A compilation of correspondence,
historical studies, journals, memoirs, sacramental records, presentations and
other primary source materials combined with secondary biographical sources.
Collection may be useful for study of mission history in the Inland Northwest
region, genealogy of the Spokane Tribe and the 1877 Nez Perce War.
Repository:
Foley Center Library Special
Collections Gonzaga
University
Primarily in English, with some Latin and Italian. Also a few items in German and Nez Percé Indian language
Sponsor:
Funding for encoding this finding
aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Historical Note
Joseph M. Cataldo was born March 17, 1837 in Terrasini, Sicily. His
youth was marked by frail health and multiple family relocations particularly
in response to the 1848 pan-Euopean political turbulance, felt in Sicily as
well. In 1852, at the ripe age of 15, he petitioned to join the Sicily Province
of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), based in nearby Palermo. His early training
was interrupted by more bad health and removal to Rome in 1860 due to the
success of Garibaldi's Sicilian campaign. In 1862, while studying for the
priesthood in Louvain, Belgium, Cataldo requested a post-ordination assignment
to the Jesuits' Rocky Mountain Mission already established in the Pacific
Northwest. Prevailing over the impediments of more weak health, Fr. Cataldo
finally arrived at the Jesuits' Sacred Heart Mission in north Idaho in October,
1865.
Fr. Cataldo's first missionary enterprise was an overwinter residence,
1866-67, with a band of the Spokane Indian Tribe. Following this assay he was
directed to open a Catholic mission to the Nez Perce Tribe, and this was to
become his primary missionary relationship for the rest of his life. Facing
much early resistance, Fr. Cataldo succeeded in establishing the St. Joseph's
'Slickpoo' Mission. An adept and fluent linguist, he eventually authored in the
Nez Perce language a composite history of the 'Life of Jesus Christ' drawn from
various New Testament Gospel texts. During the Nez Perce uprising in 1877, Fr.
Cataldo is generally credited as an interlocutor who effectively calmed
settlers' fears and enjoined surrounding tribes to distance themselves from
Chief Joseph's band. Shortly thereafter he was appointed as Superior of the
Rocky Mountain Mission, a position he retained until 1893.
When finally relieved of the many administrative duties this post
entailed, Fr. Cataldo returned to the simpler life of a field missionary. His
experience and strength of character were sometimes drawn upon as a temporary
stabilizing force and source of clear perspective for certain distant
situations, such as at Nome, Alaska, and the St. Francis Xavier (Crow) Mission
in Montana. Most of his remaining years, however, were spent at either the St.
Joseph's (Nez Perce) Mission he founded, the St. Andrew's (Umatilla) Mission,
or the Catholic Parish of St. Mary's in Pendleton. Fr. Cataldo died in
Pendleton April 9, 1928, at the age of 92, of which 75 had been spent as a
Jesuit.
Content Description
Since Fr. Cataldo was a well known personage even during his own
lifetime, he has received a considerable amount of biographical attention, and
many of these secondary sources have been added to his Papers. These are almost
uniformly lauditory in tone, especially the profiles written at the time of his
Diamond Jubilee, which commemorated his remarkable 75 year career as a Jesuit.
Posthumous studies have tended to rely heavily on those celebratory accounts.
In his own correspondence, Fr. Cataldo's focus was on business rather than
pleasure, so the bulk of his written communication dates to the period when he
was Superior of the Rocky Mountain Mission, especially during the frenetic
1885-1893 period. Even in his personal correspondence Cataldo was often being
asked to provide autobiographical information or historical insight. One
engaging exception is the vaguely mentor-protégé exchange that Cataldo
maintained (1917-1923) with young Fr. Felix Geis.
The baptismal and marriage records that Fr. Cataldo generated during
his 1866-67 overwinter with members of the Spokane Tribe are included with his
Papers as typescript copies, with the original Latin translated into English.
These offer genealogists an easier entry into these historical data.
The bulk of Fr. Cataldo's histories of the Jesuit Rocky Mountain
Mission were penned in the 1920s, when he was an elderly man. His was a unique
and valuable perspective, framed by the role he played as 'living link' to
bygone pioneer days. In his account of the opening of the St. Michael's
(Spokane) Mission some considerable discrepancy can be seen between his
retrospective view and the contemporaneous picture published in the Jesuit
English Province's
Letters and Notices.
The scant material pertaining to Cataldo's activities during the 1877
Nez Perce uprising have been consolidated into a series entitled "Special
Endeavors."
