This is the time of year for ordinations to the priesthood. 210 years ago this weekend there was an ordination celebrated in Paris which had a lasting effect on the Catholic Church in Indiana. On June 10, 1808 Simon William Gabriel Brute de Rémur was ordained to the priesthood. Or… was it June 11th? There is a debate, albeit among only a few, about the day that Brute was actually ordained. 
It was ‘probably’ June 10th, but some sources say he was ordained on the 11th of June. I used to be behind the 11th, but I now believe it was, in fact, the 10th. June 10, 1808 was a Thursday. June 12, 1808 was Trinity Sunday. See the explanation below.
Regardless of what day it was, we celebrate and give thanks to God for Servant of God, Simon Gabriel Brute, and we continue to pray for his eventual canonization. We invite you to pray the prayer to the left and to pray it often. We also encourage you to make a donation, however big or small to the Archdiocesan fund to further Bishop Brutés Cause.
Here are a few quotes, from various sources, concerning Brutés Ordination date:
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The Indianapolis Archdiocesan Directory — This annual publication makes every effort to be correct and since last year they have corrected their information saying that Brute was ordained at St. Sulpice in Paris on June 10, 1808.
Father Robert Gorman’s History of the Catholic Church in Indiana — At the age of twenty nine he was ordained June 10, 1808 and shortly after was received into the Society of St. Su1pice.
Father Albert Ledoux, in his 2005 dissertation, The Life and Thought of Simon Brute, Seminary Professor and Frontier Bishop said: “If one includes the time that Brute spent taking preliminary theology courses prior to his formal entry into the seminary, his formation lasted five years. …While Bayley did not know the date of Brutés deacon ordination, we can surmise that it took place half way between his subdiaconate and his priestly ordination, which occurred in Paris on 11 June 1808…
WikiPedia — He was ordained a priest on June 11, 1808,
New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia — Ordained priest on the 11th of June, 1808,
Catholic Hierarchy.org — Ordained June 11, 1808
Sr. Mary Salesia Godecker, in her biography of Bishop Brute — Brute’ was ordained on June 10, 1808 at the church of St. Sulpice in Paris. He was ordained by the Right Reverend Andre’, the retired Bishop of Quimper. His first Mass was celebrated at the altar of the Blessed Virgin in the Seminary of St. Sulpice on Trinity Sunday, June 11, 1808.
Alerding’s History of the Diocese of Vincennes — he was ordained Priest in the parish church of St. Sulpice by Msgr. Andre, the retired Bishop of Quimper, on the Saturday before Trinity Sunday, 1808.
Brute’s”Memoirs” by Archbishop Bayley say that he was ordained on the Saturday before Trinity Sunday in 1808. That would mean JUNE 11th, according to a perpetual calendar and almanac, Trinity Sunday, in 1808, was 12 June.
Manuscripts located in the Indianapolis Archdiocesan Archives, which appear to have been written by Brute say”Ordained Priest on the 10th of June 1808″³.
Father Vincent Eaton, former archivist of the Society of St. Sulpice, of which Brute was once a member says, in a 1983 document, that Brute was ordained on June 10, 1808.
The last source is a small book published by the Sisters of Charity in 1886. The book is entitled “Reverend Simon Gabeiel Brute — Bishop of Vincennes — In his connection with the Community, 1812-1830”. The text is attributed to Brute and on page-4 he says: “The 12, June 1808 said Mass the first time.” On page-51 he says “Anniversary of sacerdotal ordination, June 10, 1808”.
Last but not least, regardless of when and where the Saintly Bishop was ordained, please say the prayer for the canonization of Bishop Brute, which you find to the left of this article.
