USA > Maine > The Catholic church in Maine > Part 17
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in a bitterly divided nation. Although national, it was the largest Council of the Church since Trent, with seven arch- bishops and thirty-eight bishops present, all the members of the American hierarchy save one who was prevented by illness from attending. The nationality of these bishops and arch- bishops reflected the catholicity of the Church and the national origins of American Catholics: Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, German, Austria were represented. But more and more Rome was selecting Americans for the office of bishop. Eighteen of the hierarchy were American-born, and three of these (Wood of Philadelphia, Bayley of Newark, and Rosecrans of Cincinnati) were converts to the Catholic faith, an unmistakable evidence of the appeal of the ancient faith to the American Protestant mind. Another sign of the better understanding between the Catholic Church and the American Republic was the presence of President Andrew Johnson and his daughter at the closing ceremony, the High Mass celebrated in the Baltimore cathedral. It was a recognition, not without its risk politically, of the contribution of Catholics and the Church to the defense and unity of the republic.
Bishop Bacon was not one of the dominant figures of the Council nor did he, along with his two theological advisers, Father Eugene Müller, his Vicar-General, and Father William Keegan, his Brooklyn friend, play any known important part in its deliberations. But the success of the Council derived as much from the group as from the leaders, and it was no small honor to be one of the group. One would like to know if he had any conversation with the person who was at the side of Archbishop Martin John Spalding, the Council's Apostolic Delegate, during the whole week. The man was Spalding's Vicar-General, the Very Reverend H. B. Coskery, who, had he not refused the papal appointment, now would be worrying about the loss of the cathedral buildings and the problems of the Portland diocese. Ill health had been given as the reason for declining, but Coskery had survived the intervening twelve years remarkably well. Now the burdens were Bacon's and the
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Council, "magnificent and imposing" as the Baltimore Gazette described it, was a source of inspiration to carry on despite all obstacles. When he returned to Portland he saw that the chapel, a little larger than the original, would be ready for Christmas. It was dedicated two days before the feast, on an- other stormy day, as could now be expected, that restricted both the attendance and the collection. The bishop carefully noted that the admission tickets and collection amounted to four hundred and ninety dollars. The school was rebuilt, too, before the year was over and in January 1867, the Sisters of Notre Dame returned from Canada to reopen St. Aloysius. Within six months of the fire, the chapel and school had been restored.
Once more the bishop concentrated on the cathedral. Money for the construction was the first problem. One of his succes- sors, William Cardinal O'Connell, tells us that Bishop Bacon "succeeded in gathering, mainly among his rich friends in New York, sufficient money to erect a very imposing Gothic cathed- ral." Actually it was not quite so easy as that. He was not ready to start work on the cathedral until the spring of 1868. In the meantime he had gone on a begging tour for two months early in the preceding year, visiting both Canadian and American dioceses. The response among the hierarchy was gratifying and he publicly expressed his gratitude to the pre- lates of the New York Province, the Archbishop of Quebec, and other Canadian bishops for their financial help. Rich friends in New York no doubt did contribute and probably quite generously, as did Protestants in Portland. Possibly he was alloted some of the $600,000 contributed by Americans throughout the country to the victims of the Portland fire. But he still had to borrow money to complete the cathedral. And in the summer of 1869 he was requesting special gifts from the few wealthy Catholics in the diocese to pay off this borrowed money.