Use of the Collection
Alternative Forms Available :
The contents of folders with appended descriptor [NWM xx: yy-zz] are
also available on 35mm microfilm.
Restrictions on Access :
None
Restrictions on Use :
Permission is required for publication of images or excerpts of text.
To publish materials for which the Jesuit Oregon Province Archives does not
claim copyright, researchers will be responsible for securing permission from
the copyright holder(s). In all cases, the most recent provisions of U.S.C.
Title 17 shall apply. Practical limitations may be placed on how many
reproductions the Archives is able to provide.
Preferred Citation :
Folder [ ] or Image [ ], Joseph Cataldo, S.J., Papers, Jesuit Oregon
Province Archives, Gonzaga University, Spokane
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Collection is arranged by series. Part of the JOPA Personal Papers
record group.
Future Additions :
New biographical clippings (2/12) and other studies (3/20) may
continue to be added to the collection. Folders with manuscripts written in
Italian are actively being supplemented with typescripts of English
translations.
Processing Note :
Processed by David Kingma, 2003
Separated Materials :
Cataldo papers generated during his term as Superior of the Jesuits'
Rocky Mountain Mission, 1877-1893, are maintained separately as the
Mission Superior Cataldo
Papers in the Jesuit Oregon Province Archives.
Additional Reference Guides :
Microfilmed folders are alternately described in Carriker, Robert C.
and Eleanor R. Carriker,
Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the Pacific
Northwest Tribes Missions Collection of the Oregon Province Archives of the
Society of Jesus (Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources Inc.,
1987)
Location of Originals :
Some folders contain photocopied material from other archival
repositories:
Personnel records and obituaries (1/1): Jesuit Turin Province
Archives, Turin
Correspondence and reports to Jesuit Fr. Generals (4/1 and 5/5):
Jesuit Curia Archives, Rome (ARSI)
Correspondence to Turin Provincial Ciravegna, S.J. (4/2): Jesuit
Turin Province Archives, Turin
Correspondence to Sicily Provincial Nalbone, S.J. (4/6): Jesuit
Sicily Province Archives, Palermo
Correspondence with Mo. Katherine Drexel, S.B.S. (4/25):
Archives of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Bensalem, PA.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Personal History
Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
Personnel records
1865-1928
1/2
Faculties granted
1882-1919
1/3
Medical records, Sacred Heart
Hospital, Spokane
[NWM 28: 908-909]
1925
1/4
Autobiographical materials
1925
1/5
Memorabilia, general
1/6
Letters of introduction and other
memorabilia anent Fr. Cataldo's trip to Europe
1885
1/7
Printed materials anent Fr.
Cataldo's Golden Jubilee celebrations
1902
1/8
Printed material, correspondence
and other memorabilia anent Fr. Cataldo's Diamond Jubilee celebrations
1927-1928
1/9
General contemporaneous
biographical materials
1926
1/10
Biographical account anent
difficulties in establishing St. Joseph's Mission to the Nez Perces, in
Annals of the Propagation of the
Faith
1869
1/11
Biographical references by Louis
Ruellan, S.J.
1884
1/12
Biographical references in
memoirs of Aloysius Soer, S.J.
[NWM 28: 705-724]
circa 1906
1/13
Biographical references in
correspondence of James O'Sullivan, S.J. to George Weibel, S.J., anent intended
article in
Gonzaga
1912
1/14
Article and poem, celebrating Fr.
Cataldo's fifty-year anniversary in the Northwest, published in
Gonzaga
1915
1/15
Biographical notes of James
O'Sullivan, S.J.
1916
1/16
Unpublished biographical sketch,
"Father Joseph Maria Cataldo, S.J., Last Surviving Jesuit Missionary Priest of
the Pioneer Band in Fr. Peter De Smet's Days: Chronology and Facts of an
Eventful Life, 1837-1915," by Fr. James O'Sullivan, S.J.
[NWM 28: 890-900]
circa 1916
1/17
Article, "Kaushin," by James
O'Sullivan, S.J., in
Gonzaga, with handwritten draft
[NWM 28: 103-118]
1916
1/18
Rough draft and notes for
"Kaushin" article, by James O'Sullivan, S.J.
