USA > Indiana > History of the Catholic church in Indiana, Volume I > Part 8
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He remained in Logansport about two years, when, in 1846, he was transferred to Madison, Ind., which may be said to have been the first station which this cultured and noble-born priest had in this diocese where he was surrounded with anything like com-
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fort and convenience. He remained there but one year, as on the accession of Bishop Bazin to the episcopal chair of the diocese, he called Father de St. Palais to Vincennes and appointed him vicar general and superior of the ecclesiastical seminary. He did not discharge these functions very long, as Bishop Bazin lived only six months, less one day, after his consecration. On his death bed Bishop Bazin appointed Father de St. Palais admin- istrator of the diocese during the vacancy of the see. Pope Pius IX appointed him bishop of the diocese on the third day of Octo- ber, 1848, and on the fourteenth day of January, 1849, Bishop Miles, of Nashville, assisted by Bishop Spalding, of Louisville, and Father Dupontavice, consecrated him bishop in the cathedral of St. Francis Xavier.
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His appointment as bishop was received with joy and delight by both the clergy and laity. He had been for a long time con- nected with the diocese, and had come to it in its infancy before the Catholics in it were organized and formed into congregations; had witnessed and assisted in its growth and development, and was well acquainted with all its affairs. He issued his first pas- toral letter in October, 1849, and in it he disclosed what subjects should receive his special care during his episcopate. The most prominent among these was the protection and care of orphan children. This declaration in his first pastoral letter was strictly adhered to by him during the many long years he was the head of the Catholic church in the diocese of Vincennes, and justified the peculiar appropriateness of the floral inscription that was erected in St. Xavier's cathedral, over the railing in front of the sanctuary, on the occasion of his funeral, "The Father of the Fatherless." His care and concern for the orphan children of his diocese may be said to have marked and distinguished in a special manner his epis- copate.
When, in 1863, he erected on the Highland tract, near Vin- cennes, the splendid asylum for boys which was destroyed by fire in the spring of 1889, and when the majestic and artistic propor- tions of the structure loomed up in full view of the city, he was approached by many persons who requested him to change its use and purpose, and establish in its stead a college and devote it to (86)
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educational purposes, as it was too fine and costly a building to be devoted to an asylum for orphan children. But Bishop de St. Palais would not listen to such suggestions and would always reply that, so long as he was bishop of the diocese, it should always be the home of his destitute orphan children. This love and devotion to the orphan children did not wane but increased the logner he con- tinued as bishop.
He not only devoted his attention to the care of the orphans, but also paid special attention to the education of priests and the support of the ecclesiastical seminary, for the purpose. He pro- vided for an annual collection for the theological seminary, to be taken up on Easter Sunday.
When Bishop de St. Palais took charge of the diocese in 1849, which then comprised the entire state of Indiana, there were but thirty-five priests in it, only fifty churches and chapels and a Catholic population of only about 30,000. When he died in 1877, the state had been subdivided and the diocese of Fort Wayne had been erected, embracing about one half of the territorial area of the state; and yet the portion still embraced in the diocese of Fort Wayne contained 117 priests, 151 churches and a population of about 90,000.
His administration was uniform and regular. He did not attempt to stimulate or push matters, but let everything take its course, and simply guided and controlled it as it was carried along by the logic of events. He was of an amiable and affable disposi- tion, and it took something extraordinary to ruffle his smooth and gentle temper. When he would indicate or manifest impatience or displeasure the half-formed frown that could scarcely find time to gather on his brow was only temporary, and he would soon resume his usual composure. Any sign of anger would disappear before the force and warmth of his kind and affectionate heart as quickly as the morning mist fades before the face of the rising sun. Although he did not, apparently, force matters, yet he neglected nothing. He pursued the calm and even tenor of his way, and devoted all his time to the discharge of his episcopal duties. He noiselessly and quietly passed through his diocese, without seeking, and even wish- ing to avoid, all ostentation and display. He dearly loved the
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diocese of Vincennes, and would not think of severing his connec- tion with it. Owing to the position and influence of his family in France, he could have, if he had consented, been raised to one of the largest and most desirable archepiscopal sees in France. On account of the kind and hospitable treatment Louis Napoleon received when an exile from France, at the hands of Louis de St. Palais, a brother of the bishop and an officer in the French naval service, when later Napoleon became emperor he wished to requite the kind offices of Louis de St. Palais by securing for his brother, Bishop de St. Palais, the archbishopric of Toulouse, then vacant, and one of the most important in France. But this honor Bishop de St. Palais declined, preferring to remain in the diocese of Vin- cennes, which he had assisted in founding and building up, in which he had labored for so many years, and in which he wished to die and be buried.
