USA > New Jersey > The Catholic Church in New Jersey > Part 43
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In 1882 Father Fleming built the rectory, and in 1884 the sisters' convent, both substantial stone structures in harmony with the architectural features of the church.
A pronounced school man, Father Fleming did not long delay to make provision for the children of the parish, and November, 1886, the pupils and their teachers were comfortably housed in their present quarters.
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Father Fleming was born in Ireland, and his early struggles to attain his aspirations were marked by many disappointments and by earnest and inflexible efforts. As the trend of his deeply religious soul was toward asceticism, he sought the severe rule and arduous novitiate of the Passionists. But his naturally rugged health gave way under the austerities of the religious life, and, although somewhat advanced in years and backward in his educa- tional foundation, he entered St. Charles's College, where his career in that institution and in Seton Hall was characterized by a zest and intensity which followed him into the priesthood.
He was ordained at Seton Hall on the Feast of the Patronage of St. Joseph, March, 1874. St. Mary's parishioners, Elizabeth, still are reminiscent of his labors and zeal. His work in Mount Hope, St. Leo's, Irvington, and Our Lady's, Orange Valley, has been already dwelt upon. Few founders of parishes have endured the pangs of poverty and self-denial which marked the first years of Father Fleming in St. Aloysius's, but always with a jovial, light-hearted gayety. With him self came last, and his heart and soul were wholly in his work. Nothing daunted him, and he was so full of resource that he might have taken up and accom- plished any undertaking. His premature death of pneumonia occurred in the early days of January, 1892. His successor is the present incumbent, the Rev. Michael A. McManus, promoted from the parish of the Sacred Heart, Newark.
Father McManus has erected a club-house for the young men, which was opened in September, 1898. The assistant priests of St. Aloysius have been the Revs. Charles J. Kelly, LL.D., M. T. Callan, Walter Purcell, P. Julien, G. I. Fitzpatrick, Brady and Brown, and at present Father Keough ministers to the spiritual needs of the parish.
St. Michael's Church, Netcong, N. J.
ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, Netcong, N. J., was founded Sep- tember 27th, 1880, and in the same year its corner-stone was laid with imposing ceremonies. Before that time the congregation worshipped in an old warehouse near the Morris Canal.
The church building is a frame gabled structure occupying one of the most commanding sites of the borough, and it can be seen for miles around. Its dimensions are 60 x 30 feet.
The interior of the church is very devotional. The main altar is decorated in white and gold, and its tabernacle is surmounted
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by a beautiful statue of the Sacred Heart Pleading. There are two side altars, one in honor of the Blessed Virgin and the other in honor of St. Joseph. Near the entrance are the Baptistery and the confessionals. The church has nine stained-glass windows. Its seating capacity is 260.
The first resident pastor of St. Michael's was the Rev. William Orem, whose labors date from 1880 to 1887. Father Orem was succeeded by Rev. Gerard Huygens, who after two years of service was followed by Rev. James H. Brady. Father Brady remained from 1889 to 1894, when the Rev. Joseph H. Dolan assumed charge. In 1897 Father Dolan was succeeded by the Rev. Paul T. Carew, who con- tinued as pastor until July 12th, 1901, when the present incumbent, Rev. Dr. Joseph P. A. M. McCormick was appointed.
In addition to the church building the corporation in its legal title of "St. Mich- ael's Church, Stanhope, N. ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, NETCONG. J.," owns the cemetery on the Flanders road, which was opened May 15th, 1889; the handsome rectory on Maine Street, which was completed Feb- ruary 22d, 1889, and Union Hall, on Prospect Hill, which was finished May 30th, 1901. A retaining wall three feet high fronts the church and rectory grounds, which cover an area of 26,000 square feet.
Rt. Rev. Winand Michael Wigger, D.D., Third Bishop of Newark.
