A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 130

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

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On the following day, October 18th, took place the Ecclesiastical celebration. It was held in old St. James', which had been the Bishop's cathedral for so many years, around which clustered all the memories of his early episcopate and among the people who had been his direct parishioners for so many years. Is it any wonder that "old St. James' was decked out in holiday attire?" At ten o'clock the pro- cession moved out of the quaint old building that adjoins what had been Bishop Loughlin's home for so many years, and which he left so reluctantly. The procession was headed by a Cross Bearer and Sanctuary Boys; next came the Franciscan and the Christian Broth- ers; these were followed by some 200 priests ; next came the Very Rev. Presidents of Col- leges and Seminaries; the Very Rev. Vicars General; the Rt. Rev. Monsignori; the Rt. Rev. Bishops, to the number of thirteen ; and next to these four Archbishops. When these had taken their places, Solemn Pontifical Mass was celebrated by the Rt. Rev. John Loughlin, D. D., Bishop of Brooklyn, with Very Rev. Michael May, V. G., of Brooklyn, as Assistant Priest. The Deacons of Honor were Very Rev. A. L. Magnien, S. S., D. D., President of St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, and Very Rev. Edward P. Allen, D. D., President of Mount St. Mary's College, Emmittsburg, Maryland; Deacon of the Mass, Rev. Thomas Taaffe, Rector of St. Patrick's, Brooklyn ; and Sub-deacon, Rev. Martin Carroll, Rector of the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn. The Masters of Ceremonies were the Revs. James H. Mitchell, Rev. J. A. Brosnan, Rev. J. J. McCarron, all of the Cathedral. The ser- mon was preached by His Eminence, Cardinal Gibbons, who took his text from St. Luke, x, 1-9. In speaking of the work of Bishop Loughlin His Eminence said :

"Do you ever reflect, my brethren, on the immense weight of monetary obligations that

has been resting all these years on the shoul- ders of your Bishop? During the last forty years, how many powerful corporations, how many princely merchants, who have been re- garded as the Napoleons of finance, have been crushed beneath the ruins occasioned by some financial crisis! During all that time your Bishop has been in business transactions for religious and charitable purposes. The prop- erty he has accumulated has amounted to thou- sands and tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands, and even millions of dollars. He has come out of the ordeal with clean hands and a clean heart, without a single note of his protested. Now, I ask you to consider what foresight and tact and sound judgment must have been displayed by your chief pastor in passing through these financial operations with so much credit to himself and so much honor to the diocese over which he presides."

At the conclusion of the Mass the Bishop sat on his throne and received the various congratulatory addresses that were presented to him. The first was the address from the clergy of the diocese of Brooklyn, which was read by the Rev. Father Sylvester Malone. He quoted the prophecy of the great Arch- bishop Hughes at the time of the nomination of Bishop Loughlin for the new See of Brook- lyn : "I have in my household a priest full of Apostolic spirit, with the simplicity of life, fruit of the indwelling spirit of God. He, I hope, will be ordered to take up the all but barren soil of Long Island, and it will flourish and bring forth the 'golden rod' of faith, hope and charity. Under his active ministry and unbounded zeal my episcopal joy will be full, and a great compensation will be given me now, nearing the close of a most boisterous and stormy episcopal life." "Has the great departed," asked Father Malone, "been disap- pointed ? Did he err when he threw the weight of his mighty influence at Rome into the nom- ination of the Very Rev. John Loughlin, for first Bishop of Brooklyn? We are all here, in your presence, to answer No."

After the reading of the addresses of the

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Clergy, the Rev. Thomas Taaffe, pastor of St. Patrick's Church, advanced toward the Bishop and presented him, in the name of the Clergy, with a beautifully illuminated check for $12,000.

Addresses were delivered by Brother John Evangelist, on behalf of the Christian Broth- ers, of St. James' School : by the Rev. Brother Superior of the Franciscan Brothers; and by Mr. Edward Rorke, on behalf of the "Old St. St. James' Parishioners." Bishop Loughlin's reply was the same as he always made when people sought to glorify his work: "All our efforts amount to nothing unless aided by Almighty God. Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it."

