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 The life of John, Cardinal McCroskey, « 
 
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THE LIFE OF 
 yohn Cardinal zUtCcCloskey 
 
CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 From the Painting by Healy 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 John Cardinal zMcCloskey 
 
 FIRST PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 
 IN AMERICA 
 
 1810-1885 
 
 BY HIS EMINENCE 
 
 JOHN CARDINAL FARLEY 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 
 
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PREFACE 
 
 IT is now almost twenty years since I published the 
 initial chapters of this Life of John Cardinal 
 McCloskey. Shortly after his death in 1885, I 
 began a biography of America's first Prince of the 
 Church, but it was not until 1899, that a brief account 
 of his life up to his return from Rome in 1837, appeared 
 in the Historical Records and Studies. Since that time 
 the increasing demands of official life have left me very 
 little leisure for the work. When I wrote the article 
 on Cardinal McCloskey for the Catholic Encyclopedia, 
 I then determined to complete the biography, which 
 I had always had in mind to publish, and so it was 
 with great pleasure that I was enabled during the past 
 two years to resume my studies for this volume. 
 
 From 1872 to 1884, I was Cardinal McCloskey's 
 Secretary. During those twelve years it was my 
 custom to write down with as little delay as possible 
 all our conversations regarding his own personal his- 
 tory. Much that has entered into this biography has 
 been taken from my diaries of that time. Cardinal 
 McCloskey's own letters and diaries, meagre as they 
 are in autobiography, have also been used. The 
 ecclesiastical archives of Baltimore, Albany, Rochester, 
 Buffalo and Newark, and the official archives of the 
 Archdiocese of New York have all been diligently 
 searched for documents that would illustrate the Car- 
 
vi PREFACE 
 
 dinal's long life of seventy-five years. This search was 
 a disappointment in one way. Cardinal McCloskey 
 preserved very few of his own personal papers, and 
 this may account for the lack here and there in these 
 pages of that more intimate note which the reader 
 would naturally hope to find. 
 
 Cardinal McCloskey was above all, and through all, 
 and in all, a man of God. He never sought the applause 
 of the world or the honors of the Church. Life's 
 great ends — peace of soul with God and preparation 
 for the Kingdom above — were his constant thoughts. 
 It was his to occupy the highest place within the gift 
 of the Sovereign Pontiff. It was his to rule the great 
 Archdiocese of New York, during those twenty years 
 of Reconstruction that followed the Civil War. It was 
 his to conciliate opposing elements both within and 
 without the Fold, at a time when both Church and 
 State needed all their forces to cope with the tide of 
 immigration which was flowing into the country. 
 New York loomed large in those days on the social 
 and political horizon of the United States ; and to him, 
 who by general consent was looked upon as the first 
 citizen of the metropolis, came many of the heaviest 
 burdens which then harassed our land. And yet, no 
 trouble ever robbed him of his soul's serenity. No 
 difficulty ever marred the sweet tenderness of that 
 face. He drew to himself all those that loved both 
 God and the children of God. Thousands of unseen 
 charities left his hands without the knowledge of any- 
 one, even of those closest to him. There are living 
 to-day some among the New York clergy, who were 
 ordained by Cardinal McCloskey, and who hold his 
 
PREFACE vii 
 
 name in benedidlion. He is still remembered by all 
 as a prelate who combined in a very remarkable way 
 the high dignity of his office with the affedlionate 
 gentleness of a child. 
 
 In Tennyson's famous trib ute to his King, there are 
 lines that may well be quoted to describe the char- 
 adler of America's first Cardinal : 
 
 ". . . we see him as he moved. 
 
 How modest, kindly, all-accomplisVd, zuise. 
 
 With what sublime repression of himself. 
 
 And in what limits, and how tenderly; 
 
 Not swaying to this fadion or to that; 
 
 Not making his high place the lawless perch 
 
 Of wing'd ambitions, nor the vantage-ground 
 
 For pleasure; but through all this trad of years 
 
 Wearing the white Hower of a blameless life." 
 
 "The white flower of a blameless life" might well 
 serve as an epitaph for John Cardinal McCloskey. 
 He looked upon all life as a gift of God, — a divine 
 gift placed within his own hands for the betterment of 
 his fellow-man and for his own eternal happiness. 
 How well he used that gift, it is the reader's pleasure 
 to follow year by year in this biography. 
 
 Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 
 December eighth, 1917. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface v 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 EARLY YEARS (181O-1821) 
 
 Catholic Life in New Tork in igio. Birth of John 
 McCloskey. His Parents. St. Peter's Church. 
 Mrs. Charlotte Milmoth. Brady's School. Choice 
 of a College. Departure for Emmitsburg .... i 
 
 CHAPTER n 
 
 STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 
 (182I-1834) 
 
 Entrance at Mount St. Mary's Emmitsburg. Re- 
 ports of His Progress. Speech on Patriotism. 
 Graduation. Uncertainties. The Accident of the 
 Logs {1827). Choice of a Vocation. His Mother's 
 Advice. Return to Emmitsburg. Echoes of His 
 Student Days. Philosophical and Theological 
 Studies. His Note-books. Retreats. Prefe6l and 
 Teacher. Sermons. Tonsure and Minor Orders. 
 "Simple Advices from an Old Friend." Ordina- 
 tion to Priesthood {1834) 22 
 
 ix 
 
X CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 
 (1834-1837) 
 
 First Experiences in the Ministry. Seminary at 
 Nyack. Appointed Vice-president and Professor 
 of Philosophy. Burning of the Seminary. Corne- 
 lius Heeney's Offer. Father McCloskey Sets Out 
 for Rome. Incidents of the Voyage. Making Friends 
 in the Eternal City. Death of His Sister. At- 
 tends Lectures at Roman College. Death of Father 
 Anthony Kohlmann, S.J. Friendship with Lacor- 
 daire. The Return to New York 67 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 IN THE VINEYARD (1837-1844) 
 
 Pastor of Old St. Joseph's. Father McCloskey and 
 the Recalcitrant Trustees. His Conquest. Christ- 
 mas Sermons and their Import. John Hughes 
 Becomes Coadjutor Bishop of New Tork. Semi- 
 nary at Lafargeville. Foundation of New Semi- 
 nary and College at Fordham. John McCloskey 
 First President of St. John's College, Fordham. 
 Conversion of James Roosevelt Bay ley. Father 
 McCloskey Resigns on Account of III Health. 
 Address of Student-body. Back at St. Joseph's. 
 Becomes Coadjutor Bishop of New Tork {Novem- 
 ber, 21, 1843) 123 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE COADJUTOR BISHOP OF NEW YORK 
 (1844-1847) 
 
 Consecration of Bishop McCloskey at Old St. Pat- 
 rick's. His Attitude During the Native-American 
 
CONTENTS xi 
 
 Movement. His Concilatory Spirit. The Semi- 
 nary at Fordham. Bishop McCloskey and the 
 American Oxford Movement. Conversion of Isaac 
 Hecker, Clarence Walworth and James McMaster. 
 Bishop McCloskey' s Attitude Towards Converts. 
 New Dioceses of Albany and Buffalo {184"/). 
 Bishop McCloskey Becomes First Bishop of 
 Albany. The Diocese of Albany in 184.7 .... 147 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 
 (1847-1864) 
 
 In His New Field of Labor. Trustee Evil in New 
 Tork. Bishop McCloskey' s Letter to the Trustees 
 of Oswego. His First Sermon in Albany. The 
 Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Leaves 
 for Europe to Secure Help. The Church Property 
 Bill Passes the New Tork Legislature. Apostasy 
 of John Murray Forbes. Death of Archbishop 
 Hughes. The Succession to New Tork. The Holy 
 See Chooses the Bishop of Albany. Declines 
 Public Dinner in His Honor. Address of the 
 Clergy. Departure for New Tork 165 
 
 CHAPTER Vn 
 
 SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 
 (1864-1875) 
 
 Arrival of Archbishop McCloskey in New Tork. 
 Solemn Installation in St. Patrick's Cathedral. 
 His First Sermon. Public Reception. The New 
 Cathedral. Foundation of the Provincial Seminary 
 at Troy. The Archbishop and the Jesuits. Re- 
 
xii CONTENTS 
 
 cruiting the Faculty. The Second Plenary Council 
 {1866). Archbishop McCloskey's Opening Ser- 
 mon. The Fenian Brotherhood. The Vatican 
 Council. The Archbishop at Rome. The Question 
 of Papal Infallibility. Solemn Dedication of the 
 Diocese of New Tork to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 
 Thirtieth Anniversary of His Consecration. Voy- 
 age to Europe {1874) 224 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE FIRST PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 
 IN AMERICA (1875-1885) 
 
 Archbishop McCloskey Created Cardinal Priest of 
 the Church. Ceremony of Reception of Cardinal's 
 Biretta. Celebration at the Mountain. Leaves 
 for Europe. Testimonial from Irish Hierarchy. 
 Letters to Father Preston. Death of Dr. Anderson. 
 The Cardinal's Sermon. Ele6lion of Leo XIII. 
 Cardinal McCloskey at the Coronation. Dedica- 
 tion of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Archbishop 
 Ryan's Sermon. Appointment of Bishop Corrigan 
 as Coadjutor to Cardinal McCloskey. Golden 
 "Jubilee of the Cardinal's Priesthood. Failing 
 Health. The Third Plenary Council. The Last 
 Tears. Sickness and Death. Funeral Discourse 
 by Cardinal Gibbons 304 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 Characteristics of Cardinal McCloskey . . 369 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 Conclusion 379 
 
 Index 3^9 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Cardinal McCloskey From the Painting by Healy Frontispiece 
 
 John McCloskey as a Student in Rome (1835) Facing page 82 
 
 An Autograph Page from his Journal (1836) 118 
 
 St. Joseph's Seminary, Troy, N.Y. (1864) 260 
 
 Taking Possession of his Titular Church of Santa Maria 
 
 sopra Minerva 328 
 
 St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York 348 
 
The Life of 
 John Cardinal McCloskey 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 EARLY YEARS (181O-1821) 
 
 Catholic Life in New York in 1810. Birth of John 
 
 McCloskey, His Parents. St. Peter's Church. Mrs. 
 
 Charlotte Milmoth. Brady's School. Choice of a 
 College. Departure for Emmitsburg 
 
 WHEN JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 was born in the struggling little village of 
 Brooklyn on March 10, 18 10, the Catholic 
 Church within the United States, of which he was to 
 become the first red-robed Prince, numbered in all 
 about seventy priests, eighty churches and one hundred 
 thousand Catholics. During the seventy-five years of 
 his life both at home and abroad, he was to witness a 
 growth of Catholicity in America which has seldom 
 been paralleled elsewhere. From one Archbishopric 
 and four suffragan Sees at the First Provincial Council 
 of Baltimore in 1829, to the Third Plenary Council of 
 Baltimore in 1884, held the year before his death, the 
 Church in his beloved land developed into a hierarchy 
 of fourteen Archbishops and sixty-one Bishops, with a 
 Catholic flock of over ten millions. His life spanned 
 almost the whole of that wonderful nineteenth century 
 
2 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 which was so crowded with triumphs in the cause of 
 religion in this country; and instead of the little band 
 of Catholics who lived in and around New York in 
 1810, when John McCloskey was born, he was des- 
 tined to rule over a province which has since become 
 one of the most numerous in all Christendom. 
 
 The Baptismal Register of old St. Peter's Church, in 
 Barclay Street, New York, contains the record of his 
 baptism on May 6, 18 10, and his name is one of thir- 
 teen children who received the waters of regeneration 
 that day at the hands of Father Benedicft Fenwick, S.J., 
 who was to become fifteen years later, the successor to 
 Cardinal Cheverus in the See of Boston. His sponsors 
 were Patrick McCloskey and Elizabeth Clark. The 
 parents of John McCloskey were both natives of 
 County Derry, Ireland, and belonged to the better 
 class of Irish farmers. His ancestors on his father's 
 side lived for centuries in that part of the country, 
 and many of them had entered the priesthood and 
 the medical profession. Intelledlual culture was 
 traditional in the family. At Dungiven, the birth- 
 place of his father, Patrick McCloskey, which was 
 also the birthplace of the Irish patriot, John Mitchel, 
 the old churchyard contains the headstones of the 
 Cardinal's ancestors dating back more than a 
 century. His mother was Elizabeth Harron. Tra- 
 dition has it that she and her husband were related, 
 and that this fadl caused a certain amount of opposi- 
 tion on the part of the parish priest at Banagher, 
 where Elizabeth lived. The young couple determined 
 to be married in Derry and then to emigrate to the 
 United States. 
 
 Ireland was then passing through one of the gravest 
 
EARLY YEARS 3 
 
 stages of the struggle for Catholic Relief. The Ad: 
 of Union of 1800 had dispelled all prospers of Irish 
 freedom, and with her trade restrided and her com- 
 merce destroyed, Ireland held few attractions for the 
 young men and women of that day. Every path to 
 honorable advancement in the professions was closed, 
 and during the century preceding the Ad of Union, 
 Irish settlers had been forced to come to America to 
 seek a livelihood. In 18 18, Bishop Connolly of New 
 York, estimated the Catholics there at sixteen thou- 
 sand, and of these ten thousand were Irish. From 
 1776 to 1820, at least one hundred thousand Irish 
 settlers reached this country. 
 
 It is not surprising, therefore, to find the parents 
 of the Cardinal, shortly after their marriage in the 
 Cathedral of Derry, in 1808, setting out for the land of 
 new opportunities across the Atlantic. They left 
 Ireland in the spring of that year, and settled with 
 their compatriots in Brooklyn. Patrick McCloskey 
 obtained a position as clerk in the firm of H. B. 
 Pierrepont and Company, with whom he worked until 
 his death in 1820. Mr. Pierrepont related with pride 
 that when the British troops were contemplating the 
 attack on New York in 18 14, Patrick McCloskey 
 direded the other employees in the work of construding 
 the fortifications then being ereded on Forts Greene 
 and Fisher. There was always a close friendship be- 
 tween the Pierreponts and the McCloskeys, and on one 
 occasion when the Cardinal's mother was too ill to 
 nurse him, Mrs. Pierrepont went to their house and 
 remained to nurse the child till Mrs. McCloskey was 
 restored to health. 
 
4 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 At that time there were but two churches in the 
 Diocese of New York, the Church of St. Peter's ereded 
 in 1786, in Barclay Street, where John McCloskey 
 was baptized, and the Church of St. Patrick, the 
 old Cathedral in Mulberry Street, then called the 
 "New Church out of Town," eredled in 1809. The 
 Cathedral of St. Patrick was built for New York's 
 first Bishop, Dr. Concanen, who was appointed to the 
 See in 1808, and who died at Naples in 18 10, without 
 being able to cross the ocean at that time, on account 
 of the wars. Father Anthony Kohlmann and Benedidl 
 Fenwick, both members of the Society of Jesus, were 
 in charge of St. Patrick's. Father Kohlmann had 
 been named by Archbishop Carroll as the adminis- 
 trator of the Diocese of New York, by virtue of the 
 authority Bishop Concanen had sent to him from Rome. 
 On July 23, 1808, Bishop Concanen wrote from Rome 
 to Archbishop Carroll : 
 
 "I requested Your Grace, in the former letters, 
 to be pleased to arrange matters in the best manner 
 you can for my settlement in that Diocese []New 
 York], and appoint a Vicar with all the necessary 
 powers that you and I can delegate to him." 
 
 On the receipt of this letter (Odtober 11, 1808), the 
 venerable prelate of Baltimore appointed Rev. Anthony 
 Kohlmann, S.J., to this position. The organization 
 of the new Diocese was therefore in the hands of 
 Father Kohlmann. The second Church, that of St. 
 Peter, was older by a decade of years than St. Pat- 
 rick's, and being nearer to Brooklyn, the McCloskeys 
 attended it on Sundays. They were then obliged to 
 
EARLY YEARS 5 
 
 cross the East River in a rowboat, or by ferry. The 
 Cardinal in a sermon preached in Brooklyn, drew a 
 delightful picture of his early years, when his devout 
 mother led her little boy by the hand on Sunday morn- 
 ings down to the strand of the East River — Brooklyn 
 had no wharves then — and crossed the stream in a 
 rowboat or in the primitive ferry, that they both 
 might attend Mass in the little red brick church in 
 Barclay Street. 
 
 St. Peter's historic origin has already been told in 
 the volume on the History of St. Patrick's (New York, 
 1908). As the first Catholic Church in the present 
 limits of New York State, its history has not only 
 a permanent place in the life-story of Cardinal 
 McCloskey, but also bridges over the two centuries 
 of missionary effort in New York with the present 
 time when there are four hundred churches, for it is 
 the mother-church of them all. 
 
 From the days of the Jesuit Missions in Upper New 
 York, with their fascinating pages on the heroism of 
 Fathers Jogues, Brebeuf, Bressani and others, down to 
 the days of the American Revolution, it was impossible 
 for any Catholic priest and especially for any Jesuit 
 to celebrate Mass in what is now New York State. 
 The six years of Governor Thomas Dongan's rule over 
 the Province of New York were the only exception 
 to this state of affairs. Father Thomas Harvey, S.J., 
 had come out with Governor Dongan as chaplain 
 and he was later joined by Fathers Henry Harrison 
 and Charles Gage, both of the Society of Jesus. The 
 Jesuit Mission of New York was abandoned during 
 the Orange Rebellion of 1689-91. It is true that for a 
 
6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 century before 1784, the Jesuits of Maryland passed 
 through New York on their way to and from Maryland 
 and Quebec, but the infamous Law of 1700 rendered it 
 impossible for any priest to minister publicly to the 
 Catholics of that sedlion. The earliest reference we 
 possess of the beginning of religious toleration in New 
 York is the work done by Father Farmer, who came 
 there in 1783. The following year, 1784, the Law 
 of 1700 "Against Jesuits and Popish Priests" was 
 repealed by the State Legislature, and Father Farmer 
 began celebrating Mass in the houses of Catholics. 
 His little congregation is said to have numbered about 
 eighteen communicants. 
 
 When Father John Carroll was made Prefedt Apos- 
 tolic of the American Church, on June 9, 1784, the 
 Catholics were to be found principally in New York, 
 Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore. In the Relation 
 on the State of Religion in the United States (1790) 
 which Carroll forwarded to Cardinal Antonelli, we 
 read: 
 
 "There are in Maryland about 15,800 Catholics; 
 of these there are about 9,000 freemen, adults or over 
 twelve years of age; children under that age, about 
 3,000; and about that number of slaves of all ages of 
 African origin, called negroes. There are in Penn- 
 sylvania about 7,000, very few of whom are negroes, 
 and the Catholics are less scattered and live nearer 
 to each other. There are not more than 200 in Virginia 
 who are visited four or five times a year by a priest. 
 Many other Catholics are said to be scattered in that 
 and other States, who are utterly deprived of all reli- 
 
EARLY YEARS 7 
 
 gious ministry. In the State of New York I hear that 
 there are at least 1,500." 
 
 New York was the principal port of entry to the new 
 Republic, and the little Catholic congregation there 
 soon began to grow. Among the priests who minis- 
 tered to the Catholics at this time were Rev. Charles 
 Whelan, an Irish Capuchin, who was adting as chap- 
 lain to a Catholic Portuguese Jose Roiz Silva, one of 
 the wealthiest merchants in the city. Father Whelan 
 was invited to become pastor of the little congre- 
 gation, but owing to the fadl that he possessed no 
 diredl approbation from Propaganda, Father Carroll 
 could not give him authority to hear Confessions or to 
 administer the Sacraments. Father Whelan dis- 
 regarded this regulation and adted by virtue of his own 
 faculties as an Irish priest. Father Farmer who was 
 then Vicar General for the New York distridt, protested 
 against Father Whelan's administration of the Sacra- 
 ments, but before any adlion could be taken, the ques- 
 tion was settled favorably the following year. The 
 New York Catholics, small though they were in num- 
 ber, felt that the Catholic priest over them should 
 be a man capable of attracting public attention as a 
 preacher; and, owing to Father Whelan's lack of 
 ability in this regard, they negotiated with several 
 Irish priests, with the result that Father Andrew 
 Nugent, another Capuchin, came to New York in 
 the fall of 1785, and became assistant to Father Whelan. 
 A misunderstanding occurred between them, with the 
 result that, by the pernicious system then in force, the 
 trustees forced Father Whelan to yield his pastorate 
 
8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 to the newcomer. He retired to his brother's home in 
 Johnstown, New York, and later went to live with the 
 Jesuits in Newtown, Md. In 1787, he went to Ken- 
 tucky where he had trouble with the trustees and 
 left in 1790, returning to Maryland where he labored 
 zealously at St, Mary's until his death on March 21, 
 1806. Among other priests in New York at this 
 time were Father Seraphin Bandol, who officiated as 
 chaplain in the French and Spanish embassies ; Father 
 Pierre Huet de la Valiniere, who ministered to the 
 French and Canadians in the city; Father McReady, 
 who was assistant to Father Whelan; and Father 
 John O'Connell, a Dominican, who a(fled as chaplain 
 at the Spanish embassy. 
 
 The presence of the French and Spanish Ambassa- 
 dors in New York gave an air of permanency to the 
 Catholic life of the city and several attempts were 
 made under their influence to organize a parish there. 
 The first of these attempts was made on June 10, 
 1785, by Hedlor St. John de Crevecoeur, Jose Roiz 
 Silva, James Stewart and Henry Dutton, who were 
 incorporated by an a6l of legislature into "the Trustees 
 of the Roman Catholic Church in the City of New 
 York." Father Whelan, aAing on Mr. Silva's advice, 
 bought a piece of property owned by the Trinity 
 Corporation, at Barclay and Church Streets. Efforts 
 were made to colledl money in Ireland and France 
 for the eredion of the church. Shea tells us that the 
 appeals to the French King appear to have met with 
 no response, and the matter was taken up by Diego 
 de Gardoqui, the Spanish Minister. A petition dated 
 New York, September 3, 1785, was sent to King 
 
EARLY YEARS 9 
 
 Charles III of Spain, and was favorably received by 
 the Spanish Prime Minister Floridablanca. On Odlober 
 5, 1785, the cornerstone of St. Peter's Church, the 
 first Catholic edifice in New York City, was laid in the 
 presence of the Spanish Minister. On March 13, 
 1786, the Spanish King instrudled Gardoqui to offer 
 in his name the sum of one thousand pesos to the 
 struggling congregation. The money, a large sum for 
 those days, was paid later, in June, 1786, as is seen from 
 a letter sent to Gardoqui by the trustees of St. Peter's. 
 In this letter we learn that a plan was suggested of 
 sending a priest to travel through Mexico, in order to 
 coUedt money for the new edifice. The names signed 
 to the letter are the following: Dominic Lynch, Gil- 
 bert Bourke, John Sullivan, " Andrew Morris, George 
 Shea, Denis McReady, William Byron, and Charles 
 Naylon. The trustees again addressed themselves 
 to the Spanish Minister on Odiober 28, 1786, announc- 
 ing the early completion of their church and the ar- 
 rangements which had been made to celebrate the 
 first Mass on the King's feast-day, November 4, and 
 they asked him to assist in person with his family: 
 
 "The magnificent liberality with which his Catholic 
 Majesty had seen fit to grant not alone his Royal 
 prote<flion, but also the precious succor to the Con- 
 gregation of Catholics which he has given towards 
 the advancement of its church, furnishes to its admin- 
 istrators the happiness of offering to Your Excellency 
 in their name and that of the Congregation in general 
 their most sincere thanks; and to renew the profound 
 respedl with which all individually invoke the name of 
 
lo JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 His Catholic Majesty. They lack the means of express- 
 ing and of giving proof of their loyal recognition, and 
 the only means which they find in their power is to 
 ask Your Excellency a second time to please point out 
 the place in the church which you like best for the 
 eredion of a tribune; and at the same time truly to 
 assure Your Excellency that in spite of the many 
 efforts which they have made in coUedting alms, never- 
 theless it has not been enough to satisfy the desire 
 which they have to see it completed. Nevertheless 
 as they only wish to be able to manifest the zealous 
 interest which inspires their humble gratitude towards 
 His Catholic Majesty, they have exerted themselves 
 to the utmost (and trust in God that their wishes will 
 be fulfilled) in order to open the church on St. Charles' 
 Day and to celebrate the first Mass in honor of His 
 Majesty; and to this end they beg Your Excellency 
 to honor us with your presence and with that of your 
 family, which not only will serve as a great stimulus 
 but which will also increase the zeal of our Congre- 
 gation, the greater part of which, although numerous, 
 has no means of finishing the church. 
 
 "We are. Sir, with the greatest respe<ft, Your Excel- 
 lency's most obedient and faithful servants." 
 
 The relations which existed at this time between 
 Father Carroll and the Catholics of New York were 
 somewhat strained owing to the adlion of the trustees 
 in the matter of the appointment of a permanent pas- 
 tor; but the description we have of the opening of 
 St, Peter's Church shows that this unpleasant situ- 
 ation was forgotten in the joy the Catholics in New 
 
EARLY YEARS ii 
 
 York City had in seeing their church completed. 
 The ceremony, as described in a letter from Gardoqui 
 to the Prime Minister Floridablanca, gives one the 
 impression that the opening of the church was consid- 
 ered one of the celebrated scenes of early New York. 
 High Mass was sung by Father Nugent, who was 
 assisted by the Spanish and French embassy chap- 
 lains. Father Nugent preached a sermon of thanks- 
 giving, and after the sermon Gardoqui gave a banquet 
 at the embassy to which all men of note in the city 
 were invited. As Prefedt Apostolic of the United 
 States, Father Carroll had been invited to the cere- 
 mony but was unable to be present, as can be seen in 
 the following letter he wrote to Gardoqui : 
 
 "The magnificence of His Catholic Majesty and 
 the noble favors which he has seen fit to grant to the 
 Church of New York, united with my gratitude and 
 natural attachment, cause me to take the honor of 
 offering to Your Excellency (as representative of that 
 great Prince) the due tribute of my gratefulness ; and 
 if it is not too daring a presumption I would go so far 
 as to beg Your Excellency to accept the sincerest 
 expression of gratitude and respedlful veneration 
 which dominates me; and, to tell the truth, the gift 
 of His Catholic Majesty not only will live in posterity 
 by the exercise of our religion, but will be the found- 
 ation for other establishments of the same nature. 
 I hope from the constant prayers of those who enjoy 
 the benefit of the bounty of his Majesty, that this great 
 adl will merit that Heaven pour down its benedidlions 
 on His Catholic Majesty, His posterity and His king- 
 
12 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 dom; and if to these sentiments of most profound 
 gratitude towards the generous kindness of His Majesty 
 be united the vivid remembrance of the person through 
 whom the effed: of the same has been received, then 
 I humbly beg Your Excellency to rest assured that I 
 shall never forget how much our faith owes to Your 
 Excellency's adtive and powerful recommendation. 
 The untoward event which has prevented me from 
 receiving in time the invitation with which I was 
 honored by the Congregation for St. Charles' Day 
 was deeply regretted by me because it deprived me of 
 the opportunity of expressing to Your Excellency the 
 great respedt and esteem with which I have the honor 
 of being the most obedient and humble servant of 
 Your Excellency. j ^^^^^^^ 
 
 Baltimore, November 14, 1786." 
 
 The trustees of St. Peter's. were not long deceived 
 by a man of such uncertain character as Father Nugent, 
 and they appealed to the Prefedt Apostolic to remove 
 him. In 1787, Father Nugent's faculties were with- 
 drawn, and Father William O'Brien, a Dominican, 
 was appointed pastor of St. Peter's. Father O'Brien's 
 appointment created a schism among the parishioners, 
 and Father Nugent refused to surrender his post. 
 Dr. Carroll went to New York in order to settle the 
 difficulty; a scene took place in the church itself and 
 he was obliged to suspend Father Nugent, warning the 
 congregation not to attend his Mass. Dr. Carroll 
 then went to the Spanish embassy to say Mass and the 
 greater part of the congregation followed him. The 
 matter was settled by the withdrawal of Father Nugent, 
 
EARLY YEARS 13 
 
 and Father O'Brien was left in charge. Shortly after 
 peace had been established between them. Father 
 O'Brien set out for Mexico and South America to col- 
 led: money for his church. During his absence the 
 parish was in charge of the Rev. Nicholas Bourke. 
 With the money Father O'Brien had coUedled, the 
 interior of the church was completed and the pews were 
 offered for sale in the spring of 1794. His labors for 
 the church Undermined his health and in September 
 1800, the trustees wrote to Bishop Carroll asking 
 for an assistant. Rev. Dr. Matthew O'Brien, a fellow- 
 Dominican, was chosen. Shea tells us that the con- 
 gregation had greatly increased by this time and steps 
 were taken to eredl a steeple; an organ had been 
 procured; regular instrudions were given in Cate- 
 chism, and there was serious thought at that time of 
 eredling a second church. In 1796, the trustees en- 
 deavoured to have the converted minister Father 
 Thayer appointed assistant of St. Peter's, but Dr. 
 Carroll knew that Father William O'Brien was reludt- 
 ant to receive him and refused to send him. It was on 
 March 25, 1805, that Mother Seton was received into 
 the Church by Father Matthew O'Brien at St. Peter's. 
 A very serious riot took place on Christmas eve, 1806, 
 when St. Peter's was the scene of an anti-Catholic 
 demonstration. 
 
 The Diocese of Baltimore was divided by the Holy 
 See in 1808, and the news reached New York that the 
 learned Dominican Richard Concanen had been ap- 
 pointed Bishop of New York. It was in this same 
 year as we have seen that Archbishop Carroll, adling 
 under the authority given to him by Bishop Concanen, 
 
14 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 appointed Father Anthony Kohlmann, SJ., Vicar 
 General and Administrator of the Diocese of New 
 York. In 1809, on account of the increase of the 
 CathoUc population, it was found necessary to eredl 
 another church, and the cornerstone of St. Patrick's 
 pro-Cathedral was laid on June 8, of that year. St. 
 Patrick's was destined to be the Cathedral of New 
 York and to meet the needs of those Catholics who 
 had settled outside the city. The projedl was well 
 received, especially because the Cathedral was to bear 
 the name of Ireland's patron saint. Among the 
 names on the subscription list is that of Cornelius 
 Heeney, who became guardian of John McCloskey after 
 his father's death in 1820. On his arrival in his diocese 
 in the autumn of 1815, the Right Rev. John Connolly, 
 O.P., the second Bishop of New York (1814-25), 
 found a vast field open to his apostolic zeal, with but 
 little advancement in the way of ecclesiastical organ- 
 ization. Besides the two churches in New York City, 
 there was a priest in the missions of New Jersey, a 
 church with a resident pastor in Albany, another at 
 Utica, another at Carthage, and a numerous body of 
 Catholics in Buffalo. 
 
 It was about the time of Bishop Connolly's appoint- 
 ment to the See of New York that John McCloskey 
 became of school-age, and the problem arose in the 
 family circle of moving across the river to the city of 
 New York where the Catholic educational facilities 
 were greater. The first rudiments of letters as well as 
 of religion he received from his mother at home. From 
 his frequent recolledlions in after years of the numerous 
 occasions when Father McCloskey went to his mother 
 
EARLY YEARS 15 
 
 for advice, and from the confidence he so often expressed 
 in her judgment, we can easily conclude that she was 
 a woman of more than ordinary piety, prudence and 
 intelligence. The first of his school-years was spent 
 in Brooklyn, where he entered a school in old Red 
 Hook Lane in that city. Later he attended a seled 
 school for boys, kept by Mrs. Charlotte Milmoth. 
 Mrs. Milmoth was a retired English adtress and a 
 convert to the Catholic faith. Her name is recorded 
 in Stiles' History of Brooklyn, where it is stated that 
 she was a native of England. While at boarding school, 
 she married the adtor Courtney Milmoth. The mar- 
 riage was unhappy, and after separating from her 
 husband, she played at Covent Garden in 1774 and at 
 Drury Lane in 1776. She enjoyed a distinguished 
 reputation in London and Edinburg, and at Dubhn 
 she was a popular favorite for many years. Her first 
 appearance on the American stage was in 1793, in the 
 old John Street Theatre, in New York. She was a 
 woman of very refined taste, and after leaving the 
 stage, she purchased a cottage in Red Hook Lane 
 which she subsequently turned into a school for boys. 
 The cottage stood between Carroll, Clinton and Henry 
 streets. Her pupils belonged to the best families in 
 New York, among them being boys of the Cutting, 
 Cornell, Pierrepont, Jackson and Luger families. The 
 children boarded in the school during the week and 
 returned home for the week-end. After some ten or 
 twelve years in Brooklyn, Mrs. Milmoth died in 
 Odtober, 1828, at the age of 72. She is buried in old 
 St. Patrick's Churchyard. 
 Mrs. Milmoth took such pains to make her pupils 
 
i6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 enunciate distindtly that the Cardinal even in his 
 advanced years often recalled her, and used to say that 
 his enunciation, which all admitted was remarkable 
 for its distindlness, was due to his early training in 
 this school. When he was about seven years old, 
 his parents moved from Brooklyn to a house in St. 
 Peter's parish, in Murray street. New York, and 
 John McCloskey became a pupil in the Latin school 
 of Thomas Brady, the father of the late James T. and 
 Judge J. R. Brady. Mr. Brady the elder, had a great 
 admiration for the profession of the law and he often 
 told Mrs. McCloskey that her boy was his brightest 
 pupil. "I'll make John," he said, "the ornament 
 of the New York bar." A favorite expression of his, 
 often repeated to the Cardinal's parents, was: "If 
 I had twenty sons, I would make lawyers of them all." 
 In fadt, two of his sons, James and John, are among the 
 celebrated jurists of the New York bar. 
 
 At the completion of his preliminary studies in Mr. 
 Brady's school, the question of seledling a college 
 was seriously considered by the Cardinal's parents. 
 At this period of his life, he had fallen under the strong, 
 manly influence of Dr. Power, then pastor of St. 
 Peter's Church. On the occasion of the celebration 
 of the thirtieth anniversary of his ordination, the 
 Cardinal asserted: "From my boyhood upward. Dr. 
 Power was ever to me a kind and affedlionate father, 
 and in my mature years a trusty counsellor and friend." 
 
 There were at this time in the United States but three 
 Catholic colleges for higher studies — Georgetown 
 College, St. Mary's University, Baltimore, and Mount 
 St. Mary's College at Emmitsburg, Md. Georgetown 
 
EARLY YEARS 17 
 
 College was the oldest permanent Catholic educational 
 establishment in the United States. It was opened in 
 1 79 1, and since 1805, the year of the restoration of the 
 Society of Jesus in Maryland, it has been in charge 
 of the Jesuits. In 1821, when John McCloskey was 
 of an age to begin his collegiate training, Georgetown 
 had already a hundred students, and the curriculum 
 included studies which he needed, namely, elementary 
 classes preparatory to the full academic course. St. 
 Mary's College, Baltimore, was begun by the Sul- 
 picians as early as 1793-94, but was discontinued 
 for a time, lest it should interfere with Georgetown 
 College. It was reopened in 1800, but no American 
 boys were admitted, the students coming mainly from 
 the West Indies and Spanish America. In 1803, 
 American boys were admitted, and in 1805, the col- 
 lege was raised by an ad: of the Maryland Legislature 
 to the rank of a university. St. Mary's University 
 drew its students mainly from Maryland, and, though 
 under Catholic control, opened its doors to non-Catholic 
 students. Mount St. Mary's College at Emmitsburg, 
 — the " Mountain," as it is known all over the United 
 States today, was also founded by the Sulpicians. 
 It was opened in 1808, with Father Dubois, who became 
 the third Bishop of New York (i 826-1 842), as its 
 first President. These three Catholic institutions were 
 all equally well-known, with this exception that 
 Georgetown College and St. Mary's University were 
 considered, and quite naturally, as preparatory schools 
 to the priesthood. 
 
 John McCloskey was too young at this time, being 
 then eleven years old, to know his vocation with abso- 
 
i8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 lute confidence ; and it may have been this fadlor which 
 finally inclined his mother to send him to Emmitsburg. 
 From the Cardinal's letters, it would seem that his father 
 had already discerned the signs of a priestly vocation in 
 his son and had decided to send him to Georgetown 
 College. "Had this plan been executed," says Dr. 
 Clarke in his Lives of the Deceased Bishops, " it is probable 
 that the gentle and plastic charadler of young McClos- 
 key would have tended to his joining the Society of 
 Jesus. But the course of events was turned in another 
 diredlion." 
 
 Mr. McCloskey died in 1820, at the age of forty- 
 five, and was attended in his last illness by Father 
 Peter Malou, S.J., the assistant at St. Peter's. In 
 after years the Cardinal used to speak with great 
 affedlion of the devotedness of this good priest, and 
 told that during the six weeks his father's illness lasted. 
 Father Malou never allowed a day to pass without 
 calling on the dying man. The Cardinal's love for 
 the memory of the zealous priest was enhanced by the 
 fadl that it was this Jesuit Father who prepared him 
 for his First Communion. Father Malou had an 
 interesting history. He was a native of Belgium and 
 belonged to a leading family, was an officer in the 
 army, and rose to the rank of general in the revolt of 
 the Belgium provinces against Joseph II. of Austria. 
 He had been married in early life and had two sons. 
 The Cardinal remembered as a boy being taken by 
 Father Malou into his room and being shown the 
 portraits of these two boys. On the death of his wife. 
 General Malou made provision for his two sons and 
 entered the Society of Jesus under an assumed name, 
 
EARLY YEARS 19 
 
 as a lay-brother, at the novitiate at Diinaburg in White 
 Russia. It was whilst he was employed in the garden 
 of the novitiate that a chance visitor who had served 
 under him, recognized his old General and gave him 
 the military salute, and this led to the discovery of his 
 real name and rank. After this the humble lay-brother, 
 under obedience, prepared himself for the priesthood. 
 In 181 1, he was sent as a missionary to the United 
 States. One of the two sons of General Malou became 
 a Senator in Belgium, and a son of this Senator became 
 Bishop of Bruges. The close friendship between this 
 priest and the McCIoskey family, and the vener- 
 ation with which the boy regarded him, must have had 
 a lasting influence, and no doubt contributed much to 
 develop in John the vocation to priesthood. 
 
 After his father's death (1820), Mrs. McCIoskey 
 conferred with John's school-master, Mr. Brady, and 
 with another friend of the family, Mr. Riker, who had 
 so ably defended Father Kohlmann in the celebrated 
 Confessional Case in New York in 18 13, on the ques- 
 tion of a vocation for her son. Mr. Brady advised 
 her to send him to a law school, but Mr. Riker dis- 
 agreed with this plan. "I will not advise you not 
 to put your son to the study of law," he said, "but 
 I will say that there are more young lawyers starving 
 than are making a living honestly. They begin with 
 the best intentions, but they must work. All kinds 
 of cases come to them and all kinds are taken by 
 them. The temptations are very great — too great 
 for many to resist. If you can put your son to some- 
 thing else, I would advise it." The Cardinal stated 
 in later life that he was also entered for examination 
 
20 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 at Columbia College at this time. Mr. Riker knew 
 the boy too well to subjed: his sensitive and delicate 
 nature to the study of law, and his guardian, Mr. 
 Cornelius Heeney, at one time a partner of John 
 Jacob Astor in the fur trade, took advantage of a 
 visit of Father Dubois to New York to settle the 
 matter. John McCloskey was called one day in the 
 summer of 1821, from Brady's School to the Orphan 
 Asylum on Prince Street, where Father Dubois was 
 staying, and was presented to the President of Mount 
 St. Mary's. The whole affair was quickly settled, 
 the decision being that he should enter Emmitsburg 
 the following September. The Cardinal often related 
 that Father Dubois placing in his hands an open 
 Breviary, asked him to translate the passage before 
 his eyes. The result of this brief examination was 
 not satisfadlory, but he was assured that whatever 
 defedts he had would be remedied at the "Mountain." 
 Sometime after the death of her husband, Mrs. 
 McCloskey and her children moved from Brooklyn to 
 Bedford, in Westchester County, New York, where 
 she obtained a farm adjoining the estate of the eminent 
 American statesman, the Hon. John Jay. It was 
 here that John McCloskey spent his vacations during 
 his years at Emmitsburg. The McCloskey farm will 
 be the scene some seven years after his entrance into 
 Mount St. Mary's of an accident which was to change 
 the whole course of his life. In September 1821, he 
 set out from New York with two other boys, named 
 Byrne and Connolly. He was at this time in his 
 twelfth year. His entrance into College took him 
 away from the surroundings of his home and away 
 
EARLY YEARS 21 
 
 from the influence of his mother, of whom he was 
 passionately fond. It placed him in that unique 
 world, which has its own subtle means of bringing 
 out all that is best in a boy and repressing that 
 which may be detrimental to his future — boy's life 
 at College. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN (182I-1834) 
 
 Entrance at Mount St. Mary's, Emmitsburg. Reports 
 of His Progress. Speech on Patriotism. Graduation. 
 Uncertainties. The Accident of the Logs {1827) . Choice 
 of a Vocation. His Mother's Advice. Return to Em- 
 mitsburg. Philosophical and Theological Studies. 
 His Note-books. Retreats. Prefe6l and Teacher. 
 Sermons. "Simple Advices from an Old Friend." 
 Ordination to Priesthood {1834). 
 
 JOHN McCLOSKEY entered Mount St. Mary's 
 College, Emmitsburg — the " Mountain," as it is 
 always called by its alumni — in September, 1821. 
 Shortly after he had left home, his sister started for 
 the convent school at Emmitsburg. "Another name," 
 we read in the Story of the Mountain, "was added to 
 the muster-roll of the College in 1 821-1822, which 
 was destined to shed a lustre over the old Alma Mater 
 and the older Church. John McCloskey of New 
 York, not yet twelve years old but far advanced in 
 his studies, sought a welcome from the President. 
 The future Cardinal was a frail, delicate lad, and it 
 was hoped that the Mountain air would strengthen 
 him. He won the admiration and esteem of his 
 teachers and the respedt and love of his college- 
 mates by the piety and modesty of his charadter, 
 his gentleness, and sweet disposition, the enthusi- 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 23 
 
 asm with which he threw himself into his studies, 
 and his prominent standing in class. He grew strong, 
 physically, too." It is not difficult to pidlure the 
 boy of eleven who is here described. Never very 
 robust, with a charming poise, a subdued manner, 
 modest in his talk, and careful never to offend, the 
 boy's chief charadleristics were but a sign of what 
 the man, priest, prelate, and prince was to be to the 
 end. It would be a priceless page, had we a descrip- 
 tion of those years at Emmitsburg, when John McClos- 
 key had as his teachers and as his companions, priests 
 and students, who are today the glory of the American 
 Church. In the "Valley" lay in eternal repose the 
 remains of Mother Seton, whose conversion at St. 
 Peter's in Barclay Street, was still being discussed 
 when John was born, and who was baptized at the 
 same font as himself. John Hughes, whose Coad- 
 jutor he was to become twenty-three years later, 
 had entered the Mountain in the autumn of 1820 
 as a student, and after having spent a year there 
 as a special student, was then teaching Latin and 
 mathematics in the college and was Prefect of the 
 study-hall, where the young McCIoskey sat day by 
 day preparing his lessons. Bishop Dubois of New 
 York (1826-42), and Bishop Brute of Vincennes (1834- 
 39), the Founders of the Mountain, were President 
 and Vice-President respecflively of the college when 
 he entered. Among his fellow-students were: John 
 Baptist Purcell, later Archbishop of Cincinnati (1833- 
 83); Father Constantine Pise, who became a promi- 
 nent writer and the only Catholic chaplain ever 
 appointed to the United States Senate; and Father 
 
24 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Michael De Burgo Egan, the nephew of Bishop Egan 
 of Philadelphia. 
 
 John McCloskey spent thirteen years at Emmits- 
 burg, and naturally any writings or traditions we 
 possess for the history of this period are very valuable 
 to the biographer. Unfortunately, what is in our pos- 
 session is very meagre. Of letters to his mother and 
 sisters during these years few have come down to us. 
 All that has been preserved is a series of note-books and 
 sermons. One tradition is that, when he was being 
 confirmed by Archbishop Marechal at Emmitsburg, 
 in 1823, the Archbishop patted him on the head and 
 said: "That head will wear a mitre yet!" His name 
 is found among the prize-winners at the distribution of 
 premiums on June 27, 1822. At that time there were 
 a hundred boys in the college. In 1824, we have 
 the following report of John McCloskey's standing: 
 
 "Piety: a child yet. Religion: more attentive than 
 formerly. 3rd. Latin: Excellent. 2nd. French: Applies 
 and succeeds. Geography: excellent; attention and 
 improvement. Rational arithmetic: excellent; seems 
 to have a peculiar talent for studies of this kind. 
 Behavior: Muchbetter than formerly; much improved ; 
 unexceptionable. Temper: Mild but easily led away 
 and artful when led away. Influenced by example. 
 Generally mild and amiable. Application : Very good. 
 Excellent manners. Engaging." 
 
 Another notice of his progress is found placed under 
 the year 1829, by the author of the Story of the Moun- 
 tain, but it doubtless refers to an earlier period of his 
 life there : 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 25 
 
 "J. McCloskey. 3rd. English. Has lately joined. 
 Can study if he will. Good memory, good man- 
 ners, agreeable, disposition good. Latin Grammar: 
 Talents and application good; Very attentive; Dis- 
 position excellent. 5th. French: joined a few days 
 ago; given specimen of excellent judgment. Writing 
 application and condudl: satisfadlory. 3rd. Arith- 
 metic: Succeeds very well." 
 
 The four years of college life came to a close in 
 1825. In the latter part of July, of that year, Presi- 
 dent Dubois called the graduating class into the large 
 study-hall, for the final examination. That class 
 consisted of four students: Richard Vincent Whelan, 
 later Bishop of Wheeling; Francis Xavier Gartland, 
 later Bishop of Savannah; Edward Sourin, who later 
 became a Jesuit, and who died in the odor of sandlity 
 in 1891 ; and John McCloskey. 
 
 It is not difficult to see a link between the memo- 
 rable visit of Lafayette to the United States in 
 1824-25, and a well-written Speech on Patriotism, 
 which John McCloskey delivered the year of his 
 graduation. The original copy of the speech consists 
 of seven closely written pages; the handwriting dis- 
 plays the boy of fifteen. The speech, which is here 
 copied from the original manuscript, deserves to be 
 preserved to the credit of the boy who was capable 
 of writing it. There could have been no doubt at the 
 Mountain of his intellecflual future: 
 
 "Being called upon to deliver my sentiments on 
 patriotism, a subjedt in which have so frequently 
 been exercised talents, the most brilliant, and which. 
 
26 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 at the same time has given rise to so many of the most 
 beautiful produdlions, were I solely to consider my 
 own incapacity, I should rise with feelings far different 
 from those which I, at this moment, entertain. When 
 I consider before whom I now appear, and to whom I 
 now address myself, the extreme diffidence which 
 otherwise, I could not but experience, is in a great 
 measure removed. I am perfectly aware that among 
 all here present, there is not one, who would be so 
 ungenerous as to regard with a scornful, and I might 
 say with even a criticising eye, this my first attempt, 
 or be so unreasonable as to expedl of my years and 
 inexperience sentiments as corredl as those of persons 
 of a more advanced age and consequently of a more 
 mature judgment. On this plea, therefore, I hope 
 that whatever may be advanced by me with incor- 
 redlions, will be looked upon with lenity and benev- 
 olence. I have already mentioned that on the subjedt 
 of patriotism many great and enlightened geniuses 
 both ancient and modern have displayed themselves. 
 Of all these there is not one, in my opinion, who has 
 with greater precision, and at the same time with 
 greater brevity, set forth the charadler and principles 
 of the true and disinterested Patriot, than the cele- 
 brated Roman poet, Horace, in the following passage: 
 Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. Sweet and glorious 
 it is to die for one's country. That it is sweet I shall 
 endeavor to prove in the first part; that it is glorious 
 to die for one's country shall be the subjedl of the 
 second. 
 
 "In order to be convinced of the truth of this great 
 maxim we need only examine the history of those 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 27 
 
 brave and worthy heroes who Hved to promote, as 
 they died to defend, the interests of their country. 
 Where is the man who, when he reads the history of 
 one whose entire Hfe has been devoted to the enhance- 
 ment of his country's good and his country's welfare, 
 whether in the field or in the cabinet, of one who has 
 shed the very last drop of his blood in defence of those 
 sacred and inviolable rights which distinguish the 
 freeman from the slave, rights which it is the duty of 
 every one to protedl, the rights of liberty, where, I 
 say, is the man who when he hears of such a personage, 
 when he hears that it was in such a cause, that it was 
 in defence of his country he died, will say that his 
 death was not sweet, since it was that of a patriot? 
 Duke et decorum est pro patria mori. The pages of an- 
 cient as well as of modern history are replete with the 
 most striking examples of this great and glorious virtue. 
 Amongst the ancients may I not justly adduce as a 
 remarkable instance the patriotism of that illustrious 
 Roman, Cicero, who was rernarkable alike for his 
 patriotism and eloquence, for we find that he not 
 only received the appellation of Oratorum Princeps, 
 but was also styled Pater Patriae. In this great man 
 we see combined the wisdom of the statesman and 
 the valor of the patriot. When we examine his history, 
 we find that his country was his all, that on her happi- 
 ness depended his tranquility, and on her misfortunes 
 depended his misery. Prompted by that ardent love 
 he bore toward his country, he boldly refused to submit 
 his manly neck to the degrading yoke of a tyrant, 
 and by this means to deliver up his inestimable birth- 
 right, liberty, into the hands of a cruel and unjust 
 
28 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 oppressor. Such condudl, however, served only to 
 aggravate the savage ferocity of Antony, and thus 
 this greatest of orators, and one of the greatest of 
 patriots fell a vidlim to his own magnanimity; and as 
 for his country he lived, so also for his country he 
 died. Such was the character of a heathen, a charadler 
 which even a Christian would not blush to possess. 
 
 "Look also at those vaUant and illustrious heroes 
 who fell in defence of their country, on the plains of 
 Thermopylae, with whom expired the last remains of 
 Spartan liberty. Hence we see that at an age when 
 mankind, blinded by superstition, entertained but very 
 imperfedl ideas of real virtue, was cherished and culti- 
 vated this noblest of human virtues. I say virtue, for 
 after God we owe everything to our country. But 
 when we examine the annals of more modern days, 
 when we read the history even of our own country, 
 how many instances do we not find of this description. 
 To enumerate them would be a task as useless as it 
 is tedious. 
 
 But it would certainly be an insult to your feelings, 
 and a fault of which I would not wish to be guilty, 
 to pass over a subjedt such as the present, without re- 
 minding you of the illustrious Montgomery and our 
 still more illustrious Washington. The former, though 
 not by birth an American, rather than see the rights 
 of an innocent and unoffending people trampled upon 
 by a British tyrant, chose to hazard his own life in 
 defence of their liberty. And to his lot, alas, it fell to 
 perish in the conflidl! But who is there, acquainted 
 with the circumstances of this man's death, will say 
 that it was not sweet? Where is he within whose 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 29 
 
 bosom beats a heart whose every pulsation tells him 
 that he is a freeman, that would not be eager to 
 meet a similar fate, to die the protedlor of his country, 
 to die a Montgomery? Of Washington, however, it 
 was the good fortune to behold his country liberated 
 by means of his exertions, and to live to receive the 
 many thanks of a grateful people. We must not 
 imagine, therefore, that death is a necessary concomi- 
 tant of patriotism and that he alone is a patriot who 
 dies for his country. For in what nation or in what 
 age existed a patriot superior to our own immortal 
 Washington? He died not in his country's cause but 
 was willing at any moment to do so. In his heart 
 nature had implanted that sincere and disinterested 
 love of country, which shone conspicuous in all his 
 adtions, the source from which sprang, and the end 
 to which, after God, he referred them all, and which 
 nothing but death itself could eradicate. This in the 
 hour of peace he asserted and this in the hour of 
 danger he proved. At a moment when an invading 
 enemy had victoriously marched into the very heart 
 of our country, when desolation and destruction were 
 approaching with more than winged swiftness, and 
 despotism stood by waiting with savage anxiety the 
 opportunity to fetter us with its enslaving chains and 
 clap upon our necks its life-destroying yoke, what 
 would have been America, what her fate, had not 
 there been a Washington to protedl her! When lib- 
 erty, trampled upon, lay gasping under the feet of a 
 merciless enemy, when her heroes lay bleeding in 
 the dust unable any longer to protedt her, where 
 then, where now, would have been our country's 
 
30 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 freedom had not a Washington existed, to snatch it 
 from the ignominious fate which threatened it, and 
 restore it to his almost despairing countrymen ! When 
 in return for this great and glorious adl of heroism, 
 a mighty nation was ready to cast itself at his feet, 
 and in the paroxysm of joy and gratitude, fall down 
 and adore him as her saviour and protedtor, what 
 course did he pursue? Did he at that moment which 
 was so favorable to him had it been his will, grasp at 
 the sceptre? No! That wreath which had been 
 woven by virtue and placed upon his brow by pa- 
 triotism was never to be polluted by the indelible 
 stain, which such a condudl would have inevitably 
 stamped upon it. He preferred the sweets of his 
 sequestered villa, to all the empty honors of the 
 throne, he preferred the grateful thanks of his pa- 
 triotic countrymen to the deceitful adulations of base 
 and crouching sycophants, in fine, he chose rather to 
 appear the honored and respedled citizen than the 
 sceptered monarch robed in splendor and magnifi- 
 cence. Was not this. Gentlemen, the true and dis- 
 interested patriot? Greece may boast of her Codrus 
 or her Leonidas, Rome may boast of her Cicero, and 
 America, if not with greater at least with equal justice, 
 may boast of her ever-glorious and immortal Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 "That it is glorious to die for our country is a 
 truth which certainly cannot be denied. Such has it 
 been considered by preceeding ages and such by the 
 present one. To say that the death of the patriot 
 is inglorious, would be an assertion as improbable as 
 it is absurd. Upon this, therefore, it would be useless 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 31 
 
 to dwell, as being a fadl unanimously and indisputably 
 granted. For there certainly exists no one who will 
 say that he who has fallen by that very sword which 
 was uplifted, to be let fall but for the destrudlion of 
 his country, or who in struggling to protedt her from the 
 inroads of oppression, has breathed his last, who has 
 either sacrificed his own life for the sole purpose of 
 securing the lives of his countrymen, who like the 
 HeAor of former ages has preferred the toils and 
 hardships of war to the enjoyments of all the sweets 
 of domestic life and who in spite of the tears and 
 entreaties of an almost distracted spouse, and disre- 
 garding the tender years of an only son, has rushed 
 forth to the battle field to assert his country's freedom 
 and fight his country's battles, that such a one has 
 died a death which will not merit and will not be 
 crowned with eternal glory? Let the envious lavish 
 upon him all the calumnies which can be poured forth 
 from their vile and impious lips, let them endeavour 
 to brand his name with infamy or disgrace — they 
 labor in vain. Still will his honor remain unsullied 
 and his name be dear to every generous and patriotic 
 bosom. Although the stroke of death may have 
 borne him from amongst us, his memory is still with 
 us. Though of his mortal body there remains nothing 
 but the ashes, and to tell where those ashes lie remains 
 nothing but the tomb which covers them, though even 
 that tomb have moulded into dust and commingled 
 with those same ashes which it once contained, though 
 both have been carried off by the rapid and undis- 
 tinguishing flood of time, still will his remembrance 
 stand, and with that remembrance shall also stand his 
 
32 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 great achievements and virtuous patriotism. To be 
 convinced of this, we need but refleft on the examples 
 which I have already adduced, on a Codrus or on 
 a Leonidas, on a Cicero or a Demosthenes. Since 
 the time when these illustrious personages existed, 
 how many ages have rolled by, attended by various 
 and numerous events, but which are now consigned to 
 oblivion; how many have been delivered over to their 
 respedlive graves, where they lie negledled and for- 
 gotten, and yet the names of these noblest of heroes 
 still live. They unsheathed their swords to protect, 
 and fell in defence of, their country. They expired in 
 a noble cause. Their death, therefore, has been, and 
 shall continue to be, considered glorious, and as such 
 shall be looked upon that of every true patriot. May 
 I not then most justly exclaim, Dulce et decorum est 
 "pro patria mori. 
 
