USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > A history of the Catholic church in the dioceses of Pittsburg and Allegheny from its establishment to the present time > Part 28
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It was the autumn of 1839. "In the winter following," says Miss Brownson-" a very severe one, it was noticed, with forebodings, instantly repressed as too painful for considera- tion, that he no longer carried himself as formerly, that the once ringing step all knew so well was at times slow and un- certain-his voice failed him in preaching, and in his exhorta- tions tears would fall from the beautiful eyes which once flashed accompaniment to his thrilling words-tears and a look more touching than the most powerful sermon of his youth. 'Sometimes in the course of these sermons,' one who heard him relates,* 'he became truly eloquent. At such times he would lean forward a little, his face would light up, and his eyes shine with heavenly radiance; but this would last only a few minutes, being repressed as soon as he perceived it, as if it were against his calmer judgment, and after a few sentences . he would resume his conversational tone; his sermons, if such they could be called, did not last quite thirty minutes.' Those who observed him closely or saw him but seldom could not doubt that he who had never cared for the world was now
* Father Lemcke, Leben und Wirken, p. 356.
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THE CLOSING SCENE.
more than ever detached from it, that he who had waited so long for heaven was looking wistfully to the promised rest. The trouble resulting from a fall from his horse one night, years before, when returning from a sick-call, which had prevented his ever riding again, now assumed a very serious form always painful, and at times exceedingly so ; Dr. Rodrigue, his physician,-an excellent one,-his friends, his brother priests urged him to rest, but as long as it pleased his Master to leave him at his post he refused to consider himself incompetent to fulfil its duties, let the result be what it would; all they could say was met by a smile that tenderly acknowl- edged their solicitude, but put aside all hope of compliance with their wishes."* His physician urged him to remain in his room, but could not prevail on him to comply with his ad- vice. " He went through all the services of Holy Week, heard confessions for half a day at a time, at what cost can never be told. Early Easter morning (April 19th) he was in the confessional again, but was so exhausted by ten o'clock that he could only say a low Mass, and give a short exhorta- tion on the Resurrection, which he ended with the words spoken on the cross : 'It is consummated.' They were the last to his congregation." +
Word was immediately sent to the neighboring priests. Father Lemcke, though suffering from an accident, had him- self conveyed to Loretto on a sled, and prepared his venerable friend-for he had been his confessor for six years-for the operation which his physician deemed it necessary to perform, by offering up the Holy Sacrifice in his room immediately after midnight, and administering the last sacraments to him. "Soon afterwards Dr. Rodrigue performed the operation, to which the Doctor submitted with heroic fortitude; but for it the physician had no hope that he could survive the night. , During the following nights Dr. Rodrigue scarcely left his side ; after riding all day to attend to his other patients, he would hasten back over the wretched roads to watch all night with the dying priest. On the 4th of May (Rev.) Mr. Heyden arrived, but the doctor was only able to welcome him with a
* Life, etc., pp. 434, 435.
t Ibid., p. 436.
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DEATH OF DR. GALLITZIN.
faint smile and a few whispered, broken words. . . . So he lay there resting until the evening of (Wednesday) the 6th of May, between six and seven o'clock. When the hour came for the laborers to go home from their work, they saw that he was going too. Mr. Heyden read the prayers for the dying, the room-doors were opened, the crowds in the house and chapel prayed with tears and sobs, and in a few minutes, without any perceptible sign, all was over, the heavens were open, all their joy-bells were ringing a welcoming peal; he had gone home to his own country." *
It is impossible to describe the impression which the news of the death of the venerable man everywhere created. His own flock were inconsolable, and as they pressed around the casket containing the remains of their good pastor, their grief knew no bounds.
It was his wish to be buried between his house and the church, which stood but a few yards from it; but, in order to satisfy the devotion of the people who were anxious to take part in bearing his remains to their last resting-place, the funeral procession moved through the principal streets of the village before the interment. The solemn Mass of requiem was celebrated by Father Heyden, who also delivered the funeral oration in English, after which Father Lemcke ad- dressed the congregation in German. But the resting-place selected was not to be permanent. He had long wished to build a large church in the village, and had set apart a number of lots for that purpose. In front of it was to be the place of his final repose. The work was left to other hands, as will soon appear, and when the church was completed, about eleven years later, a monument of " shapeless sculpture," al- together unworthy the noble founder of the colony, was erected in front of the sacred edifice. Thither the remains were transferred with great pomp, and were deposited in the vault prepared for their reception ; and there the coffin, en- closed in its zinc case, reposes on a stone on the middle of the floor of the cellar-like vault under the monument, as I
* Life, etc., pp. 437, 438.
