USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Hartford > History of the diocese of Hartford > Part 17
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William Tyler was born in Derby, Vermont, on June 5th, 1806. In his childhood his parents removed to Claremont, New Hampshire. His early life was spent amid the various occupations incidental to farin life, and while engaged in these humble labors he gave evidence of possessing in a marked
1 Bishop Tyler's family consisted of Noah, his father, and Abigail, his mother ; his brothers were Ignatius, George and Israel. His sisters were Rosette Tyler-Sister Gene- vieve-who entered the Emmittsburg community in 1820. She led a holy and edifying life and died at St. John's Institution, Frederiek, Md., July 2, 1839. In his letter to Father Tyler announeing her death, the Rev. John MeElroy, S. J., said : "She was one of those of whom the world was not worthy, and the Holy Virgin to whom she was tenderly de- voted would, on this festival (the feast of the Visitation of the B. V. M.) present her pure soul to her divine Son." Catherine Tyler-Sister Mary James-entered the same community in 1827, was sent on the mission to St. Vineent's Orphan Asylum, Washi- ington, D. C., and died there, November 24, 1830. Martha Tyler-Sister Beatriee-also entered in 1827, and after a few years withdrew to embrace a eloistered life. Sarah Maria Tyler-Sister Mary de Sales-entered also in 1827. She still survives at St. Joseph's Academy, Emmittsburg, Md. On the 16th of the present month (April, 1899) she com- pleted her ninety-fifth year, in the full possession of her faeulties.
The Bishop's father died April 23, 1845, at Elgin, Kane county, Ill. After hier hus- band's deatlı, Mrs. Tyler resided for a time with her daughter, Sister Mary, Beatrice, at the Visitation eonvent, St. Louis. She died at her home, which at the time was in a small plaee bearing an Indian name, in the neighborhood of South Bend, Indiana.
The writer is indebted for the faets in this note to Mother Mariana Flynn, Superior and Visitatrix of the Sisters in the U. S., who received them from Sister Mary de Sales.
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degree the sterling qualities that distinguished his career as priest and bishop -zeal and industry, tireless energy and profound sympathy with suffering, fidelity to purpose and conscientiousness in the discharge of duty, how onerous so ever. Master Tyler was sixteen years old when he embraced the Catholic faith. Of studious disposition and ambitious of acquiring an education that would enable him to carve out success in later years, he entered the classical school which the Rev. Virgil Barber had established at Claremont. He was the first student to become enrolled. Entering upon his studies with enthusiasmn and bringing to his work systematic application he soon became as proficient in his classes as he was regular in his conduct. His reward came in a short time in his appointment as Prefect of Studies, a position which his native energy enabled him to fill to the satisfaction of his Superior and fel- low-students. He was fond of athletic sports and joined freely in the amuse- inents which the school afforded. Music was a favorite pastime in leisure moments, and he not infrequently played the cornet at divine service. But the trait that appears the most prominent at this period of his life was his devotion to prayer, liis intense love for the sacraments, which he received at frequent intervals. "From the moment of his conversion to the true faith," said a contemporary, "the late bishop was distinguished by his modest vir- tues, and by the eminent sanctity of his life."1 He was a profoundly reli- gious young man, and the sentiments that ruled his heart and regulated his inind are disclosed in a letter which he wrote to a brother in Georgia :
"Now, my dear brother, let me warn you not to place too much affection and depend- ence on the things of this life. Although you now are prosperous, still you may meet with a reverse of fortune ; and even if you could be sure of prosperity and all the blessings this world could afford, what comparison could they bear to the happiness or misery of eternity ? Our time here at the longest is but short, and we are daily liable to the strokes of deatlı. At the longest our life here is but short ; a striking proof of this lately oc- curred in Cornish : A young man, who had lived in a Catholic family, and had obtained a knowledge of the Catholic religion, but for reasons known to himself deferred his con- version. But the tyrant Death did not wait for him, and he was ushered into the other world, unprepared as he was. I hope that you find some leisure from your business for serious meditation ; and there is one time which, of all others, is, perhaps, the most pro- ductive of meditation ; I mean the silent hours of night, after we retire to rest. Of this you cannot be deprived, and I hope you employ it for the benefit of your soul. How do you pass the season of Lent ? As a Catholic, or as a Protestant ? I know that it is diffi- cult for one in the situation you are in to live a regular life, but I hope that God will give you grace to walk in the path of duty."
