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 14
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Mr. Patrick Farrelly was the accredited delegate of this State to the Executive Committee, and was
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appointed on the Committee of future Congresses. Dean Flynn, Messrs. Thomas F. Clifford, John A. Carr, Peter Kain, M. E. Condon, E. T. Condon, Thomas Holton, Michael Norris, D. L. Fox, W. L. Fennell, P. Ryan, James Lawless were admitted as delegates, and at the close of the Congress visited St. Charles's College ; Doughoregan Manor, the home of the Carrolls, and the burial-place of the signer ; the Catholic University, Washington, the Capitol and principal buildings in the city, no longer of magnificent distances, but of magnificent edifices.
THE NEW RECTORY, 1890.
CHAPTER XV.
HE year 1890 was not only to bring addition- al improvements, but to demonstrate our loy- alty to country and veneration for the land and traditions of our forefathers. On Sunday, March 2, Dean Flynn announced at all the Masses that, with the Bishop's permission, he had sold the Sisters' house for four thousand dollars, and that this was virtually a donation of that sum to the parish, since it came to them from him as a gift. He further- more stated that a Rectory would be built on the site of the old Church, and when completed the priests would take possession of it, and the Sisters of the old Rectory.
Although the festivals of Irish Saints find no place in our Calendar, the feast of St. Patrick has always been marked by observances of both a civic and religious character. A century ago, when tolera- tion was breaking through the mists and gloom of prejudice, Erin's faithful sons dared rally round their Saint and do him honor on his festal day, in Phila- delphia, as early as 1771.
But when the handful of exiles had multiplied to thousands, when not scores but thousands of churches dotted the land, the celebration of St. Patrick's Day became more general. Shorn, perhaps, of its first touching simplicity, it has become more impos- ing with its added elements of banquets, poems,
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and orations. Morristown's turn came this year. After the High Mass the different Societies and school children gathered in front of the School to unfurl a flag from a staff, both presents. It will not be out of place to permit the local journals to describe the ceremony :
" The services for the celebration of St. Patrick's Day were imposing and interesting. High Mass was celebrated at 9 A.M., at which the Very Rev. Dean Flynn delivered a graphic and touching sketch of the Saint's life, and especially his mission among the Irish people. His remarks were addressed princi- pally to the children to guard them against the vul- gar fault of being ashamed of their Irish names, a fault which can only come from ignorance of the glorious history of Ireland, and of its loyalty and adherence to the faith planted by St. Patrick. After this service all gathered upon the terrace in front of the school building, where a pole, donated by Lonergan & Brown, had been erected. The pole is a very graceful one, some sixty-five or seventy feet high, painted white, and surmounted by a gol- den eagle. The school sang 'America' and other patriotic songs, and Rev. Father Flynn made a very interesting address. He paid a high tribute to the flag and the country it represents. Its referen- ces to local history give it an added interest :
" ' We are assembled to unfurl our national flag over our parish School, and it is with singular ap- propriateness that we do so on St. Patrick's Day. For here in Morristown was first given the public and official recognition of Erin's religious and na- tional feast day by the immortal Washington com-
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IRISH CATHOLIC PATRIOTS OF '76.
manding the almost starved and naked patriot sol- diers then encamped among our hills. He realized that among the heroes who were fighting the pow- erful British nation none exceeded the large Irish contingent in bravery. It was March 16, 1780, that in the orders issued by him General Washington directs 'that all fatigue and working parties cease for to-morrow, the 17th day, held in particular re- gard by the people of the Irish nation. At the same time that he orders this as a mark of pleasure he feels in the situation, he persuades himself that the celebration of the day will not be attended by the least rioting or disorder.'
" 'Let none sneer at your nationality or at the nationality of your fathers. Let none use with con- tempt the scurrillous epithets which ignorance and bigotry have heaped in the past upon the Irish. We are no more aliens on this soil of America than were the Puritans. Irish blood has been poured out free- ly on every battle-field of the Revolution, and be- hind yonder hills mingle with the dust the bones of many of the Pennsylvania Line carried off by fell disease.
