N ZIM^ .JjJ^-^^^'f tv^A, ,.M i^wijti^atoJSWfl**'*'*''''^ ■ L^ (/' /:/ /J) ^'■• i:^^ .-*_-<«< •' ^■^■'L/-' /;"-' ' /?--t,'ryl /^.r^ (""^^^"/-^ :^:""?- • Xntprfmatur. ijiCASPAE HENRY BOEGESS, BISHOP OF DETROIT. Detroit, Mich., July 12, 1879. (iy) PHEFACE. When the Loretto Sisters wei-e told by the Right Eev. P. J. Lavialle, D. D,, of Louisville, to jealously treasure every scrap of paper relating to their venera- ble founder, the Bishop assuring them that, within a few years, every available document would be hunted lip to write his life, they little thought that this their fondest hope would be realized so soon. Almost half a century had elapsed since Father l!Terinckx had crowned his many labors by a most precious death ; and his memory was so well nigh obliterated outside the homes of his spiritual children, that they could hardly credit the gratifying prediction. The reader will judge for himself whether I w^as right in rescuing the memory of the Rev. Charles Nerinckx from comparative oblivion, I had not the remotest idea of writing his life, un- til, having applied to a reverend gentleman for some documents in his possession, with the intention of em- bodying them in a short sketch of the life and works of Father Kerinckx for a magazine, I was told he could not part with them, unless I pledged myself to publish a biography of the founder of Loretto. Fully aware of my inability to do justice to the sub- ject, and considering that more sacred duties allowed me to devote to the work but a few hours through y'lVi PREFACE. Mr. John Gilmary Shea, of New York, who kindly allowed us the use of them. The records of the Hospital of Dendermonde, Bel- gium, and a lengthy Flemish circular, published in. Ghent by Rev. Nerinckx, whilst on a visit to his na- tive country in 1816, add not a little interest to the work. A precious collection of manuscript letters, written by the venerable missionary to his parents and fiiends of Flanders, now in the library of the world-renowned Bollandist Fathers, Brussels, has proved a mine of wealth. Were it only for the pleasure and profit its perusal and use have given us, we would cease to re- gret the, to our interested friends, tard}^ publication of this biography. To the Most Kev. J. Roosevelt Bayley, B. D., Archbishop of Baltimore, for personal exertions in culling Father JSTerinckx' Latin manuscript letters from among the numberless documents of the Metro- politan Archives, and intrusting them to us for use, our acknowledgments are due. Little did we think, when promising him the early publication of the work in which he took a kindly interest, that so many ob- stacles would beset our way, and that his own name would have been added to the bright historical roll of the departed Fathers before our work would see the light. Our thanks are especially tendered to the learned and worthy Father "Walter IL Hill, S. J., of St. Louis University, whose encouraging words and efficient help have made him like unto a charitable Booz to the gleaning Ruth. Any one acquainted with the veneration LorettO' entertains for its saintly founder, need not be told that the good sisters have taxed alike old papers and the memory of the older members of the community PREFACE. ix who knew him well, to add to the comparatively meager account of so useful a life as that of the Eev. Charles Nerinckx. The mention of some supernatural occurrences obliges us also, in obedience to the decree of Pope Urban VIII., to declare that all that is related in this biography, and all the titles of respectful homage be- stowed on the priest whom it honors, rest on no' other authority but the testimony of men. That tes- timony is above suspicion, but it is not brought for- ward to forego in any way the judgment of the Church. Monroe, Mich., Feast of the Sacred Heart of JesuSy June, 1879. CONTENTS. Dedication iii Prkface V CHAPTER I. 1761-1793. Birth of Charles Nerinckx. — Parentage. — Rev. John Henry Nerinckx. — Mary Nkrinckx. — Rev. F. X. Decoen, S. J. — Early EDUCATION. — Rev. Charles Nerinckx ordained a Priest. — Vicar in Mechlin , i-io CHAPTER II. 1794-1801. Pastor of Everberg-Meerbeke. — Catechism and Sunday Schools. — Reforms. — Father Nerinckx' proscription. — Chaplain in the Hospital of Dendermonde. — His hiding-places. — He exposes HIS LIFE TO chastise A BLASPHEMER. — HiS STUDIES AND WRITINGS. — Declines a re-appointment 11-25 CHAPTER III. 1801-1804. The French Revolution. — Father Nerinckx resolves to go to the American missions. — An account of his vocation. Princess Gallitzin recommends him to Bishop Carroll. — She meets him in Amsterdam. — Annoying delay. — Father Nerinckx embarks for America. — A floating hell. 26-49 CHAPTER IV. 1804-1805. Father Nerinckx appointed for Kentucky. — "Again a school- boy" at Georgetown.— His humility. — Mademoiselle de la ROCHEFOUCAULT AND THE FrENCH AMBASSADOR. — ViSIT OF THE Trappist prior. — Father Nerinckx prepares for his western MISSION. — His ARRIVAL is Kentucky 50-G3 (xi) xu CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. 1672-1S05. Early Kentucky history. — The Shawnees. — Virginia explorers. — Catholic settlers from Maryland. — The league of sixty cath- olic FAMILIES. — Father Whelan. — The first catholic church in Kentucky. — Father Badin. — St. Ann's churi'h. — Other Ml=;sion- ARIES. — Father Nerinckx G4-76 CHAPTEIl V. 1805-1806. Father Nerinckx on the mission. — A noble project, — He writes TO Belgium for men and money. — "The voice of one crying in the wilderness." — Poverty of Kentucky catholics. — A visit- to Post Vincennes. — Who shall be bishop of Kentucky? — A pen-picture of Father Badin 77-99' CHAPTER VII. 1805-1807. The Trappists. — Father Nerinckx foresees their failure. — His DESIRE to join THEM. — ObEDIE.VCE BETTER THAN SACRIFICE. — St. Stephen's. — Holy Mary's. — Bells. — Church furniture. — Dan- ville. — St. Charles' church. — State of the Catholic Church in Kentucky in 1807. — Rev. Nerinckx' bodily sufferings. — His missionary field of labor 100-129 CHAPTER VIII. 1807-1808. Catholic schools. — Father Nerinckx' zeal for the instruction OF the children. — "Arms up!" — He plans the establishment of a religious community. — Its objects. — Building of a convent NEAR St. Stephen's. — The building destroyed by fire.. 1:50-143 CHAPTER IX. 1807-1808. The Jesuits in America. — Catholic progress in Kentucky. — A PROCESSION IN 1807. — Wheeling. — Washington. — New Lanca.ster. — Chillicothe. — Quebec. — Boston. — Knoxville.— Holy .AIary's. — St. Clara's. — St. Charles 141:-159' CONTENTS. xiii CHAPTER X. 1806-1808. Tather Nerinckx' piety. — His paily life. — His zeal for the SPIRITUAL PROGRESS OF HIS PEOPLE. — ThE DoMINICAXS. ThEIR ADVENT THE OCCASION OF PETTY PERSECUTIONS AGAINST FaTHER Nerinckx. — Father Nerinckx asks to retire to some other FIELD OF LABOR. — YiELDS TO BiSHOP CaRROLL's ADVICE, AND RE- MAINS IN Kentucky 160-184 CHAPTER XL 1808-1809. Pather Nerinckx appointed administrator and bishop of New Orleans. — He declines the appointment. — He offers himself FOR the Louisiana mission. — New trouble in Kentucky. — The New Orleans difficulties. — The ticar-general opposes Father Nerinckx' departure 185-213 CHAPTER XIL 1810. Missionary labors. — St. Anthony's, Rough Creek. — St. James', Clifty. — St. Bernard's, Adair City. — Other settlements. — Father Nerinckx' courage, cheerfulness, and kindness. — His adventure with a wolf. — His labors in the confessional. — Th^: fruits of his zeal. — A touching incident 214-228 CHAPTER XIII. 1811. fi'ATHER Nerinckx' bodily strength. — His adventure with Har- din. — Carrying the cross in Bullitt county. — Saluting the negro. — Father Nerinckx' simple oratory. — His success in making converts. — Arrival of Bishop Flaget in Kentucky. — The Episcopal palace 229-238 CHAPTER XIV. 1812. New efforts i»r behalf of education. — The little school on Hardin's Creek. — Its first teachers. — They retire from the world. — They start a religious community. — Election of the first superior. — A PRIMITIVE BOARDING SCHOOL. — FaTHER Nerinckx founds the Loretto Society 239-251 :,iv CONTENTS. CHAPTER XV. 1812-1813. Churches of the Long Lick and Casey Creek. — Father Ner- INCKX REMOVES TO St. ChaRLES. — FiRST TAKING OP THE VEIL AT LoRETTo.— Black dye and chemical experience. — First regu- lar ELECTION OF A DeAR MoTHER. — FiRST RULES AND THEIR AU- THOR. — Building a new convent and residence 252-264 CHAPTER XVI. 1812-1813. Bishop Flaget visits Loretto. — New difficulties. — Death of Mother Ann Rhodes. — Her burial: self-denial in death. — Father Nerinckx' tribute to her memory. — Dear Mother Mary Rhodes. — Practicing holy poverty. — Fortunate " old maids!" 265-279- CHAPTER XVIL 1813-1815. Taking the teil. — Sister Monica. — Blessing the church \tsj> convent. — " Do not forsake Providence." — Pittsburg stoves. — New postulants. — Protestations of the people. — Bishop Flaget explains 280-291 CHAPTER XVIII. 1815-1816. Father Nerinckx goes to Europe. — Notes by the way. — His JOURNEY to Rome. — Impressions: the Rome of the Emperors and the Rome of the Popes. — Pius VII. — The papal blessing. — The Loretto rules approved of. — Return to Belgium.. ..292-306 CHAPTER XIX. 1816. A letter from Bishop Flaget: the Loretto institution a suc- cess. — Father Nerinckx' appeal to his Belgian countrymen for men and money. — Its wonderful effects 307-331 CHAPTER XX. 1817. Father Nerinckx' return to America. — Dutch laws. — Emigra- tion. — Father Nerinckx and companions embark for the New World. — Tempests and pirates.— Arrival in Maryland. — His associates join the Jesuits 332-34T CONTENTS. XT CHAPTER XXI. 1817. Father Nerinckx' various importations. — Mr. Hendricks goes to New Orleans. — His death. — Father Nerinckx' love of the BEAUTY OF THE HoUSE OF GoD. — He SUPPLIES CHURCHES AND CONVENTS WITH ECCLESIASTICAL ORNAMENTS. — ThE GIFT OF THE POOR SERVANT GIRL. — CELEBRATED PAINTINGS 348-3G0' •CHAPTER XXII. 1817. Father Nerinckx in Baltimore. — Mr. and Mrs. Barber. — Father BeSCHTER and THE PENNSYLVANIA FARMER. FaTHER NeRIXCKx' ARRIVAL AT LoRETTO. — FaTHER RoSATI AND THE INDIANS. — A LIST OF THE Kentucky CLERGY IN 1817 361-372: CHAPTER XXIII. 1817-1819. Father Nerinckx resumes the direction of his sisterhood. — Establishment of Calvary, 1816, and Gethsemani, 1818.— St. Augustine's, Lebanon. — Father Nerinckx introduces Rev. Abel. to his more distant missions. — He purchases Mount Mary's FOR A brotherhood. — ItS SUBSEQUENT HISTORY 373-391 CHAPTER XXIV 1819-1820. Consecration of the Cathedral of Bardstown. — The Theologi- cal Seminary.— Consecration of Bishop David. — New Dioceses. — Catholic statistics of the United States and Kentucky. — Statistics of the Loretto society. — Father Nerinckx' last WILL 392-4ia CHAPTER XXV. 1820. Father Nerinckx' second journey to Europe. — Mustela putorius OR Mephitis americana? — Major Noble, of Virginia. — Reminis- cences BY THE wayside: THE InDIAN CHIEF OP ViNCENNES. — Mr. Thompson, of the Alleghanies. — Baltimore and its environs. — London. — Letters of Bishop Flaget, the sisters of Loretto and Father Nerinckx 414-444 xvi CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVI. 1820-1821. Father Nerinckx' return to Kentucky. — How the original FOUNDERS OF THE JeSUIT MISSION IN MISSOURI CAME TO THE United States. — Sketch of the establishment of the Missouri Province. — High mass of thanksgiving in Baltimore Cathe- dral.. 445-464 CHAPTER XXVII. 1821-1877. The Society of Jesus. — Establishment of the West ern Mis signs. — The Missouri mission organized. — Novitiate at Flor- issant. — Indian missions. — The Pottawatomies of Michigan. — Father Desmet and companions. — Various establishments op the Missouri Province 465-479 CHAPTER XXVIII. 1821-1824. From Baltimore to Kentucky. — The Maryland postulants. — Sister Alexandrina Doran's wonderful vocation. — Mount Mary's. — Establishment of Bethania convent. — Election op a Dear Mother. — Establishment of Mount Carmel, Bethlehem, Perry county, Missouri, and Mount Olivet. — Holy Cross church. — Project of a Negro sisterhood 480-511 CHAPTER XXIX. 1824. ■Crowning difficulties. — Rev. Guy Chabrat's opposition to Father Nerinckx. — Father Nerinckx leaves Kentucky. — His farewell letter to the Sisters of Loretto. — He goes to Missouri. — He visits Bethlehem, Perry Co. — His death at Ste. Genevieve, August 12, 1824 512-532 CHAPTER XXX. 1824. Burial at the Barrens, Mo. — " Father Nerinckx is in Heaven!" — Removal of his remains to Loretto, Ky. — His Epitaph. — Supernatural Events. — Rev. Chabrat again. — Tributes to Father Nerinckx' memory. — Loretto convent removed to his first residence, Marion county, Ky 533-547 CONTENTS. xvii CHAPTER XXXI. The character and spirit of ^Father Nerinchx. Was Father Neeinckx a kigorist? — His mortification.— His de- votion TO THE Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin. — His discernment of vocations.— His kindness to the sick. — His unbounded confidence in Divine Providence. — His devo- tion to the Sacred Heart.— His humility. 548-570 'CHAPTER XXXII. 4 1824-1847. The Loretto Society. — Apple Creek, Perry county, Mo., etc. — Cape Girardeau, Mo. — Father Nerinckx' library. — Cedar Grove, Louisville, Ky. — Mission among the Osage Indians in 1847.— Interesting account of their customs 571-589 CHAPTER XXXIIT. 1847-1876. Florissant, Mo. — " Our Lady of Light," New Mexico. — Burning OF Loretto Convent, Ky. — Cairo, III. — Death of Father D. Deparcq. — Denver, Colorado. — Other foundations.. •••590-612 APPENDIX. I. To the Right Rev. B. J. Flaget. A hymn. — Some pious sentiments on the flowers which adokn THE ALTAR 613-617 II. Ecclesiastical Superiors of Loretto.. 618 III. Mother Superiors of the Loretto Society... 618 IV. Statistics of the Loretto Society in 1879 619 Index. 621 THE LIFE OF REVEREND CHARLES NERINCKX. CHAPTER I. 1761-1793. BiKTH OP Charles Nerinckx. — Parentage. — Eev. John Henr-t Nerinckx. — Mary Nerinckx. — Key. F. X. Decoen, S. J. — Early education. — Rev. Charles Nerinckx ordained a PRIEST. — Vicar in Mechlin. Charles Nerinckx, born October 2, 1761, at HerfFelingen, province of Brabant, Belgium, was the oldest of fourteen children. His father, Sebas- tian Nerinckx, a doctor of some note, belonged to one of those jDatriarchal families of the middle class, rich in faith and virtue, so numerous in Catholic Flanders. Shortly after he was ad- mitted to the practice of his profession, he settled in Hertfelingen ; and, having found in Miss Pe- tronilla Langendries the solid piety that bespoke the "valiant woman," whose praises are re- corded on the blessed pages of Holy Writ, "his heart trusted in her," and he chose her for his wife. After the birth of Charles, the first-born of this happy union, Mr. Nerinckx, who was ac- 2 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1761- quiring quite an enviable reputation as a skillful practitioner, resolved to extend the field of his usefulness. In 1762, he moved with his little family to Ninove, province of East-Flanders, where, besides the advantages which a city af- forded to a man of his talents he found an op- portunity of giving a good and solid education to his children. Here, as in the rural village of Herifelingen, the pious couple lived secluded and without os- tentation, distinguished, if at all, from their neighbors, more by the earnestness and priest- like zeal which the doctor brought to the dis- charge of his duties, and the unobtrusive piety and conscientious care with which the young mother governed her household, than by any ex- terior show. These sterling qualities of heart and soul they had inherited from their sires, the renowned burgesses of Flanders, so jealous of their rights and liberties, and so loyal to their God and Prince, w^ho if they could not boast of ancient genealogies, or obtrude the blazon of an- cestral escutcheons upon their fellow-citizens, took a legitimate and christian pride in having, for generations past, given zealous and devoted priests to the sanctuary, pious and self-sacrific- ino- nuns to the cloister. Father JN'erinckx men- tions in his letters, an uncle a priest, an aunt a Benedictine nun, and Mother Constantia Lan- gendries, his mother's sister, who was superior of the Hospital of St. Blase, Dendermonde, 1793.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 3 which office she held for fourteen years, till 1823, the year of her death. Nor did the young generation prove unfaithful to the pious traditions of the family. The Holy Ghost tells us that " the generation of the right- eous shall be blessed;" and blessed indeed was the Nerinckx generation : blessed with the force of character and earnestness of will which made of the father the universally respected citizen and the self-sacrificing doctor ; blessed with the deep and abiding religious feeling which made of the mother the pious and queenly matron, who "hath looked w^ell on the paths of her house, hath not eaten her bread idle. Her child- ren rose up and called her blessed," and so, no doubt, did the church and society which were benefited by their labors. We may confidently assert that there are few families, even in Catholic Belgium, which can show so noble a record of religious vocations as the Nerinckx family exhibits. Besides Charles, the subject of this biography, we note the follow- ing: Peter Joseph, the second eldest, born May 16, 1763, joined the Brothers of Charity, and died a member of that Congregation, June 17, 1796. John Henry, born July 15, 1776, in Ninove, was only fifteen when he became a novice in the Capuchin Convent of Scherpenheuvel. He had not yet made his vows, when, in the name of a liberty they did not wish for, the religious of that house were thrown upon a cold and unfeel- 4 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [17G1- ing world by the agents of the French Directory, and left " free " to choose between the chains of a galley-slave and the wandering life of a "rebel " priest tracked by the gens d'armes. John lived for some time in quiet seclusion at the parsonage of his brother Charles, then pastor of Everberg- Meerbeke; and when, on the 21st of October, 1797, sickness prevented his brother from ac- companying his parishioners on their annual pil- grimage to Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel, he thought he could take his place without incur- ring any additional risk. But the blood-hounds of the Revolution had not lost sight of him; they only waited for a plausible excuse to arrest him. The same night John Henry was incar- cerate din the Treurenberg dungeon, near St. Gu- dule, Brussels. He then languished for a few months in the St. Maurice's prison, of Rochefort, France, and was sent in company with many priests to the penal colony of Cayenne, in April 1798. But the young man had an indomitable courage, and resolved to profit of the first oppor- tunity to make good his escape. God favored his designs. After a year of incredible suffer- ings, he succeeded in eluding the vigilance of his keepers, reached the English colony of Berbis, and through the good offices of Mr. Bottenburg, its governor, secured passage on a frigate ready . to sail for Liverpool, for himself and his six com- panions, the only survivors of thirty-four Belgian exiles. They landed at Liverpool on the 21st of August, 1799. 1793] LIFE OF EEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 5 At the urgent request of many French and Belgian exiled priests, who had found a refuge in London, Mr. JVerinckx and his companions went to the metropolis. Encouraged by the venera- ble Abbe Carron, and convinced from the extra- ordinary circumstances of his escape that he was where God wanted him, John JSTerinckx resolved to devote his life to the Catholic cause in Eng- land. He was ordained a priest in the little chapel of Charlton street, Clarendon square, on the 10th of June, 1802, by Mgr. Godard de Bel- boeuf, the exiled Bishop of Avranches, and be- gan his priestly career there as assistant priest to Father Carron. Together with the latter, he built the new church of St. Aloysius, Somers- town, consecrated in 1808, and remained sole pastor of this congregation when Father Carron returned to France, in 1814. Helped by his sis- ter Mary Ann, he, in 1822, established schools, the direction of which he gave, in November, 1830, to Madame d'Houet, the foundress of the Society of Faithful Companions of Jesus, in France. He thus became the London founder of that religious community which has done so miuch for Catholic education in England. Rev. John H. jN^erinckx died in Somerstown, London, December 22, 1855, at the ripe old age of eighty-four years.* *Cfr. " La chapelle Frangaise a Londres. Precis historique sur ce Sanctuaire, memorable par son origine, Tinfortune de ses fondateurs, les personnages illustres qui I'ont frequente ou visite, etc. Vie de Mr. J. H. J. Nerinckx, instituteur des Fidelea •Compagnesde Jesus en Angleterre; par G. F. de Grand Maisou 6 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1761- Mary Catherine, born March 25, 1768, entered the abbey of Rosendael, in Mechlin, April 22, 1792. Jane Constance, born May 21, 1770, became a religious in the abbey of Swyvergue, Dender- monde. Mary Ann, born October 19, 1773, belonged to the same Order of Citeaux, when all three were forcibly ejected from their monasteries by the Revolution. Mary Ann joined her brother John in London, in 1817, and helped him in the founda-^ tion and management of his schools and orj^than asylum, until 1830. Fearful lest her presence among the children, who were very much at- tached to her, might interfere with the success of the new teachers, she withdrew from the school when the sisters took it in charge, and sub- sequently returned to Belgium. God rewarded this touching self-abnegation, and at the age of 59 she was received as a novice in the convent of the Sacred Heart, Hoegaerden, in 1832. She made her profession the next year, and devoted herself almost exclusively to the instruction of the children of the poorer classes, till the time of her death, July 21, 1840. The mother of the Rev. F. X. Decoen, S. J., a priest on the American mission, was a sister of Father Nerinckx. Rev. Decoen came to America in 1843, joined the Society of Jesus, laid the y Bruno. 2me edit. Londres: Burns and Lambert, 17 Portman street; Paris: Lecoffre & Compagnie, rue du vieux Colombier^ 29—1863." pp. 221. Illustrated. 1793.] LIFE OF EEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 7 foundations of St. Gall's congregation and churcK in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, some twenty years ago, and died on the 17th day of July, 1864, at St. Mary's Pottowatomie Mission, Kansas, whilst there on a visit from Leavenworth City, his abode. Besides Father Nerinckx' aunt who became superior of the Hospital of Dendermonde, three of his first cousins, daughters of Mr. Albert Ner- inckx, of St. Martin's-Lenneck, in Flanders, be- came religious in the same monastery ; and, even to this day, the name of Nerinckx is a com- mon one among the clergy of the Archdiocese of Mechlin. Owing to the generosity of the Catholics, edu- cational establishments were numerous in Bel- gium, previous to the brutal French Revolution, which subverted science as well as morality and religion. Having received the first rudiments of elementary education at home, Charles Ner- inckx was sent to the college of Enghien, in the province of Hainaut, a city within ten miles of Mnove. Thence he went, in 1774, to Gheel, in the Kempen, where he pursued his Latin studies at the college of that place ; and, after having* completed his course of philosophy at the famous Catholic University of Louvain, to the satisfac- tion of his professors and his own credit, he de- termined to study for the Church. The fact of his being born in the Archdiocese of Mechlin, to- gether with the influence of college associations, made him select the Archdiocese, in preference 8 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1761- to the Diocese of Ghent within the jurisdiction of which his parents lived, and he accordingly entered the theological Seminary of Mechlin in the fall of 1781. Deeply impressed with the importance of the step he was about to take, Charles Nerinckx had meditated long and earnestly upon the respon- sible duties of the Catholic priesthood. To that sublime state he had aspired with all the longing desires of a God-loving heart ; and his early fer- vor and extraordinary purity of soul, which he had known how to preserve amidst the many tempta- tions of university life, had been a continual and most fit preparation for it. Satisfied as to the designs of Providence in his regard, he had made of himself a holocaust of propitiation to God, and looked forward with a holy ambition to the time when he would be wholly His in the work of the ministry. He longed with all the energy which faith in God and zeal for the sal- vation of souls could lend to an enlightened mind and an indomitable will, to counteract the grow- ing indifference which the atheistic teachings of the French j)hilosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries had fomented in his dear country. In a very short time, the young levite became conspicious among his companions for virtue and studiousness, and he soon won the confidence and esteem of all his professors, more especially of Very Rev. Vandevelde, then President of the Metropolitan Seminary, and afterward Bishop of Ruremondc, who honored him in after-life 1793.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 9 with an undying friendship. After the usual theological course of four years, during which the success attending his studies was as great as his life Avas holy and pure, young Nerinckx was or- dained a priest towards the end of 1785 ; and, not- withstanding his profound humility which made him more solicitous to conceal his merits than to gain the good will of his superiors, he was ap- pointed in 1786, Vicar of the Metropolitan par- ish of St. Rumoldus, Mechlin.* Here his zeal for the salvation of souls, and for the instruction of the poorer classes, whose interests are but too often neglected in the large cities because they are less prominent in the furtherance of the good works encouraged by the clergy, attracted upon him the attention of the venerable Prince John Henry Cardinal de Frankenbergh, the illustrious Archbishop of Mechlin. Stimulated by the paternal encouragement of this Prelate who took a great interest in his modest labors, the young Vicar soon beheld his generous efforts crowned with abundant fruits. He felt amply repaid for his pains, when he witnessed the poor laborers, better instructed in their christian duties, and more satisfied with their lot, fill to overflowing the vast cathedral church where he dispensed to them, at early Mass, the Bread of life. Every Sunday he preached to them in earnest and simple words, *Autograph letter of Father Nerinckx of November 20, 1803, to Bishop Carroll of Baltimore, in which he styles himself " Vi- carius Secundarius," i. e., second assistant jmest. 10 I'IFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1761-93; better adapted to the obtuse intellect of his hearers, than the flowing rhetorical efltbrts which, at that period, constituted the pulpit eloquence of the day, and to which, as he testifies in one of his letters, he never laid claim. Though ably and zealously discharging the duties of this important position for eight years, Rev. Ncrinckx fitted himself at the same time for further and more important conquests of souls, by an assiduous study of the master intel- lects in the domain of theology and canon law ; whilst his austere habits of life, enabled him to give to meditation and prayer, the early hours of the day, w^ithout in the least impairing his robust health, sustained by an iron constitution that ignored exhaustion or weariness. Edifying the people by his extraordinary piety and austerity of life, he was at the same time gaining the re- spect of his elder brethren in the priesthood, whom his child-like simplicity caused him ta venerate as fathers, by his profound knowledge of theology and his apt interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, with which his letters show him to have been very familiar. From the first his name was prominent among the most learned in the annual Concursus for promotion, regularly held in accordance with the recommendations of the Council of Trent ; hence, no one was sur- prised, when, the pastorate of Everberg-Meer- beke having become vacant by the death of its incumbent, Rev. Charles Nerinckxwas promoted to fill the vacancy, notwithstanding his comi)ara- live youth. CHAPTER II. 1794-1801. Pastor of Everberg-Meerbeke. — Catechism and Sunday Schools. — Eeeorms. — Father Nerixckx' proscription— Chap- lain IN the Hospital of Dendermonde. — His hiding-places. — He exposes his life to chastise a blasphemer. — His studies AND writings. — Declines a re-appointment. Father Nerinckx entered upon the duties of his new charge in 1794. The parish of Ever- berg-Meerbeke, situated midway between Brus- sels and Mechlin, in the province of Brabant, was in a sad state of disorder. The rationalistic teachings of the last century had caused a singular falling off in the number of ecclesiastical vocations. Hence, men who in the common order of things, had a long-standing right to an honorable rest in their old age, were left in the ministry to administer, as best they could, to the spiritual wants of the people commit- ted to their care. Having lost the necessary vigor of mind, and, for the greater part, afflicted with bodily iniirmities, the natural consequences of old age, these poor priests often died broken- hearted, because unable to attend to their du- ties, and held responsible for the evils attending their unwillino- neo-lect. The disastrous eflPects- ^O "^O' 12 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1794- of this state of affairs were soon apparent all over the land. Peoj^le grew lukewarm in their religious duties; many lost the faith; and the nation was soon ripe for that stupendous French Revolution, true deluge of impiety and socialism, that astonished all but those who knew what inroads irreligion had made, and ren- dered every man in the land, either a horrified victim or a bloodthirsty criminal. This was exactly the case in Everberg-Meer- beke. The old age of the late incumbent of the Meerbeke rectory, had long unfitted him for parochial duties. Hence, the church was dilapi- dated, and the spiritual wants of the jjarishion- ers were neglected ; in fact, the deserted old ruin, void of worshipers, would have discouraged any but a young priest of Father J^erinckx' force of character and indomitable energy. He at once went about his work of reform in good earnest, and in the right way. The child- ren were the first to claim his attention ; for he knew full well that to gain the love of the little ones, was to enlist the good will of their parents. The change of pastors rather pleased the parish- ioners, and Father Nerinckx profited of that first good impression, and of the curiosity of his peo- ple to see their new spiritual guide, to urge them strongly to send their children to church so that he might get acquainted with them. The inter- est manifested by the pastor in the welfare of their offspring, could not but flatter the parental pride of his flock ; they brought them ; and the 1801.] LIFE OF REV. CHAELES NERINCKX. 