USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Hartford > History of the diocese of Hartford > Part 20
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
PROVIDENCE, R. I., June 23, 1851.
ROGER WILLIAMS.
WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, July 15, 1851.
SIR : Complaints have been made to this department that a soldier at Fort Columbus, who is, or was, a Roman Catholic, was ordered to attend a Protestant church, and on his refusal to obey the order, he was punished for disobedience of orders. It is doubtful how far an officer has the right to compel officers and inen under his command to attend divine service. It is evident, however, that no one ought to be compelled to attend a church of any other persuasion than that to which he belongs. Every means of persua- sion should be employed to induce soldiers to attend some church, but they should be permitted to select the one they prefer ; and when they profess to have conscientious scruples about attending any particular church, all compulsory measures violate the rights of conscience, and should be avoided.
Very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
C. M. CONRAD, Sec. of War.
BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN E. WOOL.
EDITOR OF THE Pilot :
SIR: The above is a copy, which I have been privileged to take, of the instructions of the Secretary of War to Major-General Wool, in the matter of the right of soldiers in the military service to liberty of conscience. These instructions are consequent on com- plaints made to the department of war against the commandant at Fort Columbus, New York Harbor, Brevet Col. J. L. Gardiner, for the severe punishment of a Catholic soldier, through a court-martial over which he presided, for non-attendance at Protestant wor- ship, in obedience to his order. The sentence pronounced in this case by this court- martial, is marked with a severity which would not have been prompted but by the nar- rowest bigotry on the part of all concerned. Private Jamies Duggan was sentenced to forfeit to the United States $5 a month of his pay, for six months; to spend two months in solitary confinement and on bread and water ; the other months at hard labor, with ball and chain at his leg. The alleged offence of Duggan was his refusal to attend Pro- testant worship, at the bidding of Brevet Col. J. L. Gardiner. The formal charge against him at the court was a pure fiction, well calculated to dishonor those who presented it. It was this : "Positive, wilful disobedience of orders."
The court knew well that there was not, and could not be, disobedience in this case, the order being contrary to law, and must, consequently, have used the allegation " dis- . obedience " as a mask to their intolerance, and with a view to deceive all unacquainted with the facts in the case.
Brevet Major-General Wool has disappointed expectation in his approval, in part, of the severe and illegal sentence of this court. There are other facts connected with his action in this case, which must go far to change the opinion of many enlightened men relative to the motives that could have induced his action in this case.
The court-martial to try Duggan was ordered by Brevet Brigadier-General Walbach, II-IO
146
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NEW ENGLAND.
. and the proceedings of the court were, in season, placed before him for approval. The General declined acting in this case, and sent them to General Wool for his decision. General Wool returned them with instructions to General Walbach, "suggesting that the sentence be remitted, with the exception of the fine of $5 for six months." General Walbach again returned them to General Wool, with a request that the proceedings be submitted to higher authority.
It is clear that General Walbach considered the finding of the court illegal, and not to be approved of, from the fact of his refusal to act on the proceedings even under instructions to remit the sentence, "with the exception of the fine of $5." The request of General Walbach should have been acceded to by General Wool ; it was proper and reasonable that, as they differed in opinion, on a matter which was seriously to affect liberty of conscience, the department should be consulted. Moreover, General Walbach had ordered the court-martial, and, as it appears from his action in the matter, must have been of opinion that the finding of the court was illegal, that Duggan committed no fault, and consequently was entitled, at least of courtesy, to have the question submitted to the department. Independent of the liberal and enlightened views in religious matters entertained by General Walbach, he knew that the department would have at once annulled the proceedings of the court, and wished them referred there, that all pretense of right to oppose conscience in our military service inight be removed.
General Wool will not accede to this reasonable request ; he will not trust the liber- ality of the department; the intolerance long festering at Fort Columbus must have the authority of a precedent, and General Wool grants it. Walbach does all that is possible on his portion, as inferior officer, to protect the soldier in his dearest rights, the liberty of conscience ; he spurns the demand made by the court to have their illegal and bigoted sentence approved, and when General Wool, his superior officer, returns him the finding of the court with instructions, diminishing the punishment, but sustaining the right to oppress conscience, then he properly requests the controverted point be submitted to the department.
