Simon William Gabriel Bruté de Rémur, the first bishop of the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana, was born on March 20, 1779, at Rennes, France. His father was Simon-Guillaume-Gabriel Bruté de Remur, Superintendent of the Royal Domains in Brittany;[1] and his mother, Jeanne-Renee Le Saulnier de Vauhelle Vater, was the widow of Francis Vater, printer to the King and Parliament at Rennes.
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He was educated for the medical profession, but entered the Sulpician Seminary of Paris in November 1803, was ordained priest in 1808, refused the post of chaplain to Napoleon I, was professor of theology in the diocesan seminary at Rennes in 1808-1810. Due to his long general interest in missions, and particularly his acquaintance with Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget of Kentucky, the missionary life attracted his interest. In August 1810 he sailed for Baltimore along with Bishop Flaget of Bardstown and Anthony Deydier among others. After teaching for two years (1810-1812) at St. Mary's College, Baltimore, he was sent to Mount St. Mary's College, in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he remained until 1815, acting both as teacher and as pastor.
He attended schools in Rennes for several years, until his studies were interrupted by the French Revolution. During the Revolution, he worked in the printing establishment of his mother, learning and practising the business of a compositor. Despite the efforts of his mother to shield him from the horrors of the Revolution, he still witnessed many disturbing and exciting scenes, including the trials and executions of priests and nobles.
Bruté began studying medicine in 1796 and graduated in 1803. He did not practice medicine following his graduation, but instead entered the seminary of Saint Sulpice in Paris. He was ordained a priest on June 11, 1808, joining the Society of Saint-Sulpice, and taught theology for two years before sailing to the United States as a missionary.
Bruté arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1810, where he taught philosophy for two years at St. Mary's Seminary. He then spent a short amount of time on the Eastern Shore before being transferred to Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Despite his humble protest to remain at his 'Mountain' home, Bruté accepted the position of bishop and proceeded west. Bruté was assigned to Vincennes with only two other priests to serve the newly formed diocese. One was assigned to the new diocese and the other was on loan.
The see of Vincennes was created in 1834. Brute was appointed its first bishop and was consecrated in the same year. He traveled to France for financial aid, with which he built his cathedral and several useful institutions. He again journeyed to France in 1836 when he returned with a number of clerical recruits, among them Benjamin Petit the missionary to the Potawatomi Indians. He was professor of theology in his seminary, teacher in one of his academies, as well as pastor and bishop. Interesting stories are told of the high respect in which he was held by the neighboring Indians, who called him chief of the black robes and man of the true prayer. Bruté continued to build up the clergy, even to the point of recruiting old acquaintances, such as Anthony Deydier who arrived on the same boat as Bruté in 1810. Upon Bruté's arrival in Indiana there was only one priest assigned to the diocese which covered all of Indiana and the eastern half of Illinois. Upon his death, the number of clergymen had grown tremendously. It is interesting to note that on March 7, 1835 Bruté became a U.S. citizen. Partly because of the requirements for land ownership.[2] Bruté knew, however, that much work remained to be done. For a number of years before his death he had sought a coadjutor bishop, but upon his death none had been named.
He died in Vincennes, Indiana, on the 26th of June 1839. His great influence on the entire church, his wonderful success in planning, financing, and carrying out necessary ecclesiastical reforms, and the constructive and executive ability he displayed in his diocese, made him one of the foremost Catholic emigrants to the United States. He wrote Brief Notes on his experiences in France in 1793, in which he describes state persecution of Catholic priests.
In 2005, one of Bruté's successors, Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein (of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis - transferred from Vincennes in 1898), began the process for the eventual canonization of Bishop Bruté, who is now known as "Servant of God".[3]