13 dear little people, shy at first at being forced into the presence of a priest — a being that many a one likely saw for the first time — were soon captivated by his engaging manners. The glow- ing accounts they brought home of the to them new enjoyments of religion, of the interesting- little exercises of piety, of the edifying anecdotes related by their pastor, soon told on the grown people. This was a trait of character they had not looked for in the austere looking priest ; and, as is always the case, they were bound to see for themselves. Bedewed by the grace from on high, the sim- ple yet earnest exhortations of Rev. Nerinckx soon worked a manifest change in his flock. Some youths of both sexes eagerly entered into the pastor's plans for improvement, and encour- aged by his frequent visits, were but too happy to teach in the diiferent districts into which he had divided his parish for the regular and convenient catechetical instruction of the children. This laudable ambition was increased when he ob- tained for those who devoted themselves to the good work, the indulgences granted by the Holy Father to the societies of christian instruction in Rome ; and in a few years there was not a better instructed people in the Archdiocese, whilst the name of the pious pastor was men- tioned with respect, not only in the neighboring country, but in the distant parishes of Brabant and Antwerp. Every Sunday and holiday, after Vespers, all the children would assemble in the 14 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1794- different sections of the parish, where a list of their names was carefully kept by the teacher, they were then taught sacred songs and canticles composed by Father Nerinckx in honor of the Child Jesus and of his Blessed Mother, and in- structed in their catechism. The usual after- noon visit of the pastor was sufficient reason for the children never to be absent, since the least neglect was made the occasion of an inquiry as to the cause of it ; and the prospect of a kind word, or perhaps a picture, was more than en- couragement enough to apply themselves to the study of the lesson given them. Such a course of thorough training could not but bear its desired salutary fruits. The children grew up "in age and wisdom before God and men," and their eagerness to assist at the Scrip- tural lessons brought many a hardened parent to come to the old dilapidated church, where the good conduct of the little ones edified the most skeptical, and moved them to imitate their piety. The parish of Everberg-Meerbeke, which, a few years before, had been pointed at as a perfect Bedlam of disorder and irreligion, became a model for imitation to all, so anxious had its in- habitants become to correspond with the pious endeavors of the pastor for their conversion. They went regularly to the holy Sacraments, and lived a practical christian life. The spirit of lively faith being revived in his parishioners, Father Werinckx had no difficulty in making them understand the necessity of re- 1801.] LIFE OF KEY. CHARLES NERINCKX. 15 pairing their house of worship in a manner be- fitting the joresence of the God who dwelt therein. Thanks to their generous contribu- tions, he was soon enabled to remodel the old church to the full extent of his love for the glory of the house of God. Nor did his zeal stop there. He was aiming at a thorough reformation of his parish, and sought to have his flock practice in their daily lives at home, what he taught them in the church. With true pastoral vigilance, the virtuous priest often went the rounds of his congregation ; and, although he never entered the house of any one unless called to administer to the spiritual wants of its inmates, he abolished, in a great measure, the promiscuous dances, which but too often led to excesses and to a laxity of morals unbecom- ing a Catholic people. Processions in honor of the Blessed Sacrament and of the Blessed Vir- gin fostered the public devotion and its unre- strained exterior expression ; whilst confraterni- ties and pious associations for visiting the sick, praying for the dead, etc., enabled all to per- form works of christian charity, and to progress in virtue by mutual good example. As a natural consequence, the atheistic teach- ings of the French revolutionists, whose armies had recently invaded Belgium and were every- where spreading the irreligious spirit of their so- called government, found little favor in the now thoroughly Catholic village of Everberg-Meer- beke. The pious priest became, therefore, a 16 LIFE OF EEV. CHARLES NERIXCKX. [1794- special object of suspicion to the revolutionary rulers of the French Republic. But he heeded them not, IN^otwithstanding severe prohibitory laws, he fearlessly fulfilled the duties of his pas- toral office, until, having said mass and publicly assisted at a funeral service without previously taking the blasphemous oath of undying hatred to royalty, required of all priests who wished to retain their position, an order issued for his ar- rest, in 1797, put an untimely end to his noble work in the third year of his administration.* However, Father Nerinckx was living in the hearts of his parishioners ; one and all were more anxious for his safety than for their own. They gave him timely warning to elude the of- ficers sent to arrest him, and enabled him to avoid the fate which befel his brother John and so many of his brethren in the ministry. Disguised in the shabby dress of a peasant, Father Nerinckx fled by unfrequented paths, traveling in the dead of night, and safely reached the city of Dendermonde, the 6th of August, 1797. He there secreted himself in the Hospi- tal of St. Blase, which was under the charge of twelve hospitalier nuns, among whom was his aunt. Mother Constantia Langendries. The chaplain of this institution had been ar- rested a few weeks previous, by the emissaries of the revolution, and exiled to the penal colony of the Isle of Rhe, his old age disabling him for the more active duties which these blood-hounds re- ♦Letter to Archbishop Carroll. Sup. Cit. 1801.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERIXCKX. 17 quired of the younger ecclesiastics, whom they forced to bear arms and to undergo the cruel vigils of garrison life in Wezel and other Upper-Rhine fortresses. Spared from the general persecu-. tion because of the utilitarian character .of their institute, but left without a guide in the painful discharge of their duties, and deprived of the spiritual consolations which alone sustain relig- ious in their w^orks of heroic charity, the poor nuns received Father JN'erinckx like an angel sent from Heaven to minister unto them and uphold their drooping spirits. They found an occasion of apprising the noble martyr, De Broglie, Bishop of Ghent, of the arrival of the persecuted priest in their midst, and he not only gave leave, but requested Father Nerinckx most urgently, to attend to the spiritual wants of the community and of the many sick intrusted to their care. Satisfied again that he was where God wanted him, and resolved to await the result of the im- pious warfare which the powders of Hell were waging against the faith in the land of his birth, Father JN^erinckx set to work with his habitual energy, and his ministrations bore abundant fruits. The fervid piety that was manifest in all his actions, and his entire resignation to the' holy will of God, were a great encouragement to the nuns in the midst of the dangers with which they were surrounded, and animated them in the discharge of their often loathsome duties. Not satisfied with leading the members of the 18 -LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1794- pious community to a high degree of perfection by practical instructions and salutary example, he faithfully attended the sick and wounded who ■crowded the infirmary hall of the hospital. He usually spent the whole night in consoling the sufferers and bringing the last Sacraments in good time to those who were in danger of death, and then devoutly prepared for the holy Sacri- fice of the Mass, which he said at two o'clock in the morning, for the community. After a lengthy thanksgiving, he would visit in their cells, the wounded prisoners of the revolution- ary battles shut up in the hospital, and assuage their bodily sufferings whilst imparting to them spiritual succor. At that dead hour of night, the heroic priest brought the holy sacraments to these unfortunate victims of war, who were to be hurried to execution the same morning, and refreshed them with the happy assurance that, when they were led to a horrible and unmerited death, he Avould be at the window of his place of concealment to impart to them once more sacramental absolution. Loaded with chains, like murderers, hurried along the streets by the howls of an infuriated mob and the butt-ends of soldiers' guns, the poor fellows would cast a fur- tive glance to where they knew Father Nerinckx was watching them with an encouraging nod and uplifted hand, and bow their heads in sign of contrition and gratitude, whilst the consoling words of forgiveness were silently wafting over the heads of the clamoring crowd and bringing 1801.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 19 peace and heavenly happiness to their heavy hearts, with the sign of the Cross. Father Ner- inckx often referred in later years to the sufferings of these poor men, with the greatest feelings of commiseration. One especially had excited his compassion ; when, passing through the streets on his way to execution, the wretch lifted with one hand the maimed stump of the other, which had been cut off by the bloody soldiery and left for several days to be eaten away by gangrene, raising at the same time his eyes to Heaven wdth an imploring look for strength and mercy. Often too, during that reign of terror, and at the imminent peril of his life, Father Nerinckx visited, by stealth, his abandoned parish of Meer- beke, administering the Sacraments to the dear people who had called for him, consoling them in their sufferings and strengthening them in the hour of danger. Sometimes, however, his ardent charity led him to tarry too long, and spied by traitors, he would have to hurry through the night to his place of concealment, which he always succeeded in reaching before the detec- tives could get on his track. The nuns had, moreover, taken every imagin- able precaution to conceal his presence in the hospital. The priest usually occupied a room in the upper story, to which he retired before the dawn of day, to take some rest after his noctur- nal labors. Here he also remained during the day, passing the time in writing spiritual exer- cises and the study of theology and Holy Writ ; 20 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1794- and when some unusual noise reached his ear, or a sister advised him of unwonted danger, a common-looking clothes-press, built against a hollow wall, and communicating with it, afforded him easy access to the garret, Avhere a recess, cunningly devised between two walls, concealed him effectually from view. On rare occasions, when the sisters, who, owing to the duties of the hospital service, had a chance to communicate with the outer world, and hear what was going on, thought that there was no danger ahead, the chaplain would take a walk in the hospital grounds, but always in disguise. Here also he had a place of concealment, un- known to the domestics of the house ; and, at the least sign of alarm, he retired to a dismal look- ing hen-coop in the farm-yard, in which the prac- ticed eye of the shrewdest of detectives would have failed to discover the narrow little hiding- place which the devoted sisters had provided for his safety. However, Father Nerinckx trusted much more in Providence than in any means which human ingenuity could devise for his safeguard. The noble words which later became so familiar to the destitute sisters of the primitive Sisterhood of Loretto, and which the now flourishing mother- house of the same name treasures as a heirloom, transmitting it to the continually multiplying communities of the society, were already, at that time, the ruling axiom that influenced all his actions : "Do not forsake Providence and He 1801.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 21 will never forsake you ! " And when the honor of God or the good of his neighbor demanded it, the undaunted priest exposed himself to what worldl}^ people would call the most unnecessary dangers. One instance will suffice to illustrate that so well-kncwn trait of Father Nerinckx' indomitable character. It was related to us by the Superior of the hospital nuns of Dender- monde, who faithfully transmit, as traditions of the house, ever}' little incident of these seven years which Mother Constantia's nephew passed among their sisters. Owing to some sudden danger of detection whilst he was walking in the garden, Father 'Nev- inckx had secreted himself in the hen-coop, where he could hear all that was going on around him, without being seen. He had been there some time, and the servants, who were wholly ignorant of his hiding-place, were working in the farm-yard, when an altercation arose between two of them, and, in the heat of the discussion, one of the men cursed the Holy Ts^'ame of God. The priest did not hesitate a moment ; the words were scarcely fallen from the lips of the offender, when out he came, to the amazement and dismay of the domes- tics, and having administered a severe rebuke to the guilty one, and expatiated on the great offense which he gave to God by using such lan- guage, he told the man to go to the Superior, ask for the wages due him, and depart. So great a horror had he for sin, that he exposed himself to almost certain death rather than al- 22 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1794- low a man to blaspheme God's name and go un- punished. The man could have followed the promptings of his revengeful anger and betrayed him to the authorities ; but Father Nerinckx never stopped to think of the risk he incurred ; he did his duty, and trusted in a kindly Provi- dence to protect him, and his confidence was never vain ; for although many a time in im- minent peril of his life, he always succeeded in escaping the vigilance of the police. Whilst comparatively overburdened with night work, Father Nerinckx could hardly at- tend to any priestly duty during the day, owing to the continually increasing danger of his being- arrested, the gens d' amies knowing his place of concealment, and making frequent and unex- pected visits to the hospital. But he was far from being idle. After the short rest he al- lowed his fatigued body from the laborious du- ties of the sick room, he spent the day in writing and in religious exercises. Nor were his studies and prayers fruitless for others. "Some idea may be formed of his close application, when it is stated that the manuscripts now in existence, which he wrote while in this retreat, would, if printed, form about eight or ten octavo volumes ; they are composed in Latin, in which he ex- celled, and contain treasures upon theology, the morals, discipline, and the history of the church. His friends have since frequently pressed him to publish them, that the world might be bene- fited by his learning and researches, but upon 1801.] LIFE OF REV. COARLES NERINCKX. 2S this point he was always deaf to their entrea- ties."* The results of his labors would surely have been given to the world, for the enlighten- ment of studious minds and the edification of pious souls, had the religious and zealous care,, with which his spiritual children of Loretto guarded that precious legacy of their venerable Founder, been sufficient to rescue his books and papers from an act of vandalism, which it will be our painful but conscientious duty as an his- torian, to record in the course of this biography. The only writings saved from destruction are a little Treatise on Missio7iaries and an exposition of the Reign of Satan, edited by a Dominican priest, from notes left by Father JN'erinckx, and usually bound in with the rather extravagant pamphlet about the Coming of Antichrist, which the Friar Preacher inflicted on his friends. f They are written in a masterly Latin style which but few modern authors have equaled. The beautiful Latin letters which the venerable mis- sionary wrote to Archbishop Carroll, and now in the archives of Baltimore, are ample proof of his ability in that respect, and bear testimony to the fact that he possessed the Holy Scriptures so thoroughly, as to assimilate them at every * London Catholic Miscellany, April, 1825. ■j-Cfr. "Armatura Dei in periculosis ac calamitosis praesertim hisce temporibus accipienda; juxta Rev. Adm. Dom. C. Ner- inckx, Missionarii celeberrimi notas;" pgg. 72, and "Armatura Dei adversus diaboli insidias," pgg. 36, printed in Mechlin, 1844; edited by A. F. Vandewyer, M. D., and later, 0. P., who resided in Pittsburgh, in 1836. 24 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1794- line with his own writing. His letters read like St. Bernard's famous epistles, and some of them are perfect literary as well as spiritual gems. Father Nerinckx had now acted as chaplain to the hospital for four years, during all of which time he carried his life in his hands, bear- ing his persecutions with entire resignation to the holy will of God, and edifying all by the practice of every virtue, when in 1801, " things having apparently changed, new bishops came from France, and a new apportionment of par- ishes was made. I was nominated pastor of my old place," he writes, "but I refused the appoint- ment, because I was first asked to comply with certain conditions, which I looked upon as sus- picious and unsound, and which a great many other priests felt they could not in conscience comply with. As a result, I am now free from all pastoral care, and pass my time, not idly, in- deed, but less occupied than I wish to be, unless God^orders otherwise."* The clause which the pious priest objected to, was, very likely, the oath of allegiance to the new government, which newly appointed pastors had to take before a delegate of the First Consul. Although accepted, or rather tolerated, by his Holiness Pius YII, in the Concordat of 1801, in consideration of other clauses favorable to relig- ion, that oath had been looked upon with suspic- ion by those faithful priests who refused to take ■^"Letter of Rev. Nerinckx to Bishop Carroll of Baltimore, dated November 20, 1803. Baltimore. MSS. 1801.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 25 the former unlawful oath of 1797, by which they were to swear undying hatred to royalty. The Republic was, in their thoughts, connected with the overthrow of the Catholic Faith ; and surely, they could not be blamed for refusing to perform an act, the lawfulness of which they had grave reasons to doubt,- so long as the formal acceptance of it by the Holy See was not made known to them through a trustworthy channel. Father Nerinekx wrote, therefore, to the new Arch- bishop of Mechlin, thanking him for the prof- ered promotion, and, at the same time, respect- fully exposing his reasons for not accepting it. The Prelate seems to have respected his consci- entious scruples, and left him free to go where- ever his zeal might suggest, for he aj^pointed an- other priest in his stead.* *Cfr. Letter of Rev. Nerinckx to Archbishop Carroll of No- vember, 1803. CHAPTER III. 1801-1804. # The French Eevolution. — Father Nerinckx resolves to gO' TO THE American missions. — An account of his vocation. — Princess Gallitzin recommends him to Bishop Carroll. — She meets him in Amsterdam. — Annoying delay. — Father Nerinckx embarks for America. — A floating hell. E-ELiGious persecution had now lasted eight years. Direful for France and its conquered provinces was the tempest which had broken forth in 1793, with all the seething fury which thirty years of ill-concealed agitation, desj^air- ingly kept down with the powerless grasp of a dying government, had lent to the hideous mon- ster of the Revolution. The declaration of the rights of man became its code of morals, mur- der and pillage its civil law ; and the climax of anarchy was reached, when a blood-thirsty mob piled the tottering frame of a communistic re- public upon the gored remains of the once glori- ous royalty of la helle France. Louis XYI, its too good-natured monarch, the enfeebled personi- fication of ten centuries of Bourbon and Capetian glory, carried with him to the scaflfold the noble memories of the most christian peoj)le. With (26) BOSTON COLLtuc u.u..^...^ CHESTNUT HILL. MASS. 1801-4.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 27 the mangled corpse of the nation's murdered king, the Revolution buried the catholic annals of the Gesta Dei -per Francos,* so nobly begun by Clodwig on the plains of Tolbiac, and so success- fully continued by his successors. And, as the sturdy oak, tottering under the re- peated blows of the treacherous ax, crushes in its fall the vigorous saplings thriving under the pro- tecting shade of its leafy crown, so the old roy- alty of France carried with it in its ruin the noble chevaliers who owed to the king their lus- ter, wealth and titles, and whose fathers had stood by the throne, ever ready to defend it with their swords or protect it with their shields. The most noble houses of France were shaken to their very foundations ; their scions were ex- iled or decapitated, and the blasphemous wish of the ribald Voltaire was well nigh carried out : "the last nobleman hung with the entrails of the last of catholic priests." For the catholic priest was always and every- where identified with the party of order. Slan- der and bigotry may delight in misrepresenting him in the eyes of the people, and call him the enemy of the State ; but, when aiming at the subversion of a government, the lawless rioters know full well that the priesthood is the main bulwark of society, and their first blows are di- rected against it. Nor was the case altered in this particular instance ; clergymen were perse- cuted and hunted down with ferocious and dog- *God's works are done by the Franks. 28 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1801- ged tenacity. Churches and sanctuaries dese- crated, altars leveled with the ground, convents and monasteries pillaged and sacked ; such were the sad sights which, amid the smoking ruins of medieval castles and more humble hamlets, pro- claimed to the world the shame of France, and the fate that awaited countries, which, like Bel- gium, had to curb their neck under the iron heel of the murderous French Directory. Thousands of j)riests were massacred or im- prisoned ; and such as succeeded in making good their escape, deemed themselves happy to forego, by a voluntary exile from their native land, the dreaded transportation to the penal colonies. And so, the loss of France and Belgium became America's gain. To the dreadful calamities of the church in these countries, we owe a Flaget, a David, a Brute, a Dubourg, the saintly Bishops and Patriarchs of the young American Church, and the pioneers of christian civiliza- tion in the West. To the persecution of the Catholic Church in the Old World, we are in- debted for a Gallitzin, a Richard, a Badin, a Nerinckx, and so many others, who, if not clothed with the pur^^le, because of their humil- ity, would have honored it by their virtues, and who increased the sphere of their usefulness by remaining in the comparatively humble position of the missionary priest, in the beginning of this century. Surrounded by continual perils, and unable to foresee how long this religious subversion would 1804.] LIFE OF EEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 29 last, Father Nerinckx began to think seriously of devoting himself to the missions, about the year 1800. In his mind, there was no vocation as sublime as the one of the Apostolic ministry ; and being so very humble that he called himself " a miser- able sinner utterly incompetent for the mis- sions," he hardly dared to think that he was called to that hard but glorious office. Yet his burning zeal for the salvation of souls led him to consult friends, and weigh their advice, whilst he earnestly considered before God the qualities requisite for that sublime calling, and sought to find out the designs of Providence concerning his future life. It was during that time he wrote his little treatise, '■'' De missionariis selecta quaedmn^'''' above referred to. "My intention at that time," he writes, "was to go to any place, even among the Indians, where it was thought I could do some good. Monseigneur Ciamberlani, the Nuncio of the Pope, had of- fered me to go to his mission, the Cape of Good Hope ; but he wanted me to have a companion of our language, which I had not." He may also have thought of joining the Rev. Mr. Car- ron and his own brother in London ; and foresee- ing that sooner or later he would go on the mis- sion, " because forced to acknowledge that God favored his wishes better than he ever dared to expect," * he applied to the Very Rev. DeLandt- sheere, Vicar-general of Mechlin, then in prison, * Letter of Rev. C. Nerinckx, of ISIL so LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1801- for testimonial letters, which the confessor of the faith willingly granted, September 20, 1801, and authenticated with the archiepiscopal seal. Whilst undecided where God wanted him, he heard, in 1802, of a letter said to have been writ- ten by Rev. Stanislaus Cersonmont to his half- brother, Rev. Gouppi, secretary to the Prince Bishop of Liege. One of his friends, aware of his intention, j^rocured him a copy of the let- ter, dated July 20, 1801, at Conewago, in the Diocese of Baltimore, where the presumed writer was stationed as a missionary priest. The let- ter was neither genuine nor accurate, as Rev. Nerinckx found out later, but it exposed a true want of missionary priests, and it prompted him to select the American mission in preference to any other. The reasons for his choice are forci- bly set forth in the following letter, addressed to a former friend, and dated " Holy Mary's at the Rolling Fork. '■'■ Janua7'y 23, 1806. ^^ Reverend and dear Friend: " Not to be wanting to our intimate friendship, nor deserve the reproach of delay, or even of negligence, in so important a cause as the honor of God, the propagation of the faith, the salva- tion of our neighbor and of our own soul, I can not help writing letter upon letter to call with loud cries, vigorous laborers to one of the most plenti- ful harvests, and seek in every direction whatever is needed to labor there. We agreed, when we 1804.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 31 last said farewell, to employ all our zeal to suc- cor, in person, our brethren in America, who suf- fer and die of spiritual hunger ; and, till that end is obtained, to endeavor to secure the con- currence of men better fitted than ourselves in word and prayer. Let us keep our word. Let us not lose courage, although our first attempts have not answered our expectations. Persuade the good whom you find ; send the generous men whom you may convince. The plan to be adopted, and the means to be used, were sug- gested in my letters last year. You have, doubtless, received them. If the motives and reasons which induced me to undertake this voy- age can persuade others to follow, you may sub- mit to them the following. " In accordance with the parable of the Gospel, * I first sat down and reckoned the charges that were necessary,' counting my resources with the utmost circumspection ; and after repeated medi- tations on the subject, I found the following mo- tives for setting out : " 1. The danger of my own defection from the faith, either by being perverted or by falling into error, if I remained at home ; and the al- most utter uselessness of my presence in Bel- gium in the actual state of aifairs. "2. The not unreasonable hope of promoting the honor of God under this severe menace: * Woe to me if I have not preached the Gospel.' "3. The inclination of the American people 32 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1801^ toward the catholic religion, and the want of priests, "4. The urgent opportunity of paying my evangelical debt of ten thousand talents. A dignified sinner in my own land which abounds in advantages, I almost despaired of doing real penance and making due satisfaction. Hence I concluded that I had to undertake unavoidable toils and sorrows. "5. The favorable advice of competent per- sons, without whose counsel I did not deem it prudent to act. " Such were the principal motives of my reso- lution, and they were strengthened by the fol- lowing thoughts well suited to spur me on : '• First. The necessity, especially for his min- isters, of a lively and abiding faith in God. The objects of this faith were : 1. The great- ness and majesty of God, his domain over, and right to, our ministry, and our duty to serve him everywhere. ' I am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid. All serve thee ; how shall I not serve thee?' I also considered the quite incomprehensible honor with which he has deigned to clothe us by introducing us into the holy of holies, and by ranking us with the princes of his people ; an honor which God surely did not confer upon us to let us stand idle. 2. The labors, sweat, and sorrows of Jesus, our master, in every way so worthy of love, and of his dis- ciples, with whose sufferings we are acquainted. 3. Soldiers of earthly kings serve them without 1804] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. SS choice, and are forced to serve them for a ration of bread and water ; and what trials do they not meet with, under how many forms do they not face death without any remuneration ? Can it then seem equitable for us to shrink under any pretext whatever from the sweet yoke or service of the Lord, who holds out to us so great a re- compense ? 4. True, there are the dangers of the sea ; but merchants expose to the same or greater dangers their money, their goods, their bodies, their souls, their families ; and yet when they are broken down and exhausted by la- bors, they still find themselves empty-handed. " Second. A firm hope of securing an eternal reward for ourselves, and of procuring it to so many others whom we will perhaps lead back from the ways of error ; hence the hope of in- creasing thereby God's glory, and of obtaining from Him, who is our stay and support, reason- able aid. The horror of eternal pains, which, according to the judgment already written, await the wicked and slothful servant, and will torture him forever. " Third. A burning zeal for the salvation of souls, with the assurance of Grod's help, the pro- tection of the Blessed Virgin, etc. St. Ignatius preferred to live in the uncertainty of his own salvation and labor for his neighbor's soul, than to die at once with the certainty of being saved. Aided by these and kindred thoughts, I felt aris- ing in me that fortitude which enabled me to 34 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1801- say, when the storm of objections arose, ' What I have resolved, I have resolved.' " The objections which I successively an- .swered, and my replies to them, were the follow- ing: " First objection. You must have a vocation. ^^ Reply. 