USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Hartford > History of the diocese of Hartford > Part 18
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The Seventh Provincial Council of Baltimore, which convened on May 5, 1849, also saw Bishop Tyler in attendance ; but on this occasion he brought with him a certificate from his attending physician that his health was in a precarious condition. He was accompanied by the Rev. James Fitton as his theologian. Bishop Tyler, realizing the deadly encroachments of his disease, wished to resign the episcopal dignity into hands stronger than his to bear the burden. With that detachment from earth that ever characterized him, he fully realized that his days were few. But the Fathers of the Council, instead of accepting his resignation, declared in favor of the appointment of a coad- jutor, who would lighten his burden. Wherefore, on the inotion of the Bishop of New York,1 Right Rev. John Hughes, D. D., the Council petitioned the Holy See to appoint a coadjutor to the Bishop of Hartford, and the name of Very Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, Vicar-General of the diocese of Buffalo, who was
1 The minutes of the Council, May 8th, read : " Postulante Revmo D. Episcopo Neo- Eboracensi, censuerunt Patres supplicandum S. Sedi ut Coadjutor detur Revmo D. Guli- elmo Tyler, Episcopo Hartfordiensi, ob ejusdem valetudinem minus firmam."
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present at the Council as the theologian of Bishop Timon, was sent to Rome for the office. The Fathers also recommended the erection of New York into an archbishopric, or province, with Boston, Hartford, Albany and Buffalo as suffragan sees.
On the adjournment of the Council, May 13th, Bishop Tyler set out for his beloved diocese. On the steamer from New York to Stonington, he con- tracted acute articular rheumatism owing to a cold and damp state-room which he occupied. "The gravity of this terrible malady was depicted on the countenance of the Bishop," says his physician. "Notwithstanding his sufferings, not a word of complaint escaped his lips ; his patience and resigna- tion were superior to the sufferings of the flesh." As the condition of the illustrious patient continued to grow worse, the Rev. William Wiley, rector of St. Patrick's parish, Providence, requested the immediate presence at his bedside of the Bishop of Boston, Dr. Fitzpatrick. In the meantime a condition of delirium had ensued in which the sufferer failed to recognize any of his attendants. When Bishop Fitzpatrick arrived the patient gave no sign of recognition. Kneeling in prayer he fervently invoked the divine assist- ance for his dying colleague ; he petitioned that reason might be restored ; that the bishop might not only be enabled to receive the last sacraments with full consciousness, but also that he might give instructions about the affairs of his diocese. No sooner had Bishop Fitzpatrick concluded his prayer than the delirium vanished, consciousness fully returned, and with a smile of recognition, the dying prelate greeted his colleague. We quote again from his physician : "The sudden change that had taken place in my presence, from the state of confusion of his intellectual faculties to a return to a clear mind capable of distinguishing the true from the false; this sudden transi- tion struck me with astonishment when I saw the two bishops conversing freely on the affairs of the diocese of Hartford." Bishop Tyler received the last sacraments with every manifestation of love and faith and resignation. He made his profession of faith and blessed his diocese, "at the end of which," wrote the Rev. James Fitton, who was present, " lie closed his eyes and never spoke audibly more, save at times those pious aspirations and holy ejaculations of a departing saint."
Bishop Tyler died on June 18, 1849, at the age of forty-five years. "Tlie first bishop of Hartford died poor," says Dr. Le Prohon, "but he left 110 debts, or if there were any, they were exceedingly small."
Two days later his remains were laid at rest in the basement of the cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul under the high altar, but are now side by side of those of Bishop Hendricken in the vault of the new cathedral. Riglit Rev. Bishop Fitzpatrick officiated at the obsequies in the presence of a numerous concourse of priests and people. The funeral sermon was preaclied by Rev. William Wiley, and was a splendid tribute from a devoted son and subordinate to an affectionate father and superior.
