USA > New Jersey > The Catholic Church in New Jersey > Part 39
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prompted Bishop Corrigan, after having taken legal advice, to send a personal letter to the priests of the diocese, in which he recommended them to influence their people to strike out the ob- jectionable clause, "or, better still, to make assurance doubly cer- tain, let them strike out the whole ballot."
This letter unfortunately fell into the hands of the press, and the enemies of our faith made the most of it in their appeals to the large body of bigoted, because ignorant, voters in our State, and the amendments were carried by a large majority.
After taking the advice of Cardinal McCloskey, Bishop Corri- gan called a meeting of the executive committee of the Catholic Union on February 11th, 1876, and expressed to them the opinion that further efforts in this line should be indefinitely postponed, to avoid stirring up the rancor and bigotry of the non-Catholics throughout the State. This sounded the death-knell of the Cath- olic Union. The meeting adjourned sine die. The work of the laymen of the diocese for the protection of Catholic interests and the redress of the wrongs under which their religion groaned was at an end. But, despite all that was said and done, the Catholic Union accomplished a great deal. In our State institutions Cath- olics are allowed the ministrations of their priests, and in the State Reform School and state-prison there is a Catholic chaplain.
As provision had been made for the wayward boys, it seemed to Bishop Corrigan that the time had now come when a similar institution should be established in the diocese to carry out the recommendation of Archbishop Bayley in his parting address to the clergy of the Diocese of Newark, and which he had so much at heart because they were so urgently needed, namely, a Catholic protectory for boys, a house of the Good Shepherd for girls, and a large asylum for the orphans of the entire diocese.
BISHOP'S HOUSE, NEWARK, May Ist, 1875.
REV. DEAR SIR: You will remember that in his parting ad- dress to the clergy of this diocese, the Most Rev. Archbishop Bay- ley directed their zeal, in a special manner, to three good works which he would have undertaken had he remained in New Jersey, and which he had much at heart, because they were most urgently needed, namely, a Catholic Protectory for boys, a House of the Good Shepherd for girls, and a large asylum for the orphans of the entire diocese. Of these three wants, the last-mentioned is the least pressing, for the reason that there are already four local asylums in our midst which give shelter to some five hundred
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orphans. The Catholic Protectory and the House of the Good Shepherd, the want of which is a matter of sad and almost daily experience, have hitherto existed only in intention and in hope, but the time has now come when our desires and anticipations are about to be converted into reality.
With God's blessing, the House of the Good Shepherd, under the charge of the devoted sisters of the same name, will be opened in Newark on May 24th, the Feast of our Lady, Help of Chris- tians. About the same time the Catholic Protectory will be inaugurated at Denville, Morris County, under the direction of the Brothers of St. Francis. In both institutions, besides a care- ful moral and religious training, the inmates will be taught habits
CONTENT OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, NEWARK.
of industry and usefulness. The boys will be taught trades and the labors of the farm; and the girls to ply the needle, operate on sewing-machines, and be instructed in other similar employments suited to their station in life, so that in the course of two or three years, when the first expenses shall have been defrayed, both institutions in a large measure at least will be self-supporting.
The Protectory farm cost $30,000. It contains over two hun- dred acres of land, one-half of which is already cleared; a large brick mansion, in good repair, capable of accommodating at once sixty children; a neat frame cottage, newly built, with various out-buildings, barns, stables, and a good supply of stock and farm- ing utensils.
The House of the Good Shepherd consists of two large brick buildings, in good order, on High Street, near Central Avenue, Newark, in a most healthy location, and with two vacant lots ad- joining affording sufficient recreation ground for the sisters and inmates. The buildings and property cost $27,500, and will
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afford accommodations for one hundred children. It will be open for inspection on the 20th, 21st, and 22d of May.
