A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 15

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 887

USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 15

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).

Father Sorin grew feeble as the weeks went on, until the last day of October, that month in which St. Edward's feast had been so often celebrated in his honor, when he gently passed

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to that blessed world for which his whole life had been a preparation, and where so many of his children had passed before him. It was a blessed death.

The funeral of Father Sorin was conducted with all the solemnity and reverence due to him. Notre Dame spared nothing that love could suggest to do honor to her founder. Mass was celebrated by Bishop Rademacher, of Fort Wayne, and the funeral sermon was preached by the Most Rev. Archbishop Elder, of Cincinnati. The interest manifested in his death, as might well be expected, was wide- spread. Telegrams and letters of condolence came to Father Provincial Corby, and other members of the Congregation, from France and Rome; while kindly notices from the Catholic and secular press were numberless.

We give one of these taken from the Chi- cago "Herald":

"A wonderful and romantic career was that of Father Sorin, founder of Notre Dame University, who died Tuesday last, almost under the shadow of the University, and on the scene of noble and successful endeavor for humanity. He was nearly eighty years of age. In 1841, when only twenty-seven years old, he came from France to this country, filled with a young man's uncalculating zeal, and established a mission among the Indians of Indiana. . . . Having been admonished to establish schools wherever opportunity of- fered, he set out upon his mission and arrived in November, 1842, on the borders of the sheet of water known as St. Mary's Lake, near the site of the present city of South Bend.

"The spot at which he halted was absolute waste, the only building in sight being a small log hut. His earthly belongings at the time consisted of only five dollars in money; but his trust in the beneficence of God was un- bounded, and he had absolute confidence in his own energy and resolution. He took pos- session of the hut, setting apart one-half of it to be used as a chapel, and reserving the other part as a dwelling place for himself and his companions. On these meagre foundations he

began to build a college, and two years later he secured a charter for a university from the State of Indiana. From that moment the University of Notre Dame grew and flourished under his intelligent guidance and watchful care until it became what it is today, the larg- est and most important Roman Catholic edu- cational institution in the United States.

"Thus more than fifty years of his life were devoted by Father Sorin to the upbuilding of this institution. Its success is due to his faith, labor, enthusiasm and perseverance. The thousands of men whom it has sent into the world equipped for the battle of life drew their inspiration from him and from the in- fluences with which he surrounded them. He saw his work and knew that it was good. His great undertaking having been successfully accomplished, death came to him like a wel- come, refreshing sleep. He needs no tablet of marble to commemorate his virtues and achievements. The University of Notre Dame is his monument, and, while its influence sur- vives, his name will not be forgotten among men."

Father Sorin's body is at rest between those of Father Granger and Father Walsh, in the little community cemetery. A simple iron cross, with his name and date of death, marks his grave.

On the death of Father Sorin, the Very Rev. William Corby continued as Provincial of the Congregation of the Holy Cross in the United States, a position which he held to the end of his life. The poor Detroit boy, strug- gling for an education, the young priest him- self zealous for the education of youth, the brave chaplain of the armies of the Potomac, the veteran priest of the Holy Cross, who with Father Louis L'Etourneau, Father Timothy Maher, Brother Francis Xavier and Brother Augustus, for a few years longer, connected the present generation with those heroic men who founded this university in the wilderness. Of these, Father L'Etourneau and Father Maher yet remain.

In accordance with the expressed wish of

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VERY REV. ANDREW MORRISSEY.

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Father Walsh, the Rev. Andrew Morrissey was named to succeed him in the presidency of the university. No appointment could have been a greater pleasure to the inmates and friends of Notre Dame. Father Morrissey had been at Notre Dame since the twelfth year of his age, and was thoroughly imbued with the spirit of its venerable founder, no less than with that of Father Walsh, his enlightened and most able predecessor; and he brought to the discharge of the duties of his high office the resources of a rarely gifted mind, com- bined with an intense devotedness and zeal in the cause of education. For a number of years during the presidency of Father Walsh, Father Morrissey had been director of studies in the university; and so became thoroughly familiar with the spirit and needs of the insti- tution. To his natural endowments and excel- lent training as a scholar and teacher, Father Morrissey added what are so essential to the president of a university, those social and sympathetic qualities, and that urbane pres- ence, which draw to him the love and good will of all persons with whom he comes in contact. His powers as an orator have long distinguished him in the pulpit and on the platform. Father Walsh indeed completed his own noble presidency by naming so fit a successor.