Great praise is due to General Walbach for the generous stand he took in favor of the soldier's rights of conscience, whilst a great dishonor will ever be attached to General Wool for his ungenerous aid to the bigots of Fort Columbus, to strip the soldier of his sacred and inestimable rights. General Wool committed a fault which will not fail to lower him, in the estimation of the high-minded and generous, when he took under his protection the bigotry rampant and long festering at this military post. He should have been found on the side of military law and the constitutional right of the subject, but in this instance he is found leagued with bigots, to strip the soldier of his dearest and most valued right, liberty of conscience.
Much credit is due to Hon. C. M. Conrad, Secretary of War, for his vindication, in his instructions to General Wool, of the soldier's right to full liberty of conscience. The honorable secretary has not disappointed expectation ; he met the complaint presented in the case in generous spirit, and without hesitation decided in favor of the oppressed sol- dier. Soldiers will appreciate his generous interposition in favor of their rights, and citizens generally will applaud a decision in favor of justice and the rights of conscience.
I am this moment privileged to copy the following order of General Wool, trans- mitted by the Secretary of War, remitting the sentence of Duggan, for his refusal to attend Protestant service.
HEADQUARTERS EASTERN DIVISION, Troy, N. Y., July 12, 1851.
SPECIAL ORDER, NO. 30.
Upon the recommendation of the commander of the 3d department, the unexecuted portion of the sentence of private Duggan, of Co. A, 4th Artillery, promulgated in the Eastern Division, orders No. 11, current series, is remitted.
By command of MAJOR-GENERAL WOOL,
O. J. WINSHIP, Ct. A. G.
147
DIOCESE OF HARTFORD.
The soldier's rights to liberty of conscience being fully vindicated by the proper officer, and the sentence of Duggan being remitted, my correspondence on this subject terminates with this letter. As I have contended but for the common rights of all sol- diers in the matter of the worship of God, I would ask all our Catholic editors, and the editors of papers generally, to spread the Secretary's letter before the country.
ROGER WILLIAMS.
August 2, 1851.
In 1854 Pius IX. proclaimed a universal Jubilee. In a pastoral letter announcing the holy season Bishop O'Reilly, alluding to the hostility openly manifested towards Catholicity in this country, said :
"The Church of the living God, as is usual where prejudice gets the better of reason, and passion alone is priviliged to rule, is now visited with the most gross misrepresenta- tion ; doctrines which it abhors, and practices which it is occupied in repressing, are unblushingly attributed to it ; its priests, occupied in the duties of their sacred calling and offering offense to none, are assailed with the lowest and grossest reviling, whilst its best and most devoted members are ungenerously pursued with calumny and hatred that know no bounds.
"Divine Charity, so essential to the peace and happiness of inen, and so strongly and frequently enforced of God, is, to a great extent, ignored and apparently eradicated from the hearts of great numbers. This amiable virtue will, doubtless, survive the shock it is receiving, and yet comfort those who are systematically opposed to it."
We have adverted to the zeal of Bishop O'Reilly in providing for the educational interests of his diocese. To increase existing advantages he sailed for Europe on December 5, 1855, to secure a Colony of Christian Brothers. The last entry in his Journal is under date of December 4th :
" Leave at 4 P.M. for Boston en route for Europe under God's protecting Providence."
Thougli the season of the year made ocean travel a hazardous under- taking, Bishop O'Reilly was too resolute when necessities pressed upon him to postpone action. He had partially succeeded in his purpose ; and after an affectionate visit and farewell to his aged parents, he sailed for home on Jan- uary 23, 1856, on the steamer Pacific. Knowing that his visit to Europe was made solely in their interests, his faithful diocesans awaited anxiously his return. Days, weeks, months passed with no tidings of the Pacific. In Europe and America the delay to reach port caused the gravest alarını. Hope, fear and doubt alternated in the breasts of the prelate's friends. His brother in Ireland was communieated with, and the result confirmed the fears of many that Bernard O'Reilly had gone down with the ill-fated steamner. It was only in April, however, that the loss of the Pacific with all on board was regarded as certain. "Finally," said his reverend biographier, " the silence of any hopeful circumstance became so deep that all pronouneed it the silence of death, and the deatlı-knell of Bishop O'Reilly rang from Georgia to Maine and echoed through the world."