1. But it need not be confirmed by miracles. 2. I am a priest, and it is rather late to raise doubts as to my vocation. Better exam- ine a vocation before ordination, than hesitate :after being initiated into the holy ministry. To be a parish priest, with care of souls, in Bel- gium, requires a divine vocation just as well. Comforts of life, affection for parents, love of home, or a clinging to one's native soil or house, through puerile attachment, do not supply a surer testimony in the choice of a state of life. We have rarely heard the excuse of want of vo- cation alleged when there was question of ac- cepting a parish. When a rich benefice is va- cant, powerful motives are needed, not to induce most men to accept, but on the contrary to pre- vent men from seizing it. When you can get an advantageous position, you find a vocation readily ; but when there is question of going to undertake labors abroad, vocation is doubtful ! Moreover, the vocation is not wanting to him who is called ; but, now and then, the one called is unfaithful to his vocation. " Seco7id objection. The faithful in Belgium also require our help. " Reply. Only those who choose to stand in 1801] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 35 need of help, suffer for the want of it; those who choose to look for it, can easily find it. At least, there is certainly more need of our pres- ence in America, where there are not two priests to a league, aye, where there is not a priest to be found within a hundred miles, whilst the Catholics multiply in numbers, and the Word sown there produces fruit a hundred fold — that Word, now so unpalatable to most Belgians. " TJiird objection. The people will perhaps say, ' If all the good priests go, what will become of -us?' " Reply. Who are you, who suffer yourself to be called good ? Only trust in your vocation, expecting all from God's goodness. And even so, neither should the wicked, who neglect seri- ous amendment, leave their country to go to fields ripe for the harvest ; nor will all the good ones go. But if, by a just judgment of God, all the good ones did go. He is the Master — let Him do what is good in His sight. But, in the meantime, what evil hast thou prevented in thy own country ? What errors hast thou opposed ? What corruptions hast thou extirpated ? What violations of the law of God hast thou not con- sented to ? etc., etc. Weep, then, over thyself, and take pity on thy own soul. If apostolic men had remained in their own country — and their number was small enough — we should not have been christians to-day. Should we then not pity our brethren ? 36 L^FE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [180]- ^^ Fourth objection. We need means, money, aptitude. " Bephj. As to means and aptitude, the judg- ment must be left to prudent men, who do not belong to your family ; and who, although not bound to do the same, are not over-partial to those who are interested in the matter. As to money, God will provide it, my son. ^^ Fifth ohjection. Our parents, who need help or consolation, will be afflicted. ^'■Reiihj. Remember that the priest belongs to the Lord, and not to his own father. Assist your parents as much as you can, and provide for the future ; but remember, too, that you must be about your heavenly Father's business. As to the precept of leaving father and mother for God's sake, examine the Scriptures, the acts and lives of the Apostles, and the examples of the Saints. "You see then, dear friend, what induced me to undertake this journey. I have never yet repented coming; and, if any one of these motives can be useful to another, I wil- lingly permit him to adopt them, and confirm them by new and better ones. There are, doubt- less, many stronger and more cogent reasons. But, as those I have set forth suffice for me, who am so obtuse, and whose heart is so slow and perverse, I do not see why I should insist further. " I commend myself earnestly to your prayers, 1804.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 37 your holy sacrifices and other j^ious works, and subscribe myself, "Your very devoted servant, " C. N'eri:n^ckx, ^''Missionary in America y* Having succeeded in obtaining an interview with his old and tried friend, Very Rev. De- landtsheere, November 16, 1803, Father Ner- inckx laid his resolution before him, and the Vicar General heartily indorsed it, promising, at the same time, to write to Bishop Carroll, of Bal- timore, in his behalf. However, the imprisoned priest was unable to fulfill his promise ; for, on the nineteenth of the same month, he was hur- ried off to Paris by a brutal soldiery, there to be tried and convicted for his fidelity to God and to His representative on earth. Rev. JSTerinckx had hardly left the prison which he had visited in disguise, when suspicions about their visitor's real character induced the officers of the law to follow him in hot pursuit, not soon enough, however, to overtake him. Foreseeing the result of his bold adventure, Father Nerinckx got them off the track by re- tiring, for a few days, to his parents' home in Mnove, until the excitement would subside. But he lost no time ; from this new place of *We can not vouch for the literal correctness of our transla- tion, not having seen the original. It is based on the one given b}' Rev. Desmet, S. J., Western Missions and Missionaries, pgg. 452 -57. 38 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERTNCKX. [1801- concealment, and without telling his family any thing about his intentions, he applied to Bishop Carroll, by letter of November 20, 1803, for admission to his diocese. lie also secretly ad- vised his friend, Mr. Peemans, a pious and es- timable merchant of Brussels, of this step ; a happy thought, inspired, no doubt, into our mis- sionary by an ever-watchful Providence. For, the prelates to whom Rev. Nerinckx referred in his letter of application, as willing to testif}^ to his character and good intentions, viz.: Cardi- nal de Frankenberg, Archbishop of Mechlin, and Bishop Yandevelde, of Ruremonde, were at that time unable to render him that kind office, being held in close confinement in the dungeons of the French Republic. Bishop Carroll might have had his misgivings about accepting a stranger among the priests of his diocese, under such unfavorable circumstances. But Mr. Pee- mans, being a pious catholic and a prominent man of the Belgian capital, corresponded with many distinguished persons attached to the persecuted faith, who were able and willing to do some good to proscribed priests. He accord- ingly wrote to Princess Gallitzin, whom he had frequently met during his stay in the Nether- lands, and who, he knew, had a son, the re- nowned priest, Prince Demetrius Gallitzin, on the American mission. The following extract of a letter of the Princess to Bishop Carroll, dated Munster, 1803, tells the result : ]S04.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 39^ ^^ My Lord Bishop: "And now, Monseigneur, I have to speak to you about a subject almost as interesting to my heart as that which I just treated [viz., the welfare of her son] ; it is the question of help for your dear mission, which my son and yourself, Monseigneur, deigned to ask of me for many years. " I always did what was in my power, Avithout being able to find any one whose honesty of pur- pose I could answer for, up to this time, when, by the mediation of a friend, a priest as noted for his science as for his virtue, I have found two men of great worth and entirely reliable : Mr. Nerinckx and one of his relations. The first, lately a cure in the Netherlands, is preparing to leave for Baltimore, having already studied some English, to render himself useful to the mission. He comes, highly recommended by two persons of the greatest merit : Monsieur de Venise, a priest, and Monsieur Peemans, a busi- ness man. " Mr. Peemans, a valiant catholic, writes to me, as follows : ' Mr. jN'erinckx was pastor un- der the old order of things, and would be so to- day, if he thought he could subscribe to all the government asks of him, without jeopardizing his soul. The Rev. de Venise, who knows him well, having studied with him in the Seminary of Mechlin, testifies that he is a first-class man ; that when he was a cure he was truly the father 40 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1801- of every one of his parishioners ; that his flock had such a veneration for his person that he con- trolled, so to say, every household. He was loved and cherished by all the children, whom he in- structed and guided as a true missionary. As he can not remain idle, he made up his mind to go 10 Baltimore. He is studying English for that jiurpose ; and as he may leave on short no- tice — since I have already made inquiries for a good stopj)ing place in Amsterdam — I beg of you to send to Rev. Beckers, catholic priest in the Krytberg, on the Syngel, Amsterdam, the letters of recommendation to his Lordship of Balti- more, which you destined for him, as also your errands for that country. Mr. Nerinckx will l^e accompanied by one of his kinsmen, a pupil of Monsieur de Venise, who goes to America with the same sentiments. He would already have been a priest, if, wdien he was ready, our bishops had had the power of ordaining priests for this diocese. He will take with him his exeat and other papers necessary for that purj^ose, hop- ing that the Bishop of Baltimore will ordain him ' " Considering such respectable testimonials, I could not, Monseigneur, hesitate to present you, Mr. Nerinckx, and that, with all the greater as- surance, that if I knew him personally I would only have my own poor judgment as a guar- rantee. . . " I must end my letter, not to run the 1801.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 41 risk of not finding Mr. Nerinckx in Amster- dam. " I remain, Monseigneur, "Your most humble and obedient servant. " Princess Gallitzin."* After having given to Bishop Carroll all the details about himself and his family, narrated in our first chapter, Father Nerinckx, speaking of the spurious document attributed to Reverend Cersonmont, which specially urged the want of German priests in America, concludes as fol- lows : " These letters, if genuine, ought to excite any priest who is free and who has the glory of God and the salvation of souls ever so little at heart, to come to you. And although entirely unworthy of so noble a mission, although not a German, and speaking French very inaccurately, I have determined to come to you, not, to seek promotion or comfort, which, generously prot- ferred in my native land, I refused without re- gret ; but that I may save my own soul, and work a little for the spiritual welfare of my neighbor, if my superiors deem proper. My secondary motive is to encourage others,- more able than I am, and who, because of the sad state of religion in Belgium, have nothing to do, to come also to the missions, and there exercise their well-known zeal."f * MS8. letter in the archiepiscopal archives of Baltimore, Md. jAutograph Latin letter of Rev. Nerinckx to Bishop Carroll, dated " Ninove, in Flanders, November 20, 1803." 42 I^IFE OF KEV. CHARLES NEKTNCKX. [1801- Bishop Carroll received this letter May 31, 1804, and having subsequently received Princess Gallitzin's letter, he wrote to Father JSTerinckx an answer — directed, at his request, to Mr. Pro- vost, a rich Brussels merchant, Mey-boom street, No. 1067, in order not to set the blood-hounds of the Republic on his track — instructing him to come to America as soon as possible. The priest's preparations were soon made. Having left the care of forwarding his luggage- to the kind sisters of the hospital to which he had previously returned, he bade them a hasty farewell. On the morning of " the second day of July, 1804," he writes, "having left my pa- rents and friends in ignorance, and without bid- ding them good-bye, I started from the Hospital of Dendermonde, where, being condemned to ex- ile, I had remained unknown to the world."* Father Nerinckx left on foot and without lug- gage, so as to avert suspicions, and not to give a scent to the gens (Varmes always on the alert after him. Although all alone, and in constant danger of being arrested, he w^as in the best of humor, and arrived on the twelfth in Amster- dam, wdiere he w^as met by Father Malave, for- merly pastor of Jodoigne, near Tirlemont.f A letter to his aunt. Mother Constantia, written on *Autogi"iipli letter to Bishop Carroll, 1811. Baltimore Manu- scripts. f We find no further trace of Father Nerinckx' 3'outhful kins- man above referred to. 1S04.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 43; the very day of his arrival in that city, tells us how he fared on the way : " Amsterdam, July 12, 1804. ''''Bear Aunt Superioress and the whole Holy Com- munity : " May Grod bless you all ! " Thanks be to the good God ! I reached this city, in good health, to-day towards eight o'clock, A. M., after a journey of nine days on foot and forty-eight hours on the water. I was all alone on my travels, hence I could not quarrel with any body ; I had companions on board the ship, but they were not of the best. We had a heavy wind, and made twenty-six leagues in ten hours, although the wind was no wav favorable. I em- barked at Breda, and sailed by Willemstad, Delft, Dordrecht, Rotterdam, Ley den and Haar- lem, and saw very remarkable views on the way. Every where I wonder at the perfectly incredi- ble cleanliness of the churches, especially of the catholic ones. " I do not know when I will be able to con- tinue my journey. I write this letter in all hastB to let you know that I am safe, and hope to be able to write more details later. It may be, however, that we will not have to wait long- here, for there are many occasions to sail. I hope you are all well, and that you remember me in your prayers, as I do you in mine, al- though they are poor prayers indeed. G-reet Mr. D'haens (the director of the hospital), for me. 44 LIFE OF REV. CHAELES NERINCKX. [1801- Be always very faithful to all your spiritual ex- ercises, and, if possible, try to improve upon them ; for your good will and zeal have to ob- tain your perseverance. Remember that the la- bor and sufferings are of short duration, and that the recompense is without end. If you think proper you can communicate this letter to my parents and friends, taking care, however, to explain to them, why I did not bid them fare- well. As soon as I have made all necessary ar- rangements for my departure, I will write to them myself. " I hope you have taken care of my trunks. If you write, address : Mr. Beckers op het Cin- gel in den Krytberg, Amsterdam ;* and inside : for Mr. Nerinckx. " God speed. " C. ]S'ERIXCKX."t In the midst of all his dangers and secret ne- gotiations for a speedy embarkation, he never forgets his mission ; his interest in the spiritual welfare of others never flags, and he finds time to encourage the good hospital sisters in the prac- *" The catholic worship was secretly practiced in Holland until the beginning of the present century. The churches in com- mercial cities were designated by names such as those which were usually given to warehouses and taverns. At Amsterdam, the catholic churches bore the titles of Pool, het Haantje, de Pap- egaai, het Duifke, de Poost-Hoorn, de Krytberg, de Zaayer, etc., instead of those of the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, St. Ann, St. Nicholas, •etc." Life of Father Bernard, by Rev. P. Claessens, pg. 19. f.Autograph letter of Rev. Nerinckx, in the archives of the Dendermonde Hospital. 1804.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 45 tice of their devotional exercises, and excite them to work perseveringly for the sanctification of their souls. Forced to use the greatest precautions in pre- paring for his emigration to America, Father Nerinckx " suffered the most annoying delay of a whole month -at an inn in Amsterdam."* Whilst there he had the good fortune of meet- ing the saintly Princess Grallitzin, who had come all the way from Munich to meet him. She in- trusted to his care a box of goods and a letter for Prince Demetrius, her son, and favored him with the following letter for Bishop Carroll : "Amsterdam, July 31, 1804. '■'■Monseigneur : "As the precarious condition of our property does not permit me to pass the season, as usual, at the baths, and as my j^hysician, moreover, finds it absolutely necessary for my health that I should make a carriage journey of, at least, ten or twelve days, I chose coming to Amster- dam to see and to speak with the missionaries, who are to have the honor of receiving your blessing, and are to see my dear son face to face . . . " I have found, independently of Mr. Charles Nerinckx, whom I have already had the honor of announcing to you, in a letter dated at Mun- ster, which, without doubt, has reached you long before this, Mr. Fran9ois Malave, another candidate perfectly recommended by all that ^Autograph of Rev. Nerinckx, 1811. 46 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1801- there is most pure in Brabant ; lie had come in- tending to accompany Mr. Nerinckx to Balti- more, to put himself under your orders, but it happened that the Jesuit Father Becker, cure here, authorized by the Father General, Gruber, to receive persons eligible for the Society, showed him a letter he had just received from the Father General, in which it was mentioned that you, Monseigneur, had presented thirteen of your missionaries for admission into the Society -of Jesus. This letter, joined to the representa- tions of Rev. Father Halnath, whom to name :suffices to say all, and who, it ma}^ be remarked, in passing, had contributed no little toward at- tracting me here, determined Mr. Malave to com- mence by passing several months at Duneburg, at the Jesuit novitiate, whence he begs you to have the goodness to reclaim him from the Su- perior General Gruber, as belonging to you, for he feels himself in the most special manner -called to America, and only goes to Duneburg in order to make himself more capable of fultilling your orders and intentions in whatever you may deign to use him. " You will see in this, Monseigneur, what he has entreated me to say to you — he is not en- tirely decided himself how it will be — just as I am about leaving Amsterdam, where I have .spent only three days, for and with the saintly personages who drew me here — I have not CA^en an entire sheet of paper at hand, but I must still Jiiention to you, Monseigneur, Mr. Charles Guny, 1804.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 47 cure near Brabascon, who accompanies Mr. Ner- inckx to Baltimore, undecided as yet whether lie will there join the order of La Trappe, or whether God will call him to the missionary life, for which he now believes himself incap- able : he has the same recommendations in his favor, and I do not think he will lose any thing in your estimation by his own opinion of him- self. " I venture to entreat you, Monseigneur, to write me a few words concerning these earnest men, who interest so many saintly souls here, and whom I hope you will like. " I do not speak of the excellent news which Father Halnath brings us from St. Petersburg, whence he has just returned. The bearers of this letter will give you all the interesting de- tails. God be blessed that His mercy deigns thus to rej^air the losses, which we have every day in the larger part of Europe, and to j^reparc us the missionaries, of which we shall soon have more need than the countries beyond the sea. " I am with the most respectful attachment, " Monseigneur, "Your most humble and obedient servant, "Augustine's Mother."* Father IS'erinckx was greatly edified by the solid piety of the Princess, and had several con- ferences on S2:>iritual subjects with her. Among other sayings of hers, he alwaj'-s remembered *Life of D. A. Gallitzin, by S. M. Brownson, pgg. 154-6. 48 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINX'KX. [1801- the seven spiritual pebbles of St. Teresa, by which to kill the Groliah of the world, which he sends to his aunt of Dendermonde, and which he doubtless often recalled in his instructions for the edification of his Loretto community. 1. Let nothing trouble you ; 2. Let nothing* frighten you ; 3. Every thing passes away ; 4. God alone is unchangable ; 5. You will gain Hira by patience ; 6. Who has God, wants nothing ; 7. God alone is sufficient. Rev. Nerinckx finally succeeded in securing passage to America aboard an old, rickety ship, and with Father Charles Guny, a Benedictine priest, of Cambray, France, who afterward joined the Trappists, he embarked on the 14th of August, 1804, leaving Amsterdam the next day, feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.* The A^oyage lasted three months, "in the midst of various miseries, and dangers of all kinds;" the vessel was often in imminent danger of foundering at sea, and to add to the distress of our passengers, a contagious disease carried off forty-two of their number. Still, the crew was not chastened by the rod of affliction, and, the pious Father N'erinckx, speaking of the irreligion and immorality which reigned aboard this vessel, used to call it "a floating hell." He was wont to ascribe his preservation from shipwreck to a special interposition of Divine Providence. " We arrived in Baltimore," he wrote in 1811,. * Autograph letters of Rev. Nerinckx of 1811 and 1824. 1804.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 4^ "the 14th of November, and were kindly re- ceived by Bishop Carroll. I remained a month in the maritime city of Baltimore ; thence, I was sent to Greorgetown, where I was entertained by the Right Rev. Leonard ISTeale with generous hospitality, in the College of the Jesuits, for a period of four months." CHAPTER IV. 1804-1805. Father Nerinckx appointed for Kentucky. — "Again a school- boy" AT Georgetown. — His humility. — Mademoiselle de la ROCHEFOUCAULT AND THE FrENCH AMBASSADOR. — ViSIT OF THE Tbappist PRIOR. — Father Nerinckx prepares for his western MISSION. — His arrival in Kentucky. Bishop Careoll received the exiles with open arms, and was not slow in discovering the in- trinsic worth of the hardy Flemish priest. Father Nerinckx was forty-three years of age when he entered upon his missionary career; and he brought to it, with the experienced skill which twenty years of arduous ministry, spirit- ual direction and mental suffering had given him, all the fervor of youth. Of austere virtue, tempered with the sweetest charity, shining out of his rugged countenance ; of an iron constitu- tion and herculean strength ; of the most pro- found humility, which thorough theological learning made all the more conspicuous ; he was the very man whom the Bishop of Baltimore wanted for the abandoned mission of Kentucky, where Father Badin was roaming about in the most forlorn condition, and which no one else (50) 1804-5.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 51 wished, or was indeed willing, to accept. The "solicitude of all the churches" kept the Patri- arch of the American Church in continual dread, lest even the most distant regions of his diocese should suffer for the want of priests. To supply them all with pious and zealous workmen, ob- tained from Catholic Europe, was the constant aim of his heroic endeavors ; and in this the Prelate succeeded beyond all human expecta- tions. Had he sent to the church of Kentucky no other missionary but Father Nerinckx, it would still have ample reason to be forever grate- ful to him. The rugged and austere priest was a real treasure to the poor and laborious Ken- tucky mission, and Bishop Carroll fully appre- ciated his worth. During the short acquaint- ance of one month, which he had with our mis- sionary, he conceived a great esteem and vene- ration for his virtue, of which their frequent cor- respondence of later years gives ample proof. He never decided on any measure of importance bearing on the future usefulness of the western missions, without having previously consulted him, and he often followed his advice. The abandoned state of the Kentucky mission, its hardships and poverty, were the strongest in- centives which Bishop Carroll could throw in the way of Father Nerinckx, who eagerly accepted the proffered appointment. He joj^fully sped to Georgetown College, whither the Prelate sent him to fit himself for his new duties, by acquir- ing a practical knowledge of the English Ian- 52 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1801- guage, which he had been studying with no great facilities and very little success during the last two years of his forced retirement in Flan- ders. Being of a very buoyant disposition, he went at it with all the ardor of youth, and he playfully states, in a letter to his aunt of the Dendermonde hospital : "I am again a school- boy, learning how to speak, read and write ; no holidays ; and it will take a long time before I can spell ; of course, I pray for you : but, alas, I am even less proficient in spiritual matters than in the English language." In his humility, he soon began to doubt whether he had not pre- sumed too much on his abilities ; and a few days after his arrival at the college, December 7, 1804, he writes to Bishop Carroll to whom he had " confided his whole being and his temporal and spiritual welfare," a letter in which, after thank- ing the Prelate for having sent him to so good an institution where he was treated with the greatest kindness, he says: "With regard to the English language, if there is any hope of progress, I am afraid it will be little indeed ; for, besides my own mediocrity, which is a great drawback, the professors have so much to attend to, that I do not dare to trouble them, when they have a little free time, for some rules of pro- nunciation, or ask them to correct me when reading. Left entirely to myself, I try to learn the best I can, and to recollect what I hear ; but I am getting old, and want of early practice tells on me. I therefore earnestly beseech your 1805.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 53 Lordship to judge witli all the severity you deem proper and with your usual wisdom, whether there is any hope of my being of any use, and not to dread to tell me so, if you think there is none ; for I have firmly resolved, if al- lowed, to consider you in all things as a tutor and a father . -. ." Humble man! he who is to be such a worthy instrument for untold-of good in the hands of God, is afraid he is of no use ! The Poor Clares, living on Lafayette street, Georgetown, where they struggled against pov- erty and hunger by keeping school, having heard of the arrival of a new missionary, who, like themselves, had been driven from home by the horrors of the French Revolution, manifested to Bishop IN^eale, their ecclesiastical superior, a great desire of seeing Father Nerinckx. He, therefore, visited them, and in a letter to his aunt of Dendermonde, dated January 12, 1805, he relates the following incident of his visit: " The Superior of the Poor Clares, of Tours, died here a few days ago, much esteemed for her piety. Among the sisters of this community is the niece of the two illustrious Brothers de la Rochefoucault,* martyred in Paris during the late revolution. In a conversation I had with her, she related to me that, a short time ago, the French ambassador paid her a visit, and of- * Celeste la Blonde de la Rochefoucault succeeded Marie de la Marche the former abbess, in 1805; sold the convent to Bishop Neale, by deed of June 29, 1805, and returned to Europe with her companion, Sr. de St. Luc, the same year. 54 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1804- fered her his kind services, stating that several ladies of her noble and respected family were among the Ladies of Honor to the new Empress of France, and that, being young, the same honor might yet be in store for her. The worthy nun was soon tired of his empty talk, and, not less quick of tongue than noble of race, she gave him one of the wittiest and most cutting replies- it ever was my luck to listen to." For fear of his letter falling into the hands of officials of the Imperial Government, Father IN^erinckx with- holds it, but states that when, toward the close of the interview, the ambassador remarked that he would try to live as long as he could, she dismissed him with the final remark, that he had to exert himself very much indeed to live a great while longer, since, " les marguerites du cimetiere," — the grave-yard flowers (meaning his gray hairs) — were already growing on his- head. About a month later, the Rev. Father Urban Guillet, Superior of the Trappists of Pigeon Hills,* near Conewago, Pennsylvania, visited Georgetown on his return from Kentucky, whither he had been to select a more secluded and solitary spot for the establishment of his abbey. This naturally led Father Nerinckx ta inquire into the state of his intended mission ; and having previously received a few lines of en- *They had arrived at Baltimore a few months before Rev. Nerinckx, and settled at the Pigeon Hills, August 15, 1804, re- maining there about a year. 1805.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERIXCKX. 55 couragement from Bishop Carroll, he sent him, by the Rev. Prior, the following letter, full of practical wisdom and priestly humility : " Georgetown, February 14, 1805- '' Bight Bev. Sir: " I would deem it wrong to neglect the favor- able opportunity of the Rev. bearer's visit to your Lordship, to write you a few words, hav- ing placed my future into your hands, and know- ing to whom I have intrusted that which I have committed to him in the name of the Lord. "Spring is at the door, and I understand from the remarks of the Rev. Father Prior of the Trappists, that the way by water, which he says to be by far the best, will be closed before June, owing to the scarcity of water in the Ohio river. Since it has so pleased your Lordship to appoint me to the Kentucky mission, I might go in com- pany with the Trappist Fathers, under such con- ditions as you might agree upon with the Rev. Prior, for I would like to take two trunks along. When the Trappists are ready, and it seems they will be in March, I would like to be noti- fied, so that I may call at Baltimore on my way to join them; unless your Lordship thinks proper not to send me on the mission, either because of my ignorance of the English lan- guage, or for other reasons known to you. For I confess openly, that I make little progress in the language, since, besides the lack of practice, for which there is hardly a chance here, I seem 56 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1804- not to have sufficient aptitude to understand the English easily and speak it correctly. Of course, I know I can not try to be eloquent, which I was not even in my native tongue, and I think I need not. If, however, although defi- cient in speech, I am sent because of the great w^ants of the peojile and the lack of other priests, a statement which I found in the letters of St. Francis Xavier, will be a consolation to me: ' none of us know the Japanese language, never- theless, by reading that half Japanese volume, we brought many over to the religion of Christ.' Surely, sinner as I am, I would not dare to ex- pect such, evidently, supernatural help; but I despair not of the benevolent and powerful in- tercession of my patron saint, so dear to God and men, if the will of the Lord is manifest that I should work in some part of his vineyard or be of some use to his laborers, a thing which (I hope it ardently, and it is the only consolation of my troubled heart), I will know by the oracle of your word. " Since, besides the Trappists, the Dominicans are also going to that region, and intend to leave soon, the number of priests will perhaps be in- creased so much there, that they will stand in very little need of my poor help, in which case your Lordship may dispose of me as you see fit. I would deem it not to be less foolish than sin- ful to oifer myself, or to urge my being sent there ; but if God calls and orders me, I con- sider : 1. The urgent necessity of the faithful ; 1805.