USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Catholicity in northern Ohio and in the diocese of Cleveland from 1749 to December 31, 1900, Volume II, pt1 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
Full of courage, after his successful visit to Europe, he devoted all his energy and zeal to the development and visitation of his diocese. At or away from his episcopal city, he never had an idle moment. To reach all the missions of his immense diocese. covering Ohio and Michigan, he had to make long and tedious journeys by wagon, stage or on horseback, often through forests, and more often over roads, that were all but impassable.
His last visit to Northern Ohio was during the time of the cholera, in 1832. Before leaving Cincinnati, on a visit to Michigan, he had been ailing. Rallying somewhat, and prepared to die in the midst of his labors if God so willed it, he proceeded on his long journey, visiting all the missions along the route. He himself fell so sick at Sault Sainte Marie, Mich., that it was feared he would not recover. But he rallied and soon was on his journey home- ward to Detroit. and thence through Northern Ohio to Canton, where he arrived on September 24, completely exhausted, with fresh symptoms of the dreadful scourge that visited the entire country and counted its victims by the thousand. He was attended with the greatest and most tender care. Next morning he said Mass and wrote several letters. The stage arriving at the door of the pastoral residence of Father Henni, he bade him good- bye and went on to Wooster, intending to go thence to Cincinnati. Arriving at Wooster about 8 p. m., he was taken from the stage
-
5
IN NORTHERN OHIO.
with the fatal seal of cholera on him. He was brought to a hotel, where he expired at noon, Wednesday, September 26, 1832. Before sunset of the same day a mound marked the resting place of his remains. It seemed he had a foreboding of his death, for wherever he passed he said: "This is my last visit." In one of his letters he wrote that he would visit two or three congregations in the neighborhood of St. Joseph's, Perry county, which would be the term of his mission, and that thence he would return to Cincin- nati, because his strength failed him, but added, as was his custom, that he would do so; Dco volente, quia homo proponit, sed Deus disponit.
Father Henni was at once informed of the Bishop's dying condition, but on arriving at Wooster a few hours later, he found him buried.
The following obituary of Bishop Fenwick is taken from the Catholic Telegraph, of October 6, 1832. It was written by its editor, the Rev. Father Mullon :
"Our venerated and beloved Bishop has gone to reap the reward of his labors and trials, leaving us the memory of his worth, the example of his virtues, and the odor of his sanctity. He is dead ! Edward Fenwick is no more.
"Where is he whose approving smile was ever ready to cheer us; whose sympathetic heart shared our griefs, and the counsels of whose wisdom was a lamp to our footsteps? Where is he whom we were accustomed to behold at the altar of his God ; in the habi- tations of want and wretchedness; by the bedside of disease and pain ; or in the rude cabin of the simple native of the forest; on the errand of mercy and the work of benediction? Alas! those benignant features are stiffened in the rigidity of death ; that heart beats no more to human hope, or joy, or feeling; that light is extinguished : and the dank, cold clods of the valley are heaped above that majestic and venerated form.
"In the poignancy of the present affliction our only solace is in the consoling hope that his removal is only to an entrance on the happiness of the beatific vision of his God, in those abodes towards which his longing desires were ever directed, and where all his treasures were.
"This occasion, and our own feelings, will neither justify nor permit us now and here to dwell. at length, on his character and virtues-they are themes which hereafter through our pilgrimage we shall recall with delight and gratefully perpend. They will only allow us at this time to record the manner of his decease.
6
A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
"He was on his return homeward from Canton, Stark county, after a long and laborious visitation of the remoter parts of his extensive diocese, during which his heart was consoled *
at beholding the fruits of his enlightened charity and zeal. The pre- vailing epidemic (cholera) arrested his course and terminated his mortal career, at Wooster, in the county of Wayne." * *
"We add the following letter, addressed by Rev. M. Henni to Rev. J. I. Mullon, editor of the Catholic Telegraph :
'Wooster, Sept. 27, 1832.
