Meurin would continue to be a Catholic priest
but could no longer be part of the Jesuit order. The
persecution of the Jesuits in Europe had extended to the
American continent where it was reinforced by representatives
of the French and Spanish governments in Louisiana. As a
Jesuit, Father Meurin would no longer have been recognized as a
priest. He was allowed to remain in America only by joining
another religious order and settling in Ste. Genevieve which
was located in the Spanish territories, formerly part of French
Louisiana.
© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96