 "Ought not we, then my fellow-students, to whom 
 has been granted the happiness of enjoying the greatest 
 of blessings, namely liberty, learn at an early period 
 to cultivate and cherish this noblest of virtues? For 
 without patriotism, our freedom cannot long exist. 
 By it America has obtained that liberty which she 
 now enjoys, by it she has arrived at that height of 
 glory in which she is now stationed, and by the cultiva- 
 tion of it alone has she caused herself to be looked 
 upon as the equal of the most powerful nations of 
 the universe. For of these Britain is perhaps the 
 greatest ; and Britain she fears not, for she is conscious, 
 that in power, she is not her inferior. Her heroes are 
 surpassed by none. In learned men perhaps, she 
 equals neither France nor England. But Nature, when 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 33 
 
 she implanted in the breasts of Americans that love of 
 country for which they are so eminent, has not negledted 
 to inspire them at the same time with an equal love for 
 literature. Although over America the sun of science 
 has but just risen, still so replete is she with its beams, 
 that she is already numbered amongst the most en- 
 lightened nations of the world. Europe hears of her 
 and is astonished; she looks and admires. If then, 
 at such a period her splendor be so great, what shall 
 it be when that sun shall have attained its meridian 
 height, and shines forth in all its meridian brightness.? 
 It shall be so dazzling that that of France or of Eng- 
 land, which now appears so brilliant, shall dwindle 
 into comparative obscurity. Yes; with such men 
 America shall be provided. 
 
 "The noblest sentiments of patriotism dwell in the 
 hearts of her people and are the guide of their adlions. 
 For long shall her freedom remain firm, unshaken and 
 immovable, and where freedom is, there science 
 flourishes, for there it is respedled, there it is culti- 
 vated. But as soon as those sentiments are forgotten, 
 liberty shall disappear and with her science also shall 
 vanish. 
 
 "That this should happen no one certainly wishes. 
 Let us, therefore, cherish patriotism, for by this means 
 alone can we prevent the disaster. But where is the 
 American that can be else than patriot? The graves 
 of our forefathers admonish us that all these bless- 
 ings and all the happiness which we now so peace- 
 fully are enjoying, are but the fruits of their labors 
 and the reward of their patriotism, and that the 
 continuance of these enjoyments can only be procured 
 
34 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 by following their example. Thrice happy America, 
 that hast given birth to a Washington who was thy 
 liberator and thy protedlor! Mayest thou give birth 
 to a people who will imitate so worthy a model, who, 
 like him, will be ready at any moment to sacrifice 
 themselves for thy interests ! May such be thy people ! 
 And then may the world look upon thee and exclaim : 
 Behold the birthplace of patriotism, the abode of 
 science, land of liberty!" 
 
 The years immediately following his graduation from 
 the academic courses at the Mountain, are somewhat 
 uncertainly treated both by the historian of the 
 college and by the Cardinal himself. It would appear 
 that after graduation he returned home to New York 
 and lived with his mother at Bedford, where she had 
 taken a farm. He had not then made up his mind 
 about his vocation in life. At that time he was tall 
 and slender in appearance, with a broad forehead and 
 pleasant features; his eyes were deeply set and of a 
 bright color, his lips were sensitive and mobile, and 
 he carried himself with a quiet impressive dignity 
 which made him noticeable to everyone. From the 
 information which we possess, it is certain that he 
 returned to the college and studied philosophy during 
 the academic year of 1825-26. On his return home in 
 July 1826, the probleiri of his future career still re- 
 mained unsettled. His mother's friend, Mr. Thomas 
 Brady, who has been already mentioned, repeated his 
 advice and urged the young student to take up the 
 study of law. Meanwhile, Mrs. McCloskey had 
 applied without her son's knowledge to some friends in 
 New York to secure him a place in a counting-house. 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 35 
 
 John McCloskey spent the winter of 1 826-1 827 at 
 home waiting for this opportunity, and it was during 
 the summer of 1827 that.he met with a serious accident 
 which changed the whole course of his life. A farm- 
 hand employed in drawing logs near the house, left his 
 ox-team and loaded wagon unattended. John, who 
 was then in his eighteenth year was passing by, and 
 seeing no one about, got up on the wagon and started 
 to drive the team. His lack of skill frightened the 
 oxen and with a lurch the wagon was overturned and 
 he was buried beneath the logs. When found, he was 
 unconscious and remained in that state for several days. 
 A long, anxious, and painful illness followed and his 
 constitution never fully recovered from this dangerous 
 accident. For many days he was totally blind and had 
 to pass weeks in utter darkness. His mother's anxiety 
 was increased by the fadl that on the day after the 
 accident, a letter arrived telling her that the much- 
 coveted place in the counting-house was open to her 
 son. "Divine Providence" the Cardinal afterwards 
 said, "seems to have brought about the accident in 
 order to prevent my entering the world." It was 
 during this illness that he finally made up his mind 
 to embrace the ecclesiastical state, and he made 
 known to his mother the resolution to become a 
 priest. His mother evinced little emotion or surprise, 
 knowing the boy better than he did himself, but he 
 saw that her heart was full of new and holy joy. 
 "Till then," he said, when speaking of those early 
 days, "I had never spoken openly to my mother of 
 my intention to study for the priesthood and she felt 
 that it was too delicate a matter to discuss with me 
 
36 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 diredtly. I knew, however, how much it would delight 
 her, if she were convinced that I had, of my own accord, 
 made up my mind to embrape that holy state. She 
 said to me, after a moment's refledtion: 'John, you see 
 what a priest has to suffer and how often he is treated 
 ungratefully.' She alluded to the trustee war, then 
 waxing to its height. It was altogether a stormy 
 time for priests and bishops in New York. She con- 
 cluded with these words: 'Now you see what you have 
 to expedt if you are a priest ; so I hope you have well 
 considered the step you propose to take. ' " 
 
 His good mother spoke more wisely than she knew. 
 The first great trial of priestly patience that came upon 
 Father McCloskey after entering upon his missionary 
 life in St. Joseph's, ten years later, arose from the very 
 cause pointed out by her maternal solicitude. One 
 may well assume that the wisdom of that warning was 
 amongst his greatest consolations in the day of trial. 
 He was found watching. 
 
 During the first five years of John McCloskey's 
 residence at Mount St. Mary's College, it does not 
 appear that he seriously entertained the idea of enter- 
 ing the priesthood. In a letter to a young friend and 
 former fellow student, written when he had entered the 
 seminary, he refers with deep feeling to the days when 
 he had no such thought. "When I look back," he 
 writes, "to those days which have passed so rapidly, 
 and refledl on the several occurrences which attended 
 them, there are few things which afford me greater 
 pleasure. You may well remember that our first 
 meeting was on board a steamboat going from Balti- 
 more, and that we first saw Mount St. Mary's at the 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 37 
 
 same time. Little did we at that time anticipate that 
 events would lead us to the condition in which we are 
 both at present situated. Little did I think at that 
 time, nay, little did I think at a later period, that I 
 would be seated in the study-room of Mount St. Mary's 
 studying in the same place with those whom I, at that 
 time, felt more inclined to ridicule than respedt. But 
 Providence, by means unknown to me, has altered those 
 mistaken notions, and I can never be too thankful for 
 it. We are always inclined to regard the days of our 
 childhood as the happiest of our lives, but I must 
 candidly say that I never was happier than I am at the 
 present moment." 
 
 He was evidently in love with his newly found voca- 
 tion. In after life he used to say that there were two 
 things which led him into the sandtuary after God. 
 The first was the influence of Rev. Dr. Pise, whom he 
 always admired and to whom the youth of the college 
 were very much drawn. "He used to take me to walk 
 with him in the 'bands,' and often spoke to me of the 
 great benefit it would be to the Church in America, if the 
 young men born or brought up in the country would 
 devote themselves in larger numbers to the service of 
 the altar. This was a constant theme of his in our 
 conversations ; and, whilst he never spoke to me diredtly 
 about my entering the sacred ministry, his words were 
 sinking deeply into my mind and producing their effedl. 
 
 "Another thing which most of all decided me in the 
 choice of a state of life was a remark of Rev. Mr. Egan 
 (one of the faculty, who died in Marseilles in 1829), who 
 took me aside just before I quitted the Mountain, after 
 I had completed my collegiate course, and said to me: 
 
38 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 'Remember this, John: if you once had a vocation and 
 lose it through your own fault, you will have to answer 
 for it.' These words never left my memory," said 
 His Eminence solemnly. "They were constantly 
 ringing in my ears. These two things after God's 
 grace, or God's grace through them, made me a priest." 
 But to "make not haste in the time of clouds" was 
 characteristic of the Cardinal from his early years, and 
 his final decision was not made without delay and 
 due deliberation. 
 
 He returned to Emmitsburg as a seminarian and 
 entered upon the study of theology in the fall of 1827. 
 This we learn from a note-book marked Vol. I., Semi- 
 nary, Odoher 1st, 1827, and inscribed on the cover 
 Miscellaneous and Moral Colledions. He had the 
 habit of putting together a number of sheets of plain 
 paper folded into oilavo or duodecimo size, of fifty 
 or more pages each. In these he copied such pas- 
 sages of the author he was reading as struck him by 
 their elegance or force of argument, subjedls for ser- 
 mons, college events, such as the death of a fellow 
 student, the visits of distinguished personages to the 
 college, and his own impressions of persons and things. 
 One chapter of not more than a page and a half 
 contains a very terse and full synopsis of the life of 
 St. Francis de Sales. It is the only entry of the kind 
 in any of these cahiers. Recalling the charadler of 
 the Cardinal, one is forced to the conclusion that he 
 set out in the opening of his ecclesiastical career with 
 a fixed idea of taking the gentle Bishop of Geneva, 
 the "restorer and master of sacred eloquence," as 
 his model through life. 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 39 
 
 An idea of how he kept these notes can be seen in 
 the following passage on Meditation, written probably 
 before the Annual Retreat of that year, and dated 
 Odtober i, 1827. 
 
 Meditation: Form of — 
 
 "Meditation consists of three parts: preparation, 
 body, and conclusion. The preparation is divided into 
 three parts: the remote, the proximate, and the im- 
 mediate, preparation. The remote consists of three 
 things (not necessary to mention the proximate con- 
 sists of three things also): ist., to foresee on the pre- 
 ceeding night the subjed: of meditation, and in the 
 morning, when dressing, the considerations to make, 
 the resolutions to form on the duties to render to God ; 
 2nd., to preserve stridt silence from night prayers till 
 morning meditation; 3rd., to be at meditation as soon 
 as necessary; to go with humility. The immediate 
 preparation consists of three things: i, to place our- 
 selves in the presence of God ; 2, to be sensible of our 
 unworthiness to appear before Him; 3, to be sensible 
 of our incapacity to pay Him our homage and to pray 
 to Him as we should. We place ourselves in the pres- 
 ence of God by two adls, viz., i, an adt of His presence 
 in the place where we are and in our hearts; 2, of 
 adoration of His infinite majesty. The body of the 
 Meditation consists of three parts: adoration, com- 
 munion, cooperation. The ist. part consists in paying 
 homage to God, Saint, or subjed: of the meditation by 
 parts: adoration, admiration, praise, thanksgiving, love; 
 joy or compassion. Adoration is made by a religious 
 consideration of some perfection or attribute of the 
 
40 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 subjedl meditation. Communion is made by asking 
 of God the virtue or perfection on which we meditate. 
 To effedt this we must: i, convince ourselves of its 
 importance and necessity; 2, make refledlions on our- 
 selves in order to know well that we want it; 3, ask it 
 pressingly. We must make use of convidlion, in order 
 that being convinced of its importance and of our 
 want of it, we may ask it more fervently. To convince 
 ourselves we must consider the motives and reasons 
 which oblige us to have and practice the virtue or per- 
 fection on which we meditate. Conclusion consists of 
 three things: i. To thank God for having permitted us 
 to appear in His presence ; 2, to ask God's pardon for 
 distractions and negledls committed in so holy an 
 exercise, and His blessing on our resolutions for the 
 present day; 3, to make the bouquet spirituel. This 
 bouquet spirituel consists in taking one or two of the 
 thoughts which have struck us in prayer, which in the 
 sight of God we think most useful to us, and to repeat 
 them frequently during the day. Finis. 
 
 >> 
 
 Here is another of the entries in the same note-book. 
 It permits us to see into the hidden life, so to speak, 
 of college boys ninety years ago : 
 
 "Gabriel Garesche died on the day after All Saints, 
 Sunday, November 2d, All Souls' Day, 1828. He died 
 about six o'clock in the morning of the billions, after 
 a sickness of about ten days. He had been here but 
 a couple of weeks. The first news received by the 
 boys of his death was at Mass, All Souls' Day. He was 
 not buried until the 4th. He was carried to the grave 
 by six of the largest boys. Twelve Philadelphians im- 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 41 
 
 mediately followed. These and all the other boys had 
 crape around the left arm, which they wore for some 
 days. When the dirt was just about to be thrown on 
 the coffin, his nurse sent by his grandfather, Mr. 
 Duponceau, arrived with letters. She came for the 
 purpose of nursing him during his last illness." 
 
 Then follow some reflecftions of the young seminarian 
 on the solemn scene just witnessed: 
 
 "We could not see enrolled upon these walls the 
 name of him who was to follow [ja reference, it seems, to 
 another recent death]. Death has assailed your youth- 
 ful band and 'there is the trophy.' Answerable only 
 for the years we have lived, not for the years we have 
 not lived. How employed the time given; nothing to 
 answer for the time which might have been given." 
 
 Then follows a detailed account of a visit to the 
 college by Bishop England, dated September 22, 1829, 
 the manner of his reception, his reply to the address 
 of the students, and two very charadleristic specimens 
 of the eloquent Bishop's style of oratory from his 
 sermon in the church. In the latter, the Bishop, ad- 
 dressing himself to the seminarians, inculcated very 
 strongly the necessity of being well grounded in purity, 
 piety, and humility. The entry closes with this sen- 
 tence: "The Bishop was forty-three years of age on 
 the 23rd September, 1829, and was then nine years a 
 bishop." When John McCloskey was of the same age, 
 precisely the same thing was true of himself. 
 
 Other notes of similar charader are the following: 
 "Mr. James Butler died on the nth of March, 
 1829 — about 25 minutes after 7 p.m. 
 
42 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 "Rev. Mr. Egan died at Marseilles on the 28th May, 
 1829. 
 
 "Mr. Matthew Taylor died at Chambersburg on 
 the 2ist. of July, 1829. 
 
 "Mr. Louis Ogier died Dec. ist 1833. 
 
 "Most edifying death — When fellow students and 
 masters were assernbled around his bed side just before 
 the administration of the Holy Viaticum, he then 
 spoke, without the previous suggestion of anyone — 
 'Companions, farewell! all you I love, farewell! I hope 
 you all may go to heaven even if it should not please 
 God that I should go there' — ('it does please God that 
 you should go my child' — Rev. T. R. B.) 'There 
 is one particularly whom I love — he knows whom 
 I mean, I know who he is' — after some pause — 
 ' Masters and Teachers farewell — I know how often 
 I have offended you — Oh do forgive me — Oh Pre- 
 fers! how often have I given you pain by my con- 
 duct — O, forgive me! To-morrow perhaps when I 
 will be no more you will be thinking of the many times 
 r — 'No, my dear child' said Rev. T. R. B., 'they will 
 only be thinking of you to pray the more for you — 
 they are now praying for you — ' " 
 
 Notes 
 
 "Revd. James A. Lynch died at the Mountain on the 
 I2th November, 1828 — he was buried on the 14th — 
 he was born on the 9th April, 1802, uncertain whether 
 born at sea or on land — at Conewago — the day on 
 which he was buried was the first day on which we had 
 snow, the Procession proceeded from the room for- 
 merly occupied by Mr. McGerry where he expired — 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 43 
 
 He died in bed — he was in the habit of sitting up the 
 greater part of the time for the two last days as he 
 could hardly breathe when lying in bed. His last 
 words were 'I cannot stand it!' His funeral was 
 grand — ist. went M. Quarter, Thurifer — 2nd., Cross 
 bearer, Jamison — Bradley and Kelly in cassocks 
 and surplices, two acolytes — one on each side — then 
 Ecclesiastics — then priests — then coffin, borne by 
 Messrs Cavenagh, Curtin, Walt. Quarter and Carry, 
 Gartland and Taylor — after coffin the band playing 
 'Children of the heavenly King' and 'Venite Adore- 
 mus' — then all the boys. 
 
 "High Mass was sung by Revd. Mr. Gerry, Mr. 
 Purcell deacon and Mr. Marshall subdeacon — sermon 
 by Mr. Purcell. *He pleased God and was beloved 
 by men' — sermon mostly Panegyric — He died while 
 we were in Theology class — on Wednesday evening 
 at about 1/2 after 5 o'clock." 
 
 The second of these note-books contains an account 
 of the Retreat that year, which commenced on Novem- 
 ber 8, and ended on November 18, 1827. It would be 
 interesting to quote the whole of this note-book, which 
 consists of eight charming pages on the spiritual life. 
 An Instrudion to Toung Men shows his method of 
 grasping the sermons he has listened to: 
 
 "i. We are in a peculiar manner favoured by being 
 called to the Ministry; and the piety of a common 
 Christian would hardly be sufficient to save us. 
 
 "2. We are now in a place of probation, it is not 
 our duty now to sandtify, or to teach others, but 
 sandtify and teach ourselves. 
 
44 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 "3. We think that many of the spiritual exercises 
 which we attend unnecessary, and that to absent our- 
 selves is possible — a mistaken idea — we are tepid 
 in prayer and indevout and indifferent at these exer- 
 cises — but they are all very essential ; this, the time 
 of probation now; must have a solid foundation — this 
 the place to learn to exercise obedience, learn to practice 
 a holy life. 
 
 "4. It is a remarkable fadt that all those who 
 negledl duties in noviciate, will almost inevitably 
 relapse when they go into the world. 
 
 "5. It is not laudable to be desirous of leaving a 
 Seminary to be Priests in the world. 
 
 "6. When in the world, cannot absent ourselves 
 from these duties. We must have our time for rising, 
 our time for meditation, time for recitation of Office, 
 examine our cases of conscience, for the study of Scrip- 
 ture and Theology. None of these can be negledled — 
 no time for visiting we belong not to the world; God 
 called us from it — now the time to sandtify ourselves 
 for, without it, cannot sandlify others. Worldy knowl- 
 edge nothing without Science of Saints. Put our trust 
 in B. Virgin. 
 
 "7. We must never expose our own souls to save 
 others, — 'What will it profit a man to gain the whole 
 world and lose his own soul'" — 
 
 The following Refleilions of my own which follow this 
 Instrudlion have a more personal touch: 
 
 Reflections of my own 
 " Make me sensible, O my God, of the infinite favour 
 which Thou conferrest on me by calling me to Thy 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 45 
 
 Divine service. Grant, my dear Lord, that through the 
 merits of Thy beloved Son I may not lose my Voca- 
 tion. Resolutions: i, I resolve in future to be more 
 eager to serve God, to rise in the morning without 
 reludlance, to attend meditation with exadlness and 
 recolled:ion, to endeavour, with the grace of God, 
 to attend all my spiritual exercises, to be particularly 
 attentive during Mass, to avoid giving scandal by im- 
 proper positions and to offer to God all my studies etc., 
 and to submit with obedience to the rules of Superiors. 
 2. I resolve to consecrate myself in peculiar manner to 
 B. Virgin, consequently attentive in beads, to beg Her 
 assistance in everything to gain salvation. 3. With 
 the assistance of God, I resolve to drive away tepidity 
 and indifference, in fine to endeavour to do everything 
 that may contribute to my sandtification here, per- 
 suaded that on it depends future perseverence and 
 success. 
 
 " Look down, holy Mother, on these my resolutions 
 and beg of Thy Divine Son to grant me grace to put 
 them in execution. Amen." 
 
 One cannot help suspedling that these well-thumbed 
 note-books were neverj lost sight of, and that the reso- 
 lutions and diredlions written down in the pleasant 
 days of his studentship were guiding praAices to him 
 in his after life. 
 
 He began also in November, 1827, a note-book, 
 which he entitled Miscellanea Temporis, containing 
 many of his refledlions, from November 1827 down 
 to the end of April, 1829. 
 
 This note-book contains Colledtions of Beauties 
 
46 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 and Anecdotes, among them paragraphs on Genius, 
 Railways, Silver Mines, Poets, Art, Glass, Byron, and 
 many extracts from Burke, who seems to have had 
 quite an influence upon John McCloskey's mind. The 
 note-book closes with an account of the fire at the end 
 of April, 1829. 
 
 His first sermon, which is still preserved in the 
 original, was delivered in the college chapel on Decem- 
 ber 21, 1827, on Gratitude towards God. It displays 
 a grasp of English prose composition and of textual use 
 of Holy Scripture far above the ability of the average 
 young man of seventeen. One striking passage runs 
 as follows: 
 
 " But, my Brethren, great and numerous as are the 
 motives which we, in common with the rest of man- 
 kind, have to excite our gratitude, there is one which 
 we as a distinct people ought never to forget and for 
 the enjoyment of which we can never fully testify our 
 grateful feelings, towards that Almighty Being from 
 Whom we have received it : — I mean the enjoyment 
 of civil and religious Liberty. It was that All-Wise 
 Providence Who watches over the minutest adlions 
 of man, at Whose nod kings totter on their thrones, 
 on Whose single word depend the destinies of nations 
 and empires. Who nerved the arms of our heroes and 
 gave success to their cause!" 
 
 At twenty years of age John McCloskey, having 
 completed his second year of theological study, was 
 made Prefect and placed over many young men older 
 and in more advanced classes than himself. He had 
 also at this time one of the Latin classes to teach in the 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 47 
 
 college. All this was a severe strain on a constitution 
 which had never been robust ; and, as he remarked long 
 afterwards, "it made him old before his time." His 
 extraordinary diligence as a student is evident from 
 the reams of writing he has left as the work of 
 these years, consisting of well-worked-out theological 
 theses, essays on vexed questions of Church history, 
 extrads from the Fathers of the Church, and well- 
 dressed skeletons of sermons, one of the best of which 
 is that delivered on November 11, 1828, On the Love 
 of God. 
 
 One of these booklets is a note-book On Literature 
 begun May 20, 1829, and ended August 29, 1829, 
 containing what he calls Miscellaneous Scraps. The 
 most pretentious of these little coUedtions is that 
 dated November 24, 1828, and is inscribed: An 
 Historical and Literary Account of the Formularies, 
 Confessions of Faith and Symbolic Books of the Roman 
 Catholic, Greek, and principal Protestant Churches, — 
 an analysis which he made of Charles Butler's well- 
 known volume of that title. By this time, as this 
 analysis shows, John McCloskey had reached a matur- 
 ity far beyond his years. He displays a grasp of funda- 
 mental differences of belief which is surprising in a 
 young theologian of eighteen, and the close reason- 
 ing he exhibits, proves equally well the splendid work 
 done by his teachers at the Mountain. We have 
 also the original copy of another of his sermons, that 
 delivered in 0(5lober, 1829, On Human Respeil. There 
 can be little doubt that we have in this sermon the 
 keynote of his whole priestly life. The young theo- 
 logical student, who saw clearly enough into human 
 
48 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 nature to write the following words, had certainly come 
 into possession of himself: 
 
 "To please, to engage the affedlions of our fellow 
 beings is one of the strongest propensities of our 
 nature. It is when wisely and properly directed a 
 happy one. To have implanted within our breasts 
 by the hand of supreme Wisdom itself a spirit which 
 prompts and urges us to render ourselves both pleasing 
 and agreeable to our fellow-man, to avoid such acftions 
 and such expressions as would be calculated to excite 
 displeasure and thereby estrange from us that good 
 feeling and esteem which would otherwise be enter- 
 tained in our regard, to have I say, such a spirit im- 
 planted within us must surely be deemed a happiness 
 of no common value. It is this happy nature which 
 contributes in so eminent a degree to the preservation 
 and promotion of that peace and harmony which 
 should at all times and in all places exist in society. 
 But our best and happiest and most virtuous disposi- 
 tions, will, when permitted to exceed those limits, 
 which the laws of God and his divine Religion have 
 prescribed for them, immediately be divested of their 
 commending quality and degenerate into so many 
 vices. For vice is nothing more than an excessive 
 indulgence of our own natural propensities — A due 
 regard for the opinions of men and well regulated desire 
 to please, so far from being opposed to the maxims 
 of the Gospel, are, on the contrary, both commendable 
 and praiseworthy. But when the alternative once 
 presents itself either of offending man or of offending 
 God, of displeasing a friend on earth, or displeasing 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 49 
 
 our only affedionate and faithful friend in Heaven, 
 when, I say such an alternative presents itself, hesita- 
 tion would be criminal. Every nerve should be braced 
 and every power both of mind and body exerted to its 
 utmost, in order to bear up against the torrent of 
 ridicule and abuse however headstrong and prove 
 ourselves triumphantly superior to its fury and its 
 violence — 'Who,' says the apostle, 'can hurt you if 
 you be zealous of good,' 'If God is with us who is 
 against us.'" 
 
 The year 1829 opened up with an extensive list of 
 seminarians in which we find John McCloskey men- 
 tioned as "Amer. free" of the New York Diocese. 
 The expression "free" probably meant that he had 
 not been yet adopted by Bishop Dubois. It is 
 hardly possible, considering the great need of priests 
 in that diocese, that the former President of Mount St. 
 Mary's had forgotten the frail, delicate boy he had 
 met for the first time nearly ten years before, in 
 New York. 
 
 A difficulty arises at this point. We have seen from 
 one note-book the evidence of his presence in the col- 
 lege during the academic years 1827-29; and the list 
 written by Father Brute, dated Odlober 22, 1829, to- 
 gether with his sermon on Human Respeil dated 
 Odtober 1829, would prove his residence there for the 
 academic year of 1829-30. It is difficult therefore to 
 understand the statement in the Story of the Mountain 
 (vol. I, p. 211), under date of 1829: "John (Cardinal) 
 McCloskey returned to the Seminary this year having 
 tried his vocation outside." It may be that this 
 
so JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 reference from Dr. McCafifrey's notes has been mis- 
 placed in the chronology. 
 
 He taught Latin in the college during the academic 
 year 1829-30, and it would appear that he had almost 
 determined to ask for a release or an exeat from Bishop 
 Dubois, in order to devote himself to teaching. 
 
 He did apply later to Bishop Dubois for an exeat but it 
 was refused. A letter of Dr. Powers, then Vicar- 
 General of the Diocese, to Father Jamison, President 
 of the Mountain, settled the case in the absence of 
 Bishop Dubois, who had set out for Rome on September 
 20, 1829: 
 
 New York, January 20, 1830 
 My dear friend: 
 
 I have been prevented from answering your letter 
 by the perplexing nature of the request you have made. 
 I have considered the case very scrupulously, and after 
 serious deliberation I must tell you that I have come to 
 the determination of refusing you the exeat for Mr. 
 John McCloskey. If he were my subjedl properly 
 speaking, indeed I would not refuse him to Mt. St. 
 Mary's, but as I only hold the place of another, I feel 
 myself bound to keep as near to his wishes and inten- 
 tions as I possibly can. I know the Bishop would 
 never ratify my permission, and under this convidlion 
 I feel that you will relinquish a demand which I am 
 free to say is but just on your side. No man wishes 
 Mt. St. Mary's better than I do, yet you will agree 
 with me that I ought not to be too free of the property 
 over which I am placed as Steward, when fully con- 
 vinced that this grant would not meet the wishes of 
 the Father of the Family. . . . 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 51 
 
 We have among his papers for this year, a second 
 rendition of his sermon on Human Resped, dated 
 February, 1830, at the end of which he writes the 
 criticisms of his professors, that of Frather Brute being: 
 "Defed: in exordium, a particular danger alluded to, 
 when the discourse intended to embrace a general 
 one"; while Purcell, then Vice-President, calls his 
 attention to a faulty definition — "Cannot properly 
 say 'Vice nothing more than an excessive indulgence 
 of our natural propensities.'" 
 
 His Notes, dated August 15-22, for the Retreat of 
 1830, which was condudted by Father Brute, show the 
 constantly increasing spiritual power he was acquiring. 
 Latin texts from the Bible and from spiritual writers 
 are interspersed throughout these notes and prove his 
 unusual command of ascetical theology. The strongest 
 pages he has written so far, are among these Notes. 
 His refledtions on two of his fellow-students, Murray 
 and Kelly, who had been called to their reward during 
 the year, display a tenderness which already fore- 
 shadows this predominant charadleristic of his later 
 life. He tells himself over and over again that the 
 sandlity of the world depends upon the sandtity of the 
 Priesthood; and on every page, his heart bursts out 
 into fervent prayer for his own sandlity, purity, and 
 spiritual courage to conquer himself for the sweet 
 Christ's sake. From the arrangement of these Notes, 
 together with the feuilles volantes placed within the 
 pages, it seems to have been his custom to write down 
 during the exercises themselves the thoughts and 
 reflexions which came to him, and then later to repro- 
 
52 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 duce them in note-book form for his future guidance. 
 During the summer vacation of 183 1, the young 
 student wrote a charming letter to the President, 
 Rev. Father Jamison, on a subjed: as old as the hills, — 
 that of interesting parents to send their sons to the 
 Mountain : 
 
 New York, Jug. 3^^, 1831 
 Rev. and dear Sir: 
 
 The favor of Mr. McCaffrey which has accom- 
 panied your note was received early yesterday morn- 
 ing, — it was my intention to answer it last evening, 
 but you will sigh over the loss of my seminarian regu- 
 larity when I assure you that it was after 12 o'c. at 
 night before I could extricate myself from a company 
 of learned gentlemen who called here to enjoy the 
 society of Mr. Ryan with whom I board. In fadl, 
 his house is constantly besieged by "Literati" — and 
 I of course as being a friend of Mr. Ryan's and a gentle- 
 man from Emmitsburg, must submit to the rather 
 irksome, but certainly most beneficial necessity of 
 being introduced to them. Indeed it seems to me that 
 if I could enjoy for the space of one year such society 
 as I here mingle with, and listened to such learned 
 conversations as I almost daily hear, I could derive 
 from it more information, that is, more pradlical 
 information, than from nearly two years' study. . . . 
 You will, however, I hope, excuse me, when I assure 
 you that I merely introduced the subje(5t to let you 
 know that I have opportunities of making our College 
 known to many who enjoy high literary reputation 
 and who, it may be, will one day prove useful ac- 
 quaintances, and depend upon it, such opportunities 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 53 
 
 I do not fail to improve. . . . But to come at last 
 to the point. It is your wish that I should exert 
 myself in this city to procure students for our College, 
 and to this end you have invested me with the 
 necessary authority for adting as your responsible 
 agent, which honor I duly acknowledge. I must, 
 however, confess that I do not think that my exertions 
 as an authorized agent are necessary, because Messrs. 
 Purcell and Hitzelberger are expedled daily and will no 
 doubt be in town in the course of one or two days, and 
 everything which regards contradts and money matters 
 can be attended to by them ; as for myself, my time is 
 so much occupied with my family and friends that I 
 have very little leisure to attend to anything else. You 
 may, however, rest assured that whatever I can do will 
 be done cheerfully. In the circle of my own acquaint- 
 ances I have interested myself in the behalf of the Col- 
 lege as much as I could. I have succeeded in getting 
 one scholar, which is better than nothing. He is the 
 son of a gentleman who is now a merchant of New Or- 
 leans with whom I am well acquainted and who is at 
 present on a visit to his family on Long Island. He is 
 a good Catholic and I will vouch for his punftuality 
 and readiness to pay his bills. He will send his son 
 for perhaps five or six years and such a one is worth 
 having — his name is James Mullen, a namesake of 
 the Rev. gentleman who finished in 1824. . . . 
 
 I have visited several other parents and endeav- 
 ored to persuade them to send their sons to our Col- 
 lege — but their obje<flions are so many it is very 
 difficult to meet with success. The sole chance we 
 have is among those who are anxious to have their 
 
54 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 children reared good Catholics. I visited yesterday 
 a lady who is very eager to send one of her sons. I 
 did not see her husband, but will see him toniorrow, 
 as I am invited to spend the evening with him — Per- 
 haps he can be persuaded, — but it will be difficult, 
 as he is a lawyer in good practice and too high-minded 
 to send a son to a "place so little known." There are 
 five or six other families where there is a chance and 
 I will try it. But I can neither promise myself nor 
 you success. Rev. Mr. Purcell has gone to Canada 
 as you know. He received a letter from Mr. Laroque 
 requesting him to visit Montreal as there were two or 
 three other boys besides his own who would likely 
 be sent to the Mountain. Mr. H. is with him — Mr. 
 Hitzelberger preached in this city and gave universal 
 satisfadtion — indeed all were delighted with him. . . . 
 If I should be so fortunate as to secure any more 
 students I will leave the settlement of money matters, 
 etc., to Mr. Purcell — whom of course I will introduce 
 to the parents. ... As for myself you will see me at 
 the Mountain next Wednesday — and if I have not time 
 to call on all I would wish, I will leave their address 
 with Mr. Purcell who can effed: a great deal more than 
 I can. I will take the trouble to coUedl the names, 
 address, means of introduction, etc., etc., of all with 
 whom there are any prospedts of success, and these 
 I will give to Mr. P. to adl by. I have already said 
 that it is utterly impossible for me to devote much 
 time to it! I am determined to force myself out of the 
 city next Monday. Excuse haste. 
 
 Yours with respedl, 
 
 J. McCloskey 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 55 
 
 That year (1831-32) John McCloskey, besides his 
 duties as teacher, was chosen to be one of the four 
 Prefects of disciphne. 
 
 The exadt dates of his reception of tonsure, minor 
 orders and major orders are somewhat uncertain. 
 It is now a matter of history that Archbishop Whitfield 
 was not favorably disposed towards the theological 
 school at the Mountain. Every Baltimore student, in 
 fadt, was obliged to spend two years of theology at 
 the seminary in Baltimore, no matter how long he had 
 been at Emmitsburg. Archbishop Whitfield wished 
 to centre all the theological studies of his Diocese 
 at Baltimore, and would never, therefore, go to Emmits- 
 burg to ordain the students. Students of other dio- 
 ceses had to be ordained by other Bishops. Hence it 
 was that John McCloskey was obliged to cross the State 
 line into the Diocese of Philadelphia, of which Bishop 
 Kenrick was then Ordinary. Bishop Kenrick would 
 not go to Emmitsburg knowing the antipathy which 
 existed against it. In one of Archbishop Purcell's 
 letters, written when he was President of the Mountain, 
 and dated Baltimore, July 7, 1831, we read the face- 
 tious statement that: "Messrs. Butler and McCloskey 
 got through their dreaded fundlions of deacon and 
 subdeacon at the Cathedral last Sunday most gloriously. 
 Their voices sounded stentorian notes under the great 
 dome." The tradition of the Mountain is that he 
 received all his orders, except Priesthood, from Bishop 
 Kenrick. In Bishop Kenrick's Diary and Visitation 
 Records (1830-51), the only mention of John McCloskey 
 is that under date of December 3, 1832: "I gave . . . 
 Tonsure, Minor Orders and Subdeaconship to John 
 
S6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 McCloskey ... in the Church of St. Francis Xavier, 
 Gettysburg." Where he received deaconship is not 
 known, but most probably at New York, for as will 
 be seen he was not a deacon in December, 1833, on the 
 eve of his recall to New York by Bishop Dubois. 
 Some time before this, he must have made another 
 attempt to be released from his diocese, in order to 
 devote himself to teaching, since we read in one of 
 Archbishop Whitfield's letters, dated May 10, 1832: 
 "I also learned with satisfadlion that Mn John Mc- 
 Closkey, who has received his exeat from the Diocese 
 of New York, has expressed his wish with the above 
 mentioned, in promoting the good of religion and the 
 prosperity of a College in which we feel highly inter- 
 ested." It may be in reference to this that President 
 Purcell writes on July 12, 1832: "McCloskey is a 
 heart of mountain oak. God bless the Mountain! 
 What fine fellows it produces!" He had completed 
 all his studies preparatory to the Priesthood at this 
 time, but owing to the lack of canonical age, was 
 obliged to wait almost two years. These years he 
 spent at the Mountain, studying and teaching. 
 
 Among the Cardinal's note-books there is one on 
 Celibacy — the synopsis of some instrudtions given to 
 the theologians by Father Brute, in September, 1832. 
 The little book consists of sixteen headings or arguments 
 in favor of Celibacy, with reference at the end, to 
 certain readings: St. Paul and St. Ambrose in particu- 
 lar. The next paper is a series of resolutions after the 
 spiritual Retreat of October, 1832. There is, strangely 
 enough, no mention of the Breviary. Resolutions 
 are here written down for the consecration of the 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 57 
 
 entire day to God, for classes, studies, recreations, etc., 
 but no word about the Divine Office. These resolu- 
 tions are personal and show the deep sincerity of the 
 man, then on the threshold of the Priesthood : 
 
 Resolutions 
 
 "I resolve to arise as soon as awakened — my first 
 thoughts shall be God — my first words : Jesus and 
 Mary, and my first adtion the sign of Salvation. 
 
 "I will not indulge my sloth but endeavor to excite 
 myself by the consideration of Jesus naked and scourged 
 at a pillar, bleeding in the garden of agony, or nailed 
 to the cross — I shall regard the Benedicamus Domino, 
 as the voice of God, calling me to enter upon another 
 day in His divine service — I will answer Deo gratias 
 with a sense of gratitude for the favor. I will then 
 beg for the spirit to serve Him well, remembering the 
 words of Scripture: Malediilus qui facit opus Dei 
 negligenter. I will dress with alacrity and beg for 
 chastity and humility. When washing I will beg for 
 cleanness of heart and will say the Asperges. I will 
 hasten to the room of Meditation, and occupy my 
 mind with thinking on the subjedt read the fore- 
 going evening. When exercises begin, I will assume 
 as respedtful a posture as possible, never permitting 
 myself to lean on anything. I will endeavor to fol- 
 low with attention and devotion the morning prayers 
 whilst the person presiding reads them. Before Medi- 
 tation, I will say the prescribed Ads. I will say the 
 Confiteor with the sense that I am not worthy, and 
 the Feni Sande with the sense that I am not able. 
 At the end I will beg pardon for all the distradtions I 
 
58 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 have been guilty of. I will then proceed to Mass, 
 saying on the road the Veni Creator. I will enter 
 Church with recoUedlion and resped:, remembering 
 that I am about to assist at the most important adlion of 
 the day. I will always follow the Priest, and never 
 leave Church without earnestly begging for the virtues 
 necessary for a good Priest, and pray that I may rather 
 die than ever be guilty of sacrilege. 
 
 "Studies. I will always begin my studies by recom- 
 mending them to God and invoking the light of the 
 Holy Ghost. I will always endeavor to prepare well 
 for my classes — not to occupy my time in light read- 
 ing, but in ecclesiastical study — I shall always study 
 with the sole end of being able to promote thereby the 
 salvation of souls and God's greater glory. 
 
 "Meals. I will be attentive to grace before and after 
 meals. Will be indifferent to what is set before me, 
 never shew displeasure, and never eat for mere pleasure. 
 
 "Recreations. Shall always endeavor to be cheerful 
 and agreeable, I will never begin a conversation without 
 raising my thoughts to God, and begging that I may 
 not sin against charity — that I may not violate the 
 truth or become too warm or angry — I will be particu- 
 larly careful not to speak of myself — will always be 
 attentive to the bells, so as to be at my proper place 
 at the proper time. — On Thursdays I will devote a 
 part of the day to some useful Reading or Study — 
 
 "On Sundays, I will always read some portion of 
 Scripture, at least one chapter. 
 
 "Classes. I will endeavor to take great interest 
 in the progress of those under my care and use all 
 patient exertion to improve their minds and hearts. — 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 59 
 
 "I shall always endeavor to give good example 
 both to Seminarians and Students — not give way to 
 improper levity — not to appear proud or conceited 
 — not to be too nice or too negligent in dress and never 
 to use a glass without necessity — I shall be as pundtual 
 as possible in my Visits to the B. Sacrament, and 
 always pray to be a good Priest, not forgetting Mary. 
 Will never be wilfully absent from Beads, and in saying 
 them be particular to pray for humility, chastity, 
 temperance, zeal and the souls in Purgatory. I will 
 go to Confession every week — too happy to receive 
 Holy Communion as often — this as my confessor 
 advises. 
 
 "My Rule shall be my penance." 
 °Juravi et statui custodire mandata Dei met. 
 
 A sermon on Delay of Conversion, given in February, 
 1833, follows these Resolutions. Among the papers 
 preserved up to the present time, is one dated June 15, 
 1833, six months before his ordination to the priest- 
 hood. It is inscribed Analysis of Letters addressed by 
 Rev. S. Brute to a Toung Man about to be Ordained. 
 It contains thirteen closely written pages of as pradlical 
 wisdom and incentive to piety as could well be gathered 
 into so small a space. The following are the heads of 
 the subjedls discussed and a brief summary of the 
 substance: "What is a Catholic priest? Sacerdos 
 alter Christus. A pontiff that offers a divine sacrifice 
 to God and imparts its graces to men — Dispensator 
 mysteriorum Dei. 
 
 "This is the priest, for this he preaches, for this he 
 confesses, that the sacrifice of the Holocaust of pro- 
 
6o JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 pitiation may be known and offered, and improved 
 upon earth to the greatest glory of God and the sal- 
 vation of souls, according to its divine institution and 
 first consummation by Jesus Christ, Whom he now 
 represents, with Whom he makes himself one person, 
 as it were, at the heavenly altar. This is the priest." 
 
 Then follows a succindl relation of the consequences 
 of this belief as they should appear in the daily life of 
 the priest. 
 
 "A perfect and perpetual sense of unworthiness, 
 an eternal horror of sin, of the smallest deliberate sins, 
 prayerfulness through life, watchfulness, a delicacy 
 and purity of conscience which the early meditation 
 of every day, etc., can alone keep up; a scrupulous 
 care in celebrating the Holy Sacrifice as perfedlly as 
 possible; a great zeal to have the faithful well in- 
 strudted in the nature of the divine sacrifice; a vivid 
 sense of sorrow for the profanations of unworthy 
 communicants, heretics, bad priests. 
 
 "The office of teaching, i. Often cherish in medi- 
 tation the most exalted and heavenly motives of our 
 commission. Pro Christo ergo legatione fungimur 
 tanquam Deo exhortante per nos. 
 
 "2. Think of pleasing God above all — Est qui 
 jvdicet; of pleasing men only for God's sake. Mihi 
 autem pro minimo est ut a vobis judicer. 
 
 "3. Yet for God's sake pleasing all as much as we 
 can; too much reverence for souls, too eager to be 
 useful to them to negledl anything. 
 
 "4. Most attentive to cultivate sound doftrine: 
 study best principles both for dogma amd morals. 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 6i 
 
 Never lose sight of our most approved authors. Doc- 
 trine is a trust of the most sacred kind for Catholics. 
 Depositum custodi. 
 
 "5. Attention to composition, order, style, manner 
 of delivery, particularly during first years, that proper 
 habits may be acquired for life. 
 
 "6. Make best use of all the time that can be had 
 with this intention. Woe to a too yielding temper to 
 every call of worldlings or good people who are ignorant 
 of the true priestly engagements. 
 
 "Be resolute to save time with more jealousy 
 than the statesman or judge in session. Nescitis 
 quia in his quae Patris mei sunt oportet me esse. 
 
 "7. Study best models, either living or recorded in 
 print. Be not seduced from the holy, solid, and most 
 profitable views of preaching and instrudling — not 
 seeking applause." 
 
 Then follows an instrudion on Zeal: how to combat 
 obstacles in the way of sacerdotal zeal. Zeal is the 
 soul of the sacred ministry, but must be persevered in 
 by Prayer, which is next dealt with from the point of 
 view of its necessity, especially for a priest. The closing 
 chapter is on Temper. Imitatores mei estate, sicut et 
 ego Christi. "Bear all contradidlion and opposition 
 from sinners." 
 
 That these letters were addressed to John McCloskey 
 can hardly be doubted ; they embody his charadler and 
 they must have sunk deeply into the soul of the 
 young Levite, for if any one who knew him were 
 asked to name the priest in whom these ideals were 
 realized most fully, he would at once name Cardinal 
 
62 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 McCloskey as he was to the close of his life. His notes 
 for the Retreat, held in August 1833 — the last he 
 made as a student at the Mountain, are all concerned 
 about God's love for man. "Let us have recourse," 
 he writes, "to our Father and Comforter. We shall 
 find rest to our souls. He invites us, let us be docile 
 and obey." The particular grace he prayed for in 
 this Retreat was love and knowledge of Truth. "God 
 is Truth, and God alone can fill the immensity of the 
 human heart. All else, — nations, empires, angels, 
 saints, the purest and tenderest affedtions, — all sink 
 into the abyss of its immensity, and yet something still 
 is found wanting to fill the void!" 
 
 The last of these precious pages still extant among 
 the Cardinal's private papers is that dated December 
 II, 1833, and entitled Simple Advices from An Old 
 Friend. No doubt. Father Brute is the friend in 
 question. It will be seen that the question of his 
 going to the proposed College at Nyack had already 
 been agreed upon. 
 
 Mt. St. Mary's, Dec. nth, 1833 
 Simple Advices from an Old Friend 
 
 "i. Adore and embrace the will of God, your 
 whole soul. 
 
 "2. Conceive the greatest esteem of its special offer. 
 
 "3. Put all your confidence in your Lord, all love! 
 
 "4. Think only of doing faithfully your best as Duty, 
 no self, no desire of personal consolations. 
 
 "5. Place entirely yourself in the hands of God 
 under His man for you on earth, your Bishop. 
 
 "6. Try to understand with your Bishop your dis- 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 63 
 
 tindl line of condudt so that he may best diredl it and 
 rest confident enough in the man of God's choice. 
 
 "7. After a while a Superior and president of a 
 College Seminary knows and sees more in his special 
 department than the Bishop. 
 
 "8. To return to the primary principles with piety 
 your main purpose — pietas ad omnia utilis est — true 
 prayer petite et accipite. 
 
 "9. Once the priest, let your altar be all in all. 
 
 " 10. Piety alone can obtain and form a pious clergy. 
 
 "11. Nay solid piety alone can form a truly learned 
 clergy as clergy — Else want of self denial. 
 
 "12. Be a disciplinarian of principle, affedtion and 
 example — love discipline — even if not observed 
 enough, and you still keep to it, save what you can; it 
 will reclaim and maintain. 
 
 "13. Have most regular hours — Early morning. 
 But rather not too early — Early rest at night, indis- 
 pensable. 
 
 "14. Order and pundluality more than double 
 time, whilst no time suffices if dissipated. 
 
 "15. Once at Nyack, keep to Nyack, no New York 
 for you, no extra ministry. 
 
 "16. Cella custodita dulcescit; it will prove your 
 happiness with God — and for ever so little you may 
 seem to do at first — It is the way, the only way to see 
 it enlarging. So M. Dubois did here, for years hardly 
 ever absent. 
 
 " 17. As you have your family in New York, I would 
 as a faithful friend summon all your courage to keep 
 yourself as independent as possible of them, not 
 accepting family care and interest, nor calling them to 
 
64 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 attend on the college or seminary — I repeat only the 
 unanimous rule of every book of ecclesiastical rule, 
 and it is often our Lord's example and most decisive 
 words about it. 
 
 "i8. As for own circumspection and humble observ- 
 ance of the best rules, also of every good book concern- 
 ing the care of your own domestic life, take from the 
 beginning stridl habits, although silently and without 
 affectation — be certain that it adds considerably 
 to the safety and good odour in Christ of your sacer- 
 dotal life — and that example you owe at the seminary 
 to the young clergy destined to go from it to Calvary 
 as both the light and the salt of this earth. 
 
 "19. Before all, as you have yet to be ordained 
 Deacon, then Priest, attend faithfully and fervently 
 to your own great necessity of best preparation for 
 both — ask your rule for it from your worthy Bishop 
 as soon as arrived. 
 
 "20. If to be soon ordained, retire, do retire from 
 the world — either in his house or at Nyack — be 
 sure that in the result all will approve you for refusing 
 the rounds of invitations at so sacred and decisive 
 a time — you need to be entirely by yourself, as if at 
 the seminary. 
 
 "21. If at the Bishop's — ask him the favor of 
 his moment of advice every day — also ask for some 
 points of theology and what may concern marriage — 
 jurisdiction, etc. 
 
 "22. Let prayers, my friend, be prayers indeed, so 
 that you may all your life remember before God 
 how you did offer yourself and call for his grace — 
 make at such a time your communion with the Saints 
 
STUDENT DAYS AT THE MOUNTAIN 65 
 
 as if in their presence in heaven in sight of the seat 
 reserved there for you, and pray now fervently to 
 secure it — particularly I say: i. Blessed Virgin. 
 2. Holy Angels. 3. The Apostles and Holy Dodlors. 
 
 "23. Read some sele(fled part of these last, e.g. of 
 St. Jerome Epistles, St. Augustine, seledl chapters of 
 the Confessions, but particularly of St. Chrysost. 
 de Sacerdotio. . . . 
 
 "24. Beware always but particularly, when you 
 arrive, of the busy accounts and general canvass and 
 review of characters — affedl no curiosity — but rather 
 reserve about it. 
 
 "25. Yourself put on from the beginning all the 
 discretion of a charitable and prudent Christian — 
 double of it as priest. 
 
 " 26. Fix early on some useful labors of your pen, 
 but first for your official service — say: seledl trans- 
 lation from Massillon Conferences et Discours Synodaux 
 or some of Berthier's Meditations abridged, or some 
 digesting of liturgical notes as may be suggested to you 
 by those which you copied — be diligent as a bee in its 
 hive — your own soul will from year to year feel so 
 much the more benefited — saving and perfedling it 
 first will be the most useful to others. 
 
 "27. Study and pradlice perfedtly the ceremonies 
 of Mass, in order to begin well — then be most exad: 
 in observing them — all interior and exterior apphca- 
 tion to the Sacrifice. 
 
 "28. Mind in all your condudl the utmost simplicity 
 and purity of intention, the soul of your life and your 
 eternity. 
 
 '29. Love the poor and all sufferers. . . . 
 
 ", 
 
66 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 "30. The Missal — Breviary — New Testament — 
 and A Kempis. . . ." 
 
 These Simple Advices, so Hke Brute in tone and in 
 expression, were probably given to John McCloskey 
 on the eve of his departure for New York whither he 
 had been called by Bishop Dubois, in order to prepare 
 himself for ordination to the Priesthood. That aus- 
 picious event occurred on January 12, 1834, in old 
 St. Patrick's in Mulberry Street. 
 