During his administration many churches, asylums and institu- tions of learning were built, and the visible and material appearance of the diocese improved. He was also instrumental in bringing into the diocese as many as five of the male orders of the church, including the Benedictines and Franciscans, who have accomplished so much good. He also occasioned the coming of as many as seven of the female orders in the church, whose labors and services have been equally beneficial.
During his episcopacy he made as many as three visits to Rome, the grand center of Catholic light and unity, the two after the first, 1849, in successive decades-1859, 1869. His last visit was in attending the Vatican council, which promulgated the decree of the infallibility of the Pope in spiritual matters, and which dogma he firmly advocated.
He was officially connected with the diocese of Vincennes for a continuous period of forty-one years, from 1836 to 1877, thirteen of which he spent in discharging the arduous duties of a missionary priest in a new and wild country, and twenty-eight as the head of the diocese.
In the latter part of June, 1877, he attended the commence- ment exercises of St. Mary's institute for young ladies, near Terre Haute. He was apparently in his usual health, and the day pre- (88)
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vious to the paralytic attack which caused his death, he was present and took a prominent part in the commencement exercises of that institution. On the morning of June 28, 1877, on arising at five o'clock, he was prostrated by a stroke of paralysis and died the same evening at five o'clock. The news of his death was soon known all over the diocese, and was not only a great surprise to every one, as he was supposed to be in excellent health, but was a source of general sorrow and regret. His body was embalmed and transferred on the 30th day of June following to Vincennes, where his remains, incased in a fine casket and robed in his episco- pal garments, were placed in St. Rose's chapel, across the street from the episcopal residence, where they remained lying in state, and were visited and viewed by many thousands of his friends and acquaintances until July the 3d following, when the last sad and solemn service of the Catholic church prescribed for such an occasion was performed in St. Francis Xavier's cathedral, and his funeral took place. The church for this occasion was heavily draped in mourning, elaborate floral decorations and other artistic preparations were made, and the interior of the old cathedral, within which so many grand ceremonies had previously taken place, never presented so marked and memorable a display. An excellent photograph of the interior of the church as it appeared on this occasion was taken, and numerous copies of it made and obtained by persons in many parts of the diocese. The trains on all the railroads entering Vincennes brought numbers of people from all parts of the state, including many distinguished public men. The citizens of Vincennes attended in vast numbers. To prevent confusion persons were stationed at the various entrances of the cathedral to regulate and control admission to it. A funeral procession was formed that escorted the remains through the prin- cipal streets from St. Rose's chapel to the cathedral. The casket containing the remains was carried on a hearse drawn by six horses draped in mourning. Many distinguished prelates and clergymen were in the procession, and all the various Catholic societies con- nected with the Catholic churches of Vincennes, the orphans from the asylum and a great number of citizens in carriages and on foot. The procession was the largest ever known in that city.
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The high mass requiem was celebrated by Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, who had been so often brought within the venerable walls of St. Francis Xavier, sometimes on joyous and sometimes, as in this case, on solemn occasions. He was very properly assigned this sad and melancholy duty. Bishops Baltes, of Alton; Foley, of Chicago; Spalding, of Peoria; Dwenger, of Fort Wayne, and over 100 priests were in the sanctuary and church. Bishop Dwenger, of Fort Wayne, delivered the funeral oration.
After the solemn ceremonies were concluded, the casket con- taining the remains was carried by clergymen present from the church to the basement chapel, and there deposited in a vault pre- pared for them beneath the sanctuary floor of the chapel, in front and on the gospel side of the altar.
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+ FrancisSilas Chatard. Bishop of Vincennes.
IN THE STATE OF INDIANA.
CHAPTER VI.
RIGHT REV. FRANCIS SILAS CHATARD, FIFTH BISHOP OF VINCENNES-
HIS CONSECRATION, RECEPTION AND INSTALLATION-TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS -- DIOCESE OF INDIANAPOLIS.