" 'Do not forget that General Sullivan was the son of an Irish and Catholic father. Do not for- get that one of Washington's most trusted officers was General Moylan, brother of the Catholic Bishop of Cork; and that the father of the American Navy was another Celt, Commodore Barry. Let it be re- membered that among the signers of the Declaration of Independence, when it was by no means certain that victory and liberty were to crown the efforts, bravery, and sacrifices of the Americans, Charles Carroll of Carrollton signed his name and staked his life and fortune on the result. Likewise Thomas Fitzsimmons, of Philadelphia, who gave largely of his
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means, and commanded a company of Irishmen right here in Morristown. Furthermore, let me tell you that when Franklin was in Paris striving to enlist the sympathies of the French king in our efforts to be free, when everything looked dark and discourag- ing, when Washington had written him 'that if France did not send over her army the cause must fail,' it was the Pope's Nuncio, at the urgent re quest of the Catholic priest, Father Carroll, after- wards first Bishop of Baltimore, who succeeded where Franklin failed, and thus we obtained French aid in money, troops, and fleet, which together with the bravery of our own American soldiers culmi- nated in the victory of Yorktown. What was
Franklin's gratitude ? 'Convey,' said he to the Nuncio, 'to his Holiness the Pope my thanks, in the name of all the American people. We shall never, no never forget Rome!'
" 'Again, let me remind you of the splendid tri- bute paid to Bishop Carroll by Washington : 'Of all men whose influence was most potent in securing the success of the Revolution Bishop Carroll, of Bal- timore, was the man.' That influence would have made Canada our ally and one of the brightest stars in our banner but for the bigotry of John Jay, whose namesake and descendant is as conspicuous as his ancestor for his bigotry and hatred to the Catholic Church, to which this country is under a lasting debt of gratitude.
" ' In times of peace our countrymen and co- religionists have contributed largely to the prosperity of our land; and in time of war they have rallied to the stars and stripes, and have borne them high above the smoke of battle into the very ranks of the enemy. Shall we ever forget our Corcorans, our Meaghers, our Sheridans ?- Sheridan, the bravest of
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THE FLAG-RAISING.
the brave, who dealt the last blow to Lee and his brave army! Shall the heroism of the Sixty-ninth and Eighty-eighth New York and the Ninth Massa- chusetts pass from our memory ? Was it not the descendant of the Irish Catholic, Meade, who won one of the greatest victories of ancient or modern times, the victory of Gettysburg ?
" ' Children, love and revere that flag ! The cross is the' symbol of your faith, borne by
Catholic missionaries into every land. Your first duty is to your God. The flag is the symbol of your country, love it with the intense ardor of a patriot. Allied to your duty to God is your duty to your country. When gazing upon the folds of this standard remember the lives it has cost, the liberty it has won. God bless that flag! God bless our country, for fairer or freer there is not under God's sun! God grant that our Republic may last through endless ages, and that the freedom we now enjoy may be extended to countless generations !'
" After the address the flag was raised to the top of the pole by Messrs. Patrick Farrelly and James Lonergan, where it was greeted with three hearty cheers by the audience, and the school sang: 'Our Flag is there.' The audience then dispersed, and the Association marched back to the building. The procession both ways was headed by the Bailey Fife and Drum Corps, an organization of small boys from the school, which surprised and pleased every one with its good playing. Altogether the occasion was a very pleasant one, and may the flag of our Union long wave in front of St. Mary's School, and may the boys educated there prove as patriotic, brave, and self-sacrificing as their ancestors when occasion demands it !
" In the evening an entertainment was given before
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a large audience by the children of the school in their school hall. Among the many good things, the song and dance by the 'Old Folks' and the broom-drill by the girls of the school should be particularly mentioned.
"In the afternoon of St. Patrick's Day a few en- thusiastic and patriotic sons of Ireland decided that the day so auspiciously opened should be fittingly closed by a banquet. The dining-room in Piper's newly-fitted-up hotel was thrown open for the first time, and about fifty gentlemen, admirers of Ire- land's patron Saint, sat down to a well-served re- past.
" After the tables were cleared, Mr. P. Farrelly moved that those present organize themselves into a Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. His remarks were greeted with cheers and the sugges- tion was enthusiastically endorsed. A temporary chairman was immediately appointed, and the So- ciety will meet shortly to elect officers for the en- suing year.
" Rev. Dean Flynn was made toast-master, and by his well-chosen and happy remarks and with rare tact caused songs, recitations, and impromptu toasts to follow one upon the other until St. Pa- trick's night, 1890, was a thing of the past.
