Augustin Verot

Bishop Augustin Verot
Born	May 1804 Le Puy, France
Died	June 10, 1876 St. Augustine, Florida USA

Bishop Augustin Verot (May 1804 at Le Puy, France – June 10, 1876 at St. Augustine, Florida USA) was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia (1861–1870), and the first Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida (1857–1876).

He studied at St-Sulpice, Paris, was ordained priest by Archbishop de Quelenon, September 20, 1828, subsequently joined the Society of Saint-Sulpice, and in 1830 came to Baltimore. Fr. Verot taught science, philosophy, and theology at St. Mary's College and the seminary until 1853, when, being appointed pastor at Ellicott's Mills, he started four years as a missionary. Nominated Vicar Apostolic of Florida, December 11, 1857, he was consecrated Titular Bishop of Danabe, on April 25, 1858, by Archbishop Francis Patrick Kenrick in the cathedral of Baltimore.

Religious conditions in Florida were disheartening, with both civil and ecclesiastical instability. The new vicarate had only three priests, so the new bishop Verot sailed for France in 1859. Returning to his native country for the first time in nearly three decades, he recruited seven additional priests for his newly Americanized diocese. The new bishop also secured funds to repair churches at St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Key West. He erected new churches at Tampa, Fernandina, Palatka, Mandarin, and Tallahassee, and staffed them with resident pastors. Bishop Verot also built Catholic schools and introduced religious communities to staff them. Five sisters from the Order of Mercy in the Diocese of Hartford (itself barely a decade old) opened a girls' academy, and three Christian Brothers from Canada opened a boys' school in St. Augustine. In July, 1861, Bishop Verot was translated to the larger See of Savannah, but kept vicaral powers over Florida.

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