Bishop Bruté made a point to visit each Catholic family in the new diocese, regardless of the distance from his rectory at Vincennes. In 1837, he founded a college at Vincennes, and connected it to a local theological seminary that had been established under the Eudists. Bishop Bruté's devotion to the diocese also contributed to his demise. He became ill while attending a provincial council in Baltimore, Maryland. The illness weakened the bishop's immune system, but he continued his duties until his death at Vincennes on June 26, 1839.