Later in the day the Clergy gave their Bishop a banquet in the Academy of Music. About 200 participated in the ovation. Through deference to the Bishop's wishes, there were no speeches made at the banquet. In the even- ing a grand torchlight procession took place, in which 50,000 men participated, under the command of General James McLeer and his efficient marshals. The procession consisted of five divisions, in which every city and sub- urban parish in the diocese was represented. Professional men walked beside the artisan and the humble sons of toil. All were ready to sink their differences in one grand demon- stration of love and devotion to their common Father in God. It was nine o'clock before the head of the procession reached the reviewing stand, and it was two o'clock before many of the delegations broke ranks at their respective churches.

The third day of the celebration was de- voted to the children's procession. The Bishop was a great lover of little children, and it was his desire that they should have a prominent part in this celebration. Every Sunday-school and parochial school in the city turned out its hundreds and thousands, except St. Peter's, whose devoted pastor, Father Fransioli, had gone to his reward on the previous day. The pageant of this procession was marred by a

heavy fall of rain ; but all, from the poor little orphans, who as the brightest jewels in the Bishop's mitre were accorded the right of line, down to the last little "tot" that turned out that day in holiday attire, had a chance to pass the reviewing stand, even if many of them did go home hungry, wet and tired.

The fourth and last day of the celebration was marked by a grand banquet in the Acad- emy of Music, in which 250 guests partici- pated. Among the guests were His Eminence. Cardinal Gibbons; the Archbishops of New York, Cincinnati and St. Paul; the Bishops of Lincoln, Nebraska ; Trenton, Albany, Buffalo, Burlington; Springfield, Ogdensburg, Syra- cuse, Duluth; Rt. Rev. Dr. John J. Keane, the President of the Catholic University of Amer- ica; the Vicar General of Brooklyn; and many of the Clergy. Besides these were Mayor Chapin, Murat Halstead, Andrew McLean, and a large number of distinguished laymen, both Catholic and non-Catholic.

Every school, academy, college and relig- ious institution in the diocese, and colleges and many ecclesiastical seminaries outside of the diocese, sent letters and telegrams of con- gratulation and good wishes to the great Bishop of Brooklyn. In many respects this celebration was one of the most remarkable ever witnessed in this country. True, cele- brations have been held which commanded the interest of a greater number of people, but they were national in character and appealed to the patriotism or sympathies of our people as a nation. Bishop Loughlin's Jubilee was of a local character and concerned only the people of Brooklyn, but it was unprecedented in spon- taneity, in good will, and on the part of Cath- olics it was a grateful appreciation of an un- selfish and sacrificing life.

Whatever Bishop Loughlin's feelings may have been regarding all this, he continued doing the work of the Master in the same quiet, unostentatious manner that had charac- terized his whole life. The money offerings he received on this occasion soon found their

RT. REV. CHARLES E. McDONNELL. SECOND BISHOP OF BROOKLYN,

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way to needy charities, so that. when Bishop Loughlin laid down the crozier he had so wisely and prudently wielded for so many years, his personal property was little more than that of the poorest of his flock. He left to his heirs,-his clergy and people,-a legacy of nearly one hundred churches and chapels, a seminary for the education of the future priests of the diocese ; homes for the aged and the orphans, hospitals for the sick, and refuges for the fallen and forsaken.

DEATH OF BISHOP LOUGHLIN.

Bishop Loughlin died at the episcopal resi- dence on Tuesday, December 29, 1891, deeply lamented by clergy and laity. At the time of his death he was the oldest priest ordained in the Diocese of New York, and with one ex- ception, Archbishop P. R. Kenrick, of St. Louis, the oldest Bishop in the United States. He was a man of great humility and of great firmness. He knew what he wanted, and when his mind was made up it was useless to attempt to move him. This characteristic had been commented upon and has not infrequently given offense. This was a matter of no con- sequence to the Bishop ; he felt that his decision was the correct one, and it was better to say 10 at first than to be obliged to say it later on. He was very simple in his habits and tastes; and full of wit and humor among his friends, and even with newspaper reporters. Above all, he was a man of the most unostentatious charity. He went to Brooklyn to be its Bishop and he continued to keep his hands at the helm of affairs until that hand lay cold in death. It may be said of him that he was the only Bishop in the United States who never wrote a pastoral letter. He was a sagacious and prudent counselor in all that related to the in- terests of the church and in what he deemed for the benefit of his people. At his death the Diocese of Brooklyn lost a pastor who vig- ilantly watched over it and who never flinched from the performance of his duty, and he left to his clergy an example of zeal and self-denial

in the accomplishment of their holy mission. When the summons came and God called him to Himself, he could well say: "I am ready to sheathe the sword I have wielded in the cause of truth and justice." His people and his clergy will hold his name in veneration and feel that he has merited the unfading crown of glory which the Master he served so faith- fully had promised to "the good and faithful servant," and that he has been permitted to "enter into the joy of his Lord."

