Third Church Board,
The American Catholic (Community) Church &
Bishops C.F. Durand & O'Neill Côté
(1889-1980)

St. Mary's Church, Duvall Bishop J. René Vilatte Rev. J.B. Gauthier Édouard de Bekker O'Neill M. Côté

Organized in Duval, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, to put in place the French-speaking Episcopal & Synodal jurisdiction called for by the Duval Assembly and Faith & Order Declaration (Sketch of Belief) of November 16, 1889. The assembly was held in St. Mary's Church, Duvall, Kewaunee County. Summary of the Faith & Order (Duval) Declaration of 1889. Approved summary which has been in use in the Church since the General Synod of August 8, 1983 held in Hull, Quebec: Art.1 We are a covenanted community of persons Art.2 based on the Holy Scripture Art.3 the Nicean & St. Athanasius Creeds Art.4 and the definitions of the accepted General Councils of the Undivided Church Art.5 We celebrate the seven sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Holy Eucharist, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders and Annointing of the Sicks Art.6 We are a society of believers who has Christ our Lord as its Leader and Source of its sanctity Art.7 We see the historic Episcopate as necessary for our church life. Minister of the sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Orders, the Bishop is also the centre of unity, the guardian of the deposit of the faith and the defender of the catholic tradition Art.8 Holy pictures and statues can be used for devotion but not for worship. This practice is not necessary for justification nor for salvation Art.9 The saints are venerable and can be invoked for inspiration and wisdom, but our Lord Jesus Christ is the only Mediator between God and humankind Art.10 Committing to the Church of Christ Uniting will erase our divisions and rebuild the undivided church. Bishop Ordinary & President of the Board: Mostt. Rev. J. René Vilatte. Elected by the Duval Assembly (1889), Bishop Vilatte was consecrated in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1892.05.29, by Malabar Bishops Mar Julius (Colombo), Mar Ignatius (Kottayam, India) & Mar Gregorius (Niranan, India). Trustees: The Rev. J.B. Gauthier, S.P.B., Guillaume Barrette, Édouard de Bekker (Vice-President of the Board), Augustin Marchand Church/mission centres in Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts, Ohio, New York, Illinois and Canada. Episcopal See transfered from Duval (Saint Mary's Church) to Green Bay (Saint Louis-de-France Church) in 1895, and from Green Bay to Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Mission Parish of Notre-Dame) in 1901. Polish, Italian, Swedish and African American parishes and missions joined the ordinariate (diocesan structure) with the French-Canadians and the Belgians, under Bishop Vilatte's episcopal oversight. He consecrated bishops for them: +S. Kaminski (1898), +P. Miraglia-Gulotti (1900), +F. Kanski (1904), +F. Lloyd (1915), +G.A. McGuire (1921)... In 1909, he published a booklet called An Order for Apostolic Reunion in America and championed the idea of creating a multi-ethnic Church Council & Bishops Conference, based on the Episcopal succession/ministry and the Faith & Order Declaration of the Duval Synod (1889). On January 1, 1910, the Council was organized with Bishop Vilatte as President and Rev. C.F. Durand as Secretary-Treasurer. It was incorporated in the State of Illinois in 1915, with headquarters in Chicago, under the name American Catholic Church. Bishop Durand (1879-1957) oversaw the French-speaking ministry after Bishop Vilatte, from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was succeeded as leader of French-speaking Christian Catholics by Bishop O'Neill M. Côté.