Mgr. Tyler was an apostolic bishop, who brought to liis high office the virtues that have ever characterized thie converters of nations. He licard the confessions of his people and baptized the little ones of his flock. The
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sick were the special objects of his pastoral solicitude, and though there were priests about him to attend to such calls, his sympathetic nature brought him to their bedside, no matter what the condition of the weather, to admin- ister the consolations of religion. He visited officially all parts of his diocese, preaching, confirming, strengthening the faith of the people and con- soling his priests amidst the arduous labors of their extensive missions. Truly, was he a good and faithful shepherd and his flock entertained for him a personal love that followed him beyond the grave. The poor found in him a father and friend and benefactor. Every week he distributed food and money to his indigent charges, and in so doing, he felt that, besides ameliorating their condition, he was rendering a service to God. With St. Paul could he say in very truth : "I was free as to all. I made myself the servant of all, that I might gain the more . . . To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak. I became all things to all men, that I might save all. And I do all things for the gospel's sake : that I may be made partaker thereof." In his preaching Bishop Tyler was plain, practical, persuasive, convincing. He cared little for the ornaments of oratory, and he embellished his discourses with few flights of rhetoric. His sermons that are extant show careful preparation, as well as a full realization of the dignity of the preacher's office. His was an age when clear and solid instruction, more than mere eloquence, was imperatively required ; and this need lie seemed to have kept ever before him. On the more important occasions he read his serinons, no doubt from the belief that this inethod of teaching was more impressive and convincing.
Bishop Tyler, as we have seen, was hampered in the prosecution of his designs by the poverty of his diocese. Though without the means of accolli- plishing great works-works that would attract the attention and evoke the admiration of the world-he, nevertheless, wrought well and solidly with the slender contributions which his faithful people placed at his disposal, and with the pecuniary assistance he received from European societies. At his consecration the whole diocese contained eight priests, seven churches and four stations. At his death, five years later, the churches had increased to twelve and the priests to fourteen. There were seven ecclesiastical students and a Catholic population of about 20,000.
We shall close this sketch with words of tribute from a few of his con- temporaries. In an editorial, the Boston Pilot, June 23, 1849, said : “Bishop Tyler, by general consent, was allowed to be one of the most devout and saintly of the episcopal order. . . The saintly bishop is lamented by the church and by all the faithful who ever came in contact with him in the course of his ministrations." The Catholic Observer, June 30, 1849, said : "In the episcopacy, he was distinguished by the same unassuming worth, the same deep wisdom, the same untiring zeal which marked his career in the priesthood. Under his prudent care, and by his assiduous labor, religion grew up with silent, but rapid growth in every part of his extensive diocese, and his piety, his union with God, drew from Heaven those graces which gave increase to that which he had planted and mnatured with apostolic
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toils." "The life of the late Bishop Tyler," wrote a contributor to the Pilot, March 1, 1851, "is one of the brightest examples which our holy religion can lay before us, and he will long remain in the hearts and minds of those over whom he has unceasingly watched and prayed."
Bishop Fitzpatrick paid this tribute to his friend and colleague.1 "His talents were not brilliant nor was his learning extensive, though quite sufficient. But he possessed great moderation of character, sound judgment, uncommon prudence and much firmness. His life .as a priest was truly a model for ecclesiastics. Not one hour was given to idleness nor vain amuse- ments or visits. He was methodical in the distribution of his time, and every portion of it was well spent. Zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, true humility, total indifference to popular favor or applause, and a perfect spirit of poverty, were his peculiar virtues, and his whole life was spent in the practice of thein. His aversion to honors and distinctions of any kind was so great that he could hardly be induced to accept the episcopacy to which he was appointed in 1843. . His career as bishop, like his priesthood, was humble and unassuming, but laborious and fruitful. His natural constitution was not strong, and for five years before his death his medical adviser endeavored to dissuade him from taking part in the active labors of the ministry. But he persevered to the end, taking always upon himself the larger portion of the work in the confessional and the pulpit, sparing the young men who were his assistants. He even continued to attend the sick to within the last year of his life. When the period of the last Coun- cil of Baltimore approached, he felt that he had not long to live, consumption having already made deep inroads into his lungs. He nevertheless attended the Council and applied for a coadjutor. On the return from the Council he contracted inflammatory rheumatism. He tried to say Mass on Pentecost Sunday, the day after his arrival, but was obliged by pain and debility to stop at the foot of the altar. He remained, however, to hear Mass, as he could not celebrate, and afterwards took to his bed from which he never rose."
" The divine Master was satisfied with the labors already performed. Twenty years, of which every day and every hour had been devoted to the great and only work of the bishop and the priest, the sanctification of souls, gave sufficient evidence of the purity of his faith, the fervor of his love. For him the heat and burden of the day were over. The good Master for wl10111 he had labored called him to his rest ; and, already, we trust he has lieard from the lips of Jesus the words that beatify eternally tlie wearied soul: Well done thou good and faithful servant ; enter into the joy of thy Lord."