A COMPLEX problem fronts a biographer, for every man's character is so many-sided and varied that the virtue which shines in the eyes of one may be obscured by a fault in the mind of another. Hence the conflicting presentation of public characters, which need not disconcert the student, but rather incline him to
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strike a middle balance between the two extremes, in each of which may be found something of truth and something also of prejudice. So manifold are the phases of each individual soul, that its very antagonistic emanations bespeak its Godlike origin and its infinite superiority over the other kingdoms of nature. The canon of Cicero, rejuvenated and emphasized by Leo XIII., " Above all things let writers bear in mind that the first law of history is never to dare say that which is not true; and the sec- ond, never to fear to say that which is true; lest the suspicion of hate or favor fall upon their statements," must be the rule from which it is never permissible to deviate. If, as a consequence, some of our idols prove to have limbs of clay, truth is vindicated and men take courage, contemplating their own weakness, in the conviction that the best of men are still mortal, and that they have not been exempt from that fatal inheritance which requires constant vigilance and effort to forestall disaster. Nothing, as St. Leo remarks in one of his homilies, is so good that it might not be better; and he might have added with equal truth that nothing is so bad that it might not be worse. In the year 1880 the rumor was widespread that his Eminence, the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal McCloskey, had petitioned the Holy See in view of his increasing infirmities to appoint a coadjutor with the right of succession. Gossip was busy fixing now on this and then on another as the candidate for the new honor, and the future arch- bishop of the great metropolitan diocese. It has been declared more than once that the Cardinal did not want the Bishop of Newark as his coadjutor, and that his name was not on the list sent to Rome. Be this as it may, it is permissible to give publicity to information acquired from reliable sources, and to tell a story long locked in secrecy. In this very year Bishop Corrigan's sec- retary went abroad, and among other places that he purposed visiting was the City of the Popes. Before his departure he had spoken frequently with his superior relative to the rumored pro- motion, and almost the last charge he received was that in case the appointment was made during his stay in Rome, and the choice fell on Bishop Corrigan, the secretary was to cable the one word " Charitas." From this it may be inferred that Archbishop Corrigan's name was the third on the list, as charity is the third of the theological virtues. When in Rome the secretary met many distinguished ecclesiastics, among them Cardinal Simeoni, and while he was not able to glean any precise information, it was evident from all that was said and heard that there was no
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chance for any other candidate. In this tenor he wrote to Bishop Corrigan a long letter, which necessitated a brilliant array of stamps, but it never reached its destination. Some one in the hotel, perhaps, tempted by the value of the stamps, filched the letter, as is not infrequently done, removed the stamps, and con- signed the contents to the flames. At a later day he wrote another letter, containing substantially the same information, to one of his fellow-priests. This was more favored by fortune, for it came duly to hand, and was read with considerable interest by Bishop Corrigan. "He is mistaken, entirely mistaken," was the Bishop's comment when he returned the letter to the owner. But while the vessel, which was bearing the secretary back to his native soil over the great blue ocean, was beating its way westward, the elec- tric spark beneath the water conveyed to Bishop Corrigan the message that he had been created Archbishop of Petra, and coad- jutor with the right of succession to the Cardinal Archbishop of New York. He left the Diocese of Newark in the month of October, and entered upon a career that brought him a wealth of honors as well as crosses and heart-burnings. The See of Newark was without a head. At that time there was no arrangement by which a Metropolitan might provide for his suffragans in case any was removed by death or promotion. A request was sent to the Propaganda to make Monsignor Doane administrator, and to give him the necessary faculties. The following letter of Monsig- nor Hostlot, the rector of the American College, gives some inter- esting details relative to this matter:
REV. AND DEAR FRIEND:
ROME, Nov. 12, 1880.
Your letter of October 26th has been duly received. As requested, I proceeded again immediately to H. E. Card. Simeoni regarding the faculties for Mgr. Doane; they having been granted.
I telegraphed the same this morning to H. E. Cardinal McCloskey, as such was the desire of the Cardinal Prefect. I called on Card. Simeoni two days ago with a cablegram from Mgr. Doane requesting me to send word immediately on the granting of faculties for administrator; but H. E. desired me to state that he did not wish the permission to be cabled, but rather to await the documents herein enclosed. However, insisting in the name of His Grace Abp. Corrigan, as you requested me to do, Cardinal Simeoni in my second interview allowed me to send the cablegram granting the faculties as referred to above. This explains the two telegrams.
One of the telegrams had an important bearing some months later. It was necessary to use a dispensation for a diriment im-
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pediment, and under the advisement of Archbishop Corrigan the acting chancellor cabled for it to the Rev. Dr. Hostlot. The answer was immediate and the dispensation duly recorded.
