USA > New Jersey > The Catholic Church in New Jersey > Part 57
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THE Alexian Brothers' Hospital, a branch of the hospital con- ducted by the same brotherhood in Chicago, Ill., was founded in 1892 by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Wigger. The Alexian brotherhood dates back to the fourteenth century, and its vocation is the management of hospitals, insane asylums, and cemeteries, and, in some parts of Europe, the burial of the dead. They have four hospitals in the United States, of which the one in Elizabeth is the latest foundation. The brothers nurse only male patients, but connected with the hospital is a dispensary for the poor of both sexes. During the year 1903, 675 patients were treated in the hospital and 2,400 found relief in the dispensary. The gen- eral of the order and the mother house is in Aix-la-Chapelle, Ger- many. The province of the Immaculate Conception in the United States is under Brother Bernard Kleppl, Provincial. The rector of the hospital in Elizabeth is Brother Cajetan Theisen. The total number of male patients treated since the opening of the hospital is 5,015, and of outdoor patients 235,000. The hospital is mainly supported by charity. There are at present fifteen brothers in the Elizabeth hospital.
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St. Francis's Sanitarium, Denville, Morris County, N. J. (KNEIPP WATER CURE.)
THIS institution is situated in northern New Jersey, about seven hundred feet above sea level, in a mountainous region of superb and unrivalled scenery. It was opened in 1895 by the Sis- ters of the Sorrowful Mother, whose life is devoted to nursing and caring for the sick.
The sanitarium property comprises an area of about two hun- dred acres. From a sanitary standpoint its location is very favor- able, abounding in pure air, pure water, and a sandy soil which insures perfect drainage. The main building is surrounded by
$1 FRANCIS'_ SANITARIUM
KNEIPP WATER CURE DEVILLEMOSS
ST. FRANCIS'S SANITARIUM, DENVILLE, MORRIS COUNTY, N. J.
fruit and flower gardens, and the entire view of the extensive landscape is both gorgeous and pleasing. The ample grounds, comprising over two hundred acres, with their picturesque plateaus and wooded hills and varied attractions, and traversed by elegant drives and footpaths, afford the guests many and pleasant excur- sions. These natural attractions are amplified by various other means of entertainment, such as table tennis, billiards, pool, roque, bowling, etc., as well as rowing on the Rockaway River, a beau- tiful little stream which flows through the grounds. Numerous
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lakes in the neighborhood, one of which is on the sanitarium prop- erty, lend additional attraction to the scenery.
The institution is conducted solely on the Kneipp system, and inasmuch as it is not a hospital, only light cases are accepted, such as anæmia, neurasthenia, scrofula, chronic stomach troubles of a functional nature, convalescents, and especially those in need of rest and recuperation. The sanitarium offers no panaceas or secret methods of treatment, but aims to be a school where is taught a rational hygiene and method of living by practical demon- strations; with these are combined suitable water applications, by means of which the body is freed of morbid material. In this way health-seekers learn the essential principles to obtain a sound condition of mind and body.
The domestic arrangements are in charge of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, an institution which was founded in Italy. The Rev. Joseph Joch is the director and manager, and the resi- dent physician Dr. M. Schmitz, assisted by Dr. Joseph F. Som- merhoff and Dr. F. W. Flagge.
The Sisters of Charity, Gray Nuns, Morristown, N. J.
MARY MARGARET DUFROST DE LAJEMMERAIS, the widow of M. Francis-Magdalen d'Youville, was inspired by her director, the saintly Sulpician, M. de Lescoat, to consecrate her life to the ser- vice of the poor. Her early life and education had been watched over by her stepfather, M. T. Sullivan, or, in its Gallicised form, Silvain. In 1694 three devout laymen of Montreal had founded the General Hospital for the service of poor and infirm men, and placed it in charge of a brotherhood of Hospitallers. But the community did not prosper. This was the institution the good priest had in view and over which he hoped one day to place Mme. d'Youville. On the Feast of All Saints, 1738, as Mme. d'Youville with her little band was on her way to the parish church, they were greeted by an angry mob, who jeered at them in abusive language and even pelted them with stones. Worse still, the grossest calumnies were invented and circulated against them- their traducers going so far as to accuse them of selling liquor to the Indians and even of using it themselves. These calumnies, strange to say, were the origin of their name, " Les Sœurs Grises," "the Gray Sisters." The word gris has two meanings-gray and tipsy-and in the latter unfavorable sense it was applied to the good nuns. Many trials accentuated the first days of the founda-
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tion, but many triumphs came to console the foundress and her first companions. February 2d, 1745, Mme. d'Youville and her five companions signed the act of renouncement by virtue of which they renounced the world, consecrated their life, time, and toil to the care of the poor, transferred to them all their earthly posses- sions, and bound themselves to live in ties of charity and obedience under a common rule. December 23d, 1771, Mme. d'Youville, surrounded by her sisters, peacefully yielded her soul to God and entered upon her eternal reward. The process of her canoniza- tion has already been begun, and Mother d'Youville has been declared Venerable.
