USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880, Vol. III > Part 67
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The incident here narrated illustrates the estimate which was placed on Swedenborg's writings at that time. Those who embraced the new doctrines and became members of the church did so at the risk of much personal sacrifice. Some of Dr. Worcester's college associates were unable, after their graduation, to obtain positions as teachers on account of their Sweden- borgian belief; and others found themselves, for the same reason, almost cut off from their former social connections. Mr. Henry G. Foster, one of the earliest members of the Boston Society, writes in 1857 concerning the state of things at or about the year 1818, that " those who made any efforts to impart the truths they had received were in general soon led to relinquish the attempt by the incredulity or disdain with which they were repelled; " that " they were acknowledged, by the condescending liberality of their contemporaries, to be good people, though weak to a degree little short of fatuity ; " and he adds : "The change which has taken place during the last half century is nearly unimaginable to the present generation." 2
While this last observation of Mr. Foster is undoubtedly true, it must yet be admitted that the growth of the New Church as a visible organiza- tion has been slow. Although there is probably no religious body which holds its peculiar tenets with a deeper conviction of their truth and value than those who are known as Swedenborgians, they cannot claim to have received at any time large accessions from the community around them. But they feel nevertheless that the doctrines they profess exert a con- stant and ever increasing influence on the thought of the age, and con- tain the vital principles which must finally prevail over the minds of men, whether their own immediate efforts to propagate them meet with success or failure.
These reflections lead me to speak more particularly of the claim which Swedenborg makes, not for himself personally, but for the truth which is revealed in his writings.
All who are familiar with his biography know that he was, in his own day and generation, a distinguished philosopher and scientist, and an influential member of the Swedish Diet. It was not until he was over fifty years of age that he became a writer on spiritual themes. He then believed that he had been called by the Lord to make known to men the internal or spiritual
1 Biographical Sketch of Thomas Worcester, D.D., by Sampson Reed, pp. 17, 18.
2 New Jerusalem Magazine, vol. xxx. pp. 111, 112.
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
sense of the divine Word, with the doctrines contained therein, that sense having been first made clear to his own mind as he diligently read the Scriptures. From that time until his death, which took place in 1772, when he was eighty-four years old, he was continually writing and publishing books on theological subjects. Yet he did not intermit his attention to his public duties ; nor does he appear to have lost in any degree his general influence.
He declares that the time in which he lived and wrote was that of the close or consummation of the first Christian Church, and was signalized by no less an event than the second coming of the Lord and the establishment of a new era or dispensation of Christianity. Not that the Lord came visibly, in person, to the outward apprehension of men, or that the divine impulse which gave birth to the new age was manifest in this world. But the work was primarily and essentially a spiritual one. According to the philosophy taught by Swedenborg, all natural events are traceable to spirit- ual causes ; and the two worlds, the spiritual and the natural, arc closely con- nected with each other. Hence any important occurrence taking place in the former must sooner or later produce its effects here on earth.
Without going further into particulars, or attempting to argue the ques- tion, it is sufficient to say that Swedenborg claimed to foresee, from a spiritual point of view, that after the middle of the last century a marked change would come over humanity. A new impetus would be given to human thought and life. There would be a new heaven and a new earth, in that a new state of things would exist both in heaven and on carth. Not only religion and theology, but all else that deeply affects the lives of men, would undergo a transformation. There would be a new church, or a new dispensation of divine truth and influence in the broadest sense. The change would be gradual, but it would be universal. Not a few who have never heard of Swedenborg, or have heard only to deride him, bear uncon- scious testimony to the truth of this prediction. That we are living in a wonderful new age is every day becoming more and more the common feeling and belief of mankind. It is declared with ever increasing unanimity and confidence that the Christianity of the future must and will be radically different from the Christianity of the past.
