USA > Pennsylvania > Adams County > Conewago in Adams County > Conewago : a collection of Catholic local history : gathered from the fields of Catholic missionary labor within our reach. > Part 13
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BISHOP JOHN TIMON.
About the year 1790, Edw. Reily. Sr., came from Ireland and settled on a tract of land adjoining the estate of Samuel Lilly. It was close by the Conewago, which winds through the valley with many a curve and crook .- At that time. the lands along the creek were covered with heavy timber,-
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remnants of the old forests yet remain. The great, clumsy wheels of an old mill creaked in the quiet stillness of the night, and from the rippling waters rose a heavy mist that disappeared over the tree tops, with the earliest rays of the morning sunlight. It must have been a wild and romantic place .- Even now, the broad fields, bordered with woodland : the sounds of a dash- ing waterfall that drives a mill near by ; and large farm buildings scattered around, form a scene of rural beauty, the grandest in the valley. Just over the hill-tops, about a mile away, rises the beautiful spire of old Conewago .- In 1796, the father of Bishop Timon came from Ireland and with his mother the Bishop. They lived in a log house, adjoining the residence of Edw. Reily, probably the temporary home of the Reily family until they had built themselves a house. There was born the future Bishop of Buffalo, John Ti- mon, Feb. 12th, 1797. In 1802, they moved to Baltimore, and afterwards to Missouri. About 1830, after the death of Barney. a brother of Edw. Reily, the log house of Bishop Timon was moved up to the public road and made a home for the widow, Margaret Reily. grandmother of the writer. About the earliest recollection we have is of the old log house, with its dark looking cellar and crumbling walls. It was torn down about 1860, and the logs used in building an old stable on the same lot. after the death of Daniel Reily, the property of Lewis Will. It has been enlarged since, but the old part yet re- mains. Father Timon was ordained priest by Bishop Rosatti in 1825. He be- came a great missionary priest in Missouri, Texas, and other States. Many touching incidents of his missionary life are related. He was an able inan. a good speaker, and kind and generous to a fault. His vocation was a mission- ary life, and it was never his ambition or his will to be elevated above an humble missionary priest. As a Bishop he had trials, troubles and tribula- tions, but he passed through them all with that spirit of right and duty which governed him in early life. He was consecrated Bishop in 1847 : died April 16th, 1867 ; and was buried under the altar of the Cathedral in Buffalo. He visited Conewago once or twice during his life .- once about the year 1856, when the name of this saintly priest and noble prelate was conferred upon us, to bear it, the most unworthy. The life of Bishop Timon is worthy of study and of imitation. Conewago is blessed in having given him birth.
GEORGE VILLIGER, S. J.
No priest had more devoted friends on the Conewago missions than "Little " Father Villiger. His disposition was so gentle and amiable that he could never have given any offense. He was born in Switzerland, Sept. 14th, 1808, and died at Conewago, Wednesday morning, Sept. 20th, 1882, and was buried there Friday morning following, at 8 o'clock. He entered the Society Oct. 4th, 1838. and came to this country in 1843. He was ordained at Georgetown by Archbishop Eccleston. July 22d, 1844, and sent to Cone- wago. The Paradise, Gettysburg, Millerstown and the Mountain territory comprised his mission, and there he labored faithfully for a number of years. Wherever a few Catholics could be found, he was sure to hunt them up, instruct their children and keep the faith in them alive. He was full of zeal and energy in his sacred calling. He served several Maryland missions, and was Superior at Bohemia from 1862 until 1878. Father Villiger was a good
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scholar, and always ready to give a reason for the faith that was in him. - His " Letters to a Protestant Minister by a Catholic Priest." give a clear ex- position of the doctrines of the Catholic religion. After the death of Father Deneckere, he was sent to Conewago again, and attended Littlestown until his death. Age and years of active labor were then already laying a heavy hand upon him, but like a true Jesuit warrior, he would rather die at his post of duty than surrender God's peace be with him. May that genera- tion with whom his memory is most dearly cherished, never forget to breathe a prayer for the repose of the soul of their spiritual father in days gone by,- he who taught them their catechism, prepared them for the Sacraments of the church, which he administered to many.
PETER MANNS, S. J.
