USA > New York > Niagara County > History of the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels : Niagara University, Niagara County, N.Y., 1856-1906 > Part 5
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Now, a word about the immediate neighbors of the Seminary. At first they were in perfect dismay when they found that a Catholic
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college was to be established in their midst. What, say they, if Protestant students be so bad and such a torment to their neighbors, how much more dangerous must Catholic boys be? Thus they acted, burnished up their old weapons, and looked around the fences of their peach orchards, and gave warning to their children and serv- ants. Months rolled on, and no outrage on their gardens or house- holds; then disappointment was turned into respect, and gener- osity, too, and they displayed them by giving the boys a ride in their wagons and an odd basket of peaches, and it was the pride and delight of some to come to the exhibitions. It was our delight on festival days to cross over to the island at Niagara Falls and there sing the Magnificat and other canticles in praise of God and His blessed Mother. The scene was grand and the chant was soul- stirring. Before us was the mighty cataract with clouds of incense arising at Nature's high altar.
The booming of the falling torrents was a solemn bass to the voices of praise of a few Catholic boys, with pure hearts and noble intentions and resolves to serve God, who speaks in the voice of many waters. On an Ascension Thursday all approached Holy Communion, and dinner, followed by vespers, at the Falls was promised, but, alas! the rain came down in torrents. After break- fast Father Lynch playfully told the boys how the Sisters of Charity always obtained from God a fine day for their Corpus Christi procession in Paris. To his surprise he heard soon after breakfast the Magnificat chanted in the chapel, and towards the end of it thought he should not discourage the simple faith of those good children, and went to the chapel and sang the prayer at the end. No wonder that a fine day rewarded their piety and child- like faith. One boy, however, a little less confiding than the others, was bringing his umbrella with him. When his companions saw this they so laughed at him that he ran back and deposited his umbrella in the hall. The day turned out delightful.
But my grave and respectable audience will pardon the mention of those simple things. But has not God chosen the simple and unwise to confound the learned and prudent? Then there were our sacred grounds - nothing to be heard there but the rosary or pious conversations and hymns. The steep and high banks near the raging rapids were too dangerous to play near, hence there was good reason to consecrate the place to God and to pray.
The wild project of a penniless enthusiast of erecting a semi- nary at Niagara Falls was not at all relished by some of the prudent
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and the wise of the Order. They wished to have it to say after the failure that they never approved of the undertaking. But the smile of the new Visitor, Very Rev. Father Ryan, threw sunshine over the cradle of the infant Seminary. More hope and courage after that kind visit lit up the hearts of the humble toilers. Father Lynch, against his own judgment and will, was called off to other work in Canada, but the work of his best love was always very dear to him. The mother loves her child the more in proportion to her sufferings for him.
To have the Church of Christ well represented at Niagara Falls was yet dear to him, and one of his first acts on going to Toronto was to purchase two hundred acres of land on the Canada side, and there to-day is erected a magnificent convent of the Ladies of Loretto, called of the Blessed Sacrament, where, he hopes, the com- munity will soon be numerous enough to have perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. God must have continual worship here. There is also a monastery of our Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel being erected on the edge of the Falls, where the weary pilgrim in search of the sublime may find a rest and retreat for the wants of his soul in a higher spiritual life in the solitude of the monastery.
Days of trial were in the order of Providence for the Seminary. Trials purify internally, and cause the externals to flourish. The first superiors of the Seminary feared very much that bad boys should gain admission into the Seminary. The example of the defeat of the Hebrew army on account of the sin of one of its soldiers often passed through the minds of the Superiors of this Seminary; but with all reasonable precaution, not perhaps enough, some will be admitted who should not. The fiery ordeal through which the Seminary passed proved in the end a blessing from God, though at the time it might appear as chastisement. It arose more beautiful and grand from its purification, and, like the days of Job, the last were more glorious than the first. The Holy Father honored the resurrection of the Seminary by his blessing and by a noble contri- bution, and a vast number of friends did honor to themselves and religion by following the noble example of the Holy Father.