The great difficulty in maintaining these excellent institutions will meet us at the very start. It will be necessary for us to raise this year a sum sufficient to pay the interest on the outlay, and, if possible, something on the principal; also a sum sufficient to defray the expenses of furnishing plainly and fitting up both houses, besides contributing to their support. We will need in all fully twice as much as is raised by an ordinary diocesan collec- tion. Year by year it is expected that these collections will pay the interest and gradually pay off the principal. To meet the wants of the occasion, I hereby order a collection to be taken up in all the churches of the diocese on Pentecost Sunday, the 16th of May. Instead of a separate collection for each charity, only one is ordered for both; but as both institutions are sadly needed for the salvation of souls throughout the whole diocese, it is con- fidently expected that the returns from every parish will be large in proportion. It is specially appropriate that the commencement of these great works should occur in the year of Jubilee.
I need not remind you, reverend sir, of the necessity which presses on us all, of providing a shelter and the means of reforma- tion for the many poor children of Catholic parentage who other- wise would be lost to themselves and to the Church. The Sacred Heart of our Saviour, during His public ministry on earth, has given us the most touching examples of tender mercy toward the wayward and the sinner. His parables of the Prodigal Son and of the lost sheep have suggested to penitents from century to cen- tury the hope of pardon and of reconciliation with Him. Our Lord Himself foretold that wherever His gospel should be preached, the name and the forgiveness of Magdalene would also be recorded; and it is not without significance that Divine Provi- dence, who ordains all things-even the number of sands on the seashore-should divide the station of honor at the foot of the Cross of Calvary between Mary the Immaculate and Mary the Penitent, and that of the various apparitions of our risen Lord recorded in the Scriptures the first of all was to her who had been a sinner. The whole history of the Church is full of examples of the efforts made at all times to reclaim the souls of those for whom our Saviour died.
Finally, I need not stop to remind you of the efforts vainly made thus far in the Legislature of this State to obtain freedom of conscience for the unfortunate Catholic children confined in the State Reform Schools. With a bigotry which, if it proceed from honest conviction, argues an amount of ignorance which to our minds is simply astounding, the petition to grant liberty of religious worship to those confined in prisons, reformatories, and similar institutions has been shamefully rejected by men who claim to be enlightened enough to ask our suffrages that they may make our laws; men in whose minds, if we may judge from their actions, liberty of conscience means liberty for them and
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intolerance for their Catholic fellow-citizens. I merely allude to this utter want of fairness that you may say to your people that, besides the divine plea of charity, they are bound to support the Catholic Protectory in self-defence and in protection of the natural rights of their children, lest, should they have the misfortune to enter a State reform school, they be compelled to attend regularly to religious exercises that their conscience must indignantly reject.
Please explain this matter plainly and clearly to your flock; make them understand that, relying on little or no help from with- out, we must build and maintain our own institutions. We pay our taxes for Protestant reformatories, but we must support our own,
Many a bruised heart will be consoled that we have at length a home where wayward children, often the victims of circum- stances or of temptation more than of wilful crime, may be sent for protection without running the risk of losing their faith and of endangering that without which it will "profit a man nothing to gain the whole world."
I rely upon your zeal for souls and our holy religion to do all that you can to promote these good works, and I trust that we may all have the satisfaction of feeling at our last moment that no soul has perished through any fault of ours.
The returns of the collections will be made as soon as possible to the Very Rev. G. H. Doane, V.G.
I remain, Rev. Dear Sir, With kind regards,
Very truly yours in Christ, MICHAEL, Bishop of Newark.
The attention of Bishop Corrigan was called in October, 1875, to the number of Italian Catholic immigrants who had located in his episcopal city. Bishop Corrigan commissioned the Rev. Jos. Borghese, an assistant at the cathedral, to take the census of the Italian Catholics of Newark, with the result that they were found to number 235 in all.
In April, 1876, owing to the rapid growth of Catholicity throughout the State, and the difficulty of giving the Catholics spread over this vast territory the necessary care and supervision, Bishop Corrigan began to consider the division of the diocese, and the separation of the southern part into a distinct diocese, with Trenton as the episcopal city. On the 26th of the same month Seton Hall received as a guest His Eminence Cardinal McCloskey, who had been prostrated with an attack of malaria, and was advised by his physicians to seek rest and restoration of health in the mountains. His Eminence remained five weeks and returned to New York entirely restored.