T "HE diocese of Vincennes had been signally favored during the
4 years intervening between 1849 and 1877. It was in those twenty-eight years that the dignified Bishop de St. Palais witnessed the progress of the church, keeping pace with the passage of the years. Each decade showed an increase of population, churches and priests.
Happily, Providence provided for a continuance of these bless-' ings by giving to the diocese its present bishop, who, for twenty years, has now (1898) been guiding the ship of the church in these parts with a hand made steady by power from on high. With the power that made steady and sturdy the hand on the tiller, came, also, the divine light to illuminate the course-way. The sea was rough at times; rocks and shoals were plenty in the passage; but aided by Him who "doeth all things well," the voyage has thus far been a prosperous one.
Dr. Chatard, a native of Baltimore, Md., and, at the time of his appointment to the see of Vincennes, rector of the American college at Rome, was divinely chosen through Leo XIII to con- tinue the good work most faithfully prosecuted by his worthy pred- ecessor. He was consecrated at Rome by Cardinal Franchi, pre- fect of the Propaganda, May 12, 1878, and arrived at Vincennes, Ind., August II, when the citizens, without distinction of creed, headed by their committee, received him with great distinction. The mayor of Vincennes was included in the committee and Judge Niblack of the supreme court was its chairman. The address of welcome was delivered by Hon. H. S. Cauthorn.
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Bishop Chatard was duly installed by Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, and solemnized pontifical high-mass, surrounded by thirty-five of his priests and in the presence of a very large con- gregation.
The committee of priests, consisting of the Very Rev. A. Bessonies, A. Scheideler and Father Audran, who had gone to Cin- cinnati to meet the bishop and who had charge of all the arrange- ments for his reception and installation, acceded to the wishes of the Sisters of Providence to give the new bishop a reception at St. Mary's of the Woods Young Ladies' academy. The function was performed at that institution, August 15, on which occasion a number of novices received the veil, while others made their final vows. The exercises were very imposing and the arrangements were faithfully carried out.
August 17, Bishop Chatard reached Indianapolis, his future home. He was permitted by Rome to make the capital of the state his episcopal city while he retained the title of Bishop of Vin- ·cennes .* Indianapolis rejoiced in the distinction of having the new bishop take up his abode among its citizens; and, as if to give proof of the fact, its reception of Dr. Chatard was most cordial, generous and imposing. The governor of the state, Mr. Williams; the mayor of Indianapolis, Mr. Cavan; the clergy, the Catholic societies, and the great body of the people welcomed to their city the head of the church in southern Indiana.
THE ADDRESSES OF WELCOME.
Governor Williams in welcoming the bishop said:
I feel the greatest imaginable pleasure in having the honor of welcoming to this state such a distinguished personage as the future bishop of the diocese of Vincennes. Your predecessor, the Rt. Rev. Maurice de St. Palais, I knew well. He was a gentleman whose memory still lives, and will ever live, in the minds of not only his people but the people of the state of Indiana, for the many kind acts he has performed and the great work he has accomplished.
* Even as long ago as 1878 the increase among the Catholic people of Indi- ana impressed the thoughtful with the notion that sooner or later the state of Indi- ana must be divided into three dioceses, the southern section retaining the name, Vincennes; the middle that of Indianapolis; and the northern its present name, Fort Wayne.
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Mayor Cavan's address was as follows:
Right Rev. Bishop :- Some time ago our people were informed of your appointment as bishop of Vincennes, and it met with a unanimity and enthusiasm of approval perhaps without precedent, and from that moment the open hand and heart awaited your coming-a welcome more tenderly told you in the warm clasp and kindly eye, than in words. I scarcely feel as if I were welcoming a stranger to-day, but rather one whom we have all known.
You have won the confidence and love of these people before you came. You have come to a field of great responsibility and labor, but your toils will be lightened and sweetened by the devoted aid of your fellow laborers-among them the good Father Bessonies, who, like the Master he professes to serve, is continually going about and doing good. His footfall is a familiar sound in the homes of sorrow and by the couch of the dying, while he points the bereaved to a better land above, where sorrow never comes and the weary are at rest. Much gratified at your selection of our city for your place of residence and wishing you long life and happiness and a mission of great usefulness, to the many welcomes you are receiv- ing, I wish to add and to mingle my own.