 The Cardinal in his recoUedtions often spoke of the 
 day of his ordination. It was a very stormy day, 
 and there were no priests in the sandluary and not 
 many people in church. Two priests, the Vicar- 
 General, Dr. Powers, and Dr. Constantine Pise, who 
 had promised to come, were kept away by the in- 
 clement weather. At the time of his ordination 
 few thought that he would live long. Always 
 frail in health, the accident of 1827 had left its trace, 
 and no one suspedted at the time that the young 
 priest would live beyond the Scriptural three score 
 years and ten. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE (1834-1837) 
 
 First experiences in the Ministry. Seminary at Nyack. 
 Appointed Vice-President and Professor of Philosophy. 
 Burning of the Seminary. Cornelius Heeney's Offer. 
 Father McCloskey sets out for Rome. Incidents of the 
 Voyage. Making Friends in the Eternal City. Death 
 of His Sister. Attends Lectures at Roman College. 
 Death of Father Anthony Kohlmann, S.J. Friendship 
 with Lacordaire. The Return to New Tork. 
 
 FATHER JOHN McCLOSKEY began his priestly 
 life at the old Cathedral in Mulberry Street, 
 and together with regular parochial work, was 
 given the duty of attending Bellevue Hospital and the 
 Eleventh Street Cemetery. The hospital had to be 
 visited twice a week and whenever sick-calls came in. 
 The walk to and from the hospital was a long one. 
 Bishop Dubois had, however, destined him for other 
 duties. He had begun the building of a college, to 
 which he proposed to add a seminary, at Nyack-on- 
 the-Hudson, on May 29, 1833. From the beginning 
 of his episcopate, as we read in Bishop Gabriels' 
 Historical Sketch of the Provincial Seminary of Troy, 
 N. T., the former president of Mount St. Mary's was 
 convinced that clerics trained at home, familiar with 
 the needs of the Church in this country and of their 
 
 own spiritual children, would do far more effedlive 
 
 67 
 
68 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 work than could be expedled from strangers who had 
 hitherto filled up the ranks of the American Priesthood. 
 During his visit to Rome in September 1829, he brought 
 the necessity of a seminary for his Diocese to the 
 attention of Propaganda, and the Holy See furnished 
 him with means to begin the building of the college. 
 On his return journey, he made colledlions in various 
 parts of Europe for the same purpose, and although 
 the total sum of the money on hand was small, he felt 
 that no time should be lost in beginning the work. 
 On March 16, 1830, Bishop Dubois wrote a lengthy 
 letter to the Association of Lyons, giving in detail the 
 story of the Catholic Church in New York, and telling 
 the Secretary of the Association of his plans for the 
 college : 
 
 "All these are matters of direful importance; yet 
 before all I must establish an apostolic nursery, 
 and it is by no means easy to acquire a seminary in 
 New York, where land costs $10,000 or $12,000 an 
 acre. My idea is to unite a college with the seminary, 
 as I did so happily in the Baltimore diocese, so as to 
 defray the expenses of the seminary out of the income 
 of the college. I shall have very little difficulty in 
 starting this establishment, and when begun it will be 
 self-sustaining. Apart from the benefit to the Church, 
 what immense advantages will the college not present 
 in the way of Catholic education in a country where 
 there is no alternative for the education of the young 
 but to send them to England with its many tempta- 
 tions, or to place them in colleges where the lack of 
 discipline is the smallest drawback." 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 69 
 
 Ten years before this time, February 25, 1818, 
 Bishop Connolly, his predecessor, had written to 
 Cardinal Litta, then Prefedl of Propaganda, saying 
 that the burden of debt on the diocese was so large 
 that he could not think of erecting a seminary. During 
 Bishop Dubois' early years in the episcopate, an ar- 
 rangement had been entered into between himself and 
 the authorities of Mount St. Mary's, whereby the 
 Mountain became the diocesan seminary for New 
 York for the term of five years : 
 
 "The following agreement entered by and between 
 the Right Revd. John Dubois, Bishop-eled: of New 
 York on the one part, and the Revd. Mich'l De Burgo 
 Egan and the Revd. John F. McGerry on the other, 
 witnesseth : 
 
 "That the Right Revd. John Dubois, Bishop-eled 
 of New York, wishing to promote the interests of the 
 Seminary of Mount St. Mary's of which he has been 
 for many years the superior, and to aid the Revd. 
 Mich'l De Burgo Egan and the Revd. John F. McGerry 
 his successors in that establishment, in discharging 
 the debts with which it is embarrassed, hereby engages 
 himself: 
 
 "i. To consider the Seminary of Mount St. Mary's 
 near Emmitsburg as his Diocesan Seminary for the 
 term of five years. 
 
 "2. That he will not ered any seminary or college 
 in the Diocese of New York during the space of five 
 years, as it would evidently prove detrimental to the 
 interests of Mount St. Mary's. 
 
 "3. That he will not remove any of his subjects from 
 
70 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 the Seminary of Mount St. Mary's, whether they have 
 finished their theological studies or not, without the 
 consent of the said Revd. Messrs. Egan and McGerry, 
 when they remonstrate to him that the subjedl is not 
 ready or fit to be ordained, or that such removal 
 would prove too great an inconvenience to the Seminary. 
 
 "4. That he will ordain no subjedl of his Diocese, 
 who will have made his studies in this seminary, 
 without testimonials from the directors of the semi- 
 nary that such a subjedt is worthy by his moral condudl, 
 piety and ecclesiastical instrudlion, to be promoted to 
 Holy Orders. 
 
 "5. That when he establishes a seminary or college 
 in the Diocese of New York, he will receive no young 
 man from the Seminary of Mount St. Mary's without 
 the approbation and recommendation of the President 
 or Directors of said Seminary of Mount St. Mary's." 
 
 With the money granted him by the Propaganda, 
 Bishop Dubois bought a farm of one hundred and 
 sixty-five acres of excellent land on the Hudson, some 
 thirty miles above New York. The farm was diredlly 
 on the river, and steamboats could land at any dock 
 built there. The location was considered a very desir- 
 able one. The cost of the farm was twelve thousand 
 dollars, and four thousand dollars were paid down, the 
 rest subjedl to mortgage. A house eighty feet square 
 was begun for the seminary, the whole edifice to cost 
 thirty thousand dollars. This caused delay in the 
 building, and it would seem that the Catholics of the 
 diocese were not generous in their response to the 
 bishop's appeal for the completion of the building. 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 71 
 
 The diocese at this time contained almost one 
 hundred and fifty thousand Catholics, twenty-five 
 thousand of whom were in New York City. There 
 were nine churches in the diocese and twenty-four 
 priests. The trustee difficulty which had broken out 
 under his predecessor, Bishop Connolly, was then at 
 its worst stage in the diocese. The trustees had virtu- 
 ally gained control of all church property which they 
 retained down to 1838, when Archbishop Hughes, then 
 Coadjutor to Bishop Dubois, took a firm stand and 
 suppressed the evil. The trustees were averse to 
 building the seminary, but the work progressed in spite 
 of them under Bishop Dubois' guidance. He had had 
 exceptional experience in founding the college and semi- 
 nary of Emmitsburg, and the building advanced far 
 enough to have the cornerstone of the college of Nyack 
 laid on May 29, 1833. Father John McGerry, who had 
 been president at Emmitsburg, was called to Nyack to 
 fill the same position in the new college. Others be- 
 sides the trustees were opposed to the location of the 
 college. Among them was the Vicar-General, Dr. 
 Power, whose letters to Dr. CuUen, Red:or of the Irish 
 College in Rome, are somewhat bitter on the projedl. 
 In February 1834, Father John McCloskey was sent to 
 Nyack as vice-president and professor of philosophy. 
 
 "It was a bitterly cold day in February," said the 
 Cardinal, in recalling forty years later his first journey 
 to Nyack, "when I drove up to that poor building in 
 an open wagon from Hoboken, the only way of getting 
 to it then. There were no Catholics in the neighbor- 
 hood, and the old Dutch settlers in the vicinity, as 
 
72 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 we afterwards learned, not only shunned us by day, 
 but feared to quit their homes after dark, lest some- 
 thing dreadful should come upon them at the hands 
 of the Catholic priests now so nigh, even at their very 
 doors. But they soon came to be very friendly and 
 did us many kind offices." 
 
 There still exists among the Cardinal's papers the 
 notes of his first ledture, given at Nyack in that same 
 month. "The study on which you now enter," he 
 told his class, "is one of a far higher nature than any 
 which you have hitherto pursued. No longer the 
 learning of idioms, or languages, the flowers of rhetoric, 
 the beauties of imagination, the brilliant flashes of 
 genius, as charming as in the harmonious strains of 
 poetry, or convincing, persuading and delighting as 
 in the fervid glow of oratory; but it is the study of 
 ourselves, the study also of Him who gave us existence, 
 endowed us with reason and intelligence. Not that 
 other studies are unimportant. No, they are the 
 avenues, pleasant at times, at others rugged, which 
 condudl you to the groves of philosophy." Among 
 his students during the short time he was at Nyack 
 was John Loughlin, first Bishop of Brooklyn. 
 
 During this winter the cholera broke out in New 
 York City, and Father McCloskey wrote to Dr. Power, 
 the Vicar-General (the Bishop was absent in Rome), 
 for permission to return to New York to devote him- 
 self to the care of the plague-stricken people. The 
 Vicar-General wrote him in reply: "Providence has 
 placed you out of the reach of danger, for the present 
 at least, and you will remain there." 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 73 
 
 In August 1834, the chapel of the college was dedi- 
 cated, and Father McCloskey preached the sermon 
 on the occasion. The following account copied from 
 the New York Weekly Register and Catholic Diary of 
 August 23, 1834, may be of interest in the light of 
 subsequent events: 
 
 "On Sunday, August 10, the beautiful little chapel 
 which has just been completed on the college grounds 
 was opened for divine worship. In the absence of 
 the bishop, permission was kindly given for that 
 purpose by the Very Rev. Dr. Power, Vicar-General 
 of the diocese. High Mass was sung in an impressive 
 manner by the Rev. Father Schneller of New York, 
 who happened to be on a visit to the college, assisted 
 by Rev. Mr. McGerry, the president. The sermon 
 was preached by Rev. John McCloskey of the college. 
 Of this production no words of ours are adequate to 
 convey a corredt impression. It must have been heard 
 to be properly appreciated. High as our opinion of 
 the talents and acquirements of the young clergyman 
 was, we did not conceive that he would at once take 
 a conspicuous rank among the best preachers and 
 classical writers in our country. Such, however, is 
 the fadl; whether we consider the chastened purity 
 of the style, the graceful elegance of the di<flion, the 
 great thoughts interspersed, or the faultless elocution 
 and manner of delivery." 
 
 The health of the young priest who had entered on 
 his ministry so auspiciously was far from being strong. 
 More than one member of his family had died in their 
 prime, and it began to be feared by his friends that a 
 
74 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 life so precious and so full of promise of great things 
 for God might be extinguished in its very springtime, 
 if something were not done to avert it. Accordingly 
 Mr. Cornelius Heeney, the life-long friend of the family, 
 called on the bishop and in his paternal way said to 
 him: "You are killing that boy up there in Nyack. 
 He is too delicate for the climate and the duties of 
 the place. Why not let him go to Europe to recruit 
 his health.? It will cost the diocese nothing; his 
 mother will bear all the expenses." This conversation 
 led the Bishop to speak to Father McCloskey on the 
 subjedt, who said it was quite in accord with his own 
 wishes, adding that while in Europe, besides building 
 up his strength, he hoped also to utilize the time in 
 study, and thus prepare himself better for whatever 
 the bishop had in view for him. 
 
 Not long after the opening of the chapel, the semi- 
 nary was destroyed by a fire, said at the time to have 
 been started by religious fanatics. The building was 
 a total loss, and was not covered by insurance. "It 
 was indeed a catastrophe," writes Bishop Gabriels, 
 "for where was the poverty-stricken bishop to find 
 another twenty thousand dollars with which to make 
 a second attempt." It was a hopeless situation. 
 There had not been much enthusiasm for the new 
 seminary from the beginning, and it may not be 
 unfair to judge the tenor of the clergy towards it from 
 the caustic letters Dr. Power, who was Vicar-General 
 and therefore second in command, was writing to 
 his friend Cardinal CuUen, then Re(5tor of the Irish 
 College, Rome. But Providence was not unmindful 
 of the bishop's efforts. Mr. Cornelius Heeney, 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 75 
 
 who had been John McCIoskey's guardian after his 
 father's death in 1820, offered the bishop a site for a 
 college and seminary in Brooklyn, and the bishop 
 at once accepted it. The plan, however, came to 
 naught. 
 
 Father McCloskey now appealed to the bishop to 
 be allowed to go to Rome. All thought of rebuilding 
 at Nyack had been given up, and there were meagre 
 prospedts of starting another seminary. Bishop 
 Dubois at first refused his consent. The young 
 priest could not understand this, and urged the 
 matter: "Bishop Kenrick of Philadelphia has studied 
 in Rome ; if you will allow me to adt on his advice, I 
 shall go to Philadelphia and consult him." It was 
 rumored also about this time that he had made applica- 
 tion to be released from the diocese, in order to join 
 the Society of Jesus, but that Bishop Dubois had 
 dissuaded him. The bishop could ask nothing more 
 reasonable and said: "Very well, my child, you can 
 go. Your health needs a change, and I shall be glad 
 to approve of anything that would benefit it." 
 
 Father McCloskey went to Philadelphia and called 
 upon Bishop Kenrick. "How long are you going to 
 stay in Rome.?" asked the bishop. "At least two 
 years and I should be better pleased with three," said 
 the young priest. "Well, then," said the bishop, "go 
 to Rome if you will stay so long as that. But if you 
 were only going to stay six months, I should say, don't 
 go." This, the young priest, as he confessed later, 
 could not understand at the time, but he understood 
 it afterwards. For he was fully six months in the 
 Eternal City before he could divest himself of the 
 
76 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 influence of the atmosphere of puritanism which was 
 the prevaiHng form of piety, outside the Church in 
 these parts, eighty years ago. 
 
 A letter from Bishop Dubois to Dr. Butler, President 
 of Mount St. Mary's, dated New York, OAober 7, 
 1834, gives us an idea of the bishop's attitude towards 
 the young priest : 
 
 I suppose, my dear Mr. Butler, that before this 
 time you have received an answer from Mr. McCloskey, 
 ordained February 7 (sic), this year, informing you 
 that he had made up his mind and applied to me for 
 leave to go to Rome to complete his studies. I am far 
 from approving his resolution, which is liable to more 
 objedtions than he is aware of, and I earnestly urged 
 him to go in preference to St. Mary's, but having 
 promised him not to control him in his desire to im- 
 prove himself, I could not oppose a resolution which 
 he considers as the most suitable for his purposes. 
 — I was the less inclined to contradidl him, as his 
 weak constitution is not likely to render him very 
 useful, and may be improved by spending some time 
 in Italy. He appears more inclined to a sedentary, 
 studious, than to an active' life, and I am afraid that 
 he may thereby give the last stroke to his already 
 broken constitution. . . . 
 
 Your devoted father in Xt., 
 'i' John, Bp. of N. Y. 
 
 Bishop Dubois no longer opposed his going to 
 Europe after hearing from Dr. Kenrick, and accord- 
 ingly we find him taking ship for France, November 3, 
 1834. At the steamer, his friends who had gathered 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 77 
 
 to bid him bon voyage, gave him what they thought 
 was a final farewell; all thought from his looks that 
 he had consumption and would never return alive. 
 It was not an enthusiastic farewell. The Cardinal, 
 however, had no serious fears for himself; but, as he 
 confessed in later years, he never expeded to live 
 much beyond forty. 
 
 His Journal of Travels, in which he kept note of all 
 the striking events of his voyage opens thus: "The 
 day appointed for leaving New York was Saturday, 
 November i, 1834 — Feast of All Saints. In conse- 
 quence of the election, sailing deferred until Monday, 
 November 3d. Accompanied in the steamboat to the 
 packet (packet-ship Erie, Captain Funck) by Rev. 
 Mr. McGerry, Mr. Michael, and Edward Mullen. 
 Parted with Rev. Dr. Power, Mr. Gottsberger, and Mr. 
 A. Mullen, at the wharf. Bade my last farewell 
 about one o'clock. But the heartrending parting was 
 over. Never will I forget my feelings when bidding 
 adieu to my dear mother and sisters in Philadel- 
 phia. . . ." After the first few days he adds: 
 
 "Each day I acquired fresh strength and vigor. 
 Became pretty well acquainted with my fellow pas- 
 sengers; find them all very intelligent and agreeable. 
 
 None, with the exception of Dr. W. suffered as 
 
 much from seasickness as myself. Our company 
 
 was as follows: Dr. W. of New York; Dr. C. 
 
 of Spain, originally a surgeon in the Spanish navy, an 
 old pupil of Dr. Varela, afterwards travelled to China 
 and through a great part of the East; went to Cal- 
 cutta, where he became an attendant physician in the 
 
78 OHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 hospital; accumulated a large fortune; is now on his 
 way to Paris, where his wife is before him — a very 
 
 interesting man, a Catholic. Dr. S. of Boston, 
 
 a man of money and a sportsman. Mr. S. son of 
 
 the French minister, an amiable, sensible, and well 
 
 educated young gentleman. Mr. C. an attache 
 
 of the French embassy, a young gentlemen of brilliant 
 
 mind and fine accomplishments. Mr. R. a French 
 
 negociant, a would-be materialist, but in reality a 
 
 French Catholic. Mr. L. from Martinique, a 
 
 pretended deist, but not possessing sufficient sense to 
 know any system well. These, including myself, 
 form the entire number. No ladies — a great ad- 
 vantage in one respedt, but a disadvantage in another. 
 Much improper conversation would be suppressed by 
 the restraints imposed in their presence." 
 
 It was thus Rev. John McCloskey quitted the 
 shores of his native land for the first time, influenced 
 no doubt, in a greater or less degree, by what his friends 
 feared sorely, that he might never return. Little did 
 the young priest then dream, and far less did he ambi- 
 tion it, that one day, after four and forty busy years, 
 his last voyage over this same ocean would be as a 
 prince of the Church, hastening to the conclave to 
 eledt one of the greatest popes that ever ruled the 
 Church of God — Leo XIII. 
 
 The voyage to Havre, .begun November 3, 1834, 
 was made in thirty days, and was devoid of all but 
 the ordinary incidents of sea travelling. The trend of 
 Father McCloskey's literary taste at this period may 
 be gathered from the mention made in his Journal of 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 79 
 
 the works he chose for reading-matter during the 
 long voyage. Naturally books of travel, and whatever 
 would aid him in perfedling his knowledge of French, 
 which, even then, he spoke fairly well, held a pro- 
 minent place in his studies. He writes under date 
 of Wednesday, November 26, "Have succeeded, how- 
 ever" [i.e., notwithstanding frequent attacks of illness], 
 "in passing my time thus far agreeably and profitably. 
 Read Mrs. TroUope's Travels through Belgium and Lower 
 Germany; some of Corneille's best tragedies; part of 
 Moore's Life of Byron; a speech of Verplanck; the Life 
 of Mary, ^ueen of Scots, etc. On Sunday, I read 
 Massillon, and Meditations of St. Augustine." 
 
 The party on shipboard, composed as it was of 
 men of education and culture, needed not to pass the 
 long hours in unprofitable crooning, nor did they. 
 "Many interesting incidents," the Journal says, "oc- 
 curred during the voyage, which I did not take the 
 trouble to note. Great music was taken out of Mr. 
 R. by Ca and Ch . Arguments on clas- 
 sical studies well defended by [Ch . Debate on 
 
 Materialism. Sermon by Dr. W. against wine 
 
 drinking, card playing, or reading anything but the 
 Bible on Sundays." 
 
 Father McCloskey's first experience of the sea in a 
 storm struck the chord of admiration, and drew forth 
 the latent sympathy with the sublime which makes 
 all men kin. The following is a fair sample of his 
 descriptive power: 
 
 "Unwelcome as storms and gales were always to 
 us, they were not without their interest, particularly 
 
8o JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 to me, who was crossing the ocean for the first time. 
 There is something in a storm at sea fearfully sublime 
 and beautiful. To behold the mighty billows, rising 
 in constant succession to an almost mountainous 
 height above us, break in angry foam and subside 
 harmlessly at our vessel's side, is certainly a spectacle 
 that has its charm as well as its terrors. When viewed 
 at night the spedtacle is truly sublime; the contrast 
 between the white crest and the dark and angry waves 
 themselves, which form an horizon immediately around 
 us, is in every way more grand. It is at such a moment 
 that man feels a strong consciousness of his littleness, 
 strangely commingled with a feeling of his superiority 
 and greatness. A plank is all that is between him 
 and eternity; he can count a thousand contingencies 
 in the event of any one of which he would be instantly 
 buried in the vast abyss of waters. And yet, on the 
 other hand, he contemplates himself thus launched 
 upon a boundless expanse, braving, with a security 
 almost undisturbed, the rage and fury of the elements, 
 undaunted by the bowlings of the tempest or the 
 heavings of the troubled ocean, and feels that he is 
 truly the lord of creation, raised by a kind and merciful 
 Creator above all His works." 
 
 The last entry in the Journal bearing upon his 
 voyage is a vivid description of a stirring experience 
 during the run up the Channel, shortly before reaching 
 Havre. 
 
 "We spent some hours of most intense anxiety the 
 first night we were in the Channel; they were indeed 
 the most alarming moments of the whole voyage. 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 8i 
 
 We had all been seated around the table, some reading, 
 others amusing themselves with cards, when our 
 attention was drawn by unusual sounds on deck. 
 The wind was roaring through the cordage; the 
 captain's hurried and oft-repeated commands, the 
 hurrying to and fro of the sailors, all gave us reason 
 to suspect that everything was not right. On inquiry 
 we were told that there was a light ahead. We 
 ascended in order to see if we could discern it, little 
 dreaming that such a thing could be an objedt of 
 serious alarm. The night was very dark, and we 
 were running before the wind at the rate of thirteen 
 or fourteen knots an hour. I soon learned the chances 
 of vessels encountering one another, and the certain 
 ruin that would ensue in the event of such encounters. 
 While we were making every endeavor not to near the 
 light ahead, the mate, who was stationed at the prow, 
 suddenly announced another on our left; in less than 
 half a minute another was discovered on our right, 
 and almost at the same instant, I beheld another 
 ahead, which, it seemed, our vessel would strike at 
 its very next plunge. The captain, as well may be 
 imagined, was in much anxiety; but the firm tones in 
 which he gave his orders: 'Port! Hard a port! Keep 
 her to! etc.', showed that he had braved many a 
 similar and greater danger. In the course of an hour 
 all our fears were dispelled by the disappearance of 
 all the lights, and I retired calmly to my berth, where 
 I remained undisturbed till morning. 
 
 "Wednesday morning, December 3d. At an early 
 hour the pilot was on board. In a few moments I am 
 for the first time to plant my foot upon a foreign 
 
82 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 shore. God alone knows if I shall ever have the 
 happiness of returning in safety to my own." 
 
 His first irnpression of a European city was next 
 set down. 
 
 "About 9 o'clock we entered the gates (of Havre). 
 The harbor was to me, from its peculiar construdtion, 
 a great curiosity. A town of the Old World is before 
 us, and truly it bears the stamp of antiquity. Every- 
 thing, though old, is new and strange to American 
 eyes. After delivering up all our sealed letters, through 
 fear of incurring a fine of five-hundred francs were 
 they detedled, surrendering our passports, etc., we 
 bade farewell to our packet and proceeded to the 
 'Hotel de New York,' where we put up. This house, 
 though not very spacious, is very comfortable. . . . 
 Visited the Cathedral, a very ancient and interesting 
 Gothic building. Called twice on the Cure, but had 
 not the pleasure of seeing him." 
 
 His enjoyment of his new experiences was keen as 
 that of a school-boy, and his mind was in a most favor- 
 able mood of receptiveness. Everything he saw was 
 suggestive and called forth from his well-stored mind 
 many historical reminiscences. He felt, too, the rare 
 pleasure which only one reared in a non-Catholic 
 country can know, of breathing, for the first time, 
 the air of a Catholic land. 
 
 A young New York physician. Dr. Willet, who was 
 in broken health, and who was travelling in the hope 
 of its restoration, was Father McCloskey's companion 
 to Rome. Although a sincere Protestant, he proved 
 to be a very congenial compagnon de voyage to the 
 
liiiififiilriBiiiiiii [ frrfMimiMiii'iiMrir'iiiliJ 
 
 JOHN McCLOSKEY 
 
 As a Student in Rome, 1835 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 83 
 
 young priest. The two young men set out en route 
 for Paris on the day after their arrival in Havre. In 
 his Journal Father McCloskey has recorded with 
 great minuteness, the incidents of their journey until 
 they reached the Eternal City, Much of the record 
 is of such experiences as all travellers meet with, but 
 most of it is interesting as a faithful pidlure of the 
 discomforts and delights of the modes of crossing the 
 continent of Europe, eighty years ago. When we 
 remember that one can reach Rome today from New 
 York in less than a fortnight, almost without the 
 privation of a single home-comfort, and contrast this 
 with the fadt that then it took these two invalids from 
 November 3 to February 8, to reach the same destina- 
 tion, we may be curious to learn something of the 
 difficulties filling up the interval. Leaving Havre, 
 the next entry is: 
 
 " Thursday, December ^th. Started early this morn- 
 ing for Paris, in company with Dr. Willet; had the 
 entire coupe to ourselves. In pleasant weather this 
 is a most agreeable and commodious way of travelling, 
 almost as pleasant as in a private coach. Good 
 horses, good roads, and travelling through a pidluresque 
 and most fertile country. If all France resembles 
 this, it may well be called la belle France. Not very- 
 far from Rouen we were joined by an elderly, respect- 
 able French gentleman. We conversed with him as 
 well as we could. He was extremely obliging and 
 conununicative, and informed us that we were then 
 travelling through one of the richest provinces of 
 France, Upper Normandy. Gave a description of 
 
84 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 La Vendee. 'Etes vous Protestant?' inquired Dr. 
 Willet. 'Je suis Catholique,' was the quick reply." 
 
 This Httle episode seems to have been put down 
 for a purpose. Dr. Willet, who had probably never 
 met with many well-educated Catholic laymen, con- 
 cluded that this very intelligent French gentleman 
 must be a Protestant. One can hear, in the brief 
 note made of the French gentleman's reply, a little 
 chuckle of triumph on the part of the young priest. 
 They arrived at Rouen about one o'clock in the after- 
 noon, visited the Cathedral, a magnificent Gothic 
 building, and saw the tombs of Robert, Duke of 
 Normandy, and other worthies, whose names shine so 
 conspicuously in the history of the days of chivalry 
 and romance. At six o'clock the same evening they 
 set out for Paris, where they arrived on Friday morn- 
 ing, December 5, just about daybreak. They had the 
 good fortune not to be delayed with the customs, and 
 Father McCloskey confesses that it was a fortunate 
 thing for him, because he had failed to procure a 
 "provisoire" at Havre. Had he been asked for this 
 paper, so necessary in the old days, he might have 
 been obliged to return to Havre for it. 
 
 The Journal contains detailed notes of the journey 
 from Paris to Rome. Every page has its own char- 
 adleristic touch and shows how keenly he observed 
 all the customs of the country. They reached Lyons 
 on Saturday, December 12, and went on to Marseilles, 
 reaching there, the following Wednesday, December 
 16, where he searched fruitlessly for the grave of 
 Father Michael De Burgo Egan, once President of the 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 85 
 
 Mountain, who had died there on May 28, 1829. 
 His description of a favorite spot in modern tourist 
 travel — the citadel Notre Dame de la Garde is a 
 striking one : 
 
 " From this spot we enjoyed the finest coup d'oeil we 
 had yet met with. Beneath us to the right we beheld 
 the city, its shipping, its muddy-looking houses, its 
 fine domes and spires; beyond a rich and beautiful 
 country, decorated with well-kept gardens and villas; 
 in the distance, on every side bold and precipitous 
 mountains, and immediately before us the blue and 
 tranquil bosom of the Mediterranean, on which reposed 
 at various intervals, the light and airy habitations of 
 the seamen. We looked upon the sea so renowned in 
 ancient times, on which had ridden the rude and un- 
 shapely fleets of Rome and Carthage ; on which many 
 a well-fought battle had been witnessed, and which 
 many a time and oft had been dyed with blood. This, 
 too, was the sea that had been navigated by greater 
 than the heroes either of Carthage or of Rome, the 
 inspired messengers of God, the apostles of our divine 
 Redeemer." 
 
 The journey continued through Toulon, where he 
 spent Christmas Day, 1834; Grasse; Nice, which was 
 reached on January 25, 1835; and then on through 
 Savonne, Genoa, Pisa, Leghorn, and Siena, ending 
 finally in Rome on February 8, 1835. 
 
 "On the morning of Sunday, February 8," he writes, 
 "about midday, one of our party who happened to be 
 walking before the carriage, and had reached the 
 summit of a hill before us, exclaimed in the shrill 
 
86 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 tones, accompanied by all the violent gesticulations of 
 a Frenchman: 'Rome! Rome!' It was to us like 
 what the cry of Achates must have been to the tempest- 
 tossed and weather-beaten crew of the 'Pius ^neas.' 
 We bounded from the carriage and hastened to 
 ascend the nearest eminence, from which, though at a 
 distance of nearly twenty miles, we could distindlly 
 view the majestic dome of St. Peter's and the 
 tower of the Castle St. Angelo. Words could never 
 convey to you a correcft idea of the tumult of feeling 
 which agitated my bosom at this moment. Before 
 me stood in solitary grandeur, surrounded by nothing 
 but a desolate and deathlike waste, the seven hilled 
 city. There stood the city which had been visited 
 by St. Peter and St. Paul, and in which they sur- 
 rendered their lives in testimony of the faith they had 
 there established. My eyes now behold the same 
 scenes on which theirs had often rested; the same 
 sky, the same hills, the same plains, the same moun- 
 tains. I now behold the city from whose gates had 
 gone forth victorious armies to conquer the world. 
 They had trodden the same soil which I was treading, 
 perhaps the very spot on which I stood had been 
 signalized by some of their achievements. 
 
 "Our impatience of arrival seemed now to increase 
 at every moment, and the slow progress of our vettura 
 was scarcely endurable. About 4 p. m. we crossed 
 the Ponte Molle, near the spot where Constantine de- 
 feated Maxentius, where he also beheld the Cross in 
 the heavens, and near which Maxentius was drowned 
 in endeavoring to escape (it is said). A few moments 
 more brought us to the city, which we entered by the 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 87 
 
 gate called the Porta del Popolo, the noblest entrance 
 of any city in the world. But I am not writing a book 
 of travels. I must not permit myself to enter into 
 too many details, but carry you hastily over a few of 
 the principle scenes of interest which I have visited. 
 As soon, therefore, as we had arrived at the hotel, we 
 got ourselves in readiness for dinner, and although 
 it was then past 6 o'clock in the evening, we deter- 
 mined to see St. Peter's before resting our heads 
 upon a pillow. Off, therefore, we started, with 
 no other guide than the direction given us at the 
 hotel, and after a walk of about twenty minutes, 
 St. Peter's, with its towering dome, its semi-circular 
 colonnade, its Egyptian obelisk, and its ever-playing 
 fountains, was before us. 
 
 "We paused to gaze for some moments upon a scene 
 surpassing all we had yet beheld, and rendered if 
 possible doubly beautiful by the soft light of the hour 
 at which we visited it. I must confess, however, 
 that I shared in the disappointment experienced by 
 all travellers as to the imposing appearance of the 
 church itself. This is principally on account of its 
 form, which is that of a Latin cross, instead of its 
 being a Grecian one, as was the wish of the great 
 designer. By this construdtion the dome is thrown 
 so far back as to be almost entirely hid when taking a 
 front view of the building. However, we were more 
 inclined to enjoy than to criticize. After lingering 
 for an hour or more around the enchanting spot, 
 we were content to return to our lodgings, and afford 
 the mind some respite from its long state of excitement 
 and agitation. The next day we again visited St. 
 
88 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Peter's, and had an opportunity of seeing its interior. 
 But I am not vain enough to begin to describe it to 
 you. I will only say that, after the repeated visits I 
 have made to this noble monument of art, I felt more 
 and more the truth of the lines of Byron : 
 
 Thou seest not all, but piecemeal thou must break 
 To separate contemplation the great whole." 
 
 Father McCloskey was highly favored in the friends 
 he found in the Eternal City, Through the Rt. Rev, 
 Francis Patrick Kenrick, Coadjutor of the Bishop of 
 Philadelphia, he was introduced by letter to Monsignor 
 Angelo Mai, then Secretary of the Congregation of 
 the Propaganda, and later librarian of the Vatican, 
 who was, as Cardinal Wiseman has observed, "the 
 discoverer of more lost works, and the transcriber of 
 more ancient manuscripts, sacred and profane, than 
 it has fallen to any one else's share, in modern times, 
 to publish." As Secretary of the Propaganda, all the 
 affairs of the American Church passed under the eye 
 of Monsignor Mai. To Drs. CuUen and O'Connor, 
 the ReAor and Vice-Redlor of the Irish College, he 
 had introdudtions from the Very Rev. Dr. Power, 
 Vicar-General of New York. Cardinal Weld was 
 another of the first Roman acquaintances of the young 
 priest, who bore a letter of introduction from His 
 Eminence's sister, Mrs. Bodenham, whom he had met 
 in Paris. Cardinal Weld had more than an official 
 connection with the young Church of the West. It 
 was in the chapel of his father's house, Lulworth 
 Castle, Dorsetshire, England, when young Weld was 
 only seventeen, that Dr. Carroll, the first Bishop of 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 89 
 
 Baltimore, was consecrated, and between whom and 
 the Weld family there continued the closest friendship, 
 during the subsequent years of the Archbishop's life. 
 And here we may be pardoned for yielding to a 
 refledlion which forces itself, doubtless, also upon the 
 reader. How little did the Father of the American 
 hierarchy dream, on that memorable morning of his 
 consecration, as he laid his newly anointed hands in 
 benediction upon the head of a young scion of the 
 house of his pious host, that this good youth of seven- 
 teen was to be one of the first English Cardinals since 
 the Reformation! The "Second Spring" of England's 
 faith was then sixty winters distant, and, to human 
 ken, seemed centuries away; for as Cardinal Newman 
 says in his famous sermon "no longer was the Catholic 
 Church in England, nay, no longer a Catholic com- 
 munity; but a few adherents of the Old Religion 
 moving silently and sorrowfully about, as memorials 
 of what had been." Little did Cardinal Weld, forty- 
 five years later, think that the humble young priest 
 from the New World who knelt for his eminent patron's 
 blessing, was destined to be the first fair fruit of that 
 far-off and obscure corner of Christ's Vineyard to be 
 raised to the cardinalitial dignity; for Cardinal Weld 
 remembered the time when America had no bishop 
 and recalled the doubts and misgivings of the best and 
 wisest as to the danger of sending a Roman Prelate 
 into the new republic, not yet emancipated from the 
 inherited fear of "popery, prelacy, and wooden shoes." 
 Truly for the Church in both nations, the close of the 
 eighteenth century was the hour of deepest gloom that 
 goes before the dawn. 
 
90 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Dr. Cullen held, perhaps, still closer relations with 
 the heads of the Church in the United States. Through 
 his hands passed, in those early days, before our 
 bishops had grown familiar with the methods of the 
 Roman Curia, much of the confidential correspondence 
 touching our ecclesiastical administration and dis- 
 cipline. The attachment which sprang up at their 
 first meeting between the young New York priest 
 and the scarcely less youthful but wise, learned, and 
 already influential Irish redlor, grew and ripened into 
 a life-long friendship. It is noteworthy, too, that Dr. 
 Cullen was destined to be not only the first Cardinal 
 amongst the numerous prelates educated in the College 
 of the Propaganda, but also the first of Irish birth in 
 the history of the Church to be elevated to the highest 
 office in the gift of the Holy See. Of Dr. O'Connor's 
 relations with this country it suffices to say that he 
 became the first Bishop of Pittsburgh. Among the 
 many prominent Americans he met during his stay 
 in Rome was Edward Tyrrel Channing, the younger 
 brother of the Rev. Dr. Channing, the celebrated 
 Unitarian divine. Mr. Channing resided one or two 
 winters in Rome, while Father McCloskey was there. 
 Channing was very deeply impressed by all that he 
 saw in Rome, and had many long conversations with 
 Father McCloskey on the subjedl of religion. He 
 confessed himself satisfied with everything in the 
 Catholic Faith, but could not bring himself to accept 
 the Divinity of Christ. He always envied converts 
 to the Catholic Church. To one of his friends, who 
 had become a Catholic, he said: "I envy you; you 
 have now set your foot upon the rock!" 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 91 
 
 It was the intention of Father McCloskey to enter 
 as a student at the Propaganda, and with this view 
 he called upon Monsignor Mai, in whose absence he 
 was very courteously received by the Red:or of the 
 college, the Abbate Count Reisach. After learning 
 the intentions of Father McCloskey as to his future 
 in Rome, the Abbate inquired if he were in a 
 position to meet his own expenses while pursuing his 
 studies. On finding that such was the case he said: 
 "Well, then, I would advise you, since you are in 
 delicate health, to take residence in some religious 
 house where you will be above suspicion, and where 
 your time will be at your disposal to take the needed 
 care of yourself, and to attend the ledtures of the 
 Roman College, where you will have a splendid staff 
 of professors." Next day he met Mgr. Mai, who put 
 to him the same questions and gave him the same 
 advice. A few days later, at dinner in the CoUegio 
 Irlandese, where a place was reserved for him at table 
 as long as he remained in Rome, he met a young Irish 
 priest, Father Downes, who was then rooming at the 
 Convent of S. Andrea della Valle, whilst pursuing an 
 advanced course after a successful career in Maynooth. 
 It was arranged that Father McCloskey should take 
 quarters in the same convent. This convent belonged 
 to the Theatine Fathers, and the church of the same 
 name adjoining the convent is said to stand on the site 
 of the senate-house, where 
 
 In his mantle muffling up his face 
 
 Even at the base of Pompey's statue. 
 
 Which all the while ran blood, great Ccesar fell. 
 
92 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Following the advice of his experienced and learned 
 friends, Father McCloskey at once entered as a student 
 of the Rornan College, which was under the charge of 
 the Jesuits, and was the leading institution in Rome. 
 This college (also called the Gregorian University), 
 built, endowed, and presented to the Jesuits by Gregory 
 XIII, has given to the Church ten popes. Here he 
 had as professors such scholars as the celebrated 
 theologian Perrone, and others worthy to sit in the 
 chairs once filled by Cornelius a Lapide, Bellarmine, 
 and Suarez. Of his professors and of his new life, 
 the following fragments of correspondence from Rome 
 will give the best index of his mind's growth and of 
 the influence which, perhaps more than anything else, 
 went to the formation of the character of the future 
 Archbishop of New York. It is to be regretted that 
 the letters received from Father McCloskey during 
 his residence in Rome have not been preserved; at 
 least we have been able to find only a few. Frag- 
 ments only of some twenty letters have been found 
 among the Cardinal's papers, — copies or first drafts, 
 in whole or in part, of epistles addressed to friends at 
 home. It seems to have been his habit to make a 
 rough draft of a letter and afterwards to elaborate it. 
 These first sketches, however, are perhaps a more 
 correal reflex of his adlual mind than the more care- 
 fully prepared letters, and therefore leave less to be 
 regretted than the loss of the copies received by his 
 friends. Sometimes these drafts are without date, 
 except the year, and in only a few instances is there 
 any internal evidence to indicate precisely the person 
 addressed. Besides these letters, there is still in 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 93 
 
 existence a Diary in which are elaborate descriptions 
 of the grand church ceremonies, visits to sacred shrines, 
 and experiences on country excursions during the 
 villeggiatura, containing, of course, much that Roman 
 visitors or students are familiar with, but giving also 
 his individual impression of persons and things with 
 refreshing originality. 
 
 In the following letter addressed to his Bishop, Rt. 
 Rev. Dr. Dubois, he announces his arrival in the 
 Eternal City: 
 
 Convent of S. Andrea della Valle 
 Rome, March 5, 1835 
 Rt. Rev. and Respeded Sir: 
 
 I had anticipated the pleasure of addressing yoa 
 from the Eternal City at a much earlier period than 
 the present; and you, no doubt, expedied to receive 
 intelligence of my arrival more than a month ago. 
 But in consequence of repeated and most unexpedled 
 delays, our journey through France and Italy was 
 prolonged for something more than two entire months; 
 so that we did not arrive in Rome until the 8th of 
 February. I wrote you a few lines immediately after 
 my arrival at Havre, informing you of the happy and 
 prosperous termination of our voyage, and of the great 
 benefit which I have received from it. It was my wish 
 and intention to write you from several of the cities 
 through which we passed, but as I could have given 
 you little more than the tedious details of my travel, 
 I thought it best to defer troubling you until my 
 arrival here, always flattering myself that a few days 
 more would find it accomplished. 
 
94 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 On our way from Paris to Marseilles we met with 
 no obstacles, but, on the contrary, had a most in- 
 teresting journey, — passing through Lyons — and one 
 which we enjoyed exceedingly. 
 
 It was, as you know, our determination to take the 
 steamer immediately from Marseilles to Civita Vecchia, 
 by which arrangement we would be in Rome at Christ- 
 mas or New Year's. The boat in which we were to 
 sail and on which we had engaged our passage had 
 not yet returned from Naples, but was expedled daily. 
 After waiting three or four days beyond its accus- 
 tomed return, we learned that the boat was lost 
 between Naples and Civita Vecchia, but that neither 
 lives nor property of any were lost. Our only alter- 
 native then was either to remain in Marseilles a week 
 longer and proceed to Nice and there meet the next 
 boat, which on account of cholera in Spain was con- 
 demned to perform its quarantine of five days, or to 
 remain at this place. We of course chose the latter; 
 and after nearly a week's detention in Marseilles, we 
 were extremely glad to find ourselves once more in 
 motion and on our road to Toulon. 
 
 Meantime, your package for Cardinal Weld was 
 forwarded by post, in order that he might receive it 
 in due time. 
 
 The "package" for Cardinal Weld was in all proba- 
 bility a statement of the disturbed condition of things 
 then existing in New York, and an application to His 
 Eminence to use his influence to have either Dr. Pise 
 or Father Mulledy appointed the Bishop's Coadjutor. 
 One is led to this belief from the fad that Father 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 95 
 
 McCloskey was the bearer of another "package for 
 Cardinal Weld" from Very Rev. Dr. Power, V.G., 
 whose friends thought that the best interests of religion 
 called for his appointment to the position. The fadt 
 of Father McCloskey's being the bearer of these com- 
 munications, and of his having forwarded them, led 
 "some wiseacres sapiently to surmise that this must 
 be the business" of his journey. This rumor may 
 have been a disguised blessing to him, and may have 
 procured for him some words of fatherly advice from 
 Cardinal Weld as to avoiding issues of this nature. 
 At least this is the inference one would naturally draw 
 from the account of his interview with His Eminence, 
 as told in the following letter to Dr. Power. But, 
 apart from any such advice, it was entirely in keeping 
 with Cardinal McCloskey's lifelong course to avoid 
 partisanship, while holding with unshaken firmness 
 his own convidtions. 
 
 His letter to Dr. Power is most interesting from the 
 account it gives of his studies and of his state of mind 
 in his new surroundings. It is without date, except 
 the year, but doubtless was written soon after he 
 settled down to work. 
 
 183s 
 Very Rev. and dear Friend: 
 
 Notwithstanding the repeated resolutions I made 
 of writing to you immediately after my arrival in 
 Rome, I have permitted weeks and months to elapse 
 without having yet fulfilled my promises. So totally 
 destitute am I of all apology that I am almost ashamed 
 to write at all after so much procrastination. I should 
 at least have long since acknowledged my obligations 
 
96 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 to you for the letters with which you favored me and 
 which were to me essential service. . . . 
 
 The package diredled to Cardinal Weld which you 
 entrusted to my care I thought advisable to forward 
 by post, on account of the very long delays to which 
 I was subjected after leaving Marseilles, by quarantine, 
 and the difficulty of procuring places in the diligence 
 during the Christmas holidays. As I was the bearer 
 of another letter to Cardinal Weld from his sister, to 
 whom I had the honor to be introduced in Paris, I 
 made it my business to call on him soon after my 
 arrival here. He told me that the package had arrived 
 safely. As His Eminence seemed to be very busily 
 engaged at the time I had but very little conversation 
 with him, and I have not called on him since. I found 
 that all I had heard of his affability and condescension 
 was in nothing exaggerated; but I am credibly in- 
 formed that, owing to some particular circumstances 
 with which I am not acquainted, the Cardinals in 
 general have become more cautious in conversing with 
 private clergymen on ecclesiastical matters of any 
 importance. 
 
 However, it is a very certain fad:, which I have al- 
 ready had many opportunities of verifying, that the 
 affairs of the American Church, even to the minutest 
 details of individual dioceses, and of New York per- 
 haps more than any other, are very well known in the 
 Eternal City. For instance, the news of the misunder- 
 standing between the Bishop and Mr. Levins had 
 reached here long before I had arrived. The fadt of my 
 being on my road was also known, and some wiseacres 
 had sapiently surmised that this must be the business of 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 97 
 
 my journey. For my own part the plan which I have 
 adopted and to which I will adhere is not to meddle 
 myself with any matters of the kind. . . . 
 
 As my great objedl in wishing to spend some time in 
 the metropolis of the Christian world was self-improve- 
 ment, it is to this objedl I endeavor exclusively to 
 devote myself. Should I, however, be called upon or 
 interrogated by any one having the right to do so, I 
 would, of course, deem it my duty to speak what I 
 conscientiously believe to be the truth, the whole 
 truth, and nothing but the truth. What my con- 
 vidlions are you already sufficiently know. 
 
 And truly I have much reason to congratulate myself 
 on my great and good fortune, in having afforded me 
 such golden opportunities as may here be enjoyed. 
 Rome is still the City of the soul ; the Mother of arts ; 
 the Parent of our religion. Pregnant as are her crum- 
 bling monuments and hoary ruins with classic and 
 historic associations, every temple and almost every 
 shrine seems fraught with lessons to the Christian far 
 more affecting in all that is instructive, all that is 
 sublime in the history of our religion. Seated in her 
 libraries you can converse with the earliest and most 
 venerable Doctors of the Church, and gather the most 
 precious knowledge amid the vast and various treasures 
 which they open to you. And emerging from the study 
 to mingle in the realities of life, you can, if you will, 
 discover new sources of instrudlion and edification as 
 well as of pleasure at almost every step. Indeed I can 
 never be too thankful to those who encouraged me in 
 my desire of going abroad. Never could I have imag- 
 ined that so strong impressions could be made upon me, 
 
98 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 or that I had so much enthusiasm in my nature as I 
 experienced since I first landed in Havre. And should 
 it cost me the last cent I have, I would have considered 
 myself as being more than amply repaid. I will not 
 venture to tax your time and patience by alluding to 
 any of the numberless and interesting scenes I have wit- 
 nessed in Rome. I may presume, however, that you 
 would be pleased to know how I am situated and what 
 I am about. I board in the Convent of S. Andrea 
 della Valle, and bye the bye a very classic spot, where 
 
 Brutus made the dagger's edge surpass 
 
 The conqueror's sword, in bearing fame away. 
 
 I have a room sufficiently large and commodious, 
 and am as much master of my time and adtions as I 
 would be in a house of my own ; with this only excep- 
 tion, that I cannot be out at a late hour, which is no 
 inconvenience to me, as I visit no one except the 
 clergymen of colleges, etc. There is a very good library 
 in the Convent to which I have access when I please, 
 as well as to many others in Rome. I attend each 
 day two ledtures at the Roman College, one on moral, 
 the other on dogmatic, theology. These lectures are 
 considered by far the best in Rome. In addition to 
 this I attend what is called an Academy of the Sapienza, 
 where students, principally clergymen who have al- 
 ready finished their course, discuss controversial ques- 
 tions, to which they always come prepared, as being 
 proposed a week previously. Scripture and ecclesi- 
 astical history, I study privately. 
 
 In the following letter to his sister we learn more 
 of the details of his life, outside the ledure hall, at 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 99 
 
 this period, as well as the fad: that the distradlion of 
 distance and travel and close application to study had 
 not dried up the well-spring of affedtion for his family, 
 to whorn he was ever devotedly attached : 
 
 Dear Sister: 
 
 Seated at my table in one of my pensive moods, 
 and imagination transporting me, as it usually does on 
 such occasions, across the wide Atlantic even to the 
 bosom of my own dear family, the refledion has 
 forcibly occurred to me that, since my departure from 
 America, I have not addressed to you specially a single 
 letter. 
 
 It is true I have in most cases written to mother and 
 yourself conjointly, and this, I hope, has always been 
 sufficient to prove to you, if proof were necessary, 
 that you were not forgotten, and that coldness or want 
 of affedlion has no share in my not writing to yourself 
 individually. I know that in heart and in feeling 
 mother and you are one, and that for this reason there 
 was little use in attending to what was, after all, a 
 cold formality, that of sending you separate letters. 
 I hope that the plan I have adopted will satisfy both 
 parties. I think it, however, nothing more than a 
 just tribute of affedtion to gratify the impulse I now 
 feel of saying a few words to you. 
 
 During our separation, which will not, I hope, be 
 very long, after the reading of a letter from you and 
 my dear mother, I enjoy nothing more than the an- 
 swering of them. This pleasing occupation makes 
 me feel as if I was again really conversing with you, 
 and can almost for a moment forget how great is the 
 
loo JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 interval that lies between us. What shall I write to 
 you about ? I could, of course, at any time, fill pages 
 with accounts of things which I have seen in this 
 city of wonders; but I have always preferred to 
 write in the good old way. And conceiving that you 
 would be better pleased to hear something of myself, 
 I have alluded but very rarely to other things. Indeed, 
 it is a common failing with persons who travel, and 
 one which I thought to avoid, of writing to their 
 families long details of their sight-seeings, etc., and 
 leaving them quite in the dark as to themselves. I 
 intend, therefore, by way of pastime, to let you know 
 precisely how I live in Rome. 
 
 I rise at six; say Mass at the Church of the Gesu; 
 walk to the Roman College; hear the leAures; return 
 to my room ; study till dinner — the company are the 
 members of the religious community with which I 
 live. After dinner I chat a while with my companion, 
 a young Irish clergyman. In the afternoon I return 
 for ledtures; take a short walk; visit the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment in some of the many churches near at hand; 
 return in the evening before the Ave Maria, i.e., 
 sundown; study till supper, and, after an hour or 
 more of reading, retire for the night. 
 
 Then follows a pen portrait of himself as he appears 
 on the streets of Rome : 
 
 Imagine that you see me with a high-cocked hat, 
 cassock, silk mantle or cloak according to the weather, 
 and shoes with buckles, walking through the streets of 
 this great city, minding nobody, and nobody minding 
 me — quite at home. 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE loi 
 
 Close application to study, of which a mass of manu- 
 script notes remain, and the distradions of Roman 
 life, did not prevent him from keeping in touch with 
 the state of affairs in his own diocese. In fadl he was 
 consulted on many points of administration by his 
 bishop, and his views were given with the clearness 
 and frankness which always marked his words when 
 he felt called upon to write or speak. 
 
 Convent of S. Andrea della Valle 
 
 Rome, July 28, 1835 
 Rt. Rev. and Dear Sir: 
 
 I have the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt of 
 your kind letter bearing date 15th May, by the arrival 
 of Mr. Henry, who reached this city a few days since 
 (and it is needless to say that I was made glad by the 
 sight of even one American face). It gave me great 
 pleasure to hear that you were in good health and 
 spirits, notwithstanding the many perplexities and 
 troubles by which you are surrounded. It seems that 
 things are the same as when I left. It was very 
 gratifying to know that Rev. Mr. Levins has chosen 
 
 the more prudent part in keeping silence So Nyack 
 
 (College) still remains in statu quo. How strange it is 
 that the people must have favors forced upon them; 
 that they should so obstinately oppose what is only 
 for their good! But for my part I would rather see 
 the whole establishment at the bottom of the Tappan 
 Zee than see it under the control of lay trustees. 
 
 The more I contrast the conditions of Catholic 
 institutions, of Catholic laity and clergy here, with 
 the situation of the same in the United States, the 
 
102 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 more do I deprecate the baneful system of Trusteeism 
 which has been at the bottom of all the most serious 
 evils which have yet arisen in the Church of America. 
 
 You speak of having the Jesuits; but would not 
 that defeat one of the main objedls of your seminary, 
 namely, educating clergymen for the mission? I am 
 not aware that Jesuits would condudt a seminary for 
 the training of young men to be secular clergymen. 
 As to the school for the boys, no doubt, in this point 
 of view, they would be eminently useful. But there 
 can be no doubt as to the fadl that clergymen bound 
 together by no particular tie could ever give an 
 institution that full organization and harmony, or 
 that unity of discipline and government so necessary 
 to secure its stability and permanence. 
 
 As for myself, I grow more and more pleased with 
 my situation daily; and it has, I think, been very 
 fortunate for me that I did not go to the Propaganda. 
 There has been an unusual degree of sickness there 
 this season; great numbers of the students have been 
 spitting blood. Among others D. Ferry and another 
 American; Manahan has been a little unwell from 
 the same complaint, but I believe he is quite recovered. 
 
 My own health continues very good. At this 
 particular season, of course, I feel a little of the languor 
 and lassitude that are necessarily produced by such 
 intense continuous heat as we here experience. I 
 still attend ledtures as usual on dogmatic theology in 
 the Roman College. I am greatly pleased with our 
 professor of dogma; he is most clear and forcible on 
 controversial points of the present day, to which he 
 attaches by far the most interest. His course will be 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 103 
 
 published. The first volume has already appeared. 
 It is a theology the best of any I have yet seen on 
 the controversies of the time. His objections are all 
 drawn from the works of modern rationalist and 
 deistical writers. His book is enriched with copious 
 and learned notes, in which he shows his acquaintance 
 with the entire state of controversy in Germany, 
 England, and America. 
 