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In the spring of this same year an event occurred which greatly troubled the Catholics of Hudson County. A railroad company, desirous of shortening its line, sought to obtain a strip of the Hudson County Catholic Cemetery. Without seeking to familiarize himself with the exact conditions prevalent there, Bishop Corrigan gave his consent to the proposed sale. Unfor- tunately the section to be sold had been used for the interment of the poorer classes. The Catholics were greatly agitated. Meet- ings were held in which their indignation was voiced, and protests were passed against the desecration of the dead. Both the bishop and the company were forced to retire from their positions.
On May 8th, 1878, an important synod of the clergy of the diocese was held in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Newark, and lasted two days. Many matters were discussed, and the legislation of former synods supplemented here and there by extracts from the Council of Baltimore and more recent decisions of the Holy See.
The establishment of the House of the Good Shepherd in Newark and the Catholic Protectory in Denville proved a great financial burden. To meet the obligations of these institutions Bishop Corrigan was obliged to use temporarily the "Peter's pence " collection taken up in the diocese, and as he was about to make his visitation ad limina, and consequently to lay at the feet of the Holy Father the sums collected from the faithful, he was at a loss whence to obtain the moneys. A young priest attached to the cathedral staff, the Rev. John A. Sheppard, suggested to Bishop Corrigan the advisability of establishing in the Diocese of Newark a union similar to that organized in New York City by the Rev. Father Drumgoole.
The many solicitors for this noble work in the city of Newark, and chief among them a most worthy and devout matron, Mrs. Bridget Maher, had repeatedly urged Father Sheppard to induce the bishop to establish a similar union in Newark for the Denville protectory.
With considerable misgivings and assured that no possible loss would accrue to the diocese Bishop Corrigan gave a somewhat reluctant consent. This was the initial movement of the " Sacred Heart Union," which from that day to this has accomplished so much of good for the support of the boys, not only in Denville, but in the present well-appointed and admirably conducted pro- tectory at Arlington. It is but just to allow the founder of this admirable work to make known the success of his first efforts.
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The following words were printed in the first number of The Sacred Heart Union by Father Sheppard, who outlines the scope of the work and details the results of the first efforts:
OUR PRESENT SUCCESS.
We have been anxiously awaiting the day when we could put this little sheet into the hands of our many friends. We have been wanting to thank them for their efforts, and we have been wanting to say to them that their efforts have always filled us with courage. They assured us that we were engaged in a popular work, and that the people themselves would see to it that the work should go on and prosper.
Our first undertaking to pay off the debt that has accumulated upon our protectory, so that in time we might be able to throw its doors wide open to all that would be offered us or recommended to us for reformation, we need scarcely say that the task seemed a heavy one, nay, an impractical one; but the kind words of our good bishop, since made Coadjutor-Archbishop of New York, filled us with hope. In his pastoral letter addressed to the clergy he recommended, among other things, this institution to their special care. This was sufficient, for we knew that a word from him to the priests who ever loved him would guarantee our success.
The clergy, almost without exception, thanks to their kindness and generosity, though they were struggling under heavy debts of their own, gave us their assistance and bade us, each one in his own parish, God-speed.
A word from the clergy, and the laity were ready and willing to pay their mite of twenty-five cents, while others, more charita- bly inclined, sent us their donations.
Three gentlemen particularly we must mention for their kind- ness in rendering us assistance as soon as they heard there was a united effort in our midst to give our many wandering boys a chance of bettering their condition. These were the Rev. P. L. Connolly, of Amboy; Dr. Morrogh, of New Brunswick ; and D. F. Cooney, of Jersey City. We have not asked permission of these gentlemen to use their names, but we thought their example worthy of imitation, and we saw no better opportunity of present- ing our thanks in a manner worthy of their offering.
Our efforts this year were even more successful than we looked for, and we have to state for the satisfaction of our mem- bers that we have been enabled by their offerings to reduce the debt $7,000, to pay insurance, interest on mortgages, the salary of brothers who are in charge, the expenses of a visiting clergy- man, and our bills for printing cards of membership to the union, making in all a total of nearly $10,000 raised during the last year.