'My Dear Friend .- P. has already advised you of the alarm- ing illness of our good Bishop. A task of most heart-rending character remains to me, to announce to you the event. He is no more! He died yesterday (Wednesday), at twelve o'clock, and was immediately interred. I witnessed only the mound which covers his remains. Requiescat in Pace.
Your most affectionate, M. HENNI.'"
In February, 1833, Bishop Fenwick's remains were taken to Cincinnati and there entombed under the old cathedral. They now repose beneath the altar of the present St. Peter's Cathedral, Cincinnati.
Bishop Fenwick was deservedly esteemed for his many noble qualities. He was a man of great simplicity of character. Delicate in health, he nevertheless devoted himself unsparingly as priest and bishop to the work within his sphere. The Catholics of Ohio owe him a debt of gratitude as the founder of the Church in this State. - "
"By his talents and amiable deportment he had gained himself many admirers and many personal friends. As a herald of the Cross he was always at his post, faithful, vigilant and indefatigable. In the ordinary walks of life he was dignified, affable and unosten- tations. * He was truly the apostle of Ohio."1 "Though not gifted with great natural talents, he possessed a peculiar tact for winning souls to Christ. ** Frank, open * and sincere by nature, and an American himself, he possessed an instinctive talent for dealing with Americans, whether Catholic or Protestant. Multitudes of the latter were converted to Catholicity through his agency.">
(1) Catholic Almarac, 1912.
(2) Spalding's "Sketches of Kentucky," p. 155.
DEUS SPES MEA.
THE MOST REV. JOHN BAPTIST PURCELL, D. D.
7
IN NORTHERN OHIO.
THE MOST REV. JOHN BAPTIST PURCELL, D. D., SECOND BISHOP OF CINCINNATI, 1833-1850. FIRST ARCHBISHOP OF CINCINNATI, 1850-1883.
John Baptist Purcell, a native of Ireland, was born at Mallow, county Cork, on February 26, 1800. After completing a collegiate course in his native country he set out for the United States, landing at Baltimore in his eighteenth year. For a short time he held a position as private tutor, but desirous of devoting himself to the priesthood, he entered Mt. St. Mary's College, at Emmitts- burg, Maryland. Showing talent much above the ordinary, he was sent to the famous Sulpician Seminary. Paris, to complete his theological studies, where also he was ordained priest on May 23, 1826. Shortly after his ordination he returned to the United States, and was appointed president of Mt. St. Mary's College, of which he was an alumnus. For seven years he held this important position, when the Holy See appointed him successor to the lamented Bishop Fenwick, as second Bishop of Cincinnati. As such he was consecrated, in his thirty-fourth year, at Baltimore, by Archbishop Whitfield. on October 13, 1833. After attending the Second Provincial Council of Baltimore, held a few days after his consecration, he set out for Cincinnati, arriving there on November 14, 1833. In his episcopal city he found but one church, a college in embryo. (the Atheneum, on Sycamore street), and an orphan asylum. His diocese comprised the whole of Ohio and part of Kentucky. In Ohio there were at this time but sixteen churches, attended by fourteen priests, a Dominican convent in Perry county, and a Catholic population estimated at about six thousand souls. Within the limits of the present Diocese of Cleveland there were but three churches, viz. : one near Dungan- non, and one each in Canton and Tiffin. These churches were attended by two priests, the Revs. John Martin Henni and Edmund Quinn, stationed respectively at Canton and Tiffin.
To visit his scattered flock Bishop Purcell could not avail himself of the convenience of travel now enjoyed, nor the hos- pitality now offered. On country wagons, by stage-coach and on horseback he covered great distances over bad roads, through primeval forests and across unbridged streams, often partaking of
.
