In this episode, the Msgr. Michael Witt and Teresa Holman trace the journey of French explorers Joliet and Father Marquette as they reach the Mississippi River in 1673, seeking a westward route to the Pacific for trade and missionary work. Along their journey, they encounter the Illinois people, receive a warm and ceremonial welcome, and witness remarkable sights like the Piasa bird paintings on the bluffs. The discussion highlights the Jesuits' vision of cultural accommodation—respecting and Christianizing native societies without destroying them. The episode ends with the explorers discovering the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and realizing the route leads south, not west, challenging French imperial assumptions.
*Saint Louis: The Story of Catholic Evangelization of America's Heartland originally aired on Covenant Network Catholic Radio. These podcast episodes are being released in anticipation of the Bicentennial Celebrations of the founding of the Archdiocese of St. Louis as the Diocese of St. Louis on July 18, 1826.
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