Wealthy Catholics in the Portland diocese were few and so they were expected to give much. One was Charles McCarthy,
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Jr., -a distinction he retained to his death in 1921 at the age of 93. He was one of the few Irish Catholic immigrants of the pre-Civil War years who quickly prospered and became influential on the local level. He had first settled in Bangor and then moved to Portland in the early 1850's where he established himself as a clothier on Fore Street, then the retail center of the city. By 1868 he had become a member of the Common Council and after two years on this body served three more as alderman; later, in 1887 he was the Democratic candidate for mayor and made a remarkable bid for this post. By the end of the Civil War he was well off and he increased his fortune by discreet investments in real estate and railroads; the small memorandum books he used as diaries show how he quickly acquired a sharp eye for bargains that must have been envied by the best Yankee business minds. The Bishops of Portland, from Bacon to Walsh, depended on him for generous benefac- tions and advice, and it would seem that they were seldom disappointed. Bishop Bacon turned to him in the summer of 1869. In a letter dated August 2, he told McCarthy that the Holy Father's decision to call a General Council had forced him to alter his plans; he wanted the cathedral finished before his departure and this had compelled him to borrow money on a short loan to rush the construction; now he wanted to refund this debt before his departure. The bishop appealed to Mc- Carthy's pride in a church "which so far has not been excelled in the New England states" and which was "the church of your diocese" to help to remove the cathedral debt by a generous donation, even though he had already made former contribu- tions. In a postcript he asked for "a favorable answer and at an early day." Actually both the cathedral and the bishop's residence, large enough to house the diocesan clergy on their annual retreat, were finished when this appeal was mailed, and the day of dedication had been set. September 8, 1869, was the day Bishop Bacon had long awaited.
One feature of the dedication ceremony must not pass un- noticed. How different it was from the installation of Bishop
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Bacon fourteen years ago. Those years had seen a remarkable change, due, no doubt, to the presence of the bishop in the city and his visits throughout the state. He was now accepted. In 1869 there were as many bishops attending the dedication of the cathedral as there had been priests at the installation. Two of them were from New England, John Williams of Boston who had been consecrated on March 11, 1866, with Bishop Bacon as one of three consecrators, and Louis de Goesbriand of Bur- lington; the other New England prelate, Bishop Francis P. McFarland of Hartford, was absent. The other three were from New York, a good indication of the bishop's strong ties there, - Bishop John Loughlin of Brooklyn, Bishop J. J. Conroy of Albany, and Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid of Rochester, the first bishop of a diocese established by the Second Plenary Council. Archbishop McCloskey of New York was not there, but he was represented by his Vicar-General.
Catholic liturgy has made the dedication of a church an impressive ceremony. A temple is dedicated to God and be- comes a house of prayer and of sacrifice where the worshippers themselves become, if they are so minded, living temples of God. When the church is the cathedral the ceremony is more solemn and thereafter the day of dedication becomes an im- portant feast day in the diocese. Henceforth, then, September 8, the Nativity of Our Lady, became a double feast in the diocese of Portland. The Portland Cathedral was a monument to much labor and many sacrifices. And the liturgy strives to convert the labor and sacrifices into rejoicing. Bishop Bacon did his best to make the day one of rejoicing. Not a little of the joy and pride of this day came from the admission of spectators and visitors that the church, for style, size, exquisite decorations and appointments (the pews were carved chest- nut), high altar and Lady's chapel, was one of the finest in the country.
The dedication preceded the Mass. The procession of aco- lytes, clergy, and bishops first gathered outside the cathedral and while the Miserere was chanted, Bishop Bacon blessed the
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outside walls and foundations. They then entered the cathedral and proceeded to the high altar, and while the clergy and choir chanted the Litanies the bishop blessed the church and the altar. Clergy and choir now sang three beautiful psalms and while the church was filled with the chant of "I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains whence help shall come to me," and "In my trouble I cried to the Lord and he heard me," the bishop moved around the church blessing the walls. The bishop finally stood before the high altar and prayed that God would bestow his grace on this house of prayer, and that all who invoked His Name within these walls would receive God's merciful assistance. Henceforth, many troubled souls would look to the tabernacle for daily help and courage. The altar, bare during the ceremony, was now prepared for Mass which was celebrated by Bishop Williams.