In 1823 a special ward in the General Hospital was opened for the reception of Irish orphan children. This was the beginning of St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum, Montreal. June 17th, 1847, a report reached the Gray Nunnery that hundreds of Irish immi- grants were dying unaided and unattended on the shores of Point St. Charles, at the outskirts of the city of Montreal. The superior at that time, the venerable Sister Elizabeth Forbes, in religion Sister McMullen, of Glengarry, accompanied by Sister Sainte-Croix, visited the locality and was horrified at the condi- tions she found there. She asked and obtained permission for her sisters to minister to the wants of the lonely and pest- stricken exiles. It was the hour of recreation when the two sisters returned to the community. The old and young sisters were gathered in the community-room, the conversation was animated, and from time to time peals of laughter broke out from one or another group. Taking her seat in the circle, Sister McMullen said, after a short pause: "Sisters, I have seen a sight to-day that I shall never forget. I went to Point St. Charles and found hun- dreds of sick and dying huddled together. The stench emanating from them is unendurable. The atmosphere is impregnated with it and the air is filled with the groans of the sufferers. Death is there in its most appalling form. Those who thus cry out in their agony are strangers, but their hands are lifted up in pity and despair. Sisters, the plague is contagious." Here the venerable superior burst into tears, and with a voice broken by sobs con- tinued : "In sending you there I am signing your death-warrant, but you are free to accept or refuse." For a moment there was a breathless stillness. Then all arose and stood before their supe- rior, and one and the same word fell from their lips: "I am ready." Eight of the volunteers were chosen. On arriving at Point St. Charles, three large sheds, from one hundred and fifty to two hun-
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dred feet long and forty or fifty feet wide, met their view. What a sight greeted their eyes! "I nearly fainted," said one of the sisters, relating her emotions on that eventful day, "when I ap- proached the entrance of this sepulchre. The stench stifled me. I saw a number of beings with distorted features and discolored bodies heaped together on the ground, looking like so many corpses. I knew not what to do. I could not walk without step- ping on one or another of the helpless creatures in my way. I was brought to my senses by the frantic efforts of a poor man trying to extricate himself from the burden of bodies which held him down, his face the picture of horror and despair. Picking my steps with care, after a while I got near the poor fellow, who, over- come by the efforts he had made, fell back-dear God, what a sight !- on two discolored corpses in an advanced stage of decom- position. We set to work quickly. Clearing a small space, we first carried out the dead, and then, after strewing the floor with straw, we made the living as comfortable as possible; but they, too, soon had to be carried out." Many sisters laid down their lives and received their crown as martyrs of charity. The traveller, as he enters Montreal, sees an immense boulder, which recalls this touching episode and bears the following inscription :
TO PRESERVE FROM DESECRATION THE REMAINS OF 6,000 IMMIGRANTS WHO DIED OF SHIP FEVER, A.D. 1847-48, THIS STONE IS ERECTED BY THE WORKMEN OF MESSRS. PETO, BRASSEY AND BETES, EMPLOYED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE VICTORIA BRIDGE, A.D. 1859.
When the Hospital of All Souls was opened in Morristown, September 5th, 1892, it was placed in charge of the good daugh- ters of Mother d'Youville, who still perpetuate the traditions of the community, and cherish, as did their mother, the sick and the poor, the needy and the afflicted. The first superior was Sister Shannessy, who died at the hospital March 11th, 1898.
St. James's Hospital.
