Perche, Napoleon Joseph

Perche, Napoleon Joseph a Roman Catholic prelate, was born at Angers, France, January 10, 1805. He was educated for the Church, and was ordained a. priest September 19, 1829. In 1837, when bishop Flaget went to Europe in the interests of his diocese, father Perche offered his services as a missionary, which were accepted, and on his arrival in America he began his labors in Kentucky and founded a church in Portland. In 1842 he was transferred to New Orleans and appointed chaplain of the Ursuline convent, which office he held until April, 1870. Father Perche founded at New Orleans the Propagateur Catholique, of which he was principal editor. On May 1, 1870, he was consecrated bishop coadjutor of New Orleans, and on the death of Odin, May 25,1870, he became the archbishop of the diocese. He died there, December 27, 1883. He was. a man of great energy, far-seeing judgment, and great eloquence, and his many charitable acts endeared him to the people, among whom he labored with zeal and fidelity.