USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts, 1630-1880, Vol. III > Part 69
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THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON.
with the aid of friendly members and other moderate men, succeeded in postponing legislation on the subject to more favorable times.
July 24, 1849, Father Mathew, the great apostle of temperance, arrived in Boston from Ireland. He was accorded a public reception by the city authorities, and granted the use of Boston Common and Faneuil Hall in which to hold public meetings and administer the total-abstinence pledge. On the 27th of July he spent the entire day in Faneuil Hall, giving the pledge to men of all religious denominations. About four thousand took the pledge that day. The Bishop of Boston extended the hospitalities of his house to Father Mathew, and placed the cathedral at his disposal for the advancement of the cause of temperance. During the whole of July 30 he was detained in the cathedral, giving the pledge to the multitudes that flocked to him.
The Sisters of Notre Dame, from Cincinnati, arrived in Boston Nov. 10, 1849, and took charge of St. Mary's school for girls; the Sisters of Charity, previously in charge, having been withdrawn to Emmettsburg, Maryland. Sister Louis Gonzaga, was the first superior of this community in Boston, and she is described as a woman of remarkable religious zeal, combined with great business and executive ability.1
The Rev. Thomas Shahan, present pastor of St. James's church, was ordained priest in 1849. During the year 1850 Dr. Brownson delivered a lecture on "Our Times" in the city of Boston ; and Archbishop Hughes, of New York, preached a sermon in the Holy Cross cathedral. About the beginning of this year some stir was made in the German Catholic con- gregation by the refusal of the pastor, Father Eck, S. J., to officiate at the marriage of one of his flock who had joined the secret society of Odd Fel- lows; the bishop, being appealed to, sustained the pastor in his refusal.
The Rev. Edward H. Welch, S. J., a member of a well-known Boston family, and who some years previously had become a convert to the Church of Rome, arrived home from abroad in 1850. He had the honor of being made the bearer of palliums for three archbishops, - Purcell of Cincinnati, Blanc of New Orleans, and Smith of Trinidad; he is now a distinguished preacher of the Society of Jesus, and is at present stationed at the church of the Immaculate Conception, Boston. In 1851 the cathedral was re- paired, at an expense of $3,000, one half of which was obtained by assess- ing the pew-owners, and one-half by voluntary contributions. This year Bishop Fitzpatrick received, October 7, a novel invitation. It came through a duly accredited agent of the newly elected Emperor of Hayti, and was to the effect that the bishop would kindly proceed to that island and conse- crate him, and also administer confirmation throughout the island. The bishop refused, on the ground that Hayti was not within the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the diocese of Boston.
1 This sisterhood first occupied a house on Stillman Street, where they resided from Nov. 13, 1849, to May 1, 1852, when they moved to the convent on Lancaster Street. The central house
of these sisters is now at the academy on Berke- ley Street, which was founded July 3, 1864. The first superior of this academy was Sister Alphonse Maric.
VOL. III .- 67.
530
THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
The institution known as the House of the Angel Guardian was estab- lished this year by the Rev. George F. Haskins, who conducted it most successfully until his death. The first collection in the cathedral for this object amounted to $1,500. It was at first located on land adjoining the church on Moon Street, near North Square.
Jan. 4, 1852, the Rev. John J. Williams took charge of the small Catholic chapel on Beach Street, which had been opened in 1850 to meet the religious wants of the rapidly-growing Catholic population that settled about the South Cove, and was attended at first by Dr. Ambrose Manahan. Patrick Mooney, for twenty-five years sexton of the cathedral, died April 14, 1852.
The Otis School-house, on Lancaster Street, was purchased from the City, May 31, 1852, for $16,500. It was intended to be used for a boys' school, under the direction of the Jesuits; and it was hoped that from it would in time be developed a Catholic academy, in which the classics and higher English branches could be studied. It is now used as a parochial school for girls, taught by the Sisters of Notre Dame.