1 From his Diary.
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RIGHT REV. BERNARD O'REILLY, D.D.,
SECOND BISHOP OF HARTFORD.
ROUND the name of the second Bishop of Hartford lingers the sad memory of a mysterious tragedy of the sea. With soul intent upon the spiritual blessings that were to accrue to his diocese from his sojourn abroad; with heart eager to embrace again the precious children of his flock ; buoyant with hope for the bright future he had conjured up for his diocese,-Bishop O'Reilly in an ill-starred moment sailed out into the unknown to his death. Without a moment's warning, perhaps, and deprived of the sacred rites which impart strength and hope and consolation to the soul during its final moments on earth, the one hundred and eighty-six voyagers of the doomed Pacific sank beneath the devouring waves of the Atlantic. No survivor ever returned to tell how the ship met its cruel fate. An iceberg, it may be, raised its massive form suddenly from the deep to sullenly dispute the passage of the throbbing steamer as it sped onward with its precious burden. Sudden the summons inay have been, but we can imagine with what calmness and resignation and constancy the prelate went down to death. He who had braved the terrors of death a hundred times during the great cholera scourge that decimated the city of New York, was not now to quail before this mysterious visitation. The same unal- terable confidence in God and His Blessed Mother that upheld the priest in those days of trial was not to desert the bishop in this hour of hope- less peril.
The subject of this sketch was born in the Townland of Cunnareen, Parish of Columbkille, County of Longford, Ireland, in 1803. He inherited the piety and patriotism that in after years were prominent traits of his character. The naturally good qualities which adorned his early years were carefully nurtured and developed amid the truly Catholic influences which environed him. Having completed his classical studies at the age of twenty- two years, he felt within him the divine call to devote his life to God's holy service in the sacred ministry. Disclosing to his devoted parents the cherished desire of his heart, he declared his willingness to remain at home and labor for souls amid the scenes of his childhood and youth; but his thoughts ever reverted to the young nation of the West where freedom of worship reigned, a glorious provision of our Constitution. Securing the consent of his parents and receiving their fervent "God bless you !" he sailed for America on Jan- uary 17,. 1825. Intent upon the accomplishment of his mission he entered almost immediately the seminary at Montreal. He completed his theological studies at St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, that nursery of bishops, and was ordained to the priesthood at New York City on October 13, 1831, by Right Rev. Bishop Kenrick, of Philadelphia.
The young priest began his labors in New York City, visiting Brooklyn once a month. In 1832 the Asiatic plague broke over New York and carried hundreds to sudden death. "It was an awful time," wrote his brother, Very
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Rev. William O'Reilly. "The eyes that sparkled with all the vivacity of youth in the morning, were often sealed in the darkness of the grave in the evening, or dimmned by tears for the loss of some dear one." But appalling as were the scenes Father O'Reilly witnessed, awful as was the carnage of death, fearful as was the desolation spread everywhere, he remained at his post, bringing temporal and spiritual blessings to his cholera-stricken fellows. So devoted was he during the epidemic, that his name has come down through the years in affectionate remembrance. For many years the sur- vivors told " how, like a true soldier of the cross, he rushed into the face of danger at all times, in season and out of season, by day and by night, wholly reckless of self, provided he could assist the dying, console the afflicted, take in the orphan, or dry up the widow's tears." Twice a victim to the scourge he, nevertheless, was spared, perhaps, as a reward for his Christian charity. "Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends." He had freely, generously, offered himself upon the altar of charity; but God had other designs upon him, other fields were to witness his labors among the poor, the sick and the suffering, and the sacrifice was not demanded.
Unwilling to seek rest after the cholera had subsided in order to recu- perate his impaired health, he was transferred in December, 1842, to St. Patrick's parish, Rochester, on which mission he labored for fifteen years. His jurisdiction extended from Auburn west to Niagara Falls. Of this iden- tical region in the early days of the century, Thomas D'Arcy McGee thus speaks :1 " The merchants of New York desired to unite Lake Erie to the Hudson for their own profit. An army of Catholic laborers is marshalled along the line. They penetrate front end to end of this great State. Their shanties spring up like mushrooms in the night, and often vanish like mists in the morning. To all human appearances they are only digging a canal.2 Stump orators praise them as usual spades and shovels, who help on the great work of making money. But looking back to-day, with the results of a third of a century before us, it is plain enough those poor, rude men were working on the foundations of three episcopal sees, were choosing sites for five hun- dred churches, were opening the interior of the State to the empire of religion, as well as of commerce."
