USA > New York > Niagara County > History of the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels : Niagara University, Niagara County, N.Y., 1856-1906 > Part 12
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" In conclusion he said: 'And now shall I say farewell? We say it in sadness for our departed ones. For my own part, in years to come, when the word Buffalo is mentioned it will arouse kindly feel- ings, but it will be Buffalo without Bishop Ryan, and I am sure you, my friends, will, as I do, bid a most loving and affectionate farewell. For a little while, then, be it so, but only for a little while. Soon we shall meet again. We all feel that life is shortening. The shades of eventide are fast descending upon us all. It will not be long before we meet again. Oh, let us live according to his teaching, so that in our going someone may say, in all truthfulness, while the Great Master approves: "How blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for their work shall follow them." Good-bye, farewell, dear Bishop Ryan, may thy spirit rest in peace.'
" In the afternoon at 3 o'clock about 200 persons, including the mourners and pall-bearers, witnessed the last sad rites prior to en- tombment in the brick vault of the Cathedral. The services were read and chanted by Archbishop Corrigan, Bishop McDonnell, and Administrator Lanigan. Then was placed in its niche in the tomb all that remains of the beloved Bishop of Buffalo. A plate was at- tached bearing the inscription : 'Rt. Rev. S. V. Ryan, C. M., D. D .; born January 1, 1825; died April 10, 1896.'"
Requiescat in Pace.
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CHAPTER XI
RT. REV. JAMES EDWARD QUIGLEY, D. D., THIRD BISHOP OF BUFFALO-SECOND CHANCELLOR OF NIAGARA UNIVERSITY
G REAT rejoicing pervaded the halls of our institution when it was definitely announced about the middle of December, 1896, that Rev. James E. Quigley, D. D., 1874, had been chosen to succeed Bishop Ryan in the See of Buffalo. Alma Mater felt honored that one of her sons should be selected for this high office, while the faculty of that year believed that in the promotion of Dr. Quigley quite a personal friend to many of them had been advanced to the episcopal purple. For some of them had been with him in Niagara's study hall or Seminary, or else had known him since his ordination as a priest for the diocese of Buffalo.
Although the elevation of a simple priest to the sublime dignity of bishop lifts him so high above the heads of his former companions that few may longer say "He is my friend," yet the well-known poise of Dr. Quigley's character secured his admirers against the thought that the mitre would exalt him to a plane of mind beyond their reach. As rector of Buffalo Cathedral he had been schooled in that affability which was so pronounced a trait in his patron and admirer, Bishop Ryan, and which Dr. Quigley followed with so much satisfaction to his subjects when he became ruler of the Buffalo diocese. He was approachable, thus exhibiting a quality which the truly great always possess, but which does not always accompany promotion to greatness. Nor has this commendable trait of char- acter deserted him in his present exalted position as Archbishop of Chicago, although succeeding, a comparatively young man, to the mitre worn for years by the Venerable Archbishop Feehan, it might have been accounted among things possible that Dr. Quigley would begin to entrench himself behind that magnificent isolation which sometimes hides a shepherd from his flock.
It was in September of 1872 that James Edward Quigley entered Our Lady of Angels as a member of the study hall. His record is a most notable one for proficiency and those other qualities which make up the character of a successful student. His name appears often in the catalogue of this scholastic year among the names of those who carried away prizes and won honorable distinctions in their various classes. The records of the literary society, S. O. L. A.,
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MOST REV. JAMES E. QUIGLEY, D. D. Archbishop of Chicago Second Chancellor of Niagara University
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YORK.
SEMINARY, THEOLOGICAL
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LIBRARY OP
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of which he was a member, show that in his essays, debates, and similar exercises he was always a leader among his fellows. In the catalogue of the following year, 1873-1874, he is the winner of a prize for success in his philosophical studies made under that eminent professor, Father Miguel Lopez, who died a few years ago in Mantanzas, Cuba.
Next year Bishop Ryan sent his future successor to Innsbruck, Austria, to complete his studies, and after some time in that dis- tinguished seat of learning he was transferred to Rome, where he won the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and was ordained priest on June 13, 1879. Upon his return to the diocese of Buffalo he was as- signed to the rectorship of Attica, N. Y., but after a service of four years in that place his marked abilities for government commended themselves anew to the Bishop, and he was accordingly brought into the city as rector of the Cathedral. He held this important post until shortly before the death of Bishop Ryan when, the irremovable rectorship of Saint Bridget's becoming vacant through the death of Mgr. Gleason in 1895, Dr. Quigley underwent the prescribed examinations and was successful in his competition.