BISHOP CHATARD'S RESPONSE.
In response to the addresses of the governor and the mayor, Bishop Chatard said:
Although words are inadequate to the expression of my feelings on this occasion, I desire to thank your Excellency, the Governor, for thus coming to wel- come me on the occasion of my first visit to the capital of Indiana. In speaking of my predecessor, Monsignor M. de St. Palais, as a devoted Christian and a benefi- cent citizen, you have said that which I know full well to be a fact. He was one who sacrificed name, friends and much else that was dear to him for the purpose of serving God and promoting the interests of the church in this diocese; and when I remember the great virtues by which my predecessor was distinguished, I feel almost dismayed in coming here to fill his place. Inasmuch, however, as I count not so much upon my own abilities as upon the power of God to sustain me, I know that there is no reason to be dismayed. I thank God that I have been called upon to labor in the name of God, for the good of his church; and let me add that, so far as I am able, I shall always endeavor to co-operate with the civil authorities so as to make our people better citizens. The Catholic church always teaches respect for the authorities because it recognizes all authority as coming from Almighty God, and therefore no one among our people that is not a good citizen can be a good Catholic. The Catholic church teaches everyone respect for the rights of others, and it also teaches its followers to despise all those persons who in these days engage in socialistic and communistic movements. There are many persons who profess to have pet theories for the bettering of the people that are really the enemies of society, and the Catholic church warns its followers to beware of all such persons, and enjoins them to stand by the constituted authorities.
As you are well aware, I have been absent from this country a number of · years, during which I have resided in Rome-a city which is of the deepest interest
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to all classes of people throughout the civilized world. Rome offers the most abundant facilities to the scholar and the theologian to follow many interesting branches of study; but notwithstanding all this I have cheerfully left my home in that city, where I have lived so many years, to come here and labor for the good of those who are committed to my care, and my hope is that our lives may be spent happily together, profitably for all of us, and for the interests of the church.
The next day, August 18, Bishop Chatard celebrated pontif- ical high mass at St. John's pro-cathedral. Every seat in that spacious edifice was occupied; while hundreds were obliged to stand. The church was tastefully and beautifully decorated. Around the sanctuary were blooming oleanders, and from one of them in a prominent place was suspended a neat cross of white daisies. At either end of the sanctuary hung the American flag, and around the walls were placed the papal tiara and escutcheon sur- rounded by papal and American flags. The stations of the cross hanging along the walls of the cathedral were decorated with evergreens, and above them were hung festoons of red, white, blue and yellow.
The canonical reception of the new bishop took place at the main door of the cathedral, where Very Rev. Aug. Bessonies. resigned his administratorship of the diocese into the bishop's hands and delivered the following address of welcome in behalf of the priests. That portion of it reproduced in Father Alerding's history from the press of the following day is here given:
VERY REV. FATHER BESSONIES' ADDRESS.
RT. REV. BISHOP: I feel much honored and truly happy to welcome your lordship to your new home-to the city of Indianapolis. You will find, no doubt, a great difference between the Eternal city and this city, the existence of which dates back scarcely half a century. But here, as well as there, I assure you, you will find loving hearts ready to appreciate your worth. As administrator of this diocese, the task of welcoming you has devolved upon me. Others of your clergy would use words more eloquent and flowery, but none, I dare say, could speak to you with more candor and sincerity. You are personally a stranger to most of us, and still pretty well known to us through your friends. A voice has been heard from the north, from the south, from the east, from the west, and even from across the broad Atlantic, proclaiming your praises. " Your bishop," said to me a prelate from the north, " is another St. Francis of Sales." A bishop from the south, one intimately acquainted with your lordship for years, writes to me: "You have an admirable bishop, and one, I am sure, who will satisfy the wishes of all-pious, learned, dis- interested, and full of zeal for the interests of religion." From the east rises the voice of the Sisters of Charity, those angels of peace who know you so well and
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sing the Te Deum on hearing of your nomination. The west speaks also, and in no less flattering terms. " Father Chatard," says the Western Watchman, " who is appointed bishop of Vincennes, is a very elegant and courtly gentleman, a man of consummate administrative abilities, and a strict but considerate disciplinarian." From across the broad ocean, one of your predecessors in the see of Vincennes speaks of one of the qualities required by St. Paul for a bishop, and praises the hos- pitality of the Chatard family, so generously extended to him when attending the council of Baltimore, in years gone by, and is thankful to God for such choice .. He then, no doubt, gave his episcopal blessing to the bright little boy who was to be one day his successor in the see of Vincennes, and that blessing has produced its fruits.