Father O'Reilly was confronted in this field with many difficulties, but his zeal overcame every obstacle, while his gentleness of character and con- ciliatory spirit overtlirew the barriers which unreasonable prejudice had erected. A large portion of his territory was an unbroken wilderness, and the few who there resided were scattered and separated by great distances ; but they were songlit ont, restored to the fold and their faith rekindled with a patience and chergy worthy of an apostle. "To the untiring energy of Father Bernard O'Reilly, next to God, we must attribute the wonderful
1 "Catholic History of America."
2 The Erie Canal was begun in 1817 and completed in 1825. It connects the Hudson river at Albany and Troy with Lake Erie at Buffalo. It is 363 miles in length, and cost $7,602, 000.
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change wrought in favor of Catholicism and the triumphant victory which our holy faith achieved in Rochester and the surrounding country. The grateful citizens of that place, seeing his stainless, steady career, admired the.man, and lionored the priesthood in his name." 1
Some of the difficulties experienced by Father O' Reilly are disclosed by a letter written by the Bishop of New York concerning the church at Saug- erties, Ulster County.2 "The Rev. Mr. O'Reilly has been authorized by the Bisliop of this diocese to offer himself a second time to the benevolent con- sideration of the public in the State of New York in behalf of tlie above named church. After exhausting, in a measure, the liberality of his Protes- tant neighbors and the proverbial generosity of the poor and widely scattered congregation of Irishmen for whose use its erection was undertaken, this church, though roofed, is as yet destitute of doors, windows, and even a floor. The Rev. Pastor is, therefore, again compelled to solicit from his countrymen."
When the diocese of Buffalo was erected, April 23, 1847, Rochester fell within its jurisdiction, and Father O'Reilly became a subject of its newly- consecrated prelate, Right Rev. Jolın Timon, D.D., C.M. The new bishop, recognizing the superior work of Father O'Reilly, elevated him to the office of Vicar-General on October 19, 1847, and appointed him also Superior of his sem- inary. His brother, the Rev. William O'Reilly, became his successor in St. Patrick's parish, Rochester. In these spheres Father O'Reilly won new laurels as a reliable counsellor and energetic priest, to whom hard work was a tonic, and as a wise guide for the young clerics committed to his care. And as though his duties as superior of the seminary, with his manifold parochial labors, were not enough to absorb his tinie and attention, he was assiduous in his attendance at the hospital of the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. Father O'Reilly had supervising care of this institution, and sys- teinatically and sympathetically did he discharge the duties of this exacting position. A physician, who resided in Buffalo in 1849-'50-'5 1 and occasionally attended the hospital, in a recent letter to the writer, says of Father O'Reilly : " His words were few, but his presence seemed to be pleasing, and to act as an inspiration to the sick. . . He was thoroughly posted in medical lore, and if everything was not right the physician would be called to account. . . . He was a gentleman of a very dignified, but approachable presence, and par- ticularly pleasing in his speech. His reputation in Buffalo was, as expressed by all, 'an adınirable inan, of few words.' The Know-Nothing element was then very strong in Buffalo, and the young physician was ostracized by it on account of a favor he had received from Father O'Reilly. These exponents of the gospel of hate and disturbers of public peace, directed their cowardly assaults against the hospital and the saintly women who, as ministering angels, brought health to the sick and consolation to the dying. But the chief offender, Rev. John C. Lord, a Presbyterian clergyman, found in Father
1 Very Rev. William O'Reilly in " Catholic Almanac " for 1857.
2 " N. Y. Catholic Diary," Oct. 10, 1835.
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O'Reilly a redoubtable antagonist, a valiant champion of charity. He was driven from the arena of discussion and his conqueror was hailed with glad acclaim by the justice-loving element of the city. "No clergyman was ever more beloved by people than he was by the inhabitants of the diocese of Buffalo. The Bishop of Buffalo has oftentimes done justice, through the press, to the talents and merits of the deceased."
Father O'Reilly's star was in the ascendant. Honors greater still were to be his; still greater burdens were to be placed upon his shoulders. He was soon to hear from the highest authority on earth: " Amice, ascende superius," Friend, go up higher. The reward of well nigh twenty years of dangerous, unceasing toil in the Master's vineyard was at hand.
