Stories from the First Cathedral 6: Early Years of Bishop Whipple's Ministry in Faribault

"The Bishop's first service in Faribault was on February 19, 1860 in the 'rude chapel' of the Parish of the Good Shepherd. During the visit a committee of 40 citizens met with him to make Faribault his home. They pledged $1,168 and several lots of land as a site. Alexander Faribault, a Roman Catholic part-Indian offered 5 additional acres. Early in May of 1860, the Whipples established their household in Faribault." (Information taken from The First Cathedral, written by Robert Neslund and the Venerable Benjamin Ives Scott.)

After one year and a year away from laying the cornerstone of the First Cathedral, the Bishop set out across the large geographical area of Minnesota! Whipple reported that his missionary stations had doubled in one year. Also in one year he traveled over 3,000 miles holding services in taverns, school houses and outside areas. He did the basics of preaching, baptizing, confirming and celebrating the Eucharist.

As the Bishop, with his trusty companion Bashaw (the large black horse), traveled around Minnesota, he noticed the underlying conflicts between Native people and white settlers. The Dakota and Anishinaabe were living with broken promises from treaties, which had promised reparation for lands vacated by the Native people. The year 1860 was only two years before the Dakota conflict, when blood was spilled by both Native and white lives in Southwestern Minnesota. The war began in August of 1862, at the same time that construction started on the First Cathedral in Faribault. 

In future stories, I will share Bishop Whipple's role in the conflict and how he earned his name from the Native people, who called him "Straight Tongue".