 I have made few acquaintances, in fadt none except 
 among the inmates of the Propaganda, Irish, and 
 English Colleges. I visit none. The hours not em- 
 ployed in study are spent in taking exercise, in visiting 
 churches and other places of interest. 
 
 About this time (March 18, 1835) Father McCloskey 
 suffered the loss, by an early death, of his beloved 
 sister; she was only eighteen. That he could be de- 
 votedly attached and was possessed of a most affec- 
 tionate disposition, despite his well-remembered reserve 
 of manner which to strangers looked like native cold- 
 ness, is evident from the way in which he mourns her 
 loss. The letter in which he pours out the sorrow of 
 his soul is addressed to a reverend friend who was on 
 very intimate terms with the family, and who had 
 written to him a letter of condolence. The friend was 
 then, it would seem, the redlor of Mount St. Mary's 
 College, Emmitsburg. 
 
 Rev. and Dear Friend: 
 
 Your kind letter of i8th May came to hand a few 
 weeks since. It would be difficult for me to express 
 to you the sincere pleasure I derived from its perusal. 
 
I04 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 ... At such a distance from all who are near and 
 dear to me, everything which forcibly recalls them to 
 mind, any, even the most trifling intelligence that is 
 received from or concerning them, is seized and clung 
 to with an eagerness and tenacity which makes me 
 more than ever feel how strangely powerful are to the 
 sojourners in a foreign land the magic names of coun- 
 try, home and friends. Yet as every tender word or 
 affedlion is only rendered the more quick and sensitive 
 the wider the separation, if rudely or severely struck 
 the more long and piercing will be its vibrations: 
 and when there is no ancient friend, no skilful hand 
 to help restore it to its proper tone, how difficult it is 
 for the afflid:ed soul properly again to attune it! But 
 why should I say: how difficult? What dearer friend, 
 what sweeter comforter, can the heart require than 
 it will find in religion.? Yes; religion supplies us 
 with a balm for every wound, a soothing remedy for 
 every grief. You, dear friend, have expressed your 
 sympathy for the loss I have sustained in the death of 
 a dearest sister. I thank you for your kindness, and 
 must apologize for intruding my melancholy thought 
 upon you. But whenever any thing presses heavily 
 on the mind we find relief in giving utterance to our 
 thoughts. And you, no doubt, will pardon my weak- 
 ness when I tell you that the sister I have lost was 
 one most dear to me. Although, when I bade her 
 farewell, I could hardly flatter myself that I should 
 meet her again in this world, still I little thought that 
 the very first letter I should receive from home should 
 bring me such mournful tidings, and give me to know 
 that my affedlion for her was not greater than hers 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 105 
 
 for me, and that from the day of my departure she 
 grieved for me as if I had died before her. Her health 
 and spirits began to droop more and more rapidly, 
 leaving room to think that sorrow had accelerated her 
 death. My mother's health, I fear, will be impaired by 
 the loss ; and God only knows what ones of my family 
 I am again to see. These affeAions. . . . But I will be 
 more resigned. God's holy will be done! 1 feel as if I 
 could thank you in advance for reading the above, and 
 bearing with my foolish weakness. Farewell, then, to 
 gloomy thoughts, and let imagination carry me to the 
 more smiling home of my best and happiest years. 
 
 Rome exercised upon Father McCloskey the same 
 effedl it always has upon cultured minds. His habits 
 and works were not broken up but stimulated. His 
 mental and moral preparation for his stay, and his 
 extended studies in that focus of inspiration rendered 
 him fully appreciative of the old things and new which 
 he saw around him. The following extradl is from a 
 Diary kept at this period: 
 
 "Each day affords new sources of pleasure, and an 
 intelled:ual banquet of which one can never partake 
 to satiety. To kneel in the churches ereded as early 
 as the days of Constantine, to see the monuments of 
 an ancient faith on every side, to feel that here have 
 knelt and prayed the best and holiest, whose sandity 
 has shed a soft and hallowed light upon the morn of 
 Christianity! One feels his soul expand within him, 
 conversing with spirits of another world, and irresistibly 
 yields to the strong language which speaks to one from 
 all sides, that our religion is divine. We need not 
 
io6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 envy the Protestants. They may with greater confi- 
 dence raise their heads in a new country, but here 
 they cannot but feel that they are intruders and 
 unlawful usurpers in the presence of public monu- 
 ments, undying records which show our title deeds to 
 our rightful inheritance to be so clear. Oh, what 
 cannot one enjoy who comes to this great classic and 
 holy city, with a mind prepared to appreciate its his- 
 toric and religious charm! And of how much must 
 he be deprived who comes as an idle traveller, to spend 
 his time and money, with a barren mind and still more 
 barren heart! And yet of such there are not a few; 
 idle gazers who love to see strange sights, murmur 
 or are delighted — volia tout." 
 
 At the close of the scholastic year, which, in Rome, 
 runs into the deadly heat of August, Father McCloskey 
 felt the need of the usual relaxation. A diary, marked 
 A Country Excursion, contains a rather minute and 
 matter-of-fadt relation of his experiences during a 
 prolonged ramble through the charming and classic 
 hill country that surrounds the Roman Campagna. 
 The opening entry in the Excursion is: 
 
 "Frascati, September 21, 1835. As it is customary 
 for a very great part of the inhabitants of Rome, 
 particularly students, to take what they call a villeg- 
 giatura or excursion to some part of the country during 
 the two months of September and Odlober, I de- 
 termined to avail myself of the custom, and pay a 
 visit to such places in the vicinity of Rome as possess 
 most interest, and are, at the same time, remarkable 
 for salubrity. Accordingly I set out this morning 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 107 
 
 in company with Rev. Mr. Downes, at about 6 o'clock, 
 and after a pleasant ride of three hours in a vettura, 
 arrived here in Frascati." 
 
 The associations of this hill country, which frames 
 in almost the whole of Roman history, seem to 
 have monopolized his thoughts. The question as to 
 the exadl site of Cicero's villa, then so much discussed 
 amongst antiquarians, had no interest for him. It 
 was his to enjoy, leaving controversy to others — a 
 philosophic spirit which marked him through life, 
 especially when the issue was purely academic. The 
 Diary, it is to be regretted, is written in a rather 
 , matter-of-fadl style. Had the tourist indulged more 
 freely in comments, we might possibly be furnished 
 with a better knowledge of what formed his ideals of 
 manners and men. However, when he does so indulge, 
 his previous reserve is a bond for his sincerity. Here 
 and there he does let his judgment have its way. In 
 the notes written in Palestrina he says: 
 
 "I may here, perhaps, as well as elsewhere, note a 
 circumstance which has struck me very forcibly and 
 frequently during this excursion. It is the high 
 degree of instrudlion which is found even amongst the 
 lowest classes of the people, old and young, on the 
 subjed: of their religion. A very great portion, too, 
 can read and write, and all of them have an inde- 
 pendence of tone and manner, blended with proper 
 civility, which show that they are not a people either 
 of abjedl minds or accustomed to servile treatment. 
 Many are very poor and seldom eat meat; but they 
 have plenty of pure wine and wholesome bread." 
 
io8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 But all these classic, historic and scenic surroundings 
 could not charm away the homesickness which never 
 left him till his return to his native land. Few there 
 are who have ever wandered far from home, at least 
 for the first time, who will not enter into the warmth 
 with which the young priest read an old home 
 newspaper which came his way at this time. "This 
 morning," he writes, in Tivoli, "we visited the Irish 
 college villa, where I had the pleasure of getting 
 three numbers of the Catholic Herald, the perusal of 
 which I have this moment finished. One of them 
 contained the 'Distribution of Premiums at Mt. St. 
 Mary's.' I cannot express the interest with which I 
 read this notice, one of so little interest to any one 
 else on this side of the ocean. I was careful not to 
 skip a single name ; was glad to see that many in whom 
 I was rnuch interested had acquitted themselves with 
 great credit, and also that there were besides many 
 names that were strange to me. . . ." 
 
 At the opening of the scholastic year (November, 
 1835), Father McCloskey continued to attend the 
 ledlures on dogmatic and moral theology at the 
 Gregorian University, and was entered as a student 
 of the University of the Sapienza for a course in canon 
 law. He was now entering on his second year of 
 Roman residence; events and persons of more than 
 common interest began to come into his life. He 
 used to say, in later years, that the two cardinals with 
 whom he was best acquainted were Cardinal Weld 
 and Cardinal Fesch, the uncle of Napoleon. It was 
 through the Bishop of Vincennes that he came to 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 109 
 
 know Cardinal Fesch. Bishop Brute, his friend from 
 boyhood, and his preceptor for twelve years, came 
 to Rome about this time. The holy bishop was 
 already a personage there. He was well known to 
 Gregory XVI, to Cardinal Fesch, and to several mem- 
 bers of the Sacred College, as a missionary of boundless 
 zeal, a saintly and learned prelate. The good bishop 
 presented his young protege — for as such he looked 
 upon John McCloskey from his entrance into Mount 
 St. Mary's — to the famous French Cardinal, who 
 entertained a warm affedtion for the Bishop of Vin- 
 cennes. This introdu(ftion secured for the young 
 priest the entree to the palace of the distinguished 
 Cardinal, to whose library and galleries he was asked 
 to come as often as he felt disposed, and where he was 
 received sans ceremonie. He often found the venerable 
 Prince of the Church in his library; and frequently 
 the aged prelate would mount a ladder to procure 
 some rare book or manuscript to interest his young 
 friend; or would accompany him through his gallery 
 of choice paintings, and point out their best features 
 with a charming simplicity. It was, no doubt, by 
 her illustrious brother that Father McCloskey was 
 presented to Napoleon's mother, Madame Letitia 
 Bonaparte, to whom he thus refers in the letter 
 quoted above: "Since I last wrote you, I had the 
 opportunity of seeing Bonaparte's mother. She 
 was propped up in bed, eating her breakfast from a 
 little table used by her son on St. Helena, the only 
 article of furniture belonging to the Emperor she has. 
 She is quite a skeleton; has a good deal of French 
 countenance; the outlines of the face are not unlike 
 
no JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 those of Napoleon when young. She is quite blind. 
 How few are now around her! Cardinal Fesch visits 
 her every day." The letter closes with a remark 
 which shows that he kept in touch with American 
 affairs: "I have just learned of the dreadful fire in 
 New York, and of President Jackson's message." 
 
 About this time Father McCloskey suffered the 
 loss of a very dear and devoted friend, Father Anthony 
 Kohlmann, S.J. As pastor of St. Peter's, Barclay 
 Street, he had been the adviser of the young priest's 
 parents in New York for many years. He had seen 
 him grow up from childhood, and had been his guide 
 and friend in Rome. It is therefore but natural that 
 he should express himself feelingly on the death of 
 this holy man, as in this letter addressed to the 
 Very Rev. Dr. Power: 
 
 Rome, April 15, 1836 
 Very Rev. dear Sir: 
 
 It is truly with deep regret that I now feel it my 
 duty to acquaint you with the news, which, if not 
 already known to you, cannot but give you pain. 
 Our venerable and most worthy friend. Father Kohl- 
 mann, is no more. He has been summoned to another 
 world, after a warning of only a few days. On Friday, 
 the 8th. inst., he was as usual in his confessional. 
 During the course of the day he was seized with a 
 violent fever which obliged him to take to his bed, 
 and on Sunday morning, about five o'clock, he was a 
 corpse. On Monday, I had the melancholy pleasure 
 of beholding him laid out in the Church of the Gesii, 
 where numbers were assembled to show respedl for his 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE iii 
 
 memory, and to view for a little time his mortal re- 
 mains. His sickness was so very short that death 
 effedted but little change in his appearance. He 
 seemed to be in a gentle sleep, such calmness and 
 placidity. His countenance seemed to have lost noth- 
 ing of its usual fulness or even freshness. And such 
 was the composure of every feature, that one could 
 hardly resist saying within himself: He is not dead, 
 but sleepeth. His loss as you may well conceive, is 
 deeply regretted by the members of his Order here as 
 well as by all who knew him. 
 
 As for myself, I feel his death most sensibly, having 
 lost in him so prudent a diredlor, so kind a father and 
 friend. 
 
 You also. Very Reverend and dear Sir, are deprived 
 by his death of a most adlive and valuable friend in 
 Rome. And now that he rests in his grave, I may be 
 permitted to say of him what I did not feel at liberty 
 to say during his life. 
 
 It was his conviction, more than once expressed to 
 me, that you ought to be appointed Coadjutor-Bishop 
 of New York; and he has used influence to this efifedl 
 in the Propaganda. The history and result of the 
 nominations by Bishop Dubois you are no doubt 
 better acquainted with than myself. I will only say 
 that Father Kohlmann expressed his opinions on this 
 subjedl to Monsignor Mai. The letter which you 
 wrote Father Kohlmann on the subjedl was read to 
 the Prefedl of the Propaganda and also to Monsignor 
 Mai. The Cardinal mentioned at the time that none 
 of the nominations would be adted upon; but that, 
 although the Sacred Congregation would instantane- 
 
112 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 ously ratify your appointment, should your name be 
 ever presented, they feh a delicacy in having recourse 
 to any measures which would seem to constrain the 
 Bishop; so that matters seem to remain in statu quo. 
 What will be the result God only knows, 
 
 I have received but one letter from the bishop, and 
 none from any one else in New York on the subjedl, 
 since I left; so that I am perfedtly in the dark as to 
 what is the aspedt of things on the other side of the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 I am happy to add (but entre nous) that Bishop 
 Brute, who lately visited Rome, coincided altogether 
 with the views of Father Kohlmann, — which also 
 are my own, — and expressed his sentiments both 
 verbally and in writing to Cardinal Fransoni. 
 
 It gradually became the intention of Bishop Dubois 
 to place Father McCloskey in charge of the new college. 
 This was one of the motives that later influenced 
 the good bishop in granting a long leave of absence 
 to such a valuable young priest, at a time when the 
 needs of the diocese were great and rapidly growing. 
 Of this Father McCloskey was aware, hence his in- 
 terest in all the affairs of the college was adtive even 
 at such a distance; and, when opportunity offered, 
 he was not slow to advance its claims on the support 
 of such societies as aided mission work. This appears 
 from the following letter to Bishop Dubois, dated 
 Rome, June 15, 1836: 
 
 Rt. Rev. and dear Sir: 
 
 There has been lately established in this city a society 
 somewhat similar to the Leopoldine Society of Vienna, 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 113 
 
 or, more properly, to the Societe de la Propagation de 
 la Foi of France. . . . Their objedt, therefore, is to 
 render whatever temporal or spiritual assistance they 
 can to foreign missions. The founder and principal 
 instigator of the society is a learned and zealous clergy- 
 man of Rome, whose piety and self-sacrifice have 
 adlually caused him to be esteemed by many as a 
 saint. To this friend of religion I had the honor of 
 being lately introduced, at his own request. I did not 
 fail to explain to him, at the very first interview (in 
 which he laid open to me the objedls of the Society 
 and the great interest he felt in the American missions), 
 as well as I could, the state of your diocese, and par- 
 ticularly the unfinished state of the college. He was 
 anxious to know what were the latest accounts con- 
 cerning it; but, unfortunately, I could give him no 
 authorized statement later than that contained in 
 your first letter. What change may have occurred 
 or what new prospedls may have opened since that 
 period, of course I could not say. I have ventured, 
 however, to adl on the presumption that things still 
 remain in statu quo, convinced that whatever assistance 
 could be had would, at all times, be acceptable. I 
 therefore, according to his advice, drew up a short 
 statistical account of the Catholic and Protestant 
 population of the State, the comparative numbers of 
 Protestant ministers and Catholic priests, of Pro- 
 testant and Catholic churches and public institutions, 
 with all which data I happened to be already furnished, 
 having previously paid some attention to the subjedt. 
 I felt that, by submitting to the Society fa^s, I was 
 placing before them the strongest argument to con- 
 
114 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 vince them how well diredled their exertions would 
 be in assisting your College. 
 
 It would be interesting to know if the new college 
 or the many good works of Bishop Dubois profited 
 anything by this recommendation to the new Roman 
 mission society. In the archives of the diocese, 
 however, there is no record of such aid, so far as we 
 have been able to find. 
 
 It was at this period of his Roman life, that Father 
 McCloskey made the acquaintance of Pere Lacordaire. 
 The two young priests had much in common which 
 drew them into a close friendship from the first, al- 
 though Lacordaire was some years older than Father 
 McCloskey. Both had come to the centre of Chris- 
 tianity in the early days of their priesthood, to acquire 
 that more profound knowledge of the sacred sciences, 
 which would enable them to turn to better advantage 
 for the good of souls, the gift of speech in which each 
 had given promise of great things in his own country. 
 Lacordaire's sympathies were strongly democratic, 
 and markedly so when there was question of American 
 democracy. His father had served as army surgeon 
 under Rochambeau during the American Revolution. 
 Bishop Dubois, it is believed, had invited him some 
 time previously to his diocese, with the promise of the 
 vicar-generalship. The eloquent and liberty-loving 
 young abbe had accepted, and, it is said, had even 
 engaged his place on the diligence for Havre, when 
 the "Three Day's Revolution" broke out (July, 
 1830), and turned the whole tide of his life. Not a 
 few have speculated on what might have been the 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 115 
 
 influence of such a nian on the destinies of the young 
 and growing Diocese of New York. Had Lacordaire 
 come, he would probably, it is thought, have succeeded 
 Bishop Dubois, and thus the great Archbishop Hughes 
 would have been lost to a field for which he seemed 
 created. Evidently the finger of God was here. 
 Each of these great sons of the Church had his destined 
 field. Lacordaire's glorious work in reviving the 
 Dominican Order in France and adding to its prestige 
 the eclat of his own fame, seems to have filled the 
 largest possible space he could have covered. 
 
 The two young priests roomed not far from the 
 Gesu, Lacordaire in Via San Nicolo, near the Gesu, 
 and Father McCloskey at S. Andrea della Valle, round 
 the corner, so to speak. Both said daily Mass at the 
 Gesii, and took their morning cafe and attended 
 the ledtures together. In his reminiscent moods, the 
 Cardinal used to speak with warm affedlion and 
 enthusiasm of his young French friend, of whose 
 eloquence even then all the salons of Paris were talk- 
 ing. Lacordaire, he used to say, was fired with love 
 of everything in Rome. One evening as the two 
 friends were returning from the Pincian, the "Ave 
 Maria" was ringing from a hundred Angelus bells. 
 Lacordaire exclaimed with enthusiasm: Dans les rues 
 de Rome on sent Dieu. 
 
 Lacordaire had been in Rome four years before, in 
 company of " a man of great talents, an accomplished 
 scholar, whose writings had not only rendered great 
 service to religion, but had delighted and astonished 
 Europe," to use the words of Leo XII of De Lamennais, 
 whom the same Pontiff according to Wiseman had 
 
ii6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 reserved in petto for the highest dignity in his gift. 
 They came to seek the approval of the Holy See for 
 the principles of L'Avenir, then stirring all France to 
 its depths, and disturbing, too, the peace of the Sove- 
 reign Pontiff. Its principles were condemned. De 
 Lamennais refused to submit, and fell as Lucifer fell, 
 never to rise again. "None but an angel or a priest 
 can fall so low," wrote Madame Swetchine of him to 
 his young friend. Fortunately, Lacordaire, his ablest 
 and favorite pupil, had the grace to scent the danger, 
 and to break with the master. Speaking of his narrow 
 escape, one day, to Father McCloskey, he broke out 
 into a rhapsody over Rome and why he loved her 
 more than ever, exclaiming: Puree qu'elle m'a arrache 
 de rdbyme. 
 
 How differently did the Roman medicine adl on the 
 master, the close of whose ecclesiastical career was 
 marked by a foul attack on the Holy See, entitled Les 
 Affaires de Rome, in which, to discredit the head of 
 the Church, he seized as a weapon of offence the 
 conciliatory policy of the Sovereign Pontiff towards 
 the Czar, when Russia and Poland were in a deadly 
 struggle. As an earnest of the sincerity of his pro- 
 fession of loyalty to Rome referred to above, Lacor- 
 daire took up arms against his former leader, and in a 
 masterly Lettre sur le Saint Siege proved that the 
 principles imbibed from De Lamennais were in diredl 
 challenge to his conclusions; his refutation of the 
 apostate's charges was triumphant. It is in this 
 letter that Lacordaire makes that able use of a familiar 
 episode. Speaking of a brief address by Gregory 
 XVI to the Polish Bishops, he says: "Even supposing 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 117 
 
 (which I do not beUeve) that, in the hope of appeasing 
 the prince who was irritated against a portion of his 
 flock, the pastor expressed himself too strongly, I shall 
 never feel that Priam did anything unworthy of the 
 majesty of a king and the feelings of a father, when he 
 took the hand of Achilles and uttered these sublime 
 words: 'Judge of the depths of my misery, when I 
 kiss the hand that has slain my son.'" 
 
 It was whilst Lacordaire was writing this defence of 
 the Holy See that the young American priest and he 
 discussed in their walks on the Pincian and in the Villa 
 Borghese, the sad defeAion of one of the most remark- 
 able men of the nineteenth century. The rise and fall 
 oi U Avenir had a marked effedl on Father McCloskey; 
 he was familiar with its whole history, and knew well 
 some of the leading adtors in the drama; no wonder, 
 then, that it made on him an unfading impression, 
 and had, it must be presumed, its influence in forming 
 those habits of conservatism which marked his whole 
 after-life, although at heart he was large and liberal. 
 
 That he was anxiously keeping in close touch with 
 the progress of the new college for the education of 
 the clergy which Bishop Dubois had in mind, is seen 
 in the following letter written at the College of San 
 Andrea della Valle, on November 12, 1836: 
 
 Rt. Rev. and Dear Sir: 
 
 Your kind letter of August 9, I found awaiting me 
 on my return from S. Eusebius, the house of the 
 Jesuits, where I had been spending eight days in 
 retreat; and eight more consoling days, as well (I 
 trust) as profitable days, I have not passed since my 
 
ii8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 arrival in Rome. The exercises were given for ecclesi- 
 astics exclusively. They were condudted by a Jesuit 
 Father, who had been for twenty years and upwards 
 a Master of Novices ; and so thoroughly had mind and 
 heart been imbued with the spirit of the subjecfts 
 which he treated, that every word which fell from 
 him seemed to be attended by its own special grace, 
 and to operate almost irresistibly its desired effedt. 
 
 If I am unable to say anything of myself, still I may 
 with safety testify to the virtues of those around me. 
 They were about thirty in number, among them an 
 archbishop and two other prelates. And certainly 
 never did I behold among clergymen more edifying 
 faith ; and never was my already high opinion of the 
 sincere, unostentatious virtue of the Roman clergy 
 more confirmed and strengthened. How incalculable, 
 I often refledted within myself, would be the benefits to 
 us clergy in the United States, could we but enjoy the 
 same facilities, nay the same inducements, to withdraw 
 for a time from the distradtions and cares of the mis- 
 sion, to some retired spot where we might refresh our 
 spirits, and afterwards go forth with increased alacrity 
 and zeal! And how plain it is that nothing will so 
 effedlually secure to us these great advantages as the 
 establishment of well-regulated seminaries. 
 
 I am glad to know that Nyack is progressing; yet 
 when I think of the numberless obstacles there are to 
 its more rapid advancement, I cannot but express my 
 fears that a long time must elapse before it can be 
 completed and put in operation. It must be consoling, 
 however, for you to see that it advances, — though 
 slowly, — and to know that the person now intrusted 
 
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STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 119 
 
 with the superintendence of the farm and building is 
 in every way suited for his situation. 
 
 I am dehghted to know that there are so many 
 churches springing up in every part of your diocese. 
 The number mentioned in your letter quite astonished 
 me: I counted as many as thirteen. At that rate 
 I can have but Httle reason to fear that there will be 
 any want of room for me when I return. " But when," 
 methinks I hear you ask, "will that be?" I hope that 
 it will be soon. If Providence grants me continuance 
 of health and prospers my wishes, I will be back in my 
 dear diocese, either in the middle of summer or early 
 in the fall ; so that, should you be so kind as to favor 
 me with a letter after the receipt of this, please diredt 
 to the care of some one at the Seminary of St. Sulpice, 
 Paris. 
 
 The failure of the scheme proposed in 1834 by Mr. 
 Cornelius Heeney had not daunted Bishop Dubois in 
 his determination to eredt a seminary for the diocese. 
 It was but natural that he should be spurred on, 
 knowing that Father McCloskey would return from 
 Rome, not only in excellent health but also fully 
 equipped to manage the institution. In January, 
 1836, he again appealed to his clergy and people to 
 help him, and he obtained the promise of assistance 
 from the Bishops of Philadelphia and Boston. His 
 plan was to eredl a college similar to that of Emmits- 
 burg. It was two years later (1838), however, before 
 the plan could be carried out. 
 
 With all his undoubted qualifications. Father Mc- 
 Closkey declined to present himself as a candidate 
 
120 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 for the degree of Dodlor of Divinity. His close friend, 
 Dr. Edmund O'Reilly, later the Provincial of the 
 Jesuits in Ireland, was then a young student of the 
 Irish College. He had passed a brilliant public exami- 
 nation at this time, and proposed to "coach" him for 
 the ordeal, but he refused. And yet the man whose 
 ambition was never fired by titles attained to the 
 highest in the gift of the Sovereign Pontiff. Being 
 asked, one day, in his old age, why he did not take his 
 Dodtor's degree, he answered pleasantly, "Well, I did 
 not want to take the trouble," although when consulted 
 by any of his Roman students on the matter, he 
 always said he would be glad to see his young priests 
 bring with them all the honors Rome could give. 
 
 In the course of the two years which Father Mc- 
 Closkey passed in Rome, his character and tastes 
 underwent a marked though gradual change. His 
 early experiences in America were well calculated to 
 beget hard feelings towards the enemies and traducers 
 of his faith. The burning of Charlestown convent 
 took place about the time of his departure from New 
 York. In his early diaries and letters after quitting 
 home, this appears not seldom, but rarely towards 
 the close of his Roman days ; and no one could be more 
 considerate or more sparing of the feelings of dis- 
 senters in his after life, without abating one jot or tittle 
 of the Catholic position on all questions. This is the 
 effedl, invariably, of Roman education. "Certainly," 
 says Cardinal Wiseman, "I will bear willing testimony 
 to the absence of all harsh words and uncharitable 
 insinuations against others, in public ledlures, or pri- 
 vate teaching, or even in conversation at Rome. On 
 
STUDENT DAYS IN EUROPE 121 
 
 grows up there in a kinder spirit, and learns to speak 
 of errors in a gentler tone than elsewhere, though in 
 the very centre of highest orthodox feeling." 
 
 In the spring of 1837 Father McCloskey set out 
 towards home. In a fragmentary diary of his return 
 journey he writes : 
 
 "Florence. On the morning of the loth February, 
 1837, 1 bade a reludlant adieu to the 'Holy and Eternal 
 City.' I had spent in it just two years, having arrived 
 on the 8th February, 1835. These two years I am 
 confident I shall ever reckon amongst the happiest 
 and, it may be, the most profitable, of my life. Yet 
 they have passed over me almost as a dream, leaving, 
 I trust, more lasting and more real impressions, but 
 bewildering me in the thought of how they could 
 have fled so rapidly. Rome is still the city of the 
 soul, the city which of all others must ever be dear to 
 the heart of the Catholic. Although there is much to 
 off^end the prejudices of persons educated in a different 
 country, or brought up in religious opinions different 
 from those there entertained, still there is much more 
 to edify and please. But it is only by remaining in 
 Rome for a length of time, by having the opportunity 
 of making more than a hasty observation, and of 
 probing under the surface of things, that one can form 
 anything like a just estimate of what CathoHcs are, and 
 what the elevating influences of their religion. But is 
 it not enough to know that when in the favored city 
 you are truly in the centre of Christianity, — that you 
 behold the proud and enduring trophies of its vidlories, 
 the splendid witnesses of a nation's gratitude and a 
 
122 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 nation's faith rising on every side, in a word, that you 
 have not only what is most venerable in its association 
 with heathen greatness, but also what is most ancient, 
 most touching, most sublime in religion? ... Is not 
 all this enough to make the heart cling with a child's 
 fondness to so dear a mother ? In truth, I felt my mind 
 quite overpowered by the strange tumult of thought 
 which rushed in upon it as I quitted the gates of Rome." 
 
 He crossed the Alps by the Simplon, and he used 
 to tell of his perilous passage across the debris of an 
 avalanche, under which a band of tourists had been 
 buried the day before. He visited Germany, Belgium, 
 France and England. In Ireland he made a prolonged 
 stay amongst the genial clergy and hospitable laity of 
 the land of his forefathers, and where he acquired, 
 through acftual contadl, that deeper insight than he 
 was ever credited with, into the charadler of the people 
 who were to form, in after years, such a large portion 
 of his flock. 
 
 He reached New York in the summer of 1837, ^^^ 
 placed himself at once at the disposal of the good Bishop, 
 who had watched from afar the wondrous changes that 
 had come over the young priest's mind and heart. 
 One might say that his real work was now about to 
 begin. With the exception of ten months spent in New 
 York and in Nyack, he had been studying continuously 
 for sixteen years, and from now on his life was to be 
 spent, not as he anticipated in the professor's chair, 
 but in the Vineyard of the Lord, as pastor, bishop, 
 archbishop, and Cardinal of America's foremost Catho- 
 lic centre. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 IN THE VINEYARD (1837-1844) 
 
 Pastor of Old St. Joseph's. Father McCloskey and the 
 Recalcitrant Trustees. His Conquest. Christmas 
 Sermons and their Import. John Hughes Becomes 
 Coadjutor Bishop of New York. Seminary at La- 
 fargeville. Foundation of New Seminary and 
 College at Fordham. John McCloskey First Presi- 
 dent of St. John's College, Fordham. Conversion of 
 James Roosevelt Bayley. Father McCloskey Resigns 
 on account of III Health. Address of Student-Body. 
 Back at St. Joseph's. Becomes Coadjutor Bishop of 
 New York {November 21, 1843). 
 
 ON his return to New York, Father John 
 McCloskey lived for a few weeks at the old 
 cathedral redlory. His guardian of boyhood 
 days, Mr. Cornelius Heeney, who was living in 
 Brooklyn, appealed to Bishop Dubois to send the 
 young priest to take charge of the newly formed 
 parish of St. Paul in that city. But the trustees 
 had already determined to nominate Rev. Richard 
 Waters, who had attended to them, while assistant at 
 St. James' Church, Brooklyn. Ading on the advice 
 of Bishop Hughes, to whom he had written, and who 
 had been appointed Coadjutor to Bishop Dubois, he 
 refused to allow his name to be considered. 
 
 Bishop Dubois, as has been seen, had never given 
 
 123 
 
124 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 up hope of restoring the shattered fabric of his purpose 
 to educate his own clergy. Nyack was indeed a mis- 
 take, — a "splendid folly," as Bishop Hughes called 
 it, when he saw its ruins for the first time in 1838, and 
 no doubt its burning was providential. But Bishop 
 Dubois kept courageously to his projedt, although he 
 saw no hopes ahead either of a building or of pro- 
 fessors. He concluded to offer the work to a religious 
 order, and in February, 1837, he wrote to the Cardinal 
 Prefedt of Propaganda to make the proposal to the 
 Jesuits or to the Redemptorists. This plan might 
 have succeeded but for the fadl that the good bishop 
 offered Mount St. Mary's, Emmitsburg, as well as 
 Nyack, to the Cardinal-Prefedl. 
 
 The following letter from Bishop Dubois to President 
 Butler of Mount Saint Mary's explains this situation: 
 
 Rev. and dear Sir: 
 
 I received with pleasure your favor of the 18th. 
 inst. and beg you would accept of my grateful acknowl- 
 edgements for your pundlual attention to the commis- 
 sions which you had the goodness to undertake. I 
 would have thought it unnecessary to answer it until 
 the objedts announced are arrived, but a word of 
 your pleasing communication requires an explanation: 
 We are laboring hard to perfedl the work by forming 
 a society. You seem to have forgotten your request 
 and promise to invite a Society already sandlioned by 
 the Holy See to assume the government of two insti- 
 tutions, viz., Mt. St. Mary's and Nyack, promising 
 to transfer the property in your hands, as I would the 
 one in mine, to the Society. In consequence of this 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 125 
 
 I wrote to the Cardinal Prefedl of the Propaganda in 
 Rome to make the proposal to either the Jesuits (which 
 is doubtful) or to the Redemptorists, founded lately 
 by the Blessed Liguori, on the condition of their 
 fulfilling the objedls intended by both, and recruiting 
 themselves out of such of our young men as would join 
 them. I applied only for a superior of great merit and 
 a professor of theology for both, and as Nyack is not 
 finished as yet, that both superiors and professors 
 should reside for one year or so at Mt. St. Mary's, 
 until mine was completed. 
 
 You must be sensible of the great advantages which 
 both establishments would derive from being placed 
 under the control of the same Society, unconnedled 
 with any other in the United States. Being interested 
 only in our two establishments and equally interested 
 in both, as being under their exclusive control, they 
 would help one another, relieve one another in case 
 of difficulties and remove professors from one to the 
 other when they will think it serviceable to either or 
 to the professors themselves. The same system which 
 is adopted at Mt. St. Mary's would be pursued here, 
 and a time may come when the whole diocese may be 
 served by missionaries, members of that Society, and 
 as such under the control of the superior of the semi- 
 naries, and thereby relieve the bishop from the surveil- 
 lance of his clergy, whose appointment or removal he 
 would leave to the superior according to his prudence. 
 The utmost harmony would prevail among all mission- 
 aries as members of the same Society, and when dis- 
 abled they would find a home among their brethren. 
 Meanwhile, young men would be educated for the min- 
 
126 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 istry and teach the different classes as a compensation 
 for their education, and having witnessed the spirit of 
 the Society might join it with perfedl knowledge of 
 what they were doing. Although neither the superior 
 nor the professor of theology may speak English at 
 first, the superior will easily govern by the means of 
 an interpreter, and the professor of theology giving his 
 lessons of course in Latin will need none. 
 
 No education can be given on moderate terms in 
 this country, but by the means of a society. Pro- 
 fessors receive such enormous salaries that able ones 
 would absorb the whole revenue of the college, unless 
 enormous board and tuition are required. To give 
 you an example, the professor of grammar in Columbia 
 College here, gets ^2000 a year. Nor can they de- 
 pend long upon a good one, who, if eminent, will be 
 bought by another institution which will offer a higher 
 salary. No subordination and harmony can prevail 
 among professors not united by the vow of obedience, 
 and of course no subordination among the children^ 
 constant witnesses of the misunderstanding among 
 their teachers, nor can piety prevail as in a pious and 
 religious order. 
 
 Should you have changed your mind respedling that 
 plan agreed on between us, write to me immediately, 
 as I must inform the Cardinal Prefedl that it is given 
 up, at least as far as it relates to Emmitsburg, and shall 
 have to delay their coming until my establishment is 
 ready to receive them. Don't forget to put in the 
 box of the pidure an engraving of Mt. St. Mary's, 
 illuminated if possible ; perhaps they would color it at 
 St. Joseph's. The Redemptorists being under the 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 127 
 
 special protedlion of the Leopoldine Society of Vienna 
 will probably be considerably helped by it. 
 
 When this fadl became known, it looked for a time 
 as if Father McCloskey was not to be considered in 
 the new college and seminary. But, as we shall see, 
 Bishop Dubois' plans were not successful, and within 
 two years the new college and seminary were founded 
 at Fordham, with Father John McCloskey as first 
 president of the college. 
 
 An incident once mentioned in conversation by the 
 Cardinal deserves to be chronicled here. One of the 
 trustees of St. Paul's who was a merchant, unwittingly 
 spoke in a rather caustic way about the "young priest 
 by the name of John McCloskey" to a servant of the 
 Cardinal's sister. Unaware of the relationship, he 
 afterwards discovered who the lady was. His son, 
 meanwhile, was on the point of entering St. John's, 
 Fordham, to prepare for the priesthood, and the 
 man naturally thought that the young redior. Father 
 John McCloskey, would show his son scant cour- 
 tesy. But probably no student received kinder treat- 
 ment. The young man died before completing his 
 course, and Father McCloskey preached his funeral 
 sermon. 
 
 Meanwhile, trouble had broken out at old St. 
 Joseph's, when Bishop Dubois decided to change the 
 pastor. Father James Quinn, to Troy. A committee 
 of the trustees met the bishop at Lansingburg, during 
 his episcopal visitation of that year, and the transfer 
 was deferred. An injudicious remark, credited to 
 Father Quinn, accusing the bishop, who was sensitive 
 on such points, of being under the influence of Dr. 
 
128 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Constantine Pise, brought matters to a climax and 
 Father Quinn was summarily sent to Troy. 
 
 The correspondence which passed between Bishop 
 Dubois and the trustees during the months of August 
 and September is acrimonious on both sides. On 
 September i, 1837, the trustees demanded from the 
 bishop the reason of Father Quinn's removal, and he 
 answered them on September 4, calling their motives 
 in doing so hypocritical and lacking in the spirit of 
 true Catholic obedience. On September 7, the Board 
 authorized two of the trustees to answer the bishop, 
 and in a long letter, which is still preserved, all the 
 vicious elements of trusteeism are plainly visible. 
 The phrases "inherent right," "free agents," "privi- 
 leges," "legal meetings," etc., are flung back and 
 forth and confuse the point at issue. It is a dreary 
 letter at best, and its tenor can be seen from the fol- 
 lowing passage: 
 
 ... If you think proper, to leave the church 
 without a clergyman, and execute your threat of closing 
 its doors, the power is vested in you so to do. Better 
 interdidl the church than force upon the people a clergy- 
 man obnoxious to them. We shall not, as you appre- 
 hend, throw the blame on you, but we hold ourselves 
 prepared to vindicate our condu<ft before an impartial 
 public, tho' it has been asserted that the intelligent, 
 or intelledual portion of the congregation, has 
 espoused the cause of Dr. Pise. Strong in justice 
 of our cause, we shall not shrink from any encounter, 
 to which the unpleasant predicament, in which we are 
 placed may expose us. It will then remain for those, 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 129 
 
 who may interest themselves in the existing difficulties, 
 to pronounce, whether you have adled the part of an 
 impartial mediator or a biassed partizan 
 
 The church was then placed under interdidt and a 
 further letter to the bishop has a still more insolent 
 note: 
 
 . . . We assert that the great majority of the 
 congregation never will consent to have Dr. Pise 
 placed over them as pastor. Send anyone else you 
 please. But remove him and rescind your rash inter- 
 didt. The present trustees will then resign imme- 
 diately. Peace will be restored, and you will have 
 adopted the only means of preventing the publication 
 of our proceedings and correspondence, which is the 
 vindication of their own chara(flers, before the Catholic 
 community of New York, the See of Rome and the 
 hierarchy of the United States, which the trustees now 
 have in press. 
 
 The only reasons ever alleged to induce the trustees 
 to desist from publication were based on the inexpe- 
 diency of the measure. But the assertion of a principle, 
 in which the rights of the trustees of all the churches 
 in the city are involved, must not be sacrificed to expe- 
 diency. No means have been left untried to win or 
 deter the trustees from a persecution of the course, 
 upon which they have deliberately resolved. Threats, 
 which they laugh to scorn, to injure them in their 
 respective callings, have been indulged in. It has even 
 been hinted that a frantic mob might be found to raze 
 the church, and perchance leave the fragments another 
 black and blasted trophy to emblazon the escutcheon 
 
i^o JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 of the genius of religious intolerance in America. Be 
 it so. If the demoniacal attempt be made, it shall be 
 over the bodies of men, who are ready to attest the 
 purity of the principles which govern their movements 
 by the sacrifice of their lives in the defence of that 
 faith which is common to you and to them. It is, Rt. 
 Revd. Sir, not yet too late to retradl. You disregard 
 the wishes of the congregation, in the removal of the 
 Revd. Mr. Quinn. The trustees and congregation 
 bow to your decision. Why, therefore, persevere in 
 forcing upon them against their expressed wishes the 
 Revd. Dr. Pise? 
 We are, Rt. Revd. Sir, with great respedl 
 Your most obd. Servts., 
 
 R. HOGAN 
 
 P. Casserly 
 Committee 
 
 Dr. Pise, having no desire to remain in an embar- 
 rassing situation, where his simplest actions would be 
 misunderstood, accepted a change. He sent in his 
 resignation in August, 1837, and Father McCloskey 
 was sent to take charge of the parish. The trustees, 
 having succeeded in driving away Dr. Pise, were now 
 openly hostile to the young priest placed over them. 
 The first Sunday Father McCloskey appeared in the 
 pulpit, the pews of the middle aisle were empty, and 
 there were not twelve people between the pulpit and 
 the door of the church. The trustees were all good 
 men, the Cardinal always claimed in his later life, but 
 they were obstinate. It would be unfair to mention 
 their names today when their descendants are staunch 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 131 
 
 and loyal Catholics. One of them, Patrick Casserly, 
 the educator, whose Prosody Rules have proven the 
 stumbling-block to thousands of classical students, 
 boldly said he would never allow a child of his to 
 "bend a knee before an American priest." But he 
 did send his children later to be prepared — and in- 
 sisted on Father McCloskey preparing them — for 
 First Holy Communion. One of his sons, Eugene 
 Casserly was elected United States Senator from 
 California in 1869, and on the day of his eledlion, sent 
 a telegram to Father McCloskey, then Archbishop of 
 New York: "One whom you prepared for First Com- 
 munion has today been eledled United States Senator. 
 Eugene Casserly." 
 
 For six months not one of the parishioners ever called 
 on the young pastor. The trustees put notices in the 
 pulpit for him to read, but he paid no attention to 
 them. He prepared his sermons carefully, studied 
 every spare hour, and kept entirely to himself. During 
 that time the trustees never honored him with any 
 salary. And yet the Cardinal always said it was a very 
 happy period in his life. He kept up his friendship 
 with Dr. Pise, whom he first met as a boy at Emmits- 
 burg, seventeen years before, and dined with him once 
 a week. When his sermons began to attradl atten- 
 tion, his enemies among the trustees claimed that 
 Dr. Pise, one of the foremost intelledual lights in the 
 Church at that time, wrote them for him. But by 
 degrees they began to see that they were wrong. 
 Father McCloskey never showed the least anger at the 
 treatment he' was receiving. Many unpleasant things 
 were done and said, such as calling him out at midnight 
 
132 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 on bogus sick-calls, and once a rather mean trick was 
 played upon his assistant, Father Hardy. Father 
 Hardy always read his sermons. On his Sunday for 
 preaching, the door of his room — the sermon within 
 — was locked by one of the trustees and the key 
 secreted. In consternation he asked Father McCloskey 
 what to do: "Oh! preach Aristotle to them, preach 
 on philosophy," said his pastor, good naturedly allud- 
 ing to Father Hardy's propensity for Aristotle. 
 
 During all this time Father McCloskey never noticed 
 in any way the treatment he received, but gradually 
 the parishioners began to come to hear him. The 
 redlory was pradlically bare of furniture. The trustees, 
 who refused to pay him any salary during this time, 
 refused also to furnish the house, saying that his 
 mother was able to do so. This, of course, he would 
 never permit. At last, some ladies of the parish took 
 pity on the independent young priest and put his 
 house in order for him. After a year he was the com- 
 plete master of the situation. One by one, the trustees 
 came to him and humbly asked pardon for the year's 
 persecution to which they had subjected him. He was 
 afterwards heard to assert that he never had stauncher 
 friends than these same men. This incident of his early 
 career in the priesthood is charadleristic of his whole 
 life. One who knew him well from boyhood at 
 Emmitsburg has given us the key to this attitude: 
 "He will not fight, but he will conquer." 
 
 We are fortunate in still possessing scores of the 
 sermons Father McCloskey prepared during the seven 
 years of his stay at St. Joseph's, for he never a<5tually 
 left the parish, even during his redlorship of St. 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 133 
 
 John's, Fordham. They are all dated, and in many 
 cases a second and a third date is added, showing that 
 he preached them over again; while numerous correc- 
 tions in a later handwriting proved that he had not 
 lost sight of them during his days as Bishop of Albany 
 (i 847-1 864). The earliest of these sermons was that 
 preached on Christmas Day, 1837, at St. Joseph's, at 
 the height of the trustee opposition. There is a 
 lesson in every line — lessons especially of humility, of 
 peace, of subordination to the will of God and to the 
 Church, which, though told in the most kindly way, had, 
 nevertheless, a deeper meaning to his hearers than 
 appears on the surface. His own rejedlion by those 
 who should have been his firm supporters, the poverty 
 of his own house, and the acceptance of God's will in 
 the trials he was then undergoing gave him a setting for 
 the scene at Bethlehem the first Christmas morning. 
 But it is all done so sweetly and with such ineffable 
 grace that no listener could have taken offence. It is 
 interesting to compare this sermon with the one he 
 preached a year later on Christmas Day, 1838. The 
 spirit of a larger joy pervades his words. He is not 
 talking, as in the previous year, to an audience whose 
 hearts were far removed from him, but to friends 
 conquered and won. It is the vidtory over sin which 
 he celebrated in his poetic prose. "You, on whom," 
 he says, "have been bestowed with more bounteous 
 hand the good things of this earth, who are blessed with 
 competency or with abundance, who are surrounded 
 by every necessary and perhaps even superfluous 
 comfort, ah! remember how different was the con- 
 dition of that divine Infant Who came to teach you 
 
134 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 as His favorite lesson — Charity — to teach you by 
 the love and sympathy which you owe Him in the 
 poverty of His manger, the love and sympathy you 
 should likewise feel for those whom He leaves among 
 you as His constant representatives, the young, the 
 tender, the helpless innocent and the needy orphans." 
 
 Another sermon, preached at St. Joseph's in the 
 Advent of 1838, on Human Re sped, is remarkable 
 for its vigorous denunciation of this common failing. 
 Something had probably aroused the young pastor. 
 "Piety is not fashionable," he says, "and Catholicity 
 and its practices are, if possible, still less so ; and amid 
 the loud unceasing and almost deafening profession 
 of tolerance and liberality by which we are surrounded^ 
 there is much unhappily of pradtical bigotry and 
 intolerance; and while the rights of conscience are 
 proclaimed most sacred and inviolable, there are those, 
 the foremost, perhaps, in their professed zeal to uphold 
 them, who seem to think it but just and holy to tamper 
 with those rights in their Catholic neighbors." 
 
 That most infamous of all the libels published in the 
 United States against the Catholic faith, the Awful 
 Disclosures of Maria Monk, was . being largely cir- 
 culated during this period, and it was but a short time 
 before this (1837) that a petition was presented to the 
 United States Senate to deny to Catholics the rights 
 of citizenship, and to exclude them from exercising 
 the franchise unless they renounced their religion. 
 Fortunately for New York and more fortunately still 
 for the Catholic Church in the United States, there 
 had been consecrated in the beginning of the year 
 1838 (January 7), as Coadjutor of New York, one of 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 135 
 
 the strongest exponents the Faith has ever had in 
 America, the heroic John Hughes. His stature has 
 grown with the years that have passed since his death 
 (January 3, 1864). "I remember," says Archbishop 
 McCloskey, in his funeral discourse over Hughes in 
 1864, "how all eyes were fixed, how all eyes were 
 strained to get a glimpse of their newly consecrated 
 bishop; and as they saw that dignified and manly 
 countenance, as they beheld those features beaming 
 with the light of intelledl, bearing already upon them 
 the impress of that force of charadler which peculiarly 
 marked him throughout his life, that firmness of res- 
 olution, that unalterable and unbending will, and 
 yet blending at the same time that great benignity 
 and suavity of expression — when they marked the 
 quiet composure and self-possession of every look and 
 every gesture of his whole gait and demeanor — all 
 hearts were drawn and warmed towards him. Every 
 pulse within that vast assembly, both of clergy and 
 laity, was quickened with a higher sense of courage 
 and hope. Every breast was filled with joy, as it were, 
 with a new and younger might." 
 
 When Bishop Hughes took over the reins of power 
 in August, 1839, he saw the necessity of a personal 
 appeal to the charity of Europe. On Odlober 16, 
 1839, he set sail from New York, and in April, 1840, 
 he was in Vienna, seeking aid from the Leopoldine 
 Association, which had already sent in the previous 
 decade considerable alms to the Church in America. 
 He wrote an account of his diocese, dated Vienna, 
 April 16, 1840, for the Association, the original copy 
 of which is still preserved. In this report he speaks 
 
136 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 of the projed: of establishing a seminary. The report 
 concludes with these words: 
 
 "The undersigned, Coadjutor Bishop and Adminis- 
 trator of New York is now engaged in an effort to 
 establish a Theological Seminary in the Diocese; 
 and one of the objedts of his voyage to Europe is to 
 lay a statement of his situation before your Asso- 
 ciation to solicit its aid. The foregoing remarks will 
 show how little he can expedl from his own people 
 in their present situation. Could he have accom- 
 plished his objedt, without the aid of his brethren in 
 Europe, he certainly would not have undergone the 
 fatigues of so long, not to say dangerous, a journey. 
 He has already contradted for the ground and build- 
 ings suitable for the purpose, but he could not venture 
 to occupy them until they shall have been nearly, if 
 not quite paid for; — and for the means to do this, he 
 looks entirely to the charity of the faithful. Should 
 he be so happy as to succeed in this, he has already the 
 offer of worthy and zealous clergymen to take charge 
 of it. Convinced of the absolute necessity of this 
 institution, he begs most respedlfully, but at the same 
 time most earnestly to recommend it to the charitable 
 consideration of the Leopoldine Association ; and he is 
 persuaded that its members cannot appropriate their 
 charities to a holier objedl than one which through 
 the medium of a Theological Seminary, will send forth 
 ministers of religion in a country where the 'harvest 
 is so great and the laborers so few.' When these 
 ministers, in future times, shall stand before the Altar 
 offering up the Lamb of God in the holy sacrifice — 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 137 
 
 surely their benefadtors will not be forgotten in the 
 oblation." 
 
 Bishop Hughes had already made considerable prog- 
 ress towards the attainment of this worthy end before 
 he left New York. In 1838, he purchased from the 
 father of an eminent artist, John Lafarge, a fine prop- 
 erty, of almost five hundred acres, called Lafargeville, 
 near the Thousand Islands. This site was thought to 
 be an ideal one, and on September 20, 1838, a seminary 
 was opened in the Lafarge mansion, which had been 
 eredled by the former owner at the cost of thirty 
 thousand dollars. St. Vincent de Paul's Seminary, as 
 it was called, proved to be too far away from the main 
 centres of population to be easy of access to pro- 
 sped:ive students. In July, 1839, after his return to 
 New York, Bishop Hughes purchased Rose Hill Manor 
 at Fordham. The estate consisted of an unfinished 
 stone house and an old frame farm house, which had 
 been in its day a fashionable mansion. The place was 
 hallowed ground. Washington had occupied the site 
 on the eve of the battle of White Plains in 1776, and 
 a mound of earth marking the resting-place of those 
 killed in the battle, was a conspicuous spot on the 
 north side of the farm. 
 
 "Rose Hill was bought for about ^30,000. To fit 
 the buildings for the reception of students would cost, 
 it was supposed, ^10,000 more. To meet these 
 demands the bishop had, of course, not a penny; but 
 he concluded the bargain, and immediately opened 
 subscriptions throughout the diocese. A large part of 
 the money was obtained in this way. A considerable 
 
138 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 sum was colledled in Europe, and the balance was 
 finally raised by loans in small amounts, for which 
 interest was paid at the rate of five per cent. On the 
 14th of October, he published a pastoral letter, in 
 which he strongly commended the new institution 
 to the liberality of his people, and at the same time 
 announced that Bishop Dubois had resigned the ad- 
 ministration of the diocese, in consequence of his 
 great age and feeble health. Having passed through 
 more than half a century of apostolic labor and bound- 
 less as well as untiring zeal, he was entitled, at the age 
 of seventy-six years, and it was natural for him to seek 
 the privilege of repose, by leaving to younger energies 
 to take up the burden which he had so long and so 
 zealously sustained." 
 
 In a Pastoral issued February 10, 1849, Bishop 
 Hughes tells the story of these days of struggling: 
 
 "When we were charged, by the supreme authority 
 of the Church, with the administration of the Diocese 
 of New York, in 1839, the number of clergymen in the 
 mission was between forty and fifty. There was not at 
 that time, either a seminary for the education of candi- 
 dates for the holy ministry, or a college, or a religious 
 house of education for the youth, male or female, of 
 our growing population. Without some, at least of 
 these, it seemed to us that the existence of religion was 
 precarious; for want of clergymen, its diffusion and 
 development impossible. Under this convi(ftion an 
 ecclesiastical seminary was commenced in the northern 
 part of the diocese, which has continued until the 
 present time. The location, however, was found to be 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 139 
 
 too remote from the city, and the seminarians with their 
 teachers were transferred, in the autumn of 1841, to 
 St. John's College, at Fordham, where it has continued 
 either in one building or another of that establishment, 
 until it has taken possession of the building lately 
 eredted expressly for its permanent use. 
 
 "It was also at the close of the year 1839, that what is 
 now St. John's College, with its premises, was pur- 
 chased. It consisted then, as to buildings, of the single 
 main edifice and two wings, roofed, but interiorly not 
 half finished. The contributions received from the 
 diocese for the accomplishment of this undertaking 
 scarcely amounted to thirteen thousand dollars, a sum 
 less than one-eighth of what has been expended on it 
 up to the present time, in the way of improvements 
 of the grounds, domestic furniture, collegiate appur- 
 tenances and additional buildings. In this estimate 
 of its cost, must of course be included the expense of 
 supporting it during the first years of its probation, 
 while its pupils were hardly more numerous than the 
 teachers and professors provided for their instrudlion. 
 