His funeral took place on New Year's Day, 1892. The remains were taken from the episcopal residence adjoining the new but un- finished Cathedral in Clermont avenue to old St. James' Cathedral. The streets along the route of the procession were lined with crowds of respectful citizens of every shade of relig- ious belief, anxious to testify to the venera- tion in which the lamented dead was held by them. The Solemn Pontifical Mass of Requi- em was celebrated by Archbishop Corrigan, of New York, and the funeral oration was de- livered by the Rev. Frederick Wayrick, rector of St. Alphonsus' Church, New York. The Bishops of the province and many distin- guished clergymen and laymen were present. After the ceremonies the remains of the de- ceased Bishop were deposited in a vault pre- pared for them, under the Sanctuary of old St. James', which he loved so well.

PART III .- BISHOP McDONNELL.

The third period in the history of Catho- licity on Long Island begins with the year 1892, when the Rt. Rev. Charles Edward Mc- Donnell, D. D., began his episcopate as second Bishop of Brooklyn.

Bishop McDonnell was born in the city of New York, on January 5, 1854, and his early life was spent in the Seventh Ward. In his youth his parents moved to Brooklyn. After studying for a time under the tuition of the Christian Brothers in old De La Salle Insti- tute, on Second street, New York, he entered

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

the College of St. Francis Xavier. Young McDonnell was a diligent student, and he was thus enabled to begin his theological studies two years in advance of his classmates. In 1871 Cardinal McClosky sent him to Rome to pursue his studies at the American College. He was then scarcely eighteen years of age. On the completion of his theological course he took a supplementary course and earned the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He was or- dained priest by the Rt. Rev. F. S. Chatard, D. D., on May 8, 1878, in the Chapel of the American College, where the Bishop himself had been consecrated only a week before. In the fall of 1878 Dr. McDonnell returned to the United States and was assigned, by the late Cardinal McCloskey, as an assistant at St. Mary's Church, Grand street. In January, 1879, he was transferred to St. Stephen's to assist the Rev. Dr. Edward McGlynn, then pastor of that church. In May of the same year St. Patrick's Cathedral, on Fifth avenue, was opened and Dr. McDonnell became one of the Cardinal's household, the Cardinal recog- nizing the necessity of having some one near him who was especially acquainted with the liturgy of the church, and Dr. McDonnell had been trained in this direction while in Rome by Mgr. Cataldi. In 1884 Mgr. John M. Far- ley, who had been secretary to Cardinal Mc- Closkey, was made pastor of St. Gabriel's Church, in East Thirty-seventh street. Dr. McDonnell became his successor, and on the death of Cardinal McCloskey, when Arch- bishop Corrigan succeeded to the See of New York, he retained Dr. McDonnell in the Sec- retariat, and later on made him Chancellor also. He retained these offices until called to the dignity of the episcopate. In 1890 he ac- companied Archbishop Corrigan to Rome, and while there Pope Leo XIII conferred upon him the dignity of Private Chamberlain, with the title of Monsignor. In the fall of 1890 Mgr. McDonnell was appointed Spiritual Di- rector of the Catholic Club, in place of the late Vicar General Donnelly.

An experience of over ten years as private secretary and Chancellor of a great diocese like New York proved very valuable to Dr. McDonnell. His position made him acquaint- ed with all the details of a diocese. He knew all its inmost workings; he came in contact with almost every priest in the diocese, and always managed, by his prudence and affabil- ity, to command the respect and. good will of all. It is not surprising, then, that when the See of Brooklyn became vacant, he should have been chosen to succeed the great Bishop Loughlin.

On April 25, 1892, Mgr. McDonnell was consecrated Bishop of Brooklyn in St. Pat- rick's Cathedral, New York, by Archbishop Corrigan. The Assistant Bishops were Rt. Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid, of Rochester, and the Rt. Rev. Francis S. Chatard, of Vincennes. Over 500 priests participated in tlie ceremo- nies, among whom were Rev. Jeremiah A. Brosnan and Rev. John H. McCloskey, of Brooklyn, classmates of the new Bishop at the College of St. Francis Xavier. The ser- mon was preached by the Very Rev. Thomas J. Campbell, Provincial of the Maryland-New York Province of the Society of Jesus.

