USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Fifty years of Boston; a memorial volume issued in commemoration of the tercentenary of 1930; 1880-1930, Pt. 2 > Part 20
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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
Formal observance of the centenary of the diocese was held in October and November. Solemn Pontifical Mass was celebrated by the Papal Delegate to America, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Diomede Falconio. Attending this Mass were the Governor and the Licutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, the Mayor of Boston, and several hundred priests. Every available seat in the Cathedral was taken and thousands thronged the approaches to the Cathedral in their eagerness to be present at the ceremonies.
Upon this occasion Archbishop O'Connell delivered a masterful address on the old Boston and the new Boston. This address pointed to the deep signifi- cance of the centenary with a clarity and forcefulness that have not been lost with the lapse of years. In that address Archbishop O'Connell made men understand the changes wrought in Boston by a century of Catholic action, as they had never appreciated them before.
Referring to the struggle of the early Catholics to get a foothold in Boston, Archbishop O'Connell said of the Puritans:
"They were sturdy men, and they had sturdy ideals. They would create for themselves a new nation, and it would be their own nation - their own in religion and in government. Within its limits they established a theocracy and set up barriers against the Philis- tincs around them. These Puritan colonists hatcd the Catholics. They had been taught by their leaders that Rome was the wicked Babylon, its Pope the anti-Christ, its worship idolatry.
" And yet the Catholic opened the door of this stern enemy of his and entered - entered and took his place and stayed. . . . The antipathy which was around was based on both religious and racial prejudice. The Englishman and the Puritan stood, for the first time,
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face to face with the Catholic and the Irishman. . . Here is the beginning, here the first page of that centenary's tale which ends today."
The ensuing development of respect for the Catholic Archbishop O'Connell attributed to several factors, among them the spirit of toleration and unifica- tion engendered by the patriotism of Catholics in the Revolutionary War and . the Civil War. To the enlightened guidance of the early shepherds of Catholic Boston he also paid tribute:
"But the dawn of mutual respect and understanding was still more hastened by the word and example on both sides of noble and high- minded men - of Cheverus and Fenwick and Fitzpatrick and Williams on the one hand, and of Channing, Shattuck, Higginson, Andrew, Hoar and Guild on the other. The gentleness of Cheverus, the intelligence of Fenwick, the suavity of Fitzpatrick, the unruffled patience of Williams, all stood heroic tests, all contributed more than any other influence to keep eninities and discord at bay, to bring forth out of the chaos of clashing interests and wrangling antipathies the beginnings of harmony and concord.
"Out of these hard beginnings destiny has woven unexpected con- sequences: the Puritan has passed into history; the Catholic remains. Such is the present grown from the past; what of the future from the present? The gap, though narrowed, is visibly still there. Are we to fill in the gap - or must we wait another century for the much desired concord?
"To harmonize into a common sympathy and patient forbearance these varied inhabitants of the land, so that while each retains the birth- right of his race, each learns from each something worth acquiring for the common good - that is the only sensible, practical and efficacious method by which concord and fellow feeling can become a reality, for the peace of all and for the nation's strength. The one great power which has accomplished this miracle again and again is the Church of Christ proclaiming and enforcing Christ's law of universal brother- hood."
Commemoration of the centenary of the diocese brought before the citizens of Boston the great strides taken by the Church during its first struggling years. The work of organization and development was far from completed, however. To the culininative tasks Archbishop O'Connell gave his attention and invited those glorying in the past triumph of the Church to participate in the further duties facing the Catholics of Boston.
The territory originally constituting the Diocese of Boston had been sub- divided by the creation of the suffragan sees of New England. Bishop Brady had aided Archbishop Williams in the duties requiring attention. So great was the press of duties upon Archbishop O'Connell that another Auxiliary Bishop was needed. On the twenty-fifth of July, 1909, Archbishop O'Connell consecrated the Right Reverend Joseph G. Anderson.
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At this time the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, the White Nuns, were introduced into the diocesc. This congregation of religious had been estab- lished at Rome during the last part of the nineteenth century. Their splendid work had evoked the commendation of their ecclesiastical superiors. Boston had need of such a congregation. Accordingly, Archbishop O'Connell procured a house for them at Orient Heights and invited them to inaugurate within the diocese their work of visiting the indigent, and providing spiritual and material aid for ncedy and dependent Italian children.