The preacher was Father Isaac Hecker, noted convert and Paulist. He was a good selection, for as a friend of Emerson and the Transcendentalists he understood the New England mind. Indeed, he seemed to address his words, developed from the text: "this is no other but the House of God and the Gate of Heaven" more to the inquiring Protestant than to his audi- ence. Why this grand temple, he asked; why this magnificent church built by those who know the pinch of poverty? He reminded his audience that "our Alcotts and Emersons" would not give them the answer and proceeded to explain the place of a church in the lives of a Christian; what the interior of the church represented and why the Christian beautifies his house of prayer. Near the end of the sermon, he directed his words to those who had built the church and would worship there:
To you, Catholics of Portland, it is only the beginning of your work. Your life must be in accordance with divine grace; your hearts must become God's altars; you must become living temples consecrated to God's glory, as this temple has been consecrated today. You will find your final destiny taught you here.
That evening the incredible happened. A heavy fog had made the morning unpleasant but had not prevented the cathedral from being overcrowded and had not interfered with
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the ceremonies. After the event, and especially at the dinner for the guests at the Falmouth Hotel, Bishop Bacon accepted the good wishes of all. General George B. McClellan arrived at the hotel in time to be invited to the dinner and graciously accepted. Bishop Bacon returned to his residence a happy man. The fog, however, had given way to a high wind and soon the city, and in fact the entire state, was racked by a severe storm. That night, about eight-thirty, when the storm was at its height, the cathedral steeple came crashing down across Cum- berland Avenue on to the roof of a neighboring house. No lives, fortunately, were lost, but that blow must have taken a number of years from the life of the bishop. Late in October, the steeple had been replaced at no little cost. By then he was in need of a rest. He took it on board ship on his way to Rome to attend the Vatican Council.
4. THE SISTERS COME TO MAINE
In the summer of 1886 Portland celebrated the centenary of its birth, when Falmouth Neck was separated without too much opposition from the residents of Falmouth proper and incorporated into the town of Portland. It was a gala three- day affair, starting the day before the Fourth. It also marked the twentieth anniversary of the big fire that had forced the residents to rebuild much of the city along more modern lines. Natives of the city scattered all over the nation were invited to return, and many of them did. They listened to Thomas B. Reed, one of America's great parliamentarians, on the conclud- ing day of the celebration recall and praise those who had helped to make the "old town famous to the outer world." Among those singled out for honorable mention, on the score of his "great administrative powers" was David William Bacon, Portland's first Catholic Bishop.
Reed had, it would seem, selected Bacon's most conspicuous talent. Although a reputation as a preacher had preceded his coming to Portland, we do not find him invited to be the orator
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or preacher on important occasions as his successor, Bishop Healy, was. Quite possibly, he was too occupied with his own building program to accept invitations. At least, not many events where Bacon was the preacher have been discovered. He did preach at the dedication of the Immaculate Conception Church in Salem, Massachusetts, on Sunday, January 10, 1858, and the local newspapers printed lengthy excerpts from his sermon at what was described as the "greatest Catholic cere- mony" yet seen in Essex County. It may have been on this occasion that he first met his successor, for Father James A. Healy was the master of ceremonies. Nor do we find evidence that his was an influential voice in the important church coun- cils, like the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore and the Vatican Council. And it is true he had little to administer when he first came to Portland. But a good administrator is first a good provider. The growth of the clergy of the diocese and the building of churches in both Maine and New Hamp- shire and the construction of the cathedral under adverse con- ditions underscore his ability to provide and to administer. So, too, does the establishment of a Catholic school system in the diocese of Portland.
When Bishop Bacon arrived in Portland there were no Cath- olic schools in the diocese. Kavanagh and Deane had made a few references to schools in their report on Madawaska, but whatever educational progress had been made since then in this district could not be credited to the Portland diocese; Madawaska, both American and Canadian, was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of St. John, New Brunswick. What- ever Indian schools there were in Maine were strictly public. Indeed, in 1855, the mention of Catholic schools was carefully avoided, for the attack on Father Bapst had stemmed from a school problem, and his decision to found a Catholic school had aggravated the problem. Yet when Bishop Bacon died in 1874, there were twenty free parochial schools and six acad- emies for girls in the diocese. One does not need the support of comparisons to see that this was a notable achievement, but
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the educational progress in the diocese of Portland is under- scored by a glance at the status of Catholic schools in other New England dioceses in 1874.