When all hope was abandoned funeral services were held in all the churches of Rhode Island and Connecticut; but the principal service took place in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, at Providence, on June 17, 1856. Tlie elergy of the diocese of Hartford, with but very few exceptions, were
148
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NEW ENGLAND.
present at the solemn rite, as were also the Most Rev. Archbishop Hughes of New York, and the Right Rev. Bishops of Boston, Brooklyn, Newark and - Portland. The dioceses of New York, Boston and Albany were represented by a large number of their clergy. Among the distinguished layınen present was the French Consul at Newport, Mons. Gourand Fauvel de la Martinique. Pontifical Mass for the dead was sung by Right Rev. Bishop Fitzpatrick of Boston, assisted by Very Rev. James Hughes of Hartford, as Deacon, the Rev. Matthew Hart of New Haven, as Subdeacon, the Rev. Patrick Delaney and the Rev. Patrick Lamb, as assistant deacons, and the Rev. John McElroy, S. J., Archdeacon. The Rev. John Quinn, D. D., and the Rev. Patrick Gaynor officiated as Masters of Ceremonies. At the conclusion of the Mass the Most Rev. Archbishop, of New York, preached the funeral discourse, taking his text from the Apocalypse xiv. 13 : " And I heard a voice from heaven saying to me : Write : Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow them."
The eloquent prelate began his discourse with a few observations upon the Christian religion as an alleviator of human sorrow and suffering, and remarked upon the beautiful symbolism of the church as it was then pre- sented to him in the church and altar and episcopal throne shrouded in black, while immediately around those emblems which spoke most forci- bly of the frailty of humanity, all was brilliant with the blaze of many tapers. Thus does holy church in her wisdom keep the glories of eternity before our eyes even while she accommodates herself to our weakness by per- mitting us to indulge in natural grief. Continuing, the preacher gave a brief sketch of the deceased bishop. He spoke of the virtues, the humble piety and the energy of the deceased, who left an enduring monument in the numerous religious and charitable institutions which he founded or projected during his short episcopate. He enlarged upon the inscrutableness of the event which had deprived the church of this diocese of its head and upon the mystery which must ever surround the fate of those who perished on that ill-fated ship. Of one thing, however, he thought all might be certain-that the last few minutes, or hours it may have been, when death was seen to be in- evitable, were spent in the service of that divine Master to whom the holy bishop had so repeatedly offered his life in labors and perils and pestilences, during an unblemished career of more than a quarter of a century of active service.
"Now that all hope has ceased," said a contemporary, "for the safety of the ill-fated Pacific, a Solemn Requiem Mass was all that could be offered in memory of him who sank with her to rise no more in time. There is a melancholy in death,-nature loves itself, and the horror of death never becomes intense till ashes return to ashes, and dust is consigned to dust. But this becomes more bitter when the wail of sorrow is raised only above the empty bier or the decorated catafalque; when the burning tapers that surround it seem only to show that nothing but a symbol is there. How happy was the widow of Nain, that she had even the body of her only child-for then she became certain of a miracle from the instant our blessed Saviour touched the bier. Poor widow ! blessed was your sorrow. .
1
1
---- --
149
DIOCESE OF HARTFORD.
"But to-day widows and orphans crowd around an empty bier and a splendid catafalque. All the gorgeous pomp that love could give was be- stowed, but it was empty. The mind could not rest on that splendid pageant of hollowness, but bounded from the glitter and the glance of that mourn- fully bright solemnity to the Atlantic Ocean-to the steamer Pacific and her unfortunate passengers, and asking itself a thousand questions as to how they went down ; till back to the catafalque, with its questions unanswered, it had to come ; that steamer sank, and the waters closed over her; the treacherous waves came smoothly together, no mark remained on their bosom to tell where she wounded them, and no mark can point to the spot or awake a prayer or a sigh from the passing traveler." 1
When Bishop O'Reilly was installed bishop of Hartford his diocese con- tained-
Churches .
Clergymen
I4
Ecclesiastical students
7
Catholic population, about
20,000
Of these, five churches and seven priests were in Connecticut. At the time of the bishop's death, five years later, the diocese had
Churches
46
Stations
37
Clergymen
42
Clerical students 22
Male academies . 2
Female academies
.
3
Parochial schools
9
Orphan asylums
3
Catholic population, about
60,000
Of the churches, Connecticut had twenty-seven ; of the priests, twenty-six ; of the female acadeinies, two, at New Haven and Hartford; of the orphan asylums, two, at New Haven and Hartford ; of the parochial schools, three, one at Hartford and two at New Haven, St. Patrick's and St. Mary's. Besides these there were male and female schools at Norwich, New London, Bridge- port and Birmingham.