Swedenborg himself says, respecting this new age: -
"The state of the world hereafter will be quite similar to what it has been hereto- fore ; for the great change which has been effected in the spiritual world does not induce any change in the natural world as regards the outward form; so that the affairs of States - peace, treaties, and wars, with all other things which belong to socie- ties of men in general and in particular -will exist in the future just as they existed in the past. The Lord's saying, that in the last times there will be wars, and that nation will then rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and that there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places (Matt. xxiv. 6, 7), does not signify that such things will exist in the natural world ; for the Word in its prophecies does not treat of the kingdoms or of the nations upon earth, or consequently of their
513
THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH IN BOSTON.
wars, or of famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in nature, but of such things as cor- respond to them in the spiritual world. . . . But as for the state of the church, this it is which will be dissimilar hereafter ; it will be similar indeed in the outward form, but dissimilar in the inward. To outward appearance divided churches will exist as here- tofore ; their doctrines will be taught as heretofore, and the same religions as now will exist among the gentiles. But henceforth the man of the church will be in a freer state of thinking on matters of faith - that is, on spiritual things which relate to heaven - because spiritual liberty has been restored to him." 1
It will be evident from all these considerations that New Churchmen, or Swedenborgians, must needs take a broad view of the church and its growth. How far the old Christian sects will be dismembered, and the little body which includes the subject of this chapter be blessed with continuous life, and become the acknowledged nucleus of the church of the future, is a matter of comparative indifference to them. The great fact everywhere confronts them, that the prophecies which they have been led to believe are receiving manifest fulfilment; that the establishment of a new church or dispensation is rapidly going on; that fresh light from heaven is descend- ing, and new spiritual influences are busily at work; that liberty of thought is daily increasing, and that in the exercise of it each man sooner or later will find the place that belongs to him. As for themselves, experience shows them that their own sense of spiritual need can be satisfied only in an organization which gives full expression to the specific doctrines taught in Swedenborg's writings. Accordingly they maintain such an organization, endeavoring to be true to their deepest convictions and to enjoy the same spiritual freedom which they willingly concede to others.
Their policy with regard to the religious denominations around them has never been aggressive. Believing, as they do, that human salvation depends on the use which is made of opportunities more than on the opportunities themselves, and that therefore the kingdom of heaven lies open to men of all nations and creeds, they do not feel that kind of solicitude which has often led the members of some Christian sects to compass sca and land in search of proselytes as a matter involving the issues of eternal life and death. Believing also that religious truth cannot really be received by man unless he is in a state of freedom and rationality, they do not approve of any urgent and persuasive methods which tend to hinder the exercise of these two faculties. Their chief reliance, in addition to the maintenance of public worship, has been on the publication and circulation of books, mainly the writings of Swedenborg. One gentleman in Philadelphia, Mr. L. C. Iungerich, has during the last seven years given away, through the publishing house of J. B. Lippincott & Co., many thousand volumes to Pro- testant clergymen of all denominations ; and other individuals and associated bodies have devoted much time and money to the same work.
This chapter does not offer a suitable occasion for speaking in detail of the peculiar doctrines of the New Church. Suffice it to say that they differ
1 Treatise on The Last Judgment, No. 73.
VOL. 111 .- 65.
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
from other doctrines not on any single point or any few points which might be quickly named; but they bring new light to bear on every subject of human thought. Under their influence all things in heaven and earth appear trans- formed. To those who believe them they come with the certitude of rational conviction. They are scen as philosophical principles, which are no more to be doubted than so many mathematical demonstrations. Instead of being at war with science, they look to science for their proof and confirmation ; yet they are equally in harmony with Scripture. I am aware that these assertions will seem to many like the unguarded expressions of merc enthu- siasm. But be this as it may, they will at least serve to define the position of a religious body which, undisturbed by the fewness of its numbers and the narrow limits of its nominal influence, yet confidently awaits the issue of events, beholding in the signs of the time the fulfilment of its expecta- tions and hopes, as the advanced guards of human progress constantly draw nearer to its own standard of Christian truth.
James Read.
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CHAPTER XIV.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON.
BY THE VERY REV. WILLIAM BYRNE, Vicar-General of the Diocese.
C NE hundred years ago there were about one hundred Catholics in Bos- ton. These were for the most part either French, Irish, or Spanish. They had then no church organization, no church, no regular place of wor- ship, and only the occasional ministrations of transient priests. Only two of these are known to have made any considerable stay in Boston. These were the Abbé de la Poterie, an ex-chaplain of the French navy, who said the first mass in the School-Street chapel, Nov. 2, 1788, and the Rev. Louis Rousselet; the latter was here about the close of the War of Indepen- dence.
