February 2026 marks 20 years since this website was created, in 2006. Since then we have strived to pass along original material, to write about long forgotten men and women, all of whom have contributed to the history of the Church in Indiana.
I appreciate the few who have supplied me with information and materials, and without naming names I want to especially thank the Archives of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, those doing their own studies, especially those who have supplied information about one of our favorites, Father Anthony Deydier and, of course, our saintly Bishop Simon Bruté, whose Cause, although lingering at the moment, is opening new information about him as well as his connection to our first American born Saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, in whom we have a great devotion. In addition, we’ve had contact with the Eudists, the Jesuits as well as a number of dioceses in the “South” where many of our early clergy ended up either becasue of health issues or disagreements with Bishop Hailandiere (God bless his missionary soul).
Some of our sources have passed on, including Monsignor John J. Doyle, for whom this website is dedicated. Also Fr. Thomas Widner S.J. who, when he was a priest of the Archdiocese, was editor of the “Criterion” which put out a publication entitled “Our Family Album-A Journey of Faith”, for the celebration of the Sesquicentennial of the Archdiocese. Then there was Sister Ann Kathleen Brawley who was the Archivist of the sisters of Providence and who helped in the successful canonization of Mother Theodore Guerin. Sister Ann Kathleen also served as Archivist of the Archiocese of Indianapolis and made huge contributions to organizing materials that had been scattered all over.
I apologize to those “Hoosiers” who live in the “newer” dioceses of the State — Gary, Lafayette and even Evansville, which were all created in 1944. That doesn’t lessen their contributions to the Church in Indiana. I try to find information about those areas which were, at one time, part of the Diocese of Vincennes.
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