Louis de Barth

Adolphus Louis de Barth Walbach (November 1, 1764 – October 13, 1844) was a French-born Catholic priest in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

[3] The French Revolution forced many noble families into exile, including de Barth's, and they moved to the United States in 1791.

[a][3] De Barth renounced his titles and presented himself to John Carroll, the bishop of Baltimore, for service as a secular priest.

[5] In 1798, Carroll visited de Barth at Conewago to tour that part of his diocese and to administer the sacrament of confirmation.

[7] In 1804, de Barth was formally put in charge of Conewago Chapel, which had previously fallen under the jurisdiction of the Jesuits.

[12] Until a suitable bishop could be found, Carroll, now Archbishop of Baltimore, appointed de Barth as the apostolic administrator.

[14] De Barth remained at Conewago until 1828 when Maréchal's successor in Baltimore, James Whitfield, appointed him pastor of St. John German Catholic Church in that city.

[19][20] He died there on October 13, 1844, at the age of seventy-nine, and was buried in the cemetery of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington.

The front of a brick chapel with a white steeple, taken on a sunny day with a cloudy blue sky.
De Barth spent much of his clerical career at Conewago Chapel.