The origins of the Catholic mission churches in the area that is now Indiana date to the late seventeenth century, when the Catholic parishes in the area were under the authority of the Diocese of Quebec. It is believed that French Jesuit missionaries first arrived in the area that included present-day Vincennes, Indiana, around 1675. Vincennes was the first seat for the episcopal see. The earliest Catholic church at Vincennes was established around 1732 as Saint Francis Xavier, and served as the cathedral church for the Diocese of Vincennes from 1834 to 1898. Father Sebastian Louis Meurin, Saint Francis Xavier's first resident priest, arrived in May 1748. The parish's earliest records date from April 21, 1749. Following Father Meurin's departure from Vincennes in 1753, several itinerant priests visited the Catholic parish, including Father Pierre Gibault, who served as resident priest at Saint Francis Xavier from 1785 to 1789. In these early years, the Catholic communities in the area experienced hardships during the American Revolution, conflicts with Native Americans, and suffered from epidemics that swept through the frontier. They also lacked financial resources and sufficient priests.