Master Tyler remained under the fostering care of the Rev. Virgil Barber for four years. With him at Claremont were two young men who were dis- tined to be also crowned with the honors of the priesthood, and who in after years saluted him as their bishop, William Wiley and James Fitton. While at school here young Tyler acquired a good knowledge of Greek, Latin and French, besides becoming well grounded in the common branches. As Latin was the ordinary language of the school and spoken by the students at all times it is not surprising that the future bishop became proficient in its use.
1 "Catholic Observer," June, 1849.
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The religious atmosphere in which he moved exercised a controlling influence over him and directed his mind and heart to the Lord's sanctuary. He felt an irresistible attraction to the service of God in the sacred ministry. He longed for the opportunity to present himself as a candidate for the priest- hood wherein he could employ his God-given talents for the salvation of liis fellow-inen. But his worldly possessions were few, his financial resources limited. The grim figure of Poverty stood between him and the realization of his desires. To his mother he revealed the anxiety that pressed upon his heart in a letter from which we give an extract :
" How often do we meet with disappointments, when our hopes and expectations are at their highest point ! You have seen how various and changeable the course of life is, how vague and fluctuating fortune, and how great inconstancy among friends. You have been inade acquainted with my intention of becoming a priest, and that the means by which I expected to attain this was by the assistance of the Rev. Superior, Mr. Barber, in retaining and promoting me as his assistant in the school. I have already informed you of the loss of expectation. Now, what course shall I pursue? For myself, I know not where another year will find me. Pa thinks that I had better agree with Uncle Daniel to procure me a situation in a store at Boston, where he is soon going. This is far from my wishes, since I have so seriously engaged my mind in the pursuit which appeared to me to be the one pointed out for me by Divine Providence. I do not like to give out ; but if it is the Divine will that I should become a priest, there will be some way for my attaining it."
His confidence in Divine Providence was not misplaced. God, who had called him to the ecclesiastical state, and wliose voice he sought to obey, pro- vided the young student with the ways and means of accomplishing his high and holy purpose. Difficulties vanished, obstacles were surmounted, and hope and joy supplanted anxiety and gloom. In Bishop Fenwick's Mem- oranda under date of September 13, 1826, we read this precious entry :
"Mr. Daniel Barber, the father of Virgil Barber, arrived from Claremont on a visit to the Bishop, bringing with him Mr. Win. Tyler, whom he introduces and recommends to him as a candidate for the ecclesiastical state. The Bishop is pleased with the progress made by him in his studies, and having received a good account of him on other points, admits him. Young Mr. Tyler is a relative of Mr. Barber, and has received the principal part of his education from Rev. Virgil H. Barber in his academy at Claremont."
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Master Tyler thus became a member of Bishop Fenwick's household under whose tuition he completed his classical education in June, 1827. With a respite of only two days, as he informs us in his diary, he began his theo- logical studies with the bishop as his instructor. He received Minor Orders on December 24, 1826; Subdeaconship, December 21, 1827, and Deaconship the day following. He was ordained to the Priesthood by Bishop Fenwick on June 3, 1829.
Father Tyler had now attained the goal of his ambition; he was a priest of the Most High. He entered upon his new and arduous duties with an enthusiasm that brooked 110 failure. "From that moment forward," said a writer in the Catholic Observer,1 " it may be said in truth, that 'he had been delivered through the grace of God, unto the work, which he accomplished.'
1June, 1849.
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All who knew him felt at once, and may testify that, unmindful of himself, and of all human applause and of all worldly advantages, he had constantly but one object in view-the salvation of souls and the greater glory of his Divine Master ; and the Catholics of Boston inay well remember how, during many years, in sickness and in health, by night and by day, he was ever ready to serve their souls in a never-changing spirit of ineekness and of zeal; and how he kept back nothing that was profitable to thein, but preached it to them and taught them publicly, and from house to house, testifying to all penance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ."
After Father Tyler's ordination he served the Cathedral parish until August 23, 1829, when he was appointed to the mission of Canton. In 1830 he was sent to Sandwich. He also served a year on the Aroostook mission, Mainè. With the exception of these brief appointments the theatre of Father Tyler's labors was chiefly in Boston as an attache of the Cathedral of Holy Cross. From here he attended other missions, among them being Benedicta, Maine, in 1843. He was appointed vicar-general, which position he occu- pied until his elevation to the See of Hartford.