April 5, this year, the first movement was made toward building a church in the South-Cove district. This was done at a meeting of Catholics held in the chapel of the Holy Family, on Beach Street. The meeting was pre- sided over by Bishop Fitzpatrick, and arrangements were made for the col- lection of funds to purchase a suitable site for a new church. Such a site was soon found at the corner of Albany and Harvard streets, and was bought Feb. 18, 1853. The corner-stone was laid July, 1853, and the basement chapel was used for the first time, Christmas day, 1854. The church was completed and dedicated, Sept. 23, 1855, by Bishop Fitzpatrick. The Rev. Thomas F. Mullady, S. J., preached the sermon on this occasion. The Rev. John McElroy, S. J., preached at vespers. It was a large brick structure, built in the Gothic style, after designs furnished by P. C. Keely, architect. The first pastor was the Rev. David Walsh. The Very Rev. J. J. Williams, V. G., was pastor of this church at the time he was made Coadjutor Bishop of Boston. Recently the church and land were bought by the Boston & Albany Railroad Company, and on its site now stands one of their large freight houses. The old church was replaced by the new St. James's church, on Harrison Avenne, which was built under the direction of the Rev. James A. Healy, now Bishop of Portland. The new church is Roman classic in style, and is one of the finest churches in the city; it seats fourteen hundred. It was dedicated April 10, 1875, by Archbishop Williams. Its present rector is Rev. Thomas Shahan.
In 1853 a lot of land on Tremont Street was bought by the Catholic Germans, with the design of building a new and larger church. This church was actually begun, and the walls carried a few feet above the foundations, before it became apparent that it was projected on a scale too large for the means of the congregation; and the work was consequently discontinued in 1855. The sudden illness of the pastor, and his consequent absence in Europe, also contributed greatly to this untoward result.
531
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON.
A large district lying chiefly in Roxbury, between the Providence Rail- road and Washington Street, and having many Catholic families within it, was still unprovided with a church. In 1853 a Baptist church on Ruggles Street was bought, and, after the necessary alterations were made, was dedi- cated to Catholic worship under the title of St. Francis de Sales, when Father Rodden preached the sermon. This church was afterward destroyed by fire, and the present church of the same name, on Vernon Street, projected by the Rev. George F. Haskins. The new church was completed under the direction of the subsequent pastor, the Rev. James Griffin. The corner- stone was laid Sept. 29, 1867, by the Very Rev. P. F. Lyndon, V. G., and the ยท church was dedicated June 20, 1869. The same clergyman officiated on this occasion, and the sermon was preached by the Rev. M. J. O'Farrell, then of Montreal, now of St. Peter's, New York. The present pastor is the Rev. John Delahunty, who is rapidly redeeming it from debt. In the mean time the congregation that was gathered in the Ruggles-Street church worshipped in the chapel of the House of the Angel Guardian.
In the year 1853 occurred, in Charlestown, the incident known as the " Hannah Corcoran" riot. A young girl, whose real name was Mary Joseph Corcoran, who together with her mother had recently arrived in this country from Ireland, was employed as a domestic servant, under the name of Hannah, in the family of Mr. Carpenter. While there she began to attend the First Baptist Church, it is said, with the knowledge and consent of her mother. She was even rebaptized in that church, according to the Baptist form of immersion. Her mother, after a time repenting of the con- sent she had given, resolved to bring her daughter back to the Catholic Church. With this end in view, she took her away from Mr. Carpenter's house and sent her secretly to Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Deacon Carter, of the First Baptist Church, had caused himself to be appointed guardian of the girl, and in that capacity proceeded to demand her return. The Rev. P. F. Lyndon, then pastor of St. Mary's, Charlestown, who was known to have been consulted by the mother, was appealed to. Some suspicious or malicious persons set a rumor afloat that the girl was forcibly detained either in the church vestry or in the priest's house; and a repetition of the scenes which took place at the burning of the convent was for a time threatened. Inflammatory articles appeared in the newspapers ; the pastor of the First Baptist Church, the Rev. Thomas F. Caldicott, prayed and preached in a manner to arouse the feelings of his auditors; and finally hand-bills were distributed, inviting " the friends of liberty" to assemble from all quarters on the evening of March 1, in front of the Catholic church on Richmond Street, and there demand that the girl be produced. As there was no mistaking the meaning of this proceeding, and as threats of tearing down the church were freely uttered, the Mayor of Charlestown - Hon. Richard Frothingham - resolved to be prepared to repress any at- tempts at violence. He ordered out the City Guards, which responded with full ranks, and the marines at the Navy Yard were held in readiness to act
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
in case of need. One hundred men of the police force of Boston were sent over to assist the local officers. The street immediately in front of the church, between Union and Austin streets, was barricaded. The mob as- sembled at the time appointed. The mayor proceeded to the scene, and, in the presence of a display of force, read the Riot Act, and ordered the multitude to disperse, which it did about midnight, without attempting any violence. Next day the mother of Hannah Corcoran made affidavit, which was published in the papers, to the effect that she knew where her daughter was, and that she would be forthcoming in a short time. March 5, the girl, accompanied by her mother, returned from Philadelphia, and again placed herself under the protection of Deacon Carter. Notwithstanding this, the excitement continued for some days, and the church had again to be pro- tected from mob violence on the night of March 8. Soon after this, how- ever, the trouble was over, and the public mind settled down to its normal condition. This was the last riot of the kind we read of in our annals.