In referring to the new Bishop of Brook- lyn, Father Campbell said: "You are not going into a new land, but into a great church which a noble pioneer of the faith planted and strengthened and adorned. You are going into a territory that had scarcely a cross or a spire when he raised his crozier over it forty years ago, and now, after a lifetime of toil, con- tinued to the very end, when he lay down in his coffin with the royal robes of poverty about him, having given all to God, he hands it over to you rich in its magnificent churches ; strong in its splendid charities and schools ; with a zealous and devoted clergy and a flock of more than a quarter of a million, all on fire with zeal for the glory of the church of Christ. All this I know only fills you the more with consternation. But there are many things which seem like bright harbingers of a great

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and happy episcopate. Do you remember how when death was palsying the lips of the dying prelate that almost his last words were unex- pectedly addressed to you, giving you, for a moment, almost episcopal powers? Perhaps at that solemn hour it was vouchsafed him to penetrate the darkness that was closing around him. Why should it not be so, for the one who had stood long before the mystic veil of the Altar of Sacrifice? There has come spon- taneously from every side evidence of warm and enthusiastic welcome, increased by the quick honor of your elevation; and who can doubt that it is a prophecy of the future and that the brightness of to-day will remain with you, not merely as a memory, but as a widen- ing and deepening reality through the labors and difficulties of your new and great career?"

After the Mass of Consecration the clergy were entertained at a dinner, during which Mgr. Farley read the address of the clergy of New York, congratulating the new Bishop on his elevation to the sublime dignity of the epis- copate and in their name presenting him with a check for $7,490. On Monday, May 2, Bishop McDonnell took formal possession of the See of Brooklyn. Never did a Bishop enter a diocese under more auspicious condi- tions. No diocese in a purely Catholic coun- try ever received its Bishop in a more Chris- tian or more respectful manner. One hundred and twenty-five carriages, filled with clergy and laity, awaited the arrival of the new Bishop on the ferryboat "Texas," at the foot of Broadway. From the moment Bishop Mc- Donnell set his foot upon the soil of Long Island he was among friends. His clergy were there in large numbers to welcome their future superior, and no sooner did his carriage emerge from the ferry house than they crowd- ed around him to testify their allegiance and devotion. The faithful lined the streets along the entire route selected for reaching the ca- thedral to welcome their Bishop and receive his blessing as he passed along, clad in the robes of his sacred office. In that countless

mass were Catholics of all nationalities. Amer- icans, Irish, Germans, French, Italians, Greek Uniates, non-Catholics, and men of no religious faith. All lifted their hats respectfully as they saluted a new citizen who was thencefor- ward to occupy a prominent position in their city.

At the Cathedral of old St. James' the cere- mony of the installation took place. At and immediately after the installation the clergy, headed by Vicar General May, until now ad- ministrator of the diocese, and Chancellor James H. Mitchell, gathered around the new Bishop and kissed his ring in token of their loyalty to his person and to his holy office, and to receive a blessing from his newly an- ointed hands. The faithful laity followed the example of the clergy, and soon afterward Bishop McDonnell was escorted to the episco- pal residence in Clermont avenue, which was to be his future home.

In the evening the Bishop was given a re- ception at the Academy of Music by the Co- lumbia Club, the vast assemblage of from two to three thousand gentlemen, who crowded into the magnificently decorated Academy at the invitation of the club to greet the new Bishop; the warm address of welcome by its President on the part of the laity, and the graceful and dignified words that fell from the lips of the city's chief executive, His Honor Mayor Boody, as he welcomed the Bishop to the city of Brooklyn, were all incidents that might well awaken the just pride of Bishop, clergy and people, and which spoke volumes for the intelligence and liberal Christian feel- ings of the Brooklyn people at large.

Finally, as enthusiastic, though perhaps less pretentious, was the reception given to the Bishop on Tuesday evening by his fellow alumni,-his Brooklyn college friends and brothers of old St. Francis Xavier College, New York. In the Clarendon Hotel, Brook- lyn, were assembled distinguished prelates and worthy priests and a body of laymen noted for intelligence and for the respectable standing

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they occupied in the National Congress, in the State Legislature, on the bench, in the learned professions and in commercial life. All of these gentlemen joined in a hearty welcome to their old college companion and in assur- ances of their loyalty to the future Bishop of Brooklyn.

