USA > Maine > The Catholic church in Maine > Part 19
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had members of a religious congregation in his diocese. Now he told the Holy Cross Fathers that they would be replaced as soon as diocesan priests were available. To do this he had to depend on a priest sent by the Archbishop of Quebec, and in the fall of 1871 the Holy Cross Fathers withdrew from the diocese. The departure of the Jesuits at the beginning of his episcopacy, and the dismissal of the Holy Cross Fathers at the end, would seem to indicate that Bishop Bacon did not care to have members of a religious congregation in his diocese.
The bishop's health continued to decline. He was, however, active in and outside the diocese. In the spring of 1872 he was invited to be one of the consecrators of the Reverend Thomas F. Hendricken, the first bishop of Providence. This new diocese, a division of the Hartford diocese at the request of the ailing Bishop McFarland, was the sixth in New England, and was another indication of the growth of the church in New England. The consecration was in Providence on April 28 and gave Bacon the opportunity to see his friend, Archbishop McCloskey, who was the consecrator.1 In the fall of that year he completed plans for an orphanage on the property pur- chased from the city of Portland on Free Street and arranged to have the Sisters of Mercy conduct it. Illness forced him to spend most of the summer of 1873 at his residence and he spent a miserable winter during 1873-1874. With no improvement during the spring he was advised to seek relief, if not improve- ment, in a trip. He decided to go to Rome with his friend Archbishop McCloskey, combining a health trip with his ad limina visit to Rome which was due within another year. At the end of July they sailed for Europe.
Bishop Bacon never reached Rome. He was taken suddenly ill three days before the ship was due in Brest and he was taken to a hospital there. Two days later Archbishop McClos- key continued on to Rome, assuring a friend in a letter that Bishop Bacon was "surrounded by kind sympathizing friends and having the best attendance of every kind." Bishop Bacon
1 Bacon also assisted McCloskey in consecrating the Reverend Francis McNeirny, third bishop of Albany, on April 21, 1872 in New York.
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himself did not so highly prize the medical attention he re- ceived at Brest; to one in his diocese he told how he had been "neglected and even ill used by an ignorant physician and rendered unfit to continue my journey." He did recover suf- ficiently to preside at a church ceremony on the feast of the Assumption, only to have a severe relapse. He now sensed that his death was near. He sent word to Father Barry, pastor of Concord, New Hampshire, to come to him at Brest. Late in October McCloskey returned to Brest where the homeward journey was arranged. The bishop wanted to die at home. He was a dying man when the ship reached New York on Novem- ber 4. He was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital and died a few hours later on the morning of November 5.
Was Bishop Bacon the coadjutor to Archbishop McCloskey when he died? There were strong rumors at the time that he had gone to Rome to receive this appointment, and the third bishop of Portland has given substance to the rumor by re- calling it in his autobiography. There was, wrote Cardinal O'Connell, "a well founded rumor that he was actually named as coadjutor to the Archbishop of New York when he pre- maturely died." If this is true, then the accepted reason of health for the trip to Rome is in need of correction. Archbishop McCloskey himself has, by some of his remarks in his letters written during the trip and in his eulogy delivered at the funeral, lent some support to the rumor. First of all, he wrote and spoke as if Bishop Bacon was enjoying fine health. No one on board ship "was in better health and spirits than" Bishop Bacon, he wrote a friend after Bacon had been taken ill. In his eulogy he recalled how the bishop had left Portland "appar- ently in the enjoyment of perfect health." This remark must have puzzled many in the cathedral, for even though the bishop had guarded his illness, it was apparent to many that his health was broken when he left Portland. But if Archbishop McClos- key had sought and received the appointment of his friend as coadjutor, one can understand why he stressed the apparent good health of the bishop after his death. He would not want
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it known that he had recommended a hopelessly ill bishop as his coadjutor. McCloskey was obviously disturbed by the rumors and instead of ignoring them, he took occasion of the eulogy to deny them. He insisted that Bishop Bacon had gone to Rome to make his ad limina visit; it was his duty, not health nor any other reason for the trip. This, he insisted, "was his sole object and purpose and other motives attributed to him are wholly erroneous." The denial only strengthened the rumor. Quite probably Rome was considering the first bishop of Portland for greater honors when he died.1
The Catholics of the diocese of Portland sadly prepared to receive the body of their bishop. The day after his death the body had been removed to the house of the Sisters of Mercy on Twelfth Street and there many bishops, clerics, and friends paid their last respects. That evening at seven the casket was taken to the Grand Central station for the trip to Portland. On the morning of the seventh, the Portland newspaper reported thousands packed the railroad station and nearby streets as the train arrived, and a procession accompanied the body to the episcopal residence. On Sunday the body was placed in the cathedral and a steady stream of mourners prayed at the casket that day and the next.