ST. JAMES'S Hospital owes its origin to the generosity of Mr. Nicholas Moore, a former resident of the fifth ward of New- ark. Mr. Moore left about $25,000 for the purpose of starting a
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hospital and asylum for the residents of that section of Newark east of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The first trustees of the hospital were the Rev. J. M. Gervais and Gen. Theodore Runyon, who were executors of the will and trustees of the estate for hospital and asylum. In the course of time General Runyon resigned as trustee, and, on the death of the Rev. J. M. Gervais, Rev. P. Cody, the present pastor of St. James's Church, and Mr. Thomas O'Connor were appointed trustees under the will.
Massive foundations of the building had been laid for some years, and when the time came for incorporating the hospital the trustees requested the Rt. Rev. Bishop Wigger, Messrs. Owen M'Cabe, Patrick Brady, Capt. William P. Daly, and Mr. Edward Maher to join them as incorporators and members of the board of trustees. Incorporation papers were filed in 1894.
Through the untiring efforts and persevering zeal of the Rev. Father Cody the hospital building was finished. It is 200 feet long on Jefferson Street and 75 feet on Elm Street, of brown stone, four stories high, with a large basement under the entire building.
From subscriptions raised at various times Father Cody ob- tained money enough to get the building ready for use. His next step was to get sisters to carry on the work. He applied at the Sisters of St. Francis's mother house in Syracuse, July 26th, 1899, and obtained the promise of sisters to come in the fall; and on the feast of St. Francis, October 4th, 1899, the sisters took charge.
The hospital is for all classes and nationalities, without relig- ious distinction. It contains all the modern equipments and it is constructed on the latest scientific plans and of the best material. It will accommodate one hundred patients, and was formally opened for the reception of patients on May 24th, 1900.
A training-school for nurses was established in connection with the hospital, May Ist, 1901, and has advanced rapidly.
Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace.
THE novitiate for the United States is at St. Joseph's Home, 81 York Street, Jersey City, N. J., Sister M. Ambrose, superior. The sisters conduct establishments in the dioceses of Newark and Nesqually, United States, and New Westminster, B. C., Canada.
This congregation was founded for the training of girls for domestic service and all branches pertaining to housekeeping.
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The first sisters came to this country from England in 1884. In 1885 the home for working-girls was established at 78 Grand Street, Jersey City, N. J. The same year the work for nursing the sick in their own homes was commenced and has been done with great success. In May, 1887, the convalescent and summer home for working-girls was opened at Englewood, N. J., where overworked girls can spend a few weeks in a quiet and peaceful retreat. In August, 1890, a Home for the Blind was opened in Jersey City. In the same year the sisters were placed in charge of St. Joseph's Hospital at Fairhaven. In 1894 a school for the thorough education of blind children was opened by the sisters, aided by a competent teacher from the Blind Institute. In 1896 the sisters opened the Hospital of Mater Misericordia in the city of Rossland, B. C., for the benefit of poor working-men in the mining district of Kooting County. In 1899 they opened a board- ing and day school at Nelson, B. C. In 1901 they opened the Sacred Heart Hospital at Greenwood, B. C.
Sisters in the United States, 45 ; in Canada, B. C., I0; novices, 4; postulants, 6; houses, 5; pupils, 85; orphans, 218; aged, 24.
Number of sisters in the Diocese of Newark, 36 professed, 7 novices, and 5 postulants.
Sisters of St. Joseph, and their Establishments in the Diocese of Newark.
WHEN, in 1617, under the influence of Monsignor de Marque- mont, Archbishop of Lyons, the gentle St. Francis de Sales reluc- tantly consented so to change the first plan of the Order of the Visitation as to enforce cloister on his religious, previously devoted to extern labors among the poor and sick, the needy and the ignorant, the void thus created became speedily felt, and prelates zealous for the glory of God and the advancement of religion were impelled to found or urge the foundation of religious congre- gations that would labor in the fields thus left vacant.
Among those beneficent creations, one of the first was that of the Sisters of St. Joseph, founded in Le Puy in Velay, in 1650, by the Rev. John P. Médaille, a noted missionary of the Society of Jesus, and Monsignor Henry de Maupas, Bishop of Le Puy, who, as a member of the illustrious family de Gordi, had the happiness of claiming St. Vincent de Paul as his friend and confessor.
The "little Institute of St. Joseph " spread rapidly, and at the disastrous epoch of the French Revolution its houses were many
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and its members numerous. To them, as to other religious, the Revolution brought sequestration and destruction of convents and property, imprisonment, and in many cases death to the religious.
