Guide to Documents Relating to French and British North America in ...

indiscriminate growth, since the thirteen continental colonies had almost 1.2 million inhabitants by the
1750s, and only the common fear of their Canadian neighbours had enabled England to keep a firm
grip over its overseas territories. lS
Since the Holy See generally lacked interest in North America, Propaganda planned and
implemented the gamut of North American policies. Everyone in Rome seemed to be aware that North
America was Propaganda's responsibility, and duly forwarded every matter pertaining to the New World
to its officials. Most of Propaganda's decisions did not require anyone's approval. Indeed, a number
were made in the presence of the Pope ("coram Sanctissimo") or submitted to the Pope by the
Congregation's secretary at regular meetings called "Udienze." But the Pope always sanctioned these
decisions and never tried to influence them. On certain matters, Propaganda could not decide alone and
turned to other congregations, usually the Sacred Congregation of the Rites or the Holy Office. Here
again, Propaganda's decisions were never reversed. Conversely, Propaganda received a number of
letters, petitions and requests whose writers had wrongly addressed the Pope. The latter merely
forwarded them via the secretary of state to Propaganda, which managed to avoid jealous rivalries by
taking over these matters. The Congregation intelVened so well that during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries there is only one example of a dispute between it and another Roman department
with regard to North America. It took place in 1661, when the vicar apostolic of Canada, Fran90is de
Laval, bishop of Petraea, and the archbishop of Rouen, Fran90is de Harlay de Champvallon, were
fighting over the creation of a full bishopric in Quebec. Champvallon maintained that Canada was and
had always been under his jurisdiction, and tried to establish his own hierarchy in Canada through the
Sulpicians of Montreal. One of these, Gabriel Thubieres de Levy de Queylus, had personally gone to
Rome and, bypassing Propaganda, had requested the creation of a parish in Montreal, claiming that it
was under the jurisdiction of Rouen. Since the Dataria Apostolica had taken for granted Montreal's
location in France, Queylus having carefully avoided mentioning the truth, it complied with Queylus's
request. When Mario Alberizzi, secretary of Propaganda, realized what had happened, he became furious
and put pressure on his puzzled colleagues at the Dataria, thus causing the concession to be revoked. l6
It may well be said, then, that as far as North America was concerned, Propaganda alone spoke for
the Holy See, whereas other Roman agencies and even the Pope himself had only occasional
communications with the New World. (The relationship between Propaganda and the regular orders was,
however, far more complex, as we shall see later.)
Thus the Holy See's policy toward North America was Propaganda's policy, which in tum was
shaped over the years by a handful of Roman officials who dealt with North America as part of their
duties covering the entire world. Their own knowledge of American matters was fundamental to every
decision Propaganda officials took with regard to the New World. Yet none of them had ever been to
North America, none spoke English and very few spoke French: Italian and Latin were often the only
languages they could understand. Under Benedict XIV (1740-1758), for example, only one person in
the Vatican understood German. (Most incoming letters written in a language other than Italian or Latin
were read in.translation -- usually prepared by the foreign clergy's special agents who resided in Rome
-- and on at least one occasion diplomatic difficulties were caused by a bad translation).17Besides,
North America was not the object of gossip or public writing, nor could Propaganda officials hope to
gain additional information through social occasions or similar gatherings. Unlike bureaucrats in France
and England, they seem not to have been aware of the copious literature relating to the New World
that was published in Italy alone, not to mention the rest of Europe. ls The only explicit reference to
published sources that is to be found in the documents preselVed in the archives of Propaganda is to
Lo~is Moreri's Grand dictionnaire historique and to the Jesuit Lettres edifiantes et curieuses, both used
to describe the geography of Canada. The reference, however, is in a report written by Pierre-Herman
Dosquet, bishop of Samos and coadjutor of the bishop of Quebec, not by an official of the
Congregation. l9
4