USA > New Jersey > Morris County > Morristown > The story of a parish : the first Catholic church in Morristown, N.J. ; its foundation and development, 1847-1892 > Part 11
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" Early in the Summer of 1880 the pain and weakness of which I had been complaining for some time began to grow serious, and I was placed under treatment. Our family physician, Dr. Van Wagner, of Madison, pronounced it a case of general weak- ness and dyspepsia ; the pain through my back was caused by 'kidney trouble.' I improved and soon
gave up taking medicine. In the Spring of eighty- one I began to fail again. Our family doctor hav- ing died the previous winter, I was taken to Dr. Lewis, of Morristown. His opinion was that I had 'stomach trouble' and needed 'tonics.' In July I was taken with violent pains all through my body and limbs, but particularly through my back and left side. Having sold his practice in this place, Dr. Lewis could not come here, but recommended his successor, Dr. Pennington, of Basking Ridge. He said I had spinal trouble and rheumatism round the heart. After three weeks had passed I was able to go around once more, but my body and limbs con-
179
JENNIE SMITH'S ILLNESS.
tinued to swell and I suffered a great deal of pain. During the Winter I grew real well apparently, but Spring found me losing strength once more. Dr. Flagler, of Morristown, was then consulted. After making a most painful examination, he said I had ' stomach trouble, slight kidney trouble, and needed tonics.' He ordered me to take plenty of outdoor exercise, riding and driving particularly. I followed his advice as closely as possible, but each time I went for a drive I suffered terrible pain in my back. I kept on with him till Winter, finding my- self worse instead of better. I tried Dr. Uebelack-' er, of Morristown. He said the medicine I had been taking was entirely too strong for me, and that I must not ride or drive, as the jarring only in- creased my suffering. He said I was suffering from liver and stomach trouble, and that was what caused such distress through my back. In some ways his medicine gave me great relief, but the pains kept in- creasing until the second of February, when I was prostrated. Dr. Uebelacker was very ill just at this time, and Dr. Voorhis, of Basking Ridge, was called in. When he came I was unable to rise from my bed without assistance, and after an examination he said I had spinal meningitis with other trouble. Al- though always complaining of my back, and never while under treatment being able to walk across the room to my bed if my clothing was unloosed, only one of the doctors ever said I had spinal trouble. I suffered great pain and sat up only a few times during the first few weeks of my sickness. The ef- fort caused me such distress and seemed to do me no good, so the doctor forbade me rising 'for a little while.' Gradually my limbs lost strength, and the pain, that never ceased altogether, was agonizing at times. My flesh was so sore that I could scarcely
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THE STORY OF A PARISH.
be touched, and when my bed was made I had to be lifted on the sheet, and the pains caused by mov- ing cannot be described. On March 17 I was placed on an invalid's chair which had been padded and prepared in such a way that it was perfectly smooth, straight, and solid. On this couch, without even a pillow, I suffered for three years, nine months, and twenty days, and no one, not even my faithful sister, who nursed me through it all, ever knew of the bitter agony I suffered there every day, every hour. No one knew but our Divine Lord, and He gave me strength to bear it all. During the early part of my sickness I was troubled with faintness, unusually severe pain, and great difficulty in breath- ing. While suffering from an attack of this kind, on Good Friday night, I was prepared for death by our pastor, Father Flynn. I rallied, however, and never during the three years that followed was I troubled with another attack of that kind. Dr. O'Gorman, of Newark, was sent for to hold a con- sultation with Dr. Voorhis. He said I might live that way for fifteen years, but did not say that I would ever be well. I did not change much from this time until January of eighty-five, when I was suddenly stricken with paralysis of the nerves of
the head and brain. My arms and limbs were drawn up, and, when conscious again, I was unable to speak for some time and even then only a word at a time. For three months I could not use my eyes, for raising or lowering them would immedi- ately bring on another attack, usually followed by vomiting, the effect of the sympathetic action of the nerves. After applying blisters and many other remedies the paralysis was checked. Later on ab- scesses formed on my neck and head, increasing my suffering still more. Different times my chair was
18I
RECOURSE TO PRAYER.