Under the patronage of Cardinal Fesch, a few of the scattered religious reopened a convent in Lyons in 1811, the superior ap- pointed by his Eminence being Mother St. John Fontbonne, who had been rescued from the guillotine only by the death of Robe- spierre. From this convent of Lyons colonies of religious began again to go forth and spread the good odor of Christ not only throughout France, but even into foreign countries. In 1836, at the request of Rt. Rev. Bishop Rosati, of St. Louis, Mo., six sis- ters came from Lyons and established at Carondelet, a suburb of- St. Louis, Mo., the first house of the Sisters of St. Joseph in America.
In 1847 three sisters came from St. Louis to Philadelphia, at the request of the saintly Bishop Kendrick, to take charge of St. John's Male Orphan Asylum. The community took deep root in the soil of Philadelphia, and in 1858 the Venerable Bishop Neu- mann decided to establish a mother house at Chestnut Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia, which was called Mount St. Joseph. On this mother house now depend about forty-five convents, contain- ing more than six hundred religious.
The community of the Sisters of St. Joseph was introduced into the Diocese of Newark in 1872 by Rev. Thomas Killeen, then pastor of St. John's Church, who engaged them to take charge of his parish school. Mother Mary Ignatius Ryan, a saintly relig- ious and woman of fine culture and wide experience, was the first superior; the colony numbered four religious. The academy, a pay school, numbered at first about forty pupils. In the parochial school there were about one hundred and fifty. The boys were under charge of a lay teacher.
Some years ago the pay school was discontinued and the sis- ters took charge of both boys and girls, devoting all their energy to the parish school, which at present numbers more than two hundred children, under four teachers.
The second establishment in the diocese was at Our Lady of the Valley, Orange Valley, under the pastorate of Rev. William Callen, now deceased. In September, 1881, three religious, under Mother Mary Raphael Mullen, took charge of his school, although for several months they resided at St. John's, Newark, whence they went daily to Orange. However, in January, 1882, their new con- vent being finished, they became resident at the valley. The
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school now numbers nearly five hundred boys and girls, under twelve teachers, of whom Mother M. Fabiana Farry is the superior.
When from St. John's Rev. Father Killeen was transferred to St. Mary's Star of the Sea, Bayonne, he asked for the Sisters of St. Joseph to take charge of the school, and Mother M. Angela Crowley and three teachers were sent to Bayonne, August 26th, 1879. The pupils at first numbered about four hundred; by the close of the year two additional teachers were needed. The school now contains about fourteen hundred pupils, who are taught by nineteen teachers, under the supervision of Mother Mary James Rodgers.
St. Virgilius's Church, Morris Plains, N. J.
IN 1882 Bishop Wigger detached Morris Plains and Whippany from St. Mary's, Morristown, and erected these congregations into a separate parish and placed over them as pastor the Rev. James J. Brennan.
On July 13th the Rev. D. McCartie, the Bishop's secretary, wrote to Father Flynn :
The absence of several rectors and assistants, who have ob- tained permission to travel for the restoration of health, has caused a deficiency of priests in some parishes of the diocese. In order to supply the wants of the churches deprived of this ministration, the bishop finds it necessary to distribute more equally the rever- end assistants who are at present available.
For this reason he is constrained to remove Father Whelan from Morristown and transfer him to a parish where his services are more urgently required. As the duty of attending Morris Plains would be too onerous a task for you unaided, his lordship has considered it advisable to annex that mission to the parish of Whippany, the revenues of which will be thus rendered more easily adequate to the support of a priest.
You are requested to furnish Father Brennan with all requi- site information regarding the condition and management of the mission, and to effect such arrangements as may enable him to assume full charge of it within one week from the present date.
Father Brennan entered with zeal upon his new duties. The fine weather tempted him to gather his little flock under the shel- ter of a tent, and thus the Catholics of Morris Plains worshipped their God as did the Israelites of old. On October 11th, 1882, Bishop Wigger wrote to Father Flynn:
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I hereby formally delegate you, and ask you to be kind enough to lay the corner-stone of the new church to be built in Morris Plains.