These missionaries were succeeded by the Rev. John Thayer, a native of Boston, a convert to the Catholic faith, who had been a Congregational minister. During this gen- tleman's travels in Europe 'a me Joanne They er lig" Of " in 1781-83 he learned and accepted the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. After this change he still felt impelled to continue the work of the Christian ministry, and resolved to become a priest. With this end in view he entered the seminary of St. Sulpice, Paris. There he completed his studies, and prepared himself for the re- ception of sacred orders. After being ordained priest he returned to America, and visited Dr. Carroll, of Baltimore, the superior of the missions in the United States. Dr. Carroll assigned him to the Boston mission. On his arrival in Boston, Jan. 4, 1790, he found the Catholics using as a place of religious assembly and worship a small chapel on School Street. . This chapel had been previously occupied by a small Huguenot congregation,1 but was the property of Mr. Perkins, from whom Father Thayer obtained, in 1790, a lease for a few years.2 This may be said to be the first regularly organized church society of Roman Catholics in Boston.3
1 [See Vol. II. p. 253. - ED.]
2 From the arrival of the Rev. John de Che- verus in 1796, the Rev. John Thayer devoted his chief attention to the few Catholics who had set- tled in New England outside of Boston, till he
was sent to the Kentucky Missions in 1799. During his stay in Boston, he was frequently en- gaged in controversies on religious subjects.
8 The Rev. Dr. Carroll, of Baltimore, supe- rior of the Catholic Missions in the United
516
THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
On Aug. 20, 1792, the Rev. Francis A. Matignon, a French priest, arrived in Boston, having been sent by Dr. Carroll to assist Father Thayer. Before the French Revolution drove Dr. Matignon from his native land, he had been for several years regius professor of divinity in the College of Navarre. He was a most valuable helper in the work of the Boston mission, as he was a learned ecclesiastic, a zealous priest, a highly educated and polite scholar, and a man of a meek, gentle, and genial disposition.
RT 4
AT
VILSO A
CATHEDRAL OF THE HOLY CROSS, IN FRANKLIN STREET.
The Rev. John de Cheverus, another exiled French priest, soon, how- ever, joined him on this mission. This he did at Dr. Matignon's invitation and with the sanction of Dr. Carroll. He was ordained at Paris, Dec. 18, 1790, in the last public ordination which preceded the breaking out of the great French Revolution. He arrived in Boston Oct. 3, 1796. Two clergymen better fitted than Matignon and Cheverus for the peculiar needs
States, paid an official visit to the Boston mis- sion during the year 1791. The only record of this visit, so far as we can discover, is found in a letter of Dr. Carroll, dated Aug. 28, 1791, and addressed to Governor Hancock. After most heartily thanking the Governor and his estimable lady for the many favors and civilities they ex- tended to him during his stay in Boston, Dr. Carroll concludes his letter as follows : -
" I know that your Excellency frequently sees Mr. and Mrs. Jaffray, Mr. Sheriff and his sister, the Rev. Mr.
Thatcher, and Judge Sullivan. Will it be too much pre- sumption to ask that 1 may be mentioned to them as full of gratitude for their civilities and politeness, and anxious to give any proof of it that they can command? Desiring once more my very humble respects to your most obliging and polite Lady, I have the honor to be with the utmost esteem, " Sir, your most obedient and humble servant,
"1 J. CARROLL."
The original of this letter is in the possession of the Rev. E. H. Welch, S. J. of Boston Col- lege, and was presented to him about eighteen years ago by Mr. Charles Hancock.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON. . 517
of the Boston missions could hardly be found. Their virtue, piety, and zeal won the hearts of the Catholics, and, together with their refined manners and genial disposition, soon gained the respect and esteem of the citizens in general.