When the appointment of Dr. Quigley to be the third bishop of Buffalo was confirmed beyond fear of contradiction, the Niagara Index, the official organ of our faculty, students, and alumni, while expressing Niagara's satisfaction at the appointment, offered the following testimony to the Bishop-elect's ability as a speaker and linguist :
" As a student Dr. Quigley's abilities are even now more pro- nounced than when he was studying at college. Apart from the merited degree of D. D. from Rome, he is a thorough master of many of the modern languages. That he has put these latter ac- complishments to the best possible use is now attested in the universal rejoicing of the different nationalities in Buffalo over the appoint- ment. As a speaker he is ready and always instructive as well as interesting. The majority of seniors present retain many pleasing recollections of his abilities in this line since the time when he spoke in the Alumni Chapel on the occasion of a triduum held in the honor of the Blessed Gabriel Perboyre. The occasion of his con- secration will undoubtedly be made a red-letter day in the history of Buffalo, since day by day but adds to the encomiums from the press, clergy, and laity on the wisdom of the selection by the venerable and sainted ruler of the Vatican, Leo XIII."
Enthusiasm seemed to increase at Niagara as the days went by
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and the date of consecration drew near. As a sample of the wide- awake student who turns every prosperous event or favorable cir- cumstance to his own innocent advantage, we give the subjoined comment from the columns of our college paper. No doubt even a bishop can appreciate the " capital " which students can make in the obtaining of larger liberties whenever such an event as the consecration of an alumnus to the episcopacy, a rare enough occur- rence, takes place :
" Niagara University began early to celebrate the honor of a first bishop from the ranks of her alumni by granting a week's extra time to the Xmas holidays. When consecration time comes around she will again celebrate the occasion with a more elaborate programme and expressions of gladness. Meantime, success and long life to the new bishop - ad multos annos - Dominus tecum!"
When the day itself arrived, February 24, 1897, nearly all the members of the faculty, with a great crowd of juniors and seminarians, repaired to Buffalo to witness the gorgeous ceremonies. The report prepared for the Index, together with the annexed edito- rial, will further illustrate the deep interest and the genuine satis- faction which the inmates of Niagara took in the consecration of her worthy alumnus :
" Within these narrow limits we cannot hope to give an adequate description of the grand and imposing ceremonies attendant upon the consecration of Bishop Quigley. Nor is there any need. The public is quite familiar with them. For in the Buffalo daily papers of February 24th and 25th those ceremonies received long, detailed, graphic, and adequate descriptions. Newspapers outside this immediate region contained more concise accounts, yet sufficiently thorough to inform their readers of the pomp and majesty that characterized the elevation of the new Bishop of Buffalo to the episcopal throne. It may suffice for us to say in a general way that the consecration ceremonies of few bishops excelled in splendor and magnificence the scene presented in St. Joseph's Cathedral of the diocese of Buffalo on February 24th last. The Cathedral itself reminds one of those old gothic structures of the Middle Ages. Of the interior decoration, a contemporary speaks thus: 'Every bit of decoration from chancel to organ loft was in bunting of pontifical yellow and white, except two United States flags and the emblems of the Pope and the Bishop-elect.
"' At the altar centered the grandeur of impending ceremony, for there beauty and solemnity were merged delightfully. In the
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resplendence of the sanctuary a fit setting had been made for the great dignitaries of the Church. The great altar, ablaze with multiple candles, glimmering like so much liquid gold, was literally covered with smilax, lilies, carnations, white and pink roses, and ferns. On the side walls, between the arches and above them, were festoons of the same materials. Over the episcopal throne was a beau- tiful silk banner bearing the coat of arms of the Bishop. Great festoons were draped across the arch of the sanctuary, meeting at the center a banner of yellow and white and the Stars and Stripes, in the center of which was the coat of arms of the Pope. Festoons likewise decorated the arches of the chapels on either side. In these chapels, one - that on the north - the Bishop's, the other the Consecrator's, the altars were beautifully decorated, like the altar of the sanctuary. The center piece of the Cathedral consisted of sweeping festoons from the gable to the pillars at either side of the transepts.