The first official act of Bishop McDonnell was the dedication of the new St. Augustine's Church, on May 15, 1892. The ceremony was witnessed by a vast concourse of people. After the dedication Solemn Pontifical Mass was celebrated by Bishop Ludden, of Syracuse. The sermon was preached by Bishop Chapelle, of Santa Fe (now Archbishop of New Orleans and Apostolic Delegate Extraordinary for C11- ba, Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands). Bishop O'Farrell, of Trenton, was also in the Sanctuary. On the Wednesday following Bishop McDonnell administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 600 persons, at the Church of the Sacred Heart, in Clermont avenue. On Sunday, June 5, he celebrated his first Pontifi- cal Mass in Brooklyn, in old St. James' Ca- thedral, and on the Sunday following, June II, he conferred Holy Orders for the first tinic in his diocese, by raising the Rev. William J. Dunne, of Niagara University, to the dignity of the priesthood.

CHURCHES.

St. Frances de Chantal .- The Fathers of Mercy who have charge of the old Church of St. Francis of Sales, now known as the new Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, in 1892 founded another church at the corner of Fifty- seventh street and Thirteenth avenue. This church was placed under the patronage of St. Frances de Chantal. The first mass was said in the house of Miss Gorman, at Fifty-sixth street and Thirteenth avenue. There were about 125 persons present, among whom were William J. Powers, James Hanley and Will- iam May, who took special interest in the or- ganization of the new parish. The church is a modest structure, 24 by 60 feet, with a seating

capacity of 400, but it proved a great accom- modation to the people of that sparsely settled neighborhood. It was first attended by Father Michael Maloy, S. P. M. He was succeeded in 1894 by the Rev. T. McTague, S. P. M., and he in turn was succeeded in 1895 by the well-known missionary, Father Gaston Sep- tier, S. P. M. These Fathers improved the parish until at present the number of parishi- ioners has increased to 700. It is now at- tended by Rev. William McAdam, S. P. M., who is assisted by Rev. Alphonsus B. Parker, S. P. M.

Redemptorists in Brooklyn .- The late Bishop Loughlin gave very little encourage- ment to religious orders of men in his diocese ; consequently, at the time of his death, the Lazarists and the Fathers of Mercy were the only regulars in the diocese. Bishop McDon- nell, recognizing the necessities of the times in which he assumed control of the diocese, felt that those orders had now become a neces- sity and he opened the doors to them. The first to avail themselves of his hospitality and to offer their services to the faithful were the Redemptorist Fathers. The Brooklyn foun- dation of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (as the Redemptorist Fathers are called officially) was formally established on Easter Sunday, April 2, 1893. Very Rev. Fer- dinand A. Litz, C. SS. R., was Provincial at this time of the Baltimore Province of the congregation (or order). Rev. F. W. Way- rick, C. SS. R., rector of St. Alphonsus' Church, New York City, acting in the name of the Provincial, bought from Messrs, Creamer and Gallagher the entire block bound- ed by Fifth and Sixth avenues and by Fifty- ninth street and Sixtieth street. The purchase was made on the feast of St. Peter of Alcan- tara, October 19, 1892. The formal opening of the church was deferred until the following spring. On April 2, 1893, however, Rev. J. B. Daily, C. SS. R., of St. Alphonsus' Church, New York, said mass for the first time in this parish at what was called Professor Moss'

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THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

house, at the corner of Fourth avenue and Fifty-fourth street. About forty persons were present at this mass. Although it was Easter Sunday, there were no communions, and the collection taken up amounted to the small sum of $6.10. The limited attendance was due partly to the fact that the neighborhood was sparsely populated, and partly because it was not generally known that mass would be cele- brated on that day. On April 22d the Fathers rented a house at the corner of Fifty-seventh street and Fourth avenue, near the site of the projected church. The congregation had now grown to 178. On May 9th Sunday-school was opened, with an attendance of forty-nine children. On May 30th the Fathers took the census of their parish and found that it con- tained just 348 persons. The parish now num- bers 3,000 parishioners. Father Daily man- aged the affairs of the parish until May 12th, when Father Augustus McInerney, C. SS. R., was appointed Superior, with Fathers Daily and Crosby as assistants. On October 29th the corner-stone of a new church was laid by Bishop McDonnell, and Father Wayrick preached the sermon. The new residence for the Fathers was ready for occupation and they moved into it on December 7th, and mass was said in it on the 9th.

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 130

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188