In a few years after this, the Catholic congregation having somewhat increased in numbers, it was thought well to build a church for their ac- commodation.1 A committee to solicit contributions for this object was appointed at a meeting held March 31, 1799. The members of the com- mittee were Hon. Don Juan Stoughton, Spanish consul at this port, John Magner, Michael Burns, John Duggan, Patrick Campbell, Owen Callaghan, and Edmund Connor. The committee in a few weeks secured subscriptions amounting to $3,000. Many pledged themselves to give half their monthly carnings till the church was completed and paid for. A lot of land at the foot of Franklin Street was immediately purchased. A second subscription to create a building fund was then opened. At the head of this subscrip- tion list we find the name of John Adams, l'resident of the United States ; Dr. Matignon received some contributions from friends in the Southern States. The total sum collected was $16,153, of which $3,433 was con- tributed by Protestants friendly to the enterprise. Ground was broken for the foundations, March 17, 1800. The church, sixty by cighty feet, was built in accordance with plans furnished by Mr. Charles Bulfinch, architect.2 It was a brick structure on a stone foundation, the basement walls being also of stone ; and it cost about $20,000. On Sept. 29, 1803, it was dedicated to divine worship, under the title of the Holy Cross, by Bishop Carroll, of Baltimore, to whom, jointly with Dr. Matignon, the land was deeded in + farroll - trust for the Catholics of Boston. He was assisted in the ceremony by Dr. Matignon and the Rev. John de Cheverus and two other priests. A procession starting from the house of the Spanish consul proceeded to the church. After blessing the church in the mode prescribed in the Roman Catholic ritual, the bishop celebrated a solemn high mass; Mr. Mallet presided at the organ. The church was densely crowded, and the assembly out of doors was very large and orderly. Dr. Cheverus preached the dedicatory sermon. A bell brought here from Spain, now in the mortuary chapel of Holyhood Cemetery, was presented to the church by Mr. Hasket Derby.
This church was afterward known as the Franklin-Street Cathedral of the Holy Cross. It was subsequently enlarged, and was for many years the only Catholic church in Boston. Divine service continued to be conducted in it till September, 1860, when it was sold to Isaac Rich, business in the
1 The Catholics about this time numbered twelve or fifteen hundred.
2 [A beautiful silver urn, given to Mr. Bul- finch by the Catholics in testimony of his skill
and disinterestedness, is still retained in the family of his daughter in New York. A portrait of Mr. Bulfinch, and an estimate of his work as an architect find place in a later chapter. - ED.]
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518 .
THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
mean time having so completely transformed the neighborhood that few dwelling-houses remained, and traffic in the vicinity having become so noisy that the usefulness of the church was greatly impaired. It is now replaced by the magnificent Cathedral of the Holy Cross at the South End.
+ John Cheverus R.C. Bishop
In the year 1808 Boston was made an episcopal see by Pope Pius VII. Owing to the troubled state of Europe at that time the official papers ap- pointing Dr. Cheverus first Bishop of Boston did not arrive till 1810. The new diocese, of which Boston was thus made the centre, embraced all the New-England States. Bishop Cheverus was consecrated in Baltimore, Nov. 1, 1810, by Bishop Carroll.
1 [This cut follows a likeness painted by
ough, of Boston. It was painted for Mrs. John Gilbert Stuart just before the Bishop left Bos- Gore. See Mason's Gilbert Stuart, p. 158 .- ton, and is now owned by Mrs. Horatio Green- ED.J
519
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON.
On Sept. 19, 1818, Dr. Matignon died in Boston. His remains were deposited in the tomb of John Magner in the Old Granary Burying-ground
à me Francisco Antonio Matignon Miss. Apost!
on Tremont Street, where they remained till transferred, shortly afterward, to the new Catholic cemetery in South Boston. They now lie under the floor of the mortuary chapel of St. Augustine in that cemetery.
The Ursuline Convent was established in a building beside the cathedral, June 16, 1820, and a school for girls was opened and taught by the nuns. The project of a nunnery and school was first broached by the Rev. John Thayer. Such interest did he take in the matter that he collected about $8,000 for this purpose; and when he died, in 1822, in Limerick, Ireland, he was engaged in soliciting funds for this object. The Ursulines were afterward, in 1826, transferred by Bishop Fenwick to a convent built for them in Charlestown, on a hill since known as Mount Benedict, now in the - city of Somerville.
To the great regret of all classes of citizens, Bishop Cheverus, failing in health, was recalled to his native country, and left for France Oct. 1, 1823. There he was made Bishop of Montauban, and was afterward transferred to Bordeaux, where he died cardinal archbishop, July 19, 1836. Very Rev. William Taylor, vicar-general, administered the affairs of the diocese till the appointment of the second bishop of Boston, Benedict J. Fenwick,1 a native of Maryland, and a member of the Society of Jesus, who was consecrated in Baltimore by Bishop Marcchal, Nov. 1, 1825. When he came to Boston, accompanied by Bishop England, he found only two priests in the city, - the Rev. William Taylor, V. G., and the Rev. Patrick Byrne.
