Salpointe, Jean Baptiste

Jean Baptiste Salpointe was born at St. Maurice, Puy de Dome, France on February 21, 1825. After studying theology at Clermont Seminary, he was ordained as a priest. He held several posts in Europe before arriving in the United States as a missionary for Archbishop Lamy of Santa Fe. Salpointe was sent to the Arizona Territory, and when this region was converted to a vicariate, Salpoint was named the First Vicar Apostolic of Arizona, his territory including Arizona, New Mexico and a part of Texas. He was again promoted in 1884, this time to archbishop, succeeding Lamy. He resigned this position in 1894, returning to Tucson, where he died four years later.