 " It was, in part, by expenditures like these, that in 
 five short years St. John's College rose, from the con- 
 dition of an unfinished house in a field, to the cluster 
 of buildings of which it is now composed ; and from an 
 obscure Catholic school, beginning with six students, 
 to the rank and privileges of a university! What 
 was our objedl, dearly beloved brethren, in this under- 
 taking? It was, that the Catholic parents of this 
 diocese and elsewhere, who could afford it, should 
 have an opportunity of educating their sons with 
 safety to their faith and morals, and yet so as to qualify 
 
I40 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 them to take an honorable part in the more elevated 
 walks of pubhc and social life." 
 
 One of the buildings was opened in September, 
 1840, as St. Joseph's Seminary, under the charge of the 
 Vincentian Fathers, with the Rev. Dr. Felix Vilanis, as 
 dire(ftor. The second building was formally opened on 
 June 24, 1 841, as the preparatory College of St. John, 
 with Father John McCloskey as president. Father 
 David Bacon was recalled from Belleville, N. J., where 
 he was pastor, and placed in charge of St. Joseph's parish. 
 
 Father McCloskey kept constantly in touch with 
 St. Joseph's, during his presidency of St. John's 
 College. One incident of note occurred during his 
 year as president. Some thirty years after the date we 
 are treating, John McCloskey stood in St. Patrick's 
 Cathedral, New York, dressed in the red robes of a 
 Cardinal of the Church. It was an historic moment. 
 America was about to receive her first Cardinal, and 
 all eyes were turned towards the venerable figure of 
 Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, of Baltimore, 
 when as Apostolic Delegate he ascended the steps of 
 the altar to impose the Cardinal's biretta on John 
 McCloskey. Archbishop Bayley was then over sixty 
 years old, and his memory could not help carrying 
 him back to those rare hours, some thirty years before, 
 when he walked with the young president of St. 
 John's, among the elms at Fordham, trying to settle 
 the problem which had already come to Newman and 
 Manning and Ward. 
 
 James Roosevelt Bayley was the descendant of a 
 long line of notable ancestors both of England and of 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 141 
 
 Holland. He was the grandson of Dr. Richard Bayley, 
 the patriot of Revolutionary days, and the nephew of 
 Elizabeth Ann Bayley who possesses an honor all her 
 own in American Church history as Mother Seton, the 
 foundress of the Sisters of Charity in the United States. 
 He was about the same age as John McCloskey, having 
 been born at Rye, New York, on August 23, 18 14. At 
 the time he met Father McCloskey, he was the pastor 
 of St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church, in Harlem. 
 The two clergymen became fast friends, and Rev. Mr. 
 Bayley often visited St. Joseph's redlory and later the 
 college at Fordham, in order to argue dodlrinal ques- 
 tions, especially the validity of his Orders with his 
 friend. They would discuss for hours at a time the dif- 
 erences in their religious beliefs, and Father McCloskey 
 saw that Mr. Bayley was on the verge of becoming a 
 Catholic, but that he hesitated to take the step. "I 
 am convinced," he said one day, "but when I come to 
 make the change, I grow cowardly." 
 
 Once as they walked towards the gate, on being ques- 
 tioned about his hesitancy when he knew his duty, 
 Mr. Bayley stopped Father McCloskey and by way 
 of illustrating his mental state, pointing to a wide ditch 
 that flanked the grounds, said : " My condition is this : 
 I could, I know, jump that ditch, wide as it is; but I 
 would not attempt it unless hard pressed. I have not 
 the courage now." The moral and intellectual pressure 
 of his convidlion, however, grew too strong to be sup- 
 pressed any longer; he resigned his living at St. Peter's 
 in 1 841, went to Rome, where his conversion was com- 
 pleted and was received into the Church on April 28, 
 1842, being baptized by Father Esmonde, S.J., in the 
 
142 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 room of St. Ignatius. He entered the Seminary of 
 St. Sulpice in Paris, returned to New York, and was 
 ordained by Bishop Hughes on March 2, 1844. He 
 was then made vice-president of St. John's College, 
 Fordham. 
 
 Father McCloskey was no longer president of the 
 college, when James Bayley returned, for when New 
 Year's of 1842, had passed, it became evident that his 
 health would not stand the strain of his incessant 
 duties as president and professor. In February, he 
 returned to St. Joseph's. The Rev. Dr. Ambrose 
 Manahan, vice-president and professor of Greek and 
 mathematics succeeded him. There is preserved 
 among his papers an address given in his honor in 
 February, 1842, which proves the aflfecflionate place 
 he held in the hearts of his students. The following 
 letter accompanied it: 
 
 Rose Hill, Westchester County, N. Y. 
 
 February 15, 1842 
 Reverend and Revered Sir, 
 
 We, the Seminarians of St. John's College, respedl- 
 fuUy take leave to intimate to you the deep regret we 
 feel at your departure from amongst us. This we 
 do, not because custom requires it, but because 
 we cannot refrain from the expression of our heartfelt 
 esteem and love towards you: esteem, for the talents 
 and virtues which distinguish you, and love, for the 
 use you have made of these qualities in our behalf. 
 
 We can never forget the apposite and salutary pre- 
 cepts by which you. Reverend Sir, have unwearily 
 instrudled us in things appertaining to our vocation: 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 143 
 
 nor can we ever cease to admire their bright exempUfi- 
 cation in your own unvarying demeanor. 
 
 If there be anything that may alleviate our regret 
 at this separation, it is the hope we cherish that we, 
 retaining a place in your affedlions, shall in future 
 intercourse enjoy frequent opportunities of benefitting 
 still further by your learning and piety. 
 
 But we have too accurate a conception of your 
 sensibilities to persist in expatiating upon your merits; 
 and, having signified our sorrow on this occasion, we 
 are content to unite in one ardent prayer that hap- 
 piness here may be commensurate with your desire, 
 and be as a sign of that perfection of happiness, which, 
 we trust and believe, will await you hereafter. 
 
 Accept, therefore. Reverend Sir, this respedlful 
 Address — feeble, we are aware, in expressing the ful- 
 ness of what we desire you to understand ; yet not so 
 defective, we would hope, as to indicate less of gratitude 
 than of esteem. 
 
 Anthony Farley, Francis Donohoe, Sylvester 
 Malone, Matthew Higgins, John O'Reilly, 
 Patrick Kenny, Thomas Quinn, James Hourigon, 
 Thomas McEvoy, Thomas D. O'Connor, Wm. 
 Quinn, William McClellan, William O'Reilly, 
 John Gillick, Francis Corr, Dennis J. Wheele- 
 han, John Murphy. 
 To the Reverend John McCloskey 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Reverend and Respeded Sir 
 
 On the eve of your departure from amongst us, 
 we beg leave to tender to you this expression of our 
 
144 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 feeling sense, as Seminarians, of our regret, at the sever- 
 ing of those links, which have hitherto united us. 
 
 Unexpecfted to many of us as was the intelligence of 
 this event, so much the more sudden and vivid even 
 the emotions of sorrow it gave birth to, and even to 
 those who had accustomed themselves to look upon it 
 as a contingency, or an occurence likely to take place, 
 the nearer approach of that bereavement was felt 
 the more keenly, when the convidlion of the reality 
 was forced upon our minds. 
 
 Allow us to manifest to you, flowing from the heart, 
 the sentiments of esteem, reverence, and love, which we 
 have ever entertained towards your person. We have 
 been for some time, at once the witnesses of your assidu- 
 ous exertions to promote our advancement in knowl- 
 edge; and at the same time the beneficiaries of those 
 toils. The possessor of much learning, your acquire- 
 ments have never been ostentatiously displayed ; but as 
 a Christian, and yet more a Christian pastor, you have 
 shrouded in the mantle of humility those qualities, to 
 which the world gladly renders homage. We do not 
 presume hereby to constitute ourselves as judges, con- 
 scious that we are yet but aspirants to literary honor; 
 but simply re-echo sentiments, of which the universal 
 convidtion is the surest guarantee of their truth. 
 
 We also return you our fervent thanks for the kind- 
 ness with which you have cherished the interests more 
 immediately appertaining to our calling: our hearts 
 are filled with gratitude for its display in our regard, 
 and if in aught we have seemed at any time not duly 
 to correspond to it, we trust it may be leniently imputed 
 to that want of refledtion incident to youth. 
 
IN THE VINEYARD 145 
 
 We will not pass over in silence, at what a sacrifice 
 to health, and with how great personal inconvenience, 
 you consented to occupy the place of our instrudlor ; 
 that only a strong sense of paramount duty, and zeal 
 for the interests of religion sustained you in its arduous 
 discharge. Your disinterestedness in so long continu- 
 ing to fill a station, undertaken with a foresight of 
 the difl&culties to be encountered, and void of the pros- 
 pedl of any advancement to a reputation already firmly 
 established, and your modest and retiring demeanor, 
 will not be soon erased from our memory. If the Insti- 
 tution, over which you have presided, be now in a 
 prosperous condition, and augur well of the future; 
 or hereafter shall realize that eminence at present 
 shadowed forth, it will be remembered whose fostering 
 hand gave it its first and onward impulse. 
 
 Obedient to the call of duty, you have conceived 
 yourself required to withdraw from us, and the period 
 of that separation has at length arrived. Reludtantly 
 we exchange with you our farewell, as our instructor 
 and immediate pastor, though not as our friend. 
 We cannot be so selfish or unreasonable as to expedt, 
 that those talents calculated for a wider sphere, and 
 more extended usefulness, should be limited in their 
 field of influence, by being ever exclusively devoted 
 to our service. We must indeed be estranged by 
 distance, yet the memory of our indebtedness will 
 live. We shall still entertain the hope, that we may 
 yet be permitted to intermingle together, and at inter- 
 vals to revive that intimacy and pleasing communion, 
 which it hitherto has been our lot to enjoy. 
 
 As an evidence of our gratitude, accept all that we 
 
146 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 can offer worthy of your acceptance, our best wishes 
 for your future happiness. May your walk through 
 life be tranquil and serene, chequered by no strange 
 vicissitudes; and your virtues be as generally appre- 
 ciated, as they are intrinsically deserving of praise. 
 But as earthly glory is at best but vain and transitory, 
 and unheeded and unsought by the soul which labors 
 from a higher and a better motive, the consciousness 
 of duty, we pray that you may obtain a more lasting 
 reward. May the approving smiles of heaven be 
 poured out upon your labors ; and throughout this vale 
 of tears may you enjoy the content of an approving 
 conscience : honored in life, and resigned in death, may 
 you at last attain to the rest prepared for the Blessed. 
 
 W. McDonnell 
 W. McClellan 
 
 Committee 
 
 In April, 1842, Bishop Hughes appointed him to his 
 old post as pastor of St. Joseph's, and among the ser- 
 mons still preserved in the original are a series beginning 
 about this time and running down to his appointment 
 as Coadjutor-Bishop of New York in 1844. Some 
 months after the death of Bishop Dubois, December 25, 
 1842, Bishop Hughes applied to Pope Gregory XVI for 
 an assistant for his ever-growing diocese. The question 
 had also been broached by Bishop Hughes at the Fifth 
 Provincial Council of Baltimore, in May, 1843, and the 
 Fathers of the Council recommended Father McClos- 
 key for that post. The Bull of his appointment as 
 Bishop of Axiern, in partibus infidelium, signed by Car- 
 dinal Lambruschini, is dated Rome, November 21, 1843. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE COADJUTOR BISHOP OF NEW YORK (1844-1847) 
 
 Consecration of Bishop McCloskey at Old St. Patrick's. 
 His Attitude during the Native- American Movement. 
 His Conciliatory Spirit. The Seminary at Fordham. 
 Bishop McCloskey and the American Oxford Move- 
 ment. Conversion of Isaac Hecker, Clarence Wal- 
 worth and James McMaster. Bishop McCloskey's 
 Attitude towards Converts. New Dioceses of Albany 
 and Buffalo {1847). Bishop McCloskey Becomes 
 First Bishop of Albany. Diocese of Albany in 
 184.7. 
 
 THE day set aside for the consecration of the 
 young Coadjutor was his thirty-fourth birth- 
 day, March 10, 1844. Within the walls of 
 St. Patrick's, three new prelates were that day added 
 to the American hierarchy. They were Bishop Mc- 
 Closkey, Bishop Andrew Byrne, of Little Rock, and 
 Bishop William Quarter, of Chicago. The three conse- 
 crating bishops were Bishop Hughes, Bishop Benedidl 
 Fenwick, of Boston, and Bishop Whelan of Richmond. 
 The assistant priest was the famous Cuban patriot, 
 Father Felix Varela. The ceremony excited no little 
 interest among the Protestants of the city, and it is 
 estimated that between seven and eight thousand people 
 assembled in and around the cathedral to witness the 
 magnificence of the ceremonies. The sandluary of the 
 
 147 
 
148 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 cathedral with the three altars, and with the attend- 
 ing ecclesiastics afforded a beautiful sight. It was a 
 striking proof of the growth of the Church in the 
 twenty-five years preceeding, that seventy priests were 
 able to be present without depriving their flocks of 
 Sunday Mass. Both the bishops consecrated that 
 morning with him had been his fellow-students at 
 Mount St. Mary's. Bishop Hughes had been his 
 teacher there also, and one of the consecrating bishops. 
 Bishop Whelan of Richmond, Va., had also been his 
 comrade at Ernmitsburg. The preacher on this occa- 
 sion was his friend from boyhood — the Vicar-General, 
 Dr. Power. 
 
 To the superficial observer of a life so quietly passed 
 in the service of God as that of Cardinal McCIoskey, 
 it would seem in reality that it was almost devoid of 
 incident; that it was a life hidden within the Taber- 
 nacle with the Lord to Whom it had been consecrated ; 
 and that he himself, instead of being a leader in the 
 stirring incidents of these first three years of his epis- 
 copate, was rather guided by the current of events 
 which swept through the New York diocese at this 
 time. But, that he was observant of every detail of 
 the crises which came upon the Church is evident from 
 his letters and from the part he played in all the great 
 movements of these years. He took no public part in 
 the crisis brought on by the Native-American Move- 
 ment of 1844, or in the excitement caused later by the 
 Church Property Bill ; but he was by no means a silent 
 spedator during these years when the Church was 
 almost at the mercy of a band of fanatical politicians. 
 More and more the strong mind of John Hughes began 
 
COADJUTOR BISHOP OF NEW YORK 149 
 
 to depend upon his quiet and far-seeing coadjutor and 
 suffragan. There was indeed a marked difference be- 
 tween him and Bishop Hughes whose coadjutor he was 
 during these years. John Hughes possessed a character 
 of the most dominant kind. He was, as one of his 
 biographers has described him, a man of grit, of 
 courage, of talent, and perseverance. He rose by 
 sheer strength of character and natural genius from 
 the lowest to the highest rank. Once he had formed 
 a purpose, he would never cease till he had realized 
 it, and had he not become a priest, there was material 
 in him to make a great general, a great lawyer, a 
 great politician, or a great statesman. He was a 
 man no one could sincerely hate. Even those who 
 feared him, admired him. The contrast between him 
 and his coadjutor was a marked one. John McCloskey 
 was a man who not only never sought prominence, 
 but deliberately avoided it. His modesty was of a 
 kind that might often be misunderstood for timidity, 
 but as we look back through the years since his death 
 and see the results of his long years in the episcopate, 
 the hand of God is visible in raising up this gentle 
 and loving prelate as the auxiliary and successor to 
 the great Archbishop of New York. 
 
 It is not generally known nowadays that Bishop 
 John Hughes, in spite of the fame which had pre- 
 ceded him from Philadelphia, was not very welcome 
 to New York. Father Thebaud's Recolledions tell 
 us that when he was appointed in 1837, the clergy of 
 New York, particularly of the city, were loud in their 
 discontent about the choice which had been made. 
 No one held the hearts of the people as did Dodlor 
 
ISO JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Power, the Vicar-General of Bishop Dubois; and the 
 opposition to Bishop Hughes was so apparent that very 
 few priests were present at his consecration in 1838. 
 This opposition was somewhat allayed by the appoint- 
 ment of John McCloskey in 1844, but even in 1846 it 
 is undeniable that many of the Catholic pastors of 
 New York were openly arrayed in opposition to Bishop 
 Hughes. We may without exaggeration see in the 
 general breaking down of this prejudice not only 
 Bishop Hughes' consummate prudence and tadt but 
 also the charm of Bishop McCloskey's influence. 
 Cardinal Gibbons has given us in his Retrospect of Fifty 
 Years a pen pid:ure of the two prelates: "These two 
 churchmen," he writes, "had each his predominent 
 traits of charadler: McCloskey, meek, gentle, retiring 
 from the world, reminds us of Moses with uplifted 
 hands, praying on the mountain; Hughes, adtive, 
 bold, vigorous, aggressive, was like Josua, fighting in 
 the valley, armed with the Christian panoply of faith, 
 truth and justice." 
 
 It is natural, therefore, to look for the record of 
 John McCloskey's deeds within the silent enclosure 
 of the Fold, within that sphere where the history of the 
 growth of faith and religion can be seen, rather than in 
 the larger world of men and politics, in which John 
 Hughes was to figure so predominantly between the 
 years 1844 and 1864. And first among these fadts 
 which history has preserved is Bishop McCloskey's 
 adlivity in the work of clerical education. He had been 
 instrumental in starting the first seminary at Nyack 
 under Bishop Dubois, and had been its first vice- 
 president. His years of study and of travel in Europe 
 
COADJUTOR BISHOP OF NEW YORK 151 
 
 had been spent with the view of preparing himself 
 to diredl the new seminary which Bishop Hughes later 
 established at Fordham; and shortly after his return, 
 he had accepted the post of president of St. John's Col- 
 lege, the preparatory school of St. Joseph's Seminary 
 there. The seminary at Fordham had been confided 
 to the charge of the Vincentian Fathers, and the first 
 president. Father Villanis, CM., was succeeded by 
 Father Anthony Penco, CM., in whose time the 
 seminary numbered thirty-one students of theology. In 
 1844, according to some notes left by Bishop McQuaid 
 of Rochester, who was a student at St. Joseph's at that 
 time, the student-body and the faculty left Fordham 
 and came to a building near the present site of the 
 Cathedral, where they remained for one school term, 
 and then returned to Fordham. 
 
 Bishop McQuaid does not explain the reason for this 
 migration, but it was due possibly to the fadt that a 
 new seminary building was in course of erection during 
 that year. The cornerstone of the new seminary 
 was laid on April 3, 1845, and Bishop McCloskey 
 presided on that occasion. We have the records of 
 his visitation of the diocese for the years 1844-47, 
 and his notes on the Ordo he carried with him, are 
 filled with historical dates for the subjedt. Every- 
 where he went, he brought to the notice of the priests 
 and people the necessity of supporting the seminary 
 and the answer to his appeal is visible in the rapid 
 growth of the seminary from this time. 
 
 In 1846, the seminary and college were placed in the 
 hands of the Jesuit Fathers who directed it for the next 
 ten years. The first president of the seminary was the 
 
IS2 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 well-known scholar, Father Augustus Thebaud, S.J., 
 whose Forty Tears in the United States of America is 
 among the most valuable memoirs we possess. It was 
 the intention of Bishop Hughes to make his seminary a 
 provincial house of study for the whole of New York 
 and New England. The See of New York, eredled in 
 1808, was, in a certain sense, acknowledged as the 
 centre of the Church in New York, New Jersey (East 
 Jersey) and New England; and when it was eredled 
 into an archdiocese on July 19, 1850, the province of 
 New York meant officially this same territory. Hart- 
 ford had been separated from Boston in 1843, with the 
 Right Reverend William Tyler as its first bishop, and 
 Albany and Buffalo were separated from New York 
 in 1847. To these were added in 1853, Brooklyn, 
 Newark, and Burlington. New York, therefore, re- 
 mained chief among these different Sees down to 1875, 
 when Boston was created an archdiocese. 
 
 The plan of Bishop Hughes was to centre at Fordham 
 the entire ecclesiastical seminary training for this terri- 
 tory, and he seems to have left the matter of approach- 
 ing the other bishops to his coadjutor. We have a 
 letter from Bishop Tyler, of Hartford, which tells us of 
 this plan: 
 
 Providence, Nov. 24, 1845 
 Rt. Rev. Dear Sir: 
 
 I received a few days since a letter from your coad- 
 jutor, Rt. Rev. Bp. McCloskey, stating that the build- 
 ings of your Theological Seminary are nearly completed, 
 that you are about to take measures for supplying it 
 with competent professors, and that it has occurred 
 to you that it would be desirable for two or three of 
 
COADJUTOR BISHOP OF NEW YORK 153 
 
 the neighboring bishops to unite with you and adopt 
 that as a common seminary. The want of funds will 
 prevent me from entering into such an arrangement at 
 present, but at a future time it may be very desirable 
 for this diocese. 
 
 I have now only four candidates preparing for 
 the priesthood. None of them pay for themselves, 
 and I have to get them along with as little expense as 
 possible. I hope however, to see the day when we 
 shall not be so limited in means. 
 
 I remain sincerely, 
 
 Your brother in Xt., 
 >i* Wm. Tyler, Bp. of H. 
 To Rt. Rev. Dr. Hughes, Bishop of New York. 
 
 The plan, as is well known, did not materialize 
 until 1862, when St. Joseph's Provincial Seminary at 
 Troy was founded. 
 
 Another interesting chapter of church life during 
 these years of Bishop McCloskey's coadjutorship, is 
 the part he was destined to take in the American Oxford 
 Movement. He received Father Isaac Hecker and his 
 brother George into the Church. McMaster when 
 fully convinced, came to Bishop McCloskey and asked 
 to receive the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucha- 
 rist, without making any formal renunciation or pro- 
 fession of Faith. But such a compromise was not 
 possible. McMaster was afterwards received into 
 the Church by Father Rumpler, C.SS.R. The 
 Tradlarian Movement in England, which has made 
 the name of Cardinal Newman a household word in 
 Catholic circles in the New World, had an almost 
 
1 54 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 disastrous effedl upon the proud and exclusive Protes- 
 tant Episcopal Church of America. It is unnecessary 
 to mention the scandals which made that religious 
 body a byword in the newspapers of the time. The 
 situation in America was not unlike that in England. 
 Many men began to feel that Protestantism was 
 lacking in that permanent attradtiveness which would 
 hold them, and among these was Isaac Hecker, who was 
 destined to become the Founder of the Missionary 
 Society of St. Paul the Apostle, — the Paulists, as 
 they are usually designated. 
 
 The story — in itself an epoch-making book in 
 American Catholic history — of Isaac Hecker's con- 
 version, as told by Father Walter Elliott, C.S.P., con- 
 tains the best account of these spiritual trials under 
 which many Americans were then laboring. 
 
 Isaac Hecker's doubts and perplexities left him 
 completely the day he presented himself to Bishop 
 McCloskey, June 25, 1844. "The acquaintance then 
 begun," says his biographer, "which on the bishop's 
 part soon took the form of a discerning and wise de- 
 votion, eventually deepened into a life-long friendship." 
 
 Isaac Hecker's Diary tells of his visits to the Bishop: 
 
 "New York, June 25, 1844. — This morning I went 
 to see Bishop McCloskey. I found him a man of fine 
 character, mild disposition, and of a broader education 
 than any of the Catholics I have had the pleasure of 
 meeting. He was acquainted with Brownson's writ- 
 ings and Emerson's, and personally knew Mr. Chan- 
 ning, whom he had met at Rome. He loaned me some 
 books on matters pertaining to the Church. He is to 
 
COADJUTOR BISHOP OF NEW YORK 155 
 
 be gone for a fortnight from New York, and I am to 
 wait until he comes back before I take any further 
 steps towards being united with the Church." 
 
 Bishop McCloskey was absent during the rest of 
 June and part of July, 1844, on a visitation of the 
 diocese. After his return, it was decided that the 
 young catechumen — he was then thirty-four years 
 old — had very little need of further instruction, and 
 within a fortnight Isaac Hecker was baptized condi- 
 tionally (August I, 1844), a short two months before 
 the conversion of Brownson by Bishop McCloskey's 
 life-long friend. Bishop Fitzpatrick, of Boston. Thus 
 was begun a spiritual relationship between the future 
 Cardinal and one of the greatest of modern American 
 missionaries. Bishop McCloskey's insight into char- 
 adler was proverbial, even at that early day, and his 
 wisdom in differing with Brownson, who wished Hecker 
 to devote himself to the Germans in this country, as 
 also with Bishop Hughes, who advised Hecker to go 
 to Saint Sulpice and study for the secular priesthood, 
 was fully justified by later events. Bishop McCloskey 
 told the young convert that his life would lead him to 
 contemplation and urged him to go abroad to try his 
 vocation in one of the religious orders. Sometime 
 after his reception into the Church, Hecker opened his 
 mind more fully to Bishop McCloskey, who was 
 adting as his spiritual dired:or, on the question of his 
 vocation. The Bishop sent him to the seminary at 
 Fordham in order to make his plans known to the 
 professors there. Eventually, through his love for the 
 Redemptorists, he became convinced that he ought 
 
iS6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 to join that Order. No doubt the fad that two 
 other recent converts — Clarence Walworth, the son 
 of the Chancellor of the State of New York, and James 
 McMaster, who later became editor of the Freeman's 
 Journal — had applied for admission into the Redemp- 
 torists, influenced his adlion in this regard. The three 
 converts sailed for Belgium in July, 1845. On Odober 
 15, 1846 — McMaster had given up and had returned 
 in September — Hecker and Walworth made their 
 vows and became members of the Congregation of the 
 Most Holy Redeemer. A letter to Bishop McCloskey 
 on that day, tells of Hecker's joy, and it is printed here 
 for the first time: 
 
 Rt. Rev. and dear Father In God: 
 
 I have taken with the grace of God the holy vows 
 of our blessed religion this day. This is but another 
 step in fulfilling the promises I made at the holy Altar 
 of my baptism. It seems to me to flow naturally, from 
 that life which the grace of God working upon my 
 heart, had inclined me for years past. I have passed 
 my novitiate without any doubt or temptations against 
 my vocation as a religious, and during this time our 
 Lord has blessed me with much and many graces. 
 In a word my path is clear before me, my duty is to 
 renounce entirely the world, the flesh and the devil, 
 in order to be united to God. The simple motive of 
 my life has been, for years past, to attain the most 
 intimate and perfed: union with God that is possible. 
 I see in this desire the work of the grace of God, for 
 He alone is its objed and beatitude, and no other love 
 but this infinite and divine love can satisfy it. This 
 
COADJUTOR BISHOP OF NEW YORK 157 
 
 desire has made me leave all that I have left for our 
 Lord, and continues to give me a great joy in consum- 
 mating this entire abnegation which His perfedl love 
 demands. Indeed I am ashamed to say that I have 
 left anything for the love of God, for all true gain 
 consists in obtaining it. It wins, it embraces the soul, 
 and finally inebriates the soul with a love so intimate, 
 so subtile and sweet, that the soul neither knows how 
 nor can resist. It has a wonderful familiarity with the 
 heart, making itself one with the heart, and the heart 
 one with it, and all else seem strange, unsatisfad:ory 
 and insipid. Thus my sole desire is to make all events 
 whatever subserve to the perfedtion of this union, and 
 uninterrupted and unconstrained intercourse of the soul 
 with its God. And this being the primary end of the 
 discipline of a religious order, you can easily imagine, 
 Rt. Rev. Father, how happy and content I am in being 
 here, and how grateful I feel towards God, and those 
 who have been the means in His providence, in aiding 
 me thus far in accomplishing His divine and loving will. 
 
 To-morrow I expedl to go with eight brothers with 
 whom I have taken the vows, to the place of study at 
 Wittem, in Holland, about fifty miles from here. 
 Perhaps it is not simply for the salvation and santftifica- 
 tion of my soul that our Blessed Lord has bestowed 
 upon me so many favors over my friends and fellow 
 countrymen, and should it be His will, it would be 
 my greatest delight to be with His grace and in His 
 time, an aid to you, Rt. Rev. Father, in converting 
 our country to the Holy Church of our Lord and the 
 honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
 
 Br. Walworth begs to be kindly remembered to you. 
 
iS8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Please remember us both to our Rt. Rev. Father, 
 Bishop Hughes, as most sincerely attached children, 
 who desire a place always in his remembrance. 
 
 With sentiments of the highest reverence and 
 affedlion and desiring your paternal benedidtion, I 
 am, Your faithful Son, j^^^^ Decker 
 
 St. Trond, 0^. 15, 1846. 
 
 Six years were to pass before his return to New York 
 (1851); and, though the old friendship with Bishop 
 McCIoskey still remained, it was not until 1864, when 
 the bishop came to New York as its second archbishop, 
 that Father Hecker, then at the head of the Paulists, 
 found how staunchly John McCIoskey had supported 
 him in the work in which he was then engaged. 
 
 Another conversion which attracted much attention 
 at this time was that of Mr. Pierce Connelly, of Phila- 
 delphia. He writes to Bishop McCIoskey as follows: 
 
 Rome, Collegio dei Nobili 
 
 Whitsunday, 1844 
 Dear Bishop McCIoskey: 
 
 I do not wish to congratulate you; if I wrote to 
 congratulate anybody, it would be Bishop Hughes. 
 So you may congratulate him for me and from the 
 bottom of my heart. 
 
 I need not tell you how great a disappointment it 
 was both to Mrs. Connelly and myself not to have 
 seen you when we passed through New York, or what 
 a consolation it would have been to me during our 
 travels together to have told you our secret — but I 
 had no permission to do so; as it was, what a delight 
 
COADJUTOR BISHOP OF NEW YORK 159 
 
 it was to have you with us so long. You are not 
 surprised now if you found me a little sad in the spring 
 of '42, when I was bringing my little boy to England. 
 It was in truth on the same errand I was coming 
 then and I did not know when or if ever I should 
 again see my blessed little wife whom Our Lord had 
 so long asked me for Himself. Blessed be His name 
 forever. It pleased Him to order it all very sweetly. 
 She entered the Convent at Trinita dei Monti on 
 Easter Monday — the next day I received tonsure in 
 the same little chapel where 8 years before you saw 
 me make my abjuration and on the first day of May (in 
 honor of Our Blessed Lady) the kind Cardinal Vicar 
 gave me all four of the minor orders at the Trinita. 
 The Holy Father took the most affedlionate interest in 
 the matter and you know perhaps that the youngest boy 
 has permission with his nurse or governess as she will be 
 (a very nice little person of a respedlable family turned 
 out of her family for embracing the faith) to remain 
 near his mother until he is 7 or 8 years old : he is in a 
 large cottage in the convent garden and Mrs. Connelly 
 sleeps in the room next to him. I do not know if 
 you have heard of the conversion of Mrs. Duval, Mrs. 
 Connelly's sister? I trust that it will be followed by 
 that of others of her family before long. Remember me 
 humbly and affedlionately to the Bishop and to Madam 
 Hardy, and do not let them or yourself forget us all 
 in your holy prayers. We have need of them. 
 Ever dear Bishop, most affedlionately. 
 
 Your faithful and humble 
 Son and Servant, 
 
 Pierce Connelly 
 
i6o JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Cardinal McCloskey's attitude towards converts 
 was not unlike that of Cardinal Manning. He held 
 that ecclesiastical authorities ought to be slow to 
 admit them into the Church, and then only after a 
 period of thorough instrudlion. He never liked to 
 see them come in "crowds," as he once said; and he 
 had the born Catholic's fear of the reforming element 
 so strong sometimes in the newly converted. Not that 
 he condemned such a spirit, but the danger was always 
 present of their forming new schools and tendencies. 
 Before entering the Church, converts considered her 
 only in the abstradt — as her dodtrine should make 
 her. But on entering the Church, he said, they usually 
 find many individual shortcomings and abuses. Con- 
 trasts are apparent between the social status of the 
 group they have left and that which they have entered. 
 Consequently a desire to bring Catholics around to 
 this status. In the sunlight of their new-born faith, 
 said the Cardinal, all defedls become glaring. It was 
 in this way he explained to a certain extent Manning's 
 well-known attitude towards Newman. 
 
 At the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore, in 
 May, 1846, Bishop Hughes spoke to the prelates 
 present of the wonderful growth of his diocese, and 
 they readily acceded to his request to divide the 
 diocese of New York into three separate bishoprics. 
 In 1837, when he became coadjutor to Bishop Dubois, 
 the Church in New York consisted of twenty-three 
 priests. In 1846, there were one hundred and fourteen 
 churches, one hundred and nine priests, a diocesan 
 seminary and a Catholic college. On April 23, 1847, 
 Pius IX eredled Albany and Buffalo into separate 
 
COADJUTOR BISHOP OF NEW YORK i6i 
 
 Sees, and Bishop McCloskey was transferred to 
 Albany where he was solemnly installed by Bishop 
 Hughes on September 19, 1847. 
 
 The Board of Trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral 
 passed the following resolutions on September 6, 
 1847: 
 
 Board of St. Patrick's Cathedral 
 
 6th September, 1847 
 Whereas this Board have learned that the Holy 
 See has been pleased to appoint the late coadjutor 
 of New York, the Right Revd. John McCloskey to 
 the new episcopal See of Albany; and whereas he is 
 thus charged with a large portion of the burden which 
 has hitherto rested on the bishop of New York alone; 
 and whereas the organization of the new diocese will 
 be attended with much expense; and whereas in 
 consideration of the great services rendered to this 
 congregation of the Cathedral, and to the Catholics 
 of New York at large, we hold it a duty not less real 
 than it is agreeable to our feelings, to offer some testi- 
 monial to him. Therefore, resolved, that the treasurer 
 of this Board be directed to present for acceptance to 
 the Right Revd. John McCloskey the sum of eight 
 hundred dollars as a testimonial of the services which 
 he has rendered to our holy religion and of the feelings 
 of respedl and veneration which we entertain for him 
 as well as of the ardent wishes of our heart that God 
 will bless and prosper his labors in the larger and 
 more responsible sphere in which by the appointment 
 of the Holy See he is now called to discharge the high 
 fundlions of his episcopacy. 
 
i62 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Resolved that a copy of the foregoing preamble 
 and resolution be at the same time furnished the 
 Right Reverend Bishop of Albany. 
 
 B. O'Connor, Sec'y. 
 
 Cardinal McCloskey was at this time in his thirty- 
 seventh year, — a tall, slender, and graceful figure, 
 with a constitution that had always been frail and 
 delicate, yet strange to say full of unsuspected en- 
 durance and vitality. As one who knew him well 
 has written: "His mental and physical temperament 
 is most distindtly charadlerized as one of equilibrium, 
 balanced adjustment and tranquility, not, however, 
 at all phlegmatic, but on the contrary marked by 
 alertness of movement and gaiety of disposition. 
 His intelledtual faculties were symmetrically developed 
 and cultivated." It was a remarkable thing in those 
 days for so young a priest to have been seledled as 
 coadjutor of so important a See as that of New York, 
 and the choice of the Holy See in transferring him to 
 Albany proves that his worth was known in Rome of 
 that day. It was but ten years before this time that 
 he was the centre of an accomplished circle of friends 
 in Rome, all of whom found in him the scholar and the 
 saint. "He had been innocent and pious in his boy- 
 hood," wrote Father Hewitt at the time of the Car- 
 dinal's death, "had probably preserved the first grace 
 of baptism, had been consecrated from his youth to 
 the special service of God, and had gone on in one 
 unswerving, undeviating course of fidelity to conscience 
 and the inspirations of the Divine Spirit." No one 
 who ever met him, either as priest, prelate, or Cardinal, 
 
COADJUTOR BISHOP OF NEW YORK 163 
 
 ever forgot the peace and tranquility of soul which 
 shone from his eyes; and the influence he exercised 
 over his own priests and people was even more strik- 
 ingly noticeable over non-Catholics. 
 
 Albany needed just such a prelate. As the capital 
 of the State, learning and culture would be quickly 
 appreciated, and as the home of the legislating body 
 of New York, the mildness and tenderness of his 
 manner were qualities which would rob those not of 
 his faith of any suspicion of interference in political 
 affairs. Interfere he did on one occasion, when justice 
 demanded it, but so highly was he esteemed by all the 
 State officials that his mere exposition of the wrong 
 about to be done to his people was sufficient to change 
 their attitude. 
 
 The newly-created Diocese of Albany comprised 
 about twenty-three counties in the State of New 
 York, covering a territory of over thirty thousand 
 square miles, more than two-thirds of the total area of 
 the State. In that vast sedlion which is now divided 
 into four dioceses, there were in 1847, about twenty- 
 five churches and thirty-four priests. There were no 
 Catholic institutions except two orphan asylums, 
 one at Albany and the other at Utica, and two free 
 schools, at Utica and East Troy. The work on the 
 Erie Canal which took all of eight years to complete, 
 from 1 817 to 1825, and the establishment of the 
 railroad system of New York between 183 1 and 1852, 
 brought thousands of Irish immigrants to New York. 
 
 Archbishop Hughes had pointed out, in his own clear 
 way, to the Leopoldine Association in 1840, that a 
 phenominal growth was then visible and that it would 
 
i64 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 be even more accentuated in the immediate future. 
 The "cry for priests from almost every quarter" 
 to which Archbishop Hughes had tried to respond, 
 grew more insistent during what might be called the 
 Famine Years of Irish immigration into the United 
 States, 
 
 It was during this period of his life that Bishop 
 McCloskey lost his mother, who died on March 26, 
 1845, and was buried in old St. Patrick's Churchyard 
 in Mulberry Street. The family plot has a monument 
 six feet high surmounted with a cross. Besides his 
 parents, two of the Cardinal's sisters are buried there, 
 Elizabeth, who died in 1835, ^^^ Mary who died in 
 1854- 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY (1847-1864) 
 
 In His New Field of Labor. Trustee Evil in New 
 Tork. Bishop McCloskey's Letter to the Trustees of 
 Oswego. His First Sermon in Albany. The Cathedral 
 of the Immaculate Conception. Leaves for Europe to 
 Secure Help. The Church Property Bill Passes the 
 New Tork Legislature. Apostasy of John Murray 
 Forbes. Death of Archbishop Hughes. The Succession 
 to New Tork. The Holy See Chooses the Bishop of 
 Albany. Declines Public Dinner in His Honor. Ad- 
 dress of the Clergy. Departure for New Tork. 
 
 WHEN Bishop McCloskey reached Albany, 
 in September, 1847, he faced a situation 
 almost as critical as the one he had relin- 
 quished in New York. The churches that had been 
 built by the zeal of the pioneer priests and people, were 
 all largely in debt. The people were contributing 
 liberally according to their means but they were poor 
 and just commencing life anew in a strange country, 
 and struggling to sustain their families. The conse- 
 quence was, as Archbishop Hughes pithily puts it: 
 "What should belong to the present and the future, 
 is already mortgaged to the past!" There was also a 
 legacy of trouble dating from the worst period of 
 trusteeism. A quarrel had broken out in 1844 between 
 Father Joseph Schneller, of St. Mary's Church, 
 
 i6s 
 
i66 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Albany, which Bishop McCloskey had chosen for his 
 Cathedral, and the trustees of that parish. Bishop 
 Hughes' answer to a letter sent to him by the trustees 
 on January 6, 1844, leaves no room for doubt as to that 
 prelate's position: "It is enough for me to express in 
 brief terms my decided opinion — that sooner or later 
 the trustee system as it has existed, will destroy or 
 will be destroyed by the Catholic religion." A similar 
 difficulty was in existence in Oswego, and we have so 
 many letters of Bishop Hughes on the subjedt of trus- 
 teeism that it may be interesting to read a similar letter 
 from Cardinal McCloskey, written from New York, 
 January 30, 1847, some nine months before he was 
 installed in Albany: 
 
 New York, JavCy ^oth, 1847 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Bishop Hughes acknowledges the receipt of your 
 letter dated 21st. inst., and requests me to give you 
 the following reply — In the first place you seem to 
 think he has not investigated the unhappy state of 
 things in Oswego. In this you labor under a serious 
 mistake. He has carefully read all the letters which 
 have been written, and listened to a faithful report of 
 all the statements which have been made on both 
 sides. He himself wrote a letter to Rev. Mr. Kenny 
 diredling and advising him; he wrote also a letter to 
 the congregation, which was read by Rev. Mr. Kenny 
 from the altar, the tenor of which you can hardly 
 have forgotten. All this failing to produce the effedt 
 desired, he sent me to Oswego, giving me all necessary 
 instrudlions how to ad as in his name and for himself. 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 167 
 
 I confined myself as closely as I could to his diredlions. 
 The arrangements we then entered into, if they had 
 been adhered to, would have fully restored harmony 
 and peace. But you would not abandon the suit; 
 you appealed to the bishop — he decided — you 
 were not satisfied with his decision — and you ap- 
 pealed again to the Vice-Chancellor. You set aside 
 the authority of the church, and placed above it the 
 authority of the law. You rejedled the advice of 
 your bishop, you slighted his admonitions, you put 
 at defiance his commands, you set yourself up together 
 with others in open rebellion against the rules of your 
 Church, and now you ask whether the bishop has any 
 charge against you, or whether you have ever done 
 anything contrary to his wishes. You have been 
 strangely deluded, my dear Sir, if you were not aware 
 that for several months past you have been almost 
 continually opposing his wishes. A more aggravated 
 case than that of Oswego you can hardly point to. 
 Trustees in many places have been set aside even more 
 unceremoniously than you were, their feelings much 
 hurt and off^ended, yet they never went so far as to 
 forget that they were Catholics, or called in the inter- 
 ference of a civil tribunal to protedl them, and to 
 impose heavy costs and fines upon their fellow- 
 Catholics, and even their lawfully appointed pastor. 
 All this you have done — and it is this which has 
 provoked the hard language of which you complain. 
 If Rev. Mr. Kenny had spoken as you represent, 
 Bp. Hughes is very far from authorizing or approving 
 such sort of severity. But so long as you persist in 
 your present very unwise and imprudent course, 
 
i68 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 consulting your lawyer first, and your bishop after- 
 wards, and seeming to desire to drive away your 
 clergyman by vexatious suits and legal fines, no effedtual 
 remedy can be applied to the evils of which you so 
 bitterly complain. Your prejudices and resentment 
 against Mr. Kenny lead you astray. You think he 
 wishes to injure you in your property and character, 
 whereas, he only wants to lead you back to your 
 rightful obedience as a Catholic. If he is imprudent 
 in his attempts at doing so, it is to be deplored, but 
 you yourself by taking the authority into your own 
 hands, defeat the very purpose you have in view. 
 The course which you and your associates have pur- 
 sued, and which you seem determined to persevere in, 
 is wholly at variance with the discipline of the Catholic 
 church, and with your duties as professing to be 
 members of that Church, and believe me, my dear 
 Sir, unless you listen to the teachings of our holy 
 faith, and submit in obedience to the laws of your 
 Church, you will only be daily invoking upon your 
 head fresh calamities. 
 
 Bishop Hughes asks you to pause before you im- 
 plicate yourself in a new suit. The law may prove 
 you to be an honest man and a peaceable citizen — 
 that I have no doubt you are — but the law can- 
 not and does not interfere with your character as a 
 Catholic, — or with the duties which you owe your 
 Church. It may procure for you satisfaction in money, 
 but be assured it will only plunge you into new difficul- 
 ties. The day will come when you will bitterly regret 
 having preferred the counsel of your lawyer to that of 
 your bishop, and he now admonishes you in all earnest- 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 169 
 
 ness and all charity to retrace your steps, to make 
 your full submission, to offer reparation as far as in 
 you lies for the scandal already given by your iniqui- 
 tous suit, and to avert from your head the censures 
 which must otherwise inevitably fall upon it. 
 
 It was by Bp. H.'s own request that no defense was 
 made in the late proceedings before the Vice-Chancellor; 
 the Church will not set itself up against the law, but 
 it will within its own pale, inforce its own discipline, 
 and they who will not abide by it, must, if they continue 
 obstinate, be severed from her communion, and from 
 the participation of those Sacraments which she can 
 only dispense to her faithful and dutiful children. 
 
 When Bishop Hughes is apprised of your willingness 
 to refer your present difficulties solely to his decision, 
 to withdraw the threatenings of the law, and to con- 
 sent yourself to abide by it, he will then decide and 
 adl, reserving to himself the privilege of still adling 
 with reference to the case in which his decision was 
 given, and his authority and injundlions afterwards 
 set at defiance, as in his conscience and his sense of 
 duty he shall judge best. I have endeavored in 
 the above as accurately as possible to convey to you 
 Bp. Hughes' reply to your letter — The sentiments 
 are his — and mine are in accordance with them. 
 Very truly yours in Xt. 
 ^JoHN McCloskey, Coadj. of N. Y. 
 
 The diocese over which he was to rule for seventeen 
 years (i 847-1 864) presented almost insuperable diffi- 
 culties both in Church discipline and in Church support. 
 The flock entrusted to him contained over sixty 
 
I70 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 thousand souls, scattered from Kingston on the Hudson 
 to the St. Lawrence. Often he had to administer the 
 Sacrament of Confirmation in humble sheds and in 
 tanneries; and yet, as he himself often declared, 
 never did he feel himself nearer to God, and nearer to 
 Christ, than during these early apostolic days of his 
 episcopate. The spirit in which he was to meet 
 every difficulty during these seventeen years that 
 followed, is excellently described for us in his own 
 words — in the first sermon he preached at Albany: 
 
 "It is but natural, Beloved Brethren, that in now 
 opening my lips to address you for the first time, in 
 the new and sacred relations, which it has pleased an 
 all-wise Providence to establish between us, I should 
 feel myself oppressed by a more than ordinary em- 
 barrassment, awed and almost disconcerted by the 
 very breathlessness and eagerness of your attention, 
 while at the same time thoughts and emotions crowd 
 in upon the mind and rise up within the heart, so 
 numerous and so overpowering that they will strive 
 in vain for utterance. And I must be pardoned if 
 under this painful consciousness of my inadequacy 
 for the task now set before me, and which according 
 to the measure of my poor ability I would fain accom- 
 plish, I beg at the outset to cast myself upon your 
 kind indulgence, and furthermore to claim the privilege 
 of speaking to you not as strangers but as friends, not 
 as friends merely but as brethren of the same family, 
 the same household, children adopted and beloved in 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 As friends, as brethren, as children you are bound 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 171 
 
 to me henceforth by ties the most holy, the most 
 indissoluble. Your spiritual interests it becomes 
 my solemn and bounden duty to watch over, provide 
 for, protedl. For this end must I watch without 
 ceasing, for this must I toil, for this must I pray, 
 for this must I be willing to spend and be spent like 
 St. Paul. How intimate then and hallowed and tender 
 are the relations which now subsist, and will continue 
 to subsist between us henceforth and forever! How 
 strong and enduring the bonds by which we have 
 become united for time and eternity! In view of all 
 this then the privilege will assuredly be conceded, 
 to speak in language such as friend speaks to friend, 
 or as a father to his children to lay open to you my 
 whole heart in language plain, familiar, frank, affec- 
 tionate. What better than the words of the Apostle 
 for this? Our first sentiments therefore are those of 
 earnest and affedtionate greeting. . . ." 
 
 Bishop McCloskey then expounded the dodtrine on 
 the hierarchy of the Church, and after telling them 
 that it is after God to his fellow-laborers in the 
 ministry that the Bishop must look for counsel, for 
 comfort, and for support, he concludes: 
 
 "And lastly. Beloved Brethren, our source of hope 
 and consolation in bearing this sacred and arduous 
 burden imposed upon us, is found in you. Already 
 we have had occasion to know and witness how ani- 
 mated is your faith, how noble your generosity, how 
 ardent your zeal. We trust that you will not only 
 continue to cherish and pradlise these virtues as 
 hitherto but that you will even become conspicuous 
 
172 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 for them in a still more eminent degree. We exhort 
 you to consider and bear in mind that this same event 
 which devolves higher responsibilities upon us, devolves 
 them upon yourselves also. A new era commences in 
 your lives and history as Catholics. Albany is a 
 new See. This church is its first Cathedral. You 
 are its first congregation. The future history of the 
 Diocese of Albany as such commences with you and 
 me. Whether it shall be a history to relate its blessing 
 or relate its curse depends on us. According to the 
 foundations which we lay, will be strength or weakness, 
 the comeliness or unsightliness of the edifice, reared 
 upon them. According as the seed is first carefully 
 planted, and the soil well tilled and watered will it 
 grow up in fresh and healthful vigor; and the vigor 
 of its maturity, its fitness for bearing fruit will be in 
 proportion to the early care bestowed on it. For- 
 tunately for us foundations have been already laid 
 and the edifice is advancing, the soil is already tilled, 
 the seed planted, and the tree is producing fruit. Yet 
 we are called upon not only to continue the work, 
 but to enlarge and increase it; to lay new foundations 
 broader and deeper, to eredl a strudlure more spacious 
 and more enduring that the stranger and the wayfarer 
 may enter in and find rest: to plant seed for a larger 
 growth, that the tree's branches may spread out far 
 and near, that you and your children, and your chil- 
 dren's may sit down beneath its ample shade, and 
 partake abundantly of its refreshing fruits. 
 
 "This is our task. Let us enter in on it with trust 
 in God. 'Unless the Lord build the house, they 
 labor in vain that build it.' It is ours to plant and 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 173 
 
 to water, but it is His prerogative to give the increase. 
 Let us take up this task with the alacrity, the zeal, 
 and the generosity which distinguishes the Catholic 
 heart, that heart which is of all times and of all places 
 — that heart which beats in sympathy for all men; 
 which is bound by the mysterious chord of faith to the 
 great and good of every clime and tongue and people ; 
 which vibrates to the same tones of prayer and praise 
 and echoes back the same voice of thanksgiving and 
 homage ; which whether in the Catacombs of the early 
 Christians or beneath the majestic vaults raised by the 
 hands of faith through succeeding ages, whether by 
 the tombs of apostles or of martyrs, of virgins, of 
 confessors, of saints of various times and countries 
 feels itself no stranger, is at home, rejoices in the recog- 
 nition of kindred, and the consciousness of welcome — 
 that heart in a word like its faith's expansion is uni- 
 versal, not isolated, not selfish, not shutting up its 
 sympathies within the narrow sphere of a single family 
 or congregation or city, not even measuring them by 
 the span of a single life, but stretching forth its yearn- 
 ings is anxious for those who are to come after. This 
 is the spirit of the Catholic heart, this the spirit which 
 will animate you for zealous exertion and generous 
 cooperation in every good work. 
 
 "But let us not lose sight of that which is above 
 and before all, the end of all our exertions, the aim 
 of all our hopes, that is, the salvation of our immortal 
 souls. This is the objedl of our ministry. All else — 
 the Church and her Sacraments — is intended only 
 to be subservient and to be conducive to this most 
 momentous of all concerns. Our journey is to the 
 
174 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 portal of the tomb beyond which Hes the limitless 
 expanse of eternity. 'There the just shall live 
 forevermore, and their reward is with the Lord, and 
 the care of them with the Most High.' Pray and do 
 penance that by your tears mingled with the Saviour's 
 blood your sins may be blotted out. Pray for the 
 Church — for its chief pastor. Pray for the prelate 
 who not of his own deserts but of God's goodness is 
 appointed to watch for your spiritual welfare; pray 
 that he may have wisdom and grace that he may 
 rule as he would wish. Pray for those without. The 
 scandals and infidelity of our forefathers drove them 
 from the Church; by the tears and prayers of their 
 children will their children be led back to the fold. 
 Oh! above all be instant in prayer; let us not be 
 weary of supplication. Let us pray for faith and unity 
 with hearts purified from sin, with hearts burning 
 with the fire of love. Then will our prayers ascend 
 to heaven like the smoke of incense, angels will present 
 them before the throne of grace, and the benedidtion 
 of heaven shall descend upon us in return. ' For His 
 mercy, saith the Lord, will show the brightness of 
 His countenance. His truth shall compass us as with 
 a shield, our assailants shall fall at the right hand and 
 at the left, no evil shall come to us, nor shall the 
 scourge approach our dwelling.' Then shall we abide 
 together as one family here and one family hereafter." 
 
 Shortly after taking possession of his See, he realized 
 that St. Mary's Church which he had made his pro- 
 Cathedral, would prove unsuitable, and he began the 
 erection of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Con- 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 175 
 
 ception. In less than a year after his coming to 
 Albany, the work was well advanced and on July 2, 
 1848, the cornerstone of the present beautiful strudlure 
 was laid by Bishop Hughes. At the close of the 
 first Clergy Retreat over which he presided in May 
 1848, the priests of the diocese subscribed ^5200 as a 
 nucleus to the Cathedral Building Fund. As was 
 his wont, Bishop McCloskey started at once very 
 systematically to enlist the sympathy of his people 
 in the new projedt. An appeal was made to the 
 people of the different parishes to assist the work 
 of excavation — "those who can bring a horse and 
 cart will confer a great favor by doing so," ran the 
 words of his appeal. All who have gazed upon this 
 magnificent monument of Catholic Albany's love and 
 generosity can hardly realize that within four years the 
 edifice, with the exception of one tower, was com- 
 pleted. ,. 
 
 It was dedicated on November 21, 1852. We 
 know now how that splendid feat was accomplished. 
 To obtain the money demanded by such an edifice 
 was hard indeed in those days when the country 
 was at war. In December, 1848, we find Bishop 
 McCloskey in New York, as the guest of Bishop 
 Hughes, going about among the well-to-do Catholics 
 of the city and placing the needs of his diocese before 
 them. Who shall ever know how great was the 
 generosity also of the poor of New York City who 
 loved him! But what is all the more striking is the 
 fadt that during those years (1848-185 2), while the 
 Cathedral was being built, he himself was almost 
 ready to sink under the burden of supporting the 
 
176 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Church in his vast diocese. We have evidence of 
 this in the letters he wrote to the Leopoldine Associa- 
 tion of Vienna, and to the Association of the Propa- 
 gation of the Faith of Lyons. There remains, for 
 example, among his papers, the following undated 
 letter to the Emperor Francis Joseph, who was Presi- 
 dent of the Leopoldine Association, asking for help : 
 
 To His Imperial Majesty, Francis Joseph, 
 Emperor, etc.. 
 