"The recitation of 'Shamus O'Brien' by ex-Coun- cilman Malley, and 'The Pride of Battery B' by Mr. T. J. O'Brien, were heard with great pleasure and received much applause.
"Toasts were given by the Rev. Fathers Carroll and Shannessy, E. S. Burke, J. E. Fennell, Dr. J. H. O'Reilly, T. F. Clifford, F. Danis, and many others, while the songs by J. Romaine, A. Conway, W. Kenefick, and others were also some of the features of the occasion.
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" After three cheers were given to the sentiments of 'Long Live the Stars and Stripes' and 'God Save Ireland,' the first dinner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Morristown was brought to a close."
The old Church and School, around which clus- tered so many varied memories of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, the first effort of struggling faith, the venerated spot in which so many had been baptized, confirmed, married-yes, and borne by loving hands to receive the blessing of the priest before the grave had shut them for ever from mor- tal gaze-was now deserted. Its day was done. It was to pass into other hands, to serve other pur- poses. Cornelius Holly bought it for three hundred dollars, moved it to the corner of Madison Street and McCullogh Avenue, and altered it into a dwell- ing-house.
The old foundations were used in building a low wall on the Madison Street side of the Church property.
On March 22 the arrangements for the erection of the new Rectory were completed, and the digging of the foundation was begun. The contracts were given to Lonergan & Brown for the carpenter work; Malley, Dempsey & Cooney, the masonry and plas- tering; Kay Bros., the plumbing; Thatcher, the painting, and Augustus Eichorn, Architect, the planning and supervision. The Rectory has thus been described :
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" The building is of brick and Waterloo granite trimmings. It has a frontage of 52 feet, and depth of about 65 feet. It is a beautiful structure, show- ing an octagon bay-window on the west corner and a tower on the east side, the front highly ornament- ed yet chaste in design, the roof-line showing a finish in battlemented walls, the entrance and win- dows vaulted and superbly trimmed with the stone finish, the upper sash of the windows showing a neat tracery and cathedral glass.
"Entering the first floor through ample doors, we find a vestibule and a hall 9 x 6 feet that opens into another that is 50 feet long, and runs right through the building from east to west. There is a parlor 12 x 16 feet, and a study for the Rector, of which the octagon forms a part-a cheerful, commo- dious room that will delight the heart of the occu- pant. Back of it, and across the hall, is the Bish- op's room, 14 feet and 6 inches by 73 feet and 10 inches. The dining-room is also splendidly propor- tioned, being 14 x 17 feet. The butler's pantry is 7 x 12 feet, and the kitchen 15 x 18 feet. On this floor there is also a fire and burglar proof vault for the preservation of valuable records.
"The upper floors are also well arranged, and the whole structure is an ornament to that part of the town and a valuable addition to what is a splendid church property.
" The building is heated by steam from the boil- ers in the school building. The Church is now heated from that plant, thus dispensing with all the inconveniences that sometimes attend a furnace in the basement of a house."
In Lyceum Hall, May 23, the Rev. Walter Elliott, the Paulist, gave a vivid description, illus-
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DECORATION DAY SERVICES.
trated by lantern slides, of the battle of Gettysburg, in which he had participated. At its close the vet- erans of Torbert Post, who were present in a body, warmly thanked the reverend lecturer for the pleas- ure he had given them, and alluded to the stirring scenes the story recalled. The Ladies of Good Help were the beneficiaries to a large amount.
The great national commemoration for those whose lives were sacrificed in the battles of the civil war and in the prisons of the South, for the main- tenance of the Union, did not appear to attract Catholics to any special observance.
Decoration Day came and passed, with its pro- cessions, orations, and crowning the monuments and graves of the departed heroes with flags and flowers.
The Paulist community in New York quickly per- ceived the opportunity to grace the observance with a religious character, and to set the Stars and Stripes closer to the Altar under the shadow of the Cross. The beautiful services inaugurated by them spread quickly to other churches. In this, as in so many other movements for the recognition of the Catholic Church in the United States, the Paulists deserve the entire credit. An humble effort was made here, if not in full imitation, at least within the spirit of their ceremony. Holy Mass was offered for the repose of the dead soldiers. A catafalque, draped with national colors, was erected in the aisle in front of the main Altar, and, at either end, a
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stand of arms stacked. After the Mass a proces- sion of the male societies connected with the Church, headed by the drum corps of school boys, was formed, and the line of march taken to the Ceme- tery. There the Rosary and Litany for the Dead were said, and at the conclusion ranks were broken. It was a touching sight to watch the different groups kneeling in prayer at the grave which held some dear departed, strewing it with flowers, water- ing it with tears. In time the long roll of the drum gathered the scattered ranks. Homeward the procession turned, and thus, it was agreed, the day had been appropriately observed.