This fire made the Seminary more known, and a greater number of students than before was attracted to it. The self-devotedness of the superiors and students during and after the fire was most heroic. One life - a precious and holy one - was lost to earth, but gained to Heaven, whose tomb in the cemetery is a constant reminder of sacrifice and victory. The students, after the fire,
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loathed to leave the place of their love; they were kindly and hos- pitably entertained by noble hearts in the neighborhood, and by Bishop Timon, the Sisters of Charity of Buffalo, and other friends. At last, however, the word of obedience came, and all went to their homes or other seminaries, resolved to return as soon as their own loved one would be rebuilt.
The Superiors, too, had their large share of trial over and above the burning. Sickness, both of body and heart, attacked them, but God was the Consoler here again. The heart of parents, brothers, and students was the mainstay of the Seminary. At the very beginning, in a small tavern, it could no longer maintain the number of students who insisted on entering. They put up with any scant accommodation. There was a very large barn near the house, and this, with their own hands during recreation hours, aided by a carpenter, they fitted up, not elegantly, but comfortably, as a residence. It was as good as the first buildings of Clairveaux or Cluny that sheltered the holy monks who flocked to those places in St. Bernard's time. The refitted barn was facetiously called by the boys "The University," and it well deserved the name. I recollect in one corner of it was the oven, where good bread was baked by the brothers. I need not enumerate all the uses it was put to. The noble spirit of generosity between the community and the pupils amongst themselves, and the love of the place, I am happy to hear, reigns still; and long may it continue, and may it fulfill the primary intentions of its founders.
Of the students who entered the Seminary for the first three and four years thirty-five became priests. The total number during twenty-five years is estimated at about three hundred, of whom two hundred and fifty were ordained in the Seminary; the others, after studying their classics or philosophy, went to other seminaries and were ordained. Was the selection to the priesthood so perfect that none of them disedified the Church and caused pain and confusion to their Bishops and to their former Superiors? We cannot suppose this ; but we are assured, all things taken into account, the students of Our Lady of Angels have as good a record as those of any other seminary in this country or in Europe.
Let me here record again what was insinuated before, that it was the primary intention of the first founders of this institution, in the first place, to have a home or seminary where the primitive spirit of the Gospel, which portrayed the lives of the first Chris- tians, should be exhibited in the lives and morals of the inmates here;
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and, in the second place, that sacred science and its handmaids, the secular sciences, should be brought to their perfection as far as human efforts could bring them; that here should dwell a happy family of God's chosen children, frank, open, truthful, honorable, devout, pious, and religious; no meanness, no eyeserving as slaves, but enjoying this freedom as becomes the children of Christ and His Gospel, partaking of all the grand privileges of members of the Church, their souls frequently fed and nourished on the bread of eternal life, one heart and one soul, all for God and His Church, for our Blessed Mother and the Saints.
And, as true science leads to God in searching out the wonderful workings of His Providence in the laws that govern this terrestrial and celestial world that we see and which surrounds us, these must be studied with awe and respect. The more the mind penetrates into the ways and workings of God in this world, the more the mind and heart should be lifted up to the great Creator and preserver of all things. A true philosopher must be a real adorer and servant of God. The perverted philosopher assumes his own hallucinations as first principles and proofs, is led from one absurdity to another, and is confounded in his own confusion ; but what is equally strange is that he is followed, lauded, and praised by those who should have sense. The grand and sublime sciences of God and His laws in the moral order is called Divinity or Theology, as taught by the Angel of the schools, St. Thomas, and that it should be studied deeply, leisurely, and properly, was the earnest desire and ambition of the first founders of the institution.
A two years' course of mental philosophy after the study of astronomy, geology, and other kindred sciences, with seven years of theology, canon law, Sacred Scriptures, homiletics, and other sacred branches, would not appear to be too long a course for a student to be thoroughly initiated in the human and Divine sciences. I say initiated, because the study of these sciences only ends in seeing the beatific vision of God. St. Patrick did not lose time whilst visiting and learning in the famous Monasteries of Europe, for he was, as tradition says, forty-seven years of age when he came to evangelize the Irish nation. Large funds are necessary to attain this desired course of studies, but funds will be showered from Heaven on those who will commence a work with a strong determination to accom- plish it with God's assistance.