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HIS FINAL RESTING-PLACE.
have seen it. On the monument is the following inscription, composed by Archbishop Kenrick of Baltimore :
Sacrum Memoria DEM. A. E PRINCIPIBUS GALLITZIN, nat. XXII Decemb. A.D. MDCCLXX, qui Schismate ejurato ad Sacerdotium evectus, Sacro Ministerio per tot. hanc reg. perfunctus. Fide, Zelo, Charitate insignis, heic obiit die VI Mai, A.D. MDCCCXL.
Sacred to the Memory of DEM. A., PRINCE OF GALLITZIN, born December 22, 1770, who having renounced Schism was raised to the Priesthood, exercised the Sacred Ministry through the whole of this region, and, distinguished for faith, zeal, charity, died May 6, 1840.
The question of erecting a more fitting testimonial to the memory of one who, renouncing the brilliant prospects which the world presented to him, planted the colony, gave away much of the land to its members for nothing, or for promises worth nothing, who fed its poor, and devoted his days and nights, his youth and old age, to the welfare of its people, from whom he never asked nor received any compensation whatever, has been frequently mooted, but has been permitted to fall ineffectually to the ground.
Different opinions may be formed regarding the prudence of Dr. Gallitzin's course in founding a colony on the summit of the Allegheny Mountains; but in our day there are few who would consider the choice a happy one. The summer season is much shorter and the winter longer and more severe than in the lower country ; while the soil is surpassed in fer- tility by that of almost every other part of the dioceses, except the mountain districts. Allowance must, however, be made for the imperfect knowledge people had at that early day of the relative advantages of different localities. Nor should we lose sight of the object which Dr. Gallitzin proposed to him- self, that of founding an exclusively Catholic settlement, where,
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REMARKS ON THE SETTLEMENT.
under his immediate direction and control, it would grow up free from many of the evils which he was forced to witness and lament in other places. The object was a good one and much to be desired, but at the same time one which no person can hope to attain in a country so enslaved to material pur- suits and empty show as ours, and hence his success was but partial. He might declaim against extravagant fashions and other novelties; he might lecture those who would presume to appear in his humble church with the latest Philadelphia styles of dress, or who rode to church in a handsome carriage instead of a farm-wagon; but the world will move on in its own way despite the efforts of any one man to stay its prog- ress. But although he may have erred in expecting to do what no man can hope to accomplish in our day, however desirable it may be, yet the Church in this part of the country owes him a deep debt of gratitude. Through his labors and sacrifices he succeeded in making Cambria County largely Catholic, and in forming a number of congregations which will remain to all future time an evidence of his disinterestedness and zeal in the cause of the religion for which he renounced all that rank and wealth could offer, and to the promotion of which he consecrated his whole being and such remnant of his vast estates as he was able to recover. Another good work he did that must not be overlooked. In the early settle- ment of almost every part of this country in which Catholics were mingled with Protestants, many lost their faith by con- tact with heretics, and more especially by intermarriage with them; and hence it is no exaggeration to say that hundreds of thousands have been lost to the Church in this country, and families are yet multiplying, and to the end of time will con- tinue to multiply, in whose homes, in all human probability, the light of the true faith will never shine. Through the efforts of Dr. Gallitzin the Church was spared this affliction to a great extent, and pioneers wishing to come West were not exposed to the danger of doing so at the peril of their religion. After making all due allowance for the errors of his views or his policy, he is yet entitled to the highest meed of praise; and even the errors into which he may have fallen
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DR. GALLITZIN'S SUCCESSORS.
were committed in seeking what he took to be the greater good for the souls of his people. With him the temporal was ever made subservient to the eternal; and no higher praise can be bestowed upon man than to say, what is eminently true of Dr. Gallitzin, that in all things he sought "first the kingdom of God and his justice."