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 57 2. The present favorable opportunity for travel, which it seems is going to last only till June; 3. My desire to improve in English by a more frequent use of it; 4. My earnest wish to send some definite news to my country- men, who are perhaps burning with zeal for the salvation of their neighbor, and whose fervor might flag and be extinguished by too long a de- lay. I might also add that several families of this and other congregations, having heard, I do not know how, that I was destined for the Ken- tucky mission, are preparing to leave for that region, and are, I understand, anxiously inquir- ing where I will be stationed, desiring, no doubt, to live near the priest. " It being a thing of daily occurrence, that the devil, hater of all good, resists and harms with all the power and fraud at his command, the dif- fusion of the Gospel by jealousies and other miseries of that kind, I earnestly desire to take along, determinate in writing, all that relates to jurisdiction, to rights, to limits, and all things open to the danger of dissension ; this will, more- over, in my opinion, help a great deal to peace of conscience. I would like to divide the mis- sion intrusted to my care, as I formerly did my parish, with the most consoling and satisfactory results, into different districts, with a view to the easier and more thorough instruction of the set- tlers ; and, with the grace of God, I will devote myself to the utmost of my powers, to the good of my flock, visiting, helping, and guiding them. 58 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1804- That I may effect this the more readily, I have thought proper to ask the faculties mentioned in the following schedule (our President tells me that I can easily obtain these spiritual favors), viz.: 1. To introduce the devotion of the per- petual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; 2. To establish the confraternities of the Holy Name of Jesus, of the Holy Rosary, of the Souls in Purgatory, or any other, if deemed advisable, in every congregation of at least twenty-five communicants ; that is, two of these societies in each, the favors to be gained on two Sundays of each month ; 3. To grant, to those who teach catechism, the indulgences granted by the Popes- to the societies instituted for that end. " You will please remember. Right Rev. Sir, that I have brought nothing from the old country but a silver chalice, and I am informed by the Trappists, that the region I am sent to is en- tirely destitute, or almost so, of sacred vest- ments ; also, that it is very difficult to get Mass- wine. They intend to take along from Balti- more a barrel of Mass-wine, and it will, perhaps, be necessary for me to do the same. I can get neither Ritual nor books here ; hence, let not your Lordship take it amiss, if I ask of your zeal and piety to provide me with them, if at all possible ; so that, going forth totally unarmed and unfit to fio-ht the hard battles of the Lord, I be not en- tirely without the efficient aid of catechisms and pious books. " I think there will be sufficient money sent 1805.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES ?sERINCKX. 5^ from Kentucky to jmy my way thither, since its use may be conceded to me, considering my pov- erty. Before my affairs are definitely settled in Belgium, I would not dare to use the little sum given me for specific j^urposes, except in a grave necessity. For the rest, I will, God helping me, try to seek his kingdom, less solicitous for the things to be added. May God spare me and those in power at the awful judgment day ! " This is all I desired to submit to your Lord- ship's consideration. The bearer. Rev. Father Prior, and our President, who intends also to travel through Kentucky, will, I think, add something by word of mouth . . . " Your Lordship's obedient and humble servant, " C. T^ERINCKX." "P. S. Whatever you destine forme. Rev. Blosius, who took upon himself to j)repare my trunks, will take care of." The encouraging reply of Bishop Carroll, con- firming the previous appointment, and instruct- ing him to be ready within a month's time, dis- pelled all further doubts from the mind of the humble priest. What little money he possessed had to defray the traveling expenses of a three months' journey, and complete the little store of indispensable articles which the charitable en- deavors of his Baltimore friends could not en- tirely provide. Father Xerinckx describes the incidents of his journey to Kentucky in the following letter to- 60 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES KERINCKX. [1804- his parents,* dated May 6, 1806: "I left Georgetown College, the week before Pentecost. The next morning I arrived in Baltimore, where I remained two days to receive Bishop Carroll's instructions and blessing. Thence I traveled in a wagon belonging to the Trappist Fathers to Conewago (Adams county), Pennsylvania, fifty miles from Baltimore, where these Religious have their convent. A beautiful chapel has been built in the neighborhood by a Jesuit Father, and in the pastoral residence I found a precious library of Flemish and Dutch books left by a Franciscan missionary of Liege who had resided here.f The two resident priests who take care of the Conewago mission, received me with great kindness. They are both secular priests ; Rev. Bart, a Frenchman, has spent fourteen years -in the American mission : Rev. Merkx is a Luxemburger; they minister to about two thousand catholics, most of whom speak German but understand and speak English as well. I remained with them during Pentecost week and helped them in the Confes- sional ; I also attended a neighboring town of about one hundred and twenty families called Hanover, and said Mass for the seven or eight catholic families residing there. Flere I made my first attempt at an English sermon ; you can imagine how I expressed myself! I managed, *MS. letter in the library of the Bollandist Fathers, S. J. Brussels, Belgium. f Probably Rev. Stanislaus Cersonmont. See page 30. 1805.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 61 however, to say what I intended to say and bring it to a close. " The following Monday, being the 10th of June, I left Conewago with the whole Trappist com- munity ; Rev. Mr. Bart accompanied me a dis- tance of fourteen miles, and forced me to accept four pair of stockings, some underclothing, and a handkerchief. The caravan consisted of thirty- seven persons, seven or eight of whom were priests, among them my traveling companion on the sea. Father Charles Guny, who is in excellent health and spirits. We lived a la Trappiste : bread and butter (the latter allowed because we were traveling), was our only food; water, our only drink ; we invariably lodged in barns, which differ but little from the public inn known as the ' Blue Heavens.' The monks never spoke ; however, they prayed aloud, and they were allowed to talk to me ; but as we had nothing to talk about, they scarcely availed themselves of the permis- sion. We traveled until late in the night, and were awakened about four o'clock in the morn- ing, when I usually set out ahead of the party, to escape the midday's march in the scorching heat of the sun, and to think of my own spiritual concerns. I would never have tired of that com- pany, had not their four wagons made our pro- gress so exceedingly slow, that I thought my- self in duty bound to follow Bishop Carroll's advice to push ahead if, as he foresaw, the Trap- pist party traveled too leisurely. Shortly after I had made up my mind to strike out for myself, 62 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1804- their wagon broke down. After having waited for them a day and a half in Bedford,* I bought a horse with saddle and bridle for $75, and started alone, in God's name, through the lonely half- cleared woodlands of the State of Ohio. " I must have made fifty miles a day for about ten days. Within thirty miles from Charlesbor- ough^ a woman rushed toward me out of the woods, thinking I was a protestant minister. When I informed her that I was a catholic priest she w^ept for joy, and entreated me to stop at her house, as she was a catholic herself, and had not seen a priest for four years. I there learned that several other catholic families, all of whom feared they would have to die without the con- solation of receiving the rites of the church, lived in the neighborhood ; that some were scat- tered in the woods, but had, through human re- spect or other reasons, given up all practices of religion. " I arrived at the house of Rev. Badin, the center of the Catholics of Kentucky, on the 18th of July." The Rev. Stej^hen Theodore Badin was at that time, 1805, the only resident priest of Kentucky ; the Trappists arrived only in the fall of the same year. Here, then, was to be the field of Father IN'er- inckx' usefulness. What was that foreigner, who, to use his own words, "had scarcely picked up a few words of English, and always spoke it *A town where the house of an Indian chief still exists." 1805.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 63 badly and barbarously," who entreated his Bishop, " not to dread to tell him plainly that he was of no use on the mission, since he him- self thought so," — what was that foreigner going to do in this field of labor, it being one of the most extensive and the most thoroughly English mis- sions on the Am'erican continent ? Would not the people render the verdict against him, which the kind-hearted Bishop had refused to pro- nounce ? Would he be of any use ? His works will answer. Before we begin the description of his mission- ary labors, let us take a rapid survey of the early missions of Kentucky. CHAPTER V. 1672-1805. Early Kentucky history. — The Shawnees. — Virginia explorers. — Catholic settlers from Maryland. — The league of sixty cath- olic FAMILIES. — Father Whelan. — The first catholic church in Kentucky. — Father Badin. — St. Ann's church. — Other Mission- aries. — Father Nerinckx. Kentucky must have changed hands more than once during the early days, when Indians Avere the only claimants to light for the posses- sion of that beautiful country. Most authors agree that it was a kind of neu- tral territory, or rather, a region, for the exclus- ive ownership of which many of the savage tribes long waged war. As such, it became, as has been the case among thoimore civilized na- tions of the European world, tiie theater of many a bloody conflict, which merited for this Indian battle-ground, the awe-inspiring name of the " Dark and Bloody Ground." As early, however, as 1672, the Shawnees or Skoivmwes, a tribe be- longing originally to the Algonquin-Lenape na- tion, after having been driven from Eastern Pennsylvania and the southern shore of Lake Erie by the warlike Iroquois, took possession of (G4) 1672] LIFE OF EEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 65 Kentucky, where Father Marquette found them in 1673, on his journey of discovery down the Mississippi. "We arrived," he says, "at the OuahousJiir/ou* This river comes from the lands- of the East, where dwell the people called Chuouanons [Shawnees], in so great numbers,, that in a quarte'r of a day we counted twenty- three villages, and fifteen in another, all verjr near to each other. They are not a warlike people : these are the tribes which the Iroquois are constantly pursuing to wage war against them and without any reason; because these poor people can not defend themselves, they al- low themselves to be taken prisoners and be led away like sheep ; and, however inoffensive, they can not but resent the barbarity of the Iroquois who even cruelly burn them."f On the map ac- companying the account of this journey. Father Marquette marks the Shawnee village south of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi rivers. His report of the situation of the Shawnee tribe is corroborated by Father Gravier's narrative of his own journey down the Mississippi in 1700, written February 16, 1701, in which he states that the third river (meaning the Tennes- *Later known as the Oubache : La belle Biviere of the French, now called the Ohio river. The northern affluent retained the original name Americanized into the Wabash river of to-day. fCfr. " Voyage et decouverte, etc., par le P. Marquette et Sr. Joliet, a Paris, chez Estienne Michalet, rue S. Jaques, a 1' Image de S. Paul, MDC LXXXI. 0. Rich's reprint, 1845." Page 32, sq. n^^E OF KEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1805- the New World. About one p. m., we walked in procession from the parish church, now called Holy Cross, to the house where the Trappists live, a distance of nearly a mile. I had the happiness of carrying the Most Blessed Sacra- ment, and gave benediction from an altar built alongside the street. The prie&ts of the Trap- pist community — another has joined it lately — assisted, clad in sacredotal garments, and the people showed much devotion. The good work is eminently successful, but it is impossible tO' do justice to it ; it is as much above our strength as the sun is above our heads. We find out scores of people of tAventy years and over, who never made their first communion ; early rising, hard work, and late meals, tell on us all, and we are so lean that we will soon be able to worry through the narrow gate of heaven. God grant it?"* Having finished the visitation of the different Kentucky stations, the two set out for Post Vin-- cennes early in the Spring of 1806. This station had not been visited since Father Olivier, then residing at Prairie du Rocher, among the French Catholics on the Mississippi, had spent there two- weeks in July, 1805. Father Nerinckx was very anxious to undertake that journey. Having" given up his intention of joining the Trappists, out of obedience to his Bishop, he was now re- volving in his mind the possibility of indulging his love for seclusion and for a life of austerity, * Letter of Rev. Nerinekx of December 6, LS05. 1806] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 91 by becoming a missionary to the Indians, a plan against which, he thought, Bishop Carroll could not urge the necessity of other missions. That he succeeded no better, in this second attempt to bury himself out of sight of the world, is evi- dent from the following extract from a letter ta his parents, written in May, 1807. " I have not yet determined where to live. The Vicar-general Badin wishes me to remain with him, and the Bishop of Baltimore entreats me not to go to the State or Territory of Indiana, where he intends to send two countrymen of mine, the Jesuits, Fathers Malave and Henry. As soon as other fathers arrive from Europe, to fill their places at Georgetown, they will start for that mis- sion."* . . . Fathers Badin and Nerinckx " arrived at the Post on the 14th of April, and remained until the 27th, 1806, baptizing many children and as- sisting at several marriages, besides administer- ing the other sacraments as usual. "f Father Nerinckx, in a letter to his parents, " described his journey to the Illinois and to Post Vin- cennes, mentioning what he met of interest among the savages, "J but all our efforts to se- cure it have been in vain. It was, very likely, destroyed with many similar documents of im- portance for the history of that interesting mis- * Letter of Rev. Neiinckx in the Bollandist collection. f See "Life of Bishop Flaget," by Archbishop Spalding, pg. 119. X Autograph letter of Rev. Nerinckx to his parents, dated. 1807. m LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1805- sion. The following account, which he sent to Bishop Carroll,* gives us a faint idea of what the venerable Father Rivet, who died at Post Vincennes in 1804, must have suffered in that neglected station : "I have visited, in company with Father Badin, the catholics at Post Vin- cennes. The trip took us about a month. We found them like unto sheep astray and almost perishing ; their total destruction seems certain, unless a helping hand be extended to them. They are very bad people, . . . unmindful of the commandments of the church with regard to the observance of feasts, of fasts and absti- nence ; in a word, there is ' neither beauty nor comeliness, but destruction and unhappiness are in their ways !' I think there are about eighty families at the Post, but many more are scat- tered in the neighborhood. They desire very much to have a priest who would help them in their distress, although I am afraid they will not listen to him. They are a lazy voluj)tuous set, and the position of a priest among them will necessarily be trying, desolate, and sad. Father Bivet succeeded, however, in putting the tem- poral concerns of the mission on a good footing. The governor of the place offers his help to se- cure to a resident priest $200 a year, which sum the government allowed to Rev. Rivet. But I would rather refuse the offer, because I have not the least doubt that the allowance is hurtful to the freedom of religion, as but too plainly ap- * Letter of 1806. Baltimore MSS. 1806.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NEEI^X'KX. 93 pears from the papers left in the house of the de- ceased f)riest. " Besides these residents, there are two Indian tribes, the Miamis and the Lowps, who seem to be well-disposed and give hopes for a great many conversions. The former, a very populous tribe, count one thousand five hundred able-bodied warriors ; the latter, eight hundred souls. The Loups have already a church, in which they come together on Sundays and holy days, to have the catechism explained to them by two laymen paid for the purpose. They live about four hun- dred miles from Yincennes ; the Miamis are in their vicinity. I have, before this, ofPered my- self for any of their missions, if agreeable to my superiors ; and I hereby renew my offer to your Lordship, although I must acknowledge that, notwithstanding my good will to help my neigh- bor, I should rather seek a solitude in which to- pass the remainder of my days in tears and lamentations, in expectation of the severe judg- ment. Yet, I repeat it most emphatically, I would even insist upon my being sent to some of these abandoned people, were it not that I am absolutely unfit for the position. It seems also urgent to erect a Bishopric in some of these mis- sions, in order to put a stop to the many diffi- culties and indecision of these people, who, living at such an enormous distance from their pastor, know not what to hold as right or wrong. A Bishop would soon set all things to right, and be- in o; here, would verv soon remove all the obsta- 94 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1805- cles in the way of our Holy Faith, and be better able to judge what means would be the best and the most practical to foster Religion," Upon returning to St. Stephen's, Father JSTer- inckx found a letter from Bishop Carroll, con- veying the sad intelligence of the death of Rev. Pe Cuyper, who had died in Georgetown, whilst preparing to leave for Kentucliy. This was a heavy blow to the zealous priest, who had set his heart upon the scheme of a mission of his countrymen. " I have greatly regretted," he writes in answer to the Prelate, June 2, 1806, " the loss of Rev. De Cuyper to myself and people ; especially so, because the sad occurrence is likely to prevent my countrymen from under- taking the journey ; other circumstances seem, moreover, to foretell that all my endeavors to establish a Belgian mission will be in vain. I Avould never have presumed to conceive the plan, but that I desired to profit, in as much as my own mediocrity would allow, of the services of men seemingly chosen by Almighty God for that very purpose. But it is the work of God ; His holy will be done ! " Determined to leave nothing undone, in order to secure the success of his undertaking, and the lasting benefit of an able and numerous body of priests to the Kentucky mission, he again wrote to Belgium, urging his friends to come out with- out delay. "I am convinced," he says, "that no priest, who has any of the zeal of his vocation and who carefully considers our position here, 1806.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLE.S NERINCKX. 95 can in any way get rid of the obligation of, I do not say coming, but flying to our help, unless the most weighty reasons order otherwise. However, in these, our days, the judgments of God on his Church are so terrible as they are wonderful. So many regions where to carry the Gospel ! So many nations ready to embrace it, who never had the chance to do so, or lost it. So many priests who on the day of their ordination received the Holy Ghost, with the injunction of going forth and baptizing ; and yet trying (but in vain) to find legitimate excuses to justify their sloth! And where Religion is established, so many persons so very indiiferent to it, that what is left of it is scarcely worthy of that name! . . . May the good God, always merciful in his unfathomable designs, have pity on our poor and needy people, and vouchsafe that we be not numbered among the condemned crowd! "In the midst of such painful and serious difficulties, you can easily imagine what dis- couraging thoughts assail me, when, in my rare moments of leisure, I ponder over the present revolution, sweeping over my family and country ; but especially when I revert my thoughts upon myself, and behold so poor and unfit a man, with means so inadequate, charged with so great and so multifarious duties, in the midst of so many perils, without hope of speedy aid ! I sometimes flattered myself with the hope that a few, at least, would come to this country to work for the glory of God; and that in their consoling 96 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1S05- company and under their holy guidance, I would be enabled to commence in earnest, correcting my defects and amending a life which passes away so fast, and will soon be mine no more. Yet in the midst of those gloomy and melancholy thoughts and trials, the good God is so merciful as to refresh his unworthy servant with some glimmering of hope and consolation. The Rev. Vicar-general Badin, whom I live with, gives me the most striking proofs of an uncommou af- fection, and urges me to take upon myself the administration and ow^nership of his house and land ; but my affections and desires were never fixed on such objects heretofore, nor shall they, I trust, now take possession of my heart. I do uot feel at all like coming to such a pass, although I can scarcely see how to escape the burden of that extensive and heavy congrega- tion, really large enough for four or five earnest and zealous priests, besides remaining at the same time burdened with my own. If I make some tiresome rehearsals of my extensive labors, rest assured that the true and only reason is, that some may be moved to come, in person, to our aid, and that the other virtuous souls who can not come, may address the most fervent prayers and supplications to heaven, to obtain for me, in my bitter need and sorrow, graces and help." We will have occasion to refer again, in the course of this biography, to the zeal with which Father Nerinckx worked to recruit missionaries 1806.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 97 for his beloved Kentucky. His was indeed a zeal which knew no bounds. 'Not satisfied with working day and night for the salvation of souls^ he did all in his power to multiply his good works by inducing others to do the same ; and we have already seen that he was the first to- think of asking a Bishop for Kentucky. Bishop Carroll, who had thought of Father Badin for that responsible position, and had con- ceived a very high opinion of the virtue and sound judgment of Rev. Nerinckx, wrote to him asking his opinion on the subject ; and the hum- ble man very reluctantly gave it in the fol- lowing letter,* dated June 2, 1806: "It is but right, if it can be done, that a man be chosen,, acquainted with the country and with the cus- toms of the people, like the one the selection of whom your Lordship submitted to my judgment.. His science, in both human and divine letters, seems to me to be above the mediocre, and it would, without a doubt, be much greater and deeper if time and occupation allowed him to- improve it. He has good reasoning powers, fair judgment, and prudence. I believe him to be sound in doctrine and ready to listen to the de- cision of a superior. His zeal is more than suf- ficiently known ; it has, perhaps, a little too much of the French fervor, is of more than nec- essary rigidity, and, if tempered with a little of the honey of kindness, would be more palatabla- * Baltimore MSS. 98 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1805- to his people and more successful in curing in- veterate sinners and loathsome wounds. This is the reason he is not so universally liked, al- though it is also to be acknowledged that some of the less pious i^eople are difficult to deal with, indocile, ungrateful, lax and without manners, quarrelsome, and indifferent to Religion, the very name of which they cause to be blasphemed. He handles temporal aifairs smartly enough ; he loves piety, from the exercise of which he is per- haps a little prevented because of his love for so- ciety, which he has, however, rarely frequented since my arrival. If, however, he does not re- fuse invitations with as much reluctance as I would, he does it because of the good he hopes from them . . . These are the things I have been able to note down, and which need not keep him away from that terrible ministry . . . For the rest, I do not know of any one more fit for the place . . . But I beg of your Lordship that my opinion in the matter should have as little weight as possible." Writing, in 1807, on the same subject to a friend,* Rev. Nerinckx gives the following rather racy and graphic sketch of old Father Badin, at that time in the bloom of his years : " Kentucky has not yet its Bishop, and our peo- ple are very desirous to know who he will be. A great many conjectures are made. Many are of opinion that my host, the Yicar-general, may be appointed, in which case my burden would, * Rev. Nerinckx' autograph. ]S06.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 99 if possible, be doubled. In fact, I would then be obliged to assume his congregation, which is two thousand strong. Even now he urges me to do so, so that he might visit the more distant stations, a thing also very necessary. The Vicar-general Badin is a Frenchman, born in Orleans, thirty-nine years of age, of small stat- ure, well-built, of pleasant character, good morals, and great piety; gray, strong, and healthy, standing the hardships of missionary life well, the first priest ordained by the Bishop of Baltimore, well qualified for business affairs, and, in my own opinion, for the Episcopal dig- nity, and, so to say, the founder of the church in Kentucky." That Father Badin was not appointed, was perhaps due to the fact, that he, himself, went to Baltimore in the Spring of 1807, and recom- mended for the position. Rev. Benedict Joseph Flaget, a distinguished Sulpician, of burning zeal and tender piety, who had come with him to America, in 1792, and who, having attended Post Vincennes until 1794, and spent sixteen years on the American mission, seemed to him fitted, in a particular manner, for the trying of- fice of the Episcopacy in this j^ioneer country. Subsequent events proved Father Badin's choice to be as wise as Father JN'erinckx' might have proved to be. CHAPTER yil. 1805-1807. The Trappists. — Fathbe. Nerinckx foresees their failure. — His DESIRE TO JOIN THEM. — OBEDIENCE BETTER THAN SACRIFICE. — St. Stephen's. — Holt Mary's. — Bells. — Church furniture. — Dan- ville. — St. Charles' church. — State of the Catholic Church in Kentucky in 1807. — Rev. Nerinckx' bodily sufferings. — His missionary field of labor. The Trappists, whom Father Nerinckx had left on the banks of the Ohio, in his eager- ness to reach his destination, arrived in Ken- tucky in the Fall of 1805, They temporarily settled at the foot of Rohan's Knob, on Pottin- ger's Creek, about a mile from the church of Holy Cross. " The Trappists," writes Father Nerinckx in November, 1805, "have had a sad and expen- sive journey ; most of them have been sick, and two, to whom I gave the last Sacraments have died in their present residence. They are: Father Basil, who had been appointed prior, a man of great holiness, formerly a canon in France, and Father Dominic who had been a Carthusian. The others are all convalescent or entirely well. Had I remained with them, I (100) 1805-7.] LIFE OF KEY. CHARLES NERINCKX. 101 would have arrived here about a month and a half later, and most likely sick with the same fever. They are now four priests, among whom my traveling companion, four lay brothers, and some students and children. They are poorly situated ; St. Bernard will have to help them, for, in my opinion. Father Urban, their Superior, is not the man in the right place. Owing to sickness, they did not yet determine upon a place of settlement. I gave them a relic of St. Bernard." The Fathers remained on Pottinger's Creek until the early spring of 1807, when "during the severest spell of an extremely cold winter which had set in before Christmas, thirteen Trappists left our neighborhood," writes Father Nerinckx, "to settle on a part of a tract of land (in Casey county), which, if I am not mistaken, they bought at $2.00 an acre. Among them are three Belgians : Mr. Douche, a pastor of the Diocese of Bruges,* and two lay-brothers, one from the environs of Ghent, the other from Thie- nen.f There is also among them a worthy *He was a very learned Canon of Bruges and joined the Trap- pists in Darfeld. f One of these was Henry Rysselman, who remained with the Trappists until they broke up their establishment at the " Monk's Mound," in 1813, to return to their monastery in France, when he went to Georgetown College, and joined the Jesuits, among whom he died, June 30, 1857. He often spoke of his sojourn with the Trappists in Casey county, in 1809. Archbishop S{)ald- ing does not mention the Casey county establishment. Mr. John Wethington, a reliable gentlemen whose father settled on €asey Creek about the year 1802, states that many old people of 102 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NEPJNCKX. [ISOo- Canaclian pastor. The Superior who accompa- nied them is a young man of holy life, although once a soldier. His name is Father Marie Jo- seph. He was a grenadier during the French Revolution, and, having orders to shoot a priest, he refused to do so, and fled from the army to become a religious.