Anthony Rey

Anthony Rey (born at Lyon, France, 19 March 1807; died near Ceralvo, Mexico, 19 January 1847) was a French Jesuit academic, and U.S. Army chaplain during the Mexican–American War.

Life

He studied at the Jesuit college of Fribourg, entered the novitiate, 12 November 1827, and subsequently taught at Fribourg and Sion in Valais. In 1840 he was sent to the United States, appointed professor of philosophy in Georgetown College, and in 1843 transferred to St. Joseph's Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He became assistant to the Jesuit provincial of Maryland, pastor of Trinity Church, Georgetown, and vice-president of the college (1845).

Appointed a chaplain in the U.S. Army in 1846, he ministered to the wounded and dying at the siege of Monterrey; after the capture of the city, he remained with the army at Monterrey and preached to the rancheros of the neighbourhood. Against the advice of the U.S. officers, he set out for Matamoros, preaching to a congregation of Americans and Mexicans at Ceralvo. It is conjectured that he was killed by a band under the leader Antonio Canales Rosillo, as his body was discovered, pierced with lances, a few days later.

Works

He left letters dating from November, 1846, which were printed in the "Woodstock Letters" (XVII, 149-50, 152-55, 157-59).

See also

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA

References

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Anthony Rey". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.  The entry cites:
  • Augustin de Backer & Carlos Sommervogel, Bibliothèque, VI, 1689;
  • Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography (New York, 1888), s. v.