Father Morrissey was the seventh president of Notre Dame. He served for twelve years, -as long a time as Father Walsh had been president. He was then succeeded by the Rev. John Cavanaugh, who is still president. This list of educators is as follows :

PRESIDENTS OF NOTRE DAME.

Father Edward Sorin, Founder, from 1842 to 1865.

Father Patrick Dillon, from 1865 to 1866. Father William Corby, from 1866 to 1872.

. Father Augustus Lemonnier, from 1872 to 1874.

Father Patrick J. Colovin, from 1874 to 1877.

Father William Corby, again, from 1877 to 1881.

Father Thomas E. Walsh, from 1881 to 1893.

Father Andrew Morrissey, from 1893 to 1905.

Father John Cavanaugh, from 1905 to

Under Father Morrissey's administration and that of his successor, Father John Cava- naugh, the completion of the work laid out by their predecessors has gone forward. Washington Hall has been beautifully fres- coed, according to the original design. Meas- ures have been taken to revise and still fur- ther improve the course of studies. The corps of teachers has been kept up to the high stand- and that prevailed during Father Walsh's ad- ministration. The friends of Notre Dame, everywhere, are gratified to find that the noble work here inaugurated shows no sign of weakening; but, on the contrary, in every- thing are shown signs of advancement towards the highest goal of excellence. The determina- tion was never stronger to keep Our Lady's College in the place to which she has attained, in the van of the higher educational institu- tions of the land.

In the autumn of 1894 the Very Rev. Gil- bert Francais, chosen Superior-General of the Congregation of the Holy Cross to succeed Father Sorin, came to visit this most noted establishment under his charge; and here he resided up to the time of the golden jubilee. The Very Reverend Father Superior-General was for a long time before his elevation to his present dignity Superior of the College at Neully, near Paris, and under his care that institution became one of the most noted seats of learning in France. It was a gratification to all at Notre Dame that so learned and ac- complished an educator had been placed at the head of the congregation where he would be able to do so much to still further advance the good of their Alma Mater. On the sup- pression of Christian institutions by the French government, the College at Neully was closed, and the Superior General removed to Notre Dame, which again became the mother house of the Congregation of the Holy

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Cross, as it had been during Father Sorin's administration.

In the summer of 1894, Notre Dame was honored by the presence of the First Ameri- can Eucharistic Congress within our walls. To be selected as the place where so great a work as that of the Eucharistic Congress was inau- gurated is indeed a mark of God's blessing. Not since the assembling of the Third Plenary Council at Baltimore has there anywhere assembled so numerous and distinguished a body of Catholic priests and prelates.

It is needless to say that, notwithstanding the year 1893 was a year of sorrow with us,. yet Notre Dame could not fail to take the keenest interest in an exhibition so dear to the Catholic heart as the four hundreth anniver- sary of the discovery of our country by the great navigator. The fine Columbian paint- ings on the walls of the main entrance to the university, which have been already described, sufficiently attest this interest.

The Notre Dame exhibit at the Colum- bian Exposition was enclosed in four de- partments centrally located in the Manu- factures and Liberal Arts Building. The first booth was twenty feet square and con- tained Gregori's life-size, full length por- trait of the founder of the university, to- gether with specimens of the work of the pupils of Gregori and of Prof. Ackerman. Here also were shown a map of the grounds and buildings of the university, made by the pupils of Professor McCue's surveying classes ; several specimens of mechanical engineering work in wood and iron; blue tints from the Institute of Technology; one hundred and twenty views of Notre Dame taken by Father Kirsch's class in photography ; a complete set, twenty-five volumes, of the "Scholastic," illustrating the literary work of the students; copies of various books written and published at Notre Dame; objects of historical interest; photographs and paintings, including an excellent portrait of the lamented Father Walsh.

. In the second booth, also twenty feet square,

was a small but rich selection from the pre- cious historical treasury of Bishops' Memorial Hall. Among these treasures were many rare old Bibles published in the German language long before the birth of Luther.