raised a very little, but each time it brought on the paralysis so it had to be lowered again. Strong bands were passed from the top of my chair to small pads under each arm; thus I was kept from slipping down, for when the weight of my body drew me down, it was only with great care and with intense pain that I could be drawn up again. In this condition I lingered until November, eighty-six-no better, and certainly weaker in many ways. In all this time I was never moved, nor could I even have my bed made. The way it was padded saved me this suffering, and the sheet had to be slipped from under me inch by inch by the hands of a most careful and tender nurse, my sis- ter. At different times we made novenas. I always felt that if I could go to St. Michael's Monastery I would be cured. My sister Mary was going to New York, and promised me she would go to the Monas- tery and ask the Fathers to offer the Holy Sacrifice for me. Father Albino instructed my sister to have me make a novena. I began the novena on Novem- ber 13, and at the same time I gave up taking all medicines. When I stopped the morphia the pain in- creased and was agonizing. The pain was not ordi- nary, but a throbbing sensation. On Wednesday the paralysis returned, and although my sufferings were so severe that while I did not seem able to stand it, yet the thought of death never came to my mind. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the pain was such that the thoughts of it now make me shudder. On Monday morning Father Farrell came by appointment to bring me Holy Communion. I was hardly able to make my Confession ; yet I de- sired to make a general Confession. Father Farrell would not allow me at first, as he thought I was too weak; but as I insisted he finally consented. I
IS2
THE STORY OF A PARISH.
made my general Confession and received Holy Communion. When Father Farrell had gone away my sister Mary brought me a glass of water, and a light breakfast. This I took; and when she had taken the dishes away. I said, I am going to try to get up. She did not know how to advise me. Her eyes filled with tears, and as she gave me her hand I raised myself with as much apparent strength as ever. I felt no pain. Neither of us for a moment could speak. She asked me how I felt. I answered I had no pain. She bade me wait until she called my papa and my brother Tom. When they came in I was sitting up and this appeared to frighten them. They knelt down by my bedside and said the Rosary together. Then I felt so well I wanted
to try to get up. Tom stood on one side of my bed and Mary the other, and each gave me a
hand.
I
pushed myself down to the foot of the
bed. They wrapped me in a blanket. My feet touched the floor. I stood up and walked two or three steps alone. and then I was overcome with emotion and nearly fainted. Joy at standing again, gratitude to God, overpowered me. It seemed all like a dream. As I was fainting my brother caught me and placed me sitting in a chair. They thought I was dying, and picking up the bottle of holy wa- ter from the Monastery, which I kept by my bed- side in my illness, my sister Mary put the bottle to my lips, saying, . Jennie, swallow some.' I did with- out knowing what I was doing. Instantly I recov- ered my senses, and walked alone to the chair. I was cured. My left leg had curved from the knee- joint. but now there was no difference between them."
On the second Sunday from the day of her re-
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A COMPLETE RECOVERY.
covery Jennie drove with her family, in spite of a raging storm and roads roughened by frost, to Church to make her thanksgiving. Unaided she walked to her pew, and unaided she went to the Altar to tell her gratitude; and into the Sacristy after the Mass to pay her respects to the priests. The sight of her thrilled all hearts with admiration and thanksgiving. It may be said that from that time to the present she has enjoyed perfect health and attends to her numerous duties without the slightest fatigue; and has never experienced a re- turn of her old symptoms.
It is time now to turn to the new School. Bishop McQuaid arrived November 24, and in the evening visited the Young Men's Catholic Association in their rooms. The parlor was crowded, and over the Bishop's chair was a bank of flowers with " Wel- come " in buds of brightest hue.
The Bishop was most heartily welcomed by the scions of those he had ministered to more than thirty years before. In a brief speech he expressed the pleasure it gave him to be in Morristown again and to witness the progress the parish had made. He told them of the usefulness of Young Men's Associations, urged them to cultivate a spirit of loyalty to the Church, and portrayed the ideal Christian man. His remarks were frequently inter- rupted with applause, and at the close he was intro- duced personally to all the members.
IS4
THE STORY OF A PARISH.
The morning of November 25, Thanksgiving day, broke with dull and heavy skies that gave no hope of clearing away. Bishop McQuaid was occupied all the morning seeing the old parishioners and re- calling old memories.