At the time of his death Dr. Gallitzin left about two hun- dred acres of land to the church at Loretto ; of which a con- siderable part was made over to the Franciscan brothers, sometime after their establishment there, in 1847; a few acres also passed into the hands of the Sisters of Mercy on their coming in 1848 : a part has since been sold as being more to the interests of religion, and the remainder is still in the possession of the Church. For several years before his death the good priest's labors had been confined exclusively to the parent church of Loretto.
Rev. Thos. Heyden, of Bedford, was appointed his suc- cessor, but preferring to remain in his former place, he was permitted to do so. Father Lemcke was then appointed ; but he did not reside at Loretto all the time that he was pastor. After presiding over the congregation for about four years, he was succeeded by Rev. Hugh P. Gallagher, who remained about the same length of time. During his pastorate the Franciscan brothers established the mother-house of their order in the diocese at Loretto, and soon after opened a col- lege, as will be seen more at length in its proper place.
When Bishop O'Connor visited Loretto in 1847 there were 2500 souls in the congregation, as he informs us in his Notes.
Rev. Jas. Gallagher now succeeded to the pastorate. The congregation had been gradually increasing, and the church was no longer able to accommodate it. To remedy this de- fect the present church was begun in 1851, and when finished was dedicated by Bishop Neuman, of Philadelphia, on the 6th of January, 1854. It occupies the spot at the eastern end of the village that had been long before set apart for it by Dr. Gallitzin. The church is a brick building 130 feet in length by 80 in width, and lays little claim to architectural style. At first it had a steeple in the centre in front, but the mountain storms have long since removed it. The interior is
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CHANGE OF PASTORS.
divided into a nave and side aisles separated by two rows of columns ; the ceiling of the nave being that known as the tunnel vault, while that of the aisles is flat. There are three altars. In making his tour through the diocese in the autumn of 1853, Cardinal Bedini visited Loretto and the grave of its founder. In 1848 the Sisters of Mercy came to the village, where a house was built for them, to which they have since made considerable additions, and the girls' school was placed under their charge, which they have since conducted. They soon after opened an academy for young ladies, as will be stated more at length hereafter. Some time in the course of the following year Father Gallagher was succeeded by Rev. W. Pollard, during whose stay the pastoral residence was en- larged by an additional story. He was succeeded by Rev. T. S. Reynolds in November, 1859. But for several years before this time and ever after, the pastor has required the aid of an assistant. The latter, however, has usually resided and taught at St. Francis' College, assisting at the church on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. In the summer of 1868 Father Reynolds gave place to Rev. M. J. Mitchell, who remained until February, 1870. During the latter half of the year 1869 the writer of these pages was assistant to the pastor, but re- sided at the college.
Upon the retirement of Father Mitchell, Rev. E. A. Bush, the present pastor, was appointed to the vacant post. Soon after his arrival he put the church through a thorough course of repairs exteriorly and interiorly, and gave it as good an appearance as a building of its singular proportions could well be made to bear. In the summer of 1874 he built a neat frame pastoral residence near the church, the old one being too far distant and out of repair. This, however, being but the smaller part of the plan he had formed, he completed it in 1879 by building a large brick house in front of it. He also restored the proper name, St. Michael's, to the church, which had been called St. Mary's, although both its prede- cessors had borne the former name.
St. Michael's is, with the exception of St. Augustine's, the largest country congregation in the two dioceses, and will number between three and four hundred families. Although
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LORETTO AT THE PRESENT TIME.
there were originally a large number of Germans, the congre- gation may now be regarded as entirely English. The village and the surrounding country are almost exclusively Catholic. It is not probable that the congregation will undergo any considerable change for many years to come.
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CHAPTER XIX.
CAMBRIA COUNTY (CONTINUED) .- CONGREGATIONS FORMED FROM LORETTO.
St. Bartholomew's Church, Wilmore-German Church of the Immaculate Con- ception, New Germany-St. Aloysius' Church. Summitville-Death and sketch of Rev. Thos. M'Cullagh-and of Rev. John Hackett-St. Patrick's Church, Gallitzin-St. Augustine's Church, St. Augustine-Death and sketch of Rev. Ed. Burns-St. Monica's Church, Chest Springs.
ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CHURCH, WILMORE.
IN tracing the history of the congregations formed from the original settlement of Loretto, we shall begin with Wil- more and form a circle around the parent church. The village of Wilmore is situated on the western slope of the mountains and on the Pennsylvania Railroad, ninety-two miles east of Pittsburg and ten miles south-west of Loretto. In the early days of its history it was known by the name of Jeffer- son, and it was so designated in the Catholic Directories until recently. In 1870 it had a population of 393, which showed a trifling decrease in the previous ten years. A few Catholic families had settled there before the year 1830, but at what precise time Mass was first celebrated in their midst it is im- possible to determine. But from that date, and perhaps prior to it, Dr. Gallitzin visited them at intervals. Among them was a negro family from Maryland by the name of Wilmore, from which the place took its name, and in whose house-or, more correctly, barn-the priest was accustomed to offer up the Holy Sacrifice, when the threshing-floor had been swept and the barn-fowls banished out of sight, although not always out of hearing. Like the ark of the covenant on the threshing- floor of Obed Edom, the temporary altar imparted a benedic- tion, and a flourishing congregation came at length into ex-
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ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CHURCH.
istence. After his appointment to Ebensburg in the latter part of 1832, Rev. Jas. Bradley ministered to the little flock until he was succeeded, about two years later, by Father Lemcke. It continued to be visited either from Loretto or Ebensburg until the year 1840, when the congregation had increased sufficiently to require a church. A small stone one was built, and was dedicated by Bishop Kenrick on the occa- sion of his first visit, August 22d of that year, under the in- vocation of St. Bartholomew the Apostle. From that time it was usually visited on one Sunday in the month ; in 1844, from Loretto; in 1846, from Summitville; and after the following year from Johnstown. By this time the congregation was large, and numbered, as Bishop O'Connor states in his Notes, about 700 souls. Rev. T. Mullen was at that time pastor of the church at Johnstown, and until the close of the year 1853 he also ministered to that of Wilmore. Toward the close of this period he found it necessary to replace the small church by a larger one to accommodate the congregation, now greatly in- creased. But before the building was finished he was trans- ferred to Allegheny City, and Wilmore, now separated from Johnstown, became an independent congregation, with Rev. M. J. Mitchell as its first resident pastor. The church was dedicated by Bishop O'Connor, May 20th, 1855, although not yet finished in the interior. It is a substantial brick building, 110 feet in length by 55 in width, having a tall spire in the centre in front, and is modelled after the Gothic style of archi- tecture. Occupying an elevated position to the north of the village, it appears to good advantage. Father Mitchell was succeeded in September, 1855, by Rev. Thos. Walsh, by whom the church was finished, the balance of the debt liquidated, and a handsome frame pastoral residence built. After having ministered to the congregation for six years, he was succeeded, in September, 1861, by Rev. John Hackett. The congrega- tion had been all this time increasing, thanks to the new life inspired into business and agriculture by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Father Hackett remained until July, 1868, when he was succeeded for a short time by Rev. Peter Hughes, upon whose transfer to another field of labor Rev. O. P. Gal- lagher was appointed pastor. During his administration hc
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NEW GERMANY.
purchased a house in the village with a view of making it a convent for a colony of Sisters, whom he hoped to procure to take charge of a parish school to be opened. Circumstances, however, were not favorable to the undertaking, and the con- gregation, although as yet without a school, still owns the house. At the close of 1872, Father Gallagher was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Henry M'Hugh. The increase of the congregation in the last few years is but trifling, if, in- deed, it has increased at all; yet it will number about two hundred families, who are all farmers with the exception of a few persons living in the village. There are also many persons living in the village, employed on the trains of the railroad, who add more to the numbers than to the moral tone of the congregation. The future of the congregation will, to all present appearances, be a very gradual increase.
GERMAN CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, NEW GERMANY.