But besides the flattering testimonies rendered to your worth by all those that knew you, we have already a safer way to judge of your merits: 1 mean your first pastoral, which does credit to your head and heart, and has made you hosts of friends. The idea of sending such a messenger before you must have been an inspiration from above, and, judging the tree by its fruits, we could not desire a better bishop. Your lordship will be the proper link to connect the past with the future in this diocese, and your ashes will not be dishonored when they go to rest with those of the saintly Brute, the too short-lived good bishop Bazin, and those of your immediate predecessor, whose labors extend over a period of forty years as priest and bishop, and whose memory as the kindest of prelates is now, and will, I hope, remain in veneration for all generations to come.
THE BISHOP'S RESPONSE.
Bishop Chatard, in response to Father Bessonies' kindly wel- come, excused himself from making a lengthy address, and said:
While I am satisfied that your people have been devout and zealous in the past it is no guarantee that they will continue so in the future unless they depend upon God for His assistance through the power of prayer. The success of my life and yours must be obtained through prayer. As regards the clergy, I know enough already. Their reputation has gone abroad throughout the whole country. I know them to be full of zeal in disinterested work for the glory of God. I know of your schools and your charities. They are known all over the land. 1 know also the zeal of the laity and how they show their zeal, which comes from the Holy Ghost. I thank you again for your presence and good wishes, and would ask that you remember me in your prayers. 1 thank you, Father Bessonies, for your administra- tion. God grant you grace to continue it.
During the mass which followed Bishop Chatard delivered his first sermon in Indianapolis. The tenor of his discourse and the manner of its delivery completely won the hearts of the people, both Catholics and Protestants. It was on the divine authority to teach.
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RT. REV. DR. CHATARD'S SERMON.
He took for his text the fifteenth verse of the tenth chapter of Romans: "And how shall they preach, unless they be sent ?"
"These words," he said, " were written by an inspired writer; by one whom God Almighty had chosen as his minister throughout all eternity. Faith implied belief in authority, a teaching authority. You cannot believe a person who comes to you to speak for himself, but you must accept one who comes to speak for another with his authority. If an officer of the law comes to serve a summons, or make an arrest, you would demand his credentials and authority, and having seen them, would obey. So, if a man comes to you to preach, you must know clearly whether he preaches for himself, or whether he comes with the commission of Christ. In all ages, where religion has been preached, the hearers have demanded to see the credentials. * * * I come to-day entering upon the responsible duties of the head of the church in this diocese by the commission of the successor of St. Peter, the vicar of Jesus on this earth. He gives the credentials and sends his ministers forth. The people want to know who he is. This happiness I pos- sess, of having been sent to you by the vicar of Jesus. I now have the happiness to speak from the lips of him who sent me here. In the last interview I had with him he told me that the first time I should meet you to speak of faith. I would ask you to call to mind that without faith you cannot please God; without faith all actions are vain. Faith is the corner-stone of our edifice of life. If you have faith, and listen to Jesus and his ministers, you will have all the means of leading happy lives-supernatural lives, permeated with the grace of God. Those who are in faith with God are living, however humble their station, lives pleasing to Almighty God. Each action in such a life has a degree of merit which will live to eternity. He told me further to implore you to keep your faith, and help those around you to keep theirs. Don't expose yourself so as to lose faith. If you trifle, you may lose. There are men and women who have lost faith by hearing attacks which they could not refute. They were too weak, too heedless, and were lost. The great majority hold to their faith with tenacity, but the number lost is not small. Advance in every way Catholic education, not because we hate other religions, but because it is our first and greatest duty to preserve that priceless boon-faith. Let us bend every effort to preserve our faith, obey cheerfully our directors and rulers, who come in the name of Christ, because we know that all authority comes from on high. Our weakness will then be buoyed up, we shall become strong, we shall lay up treasures for the real life which lasts through eternity. We will see all our good actions shining like jewels in our crown."
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