PByrne
The Rev. James Fitton and the Rev. William Wiley were ordained priests in December, 1827. The first Catholic school for boys was opened in connection with the cathedral in 1827, and was taught by the ecclesiastical students who were pursuing their studies under the direction of Bishop Fenwick. It was in this school that the present Archbishop of Boston received his first lessons in the rudiments of Latin. Rev. James Fitton, still living, was one of his teachers.
Bishop Fenwick, finding that there were little colonies of Catholics set- tled in Charlestown and at Cragie's Point, resolved to build a church for them. Aug. 15, 1828, he visited and approved a site for a new church midway between these points. At his suggestion a meeting of the Catholics of these districts was held August 25 of that year, at which a plan of build- ing and paying for a church with one hundred and twenty pews was adopted.
! Bishop Fenwick was born, Sept. 3, 1782, in St. Mary's County, Maryland. He belonged to one of the first families that came from England
to settle in Maryland, under Lord Baltimore's Charter. He was also among the first to join the Society of Jesus on its revival.
520
THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
By selling half the pews it was found that about $6,000 could be secured. A lot of land was purchased from Amos Binney for $1,569, and the church begun Oct. 3, 1828, when the corner-stone was laid by Bishop Fenwick, assisted by the Rev. P. Byrne, Father Wiley, and the Rev. William Tyler, of Boston, the Rev. John Mahony, of Salem, and the Rev. R. D. Woodley, of Providence. A procession led by the cross-bearer proceeded from the house of Mr. Robertson, a Protestant gentleman, to the site of the church on Richmond Street. Bishop Fenwick blessed the foundation and laid the corner-stone with the usual ceremonies. He also preached the sermon. An immense assembly of people was present, many of whom were drawn there by curiosity to witness this novel spectacle. On May 10, 1829, the church being finished, it was dedicated under the title of St. Mary's. Bishop Fenwick performed the ceremony, assisted by the Rev. James Fitton and the Rev. x Benedict Bp. Br, William Wiley, and also preached. The mass was celebrated by the Rev. William Tyler, who was afterward first bishop of Hartford, assisted by Fathers Fitton and Wiley, - this being his first solemn high mass. The concourse of Catholics and others was very great. Father Fitton prcached a sermon at vespers.1
The small mortuary chapel standing since 1819 in St Augustine's Ceme- tery in South Boston was enlarged so as to be used as a church in 1831 for the accommodation of the few Catholic settlers of that peninsula. The Rev. Mr. O'Flaherty said the first mass in the enlarged chapel, and preached a sermon on the occasion. Afterward this church was attended by the Rev. Thomas Lynch and the Rev. John Mahony.
This year the United States Intelligencer was published in Boston as the successor of a newspaper called the Fesuit, which was begun in 1829. The articles in these papers were chiefly controversial, and their tone polemic rather than apologetic. They were dictated by sincere conviction and zcal rather than by policy or expediency ; and while they may have made some converts and enlightened not a few, they must have been distasteful, not to say irritating, to many.
The Sisters of Charity were first introduced into Boston in 1832. They came from St. Joseph's, Emmettsburg, Maryland. Sister Ann Alexis was their first superior in this city, and their duties were to take care of orphans and poor children. The labors of Sister Ann Alexis, extending over a period of nearly fifty years, were productive of great good, and were highly appre- ciated by citizens of every religious belief. The female orphan asylum on Camden Street is a fitting monument of her charity, zcal, and industry.2
1 In 1830, just fifty years ago, the entire Catholic population of Boston and Charlestown was about ten thousand souls, attended by the bishop and four priests, - namely, O'Flaherty, Wiley, Tyler, and Byrne. The baptisms in that year numbered five hundred and twenty-six.
2 They first opened a school for girls on Hamilton Street. They opened an orphan asy- lum on the corner of High and Pearl streets in 1841. The Camden-Street asylum was founded in 1858. Sister Blandina, one of the sisters who came with Sister Ann Alexis, was living in 1872.
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