He was born in the Diocese of Limburg, Province of the Rhine, Germany, June 25th, 1810, and studied there. He lived in the Archdiocese of Cologne. Studied twelve years, theology and philosphy five years. Entered the So- ciety March 20th, 1853, and was ordained June 17th. He labored in Mary- land and Massachusetts, and was sent to Conewago June 4th, 1862. His health. which was rated "middling " when entering the Society, has been failing for a number of years, and he walks with perceptible pain and diffi. culty, for he is getting old in years as well as in the labor and service of God. The schools were his especial object for many years. In matters of discip- line and morality he is unusually strict ; and, though his ideas and views are not in harmony with the progress of the age, no one hereafter or even in this world, will regret having followed his advice. In piety and humility he is worthy of imitation ; the lives of the saints are his daily spiritual food, and it is their example he tries to follow. If he has faults. they are not of the mind or heart nor intention. He expects to be judged by his conscience. and scrupulously follows its dictates. If he has suffered much for it, his reward will only be the greater. The Society has learned men and popular priests, but it has no more faithful worker than Father Manns. His spiritual children are numbered by the thousand, and it may be truthfully said that he is always in his confessional. A scrap of a report to his Superiors, for the first few years he was on the Conewago missions, carries out our estimate of his labors : Confessions at Littlestown 1200, at Paradise 8306, at Conewago 6200 ; General Confessions, of which he was a great advocate, 309 ; sermons 282 : Catechisms 434 ; converts 9 : Retreat to Sisters 1.
F. X. DENECKERE, S. J.
Father Deneckere left all to follow Christ. He was of a distinguished family, and his whole appearance and carriage were in keeping with his princely blood, but he labored among the humble and lowly with the same zeal and charity as though he were the poorest of them. His family, with the exception of one brother, were all religious. Two of his sisters were nuns of Notre Dame. Paris ; and a brother, who died young, was also a
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Jesuit. Bishop Guy De Neckere, of New Orleans, was his uncle. They were a family of saints. His love for his faith we have already seeu in his works. His sermons were most sublime, and lus perfect style of oratory inspired every one with awe and devotion. A man of his eloquence and ability would never have been sent to retirement at Conewago, except to give his active mind and wonderful energy the necessary occupations on a laborious mission, that best assured their safety. His disposition and temperament were too excitable to come in contact with a jarring world. Yet he was the kindest of men, the truest of friends, and self-sacrificial of all he possessed, dying in the very performance of his duty. He was born in the Diocese of Bruges, Flanders, Feb. 2d, 1810 ; and died at Littlestown. Adams Co., Pa., Wednes- day, Jan. 8th, 1879, at 5 o'clock P M. He entered the Society in the Diocese of Ghent, Sept. 16tlı, 1844, and after his ordination was sent with Father Enders to the Maryland missions.
He was a great teacher and student all his life ; he was a good French scholar, and his favorite authors were those of his own nationality. He sei- dom or never spoke of himself, and all we heard from him of his own life was that he spent his vacations at school. As a boy he was fond of the inno- cent amusements of youth, and when a teacher in his old age. nothing gave him greater pleasure than to assist in making the play-time of the scholars exciting and amusing, always planning something new for their enjoyment. He was exceedingly strict and systematic in all things. Nothing was too laborious for him, if it added to the greater honor and glory of God and the salvation of souls, or aided in making the ceremonies of the church or its re- ligious devotions still more grand and inspiring. He had a saintly devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and her rosary was his constant companion. He had a great ayersion to criminals, and would not remain at the church during the burial of any who had taken their own life, or those who died refusing to be reconciled to their God. His solicitude for the conversion of sinners was unbounded. He was called from the school-room one day to attend a dying man who for years had neglected his duties ; but all efforts to reclaim him had been fruitless. He left the man, ordering that he should be sent for at once if he showed signs of returning grace. He came back to the school- room, leaving his horse in waiting. and with his scholars he went up to the church before St. Francis Xavier's altar, (his favorite place.) to pray. A lit- tle after noon, word reached him that the dying man had relented and sent for him. Had he been a boy of sixteen years instead of an aged man, he could not have reached his carriage any quicker, and as we watched him going out the road it seemed every minute as if his carriage must be dashed to pieces at the rate he was driving. The object of his prayers and solicitude for years. was reconciled to the church ; and the joy and happiness it gave him could not be concealed the remainder of that day. Father Deneckere practiced the confidence in that supplication in prayer which he taught by word of mouth. His first recourse in all things was to prayer. For years. the Processions of the Blessed Sacrament on Corpus Christi were the dearest objects of his devotion. No time or labor was spared to make them grand and inspiring, and great was his sorrow and regret if anything interfered with their success. One year, Corpus Christi morning dawned with many indications of showers, as characteristic of spring days as snow-storms are of fall weather. Everything was in readiness for the Procession to start,
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and thousands of people were waiting, yet the black clouds overhanging were too threatening to venture out with the Blessed Sacrament. Father Deneckere had been watching the weather intently. and after a time his ab- sence was noticed. Those in charge sought him everywhere. and at last went to his room where they found him deeply engaged in prayer. Soon after the clouds parted, the sun shone forth, and the Procession went on in its usual splendor to a happy ending. Though the skeptic mock his inten- tions, he must admire his faith. Many feared him for the moment, but memory has nothing but love and respect for him now. Noble priest, dear Father! But for thee we would never have had a taste of that Pierian Spring of which thou didst drink so deeply ; and better not, perhaps, for regret is the more poignant over wasted opportunities ; over what might be and is not, or could be and cannot. Still far from us be ingratitude. The happiest days of our life, and the saddest, are those filled with the memory of this saintly teacher's virtues. R. I. P.