"' The transept galleries, which were erected for the occasion, were covered with white bunting, with a double row of festoons in yellow across the front. On both sides the five nave arches were festooned, except the middle ones, which were draped with banners in the pontifical colors. Across the front of the organ loft was a sunburst in yellow and white, at the center of which were a Papal banner and the United States flag, forming a background for the coat of arms of the new Bishop. On the pillars of the nave were banners bearing a series of inscriptions symbolizing the career of Bishop Quigley. Here are the inscriptions seriatim: Birth, 1855; St. Joseph's College, 1868; Our Lady of Angels, 1872; Innsbruck, 1875 ; Propaganda, 1876; Ordained, 1879; Attica, 1879; Cathedral, 1884; Saint Bridget's, 1896.'
"The ceremonial of the Mass, the officiating prelates clad in their robes of scarlet and gold, the majesty of the music discoursed by the choir, the reverence and devotion of the attending multitude, and the eloquent sermon of the preacher for the occasion afforded a spectacle that Buffalo will not witness again in many a day. The officers of the Mass and consecration were Most Rev. M. A. Corrigan, D. D., Archbishop of New York, celebrant and conse- crator ; Rt. Rev. B. J. McQuaid, D. D., bishop of Rochester, senior assistant bishop ; Rt. Rev. C. E. McDonnell, D. D., bishop of Brook- lyn, assistant bishop; Rev. M. P. Connery and Rev. P. Hoelscher, D. D., chaplains of the assistant bishop; Very Rev. T. Brougham and Rev. L. Vanderpoel, chaplains of the bishop-elect. The assist-
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ant officers of the Mass were: Very Rev. J. Lanigan, assistant priest ; Very Rev. P. J. Cannon and Very Rev. J. Pitass, deacons of honor ; Rev. J. J. Bloomer, deacon of the Mass; Very Rev. H. M. Leddy, sub-deacon of the Mass; Very Rev. J. Bandinelli, C. P., notary; Rev. J. J. Sheehan and Rev. J. F. McGloin, masters of ceremonies ; Rev. Fr. McKenna, O. P., preacher. After the con- secration ceremonies the bishops and clergy were banqueted in St. Stephen's Hall, after which, with many congratulations and inter- changes of farewells, they took their departure."
BISHOP QUIGLEY, 1874
" Little less than one year ago the saintly Bishop Ryan passed away to eternal life and left widowed the diocese of Buffalo. When the Church ceremony and honor commensurate with his cherished memory had lovingly been bestowed, not only by the devoted clergy and laity of this diocese but also by a large circle of sincere friends, cleric and secular, of other dioceses, and when finally his ashes had been laid to rest beneath the marble altar of the Cathedral, his bereaved flock began reverently to think of a worthy successor. With their fervent requiescat they mingled prayers of petition asking Him, who had given them such an excellent shepherd in the person of the late bishop, to grant them another who by his sanctity, ability, and nobleness of character would be able to assume the staff, to take up the episcopal burden where it had been laid down, to perpetuate and increase the good work already begun. But how many thought the choice would fall upon a spiritual child of the de- ceased, upon him in whom the lamented Bishop took a special interest from the first moment of acquaintance, and for whose training he never relaxed his care till he saw him return a finished scholar and priest from the best institutions of learning on both sides of the Atlantic? Such, however, has been the order of Providence. The Rt. Rev. James Edward Quigley, D. D., respectively the student of St. Joseph's College, Buffalo, of our own Seminary of Our Lady of Angels, of Innsbruck, Austria, and of the Propaganda, Rome, is to-day bishop of the diocese of Buffalo.
" As with all God's designs, the choice of our new bishop could not have been better. A man more worthy or able could not have been chosen to fill the episcopal vacancy of this diocese. Bishop Quigley is a man whose rare native talent has been broadened and expanded by a most careful and thorough classical, philosophical, and theological training. He is a man of the day. He is a man pos-
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sessed of those broad, conservative, and patriotic sentiments charac- teristic of the Christian scholar and the hierarchy of America. He is a man simple and unassuming, yet systematic and successful in all he undertakes. From the time of his return to America and installa- tion in the parish at Attica, N. Y., till he received the call to the bishopric, success has crowned his every labor, spiritual and temporal. " It is unnecessary for us to tell in what a flourishing condition he left the little parish at Attica, how well he managed the many and trying affairs of the Cathedral as rector, how he built up and im- proved St. Bridget's parish, and how many he everywhere reclaimed from a state of lukewarmness or brought anew into the Church. Kind, courteous, and obliging to all, he has won the esteem and confidence of Protestants and Catholics alike. He carries with him to the episcopal throne ripe experience, true virtue, and tried execu- tive ability. He is magnificently fitted to make the Church respected among all classes, and also, in the language of a contemporary, to maintain her traditional teachings unabated without causing a hostile demonstration or clash of creeds.