8
A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
primitive country hotel fare, and often taking shelter in log huts. But in spite of difficulties, hardships and frequent privations, he cheerfully and often made his diocesan visitations, instructing, consoling and encouraging the faithful committed to his charge. Ilis episcopal visits were always red-letter days for the clergy and laity. His cheerful disposition and buoyant spirit spread sunshine and joy wherever he went, and his sermons attracted by their brilliancy and eloquence.
His first visit to Northern Ohio was made during the months of June and July, 1834, viz .: Dungannon. Canton, Louisville, Canal Fulton, Chippewa (Doylestown), Wooster, Tiffin and Mccutchenville. During the months of July, August and September, 1835, he visited Dungannon, New Lisbon, Cleveland, Cuyahoga Falls, Randolph, Louisville and Canton, and in 1836, Tiffin and Fremont. June 7. 1840, he preached in Cleveland at the dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Lake, known later as St. Mary's on the "Flats," Bishop de Forbin-Janson, on a visit from France, performing the dedicatory ceremony. During the same month Bishop Purcell also visited Liverpool, Chippewa. Canton and East Liverpool. November, 1840, he again came to Northern Ohio, visiting Findlay, Glandorf, and Ft. Jennings.
In 1841, during the months of June, July, August and November, he made an extensive tour through Northern Ohio, visiting the following places: Norwalk, Peru, Shelby, Shelby Settlement, Tiffin, Mccutchenville, Wolf's Creek (New Riegel), Sandusky, Fremont, LaPrairie, Perrysburg, Toledo, Canton. Louisville, Randolph, Akron, Chippewa, Wooster, Canal Fulton. Massillon and Bethlehem. In all these places he administered confirmation, and in many he dedicated churches or laid corner- stones for such. In June and July, 1846, he visited Sandusky. Cleveland, Peru, Norwalk, Tiffin, New Riegel, Toledo, Dungan- non and Wooster, and in August, 1847, Wooster, Canal Fulton. Youngstown and Akron. At Akron he performed his last epis- copal function in this part of his jurisdiction, ordaining to the priesthood. on August 5, 1847, the Rev. James Vincent Conlan.
In 1834 he sent a band of Redemptorist Fathers to Northern Ohio to take charge of missions in Huron. Erie and Seneca counties, with residence at Peru, near Norwalk. They were
9
IN NORTHERN OHIO.
succeeded in 1844 by the Sanguinist Fathers, who had been invited by him in Europe, the year previous, to come and labor in the Ohio mission.
Shortly after his advent to Cincinnati, in 1833, the rapid growth of Catholicity in that city, as in fact throughout the country, arcused bigotry and fanatical alarm. He was challenged by a Protestant preacher, named Alexander Campbell, to a public debate on Catholic doctrine. This was in 1837. For many days the disputants held sway over large and interested audiences. The brilliant young bishop vanquished his opponent and gained for himself the name of a profound theologian, accurate historian and keen debater.
He was a facile and pleasing writer, as his many learned pastorals will attest. He also contributed largely to the columns of the Catholic Telegraph, and had the habit of writing descriptions of his episcopal visitations, which will prove a storehouse of valuable material for the future historian of Catholicity in Ohio.
Finding his diocesan work far beyond his strength. he petitioned the Holy See for a division of his vast spiritual territory. In compliance with his wish the division was made in 1847, and all that part of Ohio, north of forty degrees and forty-one minutes, was made a separate diocese, with the Episcopal See at Cleveland, and the Rt. Rev. Amadeus Rappe as its first bishop. When Bishop Rappe took possession of his See he found forty-two churches, fourteen secular priests and seven Sanguinists under his jurisdic- tion, an increase of thirty-nine churches and nineteen priests since 1833, when Bishop Purcell was appointed to the See of Cincinnati.
Although thus relieved of nearly one-third of his former juris- diction, Bishop Purcell's zeal and labor did not diminish; on the contrary they grew and spread. Catholicity under his direction made wonderful strides in Central and Southern Ohio. With astonishing rapidity churches multiplied, congregations sprang into existence, religious, charitable and educational institutions were established, all demanding and receiving his watchful care and paternal guidance.
