Editing Mathias Loras (section)

==Early life and ministry==
Mathias Loras was born to an [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocratic]] family in [[Lyon]], France, on August 30, 1792. He was a descendant of a French [[Nobles of the Robe|noble of the robe]] family. During the [[Reign of Terror]] in France, Loras' father and 16 other members of his family were put to death by [[guillotine]].<ref name=dubuque>{{cite web |url = http://iagenweb.org/boards/dubuque/biographies/index.cgi?read=211677 |title = Bishop Mathias Loras |work = The Palimpsest |access-date = 9 January 2016}}</ref>
 
As a young man, he studied for the priesthood, along with St. [[John Vianney]] (the ''Curé d'Ars''). He was [[Ordination|ordained]] a priest around 1817 by Cardinal [[Joseph Fesch]] for the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lyon|Archdiocese of Lyon]]. He soon became the Superior of the ecclesiastical [[Seminary]] of [[Largentière]]. He subsequently resigned from this position to join a group of priests conducting parish missions in the Archdiocese of Lyon.<ref name=Clarke>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z79LiSQC8YEC&pg=PA126|last=Clarke|first=Richard Henry|chapter=Right Rev. Mathias Loras, D.D.|title=Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, With an Appendix and an Analytical Index|volume=2|publication-place=New York|publisher=P. O'Shea|date=1872|page=126}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

Bishop-elect [[Michael Portier]] of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile|Diocese of Mobile]] had gone to France to recruit priests for his diocese. On November 1, 1829, he left with Portier for Alabama. They reached New Orleans on Christmas Eve. Upon arrival at Mobile on January 3, Loras assisted with Portier's installation. Loras was appointed [[vicar general]] for the Diocese of Mobile and assigned the task of completing the training of the seminarians who had accompanied Portier to America. He was also named [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] of the [[Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Mobile, Alabama)|Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception]] in Mobile, and held these positions for seven years,<ref name=Clarke/> helping Portier recruit priests to serve the diocese. From 1830 to 1832 he served as the first president of [[Spring Hill College]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.shc.edu/about-shc/history-of-the-college/presidents-of-the-college|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009101743/http://www.shc.edu/about-shc/history-of-the-college/presidents-of-the-college |url-status = dead |archive-date = 9 October 2007 |title = About Spring Hill College |access-date = 9 January 2016}}</ref>