In the third booth were several autograph letters and other precious manuscripts from the Catholic American Archives collected by Professor Edwards.

In the fourth booth were numerous precious articles, mementos of early bishops and other distinguished historical characters, and vari- ous other articles of interest, shown in glass cases, including precious books, intended to represent the libraries and museums at Notre Dame.

A history almost as full as that of the uni- versity itself might be written of the various churches erected at Notre Dame, culminating in the present beautiful edifice. As we have seen, Father Sorin found here the small "upper room" of the little log house built on the banks of St. Mary's Lake by the poor Indians for the use of their revered Black Robe, the proto-priest, the Rev. Stephen T. Badin, in 1830. In 1842-3, Father Sorin erected that other log structure, a little higher up from the lake, in whose upper chamber the inmates and the Catholics of the mission long continued to worship. The precious relic, alas, perished by fire in 1852. Before this, in 1848, the first brick church was erected, east of the lake, and just in the rear of the pres- ent church, or rather upon ground now occu- pied by the rear of the present church. This church of 1848 was at first a little oblong building. In time additions were made to it, including wooden towers, in which was placed the exquisite chime of bells that still make music for Notre Dame. When the first great organ was obtained, an extension was made to the rear of the old church to receive it. The church so completed served until the erection of the present edifice.

The foundations of the present Church of the Sacred Heart were begun by Father Sorin on the 8th day of December, 1868, the day on

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which the Vatican Council was opened by Pius IX. It was also the twenty-fourth anni- versary of the blessing of the well beloved. "Chapel of the Novitiate," erected upon the "Island" in 1844, and so long the center of the religious devotion of the poor little com- munity. It was on the same day, December 8, 1844, that the Arch Confraternity was solemnly established in the same chapel, the most blessed society ever established at Notre Dame.

Slowly, from 1868 until Father Sorin's Jubilee, in 1888, the Church of the Sacred Heart went on to completion, year by year, until its solemn consecration, when it appeared to the world as perhaps the most beautiful church in America. We need not here again describe it. That has been already done in these pages, in the article by Professor Stace, and in others.

We must, however, make room for a touch- ing contrast made by Father Sorin between the former times and the present, written by him at a time when he was considering the question as to when the new church should be dedicated :

"What a consolation will it not be to see the dedication of a temple in honor of our Blessed Mother on a spot where we well remember having seen with our own eyes the wigwams and the fires of the Pottawatomies!

"Truly a change has taken place; we con- fess it the more readily, as we claim no praise but return all glory to God, to whose hand this transformation is due. Neither should we be surprised if we only reflected on the saintly memories whose extraordinary virtues embalmed the very air of Notre Dame when the Congregation of the Holy Cross took pos- session of her lovely domain. Here is a little galaxy of names not often met with in any place not celebrated: The venerable proto- priest of America, Father Badin, the saintly De Seille, the heroic Benjamin Petit, suc- ceeded one another here. Here they were visited from Bardstown and Vincennes by the immortal bishops Flaget and Brute; here they

prayed together, as they now continue to do in heaven, for blessings on a spot they so dearly loved. Scarcely, then, we say, is it a wonder to find it blessed. Saintly souls, men of God, have passed and lived here, and the precious remains of two of them speak yet in our midst the eloquent language of the purest zeal and most unbounded charity that ever prompted and adorned the heart of the Apos- tles of Christ."

The rear end of the old church, that part formerly containing the first great organ, was suffered to stand for several years, and was enclosed and used by Father Zahm as the first science hall, characteristic of the reverend scientist himself, who has shown us how closely related are science and religion, both the work of God himself.

In time, however, the whole of the old church, the scene of so many sacred rites of religion, so many pious recollections, so many prayers for better life, was all taken down, to make larger room for the new church. It was with some sadness that the older inmates of Notre Dame saw this ancient landmark, this place of sacred memories, removed. To them, at least, the old had something which the new could not supply. Memory of the rugged past was to them even more sweet than the joy of the splendid present.