 May it please Tour Majesty: 
 
 The undersigned petitioner. Bishop of Albany in 
 the United States of America, approaches Your Ma- 
 jesty with sentiments of most sincere and profound 
 respedl; and being happy to recognize in your Imperial 
 person not only the Head of a great Catholic nation, 
 but also the illustrious Heir of a House distinguished 
 for its many virtues, among which has shone forth 
 not the least conspicuous, its zeal for the extension 
 and propagation of our Holy Faith, especially in that 
 New World where the harvest is great and the la- 
 borers few, the undersigned, an humble missionary 
 Bishop, having charge over a poor and widely extended 
 flock, presumes to recommend the claims of his poor, 
 among whom are not less than 12000 Germans, to 
 Your Majesty's kind consideration. 
 
 The Diocese of Albany is still new and the Bishop 
 has to struggle with many difficulties in making pro- 
 vision for its numerous and daily increasing wants. 
 He is without a seminary; his Cathedral, unfinished. 
 After having expended all his own personal resources, 
 he still finds himself involved in much debt, and is 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 177 
 
 obliged by the adual necessities of his case no less than 
 by his sense of duty to his faithful people, to appeal to 
 their brethren abroad for assistance and relief. 
 
 The undersigned with trusting gratitude acknowl- 
 edges the aid extended to him by the Leopoldine So- 
 ciety which is established throughout the Enipire, and 
 which he trusts under Your Majesty's auspices will 
 continue to flourish more and more, and if he takes 
 too great liberty in still further recommending his 
 cause to Your Majesty, he humbly apologizes, pray- 
 ing in the meantime that Your Majesty may be 
 blessed. 
 
 As an example of the generosity from the faithful 
 Catholics of France and of Austria, by which Albany 
 benefitted, the sums received during the years 1848- 
 1856 are instruAive. In 1848, the Association of 
 Lyons sent Bishop McCloskey 7920 francs; in 1849, 
 6000 francs; in 1850, 10,000 francs; in 1851, 3750 
 francs; in 1854, 7000 francs. The Leopoldine As- 
 sociation Reports also contain the amounts given 
 each year to the Diocese of Albany. For example, 
 in 1849, a cheque for 320 pounds sterling was sent to 
 Bishop McCloskey. That his diocese was in need 
 of this assistance from Europe is clearly seen in a 
 letter he addressed about this time to the Association 
 of Lyons : 
 
 Sir: 
 
 I have the honor to send you herewith the usual 
 statement relative to the condition and prospedls of 
 the Diocese of Albany, and in so doing I crave the 
 privilege of adding a few words beyond the brief 
 
178 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 summary enclosed. My diocese is now exadtly in 
 that position when its future prospedls may be said 
 very much to depend upon the degree of aid and 
 encouragement it will receive from the Society of the 
 Propagation of the Faith. Several very important 
 works have been commenced which if carried to their 
 successful completion will with God's blessing most 
 effedlually tend to place the affairs of this new diocese 
 on a secure and permanent basis, and steadily to 
 promote the best interests of religion for all time to 
 come. Among these I may mention the Asylum and 
 Labor School for Orphan Boys; the establishment of 
 the houses for the Freres des Ecoles Chretiennes; a 
 house of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart; and the 
 ered:ion of our new Cathedral. For the boys we 
 have secured but not paid for a farm of about sixty 
 acres near this city; its real value is about fifteen 
 thousand dollars, — and we have made a purchase 
 for eight thousand — one thousand of which has 
 already been paid by our own people; but without 
 some annual assistance we can neither continue to 
 hold the property, which it would be a thousand 
 pities to lose, nor make any provision for our poor 
 orphan youth who are falling on every side a prey not 
 simply to want, but to heresy and error. 
 
 Our Cathedral will be under roof before winter. We 
 have been obliged to hurry on the work more than 
 our limited resources would allow, in order to protedl 
 it from being exposed and open during the severe 
 frosts of another winter. For this reason, I will be 
 obliged to incur even now a debt of eight or ten 
 thousand dollars. I have strained every nerve to gain 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 179 
 
 assistance at home. All this summer I have been in 
 a neighboring diocese soliciting the aid of the faith- 
 ful. My success has been very limited, though my 
 fatigue and labor have been very great. All this I 
 had hoped would only entitle me the more to the aid 
 and encouragement of your Society, as I presume they 
 would be most willing to assist those who sought to 
 make the most of their own resources available at 
 home. But the case is otherwise. Notwithstanding 
 all our wants and all exertions the allocations thus 
 far made are among the very smallest. Yet I do 
 not pretend either to find fault or murmur. I still 
 live in hope that something will be done to help me 
 in your council to increase their allocations for a few 
 years at least to 20,000 francs, — With this much 
 paid, I shall in seven or ten years, be placed in posi- 
 tion to get along with more moderate aid. 
 
 Cholera had broken out in the city of Albany in 
 1849, and many of his people were carried off by the 
 plague. Among the letters of sympathy the bishop 
 received, was one from the great apostle of temper- 
 ance, Father Theobald Mathew: 
 
 Boston, August 31, 1849 
 Most Revd. dear Lord: 
 
 I deeply deplore the dire Visitation with which it 
 pleased the Lord to afflidl your Episcopal City. 
 Whilst I fervently implore, that the Divine Mercy 
 may be speedily extended to your suffering Flock, 
 and that for the promotion of His own Glory, Your 
 Lordship, and your faithful Clergy, may be shielded 
 
i8o JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 from all danger, I beg leave to subscribe myself with 
 sincere sympathy, 
 
 Your Lordship's most devoted Servant, 
 
 Theobald Mathew 
 Right Revd. Dr. McCloskey. 
 
 Pursuing his policy to seek for aid in the upbuilding 
 of his diocese. Bishop McCloskey sailed from Boston, 
 for Europe, on OAober i, 1851. Before his departure, 
 the Catholics of the city presented him with an ad- 
 dress and a purse of $1500. His purpose seems to 
 have been solely to visit Vienna and Rome, in order 
 to place the wants of his diocese before the Leopoldine 
 Association and the Congregation of Propaganda Fide. 
 On board the steamer were Madame Hardy, the 
 Superior of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart and four 
 nuns of the same congregation. During the seven 
 months he spent abroad at this time, he wrote fre- 
 quently to Archbishop Hughes; but few letters of 
 that correspondence have survived. He arrived in Paris 
 in the midst of the revolution, which had broken out 
 in February, 1848, and had driven Louis Philippe 
 from the throne. He left Paris on the eve of the 
 memorable Coup d'Etat of December 2, 1851, which 
 brought about the Second Empire, and reached Rome 
 on December 11, 1857. 
 
 Hotel de la Minerve 
 Rome, New Tear's Day, 1858 
 
 Most Rev. and dear Archbishop: 
 
 I cannot allow the day to pass without availing 
 myself of, at least, a few moments to wish you, from 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY i8i 
 
 the Eternal City a happy New Year — and although 
 the greeting will hardly reach you until the year will 
 have begun to lose its newness, still I trust it will not 
 arrive too late to be welcome. I have now been in 
 Rome as long as three weeks, and it seems to me 
 hardly more than so many days. I arrived on the 
 nth ult., having been fortunate enough to have left 
 Paris just on the evening proceeding the day of the 
 memorable Coup d'Etat, and of course in time to 
 escape being a witness of the scenes of blood which 
 followed, scenes which, as far as the loss of lives and 
 property are concerned, have been but very faintly 
 described in the journals of France. It was in Lyons 
 that the news, "nous sommes en revolution," reached 
 us, and you may be sure I had no desire to display my 
 courage or indulge my curiosity by tarrying any 
 longer on my way than was absolutely necessary. 
 
 And still in hurrying forward to Rome, it was with 
 the very uncomfortable refledtion that if a revolution 
 gained any headway in Paris, it would be quite sure 
 to be followed by disturbances more or less serious in 
 Rome. I found everything here quite tranquil as to 
 the exterior, but the minds of all were variously agi- 
 tated by the as yet rather vague and uncertain rumors 
 which had reached them. The French General, how- 
 ever, was known to have declared that as for the 
 French troops in Rome, their duty in any event was 
 plain to continue faithful to their mission of upholding 
 and protedling the Holy Father. I need not tell 
 you that throughout Louis Napoleon had the best 
 wishes of the Roman authorities. And the rejoicings 
 at his present triumph are none the less, from the fadl 
 
i82 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 that it is confidently supposed he has a rod in pickle 
 for England. 
 
 I had the honor and consolation of being presented 
 to Pius IX in less than a week after my arrival. 
 I was, of course, like every one else, charmed and 
 delighted with him. His Holiness spoke with lively 
 interest of the prospedts of the American Church and 
 of the noble spedtacle which would be presented to 
 the Catholic world by our first National council. 
 Monsignor Barnabo told me that in order to secure a 
 full attendance, letters have been written from Rome 
 to the Archbishop and Bishop of Oregon requesting 
 them to be present. 
 
 The Holy Father seemed to hope that the Americans 
 would not follow the example of the English in their 
 reception of Kossuth. I venture to express my fears 
 that in the beginning at least, they would even surpass 
 England, but that after the first burst of enthusiasm 
 was over they would quietly let him drop. These 
 fears have been more than realized in the accounts 
 which have reached us within the last two days. Your 
 speech in the Stuyvesant Institute was first shown to 
 me by the American Consul in Marseilles. He was 
 highly pleased that you had come out against Kossuth 
 and hoped the Americans would have the good sense 
 to see his character in its true light. Your letter to 
 Greely has been much read here and everybody thinks 
 it very well-timed and very capital. 
 
 I have presented your letter to Cardinals Fornari 
 and Altieri by both of whom I was very kindly re- 
 ceived. The latter has promised me a letter to Vienna, 
 which I hope may be of some service to me. I have 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 183 
 
 had the pleasure of meeting also Lord Fielding and 
 Lady, as well as Lord and Lady Camden. Lord 
 Camden mentioned that he had written you in the 
 summer, but had not yet had the honor of receiving an 
 answer. Lady Fielding is suffering very much from 
 some pecuHar complaint in one of her limbs. She is 
 very lame and even in a dangerous state. If faith on 
 her own part, and novenas and prayers in every quar- 
 ter will avail her bodily malady, she will doubtless soon 
 recover. There are comparatively few English and 
 American strangers in Rome this winter. Yet in this 
 few are numbered many of the distinguished converts. 
 
 Father Ignatius is still here laboring for England's 
 conversion. Mr. Manning is pursuing his theological 
 studies in the Academia Ecclesiastica. He is lead- 
 ing a very retired life and edifying all who have the 
 pleasure of meeting him by his very sincere devotion 
 and great humility. Mrs. Read of Baltimore is here 
 with her son and daughter. They have been pre- 
 sented to the Holy Father by Mr. Cass who says 
 that he has never seen His Holiness afford to any 
 a more gracious reception. I had the pleasure of as- 
 sisting at the Midnight Mass celebrated by the Holy 
 Father at S. Maria Maggiore's — as well as at the grand 
 ceremony on Christmas day at St. Peter's. I am to 
 celebrate Pontifical High Mass at the Propaganda on 
 the Epiphany. Mgr. Prince is here busy with the 
 Adls of the Canadian council. There are several other 
 bishops from foreign parts. 
 
 I will endeavor to leave Rome about the 20th of 
 this month, or as soon as possible after I shall have 
 another audience of His Holiness, which has been 
 
i84 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 graciously promised me. I hope to be back in Paris 
 after having visited Vienna and Munich about the 
 loth or 1 2th of March. As I have not yet been in 
 Ireland, I must manage to spare a few days for that 
 enjoyment; then be ready to sail immediately after 
 Easter. I have, thus far, thank God, enjoyed very 
 good health, and had a prosperous journey. 
 
 Your friends here, particularly Lord 'and Lady Cam- 
 den and Mr. Anderson, desire me to remember them 
 most kindly to you when I should be writing. I have 
 not said anything with reference to the See of Philada., 
 as when I last saw the Secretary of the Propaganda, 
 nothing had been done. The congregation was waiting 
 to hear from all the suffragan bishops of Baltimore. 
 The opinions already before the Congregation are much 
 divided, and greater delay is likely in consequence to 
 ensue. Some adlion may be taken on the matter after 
 the vacation which will end on the Epiphany. 
 
 There is no special news. Be pleased to give my 
 kindest remembrances to all the good clergy of your 
 household, and accept for yourself the assurances of 
 my sincerest regard and esteem, with which, I am. 
 
 Most Rev. Sir, 
 
 Your faithful servt. in Xt., 
 ►I^JoHN, Bp. of Albany 
 
 Bishop McCloskey returned by way of Vienna, 
 Paris, and Ireland, to New York, and reached that 
 city on April 27, 1852. 
 
 The vicious system of trusteeism, whereby the 
 temporal affairs of the parish were governed by a 
 committee of men eledled for that purpose, had been 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 185 
 
 proclaimed by Archbishop Hughes as the worst hin- 
 drance to the faith in America. The system had been 
 abolished in Philadelphia and New York City, but in 
 the outlying towns of these dioceses, those who held 
 the office were determined not to yield what they 
 claimed to be their rights. 
 
 In Buffalo, for example, when Bishop John Timon 
 (1847-67) was installed in St. Louis Church, on 
 OAober 22, 1847, as the first ordinary of that diocese, 
 he found a sad condition of affairs in which temporals 
 were mingled with spirituals, and the church adlually 
 directed by the lay trustees. It was not long before 
 he came into conflidl with them, and they notified the 
 bishop that he was not welcome. He left the parish 
 and built St. Patrick's Church. 
 
 His volume on the Missions in Western New Tork 
 and the Church History of the Diocese of Buffalo 
 (Buffalo, 1862) give us the details of this scandal. 
 No bishop, he writes, ever began under circumstances 
 more discouraging. The rebellious spirit of the 
 trustees knew no bounds and he was obliged to place 
 the church under an interdid: on June 14, 1851. The 
 trustees remained defiant and when Archbishop Bedini, 
 Apostolic Delegate to Brazil, visited the United 
 States, the case was placed before him. He decided 
 against the trustees, who immediately began an attack 
 upon him with violent letters of denunciation. The 
 result was that, on June 22, 1854, the trustees were 
 excommunicated. Shea tells us that they soon saw 
 their hold on their followers waning, and they made 
 a feigned submission in order to obtain the removal 
 of the interdidl. "This was scarcely done when they 
 
1 86 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 petitioned the Legislature of New York to make a 
 general law by which all Catholic Church property 
 could be placed under the control of irresponsible men 
 like themselves." 
 
 Bishop McCloskey lost no time in informing Arch- 
 bishop Hughes of the Ad: to prevent ecclesiastics 
 from inheriting, and petitions against the bill were 
 drawn up and signed by thousands. Section one, of 
 the bill read as follows: "No grant or devise of real 
 or personal estate to, nor any trust of such estate for, 
 the benefit of any person and his successors in any 
 ecclesiastical office, or to or for any person, by the 
 designation of any such office, shall vest any estate or 
 interest in any successor of such person." All under- 
 stood that the bill was a blow aimed against the 
 freedom of the Catholic Church and against the civil 
 rights of Catholics. 
 
 The New York Tribune spoke of the bill as follows: 
 
 "It does seem to us that this is not right. A man 
 dies who chooses to will his property or a part of it 
 to the Roman Catholic or Protestant Episcopal Bishop 
 of New York or any other ecclesiastical fundlionary 
 and his successor in that station. Can it be right for 
 the State to forbid and prevent his so doing? We can- 
 not see how, if it is right to let him will it to the Bishop 
 of today, he should be forbidden to will the reversion 
 of it to the successors in office of that Bishop. Can 
 any one give a satisfadlory reason.? It were idle to 
 affedt not to see that this bill is calculated, we fear, 
 intended, to have a special application. Though in 
 general terms, it is well understood that its bearing 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 187 
 
 will be felt by Roman Catholics more emphatically 
 than by others. We protest against this sort of legis- 
 lation. If you mean to interdict the divisions of 
 property to Catholic Bishops^ be manly about it, and 
 say so in your bill; but don't allow the testator a 
 seeming liberty and yet defeat this intent by enadting 
 that the property so willed shall take a direction 
 contrary to and subversive of its purpose." 
 
 The bill which passed the Legislature in the session 
 of 1854-55, was not framed to aid Catholics or the 
 Church, "but was drawn up and passed by their avowed 
 bitter enemies to introduce confusion and ruin into their 
 temporal affairs." We have two letters from Bishop 
 McCloskey to Archbishop Hughes while the bill was 
 before the Legislature. 
 
 Albany, March 28th, 1855 
 Most Rev. and Dear Archbishop: 
 
 I congratulate you on your safe arrival and hope 
 that you return to us with renovated health and 
 vigor. I would have sent you a few lines yesterday, 
 knowing that you would be anxious to receive intelli- 
 gence concerning Putnam's Bill. But I have for some 
 days past been confined to a sick bed, and am only now 
 beginning to crawl about again. The receipt of your 
 kind letter determines me to allow no further delay. 
 
 It is too true that you arrive only in time for the 
 final passage of the iniquitous Bill just alluded to. This 
 morning it passed through the Committee of the whole 
 under pressure of the gag-law and has been ordered to 
 its third reading. There is little doubt that it will be 
 taken up out of its order, as was done in the Senate, 
 
i88 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 and receive its third reading to-niorrow or next day — 
 at latest before the end of the week. 
 
 If you were here upon the spot to know and see 
 the character of the men who compose our present 
 Legislature, to witness their utter disregard of honor 
 or principle, or good faith or even common decency 
 where we are concerned, if you could listen to the vile 
 falsehoods which they utter, knowing them to be false 
 and blandly smiling when convidled beyond possibility 
 of escape, and daring to utter others still worse the 
 moment after, if you saw with what especial relish they 
 enjoy any low abuse in which the name of "John 
 Hughes," or the "Pope of Rome" is mixed up, you 
 would hardly, I think, condescend to the effort either 
 of soothing or enlightening them — even if this were 
 possible — which it is not. 
 
 The men who have framed and voted for this bill 
 are for the most part already convinced of its injustice. 
 Many of them have even acknowledged it — but 
 excuse themselves by saying "my constituents wish 
 me to vote for it." In the Senate, Mr. Crosby has I 
 think put forward almost every argument you would 
 wish to urge. Not to be sure with proper force and 
 clearness, for unfortunately all the talent for speaking 
 was on the side of our opponents. Mr. Putnam is 
 beyond dispute the best debater as well as the best 
 tadtician in the Senate, and having with him Whitney 
 and Brooks of New York, all the odds are against us. 
 The speeches of Whitney and Brooks could not easily 
 be surpassed by Gavassi. Mr. Crosby had not in his 
 possession your Pastoral, for I had it not at hand, — 
 but I remembered all its arguments distindlly, for I 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 189 
 
 had read it and commented on it in St. Joseph's Ch., 
 New York. I stated this fadl to Mr. C. and embodied 
 your argument in notes which I gave him — which 
 notes must have covered eight or ten pages such as 
 the present. The assertions made by Putnam con- 
 cerning your course with reference to the trustees 
 of St. Louis Ch., I authorized him to brand as 
 false, for I knew them to be so. With reference 
 to the argument of your Pastoral, it was met by 
 simply saying "that the adls of the Councils of Balti- 
 more" on which he mainly relied were of later date, 
 and in every way a higher authority — and for the 
 other, if you had not obliged the trustees to convey 
 their titles to you, Bp. Timon had. But in truth 
 argument was not listened to — at least was of no 
 avail — it was a foregone conclusion that the Bill 
 must pass. Knownothingism had been snubbed, Sew- 
 ard had been elected, and how were these men to 
 go back to their constituents and have nothing to shew 
 in extenuation for their crimes of violating their pledges, 
 and disregarding their promises by voting for Seward, 
 and supporting the cause of the Pope. Let them only 
 make a fair Anti-Popery demonstration, let them pass 
 that bill destroying the money power of the Bishops and 
 Priests, and all is safe — and as for the legitimate Sew- 
 ard party, the game was well understood — and was not 
 to be spoiled — it will do no harm just now to let the 
 public see that in voting for Mr. Seward, it does not 
 mean that we are voting for the Pope or Bp. Hughes. 
 This has been the argument which has prevailed. 
 
 I have watched every turn and move from the 
 beginning, and have received faithful verbal reports 
 
I90 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 of every speech, and every artifice had recourse to. 
 We tried hard to give the bill a party character — 
 the only ground on which it could be defeated. Mr. 
 Crosby denounced it as a Knownothing movement 
 from beginning to end. But the Seward men could 
 not understand. . . . After all the Buffalo men are at 
 the bottom of all the mischief. I am to be furnished 
 with the names of all the Petitioners in favor of it, 
 and will preserve them for Bp. Timon. They are all 
 without an exception from his diocese. I am going to 
 test the Bill next week, should it become a law next 
 week. St. Joseph's Ch. is to be rebuilt, and will be 
 sold under mortgage to perfect the title. Mr. Hill, 
 one of our most eminent lawyers, has the matter now 
 in his hands. The President of the Judiciary Com- 
 mittee of the Assembly pronounces it unconstitutional 
 — what is the reply of the House — "We will risk that 
 — the bill must pass" — Putnam said to Mr. Kernan 
 of Utica — "There is no use in your people being 
 annoyed about this Bill — it can't do you any harm, " 
 when this wave of popular excitement has passed by, 
 you can have it repealed or get such law as you want — " 
 and such I believe to be the truth. I hated to see our 
 enemies have a triumph — but I am convinced that we 
 will be the gainers by it. I will be in N. York imme- 
 diately after Easter when I will give you all the details. 
 It is important that they should be known, and made 
 to produce their effedl at the proper time and occasion. 
 I remain 
 
 Very truly 
 
 Your fd. and brother in Xt. 
 <i' John Bp. of Albany 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 191 
 
 Albany, March zgth, 1855 
 Most Rev. Dr. Archbishop: 
 
 Today Mr. O'Keefe met Mr. Weed in the Assembly 
 Chamber and urged him to assist in defeating the bill. 
 Mr. W's reply was that he did not think it could be 
 defeated, and it was for this reason he had abstained 
 from making any effort, as he did not like to risk a 
 failure. He particularly promised to do what he could. 
 I cannot be convinced that it was not in his power at 
 any time, and if not yet, to defeat it if he likes. I 
 have not gone near him, neither would Mr. Austin or 
 any Catholic of standing here consent to approach him, 
 for reasons which I shall explain hereafter. He has 
 treated me very badly, and knows that he has com- 
 mitted himself. O'Keefe has some faint hope that on 
 the third reading it may fail. It is supposed it will 
 be called up to-morrow. This morning I made my 
 last move of which I think I forgot to inform you last 
 evening. I have written a letter to the Governor 
 which he has received today, drawing especially his 
 attention to the high authorities that pronounce the 
 bill unconstitutional, also setting forth its confiscatory 
 charadter and the question of mere trusteeism I have 
 not touched, as this is with them all a point already 
 settled in their own minds. I endeavor to show that 
 besides forcing us back upon the Trustee System, it 
 goes a great deal farther. If I could see Ogden Hoff- 
 man, the Attorney General, with whom I am ac- 
 quainted, I think I could get him to sustain the 
 ground of unconstitutionality. He is however, a 
 friend of Putnam, and greatly applauded his speech, 
 
 Mr. Hill, the lawyer of whom I spoke yesterday, 
 
192 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 and who has no superior in this city, has given his 
 written opinion declaring both the 2d and 3d sedlions 
 of the bill unconstitutional. In the sale to take place 
 next week he advises us to purchase and to take the 
 title as heretofore, and he defies them to touch us. I 
 ought to observe that the objedl of my sending my let- 
 ter to the Governor so soon, was to induce him to call 
 in Weed and ask him to save him the responsibility of 
 signing the bill by stopping it in the house. If your 
 letter should arrive to-morrow, it will be in time at 
 any rate to be brought under the notice of the Governor 
 and have its affedt in that quarter. As for the vaga- 
 bonds in the Legislature, you only do them too much 
 honor. 
 
 Now that I think there is no doubt that the odious 
 provision will be utterly void and without effedl in 
 the courts of law, I really would be better pleased 
 that the bill would pass just as it is. It will do us 
 good in many ways. It has already done it and is 
 still doing it and it would be almost a pity that the 
 fellows who have heaped so much insult on us should 
 have a chance of yet redeeming themselves. 
 
 I am still confined to my room, have a bad cough and 
 begin to fear I shall hardly be able to get through the 
 ceremony of next week. I have had to give up preach- 
 ing for the present. 
 
 Begging your prayers, 
 
 I remain, your friend and brother in Xt., 
 
 <i< John, Bp. of Albany 
 
 Any hope that the Legislature would recognize the 
 religious bigotry in the bill was soon dispelled. It 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 193 
 
 passed both houses and though it remained a dead 
 letter and was repealed seven years later, it is an un- 
 mistakable sign of the intolerance of the times. The 
 bill was "more revolutionary in its charadler than any 
 theory relative to the tenure of land advocated in 
 modern times. It is the first enadlment denying indi- 
 vidual property in land, and asserting the right of the 
 State not only to confiscate all land without com- 
 pensation, but even to convey it at will. It made 
 void any deed, lease, or devise of any Catholic bishop, 
 and on his death vested the property in any incorporated 
 congregation happening to use the same, but, if the con- 
 gregation was not incorporated, escheating the property 
 to the State. 
 
 This Adl confiscated the property of five bankrupt 
 boards of trustees, sold under judicial or other legal 
 process and purchased by Archbishop Hughes with his 
 own money, annexed it to the State domain, and con- 
 veyed it back to the bankrupts without consideration. 
 The incorporation required by the State was one in 
 which boards of trustees were eledled by pew and seat 
 renters, not required to be Catholics, attendants at 
 the church, or participants in its sacraments, a system 
 which had been modified to suit several Protestant 
 denominations." 
 
 The whole story of this perilous situation was dealt 
 with in a long resume furnished by Archbishop Hughes 
 in May, 1855, and in a series of letters to Erastus 
 Brooks, — all of which will be found in the second 
 volume of his published works, by Lawrence Kehoe. 
 The bill did indeed prove a dead letter, as Bishop 
 McCloskey predicted, but the Catholics realized that 
 
194 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 it was a dangerous weapon, if allowed to remain on 
 the Statute Books. Three years later we find Bishop 
 McCloskey writing again on the question of a repeal of 
 the Church Property Bill: 
 
 Albany, Dec. ^oth, 1858 
 Most Rev. dear Archbishop: 
 
 As the Legislature will meet on Monday next, it 
 is important to know at as early a moment as possible 
 what measures are to be taken with reference to the 
 Church Property Bill. Both branches of the Legis- 
 lature will be entirely in the hands of the Republicans, 
 and it may be that having clearly the power, they may 
 have also the will to befriend us in this matter. I 
 understood Your Grace to say that you would either 
 see or write to Mr. Weed on the subjedt. I have no 
 doubt that he will tell you candidly what would be our 
 prospedls of success, and whether it would be advisable 
 for us to seek a repeal of Putnam's odious bill or not. 
 I would be glad to learn whether you have had as yet 
 any communication with Mr. W. If none has yet 
 been had, would it not be well to ascertain his view and 
 feelings on this matter with as little delay as possible — 
 I shall cheerfully receive and endeavor to carry out 
 any suggestions or instrudlions which Your Grace may 
 think proper to intimate. 
 
 Wishing you a happy New Year and many happy 
 returns, 
 
 I remain, 
 
 Yr. Faithful Bro. and serv't in Dmo. 
 
 "!< John, Bp. of Alb'y. 
 Most Rev. Dr. Hughes 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 195 
 
 An event which brought sorrow to the archdiocese 
 at the time was the apostasy of Rev. John Murray 
 Forbes, D.D. The Rev. Dr. Forbes was born in New 
 York in 1807 and graduated from Columbia College 
 in 1827. In 1830, after finishing his divinity course 
 at the General Theological Seminary, he was ordained 
 for the Episcopal ministry. In 1834, he became 
 Redor of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, New York, and 
 at the same time taught pastoral theology in the 
 seminary. He became interested in the Tradtarian 
 Movement and was one of the group of non-Catholic 
 clergymen who entered the Church between the years 
 1845 and 1852. He became a Catholic in 1849, entered 
 Fordham Seminary, and was ordained to the Catholic 
 priesthood, together with the late Monsignor Preston, 
 by Bishop McCloskey, on November 16, 1850. He was 
 then appointed assistant at Nativity Church, and 
 became pastor of St. Ann's, in June 1852. St. Ann's 
 was formerly a Protestant church and was bought in 
 order to make a place for Dr. Forbes. For ten years 
 every courtesy was shown to Dr. Forbes. He was 
 theologian for Bishop Reynolds of Charleston, at the 
 First Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1852. The Holy 
 See conferred the degree Dodtor of Sacred Theology on 
 him in 1854, and he was theologian for Bishop Fitz- 
 patrick of Boston, at the Provincial Council of New 
 York in 1854. His apostasy has always been somewhat 
 of a mystery. His letter renouncing his communion with 
 the Church appeared in the public press in Odlober, 
 1859: 
 
196 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 New York, Od. 17, 1859 
 Most Rev. John Hughes, D.D. 
 
 Archbishop, 
 Most Reverend Sir: 
 
 It is now nearly ten years since under your auspices 
 I laid down my ministry in the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church to submit myself to the Church of Rome. 
 The interval, as you know, has not been idly spent; 
 each day has had its responsibility and duty, and with 
 these have come experience, knowledge and observation 
 of many things not so well understood before. The 
 result is that I feel I have committed a grave error, 
 which publicly made should be publicly repaired. 
 When I came to you it was stated, with a deep and 
 conscientious convidlion that it was necessary to be 
 in communion with the See of Rome; but this con- 
 vidlion I have not been able to sustain in face of the 
 fadl, that by it the natural rights of man and all indi- 
 vidual liberty must be sacrificed, not only so, but the 
 private conscience often violated, and one forced by 
 silence at least, to acquiesce in what is opposed to 
 moral truth and virtue. Under these circumstances, 
 when I call to mind how slender is the foundation in 
 the earliest ages of the Church upon which has been 
 reared the present papal power, I can no longer regard 
 it as imposing obligations upon me or anyone else. 
 I do now, therefore, by this ad:, disown and withdraw 
 myself from its alleged jurisdidlion. 
 I remain, Most Reverend Sir, 
 
 Your obedient Servant, 
 
 John Murray Forbes, D.D., 
 
 Late Pastor of St. Ann's Church, N. T. 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 197 
 
 The Archbishop's reply follows: 
 
 New York, Oil. zzd, 1859 
 Rev. Sir: 
 
 I read with deep afflidlion your communication 
 published in the Herald of this morning. In conse- 
 quence of that communication, it is my duty to revoke 
 and withdraw as I hereby do from you, all sacerdotal 
 faculties hitherto at any time granted you in the dio- 
 cese of New York. 
 
 John, Abp. of New York 
 Rev. John Murray Forbes, D.D. 
 
 For seventeen years after the departure of Bishop 
 McCloskey for Albany, Archbishop John Hughes bore 
 single-handed the brunt of the battle for Christ in 
 New York. His diocese was growing with a rapidity 
 which could not easily be controlled by one man, but 
 he fought on till the end uncomplainingly. Probably 
 no prelate of the Church in America ever stood so 
 distindlly alone. His sway over priests and people had 
 always been a dominant, forceful one, and little by 
 little the task of ruling over the great Church of New 
 York was beginning to tell upon his strength. His old 
 age was upon him when the Civil War broke out in 186 1, 
 but there could be no leisure moments, and scarcely 
 any rest, for the lion-hearted leader of his people 
 in this country. The attacks upon him personally, 
 upon his administration, upon the Church at home and 
 the Church in Rome, all kept him incessantly busy 
 with sermons and replies. No man was ever more 
 sensitive and jealous of his good name; and the mali- 
 cious and cowardly attempts to belie his charad:er 
 
198 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 and his methods hurt far more deeply than any of his 
 friends ever reaUzed. 
 
 Among those friends was one who never faltered 
 in his allegiance and upon whom Archbishop Hughes 
 depended as a father does upon a faithful and lov- 
 ing son. In Bishop McCloskey's fidelity and affedlion- 
 ate sympathy he found his most cherished solace. 
 With the fatigue of his great office oppressing him, it 
 is little wonder that he sought to resign the burden 
 altogether or to ask the Holy See to grant him a coad- 
 jutor for the work of his diocese. "My health is 
 poor and declining," he wrote to a friend in Rome, 
 on June 23, i860, "and I think that if I could get a 
 coadjutor more than once mentioned, it would probably 
 prolong my days if not years." He consulted his 
 suffragans and even named his choice, but they begged 
 him to delay. That his suffragans were unwilling to 
 see him resign the diredlion of the See of New York 
 into other hands is evident from a letter written by 
 Bishop Bacon of Portland, Me. : 
 
 Portland, July 15, 1869 
 Most Rev. Dear Archbishop: 
 
 On my return yesterday from Manchester, I found 
 your letter of the 6th inst. an answer to which I now 
 send you by the Rev. Mr. MuUer who goes to New 
 York. 
 
 Cardinal Barnabo told me, a few days before my 
 departure from Rome, that he had received two letters 
 from Mr. B. the Pontifical Consul at New York. 
 In one of these Mr. B. spoke of the necessity of appoint- 
 ing a Coadjutor for the Arch-Diocese, and it appeared 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 199 
 
 to me that he had expressed his opinion that Your 
 Grace needed one, in a manner calculated to have an 
 erroneous impression on the mind of His Eminence; 
 he at least took the liberty of giving his advice as to the 
 proper seledlion as if he had been authorized to do so. 
 
 I hope that Your Grace's health has improved since 
 I had the pleasure of seeing you. 
 Faithfully as ever, 
 
 Your devoted Ser't and Brother in Xto. 
 *b David, Bishop of Portland 
 
 After his return from Europe, whither he had gone to 
 carry on the diplomatic mission entrusted to him by 
 the Government in 1861, it was visible to all that his 
 course was run. His mental vigor as well as his once 
 great strength of body were beginning to decline, and 
 early in December, 1863, he was compelled to take 
 to his bed. On December 29, his devoted friends, 
 Father Starrs, then Vicar-General, Father McNierny, 
 his Secretary, and Bishop McCloskey were with him, 
 when the physicians told him that all hope was past. 
 He died on January 3, 1864, while Bishop McCloskey 
 was reciting the prayers for the dying. At the funeral 
 on January 7, Bishop McCloskey preached the sermon. 
 
 The eulogy was a beautiful explanation of the text: 
 " I have fought a good fight ; I have finished my course ; 
 I have kept the faith." Archbishop McCloskey said 
 in part: 
 
 "If ever the words of the living would seem to issue 
 forth or be echoed back from the lips of the dead, it is 
 
200 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 now, when these words which I have just uttered, 
 would appear rather as proceeding from the mouth of 
 the illustrious departed prelate, whose venerated form, 
 still clothed in all the insignia of his high and sacred 
 office, lies here before us in placid dignity and calm 
 repose. Still we fancy we hear him saying, 'I have 
 fought the good fight; I have finished my course; 
 I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up 
 for me a crown of justice, which the just judge, the 
 Lord, shall render to me.' 
 
 "When these words, beloved brethren, were first 
 spoken, or rather written, by the great Apostle of 
 the Gentiles, it was not as we know, in any spirit of 
 boastfulness or self-praise. They were meant simply 
 as the earnest expression of the consciousness which 
 he felt that the term of his mortal labors was nearly 
 expired; that his work was finished; that his course 
 was run; and that now, steadfast in the faith, firm 
 in hope, he only awaited the summons of his Divine 
 Master which should call him to his reward. They 
 were intended, too, to give courage and strength and 
 consolation to the heart of his friend and fellow- 
 laborer in the apostleship, Timothy; and not only to 
 his heart, but to the hearts of all his well-beloved 
 spiritual children scattered throughout the Church, 
 that, when he should have passed away from earth, 
 when they should look upon his face and hear his voice 
 no more, they would not yield themselves up to im- 
 moderate transports of grief, or indulge in tears of 
 merely unavailing sorrow, but that they would rather 
 be sustained and comforted by that grand and glorious 
 faith which he had preached to them; by the remem- 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 201 
 
 brances of all his services and all his labors, of how he 
 had toiled and endured, and suffered for them, and 
 how by all this and through all this he had won a great 
 reward. So even is it now. 
 
 "Our heads indeed are bowed down in sorrow, our 
 hearts are oppressed and overloaded with a mighty 
 load of grief, because our great and good Archbishop 
 is no more. He whom we had loved so well, he who 
 was our father and benefadtor, our kind and trusted 
 friend; he who was our pride and joy; he who so long 
 stood up among us as a pillar of safety and a tower of 
 strength — he is no more. 
 
 "That voice of eloquence, those inspiring harangues, 
 those lessons of wisdom, those paternal counsels, those 
 earnest and ceaseless exhortations which so often de- 
 lighted our ears, instructed our minds, filled with 
 transports of joy our hearts — all this we shall hear 
 no more. And we would be tempted to yield ourselves 
 up solely to the emotions of our grief were it not that 
 we do still think that we hear him say, 'Weep not, 
 dear children, grieve not for me. Be comforted by 
 the thought that I have fought the good fight; the 
 work that was given me to accomplish has been finished. 
 I have run my course; I have kept the faith. I now 
 simply await my crown.' Our loss, indeed, beloved 
 brethren, is great. How great, how deeply and sin- 
 cerely felt, has been made manifest by all that has been 
 presented to our eyes since the moment his spirit took 
 flight from this lower world, by all those manifestations 
 of love and gratitude and highest feeling which a de- 
 voted people have been paying by hundreds and 
 thousands, day after day, in pressing forward to show 
 
202 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 their last tribute of respedl even to his cold remains, 
 and to look upon his face once more for the last time. 
 
 " And it is not our loss alone, not the loss of a single 
 congregation or a single diocese, but it is a loss of the 
 whole Church, a loss felt by every Catholic heart 
 throughout the land. For we do not doubt, we cannot 
 doubt, that when the eledlric spark carried with its 
 lightning speed tidings of his death throughout the 
 length and breadth of the country, it thrilled every 
 heart, especially every Catholic heart, with a pang of 
 agony. And it filled all breasts, even those who 
 were not of the same church or faith, with sentiments 
 of deep and sincere regret. 
 
 " His fame and his name, and his services, too, were 
 of the whole country; and, I may say, of the whole 
 world. He stood forward preeminently as the great 
 Prelate of the Church in this country, as its able and 
 heroic champion, as the defender of its faith, as the 
 advocate of its rights, as the ever-vigilant guardian of 
 its honor. He was not only a great prelate, but he 
 was a great man; one who has left his mark upon the 
 age in which he lived, one who has made an impres- 
 sion upon every Catholic mind in this country which 
 time can never efface." 
 
 The question naturally arose about the choice of a 
 successor, and there seems to have been very little 
 doubt that Bishop McCloskey would succeed him. 
 "No sooner had God called to his eternal reward the 
 good and greatly lamented Dr. Hughes," wrote Arch- 
 bishop Odin of New Orleans, on Odlober 12, 1864, 
 "than all eyes were turned towards Albany to find 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 203 
 
 him a successor. No doubt it was a painful sacrifice 
 for you to part with your beloved flock, but we thank 
 God to have seledled you for this important See." 
 On January 15, 1864, Bishop Fitzpatrick of Boston, 
 wrote to Bishop McCloskey from Brussels, declaring 
 that his promotion to the Archiepiscopal See of New 
 York was necessary not alone for the good of the 
 Church, but especially for the success of the Provincial 
 Seminary at Troy, which was about to open that year. 
 
 Brussels, Jan. 15, 1864 
 Rt. Rev. and dear friend: 
 
 The telegraph today brought in the sad news of the 
 death of Archb. Hughes. I never knew how large 
 a place he filled in my esteem and affedtion as well as 
 in the wants of our Church, until the announcement of 
 his death laid open before me the void which it leaves 
 after him. 
 
 I pray you to write as soon as possible a detailed 
 account of all the particulars which may not appear in 
 the public papers. You may easily conceive my anx- 
 iety to know them. It is my opinion that, despite all 
 the repugnance you will feel at such a burden, you must 
 take his place. Your health, as it seems to me, is, 
 thank God, growing better instead of worse, and, 
 although not strong, you are tough. It is my sincere 
 convidlion that, all things considered, you are best 
 fitted for the place. Our intended Seminary is, to my 
 judgment, the most important thing by far in the imme- 
 diate future of our Church, and your succession will 
 make it sure. That of a certain other which would 
 be likely to come, yours failing, might be fatal to the 
 
204 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 whole plan. If God spares my life, you know how 
 fully you will command my most hearty support and 
 cooperation in that and in all things else. With great 
 affedtion, 
 
 Your devoted brother in Xt. 
 ^J. B. F., Bp. of Boston 
 Rt. Rev. J. McCloskey. 
 
 When it became apparent to Bishop McCloskey that 
 the rumors of his elevation to the See of New York were 
 general, he addressed to his friend, Cardinal Reisach, 
 the following letter, in which he felt as he says "both 
 physically and morally, wholly unfit and unequal." 
 
 Albany, Jan. 26th, 1864 
 To His Eminence Cardinal de Reisach, 
 Most Eminent and dear Lord Cardinal: 
 
 Your Eminence will pardon me, I trust, if, presum- 
 ing on the kindness and condescension shown me in the 
 past, I now venture to have recourse to you in a moment 
 which for me is one of deepest anxiety and fear. Your 
 Eminence, as a member of the Sacred Congregation de 
 Propaganda Fide, will have learned, most probably 
 before this reaches you, that among the names com- 
 mended through the Sacred Congregation to the Holy 
 See to fill the vacancy caused by the much lamented 
 death of the illustrious Archbishop of New York, my 
 name unfortunately is placed first on the list. Now I 
 write to implore your Eminence in case there should 
 be any danger of my appointment or of my being 
 transferred from Albany to New York to aid me in 
 preventing it, and to save me from the humiliation 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 205 
 
 and misery of being placed in a position for the duties 
 and responsibilities of which I feel myself both physi- 
 cally and morally, wholly unfit and unequal. 
 
 If you will bear with me, I will state a few only of 
 the many, very many grounds of objection. In the 
 first place, when the votes of the Bishops of the Province 
 were taken, the Bishop of Buffalo received just the same 
 number as myself. It was by the change of a single 
 vote afterwards made, that my name took precedence. 
 There was, therefore, no unanimity on the subjedt. 
 The Bishops, whose wisdom and judgment entitled 
 them to most weight, did not commend my name for 
 the first. The venerable Bishop of Buff^alo gave his 
 voice not for me, but in favor of Bishop Loughlin of 
 Brooklyn. My own was and still is in favor of the 
 Bishop of Buffalo. 
 
 Again, when after having been appointed and conse- 
 crated coadjutor of the Bishop of New York with the 
 right of succession, it was required of me to resign both 
 coadjutorship and right of succession and to come to 
 Albany, I then resolved and still hold to the reso- 
 lution, that as far as it depended upon my free will or 
 consent of my own, I should never again return to New 
 York. Having been relieved of the prosped: of suc- 
 cession, I never thought afterwards of aspiring or being 
 called to it. I have accordingly done nothing to pre- 
 pare or qualify myself for it. 
 
 I speak only from the deepest sincerity of heart and 
 from the strongest convidlions of conscience, when I 
 say that I possess neither the learning, nor prudence, 
 nor energy, nor firmness, nor bodily health and strength, 
 which are requisite for such an arduous and highly 
 
2o6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 responsible office as that of Archbishop of New York. 
 I recoil from the very thought of it with shuddering, and 
 I do most humbly trust that such a crushing load will 
 not be placed upon my weak and most unworthy 
 shoulders. Either the Bishop of Louisville, Dr. Spal- 
 ding, or the Bishop of Buffalo, Dr. Timon, would fill 
 the post with dignity, efficiency, and honor. 
 
 Your Eminence may perhaps be disposed to ask: 
 Why not make these representations to Cardinal Barn- 
 abo rather than to me ? My answer is : first, I do not 
 wish to seem as taking it for granted that my name will 
 be presented to the Holy See. The communications 
 which will be received from the several Archbishops 
 of the country, and from other sources may change 
 entirely the aspedl of the case, and no serious attention 
 may be paid to the simple fadl of my name appearing 
 first on the list forwarded from New York. In such 
 an event, objedlions and remonstrances on my part 
 made to the Cardinal Prefedl would not only be out of 
 place, but seem somewhat presumptuous and pre- 
 mature. Besides I feel that I can address your Emi- 
 nence with more freedom from official restraint, and in 
 my own language which is easier and more natural to 
 me. 
 
 It will be for Your Eminence to make such use of 
 my communication as to your own wisdom and pru- 
 dence may seem best. I only wish that if occasion 
 required it my feelings and sentiments shall be made 
 known to the Cardinal Prefedl and Sacred Congregation. 
 When once the decision is made and the Holy Father 
 speaks, there remains for me nothing but silence. His 
 will is in all things to me a law. 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 207 
 
 Begging a thousand pardons for this intrusion and 
 commending myself once more to your friendly interest 
 and sympathy, I have the honor to be 
 
 Your Eminence's most obedient servant in Xto., 
 
 <i* John, Bp. of Albany 
 
 That this letter reveals the soul of John McCloskey 
 in all its profound humility no one will doubt. But 
 there was only one dissenting voice in the choice — 
 that of Bishop McCloskey himself. His name was first 
 on the list sent in both by the priests of the diocese, 
 and the bishops of the Province. Archbishop Bayley, 
 then the Bishop of Newark writes to him, under date 
 of March 5, 1864: "I think that you will be appointed 
 without doubt, and you should not think of refusing." 
 "What you feared and what we hoped in sincerity" 
 writes Bishop de Goesbriand of Burlington, on April 15, 
 1864, "has it seems come to pass." The Cincinnati 
 Catholic Telegraph on April 17, 1864, published the 
 following statement. 
 
 "We learn from a well informed correspondent in 
 Rome that the Apostolic letters confirming the nomi- 
 nation by our prelates of Right Rev. Bishops Spalding 
 and McCloskey, respectively to the Archiepiscopal 
 Sees of Baltimore and New York, were to be expedited 
 the week after the date of his letter, early in March." 
 
 Monsignor Preston wrote to him at once congratu- 
 lating him, but he replied on April 19, that he had no 
 intelligence concerning the promotion spoken of "except 
 what comes from the newspapers." That he still 
 cherished the hope of avoiding the burden of the 
 
2o8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 archiepiscopate is seen in a letter to Archbishop Spal- 
 ding, then Bishop of Louisville, who was to be named, 
 the same day as Cardinal McCloskey, to the See of 
 Baltimore. Bishop Spalding had written to him to 
 say that the news of their appointment seemed certain: 
 
 Louisville, Apl. 27, 1864 
 Rt. Rev. Dear Friend: 
 
 As the newspapers and public gossip place us in 
 the same boat, I think it well that we should sympa- 
 thize with each other in our mutual misfortunes, if 
 these be real, and not, as I incline to suspedl, imaginary. 
 What a pity that these gossips could not await an 
 official declaration before plying their busy trade! 
 
 For myself I have not heard one word from Rome on 
 a subjedl upon which I would be likely to be informed, 
 tot ou tard. Have you received any Roman letters, 
 private or public ? 
 
 I am told that Dr. Wm. McCloskey, the General 
 of the Jesuits, several young students of the American 
 College, and perhaps the General of the Redemptorists 
 (I infer this from what Archbp. Purcell writes concern- 
 ing the statement of Father Geissell), have all written 
 to the same effed:. What would make me incline to 
 distrust the account, is the circumstance that early 
 in March — the date of the alleged nominations — 
 would seem to be rather early for the nomination of 
 a successor to Archbp. Hughes, who died only Jany. 
 3. However, I fervently hope it is the fadt so far as 
 you are concerned; and I trust you will not think of 
 setting me the bad example of declining. Of course, 
 neither of us can entertain any serious thought on the 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 209 
 
 subjedl one way or the other, till all will be officially 
 known. 
 
 I confess it would cost me many a pang to leave my 
 old Kentucky home, to which thirty years of agree- 
 able, if not profitable, ministry have endeared me. 
 You cannot tear up so old a tree without rudely sunder- 
 ing and leaving clinging to the native soil not a few 
 of its younger and tenderer roots. As I suppose you 
 are in a similar condition, we can appreciate each 
 other's feeling; though you approach nearer the home 
 of your childhood by the change. 
 
 I remain very truly and affectionately, 
 
 Your Brother in Christ 
 ^i* M. J. Spalding, Bishop of Louisville 
 Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Albany. 
 
 Bishop McCloskey's reply is as follows: 
 
 Albany, Jpril 30, 1864 
 Rt. Rev. and dear Friend: 
 
 I had several times thought of writing to you to 
 express the same sentiments and make the same 
 inquiries, which I find in your esteemed favor of the 
 27th. inst. just come to hand. 
 
 I have received no letters from Rome either official 
 or unofficial on the subjedt of the rumored appointments. 
 The only reliable or authentic information which has 
 reached New York, is contained in a letter from Father 
 Sopranis to Father Tellier, in which he states that 
 Cardinal Barnabo told him, that the nominations would 
 be finally decided at the next meeting of the Sacred 
 Congregation; that there was no doubt you would be 
 appointed to Baltimore and I to New York. Father 
 
2IO JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Sopranis' letter was received a few weeks ago, and it 
 was this that gave renewed force to the rumor first put 
 in circulation by the Catholic Telegraph. 
 
 There is no doubt, I think, of your appointment; 
 concerning my own, I still cherish the hope that the 
 objedtions which I have presented and strongly urged 
 will prevail or have already prevailed. Should they be 
 overruled, I must accept the decision of the Holy 
 Father as the expression of the Will of God. 
 
 In any event we may well sympathize with each other 
 just now, for our position is not at all a pleasant one. 
 
 In my letter to Rome, I took the liberty of strongly 
 urging your appointment to New York in case you 
 were not promoted to the more honorable post at 
 Baltimore. 
 
 Should any more authentic intelligence reach me 
 soon, I will not delay in writing you. 
 Meantime, I remain. 
 Your very sincere fr. and bro. in Xto., 
 
 *i* John, Bp. of Albany 
 Rt. Rev. Dr. Spalding. 
 
 The news of Cardinal McCloskey's appointment 
 reached him early in May, 1864. Rev. Dr. Smith 
 wrote to him from Rome congratulating him on his 
 appointment to the Archbishopric of New York. 
 "He gives no details" wrote Bishop McCloskey to 
 Archbishop Spalding, from Albany, May 3, 1864, 
 "but he leaves no room to doubt. I do not know that 
 I should congratulate you. I certainly do congratulate 
 the Archdiocese of Baltimore. I am delighted at your 
 appointment; I only pity myself." 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 211 
 
 A letter which came from the Redlor of the American 
 College at Rome at this time is worthy of insertion be- 
 cause of its reference to a young priest, then a student 
 at the college, who was destined by Divine Providence 
 to become Archbishop McCloskey's successor in the 
 See of New York: 
 
 Rome, May 21st. 1864 
 Rt. Rev. and dear Friend: 
 
 Your very kind letter of April 25, reached me last 
 week, and I regret as much as you do the annoyance 
 you experienced from the publication of what was 
 never intended for the newspapers. I shall be more 
 cautious in future. But of the fadt itself, if you have 
 not received official intelligence of it already, there 
 can be no doubt. As far back as the vigil of Easter, 
 your name only wanted the confirmation of the Holy 
 Father, who, on account of his illness, could not then 
 attend to that formality. What all Rome knew, I 
 thought I might add as an item of news to a letter that 
 I happened to be writing at the time. . . . 
 
 Among the students from the province of New 
 York, there are two whom I could recommend as 
 professors for the Seminary at Troy — one, a Mr, 
 Corrigan, from the Diocese of Newark, and a Mr. 
 Gardner of Brooklyn, both young men of virtue and 
 talent, and having already an inclination for the 
 seminary life. Indeed the Bishop of Newark intends 
 Mr. Corrigan for his own Seminary, and I fear you 
 will find it no easy matter to induce him to give him 
 up. . . . 
 
 Yours sincerely and affediionately, 
 William McCloskey 
 
212 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Again he writes to Archbishop Spalding from Albany, 
 June 14, 1864, saying that the Bulls had arrived. 
 "I had cherished a faint lingering of hope," he says, 
 "that something might turn up which would save me 
 from the appointment, but now that the Holy Father 
 has decided, I see no alternative, but to accept the 
 decision of the Holy See, as the expression of the Divine 
 Will." 
 
 On June 21, 1864, Archbishop Spalding wrote to him 
 that he had decided to accept: 
 
 Louisville, June 21, St. Aloysius Day, 1864 
 Most Rev. Dear Friend: 
 
 I too, after a three days' retreat, have decided to 
 accept, urged thereto principally by the strong language 
 of the Cardinal to which you refer. I expedl Deo 
 volente, to take my leave of my flock, on Sunday, 
 July 10, and then to attend an informal meeting of the 
 suffragan provincial bishops on the 13 th and 14th, 
 reaching Saratoga on July i6th or i8th. I think of 
 taking possession of my new See on the feast of St. 
 Ignatius, July 31st, the great patronal feast of Mary- 
 land. 
 