At noon Bishop Wigger arrived, accompanied by a considerable number of priests. When the hour fixed for the ceremony arrived the rain poured down in torrents. Under the shelter of an um- brella, undaunted by the storm, Bishop Wigger laid the corner-stone. On his return to the Church, which was filled with people, the school children, Young Men's Association. Catholic Benevolent Le- gion, and other societies, Bishop McQuaid ascended the pulpit and spoke as follows :
"I am come here this afternoon to assist in the blessing of the corner-stone of this new, grand school- house for the education of the Catholic children of this place. Thirty-nine years ago they of our faith who dwelt in this place were few in number-their resources not over-abundant, with much to dishear- ten them, strangers in the land, strangers from a far- off country, not finding many friends in those times. Thirty-nine years ago the cry against our holy re- ligion-against the race to which we belong, was heard on every side ; we were not welcome in the country. They bade us go to one side : 'Put your church in an out-of-the-way place where no one can see it : go on a side street, you poor foreigners-go on a side street and build your shanty!' But we were heedless of their cries. No wonder we were not much thought of-much regarded by the people
185
BISHOP MCQUAID'S RETROSPECT.
-no wonder there were so many spoke ill of us. At this time you had no church in Morristown. But why should you have one? The other church is not far off-you were but a handful-you were only a handful of people; then it was that this lot, already bought for the Church, but not paid for except with borrowed money-that this lot in the month of April had ground broken for the building of the Church ; the site for the new Church was to one side, so that here on the corner might be left the site for the future larger Church.
"There in April, 1848, were dug the foundations of the building for the basement. Some cried out against the excavations for the walls being seven or eight feet high. We were not to put the people to unnecessary expense-four feet would do very well.
" My answer was: These walls must be higher up to have a school. The walls of that church were built, the floors laid, the windows and doors hung August 15, 1848. And it was because the contract called for their completion on that day I chose to call the Church the Assumption. The Church was built in the following year, 1849; Bishop Hughes blessed it and preached on that occasion. In 1849, the Church of Morristown having been completed and the young pastor having no other Church to build-that year opened school in the basement of the Church at Madison; a school for the children of the people of the parish. The school when spoken of-many thought the pastor had lost his senses, for already they were wedded to the public school. In September, 1849, the school at Madison was taught for six months before a word was spok- en to the people about how it should be supported. In the following September, 1850, the basement of the Church at Morristown was fitted up for a
186
THE STORY OF A PARISH.
school; there was grumbling here-every one had a word to say : 'We cannot afford to pay the teacher.' That kind of talk was freely given. But the school- room was finished, the teacher was engaged and placed there.
" At the opening of that school there were twenty-five children present. In Madison we had twenty-four. Many children then walked two, three, four miles to school; there were children who came from Whippany to the Catholic parochial school. These are bits of history which I give you. I know that you will not blame me when I tell you that I feel prouder to-day-prouder by far, that so many years ago I founded and established and carried along successfully the humble Catholic parochial schools of Madison and Morristown, than I ever felt at having established and founded Seton Hall Col- lege and Seminary for the education of the rich or education of Levites for the Sanctuary of God. Your mind cannot go back to the memories of mine in 1848. The storm of the battle that raged against us had scarcely passed away; the smoke in the dis- tance still filled the country. We had gone through a terrible trial from 1834 to 1840, and then from 1835 to 1836 the discussion of the school question began ; it was one of the greatest minds that led the people-the great Archbishop Hughes, whose superior America has never known. Among men, no matter where you placed him, in the church, in the rostrum, before statesmen, no matter where he was placed, he was a luminary. And when the Archbishop began his laudable career we were indeed a despised race in the land, despised not because of what others had done against us, but despised because we had not the courage of men. We were indeed a despised class in the whole
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CHRISTIAN TRAINING APPRECIATED.