There were more Catholic schools in the diocese of Portland than in that of Boston, at this time comprising all of Massa- chusetts, where there were only fourteen parochial schools and three girls' academies for the 300,000 Catholics. In Ver- mont, there were no parochial schools and only three academies for girls for the 34,000 Catholics. In Rhode Island, which had been separated from the diocese of Hartford in 1872, there were only ten parochial schools along with six academies for girls and one for boys, for a Catholic population of 144,000. Only in Connecticut was there a more impressive Catholic school system; besides eleven academies for girls and one for boys for families that could pay for the education of their children, there were twenty free parochial schools for girls and eighteen for boys for the 145,000 Catholics of this diocese.
The work of the Sisters of Mercy explains the advanced status of Catholic schools in Connecticut, and since Rhode Island had been until 1872 part of the diocese of Hartford, the Catholics in this state, too, had shared in the benefits of these teachers. Indeed, Providence had been the residence of the bishops of Hartford diocese, and the first house of the Sisters in New England had been founded in Providence in 1851. It was a rare blessing for the Catholics of New England that the remarkable founder of the Sisters of Mercy in the United States, Mother M. Xavier Warde, spent so many years of her life in two New England dioceses. Eight years after she established their first house in Pittsburgh, she introduced the Sisters into the Hartford diocese, and then, seven years later, founded the first religious community of women in the diocese of Portland.
Manchester was the fortunate city, and the selection of this city over Portland, where one would expect the first house, must be traced to the initiative of Father William McDonald, the pastor of St. Anne's. Others had to cooperate, of course;
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Bishop McFarland of Hartford had to consent, which he did with some reluctance; Bishop Bacon had to intercede and this he did by letter and by personal interviews; Mother Warde had to agree. But Father McDonald really brought the Sisters of Mercy to Manchester. Because he wanted some teaching Sisters in his parish, he constructed a fine convent and during its construction guarded it by night lest it be destroyed by vandalism. He could offer the Sisters a home, and this was obviously a great advantage over the other bishops and priests who were begging Mother Warde for the services of the Sisters. He also pushed his claim by visits and letters to Providence and his wish was granted. Perhaps it was the claim of the Man- chester Catholics on charity that persuaded Mother Warde, - their poverty, their lowly social status, the remote prospects of any financial rewards, and the sanctity of their pastor. The Sisters of Mercy did have an extraordinary devotion to this austere, industrious, frugal, kind-hearted priest who by his forty-one years of pastoral care won the admiration and love of Manchester, and this devotion is made manifest in their Annals. He is given a chapter to himself, and of him, not of Bishop Bacon or any other bishop, do they write that "no ecclesiastic ever did more for the Sisters of Mercy than this holy man." Obviously he deserved this praise. Bishop Bradley considered him "the pioneer of Catholic education in New Eng- land;" both press and pulpit expressed deep regret at his death, and one Protestant minister offered him as a model of Christian living to his congregation and to the citizens of Manchester. The New England mind could recognize and respect a life dedicated to Christ, and the remarkable change of attitude in Manchester toward Catholics and their religion derived in good part from the life of this one man. He himself gave much credit to the Sisters of Mercy. Their work in New Hampshire and Maine would require a volume, and no doubt justice to them will be done during the approaching centenary of their arrival in the diocese. Only a few milestones can be mentioned here.
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Mother Warde and her four companions arrived in Man- chester late in the afternoon of July 16, 1858. They had left Providence at nine that morning. Bishop McFarland and others posted them on the hostile attitudes of some in northern New England. She was ready for the worst, but actually she had seen the worst in Providence where a mob had surrounded the convent shortly after their arrival in 1851 and had threatened the Sisters with death if they did not depart immediately. The Sisters remained; Mother Warde was not easily frightened. They went to Manchester by way of Worcester where some friendly ladies invited them to have dinner before they took the train for Nashua; at this station, Father McDonald and Father O'Donnell of Nashua joined them for the journey to Manchester. They were met by a happy, friendly crowd. They were, of course, the objects of much curiosity which was not restricted to non-Catholics. Most of the Catholics were seeing Catholic Sisters for the first time. Two weeks later they were joined by two more Sisters, and it was about this time, too, that two residents of the city, one a Baptist and the other an Universalist, called at the convent to inquire about the Cath- olic religion. These two ladies became converts to the Catholic faith, the first of many who were attracted to the Church by the strong living faith of these religious.
