leader, and Colonel
C.S.A; Frank P. O'Brien, political leader and journalist. Arthur and Felix McGill
are the names of the founders and patrons of McGill Institute at Mobile. The
Catholic population of the State at the present writing is 28,397.
In educational and benevolent enterprises the Catholic Church of Alabama has an
enviable record. Institutions devoted to charity and education under its direction
are as follows: Spring Hill College, St. Bernard College, Academy of the
Visitation, and McGill Institute, at Mobile; St. Vincent's Hospital, at Birmingham;
Providence Infirmary, at Mobile; and St. Margaret s Hospital, at Montgomery.
Convents and schools are conducted in Montgomery and Birmingham by the
Sisters of Loretto, in Selma by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, in Cullman by the
Sisters of Notre Dame, and in Tuscumbia by the Sisters of St. Benedict. An
asylum for boys is conducted at Mobile by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart; and
for girls by the Sisters of Charity, of Emmittsburg, Md. St. Joseph's College for
Negro catechists is located near Montgomery. A Catholic newspaper, The
Messenger, is published in the same city.
Protestant and other religious efforts
From the very first arrival of American emigrants the Protestant denominations
were represented, but it was not until 1808 that formal organization of
congregations took place. They entered the field that year most probably in the
following order: Methodist, Cumberland Presbyterian, and Baptist. However, in
the territorial period the struggle for existence on the part of settlers was so
intense that no very general progress was made until the first decade of
statehood. From 1819 to 1832 they entered upon a real healthy growth and
expansion. A higher state of intellectual cultivation existed among the preachers.
Regular houses of worship took the places of the makeshifts of private houses,
the county courthouse, and the open air. The camp-meeting grew to be a most
potent factor in awakening religious interest, and in advancing the cause of the
churches. In October, 1823, the Baptist State Convention was organized. On 1
March, 1821, the Presbytery of Alabama, was formed, and in 1834 the Synod of
Alabama was set off from the Mississippi Synod. From its introduction into the
State, in 1808, to 1832 the Methodist Church had at various times been in part
under the South Carolina, the Tennessee, the Mississippi, and the Georgia
Conferences. In the latter year the Alabama Conference was organized. The
Methodist Protestant Church was organized in Alabama in 1829. While there
were numbers of individual Episcopalians in the State from the date of the
occupation of its territory by Great Britain, it was not until 1825 that, in Mobile,
its first Episcopal church was organized, but it had no minister until December,
1827. A Primary Convention was held 25 January, 1830, and an organization
effected. According to the most reliable information, the Southern Baptists in
Alabama number 150,945; the Methodist Episcopalians, 133,000; the Southern
Presbyterians, 15,020. The following denominations are also represented in the
State: Unitarians, Congregationalists, Universalists, Christian Scientists,
Lutherans, Salvation Army, and Campbellites. Nearly all denominations are well
represented among the colored population, which also has several religious
organizations of its own. The Jews have strong congregations in all of the leading
towns. Sectarian schools have already been noted under the head of education.
Orphan asylums and other benevolences are conducted by the Baptists,
Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and the Salvation Army.
State laws on subjects directly affecting religion
Under the Constitution of 1901, which practically followed earlier instruments, it
is provided (Section 2): "That no religion shall be established by law; that no
preference shall be given by law to any religious sect, society, denomination or
mode of worship; that no one shall be compelled by law to attend any place of
worship, nor to pay any tithes, taxes or other rate for building or repairing any
place of worship, or for maintaining any minister or ministry; that no religious test
shall be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under this State;
and that the civil rights, privileges and capacities of any citizen shall not be in
any manner affected by his religious principles." In the courts testimony is
required to be given under oath or affirmation. No search warrant can issue
unless supported by oath. All executive, legislative, and judicial officers are
required to take an oath to support the Constitutions of the United States, and of
the State, and to faithfully discharge the duties of the office. By statute the word
"oath" includes "affirmation". (See 71 Ala. Reports, 319, for discussion of nature
and character of an oath.) The observance of Sunday is not directly enjoined, but
the sanctity of the day is recognized in the prohibition against the working of a
child, apprentice, or servant, except in "the customary domestic duties of daily
necessity or comfort, or works of Charity", also in the prohibition against
shooting, hunting, gaming, card-playing, or racing, or keeping open store or
market (except by druggists) on that day. It is to be observed that these
provisions "do not apply to the running of railroads, stages, or steamboats, or
other vessels navigating the waters of this State, or any manufacturing
establishment which requires to be kept in constant operation." There is no
statute against blasphemy or profanity, as such, these subjects being regulated
as at Common law. There is no constitutional or statutory provision requiring the
use of prayer in the State Senate and House of Representatives, but it has
always been customary for each body to provide for such a service to be held at
the opening of the day's session. Usually the clergymen of the capital city,
without discrimination, are asked to alternate. Among other holidays, Sunday,
Christmas, and Good Friday, are set apart by statute for public observance.