Portland was genuinely grieved by the bishop's death. The Eastern Argus called him a man of rare abilities, a fluent, forcible and impressive preacher with a mind that was clear and comprehensive, a judgment that was correct and a taste that was perfect. It would be impossible to "overestimate the amount of good he did by word and example during his years of service" in Maine. He had won the sincere regard of all and this was "well attested by the presence of a large number of our most prominent citizens of all denominations at the funeral ceremonies."
The funeral services were held on Tuesday. Eight bishops attended. Archbishop Williams celebrated the Mass, with the Very Reverend John O'Donnell assisting him. Archbishop
1 Six years later, on October 1, 1880, Bishop Michael A. Corrigan of Newark was appoint- ed coadjutor to McCloskey. Corrigan succeeded to the New York see on October 10, 1885.
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McCloskey preached the funeral sermon. He was buried in the vault he had prepared in the cathedral, not far from his mother, his sister, and three aunts whose remains he had respectfully gathered and transferred to the vault in the cathedral chapel with the request that they never be removed.
JAMES AUGUSTINE HEALY SECOND BISHOP OF PORTLAND: 1875-1900
F ATHER O'DONNELL, as Vicar-General, assumed charge of the diocese when Bishop Bacon started on his European trip and remained in charge during the bishop's illness in Brest. The bishop, however, evidently suspecting that he would not return alive, had provided for the administration of the diocese in the event of his death. According to the Boston Pilot, bor- rowing its information from the Portland Eastern Argus, Bishop Bacon had prior to sailing entrusted a letter designating the administrator of the diocese to one of the diocesan priests. In the event of the bishop's death the priest was directed to give the letter to Archbishop McCloskey, the metropolitan, after the funeral. Following instructions, then, McCloskey received the letter on November 10. It was in his hands when the Argus, describing for its readers the obsequies of the first bishop of Portland, let be known that a good but unnamed authority had informed the editorial office that the priest named in the letter was Father John Barry of Concord, New Hampshire. The bishop himself had indirectly divulged the contents of the letter by calling for Barry, and not O'Donnell, when he was ill in the Brest hospital. Barry had remained at his bedside, had watched over him during the homeward voyage, was with him at his death, and accompanied the casket to Portland. Eleven days after the funeral the Pilot reported that Barry was carrying on in the bishop's place in a worthy manner, and all references to Father Barry in the diocesan histories agree that
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he was the administrator of the diocese during the vacancy. The only one, it seems, who was not aware of this was the person who prepared the information for the Catholic Directory for 1875, for there we read that Father O'Donnell was admin- istrator of the diocese. Probably the two priests, Barry and O'Donnell, agreed that for the public record it was better for the Vicar-General to be listed also as the administrator.
The bishop's choice for administrator of the diocese could well be taken as his preference, too, for the vacant see. If so, we can assume that Bishop Bacon had recommended Barry both to Rome and to Archbishop McCloskey. It was the task of the archbishop, as metropolitan, to discuss with the bishops of the province the merits of candidates and to recommend a list of three to Rome. The Catholics of the diocese naturally preferred a priest from the diocese, and a native of Maine, like Father Barry, would be welcomed. He was young, only thirty-nine, able, healthy, and on friendly terms with the people of Concord, New Hampshire where he had been pastor for ten years. The likely successor of Bishop Bacon became a choice topic of conversation during the winter of 1874-1875 and we can be sure that all candidates were carefully scrutin- ized and compared wherever two or more Catholics gathered together. More than four months passed before all conjectur- ing ceased. On February 12 Rome appointed James Augustine Healy as the second bishop of Portland.