On April 13, 1853, another effort was made in the Legislature to have the State indemnify the Catholics for the damage done by the burning of the Ursuline Convent by a mob. James Egan, a Catholic member of the Legislature and a member of the Suffolk bar, made an eloquent and powerful speech in favor of the bill, and it passed to a second reading by a large majority. It was, however, finally rejected by a vote which stood-yeas, III ; nays, 120.
On April 20 of this year the Rev. P. F. Lyndon was appointed pastor of SS. Peter and Paul's church, South Boston, in place of the Rev. Terence Fitzsimmons, removed.
About this time the bishop purchased a plot of four acres of land in Roxbury, on the Dedham turnpike. This he intended for the site of a con- vent for the Sisters of Notre Dame. A convent of this order stands there now, and is used as a novitiate of the order and an academy for young ladies. Its success is chiefly due to Sister Aloyisus, the first Superior.
On Sunday, Sept. 25, 1853, Mons. Bedini, Papal Nuncio to Brazil, as- sisted at mass at the cathedral, and Bishop O'Reilly, of Hartford diocese, preached. On the following Sunday the Nuncio officiated pontifically in the same place; and during the subsequent week visited the various public and Catholic institutions of the city, and was hospitably entertained by some of the citizens.
The mission of Nuncio Bedini not being clearly defined nor correctly understood, his travels in the United States gave rise to various misconcep- tions on the part of the Protestant populace, and led to some civic com- motions in a few places. In 1854 a false rumor having spread that the Nuncio was to pay a second visit to Boston, a mob of two or three hundred disorderly persons assembled, February 1, before the bishop's house, about midnight; but beyond uttering insulting cries, intended for the ears of the Nuncio, nothing was done. The mob seemed to be inflamed by a false re- port which had gained credence in the States to the effect that Bedini, while
533
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON.
Governor of Bologna, in 1848, was the prime mover in the conviction and execution of certain Red Republican agitators of Italy.
Nov. 3, 1853, the Catholic clergy of Boston established, by subscription among themselves, a fund for the purpose of giving aid to each other in case of sickness or incapacity from old age. This foundation is still in a flourishing condition, and is of great utility.
At the rededication of SS. Peter and Paul's church, Broadway, November 27, the bishops of Boston, Albany, and Hartford were present, and the Rev. Dr. Ryder, S. J., preached the sermon.
The number of Catholic children baptized in Boston in the year 1853 was four thousand one hundred and seventeen, showing a probable Catholic population of about eighty thousand souls.
The burning and subsequent rebuilding on the same site of the church in South Boston led to an important legal decision regarding the rights of pew-owners under such circumstances. The case is known as Fields vs. Tighe ; and the decision established the fact that the legal rights of pew- owners perish with the destruction of the church, and do not revive even if another is rebuilt on the same site. Notwithstanding this decision, the bishop satisfied the claims of the pew-owners in an equitable manner.
On March 26, 1855, a committee of the Legislature, accompanied by twelve or thirteen others not of the committee, paid a visit of officious as well as official inspection to the Catholic academy and convent in Roxbury, known as the Academy of Notre Dame. The members of the committee, as soon as they were admitted, scattered themselves over the whole house, and, without waiting for any guidance, entered every room, chapel, and dormi- tory, and inspected every cellar, garret, and closet in the building. They insisted on seeing and conversing with every inmate of the house, lest, per- chance, as they said, any should be detained there against their will. This uncalled-for suspicion and insolent intrusion were very annoying to the nuns and pupils, and were greatly resented by the Catholic community. Indeed, it may be said that in all decent society the conduct of the committee was condemned; and the members were everywhere subjected to well-merited ridicule. So decided was the public censure, that the Legislature investi- gated the conduct of its committee, and finding that one of the members -- Mr. Hiss- had been particularly ungentlemanly in the convent visitation, they expelled him by a vote of the House, May 12, 1855.