The multiplication of duties, the weight of years and increasing infirmi- ties induced Bishop Fenwick to request the Fifth Provincial Council, assem- bled at Baltimore, May, 1843, to petition the Holy See for a division of his diocese. Pope Gregory acceded to the request, and on September 18, 1843, erected the States of Rhode Island and Connecticut into a diocese with the Episcopal seat at Hartford. The choice of Bishop Fenwick was confirmed at Rome, and Very Rev. William Tyler was appointed the first bishop of the new See. The official Bulls notifying him of his election were received on February 13, 1844, and on February 2Ist he proceeded to Frederick, Mary- land, to make a retreat preliminary to his consecration. It was with the greatest reluctance that he accepted the episcopal dignity. He bowed to the wishes of Bishop Fenwick, whom he revered as a father, and submitted to the decision of his spiritual director, Very Rev. Francis Dzierozinski, S. J., Pro- vincial of the Maryland Province. He was consecrated on Sunday, March 17, 1844, in the cathedral at Baltimore, amid the impressive ceremonies pre- . scribed by the Roman Pontifical. The officers of the consecration service were as follows :
Consecrator-Right Rev. Benedict Fenwick, D.D., Boston.
Assisting Bishops-Right Rev. Richard V. Whalen, D.D., Richmond, Va., and Right Rev. Andrew Byrne, D.D., Little Rock, Ark.
Preacher-Rev. Henry B. Coskery, Cathedral, Baltimore, Md.
Master of Ceremonies-Rev. Francis L'Homme.
Assistants-Messrs. Thomas Foley 1 and R. J. Lawrence.
On Sunday, March 21, Bishop Tyler was one of the assistant bishops at the consecration of Right Rev. John B. Fitzpatrick, D.D., at Georgetown.
The personal appearance of Bishop Tyler at that time is thus described by his physician, Dr. Edward Le Prohon, A.M .: "At my first view of the
1 Afterwards Bishop of Chicago.
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DIOCESE OF HARTFORD.
worthy prelate I recognized in him the lymphatic temperament which domi- nated in him, a delicate white skin, narrow shoulders, high stature, abont six feet, the body long and thin, a well-featured countenance, sweet and calm, the cheeks slightly roseate, and constantly wearing spectacles, though he has not yet reached his forty-fifth year. The entire external appearance of Mgr. Tyler showed symptoms of latent consumption ; Mgr. Tyler himself felt the necessity of taking care of his feeble health the better to exercise the labor- ions functions of the foundation of a new diocese. . . . Mgr. Tyler's appear- ance took everybody's attention. He bore the expression of sanctity on his countenance, the seal of the man of God was to be seen on it."
Accompanied by Bishop Fenwick, Bishop Tyler arrived at Hartford on April 12, 1844. The church of the Holy Trinity became his cathedral, as in that historic edifice he was installed Bishop of Hartford on Sunday, April 14th-Dominica in Albis. Extensive preparations had been made for the worthy and dignified reception of the new prelate. Rev. John Brady, the rector, was the celebrant of the Mass, and Bishiop Fenwick preached the sermon of installation, in the course of which he eulogized his colleague and congratulated the people upon the erection of the new diocese. At the Vesper service Bishop Tyler preached his first serinon as Bishop of Hartford.
Bishop Tyler's first visit was made to Middletown, Conn., on April 15th. He inspected the new church then approaching completion. His next visit was to New Haven.
When Bishop Tyler was consecrated the population of his diocese was estimated from a census taken at the time at 9,997 souls, of wliom 4,817 were in Connecticut, and 5, 180 in Rhode Island. In the two States there were six priests and eight churches ; three priests and four churches in Connecticut, and as many in Rhode Island. Writing on March 1, 1845, to Monsieur Choiselat Gallien, a distinguished member of the Propagation of the Faitlı, residing in Paris, Bishop Tyler said :
"There are ten or twelve other places where there are small congrega- tions of Catholics, whom we occasionally visit to afford them the benefits of religion. I have with me in the whole diocese only six priests to assist mne in administering to the wants of all these. So you will easily perceive that we are in great want of zealous clergymen; and we have little prospect of any addition to our numbers soon." Bishop Tyler's spiritual children were mostly emigrants, poor, despised, with nothing but faith and health, inpro- vided with churches and priests, scattered up and down an extensive territory from Providence to Norfolk. Some may yet be spared who remember the Old Guard of Catholicity in these parts, the venerable, laborious and self- sacrificing pioncers wlio sowed the seed by the water courses and on the hill- sides and along the coast linc, which has fructified and multiplied until at the present writing there are 435 priests and 265 churches, where fifty-five years ago there were six priests and eight churches.