* " Other lands have been oflfered gratis to the Trappists, but they did not accept of them, either because of the bad situation or for other reasons best known to themselves. They will be established about forty miles from us, and will be obliged to open a new clearing of between seven and eight miles long in the wilderness. They hope that new colonies will join them from Europe, and it is even rumored that their Abbot intends to come to our regions." f Trained in the school of strict seminarian discipline, and purified, like gold, in the fire of adversity and persecution, Father Nerinckx that county still remember when the Trappist monks were there. * Father Marie Joseph Dunand, the Trappist prior, remained in America after his brethren had returned to Europe. He first attended the missions west of the Mississippi, and resided at St. Charles, Mo., where Bishop Flaget visited him in July, 1814. Accustomed to the strict discipline of the Trappist convent, Father Dunand was often at war with his rather lukewarm flock. He afterward had charge of the congregation at Florissant, un- til about 1820, when Rev. Lacroix (see infra) was appointed to succeeded him, on account of dissensions among the people which the former could not settle. The prior returned to France that same year. fAutograph letter of Rev. Nerinckx to his parents, dated February, 1S07. 18U7] LIFE OF REV. CHAELES ^'ERINCKX. lOS found an especial attraction in the rigid and penitential life of the Sons of St. Bernard, who, striving for perfection, deprived themselves of all the transient pleasures of this world, in order to secure the crown of eternal life. His was a reticent and serious nature, which would have delighted in the solitude of a cloister or a Thebais, but which, on that very account, fitted him all the better for the ungrateful work of our early missions. It would sustain him against the lack of human consolations, and prove his salvation, where others w^ith more sociable dis- positions, and more brilliant qualifications of mind, would not have been able to bear the hard- ships and disappointments, and would have given up the contest. Many need the salutary restraints of a conventual life, which, because it deprives them of their own will, securely directs them in the path of religious perfection and scientific pursuit, where they shine forth with undiminished luster ; left to their own un- restrained impulses, they would soon swerve from the royal, but thorny, w^ay, to follow the broad and flowery road that leads to perdition. The sad experience of our own days was not needed, to prove the failure of some monastic men, whom conventual discipline and vows had forced into a well-earned prominence ; in their convents they were examples of religious perfec- tion to their less gifted brethren, but, as soon as they freed themselves from the salutary yoke, they fell from the zenith of their grandeur, to 104 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1805- sink, despised, into merited oblivion. The glit- tering meteor shooting away from the heavenly firmament which sets forth its splendor, soon merges in vapory nothingness, or falls to the earth a blackened areolite. We greatly admire the neatly trimmed vessels, which, rounded off in soft contours and pleasing lines, stately and securely glide on the smooth waters of our in- land bays ; they do well in their place, keeping in shore, or sailing along on the broad bosom of the great rivers. But woe to them if they ven- ture out ui)OTi the open sea ! Before the angry waves have a chance to hurl them into the bottomless abyss of the deep, the breakers on the coast display the sad wreck of their once noble hull. Men, world-renowned, in the haven of a convent, have had their reputation dashed to pieces on the fog-concealed rocks besetting the raging sea of sad life in the world. But, Father Nerinckx, how much soever inclined to profit by the cloister's j^rotecting safeguard, stood not in need of it to protect his virtue, or aid his progress in the science of the Saints. Like a stanch ship, the bold outlines of which, less pleasing to the e^^e, but hiding within their rugged forms beams strong and firm, bespeak her strength against the most violent outbursts of the Atlantic storms, he could safely brave the tempest, and battle successfully against wind and waves. Our missionary was too much needed in the missions to think of securing his own salvation, 1807.] LIFE OF KEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 105 whilst seemingly neglecting that of others, who were famishing for want of spiritual food. He was imbued with too much of the spirit of zeal which animated St Ignatius, to take to the life- Iboat when a pilot was needed at the wheel ; and, upon the advice of Bishop Carroll to whom he had written on the subject, and who did not ap- prove of his entering a religious house, he gener- erously sacrificed his own inclinations to the welfare of his flock. "I must acknowledge," he writes,* " that the manner of living of the Trap- pists has touched me in so far, that hardly any thing but the great scarcity of priests to attend to the wants of the catholics, withholds me from asking a place among them. Happy men, in- deed, who, notwithstanding the sneers of a world full of deceit, know how to find charms in tribu- lation, joy in sufi'ering, wealth in poverty, and an abundance of all things where the blinded worldlings not even deign to cast a glance. When you see and study their lives, you think you have finally found the infallible means of se- curing the salvation of your soul. What holy and modest joy do you not read in their counte- ance ! How eloquent is their silence ! How heart-stirring their chant ! In a word, how violently and sweetly does their whole mode ^of life attract you ! Vere kaec est generatio quaeren- tium Dominum! ..." JSTo wonder if Father N^erinckx deplored the removal of these men, whom he looked up to as * Father Nerinckx' autograph letter. Sup. C'd 106 I^IFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1805- the very models of christian perfection, and whose way of living naturally made them his friends. Being accustomed to sacrifice his own likings to the good of religion, he deplored it es- pecially because, with his usual keen perception and bright intellectual foresight, the man of God anticipated that no good would come from that continual change of place. In his estimation, men who made perfection their daily business should have relied more on the providence of God, and less on the beauty of situation or fer- tility of soil, than the over-zealous Father Ur- ban did. In his anxiety to secure a favorable and permanent establishment for his community, this good man was constantly on the road and away from his convent, and his brethren could not but suffer from the protracted absences of their Superior. The fact that they were to com- mence a new foundation without the presence of their prelate to enforce the rules, and to instill into them, from the very beginning, the spirit of fervor, which the difficulties of a new establish- ment must necessarily have rendered very hard to foster, was surely no help to maintain the strictness of the institute, and must have suggested many and seemingly plausible ex- cuses not to enforce it. Rev. Nerinckx wrote in that sense, to Bishop Carroll in 1806, a letter* which he sent to him through Father Urban: " The affairs of the Trappists are improving slowly enough. I fear the ruin of that Congre- * Baltimore MSS. 1807.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 107 gation, unless they receive reinforcements of men and money, both of which are promised from Belgium. It seems to me that it would succeed better, if, as I suggested several times to him, Rev. Urban commenced from humble foun- dations, and were not so over-anxious about the selection of a convenient spot. I am afraid that his continual excursions will drain all his re- sources, besides being very prejudicial to the good name and fame of the Trappists." But the Rev. Urban did not wish to listen to the disinterested suggestions of the missionary. Scarcely had the prior. Father Marie Joseph, settled his little band in Casey county, when his superior, busy as ever in quest of better quarters, arrived at the monastery with the un- welcome intelligence of another removal. He had obtained from Bishop Carroll the pastoral care of the catholics scattered on both sides of the Mississippi, and came to break up the new establishment. This news was a terrible blow to the earnest and energetic Father Marie Joseph, and helped no doubt the determination he came to, when the Trappist establishment was again broken up in 1813 and transplanted back to France, to sever his connection with so fickle a superior and to remain in the American mission. That he had reason to regret the step of his superior, although, like a true religious, he did not ques- tion its propriety, clearly appears from one of 108 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1805- Father Nerinckx' letters,* describing the result of the poor prior's zeal, as early as the Summer of 1807 : "I lately visited my St. Bernard's parish, and stopped over night with the admira- ble monks of La Trappe. They own around there, thirty-four miles from the priests' land (so people call Father Badin's plantation), about one thousand five hundred acres, which cost them on an average $4.00 an acre. That terri- tory belonged to Holy Mary's parish, but it has been erected into a distinct mission, called St. Bernard's. Part of that large Trappist farm is very good land, well situated, cut by several streams and a rather wide brook, upon the banks of which they are already erecting a saw-mill — a good illustration of what early monks have (^/o/v, under elate September 2, J 780: "Crossed the North Fork of Licking about fifteen miles from the Blue Licks. . . . Four miles further on, we came to a quite nice village called Washington, within five miles of Limestone. . . . These people first began to build this place entirely in the woods last Christmas; and now, 1 suppose, there are forty houses in it, chiefly indifferent log ones and rather scattered." Magazine of American History, April, 1877, pg. 310. 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 155 time ago as Philistines, play their pranks about Washington, Ky. Twenty ministers, with their so-called Bishop of Baltimore, assembled last week in the town, and converted ever so many sinners, viz : had them fall to the ground like possessed by the devil and dance liko Corybants ; the religious exercises of this people are as foolish as they are sinful. The savages, who were thought to be preparing for war against the whites, are gathered in CMllicothe, not far from Wheeling, having at their head a Baptist minister who acts as interpreter and who has been several years with them. They declared, in a public audience granted to them by the governor of Ohio, that their intentions were peaceful ; their only object in assembling was ta accustom themselves to the manner of living of the whites, viz : to live in towns, to till the ground, to become christians, etc., etc. If meas- ures are not taken to supply them with priests, according to the treaty entered into with the United States, which promised the Indians to give them Black Robes, this, our inheritance, will fall into the hands of protestant ministers who have no right to it.' " These are the most important items given me by Father Badin. Xo doubt he will have a great deal more to tell after his return ; but is not this sufficient for a priest to wish he had the wings of the eagle, to fly to the help of these un- fortunate people? . . . Father Badin also 156 ^IFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1807- «arnestly requests priests for the frontiers of Spain and America. " The Superior of the Trappists has lately received a letter from the Bishop of Quebec, in Canada, to whom he had written for help, that religious affairs are in a pitiful condition in that region, owing to the harshness of the English government toward catholics; it refuses to al- low the foundation of any religious community. The Bishop also mentions that he has consecrated ^ Bishop for Asia. "//^ Boston, where a zealous Doctor of Sor- bonne * was almost stoned to death, because he tried to plant the catholic religion in the city, the same reverend gentleman is now building a second church. If rumors are true, he will be one of the new Bishops. "The Right Rev. Bishop of Baltimore has been seriously wounded by being thrown out of his carriage ; but I learn, through Father Badin, that he has already recovered. "A Methodist preacher is receiving instruc- tions preparatory to his reception in the church. Fevers are prevailing, and not a few die of them; they buried yesterday the tenth one who died without sacraments, owing to the want of priests. Several of these were advanced in age, and had not yet made their first com- munion. My own sickness may have been the cause of some dying without the priest. . . . * Louis de Cheverus was consecrated first Bishop of Boston, November 1, 1808. 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 157 " October 25, 1807.— Rev. Charles Guny, who came with me to America, and the Canadian priest spoken of, made their profession at the Trappist convent this week. . . . " December, 1807. — I had suffered so long from the fever that I fin^illy bethought myself of the chapel in Brabant," where people used to go to get rid of it. I resolved to take my recourse to the same means, having in vain used all known remedies. After a novena, I celebrated Mass in honor of St. Petronilla, and before I was through saying it, I was perfectly cured. . . . " February 23, 1808. — Father Badin, who has returned from Baltimore, has received a letter from Knoxville, Tennessee, two hundred miles from here, requesting him to go and visit the catholic families living there, who never yet saw a priest. I should not wonder if I had to go there myself, it being Father Badin's intention to go to Post Vincennes. Ah! if we had priests ! . . . "March 10, 1808.— The two trunks and the pictures which you [his Belgian friends] sent us, arrived in Baltimore last December. The Ecce Homo painting forms the altar-piece of St, Charles, the Croivninrj of the Blessed Virgin that of Holy Mary's, and the Assumption of the Messed Virgin that of St. Joseph's church. The Visita- tion is reserved for the Convent church ; the statue of the Blessed Virgin for St. Stephen's, and the Flagellation for St. Barbara's church. The chasubles have been equally distributed 158 LIFE OF EEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1807- among us ; the bell I intended to give to our future Bishop, together with the beautiful mis- sal of the President of Oudenrode, the new gilt ciborium and monstrance. My catechism bell of Meerbeke calls us here to morning and even- ing prayers and to Mass ; it is the first one ever heard in these regions. A silver pixis, relics, a clock, books, statues, beads,' etc., have been sent to me from friends in Antwerp, Ninove, Aelst, Dendermonde, Mechlin, etc. •'Pentecost Week, 1808. — Two weeks ago, I sang the first High Mass at the new altar of Holy Mary's. The altar is forty feet high. A new pulpit and communion railing make the church look as new inside, and the outside is graced with a steeple, upon which I myself planted the Cross. St. Charles is as well pro- vided, but has no steeple. I hope to finish soon St. Clara's church, twenty-four miles from here, the foundations of which I have already laid, and St. Bernard's, sixty miles from the one just mentioned. The Dominicans are building a beautiful brick chapel on their premises. "Father Badin just arrives from Post Yin- cennes. He there buried, in the presence of the United States governor, whose guest he was dur- ing his stay at the Post, and of many Indians, one of the neighboring Indian kings or chiefs, who was still young and had been baptized a short time previous to his death. Father Badin preached to the assembled Indians thrcuigh an interpreter, and the troops rendered military 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 159 honors to the brave's remains. He has great hopes for the conversion of these people. "Octave of Corpus Christi, 1808.— I cele- brated the feast in St. Charles. Last Sunday I officiated at Holy Mary's, where we held the first procession of the Blessed Sacrament ; and next Thursday we will have the most solemn ]3rocession ever seen in this State, or perhaps in JN'orth America, outside of Canada. "June 27, 1808. — Came home this evening from St. Clara's congregation. The church is finished up to the roof. I intend to build a steeple (I usually make them twenty-three feet above the ridge of the roof, with cross and weather-vane), in hopes of obtaining a bell. " St. Clara's church is built on a hill. Many non-catholics have subscribed for it. God re- ward them with the gift of faith. " Father Urban, Superior of the Trappists, is expected to be here soon on his return from the Illinois region, where he went to look up advan- tageous settlements for new missionaries."* * MSS. letters of the Bollandist Library, College of St. Michel, Brussels. CHAPTER X. 1806-1808. Father Nerinckx' piety. — His daily life. — His zeal for the SPIRITUAL PROGRESS OF HIS PEOPLE. — ThE DOMINICANS. — ThEIR ADVENT THE OCCASION OF PETTY PERSECUTIONS AGAINST FaTHER Nerinckx. — Father Nerinckx asks to retire to some Otheb- FIELD OF labor. — YiELDS TO BiSHOP CaRROLl's ADVICE, AND RE- MAINS IN Kentucky. Father Neeinckx was a man of extraordi- nary piety and mortification, and aimed at the perfection of the catholic priesthood. The fact that all his writings were destroyed, after his death, prevents us from giving accurate details of virtues and daily practices, which every pious soul must divine, and which made his faith and love of God shine forth with such brilliancy as- to stir up to piety even the imperfect christians of these early days. Says Bishop Flaget, for- fourteen years a witness of his works, writing to Bishop England, of Charleston : * " During the last forty years of his life, Mr. Nerinckx had labored for the glory of Grod and the good of his neighbor, with a constancy, an activity, and a zeal seldom equaled, never per- * U. S. Catholic Miscellany, December 8, 1824. (160) 1806-8.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 161 haps surpassed. His whole life had been one continued voluntary martyrdom and holocaust. ^'^He contemned this world, and panted only for heaven ; but he ardently wished to go to para- dise with a numerous escort of souls, whom he had been instrumental in rescuing from perdition and leading to salvation. This thought seemed to engross his whole mind and soul, and his life was but a carrying out of it." A catholic priest can ambition no higher praise from the mouth of his Bishop ; and that it was a well-deserved encomium is abundantly proved by a short account of his daily life which Father Nerinckx sent to his parents in 1805: " We have some twenty-four missions to attend to. The most remote church is sixty miles from here,* but we are sometimes called as far as one hundred and eighty miles in either direction. This does not happen often; but, thank God, when it does happen, I do not suifer from riding on horseback as I used to. Three hours in the saddle fatigued me very much ; now, I have traveled one hundred and fifty miles on horse- back in two nights and one day, through bad roads and all kinds of weather, and 1 stood it better than I e-xpected. "My usual occupations during the week are as follows : On Sunday morning I am in the sad- dle about four o'clock a. m. so as to reach one of * MSS. letter, written from Holy Mary's at the Rolling Fork^ 1805-6. Sup. at. 162 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806- my mission churches about half-past six. I there find a crowd of people awaiting my com- ing to go to confession. We first say the morn- ing prayers, followed by meditation; I then give them an instruction on the sacrament of penance and prepare them for it. At intervals of half an hour, marked by my ringing a bell from the sacristy where I am hearing confes- sions, one of the congregation, whom I designate myself, says the beads at a determined intention, until about eleven o'clock, when I vest for Mass. Before beginning the Holy Sacrifice I deliver a short address, and I preach after the reading of the Gospel. After Mass, during which the peo- ple usually sing some English hymns, I have the children pray for special intentions as I did in Meerbeke. The congregation is dismissed between one and two P. M., when I baptize in- fants and bury the dead. Seldom do I eat any thing before four o'clock except some water and milk ; and it happens that some one is ready to take me out on a sick call of twenty or more miles by the time I have had a bite. " This is my order of the day for Sundays and four of the six week days. I hear confessions every afternoon until seven, in Summer until eight or nine o'clock p. M. ; so that I have to figure closely to find time to say my office. To- day, November 8, 1805, I was still giving Holy Communion at five p. M., and that happens al- most daily. I spend the other two days at St. Stephen's with Father Badin; and as soon as 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 163 the people know that the priests are at home, we need not think of rest. " I also undertook five weeks ago a very hard work, viz., to prepare the young ladies above fourteen years of age for their first communion ; they number ninety in my three congregations. The exercises last seven weeks, and a few days of each week are set apart for spiritual exercises. To attend a dance, or to be unbecomingly dressed, is punished by refusal of admission to first com- munion, and I succeed wonderfully well in abol- ishing these abuses. Those of the first class in St. Charles, who were sufficiently instructed, made their first communion on the name's day of their holy Patron Saint. I now call up a new class of those who are from twelve to fourteen years old. It is the hardest work I ever undertook." Father Nerinckx thoroughly understood that that day was going to influence their whole lives ; hence he bent all his energy to their worthy ^preparation. He had, moreover, that which is the life of the priest — a lively faith in our Divine Lord Jesus Christ present in the Blessed Euchar- ist, and a reverence which made him look upon the best endeavors of man as a feeble efi'ort to be less unworthy. "Nothing," says Bishop Flaget,* " could exceed the devotion of Mr. Ner- inckx to the Holy Sacrament of our altars ; in this respect he Avas a model for every clergyman. In his churches, you saw only plainness except about the altar ; but his devotion led him to aim * United States Catholic Miscellany, ut supra. 164 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NEIIINCKX. [1S06- at magnificence in this place, especially as re- garded the tabernacle, which was to contain the Holy of Holies. Every thing connected with the Holy Mysteries called forth the exercise of this devotion. Never did he permit a day to pass without celebrating Mass, unless grievously ill, or engaged in a long journey; and a rule of his monasteries is to keep up, even during the night, the perpetual adoration, by a succession of two sisters to two sisters, before the Holy Sacrament, to pay their homage to the God who loved us so dearly, as, after having suffered death for us, to give us, under the sacramental veils, His flesh to eat ; and to repair in some degree, the disrespect with which this Sacrament is treated by the ingratitude of the human race. " This good man had also great filial piety to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and he desired to ex- cite this aifection for the mother of our Saviour in all those with whom he had any intercourse. He admired her spirit of patient love and resignation in sufferings, especially when she be- held her dearly beloved — her Creator and her Son — upon that cross, at the foot of which she was weeping. Often did the pious ejaculation which he was in the habit of teaching to others, escape from his own lips : ' Oh ! Sufi*ering Jesus ! Oh! Sorrowful Mary!' In all the churches which he attended he established the Society of the Holy Rosary, and the Confraternity and Sisterhood of the Scapular ; and almost all the 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 165 catholics of his congregations are still enrolled in one or more of those pious societies. "Nothing could be more edifying than his piety toward the dead. It is quite impossible to pass by any of the numerous cemeteries which he has laid out, without feeling deep sentiments of religion, and having a sweet sensation of deep melancholy, blended with the hope of the christian. In the midst of each abode of the dead is reared the glorious emblem of the christian's faith, a large cross, surrounded by a balustrade for the convenience of the pious friends who come to pray for their departed brethren. At the head of each grave, you will find the emblematic cross, inscribed with the dates of the birth, death, and the name of the brother or sister whose bones are there laid up in the hope of resurrec- tion. . . . He never permitted a week to pass without offering up a Mass for the repose of the departed. " His love of retirement was such that he never paid a visit of mere ceremony. Indeed, he never visited, except when the good of his neighbor or the duty of his ministry made it obligatory on him to do so. His watching, even during his longest and most painful jour- neys, were very long, and were always spent either in study or in prayer. Prayer appeared to be his greatest and only solace, in the midst of his continual labors." Left to himself, in what is little less than a wilderness, deprived of the exterior pomp and 166 L^FE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806- majesty of the catholic ritual, which is, we may say, a necessary help to spirit and truth, and without which the most lively faith is apt to grow cold, the missionary pioneer has but too often to forego all these pious practices of more privileged catholic regions, where religious soci- eties and sodalities keep alive and set aglow the spiritual life of their inhabitants. Busy forming congregations and building churches; roaming through the woods from settlement to settlement, continually on the go from house to house, cele- brating the Holy Mysteries; fasting almost every day in the year, in order to give to the hurriedly collected people a chance to go to con- fession and holy communion; and hurrying away again to some distant station where others equally desirous of fulfilling their duties are anxiously awaiting his coming — it is an almost impossible task for the priest to attend to the less essential practices of religion, implied in the .establishment of devotional societies, seem- ingly doomed to vegetate and die out in his ab- sence. But Father Nerinckx was too essentially a "Spiritual man," not to try to have his people gather that spiritual manna of devotion in the desert. The additional faculties which he ob- tained from Bishop Carroll * for the benefit of his flock, prove beyond a doubt his solicitude in this respect. Intent upon the advancement of the souls committed to his care in the science of the *See Sup., pg. 54. 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 16T Saints, he insisted upon their complying with the rules and regulations he laid down for their daily conduct. The greater number thankfully received his ministrations, and endeavored to live up to the model of perfection he constantly held before their eyes. But the devil, who is al- ways ready to thwart the exertions of the good, stirred up a few evil ones, who took a pretext from Father Nerinckx' severity to persecute him : "It is also my lot," he writes to Bishop Carroll, June 2, 1806, "to be persecuted by some, and to be annoyed by a rather intense hatred, giving itself vent in threats against my life; whilst others, not inferior in numbers, prove themselves to be religious, docile, willing, and fervent in all practices of piety, and are not badly aifected toward me. I can hardly see in what I am displeasing to my persecutors ; surely not in temporal matters, since I have received nothing, and have given the half of my annuity toward the restoration of the church. How- ever, this will not benefit the church any, for the religion of this people does not go so far as to practice sacred liberality. They hardly ever understood, or truly believed, that there is a God, or that man has a soul. I think, however, that the bawls of these lunatics are especially owing to the fact that he who keeps them pris- oners in the infernal darkness, admonished by the word of God, and fearing to be expelled from them, torments these miserable beings above measure. But we know that these con- 168 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806- tradictions are the daily food and delicacies of the apostolic laborers after their works and fa- tigues." * I Father Nerinckx tried to stem the evil by public reproof; but the rebels only grew bolder, confident that the Dominican Fathers would up- hold them, or at least be more lenient with them than their pastors. These religious had arrived in the United States in 1805, and after a short stay in Balti- more had removed to Kentucky in the Spring of 1806. Father Fenwick, accompanied by Father Wilson, purchased a farm in Washington county, and established the Convent of St. Rose of Lima, thus becomino^ the founder of the Order of St. Dominic in America, the superiorship of which he soon resigned into the hands of Father Wil- son. " The Dominicans," writes Father Nerinckx, in 1807,t "have permanently settled in St. Ann's congregation, which I attended up to this time, some ten miles from our home. They pay $5,000 for a farm of five hundred acres, ori which there is a stone dwelling of two stories with out-houses, and a saw and grist mill, with sufiicient water power to run them both six months in the year. They reside two miles from ^iwing fields our county town, which has fifty or sixty houses, and where a lot has been set apart for a catholic church which is not yet be- * Baltimore ISLSS. J MSS. letter in the Bollandist Library, Brussels. 