The golden jubilee of Notre Dame should, in the regular order of things, have taken place on November 26, 1892, fifty years after the day that the Very Rev. Edward Sorin and his intrepid brethren first stood upon the shores of St. Mary's lake. On that day, or rather for convenience, on the next day, which was Sunday, there was a simple commemora- tion of the day by Father Sorin and his friends; but his condition was so feeble that there was no attempt at a public demonstra- tion. After Father Sorin's death, in 1893, there was a movement to have the jubilee celebrated in 1894, on the anniversary of the charter and the actual opening of the institu- tion, in 1844. The jubilee was not actually celebrated until the summer of 1895. For

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this occasion the History of the Golden Jubi- lee was prepared, from which we have taken the greater part of the foregoing facts in rela- tion to the university. During the twelve years that have since passed the institution has gone on, "prospering and to prosper." Perhaps the chief feature which distinguishes these years from the period immediately pre- ceding is the attention that has been given to athletics and to public debates. In both, Notre Dame has admirably held her own with other collegiate institutions in Indiana and the neighboring states.

III. ST. MARY'S ACADEMY.

Sec. 1 .- THREE RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES .- On April 24th, 1855, the cornerstone of the first building for St. Mary's Academy was blessed by the Very Rev. Edward Sorin. In the year 1905, in commemoration of this event, there was published "A Story of Fifty Years," being a golden jubilee history of St. Mary's Academy and of the Congregation of the Sis- ters of the Holy Cross. To the pages of that interesting "Story of Fifty Years," we are indebted for the greater part of this sketch.

Soon after the close of the Napoleonic era there was a marked revival of religious zeal in France. One result of this revival was the organization of various confraternities and societies for the promotion of religious instruc- tion among the people. Three of such com- munities have become of special interest to the people of St. Joseph county. About the year 1820, a few young men desiring to devote their lives to the education of youth began to seek the guidance of the Rev. James Francis Du- jarié, pastor of a church at Ruillé in the dio- cese of Mans, or Le Mans, as it is sometimes called. This society, after many vicissitudes of fortune, was finally formed into a commun- ity known as the Brothers of St. Joseph. Father Dujarie is further known as' the founder of the Sisters of Providence, whose principal house in this country is at St. Mary's of the Woods, near Terre Haute. On August 31, 1835, by reason of his age and

feeble health, Father Dujarie surrendered his charge of the Brothers of St. Joseph into the hands of the bishop of Mans, with the request that the Rev. Basil Anthony Moreau be sub- stituted in his place, which was done. During the preceding year Father Moreau, with the approval of the bishop, had gathered around him a company of young priests, to aid in the preaching of missions to the people. In 1832, the zealous superior had received a gift of property at a place called Holy Cross, not far from the city of Mans. To this place he now took his two societies, which were there formed into one, called, from the name of the place, "The Association of Holy Cross" and there, in 1836, was laid the foundation of their first institution, the college of Holy Cross. Up to this time neither priests nor brothers had taken upon themselves any but temporary obligations; but, in the same year, 1836, one of the brothers, Brother André, took upon himself the perpetual vows of a religious. In 1840, on the morning of August 15, Father Moreau took the vows, and in the afternoon of the same day four other priests, one of whom was the Rev. Edward Sorin, joined him in the solemn and perpetual obli- gations. The Congregation of Holy Cross, con- sisting of the united societies of priests and brothers, was thus established on a permanent basis.ª

Soon afterwards, Father Moreau and his priests and brothers saw the need of a com- munity of sisters to aid them in their work; and on September 29, 1841, the first members of the Sisters of Holy Cross were received. To Father Moreau it now seemed that his religious family of priests, brothers. and sisters was formed on the model of the holy family of Nazareth, Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The priests and brothers were ultimately united into a single congregation; but the sisters, although associated in the work of the priests and brothers, have remained a distinct society. The name at first given to each of

a. The Brothers of Holy Cross, by the Rev. James J. Trahey.

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the societies, as we have seen, was the Fathers, Brothers and Sisters of Holy Cross,-after Holy Cross, the name of the place where the first house was located, near Mans. Insensi- bly, in the beginning, and afterwards in a positive and formal manner, the words "the Holy Cross" were substituted for "Holy Cross." Holy Cross was simply a place, the town where the societies originated; the Holy Cross was the sacred instrument of redemp- tion. In America, particularly, where the ob- scure hamlet of Holy Cross was quite un- known, and where the work of the zealous fathers, brothers and sisters was so well known and so greatly admired, the need of the broader and more expressive term became evident. Indeed it was through the action of Father Sorin himself that the words "the Holy Cross" took the place of "Holy Cross," simply. It is of course true that the little town of Holy Cross itself (Ste. Croix, in French), like many other towns of the same name, and in many languages, all over the world, received its name from that of the same holy symbol ; nevertheless these great religious congregations, which originally came out of the little town of Holy Cross, are now known by the more sacred name of the Holy Cross.