This church is situated in a country place, about three miles west of Wilmore, in the midst of a small German settle- ment, and appears to owe its existence to the fact that no priest familiar with the German language was stationed at St. Bartholomew's Church. From its organization the parish has been under the care of the Benedictine fathers, being at one time attended from Carrolltown, again from St. Vincent's Abbey, and finally from Johnstown. The first church was built in the year 1855, and was dedicated, under the title of the Im- maculate Conception, by Rev. Clement Staub, O.S.B., on the 8th of December of that year. From that time the congregation has usually been visited on two Sundays in the month. There has been perhaps no increase from the beginning, but it was in time deemed advisable to replace the old church with a better one. It was undertaken, and when built was dedicated by the Bishop September 11th, 1864. Little change has marked the history of the congregation, except that of late the tide has set in against it. For, there being no parish school, the young are growing up in a measure ignorant of the parent language, and prefer the English church of Wilmore to their
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SUMMITVILLE.
own. When the original founders of the congregation shall have passed away, the parish itself, which never numbered more perhaps than forty families, will be merged in that of Wilmore, and it may safely be predicted that in ten or fifteen years the congregation will be a thing of the past.
ST. ALOYSIUS' CHURCH, SUMMITVILLE.
Summitville, or " the Summit" as it is commonly called, is a village on the mountain-top about six miles south-east of Loretto, at the point where the northern turnpike crosses the mountain. In 1870 it had a population of 177, which showed the very moderate increase of one in the preceding ten years. The village owes its existence to the traffic on the turnpike, and the first settlers appear to have come soon after the thorough- fare was opened. Dr. Gallitzin held stations among the people from an early day, but the date of his first visit cannot be ascer- tained, although it was prior to the year 1830. After the arrival of Father Lemcke, the little flock formed a part of his extensive field of missionary labor, and until the appointment of the first resident pastor it was visited either from Ebens- burg or Loretto.
The erection of the first church-an unassuming frame structure-was begun about the year 1838. In 1846 Rev. A. P. Gibbs was appointed first pastor ; but in the following year appears the name of Rev. P. Duffy, who visited it on two Sun- days in the month from Ebensburg. At this time, when Bishop O'Connor visited the church and administered con- firmation, the congregation, as he states in his Notes, numbered 800 souls. To supply the wants of the growing congregation, a new church was undertaken about the year 1849; but before its completion Father Duffy was transferred to another field, and the congregation was ministered to occasionally by a neighboring priest until the spring of 1850, when Rev. Thos. M'Cullagh became pastor. "The aspect which affairs pre- sented, on his arrival at his new mission, was by no means en- couraging. A large brick church and parsonage had been commenced by his predecessor, and left in an unfinished state. The debts, considering the available resources of the congre-
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ST. ALOYSIUS' CHURCH.
gation, were very great. Yet many had given already all they were able to spare. The walls of the church, raw and roofless, had been exposed to all the severities of a winter peculiar to that elevated region. Under the continual action of frost and rain the brickwork in many places had crumbled away, so as to render it necessary to tear down and rebuild a great part of the structure."* But "the work on the Penn- sylvania Railroad had already commenced, and the peculiar character of the route through Cambria County required for a long period a large force of laborers, who were all of that class most likely to assist Father M'Cullagh in his emergen- cies. Attracted by the prospect of good wages, steady em- ployment, and the Catholic character of the neighborhood, the railroaders might be counted by hundreds as they clustered round the mountain gorges of the Alleghenies, scooping out a pathway through the rugged hills, or linking mountain to mountain by a solid causeway for the tramp of the iron horse. Under the rough exterior of railroaders they concealed honest and generous hearts; and out of their hard-won sav- ings they were ever ready to contribute to the cause of re- ligion with a prompt and liberal hand. Pioneers they were in more senses than one; for they were not only the scouts whose presence proclaims the onward march of modern im- provement, but the vanguard also of the ancient faith where- ever they appeared." t
The inspiring presence and indomitable energy of the new pastor infused fresh courage into the congregation ; work was resumed on the church with the opening of spring ; but it was not ready for dedication until the following year. The solemn ceremony was performed by Very Rev. E. M.Mahon, V.G., June 20th, 1851. The church is a brick building 100 feet in length by 60 in width, without a steeple, and although neat and substantial is not remarkable for architectural beauty. The house was finished and occupied prior to the completion of the church.
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