When the erection of the church was first contemplated, Father Flynn desired and intended to place it under the patron- age of St. Virgil, Archbishop of Saltzburg, one of the most illus- trious of God's servants, and likewise eminent for his learning, apostolic zeal, and ceaseless energy in preaching the faith and exterminating heresy. Fear- gal, or the modernized O'Far- rell, was born in the south of Ireland of a princely family. He profited so well by the teaching in the schools for which Ireland was noted that, on his arrival in France, about the year 743, he was most graciously received by Pepin, son of the great Char- lemagne, and recommended by him to Otilo, Duke of Bavaria. It is interesting to know that this Irish monk was among the first, if not the very first, to teach the existence of antipodes and - the sphericity of the earth. The fact is easily demonstrat- ed and comprehended in our ST. VIRGILIUS'S CHURCH, MORRIS PLAINS, N. J. day, but in the time of St. Virgil it was a bold doctrine to broach, and required unusual strength of character to stand by convictions so counter to all pre- conceived notions and to the erroneous views on cosmogony in full vigor at that period. He built a magnificent basilica in honor of his predecessor St. Rupert, in which he enshrined the relics of the saint and which he made his cathedral church. He was canonized in the Lateran Basilica, July, 1233, by Pope Gregory IX. In life and after his soul was freed from its prison of clay God set the seal of His approval on the virtues of our saint by the many miraculous cures effected. St. Mary's, Morris- town, prides itself on the possession of a portion of his precious relics.
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Father Brennan entered warmly into the views of his prede- cessor and decided to place the little church under the protection of this great confessor. For the first time in America did St. Virgil receive this honor. New interest was awakened in the history of his life and labors, and the descendants of his fellow- countrymen were quick to give him the love and reverence to which the servants of God are entitled, and which redound en- tirely to His greater honor and glory.
Soon after his appointment the Rev. Joseph M. Flynn sought to collect the few scattered Catholics north of Morristown. He wished also to afford the opportunity of hearing Mass to those employed in the State Hospital for the Insane at Morris Plains. Consequently, after due announcement, the Holy Sacrifice was offered on Christmas Day, 1881, in the parlor of Mr. Andrew Murphy, at Wilsonville, near the asylum, three miles from Mor- ristown and one from Morris Plains.
For over six months he continued the service, made collections, and obtained subscriptions to the amount of $444.68, which he used to purchase an acre of ground, at a cost of $500, on Hanover Avenue.
On June 14th, 1882, the Rev. James Joseph Brennan, recently of St. John's Church, Paterson, was appointed pastor of Whip- pany and Northfield. On July 20th Morris Plains was substituted for Northfield, and on the 23d of the month, at 10:30 A.M., he celebrated Holy Mass at Wilsonville as successor to Father Flynn, the collection being $1.53.
In order to accommodate some who desired a more convenient location he borrowed from the Morristown Catholics a large tent, which he pitched near the new church lot. In that frail and tem- porary shelter, which might be likened to the stable of Bethle- hem, he offered the Holy Sacrifice for the first time on the 6th of August.
At first in this humble sanctuary there were no pews, but a few boards and chairs; no floor but the bare ground, no carpet but the stubble of new-mown wheat; the altar was a pine table with the bare requisites for the Holy Sacrifice and a few fresh flowers. The people went to confession in public view back of the altar-table, behind a few hemlock boards.
On the approach of cold weather, September 24th, the hall of the public school was procured and used until near the close of the year.
Meanwhile, on September 28th, Rt. Rev. W. M. Wigger
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granted permission to erect a church at Morris Plains at a prob- able cost of $1,200. He afterward allowed a debt of $1,500 to be incurred.
On October 15th the corner-stone of an edifice, 30 by 45 feet, was laid in the presence of several hundred persons by Rev. Jo- seph M. Flynn, who also delivered an appropriate sermon on the glory and perpetuity of the Catholic Church.
Before the building was half completed the Holy Sacrifice was offered up in it, at 10:30 A.M., on Christmas, 1882, exactly one · year from the celebration of the first Mass at Wilsonville.
It was nearly another year before it was completed and dedi- cated to the service of God by Bishop Wigger, December 16th, 1883. It took a few more years to provide the necessary and suitable means for the proper celebration of the various offices of religion.
On December 13th, 1886, through the liberality of Mr. Corne- lius Conklin and wife, a large and more eligible site was purchased for $1,500, with the expectation of some day having the church, the school, and the rectory in close proximity. In August, 1888, the church was moved to the new property, which comprises more than two acres at the junction of Mountain Way and Hanover and Speedwell avenues, in the very heart of Morris Plains. At the same time the church was enlarged and a belfry and a gallery were built. Then the grounds were graded, laid out, planted with trees, and enclosed.
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