Two months later the Passionists were able to look with satisfaction upon the structure erected by them in Brighton. Invited by the Archbishop some time before to enter the diocese, they had eagerly responded to the invita- tion. Boston promised fertile ground for the spiritual works proper to the order. With joyful and grateful hearts they saw their first building solemnly blesscd in September, 1909.
Not far distant the Sisters of the Cenacle secured land upon which they hoped to erect a building where particular devotion could be held in honor of the Blessed Sacrament and where they might conduct retreats for women. The establishment of these two institutions, one to aid the growth of deep spirituality among laymen and the other to foster devotion among laywomen, is evidence of the rapidity with which the faithful of Boston were seeking the spiritual resources of the diocese and of the promptness with which the Arch- bishop discovered a real need and instantly supplied it.
Boston had long been in need of an official organ for the diocese. The churches and the schools were promoting the advancement of truth, but the lack of a representative diocesan organ had been felt keenly. In October, 1908, the Archbishop announced that henceforth the Pilot would be the official organ of the diocese. His Grace said:
"It gives me the greatest satisfaction to announce that the archdio- cese now publishes and controls a paper of its own. The Pilot, successor of the Jesuit, founded by Bishop Fenwick, is now the official organ of the Diocese of Boston, representing its interests, chronicling its events and publishing its official acts.
"The need of such an organ, reliable in its official information, definitely responsible in its management, capable and efficient in its representation, has been keenly felt. No need to specify that this paper will be neither infallible nor faultless; but it will, we feel assured, be truly and loyally Catholic in spirit and in tone and truly and loyally American in civil allegiance, two characteristics requisite for a Catholic paper intended for those Catholics who are also American citizens."
Under the constant inspiration and wise direction of Archbishop O'Connell, the Pilot soon grew to be a powerful influence for good in the community. Today it is acknowledged to be one of the foremost Catholic papers in the world. It is the oldest existing Catholic paper in the United States, the diocesan weekly with the largest circulation, and the only strictly diocesan organ in the world with its own newspaper plant, with offices, composition room, stereo-
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type department, presses and mailing room, fully equipped for newspaper and book publishing. On March 8, 1930, the Pilot, celebrated its hundredth anniversary with a special Centenary Edition of 164 pages which up to that date was the largest paper ever published in Boston.
At this time Archbishop O'Connell took the first steps for the organization of the League of Catholic Women. The first meeting, at which the Archbishop presided, was held in the Cathedral conference room on May the second, 1910. Representatives of various alumnae societies as well as members of other Catholic societies attended. From this first meeting sprang the great organization now functioning so efficiently in the diocese. Twenty years of splendid accom- plishinent is the present record of the League of Catholic Women.
The Catholic doctors of the diocese next utilized the advantages of federation. One hundred of these professional inen assembled in the Cathedral conference room on the fourteenth of May and organized the Guild of St. Luke. Thus within ten days were two great societies of the diocese planned and established by Archbishop O'Connell.
Catholic laymen within Boston had emulated the inspiring zeal of Frederick Ozanam and his associates. The needs of Boston's poor were increasing. Not only did the Society of St. Vincent de Paul feel called upon to provide aid and direction for the fast-growing Catholic population of Boston, but to extend the scope of its work and provide special care for particular cases. The members of the society, with the approval of the Archbishop, made an appeal to establish a memorial to Archbishop Williams. They sought to establish a vacation house for poor children and a convalescent home for poor women. Generous response followed their appeal and they were able to establish the Archbishop Williams Home at Framingham.
The Teachers' Institute was introduced about this time. The principles of federation and co-operation were applied to Catholic education. All the teachers laboring in the diocese were henceforth to benefit by the experience and training of talented educators, and were to enjoy the advantage of con- ferences upon the problems met in the parochial schools. Representatives of all the teaching cominunities working in Boston attended the first series of lectures, given by Rev. T. F. Shields of the Catholic University, on Educational Psychology.