Nearly all of the older priests at Conewago were born beyond the seas : of their native homes and childhood days, whether in some quiet mountain place, by lake or river, or quaint historic town, little is known, for their lips were ever sealed by the virtues they practiced. Many a time, perhaps, cherished memories came over them that swayed every generous impulse of the heart, like the soft south-wind that brings new life to the fields in spring- time, but they died away again as the distant peal of thunder, leaving no trace of the mighty forces disturbed. About 1870. two small boys, sons of Gen. Ewing, who represented this government in some capacity in France, spent a few days at Conewago. Father Deneckere, in company with a few of his school boys, took them down to see the Blue Spring one beautiful after- noon in October. He asked them many questions in French of what they had seen and heard in Paris, which they simply answered in the affirmative or negative, for their youthful minds were captivated with the attractions around them, and they ran now here, now there, climbing a tree or search- ing for something to throw in the water ; the venerable priest's thoughts must have been carried back many, many years ago, to scenes remembered in his own dear Belgium. for tears stole down from his bright, flash ing eyes, and he turned away from their joyful capers to hide his own sad emotions.
With scrupulous correctness Father Deneckere regarded all holy things, and paid the highest reverence and veneration to the sacredness of religion in the performance of all the ceremonies of the Church. It was nothing unusual to find him in the church before the Blessed Sacrament at night when about to retire, and regularly at five o'clock in the morning at the altar saying his Mass. Well can we apply to him the words of the great LAMAR- TINE, and thus show the exalted thoughts and devotions of his inmost soul, for we have no language at our command to picture the grandness of the in- ner life of this beloved Father and pure and noble priest :
" Hail! sacred tabernacles, where thou, O Lord, dost descend at the voice of a mor- tal! Hail, mysterious altar, where faith comes to receive its immortal food. When the last hour of the day has groaned in thy solemn towers; when its last beam fades and dies away in the dome : when the widow holding her child by the hand has wept on the pavement. and retraced her steps like a silent ghost; when the sigh of the dis- tant organ seems lulled to rest with the day to awaken again with the morning ; when the nave is deserted, and the Levite attentive to the lanips of the holy place, with a slow step hardly crosses it again-this is the hour when I come to glide under the ob- scure vault, and to seek, while nature sleeps, Him who aye watches ! Ye columns, who veil the sacred asylums where my eyes dare not penetrate, at the feet of thy immove- able trunks I come to sigh. Cast over me your deep shades, render the darkness more
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obscure, and the silence more profound ! Forests of porphyry and marble, the air which the soul breathes under thy arches is full of mystery and of peace ! Let love and anxious cares seek shade and solitude under the green shelter of groves, to soothe their secret wounds ! O darkness of the sanctuary, the eye of religion prefers thee to the wood which the breeze disturbs. Nothing changes thy foliage, thy still shade is the image of motionless eternity ! Eternal pillars, where are the hands that formed thee ? Quarries, answer, where are they ? Dust, the sport of winds, our hands which carved the stone, turn to dust before it, and man is not jealons ! He dies, but his holy thought animates the cold stone, and rises to heaven with thee. Forums, palaees, crumble to ashes, time casts them away with scorn ; the foot of the traveller wno tram- ples upon them lays bare their rnins: but as soon as the block of stone leaves the side of the quarry, and is carved for Thy temple, O Lord, it is thine ; Thy shadow imprints upon our works the sublime seal of Thine own immortality ? Lord, I used to love to pour out my soul upon the summit of mountains, in the nightof deserts, beneath