 I beheve the title "Eled:," though sufficiently 
 common, is not accurate after the confirmation of the 
 Pontiff. The Stylus Curiae adopted by the Cardinal 
 both in the superscription and the inside address of 
 my documents, is simply "Arcivescovo di Baltimore," 
 and I suppose yours is similar. This is like another 
 popular blunder, of calling the Apostolic Letters in 
 forma Brevis — signed by the Cardinal Prefedl of 
 Briefs — Bulls. A Papal Bull is on gray not white 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 213 
 
 parchment, is dated in the old style Calend. and Idibus, 
 etc., and is sealed not Annulo Piscatoris, but with the 
 Bulla or leaden Seal. 
 
 When do you think you will take formal possession 
 of N. York? We will talk this and other matters over 
 when I shall see you at Saratoga. 
 
 I believe we do not lose our jurisdiction until we 
 send off to the Pontiff our formal acceptance in 
 scriptis. 
 
 As in missionary countries, like ours, all our business 
 with the Holy See is transacted through the Propa- 
 ganda, I do not believe that the forms usual for Catholic 
 countries apply to us. Thus when I received the dis- 
 pensation from the Pope to make my visit ad limina 
 per procurator em, I sent my Report addressed to the 
 Pontiff inclosed to Cardinal Barnabo, requesting him 
 to have the kindness to adl himself as my procurator, 
 or, if this should not be in regola, to appoint Very 
 Rev. Tobias Kirby of the Irish College or any other he 
 might think proper to select. The Cardinal kindly 
 did it himself, and seemed glad of the chance, and 
 I very promptly received a very flattering Latin 
 letter from the Pope's Latin Secretary in response to 
 my Report. I intend to do the same at present: i.e., 
 to inclose my letter of acceptance and thanks with the 
 petition for the pallium to the Pope in my letter to 
 the Cardinal ; and I have no doubt it will be all right. 
 I would not be surprised, even if the Cardinal sent us 
 the pallium, without our asking, that is if he learned 
 our acceptance. Bishop Luers may bring it to us, 
 as I told him to adt for me according to circumstances 
 and his judgment. 
 
214 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 I am naturally anxious about my successor. The 
 meeting of the Bishops will pretty well settle the 
 previous question. 
 
 Devotedly your Brother in Christ, 
 
 * M. J. Spalding 
 Mt. Rev. Dr. McCloskey, Archbishop of New York. 
 
 On August 8, 1864, Bishop McCloskey entered upon 
 the customary spiritual retreat at Fordham, where 
 he spent eight days in retirement, preparing for his 
 installation, which had been fixed for August 21. "I 
 hope it may be possible for you to fulfil your kind 
 promise," he writes to Archbishop Spalding, "of honor- 
 ing me and all of us with your presence on the 21st. I 
 would be glad as would be everyone else, if you would 
 say a few words on the occasion. I suppose I will 
 also have to make a brief address. As you have already 
 gone through the ceremony, you will be better able to 
 judge what is the most fitting course. Pray for your 
 trembling brother and friend." 
 
 It is no exaggeration to say that his seventeen years 
 of residence in Albany had endeared him to all its 
 citizens, irrespedlive of creed or party. His apostolic 
 labors in that diocese were of an heroic kind. Seven- 
 teen years before, he had entered upon his duties 
 with the zealous determination to endow his diocese 
 with all the ecclesiastical helps it needed. The Catho- 
 lics were much scattered over the vast territory over 
 which he ruled, and in many places the anti-Catholic 
 spirit of 1844 still lingered. His success was notice- 
 able from the beginning. 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 215 
 
 The results of his labors is thus chronicled in the 
 press at this time. 
 
 "When he went to Albany, the town contained four 
 Catholic churches. One of these, St. Mary's church 
 he made his Cathedral. Another church was used 
 exlusively by German Catholics. The Orphan Asylum 
 of St. Vincent was established in 1830. It was at- 
 tended by the Sisters of Charity, who also directed a 
 female school. The remainder of his diocese con- 
 tained about forty churches, and had less than that 
 number of Catholic clergymen. Bishop McCloskey 
 went to work with fresh zeal in order to endow his 
 diocese with all the wants which his flock required. 
 This was rather a difficult task at first. The Catho- 
 lics were much scattered over the territory, were far 
 from being wealthy as a body, and it must be ac- 
 knowledged in some of the distridls there existed a 
 great prejudice against them. 
 
 "Under the impulse given by Bishop McCloskey 
 the town of Troy founded a female orphan asylum, 
 which he placed under the control of the Sisters of 
 Charity. In the year 185 1, the Christian Brothers 
 opened the Academy of St. Joseph in Troy and assumed 
 the direction of another orphan asylum for boys. 
 That same year, the Sisters of Charity opened a 
 hospital; and in 1852, the Bishop invited the Ladies 
 of the Sacred Heart to Albany where they founded 
 an academy for the higher education of young ladies. 
 The following year another academy was opened in 
 Utica. After a service of seventeen years in the diocese, 
 there were 113 churches, 8 chapels, 85 priests, 15 stu- 
 
2i6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 dents for the Ministry, 3 academies for boys, 6 orphan 
 asylums and 15 parochial schools." 
 
 To show their appreciation of his efforts towards 
 the civil and religious betterment of the city, a public 
 dinner was tendered to him by the most noted citizens, 
 among whom were Governor Seymour, Erastus Corn- 
 ing, Rufus King, Thurlow Weed, Philip Ten Eyck, 
 and some thirty other gentlemen. Their letter is as 
 follows : 
 
 Albany, July 30, 1864 
 To THE Most Reverend John McCloskey, 
 
 Archbishop of New York, 
 Sir: 
 
 We learn that the time approaches when, called by 
 the authority of your Church to a wider sphere of 
 episcopal duty, you are about to leave this city. Per- 
 mit us to say that your residence of seventeen years 
 with us, has taught us to appreciate a charadler ele- 
 vated by noble sentiments, and inspired by Christian 
 charity. It is for others to bear witness to the results 
 of your episcopal labors, the refledied light of which we 
 see in the elevated condition of your people. It is for 
 us to recognize the successful mission of one, who has 
 united in his person the character of a learned prelate 
 and a Christian gentleman, and whose influence in 
 society had been exerted to soothe and tranquillize, 
 to elevate and instruct. 
 
 In the newer and higher position to which you have 
 been called, your labors, no doubt, will be equally 
 auspicious, and the regrets we feel at parting with you 
 are restrained by this convidtion, and by a sense of 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 217 
 
 gratification at this mark of the high appreciation in 
 
 which you are held by your own church. 
 
 Adluated by these feelings, we cordially invite you 
 
 to meet us at dinner, on such day before your departure 
 
 as you may please to designate. 
 With feelings of sincere respedl and esteem, we are 
 
 your friends and well wishers, 
 
 Horatio Seymour, Peter Gansevoort, S. Van 
 Rensselaer, Erastus Corning, Gideon Hawley, 
 Amasa J. Parker, John V. L. Pruyn, Thurlow 
 Weed, Lucius Robinson, Thomas W. Olcott, John 
 H. Van Antwerp, John Taylor Cooper, R. L. 
 Banks, Henry D. Payne, James Kidd, Charles 
 B. Lansing, S. Oakley Vanderpool, Howard 
 TowNSEND, Isaac Vanderpool, E. P. Prestige, 
 Ira Harris, Thomas Hun, John Tweddle, C. 
 Comstock, R. W. Peckham, James Edwards, 
 Lansing Pruyn, Franklin Townsend, Rufus H. 
 King, Dexter Reynolds, H. Pumpelly, John K. 
 Porter, H. H. Martin, John D. Van Buren, 
 Hamilton Harris, Charles Van Benthuysen. 
 
 The Bishop declined the honor. None doubted his 
 love for the city of which he was admittedly the most 
 distinguished citizen ; but with his accustomed modesty, 
 he shrank from! any public recognition of the promo- 
 tion he had received. His letter, in which he declines 
 the invitation, is certainly worthy of a place in his 
 biography: 
 
2i8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Albany, August 3, 1864 
 Hon. Horatio Seymour, Peter Gansevoort, Stephen 
 
 Van Rensselaer, Erastus Corning, &c., &c. : 
 Gentlemen: 
 
 I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your much valued favor of the 30th. ult., in which 
 with many expressions of courtesy and kindness, you 
 invite me to meet you at dinner on any day before 
 my departure as I may please to designate. It is 
 exceedingly grateful to me in a moment so full of 
 painful regrets, to receive this testimonial of esteem, 
 from so many of my fellow citizens, who are not only 
 known to me by the high and honorable places which 
 they hold in society, but who have also so long merited 
 and received my sincerest resped: for their great 
 personal and private worth, and whose good opinion 
 I have a right to prize. Nothing could give me greater 
 pleasure than to be able to accept your flattering 
 invitation, but the time remaining to me is so brief, 
 and my occupations so urgent, that with much re- 
 ludlance I must beg to decline. 
 
 You will allow me, however, to profit by the occasion 
 which thus opportunely presents itself, of making 
 my best and warmest acknowledgements for all the 
 courtesy and kindness, for all the tokens of generosity 
 and esteem which I have so amply received from my 
 fellow-citizens of Albany, without distindtion of party 
 or creed, from the very first moment of my coming 
 among them until now. And be assured that the 
 sentiments of gratitude which all this inspires are 
 fully shared by the Catholic community — clergy 
 as well as laity — of whom I have been the honored 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 219 
 
 though unworthy representative. The relations of 
 harmony and good-will, which I have sought ever to 
 cultivate and promote and which so happily exist 
 between us, will continue, I trust, to grow and 
 strengthen, even as the grateful remembrance of them 
 will by me be only the more warmly cherished by 
 reason of the separation which has to take place. 
 
 Be pleased, gentlemen, to receive colledtively and 
 Individually, my best wishes for both your temporal 
 and eternal welfare, and the assurances of highest 
 regard and esteem, with which I have the honor to be 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 'i^ John McCloskey 
 Bishop of Albany, Archbishop-eled of N. T. 
 
 Before his departure from the city, the clergy of 
 the Diocese met at the episcopal residence and pre- 
 sented him with the address which follows: 
 
 Right Reverend and dear Bishop: 
 
 We realize today the sad truth that we are assembled 
 to address you for the last time with the title of Bishop. 
 Whilst the eyes of the hierarchy were turned towards 
 you, as the successor of the illustrious Archbishop 
 Hughes; and the people, too, as once they placed an 
 Ambrose in Milan, and a Peter Damien in Ravenna, 
 speak of you as most worthy to govern the important 
 diocese of New York, we, the clergy of your diocese, 
 were trembling at this unison in your regard, of the 
 voice of the people with the voice of God. Our long 
 years of experience of your enlightened and gentle 
 guidance, and our knowledge of your eminent fitness 
 
220 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 for any position to which you might be called only 
 served to increase our fear that an end had come to 
 your peaceful and prosperous reign among us. Know- 
 ing how dear you have been, and ever must be, to the 
 clergy of that diocese, you will appreciate, now that 
 the decision has been made, the expression of our 
 heartfelt sorrow at parting from you. It is hard to 
 be separated from one we highly esteem and dearly 
 love — hard to break the ties that have bound us to 
 you for so many years. Priests as we are, making 
 and always preparing to make sacrifices, we bow in 
 submission to the Holy Father, whose command alone 
 could have taken you from us. Pius the Ninth, in 
 calling you to the See of New York, has only made 
 known to the world the prudence and wisdom of your 
 beneficent administration which has been for years our 
 happiness and our pride. And yet the more we think 
 of the brilliant future opening before you, the more 
 we are made to regret the separation that must soon 
 take place. Your elevation to the Archiepiscopal See 
 of New York, the metropolis of our Empire State and 
 of our country — as important and as responsible a 
 See as there is in the world — the high appreciation 
 in which you are held by the clergy and laity, and 
 by all your fellow citizens, for even those who are 
 not our brethren in the faith, have felt and expressed 
 with us a pride that Albany possessed so distinguished 
 a prelate, the thousand welcomes that will greet Your 
 Grace's arrival only make us feel more and more how 
 much others gain and how much we lose. It is, how- 
 ever, some consolation to know that you are not called 
 far away from us — that you will preside over a diocese 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 221 
 
 with which you have so many hallowed associations, 
 and with which your present diocese claims an old 
 and intimate relationship. The mitre of a Dubois and 
 of a Hughes will lose none of its lustre on the brow of 
 Albany's first bishop. It is, Right Reverend Father, 
 in the recollection of nearly all of us, that, when you 
 took possession of this See, there were but few churches 
 and fewer priests. How great the change! Ever 
 since, you have been all to us — our bishop, our father, 
 our counsellor, our best friend. Your noble cathedral, 
 with its surrounding religious and literary institutions; 
 the grand and beautiful churches eredted under your 
 patronage, and with your assistance; the religious 
 communities, introduced and fostered by your care 
 and all now flourishing with academies and schools; 
 your clergy numbering nearly one hundred, and by 
 their unison and zeal refledling some of your own 
 spirit — all tell of your apostolic work here, and all 
 how difficult it is for us to say farewell. 
 
 We know the joy occasioned throughout the province 
 by your selection, and how it was hailed with delight. 
 We know that you are about to enter upon a career 
 of higher duties and of greater responsibilities. We 
 know, too, how warmly hearts beat for you in your 
 new and more exalted sphere; but, dear Bishop, 
 none will esteem you more, none will love you better 
 than those who now address you in accents more of 
 sorrow than of congratulation. You have passed 
 amongst us seventeen years of episcopal administra- 
 tion. You go from us leaving behind you throughout 
 this vast diocese monuments of zeal. Even your 
 social intercourse has been marked by a most happy 
 
222 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 blending of dignity and affability; and now that the 
 presence which recalls such endearing traits, is to be 
 no longer amongst us, may we not with a sort of filial 
 piety, ask and procure your portrait, not so much 
 for ourselves, who have gazed so long on the original 
 that it can never be obliterated from our minds, as 
 for those who come after us, that they may see, at 
 least on the canvass the lineaments of him whose 
 name will be handed down and ever gratefully re- 
 membered as the illustrious founder of our diocese? 
 Permit us also to present you a metropolitan cross 
 to be carried before you as the privilege of your office. 
 The gift will remind you of your clergy in Albany, 
 where we hope to see you often grace our most solemn 
 ceremonies. We have also asked, what you have so 
 graciously granted, the honor of your presence here 
 today, where, perhaps for the last time, we meet as 
 bishop and priests for the interchange of feelings. 
 You have thus given us an occasion to express our 
 gratitude for the past, when, in a weakness that may 
 be now pardoned, we envy those who are henceforth 
 to take our places in your especial care. They will 
 permit us even in this sad hour to send our greetings 
 and tell them to prize the treasure they now receive: — 
 A bishop adorned with the virtues and graces of 
 wisdom, full of modesty, occupied only with the care 
 of sandlifying the people and perfeAing the clergy, 
 giving them himself on every occasion an example of 
 edifying zeal and shining piety. With them, we will 
 pray God to bless you with length of days and renewed 
 strength for the career of glorious work upon which 
 you are about to enter. 
 
FIRST BISHOP OF ALBANY 223 
 
 Father Conroy, who was to be his successor in the 
 See of Albany, then presented him with his portrait, 
 cross and ring, and a purse of four thousand dollars. 
 The archbishop was overcome with emotion as he 
 rose to reply to this affedlionate farewell from his 
 priests. He spoke of the disinterestedness of their 
 zeal, of their love of the Church of God and for him- 
 self, their shepherd, and of how they had willingly 
 cooperated with him in every work undertaken for 
 the honor and glory of God. It was no desire of his, 
 he said, to leave them, but the same voice which had 
 called him to Albany seventeen years before, had 
 again spoken, and it had to be obeyed. To him the 
 desire of the Holy Father was paramount. He was 
 entering upon the newer and higher position with 
 fear and trembling, but none shared his misgivings, 
 and many there were who felt that the Hand of 
 Providence had been directing him all through life and 
 preparing him for an honor which he could never 
 share with another — that of becoming America's first 
 Cardinal. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK (1864-1875) 
 
 Arrival of Archbishop McCloskey in New York. Solemn 
 Installation in St. Patrick's Cathedral. His First 
 Sermon. Public Reception. The New Cathedral. 
 Foundation of the Provincial Seminary at Troy. 
 The Archbishop and the Jesuits. Recruiting the 
 Faculty. The Second Plenary Council {1866). Arch- 
 bishop McCloskey' s Opening Sermon. The Fenian 
 Brotherhood. The Vatican Council. The Archbishop 
 at Rome. The Question of Papal Infallibility. 
 Solemn Dedication of the Diocese of New York to the 
 Sacred Heart of Jesus. Thirtieth Anniversary of His 
 Consecration. Voyage to Europe {18"^ 4). 
 
 ARCHBISHOP McCLOSKEY left Albany by 
 the night boat on August 6, 1864, accom- 
 panied by the future Bishop Conroy, and 
 arrived at New York the following morning, where 
 he was met by his secretary, Father McNierny. It 
 is a fad: worthy of notice that as they stood talking 
 on the steamer dock, quite unconsciously to the three 
 of them, they were the first three Bishops of Albany. 
 Father Conroy became its episcopal head on July 7, 
 1865, and Father McNierny was appointed his 
 Coadjutor on December 22, 1871. They went to the 
 archiepiscopal residence, then at 218 Madison Avenue, 
 New York City, where the archbishop celebrated 
 
 224 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 225 
 
 Mass at half past nine. A singular incident occurred 
 shortly afterwards. His Diary tells us the story: 
 
 "When he came down stairs after Mass, some 
 one told him that there was a woman in the hall, 
 who said she was the mother of the new Archbishop 
 of N, Y. She had brought her trunk with her and 
 proposed to stay. There was no priest in the house, 
 so the Archbishop interviewed her himself. She said 
 she was the mother of the new archbishop and pro- 
 posed to stay with him. 'But,' he said, 'I am the 
 new archbishop and you are not my mother.' 'I 
 know,' she said, 'but you are not the new archbishop, 
 you are the Bishop of Albany; is not that enough 
 for you.?' The archbishop had to send for a police- 
 man. 
 
 " Meanwhile she locked herself in the reception room, 
 and refused to open the door. When the policeman 
 came he was obliged to enter the room through the 
 balcony window of the reception room. She was taken 
 to the station-house, where the archbishop had to go 
 to make a charge against her. When he entered the 
 place, the official in charge told him what the woman 
 had stated, adding that she told a very straight story 
 for a crazy person. She was then called up from the 
 cell below where she was kept, and repeated her story: 
 that she was the mother of the new archbishop, etc. 
 The archbishop then made his statement how she had 
 introduced herself into the house and had refused to 
 leave: after which he turned to go — whereupon she 
 cried after him: 'Are you going to leave me with these 
 rascals. They attempted to ruin me, etc., etc' The 
 
226 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 archbishop turning to the now indignant official, said: 
 'she tells a very straight story,' and left." 
 
 On August 27, the solemn installation of the new 
 archbishop took place in St. Patrick's Cathedral, 
 Mott Street, New York. The text of his first sermon 
 in his new capacity is the keynote to his administration 
 in the archdiocese during the twenty years he was 
 its metropolitan: Peace be to you. Never had he 
 been given to controversy, either in speech or in 
 print, and knowing the spirit of the times as well as 
 he did, he realized that the bitter ante-bellum contro- 
 versies were out of the question. There had been a 
 species of the former anti-Catholic feeling at certain 
 epochs of the Civil War; it had been said openly here 
 and there that after the South had surrendered, the 
 next enemy to attack would be the Catholic Church. 
 But the War brought Catholics and Protestants 
 together in a way that nothing else could have done. 
 When peace came, the blood that had been shed by 
 Catholics in both the warring armies had fallen upon 
 the soil and brought forth the flowers of a better 
 understanding and a steadier appreciation of the faith 
 they held. 
 
 His sermon on this auspicious occasion was as 
 follows : 
 
 "Pax vobis. Peace be with you! My brethren, in 
 what way can I better present to you my warmest 
 and sincerest greeting on this occasion, so full of 
 sacred and solemn interest to us all.? In what better 
 words than those coming from the lips of our Blessed 
 Lord and Master Himself: Peace be to you? This 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 227 
 
 was the gentle salutation which He addressed to His 
 Apostles on His first appearance among them after 
 His resurredlion. These were the words in which he 
 sought to allay their fears, to dispell their anxieties 
 and doubts, to stimulate their courage and to revive 
 their drooping confidence and hope. It was their 
 first joyful meeting after the sorrows of Calvary, and 
 doubtless at that moment His Divine heart was over- 
 flowing with tenderness and love for all. Doubtless, 
 too, He desired much to give them a full and earnest 
 assurance of the sentiments of affedlion and kindness 
 and of good-will which filled His breast. And yet 
 the experiences of His emotion seemed to find no other 
 utterance than in these few simple words: Peace be to 
 you. All was there, all was expressed in that — that 
 comprehended all. 
 
 "And now, beloved brethren, on this day, when I 
 appear before you for the first time in the new and 
 changed relations as the bishop and pastor of your 
 souls; now, at our first meeting since the sorrows 
 of a great and common bereavement; now, since, for 
 me at least, the sacrifice of separation — separation 
 from the diocese, from the clergy and from the laity 
 whom I so long fondly cherished; now, that this 
 painful sacrifice is consummated and a new alliance 
 made and confirmed by the highest and the holiest 
 sanction, this day solemnly ratified; now that, from 
 henceforth until the end, our sympathies are to be- 
 come so closely intertwined and interwoven; now 
 that our spiritual interests are so nearly blended and 
 linked together; our destinies, it may be, even for 
 time and for eternity so intimately united, what 
 
228 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 can I more desire than to pour out to you, if it were 
 possible, the whole abundance of my heart; to speak 
 to you words of encouragement and hope; to wish 
 for you every blessing and every good; and will I 
 not have said it all when I repeat the words of our 
 Blessed Lord and Saviour: Pax vobis. Peace be to 
 you. The peace indeed, not such as the world gives, 
 or such as the world can take away, but the Saviour's 
 peace — the peace of God, which surpasseth all under- 
 standing — the peace which endureth forever. 
 
 " It has been with you, beloved brethren, even as it 
 was with the Apostles on the Resurredtion night. 
 Your hearts were sad and troubled. The prelate whom 
 you had revered so highly, the father whom you had 
 loved so long and so well, was taken from you; the 
 joy of your eye and the pride of your heart had de- 
 parted; shadows had fallen upon your path; you felt 
 that you had been left orphans; the shining light of 
 the sandtuary was extinguished; the Holy of Holies 
 was encompassed with the gloom of mourning; this 
 church and See of New York sat widowed and deso- 
 late, for her great and good archbishop was no more. 
 
 "But now the scene is changed. The Church is 
 holding high festival; high and even gracious festival, 
 for the pall of sorrow which had so long enveloped her 
 altar has disappeared ; the garment of her widowhood 
 has been laid aside, while she celebrates this day, 
 even with great pomp and splendor, her new nuptials. 
 Today she received another spouse, and in receiving 
 to herself a spouse, she gives to you another father; 
 and she, too, bids you lift up your heads in confidence 
 and hope; she, too, solicits you with the sweet and 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 229 
 
 blessed words of peace, and from her altar she has 
 already said to you: Pax vobis. Peace be to you. 
 
 " But the father who is sent to you, and who comes 
 to you this day, knows full well that he can never fill 
 the high seat that he has been eledled to as it was 
 filled before; still less can he fill the void that has 
 been created in your hearts. He knows full well that 
 he cannot bring to you the same high gifts and endow- 
 ments, neither the same great intelled:, nor the same 
 force and ascendency of charaAer, nor the same 
 wisdom, nor the same commanding power of eloquence 
 as his predecessor. All he can bring you is a heart 
 full of tenderness, full of zeal and devotion to your 
 spiritual welfare, and full of solicitude for all your 
 best and dearest interests — the santftification and 
 salvation of your immortal souls. 
 
 " So then it is for me in this hour, conscious of my 
 own inefficiency, to ask the return of the peaceful saluta- 
 tion with which I greeted you, from your souls. There 
 is no heart at this moment stands so much in need of 
 sympathy and encouragement as my own; for I do 
 not conceal from you the anxieties, and the fears, and 
 the solicitudes, and the cares which already oppress 
 me. Would that the task had fallen on some one 
 more able! Would that some one had been chosen 
 who could better refledl the dignity and the lustre 
 which so long adorned this archiepiscopal throne, 
 some one more deserving of the exalted honor; that 
 it had fallen on some one's shoulders stronger to bear 
 the heavy yet sacred burden. As it is, I have bowed 
 my head in submission simply to the will of him in 
 whose voice I recognize no other than the voice of 
 
230 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Peter, and in the voice of Peter I recognize the voice 
 of Christ. I come with the prayer of Solomon on 
 my lips : Thou hast shewn great mercy to Thy servant 
 David, my father, even as he walked before Thee in 
 truth and justice, and an upright heart with Thee: 
 . • . and Thou hast given him a son to sit on his 
 throne : . . . and I am but a child, and know not how 
 to go out and how to come in: I am in the midst of 
 a people whom Thou hast chosen, an immense people, 
 which cannot be numbered nor counted for multi- 
 tude. Give, therefore, to Thy servant, an under- 
 standing heart, to judge Thy people, and discern 
 between good and evil. 
 
 "Give to me, O Lord, wisdom from Thy holy 
 heaven, and from the throne of Thy Majesty above, 
 give me wisdom that will teach all that is pleasing and 
 acceptable in Thy sight. It is in the spirit of hope 
 and confidence in Him to whom we appeal that we find 
 courage and strength. Does not faith teach us, and 
 has not the whole history of the Church confirmed 
 it from the beginning, that God is oftentimes pleased 
 to employ the humblest and the feeblest instruments 
 for the accomplishment of His wise and gracious 
 designs? Has He not raised up the poor and needy 
 of the earth, and seated them with the princes — 
 even with the princes of His people? Has He not 
 chosen the weak thing to confound the strong, and 
 the simple thing to confound the proud, and the 
 little things and the mean things, and the things that 
 are not, that He may confound the things that are, 
 that no flesh may glory in His sight? Has He not 
 said to those whom He sent: 'Ye have not chosen 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 231 
 
 me, but I have chosen you. You go not to teach 
 your own dodtrines, but to teach whatever I have 
 commanded you, not to do your own will but to do 
 mine, to carry out the work which I have intrusted 
 to you. Teaching men to observe all things whatso- 
 ever I have commanded you, so I am with you all 
 days, even to the consummation of the earth.' 
 
 "What, then, though a mighty man has fallen among 
 you? Is he not able from the very stones of the 
 earth to raise up children to Abraham ? What though 
 the Pope himself, like all other men, pays the debt of 
 human nature? In his own beautiful words 'Simon 
 dies, but Peter lives.' The man dies, but the Vicar 
 of Christ still lives. Bishops may die, priests may die, 
 apostles and teachers of the Church, great in their day, 
 may die, but the Church remains. The hierarchy 
 remains. The infallible authority remains. Her im- 
 mortal life and durability remain. Human institutions 
 may change and even perish, but she changes not; her 
 constitution is eternal; she is in the world, but not 
 of the world ; she is in the world, but neither flatters 
 its caprices nor fears its frowns; she is there in good 
 report and evil report, in honor and in dishonor, in 
 afflidtion and in joy, in humiliation and in triumph; 
 she is there ever courageous and confident, pursuing 
 her way, fulfilling her mission, a mission of truth and 
 of justice, of mercy and of peace. 
 
 "We find consolation and strength for each one of 
 our fears, and in the assurance that our insufficiencies 
 will be supplied by the counsels of the good and the 
 experience of matured wisdom, which will be sought, 
 and doubtless will be freely given, by our venerable 
 
232 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 brethren of the episcopate, especially of this great 
 province. The earnest of it has been already given, 
 as shown in their alacrity to be present here at the 
 ceremony of this day, to do us honor, and to do you 
 honor also. 
 
 "And for this I may be permitted in your name and 
 in my own, to return my most sincere and grateful 
 thanks, thanks also to the illustrious Archbishop of 
 Baltimore, who has come here to honor and to grace 
 this festival; thanks to him from me and from you 
 also. But it is to you, beloved brethren, that I must 
 especially turn for confidence and support. You are 
 the arm of episcopal authority; you are the auxiliaries 
 and cooperators with the bishop in the great work of 
 the ministry of God's Church. You bear the heat and 
 burden of the day. Every hour of the day and night, 
 at all times and in all seasons, you go with alacrity 
 wherever there is a poor sinner to be counselled, or a 
 poor soul to be saved. You are not strangers to your 
 new bishop; he is not a stranger to you. Already 
 I well know your tried fidelity and zeal, and he only 
 asks now of you this day that confidence in him and 
 that resped: for him which in the past you have shown 
 to his predecessor. 
 
 "It is sweet and pleasant to see brethren live in 
 unity. And it is this renewed confidence and respedt 
 which insures and maintains this unity, possessing 
 which we need not fear. In unity we shall find 
 strength and consolation, we shall find glory and 
 peace. Separated from this unity you are as leafless 
 branches that cannot bring forth good fruit. Sepa- 
 rated from this unity, you cannot hope effectually 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 233 
 
 to resist the dangerous dodlrines, the adopted errors 
 and gross fallacies that ever5rwhere abound at this 
 day. Without that unity, in a word, you can hardly 
 hope to hold your footing in the torrent which is 
 sweeping along so fearfully and so furiously, and 
 which is hurrying thousands and thousands of souls 
 into the fatal abyss of infidelity, of scepticism, of 
 doubt and despair. 
 
 "A great inheritance has been given to us. He who 
 has gone before us has done much. He raised the 
 Church in this diocese and in this city to a bright 
 and glorious position through the cooperation of 
 faithful priests. We must see that this inheritance 
 shall not fail in our hands; we must see that we 
 shall transmit it not only unimpaired, but in increased 
 honor and usefulness to our successors; we must see 
 that what has been done shall be preserved. 
 
 "The institutions already eredted we must sustain, 
 the foundations that have been laid broad indeed, we 
 must build up; we must continue the work; we must 
 go on improving and increasing and adding to the 
 number of clergy, adding to the number of our churches, 
 and to the charitable and religious institutions which 
 flourish under it. We must go on laboring for the 
 good, the honor and the glory of God's immortal 
 Church. 
 
 "To you, beloved lay brethren, let me address a few 
 concluding words. Coming among you I do not 
 feel that I come as a stranger. I am returning to 
 friends very many of whom I knew before, who enjoyed 
 my respedl and my esteem, and from whom I hope to 
 receive some of that love and devotion which they 
 
234 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 felt for my venerable predecessor. I am returning 
 to scenes which are dear and familiar to me. It was 
 here that on my boyish head the good archbishop 
 laid his hands and blessed me. It was here that the 
 venerable Dubois raised me to the dignity of the 
 holy priesthood, and it was at the altar of this Cathedral 
 that I celebrated my first Mass. It was at this altar 
 that I knelt to receive from the hands of my illustrious 
 predecessor the consecration which made me his 
 coadjutor. And though I have been parted from 
 you for a time, I am called back to continue his work; 
 and will I not find the same willing hands, the same 
 cheerful hearts, the same united faith and Catholic 
 piety, to cheer and sustain and carry me onward? 
 I do not, I cannot, doubt it. Beloved brethren, to 
 your pastors, for the unity that has united us, much 
 is due. My prayer for unity appeals to you, for it is 
 in the unity of the people with the pastor, the pastors 
 with the bishops, the episcopate with the. great, 
 supreme head of the Church, and he with Peter, and 
 through Peter with Christ, that the bonds which hold 
 us together as one holy and immortal Church are 
 found. 
 
 " Let us return thanks to God, who has made us so 
 great and glorious as a Church. Let us beg of Him 
 that we may be true to its teachings and faithful to 
 its guidance, and that through it we may secure the 
 hope of being one day led into the kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 "And now, having been sent to bless, it is right that 
 I should call down a blessing from the Father of Life, 
 from whom every good and perfedl gift descends. 
 Bless, bless, oh! Lord, the bishop of Thy church; bless' 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 235 
 
 the pastors and bless the flock; bless the pastor that 
 he may guide them in the ways of truth and justice 
 and of righteousness; bless the clergy, that they may 
 be the ornament and glory of Thy san<5tuary, that 
 they may be to their bishop his joy and crown of 
 delight; bless the religious communities established 
 throughout this diocese, that the blessings that they 
 are distributing to others may more and more abound 
 on every side; bless the fathers and bless the mothers, 
 bless the brothers and bless the daughters, bless the 
 young and bless the old; bless the poor and bless the 
 rich ; bless the sick and infirm as well as those who are 
 in health and vigor of life; bless the magistrate and 
 bless the citizen; bless the soldier and bless this 
 province, bless us all, for we have need of Thy blessing. 
 And thou, oh most blessed and immaculate Virgin 
 and Mother of our Lord, it is under thy protedtion we 
 seek to place ourselves, under thy auspices we con- 
 fidingly trust ourselves for the fulfillment of the great 
 task committed to us this day. The Church through- 
 out the world celebrates with glory and pomp the 
 festival of this day. Watch over us, O Lord, and 
 protect us from all evil, shield us from all danger and 
 condudt us to the Kingdom of Thy Son. 
 
 "And thou, too, oh glorious apostle, the patron of 
 this Cathedral, glorious St. Patrick, whose name is 
 so dear to many thousands and thousands of faithful 
 hearts, whose name is the synonym of unshrinking 
 faith, of generous devotedness, of heroic courage, of 
 unyielding zeal, thou, too, bless thy people and make 
 them worthy of that faith which they have inherited 
 from thee. Let them never bring disgrace upon thy 
 
236 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 memory or dishonor on thy name. Bless and pray 
 for them. Pray for us you priests and confessors, 
 you martyrs and holy saints of God, that emulating 
 your example and walking in your footsteps here, 
 we may be deemed worthy to participate in the glory 
 and joy everlasting which is yours in the kingdom 
 of Heaven for all eternity." 
 
 Archbishop McCloskey was providentially chosen 
 to lead the Catholics of New York State and of New 
 England. His predecessor had fought the good fight 
 for Christ and had left an impress upon the Catholic 
 life of the country which could never be forgotten. 
 Archbishop Hughes was indeed one of the greatest 
 men of his age. A good Christian, an eloquent 
 speaker, a profound scholar, and a patriotic citizen; 
 "one who loved his adopted country dearly and whose 
 greatest earthly ambition, next to his religion, was 
 to see her the noblest, most powerful, most united, 
 as she is the first, nation on the globe. In him 
 America lost a true citizen and the Church an able 
 defender and pious Divine." He had sown the seed 
 of a rich harvest, which his great friend and successor 
 in the See of New York was not only to reap but to 
 increase by his gentleness, his warmth of brotherly 
 affedtion for all its citizens. Catholic and non-Catholic, 
 and by his modest attradlive spirit of conciliation. 
 
 There were "rifts within the lute" here and there, 
 when he assumed the burden of his new position, and 
 the one thing necessary at the time was peace and 
 harmony. We have an echo of this feeling in the 
 public reception given to him some months after his 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 237 
 
 installation, on November 7, 1864. Charles O'Conor, 
 who publicly declared that the Cardinal was the most 
 prudent man he had ever met, was then the most 
 distinguished member of the New York Bar, and the 
 leader of the Catholic laity of the city. He was 
 chosen to be the host, and some days before the 
 reception and banquet, he wrote to the archbishop : 
 
 Most Reverend Dear Sir: 
 
 I presume there will be no speaking except my 
 introduction to a toast and your response. I deem it 
 proper to send you a copy of my very brief observa- 
 tions. 
 
 If there be anything not right in them please to note 
 it and let your messenger put your letter in the letter 
 box of my house. No. 6, La Fayette Place — at the 
 side of the door. 
 
 With great esteem. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 Ch. O'Conor 
 Archbishop McCloskey. 
 
 The toast which Mr. O'Conor gave on that occasion 
 is thus preserved in his own handwriting: 
 
 "Gentlemen: — We are assembled to testify our 
 gratitude to the Ruler of all things and under Him 
 to the Holy Father and his sacred council, for the 
 provident care bestowed upon us in supplying the 
 place on earth of our late lamented and illustrious 
 archbishop. The tears in which human feelings com- 
 pelled us to indulge upon our great bereavement have 
 had their day; the relieved heart has sought and ob- 
 
238 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 tained its consolation in believing that the guardian- 
 ship of that revered prelate is not withdrawn from us. 
 Henceforth he is an intercessor for us before the throne 
 of God. 
 
 "For chief pastor of this archdiocese, the foremost 
 of all America in population and social influence, 
 there has been granted to us a prelate born among 
 us and who is well and intimately known to us. He 
 is one whose whole life has been marked by those 
 qualities which proclaim the faithful priest and the 
 Christian gentleman. The Church does not seek 
 mere human applause for her adts. Nor should we 
 presume to express our approval of her wisdom in 
 this instance. That wisdom was vouchsafed by her 
 Heavenly Father and she could not have adled other- 
 wise than in conformity to its didtates. But it is 
 allowed to us, it is fit and becoming in us, even in this 
 festive and somewhat worldly way to manifest our joy 
 that the wise judgment of our Holy Church has led to 
 a seledtion which coincided so perfedlly with our own 
 fervent hopes and wishes. Therefore my friends, let 
 us unite in the sentiment to which, in your name, as 
 well as for myself, I will now give expression. 
 
 "His Grace, the Most Reverend John McCloskey, 
 Archbishop of New York, our guide in the faith, a 
 bright example of its benign and elevating influence. 
 May his days be long in the land." 
 
 The Archbishop replied as follows: 
 
 "I have no words in which to give any adequate 
 expression of thanks for the complimentary terms in 
 which my name has been presented to you by our 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 239 
 
 most worthy and respedled host, and for the kind and 
 flattering manner in which you, gentlemen, have been 
 pleased to receive it. Although I am conscious that 
 for myself personally I am bound to disclaim all title 
 to the high compliment which has been paid me, still 
 I am permitted to accept it, and do very cordially 
 accept it, both as a compliment and an honor shown 
 not to the individual, but to the sacred charader and 
 dignity of the office which he unworthily holds. I 
 accept it besides, and with special gratification, in 
 the further sense and spirit in which I conceive it to 
 have been intended — that is, as a tribute of rever- 
 ential gratitude and of loyal respedt and obedience to 
 the Holy See ; as a token of filial regard and affection 
 towards our common father, of whose enlightened 
 wisdom in the government of the universal Church, 
 as well as paternal care and solicitude for this far 
 distant, yet ever faithful, portion of his flock, such 
 graceful and appropriate acknowledgment has been 
 made, and to whose good will and pleasure, in the 
 order of Divine Providence, not to any merit of my 
 own, I must attribute the preferment which has been 
 bestowed upon me. 5 
 
 "How sacred and important is the trust; how mani- 
 fold and grave the responsibilities which that prefer- 
 ment imposed; no one can know and feel more deeply 
 than myself. It were enough to say that I have been 
 called to succeed that illustrious prelate to whose 
 memory such an affetftionate tribute has just now been 
 paid, to be made fully, even painfully, conscious of 
 the magnitude of the task which is set before me; 
 enough to remember that I have become the successor 
 
240 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 of Archbishop Hughes, the first, and, as future history 
 will doubtless record, the greatest Archbishop of New 
 York; enough to remember this in order to be con- 
 vinced not only how far short I must fall of the meas- 
 ure of his goodness, but also of the great disproportion 
 there exists between the weight of the burden imposed 
 and the strength of the shoulders by which it must be 
 carried. 
 
 "I am made still more sensible of this by another 
 consideration, which has also been alluded to — the 
 vast population of this great city, in which is fixed the 
 archiepiscopal see; the wide spread extent and force 
 of its influence not only in a social, but, I may add, in 
 a moral and religious point of view. It is true to say 
 that there is hardly a single throb of the mighty heart 
 of this metropolis which is not felt in greater or less de- 
 gree to the farthest extremity of the vast social body 
 of which it forms the important centre. Hence it may 
 be further assured that whatever, either favorably or 
 unfavorably, affedls our Catholic or religious interests 
 here, is likely to affed: them favorably or unfavorably 
 throughout the length and breadth of the land; and 
 in this view, gentlemen, not only does a great respon- 
 sibility rest on me, but on you also. You are sharers 
 therein; for who can doubt the great power for good 
 that can be exerted, if only you are so minded, by the 
 earnest and united efforts of men like you, holding 
 your rank and position in this community." 
 
 The first concern of the archbishop was the com- 
 pletion of the new Cathedral. The cornerstone had 
 been laid on August 15, 1858, with what the New 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 241 
 
 York Herald called "one of the grandest ceremonies 
 that was ever witnessed on this continent." Arch- 
 bishop Hughes, who preached the sermon on that 
 occasion, had praised the generosity of his people and 
 had voiced the sentiments of his archdiocese, when 
 he urged his hearers to work hand-in-hand towards 
 its completion. In speaking of the generosity shown 
 in the building thus far, he said: 
 
 "And now, if I should have distinguished between 
 the clergy and laity of my diocese, what shall I have 
 to say? This: That judging from the past, in which 
 the clergy were at all times loyal and one-minded in 
 aiding their unworthy bishop in whatever enterprises 
 he had engaged in, so will they be in all times to come. 
 To them with the powerful cooperation which they 
 will always have from their devoted flocks, I commend 
 this great work, no matter under whose episcopal aus- 
 pices it may hereafter be carried on. One thing I 
 would say to all, if my voice was strong enough to 
 reach the farthest boundary of this immense multitude, 
 and that is, that this work will require the constancy 
 of strong minds, generous hearts and powerful arms. 
 It is a work which would, if that were possible, be 
 accomplished by the enthusiasm of a single day like the 
 present. But as it is, the prosecution and completion 
 of it will require firmness, determination and uncon- 
 querable perseverance. It will require what is essential 
 to every great undertaking, steadiness — steadiness and 
 indomitable resolution, always relying upon the help 
 of God, to see it brought to a perfed: consummation. 
 Nor of all of this have I the slightest doubt." 
 
242 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 The Civil War (1861-1865) had brought so much 
 distress upon the country that the work of furnishing 
 the cathedral had to be abandoned. Archbishop 
 Hughes died (January 3, 1864) without realizing this 
 dream of his episcopate, and the sentiment of the 
 clergy and laity when peace came was that the great 
 work begun in the mind and heart of John Hughes 
 should be pushed rapidly towards completion. In 
 this resped:, the appointment of Archbishop McCloskey 
 was especially fortunate. "To his perseverance, finan- 
 cial ability, high intelligence, and refined taste is due 
 the completion of the work in a manner worthy of the 
 great mind that had inaugurated it." As soon as 
 the War was over. Archbishop McCloskey began 
 reorganizing the projedis for the completion of the 
 cathedral. We find him announcing on December 27, 
 1864, to Archbishop Spalding: "I must also first get 
 the new Subscription List for our Cathedral fairly 
 started." During the next fifteen years he labored 
 assiduously at this work, and as will be seen, St. 
 Patrick's Cathedral was formally opened and blessed 
 on May 25, 1879. That the work lay near his heart 
 is evident from the many references scattered through- 
 out his voluminous correspondence with Archbishop 
 Spalding. On May 21, 1865, he writes: "And now 
 to my other burden is added the most deledtable 
 one of begging for the new Cathedral. This claims 
 every leisure moment, and a great deal more." Five 
 months later, however, the task was beginning to 
 tax his patience. "I leave this afternoon, to be ab- 
 sent eight or ten days on my visitation; on my return 
 I shall have to resume the unpleasant work of col- 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 243 
 
 ledling for the new Cathedral," he writes on Odtober 
 25, 1865. ■ 
 
 In the letters which passed between Bishop Fitz- 
 patrick of Boston, who was then in Brussels, and the 
 archbishop, there is one note struck constantly which 
 shows the anxiety both shared for the seminary. 
 Bishop Fitzpatrick was then busily recruiting pro- 
 fessors in Belgium, and in all his letters, he appeals to 
 the future Cardinal to accept the great burden of the 
 New York Archdiocese, especially on account of the 
 good that he, and he alone, could do for the education 
 of the clergy. 
 
 One of these letters deserves to be given a place 
 here: 
 
 ' Brussels, June 15, 1864 
 Rl Rev. and dear friend: 
 
 I learned with great satisfadlion, a few weeks ago, 
 from Cardinal Barnabo, that the New York question 
 was settled, and that you were sent there. It is not 
 that I am without compassion for you or that I under- 
 rate the burden that is transferred to your shoulders. 
 But I am convinced in my conscience the good of the 
 Church demanded this instead of other changes that 
 might have been made, and in this sense I wrote to 
 the Cardinal soon after the death of the archbishop. 
 I gave in great detail the reasons upon which my 
 judgment was grounded without, however, saying a 
 word against any one else. I still firmly believe that 
 I was right and I thank God for what has been done. 
 May we not also hope that your task will be less 
 crushing ^than might appear at first sight. 
 
244 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 At Albany everything bore diredlly upon you, and 
 you had constantly to tug hard, with scarcely any 
 breathing time. I hope that at New York you may 
 divide the burden with many, and leaving the tempo- 
 rals as they have stood or almost so, confine yourself 
 to the "haute diredtion," and to the inunediate care 
 of the clergy. Let us trust in God, look forward to 
 good times, and be cheerful. It is time to make im- 
 mediate preparations for the opening of the seminary. 
 I trust all the Bishops are ready to adl with vigor in 
 the cause. I have written to Boston that all semi- 
 nary students, those who enter philosophy included, 
 are to go to Troy. We must try to have at least 
 SO students for a respeAable beginning. I send you 
 a sheet containing some propositions on the part of 
 Mr. Vandenhende to which I have assented. They 
 are not, however, immutable. The young men who 
 have volunteered to come with him are really the 
 flower of the rising clergy in Belgium, and everybody 
 is at a loss to understand the condudl: of the good 
 Bishop of Ghent in giving away such treasures. You 
 will understand it. He is a true bishop and his big 
 heart takes in the whole Church. I have not failed 
 to see him from time to time and to talk over with 
 him the enterprise which I sincerely think one of in- 
 calculable greatness. Some four or five of my friends 
 at home are talking of dividing amongst themselves 
 my expenses here in Europe. For this reason and also 
 to keep my personal affairs separate from those of 
 the diocese, I shall not draw here the sum necessary 
 to send out the professors. So large a sum added 
 to my own outlay might scare away my aforesaid 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 245 
 
 friends from their good intention which has been 
 whispered to me by Healy. And, very probably, if 
 they didn't pay all, they would not offer to pay even 
 a part. For this reason I have diredled Mr. Williams 
 to hold himself in readiness to meet any demand you 
 may make on him for my share in the remittance to 
 be made for their expenses. A draft should be sent 
 to the] Bishop of Ghent and it is time to attend to 
 it now as they wish to leave in the beginning of 
 August. Please see to it. 
 
 My own health is in several respefts improving; 
 especially the heart, but there is still great debility in 
 the body and legs. Last Pentecost, I undertook to 
 walk in procession at one of the churches of the 
 Premonstratensians in whose house I have spent a 
 week, but I could not for the life of me get through 
 and had to desert from the ranks. Still, I must go 
 home and shall very soon, most likely before the people 
 for the seminary start. At the latest with them. 
 
 Please give my best respedls to Rev. Mr. Starrs and 
 to Conroy and your own clergy. Hoping very soon 
 to be with you and even to give you some cheer, if 
 spare time come again, 
 I am, 
 
 Very affedlionately, 
 
 Your Bro. in Xt., 
 *J. B. F. 
 Rt. Rev. Dr. McCloskey. 
 
 The seminary up to this time had not reached that 
 point of success which could be legitimately expedled. 
 In 1846, Archbishop Hughes placed the two institu- 
 
246 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 tions — St. John's College and St. Joseph's Seminary — 
 at Fordham, under the care of the Society of Jesus. 
 The negotiations were carried on with the Superior 
 of the Jesuits in Canada, Father Clement Boulanger. 
 Father Augustus Thebaud, S.J., was made Redtor 
 of both the college and the seminary. 
 
 In the year 1844-5, Archbishop Hughes applied to 
 the Regents of the University to have St. John's College 
 incorporated. The law required as a preliminary, 
 that the property should amount in value to the sum of 
 one hundred thousand dollars. The testimony of 
 disinterested parties in the neighborhood was solicited, 
 and by their evidence, the Regents were assured that 
 the property of the college, including at that time the 
 unfinished buildings of the church and seminary, was 
 worth one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. 
 The Regents were satisfied and gave notice to the arch- 
 bishop of their next meeting in Albany. They invited 
 him to attend, and even signified that there was no 
 difficulty in the way of obtaining the charter which 
 had been solicited. He proceeded or was about to 
 proceed to Albany for the purpose, but was disappointed 
 by arriving at the wharf two or three minutes after 
 the steamboat had sailed. The matter was then lost 
 sight of, until there should be another meeting of 
 the Regents. In the meantime, many reasons pre- 
 sented themselves to the mind of Archbishop Hughes, 
 rendering it desirable that the purposes for which the 
 college had been founded, should be undertaken, and 
 would be best carried out, by a religious community. 
 Hence, in the autumn of that year, he wrote submit- 
 ting the question for consideration to one of the Jesuit 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 247 
 
 Fathers of Kentucky. The consequence was, that 
 their Superior accompanied by another Father, came 
 on to visit the place, and to satisfy himself as to the 
 reality of the facfts and circumstances set forth in the 
 archbishop's letter. 
 
 It was also mutually understood by Archbishop 
 Hughes and the Jesuits that they had been invited to 
 the diocese exclusively for that work of Catholic 
 education ; that is — to use the words of the arch- 
 bishop's memorandum — "they were not invited for 
 the purpose of missionary duties, although they might 
 have incidentally a great opportunity of promoting 
 the works of the mission." The archbishop wished 
 to place under their charge the education of the Catholic 
 youth of both the city and the diocese — indeed, 
 of Catholic youth generally. He, therefore, proposed 
 to them that they should take charge of that education, 
 through the medium of grammar schools, as well as 
 at Fordham ; and as an encouragement he offered them 
 a church, the only one then at his disposal, under 
 certain conditions. It was to be the religious home of 
 such Fathers as might be engaged in the work of teach- 
 ing. This proposition was accepted by the Society, 
 but subsequently, owing to the very stridl laws which 
 prevail in their community, the Jesuits declined the 
 offer of the church, because it was found to be in debt. 
 They then agreed to purchase a church and the pre- 
 vious arrangement was carried out, until this Church 
 of the Holy Name, as it was called, was burned down 
 on January 22, 1848. 
 
 The Society of Jesus had always been held in esteem 
 and affedlion in the United States, and shortly after 
 
248 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 the purchase of this church, their friends and well- 
 wishers began to show their practical generosity by 
 gifts and donations. The acceptance of these gifts 
 of money and church ornaments was considered by 
 Archbishop Hughes as a quasi-violation of the original 
 contradl. After the destruction of the church, the 
 Jesuits applied to him for permission to colled: money 
 throughout the diocese, in order to rebuild the church. 
 This permission was promptly and willingly given. 
 The methods of collecting were systematic and 
 thorough; but unfortunately, one of their number 
 made certain misleading references to their situation 
 at St. John's College, Fordham; and besides, the 
 coUedtion interfered with a projedt the archbishop 
 had of appealing to the Catholics for the Sisters of 
 Mercy. 
 
 The difficulties now increased. The building of the 
 new church was for some reason delayed, even after 
 the money had been coUedted. In 1850, the Society 
 purchased the present property of the Church and 
 College of St. Francis Xavier, on Sixteenth Street. 
 The new church was solemnly dedicated by the arch- 
 bishop, on July 6, 1857. Other difficulties crept in on 
 the matter of ecclesiastical discipline, in which both 
 sides honorably disagreed. The mutual relations be- 
 tween the Society and the Ordinaries of the diocese in 
 which they labored were not definitely settled by the 
 Canon Law of the time. Permanent relations between 
 bishops and religious orders had not yet been decided by 
 the Holy See, but they were strangely enough settled 
 through a similar conflidt of jurisdiction and privilege 
 some twenty years later, when Cardinal Vaughan, then 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 249 
 
 Bishop of Salford brought the matter to the attention 
 of the Roman authorities. Archbishop Hughes died 
 without these matters reaching a final settlement, and 
 it was with no refledlion upon his honorable attempt 
 to master the whole situation in his own charadleristic 
 way that his successor immediately set about to effedt 
 a peaceful solution. The following letter from the 
 general of the Society of Jesus, Father Pierre-Jean 
 Beckx, shows clearly how swiftly and accurately Arch- 
 bishop McCloskey had settled a difficulty of twenty 
 years' standing: 
 
 Rome, 14 Janvier, 1865 
 Monseigneur: 
 
 Je viens d'apprendre par les PP. Tellier et Loysane, 
 que Votre Grace a signe, aussitot qu'il Lui a ete pre- 
 sente, le contrat, par lequel EUe cede sans restridtion 
 au College St. Francois Xavier les lots sur la 16 rue, et 
 I'eglise qui y est batie, et dans la 19 rue deux autres 
 lots, sur lesquels est construite I'ecole primaire des 
 garfons. 
 
 Dans le dernier temps de son episcopat Monseigneur 
 Hughes avait arrete le projet de nous faire cette ces- 
 sion: la mort ne lui permit pas de I'executer. Nous 
 n'etions pas sans crainte pour I'avenir; mais le Sei- 
 gneur veillait sur nous. II nous I'a prouve en choissis- 
 sant pour le siege Metropolitan de New York un Prelat 
 selon Son coeur, et qui nous porte une affedtion pater- 
 nelle. A peine en effet etes-Vous entre, Monseigneur, 
 en possession des biens ecclesiastiques du Diocese que 
 Vous avez manifeste la resolution de conclure I'affaire 
 commencee sous Votre Predecesseur. Cet empresse- 
 ment double le bienfait. 
 