January 20, of this year, the Rev. John J. Williams was appointed rector of the cathedral in Franklin Square.
The attendance at the Lenten services at the church of the Holy Cross continued this year to be immense, notwithstanding the fact that the base- ment of the new St. James's church was then opened and provided with similar services, which were also largely attended.
Sept. 10, 1856, a contract was made for building a wing of a new structure in which to conduct the academy at Roxbury. This building was finished in the spring of the following year. Up to that time the school was con-
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534
THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
ducted in a frame dwelling-house which stood upon the land when pur- chased. The centre and a fine chapel are now completed.
The lot on which the House of the Angel Guardian now stands, on Vernon Street, was bought from the Norfolk Land Company, about the close of this year. Meanwhile, certain lands belonging to the city, on Lev- erett Street, and known as the Jail lands, were purchased with the intention of building thereon a college for boys and a Catholic church, both to be in charge of the Jesuits. It being found difficult to obtain the removal of cer- tain restrictions on these lands, in the year 1857 they were surrendered to the city, and the proper steps taken to secure a suitable lot at the South End for the same purpose. A division of opinion among the Land Commissioners of Boston about the expediency of selling any of the city lands for Catholic church purposes, and some popular opposition mani- fested in the public press and otherwise, retarded the negotiations for a time; but a suitable lot was finally secured. Boston College stands on this lot.
This year Bishop Fitzpatrick showed such symptoms of failing health that, with the advice of his physicians, he resolved to retire for awhile from active duty. He passed the summer months at Worcester College, and in the fall of that year took a trip to the Adirondack Mountains, for the pur- pose of recruiting his health. He returned greatly benefited, but not com- pletely cured, so that he had to work with caution, and take frequent rests during the year 1858.
The Rev. Michael Moran, the present pastor of St. Stephen's church, was ordained a priest of this diocese, Aug. 15, 1857, by Bishop Bacon, of Portland. Thirty-two acres of land for a Catholic cemetery were this year purchased, within the limits of Dorchester and Roxbury. Dec. 3, 1858, the Rev. John Rodden died at the bishop's residence. Father Rodden was a fertile writer for the Catholic papers of his day, and was for a time editor of the Boston Pilot, which was established in the year 1838, by Patrick Donahoe. The present editor is John Boyle O'Reilly, - a celebrated poet and a distinguished Irish patriot.
The foundation of the church of the Immaculate Conception, on Har- rison Avenue, was laid in the spring of the year 1858, and the completed structure -one of the finest stone churches in the city - was opened for divine worship, March 10, 1861.1 Archbishop Hughes, of New York, preached the dedicatory sermon. The high altar and two side altars were consecrated by the bishops of Newark, Brooklyn, and Hartford. The Bishop of Boston, having dedicated the church, celebrated mass pontifi- cally. The Rev. James A. Healy-then Chancellor of the Diocese, now Bishop of Portland - conducted the ceremonies. A procession, consisting of about fifty Jesuit scholastics and thirty priests all in surplices, followed by seven bishops vested in their official robes, started from the adjoining college, and, entering the church from Harrison Avenue, took places in and
1 P. C. Keely, of Brooklyn, N. Y., was the architect of the church.
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THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BOSTON.
about the sanctuary. A well-trained choir, supported by a powerful organ,1 rendered the music in a most acceptable manner. The sermon at vespers was preached by the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, then Bishop of Albany. The first pastor of this church was Father McElroy, S. J.