The Catholic Church in America is in one of the freest countries of the world. It depends on the Catholics themselves to make their
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churchmen the most refined and cultured, and the most learned in the sciences, as they must be the purest in morals, the mainstay of society at large. It is true, that at the commencement of the great Catholic immigration into this country, priests were wanting, and there was a great loss in the children of the first generation, but at present the organization of the Church is very satisfactory, thanks to the sacrifices of their clergy and people. The Public School sys- tem, however, forced against the consciences of the Catholics, is a stigma on the otherwise fair escutcheon of America; but this, we hope, with the advance of education and a proper knowledge of what liberty means, to see removed. In monarchial Canada this liberty of conscience is complete. A man is not taxed for an edu- cation for his children against which his conscience revolts.
The Catholics of Lower Canada, though in great majority, with true liberality and fairness, passed a law permitting their Protestant fellow-citizens to apply their school taxes to support their own schools; and with this example before them, the Protestants of Upper Canada passed a law also permitting their Catholic fellow- citizens to support their own schools by their own taxes. We hope to see the same fairness in the United States. The government of the country is hardly as yet a century old; it is in its herculean infancy, and we hope great things with the progress of true educa- tion.
Archbishops, bishops, priests, and religious orders of both sexes are multiplying, and, thanks to the sacrifices made by those religious bodies, the Christian education of children and the spiritual wants of the parents are well attended to. But the first century of the real life of the Church in this country is not, as yet, completed, and if the progress in the future, with large resources and means, be in proportion to the past, a most glorious future awaits the Church of America. There is no impeding its progress; it is Christ's Church, having the promises of indestructiblety, and it will conquer. Our non-Catholic friends need not be alarmed, for the Catholic Church has always been the friend and protector of true freedom, not of licentiousness, the support of good government, not of tyranny, the true guide of the people towards happiness here and hereafter.
From statistics, gathered rather imperfectly, the occupations of life engaged in by the students who passed through the Seminary are as follows: Priests, accurately as can be estimated, are 300, of whom about 230 were ordained in the Seminary; physicians, 25;
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lawyers, known, 47; professors in colleges and schools, 40; editors of newspapers, 15; bankers and brokers, 25; merchants, 245; respectable and distinguished members of the Legislatures, and poli- cians, with innumerable clerks, bookkeepers, etc. This is a respect- able record, and we trust that these gentlemen do not forget their early religious instructions and the care of the one thing necessary. I have trespassed upon your indulgence too long. I will leave it now to the real orators, who will address you, to give the more glorious history of the triumphs of the College and Seminary in its latter years; I have simply narrated its infant history. The presence of so many of its former students and friends is an evidence of the hold which this institution has on their good will and affections. May they long continue to shed around them the halo of a good, sound, and religious education, and may the students of the present and the future be men that their parents, their Church, and their country may be proud of. Above all, may they rejoice always in the happiness of a good and upright conscience.
"Crowded columns, already protesting against their burden of print, necessarily forbid us space to speak with satisfaction about the music, which proved so remarkable a source of credit on ' Anni- versary Day.' The intended afternoon concert was found imprac- ticable, and was happily withdrawn in favor of the splendid enter- tainment of eloquence which our Rt. Rev. guests freely and bril- liantly supplied. But, had the programme been followed out, we have reason to suppose it would have been a musical success. The soirees in the parlor were altogether improvised, but a genuine treat was there afforded us by the choruses of well-voiced alumni - sur- prisingly so by Fathers Taylor and Mclaughlin.
" However, with honest pride our own Seminary Choir and their able Director, Father Kircher, can unblushingly accept the ovation accorded them by unanimous voice for their successful rendition of the sacred music during the morning service. All the more pro- nounced success, because of the disadvantages which they encoun- tered in a spacious, unfinished building, whose naked stone walls and vacant, irregular vaults, render it unfavorable in nothing more than in its acoustics. We share Father Kircher's pleasant disappoint- ment that his patient efforts did not result in the failure he feared. The programme, as already published, shows the music of the Mass to have been the Gregorian Chant of the official Gradual - the single exception being Arcadel's 'Ave Maria ' at the Offertory.