After his consecration Bishop Tyler took up his residence in Hartford, the place named in his Bulls as the episcopal seat. At that time Hartford contained about 13,000 inhabitants, from1 500 to 600 of whom were adult
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THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NEW ENGLAND.
Catholics. The only church, a wooden structure, which had been purchased from the Protestants, was about 75 feet long by 40 feet wide; moreover, there were only a few feet of land on each side of the church belonging to it. In the villages within eighteen iniles of Hartford there were three or four small congregations of Irish Catholics, who were occasionally attended by the resident pastor. Providence, on the other hand, had 23,000 inliabi- tants of whom 2,000 were Catholics. It had two churches, and either of them was larger than the one in Hartford. In the neighboring villages the Cath- olics were more numerous than in the towns near Hartford. "In considera- tion of these things," wrote Bishop Tyler to Mgr. Vincent Edward, Prince and Archbishop of Vienna, March 1, 1845, "and after having consulted with Dr. Fenwick, Bishop of Boston, and others upon whose judgment I could rely, I resolved to make my residence in Providence, and at the Council of the Bishops of the United States to petition Rome to remove the See from Hartford to Providence." Bishop Tyler took up his residence in Providence in June, 1844.
He selected as his Cathedral the elder of the two churches in Providence, SS. Peter and Paul, of which the Rev. James Fitton was pastor. Of this church the bishop wrote to the Archbishop of Vienna on the date above men- tioned : "It is a stone building 80 feet long by 40 feet wide. It is very un- pleasantly situated on account of the narrowness of the land on each side of it. It has only four feet on one side and not two on the other. Thus we are liable to have our windows darkened by buildings that may at any time be put up by the owners of the land near the church; and the buildings that now are near the church are very offensive, being stables in which are kept cows and horses. We desire very much to buy out these grounds that we may be secure of enjoying the light of heaven and be freed from these nuisances."
The zeal of the new bishop was hampered, but not overcome by the poverty of his diocese. His people were loyal to every request and faithful to the discharge of every religious duty. They were day laborers, devoted and God-fearing; and their willingness to contribute to the advancement of reli- gion was a striking characteristic. But they were comparatively few in number and manifold were the needs of the new diocese. "My best chalice," wrote Bishop Tyler to Mons. Gallien, Paris, "is brass, and I have but one other at the Cathedral, and only four or five more in the whole diocese which belong to it. On last Christmas (December 25, 1846) I said my first Pon- tifical Mass, though with but one priest to assist, and very destitute of suit- able ornaments. But these are small matters. The great ones are what give me concern." In a letter acknowledging the receipt of a generous allocation from the Leopold Society of Vienna, Bishop Tyler opened his heart in grati- tude to the illustrious Archbishop of that ancient See :
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" Most Reverend and Venerable Sir:
"I have not words to express my feelings of gratitude towards you and the Leopold Society. Your donations have been of incalculable benefit to me. When I was appointed to this diocese I was poor, and the church here was destitute of everything. I was over- whelmned with the sad prospect before mne, and I knew not where to look for assistance."
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DIOCESE OF HARTFORD.