Sunday, September 21, Right Rev. Bishop Wig- ger, D.D., made his visitation of the parish. On his way from St. Margaret's he visited the Young Men's building, and was greeted in the upper hall by almost the entire society. After some words of sound advice he was personally introduced to all the members by the Very Rev. Rector.
The St. Margaret's primary school had so grown as to require the services of an additional teacher. To conform with the discipline of the Diocese, the Sisters of Charity were entrusted with its care. In September the school opened with an increased at- tendance, under the charge of Sisters Petronilla and Rose Clare. The Chapel, which had adequately met the requirements of the nascent congregation, was now entirely too small. To accommodate their
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PHOTO ENG.CO.NY.
I. EXTERIOR OF ST. MARGARET'S CHURCH, 1891. 2. INTERIOR OF ST. MARGARET'S. 3. RESIDENCE-FUTURE RECTORY.
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REMOVAL OF ST. MARGARET'S.
elders the children had to be excluded. Moreover, the School required desks, blackboards, and other necessaries which the advancement of the children called for. The lot on which the Chapel stood was sold to Peter Kain, and the Chapel moved nearer the site on which some day, it is to be hoped, a nobler and more enduring edifice will be erected. It was backed up to the barn, the two buildings joined together, changed and fashioned into no mean structure. The downward trend of the land fitted the story under the barn in an admirable manner for class-rooms. For a few days, as the Chapel glided down Columba Street, the school ex- ercises were suspended, and only once was Mass dispensed with.
Satisfactory progress had been made with the new Rectory, and to such an extent that on St. Catherine's day, November 25, the furniture was put in place, and the priests took possession of their new home. The same day the busy hands of the Sisters and scholars enabled the former to be transferred from their temporary house to the more comfortable and commodious quarters of the old rec- tory. Early in December the congregation was in- vited to inspect the new building. All day long throngs of ladies passed in and out. In the evening the men imitated their example. Lunch was pre- pared for all, and served by the willing hands of the Young Ladies' Sodality.
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It is difficult to understand the ignorance which exists outside of the Church of all the things which pertain to its worship and dogmas; at the present day this ignorance is inexcusable. From time to time the reappearance of an old recru- descent calumny, long considered dead and buried, pains more than it surprises. But, while in the past it was deemed prudent not to notice, but to cast the veil of charity over, these uncalled-for ebullitions of religious hate, the service due to truth and fra- ternal correction demands to-day their refutation. The public is a willing listener, and inclined to show fair play. When Error, writhing in its wounds, raises its head, Truth must be ever ready to crush it. This preamble will explain the correspondence which followed a newspaper report in the Jerseyman :
"The meeting of the McAll Auxiliary in the chapel of the First Church, on Tuesday afternoon, was well attended, and proved exceedingly interest- ing. After Dr. Erdman had conducted the opening exercises and made a few remarks of encouragement and sympathy with the work, Mrs. Burnham, in an informal address described a meeting which she at- tended last summer in 'Salle Philadelphia,' Paris, dwelling upon the great simplicity of the entire ser- vice, the tender directness of the brief addresses, and the close, eager attention of the hearers, who evidently hunger for the 'bread that satisfieth.' Mrs. Burnham said that the question 'Why should America, the new world, feel that she has a religious duty to perform to the old world?' finds its answer in the contrast between the old and the new. Con-
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A LAMENTABLE ERROR.
tinental Europe is trammelled by superstitions to a degree that we, living in a Protestant country, can scarcely imagine. The Mass is the central idea, and although the churches are, as a rule, empty of wor- shippers, this daily sacrifice for sin is going on all the time, conducted by the great body of the priest- hood-in many places with a pomp and ceremony and splendor that reminds one of what we read of the old Jewish priesthood and ritual. Prominent in all is the worship of Mary and the Saints, the in- scription on one church being 'To God and to Mary, equal with God.' Contrasted with these su- perstitions is the worship of God in the Protestant churches scattered here and there through Papal Europe; but thousands upon thousands of the people, in breaking away from old traditions and beliefs in which they have ceased to trust, have no belief at all, and shun the church. To these light and hope have come through the simplicity of the Gospel, carried to them by Mr. McAll from Pro- testant England ; and it is the privilege of America to aid in sustaining the noble work."