The year 1910 was a joyful period for the Xaverian Brothers at Danvers. They had conducted a training school for their own Brothers. Now a more ambitious enterprise was undertaken. They planned to open a general pre- paratory school. Archbishop O'Connell encouraged them in their enterprise and in 1909 he dedicated St. John's Preparatory School.
Concurrent with the establishment of these major institutions for diocesan activities, the individual parochial units of the diocese were exhibiting a healthy vigor. New parishes were established to care for the increasing number of souls. Older parishes were able to provide social and recreational facilities for their people. Stately churches were reared by the faithful in their desire to provide fitting temples in which to worship God.
A glance over the record for the year 1910 recalls the laying of the corner stone for the new church and school of St. Charles in Waltham. St. Francis'
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Church in Braintree was dedicated on the same day. During this time there was a noticeable acceleration in the construction undertaken in the diocese, so that before the close of the year the following structures were partly or entirely constructed: St. George's in Haverhill, St. Matthew's in Dorchester, St. Mary's Gymnasium in Cambridge, Star of the Sea in East Boston, Mary Immaculate at Newton Upper Falls, St. Aidan's in Brookline, St. Margaret's Hospital in Dorchester.
Archbishop Williams had succeeded in establishing a Diocesan Seminary in 1884. The opening of this institution obviated the difficulty of sending sacerdotal aspirants to seminaries where the original practice of training semi- narians under the supervision of their own bishop was sacrificed to the exigen- cies of the situation. So manifold were the advantages of personal episcopal supervision within the diocese that Archbishop O'Connell determined to carry the idea to its logical fulfillment by installing diocesan priests as the faculty of the Seminary. He therefore reorganized the Seminary to conform with the regulations and prescriptions of the Holy Father.
In May, 1911, plans were announced of the impending change in the Diocesan Seminary. Within the Encyclical, "E Supremi Apostolatus," Pope Pius X had said: "Let the greater part of your diligence be exercised in regu- lating and caring for the ecclesiastical seminaries, that they may flourish both in right doctrine and holy discipline." With filial loyalty Archbishop O'Connell supplied the Diocesan Seminary with diocesan priests of advanced intellectual acumen and strong spiritual influence, with Rev. John B. Peterson as Rector.
From 1909 to 1911 many extensions and improvements were made in the Seminary. The chapel was decorated, a new heating system installed and the interiors of the buildings were renovated. On Deecmber 8, 1914, a new wing was added to Theology House. Again in 1925 the Seminary was enlarged by the addition of another wing, composed of a new refectory, a kitchen and a sisters' convent.
But perhaps the greatest evidence of the love and attachment of Cardinal O'Connell to the Seminary is the fact that, a few years ago, he placed his resi- dence, which will also be the residence of the future Archbishops of Boston, on the Seminary grounds. Next to his own residence His Eminence erected last year the Diocesan Chancery Office, the Library and Conference Hall, and the beautiful shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
St. John's Seminary in the past fifteen years has been recognized as one of the foremost seminaries in the world, both in priestly teaching and train- ing and in material equipment. The present enlargement, by adding to its facilities, increasing its scope and providing for future expansion, will ensure for many years to come its well-established pre-eminence among institutions of its kind.
The accomplishment of the splendid work achieved by Archbishop O'Connell since assuming jurisdiction in Boston was certain to bring new honor to the Archdiocese over which he presided. Rumors had long been current that Amcriea would be represented by a new member of the College of Cardinals. The extraordinary achievements already credited to Archbishop O'Connell during the short period of his jurisdiction compelled the admiration
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and commendation of Pope Pius X. In its Archbishop Boston had been honored. Through the majestic and gigantic accomplishments of its Archbishop, Boston was honored further when the Holy Father conferred upon Archbishop O'Connell the dignity of the Cardinalate.
One may glimpse the sentiments of the Cardinal in a pastoral letter read to the members of his flock:
"William, by the grace of God and of the Apostolic See Archbishop of Boston, to the Reverend Clergy and People of the Diocese, Health and Benediction.
"You are already aware that the Vicar of Christ, Pius the Tenth, had decided to raise to the exalted dignity of the Cardinalate of Holy Roman Church the Archbishop of this beloved See of Boston.