community, and we needed such a holy man, with such power of eloquence and such courage as Arch- bishop Hughes, to take the Catholics and give them courage and raise them out of their despondency. The worst enemies the Archbishop had to contend against were not the ministers of the churches of the land, they were not the editors of the news- papers; the worst enemies of this noble advocate were his own Catholic friends. It was his Irish Catholic friends that betrayed him-that stabbed him in the back, and many of those belonging to our faith did their best to hinder the Protestant people from rendering us Catholics any assistance. But in the days when the storm raged in the land I was a young man growing up, taking no part in the affairs of the world; but my ears were wide open to everything that took place; then came to me this great truth: If ever we are to hold our Catholics to the faith in these United States, it must be through the instrumentality of Catholic schools for Catholic children. Just at this time Bishop Hughes was defeated in New York City by the treachery of his own friends. Just at this time the young priest came among you. I used to look around over these cities which I was familiar with, I used to look at those boys in New York, everywhere crowding our streets, but not crowding our churches, and many a time I have had occasion to say to my- self : If God had not been kinder to me than to these, might I not be much worse? God in his mercy had given me the opportunity of a Christian education. Could I in common gratitude to Al- mighty God-could I not, then, try to gain children entrusted to my care, could I not try to teach them to know this same God by a Christian edu- cation? So we began the school.
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THE STORY OF A PARISH.
"When the providence of God removed me to New Jersey my first thought was to get these Sis- ters ; so I went to Mount St. Vincent on October 18, 1853, and asked for two Sisters, the first to come to New Jersey. And what a blessing they are! It is those women who are creating a Catho- lic atmosphere; the prayers of the mother at home are continued in the school-room. Who can take their place? You have this blessing in Morristown. " May God bless all those here and never for- sake them! Bless this congregation with added prosperity year after year, and all those who have gone before us, who are now looking down from Heaven upon the good work we are doing! And when to-day I looked down upon the old grave- yard on the bodies I placed there-when I looked upon that place where those remains are gathered up and removed to a more beautiful cemetery, the thought came to my mind: Those souls, now in Heaven, gladly make way for the Christian school that is to stand there; gladly resign their resting place for the foundations of the large, beautiful school-house; the saints in Heaven-for many holy ones I placed there-are now looking down upon us."
The services were closed with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and this ever-memorable day died out in mist and rain, as it had dawned.
On December 19 the male members of the par- ish were assembled, the new School Society was or- ganized, and three thousand three hundred dollars subscribed before the meeting adjourned. William V. Dunn was elected president ; Thomas F. Clifford, vice-president ; John A. Carr, secretary, and Dean
189
THE HOLY NAME SOCIETY.
Flynn, treasurer. It was resolved to have a certifi- cate handsomely executed, and given to each one on the receipt of the amount subscribed, duly signed by the officers, under the seal of the Church. Meetings were held every Sunday and contributions poured in abundantly.
The success elsewhere of Holy Name Societies prompted Father Farrell to introduce a branch among our men, that they might share its bless- ings and extend its influence in fostering a deeper reverence for the Holy Name and extirpating pro- fanity and blasphemy. Permission from the Rector obtained, he had soon enrolled over a hundred names, and on December 19 the Society was for- mally established with the approbation of the Right Rev. Bishop.
CHAPTER XIII.
HE great good effected by the guilds, which the piety of our forefathers established in the Ages of Faith, seems to have inspired the forma- tion of associations for Catholic Young Men. The danger of contamination from contact with those of different or even irreligious beliefs, almost wholly unknown in the Middle Ages, threatens now the spiritual ruin of our youth. To this may be added the new peril of " a little learning," enough to read but not to detect the sophistries which the press spreads out daily, the vaporings of error and unbe- lief. Then the grog-shop, the street-corner, the dance-hall, offer certain attractions and become a pitfall for the youth of both sexes. Hence the Young Men's Lyceum, or Club, or by whatever other name it may be designated, is to-day a neces- sary adjunct to the Church and School. Not indeed, as the Christian Association of other denominations, to supply the place of the Church, but to extend its influence, to interweave it in the duties and amusements of daily life, and, by its saving power, to shield our young men from the temptations which beset them on every side. The Association in Morristown had thrived and proved to all its ele- vating efficacy.
But it was merely a tenant. Every dollar spent was for the benefit of another's property, of which
190
GEEF
YOUNG MEN'S CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION
ST. MARY'S YOUNG MEN'S CATHOLIC ASSOCIATION BUILDING.