"NOTES FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.
"In the report of McAll Auxiliary, held in the chapel of the First Church, published in your issue of last week, many utterances of Mrs. Burnham are calculated to provoke and irritate those who profess the faith which, in what this good lady calls 'Papal Europe,' she so terribly arraigns ; but her sex shields her. There is, however, one blasphemous utterance, which, as the spiritual head of the two thousand and odd Catholics in this city, I cannot permit to pass. I shall place twenty-five ($25) dollars in the hands of the editors of the Jerseyman, to be expended in
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the purchase of coal for the poor, if Mrs. Burnham, or anybody else, will name the church which bears the blasphemous, un-Catholic inscription, 'To God and to Mary, equal with God,' if she will furnish your readers with the inscription in the language in which it is written.
"JOSEPH M. FLYNN."
" RIDGEWOOD HILL, December 13. " Rev. Dr. Flynn.
"DEAR SIR: I wish to say to you that I had nothing to do with the notice of the McAll meeting as it appeared in the Jerseyman. I did not see it until I saw it in the paper, and then was shocked to find that statements which were made to illustrate the work of the society, and which were in no way suitable for the public press, had been selected as the basis of the article. I consider it outrageous and indefensible to attack any form of religious faith in the newspapers, and need not say that I am deeply pained to be drawn into a public religious controversy. It is one thing to express an opinion among those of one's own way of thinking, and an- other thing to publish it to the world at large. The latter I certainly never intended to do. Beg- ging that you will exonerate me from any such in- tention, I am,
" Very truly, "C. L. BURNHAM."
" MORRISTOWN, N. J., December 16, 1890.
" Mrs. C. L. Burnham.
" DEAR MADAM : I beg to acknowledge the re- ceipt of your favor, and in reply to state that, while almost everything contained in the printed re-
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A FAIR PROPOSITION.
port of your address before the McAll Auxiliary is controvertible, I had not in writing to the Jerseyman the remotest desire to lead you into 'a public reli- gious controversy.' I am not responsible for the published statement of your remarks. Either you have been reported correctly, or you have not. In the latter case a line from you will set you right before the public. In the other alternative either the statement made that a Catholic Church in Paris bears the inscription, 'To God and to Mary, equal with God,' is true or it is not. If it be true, the poor of this city will profit by the $25 I shall place in the hands of Messrs. Vance & Stiles, when you furnish me with the name of the church and the inscription as it appears on the church. If it be not true, I shrink from the very thought that a lady, a professed Christian, is capable of making a wilful misstatement, even in the name of religion, to em- bitter the minds of co-religionists against a very much misunderstood and slandered Church, one which your illustrious Dr. Schaff calls 'the vener- able Church of Rome.' Truth fears not the light. It bears the scrutiny of the few as well as the searching inspection of the multitude. To gainsay the truth is never justifiable. To pass over the strong injunctions of Holy Writ to maintain the truth on all occasions, allow me to quote from the ' Larger Catechism,' with which, I presume, you are familiar, page 310, question 144 : 'What are the duties required in the ninth commandment ?'
"' The duties required in the ninth command- ment are, the preserving and promoting of truth be- tween man and man, and the good name of our neighbor, as well as our own : appearing and stand- ing for the truth, and from the heart sincerely, free- ly, clearly, and fully speaking the truth, and only
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the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, and in all other things whatsoever, etc.'
"I beg of you to bear in mind that I do not charge you with any wilful, intentional violation of the injunctions contained in the above. I know from personal experience that rascally guides are plentiful in Europe ; and that they are ever ready to mislead the tourists who engage them, especially if they profess a religion different from the Catho- lic. But in a matter so serious, where a dogma of faith is attacked, where the faith not only of that particular parish, but of all Catholics, is smirched, then we are in justice bound to undo any mischief which a declaration of ours made in good faith has
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