Archives and Records
1860: Rev. Eugene C. Chirouse, O.M.I.
 

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The Rev. Eugene Casimir Chirouse, O.M.I. joined Bishop A.M.A. Blanchet in 1847 in St. Louis as the newly consecrated bishop journeyed to the new Diocese of Nesqually.  In the midst of the tension that followed the Whitman Massacre, Bishop Blanchet ordained Chirouse to the priesthood, along with his fellow Oblate, Charles Pandosy.  Theirs were the first ordinations in present-day Washington State.  Chirouse spent much of his life working with the Native American peoples of Southeastern Washington and the Puget Sound area.  Fr. Chirouse also established a mission on the Tulalip Indian Reservation, and another mission at Priests' Point near Marysville

Sources:

• O'Connell Killen, Patricia. Abundance of Grace: The History of the Archdiocese of Seattle 1850-2000