Indeed, so widespread was the knowledge of the poverty of the Diocese of Hartford that the Bishop of Philadelphia, Right Rev. Francis Patrick Kenrick, wrote to Rev. Dr. Cullen on June 5, 1846, then rector of the Irish College at Rome, that "the unfortunate haste with which Little Rock and Hartford were inade Sees in a former Council, should cause us to pause when a new See is to be erected." 1
But God had willed through His Vicegerent, and obstacles apparently insurmountable gave way before the faith and energy of Bishop Tyler. It was his mission-and a glorious one it was-to delve and lay the foundations deep and solid, and faitliful was he to the trust confided to him. He had no sooner taken up the reins of government than he bent all his energies to advance the spiritual condition of his diocese. He sought for priests at the world-famed missionary college of All Hallows, Drumcondra, Dublin. He solicited and received financial assistance from the Society for tlie Propaga- tion of the Faith at Paris and the Leopold Society at Vienna to erect churches and to provide teachers for the youth of his diocese. The condition of the children appealed strongly to his affectionate and sympathetic nature. The love for them that consumed him and the anxiety that weighed upon him are exhibited in a letter he wrote to Paris in January, 1847:
" We are in a lamentable want of schools for our children. There are, I suppose, in this city alone (Providence) 1000 children of Catholic parents between six and fourteen years of age, and I am grieved to know that in spite of what I can do, they are growing up in deplorable ignorance of religion, and this through want of suitable means of being instructed. As a beginning in this matter, I wish very much to put a small colony of Sisters of Charity from Emmittsburg, Maryland. For more than ten years I witnessed in Boston the good they did in rearing the girls in that city. This is one object that I shall strive for. Then, alas! our boys are equally destitute. And then, all the children of Catholic parents in the other towns and villages ! What shall I do for them ?"
His love for the children of his diocese took tangible form in the organi- zation of the "Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Befriend Chil- dren." It was established in Providence, 1847, and its object was two-fold, to promote the spiritual welfare of its members, and to assist in providing for the spiritual and corporeal wants of children. Its members were required to say once every day this short prayer : " O! Holy Mary, Mother of God, be a mother to me, and to the children of this Congregation ; take them under thy special protection."
In the same letter the zealous bishop speaks of another inatter that was dear to liis heart; but with the liope expressed there was a vein of sadness, born of liis poverty :
"Next summer," he says, "I expect three priests from the College of Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland. I have not vestments, chalices, etc., for them. I wish to send these newly ordained priests to several places where tlicre are bodies of poor Catholic laborers, and in some of these places there is not the semblance of a church. How happy would I be to be able to assist each of these with a few hundred dollars to begin small churchies and abodes for themselves ; and what encouragement would it not give the poor people among whom they go and upon whom they must depend for everything!"
1 " Records of the Cath .. Hist. Soc. of Phila ," Vol. VII., P. 329.
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THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NEW ENGLAND.
Bishop Tyler cared little for the creature comforts of life. His ambition was to provide for the welfare of his priests and people. Self gave way to the neighbor. He petitioned for assistance for the poor congregations over whom he was placed and for the heroic priests who came and went at his call; but for himself he asked nothing. He was content with the humblest accommodations. Let his devoted physician speak again :
"The little house inhabited formerly by the venerable Father Fitton became the episcopal palace of Mgr. Tyler, a residence in which many of his parishioners would have refused to lodge ; but Mgr. Tyler, whose mind was occupied only with the desire of serving God, considered this miserable residence as suitable and established himself in it. Being just beside the sacristy, and only a few steps from his Cathedral, he chose this miserable abode because his dominant thought was never fixed on the comforts of human life. The episcopal residence could easily have been drawn by oxen from one end of Provi- dence to the other ; the stables of a hundred citizens in easy circumstances were better pro- tected against the seasons ; but Mgr. Tyler gave only a secondary consideration to what- ever related only to the comforts of the man of the world. ... . Wishing to avoid care- fully the sentiments of human respect, he dispensed with a carriage and made his journeys afoot in the city ; only the most necessary articles of furniture were to be seen in his house, which was not carpeted ; his table was common and his meals plain ; he would have been satisfied with the commonest metal had not Madame Carney of Boston gener- ously provided the silver which she wished to have on Mgr. Tyler's table."
Bishop Tyler attended the Sixth Provincial Council which assembled at Baltimore on May 10, 1846, a Council redolent of honors bestowed upon the Immaculate Mother of God. The late Very Rev. Edward McColgan, Vicar- General, and rector of St. Peter's church, Baltimore, was assigned as his theo- logian. It was this Council that added to the Litany of our Lady of Loretto, with the approbation of the Holy See, the invocation, " Queen, Conceived with- out Sin, Pray for us." To this Council also belongs the honor of having Mary the Mother of God, Conceived without Sin, made the patroness of the Church in the United States ; thus anticipating by eight years the soleinn and infallible definition of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
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