191
A BOLD UNDERTAKING.
our Young Men had the use at the good-will of the owner. A desirable property, in the very centre of the City, in the heart of its business, was put on the market. Dean Flynn invited the original mem- bers of the Association to meet him in the rectory January 17, 1887, and there proposed to secure a lot and erect a permanent home. It was thought that twenty-five thousand dollars would be the limit of the outlay for site and building. The gigantic character of the undertaking appalled one and all. How would they ever pay for it? There was not a dollar in the treasury. The members almost to a man were struggling mechanics, who could but little more than meet the ordinary and necessary expenses of board and clothes. Yet they saw that the Pas- tor's heart was in the project, and they were not inclined to oppose him. The motion was passed to authorize Dean Flynn to purchase the property. Once more the Messrs. Marsh and Craig proved the sincerity of their friendship, and accepted with the one hundred dollars, loaned by the Pastor, a sight- note in payment for the lot. When the news spread it caused no little ripple of excitement and wonder.
A recurrence of throat trouble again necessitated a rest from his pastoral duties. Dean Flynn was advised by his physicians to try an ocean voyage. After an absence of three months he returned in time for the duties of Holy Week and assisted in the services on Palm Sunday.
There is the contagion of good as well as of
192
THE STORY OF A PARISH.
evil. Once the rock of generosity is struck the waters of charity flow abundantly. Mrs. Patrick Welsh presented to the Church the Pietà from the atelier of Mayer, Munich. It was solemnly blessed Sunday, July 3.
Meanwhile, with the return of fine weather, the mechanics resumed work on the new School. A showery Spring, the fierce heat of Summer, retarded progress and fretted the Pastor, who was determined that the scholars should not go back to the old school, and that the session should open on time. He gave it his personal, daily attention and spurred on the contractors, who avowed that it was impos- sible to realize his wishes.
The contract for heating with steam not only the school, but likewise the Church and Rectory, was given to Edward Dunn, of Newark, N. J. The steam-fitters did their work promptly and well.
The beginning of September found the plasterers still at work and portions of the roof not slated. Steam was turned on to hurry the drying of the walls. The furniture was moved from the old build- ing, and new desks were put in the highest grades and in the primary department. On September 19 the children assembled in the Church, the Mass of the Holy Ghost was said, followed by an address from the Pastor, and the children took possession of their new quarters.
The interesting ceremony of the blessing of the new School took place October 9, with all that
193
THE NEW SCHOOL BLESSED.
pomp and display which are characteristic of Catho- lic ritual, and which appeal so strongly to the chil- dren of the Church, and impress alike the believer and the unbeliever. All preparations had been made to carry out the ceremony on the preceding Sun- day, but the lengthy ceremonial of the consecration of St. Michael's Church, Newark, prevented Bishop Wigger from arriving here in time, and rather than disappoint the Catholics of Morristown he pro- mised to come again, despite the inconvenience occasioned thereby; and kept his word, arriving at the Church about 2 P.M.
The ringing of the bell indicated to the societies attached to the parish that the ceremony was about to begin. The Church was filled by the members of the various societies, and little room was left for outsiders. The altar ablaze with lights; the little boys dressed in dark clothes, with red sashes crossed from the shoulder; the girls with their white veils and scarfs; the variety of banners; the soft light shedding its rainbow hues through the magnificent muriel windows, all blended like the colors on a canvas and presented a beautiful sight. At a given signal the Bishop, preceded by Father Farrell, dressed in the vestments of a sub-deacon and bearing the cross, acolytes in purple cassocks with lace cottas, came from the Sacristy to the Altar with Father Burke as Deacon. Here Bishop Wigger intoned the hymn "Come, O Creator Spirit, bless," which was taken up and sung by the children. After the sing-
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THE STORY OF A PARISH.
ing of prayers which invoked God's blessing on what he was going to do, the procession started from the Church to the School. First came Father Farrell bearing the cross, then followed the societies in order: The Infant Jesus, comprising the little boys ; the Angels; the Sacred Heart ; the Children of Mary; the Young Ladies' Sodality; the women of the Rosary Society; the Young Men's Catholic Association ; the Catholic Benevolent Legion ; the Rosary Society; and afterward the acolytes and the Bishop.
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