1808] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 169 gun. They have called their residence St. Rose, after St. Rose of Lima, the first and only known American Saint who belonged to their Order. The Fathers have already ten or twelve students, out of whom they may perhaps gain a few to in- crease their community. This appears to be their only object ; they do not intend to serve on the mission. In the meantime they have ac- cepted care of souls in St. Ann's congregation and environs, amounting to about two thousand souls ; but they refuse to attend distant missions, and our work is scarcely diminished. . . ." Fathers Badin and Nerinckx had hailed their advent with genuine delight, and gave unspar- ing and oft-repeated praise to these new co- laborers. But they had been trained in differ- ent schools ; holding the same principles, they often differed in their practical application, a fact which made their opinions clash in the eyes of the people, and gave the discontented a specious reason to rebel. There is no denying the fact, that in the last century the French clergy were considerably tainted by the Jansenistic teachings, which up to this day bear their bitter fruits, in the neglect of the sacraments evinced by the French people, and the severity of the Galilean priests in the administration of the Sacrament of Penance. Father Badin had received his education and most of his theological training in France ; and Father Nerinckx, himself no laxist, testifies in \\\ 170 LIFE OF r?EV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806- his letters that the Vicar-general was " of more than necessary severity, which, if tempered with a little of the honey of kindness, would be more palatable to the people, and of more use in cur- ing inveterate sinners and loathsome wounds." The same spirit had pervaded the theological teachings of most of the Belgian Seminaries ; and not only had Father IS^erinckx found it in his books, and been imbued with it by his emi- nent professors, but he had practiced its rigorous teachings for well nigh twenty years in the ministry of his native land, where he had found obedient intellects and pliable hearts. No won- der then, if, with his naturally severe character and indomitable energy, he strove at forming his people in the more austere practices of religion. The few writings we have of him prove that he was austere unto rigor, that the ruling motive of his piety was rather fear and its objects than love ; * and knowing that fear usually atfects *Tliis does not go to prove that his piety was false, by any means; for, piety, founded on chaste fear, is solid and true piety, but is less noble and perfect than piety founded on love. As a reverend friend observed : That Father Nerinckx was a man of extraordinary piety and great love of God, I do not think admits of any doubt whatever. I really believe him to have been a man of heroic virtue, in the strict technical sense of the terms. Nor is this adverse, in my meaning, to the fact that, following the authors then studied in the seminaries, he was an extreme man in some things, and was moved rather by fear than by love. St. Liguori's piety seems to me to have been informed mainly by fear. The more amiable St. Francis de Sales had piety that always breathed the sweetness of love; both were saints, and great saints. St. Ignatius' piety is full of intel- lect; of intellect leading the will "admajorem Dei gloriani;" 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CH.AJILES NERINCKX. 171 people in a more salutary manner than the con- sideration of the goodness of God and of His infinite perfections, he naturally strived to en- courage his people, apathetic by nature, to the practice of virtue, by the fear of the punish- ments reserved to those who neglect the service of God. The Dominicans, on the other hand, had learned great forbearance in the school of adver- sity, and may have been too lenient in their eagerness to induce even the most neglectful to comply with their religious duties. Driven out of England by a bitter and long continued op- position to religious orders, they were first com- pelled to seek relief in Belgium ; and they had scarcely established their college at Bornhem on a good footing, wdien the French revolution threatened to involve them in the general on- slaught on religious houses which had proved so disastrous to their brethren in France. Not knowing what to do. Father Wilson, then Presi- dent of the College, cultivated the friendship of some of the Republican officials, and even con- sented to take their sons as students of the institution, in the hope of saving it. By dint of concessions, he held out against the tide of op- pression,* until 1805, when his conscience told him that he could stretch condescension no fur- his was pre-eminently " obsequium rationabile." Hence, we may say: " Deus mirabilis in Sanctis suis." * Letter of Father Nerinckx to Bishop Carroll, 1808. Balti- more, MSS. 172 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806- >x ther ; and he had to wander again, until, under the leadership of Father Fenwick, he and his brethren emigrated to America. Here they found the people little instructed, and grown callous, because of long continued neglect ; ■ . and they naturally felt inclined to be lenient, to .! the delight of those who looked upon Fathers Badin's and Nerinckx' teachings as too se- vere. Drawn by the novel ceremonial of the Domini- can Order, and its picturesque dress, which, as experience teaches, are powerful attractions in the eyes of people unused to such interesting dis- plays, the catholics flocked to them from far '\^ and wide. Moreover, Father Fenwick, by birth Ni ^ \ a Marylander, as were most of the catholic set- •• . tiers of Kentucky, naturally thought that he un- *V derstood better than the missionary priests the wants of his countrymen, who liked the Domini- cans all the better from the fact that both spoke fluently the English language, their mother tono:ue. The Dominicans were thus the inno- X. cent cause of what threatened to become a serious contention, intensified, it may have been, by the fact that they sought more the success of their Order and the evangelizing of the people by missionary exercises, than parochial work. On the 6th of February, 1806, Father Nerinckx wrote to Bishop Carroll,* from " Holy Mary's at the Rolling Fork * Baltimore MSS. 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 173 " Two Dominican Fathers * have already ar- rived in this region, and have begun to work in the interest of the missions, helping the poor people, pressed, nay, giving out for the want of spiritual food. But it appears that their aid will be of little duration, since it is known, owing to their repeated assertions, that they came out, not to exercise the ministry in favor of the mis- sions, but _ to exten d their Order. They say, However, that they will do what they can in the neighborhood of their monasteries ; a sure sign that the property of the missions and of the newly established churches will have to be given to them, and that there will be very little hope of having the spiritual field properly cared for. This is an incongruity ; all the greater from the fact that the field is overrun with weeds and thistles, which, owing to the lack of laborers to cut them in time, choke the good seed." As time went on, the missionaries experienced more and more difficulty in dealing with the dis- satisfied portion of their flock. Many negligent christians took a malign pleasure in going to the Dominicans and contributing more for their buildings than even the richest were asked to do for the support of their parish priests. Father Badin went to consult the Bishop of Bal- timore about the matter, and Rev. IN'erinckx wrote at the same time the following letter, * Father Tuite is mentioned as one of the two in a subsequent letter of June 2, 1800. He probably took Father Fenwick's place, who was to bring the fourth one from Baltimore. \ 174 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806- datecl June 2, 1806 : * ". . . Father Badin can hardly refuse to acknowledge, by this time, that he experienced the truth of my prognostic assertions with regard to the Dominicans. We and they differ very much in speculative theology, but in many things entirely so in prac- tice. I dare not judge for myself how much it is exj^edient to say, but I can positively assert one thing, viz : May be ' they will multiply the nation, but they will neither increase the joy nor renew the face of the earth.' (Isaiah ix. 3.) The insolent grow more so ; and those who, be- ing without love of God, were a little coerced by fear, now that the reins are loosened, rush head- long to the city of refuge, which they boast of having found. They expect,' moreover, many extraordinary privileges from the two other Do- minicans whose arrival is anxiously looked for ; they confidently imagine and publicly assert that these will bring plenary indulgences, not only for absolution of the pains due to sin after the sin is forgiven, but for preventing them from incurring the guilt of sin at all. The peo- ple call these reverend gentlemen easy ; Rev. Badin pronounces them extreme laxists, and I (who, although severe, look upon my colleague as altogether too rigid and stern,) think that he is not mistaken in his estimate of them. How- ever, many begin to grow tired of these honeyed means of salvation, and, appreciating the differ- ence between peace and peace in matters of * Bcaltimore MSS. 7 3808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 175 ■eternal consequence for their souls, apply to us for the former remedies, howsoever bitter they may be said to be. Matrimonial matters are de- cided according to the desires of the parties without regard for the sanctity of the matri- monial state ; every thing is allowed, and by and by every thing will be expedient. ... S If these and similar teachings and j^ractices can be adhered to against the exj^ress law of God, 1 the repeated counsels of the Apostles, and the /^ ,^ opinion of all sound theologians, I do not see w^hat can be opposed to the private interpreta- tion of the Bible by heretics. . . . " I hardly believe that the Dominicans will succeed in building a monastery here, consider- ing that they are not willing to put up with humble beginnings, and that they will get but little pecuniary assistance from the people. But if the Order does succeed, I think it neces- sary, and it is my most ardent wish, that a man be called here from some other Dominican mon- astery, who will instill into them a true religious spirit. That man should be a true lover of reo'ular observance and inflamed with zeal for the salvation of souls.* For, wdiat is to be * Father Nerinckx was surely actuated by the best of motives in writing as he does. He did not find fault with the illustrious Order of St. Dominic, but with the actions of a very few of its members. That he formed a correct idea of the state of affairs at St. Rose's may be gathered from the following extract of Arch- bishop Spalding's Life of Bishop Flaget, Louisville, 1S52, pg. 288: " In August, 1828, the Rev. F. Raphael Munos arrived at the con- vent, as prior. He had been commissioned by the General of the Order to re-establish therein, in its full vigor, the holy rule 176 LIFE OF KEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806- hoped for the glory of our holy religion from an institution whose members abhor the weight and heat of the day, and are removed so far away from the vigilant eye of their superiors, who would prove their censors and make them ad- here to the monastic discipline ? Let me not be understood to say that they are bad ; far from me to insinuate any thing of the kind ; yet I do say, that, in my humble opinion, they have too little zeal for the religious observances of their Order. . . . " I feel all the more free, my Lord, in writing to you as I have done, from the fact that I fore- see that the Dominicans will be professors of our Ecclesiastical Seminary in Kentucky, or at least will constitute a majority of our clergy, if Provi- dence does not interfere ; and I might be sorry afterward, but too late, not to have spoken my mind on the subject, since you expect me to look after the interests of Religion in this re- gion. . . ." Soon after the arrival of the Dominicans at St. Rose's, Father Nerinckx had given up to them Springfield, where he had every thing prepared for the erection of a church ; also St. Ann's, on Cartwright's Creek. It was especially in these places, where his influence was no longer felt, that his enemies exerted themselves in the most of St. Dominic; which, amidst the trying circumstances and dis- tracting cares of the missionary life the earlier Fathers were compelled to lead, had suffered some relaxation. The Order is now in a highly prosperous condition." 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 177 shameless manner to destroy whatever good he had eifected, and to cause his name to be odious to the people ; the Dominicans holding themselves aloof, or being perhaps unable to counteract the evil influences of these rebels. The picture the holy man draws of the state of affairs on Cart- wright's Creek, two years after he had left it, made his heart bleed : " This congregation," he writes to Bishop Carroll,* June 30, 1808, " was the best of all my missions. They abhorred public conventicles, especially nocturnal ones, dances, marriages with heretics and relations, worldly fashions and ornaments. The children and youths applied themselves earnestly, to acquire the knowledsre of the christian doctrine and to the practice of virtue, stimulated as they were by public examinations and rewards. Married peo- 23le abstained scrupulously, and for virtue's sake, from all license injurious to their state; and on Sundays, by far the greater number attended piously and religiously, from early morning till the end of the services, at the church ceremonies. But now, from what I hear, all that has passed away like a shadow ; marriages with heretics are but too easily contracted ; dances are allowed in daytime and are no sin ; and so on (for I like to be brief, having written to your Lordship about these things before this). . . . Yet, tumult and trouble always arise at weddings and dances in Scott county, St. Ann's, and Simpson's Creek, from that more comical than evangelical prac- * Baltimore MSS. 178 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806- tice of electrifying the feet of the guests by the sounds of the fiddle. ... If I even conceded, and I never dreamed of conceding it, that there is no evil in all that, still I could never see why the Dominicans did not uphold what was gener- ally complied with without murmur. Surely the church can not be comj)limented on the intro- duction of all these new disorders." Nor did the discontented stop at that. Put up to it by " B E , a man who has done a great deal of harm in these parts, and who is held in supreme contempt by all good people, and by the more honest protestants," * they sent to Bishop Carroll a long list of accusations against their former pastor. Aware of their underhand workings. Father JSTerinckx sent, in the beginning of 1807, a letter to Bishop Carroll, the substance of which he gives in a subsequent communication, f as follows : ^' In it I mention how I distributed the sacred vest- ments, bought for the greater part with my own money and that of my relations. I also write some two or three pages about m^^self, not that I act the apologist — for, thank God, I never yet wanted to sound my own praises, nor ever will, unless the glory of God and the good of my neighbor demand it. But I explain the practice I have followed in the ministry, for the last * Letter to Bishop Carroll, 1808. Baltimore MSS. fThe letter of 1807 is not to be found in the archiepiscopal archives. The substance of it, as here given, is taken from the one of 1808. Baltimore MSS. 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 179 twenty years, under the eyes of so many venerable men, may be martyrs, but without doubt intrepid confessors of the orthodox faith, and with the consent of his Eminence, John Henry, Cardinal de Frankenberg, whose letters of approval of my conduct and teachings I religiously keep. JN'ot that I want to peddle around my own praises, for nothing but confusion is due and left me in time and for eternity ; but that I may al- ways have a fixed rule of action which I may safely follow. Finally, having maturely reflected on the actual state of religion in Kentucky, and compared my present position with the one I foresee, from the actual unpleasant state of af- fairs, will undoubtedly be mine in the future, I closed my letter by handing in my resignation, with many thanks to your Lordship for the re- peated favors conferred on your humble servant. I only added the request to be allowed, for the time I remain here, to say Mass in my private dwelling." The reason for that important step was, that in his opinion the Dominicans were altogether too lenient with the people, and that their diver- sity of opinions, and especially of practice, could not but be a source of scandal to the faithful and of mutual annoyance to themselves. Father Nerinckx, therefore, concluded to leave the field to the Fathers, and so take away all cause of contention. He soon after ascertained the nature of the accusations against him, and that they were 180 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806. i f Y >v^ nI signed by only a few, and noticed them in a letter to his Ordinary of Baltimore, dated June 30, 1808,* in the following strain : " The j)rincipal heads of accusation against me, in as far as I can ascertain them from sayings, writings, and the testimony of my own conscience, are as follows : 1. I advise early rising at four a. m. Rev. Father Fenwick is my accuser on this head, and that is the hour that he himself as a religious ought to keep ; but he errs when he says that I refuse absolution to those that sleep longer. ... 2. I promiscu- ously forbid dances as bad, 3. I prohibit pro- miscuous visits between persons of different sex. 4. I forbid and am aa-ainst marriao'es with here- tics, etc. 5. Before marriage, I require prepa- ration for it, proclamation of the bans and the reception of the Sacraments. 6. I prescribe rules to be kept by those that are married. 7. On Sundays and Holy days I order public pray- ers, kept up the whole morning, with intervals of rest, however. _ 8. I make continual exactions for the church treasury — fortunately they do not say that I make them for myself. 9. I forbid excess in clothing and unseemly ornamentation. I would add that I have female censors of ma- ture age to see to it that this rule be observed in church. 10. I am too bitter in giving correc- tions. B E calls me a tyrant. 11. Fi- nally, they say I impose too much restraint on the people. * Baltimore MSS. 1808.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 181 " If all that be true, I wonder why, wherever I go, so many crowd every day around my con- fessional, and besiege my ears from morning till nio-ht? . . . I do not know whether there are any other accusations against me. When I read of similar practices in the life of St. Charles and other Saints, I" fancy these things are men- tioned to commend them ; and I do not know what judgment shall be passed upon a confessor who would attempt to induce or oblige his penitents to do the very reverse of these practices, viz: that no preparation is required before marriage ; that no rules are to be followed in married life, etc. " Moreover, if my crimes be true, why am I not cited canonically, etc. Why am I con- demned among the people before I am convicted in court. " Tali dedicator e damnationis nostras gloriamur. (Tertul. ad Neronem.) I forgive, from my heart, the man who is the instigator of all this, for all the injuries which he publicly loaded me with, without any provocation on my part (his letters are publicly given to read *) ; for I admit in him stupid and invincible ignorance. I only de- sire him to remember, in the bitterness of his soul, if it is not yet callous, what troubles he has caused in the house of God, the results of which he is accountable for, and to think seriously of reparation. With mind unbiased, I judge that * He was in Baltimore at the time, and had had an interview with the Bishop. 182 LIFE OF KEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806- man to be unworthy of receiving the Sacraments, as long as it is not universally known that he has "^jv^^repaired the scandal given. That impostor loudly \^ -^ " boasts that he has ample permission and indorse- ■^,K ' ment from your Lordship for all he says. I do ^~ not doubt but these assertions are without foundation in fact, and he misrepresents you ; but, to be sincere, I am afraid that the letters which these few hypocrites and rebel families carry around as yours (I have not seen any), s add a great weight to their calumnies. If these betters are genuine and contain what these men claim they do, I shall greatly deplore it, because I do not see how matters can be mended, unless the last chapter of the Book of Esther would suggest a way of doing it. . . . " Many of our people deplore this calamity, and come in crowds, offering to sign a protest against my calumniators. This they have al- ready done without my knowledge, and I intend, next Sunday, to forbid them strictly to take up my defense, because I am conscious I have wronged no one. I therefore commend every thing to God, who will do what is pleasing in His sight. In the meantime I rejoice that I i came not here animated by earthly hopes ; I re- j joice that I have not only received no temporal i advantages here, but have spent every thing j that Divine Providence gave me, for the greater glory of God. (Such, at least, is my hope.) . . . " This is what I desired to add to my previous 1S()S.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 183 letter, Right Rev. Sir. Commending myself again and again to your benevolent prayers, and with the wish of receiving, as soon as possible, my demissorial letters in the form of testimo- nials, I remain, " Right Rev. Sir, " Your Lordship's most humble and obedient servant,. "Charles Nerinckx." Bishop Carroll answered to this letter on the 9th of August, with his usual prudence and wis- dom, advising the zealous priest to bear patiently the troubles of his position, and to remember that diversity of opinions can be consistently held without harm to religion or loss of souls. He concluded by stating that he saw no reason why he should leave his missionary station. Father Nerinckx was too humble a man not to defer to the advice of his Bishop, and did so fully and without reserve. After having given his reasons for being afraid that the diversity of action between himself and the Dominicans would produce harm to Religion, he continues : * " Your Lordship judges that I should not leave- the ministry of Kentucky. God himself forbids, in the book of Tobias, ' to do any thing without counsel ; ' and, in another place, it is said that * the will of God is announced to us by the Bishops of His church.' It is now three years since I * Letter to Bishop Carroll, September 24, 1808. Baltimore MSS. 184 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1806-8. promised almost blind obedience to your Lord- ship ; howsoever great, therefore, be the danger of my being lost, it seems to be God's will that I should wait a while before totally abandoning the ministry. I will, therefore, until the Lord disposes otherwise, continue to guide souls, a blind man leading the blind, in fear and trem- bling, trusting that your Lordship will pray that both fall not into the pit." CHAPTER XI. 1808-1809. Father Nebinckx appointed administrator and bishop of New Orleans. — He declines the appointment. — He offers himself for the Louisiana mission. — New trouble in Kentucky. — The New Orleans difficulties. — The vicar-general opposes Father Nerinckx' departure. It has been truthfully said that "the style is the man;" and this is especially true of a man who labors under difficulties and anguish of mind. Father Nerinckx' letters had given Bishop Carroll a thorough insight into the char- acter of the man, and they heightened the es- teem he had previously conceived for that mar- tyr to duty. Burdened with the administration of the American Church, that prelate had, after the pur- €hase of Louisiana by the United States, also been canonically appointed administrator of the diocese of New Orleans; and when he pe- titioned the Holy See for the erection of the four new bishoprics of New York, Boston, Philadel- phia, and Bardstown, he also resolved to confide the government of that distant church to another. (185) 186 I^lFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- Upon the resignation of Bishop Penalver y Cardenas, the administration of the diocese of New Orleans had devolved upon the onl}^ sur- viving canon, the Rev. Thomas Hassett, who assumed jurisdiction under the most tr3ang cir- cumstances. Anthony was foremost in throwing difficulties in his way, and things came to such a pass, that, at the death of the ad- ministrator in 1804, a schism was imminent. On assuming jurisdiction in 1805, Bishop Carroll appointed Rev. Olivier, the then chaplain of the Ursuline convent in New Orleans, his Vicar- general with extraordinary powers ; but this did not mend matters, and it was only in 1808 that the worthy priest partially succeeded in bring- ing order out of this chaos of confusion. Alarmed at the deplorable condition of the Louisiana diocese. Bishop Carroll thought that a man of Father Nerinckx' cast would be the one most likely to subdue the spirit of revolt, rife in New Orleans. He recommended him to Rome as a suitable person to take charge of the vacant diocese in the character of Adminis- trator, signifying, at the same time, his desire of having him consecrated Titular Bishop, as soon as difficulties would be settled. The sovereign Pontiff acceded to the request of the Bishop, leaving it to his prudence and good judgment to determine the proper time for con- secrating the reverend gentleman Bishop of that important See. The bulls of the four new Bishops arrived early in September, 1808, and 1809] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 187 with them a brief appointing Father Nerinckx administrator of Louisiana; Right Rev. John Carroll to be Archbishop of the new American province. The Archbishop hastened to communicate this news to Father Nerinckx, who, unconscious of the high honor that awaited him, had resumed his arduous missionary duties with his accus- tomed zeal. The letters reached him on the 30th of October of the same year, and to say that he was thunderstruck is almost putting it mildly. "The good missionary was with Mr. Badin when he learned the news of his appoint- ment. He meekly bowed his head, and observed to his friend, beginning with the words of the Psalmist : Bonitatem et discijdinajn et scientlam docendus docere non valeo — ' having myself to be taught goodness and discipline and knowledge, I am unable to teach these things to others.' He mildly but firmly refused the proffered honor," * in the following letter, dated : " October 31, 1808. ^^ Right Rev. and respected Sir: " Your letters of September 30th were handed to me rather late last night. Truly, I have re- joiced with exceeding great joy, hearing that the Father of mercies had finally designated the one whom we expected so impatiently, looked down upon his people, and blessed his inherit- ance, that He might rule it and exalt it for all * " Sketches of Kentucky," pg. 200. 188 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- eternity ! Blessed be His Holy Name here and world without end! I exultantly congratulate your Grace that it has pleased God to place you at the head of all the churches of the United States of America ; so that, where you rose as the aurora of an incipient church, you may shine like the noonday sun, emitting rays which will glorify and vivify the other churches of our Union. May the good and ever-merciful God add many years unto the vigorous old age of your Lordship, for His greater glory and the good of His church, even at the expense of mine, if I have more years to live. " It can not but be a cause of great and sin- cere joy to my reverend and cherished host, that he has not been called to the very hard and tremendous position of the Episcopacy ; we how- ever thought that he would have creditably car- ried the burden; but God's judgments are not the judgments of men. This church has reason indeed to be exceedingly glad to hold its worthy Pastor [the Right Rev. B. J. Flaget], a Prelate, the best qualified for the responsible duties of that great office. I understand that the three others are also evidently sent by God ; men, ac- cording to the heart of the Prince of Pastors ; infinite thanks to the Lord ! " So far, the letters of your Lordship forced tears of joy from every pious eye. But in the midst of my exultation and jubilant happiness, behold, in the twinkling of an eye, sadness has taken its place, and my bitterness has truly be- 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 189 come very intense. When reading in the next line, among the elect, my name, which should rather be condemned to eternal oblivion, I could not but emit deep groans and bitter sighs of grief, convinced, as I am that, in the judgment of an angry and justly irritated God, I should be buried away from view. Afflicted indeed, humbled and agitated, I thought over the matter for along time, till finally, becoming more quiet, I commenced to examine the subject without commotion, thoroughly, and with the greatest care before God. Having first implored, as usual, the help of God in prayer, I^consulted the glory of God primarily, then the salvation of my neighbor and my own salvation, as the only objects worthy of my consideration. After much and serious reflection, I am forced to the conclusion that it is simply and in every way im- possible for me to accept the episcopal honor and burden ; hence I refuse the proifered eleva- tion, as being totally unfit for it. " However, as of old, I am ready, if my su- periors deem proper, to go and work in that vineyard under an administrator to be appointed there ; for the news that reached us about the state of religion in that region is truly sad, and imperiously demands whatever help can be got. In case I should go there to work, I would de- sire my countrymen who might come to join me. " C. Nerinckx." * * Baltimore MSS. 190 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- The Rev. Benedict Joseph Flaget had also re- fused the mitre, and, upon Archbishop Carroll telling him he must accept, had referred the whole matter to his ecclesiastical superior, Mr. Emery, in Paris. This step delayed the conse- cration of the Bishop of Bardstown for over two years. Archbishop Carroll, not yet aware of Father Nerinckx' refusal of the dignity con- ferred on him, communicated the unwelcome in- telligence to the missionary by letter, dated Oc- tober 23, 1808, insisting, at the same time, uj^on his acceptance of the office, and inclosing a let- ter from Bishop Concanen, consecrated in Rome for New York. Father Nerinckx again refused ; but, alarmed at the good opinion the Archbishop had con- ceived of his abilities, and afraid lest, as in the case of Bishop Flaget, the Metropolitan would tell him he must accept, he resolved to forestall his kind intentions, and called upon his brother priests to assist him in ridding himself of the burden of the episcopacy. "Desirous of retain- ing him in Kentucky, where his labors were so fruitful, Mr. Badin, in conjunction with the Do- minican Fathers of St. Rose, petitioned the Holy See that he might not be compelled to accept an office which would tear him from a field of labor in which he had already proved so eminently useful. They also represented that the great delicacy of conscience characteristic of Mr. JN'er- iiickx, would render him exceedingly unhappy in so arduous a situation, if it would not wholly 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 191 unfit him for its responsible duties."