1916
1/19
Article, "Father Cataldo and the
Golden Jubilee of St. Michael Mission," by John C. McAstocker, S.J., in
Woodstock Letters
1916
1/20
Booklet,
Kuailks Metatcopun (Black Robe Three-Times
Broken), by Laurence E. Crosby, with typescript extracts
[NWM 29: 93-102]
1925
1/21
Notes for
Kuailks Metatcopun..., by Laurence
Crosby
1925
1/22
Article, "Ka-ou-shin, The
Blackrobe," by Jean Cameron, in
Catholic World
1925
1/23
Unpublished biographical
sketches, "Gonzaga College - Mother of Spokane City," and "Gonzaga University
of Spokane, Wash. U.S.A. is the Great Mother of Spokane City," with related
correspondence
[NWM 28: 373-393]
1926-1927
1/24
Clipping and supplemental notes
anent "Gonzaga College - Mother of Spokane City"
1926-1927
1/25
Article, "Fr. Cataldo's Diamond
Jubilee: 75 Years a Jesuit," by George Weibel, S.J., in
California Province News [NWM 29: 43-46]
December
1927
1/26
Article, "Rev. Joseph M. Cataldo,
S.J., Jubilarian: Short Sketch of a Wonderful Career," by George F. Weibel,
S.J., in
Gonzaga Quarterly[NWM 29: 3-21]
February
1928
2/1
Booklet,
A Short Sketch of a Wonderful
Career, by George F. Weibel, S.J.
[NWM 29: 47-69]
March
1928
2/2
Correspondence anent the Indian
canticle sung at Fr. Cataldo's funeral
1928
2/3
Account of Cataldo's death, by
John Corbett, S.J.
[NWM 28: 881-889]
April 1928
2/4
Article, "Last Days and Death of
Fr. Cataldo," by George Weibel, S.J., in
California Province News
May,
1928
2/5
Notes and rough drafts of Fr.
Weibel's "The Last Days of Fr. Cataldo"
1928
2/6
Commemorative issue of
Gonzaga Quarterly [NWM 29: 22-42]
May
1928
2/7
Digest of
Gonzaga Quarterly commemorative
issue, by George Weibel, S.J.
May,
1928
2/8
Obituary, in
Inland Empire Catholic Messenger,
with reprint of Fr. Weibel's "Rev. Joseph M. Cataldo, S.J., Jubilarian"
May,
1928
2/9
Obituary and compilation of
biographical references in, and Fr. Cataldo's contributions to,
The Indian Sentinel
1906-1928
2/10
Account of funeral, and other
biographical references, in Jesuit English Province's
Letters and Notices
1883-1928
2/11
Newspaper clippings
[NWM 29: 123-194]
1903-1975
2/12
Newspaper clippings
1891-2006
2/13
General posthumous biographical
materials and obituaries
Feature, "Don't Get Proud,
Blackgown!" in
Jesuit Mission Service, News Bureau
[NWM 29: 119-122]
1934
2/16
Article, "Father Joseph M.
Cataldo: The Father of Spokane," by Giovanne Schiavo, in
Atlantica
1934
2/17
Article, "Pater Jozef Cataldo,"
by J.B. Goetstouivers, S.J., in
Xaveriana
1935
2/18
Booklet,
Kanhilks Metecopnin..., Laurence
Crosby's
Kuailks Metatcopun translated into
Italian by Celestino Testore, S.J.
1935
2/19
Articles of Joseph Petralia,
S.J., in
Ai Nostri Amici
1936-1937
3/1
Undergraduate thesis, "Father
Cataldo, S.J.," by Lucia V. Nanfitó
1942
3/2
Biographical materials acquired
by Wilfred Schoenberg, S.J., from the Daughters of the American Revolution
[NWM 28: 147-154]
1946
3/3
Unpublished biographical account,
compiled by John O'Brien, S.J.
(with related correspondence)
1946
3/4
Bibliography of Cataldo
biographical references, compiled by Emmett Carroll, S.J.,
et al.
1952
3/5
Article, "Rev. Joseph M. Cataldo,
S.J.: A Brief Sketch of His Life," by Fr. Felix Geis, in
Oregon-Jesuit [NWM 28: 683-698]
(with related correspondence and rough drafts)
1952
3/6
Unpublished biographical
accounts, by Michael O'Malley, S.J.
circa 1958
3/7
Biographical publications of
Joseph Giardino, S.J., Jesuit Sicily Province
1928-1958
3/8
Thesis, "The Long Harvest: the
Life of Joseph M. Cataldo, S.J.," by Lucia Nanfitó Ahern (Peru, Nebraska:
Nebraska State Teachers College)
1958
3/9
Biographical account of Fr.
