Anthony Deydier

Father Anthony Deydier (April 30, 1788 – February 11, 1864) was a French-born Catholic priest and pioneer religious leader in Evansville, Indiana. He is best known for establishing Assumption Church, Evansville’s first Catholic parish, in 1837.

Deydier was born in France and came to the United States in 1810. He was ordained a priest in Vincennes, Indiana, on March 25, 1837, and was sent to Evansville shortly afterward. On May 4, 1837, Deydier celebrated one of his first Masses in Evansville in a tavern in the young river town. He returned later that year to establish a permanent Catholic mission.

Deydier helped construct the first Assumption Church at Second and Sycamore streets and spent more than two decades serving Catholics in Evansville and surrounding southwestern Indiana. He remained associated with Evansville until retiring to Vincennes in 1859 and died there in 1864. His role in establishing Catholicism in the city is commemorated today by the Father Deydier House of Discernment in Evansville.