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Apart from being a masterpiece, this composition is, in itself, very pleasing; no wonder, then, it bore off the greatest share of compli- ment and surprise. A ' Te Deum ' by Stein, was also the subject of much favorable comment. Delicacy, on any other occasion, would command silence, but the outspoken admiration of many honored visitors forces us to award an unusual measure of praise. Much, indeed, must have been the enthusiasm of the hot moment, still there remains sufficient congratulation - the result of calm conviction.
"Of this we are certain and glad that, if it were a tri- umph for the singers, it was a greater triumph for that kind of singing, namely, correct sacred chant. A movement toward this long needed reform in liturgical music has, for some time, been in action ; but feeble help and favor are lent it because it is misunder- stood; often because it is poorly conducted.
"It is to our credit, it is something important and signifi- cant, to have enlisted the admiration of those who are accustomed to far different music; who, probably, have always sought the summit of musical art in bravura arias. If they have borne away altered convictions on our account, then the triumph is com- plete.
"It is not our purpose to forget the band and orchestra, although our intention was primarily to deal only with the vocal music of the occasion. During the afternoon exercises these two organizations furnished music which is seldom excelled by any but professionals. They enlivened the morning by their sprightly airs, and lent prestige to the whole celebration by the ability which they displayed in rendering suitable and appropriate pieces. Professor O'Neil, and all who have aught to do with either the band or orches- tra, may well be proud of the treats which these organizations con- tributed to the festivities on the 23d ult.
"Many letters and telegrams were received from different prelates throughout the country regretting their inability to be present at the Silver Jubilee celebration. We would wish to be able to give them all publication. Congratulatory epistles were received by Father Kavanagh from Rt. Rev. R. Gilmour, of Cleveland, O .; Rt. Rev. J. V. Cleary, of Kingston, Canada ; Rt. Rev. J. F. Janet, Vic. Apostolic of North America; Rt. Rev. J. O'Connor, of Omaha, Neb .; Rt. Rev. P. J. Ryan, of St. Louis, Mo .; Rt. Rev. E. P. Wadhams, of Ogdensburg, N. Y .; Rt. Rev. F. Mullen, Erie, Pa .; Bishop Conroy, and many others. Over two hundred letters were received from old students whom previous engagements
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prevented from being here. Of the Bishop's letters we have room for the following:
BALTIMORE, Nov. 9, 1891.
Rev. Dear Sir : - Please accept my cordial thanks for your kind invitation to attend the Silver Jubilee of your admirable institution. I have a great desire to be present, not only for the purpose of participating in the festivities of the occasion, but also to join with the distinguished prelates mentioned in your letter, in honoring an institution which has already done so much in the cause of religion in our country. If one good priest animated by that true spirit so well portrayed by Mgr. Ryan in his recent sermon in New York, can effect so much good, how inestimable are the blessings already conferred by the Young Mother of so many priests? I pray for your institution centuries of continued usefulness and prosperity. I have an engagement on the 21st and 22d, which will deprive me of the pleasure of accepting your invitation. Believe me, Rev. Dear Father, to remain,
Yours faithfully in Christ, JAMES GIBBONS, Archbishop of Baltimore.
HARRISBURG, Nov. 17, 1881.
REV. P. V. KAVANAGH, C. M.
Rev. Dear Sir : - I have just received your kind invitation to be present at the Silver Jubilee of your Seminary on the 23d inst. It would give me, I assure you, very great pleasure to be with you on that joyous occasion, and share in your pleasure with so many of my good friends. Were I free, I certainly would make a great effort to be with you, for I fully recognize the good that has been wrought through your institution during the quarter of a century of its existence, and am by no means unmindful of the agreeable relations that have always been between us, and the kind- ness you and your faculty were ever ready to manifest when I had occasion to place ecclesiastical students under your careful train- ing. Wishing you a grand success on your Jubilee Festival, with the recurrence of many a succeeding one in the history of your Col- lege and Seminary.
I am very sincerely yours, J. F. SHANAHAN, Bishop of Harrisburg.
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ALBANY, Nov. 18, 1881.