Cataldo's early mission work in the Lewiston (Idaho) area, unknown author
[NWM 28: 699-704]
circa 1958
3/10
Article, "P. Giuseppe M. Cataldo:
Missionario Siciliano delle Montagne Rocciose," by Onofrio Valenti, in
Ai Nostri Amici
1972
3/11
Article, "Joseph M. Cataldo,
S.J., and St. Joseph's Mission," by Erwin Thompson, in
Idaho Yesterdays
1974
3/12
Chapter, "Joseph M. Cataldo,
S.J.: Courier of Catholicism to the Nez Perces," by Robert Carriker, in
Churchmen and the Western Indians,
Milner and O'Neil, eds. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press)
1985
3/13
Article, "'The Jump That Saved
the Rocky Mountain Mission': Jesuit Recruitment and the Pacific Northwest," by
Gerald McKevitt, S.J., in
Pacific Historical
Review
1986
3/14
Article, "P. Giuseppe Cataldo,
S.J.: Missionario nelle Montagne Rocciose," unknown author, in
Ai Nostri Amici
(with related correspondence)
1993
3/15
Commentary anent Fr. Cataldo's
1885 journey to Europe, by C.M. Buckley, S.J., in
When Jesuits Were Giants: Louis-Marie
Ruellan, S.J. and Contemporaries (San Francisco: Ignatius Press)
1999
3/16
Inscribed memorial plaque placed
on Fr. Cataldo's birthplace, Terrasini, Sicily
1992
3/17
Commemorative materials for Terrasini-Giubileo 2000 events, Terrasini, Sicily
2000
3/18
Commemorative materials for
"'Padre Giuseppe Cataldo, S.J: vita, opere' Convegno Giornate di studio"
events, Terrasini, Sicily
2001
3/19
Published letters,
Padre Giuseppe Cataldo, S.J.:
Epistolario, by Antonino Lo Nardo (Palermo: Confederazione Nazionale
dell' Artigianato e della Piccola e Media Impresa)
To Jesuit General, Rome, anent
application to the Rocky Mountain Mission
1862
4/2
To Turin Provincial Ciravegna,
S.J.
1871
4/3
To Turin Provincial Ciravegna,
S.J., anent missionary efforts among the Nez Perces
[NWM 28: 164-169]
1872
4/4
To Turin Provincials, published
in
Lettere Edificanti
1900-1911
4/5
Provincial correspondence and
other biographical references, published in
Lettere Edificanti[NWM 28: 179-222]
(translated by Lucia N. Ahern)
1900-1907
4/6
To Sicily Provincial Nalbone,
S.J., anent 1908 Messina Strait earthquake
1909
4/7
Provincial correspondence,
published in
Lettere Edificanti ...della Provincia
Sicilia [NWM 28: 969-974]
1913
4/8
To California Provincial Piet,
S.J., anent need for a new priest for the Nez Percé Tribe at Slickpoo, Idaho
circa 1925
4/9
To California Provincial Piet,
S.J., published in
Western Jesuit
1928
4/10
To Francis Barnum, S.J., to
Leopold Van Gorp, S.J., Alaska Mission Procurator, and from Inno McGill, editor
of
The Indian Sentinel, anent Alaska
Mission
[NWM 28: 285-295]
1897-1917
4/11
Index of correspondence
(1866-1876, 1894-1928) with fellow Rocky Mountain Mission Jesuits
undated
4/12
To Peter De Smet, S.J., published
in
Letters and Notices
1871-1872
4/13
To Fr. De Smet, published in
Woodstock Letters [NWM 28: 264-266]
1872
4/14
To Pascal Tosi, S.J.
[NWM 28: 252-255]
1895
4/15
To Aloysius Vander Velden, S.J.,
anent Nez Perce language terms
1916
4/16
To Carmelo Giordano, S.J.
1918-1921
4/17
From William Benn, S.J., anent
re-interment of Jesuits buried at Old Sacred Heart (Cataldo) Mission
[NWM 28: 313-315]
1922
4/18
With Ambrose Sullivan, S.J.,
anent proposed preface for a De Smet biography
[NWM 28: 316-321]
1923
4/19
To Jules Jetté, S.J., anent
Jesuits in Alaska
[NWM 28: 322-327]
1925
4/20
To "Father Rector," anent Spokane
Garry, with related clippings
[NWM 28: 328-331]
1926
4/21
To C.A. McQuillan, S.J.,
Scholastic
1926-1927
4/22
With George Weibel, S.J., anent
biographical details
1912-1928
4/23
From "Robert," an Alaskan Native
youth, with postscript by Joseph Treca, S.J.
