Anthony Rey was born in
Lyon, France on 19 March 1807. He studied at the Jesuit college of
Fribourg, entered the novitiate, 12 November 1827, and subsequently taught at Fribourg. 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. Fluent in French and German, Father Rey was able to preach in English three months after arriving in the United States. 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 May 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 learned Spanish in order to preach 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==