" He takes the staff of his episcopal office with the full and loyal esteem and support of a devoted clergy and laity, and the universal satisfaction of non-Catholics. It requires no gift of prophecy to foretell that Bishop Quigley will be eminently successful in his new field of labor. The people of the diocese of Buffalo have every reason to congratulate themselves upon the happy choice of their new bishop.
" As students of 'Old Niagara,' we take a special pride in the elevation of the Rev. James E. Quigley, D. D., to the episcopacy. He studied within the gray walls of Alma Mater, and left his name imperishably written upon the pages of her class records. He is the first among her numerous and honored sons to wear the mitre, hence none offer him more sincere congratulations than Niagara men. They regard Bishop Quigley as a brother most worthy of the honor, and unquestionably qualified to discharge the duties of the office conferred upon him through the wisdom of the Holy Ghost. All the students, past and present, of Niagara unite in congratulating Bishop Quigley and in praying to our Heavenly Father that He may grant him a long life and bless his episcopal labors ad multos annos."
After six years of a most successful administration as Bishop of Buffalo, the call to a higher sphere of usefulness and honor having been given by the Sovereign Pontiff, Right Rev. Dr. Quigley became
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Archbishop of Chicago. His former See was left under the admin- istration of Very Rev. M. P. Connery, 1874, who had been his Vicar General, and who continued to discharge his onerous duties with eminent satisfaction until the appointment of Bishop Quigley's successor.
" The plans for the Archbishop's departure from Buffalo and his arrival in Chicago were formulated and executed without the least happening to mar them. The scene in the Cathedral in Buffalo when the Archbishop bade a formal farewell to his people was one never to be forgotten by those who witnessed it. The clergy and laity expressed sentiments of sorrow, because he who for six years had acted as their spiritual adviser was obliged to leave them and take up his labors in a strange city ; and he was loath to separate him- self from his beloved flock which had become so dear to him. But in his appointment by Pope Leo, he saw a command from God's vicar on earth, and hence from God Himself, so without the least hesitation and with unswerving zeal he prepared to assume the great burdens and responsibilities of his new office. Even though he would have preferred to remain in Buffalo, the city of his youth and the scene of most of his sacerdotal labors, he heard the voice of a superior speaking and he was ready to obey Ties of friendship and love could not detain him for an instant from following the light which he saw leading him to the Queen City of the West, there to rule the Church of God.
" As a token of the esteem in which he is held by those who were under his care, we saw many of his priests and members of the laity accompanying him to his new home. As a token of the loyalty and fidelity which he will find in his new field of labor we saw representa- tives of the clergy and laity of Chicago, coming to Buffalo to take him with them in joy, and to introduce him to the hundreds of thou- sands of Catholics who will be his subjects. Could any spectacle have been more sublime than to see the sorrow of his children of Buffalo at his departure, and the joy of his children of Chicago welcoming him with open arms and pledging their fealty to him with loving hearts?
" It was, indeed, a happy coincidence that this change of our honored alumnus was accomplished amid the company of Niagara's sons, both in the Buffalo contingent bidding farewell, and among the Chicago party who came to Buffalo to accompany their Arch- bishop to his new home. Needless to add, our alumni bade farewell and received him in true Niagara style. The local priests accom-
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panying the suite were: Very Rev. M. P. Connery, 1874; Revs. M. J. Noonan, 1886; N. H. Baker, 1876; J. B. Schaus, 1889; Daniel Walsh, 1877; R. O'Connell, 1889; Thomas Barrett, 1887; Daniel O'Brien, 1888; M. J. Kean, 1886; Jas. F. Mooney, 1888; J. F. Gardiner, 1896; Patrick Cronin, 1870; Wm. J. McNab, 1866; and of the Chicago delegation : Revs. F. S. Henneberry, 1879; M. J. Dor- ney, 1876; P. V. Byrne, C. M., 1864; L. A. Campbell, 1869; T. Cox, 1890; J. J. Flaherty, 1879; P. J. Tinan, 1881; P. C. Con- way, 1889; and James Scanlan, 1888. These were alone of the immediate traveling party, for to mention all the names of the Buffalo Alumni who saw him depart and of the Chicago Alumni who received him would exhaust space.
