Ferdinand Brossart was born on October 19, 1849, in the village of Buechelberg, Rhenish Palatinate, in what was then the Kingdom of Bavaria. Today it is a part of the city Woerth am Rhein in Germany.[1] His parents, Ferdinand Brossart and Catharina née Diesel, were farmers.
The Brossart family immigrated to the United States when Ferdinand was two-years-old. They first settled in New Orleans, Louisiana, but move to Cincinnati, Ohio, after an outbreak of yellow in New Orleans. In 1861, the family moved to Campbell County, Kentucky, in 1861.
Brossart was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Covington by Bishop Augustus Toebbe on September 1, 1872, in Covington, Ohio.[3] During a smallpox epidemic in Covington, Brossart attended the sick and dying at the cost of his own health. Bishop Camillus Maes named Brossart as his vicar general and rector of St. Mary's Cathedral in 1888. Brossart celebrated the 25th anniversary of this ordination while on a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France.
Bishop of Covington
Brossart was appointed bishop of Covington by Pope Benedict XV on December 9, 1915. He was consecrated at St. Mary's Cathedral in Covington by Archbishop Henry Moeller of Cincinnati on January 25, 1916.[3] Brossart is the only diocesan priest from Covington to have been chosen as bishop.
As bishop, Brossart completed the final work on the Cathedral of the Assumption in Covington. After the entry of the United States to the First World War in 1917, Brossart suffered many public attacks because he was born in what was now the German Empire. In response, he declared his loyalty to the United States and engaged in many patriotic activities. He also decreed that only Latin and English could be used in services. Brossart also translated several German theological books into English, including works of the Austrian monk Henry Denifle.
Retirement and legacy
Brossart resigned as bishop of Covington on March 14, 1923, due to ill health. He retired to the St. Anne Convent in Melbourne, Kentucky, where he died on August 6, 1930.[3]
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