A rigid inspection of the chancery books revealed it, and it was made the basis of a charge for assuming and exercising powers unwarranted during the vacancy. A simple request would have explained everything, and much unpleasantness would have been avoided. It was generally known that the diocese of New- ark was to be divided, and speculation was rife as to those chosen by the bishops of the province. On his way from Rochester to New York to attend the meeting of the bishops, the old vicar general, Bishop McQuaid, alighted at Paterson to see Father McNulty. Many years had elapsed since his departure from Newark. Many changes had taken place. So that to the priests of New Jersey Bishop McQuaid was wholly a stranger. As they chatted the Bishop asked Father McNulty who was the fittest man in the diocese to succeed Archbishop Corrigan.
Father McNulty, resting his head upon his hand, pondered awhile in deep thought, and then looking at the Bishop, said, "There is only one man worthy to be chosen, and that one is Doctor Wigger of Madison."
When the bishops assembled to discuss the nominations it was agreed among them that a scholarly man should be appointed to Newark, to consult the best interests of the diocesan college, and hence the name of the Rev. Michael J. O'Farrell, pastor of St. Peter's, Barclay Street, New York, was placed at the head of the list for Newark, and that of Doctor Wigger second.
Doctor Wigger's name was placed first on the list for Trenton. The contraposition of the names then caused considerable discus- sion, and various groundless causes were alleged therefor. The truth is that among the cardinals to whom the choice was referred was Cardinal Franzelin.
With that racial loyalty which is characteristic of the German family his eminence, perceiving that Doctor Wigger was first on one list and second on another, contended, and successfully, that the more important diocese should be assigned to him.
At the end of the month of August, on a Sunday afternoon, the cable announced to Doctor Wigger, pastor of Madison, that he was chosen by the Holy See third Bishop of Newark.
Winand Michael Wigger was born in New York City Decem- ber 9th, 1841. His parents were natives of Westphalia, the father having been born in the village of Rape, in the diocese of Pader-
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born. The future bishop proved to be a delicate child, so that his parents despaired of seeing him grow to manhood. In the hope of benefiting him the family undertook a voyage over sea, and re- mained in their old home nearly two years. He made his classical studies in St. Francis Xavier's, New York, and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts at St. John's College, Fordham, in July, 1860. His theological studies were made at Seton Hall and the College Brignole-Sale, Genoa, and he was ordained by Mgr. Charres, Arch- bishop of Genoa, June 10th, 1865. On his return Father Wigger was attached to the Cathedral, where for four years he gave edifi- cation as a pious, zealous, faithful priest. His zeal never flagged, and in his devotion to the sick and afflicted he never wearied. In 1869 he was appointed pastor of St. Vincent's Church, Madison, made vacant by the death of the talented and amiable Father D'Arcy.
In May, 1873, Bishop Corrigan looked to him as one in every way fitted to wrestle with the difficulties in Orange, and without hesitation he obeyed the voice of his superior, and gave up his comparatively easy mission for the discouraging and almost de- spaired-of charge of St. John's Church, Orange. In less than six months he paid off $11,000 of the debt; but believing the task to be a hopeless one he asked to be relieved, and was made pastor of Summit, February, 1874. In June, 1876, he was again trans- ferred to Madison, and remained in comparative obscurity, re- spected and loved by all, until the voice of the Vicar of Christ called upon him to take up the cross and govern the faithful of the Diocese of Newark.
September 8th, 1881, the bishop-elect issued the invitation to his consecration on the Feast of St. Luke, October 18th, at 9 A.M. September 12th he issued the following letter :
This is to inform you that the Papal Bulls appointing me Bishop of Newark were received by me from his Eminence, Cardinal McCloskey, on the 30th ult., and that, after exhibiting them to the Rt. Rev. Administrator, Monsignor Doane, I have now assumed the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Newark. For the future, until further notice, all official letters asking for dispensa- tions, etc., must be addressed to me. My place of residence for the present will continue to be Madison. . . . I would avail myself of this opportunity to recommend to the prayers of the rev. clergy, and of the laity of the diocese, our President, Mr. Garfield, so cruelly stricken down in the health and vigor of his manhood by the hands of an unprincipled assassin. Let us beg of the Almighty that in his goodness and mercy he may restore him to health
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and preserve him for yet many years of labor and usefulness for his family and his country.