The coming year we will expect our solicitors to again favor us with their valuable and duly appreciated services. Faithfully
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and energetically indeed have they labored, and we pray God to grant them their reward. One letter we shall never forget. It was from an old gentleman in a country district. He sent us returns, telling us at the same time of the miles that he was obliged to walk through the warm sultry days of July in order to raise the sum he had forwarded. We could not help admiring his earnestness and thinking to ourselves that the good angels of God must have looked down upon his footsteps and registered them in heaven for that great day of reckoning when time for him will be no more. Think over it, kind reader: if, in every city where there are people who have leisure, some would make it their business, like this good man, to go among their friends and collect the small sum that is asked for, how much good might be effected in our midst !
There are to-day children in every city in our State, young boys showing signs of intelligence, who would be able to go through the world with success, were it not that they are thrown upon the streets, where they contract vicious habits that grow upon them and that make them in time useless members of society and a disgrace to their religion. The object of our union is to lay hold of such boys, to give them a proper idea of themselves, to make them feel that they are not neglected, that society regards them as its members, and that the Church particularly considers them her children. But this object, praiseworthy though it may be, can never be accomplished unless there be united and untiring action upon the part of the members. Hence let us set ourselves to work with earnestness, with the thought that there are hun- dreds in our midst whom we may aid in the salvation of their souls.
Often during the past year have they been brought to us and we have been asked to take them and send them to the protec- tory, where they might learn their religion and be schooled in a way that would be of profit to them in the future. Thanks to God, we have been able to receive some, but others we were obliged to send away. We did the very best we could. Those we thought could be looked after by their parents we refused, while others we received. Many indeed there were that we would have wished to receive, but in our present crippled condition we found it impossible.
To-day our house is full and the good brothers in charge are doing as well as can be expected for the present. In time, when our debt has been paid, we hope to be able to offer a home to our boys similar to that described in another column under the head- ing of "Artane's Industrial School." Read that article; it will afford you much pleasure, and without doubt you will be led to believe that what has been accomplished beyond the ocean may likewise be done here, if we only exert ourselves. We certainly should do as much for our boys, if not more, than they are doing abroad. We have more people of means, and the poorest of us is able to do something, be it ever so little. We trust then that this
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small sheet will not be put into your hands in vain. We speak in behalf of the poor, asking you to assist them; in behalf of the children who are going about our streets, looking for the care that parents, if living, would grant them.
We beg from you for these children. We wish to give them a home, to provide for their wants, to see that they are instructed in their religion, to give them an idea of how they must meet the world and succeed in it. Doubtless many men there are to-day filling positions in society who, if they had been left to the care of a cold, selfish world, would be on our streets, doing no good and capable of much mischief.
NEWSBOYS' LODGING HOUSE.
A year has already gone by since we had the pleasure of ad- dressing our many friends in behalf of the Sacred Heart Union. It has been a year of joy for the Diocese of Newark.
It affords us no little pleasure to say to our members that his Lordship fully appreciates the services of the Sacred Heart Union, and, in his circular letter of November 26th to the clergy of the diocese, states that the "money contributed by the mem- bers of the Union has helped materially to sustain the protectory, and has gone far toward liquidating the debt on the same." He therefore "bespeaks for it the same zeal and interest that have been so beautifully and charitably manifested in the past by the reverend clergy and laity of the diocese." With such words of encouragement, coming as they do from our bishop, we feel assured that the clergy will do all in their power to favor our interests, and that the laity will not be appealed to in vain, while whatever of time and of labor can be spared by the director of the Union apart from his other duties will be given unremittingly to the charitable work in which we are engaged.
It will assuredly be most stimulating to our solicitors to know that our gross receipts for 1881, through their labors, have been about $13,000. With this we are enabled to pay off $8,000 of the debt, make some improvements about the protectory, pay the salary of those in charge, beside that of a resident clergyman, interest on mortgages, insurance, etc., and furnish our members with 50,000 copies of our Sacred Heart Union and an equal num- ber of cards of membership, and this all through the small offer- 44
ing of 25 cents.