"To be ranked among the princes of the Church, to be exalted to the sublime Senate of the Pope, to take station among those great and holy men chosen from historic Sces and selected from among the most pious and learned in the whole Christian Commonwealth: to partake of the historic glory of those who in centuries past have kept the gates of the City of God; to be chosen an elector of the most potent and the oldest throne in all the world ;- that is the meaning of the over- whelming honor to which your undeserving spiritual father has been raised by him who for us holds Christ's place on earth. The greatest and highest proof of affection from the best and most powerful earthly sovereign is given into these weak hands of mine to treasure and to guard and defend, if necessary, even to the pouring out of my lifeblood.
" In the full measure of all this glory and honor before God and the whole world you, beloved children, have more than share for share. Upon you, through your faith, your unflinching loyalty to Holy Church, your undying attachment to the See of Peter, your splendid generosity, even to sacrifice, upon you this sovereign dignity deseends. To me it has come only through your merits, and your works - yours and those, too, of our fathers in the faith and in the flesh, valiant champions of the ehurch, holy prelates, zealous priests and saintly parents of this Church of Boston, who in their tears and suffering and labor, reared the fold which today is lifted up before the whole Christian world to highest honor.
"No wonder your hearts are stirred to the depths with holy joy. No wonder the echoes of your jubilec have already reached beyond the sea to the Throne of the Fisherman. Never before has this fair and powerful city received such world-wide distinction as in her enrollment among the principalities which govern three hundred millions of souls the whole world over.
"Even in the smallest hamlet of the farthest East today Boston is known as never before. And every lover of our noble and historic city is a debtor to Pius the Tenth for this invaluable benefit conferred upon her name. Once more the perpetual youth of Christ's Church is demonstrated in this rejuvenation of her electors. Once again the
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splendid demoeraey of her constitution is revealed, since upon the humblest she places the crown of the princes of her people. Once again and this time more than ever, the oldest monarchy takes the young western republie into the very intimacy of her noble family, and into centuries-old halls of saered eouneil and government. All this and much more is the immense import of this event, which in the future much more than now will assume its truly vast significanee.
"But while we have all these weighty reasons for rejoieing, let us turn our thoughts toward heaven and implore Almighty God, the Giver of all good gifts, to illumine our minds and strengthen our hearts by His Divine aid, thus to serve Him as not to be utterly unworthy of His benefits. And let us turn the love of our hearts towards our Holy Father, Pius the Tenth, who, while bestowing this joy upon many eities and states, himself sits solitary amid grief and difficulties, deprived of his own rightful inheritance and left utterly dependent upon the eharity of the Christian world.
"Let Boston, now more than ever, since never before had she sueh reason, rouse herself to a full sense of her sublime Catholie duty. Let all the world know that this diocese, so vigorous and so faithful, has taken her place among the highest and noblest Sees of the world with grateful pride and that this young principality knows its own regal glory in the performance of high duty to God, to Mother Church, and to Peter's Sueeessor. I commend myself humbly to the prayers of my beloved floek, priest and people, that my voyage to come may be a peaceful one, and that I may return from this historie visit to the Tomb of the Apostles and from the high and holy converse with him who for me is next to God Himself on earth, strengthened and consoled, ready again for more and better work for the Church and for our own beloved country."
Following his return from Rome, Cardinal O'Connell delivered a stirring sermon at the Solemn Pontifieal Mass eelebrated by the Right Reverend John J. Nilan, D. D., Bishop of Hartford. On this occasion His Eminenee the Cardinal gave expression to those exalted ideals of loyalty to Church and country so frequently quoted by the press of the country.
"To be the humblest subject of sueh a sublime religious, world- wide, imperial power is immeasurably greater than the glory which the aneient Roman felt in his Roman eitizenship. To be a prinee in sueh a kingdom is to be greater than a king.
