USA > New York > Niagara County > History of the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels : Niagara University, Niagara County, N.Y., 1856-1906 > Part 9
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Sermon, REv. J. L. REILLY, '74, Albany Diocese.
Mass, Cecilian, Joseph Groiss
Proprium Misse (composed for the occasion), . Tento Orchestral Accompaniment by N. U. Orchestra.
Musical Director, .
. Rev. E. M. FARRELL, C. M.
Director of Orchestra,
Mr. C. A. LOUIS KRAEGEL.
" At the conclusion of Mass the corridors were filled with a surg- ing crowd of humanity that kept up a continual hum of conversation in utter disregard of our rule of silence in the corridors. In this happy scene we were scarcely able to recognize our college home, usually so quiet and peaceful. Every one seemed thoroughly happy in this reunion under the very walls of Alma Mater. Some, indeed, greeted for the first time in many years the companions of their student days. There were venerable figures rendered dear by associ- ation with other years, whose very presence would have rendered the occasion memorable. Fathers Kavanagh, Landry, Hickey, C. M., Father O'Conner - these, indeed, are names to conjure with among Niagara's sons.
" But we must turn our thoughts from these tender reflections to a more prosaic, but not less agreeable, subject. Shortly after 1 o'clock the dinner gong signaled the hour for the refreshment of the inner man. An elaborate menu had been prepared by our Rev. Pro- curator. We vouch for the viands, but not for the French in the following list of good things:
MENU
Olives.
Huitres en Coquilles. Hors D'Oeuvres. Celeri. Potage. Tortue à l' Anglaise. PERMARTIN OLOROZO.
Raves.
Poisson.
Saumon au Court Bouillon. Pommes de Terre Parisiennes.
SAUTERNE.
Entrecote de Bœuf au Jus.
Releve. Haricots Verts.
Panais Sautes.
CHATEAU PONTET CANET.
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Entree.
Ris de Veau en Croustade. Points d' Asperges au Beurre. Roti.
Dinde aux Canneberges. Puree de Pommes de Terre.
VEUVE CLIQUOT PONSARDIN.
Laitue.
Salade.
Tomates.
Dessert. Glace à la Vanille. Fruits Varies.
Tourte d' Abricots.
Gateaux Assortis.
Biscuits à l' eau de Bent.
Fromage Roquefort.
Fromage Canadien.
Cafe Noir.
Cognac.
La Flor de Cuba.
TOASTS
THE HOLY FATHER. 'The clouds that gather 'round the setting sun Do take a sober coloring from an eye That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality.' - Wordsworth.
OUR MOST HONORED ALUMNUS, Rt. Rev. James Edward Quigley, D. D., '72. 'He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one ; Exceeding wise, fair-spoken and persuading.' - Henry VIII .; Act IV.
OUR MOST HONORED GUEST, Rt. Rev. Thomas M. A. Burke, D. D. 'A man he seems of cheerful yesterdays And confident tomorrows.' - Wordsworth. Address by Rev. R. M. Reilly, '98, Albany Diocese.
NIAGARA'S FORMER PRESIDENTS. 'Oft in the stilly night, Ere slumber's chain has bound me, Fond memory brings the light .
Of other days around me.' - Moore.
OUR ALUMNI. 'Where were you bred, And how achieved you these endowments ?' - Pericles ; Act V.
NIAGARA'S JOURNALISM. 'Ay me! what act that roars so loud, And thunders in the 'Index'?'
- Hamlet ; Act III.
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" To say that the banquet was set in the most exquisite taste is only to do justice to our inner convictions. During the various courses the time was enlivened by the rendition of excellent music by the N. U. Orchestra, under the direction of Professor Kraegel.
" Fr. McHale, after a vain appeal to old Alumni, finally found himself obliged to assume the duties of toastmaster. Despite his reluctance, however, he proved himself an adept in the art, and charmed everyone by the tact, grace, and elegance with which he introduced the speakers.
" As the first toast was Our Holy Father, Leo XIII., Fr. Mc- Hale deemed it fitting that the one among the guests nearest the Pontiff in dignity should respond to the toast; he, therefore, called upon the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Albany. Bishop Burke, in his own inim- itable style, declared the fitness of praise for the venerable Pontiff of Rome from his children. Then, with a happy anecdote, he set the tables in a roar and made clear the manner in which he was to treat his subject. He pronounced a stirring eulogy of the Pope as a master of the three great arts of poetry, oratory, and statesmanship. In response to the name of 'Our Most Honored Alumnus,' the absent Bishop of Buffalo, Very Rev. Fr. Connery arose and deftly expressed the sentiment of all present. He spoke of Rt. Rev. Bishop Quigley's honorable career at Niagara and of his after life so full of labors and fruit. He regretted the necessity that caused his absence on this happy occasion, where so many were gathered who were at once the children of him and his Alma Mater. A kindred feeling of regret was in every heart, but as the father's welfare is more precious than the children's pleasure, we can only express the hope that his return will find him refreshed and invigorated.
