CRETIN, JOSEPH. — First Bishop of St. Paul (Minnesota), b. at Montluel (Ain) on 19 Dec. 1799, d. at St. Paul on 22 Feb. 1857. In 1820 he entered the seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris. After the July Revolution of 1830, finding himself unable to adapt to the new regime, he sought to become a missionary, but it was not until 1838 that Bishop Loras of Dubuque was able to accept him. On 26 Jan. 1851 he was appointed first Bishop of St. Paul, which had been erected as a diocese in 1850. In addition to his other zealous cares for his flock, he took particular pains to improve the life and education of the Indians, opening schools for them with the approval of President Fillmore. In 1854 he began the construction of the Cathedral, which was completed after his death.
CRETIN, JOSEPH
BIBL.: F. J. Schaefer, s. V. in Cath. Enc., IV, pp. 487-88; J. D. G. Shea, in The hierarchy of the Cath. Church in the U. S. A., New York 1886, pp. 377-78; M. M. H., s. V. in Dict. of american biography, III, p. 542.