Francis Silas Marean Chatard

Francis Silas Marean Chatard (December 13, 1834 – September 7, 1918) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Indianapolis from 1898 to 1918.

Life He was born Silas Francis Marean Chatard in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 13, 1834, to Ferdinand E. Chatard and Eliza Marean. Both his father, Ferdinand, and his paternal grandfather, Pierre, an emigrant from Santo Domingo, West Indies, were physicians in Baltimore. His paternal grandmother, Eliza Anna Chatard, was a financial supporter of the Oblate Sisters of Providence. His uncle was Confederate States commander Frederick Chatard.

Raised in a prominent family, he attended Mount Saint Mary's College in Emmitsburg (now Mount Saint Mary's University), and the Maryland University School of Medicine, receiving a doctorate in medicine. He served his residency at the Baltimore Alms House.

Soon afterward, he felt the call to priesthood and in 1857 began studying at the Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide in Rome. He was ordained on June 14, 1862, and received a Doctor of Divinity degree the next year. Following his ordination, he served as Vice-Rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. In 1868, he became Rector of the college. During his time as Rector, the First Vatican Council was held, and was able to meet many American Bishops who stayed at the college while in Rome. Chatard was apparently a favorite of Pope Pius IX.

Said to be "the most scholarly clergyman in America", That appointment never took place for reasons unknown. Chatard did have some impact on the American Church, however. He aligned himself with the more conservative wing of the Church, led by Michael Corrigan of New York and others. The more progressive wing was led by the likes of Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop Ireland.

While bishop, he oversaw the movement of the Episcopal see of the diocese of Vincennes to Indianapolis in 1898. He established his see at Saint John the Evangelist Church, which served as the proto-cathedral for the diocese in Indianapolis from 1878 to 1906, when Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral was built. Following the move, he was named as the first bishop of the newly renamed Diocese of Indianapolis. It was he who asked Sister of Providence Mary Theodosia Mug to write a biography of Mother Théodore Guérin. Sister Mug's miraculous healing from cancer also became the first miracle accepted by the Holy See for Mother Guérin's canonization.

In January 1899, he suffered a stroke, from which he never fully recovered.

In the 1960s, establishment of Bishop Chatard High School began. The high school is located in Indianapolis, Indiana.