Bishop Wigger was consecrated October 18th in the Cathe- dral, by his predecessor, Archbishop Corrigan, and during the Mass Bishop McQuaid, of Rochester, preached a touching and appropriate sermon. There were present almost all the priests of the diocese, and the laity filled the church.
The first work of the new bishop was to revalidate some of the appointments made during the vacancy of the See, which were held by Bishop Wigger and his advisers to be irregular, "to say the least, doubtful as to their validity." In the month of November he changed his residence to Belleville Avenue, and a few months later to Bloomfield Avenue. Eventually he made Seton Hall his residence, and the college continued to be the home of the bishop until his death.
His first pastoral letter appeared February 17th, 1882, of which a few extracts are given :
BELOVED BRETHREN: The holy season of Lent commences this year on the 22d of February and terminates on the 8th of April. Appropriately inaugurated by the impressive ceremonial of Ash Wednesday, the period thus designated has been conse- crated by apostolic institution and immemorial usage to the salu- tary exercises of penitential austerity and religious devotion. The Church, in consonance with the guiding spirit of divine dispensa- tion, has dedicated these forty days, as the appointed tithing of the year, in homage and tribute to the Supreme Giver of all good gifts. It is hallowed by the revered associations of venerable antiquity and Christian tradition. It is enforced by the authorita- tive sanctions of ecclesiastical legislation. Its chastening and purifying influence is attested not less by the dictates of reason and experience than by the lights of heavenly revelation. This ordinance was the first positive precept immediately delivered by God to man in Eden. It was the first law promulgated to the remnant of the human race preserved from the Deluge when emerging from the Ark on Ararat to populate and possess the earth. It constitutes an important element in every system of religious worship which is not purely human or negative. It formed a distinguishing feature in the ancient Jewish covenant. It is comprised in the decree of the first Ecumenical Council, and was enunciated in the first authentic pronouncement of the Chris- tian Church. Pagan philosophy approved it on rational princi- ples, and the servants of God in all ages adopted it on religious grounds. The seekers of knowledge and virtue at all times have found it the most effectual means of subordinating the inferior to the superior nature of man, of emancipating the human spirit
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from the gross material bondage which enslaves its faculties and enchains its powers, of purifying the intellect from the dark mists which obscure it, and of rendering it buoyant to ascend in the bright dawn of science the loftiest heights of wisdom and truth (WISDOM, ix.) Its obligation as imposed under the Mosaic dis- pensation by the command of God was exceedingly stringent and severe. Rigorous fasts were enjoined on His chosen people, at different periods and on various occasions. This discipline inva- riably preceded the celebration of the religious solemnities and was an essential preparation for the reception of celestial com- munications, privileges, and favors. It was an indispensable por- tion of the penance which they were required to perform for sin. It was the recognized and prescribed means of propitiating the mercy of God, of averting his wrath, of invoking his aid in time of need, and of rendering him favorable to the petitions of his - suppliants. In addition to these fasts, abstinence from various delicate meats was enjoined These viands were denominated unclean. To partake of them under any circumstances was considered an abomination and a defilement. "Do not defile your souls, nor touch aught thereof (saith the Lord), lest you be un- clean. For I am the Lord, your God; be you holy because I am holy." (LEVIT. xi ) This ordinance was observed for centuries with scrupulous fidelity. The faithful Jews, as we learn from the Book of Macchabees, preferred to endure persecution, torment, and death rather than transgress it. Under the new Covenant the law of fast and abstinence was not abrogated Our Divine Saviour, on the contrary, confirmed it by his precepts and com- mended it by his example (MATT. ix.) His forty days' fast in the wilderness furnished a model and incentive to the imitation of his followers. From the authentic records of coeval history we discover that the observance of Lent, introduced to commemo- rate that mysterious ordeal of retirement and temptation, was in- stituted by the Apostles or their immediate successors, and gen- erally established among all Christian communities in apostolic times. During the primitive ages of pristine faith and fervor the prevalent penitential discipline, as described by contemporary writers, was characterized by a rigorous severity which to our lax indolence and enervated piety would appear harsh and extreme. Young men and old, rich and poor, matrons and maidens, sailors on the stormy ocean, armies on the tented fields, those who were occupied in agriculture or commerce, business and professional men, all, without distinction, engaged in those penitential exer- cises, and submitted to those rigid privations. The infirmity of age, or the delicacy of sex, or the hardship and fatigue of exhaust- ing labor, was not willingly pleaded as a justifying cause for exemption. (COLOSS. i.) They set before their eyes as the great model and ideal of Christian perfection, Him who is the Author and Consummator of our faith, and, obedient to His sweet invita- tion, cheerfully renouncing all earthly pleasures, honors, and pos- sessions, they followed the bloodstained footsteps of their cruci-
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fied Master, joyfully treading the rugged pathway of suffering, wearing the sorrowful crown of thorns, and bearing the heavy cross of self-denial and affliction. But, to them, the burden was light and the yoke was sweet, for their hearts were inflamed with love. These virtues and austerities were not confined to the anchorites of the desert, or the inmates of the cloister. They were practised by multitudes of devout people, who, though living in the midst of worldly society, and engaged in temporal avoca- tions, found time and opportunities for their devotional and peni- tential exercises, and could not be deterred by fear of derision or human respect from conforming to their religious convictions.