In 1850 Bishop Purcell was made Archbishop, with the Bishops of Louisville, Vincennes, Detroit and Cleveland as his suffragans.
----------
-
10
A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
Under his direction Mt. St. Mary's Seminary of the West was opened near Cincinnati in 1852. Indefatigably he labored for the spread of religion, and everywhere throughout his diocese evidence of his zeal and of the steady growth of the Church could be seen.
In 1853 Archbishop Purcell was relieved of the charge of Eastern Kentucky, by the erection of the Diocese of Covington. In 1868 he asked for further relief from constantly increasing work. The result was the erection of the Diocese of Columbus, compris- ing the southeastern part of Ohio. The first bishop was the Rt. Rev. S. H. Rosecrans, who, as coadjutor since 1862, had lightened his labors.
In 1869 the Archbishop made the last of his many visits to Rome, this time to attend the Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, which opened in December of that year. He took a prominent part in its debates, notably in those connected with the definition of the infallibility of the Pope. He belonged to the inopportunists, but after the council defined papal infallibility to be of faith, he yielded assent.
In connection with Archbishop Purcell's biography it is necessary, as a matter of history, to mention the clouded ending of an otherwise brilliant career, a singularly pure and unselfish life spent for God and His Church, viz., his financial disaster, of which Dr. John Gilmary Shea, in his history of "The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United States," pages 107 and 108, writes as follows :
"Early in 1879 financial affairs, which had been managed by the Very Rev. Edward Purcell, ended in bankruptcy. How it all came about must ever remain a mystery. The venerable Arch- bishop, as ignorant as a child of the system and its extent; at once came forward and assumed the whole responsibility of his brother's operations. This only complicated matters and raised a host of legal questions as to his ability, in character of trustee for the Catholic church in his diocese, to assume an individual indebted- ness contracted by another; and if he could, it became necessary to decide what property became liable for it-that owned by the diocese, or the property of every Catholic church and institution in the diocese. If the debt became a just charge on the whole
.
IN H OC SIGNO VINCES
THE RT. REV. AMADEUS RAPPE, D. D.
11
IN THE DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND.
diocese and all its churches and institutions, it was a debt on every Catholic, which he was bound in conscience to pay. This extreme view no theologian or canonist was found to take.
"The debts were at first supposed not to exceed a quarter of a million dollars, and attempts were made to meet or reduce it materially by subscriptions; but when it was found that the indebt- edness reached nearly four millions of dollars, the attempt was abandoned as hopeless. The Very Rev. Edward Purcell died broken-hearted. The Archbishop made an assignment of all property in his name, and long litigations began. The courts ultimately decided that the congregations were not liable except for moneys actually advanced to them."
In May, 1880, Archbishop Purcell retired to Brown county, Ohio, near the Ursuline Convent, where he lingered in illness, brought on in the early part of iss1 by a paralytic stroke, till his death, July 4, 1883.
THE RIGHT REV. AMADEUS RAPPE, D. D., FIRST BISHOP OF CLEVELAND.
OCTOBER, 1847-AUGUST, 1870.
Louis Amadeus Rappe, first Bishop of Cleveland, was born on February 2. 1801, at Audrehem, a village near Ardres (district of St. Omer), Department of Pas-de-Calais, France. His parents, Eloi Rappe and Marie Antoinette Rappe, nec Noël, belonged to the peasantry and were highly esteemed for their probity, industry and Christian virtues. They had a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters. The subject of this sketch was the youngest of the sons. Of his four brothers, three were killed in the Napoleonic wars, the fourth died unmarried. Destined by his father to the life of a farmer, Louis Amadeus received but an elementary education, such as the village school afforded. Trained by his parents to habits of order and industry, he soon acquired a practical knowl- edge of husbandry and thus became very useful to his father in the management of the farm. He took delight in his avocation ; was passionately fond of horses. a liking which he retained all his life. He was also fond of youthful sports and athletic games. Sparkling
12
A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
with wit and cheerfulness, he was a general favorite with the young people of his native village. His career seemed well marked out and his family friends did not doubt his vocation-that of a farmer.