RIGHT REV. FRANCIS PATRICK MCFARLAND, D.D.,
THIRD BISHOP OF HARTFORD.
HE third bishop of Hartford, Right Rev. Francis Patrick McFarland, was born in Franklin, Pa., April 16, 1819. His parents were fron Armagh, Ireland, and were John McFarland and Nancy Mckeever. In his youth his father had intended to enter the priesthood, and to this end had made considerable advancement in his studies when the political troubles of 1798 compelled him, as it compelled many another aspirant for Holy
1 The American Celt, June, 1856, quoted by Richard H. Clark in his Lives of the Deceased Bishops.
150
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NEW ENGLAND.
Orders, to abandon the great desire of his heart. In 1806, the parents of Francis bought a home in the young republic of the West and settled in Waynesboro, Pa., where they engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1840 ..
Reared amid the holy influences of a thoroughly Catholic home, a daily witness of the Christian conduct of parents who recognized their obligations to religion and knew their duties to the children with whoin God had blessed them, young Francis in early youtli gave manifold indications that God had designed him exclusively for his holy service. During all his early career he appeared to have had but one object in view, the holy priesthood. His contemporaries speak of him as a manly young man. He was devout, but his piety was unobtrusive. He was digilent in study and anxious to excel, but it was not ambition to become merely conspicuous, and among his class-mates he occupied the position conceded only to students of conspicuous merit. Faithful in his reception of the sacraments, he was a devout client of the Mother of God, a trait that distinguished his priestly and episcopal life. His religious impulses were developed, and his desires for the ecclesiastical state encouraged by his parents, who deemed it a surpassing grace to give a son to the church. Having acquired a good education in the public schools at home, with commendable spirit and energy he began the career of teaching in the humble village schools of the neighborhood. While thus engaged, he reaped the benefits of the ripe scholarship of Mr. James Clark, an alumnus of West Point Military Academy, but after his conversion a Jesuit priest and professor in the University of Georgetown, D. C. Still attracted to the priesthood, Mr. McFarland entered Mount St. Mary's College, Eminittsburg, an institu- tion which has given to the American church many illustrious prelates. One of his professors at Mount St. Mary's was the venerable Father Joubert, the founder of the Oblate (Colored) Sisters, of Baltimore, whose parents had been inassacred by the blacks in the revolution at Hayti, at the close of the last century. He completed his theological studies at the "Mount," and for a brief period occupied a professor's chair. Leaving the seminary he was ordained to the priesthood on May 18, 1845, in old St. Patrick's Cathedral, by Archbishop Hughes, in the twenty-sixth year of his age. Immediately after his ordination he was assigned to St. John's College, Fordham, N. Y., where he remained as professor nearly a year. One of his pupils at St. John's was the late Very Rev. James Hughes, Vicar-General. During his residence at Ford- ham, Father McFarland frequently attended sick calls at Stamford, Con- necticut. As his inclinations were for practical work he retired from St. John's College and was assigned as assistant to St. Joseph's Church, New York City, where he remained until May 6, 1846, when he was appointed pastor of Watertown, N. Y., by Bishop Hughes. Attached to Watertown were several inissions to which the zealous young priest gave unremitting care and attention. It was a field of duty full of difficulties and hardships, and when we reflect that the means of travel had not reached the degree of perfection enjoyed by the missionary of to-day, we can realize somewhat the arduous tasks performed by Father McFarland. During Father McFarland's pastorate at Watertown the diocese of Albany was erected. He thus became
Blof Hartford
151
DIOCESE OF HARTFORD.
a subject of the Bishop of Albany, Right Rev. John McCloskey, D. D., who transferred him to St. John's parish, Utica, N. Y., on March 1, 1851. Of his labors in this field, one of his successors, Very Rev. T. S. M. Lynch, D.D., LL. D., says : "His work was lasting. He made an impression in the parish which remained long after the hallowed walls of that .church which he loved so well, had been razed to the ground. His memory is still green in Utica, the blessing which he left upon our church is still with us, and long, long, will his name be revered in the parish which had the happiness of being the witness of his saintly labors." 1
While pastor of St John's Church, Utica, the Holy See, recognizing his superior executive ability, honored him with the appointment of Vicar Apos- lic of Florida, January 9, 1857.2 This honor he declined. In March, 1858, two years after the death of Bishop O'Reilly, he was elected bishop of Hart- ford in the thirty-ninth year of his age. "Bishop McFarland is an Ameri- can," said the Providence Journal, March 14, 1858, "a native of .Franklin, Pa., and quite a young man, not much beyond the canonical years. He is a gentleman of good presence and bears the impress of that intelligence and' cultivation for which he is distinguished in the church that has now conferred upon him its selectest honors. We are assured by a Catholic gentleman-than whom none is more competent to judge-that his scholarship is of a high order, surpassed only by his zeal and devotion for the church to which he has now renewedly and solemnly consecrated his life."