Laws on subjects affecting religious work. Members of any church or religious
society, or the owners of a graveyard, may become incorporated by complying
with a liberal statute on the subject, and may hold real and personal property not
to exceed $50,000 in value. The property of institutions devoted exclusively to
religious, educational, or charitable purposes is exempt from taxation to a
limited, yet liberal, extent. Ministers in charge of churches are exempt from jury
duty. Military service is voluntary. Marriage between whites and Negroes is
prohibited. Legislative divorce is not allowed under the constitution. With certain
limitations the following are the statutory grounds for divorce: physical and
incurable incapacity, adultery, voluntary abandonment, imprisonment in the
penitentiary, the commission of the crime against nature, habitual drunkenness,
and cruelty. The Constitution prohibits the appropriation of public school funds in
support of any sectarian or denominational school. Liberal charters of
incorporation are allowed to charitable institutions, and their property is exempt
from taxation as above, but no public funds can be appropriated to any charitable
institution "not under the absolute control of the State." Cemeteries are not
subject to taxation. The sale of liquors is regulated by State, county, and
municipal license. Special prohibition laws, local dispensaries, and local option
laws are in operation in various parts of the State. A State penitentiary is
maintained. State and county convicts, under general or local regulations are
worked in the mines, in lumber camps, on the public roads, on farms, and in
factories. A reform school for white boys is conducted by the State at East Lake.
Insane hospitals, for the whites at Tuscaloosa, and for the Negroes at Mt.
Vernon, are generously supported by the State. Liberal regulations obtain on the
subjects of wills of real and personal property, limited to soundness of mind, and
to persons of twenty-one years, in the case of realty, and eighteen years, in the
case of personality. Devises may be made to any person or corporation capable
by law of holding real estate. The Supreme Court has held that a bequest to "the
Baptist Societies for Foreign and Domestic Missions and the American and
Foreign Bible Society", is valid; also one to "Pilgrim's Rest Association", and
also one for the erection of monuments to certain named persons. But in the
case of Festorazzi vs. St. Joseph's Church (104 Ala., 327), it was held that a
bequest to a church to be expended in saying Mass for the repose of the
testator's soul is invalid, because the church might apply the fund to other uses,
and thus defeat the testator's intent.
Alabama Historical Society, Transactions (1898-1904) and Miscellaneous Collections (1901);
BERNEY, Handbook of Alabama (1892); BREWER, Alabama (1872); BROWN, History of Alabama
for Schools (1900); JOEL C. DU BOSE, Sketches of Alabama History (1901); JOHN W. DU BOSE,
Life and Times of Wm. L. Yancey (1892); FLEMING, Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama
(1905); GARRETT, Public Men in Alabama (1872); HALBERT AND T. H. BALL, Creek War of 1813
and 1814 (1893); HAMILTON, Colonial Mobile (1897); HODGSON, Cradle of the Confederacy
(1876); McCORVEY, Government of the People of Alabama (1895); MILLER, History of Alabama
(1901); MONETTE, History of the Valley of the Mississippi (1848); OWEN, Bibliography of Alabama
(1898); PICKETT, History of Alabama, ed. by OWEN (1900); RILEY, History of the Baptists of
Alabama (1895); SHEA, Catholic Missions (1854), and History of the Catholic Church within the
United States (1886-92); WEST, History of Methodism in Alabama (1898); WHITAKER, History of
the Protestant Episcopal Church in Alabama (1898).
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