Bishop DuBourg was born in Santo Domingo, and ordained in Paris in 1790. During the French Revolution he fled to America, landing in Baltimore in 1794, where he became president of Georgetown College and later the first superior of Saint Mary´s College. He was appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Floridas in 1812.

St. Louis´ wealthy families convinced DuBourg to settle in St. Louis. On his second day in St. Louis, he met began planning the construction of a new brick church to replace the town’s original deteriorated log structure. [van Ravenswaay, 173]

Bishop DuBourg´s appeal to France for priests and nuns for the new territory brought Mother Philippine Duchesne, and Fathers Joseph Rosati and Pierre Jean De Smet to St. Louis to set up educational and missionary programs in the City and further west. When Bishop Rosati was appointed his coadjutor, DuBourg returned to New Orleans, and resigned in 1826 because of political struggles within the Church.