" The address of Rev. Mr. Reilly to ' Our Most Honored Guest,' followed; it surpassed even the usual high standard of excellence of the gentleman's productions. Rev. Mr. Reilly spoke in behalf of the student body and afterwards, as senior among them, in behalf of the Seminarians affiliated to the Diocese of Albany, in expressing love and esteem for Bishop Burke. The words of the Rt. Rev. Bishop in reply were warm and cordial. We will ever cherish his expressions of good will as most precious memories of a memorable day. That his associations with Old Niagara, its faculty, and its students may be as warm in the future as he declared them to have been in the past is our dearest wish.
" When Fr. Kavanagh arose to respond to the toast, ' Niagara's Former Presidents,' an outburst of applause broke spontaneously
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from every corner of the refectory. It was evident that those ten- derest feelings of filial affection still flourished in the hearts of Fr. Kavanagh's children with perennial vigor. Fr. P. V., to use the old and endeared abbreviation, spoke in his happiest vein of the early struggles and vicissitudes of those whose lot it was to guide the for- tunes of Old Niagara through trouble and misfortune to final triumph and success. From his boyhood days, when our present institution was an infant of a year's growth, with one slight inter- ruption, until four years ago, when he cast his burden upon younger shoulders, he was actively engaged in the work of the University; now he may well look back with pleasure to years well spent, filled with labor and fruitful in results. Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit.
'Oft in the stilly night, Ere slumber's chain has bound me, Fond memory brings the light Of other days around me.'
" Of Fr. Kavanagh's own personality we need say nothing. To all our guests, and to many students still within the walls of Old Niagara, the memory of the years of his active service as president is still green within the heart. To mention his name is to call up a thousand fond recollections; to speak in his praise to those who know him is ' to paint the lily, to throw a perfume upon the violet.'
" Very Rev. Dean Harris, of St. Catharines, spoke in behalf of 'Our Alumni.' Dean Harris is a man of exquisite culture, and for years intimately associated with the University. His pungent wit and flow of elegant language were a real treat. He was followed by Rev. M. Noonan with the last toast on the list, 'Niagara Journal- ism.' Fr. Noonan, whose name is an honored one among our former editors, spoke in glowing terms of the past history of the Index and of its value as an incentive to progress toward perfection in literature. His usual happy vein of humor ran through the entire speech. For his words of encouragement to the present staff we thank him from our hearts. Recognizing our own mediocrity and our inability to surpass, it shall ever be our ambition to emulate, our predecessors in office.
" In closing, permit us to express the hope that the completion of the noble structure, the occasion of the festive gathering, and the happy termination of the day, may bind in even closer bonds our Alumni and Alma Mater.
" We were able to obtain the names of the following visitors: Rt.