In the spring of this year the question of discontinuing the reading of the Protestant version of the Bible in the public schools was agitated. The Catholics complained that while the public schools were professedly non-sectarian, and only used by them as such in the absence of Catholic schools, the practice did not strictly correspond with the theory. All the pupils, of whatever denomination, were obliged to recite from the Protestant Bible, to the exclusion of the Douai version, which the Catholic Church approves. The Lord's Prayer was recited with a closing doxology as an integral part thereof, which in that connection was strange to Catholic ears. Protestant hymns, such as Old Hundred, were sung by all the children in common, led by their teachers; and the Ten Commandments were taught and recited in the form in which they are given in the Protestant Bible. A boy named Whall, a pupil in the Eliot School, refused, with the approval of his parents, to recite these passages of Scripture, and was consequently severely flogged for disobedience. He was afterward, with a number of other boys who followed his example, suspended from attendance at the school, and the parents notified that if the boys would not consent to con- form to the rules of the school, they could not be readmitted. They would, morcover, under these circumstances, be liable to arrest and imprison- ment for truancy. In the latter case they would be sent to the city pen- itentiary, where they would be wholly under the control and at the mercy of the keepers and instructors, who were all Protestants, and known to bc animated with a spirit of proselytism. To avoid this graver danger, the bishop advised the parents to direct their boys to submit, under protest, for the time; and promised to take immediate steps to have the rules amended, and these grievances removed, by the proper authorities. With this end in view the bishop addressed a letter to the School Committee, in which he clearly set forth the objections of the Catholics and the principles involved in the case, and urgently pleaded for a change in the regulations, in the interest of peace, justice, and fair play. Consideration of this pro- posal was indefinitely postponed by the committee, and the matter was not satisfactorily arranged till some years afterward. Most of thesc objection- able practices are now discontinued in the public schools of Boston. The Catholics, in the mean time, are building schools of their own, preferring a religious education for their children to any system of mere secular in- struction, and making great sacrifices for their support.
An action for assault in the above case was brought into court against Mr. Cook, the teacher who had punished the boy Whall. The action was dismissed, Judge Maine being on the bench. Durant was counsel for Cook, and Sidney Webster for Whall. This trial, and the speeches made by the
1 The organ was built by Hook & Co, of Boston.
1
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THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
opposing counsel, attracted a great deal of public attention at the time, and aroused considerable bitterness and uncharitableness on both sides. Soon after this, Father Wigget, S. J., opened a school for boys at the North End, which subsequently grew into the large and very successful school for many years connected with St. Mary's church, and still conducted by the Jesuit Fathers, on Cooper Street, in a school-building purchased from the city.
May 15, 1859, the corner-stone of the new building of the House of the Angel Guardian was laid by Bishop Fitzpatrick, in the presence of the Mayor and Common Council of the city of Roxbury, and an immense con- course of people. Dr. Cummings, of St. Stephen's church, New York, preached the sermon. July 19, of this same year, the new orphan asylum for girls, on Camden Street, was dedicated under the patronage of St. Vincent, the apostle of charity.
The corner-stone of St. Francis de Sales' church, Charlestown, - the building of which is due to the Rev. George A. Hamilton, -was laid on a site secured for that purpose on the summit of Bunker Hill proper. Arch- bishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, was the preacher on this occasion. The Mayor of Charlestown, many city officials and ex-mayors, and the Com- mandant of the Navy Yard were present; and the multitude in attendance was computed to be not less than six thousand.
This year, 1859, witnessed the first step in the celebrated transfer of the old cathedral lands on Franklin Street to Isaac Rich, who intended to use the site for building warehouses to accommodate the rapid increase of the business of Boston. The deeds, owing to various legal complications, were not actually passed till Sept. 30, 1860. The last mass in the old cathedral was celebrated Sunday, Sept. 16, 1860. The bishop officiated, assisted by the Rev. James Fitton, the Rev. John J. Williams, and the Rev. Michael Moran. An address, explaining the necessity of this step, pre- pared by the bishop's own hand, was read to the people by his secretary, the Rev. James A. Healy, now Bishop of Portland.
The Catholic college on Harrison Avenue, known as Boston College, was dedicated Sept. 17, 1860. Rev. R. Fulton, S. J., was its best known president.
The first purchase of land for a site for a new cathedral was made Oct. 24, 1860. The property was known as the Williams Estate, situated on the corner of Washington and Malden streets. The adjoining estate, bor- dering on Union-Park Street, was added to this, January 3 of the following year. The price paid for these lots was $75,000. By the purchase of ad- ditional lots, in order to obtain sufficient space not only for a cathedral, but for a residence for the bishop and his clergy, the entire proceeds of the sale of the old cathedral, amounting to $115,000, were expended on land for thic new. On this land there stood two dwelling-houses, one of which, until the building of the new episcopal residence, was occupied by the bishop. On June 23 the architect, P. C. Keely, came to view the site, and soon after began to prepare the plans for the basement. It was decided to build of Roxbury stonc, with granite trimmings, in the Gothic style. The ground
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