But God was there, with His secret and admirable designs! One evening, toward the end of the year 1819, when Amadeus was in his 19th year, and the family were gathered around the domestic hearth, the father expressed a regret that not one of his sons had a vocation to the priesthood. He said he had always hoped to see one of them at the altar, this wish having been the dream of his life, but that now it was not to be realized. Amadeus, struck by this remark, answered: "Well, father. if you wish it, I will become a priest." It need hardly be said that this answer was not taken by the family in a serious light. A general laughter ensued, so diametrically opposed to that sacred calling were his well-known tastes. On the following morning he went to his father, saying: "Father, the remark which I made to you last evening is serious. It occupied my thoughts all night; I have seriously reflected upon it, and wish to be a priest."
The sentiment thus made .known to the father, and to the mother, consent was readily granted, but not without doubt and fear lest their son might not persevere. They were all the more apprehensive of his firmness and perseverance, as one of his older brothers had begun the course of studies for the sacred ministry, but failed to reach the altar.
Soon the necessary preparations for the departure of young Amadeus were made. He went to Furnes, a small village about six miles from Boulogne, to the pastoral residence of one of his relatives, the Rev. M. Noël, who was parish priest of the place. Our young aspirant to the sacred ministry took his first Latin lesson from this venerable priest, under whose wise direction he seriously reflected on his vocation, which, as he acknowledged. was put to a severe test for the first few months. In October, 1820. he entered the college at Boulogne, then under the direction of the celebrated Abbe Haffreingue. As he was taller and older than his fellow students, he was given charge of one of the studyrooms, an office delicate, and at times difficult, but filled by him with kindness and prudence. Even at this epoch in his life he showed a keen sense of duty and a firm will. One of his rela-
13
IN THE DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND.
tives having seen him during a vacation full of mirth and glee, the life of the circles in which he moved. noticed that at college he was serious and sedate, and so told him. Amadeus replied, "When vacation is over I shut up all my mirth in a box, to be opened only the next vacation." As he was of a most cheerful disposition, it must have cost him no little effort to do so.
In 1821 he received tonsure at the hands of Cardinal de la Tour d' Auvergne Lauragais, Bishop of Arras. Having com- pleted the collegiate course of studies in 1826, he went to the Diocesan Seminary at Arras, receiving minor orders on December 22 of the following year. On May 21, 1828, he was ordained sub- deacon, and on December 20 of the same year, deacon. The same prelate who gave him tonsure also ordained him to the priesthood on March 14, 1829 .* The parish of Wismes, a small village near Fauquembergues, district of St. Omer, was his first appointment. There he remained till 1834, meanwhile also attending a neighbor- ing mission church. The chaplaincy of the Ursuline Convent at Boulogne-sur-Mer having become vacant and the sisters knowing the sterling worth, indomitable zeal, and great prudence of Father Rappe, were desirous of having him appointed their chaplain and spiritual director. Mother Ursula, the superioress of the community, petitioned his bishop to this effect, and her request was granted. Father Rappe remained chaplain to the Ursulines of Boulogne from January, 1834, till May, 1840. During this time he read with intense interest the "Annals of the Propagation of the Faith," which excited in him an ardent desire to devote himself to the American mission. In 1839 Bishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, passed through London on his way from America to Europe, and whilst in that city he was requested by the parents of three young English ladies to take them under his protection as far as the Ursuline Convent at Boulogne. There he met the zealous chaplain of the community, and future missionary, Father Rappe, to whom he made known the spiritual destitution of his .large .diocese. The Rev. Amadeus Rappe then offered to go with him to America. This he did, however, with great diffidence, owing to his age, thirty-nine, which he felt would be no small hindrance
*The facts in connection with Bishop Rappe's home, college and seminary life were furnished the writer in July, 1SSS, by a gentleman intimately acquainted with the la- mented prelate, who was his cousin-Dr. Dewulf.