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Rev. T. M. A. Burke, D. D., Bishop of Albany; Very Rev. M. P. Connery, V. G., Buffalo, N. Y .; Very Rev. J. F. O'Hare, V. G., Rochester, N. Y .; Very Rev. P. V. Kavanagh, C. M., Emmittsburg, Md .; Very Rev. J. J. Sullivan, C. M., Brooklyn, N. Y .; Very Rev. W. R. Harris, St. Catharines, Ont .; Rev. James O'Connor, Seneca Falls, N. Y .; Rev. F. S. Henneberry, Chicago, Ill .; Rev. J. L. Reilly, Schenectady, N. Y .; Rev. J. L. Lowery, LL. D., Troy, N. Y .; Revs. J. J. Hanlon, J. H. Mangan, and T. J. Walsh, Albany, N. Y .; Rev. J. McCarthy, Troy, N. Y .; Rev. F. McGuire, Albany, N. Y .; Rev. J. Lanigan, Buffalo, N. Y .; Rev. P. Cronin, LL. D., Tonawanda, N. Y .; Rev. E. M. McDermott, Buffalo, N. Y .; Rev. T. Caraher, Ellicottville, N. Y .; Revs. D. Walsh and J. F. Kelley, Buffalo, N. Y .; Rev. M. J. Noonan, Warsaw, N. Y .; Revs. J. Roche, N. Gibbons, and E. Gibbons, Niagara Falls, N. Y .; Rev. J. J. Leddy, Lockport, N. Y .; Rev. M. J. Kean, Buffalo, N. Y .; Rev. M. J. McNab, Medina, N. Y .; Rev. M. O'Shea, Hammonds- port, N. Y .; Revs. P. S. Gilmore and C. O'Byrne, Buffalo, N. Y .; Rev. J. J. Nash, D. D., Portageville, N. Y .; Rev. A. M. O'Neil, Phelps, N. Y .; Rev. J. Gillhooley, Olean, N. Y .; Rev. T. F. Gleason, Niagara Falls, N. Y .; Rev. T. J. Brougham, Batavia, N. Y .; Rev. J. F. Ryan, Buffalo, N.Y. ; Rev. E. Rengel, East Aurora, N. Y .; Rev. J. F. Tracy, Dayton, N. Y .; Rev. S. E. Airey, Buffalo, N. Y .; Rev. E. J. Duffy, Akron, N. Y .; Rev. Fr. Michael, O. S. F., Buffalo, N. Y .; Rev. Felix Scullin, Barkers, N. Y .; Rev. P. J. Mul- laney, Lewiston, N. Y .; Rev. D. Ryan, Bergen, N. Y .; Rev. F. Sullivan, Albion, N. Y .; Gregory Doyle, M. D., Syracuse, N. Y .; Revs. J. W. Moore, C. M., W. J. Likly, C. M., and A. C. Murphy, C. M., Germantown, Pa. ; Rev. M. A. Taylor, New York City ; Rev. T. J. Sullivan, Thorold, Ont .; Rev. M. Clune, Syracuse, N. Y .; Rev. T. F. Gregg, New York City ; Rev. M. Salley, Port Jervis, N. Y .; Rev. M. Krischel, Cohocton, N. Y .; Rev. P. Conway, Chicago, Ill .; Rev. Charles O'Reilly, Edwardsville, Ill .; Mr. M. W. Griffin, Lock- port, N. Y. ; Mr. A. Masse, Batavia, N. Y .; Mr. Eugene Kennedy, Buffalo, N. Y .; Mr. P. Sullivan, St. Catharines, Ont .; O. E. Mc- Carty, M. D., Messrs. J. W. Lennon, M. T. Ryan, and E. M. Flynn, Niagara Falls, N. Y."
On the morning of August 5th, a little over six months after its solemn reopening, the Chapel was destroyed by fire, nothing but the walls remaining after the flames had spent their fury. It was at first supposed that the fire was incendiary in its origin, but later investigation pointed to that mysterious agent, spontaneous combus-
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tion, from some oil-soaked rags which had been used the day previous for polishing the floors, and which were afterwards carelessly thrown by an employee into a corner in one of the towers. Through the efforts of the priests, students, and workmen who had gathered in hopes of saving the structure, but found themselves unable to check the progress of the flames, the sacred vessels, pictures, vest- ments, statues, and some other ornaments were rescued from destruc- tion. The interior was completely destroyed, the roof falling in, and only the stout walls resisting the onslaught. After the fire had died out they were found quite intact, standing like grim protectors over the sacred ruins beneath.
The question of restoring the Chapel to its former condition or of remodeling the plans so as to produce a more serviceable struc- ture was seriously debated by Father McHale, the President, and his faculty. It may not be generally known that the old Chapel had been pronounced by an expert in architecture to be unsafe on account of the heaviness of the roof, which threatened, he affirmed, under an extra pressure like that of a Niagara snow-fall to bulge the walls and cause an entire collapse of the building. Besides, the main purpose for which the Chapel had been originally begun, the housing of a congregation, gave no hopes of realization, whereas the need of a suitable hall for the various functions inseparable from life in a boarding college had been urging itself upon the authorities at Niagara for many a year.