" We of Alma Mater joined in the regret which Buffalo ex- pressed at the loss of her Bishop, while at the same time we united with the thousands who congratulated our most illustrious Chancel- lor, on his merited appointment. And though our voice was low and weak it was with heartfelt sincerity that we united with our poet in saying:
'Oh may Your Grace in life's great task excel For God, for man : our prayer is our farewell.'"
The following acrostic written by Father Charles V. Eckles, C. M., on occasion of the Archbishop's departure for his new See is here given as a testimony of the writer's affection for his illustrious fellow alumnus as well as that of all the priests and other inmates of Niag- ara who were forced to say farewell to their beloved Chancellor:
OUR MOST REVEREND ALUMNUS.
Most Reverend - by the Grace of God and Rome - Our Prelate lov'd of Buffalo must yield, Since " Rome has spoken "; friendship, See, and home Transferred must be to one more toilsome field.
Regrets were vain when God doth sound the call Expressive of His Will and wise decree, Voiced by his Vicar, whom the cares of all Engage for Christ's dear sake, whose ministry Rejoiceth with the truth, as saith St. Paul, Embracing doctrine sound. So, gladly we - Niagara's sons - God-speed extend, though fall Discerning Sorrow's sighs : Farewell to Thee.
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Just all thy rulings were, and wise; who feed - As shepherds of the flock, thus Christ decreed: MY LAMBS, MY SHEEP - give tender anxious heed E'er faithful to pursue in word, in deed, Such wondrous works of God - in human need.
Enduring Holy Spirit that dost guide Divinely all thy holy Church, thine aid With power extended be to servants tried And faithful ministers Thyself hath made - Rome's valiant champion, her crown, her pride, Defender of her faith, in truth arrayed.
Quinquennial and more in this loved See, Undaunted, undismayed have proven Thee In deeds of Love for poor humanity. God's blessings strewed thy pathways, and when He Lives in the life, " the truth that makes us free " Endures in grandest fruits of ministry : Ye, saith the Lord, " Ye have not chosen Me."
Divine, that sacred stewardship of Christ! Divine, its seal: Our Pasch is sacrific'd.
All classes now, and brethren all salute Rome's honored choice for yon great Western See - Chicago! cognizant of high repute, HIS HOLINESS rewards Fidelity. But, exaltation in the Church of God - In service His - means vaster labors still; Such, thousands have experienced who trod His road of Cross and Crown and so, until Our time shall be no more; then, only then, Popes, prelates, priests, shall cease God's work for men.
Oh, may YOUR GRACE in life's great task excel For God, for man ; our prayer is our farewell.
Chicago! grandest city of the West, Her hearty welcome gives to Him who reigned In BUFFALO - no city mean. The best
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Congratulations He hath surely gained; And now, His honored name by all is blest. God ruleth in His ministers ordained O'er all the earth; His Heaven is their Rest.
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CHAPTER XII
RT. REV. CHARLES HENRY COLTON, D. D., FOURTH BISHOP OF BUFFALO-THIRD CHANCELLOR OF NIAGARA UNIVERSITY
T HE translation of Bishop Quigley to the archiepiscopal See of Chicago opened a wide field of speculation as to the election of a new Bishop for the See of Buffalo. As usual, the inmates at Niagara, especially those in official position like the Faculty, kept aloof from all participation in the advocacy of any special candidate, content to wait until such time as the Spirit of God would declare through his authoritative mouthpiece who should be selected to rule that special portion of the Church of God embraced by the See of Buffalo.
When in the summer of 1903 the appointment of Rev. Charles Henry Colton of New York was announced throughout the press of the country to succeed Bishop Quigley, Niagara folk were naturally alert to know what manner of man had been selected by the Holy See to be the spiritual head of the diocese in which our institution is located. They soon learned that the " mildness of the crozier," tradi- tional in the diocese of Buffalo from the beginning, was to be con- tinued and even increased through the amiable qualities of the new incumbent. The record which the Bishop-elect had made in the great diocese of New York as Chancellor and as pastor of St. Stephen's parish was more than sufficient guarantee that the fourth Bishop of Buffalo would rule the flock committed to his care with vigilance, suavity, and success.
Some of the present Faculty had had the honor of personal acquaintance with Father Colton when he was the pastor of St. Stephen's in New York, and when he came after his consecration in the Cathedral of that city to take possession of his See of Buffalo he met no more cordial welcome than that extended to him by the priests from Our Lady of Angels.
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