rocks where roared the voice of mighty seas, in presence of heaven, and of the globes of flame whose pale fires sprinkle the fields of air ; me thought that my soul oppressed be- fore immensity, enlarged itself within me, and on the winds and floods, or on the scattered fire, from thought to thought, would spring to lose itself in Thee ; I sought to mount but thou vouchsafest to descend ! Thou art near to hear us. Now I love the obscurity ! Inhabited alone by Thee and by death, one hears from afar the flood of time which roars upon this border of eternity ! It seems as if our voiee, which only is lost in the air, concentrated iu these walls by this narrow space, resounds better to our soul, and that the holy echo of thy sonorous vault, bears along with it the sigh which seeks Thee in its ascent to heaven, more fervent before it can evaporate. How can it signify in what words the soul exhales itself before its author ? Is there a tongue equal to the ecstacy of the heart ? Whatever my lips may articulate, this pressed blood which circulates, this bosom which breathes in Thee, this heart which beats and ex- pands, these bathed eyes, this silence, all speak, ail pray in me. So swell the waves at the rising of the king of day, so revolve the stars, mute with reverence and love, and Thou comprehendest their silent hymn. Ah, Lord, in like manner, comprehend me. Hear what I pronounce not ; Silence is the highest voice of a heart that is overpower- ed with Thy glory ! "
Or, with the celebrated LAVATER, on finding himself in a Catholic Church, exclaim :
" He doth not know Thee, O Jesus Christ, who dishonoreth even Thy shadow ? I honor all things, where I find the intention of honoring Thee, I will love them be- cause of Thee. I will love them provided I find the least thing which makes me re- member Thee! What then do I behold here ? What do I hear in this place ? Does nothing under these majestic vaults speak to me of Thee ? This cross, this golden image, is it not made for Thy honor ? The censer which waves round the priest, the gloria sung in the choirs, the peaceful light of the perpetual lamp, these lighted tapers .- all is done for Thee.
Why is the Host elevated, if it be not to honor Thee.O Jesus Christ, who art dead for love of us? because it is no more, and Thou art it. the believing church bends the knee. It is in thy house alone that these children, early instructed, make the sign of the cross, that their tongues sing thy praise, and that they strike their breasts thrice with their little hands. It is for love of Thee, O Jesus Christ, that one kisses the spot which bears Thy adorable blood ; for Thee, the child who serves, sounds the little bell and does all that he does. The riches collected from distant countries, the magnifi- eence of chasubles, all that has relation to Thee. Why are the walls and the high altar of marble clothed with verdant tapestry on the day of the Blessed Sacrament ? For whom do they make a road of flowers ? For whom are these banners embroidered ? When the Ave Maria sounds, is it not for Thee ? Matins, vespers, prime, and nones. are they not consecrated to Thee ? These bells within a thousand towers, purchased with the gold of whole cities, do they not bear Thy image cast in the very mould ? Is it not for Thee that they send forth their solemn tone ? It is under Thy protection, O Jesus Christ, that every man places himself who loves solitude, chastity, and pover- ty. Without Thee, the orders of St. Benedict and St. Bernard would not have been founded. The cloister. the tonsure, the breviary, and the chaplet, render testimony of Thee, O delightful rapture, Jesus Christ, for Thy disciples to trace the marks of Thy finger where the eyes of the world see them not ! O joy ineffable for sonis devoted to Thee, to behold in caves, and on rocks, in every crueifix placed upon hills, and on the high-ways, thy seal and that of thy love ! Who wilt not rejoice in the honors of which Thon art the object and the soul ? Who will not shed tears in hearing the words, 'Jesus Christ be praised ?' O the hypocrite who knoweth that name and answereth not with joy, amen. Who saith not with an intense transport, Jesus be blessed for eternity , eterni- ty.