Many other persuasive considerations might be suggested to demonstrate the utility and importance of the Lenten fast. The foregoing, however, will be sufficient to convince sincere Chris- tians, and induce them to observe this precept faithfully and con- scientiously
A mere perfunctory compliance with the regulations will not be sufficient to secure the spiritual advantages of which the law should be productive. Our observance must be accompanied by proper dispositions, and sanctified by religious influences. Neither fasting nor any good work can be meritorious before God unless performed in the state of grace. It is only through the applica- tion of our Redeemer's infinite merits and all-atoning sacrifice, that we can obtain remission of sin, or expiate by penitential sat- isfaction the penalties due to our offences. Our first duty at the commencement of Lent is to dispose our souls, by sacramental confession and reconciliation, for the worthy reception of these celestial favors. The necessity of this preparation was, in the ages of faith, duly appreciated The period immediately preced- ing Lent was named Shrovetide, from the fact that Christians generally considered themselves obliged, during that time, to seek shriving and absolution from their priests in the tribunal of penance.
Hideously conspicuous among the prevalent evils of the age the monster iniquity of intemperance holds a fatal prominence. What terrible ravages are wrought by this ruinous and soul-de- stroying vice, what myriads of guilty and innocent victims are continually sacrificed, what irremediable injuries are inflicted on our paramount spiritual and temporal interests in church and state, what intolerable miseries are entailed on society, on families, on individuals, what dissensions and strife, what injustice and vio- lence, what hardened indifference to the tenderest ties and most sacred duties, what brutal inhumanity, what heartrending suffer- ing result from its indulgence, what appalling calamities are occa- sioned, what incalculable destruction of human life and happiness is caused, what vials of wrath and indignation are in consequence outpoured upon the land! All this chronicle of ruin and disaster is painfully attested by daily experience. No one endowed with the commonest sentiments of religion or humanity can witness without grief and horror the woes and miseries caused by the
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blighting influence of this moral pestilence, withering youth, defil- ing innocence, disgracing hoary age. No one can think of the havoc and desolation which it spreads around, of the wretched and untimely deaths which it causes, of the poverty, squalor, and des- titution which it produces, of the repulsive forms of profligacy, disease, and crime to which it gives prolific birth, without desir- ing to arrest its fatal progress. No one can behold so many un- happy beings continually sinking into the unfathomable depths of the most degrading social debasement and personal degrada- tion, and continually descending into that eternal gulf of torture, remorse, and despair into which it plunges its victims after death, without resolving to do everything that can be accom- plished by religious or human instrumentality to reform and save the drunkard. We therefore earnestly invoke the continued sympathy and aid of the zealous priests of this Diocese in the sacred cause of temperance. We ask them to promote as actively, and even, if possible, more energetically than before, this vital interest. We desire that they shall do so by frequent and impres- sive exhortations from the pulpit, by the organization of religious associations, by public advice and private admonition, by mutual cooperation and personal example, by discountenancing on all occasions the use of intoxicating drink among their parishioners, and even of liquors which are but slightly alcoholic, at church fairs or entertainments, and, in a word, by every legitimate means in their power not inconsistent with the respect due to their char- acter and ministry.
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