1. THE STRANGE JOURNEY FROM GEORGIA TO MAINE
Gradually the Catholics of the diocese gathered some bio- graphical data about their new bishop. Not many in Maine knew him personally. Winifred Kavanagh and her friends in and around Damariscotta were among the few who did, for he had visited the Kavanaghs frequently; most of the priests of the diocese had heard about him and knew that he had been
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a dear friend and companion of Bishop Fitzpatrick, was now a friend and adviser of Bishop Williams, and was pastor of St. James in Boston, the largest parish in New England. He was young for a bishop, in his middle forties, and they soon dis- covered that Rome had selected a truly unique person to be their spiritual leader. Indeed the choice had tremendous sig- nificance, though it was not fully understood by many at the time.
James Healy was of partial Negro ancestry, the eldest son of an Irish immigrant who had worked his way to the status of a fairly prosperous plantation owner near Macon, Georgia, and of a mulatto mother who was legally a slave. James and his four brothers and three sisters were also slaves under the Georgia law, and the African strain appeared in various degrees among the children: faintly but definitely in James, sparingly in Patrick, unmistakably in Sherwood. Since opportunities for a good education were closed to them locally and the father was determined that his children would not be deprived of this advantage, he sought the opportunity in the north. He discovered that they were not welcomed in northern schools, but he succeeded in placing his three oldest sons in Quaker schools, first in Long Island for the elementary grades and then in New Jersey for grammar. James was seven years old when his father took him north, and it is doubtful that he ever saw his mother again or ever returned to his birthplace.
A providential meeting between Michael Healy, the father, and Bishop Fitzpatrick of Boston changed the lives of the Healy children. The bishop told him to send his sons to Holy Cross College in Worcester, only one year in operation, and his daughters to Boston where his own sister would look out for them. In the fall of 1844 the four Healys enrolled at the college, Sherwood coming from the plantation to join James, Hugh and Patrick who were in New Jersey. That fall, too, the four Healys were baptized. At the college they were befriend- ed and guided by Father George Fenwick, brother of Bishop Fenwick, and the priest's kindness and assistance were re-
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warded by a deep love and lasting friendship on the part of the Healys, especially of James.
The Healys adjusted themselves to their new world remark- ably well. They were accepted by northerners and southerners, and although it was obvious that these Georgian lads were partly negro they were no outcasts on the campus. James was a leader in and out of class, and the diary he kept during his senior year (1848-1849) tells how normal was his growth and his college life; he had a good mind and this no doubt gained him respect, he was an avid reader and a keen observer of contemporary events, and he measured the abilities and per- sonalities of his campus companions and jotted down his findings, favorable and otherwise, in his diary. He was inclined to be critical and outspoken, and the diary may have been his way of controlling his bent for being outspoken, a trait he retained in after years. Although he was and remained sensi- tive about his negro blood, he did not suffer from any inferiority complex and he succeeded in forming friendships at college that were lasting. But the Healys did lack a normal family life, and the brothers and sisters sought compensation for this loss by developing into a closely knit clan, watching over and protecting each other.
James Healy graduated in July, 1849, as did his brother Hugh, and John Brownson, son of the famous Orestes whose conversion had disturbed New England, and Jack McCabe. It was the college's first commencement, and James Healy, on the score of his scholastic rating, was the first to receive a degree granted by Bishop Fenwick's college. He also delivered the valedictory; at times he spoke with tears in his eyes and he moved others to tears. But they were mostly tears of joy and gratitude; he had been thinking how good God had been to him and how grateful he must ever be that his father's path had in a mysterious way crossed that of Bishop Fitzpat- rick. The presence of the bishop in the audience was a re- minder of that providential meeting, but neither James nor his brothers needed a visible reminder of what the man meant
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to them. He was and would always remain "the tender father, the most wonderful among the illustrious Bishops of Boston."