* However, the humble priest did not dread the work ; he was willing to take a share of the burden on his shoulders, provided the honor rested on a more willing head; and on the 3d of December he wrote to the Archbishop the following letter : " Feast of St. Francis Xavier, 1808. '•''Kujlit Bev. and Illustrious Bishoj): " On the first day of this month, I received the honored letters of your Grace, dated October 23d, from which it appears that my recent letter had not reached you at the time of your writing. Truly, I have every reason to rejoice in the Lord from the bottom of my heart, for the con- soling statement contained in them, viz: that the Holy Father is so well pleased with the im- proving condition of ecclesiastical affairs in these States. Any one who takes ever so little interest in the welfare of the .church, must be moved to tears of joy. To be sincere, however, I must confess that these good tidings are mixed with some sad ones : We deeply regret the danger we are in of not obtaining our Bishop elect, that man approved by the universal suf- frage of his brethren, dear to God, just, kind, and pious. In the meantime we will not doubt that this, the amiable will of God, will be vigorously and sweetly brought to execution by the bowels of mercy of our Lord. " But there is another reason why my soul ire- * •' Sketches of Kentucky," pg. 200. 192 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- fuses to be comforted : I have looked into this matter of my appointment, considered it again and again ; and, truly, in whatever light I look upon it, whithersoever I turn for counsel either of my own heart or around me, one and all loudly proclaim that it is entirely impossible that such be the will of God toward me, unless He wanted to punish and chastise in his wrath this poor people as well as me. Ah ! would to God that these good men, who had some share in bringing about my nomination, knew me as I am ! If I were foolish and insolent enough to accept the dignity, they would, indeed, have reason enough to lament my own inevitable ruin, and the irreparable loss of those who would be committed to my care. But my fears are al- layed, seeing by the letter of Bishop Concanen, that the whole thing is left to the discretion of your Lordship, who is well aware by this time of my total inability ; so that there is little room left for the least suspicion of my promotion. In order, however, that I may not seem to ' count my life more precious than myself,' and to shirk tribulations and labors, I shall most will- ingly accompany the one who is to preside over that flock, if I can in any way be of use to him ; if my superiors approve of it, I am ready to spend my strength in some part of that land, to all accounts, really ' made desolate with desola- tion,' to the best of my ability. I therefore beg and entreat of your Lordship, to whom I have intrusted my all from the moment of my arrival 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 193 here, as to a father, to settle this matter in your pious sagacity, for the greater glory of God and the salvation of my own soul. . . . " Commending myself again and again to the prayers and sacrifices of your fatherly solicitude, I remain, " Of your Lordship, " The most humble and obedient servant, " C. K'erinckx."* That this letter had not its desired effect ap- pears from the following letter of Archbishop Carroll, written to a friend of Father Nerinckx, in Louvain — Mr. Peemans — the French original text of which I found in the Bollandist Library of the Jesuit Fathers, in Brussels : " Baltimore, Fehruary 2, 1809. ^^ Lear Sir : " I had the pleasure of receiving, three days ago, your long expected letter, dated June 3d, of last year, containing another, too short to satisfy my curiosity, addressed to Messrs. Beschter and Wouters; the latter note not being sealed, I have thought that I rightly interpreted your in- tention by reading it, and forwarding it to your friends, who, as well as Mr. Nerinckx, Henry and Malave, are constantly busy in the vine- yard of the Lord and render the most important services for the salvation of souls. I notice that * Baltimore MSS. 194 LLFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- yovL had grave apprehensions with regard to Mr. Nerinckx, caused by a letter of Mr, Badin ; but it is with the sweetest pleasure I am enabled to say that his sickness has not been a long one, and that he has entirely recovered ; you will likely have the j^roof of it at his own hands by the same vessel which carries this letter. That vessel had to leave a month ago, and I sent to ^ew York a heavy package of his letters for Brabant, addressed to N^ , and, indeed, you were not forgotten. In the midst of his joy at the erection of an Episcopal See in Kentucky, and at the nomination of Mr. Flaget to fill it (a man who, under the present circumstances, seems destined by Providence to unite all differ- ences of opinion in the diocese confided to his pastoral solicitude), Mr. Nerinckx is grieved at his own nomination to the Aj)ostolic Prefecture of the diocese of Louisiana, and says he will ab- scond in a Trappist cell rather than to accept the dignity. But nothing is as yet decided or will be until the very uncertain arrival of Mgr. Con- canen. Bishop of New York, who is to be the bearer of all the Briefs, etc., relative to the ■changes which the government of this western portion of the church is to undergo. . . . Mr. Nerinckx, of your diocese of Mechlin, a most zealous missionary, is nominated Vicar Apostolic of Louisiana. . . . "f John, Bishop of Baltimore." 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 195 As late as September, the Bishop of Balti- more writes to the same Mr. Peemans : "Baltimore, Seiotemher 5, 1809. ^^ Bear Sir: " I received with j^leasure and gratitude, on the 7th of August, your letter of June 8th. . . . Mgr. riaget. Bishop elect of Bardstown, in Kentucky, who returns to France to obtain some priests of St. Sulpice to accompany him to his diocese, seems determined to decline his nomina- tion unless he succeeds in that mission. If Ken- tucky loses him, it will be a subject of eternal regret. Distinguished by all the virtues neces- sary to an ecclesiastic, he is especially so by his sweetness of temper, and his spirit of conciliation, which is just now absolutely necessary to the one who will be at the head of that diocese. . . " Mr. Nerinckx still manifests the same aver- sion to his nomination as administrator of the diocese of Louisiana. I have just now renewed my entreaties and expostulations with him on that head, and God alone knows if he will persist in his refusal after the reception of the Bulls, which are still looked for in vain, the Bishop of New York not having yet arrived. The Trap- pists have left Kentucky for Louisiana, and Mr. Nerinckx, who is unwilling to shoulder the gov- ernment of that diocese, desires, however, to ac- company them thither in order to be near them and to work for the salvation of souls. "f John, Bishop of Baltimore.", 196 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. flSOS- When the news of Father Nerinckx' nomina- tion reached his old parishioners of Everberg- Meerbeke, in Brabant, the ladies of the parish immediately set about preparing and making up a complete suit of episcopal vestments, which they had almost ready to send to him, when they received the intelligence that he had firmly refused the proifered dignity.* Determined to leave no stone unturned in or- der to escape the position which, in his hu- mility, he thought so much above his capacity, Father Nerinckx resolved to call to his aid the influence of the Right Rev. Leonard Neale, Bishop of Gortyna and Coadjutor of Baltimore, who, having known him at Georgetown, would, he felt assured, plead his cause with the Arch- bishop more successfully than he could himself. In a letter of January 16, 1809, to that prelate, he humbly but persistently represented the im- possibility of his consenting to so " sad an elec- tion, foreboding nothing but evil to the church, brought about by to him unknown, and likely well meant influences ; but so glaring an incon- gruity that he knew it would be enough to bring the matter to the notice of his Lordship, who had learned by personal experience how unfit a subject he was for that position, to have his name struck from the list of appointments. "f He also remarked that after the advent of the new Bishop, there would be abundance of priests *See "Sketches of Kentucky," pg. 200. t Baltimore MSS. 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 197 in Kentucky, and ended by requesting the Co- adjutor's help in securing an ap23ointment in Upper Louisiana, where priests were few. But how horrified was the poor missionary, when, upon receiving a reply, he found out that Bishop Neale understood him as requesting to be ap23ointed to a new bishopric in Louisiana ! j^ever was man in a greater hurry to answer a letter : "At the Priests' La?^d, near Bardstown, \ "Washington Co., Ky., /w/t/ 26, 1809. j ^'' Right Bev. Sir : " . . . I must have made an egregious mistake, since your Lordship writes as if I had asked to be sent to that part of Louisiana for which Rome intends to provide. May the Lord God avert such a misfortune from me, and leave me sense and honor enough never to presume to accept such a dignity ! It is true that a con- ditional arrangement of that kind has been sent from Rome, and how such a thing could ever be thought of, I am at a loss to account for. But that should not have troubled me much, since I was fully convinced that your Lordship and the Archbishop of Baltimore would correct the mis- take which crept, I do not know how, into the letters of the Right Rev. Doctor Concanen, and would suggest the name of another worthy of the honor, and competent for the work. I hereby correct my mistake, my Lord, viz: the mission I was asking for is situated in Uj^-per 198 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- Louisiana, some distance from the little town of St. Louis, in the vicinity of which the Trappists are finally trying to settle down, and some three hundred miles from here. The place designated in the Roman letters is in Lower Louisiana, the metropolis of which is New Orleans and more than one thousand miles distant from here. If I expressed myself inadequately, please excuse me ; and procure me, I beseech you, the grace of end- ing my days in my humble position. . . . " Your humble and obedient servant, " C. JN'erinckx." * Now that he thought that matter set aside, and considering that with the arrival of the new Bishop, Kentucky would have a full supply of priests. Father Nerinckx turned his longing eyes to the abandoned missions of Upper Louisiana, the poverty of which tempted his disinterested zeal. More and more convinced in his own mind that he was rather a precursor to his brethren in the priesthood than a real mission- ary — a border pioneer, whose duty it was to clear up the land and prepare it for the more elaborate cultivation of subsequent tillers — he now directly applied to Archbishop Carroll "to be assigned to some of the stations in Louisiana deprived of laborers, which Father Badin has enumerated to your Lordship. There are a great many such, but, if it be the will of God, it would perhaps be best to send me to the vicinity * Baltimore MSS. 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 199^ of the Trappist Fathers, who tell me they will settle in the parish of CahoJcias, not far from a place commonly called St. Louis, where they hope to be of some help to Rev. Ollivier and Rev. Maxwell." * But the storm of abuse, spoken of in the pre- ceding chapter, -which had scarcely subsided, now rose with more vehemence than ever, this time against Father Badin ; and his guest being the only one in whom he could confide or to whom he could apply for good counsel and ef- ficient help, the Vicar-general insisted upon his remaining in Kentucky until peace should be re- stored. Considerable trouble had been brewing in St. Michael's mission, where the people showed the most culpable indifference for priest and church ; the cemetery was so badly neglected that the cattle had free access to it and desecrated the o-raves. The missionaries had vainly endeav- ored to bring these catholics to a sense of their duty, and five consecutive attemj)ts of Rev. Ba- din had resulted in utter failure. Father ISTer- inckx, always more sensible to the wrongs done to others than to his own, went thither on Sexa- gesima Sunday of 1809, determined to settle matters to the satisfaction of priest and people ; and he succeeded. Three families, among them Nancy Elder, Avere prevailed upon to come for- ward and publicly submit to the church au- thority, by subscribing the formula prescribed * Letter to Archbishop CarrolL Baltimore MSS. 200 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. by the Archbishop of Baltimore ; and, in a few weeks, only seven families in the whole mission, who could not easily be reached because living at the very outskirts of the settlements, re- mained stubborn and jDersevered in their opposi- tion to Father Badin; "and all that," writes Father Nerinckx to the Archbishop, "because they do not want him to be Bishop of Kentucky ! Indeed, they could fare worse ; although that reverend gentleman has repeatedly said in my presence that he would refuse the appointment if tendered to him. They could have expressed their views with less harm to the church and to themselves. Their conventicles always end in riots and dances ; several of these, called frolics, frisks, or dancings, having taken place in Holy Cross congregation, ending in women's fights ; and, at the very time that I had announced the establishment of the confraternity of the Holy JSTame in St. Charles parish, a number of so- called catholics, ejusdem farince, held dances on the limits of that congregation."* Father Badin suffered greatly from all these petty persecutions ; but his ever trusty and less impulsive confrere consoled him with the thought that they were fighting the good fight, and that their endeavors for the good of the peo- ple were appreciated by the many and applauded by their superiors. The venerable Mr. JN^agot wrote to him from Baltimore : " Constans esto. Thanks be to the Lord that we have excellent * Baltimore MSS. 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 201 and good teachers here ; but it is a matter of sur- prise to us, that a country reclaimed from the savages only about twelve years ago, should so far exceed the seat of the government of the United States in point of piety and christian discipline, that we can not but attribute a great part of the merit of the miracle to your zeal and fervor. . . ." Bishop Neale encouraged them in the following words : " You have en- tered the lists to promote the grand work ; never yield till you accomplish it." And these senti- ments were indorsed by one whose approbation they prized above all others, the Patriarch of the American Church, Archbishop Carroll, who wrote : "I am sure that many abuses will be prevented, if you succeed in your commendable endeavors, and I encourage you to persever- ance." Father !N'erinckx now thought that nothing further interfered with his plans for the evan- gelization of Upper Louisiana.* A number of catholic families had emigrated from Kentucky to that region in 1797, and settled in Perry county, in the neighborhood of what was subse- quently known as St. Mary's of the Barrens. Josiah Miles, William Carico, and several other families, who subsequently moved, in 1810, to St. Louis county and settled near the mouth of the Missouri river, having heard of Father Ner- inckx' intention of going out there, asked him to * Upper Louisiana included all the territory of the present State of Missouri. •202 I'lFI^ OF KEV. CHARLES NEIIINCKX. [1808- accompany them ; and our missionary once more wrote to Archbishop Carroll, urging the oppor- tuneness of his being sent to Upper Louisiana, for the following reasons : " 1. There are two villages, St. Louis and *S'^. Charles, about twenty miles distant one from the other, which have together a population of about two hundred families, and are fifty miles away from the nearest priest. "2. There is a congregation, called TucJcer^s Settlement, of about sixty families, seventy miles away from the former place, and another known by the name of Fenwick having twenty families, and thirty miles away from the first. All these people are scattered far and wide and never see a priest. " 3. Many infidel Indians live in the vicinity, and it is asserted that my labors among them would not be without fruit. "4. This extensive field, perhajjs ready for the harvest, is never visited by a priest. What faith, what morals, can these poor people have ? How many of them who perhaps lose their souls for the want of an evangelical laborer ! " 5. There are only two priests in the whole region, and they live one hundred miles apart. One of them. Rev. Mr. Olivier, is a very pious man, but old and totally ignorant of the English language. Plis pastoral charge extends, more- over, over a district entirely distinct from the one I refer to, and, if reports are correct, he will soon be forced by old age or death to vacate the^ 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 20-5 field, for his congregation stands already now in need of an assistant priest. The other priest, Rev. Mr. Maxwell, is sufficiently known ; he re- sides seventy miles from Tucker's Settlement. This is a sad state of affairs, my Lord. Prac- tically speaking, and taking into consideration the limited work Father Olivier is capable of, the position of Mr. Maxwell, and the little help the Trappists will give, this large number of families, scattered over an area of more than two hundred miles in extent, is, so to say, without a priest. " Having, therefore, considered before God the wants of this mission, I can not see how I can decline that reasonable call unless my su- periors decide otherwise. Your Lordship having the necessary jurisdiction to provide for those missions, I humbly entreat you to send me at once the necessary faculties, instructions, etc., to emigrate to Upper Louisiana, for these poor people most ardently wish for a priest.* . . ." The Archbishop's answer was any thing but favorable to the projects of our missionary, and renewed all his former fears. The delay of Bishop Flaget in accepting the mitre, caused a great deal of annoyance to Archbishop Carroll, who thought that, a Bishop having been ap- pointed for Kentucky, he could no longer exer- cise jurisdiction in that State or grant the dis- pensations asked for by the Kentucky clergy. This he gave as a reason for not granting Father * Baltimore MSS. 204 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- Nerinckx' request, pleading at the same time the wants of Lower Louisiana. Religion suf- fered greatly in New Orleans, and the Arch- bishop intimated that he felt disposed to force upon the humble priest the acceptance of the administration of that diocese. Father Nerinckx again wrote, trying to con- vince Archbishop Carroll of his inability to per- form the expected task, and expressing his honest opinion that greater than an adminis- trator's powers were needed in the present emer- gency. His were conscientious motives, and his letter so thoroughly explains the situation of af- fairs, that we venture to give it in full, at the risk of trying the patience of some of our readers. It bears no date, but must have been written in the Fall of 1809 — in August- — as appears from the context: " Right Rev. and Illustrious Sir: " I understand from your honored letters that your reason for not granting my wishes is the delay of Bishop Concanen's arrival, who is the bearer of Roman Briefs that will put an end to your doubts about the controverted jurisdiction. Personally, I am of opinion that, till now, your Lordship's jurisdiction over the whole diocese has not been limited, since no circumscription of new dioceses has been determined upon. Such at least was the practice in the old country, where, although nominated to a pastoral bene- 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 205 fice, we could do nothing until we had taken the customary oath before the Ordinary ; the juris- diction of the attending priest remained entire until the Elect had fulfilled all the formalities of the Curia. But I willingly acknowledge my ignorance in these canonical processes, with which I never had a reason to suspect I should have any thing to do. " I am often covered with confusion when I reflect how troublesome a writer I must appear to your Lordship, whom I so frequently annoy with trifling affairs ; but you have so far dealt patiently with my foolishness, and I beseech you to hear me again with fatherly kindness. Tiie subject will not seem of little consequence to your Paternity, since you are usually so solicitous about the salvation of one single soul. Pardon me, therefore, my Lord, if I appear struggling to ' deliver my only one from the hand of the dog,' for I have suffered persecution and exile for it. " I have noted several passages in your wel- come letter, upon which I shall, with all due reverence, present the following comments : " 1. I would like to live in the vicinity of the Trappists solely to have near me a confessor who would help me with his advice and prayers in all difficulties, whilst I could, in the intervals, make such excursions among the settlements as my health and strength would permit; for, from what I hear, there is, in Upper Louisiana, 206 ^IFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- work without end or intermission, and no tem- poral comfort whatever. "2. When I consider the state of the Ken- tucky diocese at large, under such favorable aus- pices of a coming abundance of laborers, the necessity of my remaining any longer in this region completely disappears ; whilst in that part of Louisiana I was speaking of, extreme want and penury call most emphatically for any priest who can be spared. It is entirely desti- tute of workers, over one hundred and fifty miles away from a priest ; it counts hundreds of families — catholics, or rather to be made catho- lics over again — scattered in divers settlements. Many new families are continually going out there, and will emigrate in greater numbers when they see me or any other priest settled there. That the hopes of a greater number of priests in the Kentucky diocese will be realized without a doubt, is abundantly proved by the promises of the Sulpitians, the notable increase of Dominican Fathers, the erection of a Semi- nary, etc. ; and, in all that, there ought to be an excess of consolation to Rev. Father Badin, Avho is undoubtedly of greater worth than I am. " 3. But let us see how we should look upon what your Lordship says toward the end of your letter (and that without hypcrbohi, I am sure,) of the extreme and unutterable miseries and dif- ficulties of the diocese of New Orleans : There is, you say, great corporal misery — this I have, with the grace of God, learned to despise — but 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 207 immeasurably greater spiritual misery, which ■ought to be looked upon as extreme, from the very fact that the present very worthy Vicar- general Olivier has tried every thing in vain to remedy the evil. I have heard as much here, and that more than once from men who had heard and seen it — been witnesses to it all. But what would I, in my nothingness, succeeding to so worthy and experienced a man, effect, where so great a one has worked in vain? . . . Allow me to observe, in the next place, of how little weight the authority of a Vicar-general has been considered, even in a man who is most worthy of the position, and who has been substi- tuted in the place of another Vicar of similar merit and equal ill-success. Remember how ■ shamefully that authority has been despised by clergy and people, which your Lordship so justly styles by their right name of firebrands of discord, scum of many nations, controlled by that God-forsaken Anthony ,* a man of the most wicked dispositions, who is the cause of all the trouble there ; and your Lordship will have to come to the natural conclusion that the hope of a successful end to all these difficulties can be based only upon an authority of sufficient influ- ence to enforce obedience to its commands, and backed by a science profound enough to ' con- vince the gainsayers.' That such an authority can be no less than the episcopal one, is clearly proved by the two unsuccessful attempts of two *He subsequently submitted to Bishop Dubourg. 208 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- Vicar-generals ; for episcopal authority alone can quell all pretexts, subterfuges, and cavil] a- tions. I am convinced that the people, and per- haps also some of the clergy, will have respect enough for religious principles to give to their Bishop the honor which is his due, and to see the difference between episcopal and any other inferior authority. "An observation akin to this is, that, if a Bishop has to be everywhere perfect in all re- spects, he must be more especially so in T^ew Or- leans ; and, Right Reverend and dearest Father in Christ, what kind of administrator would I be in such a position, I should like to know? What a figure I would cut, indeed! They would justly scoff at such a foolish leader, and, to use the words of Peter Bles : ' Illiterate and foolish, will I not, as a Bishop, be an idol of o-rief and sadness, which God selected in his wrath for the desolation of the people, so that it will come to pass what is read in St. Matthew : " When you shall see the abomination of desolation in the holt/ place,'' etc' Xor can I be said to have been nominated by the Holy See for the administration of that diocese, and hence designated for it by Divine Providence. Why ? Because it is plain to me that the very opposite is to be construed from the Brief. The Holy See itself acknowledges how little I am known, since it has recourse to your Lordship, to whom I am scarcely known for one or two years, and that only by vague rumors from a most distant 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 209 region. These rumors seem to me to be alto- gether too doubtful to make them the basis for the election of a man, otherwise unknown, tO' so tremendous a ministry, in such a fearful per- turbation of the church, and that in a place so far from help and counsel, that it has scarcely been able to obtain a remedy to one single evil during the lapse of so many years, besides being- hampered, or at least left to its fate, by the civil power. " These arguments seem to me conclusive ones ; at least I can not find any thing to object to them. jN'or do I hereby intend to find fault with the way my superiors have acted. They may have been imposed upon, and deceived by false or erroneous reports ; nor was any thing, up till now, determined upon. Besides, my mind is continually agitated with thoughts and reflec- tions, the conclusion of which is ever the one suggested by St. Grregory in his L. S. Pastor., chapter 9 : ' He who is void of virtues should not come forward, even if forced to.' " To open my heart entirely to you, the place, not the honor, would be my due; because no comfort — a thing which I never merited — but un- doubted and great difficulties, which I have, alas ! but too often provoked, await me there. I would ardently wish to meet these, were it not that my lack of virtue would insure my inevi- table ruin. " I am detaining your Lordship too long, and 210 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- Avould detain you ever so much longer, were I only to indicate in a few words my many reasons for lamentation. I will therefore condense in a few sentences what I would like to say and prove in many : 1. There is no need of my staying in Kentucky, nor will there be after the advent of the Bishop. 2. I might perhaps be of some use in that \yArt of Louisiana, where so many heathens, heretics, nominal catholics, etc., live, scattered among many widely distant settle- ments without any priest. 3. In no being could you find qualities more diametrically opposed to those which the great ministry of a Bishop de- mands, than there appear even at first sight in a poor and miserable candidate, who urgently asks for the glory of God and for the honor of our much beloved and too greatly afflicted mother church, that his soul, and that of so many others to Avhom he could not but be a greater cause of ruin, may be spared. . . . " Whilst I finish my letter, we celebrate the feast of St. Philip Benitius, in the lesson of whose office I find that he concealed himself in the mountains of Tuniatum as long as necessary, in order not to be forced to accept the burden of the Pastoral Office ; and your Paternity knows better than I do, how many similar facts the catalogue of saintly men records. If such a thing was commendable in a saint, what will not a poor miserable sinner as I am do? Since, however, I stumbled in the first Nocturn of this day on those words of Ecclesiastes : ' Children, 1809.