February 29, 1904
Father Anthony Le Grand
Fr. Le Grand was born on February 3, 1839 in Le Havre, France, of an English Protestant mother and a French Protestant father. His education was at Sarbonne University in Paris and Oxford College in England. At first he wanted to be a doctor but changed his mind and was ordained an Anglican priest and was sent to work in China for seven years. He then was sent to Rome for eleven years and was made a bishop. “A public discussion with Father Palimieri, the famous Jesuit, on the historic certainty that St. Peter fixed his see in Rome, drew Rev. Le Grand’s attention to the Catholic Church.” (The Catholic Advance, Mar. 5, 1904) He made a profession of faith in the Catholic Church and later was ordained a Resurrectionist priest in Italy. The order sent him to work at St. Jerome’s College, Berlin, Ontario, Canada but he wanted to do missionary work. With permission of his superiors, he came to work in the Diocese of Wichita and in 1902 was incardinated into the diocese. He first worked with the French speaking community in Clyde and for the last six years of his life he was chaplain at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita. He died on February 29, 1904 and was buried at Calvary Cemetery.