Sec. 2 .- THE SISTERS AT NOTRE DAME, MISH- AWAKA AND BERTRAND .- After the priests and brothers had been established on the banks of St. Mary's lake, at Notre Dame, as related in sections two, three and four of the second subdivision of this chapter, the need of the sisters became more apparent from day to day. As stated in section four of that subdivision, the first building, erected in the winter of 1842-3, was a log church, the upper story of which was prepared for the sisters, who were expected from France the next summer. Four sisters left France on June 6, 1843, and on their arrival found their home in this "upper room." They at once took charge of the sacristy, clothes-room, laundry, and dairy. They soon gave to the raw sur- roundings an air of order and comparative comfort,-the blessed influence of woman the Vol. II-7.

world over. In November a second colony arrived; so that the close of the year 1843 found the Sisters of the Holy Cross well established in their backwoods home on the banks of St. Mary's lake.

Father Sorin soon made preparations to establish a permanent house for the sisters at Notre Dame, where they might receive young ladies who might desire to join the order and lead a religious life. The Bishop of Vincennes, however, opposed the project. The Sisters of Providence, founded by the Rev. James Francis Dujarié, were now estab- lished at St. Mary's of the Woods, near Terre Haute, and the bishop was of opinion that one congregation of women was enough for the diocese. Father Sorin's vision was broad- er, and he was confident that there was ample room for both communities. But he submitted to his bishop and gave up for the present the idea of establishing a novitiate at Notre Dame for the sisters. Among the missions commit- ted to the care of the congregation of the Holy Cross was that at Bertrand, only six miles from Notre Dame, but within the state of Michigan, and consequently within the dio- cese of Detroit. At Bertrand, therefore, he made up his mind that he would establish the academy and convent. Through the kind- ly aid of Archbishop Purcell of Cincinnati, a kindness never forgotten at Notre Dame or St. Mary's, he finally obtained the needed permission of the Bishop of Detroit. On July 16, 1844, five sisters took up their abode at Bertrand, in a house secured for them by Joseph Bertrand, after whom the town was named. Many devout young ladies now joined St. Mary's at Bertrand. It was a time of hardship for those devoted sisters, but also a time of joy; for they were there permitted to do the work for which they believed they were intended by heaven. In an early chron- icle describing this first mother house of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, are the simple words: "In front of the house there were wild roses and sweetbriar." The writer of "A Story of Fifty Years" finds these wild

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roses and sweetbriar to have been emblemat- ical of the joys and sufferings of the strug- gling community. They were comforted by the weekly visits of Father Sorin, who always managed to find time to visit and encourage them. The night of November 7, 1847, is re- membered as the occasion when the little vil- lage church was broken into, and the sacred vessels of the altar carried away by the rob- bers. A statue brought from France in 1845, and still preserved at St. Mary's, is one of the precious relics of those old days. The story is also told that a little log chapel built by the proto-priest, Father Badin, was moved from its place and attached to the convent building and used for religious exercises. By permission of Bishop Lefevre of Detroit, this venerable building was made the chapel of the convent. With the growth of the com- munity advanced also the school, or academy, established at Bertrand. By the year 1850, the roll of pupils showed fifty boarders, and it was deemed opportune to issue a prospectus setting forth the advantages of St. Mary's Academy at Bertrand as a desirable school for the education of young ladies. The pros- pectus states, amongst other things, that a daily line of stages from Niles to South Bend renders the academy easy of access from all parts of the country. In those days, to come from Chicago, one had to take a boat across the lake to St. Joseph, and travel from there to Bertrand by stage. But the stage by land and the boat by lake and river were, in truth, the easiest means of access to any place in those days. In 1851 the academy received a charter from the state of Michigan.

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A history of St. Joseph County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 15

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 887

Author: Howard, Timothy Edward, 1837-1916
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 887