J. B. EMIG, S. J.
This venerable and distinguished Father was born July 26th, 1808, at Bensheime, Grand Duchy of Hesse Darmstadt, Diocese of Magunties. He arrived at Baltimore July 27th, 1832, after a voyage of sixty-three days. He entered the Society Sept. 24th, 1832, at White Marsh, Prince George County, Md., and completed his studies at Frederick ; was ordained priest March 12th,
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1839. His labors have been very great and useful, and as a missionary priest he is unsurpassed, his sermons being all deep and logical. as well as most impressive. He considers that he was miraculously directed to Conewago ; having been uncertain of his whereabouts, and imagining he was near Mt. St. Mary's. For several years he taught in the St. Louis University, Louis- ville, and other western places, and came East about the year 1852. The greater part of the time then he spent at Frederick. preparing young men for the priesthood, and also doing missionary work in the surrounding States. He was sent to Hanover in 1877, and has now completed there a magnificent church, costing over $20,000, all paid for. At present he is rais- ing subscriptions to frescoe the church, which will cost about $1400. In Sept., 1882, he celebrated his Golden Jubilee at Hanover with a High Mass, and received many marks of the respect and esteem in which he is held by the congregation. His health has been declining for a number of years, and he is a great sufferer all the time, but bears all patiently and with perfect resignation. He has his room at Mr. S. Althoff's, where he boards, but sleeps in the sacristy of the church. We hope he will be spared yet many years.
J. B. COTTING, S. J.
We have no dates in the religious life of Father Cotting. He was born about the same year Father Enders was ; they studied and were at the Novitiate together. He was a native of Switzerland, and came to America about the year 1845. He was a faithfal laborer on the Conewago missions. Father Cotting was an active missionary, and was noted for his many jokes and great sprightliness, but his influence was unbounded. At one time when in St. Louis, he was trying to get his German congregation to buy a graveyard, but they did not seem inclined to furnish the money. You will not purchase a grave yard, said he ; but remember what I tell you : When the day of Judgment comes you will be buried among the Yankees and the Irish. You know their tricks. They will jump up and steal your bones, and you will have none with which to appear at judgment. This argument was so convincing that they gave in immediately, and the purchase was made.
About the time he attended the York Congregation. the Hanover Junc- tion Railroad was made, and anyone who traveled that road will remember the long waiting at the Junction. Father Cotting used to say that he could go to York with his horse quicker than the cars could go, and he really did succeed on one occasion in getting ahead of them. The Irish laborers were devoted to him, and presented him with a fine carriage.
He labored several years at Conewago. and after that in Prince George Co., Md., and is still stationed in that State. His life, like those of his com- panions living and dead, is filled with good deeds, and usefulness in the So- ciety. His labors every where were crowned with success. The old people at Conewago and Paradise, recall with great pleasure their recollections of the days of dear Father Cotting.
At one time when he was attending the South Mountain Church, a Ger- man complained to him that he never gave them German sermons. Come to
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my room, said he. The man went, and locking the door, Father Cotting made him sit down and preached to him over an hour in German. Now, said he, never complain any more about my sermons. He was stationed for a number of years in the lower counties of Maryland. He was riding out one day and passed the house of a Protestant minister, who was feeding his hogs. "Why, Father Cotting," said the minister, "you seem to have a great deal of time to ride about ; how does it happen ?" " Oh !" said Father Cot- ting, "you see, your reverence, I haye no children to support and no hogs to feed." He was always traveling for the salvation of souls, and God crowned his labors with great success.
JOSEPH ENDERS, S. J.
Rev. Joseph Enders. S. J., died at the Novitiate. Frederick, Md., Sept. 10th, 1884, and was buried there Sept. 12th : aged 77 years, 9 months and 23 days.
What does this simple notice not contain ? A life-time of years spent in the practice of every Christian virtue, and a life so full of good and exem- plary works that it seems a pity to bury it in the humble and scanty records of so great a Society as that of Jesus, in which there is little individuality in life and less in death. It knows when a member entered the Society and when he departed this life, outside of that it is as silent as the grave. Its members have their being together in life and share each other's merits in death ; the highest is the lowest and the lowest is the highest-JESUITS. - Since they are so humble as to forget self and live for others, how dare we of the world disregard their wishes and their humility, and speak of what they live to forget-themselves. But we are to remember our prelates who have spoken to us the word of God, considering well the end of their conver- sation and imitating their faith ; and how can we do this better than by re- moving the veil of humility which in life hid their greatest virtues from the sight of men, that seeing and admiring the good they have done we may be moved to overcome our wordly attachment and draw closer to those heaven- ly desires which the inspired Word tells us are most necessary to the end for which we were created.
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