It was accordingly decided to make use of the insurance money, $19,506 obtained from the burning of the Chapel, in the erection of what is now known as Alumni Hall. When the students reas- sembled in September, 1898, they found divine service conducted once more in the old Chapel on the top corridor of the north wing, while workmen were busy transforming the ruined Chapel into a shapely structure. By the 30th of May, 1899, Alumni Hall was ready for dedication, and was blessed by Vicar General Connery with those solemn ceremonies which our Church prescribes for such occasions. The priests and laity who were present at the formal opening expressed their astonishment and satisfaction at the trans- formation effected in so short a time. Inspection of the new build- ing demonstrated to them, as we believe it has to subsequent visitors, the wisdom of erecting on the ruins of the old Chapel a hall as commo- dious and well appointed as that which we now possess. For the bene- fit of those who have not seen this addition to the comfort provided for Niagara's students, a description of the hall is here appended :
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The basement, running the entire length of the building (which is 122 feet long and 76 feet wide), contains a bowling alley of reg- ulation size, and is also fitted up as a gymnasium with all modern concomitants, including shower baths. The first floor is divided into apartments suitable for music, society, and class rooms. On the floor above is located the college theater, with seating capacity for 400, all the chairs of the latest pattern, while the stage in roominess and supply of scenery would serve the purposes of a professional troupe. When the actors of by-gone days at Niagara recall the limits placed on their aspirations by cramped quarters, poor light, meagre wardrobe, and other discouragements better remembered than recorded, they will agree, we think, that a first-class dramatic hall was one thing always needed and always overlooked in this vicinity. The study hall, the play hall, and later on the P. V. K. Shakesperian Hall (now once more the University Chapel) were turned occasionally into " theaters," but except in the last case the accommodations were too miserable for anything like successful renditions (apart, of course, from the splendid qualities of the actors themselves). To the left of the dramatic hall are two society rooms, one occupied by the R. E. V. R. members, the other by those of the S. O. L. A. The B. L. A. and the N. C. A., or Band Associa- tion, are located on the first floor, where also may be found the quarters of the J. J. V. T. C. C., an organization of recent years, but deservedly popular because of the inducements which it holds out to its members. As it is intended in the course of this history to give due attention to the origin and aims of all the societies exist- ing at Niagara, it will not be necessary to explain here why the youngest society in the house has the largest " pay roll."
On the right of the dramatic hall are physical and chemical laboratories, work rooms, store rooms, cubby-holes in plenty, showing how every foot of space has been utilized to the best advantage. The entire building is lighted by electricity, with acetylene gas in reserve, both supplied from plants located on the premises and employed for illuminating also the adjacent buildings.
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BUFFALO'S BISHOPS
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LIBRARY OF UNION THEBEACHCAL SEMINARY, *
NEW YORK
RIGHT REV. JOHN TIMON, C. M., D. D. First Bishop of Buffalo
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CHAPTER IX RIGHT REV. JOHN TIMON, C. M., D. D., FIRST BISHOP OF BUFFALO
I T was during the episcopate of this illustrious and saintly prel- ate that our institution had its beginning, as stated elsewhere in this book. From the day that his religious brethren, the Priests of the Mission, came into his diocese at his own invitation until the time of his death, a period of twelve years, he was consistent and steadfast in his friendship, aiding them when in straits by his personal contributions as well as by that influence which his official position enabled him to secure. Although the scope of our volume would limit us to those years in which Bishop Timon was connected with Niagara as co-founder with Father Lynch, C. M., and its patron as an ecclesiastical seminary in his diocese, we feel that we may rightfully enlarge our notice of this apostolic prelate beyond the period indicated.
He was an American by birth, having been born at a place called Conevago, Adams County, Pa., of Irish parents, February 12, 1797. His biographers tell us that the Cavan stock from which he sprang kept up the reputation of its county for sound faith and large families. The future bishop was the second of ten children resulting from the marriage of his parents, John Timon and Margaret Leddy, who were held in high esteem by all the people of Belthurbet, their dwelling town in Ireland, because of their piety and Christian charity, and who, after they had settled in America, endeavored above all things else to rear their children in the faith of the Catholic Church.
In order to better his condition, the elder Timon moved with his family to Baltimore, Md., where he established himself as a dry goods merchant, and where he met with only indifferent success until such time as his son John was able to take a hand in the declining business. The latter is said to have been very polite and handsome in his nineteenth year, physically well developed, and equipped mentally with as much of polite learning as fell to the lot of the average young man in those primitive days. It is no wonder, then, according to a naive remark by one of his biographers, that his father's dry goods business began to pick up, at least in the number of customers, if not in the bulk of goods delivered over the counter.
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An element of romance began to creep into the prosaic life of our young knight of the yardstick just about this time, for we are told: " He had already become an object of interest for all anxious mothers with marriageable daughters "! The removal of the family to Louisville, Ky., in 1818, delivered young Timon from the wily mammas of Baltimore, although the same attractive personality which had made him a sort of social lion in the latter place contrib- uted to make him prominent in the blue grass region.
The restlessness of his father, however, who remained only one year in Louisville, going with his family to St. Louis, Mo., in 1819, may have been providential for the future prelate, who already began to feel the stirring of a divine call within him. For awhile, indeed, young Timon devoted himself to business pursuits with such energy and success that he was soon in the way of becoming a very wealthy man, when financial reverses, the result of a widespread panic, overcame him and his father in 1823, reducing them to the borders of penury.