[NWM 28: 279-282]
4/24
Correspondence and other
materials anent fundraising and lecture tours for the Rocky Mountain Mission
schools
[NWM 28: 928-940]
circa 1900-1901
4/25
With Mo. Katherine Drexel
[NWM 28: 170-178]
(donated by Lucia N. Ahern, 1958)
1889-1904
4/26
With John Rees, anent place names
of Indian origin in Idaho
(with related notes and printed material)
1918-1919
4/27
With Harl J. Cook, anent Fr.
Cataldo's opinion of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe
[NWM 28: 311-312]
1920
4/28
From Cyril Van der Doncks, anent
the Fort Hall and Lemhi Indian Reservations
1922
4/29
To Fr. Felix Geis
[NWM 28: 296-310]
(with other related correspondence)
1917-1923
4/30
Of Fr. Felix Geis, anent Fr.
Cataldo
1920-1923
4/31
Requests for assistance with
historical and linguistic matters
1904-1928
4/32
With Jean Cameron Mallot
1925-1928
4/33
Christmas greetings
1923-1928
4/34
Fr. Fr. John Cooper, Catholic
University of America, anent Catholic Anthropological Conference
1927
4/35
Correspondence and printed
material anent Eucharistic League of Priests and the 29th Intl. Eucharistic
Conference in Sydney, Australia
1927-1928
4/36
Open letter to citizens of
Lewiston, anent preferences toward erection of a public monument in his honor
1928
4/37
From Daniel Reidy, S.J., Gonzaga
University President, anent establishment of the Cataldo Endowment Fund and
other details of the Diamond Jubilee events hosted by Gonzaga University
1928
4/38
Letters of congratulation anent
birthday and Diamond Jubilee commemoration
1928
4/39
Letter of response to students of
St. Francis Academy, Portland, Oregon
History of the establishment of
St. Michael's Mission to the Spokane Indians, and of Gonzaga College, as
related to an unknown author
[NWM 28: 394-454]
undated
5/14
Holograph draft of Fr. Cataldo's
1880 "Sketch of the Nez Percés Indians," and notes on the "Sketch of the Nez
Percés Indian Mission
[NWM 28: 465-539]
(with related correspondence)
undated
5/15
Typescript draft of Fr. Cataldo's
1880 "Sketch of the Nez Percés Indians"
[NWM 28: 540-563]
undated
5/16
Text of fundraising appeal of
support of the Rocky Mountain Mission schools
[NWM 28: 564-578]
(with related historical notes)
circa 1900-1901
5/17
Holograph draft of Fr. Cataldo's
1922 "The Nez Perce Indian Mission," as dictated to Michael O'Malley, S.J.
(with related notes and correspondence)
1905
5/18
Typescript draft of Fr. Cataldo's
1922 "The Nez Perce Indian Mission," as dictated to Michael O'Malley, S.J. in
1905
[NWM 28: 633-658]
undated
5/19
Typescript excerpt anent Julia
Isketzizkanin, from Fr. Cataldo's 1922 "The Nez Perce Indian Mission"
[NWM 28: 461-464]
undated
5/20
Holograph draft of article on the
St. Joseph's Mission, Slickpoo, Idaho, in
The Indian Sentinel
1916
5/21
Historical account of the first
Coeur d'Alene Mission site on the St. Joe River, and the naming of Benewah
County, Idaho
[NWM 28: 947-951]
1923
5/22
Account, "Short Sketch on [the]
Nez-Perces Indian Catholic Mission," written for fundraising appeal purposes
[NWM 28: 609-632]
1925
6/1
Account, "Catholic Indian
Missions in the Northwest of the U.S.A., 1812 to 1830," with related notes
[NWM 28: 910-927]
circa 1927
6/2
Account, anent early history of
the Catholic Church in Oregon Territory from 1830 to 1848
[NWM 28: 598-608]
undated
6/3
Account, "La Missione delle
Montagne Rocciose nel 1886"
[NWM 28: 672-682]
undated
6/4
Account, "The Catholic Church in
Moscow, Idaho," written for Fr. N.F. Wirtzberger, Pastor
[NWM 28: 455-460]
undated
6/5
Account, "A Sketch on Kootonais
Indians"
[NWM 28: 659-660]
undated
6/6
Account, "Happy Death of Two
Indian Boys"
[NWM 28: 904-907]
undated
6/7
Account, biographical sketch of
Joseph Bandini, S.J. in the Rocky Mountain Mission from 1867 to 1887
[NWM 28: 952-954]