The foundation in Manchester was the only one established in New Hampshire while Bacon remained Bishop of Portland, but the growth and success of this pioneer house was phenom- enal. In 1874, when the Bishop died, there were twenty-one professed choir Sisters, fourteen choir novices, and eight lay Sisters at the Mother house in Manchester, and three branches had been established in Maine: at Bangor, Whitefield, and Port- land. In Manchester they conducted two parochial schools, one at St. Ann's and the other at St. Joseph's, a day Academy and Mount St. Mary's Boarding School, a school that later developed into a college and was transferred to Hooksett. They had also a night school for girls who worked in the mills during the day. More remarkable still was the fact that they
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taught in public schools and were accorded the pay of public school teachers.
The Sisters opened their first parish school in August, 1858, a few weeks after their arrival. Classes were held in the base- ment of St. Ann's. It must have been a crowded basement, for we are told that "not one Catholic girl remained in the public schools." The basement was clearly overcrowded the next fall, for a school for boys was opened and they, too, had their classes in the basement of the church. A fine Irish school teacher, Thomas Corcoran, was placed in charge of the older boys. There was more room in 1860. The boys, all three hundred and sixty of them, moved to an empty public school, the Park Street School, and there the younger ones were taught by the Sisters and the older ones by Corcoran. This school became a public school, and the Sisters were placed on the public pay roll. By 1865 they were conducting seven public schools in the city and four years later the number had increased to fourteen. This strange situation was due to the public school system in vogue at the time and, no doubt, to the influence of Father McDon- ald. Schools were small and numerous and each one attended, it would seem, by the same national or religious groups. It was a type of segregation on lines of national origins or re- ligious affiliations, and it could be practiced as long as these groups lived in the same area and the school building was small. Once one or two large schools were built for the city, the system had to be abandoned. At least, in the 1868 Catholic Directory, Bishop Bacon explained that the schools taught by the Sisters "are in the Catholic districts, and are attended by Catholic children." They were, however, public schools, and the Sisters were public school teachers and paid accordingly.
Two more schools were opened before the year was over. In September 1858 a select academy for girls, St. Mary's Academy, was started. From the start it attracted the daughters of the well-to-do Protestants of the city, and Bishop Bacon in his report for the 1860 Catholic Directory could write: "well patronized by the Protestants of Manchester." The friendships
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that inevitably followed between the daughters of the Irish and the Protestant mothers, the good training in morals and manners did as much, if not more, to break down the prejudices against the Catholic religion and the Irish in Manchester than did the exemplary life of the austere pastor.
Their next educational venture was a night school for the Catholic girls who worked in the mills. This was opened in November 1858, and one can gather how many young girls were compelled to help support their families and how much this opportunity for some education was appreciated, by the fact that within a year there were two hundred and fifty girls attending the classes.
By 1865 the Sisters had opened an orphanage, one of their principal interests wherever they were located. Four years later they were asked to staff another elementary school to take care of the children of the new parish, St. Joseph's, started by Father McDonald to handle the increasing Catholics. The Sisters were allowed to use some unused rooms in a public school until a private dwelling was acquired for the classes. When in 1874 they opened a home for aged women the Sisters had, within six years, established and were operating a cluster of educational and charitable institutions devoted to the spir- itual and physical care of young and old in Manchester. Quietly but effectively the pastor and the Sisters had worked a profound revolution in the old New England mill town, and the tributes paid publicly by the city officials and privately by the prominent Yankees on the deaths of Mother Warde (Sep- tember 17, 1884) and Father McDonald (August 26, 1885) are a clear recognition of that revolution.1
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