"And so, in this spirit, I humbly and gratefully aceept this day the tribute of your heartfelt affeetion, and plaeing it here upon God's altar, I offer it, with all the dignities and honors which have eome to me in your service and by your merits, to Him from Whom all good things deseend. Surely the Giver of all good gifts has been lavish in his favors. My American eitizenship I prize as one of God's ehosen gifts to me, mine to honor with the best that is in mne, and to
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defend with my last breath: my Roman priesthood, the dignity of bishop and cardinal, my Roman faith demand my devoted attachment while life lasts to Peter's See. Surely Rome and America have been unstinted in their munificence, and I, in turn, am Roman to the core in spiritual allegiance and attachment, as I am, and ever shall be, American through and through in patriotic devotion to my own, my native land. And of those who would quibble about divided affection, I would ask, When was it forbidden to any good son to love according to their merits, with all the fulness of his heart's love, both father and mother?"
With deep satisfaction for the manifest grace of God under which the diocese was constantly enlarged, His Eminence the Cardinal dedicated many new structures and churches. Among those dedicated during the year 1912 were the Sacred Heart Church at West Lynn; St. Joseph's, Belmont; St. Bene- dict's, Somerville; St. John's, Cambridge; St. Clement's, Somerville, and St. Margaret's, Lowell.
Years before this time His Eminence the Cardinal had emphasized the harmony existing between duty to God and duty to country. Repeatedly had he urged the truth that in loyal children of the Church the State has its best citizens. Loyalty to Church necessitates loyalty to country. Responsibility before God inclines a man to discharge his responsibility to his country.
The soundness of this truth was demonstrated emphatically in the labor troubles by which the city of Lawrence was beleaguered. Radical elements had unsettled industrial conditions in that city. The movement became more an atheistic program of defiance of authority than a reasonable petition for the adjustment of grievances and wages. In a successful endeavor to counteract the pernicious influence of the radical element the citizens of Law- rence were organized under the direction of Father O'Reilly and with the guiding genius of His Eminence the Cardinal into a movement for God and country. The awakening of the citizens of Lawrence to the peril of further inroads of radicalism spurred them to rally in defence of the institutions of government under which they had lived. The great majority of the popula- tion raised indignant protest against further dissemination of radical propa- ganda and wrested their city from a force that threatened disorganization to the industrial life of the entire population.
Paternal solicitude for the welfare of the faithful of the diocese was exem- plified in the project now launched for a greater St. Elizabeth's Hospital. This institution, since its establishment in 1869, had served the community faith- fully and well. Its efficiency and scope were being lessened gradually by the obsolescent character of its equipment and the excessive number of sick people seeking its medical services. The hospital had outgrown its quarters on West Brookline street. It was expedient that a large building be secured. Certain practical difficulties interposed. The hospital had dispensed its attention to the sick without adequate compensation. An annual deficit had to be met. How then was the hospital to assume the burden of providing a new building?
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His Eminence the Cardinal answered the difficulty by determining that Boston should have a large Catholic hospital, furnished with up-to-date equip- ment and capable of attaining a position of eminence in the life of the city. This was an undertaking that might have caused the more timorous to hesi- tatc.
His Eminence the Cardinal purchased a tract of land upon a hilltop in Brighton contiguous to the grounds of the Passionist Monastery. Hc issued a pastoral letter setting forth the needs of the situation, marshaled the repre- sentative Catholic men and women of the city to conduct a drive, and in an incredibly short time procured over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the new St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Thus did St. Elizabeth's Hospital start upon a new era in its existence and upon its enlarged career in providing hos- pital facilities for the people of Massachusetts.
Shortly after thesc events the entire world was shaken from its firm foun- dations by the outbreak of the Great War. Catholicity was beset by the gen- eral conditions of a war-ridden world, together with the necessity of defending itself against the carping critics and the innuendoes of those determined to sce in every action of the Holy Father motives partial to one or another of the. contending nations. The heart of the Holy Father was torn by the outbreak of hostilities, when millions of his spiritual children were drawn into sanguinary conflict. It was said that the foundations of Christianity were tottering. Nationalism presented obvious difficulties to the maintenance of neutrality towards the contending parties. The aged Pius X, weakened in body and broken-hearted at the spectacle of the world clutched in the vortex of hatreds and destruction, gazed with sad and disheartened mien upon the abandonment, by nations and by individuals, of the principles of Christianity. In the carly months of the World War Pius X, witnessing the futility of peace overtures, turned with poignant grief from the warring clash of men to the peace of rest in God.
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