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 211 hear the judgment of your Father, and so do that you may be saved ; ' and in the Grospel of the Mass : ' You are my friends, if you do what I command you ; . . . you have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you ; ' and since I have always made it my rule of conduct to hear, in all things, ' the Bishops whom the Holy Grho.st has placed to rule the church of Grod,' I there- fore repeat what I said so often — for ' anguish surrounds me, aye, the sorrows of hell encom- pass me ' — I commend again my life and death to your Paternity, so that I may finally know the will of God. " Your Lordship will, I am sure, excuse me, remembering that if careful deliberation i« re- quired anywhere, it is without doubt necessary when a thing is to be decided for ever. And if your Lordship coincides with my views in send- ing me to Upper Louisiana — and without doubt you have the necessary jtirisdiction to do so — I beg you will dispatch my letters as soon as pos- sible, for many from Kentucky are going out there this fall, and I could save expenses in their company. A thousand thanks for your paternal solicitude toward " Your humble and obedient servant, " C. Nerinckx." * The Archbishop could no longer withstand the earnest prayers and unselfish reasons of the humble priest ; qja the other hand, the " Sover- * Baltimore MSS. 212 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1808- eign Pontiff had yielded to the entreaties of Mr. T^erinckx, supported by the suffrage of his brethren in the ministry ; and he did not insist on his accepting the appointment." * And the following extract of a letter of Father Nerinckx to Archbishop Carroll, dated November 15, 1809, tells the result : " The Dominican Father Fenwick has just arrived in Kentucky, bearer of the good news that, in the opinion of your Lordship, I would not suit for the place. That has been my constant personal belief, and the opinion of all people of sense. And now I am freed from that nomination — Benedicam Domiiio in omni tempore; semper laus ejus in ore meof " " I Avill bless the Lord at all times ; his praise shall be always in my mouth ! " exclaimed the thankful priest, with genuine delight. Archbishop Carroll approved at the same time of Father IS'erinckx' resolution to migrate to the missions of Upper Louisiana, for the reasons given in his former letter, and pro- nounced it " apparently inspired by the spirit of God." But Father Badin being his Vicar- general for the Far West, the Prelate directed Father Nerinckx to apply to him for the neces- sary faculties. The latter did not in the least relish that way of acting, for, as he wrote to Baltimore : "I know Father Badin well, and to commit this matter to him, is to refuse my re- quest peremi)torily." And so it was. The Vicar-general had no one whom he could depend * " Sketches of Kentucky." 1809 ] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 213 upon for help ; the Dominicans were not under his jurisdiction, and Rev. OTlynn, but lately arrived, could hardly be relied upon to settle permanently in the Kentucky mission. He therefore insisted upon Father Nerinckx remain- ing at his post. Truly, man proposes and God disposes ! Father Nerinckx' reasons for desiring the Louis- iana mission were praiseworthy ; his Bishop thought him inspired by God for the salvation of souls ; and, in the light of the extreme misery of these abandoned people, we are inclined to look upon Rev. Badin's motives for retaining him as unreasonable ; yet the inscrutable de- signs of God's Providence willed it so. The true work of Father Nerinckx in Kentucky had not yet begun ; and for that work of love — the foundation of a religious community which was to cover Kentucky and the Southwestern States with educational establishments — God willed that he should remain. CHAPTER XII. 1810. Missionary labors. — St. Anthoxy's, Rough Creek. — St. James', Clifty. — St. Bernard's, Adair City. — Other settlements. — Father Nerinckx' courage, cheerfulness, and kindness. — His adventure with a wolf. — His LABORS IN THE CONFESSIONAL. — The fruits of his zeal. — A touching incident. Father Nerinckx' mind being once more at rest — for he always looked upon the will of the least of his superiors as being the will of God — he set on foot new plans for the extension of our Holy Faith in Kentucky, which, he was now satisfied, would be his home and the field of his labors. " Rev. Badin having come from Louisville in March, 1810, with the pleasing information that religious matters were prospering in that promising hamlet,"* Father Nerinckx left St. Stephen's on a missionary tour. The results of his observations and his plans for the future are embodied in the following letters f to Arch- bishop Carroll : * Baltimore MSS. Rev. Nerinckx' letter to Archbishop Car- roll of March 13, 1810. f Baltimore MSS. (214) 1810.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NEKINCKX. 215- ''Ajoril 14, 1810. ^^BigJit Bev. Sir : "... Last month I was sent to the- Rough Creek congregation of St. Anthony, about eighty miles from here.* There seems to be> room in that circuit for about four hundred fami- lies, who might settle there and make a very good living\ I am in hopes of getting five hun- dred acres of land for the church, and our catholics are already circulating subscription lists to enable them to build three churches in that region. About forty families have actually settled there, and that number will soon increase if I go with them, for many suffer want here be- cause straitened in too narrow a circuit. St. Anthony's is about half-way between our episco- pal city [Bardstown] and an incipient settlement on the Ohio called Redbank,f where there are at present ten catholic families, and which has great prospects and a reasonable hope of becom- ing a very populous city. I have therefore re- solved to select it as my resident statiou. . . . " We hope our new Bishop will soon arrive. We expect him daily, together with some priests to help us. . . . " I remain, "Your Lordship's Humble and obedient servant, " C. Nerinckx." *0n the Long Lick, Breckinridge county. •fNow Henderson. 215 216 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1810. ''May, 1810.* ''Right Bev. Sir: " I profit of this opportunity to render you an account of what has lately been done in these missions. Father Badin asked me, some time ago, to visit the congregation on Bough Creek. I visited it and found the people, who, for the last few years (whether justly or not, I know not), enjoy a not very enviable reputation, very much afraid of me, to say nothing more. . . . But this panic soon gave way to peace and be- nevolence ; and, with the help of Grod, I suc- ceeded, during my first visit, in raising a sub- scription for the land and the church, wdiich, with some help out of my own purse, amounts now to $800, about a hundred of which are in silver specie. " From there, I traveled through a rather ex- tensive tract of land that lies within a range of perhaps one hundred and twenty miles, and in which there is said to be arable land enough to comfortably settle four hundred families. It is situated along the banks of the Ohio river, from which it runs back fifteen, and in some places as far as thirty miles. The ground is, generally speaking, better than in our vicinity, being fer- tilized by rivers ; but at present the whole re- gion is little more than a desert. I found ten, if not eleven spots, where missionary stations might conveniently be erected, but have not as *This letter is not dated; but its Bardstown postmark bears date May 31st, and the context clearly points to 1810. ISIO] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 217 jet examined things sufficiently to warrant a de- cision in the matter ; I hope to be able to do so within a fortnight. Many families are prepar- ing to go out there, and entreat me to go with them ; nor can I refuse ; because, although I am in constant doubt about my own sj^iritual inter- ests, the good of the church and the temporal welfare of our catholics seem to demand it; and, since it is apparently expedient that I should Temain in Kentucky to be of some help to priests and people, I can not do this more ef- ficiently than by going out with them. About fifty catholic families are at present scattered over that region, some living a hundred miles from here ; and I feel confident that within a year, more than one hundred families (indeed, I should not wonder if they numbered two hun- dred,) will join these in the different settle- ments. This would considerably lighten the bur- den of the priests who reside here, and increase mine, nor does the plan displease Rev. Father. Badin. " Captain John Hanley gives to the church four hundred acres on the Adani's Fork, fifteen miles from Rough Creek. I will try to make him in- crease the grant to six hundred acres, because I would like to have a school for girls connected with it, and he once before otfered that much to the sisters of the congregation of the Blessed Yirgin Mary. "N. Beits, a Methodist preacher, oifers two 218 LIFE OF I'lEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1810.. hundred acres on Rough Creek ; and Thomas Smith, a preacher's son, twenty dollars toward the building of a chapel. " Mr. Stoddard gives us five hundred acres in Clifty, where he once offered five thousand. I think this large and liberal offer should have been accepted at the time. I have accepted the five hundred just mentioned, for which your Grace will please give in my name to Mr. Stoddard the thanks of the church. I have se- lected this grant in the neighborhood of St. James congregation, where two or three catholic families have just now commenced building. I wish we could obtain a similar grant a few miles away from this one ; in the course of time, an- other congregation might be started there. True, the greater portion of that farm is rather poor land ; but it might perhaps suit the poorer classes, unable to buy a home in more fertile quarters. Inclosed please find a letter for Mr. Stoddard, in which I ask for five hundred acres more. He is perhaps not aware that I know of his five thousand offer, so that your Grace can act as you see fit ; may be you will obtain more than five hundred acres. I would like you to transact this business immediately if possible, because the sooner catholics buy the land, the cheaper they will get it. " The church of St. Clare will be finished this month. Although small, it has cost me almost three years of incessant labor to build it, owing to the lack of zeal of the thirtv-four families- 1810.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 219' constituting this congregation, which I have attended for four years without one cent of sal- ary. "About six months ago, we have bought in my St. Bernard's congregation, Adair county,* where the Trappists used to live, four hundred and thirty-four acres of land, at one dollar in silver an acre. I have personally contributed |100, and donated the sacred vestments. There are thir- teen catholic families, all but one meriting well of the church, and we have commenced building a chapel which I wish to finish before winter sets in. The subscription that I took up among these newly settled poor people for the purchase of the land and the building of the church ex- ceeds $800; so true it is that good will with poverty is worth more for the honor of God, than bad will with all the treasures of the deep. I beg, therefore, that when I leave, this people, who, considering their small means and num- bers, have so willingly and liberally provided for the church and priest, have also a share in the kind offices of the church. I have promised to attend them as long as I can ; but this place will be two hundred miles from the extreme limit of the new tract ; however, I desire to finish the building of the church, and I may perhaps live there for a short time, when, used up, I shall patiently expect death. Being remote from all worldly noise, this settlement is not likely to become very populous. . . . * Now Casey county. 220 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1810. " If any vestments arrive for me, send them at once, for I have exhausted my own treasury in procuring them, and we stand yet in need of a great many. With due reverence, I remain, " Of your Lordship, " The humble and obedient servant, " C. Nerinckx." ''August 17, 1810. *' BigJit Bev. Sir : "... Be kind enough to address your letters to the station for which I am just prepar- ing to leave. " There are at least ten places, and that at a considerable distance one from the other, in which churches may be built. " 1. Adam^s Creek, already known by the name of Loretto,* twenty miles from Rough Creek. Captain John Hanley gives four hun- dred acres of land to the church in that place. " 2. Clifty, in Grayson county, thirty-five miles from Loretto. f The church has five hundred acres of land there. " 3. Ilardingshurg, twenty-six miles from Lo- retto. The church possesses three acres of land in that town. "4. Hartford, seventeen miles from Loretto, * It never came to any thing, and the name was soon forgot- ten. It had nevertheless j^^-rtly been settled by catholics, as appears from Father Nerinekx' appeal, infra, Chap. XV. f The distances are measured from Adam's Creek. Loretto, in Marion county, was not founded till two years later. 1810.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 221 where the church also has three acres of land in the town.* "5. Little Yellow Bank, forty miles from Lo- retto. Land is here promised for a church, and a subscription started to build it.f " 6. Panther Creek, six miles from Loretto, where there is a good prospect of getting a dona- tion of land.J " 7. Highland, over seventy miles from Lo- retto. A catholic of that place, Robert Alvey, gives four hundred acres of good land to the church. <5 "8. In Christian county, over seventy miles from Loretto. More than five hundred acres of good land are here offered to the church. || * In Ohio county. The aged Father Durbin, of Princeton, observes that a lot was given in that locality by Mr. Berry, which was subsequently lost to the church. No settlement was made there. ■\ This is a small creek in Breckinridge county, below Flint Island. J Says Father Durbin : " There was no settlement of catholics on Panther Creek, when I took charge of Davies county, as part of my mission, fifty-two years ago, or in 1823. There were three families, the men non-catholics, near where St. Lawrence stands, fifteen miles above Owensboro. There was no catholic settle- ment where St. Raphael and St. Alphonsus congregations are to- day." ISacred Heart., Union county. Father Durbin says that two hundred acres were subsequently bought from Robert Alvey. They are now owned by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, who have a flourishing boarding-school there, known as St. Vincent's Academy. The present Sacred Heart church, on the edge of that farm, and about three hundred yards from the Academy, is a large brick building, seven miles back of Uniontown, on the Ohio river. II The catholic settlement was not made there. :222 LIFE OF EEV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1810. "9. The Great Yellow BanJcs^ forty miles from Loretto. Here also four hundred acres are promised.* " 10. The Fork of Rough. Nothing definite. "The j^riest stationed in this tract will, from the very beginning, have to travel over a dis- trict one hundred and twenty miles in length, and at least seventy miles in width, through a desert land, where there is no way and no water; for, \\\) till now, little land is occupied by actual settlers. Hence I have to prepare my- self for a very hard life and arduous labor, al- though my strength of body and soul is already declining. It will be verv hard for me to live all alone at such a great distance from the help of another priest, but my brother has manifested his intention of joining me here.f Our people seem to be universally delighted, and approve of my going there, hoping to obtain homesteads and farms in that district at lower rates. At * A creek in Davies county, five miles from Owensboro (Yellow Banks). There is now a large body of catholic descendants of the original catholic settlers from Maryland, in Davies county, also in Union county. Many small congregations are located in Hardin, Meade (St. Teresa's church is in Meade county, two miles from the creek), Breckinridge, and other counties in the lower part of the .State and adjacent to the Ohio river. But the great mass of the catholics are in Marion, Washington, and Nel- son counties, which are the cradle of catholicity in Kentucky, where Father Nerinckx labored and spent the last years of his life. f He never did. The work which awaited Charles Nerinckx in Kentucky also awaited John Henry in Somerstown, London, where he established a religious community of sisters for the education of the poor. He died in London, in the year 1855. 1810.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 223 least, their saying, never as yet has so much been done for the catholics, seems to insinuate it. May the enterprise be pleasing to God as it is to men, and benefit the people and myself. . . . " Yours, etc., " C. Nerinckx." Truly, the holy man had a hard life of it, as will presently appear from extracts of the Sketches of Kentucky,* which Archbishop Spald- ing borrowed from letters of Rev. Badin, pub- lished in the London Miscellany of 1825, and further extended with notes communicated to him by the same reverend gentleman, who was still living ut the time the Archbishop published his book. " Father Nerinckx' courage was unequaled. He feared no difficulties, and was appalled by no dangers. Through rain and storms ; through snows and ice ; over roads rendered almost im- passable by the mud ; over streams swollen by the rains, or frozen by the cold ; by day and by night, in winter and summer, he might be seen traversing all parts of Kentucky in the dis- charge of his laborious duties. Far from shun- ning, he seemed even to seek hardships and dangers. " He crossed wilderness districts, swam rivers, slept in the woods among the wild beasts ; f and. *" Sketches of Kentucky," pg. 138-141, et passim. f Sometimes when he was asked by those at whose house he had arrived in the morning, " where he had slept on the pre- 224 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1810. while undergoing all this, he was in the habit of fasting and of voluntarily mortifying himself in many other ways. His courage and vigor seemed to increase with the labors and priva- tions he had to indure. As his courage, so neither did his cheerfulness, ever abandon him. He seldom laughed or even smiled ; but there was withal an air of contentment and cheerful- ness about him which greatly qualified the na- tural austerity of his countenance and manners. He could, like the great Apostle, make himself " all to all, to gain all to Christ." He appeared even more at home in the cabin of the humblest citizen, or in the hut of the poor negro, than in the more pretending mansions of the wealthy. " He was averse to giving trouble to others, especially to the poor. Often, when he arrived at a house in the night, he attended to his own horse, and took a brief repose in the stable, or in some out-house ; and when the inmates of the house arose next morning, they frequently per- ceived him already up, and saying his office, or making his meditation.* He made it an in- variable rule never to miss an appointment when- ever it was at all possible to keep it. He often arrived at a distant station early in the morn- ing, after having ridden during all the previous night. On these occasions, he heard confessions, viou.s night?" he would answer cheerfully: "With Captain Dogwood,"— a familiar name for the Cornelian cherry tree, abound- ing in the woods of Kentucky. *This often occurred, especially at the station on Clear Creek, Hardin county. 1810.] LIFE OF REV. CHAELES NERINCKX. 225 taught catechism, gave instructions, and said Mass for the jDeople generally after noon ; and he seldom broke his fast until three or four o'clock in the evening. " In swimming rivers, he was often exposed to great danger. Once, in going to visit a sick per- son, he came to a ' stream which his companion knew to be impassable. Mr. Nerinckx took the saddle of his friend — who refused to venture — placed it on his own, and then remounting the horse, placed himself on his knees on the top of the two saddles, and thus crossed the flood, which flowed over his horse's back. On another oc- casion, he made a still more narrow escape. He was swept from his horse, which lost its footing and was carried away by the current ; and the rider barely saved himself, and reached the other shore by clinging firmly to the horse's tail. " On one of his missionary tours, he narrowly escaped being devoured by the wolves, which then greatly infested those portions of Kentucky which were not densely settled. While travel- ing to visit a distant station, in what is now Grayson county, but what was then almost an unreclaimed wilderness, he lost his way in the night. It was the dead of winter, and the dark- ness was so great that he could not hope to ex- tricate himself from his painful situation. Meantime, whilst he was seeking a sheltered place, where he could take some repose, the fam- ished wolves scented him, and came in hundreds, fiercely howling around him. With great pres- 226 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1810. -ence of mind, he immediately remounted his horse, knowing that they would scarcely attack him while on horseback. He hallooed at the top of his voice, and temporarily frightened them off; but soon they returned to the charge, and kept him at bay during the whole night. Once or twice they seemed on the point of seiz- ing his horse, and Mr. Nerinckx made the sign of the Cross and prepared himself for death ; but a mysterious Providence watched over him, and he escaped, after sitting his horse the whole night.* With the dawn, the wolves disappeared. " He had charge of six congregations, besides a much greater number of stations scattered over the whole extent of Kentucky. Wherever he could learn that there were a few catholic settlers, there he established a station or erected a church. The labor which he thus voluntarily took on himself, is almost incredible. To visit all his churches and stations generally required the space of at least six weeks. " He never took any rest or recreation. He seemed always most happy, when most busily engaged. He seldom talked, except on business, or on God, on virtue, or on his missionary duties. On reaching a church or station, his confessional was usually thronged by penitents from the early dawn until midday. Before be- ginning to hear confessions he usually said some prayers with the people, and then gave them a *The Archbishop learned this adventure from an aged citizea ■of Grayson county. 1810.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 227 solid and familiar instruction on the manner of approaching the holy tribunal. If he seemed austere out of the confessional, he was in it a most kind, patient, and tender father. He spared no time nor pains to instruct his peni- tents, all of whom, without one exception, were deeply attached to him. To his instructions, chiefly in the confessional, are we to ascribe the piety and regularity of many among the living catholics of Kentucky. " Grod blessed his labors with fruits so abun- dant and permanent as to console him for all his toils and privations. He witnessed a flour- ishing church growing up around him, in what had recently been a wilderness, inhabited only by tierce, wild beasts and untamable savages. He saw, in the virtues of his scattered flock, a revival of those which had rendered so illus- trious the christians of the first ages of the church. . . . The results of his labors prove how much one good man, with the blessing of God, can achieve by his single efforts, prompted by the lofty motive of the Divine glory, and directed with simplicity of heart to one noble end. " We will close the present chapter by relat- ing one more incident in the life of this good missionary. The catholics were so much dis- persed that he was often called to a distance of fifty and even a hundred miles, to visit the sick. On one occasion he was called to see a Mr. Keith, who lived in Bourbon county, eighty 228 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [1810. miles oif. The messenger arriv^ed at the resi- dence of Mr, Nerinckx early in the mornino-, and stated that he had left the sick man in a dying condition. Mr. Nerinckx lost not a mo- ment. At five o'clock in the morning, he mounted his famous horse ' Printer ; ' and after ridino- the whole ensuino- nio-ht, reached the house of Mr. Keith at six o'clock the next morning. " The poor man was already dead. He had just breathed his last. Ardently had he de- sired the succors of religion in his last struggle ; repeatedly he had asked, ' whether the priest was coming ? ' In his anxiety he had dragged himself to the door of his cabin, to direct his straining eyes, now almost set in death, in the direction in which he expected the minister of God to approach. " Mr. IVerinckx remained for some time with the afflicted family of the deceased, comforting them with the assurance that God had no doubt mercifully accej^ted the will for the deed in the deceased. He prayed with them over his re- mains, which he followed to their last resting- place. He took occasion from the manner of his death to make a deep impression in the minds and hearts of the living, whom he exhorted ' to be always ready, for they knew not the day nor the hour,' when death might surprise them. After thus doing all the good he could accomplish, he returned, deeply affected by the scene he had witnessed." CHAPTER XIII. 1811. Father Nerinckx' bodily strength. — His adventure with Har- din. — Carrying the cross in Bullitt county. — Saluting the negro. — Father Nerinckx' simple oratory. — His success in MAKING converts. — ARRIVAL OF BlSHOP FlAGET IN KENTUCKY. The Episcopal palace. The powerful constitution and herculean strength which enabled the zealous Father JN'er- inckx to undergo the unusual trials of mission- ary life, under the burden of which many a man of equal zeal would have sunk, proved useful in more than one way, during his eventful career. Besides undertaking lengthy journeys on horse- back to the distant missions through the then uninhabited wilds of Kentucky, he had to attend to the building of churches, a task which, in these pioneer days, was not a mere directing of the labors of others, but actual hard handiwork ; and Father IN^erinckx was always ready to do his share of the labor. Many illustrations of his bodily strength will be adduced in the course of this biography. " He generally worked bare- headed under the broiling sun, aiding the work- men in cuttina: timber, in clearins: out the un- (229) 230 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NEEINCKX. [1811. dergrowth, and in every other species of hard labor ; and in removing heavy timber, or, as it is commonly called, rolling logs, he usually lifted against two or three men of ordinary strength."* But this merely natural gift, which, in po- lite society, would add very little to the esteem in which a priest is held by the public, proved also very useful in those parts, where the rude state of pioneer times made men less sensible to the advantages of education, and more easily im- pressed by physical skill, endurance, and strength of body. The following singular adventure, which is well known to all the older catholics of Kentucky, may serve as an illustration. We give it as related to Archbishop Spaldingf by Mr. Vincent Gates, the pious attendant and companion of our missionary : " Father Nerinckx was in the habit of rigidly enforcing order in the church, during the cele- bration of the divine mysteries. Protestants and persons of no religion often attended church, led thither chiefly by curiosity. These some- times did not conform to the rules of propriety ; and Mr. Nerinckx, who was little swayed by hu- man respect, was not slow to admonish them of their faults in this j^articular. As he was not very well versed in the English language, and was by nature rather plain and frank, his admo- nitions were not always well understood or well received. Once, especially, a man by the name ■*" Sketches of Kentucky," pg. 143. t " Sketches of Kentucky," pg. 141-143. ISU ] LIFE OF r.EV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 231 of Hardin — a youth of powerful frame and strength, and somewhat of a bully — took great offense at something which Mr. JN^erinckx had said, and which, it seems, he had entirely mis- understood. He openly declared that he would be avenged on the priest the first time that he would meet him alone. "An opportunity soon occurred. Mr. Ner- inckx was going to the church of St. Charles, from St. Stephen's, when Hardin waylaid him on the road. Springing from his hiding-place, he seized the bridle reins of Mr. Nerinckx' horse, and bade him stop, ' for that he intended to give him a sound drubbing.' At the same time, he cut one of the stirrup leathers, and or- dered the rider to dismount ; an order which was promptly complied with. Mr. Nerinckx re- monstrated with him ; told him that he had meant in nowise to offend or injure him ; and that his profession wholly forbade him to wrangle or fight. Hardin, however, persisted, and was in the act of striking the priest, when the latter took hold of him, and quietly laid him on the ground, as though he had been the merest child -, observing to him, meantime, with a smile, ' that he would neither strike nor injure him, but that he felt authorized to see that himself received no injury at his hands.' In this position he held him motionless on his back, until he had obtained from him a promise that no farther at- tempt should be made on his person. "After this^rencounter, Father Nerinckx quietly 232 LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. [181L remounted his horse and proceeded on his jour- ney ; Hardin as quietly moving off in the other direction. On arriving at the cliurch, one of his friends asked Mr. Nerinckx, 'how it had hap- pened that his stirrup leather had been cut?' He replied by simply stating the adventure in a few words, and observing, with a smile, 'that these young buckskins could not handle a Dutch- man !' After this, he never was heard to speak of the aifair ; but Hardin was wont to say to his friends, ' he had often thought before, that he had handled men ; but that he really never had hold of one before he met priest Nerinckx, who, he verily believed, had something supernatural about him.' " This bodily strength, which enabled the priest to teach manners to the presumptuous youth, was also, about this time, displayed in a more public and religious, although as unostentatious a manner, at the blessing of the graveyard in Bullitt county. Father Nerinckx had linished the church of St. John the Baptist, in that county, and, having laid out a graveyard, resolved to bless it with more than ordinary ceremonies. Pie was passionately fond of the dead, and did all in his power to promote devotion for the souls in purgatory, among his people. Upon this particular occasion, he caused a large cedar cross, forty feet high, the very one which, to this day, yet graces that sacred spot, to be made ; and, having taken off his shoos and stockings, he or- dered all tlioso who intended assisting at the 1811.] LIFE OF REV. CHARLES NERINCKX. 233 ceremony to do the same. He then shouldered the precious burden ; and, aided by twelve men, barefooted like himself, who supported the lower portion of the cross and prevented it from dragging the ground, he carried it a long dis- tance, praying in a loud voice during the whole time of this rather uncommon procession. Old Mr. Shepherd witnessed the solemn occurrence, during which many of the lookers-on were moved to tears at the sight of the pious priest