James now started his preparation for the priesthood at the Grand Seminary in Montreal, while Hugh entered the business world in New York and assumed charge over the Healys in Worcester and Boston. The whole Healy family would have been reunited somewhere in the north if the father's plans had materialized; he intended to send the three children at home north for their education, liquidate his plantation and possessions, and then join them with his wife. But death sud- denly intervened, first the mother's and then the father's within a few weeks of each other in 1850. The Healys were now orphans, and Hugh returned to the plantation to rescue his two younger sisters, Josephine and Eliza, and his youngest brother, Eugene. They were not, however, destitute, for the father had protected his property by a will that was in time executed. James continued his studies, transferring to Paris for the last two years of them.1 In the meanwhile Patrick, graduating in 1850, entered the Society of Jesus, and Sherwood, after a brief adventure in the business world, became a seminarian in Montreal where the three sisters were being educated. There was no end to sorrows and troubles, however. Suddenly Hugh, so able, so generous, so tireless in his con-
1 Healy's negroid strain has sired some strange stories, and the strangest of all is the visit of Ellen Craft to Portland to see her relative who was the bishop of Portland, as reported in Goodbye To Uncle Tom (New York, 1956), by J. C. Furnas (pp. 220-222). The escape of Ellen Craft and her husband William, both Georgia slaves, with the help of the Under- ground Railroad, is one of the most exciting in the history of escaped slaves. Ellen (she was light skinned) managed to reach Boston in the guise of a gentleman-traveller, with William (dark skinned) acting as her servant. The Fugitive Slave Act (1850) made Boston, where the couple was the toast of the Abolitionist, unsafe, and they were hurried to London. Before sailing, we are told, she visited Portland to see her cousin who was the Catholic bishop of Portland. Furnas does not identify the bishop, but the reference must be to Healy; as his authority Furnas offers an off the record statement of S. T. Pickard, editor of the Portland Transcript, given in 1893 to W. S. Siebert, historian of the Underground Rail- road activities, and Furnas considers the story "good enough to be taken seriously."
James Healy and Ellen Craft may have been cousins, but the discrepancies in this story incline one to doubt it. First, we are told James' mother was freed (presumably by her hus- band), and mother and son (as if James were the only child) went to Canada where he became a Catholic. How James and Ellen were related is not explained. Then we have Ellen visiting Portland in the early 1850's to see James who is the Bishop of Portland. James was at this time a seminarian, either in Montreal or in Paris; not until 1875 was he appointed Bishop of Portland. If Ellen was his cousin, eager to see him, as the story assumes, she could have easily discovered where he was, for many in Boston knew. How- ever there is this posibility: Healy may have been on vacation in Maine with the Kavanaghs in Damariscotta, and Ellen may have gone there to see him. By the time the story reached Pickard, the bishop angle may have been added for those who like their stories well gilded; a good newspaper man, however, would have spotted these discrepancies. Pickard added Bishop Healy would not acknowledge this story; he had good reasons for his refusal.
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cern for his brothers and sisters, died early in the fall of 1853. He was alone in New York at the time, but James and Sher- wood, in France, were lonelier when the news arrived. Each death in the family brought the surviving closer to each other, and now that the burden of caring for the younger ones shifted to James his affection and concern for them became fatherly. They needed protection, too, for they were reaching that age when they realized that people, even friends, even Catholics, made much about the color of one's skin.
James was ordained a priest in Paris on June 10, 1854, and he was soon back in Boston where he was under the protection of his friend, Bishop Fitzpatrick, and where he could protect the younger Healys. It was not until after his ordination and his return to Boston that the slaves on his father's plantation, since his death leased out for labor, were sold. No young priest could have escaped disturbing qualms over that transaction; but for God's grace it could have been some one selling the Healy children into bondage.
