Jean Etienne Bazin was born at
Duerne, near
Lyon, on October 15, 1796, the fourth of nine children of Jean-Antoine and Claudine (née Ville) Bazin. He was educated in his native country and ordained in
Lyon Cathedral on July 22, 1822. In November 1830, he arrived in the United States and began his labours among the Roman Catholics of
Mobile, Alabama, where for seventeen years he worked for the religious instruction of the young, organizing the Sunday schools and establishing the Catholic Orphan Asylum Society. He was also the vicar-general of the diocese. In a letter to another bishop,
Jean-Baptiste Bouvier of
Le Mans, Guerin described Bazin as "pious, humble, and of an amiable simplicity." Bazin died at
Vincennes, Indiana on April 23, 1848, only seven months after his consecration as bishop. He and was interred in the
Old Cathedral. == References ==