14
A HISTORY OF CATHOLICITY
in adapting himself to the life of a missionary in a strange land. Another great obstacle for him was the fact that he was unac- quainted with the English language. But he would allow none of these obstacles to hinder him from entering upon the toilsome and self-sacrificing life of a missionary. After receiving the necessary permission from his Ordinary to leave his diocese, he bade farewell to his convent charge, which deeply regretted to lose him, who had been its wise counselor and prudent director. He set sail for America, in September, 1840, arriving at Cincinnati the following month. He was immediately sent by Bishop Purcell to Chilli- cothe, in order to learn English. Mr. Marshall Anderson, a convert and most estimable gentleman, was his teacher. But Father Rappe found it very difficult to master even the rudiments of the language. In a few months, however, he was able to speak it sufficiently well to make himself understood, though his pro- nunciation always remained defective. About 1836 the present flourishing city of Toledo was founded. Catholics there were very few in number and had neither church nor priest; Tiffin was the nearest place whence sick calls were attended. The Miami and Erie canal was being built about that time, and there came quite a large influx of Catholic laborers who settled along the line of the canal and the Maumee river. There was much sickness then, the dread Maumee fever undermining the strongest constitution, and hurrying many of its victims to an early grave. There was also much intemperance among the laborers, who spent their hard earned money in drink and allowed their families to want. To this uncultivated and uninviting field of labor Father Rappe was sent about six months after his arrival at Cincinnati. His "parish limits" extended from Toledo to the Indiana State line and as far south as Allen county. From the summer of 1841 till the spring of 1846, his labors, privations and difficulties of all kinds were .indeed trying ; he never lost courage, but full of missionary zeal and self- sacrifice he labored faithfully among his people. It was here he first saw the terrible effects of intemperance, which so filled him with a horror of this vice that he fought it then and during the remainder of his life by word and example. Thousands bless his memory for the energetic measures he took in rescuing them from a drunkard's grave. For five years, 1841-46, Father Rappe was alone in this section of the State, but his work grew
15
IN THE DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND.
beyond his strength. Hence Bishop Purcell sent him a co-laborer in the person of the Rev. Louis De Goesbriand, who arrived at Toledo in January, 1846. At that time Toledo and the surround- ing country, even as far west as the State line, were full of malaria of the most malignant type. Bishop De Goesbriand, in his remin- iscences of Bishop Rappe's missionary life, says: "At certain seasons it was impossible to meet a healthy-looking person. and frequently entire families were sick and unable to help one another. Apart from the terrible malarial fever, we were occasionally visited by such epidemics as erysipelas, and towards the end of 1847 we saw ship-fever stricken emigrants, landing on the docks, to die among strangers a few hours after arrival." After the Miami and Erie canal was finished many of the laborers left with their families to seek homes in a more healthy climate. As the majority of them were Catholics, Father Rappe's missions were greatly weakened. Very few Catholic families remained between Toledo and Defiance. Mass was said, however, each Sunday at Toledo and frequently at Maumee City, and on week days at Providence, Defiance, Poplar Ridge, and occasionally at Fremont and La Prairie. The roads were often almost impassable, but Father Rappe and his faithful companion found neither bad roads nor the inclemency of the weather a sufficient obstacle to prevent them from visiting each of their scattered missions at the time appointed. In his intercourse with his people, Father Rappe was most affable, and he knew well how to win their respect and confidence. He was acquainted with every family, and knew every member of each family. He had a special gift to teach catechism, and would spend weeks in a settle- ment preparing a few children for the reception of the sacraments. During this time of preparation he would instruct the children for hours each day, and always managed to rivet their attention. He was ever watchful of the spiritual welfare of the adult portion of his flock, urging them to frequent confession, and to attend Mass with regularity.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.