Late in the year 1854, a few months after his return, Healy began his close association with the bishop that soon became for all practical purposes that of an auxiliary, first as the bishop's secretary, then a year later as chancellor; he became his constant companion and adviser and, as the bishop's health declined, assumed more of the burdens of administering the diocese. The bishop, by entrusting Healy with responsibilities, was teaching the Catholics of the diocese a badly needed lesson, - that talent and merit and virtue, not racial strain, were the measure of a man and of a priest. When Bishop Fitz- patrick died (1866) and was succeeded by Bishop John Wil- liams, Healy's status did not decline; he succeeded Williams as pastor of St. James' and became the bishop's close friend and adviser. This was the largest parish in New England and there he remained as pastor for nine years until his appointment as Bacon's successor. Sherwood was by then back in Boston and he, too, became closely associated with Bishop Williams. He had the sharpest mind of the Healys and was Williams'
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theologian at the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1866 and at the Vatican Council a few years later. Patrick was selected for high administrative posts also; in 1868 he was appointed dean of studies at Georgetown University and five years later, 1873, was named president of the university. One could hardly say that the mixture of racial strains had had disastrous effects.
The news of his appointment as Bacon's successor did not come as a surprise to those who had followed Healy's career closely. Both Fitzpatrick and Williams had made clear their preference for him and had given him every opportunity to prove himself. Whatever others thought, he had satisfied them. Indeed their esteem of him is a clue to his ability and personality. "I have no one," Fitzpatrick confessed, "who could do what he does for me." And Williams later admitted: "We were just like two brothers. No one was more dear to me than he." One can not lightly cast aside the judgments of these two respected men. But Healy was now on his own; he could no longer rely on the protection of sympathetic immediate superiors.
The consecration, Healy decided, would be in Portland. But there were many consultations before the date was set for the first consecration of a Catholic bishop in Maine. First, he had to consult with Archbishop Williams, for the diocese of Boston had been raised to an archdiocese on the day he was appointed to the Portland see and Williams had been elevated to the rank of an archbishop. This, of course, pleased Healy; now his dear friend would be his metropolitan and this meant that Healy's influence in New England would be considerable. His own consecration, however, had to be delayed until the pallium was conferred on Williams. Williams, in turn, had to consult Archbishop John McCloskey who had been named the first American Cardinal. Pius IX was sending a papal delegate, Monsignor Caesare Roncetti, to confer the red hat on McClos- key and the pallium on Williams. May 2 was selected for this ceremony. Healy decided on June 2 for his consecration. This
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meant a long delay, but he wanted a fine day for the event and he knew that good summer days were late in coming to Maine.
He did, however, visit Portland to get acquainted with his responsibilities, his clergy, his flock, and to arrange for the ceremony. The Boston clergy bade him farewell with a purse and kind words; they told him that his mirthful companionship at social gatherings would be missed and they recalled how his good work in Boston had won the praise and admiration of the non-Catholics. The Maine clergy also welcomed him with a purse and cordial greetings; though personally unknown to most, his name and his work were, he was told, familiar to all. They assured him that he would find the clergy willing and faithful cooperators in all his projects.
This assurance of cooperation was not, in their case, a for- mality. They were making amends for a public humiliation inflicted on Healy by one of their members. Since college days Healy had visited Winifred Kavanagh in Damariscotta; after his ordination and return to Boston he, and sometimes his sisters, would spend a vacation with her. He liked children and children liked him, and since this was so we can not agree that Healy with all his faults was a pompous person as Cardinal O'Connell in his autobiography asserts; children are not attracted by nor do they become friendly with pompous individuals. He became interested in the few Catholic children in the neighborhood and gathered them together for instruction in their religion. The pastor of St. Dennis' in North Whitefield, Father James Peterson, heard of this and warned him to keep away from his charges. But a personal warning was not enough; he had to protect his charges from the contamination of negro blood and so he denounced him from the altar. The incident is an example of what the Healys had to accept from their fellow Christians because they had negro blood in their veins. But it also reveals how deeply the heresy of racism had been accepted by priests and parishioners and how ridiculous the heresy was. Peterson, an Irish immigrant, was considered by the Anglo-Saxon minded Yankees as one of the innumerable
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