Dear Reo. Father: - I have the honor of acknowledging the receipt of the kind invitation tendered me in your own name and in the name of the members of the faculty to be present at the cele- bration of the twenty-fifth anniversary, on the 23d inst. I regret that pressing official duties will not allow me to have the honor on that day, and to be with you on an occasion of great interest, not only to all those immediately connected with the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels, or even to your own community, but to the Church in this country, and, indeed, to the Church at large. Although com- pelled to be absent, I shall not fail to take a deep interest in all that may be said or done on the occasion. I hope and pray that it may conduce to the extension and perpetuation of the great work already begun and brought to so high a state of perfection, and that they who may come later to carry on this work may walk steadily and faithfully in the footprints of yourselves and of your most worthy and illustrious predecessors. I remain, with very great respect,
Your humble servant, FRANCIS, Bishop of Albany.
DAVENPORT, Nov. 21, 1881.
My Dear Father Kavanagh: Had it been pos- sible I would be delighted to witness the grand festivity of the Jubilee of Our Lady of Angels. I congratulate you and the other members of your faculty on the services that your seminary has done for religion during its first twenty-five years, and have no doubt but it is the beginning of its grand career.
Most truly and respectfully yours,
J. C. McMULLEN, Bishop of Davenport.
SCRANTON, Nov. 21, 1881.
Rev. P. C. Kavanagh, C. M.
Rev. Dear Sir: - In reply to your cordial invitation, requesting me to be present at the twenty-fifth celebration of the foundation of the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels, I regret that my previous engagements will not allow me to be with you on that day. Nothing
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would give me more pleasure. Your institution has been the means of great good to religion in many parts of this country and my prayer and hope are that it may, through the agency of the devoted children of St. Vincent of Paul, accomplish still more in the future. Yours sincerely, W. O'HARA, Bishop of Scranton.
" We conclude our exhaustive account of Niagara's Silver Jubilee with the following Latin poem, written by the Rev. Joseph Alizeri, C. M., of Germantown, Pa. :.
REGINAE ANGELORUM NIAGARENSI.
Die anniversaria Niagarensis Seminarii Angelorum Reginae dicati. Hic adsis, precor, e coelo delapsa sereno,
Hic adsis, Christi tu sine labe parens,
Te rogat hic adsis nostrae pia turba juventae Te rogat et cleri plurima turba tui. Namque dies festa, insolito tam plena triumpho Absentem prorsus nunc vetat esse Matrem. Hic adsis, vultum et nobis ostende serenum Que nullus coelis gratior esse potest,
Divinisque fluant suavissima verba labellis Quae natis spondent plurima dona tuis. Haec mane dum summo volvebam mente, latebam In templo, repetens haec mea vota, novo, Adstitit extemplo Coeli Regina precanti Pluribus angelicis concomitata choris. Et radians aderat noster Vincentius, alba Indutus stola - quae nive candidior. Haud aberant rubra fulgentes veste, decoram
Gestantes palmam - martyr uterque - manu, Perborius, Cletusque simul - par nobile fratrum - Quos ornat rubeo chorda colore micans. Atque Robertus adest Ricenus, ad aethera vectus Cum cinerem excepit terra remota suum, Et Tonatorus, festivus Burkus, et ipse Continua insignis, tu, bone Calve, prece. Adstabat verbis notus Barberus amoenis, Percharus Matri, credite, Virgineæ; Severus Knowdus, MacGerryus, atque facetus
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Cui nunquam ingenui displicuere sales Marcus et Antonius, Janseni fervidus hostis ; Mole Koop tenuis, sed bene mente gigas. Imberbisque aderat Germana ex gente Piperus, Alter Aloysius, sic pia fama refert. Sed facile princeps aderat Monahanius, omnes Confratres superans simplicitate suos. Post omnes vidi minimum, vultuque remisso, Qui Vincentinum liquit ovile pium; Ex nobis abiit, rediit sed protinus ; illum Restituit nobis nobile martyrium. Adstabant alii majori luce decori, Quos etiam in coelis infula sancta tegit, Timonus nec non Domenechus, Odinus, Amatus, Quique rosis vernis nomen habet roseum, Ecclesiae in terris sidera conspicua. Adstabant plures - lectissima corona - sorores ;
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