At the request of Bishop Tyler, the Seventh Provincial Council of Balti- more, which convened May 5, 1849, nominated Father O'Reilly as his coad- jutor. Pius IX. was then in exile at Gata. On the return to Rome of the Sovereign Pontiff the nominations of the council were acted upon. Father O'Reilly was appointed coadjutor, with the right of succession to Bishop Tyler, by brief of July 23, 1850. By another brief of the same date lie was created bishop of Pompeiopolis in partibus infidelium. Finally, by a brief of August 9, 1850, he was appointed Bishop of Hartford. 1 O11 October 14th he received, through Right Rev. John B. Fitzpatrick, bishop of Boston, the Bulls of his apppointment. The Bishop's Journal discloses the anxiety that weighed upon him at this period :
" Oct. 15. Spent this day in great anxiety as to accepting the appoint- ment or refusing."
" 16. After offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to obtain light and aid in, the matter from God, I concluded to accept, and felt relieved of inuch anxiety."
" 18. I will, God helping, labor faithfully in this awful office. I have nothing at heart but God's glory in it."
Bishop O'Reilly was consecrated in St. Patrick's church, Rochester, on Sunday, November 10, 1850, by Bishop Timon of Buffalo, assisted by Bishop Fitzpatrick, of Boston, and Bishop McCloskey, of Albany. Right Rev. Peter Lefevre, D.D., bishop of Zela, Administrator of the diocese of Detroit, was present. The sermon was preached by the Rev. John McElroy, S.J. The new bishop celebrated pontifical vespers, during which Bishop McCloskey preached the serino1. He was installed bishop of Hartford in the cathedral at Providence on Sunday, November 17th, by Bishop Fitzpatrick, who preached the installation sermon. On this occasion Bishop O'Reilly sang liis first pontifical Mass. The preacher at the vesper service was Bishop Timo11 of Buffalo.
Bishop O'Reilly brought to the episcopate a varied experience-a mis-
1 It is noteworthy that seven priests who labored in the diocese of New York in 1843 became bishops, namely, Andrew Byrne, Bishop of Little Rock ; David Bacon, Bishop of Portland ; John J. Conroy, Bishop of Albany ; John Loughlin, Bishop of Brook- lyn ; John McCloskey, Bishop of Albany, and later Cardinal-Archbishop of New York ; William Quarter, Bishop of Chicago ; Bernard O'Reilly, Bishop of Hartford.
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sionary priest alone in an extensive territory-nothing singular, the reader may say; vicar-general and rector of a cathedral in a new diocese; superior of a new seminary and supervisor of an hospital ever increasing in size and influence ; were not these positions, with their exacting and manifold duties, an admirable training-school for the dignity as well as for the burdens of the mitre ? He had studied human nature in all its phases. In the various posi- tions of trust to which he liad been called, he had known how to obey ; and those only who know how to obey know how to command. Trials were before him in his new office ; he met them with unflinching courage.
" If we have to lament," said a contemporary, "over the death of one who is reaping the reward due to his exalted virtues (Bishop Tyler), we have also to rejoice at the appointment of his successor, the Rt. Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, who has already won our admiration for his zeal, piety and watchful- ness. We hail his presence amongst us as the true messenger from God; we congratulate him as the harbinger of many blessings already commenced." 1
Among the great works that engrossed the attention of Bishop O'Reilly immediately upon his accession to the episcopal throne was the adoption of means to increase the number of priests in his diocese. " A short time since," he wrote in 1852, "our affliction was very great, when from almost every section of the diocese the faithful asked for priests, and we had none to give them." To provide for future needs he established a theological seminary in September, 1851. The episcopal residence was the seminary, and it opened with eight students of theology and two of philosophy. The bishop himself taught his students the first week. The Rev. Hugh Carmody, D. D., was the first Superior of St. Mary's Theological Seminary. The institution pro- gressed apace, as we gather from a Pastoral Letter addressed to the clergy and laity on the feast of the Annunciation, 1852: "This good work is now in a most prosperous condition, and promises the most happy results to religion in the diocese." An accession of eighteen priests during the previous year, carried consolation into many a desolate section of the diocese. "But a little time," said the Pastoral, "with the divine aid, and the instrumentality of the seminary, and every section of this diocese will be supplied with its pas- tor to offer the mnost Holy Sacrifice, and administer the Sacraments, preach the truths of God, and extend His empire on earth."
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