God speaks to us in adversity; indeed, His voice is heard more clearly by the soul when misfortunes surround us than when the noise and glitter of success wean us from His fatherly invitations. To the financial ruin of young Timon was added just about this time the breaking of a tender bond between himself and an estimable young lady of St. Louis, to whom he had become engaged, but whose failing health resulting in premature death made him see more clearly than ever the vanity of all earthly things and the designs of God in his regard.
Biographers of saints or other holy people are accustomed at times to exclude from their pages any account which might savor of weakness or indecision on the part of their heroes. Even the ordinary reader, especially if he be a hero worshiper, prefers to have God's inspirations begin at the cradle and end only at the tomb. But practical experience seems to teach a different psychol- ogy, as Joly calls it, although God's providence in the special care of his elect is found to yield in no time or place to the counter plans of nature. The trite, but true, maxim here holds good, that man proposes, but God disposes. In the case of our future bishop, God would chasten him beforehand by the fiery ordeal of suffering in those two realms wherein human energies expend themselves with greatest emphasis: fortune and the heart.
In 1823, at the age of twenty-six years, John Timon entered the novitiate of the Vincentians, who had but recently established them-
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selves at Saint Mary's of the Barrens, Perry County, Mo. After two years of trial he was permitted to make the four vows of the Community, and was then introduced to the study of philosophy and theology. During his stay at Saint Mary's he came in contact with men who afterwards became illustrious in the annals of the Church in America, and whose missionary spirit had much to do with the development of that apostolic zeal so characteristic of the first Bishop of Buffalo. When only a subdeacon he was frequently sent out to preach, and on one occasion he traveled through Arkansas with Father Odin, C. M., afterwards Archbishop of New Orleans, on a missionary tour, appearing with him in places where a Catholic priest had not been seen for nearly forty years.
In 1825 he was ordained priest, and from that date forward he devoted himself with ever-increasing zeal to the sublime but arduous labors of a missionary. His experience was, indeed, a school of severest training, but the more fatiguing his labors became the more his apostolic spirit urged him on to spread the light of the gospel, not only among the white settlers of the localities which he visited, but also among the Indians and negro slaves.
In 1835, when the American mission of the Vincentians was erected into a province by the Superior General resident in Paris, France, Father Timon was appointed First Visitor, or Provincial. In 1838 he visited Texas, then an independent republic, at the request of Bishop Blanc of New Orleans, who had been instructed by Rome to send some trustworthy person to investigate the condition of religion in that region. In 1840 he was appointed Prefect Apostolic of Texas, with power to administer the sacrament of Confirmation. As he was not able to depart immediately for his new post, he made Father Odin Vice Prefect with Father Douterange as Assistant, instructing the former to take the most stringent measures against two priests of disedifying habits in the newly created prefecture. Although of mild and pleasant temperament, Father Timon took on the austerity of the Apostle of the Gentiles when there was question of freeing the Church from those who were a cause of scandal to the faithful.
After spending nearly twenty-two years in the South and West, traveling as a missionary through Texas, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, and Louisiana, Father Timon was nominated by Rome in 1847 as Bishop of the newly erected See of Buffalo, N. Y. When the bulls were presented to him by Archbishop Kenrick, of St. Louis, the humility of Father Timon forced him
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to refuse them. Persuasion, however, from those whose advice he always respected, finally overcame his timidity to accept the prof- fered honors, and so it was that the newly appointed Bishop bade adieu to the scenes of his Western missions for an Eastern field, where he was to expend himself in apostolic labor. On the 17th of October, 1847, he was consecrated in the Cathedral of New York by Bishop Hughes, assisted by Bishop Walsh, of Halifax, and Bishop McCloskey, of Albany, afterwards Cardinal. Bishop Francis Ken- rick, of Baltimore, was the preacher.
It is not our intention to give in detail the history of an episco- pacy which extended over a period of twenty years, and which may be summarized as displaying in miniature the vicissitudes of the Church itself. Periods of calm and storm, misunderstandings and reconciliations, of apostolic vigor and Christ-like charity, pre- sent themselves to those who read without prejudice the first chapter of Buffalo's history as a diocese. Yet, through all the varied aspects presented, one point stands forth in clearest outline - the steady progress of Buffalo from a poorly equipped See in 1847 to the magnificent diocese of which Bishop Ryan took possession in 1868, after his saintly confrere and predecessor had laid aside the crozier to fall asleep in the Lord.
Two official acts which Bishop Timon performed, and which have embalmed his memory among us as that of a most devoted bene- factor, were the issuing of two circular letters in behalf of our institution. The first, addressed to the clergy and laity of his dio- cese, reads as follows :
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