consecrated by Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili on 24 September in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi. He would continue his recruiting in Europe for two years, and while in Lyon, France, he met a widow and expressed his desire to create an organization to raise funds for the church in the vast Louisiana diocese. This eventually became the Society for the Propagation of the Faith several years later. He eventually sailed to the United States from France on 1 July 1817. He returned with five priests—including several Lazarists from Rome, among whom were Felix de Andreis and Joseph Rosati—and 26 other men from Italy and France—including Antoine Blanc—who intended to become priests or brothers. DuBourg also invited the Ursuline nuns to establish a ministry in the diocese, and nine postulants accepted. He arrived in Annapolis, Maryland on 4 September. Bishop of Louisiana Upon returning to his diocese, DuBourg decided that it was not safe for him in New Orleans, and he took up residence in St. Louis, Missouri. As such, he became the first bishop to use the city of St. Louis as his episcopal see. The overland journey from Maryland to St. Louis was perilous and took several weeks. He started out in a stagecoach, which at one point overturned on the rough terrain, causing him to nearly fracture his skull. Unable to continue by stagecoach, he finished the last five days of his journey to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on foot. From there, he traveled by boat to Louisville and Bardstown, Kentucky. DuBourg finally arrived in St. Louis in January 1818, and would remain there for five years. Establishing the church in St. Louis Unlike in New Orleans, DuBourg was warmly received by the Catholics of St. Louis. Shortly after arriving, he began building up the part of the diocese in the Missouri Territory. He soon raised funds to construct churches throughout the region and staff them with priests. Among these was a grand church for St. Louis that would eventually become the cathedral of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the first cathedral west of the Mississippi River. DuBourg also sought to promote education in the diocese. In order to be able to train priests at home, rather than rely on a European missionaries, he established St. Mary's of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville in 1818, placing it under the charge of the Lazarist fathers. In August of that