. The first official act of the bishop-elect was the re-appointment of Very Rev. William O'Reilly as Vicar-General. Bishop McFarland left Utica for Providence, March 6, 1858. The hearts of his devoted parishioners were oppressed with sorrow at his departure, and on March 14th, the congregation assembled and passed a series of resolutions in which they expressed their regret at the loss of their beloved pastor, who had ever been to them a judic- ious counsellor, a kind and sympathizing friend, and a watchful and zealous shepherd. These resolutions were transinitted to him with a substantial purse. To these expressions of good will, Bishop McFarland returned the following felicitous response:
" PROVIDENCE, 24th March, 1858.
"GENTLEMEN: I have received your letter and the accompanying check. Yon are aware that I did not wish to accept any present on this occasion. Yet, the man- ner in which this comes, and the feelings which have prompted it, leave me no choice. I accept your offering with many thanks. It was not needed as a proof of the kind feel- ings of St. John's congregation towards me ; but it places me under a new obligation to theni, which I can repay only by offering for them my best wishes and my poor prayers. Accept my thanks for the kind manner in which you are pleased to speak of my labors whilst amongst you. Your partiality has, however, betrayed you into attributing to mnie many qualities which I am not conscious of possessing. The only merit which I can at all lay claim to is that while with you I had a sincere desire to see you and your families advance in virtue, and that, from day to day, as the occasion arose, I was willing to labor with you, in my own poor way, for the advancement of your congregation in religion, in knowledge, and in the doing of works of charity. I will endeavor to visit you at 110
1 The Rosary, September, 1895.
2 A division of the diocese of Savannah.
1
152
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NEW ENGLAND.
distant day. My duties here will be numerous, and such as entail great responsibility ; yet I hope soon to escape from them long enough to enable me to meet you for a day, and to express, orally, what I do not find time to write.
Begging you to pray for me, that I may have strength to do the work which God has given me to do, I remain, with the best wishes,
Your much obliged and devoted friend,
F. P. MCFARLAND, Bishop of Hartford.
To Messrs. MICHAEL MCQUADE, U. BURKE, M.D. ; F. KERNAN, O. O'NEILL, WM. CLARKE, JOHN CARTON, TIMOTHY CRONIN, FRANCIS X. MANAHAN, committee.
The consecration of Bishop McFarland took place on Sunday, March 14, 1858, at St. Patrick's church, Providence, R. I., and was an imposing cere- inony. The consecrator and celebrant of the Mass was the Most Rev. Arch- bishop Hughes, of New York.
Assistant Bishops-Right Rev. Bishop Fitzpatrick of Boston ; Right Rev. Bishop Timon of Buffalo
Assistant Priest-Very Rev. William O'Reilly, V. G. of the diocese.
Assistant Deacon-Rev. M. Hart, New Haven.
Second Assistant Deacon-Rev. P. Delaney, Pawtucket.
Deacon-Very Rev. J. Hughes, Hartford.
Sub Deacon-Rev. P. Lamb, Providence.
Archbishop's Cross-Bearer-Rev. Jolin Smith, New Haven.
Processional Cross-Bearer-Rev. Peter Kelly, Danbury, Conn.
Chanters-Rev. Dr. Mulligan, Falls Village, Conn .; Rev. A. Wallace, LL.D., East Greenwich.
Thurifer-Rev. Hugh O'Reilly, Norfolk, Conn.
. Acolytes-Rev. M. McCallion, Warren, R. I .; Rev. P. O'Dwyer, Collinsville, Conn.
· Mitre-Bearer-Rev. M. McCabe, Woonsocket.
Crosier Bearer-Rev. Thomas Drea, Stonington, Conn.
Book-Bearer-Rev. James Gibson, Crompton.
Chaplain to the Archbishop-Rev. Fr. Brennan, St. Joseph's Seminary, New York. Chaplain to the Bishop-elect-Rev. George McCloskey, New York.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.