In June, 1880, Bishop Corrigan introduced into the city of Newark a community of Dominican nuns whose lives are devoted to the perpetual adoration of the most Blessed Sacrament. Four sisters arrived in Newark from the Dominican monastery of the Blessed Sacrament at Oullins, near Lyons, in France. Of these two were French and two were Americans who had entered the 28
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convent in view of this present foundation. The Rev. Mother Mary of Jesus, one of the two Americans, was the first prioress of the new community. She remained in office until 1889, when Bishop Corrigan called for a foundation in his archdiocese. Ac- cordingly Mother Mary of Jesus with seven sisters left Newark to open another convent of perpetual adoration at Hunt's Point, N. Y.
Sister Mary Immanuel then became prioress and has remained in office ever since. During the priorate of Mother Mary of Jesus the present monastery on Thirteenth Avenue was built. Here the Blessed Sacrament is perpetually exposed and the chapel is opened to the faithful every day from five o'clock in the morn- ing until half-past eight in the evening. During the night as well as during the day the enclosed sisters succeed each other by fours and threes, hour by hour, keeping watch before our Eucharistic God. The community is composed of choir nuns, lay sisters, and outside sisters; these latter attend to all the outside business of the monastery.
St. Mary's Church, Paterson, N. J.
ST. MARY'S CHURCH was founded by Very Rev. Dean McNul- ty, present rector of St. John's Church. On June 18th, 1872, eight lots were purchased, four on Sherman Avenue and four on Wayne Avenue. The corner-stone of the new church, a two-story brick building, forty feet wide by one hundred feet long, was laid October 12th, 1873. The church was dedicated May 9th and the first Mass was said August 9th, 1875. In the same year, Septem- ber 14th, the Dominican Sisters from Second Street, New York, came to teach school. For six years the new parish was attended by the priests of St. John's Church, and in September, 1880, the Rev. James Curran was appointed first resident rector. Shortly after his arrival he built a substantial two-story brick rectory on Wayne Avenue. In 1883 Father Curran was transferred to the Arlington Protectory, and was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Walsh. The new rector did not remain long in charge, as death called him to his eternal reward February 25th, 1885, and the Rev. Isaac P. Whelan took charge March 6th of the same year.
Young and energetic he soon liquidated the debt on the prop- erty. The parish grew and flourished under his administration, and in a short time it became apparent that it was necessary to build a new and larger church. In August, 1889, property was bought at the corner of Union and Albion avenues, in a more
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central location. On Sunday, October 12th, 1890, the corner- stone of the new church was laid by Rt. Rev. W. M. Wigger: The new church is a commodious building of Roman golden-mot- tled brick in the old Italian style of architecture, similar to the ancient Roman basilicas, consisting of a nave and two aisles. It was dedicated the following October, the Very Rev. Dean McNulty being the celebrant of the first Mass. Encouraged by the generous support of the peo- ple, Father Whelan, in June, 1891, began the construction of a new - brick rectory near the church. When the rectory was finished the old priest's house became the home
ST. MARY'S CHURCH, PATERSON.
Rectory on the right.
of the sisters, and the old church was transformed into a school and hall. Father Whelan remained in St. Mary's until July, 1896, when he was transferred to St. Mary's, Bayonne, and was succeeded by Rev. M. F. Downes, who died March 14th, 1898. It was during the administration of Father Downes that the first assistant priest was appointed, in the person of Rev. Terence Maguire. The present rector, Rev. M. S. Callan, was transferred from St. Lawrence's Church, Weehawken, April Ist, 1898. Dur-
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ing his administration, besides reducing the debt considerably, he purchased a house and two lots adjoining the school for the pur- pose of building a permanent home for the Young Men's Lyceum, who were using the hall in the old school building as a clubroom. In August, 1902, ground was broken for the new clubhouse, which was finished in November of the same year. Father Maguire was succeeded, September, 1902, by Rev. William Carlin, who, in June, 1903, was sent to Montclair as assistant to Father Mendl. The present assistant is Rev. James Smith.
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