The Lewis and Clark Journals revealed much about the expedition and the events surrounding their voyage. However, one entry by Private Joseph Whitehouse revealed something about the men themselves as they started their journey. On a rainy May 20, 1804, Clark gave permission for 20 members of the expedition to attend the 3 PM mass at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic church in St. Charles, MO (Clark). Sergeant Ordway was at least one of the members who attended, and Private Whitehouse may have attended, for he was able to remark that the members found it to be a novelty (Whitehouse May 20, 1804 | Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition). It is unknown who else attended the Mass.
While it is possible that Whitehouse stayed behind and others relayed their experience upon return, there is evidence to suggest that he also attended. As he was dying around 1860, Whitehouse gave his journal to his Catholic confessor (Gatten and Fifer Joseph Whitehouse | Discovering Lewis & Clark ®). If Whitehouse took the sacraments of the Catholic Church seriously to the point where he confessed his sins prior to his passing, he likely would have also attended the Mass where he could witness the discomfort of his comrades during the Catholic mass (Whitehouse May 20, 1804 | Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition). It would not have been a ‘novelty’ to a Catholic; but it would have been a novelty to “them,” as he wrote in his journal. Due to the documented changes in the Catholic Church, it is possible to make some assumptions pertaining to the service that was held on May 20, 1804. Prior to the second Vatican Council in 1969 which implemented the Novus Ordo (new order of the Mass), Catholic services were conducted in Latin. A Catholic service prior to Novus Ordo conducted in Latin may certainly have looked unique to American members of the expedition. Additionally, whereas Protestant services and Catholic Novus Ordo services would have the pastor facing the congregation, in a traditional Latin mass the priest faces toward the altar, with his back to the laity (Evangelista). Thus, the entire church faces God in their worship.
Lastly, since Catholic services operate on a calendar, it is thus possible to determine what the readings were for that day. In 1804, Easter fell on April 1. The seventh Sunday after Easter was May 20, which also happened to be Pentecost. Using the schedule of readings for the old Tridentine calendar, the reading would have been from Acts 2:1-11 and the Gospel reading would have been from John 14:23-31. These would likely have been the scriptures that the members of the expedition heard.
As far as Lewis and Clark were concerned, they were both Deists (Slaughter, 20; Mussulman). While Deists accept the concept of providence, generally they do not ascribe to a particular religion or offer any strict allegiance toward one. Even though Clark had his three eldest children baptized Catholic, he also helped to establish the first Episcopal parish in St. Louis (Mussulman). Though it is unknown to what faith the other expedition members ascribed, due to the Great Awakening that had swept the English-speaking world in the 1730s and 1740s, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists had become the largest Protestant denominations by the start of the 19th century (Library of Congress). Depending on where the members of the expedition hailed from, researchers can make some assumptions. For example, Pennsylvania had a large German population, many of whom were Lutheran. New England was chiefly Congregational and Unitarian. Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians were growing especially in regions west of the Appalachians. Many folks were happy to support Protestant churches as signs of civilization and community uplift, but this says little about their religious beliefs, if any. The Great Awakening had diversified religion in America in the 18th century, but the early republic was one of the lowest periods in American history for church membership and religious practice (Erickson, Nov. 17). However, there is reason to suggest that the French engagés were at least nominal Catholics. The baptism, marriage, and burial registers at St. Charles Borromeo make note of Jean Baptiste Deschamps, Charles Pineau, Charles Hebert, Paul Primeau, Jean Baptiste Lajeunesse, Etienne Malboeuf, and Pierre Roy. In fact, Father Lusson baptized Charles Pineau at St. Charles Borromeo the week before the expedition left St. Charles (Brown). Deschamps, La Jeunesse, Malboeuf, and Pineau, were among those tasked with returning to St. Louis with Corporal Warfington (Buckley, 51), and Deschamps was listed as the “patroon” [sic] of the engagés (Moore, 3).
The history of St. Charles Borromeo was indicative of the events surrounding the Louisiana Purchase. While the French had control of the area, a government stipend was paid to priests who ministered in their respective churches. However, once the U.S. had acquired the territory, the stipends ceased, despite U.S. Army Captain Amos Stoddard’s objections. Eventually, Father Lusson left the parish in October 1804, but not before educating the remaining faithful of St. Charles. There was evidence to suggest that Lusson prepared the parish to operate without him, for there were baptisms and burials shortly after Fr. Lusson’s departure performed by laymen Noel Prieur and Pierre Troge (Brown, 29, 30). Pierre Troge would have likely been at the service on May 20, 1804 also. Having moved to St. Charles from Cahokia in 1791, Troge served St. Charles as the parish sacristan, who was in charge of the vestments, sacred objects, and the room in which they were stored. Noted for his poor penmanship and spelling, Troge died in 1812 and was buried under the floor of the original log church (Brown, 26).
The Council of Trent had formally codified the right for Catholic priests to grant the laity the ability to conduct baptisms and burials in the 16th century. Both Catholics and Orthodox have always allowed laypersons to baptize and to bury in case of emergency or other exceptional circumstances. By the time of the expedition, the Concordat between Napoleon I and the Pope had smoothed out difficulties between revolutionary France and Rome, and other provisions of Trent would be in force throughout French possessions (Erickson, Nov.11). Even though St. Charles was no longer a French possession, the allowance for the laity to perform baptisms and burials continued in lieu of an assigned priest.
References
- Brown, Jo Ann. St. Charles Borromeo 200 Years of Faith. The Patrice Press, 1991.
- Brown, Jo Ann. “The St. Charles Boatmen | Discovering Lewis & Clark ®.” The St. Charles Boatmen | Discovering Lewis & Clark ®, Www.lewis-clark.org, 2021, http://www.lewis-clark.org/article/309#footnote3_aba0fao.
- Buckley, Jay H. William Clark: Indian Diplomat. University of Oklahoma Press, 2008.
- Clark, William. “May 20, 1804 | Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.” May 20, 1804 | Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu, 30 August. 1803, https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1804-05-20#n04052007.
- Erickson, John. Email to Andrew Fournier. November 11, 2021.
- Erickson, John. Email to Andrew Fournier. November 17, 2021.
- Evangelista, Mark Aurel. “Philippine Sacred Architecture-design Of a Village Chapel.” Vienna University of Technology, 2021.
- Gatten, Robert E., and Barbara Fifer. “Joseph Whitehouse | Discovering Lewis & Clark ®.” Joseph Whitehouse | Discovering Lewis & Clark ®, Www.lewis-clark.org, http://www.lewis-clark.org/article/2583.
- Moore, Robert. “The French Connection of Lewis and Clark.” Le Journal, vol. 25, no. 1, 2009, pp. 1–7.
- Mussulman, Joseph. “Deists in the ‘Wilderness’ | Discovering Lewis & Clark ®.” Deists In the ‘Wilderness’ | Discovering Lewis & Clark ®, Www.lewis-clark.org, 2013, http://www.lewis-clark.org/article/2451#Note4.
- “Religion in Eighteenth-Century America – Religion and the Founding of the American Republic Exhibitions (Library of Congress).” Loc.gov, 2018, www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel02.html.
- Slaughter, Thomas P. Exploring Lewis and Clark: Reflections on men and wilderness. Vintage, 2007.
- Whitehouse, Joseph. “May 20, 1804 | Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.” May 20, 1804 | Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu, 30 August. 1803, https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1804-05-20#n04052007.
- TAGS: French Language and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Lewis and Clark, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Lewis and Clark Trail, religion, Joseph Whitehouse, Catholicism