2SO JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Daignez done, Monseigneur, agreer avec toute ma 
 reconnaissance celle de nos religieux de New York et 
 de la Compagnie toute entiere. Nous conjurerons le 
 Dieu riche en misericorde de Vous rendre au centuple 
 le bien, que Vous nous avez fait, et que nous sommes 
 dans I'impuissance de reconnaitre autrement, que par 
 nos prieres et par un redoublement d'ardeur pour 
 seconder Votre zele apostolique. 
 
 J'ai I'honneur d'etre, Monseigneur, avec une pro- 
 fonde veneration, de Votre Grace, le tres humble et 
 reconnaissant Serviteur, 
 
 Pierre Beckx, 
 Pr. General de la Comp. de Jesus 
 A SA Grace Mgr. McCloskey, ARCH^viQUE de 
 
 New York. 
 
 Another letter from the Provincial of the Jesuits in 
 France, dated Amiens, February 13, 1865, also hints 
 that Archbishop Hughes was desirous of a settlement 
 before his death. Certainly, no ecclesiastical superior 
 could have failed to be touched deeply by the spirit of 
 Father Mestian's letter, which we give here in the 
 original; and coming to the peace-loving heart of such 
 a prelate, it must have effaced completely whatever re- 
 membrances of an unpleasant nature still remained : 
 
 Monseigneur: 
 
 Tout ce que le P. Tellier m'ecrit de Votre bonte 
 pour nos Peres de New York et de Fordham, me fait 
 un devoir de Vous en temoigner notre vive gratitude, 
 puisque notre Province de Champagne a I'avantage 
 de travailler au salut des ames dans Votre diocese. 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 251 
 
 Je dois remercier en particulier Votre Grandeur de ses 
 liberalites envers le College de St. Francois Xavier. 
 J'ai la confiance que nos Peres n'oublieront jamais la 
 generosite avec laquelle Vous avez execute les inten- 
 tions de feu Msgr. Hughes. Que le Seigneur daigne 
 nous accorder cette grace; que I'Eglise et le College 
 soient toujours pour Votre grandeur un sujet de 
 consolation par le devouement de nos Peres a tous 
 leurs devoirs et par le bien qu'ils opereront pour la 
 plus grande gloire de Dieu. Que si nous venons a 
 broncher quelquefois et a commettre quelque faute 
 dans raccomplissement de nos nombreux ministeres, 
 je prie humblement Votre Grandeur de vouloir bien 
 nous la pardonner et de nous aider misericordieuse- 
 ment a la reparer. Vous acquerrez ainsi un nouveau 
 titre a notre reconnaissance et une nouvelle part aux 
 Saints Sacrifices et prieres de notre Province et de toute 
 la Compagnie. 
 
 Daignez agreer, Monseigneur, les hommages bien 
 respedlueux de Votre hunible serviteur, 
 
 P. Mestian, S.J., 
 Provincial 
 
 It was during this conflidl of jurisdiction (1846- 
 1865) that the Society of Jesus was relieved of further 
 charge of St. Joseph's Seminary (1856), and the work 
 of instrudlion placed in the hands of secular priests. 
 It soon became apparent that this arrangement could 
 not last and for reasons that were obvious at the time, 
 Archbishop Hughes thought it prudent to remove the 
 seminary from the vicinity of St. John's College. 
 The seminary was practically closed in 1862, and 
 
252 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 that same year, the possibiUty to start a new seminary 
 presented itself. 
 
 "The Troy University, founded in the 'fifties by the 
 Methodists, failed through maladministration in i860, 
 and its main building, the only one then eredled, was 
 privately offered for sale by the trustees, with its forty 
 acres of ground, to save it from falling under the ham- 
 mer of the auctioneer. The structure alone had cost 
 about ^192,000 while the land had been donated to the 
 corporation by several citizens of Troy who reserved a 
 right to free scholarships for future students in their 
 families. Here was an opportunity which did not es- 
 cape the pradlical eye of the Rev. Peter Havermans, 
 pastor of St. Mary's Church, Troy. He reported the 
 situation to the Archbishop of New York, and with the 
 latter's approval and aid he purchased the abandoned 
 university for the sum of ^60,000 in the depreciated 
 currency of the time, — a bargain indeed." 
 
 In order to procure the necessary faculty of pro- 
 fessors. Archbishop Hughes decided to appeal to Euro- 
 pean centres of education for help. At his request. 
 Bishop McCloskey and Bishop Fitzpatrick went to 
 Europe in 1863. They first approached the Sulpi- 
 cians of Paris, to whom they carried the following 
 letter from Archbishop Hughes, dated New York, De- 
 cember 17, 1862: 
 
 Monsieur le Superieur: 
 
 I write to you on a subjedl, which is very important 
 to my diocese of New York, and to our whole ecclesi- 
 astical province. And it may, hereafter, become very 
 important to the Society of St. Sulpice, if they should 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 253 
 
 be willing to undertake the ecclesiastical training of 
 the future priests of this province. 
 
 I have purchased a large property in the centre of 
 the city of Troy for a provincial clerical seminary. 
 I think all our bishops, and myself at their head, would 
 desire earnestly that the Sulpicians should take charge 
 of it from the beginning. The city being called Troy, 
 its people were fain to have their Mount Ida, a most 
 pidluresque and beautiful elevation. The Methodists 
 undertook to eredl upon its summit a classical establish- 
 ment with all the privileges of a University. The 
 building is said to be 300 feet long by 60 feet deep with 
 rooms to accommodate 250 students, besides profes- 
 sors. The building is in good order, not being more 
 than ir or 12 years eredled. There is in the centre 
 a chapel, which will afford accommodation to 600 
 persons. It is well furnished with every thing except 
 the altar, which the Methodists had no use for. 
 
 There is included in the purchase an excellent organ. 
 I am credibly informed that the building cost the 
 Methodists, for its construdlion alone $197,000. The 
 ground in such a growing city is invaluable. It 
 consists of 32 or 36 acres of land, not much improved 
 indeed, but kept so far as one great lawn surrounding 
 the building. I purchased the whole for $60,000. 
 But it is evident that to fit it for the purpose of your 
 Society, $10,000 would be required. 
 
 I am persuaded that the Legislature will grant us 
 all the privileges heretofore granted to the Methodists 
 by way of privileges and legislative enadments. 
 
 What I propose then to your Society is that they 
 should take charge of it, with a view to its becoming 
 
254 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 as soon as possible their own property, to be held in 
 their own right for the purpose of seminary education 
 in this province. I should be willing to transfer it 
 to them just as I have received it. And if the amount 
 should be too large for them to meet it all at once, 
 they shall have their own time for the payment. 
 
 I should be disposed to obtain this winter a charter 
 in favor of myself, the Bishop of Albany, in whose 
 diocese it is, and two priests, under such terms as will 
 allow one or other of us to retire as soon as one of the 
 Sulpicians shall be qualified to take the vacant place 
 as trustee. 
 
 The staff of the Sulpicians might be organized 
 from some of your members in Baltimore, who are 
 already citizens of the United States, by some others 
 from Montreal, who speak English and understand the 
 genius of this country, and by some young and suitable 
 clergymen from your headquarters in Paris. The 
 building is large enough to admit of the distinAion of 
 "Grand Seminaire" on one side of the chapel and 
 "Petit Seminaire" on the other. And one great 
 advantage would be that in the preparatory seminary 
 it should be required that the students should learn 
 French, in as much as theological works in English 
 are very rare and very imperfedl. The standard works, 
 of course, in Latin will be on hand. But a knowledge 
 of French is almost essential in this country to a candi- 
 date for the priesthood. 
 
 There is one objedlion, which will probably occur 
 to you. It is that many of the ecclesiastical students 
 of this province are already in the College of St. Charles, 
 Maryland, or in that of Montreal. And it may 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 255 
 
 appear that by establishing a seminary in the centre 
 of this province, larger, I think, than even that of 
 Montreal, the latter and St. Charles' may have to 
 feel the absence of many students under their care. 
 But this would be only a temporary inconvenience, and, 
 in a short time, St. Charles would be recruited from 
 students in the province of Baltimore, and Montreal, 
 no doubt, would be filled by students from Canada. 
 Thus these three establishments would be in your hands 
 and what might seem to be a diminution of students 
 in one college would be only an increase of their numbers 
 in another of the same Society. 
 
 If, however, it should not be in your power to 
 accept this offer, it will be incumbent on us to seek 
 other devoted men to take charge of it, and then 
 there might be a rivalship which I would be glad to 
 see avoided. 
 
 It cannot be opened before the month of July. 
 In the meantime. Monsieur le Superieur, I hope you 
 will have the kindness to let me know, at your earliest 
 convenience whether your venerable Society will be 
 disposed to take charge of it. 
 
 I have the honor to be. 
 
 Monsieur le Superieur, 
 
 Your very humble and obdt. Servt. 
 
 P.S. The position of the new Seminary is very central. 
 It is nearly midway between New York and Montreal, 
 and can be reached in a few hours, by railway from the 
 remotest parts of the province. 
 
 The first suspicion he received that the offer was not 
 a welcome one to the Sulpicians came to him in a 
 
256 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 letter from the Superior in Baltimore, dated December 
 22, 1862: 
 
 Most Revd. Archbishop: 
 
 I have received through your Secretary's kindness, 
 the copy of your letter to our Superior General in 
 Paris, which you have diredled him to send to me. 
 I had already noticed your "Official" in the "Metro- 
 politan Record" on the same subjedl. 
 
 I return to your Grace my respeAfi^l thanks for your 
 kind attention in communicating to me your adlions 
 in the matter in which I must find much interest. 
 But shall I thank you to have raised so high in your 
 "Official" the level and standard to which we have to 
 keep up. In my earnest desire to see the clergy and 
 the facilities for ecclesiastical education multiplied 
 in this country, I wish that many serious obstacles 
 would not oppose the favorable answer which you 
 expedl from our Superior. We will pray here that 
 his decision may be for the greater glory of God: he 
 will have grace to determine on so important an affair. 
 
 I remain. Most Revd. Archbishop, of Your Grace 
 the very humble and respedtful Servant, 
 
 Joseph Paul Dubreul, S.S. 
 
 On December 7, 1862, Archbishop Hughes wrote 
 to Bishop McCloskey in reference to these intentions: 
 
 My dear Bishop: 
 
 By telegram sent last night from Father Havermans, 
 it appears that I am now the owner of what has been 
 called the "Troy University." So be it. 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 257 
 
 I write this to say that the other bishops of the 
 State may not be able to appreciate, or even compre- 
 hend the importance of this transaction. But as to 
 yourself, since I cannot carry the buildings and thirty 
 acres in Troy to New York, I must look to you as the 
 local Father of the establishment that is to be. In the 
 meantime I look to you as my chum and silent partner 
 in the undertaking, especially, and I know that this 
 will please you, that I shall attend to all money matters 
 in the concern. But I must either go to Albany 
 occasionally or you must come to New York, so that 
 we may consult together on what is most likely to 
 promote the honor and glory of God in this new and 
 unforseen transadlion. 
 
 I see in it an immense hope for the future of this 
 province and of this country. 
 
 Archbishop Hughes gives the reason for this desire 
 in a letter written in December, 1862 to Bishop Fitz- 
 patrick of Boston: 
 
 My dear Bishop: 
 
 I have purchased the Troy University with a view 
 of making it the central Seminary of the Province of 
 New York. It is central, indeed, as the Railroad 
 from every Bishop's door concentrates on that point. 
 
 My wish is to see it under the management of the 
 Sulpicians — To have a theological department and a 
 preparatory school with the Petit Seminaire of France. 
 
 The building has 250 rooms. The grounds altho in 
 the center of the city of Troy, are 36 acres including 
 a magnificent little lake of about a mile in circum- 
 ference. This lake is from spring water. The build- 
 
2S8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 ing is in good order, but being a Methodist notion of 
 a University, it is not all what we should like for a 
 Catholic seminary. Still with slight changes it can 
 be adapted to our purpose. 
 
 The whole cost to the Methodists was about 
 ^200,000. I have bought it for ^60,000. The building 
 has been eredted some years ago, and is perfedlly solid, 
 externally and internally. 
 
 My notion is that it will be of great advantage to 
 the province — that if the Sulpicians will take charge 
 of it, almost on any terms, it will become an immense 
 blessing to religion, both in the province and out of it. 
 
 The time has come when in many Catholic families 
 there will be aspirations for the priesthood. The 
 bishops will have to encourage these in some cases even 
 when the parents are not able to bear the expense. 
 The Sulpicians will have an opportunity of doing good 
 on a scale which has never been afforded them outside 
 of France. I have written to their Superior in Paris, 
 encouraging him to undertake this great work. Help 
 me along in that hope. You know them and they 
 know you. I do not know where this letter may reach 
 you, but if it should be in Rome I think you will do 
 well to speak to some high authorities, and to obtain 
 a word of approval of the enterprise and of encour- 
 agement in the name of the Holy See to the good 
 Sulpicians not to shrink from a proposal by bishops 
 accepting which they can relieve us in this province 
 from much embarrassment in the training of our young 
 priesthood and do an immensity of good to the com- 
 ing Catholic Church in the United States. 
 
 Tour sincere brother in Christ, 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 259 
 
 But as Bishop Gabriels expresses it, "these experi- 
 enced masters of clerical training did not deem it pru- 
 dent by the establishment of a third seminary to weaken 
 their already existing establishments in Montreal and 
 Baltimore; and, besides, they did not think that they 
 could successfully govern an institution which had no 
 enclosure and gates; and so they declined the offer." 
 
 The bishops then appealed to the Archbishop of 
 Mechlin, Cardinal Sterckx, but he, too, was unwilling 
 to give a staff of professors from the college and 
 seminaries of his diocese. Acting on his advice, they 
 then appealed to the Bishop of Ghent, Louis Joseph 
 Delebecque, who had shown his love for the American 
 missions in his generosity towards the newly founded 
 American College at Louvain (1857). The two prelates 
 were most cordially received and after due refledtion 
 Bishop Delebecque agreed to send the following year a 
 sufficient number of professors to form the teaching 
 staff at Troy. This was towards the end of 1863. 
 Bishop Delebeque set to work to fulfil his promise and 
 seledted for the new Troy Seminary the following 
 priests of his diocese, being aided in his selection by the 
 Very Rev. John De Neve, Redtor of the American 
 College of Louvain: — ^the Very Rev. Canon Louis 
 Joseph Vandenhende, who was teaching moral theology 
 in the Grand Seminaire of Ghent, was chosen as 
 President of Troy Seminary, and accompanying him 
 as collaborators in the new work were the Rev. Charles 
 Roelants, Rev. Peter Puissant, and the Rev. Henry 
 Gabriels, now Bishop of Ogdensburg — all three 
 graduates of the University of Louvain. 
 
 These four University men were to go out to New 
 
26o JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 York for a period of five years, at the end of which 
 time their places would be filled, and they would be 
 free to return to Belgium. The Rev. Dr. Vandenhende 
 left for America before his companions, and he had as 
 companion Bishop Fitzpatrick of Boston, who had 
 carried on all the negotiations in Archbishop 
 McCloskey's name, after the death of Archbishop 
 Hughes. On Ocftober 2, 1864, the three professors, 
 with three religious Brothers of the Congregation of 
 Good Works of Renaix, set out from Antwerp on the 
 City of Washington and landed in New York on 
 Odlober 17. Dr. Vandenhende had come down from 
 Troy to receive them, and it is not hard to pidlure 
 the joy of Archbishop McCloskey's heart when the 
 little band of professors presented themselves at the 
 Cathedral Redlory in Mulberry Street. That same 
 evening they left by the Steamer Cornelius Vanderhilt 
 and landed at Troy the next morning. There they 
 found the two American priests who had been chosen 
 by the archbishop to assist them — Fathers Alexander 
 Sherwood Healy and Patrick Tandy. The first faculty 
 therefore, was as follows : The Very Rev. Louis Joseph 
 Canon Vandenhende, D.D., superior, and professor of 
 church history and some minor branches; the Rev. 
 Alexander Sherwood Healy, until a short time before 
 chancellor of the Diocese of Boston, professor of moral 
 theology and director (prefed: of discipline) ; the Rev. 
 Charles Roelants, S.T.B., professor of sacred scripture; 
 the Rev. Peter A. Puissant, S.T.B., professor of philos- 
 ophy; the Rev. Henry Gabriels, S.T.L., professor of 
 dogmatic theology; the Rev. Patrick W. Tandy, then 
 recently ordained in Montreal, procurator. 
 
• '^^ . . IT. m 
 
 !f ! 
 
 
 
 
 m^ 
 
 >'^'--^-^/ 
 
 \^ ,-., 1.- 
 
 ST. JOSEPH'S SEMINARY 
 
 Troy 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 261 
 
 The new Seminary of St. Joseph, henceforth to be 
 known as the Provincial Seminary, was blessed by 
 Archbishop McCloskey on December i, 1864. There 
 were present Bishop de Goesbriand, Bishop Fitz- 
 patrick. Bishop McFarland, Bishop Bacon, and the 
 Bishop-eledt of Albany, Dr. Conroy. During the 
 academic year 1865-66, the seminary was attended 
 by seventy-nine theologians and twenty-three philos- 
 ophers. 
 
 The Second Plenary Council which was opened on 
 Odlober 7, 1866, presented a splendid pidture not only 
 of the growth of the Church since the First Council 
 in 1 85 1, but of that inherent strength of Catholicism 
 which has been so visible ever since: "In 1866," says 
 Cardinal Gibbons, "Archbishop McCloskey attended 
 the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore, of which 
 he was a burning and a shining light. He was con- 
 spicuous alike for his eloquence in the pulpit and for 
 his wisdom in the council-chamber. I well remember 
 the discourse he delivered at the opening session. 
 The clear silvery tones of his voice, the grace of his 
 gestures and manner, the persuasive eloquence and 
 charm of his words are indelibly imprinted on my 
 memory and imagination." 
 
 There were then seven provinces or archiepiscopates, 
 and forty-seven bishoprics. The Archbishopric of New 
 York included the Bishoprics of Albany, Boston, 
 Brooklyn, Buffalo, Burlington, Hartford, Newark, 
 and Portland, Me. For the first time in American 
 history the attention of Protestants was attracted 
 in a striking degree to the strong moral position the 
 Church occupied in the country. Nothing had con- 
 
262 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 tributed so much to the viriUty of the Church in the 
 United States as the irreproachable condudl of the 
 CathoHc clergy during the war. "With a very few 
 exceptions the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church 
 kept their hands free from fraternal blood. They 
 preached the great dodlrines of peace and goodwill, 
 they did not disfigure their altars with emblems of 
 hate and war. In the camps of both armies they 
 were the messengers of the Lord and true to their 
 noble calling. In the midst of the terrors of the battle- 
 field, the breath of pestilence, and in the hospitals, 
 they devoted themselves exclusively to the amelio- 
 ration of bodily suffering and to the kind and holy 
 office of comforting. Hence this Church is today 
 respedled by people who, blinded by prejudices, ten 
 years ago calumniated it. Hence the Church, whose 
 servants they are, is today (1866) recognized by thou- 
 sands as a worthy administratrix and teacher of these 
 sacred truths which make men Christians and at the 
 same time teach them to love one another; and, as 
 has been said, this is recognized by thousands who do 
 not share its belief. In all the proud annals of Rome 
 there is not a prouder page than that leaf, that page, 
 on which is written her purity, firmness and independ- 
 ence — her indifference to the threats and sedudtion 
 of powerful parties — during the Civil War in America." 
 Consequently, when the prelates assembled at Bal- 
 timore in Odlober 1866, the eyes of the country were 
 upon them. Here was a unity of belief, of spirit, of 
 purpose and of organization, which startled a land 
 then nursing its wounds and entering upon a period 
 of silent and bitter antagonism which has only passed 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP IN NEW YORK 263 
 
 away in our day. The Church needed reconstrudlion 
 as well as the country, and the sight of the Catholic 
 bishops of the East and the West, the North and 
 the South, gathering together to revivify the mem- 
 bers of their ever-increasing flock with the spirit of 
 peace and of charity towards all, astounded the 
 country at large. 
 
 One of the most prominent figures at the 
 Second Plenary Council was undoubtedly Archbishop 
 McCloskey of New York. Although the youngest 
 archbishop present he was chosen to preach the open- 
 ing sermon. "As to the opening discourse coram 
 populo," he writes to^l Archbishop Spalding, on June 
 18, 1866, "I shall endeavor to comply according to 
 the best of my poor abilities with Your Grace's wishes.'' 
 The Archbishop preached on the text: Glorious things 
 are said of thee, City of God: "If ever," he said 
 in the opening words of his discourse, "there were 
 moments when these words of the Royal Psalmist 
 seem to rise spontaneously to our lips, and to impress 
 themselves in all their truth and beauty on our hearts, 
 assuredly it is now — now, in the presence of this 
 spe(5lacle so grand and so august; now, on an occa- 
 sion so full of deep-felt interest, of holiest importance 
 to us all." The Council, he said,'' exemplified all the 
 glorious attributes of the City of God. "We behold 
 its unity — for here are assembled from every por- 
 tion of our country's wide domain, from its Pacific to 
 its Atlantic, from its remotest frontier on the North 
 to its farthest boundary on the South, Archbishops, 
 Bishops, Venerable Abbots, and learned Priests called 
 together by the illustrious Metropolitan of this most 
 
264 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 ancient and honored See, and who, invested with the 
 dignity and authority of ApostoUc Delegate, holds 
 the Presidency in our Council, thus forming a more 
 immediate connecting link between us and the Supreme 
 Pastor, the centre of unity and the source of spiritual 
 jurisdidlion, and through him uniting us with the whole 
 body throughout the world, which is no other than the 
 mystical body of Christ, which is One and cannot be 
 divided any more than Christ Himself can be divided." 
 The Church had just passed through a fearful test 
 of its unity — the Civil War. During that terrible 
 period of fraternal strife, when the national unity was 
 impaired and well-nigh broken, and when the social 
 unity of the country had suffered a grievous rent, 
 "in which," as the Archbishop confessed, "even among 
 ourselves the bond of fraternal charity was sorely 
 strained and perhaps weakened, the bond of faith, 
 the unity of the children of the Church, remained 
 strong as ever, and never perhaps did we meet together 
 more as a band of brothers, more of one heart and 
 one soul than now." The main part of the sermon is 
 a masterly exposition of the infallibility of the Church 
 as the teacher of mankind. "If this high prerogative," 
 he said, "were not hers, what then?" . . . "Then 
 was she a huge impostor, a blasphemus usurpation, 
 a dreadful apostacy. Then was she deserving of all 
 the obloquy and abuse her enemies have heaped upon 
 her. And yet if this is so, how will you account for her 
 miraculous history, how will you reconcile this with the 
 divine economy that God should employ this great 
 apostacy to preach His gospel to all the nations and to 
 lead them forth from the darkness of infidelity to His 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 265 
 
 own admirable light ? How is it that her enemies were 
 always His: that when they blasphemed Him they 
 blasphemed her; that she alone represented Chris- 
 tianity? How comes it that amid so many combats, 
 sufferings, persecutions, dangers, she has always tri- 
 umphed ? Whence this invincible energy, this imperish- 
 able life? How is it that she lives; that she has not 
 long since perished? How will you account for her 
 unity, for that power, that authority, that bond to 
 hold together in one body, in the possession of the same 
 faith, in the reception of the same sacraments, so many 
 tribes and peoples, so many nations, notwithstanding 
 their remoteness from one another, their varieties of 
 language, manners, and of race, their diversity of inter- 
 ests and aims, their national jealousies, prejudices, 
 animosities, strifes — and this through a long course 
 of ages ? And when an age of Reformation came, and 
 a purer religion was to be preached, its unity was broken, 
 and then discord came and contentions and divisions 
 and an endless variety of sedls. There was no Catho- 
 licity. The reformers have never succeeded in estab- 
 lishing more than a national church. The result has 
 been scepticism, indifference, irreligion. 
 
 "It will not do to say that the Church has for a 
 long time enjoyed this prerogative, but has forfeited 
 it. If at all, it was by virtue of her commission and 
 the promises made her that she enjoyed it, and these 
 are hers not for a time or for a limited number of years, 
 but for all time. Once infallible, she is always infal- 
 lible. All others by renouncing it, disclaim their title 
 to be considered as a true church. If the Church has 
 failed, has ceased to exist, then is Christianity a 
 
266 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 failure. But no! In the presence of all the confliAing 
 forms of religious belief, she still remains the same, 
 is still one and Catholic, is still glorious amid afflitftions, 
 which are her lot now as ever, because they prepare the 
 way for her triumph. 
 
 "This prerogative of infallibility has made the 
 Church of God glorious not only in the past but in the 
 present also; glorious even amid the many trials and 
 threatening dangers that now beset her, and that 
 encompass especially her venerated Head. For what 
 spectacle is there of greater moral grandeur represented 
 to the eyes of the world, than the church glorious in her 
 suffering which is but a preparation for her triumph. 
 Let us rejoice this day in being blessed in this glori- 
 ous city of God." 
 
 The sermon concluded with an explanation of the 
 purpose of the Council: "For us, Most Reverend 
 Fathers of the Council, this is a moment of deep solem- 
 nity, of grave responsibility, as well as of religious joy. 
 We are here as members of that Apostolic body, which 
 has inherited the commission and received the promises 
 of Christ. We are here not to define articles of faith ; 
 that belongs not to a Council such as this. Much less 
 are we here to discuss any of the ordinary topics of 
 the day or questions having a political complexion 
 or tendency of any kind whatever. We are here to 
 consult and deliberate together on those things which 
 appertain exclusively to the proper discharge of the 
 trusts committed to us; on things which concern the 
 interests of a Kingdom not of this world. We are 
 here to provide in season for the daily increasing spirit- 
 ual wants of our vastly extended and rapidly expanding 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 267 
 
 territory, to multiply, if it may please God, all those 
 means whereby faith may be strengthened, morals 
 purified, the sources of sandlification increased, salva- 
 tion secured. We are here to provide greater uni- 
 formity in ordering the observance of ecclesiastical 
 discipline. In this we rely not on our own strength, 
 but on that which comes from above, not on our own 
 weak understanding, but on the light of the Holy 
 Ghost, whom we have invoked at this altar." 
 
 Cardinal Gibbons relates in his Retrosped of Fifty 
 Tears the following incident: "As an evidence of the 
 Cardinal's imperturbable temper and self-control under 
 trying circumstances, I may mention that a few 
 moments before he was invited by the master of cere- 
 monies to ascend the pulpit to deliver the opening ser- 
 mon at the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore, a 
 telegram was handed to him announcing the destruc- 
 tion of his Cathedral by fire. His Eminence preached 
 in his usual tranquil and unruffled manner. When I 
 expressed to him the next morning my surprise at 
 his composure, he replied: 'The damage was done, 
 and I could not undo it.' " 
 
 It is interesting to know that Tituli IX and X of the 
 Adla of the Council were prepared by Archbishop 
 McCloskey. The first Titulus was on a subjed: near 
 to his heart : On the Education of Youth. Under this 
 heading, he deals with three topics: (i) On Parochial 
 Schools, which should be eredted in every parish and 
 as far as possible, be taught by religious congregations 
 devoted to that purpose; (2) On Industrial Schools, 
 which should be founded in all the larger cities; and 
 
268 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 (3) On a Catholic University which should be founded 
 for the whole United States. His words concerning 
 the University are as follows: 
 
 "Atque utinam in hac regione Collegium unum 
 maximum, sive Universitatem habere liceret, quod 
 CoUegiorum horum omnium, sive domesticorum sive 
 exterorum, commoda atque utilitates compledteretur; 
 in quo, scilicet, literae et scientiae omnes, tam sacrae 
 quam profanae, traderentur! Utrum vero Univer- 
 sitatis hujusmodi constituendae tempus advenerit, 
 necne, Patrum judicio, rem totam maturius posthac 
 perpendentibus, relinquimus." 
 
 The second Titulus which dealt with the question 
 of books and newspapers, warned parents to guard 
 their children against immoral literature, and urged 
 Catholics to disseminate good books. 
 
 On the problem of a Catholic University, Arch- 
 bishop McCloskey wrote to Archbishop Spalding, on 
 May 14, 1866, as follows: 
 
 New York, May 14, 1866 
 I did not submit a decree or statute on the subjedt 
 of the University, for the reason that I presumed there 
 would be considerable diversity of opinion; ist. on 
 the question of the University itself; 2nd. on the spot 
 to be chosen, or the institution already existing to be 
 adopted. The decrees will of course be presented as 
 emanating from Your Grace, as Apostolic Delegate, 
 and it seemed to me it would be best consulting for the 
 dignity of your office, to let the matter first come up in 
 the form of a question, which would elicit the views 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 269 
 
 and opinions of the assembled Prelates, and lead 
 perhaps to the proposing of an appropriate decree, 
 rather than put it in the form which might subjedt 
 Your Grace to the risk of an apparent defeat. Would 
 it be well to introduce a decree without having all the 
 probabilities in favor of its acceptance ? The same train 
 of thought and feeling operated also in the case of 
 "Relation of Bishops to Newspapers," and the Cate- 
 chism of Dr. McCaffrey. I calculated to be prepared 
 with a decree to be introduced after hearing the opinion 
 of the Bishops, which would insure its being previously 
 put in an acceptable shape. The newspaper question 
 is a difficult as well as an important one. It was 
 considered in one of our New York Provincial Councils, 
 but nothing definite was arrived at. Of course Your 
 Grace will decide the matter according to your better 
 judgment, and frame such form of decree as may have 
 already suggested itself to you. 
 
 The AAs and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council 
 were the surprise of the Church in Europe. The 
 wisdom and prudence displayed by the Fathers, and 
 their eminently practical method of dealing with the 
 lofty things of faith and morals, proved to the world 
 that the Church in America had reached a stage of 
 organization far beyond its years of existence. It is 
 well known that at the Vatican Council in 1870, the 
 wish was expressed by some of the Bishops present, 
 that the Decrees of the Plenary Council of Baltimore 
 might be made universal laws for the whole Church. 
 
 The Second Plenary Council had legislated definitely 
 on a subject which was then proving detrimental to 
 
270 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Catholic progress — the number and increase of secret 
 societies. This legislation bore heavily upon a society 
 composed mostly of Catholics, which was then at the 
 height of its adlivities — the Fenians. The Fenian 
 movement for the liberation of Ireland had been begun 
 in America in 1858 through the instrumentality of 
 James Stephens, the Irish patriot. A large part of the 
 Irish soldiers in the Union and Confederate armies dur- 
 ing the Civil War were Fenians, and at a convention 
 held in Chicago in Odtober, i860, the Fenian Brother- 
 hood stood out boldly in favor of violent methods to ac- 
 complish their purpose. The archbishop was aware of 
 the motives and plans of the movement, and on August 
 20, 1864, wrote to Archbishop Spalding that some 
 measures ought to be taken to curb Fenian activity: 
 
 "With regard to the Fenians, it was considered best 
 to pursue the same course we have thus far been pur- 
 suing, of making no public denunciation nor any final 
 decision, further than to advise our clergy to use every 
 effort to discourage them, and to prevent their people 
 from joining them. I suggested the propriety of en- 
 deavoring to induce the Archbishop of Baltimore to 
 submit the whole case to Rome, and if possible obtain 
 some more formal or satisfactory solution of its diffi- 
 culties than has as yet been given. This suggestion 
 was concurred in, and I accordingly invite your at- 
 tention to it with the request that you will be kind 
 enough to favor me with your views at your earliest 
 
 convenience." 
 
 On Odlober 28, 1864, Archbishop Spalding sent a 
 petition to Cardinal Barnabo, Prefedt of the Sacred 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 271 
 
 Congregation of Propaganda Fide, asking for instruc- 
 tions on the question. This petition was sent secretly 
 to all the bishops of the country, who were asked to 
 consider the matter, but not to allow his petition to be 
 known to the public at large. No adlion was taken 
 at this time, nor does it appear that the legitimacy of 
 the Fenian Brotherhood was more than cursorily 
 discussed at the Second Plenary Council in 1866, 
 although the Freemasons and the Odd Fellows are 
 mentioned in the Decrees of the Council. The centre 
 of the Fenian Movement was in New York, and open 
 boasts were made by its leaders that they would con- 
 quer Canada and then force England to give indepen- 
 dence to Ireland. A meeting was scheduled to take 
 place on Sunday, March 3, 1866, and on that day 
 the archbishop caused to be read in all the churches 
 a circular admonishing the faithful to remain away 
 from the affair. The circular was as follows: 
 
 Archbishopric of New York 
 New York, March 2, 1866 
 Reverend Dear Sir: 
 
 I learn with much pain and regret that it is proposed 
 by some of the leaders of the Fenian movement to hold 
 a mass meeting to-morrow (Sunday) afternoon in Jones' 
 Wood. As most of those, unfortunately, who are 
 connedled with this movement profess themselves 
 Catholics, I feel it my duty to beg of you to admonish 
 and exhort your people to take no part in what must be 
 regarded as an open profanation of the Lord's Day, 
 an a(fl of public scandal to religion and an outrage to 
 the feelings of all good Catholics, especially in the holy 
 
272 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 season of Lent. Such an adl can hardly fail to provoke 
 the anger of God no less than the sorrow and indig- 
 nation of all sincere Christians. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 * John, Archbishop of New York 
 
 This circular naturally aroused much discussion. 
 At the Cathedral, a great crowd had gathered on 
 Sunday morning, March 3, and the archbishop ad- 
 dressed them in the following terms: 
 
 "We want to say a few words to you on a subjedt 
 with which many of you are acquainted. It is in 
 reference to a call for a meeting of some of those who 
 are known as leaders of the Fenian movement. It is 
 the call made by them for an aggregate or mass meet- 
 ing this evening in Jones' Wood. The objedt for which 
 this meeting is called it is not necessary for me to state, 
 from the fa(5t that it is a call of the Fenian Brotherhood 
 and Irishmen generally to assemble in Jones' Wood. 
 Now, I desire to j speak to you of this subject in all 
 calmness. I wish not to use words in reference to this 
 subjedl that will be calculated to excite feelings of in- 
 dignation or violence. I speak as the Catholic Bishop 
 of a people who are known to have the Catholic faith 
 deeply implanted in their hearts — who are jealous 
 of all that concerns the honor and credit of that holy 
 faith in the eyes of God and men. On the merits of 
 Fenianism it is not my purpose at all to speak, as 
 nearly all know what is the opinion held of it almost 
 universally by all the bishops and priests of the whole 
 Catholic Church, and all men know how unfortunately 
 a very large class of Irish Catholics have been in this 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 273 
 
 instance an exception to what has been their history 
 in all time in closing their ears to the counsels of the 
 fathers of the flock upon this subjedl, and listening to 
 the counsels of self-constituted leaders. 
 
 "I do not call in question the motives by which they 
 are adtuated. No one sympathizes more deeply with 
 afflidled Ireland than he who now speaks to you. God 
 forbid that any word of his should ever militate against 
 what are Ireland's real, best, and highest interests. If 
 we are opposed to this movement in toto it is not be- 
 cause we sympathize with the English government, but 
 because we sympathize in the true spirit with Ireland. 
 We have seen nothing yet, and we exped: nothing from 
 this Fenian movement but what will be to the great 
 detriment of Ireland and its people, both in that 
 country and also in this, the land of their adoption. 
 We believe that only injury will come of this move- 
 ment, and time will prove who is in the right and who 
 is in the wrong. We believe that as nothing but mis- 
 chief has so far come of it, nothing but mischief will 
 further come of it. And I say it not only in the 
 interests of our brethren in their own land but also in 
 our interests here. If our people persist, as unfortu- 
 nately they have persisted thus far, in a movement 
 which all sensible men and all true friends of Ireland 
 consider one of folly, which must result in nothing 
 but destrudiion and mischief, it will not only incite 
 England to oppose Ireland still more, and to rivet 
 still more securely the chains of her people, but it 
 will incite perhaps the anger and disgust of the 
 American people themselves against us. 
 
 "And I say in all the sincerity of my heart that I look 
 
274 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 to this movement with a feeUng of deep apprehension 
 for the reason of the spirit that has been evinced by 
 those whose counsel the people have followed in this 
 movement that it will raise up against Irishmen, first 
 as Irishmen and then as Catholics, in this land, a spirit 
 of persecution equal to that under which they have so 
 long groaned in their own land. I appeal to all men, 
 and beg of them for their own sakes and for the sake of 
 their religion and their God, to withdraw themselves 
 from a movement that has already gone too far. 
 
 "The reason alleged for not listening to advice from 
 bishops and clergy in this matter is that they say this is 
 a political movement, and that therefore the bishops 
 and priests of the Catholic Church have nothing to do 
 with it, and must stand aside from it. That is true, 
 bishops and priests have nothing to do with it. They 
 say that this movement has nothing to do with religion. 
 Unfortunately it is too true it has not. But religion 
 has something to do with it. This day is a day sacred 
 to God and to the hearing of His words. It is Sunday. 
 It is not a day for politics. It is not a day for public 
 demonstrations, but it is a day for Catholic people 
 to assemble in the house of God, pay their vows and 
 thanks to Him, offer their prayers for the prosperity 
 and peace of the land they love and to which they have 
 been so faithful. These Fenian demonstrations are 
 bad enough on any day; but there are days enough in 
 the week, and if they will not be given to those meet- 
 ings, let God's Day at least be sacred from them. This 
 ad: of a public meeting being held this afternoon is an 
 open profanation of the Lord's Day. It is and will be 
 regarded as a public scandal; it will be a torch to the 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 275 
 
 feelings of the whole Christian community, and if this 
 admonition is negledled, all the Catholics will be held 
 responsible for this outrage ; and our Christian brethren 
 who revered the Lord's Day already look upon this 
 movement as a profanation of this day; and all who 
 do will ask in astonishment what does all this mean? 
 They will say here are Irishmen and Catholics offering 
 a public insult to the day of the Lord. 
 
 "Hence it is that I have addressed a circular to all 
 the Catholic clergy of this city to warn their flocks to 
 abstain from this demonstration on the day sacred to 
 religion and to God. This invitation for a public meet- 
 ing is addressed to Catholics to leave their religious 
 leaders, and gather to listen to men in Jones' Wood 
 speaking violent and inflammatory language to them. 
 At least respedl this day, which is sacred to God. 
 Take no part in the gathering. Here is the place to 
 show your sympathy; here you will not provoke God's 
 anger, but can invoke His blessing." 
 
 Subsequently, an "invasion of Canada" occurred 
 in June, 1866, but the entire movement was a failure 
 due to the opposition of such clear-sighted leaders as 
 John McCloskey. 
 
 There was some newspaper talk after the close of the 
 Second Plenary Council on the creation of an American 
 Cardinal. The question had been raised two years 
 before, and in one of Archbishop McCloskey's letters 
 to Archbishop Spalding, dated August 25, 1864, he 
 says: "Is it not provoking to have to endure such 
 ridiculous reports as the one you extracted from the 
 Express and sent to me. I hope we shall have no 
 
276 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Cardinal's hat in this country. We are better without 
 one. I will not answer, however for what may be in 
 store for you. For myself, I have no fears. ..." 
 The rumor was again started by a correspondent in 
 the Pall Mall Gazette. Archbishop Spalding writes 
 on July 2, 1864: 
 
 "I presume that the Correspondent of the Pall 
 Mall Gazette blundered fully as much in the assertion 
 that there was any idea of my receiving the red hat, 
 as he did in saying that I was an Irishman! So far 
 from receiving a red hat, it is not at all impossible — 
 though I deem it scarcely probably — that I may have 
 my black or purple one knocked off." 
 
 On May 18, 1868, Cardinal Barnabo, Prefedl of the 
 Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide, wrote to 
 Archbishop Spalding, asking him to send a priest to 
 Rome at once to help in the preparation of the studies 
 preliminary to the Vatican Council. The Metropolitan 
 of Baltimore wrote to Archbishop McCloskey (June 8, 
 1868): "I know of no one, more suitable for this 
 important charge than the Secretary of our late Coun- 
 cil, Dr. Corcoran, who, moreover speaks Italian and is 
 well acquainted with Rome." Among the interesting 
 letters still preserved among Cardinal McCloskey's 
 papers is one from Dr. Corcoran, dated from the 
 American College, Rome, March 6, 1869: 
 
 Most Reverend Sir: 
 
 I had long ago intended to report to you my presence 
 in Rome, as I was prevented from seeing you before 
 my departure. As you are aware probably ere this, 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 277 
 
 I have been aggregated to the Commission, as it is 
 called here, of Dogmatic Theology. It is composed 
 so far of twenty members, of whom seven are for- 
 eigners, but of the latter more are expedled. Card. 
 Barnabo spoke to me, amongst others, of a theologian 
 to come from Canada. 
 
 I find myself much embarrassed here by the obliga- 
 tion of secrecy, which has its advantages, of course, 
 but works also the other way. That silence should 
 be observed as to proceedings in committee-rooms, 
 and the opinions of individual members, is very just. 
 But that the topics discussed there should not be 
 mentioned even by name, is rather hard. That a 
 Theologian should not communicate with the Bishop 
 whom he represents, and whose relation to him is 
 that of principal to a deputy, appears to me so utterly 
 out of order, that I have after long and solemn delibera- 
 tion concluded to rejedl any such interpretation of the 
 promise of secrecy as unfounded and absurd. 
 
 I will state to you then in the first place that there 
 prevails a mania (I can call it nothing else) for defining 
 de fide a great mass of propositions and on almost 
 every subjedt. Hundreds of opinions hitherto held or 
 tolerated in Catholic schools will be proscribed, if these 
 theologians have their own way. Some of them 
 touch on those complex intricate relations between 
 Church and State, which to discuss even is as difficult 
 as it is dangerous. As I represent a peculiar country, 
 and know something of its frame of mind (Catholic 
 and Protestant) I have thus far constantly opposed 
 this course on the simple ground of inexpediency, 
 possible or probable harm instead of good, etc. In 
 
278 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 like manner the infallibility of the Pope. I consider 
 that he has the thing theoretically and pradlically in 
 the Catholic world of today. What more is needed.? 
 The res is more important than the titulus. When 
 asked if the American Bishops desired this definition, 
 I could not answer positively; I had merely to say I 
 thought not. 
 
 If you have leisure and favor me ever so briefly 
 with your views on these and analogous subjedls, I 
 shall receive them with all respedl and gratitude, and 
 be guided by them in my adlion. I shall also have 
 some satisfadtion to fall back on, when my opinions 
 here are considered singular and outrees. 
 
 Accompanying this I send a letter of receipt to your 
 Revd. Secretary, Mr. McNeirny. The preparations 
 for the locale of the council have already commenced 
 and will be more vigorously prosecuted after Easter; 
 ^130,000 have been already allocated for this especial 
 objedl. Two of our American students have been 
 chosen as stenographers amongst many of various 
 nations. 
 
 I am most Reverend Sir 
 Yours most obediently and respedifuUy in Xt., 
 
 James A. Corcoran 
 
 On August 7, 1869, Archbishop McCloskey and his 
 Secretary, Father McNierny started for Rome on the 
 Ville de Paris, which was bound for Havre. Before 
 he started out on this memorable voyage, the priests 
 of the New York Diocese, with Father Starrs at their 
 head, presented him with a cheque for five thousand 
 dollars, and the following Address: 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 279 
 
 New York, July yth, 1869 
 Most Revd. and RespeHed Sir: 
 
 Having been convened in the Cathedral for a specific 
 purpose, the clergy of the Archdiocese have judged it 
 a fitting occasion for attesting in a body not only 
 their profound reverence for your episcopal character, 
 but in addition the devotion and sincere affection 
 they bear you personally. 
 
 This united utterance of feelings long shared by 
 them individually, has had, as may well be conceived, 
 no merely casual promptings to publicity. Very few 
 weeks are to elapse before you set out from our shores 
 in obedience to a summons from the Supreme Pontiff 
 and Father of the Christian world; and while our 
 prayers, as is meet, will go with you in your auspicious 
 journey to the Oecumenical Council, yet we do not 
 close our eyes to the fadl that it takes you away for 
 the first time from among our people, and from us, 
 your clergy, who have long enjoyed your daily counsel 
 and encouragement. 
 
 In presence of this first separation we cannot help 
 recalling the anxiety that was, years ago, manifested 
 not only in this important diocese, but everywhere 
 throughout our country, to know who was to be chosen 
 to sit in the chair made vacant by the death of that 
 truly eminent Prelate, Archbishop Hughes. Our Holy 
 Father soon appeased that anxiety, and the honor 
 settled worthily on you. While however the world at 
 large saw but the new dignity of the Metropolitan 
 added to those you had long honored and graced as 
 Bishop of Albany, we, who were to be sharers of its 
 unseen trials and solicitudes saw clearly in your presence 
 
28o JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 among us the new impulse to be given to the needs of 
 this ever-expanding diocese, reaUzed today in the 
 churches and institutions everywhere in process of 
 ere(flion ; and saw moreover that we were to be brought 
 in contadt with personal qualities that must ever evoke 
 attachment to their possessor and hearty cooperation 
 in all his undertakings. 
 
 We are aware of the traits enumerated by the 
 Apostle as constituting a perfed: Bishop; and we may 
 surely be pardoned the avowal that many of them are 
 strikingly seen in your character. But we refer here 
 more especially to that pradlical sense of justness that 
 marks all your decisions whether their purport is to 
 adjust in Synod the multifarious and often conflidting 
 needs of your extensive diocese, or whether they be 
 given in the private consultation, which, from time to 
 time, every clergyman must have with his Bishop. 
 We refer besides to the attractive benignity, which, 
 despite your many cares, makes you readily accessible 
 to any of us ; and lastly we would designate in a special 
 manner the mildness and forbearance that mark your 
 exercise of authority. 
 
 You have learned. Most Revd. Sir, by a long experi- 
 ence in governing, the rare lesson of tempering with 
 gentleness its traditional severity. Your reward is the 
 homage of our hearts — the best gift in our power 
 to bestow. You are soon to meet the great Pontiff 
 whose own heart has won for him the homage of 
 the entire world. We embrace the opportunity of 
 sending him through you the ever new and abundant 
 expression of our love and devotion to his person, and 
 sympathy in the burden of years as well as solicitude 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 281 
 
 that is weighing upon him; and as an additional 
 
 proof of the earnestness of that devotion, we ask you 
 
 to present to him the gifts which our limited means 
 
 enable us to offer. 
 
 In conclusion we invoke Almighty God to grant you 
 
 a prosperous voyage; to render your presence in the 
 
 Centre of Catholicity conducive to the best interest 
 
 of his Church and to restore you again, with renewed 
 
 health and vigor, to the bosom of your devoted flock. 
 
 William Starrs, D.D., V.G. 
 
 ,,, ^ „ , Chairman 
 
 William Quinn, Secy. 
 
 Archbishop McCloskey refers to the gift of his 
 priests to the Holy Father in a letter, dated Rome, 
 November 18, 1869, to the late Monsignor Preston, 
 then Chancellor of the Archdiocese: 
 
 Rev. dear Father Preston: 
 
 Your kind and very welcome letter came to hand 
 last week. I deferred answering it until I should 
 have my audience with the Holy Father. This 
 privilege and honor I enjoyed last evening, when His 
 Holiness was graciously pleased to receive me, to con- 
 verse with me most affably for some twenty minutes, 
 and then to admit Father McNeirny. I presented all 
 the gifts of which I was the bearer from the clergy and 
 faithful of my diocese. The letter and offering of the 
 clergy came first in order. He glanced over the con- 
 tents and the names appended, reserving a more care- 
 ful perusal for another time. He had already, however, 
 been made aware of its contents by Mgr. Simeoni, 
 Secretary of the Propaganda, to whom I had shown 
 
282 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 it, as well as to the Cardinal, who pronounced it un 
 indirisso bellissimo. I have reason to know that it 
 has been most grateful and consoling to the Holy 
 Father, particularly at this time, when so much is 
 said in the newspapers, and in private conversations 
 concerning the anti-ultramontane views of the Ameri- 
 can bishops and clergy. His Holiness expressed 
 himself highly pleased also with the generous offering 
 of the laity and was not a little amused as well as 
 pleased with the beautiful fish and its golden contents, 
 diamond ring borne in its mouth. He spoke of our 
 affairs at home, of the councils, etc., and giving his 
 benedi(flion to myself and diocese, dismissed me with 
 a grateful and happy heart. 
 
 I am very grateful to you for having been so punctual 
 in sending the draft at the time appointed; as it is 
 fast becoming next to an impossibility, as the number 
 of bishops increase, to obtain a special audience — 
 I am now with a mind at ease, ready to get seriously 
 at work. We have very pleasant apartments, have 
 been able to fit up a nice little chapel for our daily 
 Mass, and are beginning to feel quite at home. The 
 weather is now mild and more genial than when we 
 first arrived. There are a good many Americans 
 here, but not so many, it is said, as there were at 
 this time last year. There is and will continue to be 
 abundance of room for all who are willing to pay the 
 prices, either in hotels or private apartments. We 
 dined with Mrs. Ward a few evenings since. Her 
 health seems much improved. 
 
 I am sorry that the collection for the Cathedral has 
 not come up to the mark. I hope, however, it will 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 283 
 
 be made right, and that the work will not have to 
 suffer. With regard to the seminary, I did not sup- 
 pose that the number of seminarians would be as 
 great this year as it was last. The American College 
 here is filling up quite rapidly. There are now some 
 fifty-eight students — all ours are well and seem to 
 give satisfadlion. 
 
 Kind regards to all — pray for me and believe me, 
 Very truly your fr. and bro. in Xt., 
 
 •I* John, Abp. of N. York 
 
 In a letter dated Rome, May 26, 1870, he assures 
 Father Preston that he will set out for home in August, 
 and on July 8, 1870, he sent the following letter: 
 
 Rev. dear Father Preston: 
 
 Your esteemed favor of the 19th ult. has found me 
 here still in Rome — and what is worse still in uncer- 
 tainty as to when I shall be free to leave. The discus- 
 sion on the Primacy and Infallibility closed on Monday 
 last, and we were all full of hope that the Public Session 
 would be held on the 17th. The appearances now 
 are that this will not take place before the 24th. This 
 will be to me a most serious inconvenience as well as 
 grievious disappointment. I had engaged passage in 
 the French steamer which will leave Brest on the 30th. 
 If the Council does not adjourn before the 24th. it 
 will be impossible for me to reach Brest in time, and 
 in this case I shall have to take my chance of having 
 our places transferred to the steamer of two weeks 
 later. 
 
 Should the coUedlion for the Holy Father have not 
 
284 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 been forwarded before your receipt of this, I would 
 wish, for special reasons, that you retain it until my 
 return. I would be obliged to you also if you will 
 place to my account in the Mechanics National Bank 
 the sum of five hundred (500) dolls. ; as I have a bill 
 to pay on the other side which may become due be- 
 fore my return and which I prefer to meet by cheque 
 on my own bank. 
 
 There is a good deal of sickness just now in Rome, 
 the Bishop of Buffalo has had a very severe attack — 
 for one or two days we quite despaired of his life 
 — he is now better but not out of danger. Father 
 McNeirny and myself had to be more or less in the 
 fashion — My own attack has been light — Father 
 McN's more serious. We have been considering the 
 heat as very excessive and very oppressive, but I yes- 
 terday saw in a New York paper that you have the 
 thermometer above 90 in the shade, and in Albany at 
 98. This quite surpasses us and makes us feel that 
 we should not complain. 
 
 I cannot tell you how surprised and grieved I was 
 to hear of the death of good Mrs. Preston. This 
 certainly is a very great blow to your brother William, 
 coming so early and unexpedtedly. Be pleased to pre- 
 sent to him the expression of my most sincere con- 
 dolence as well as the assurance that his lamented 
 wife is not forgotten in my prayers and at the Holy 
 Altar. Say also as much to the afflidled and sorrowing 
 Mother. 
 
 I prefer to say nothing on the McGlynn difficulty 
 just now. The whole question is one which we shall 
 have to take into serious consideration on my return. 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 285 
 
 It is all important that due distindlion shall be drawn 
 between what is of Catholic principle and duty, in 
 the matter of protedling the faith of our children, and 
 what is of wise and prudent policy in the manner of 
 seeking aid for our schools. 
 
 I may observe that Dr. McGIynn has many friends 
 here, and the violent attacks of McMaster have ex- 
 cited a strong sympathy in his favor, especially among 
 some officials of the Propaganda, who are naturally 
 jealous of the good name of their institution. The 
 clergy of New York have reason to say "non tali 
 auxilio, non defensoribus istis." 
 
 Kindest regards to all — hoping to see you soon, 
 I remain. 
 
 Very sincerely your friend and bro. in Xt., 
 >b John, Abp. of N. Y. 
 
 The mention of the discussion on Papal Infallibility 
 will recall to many who still remember the interest 
 that dogmatic definition caused, the statement that 
 Archbishop McCloskey was one of the seven prelates 
 who voted non placet when the general vote was taken 
 in July, 1870. That statement has always been made, 
 but without any warrant. It is true that he voted 
 against the expediency of the declaration at that time, 
 but he was present at the last solemn session of the 
 Council on July 18, 1870 and voted affirmatively. 
 
 Cardinal Gibbons, who was also present, wrote on 
 May 9, 1910: "I have a most distindl recolledlion of 
 the attitude of the different Prelates in regard to the 
 question of Infallibility. Kenrick of St. Louis, Pur- 
 cell of Cincinnati and Connolly of Halifax declared 
 
286 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 themselves against the Infallibility in itself; but I re- 
 call most distincftly that Cardinal McCloskey was not 
 opposed to Infallibility in itself but declared himself 
 against the expediency of declaring it an article of 
 faith at that time. In fad, I may add that this 
 seemed to be the consensus of opinion of the majority 
 of the American Bishops at the Council." 
 
 "Most of the Bishops who opposed the decision," 
 writes Cardinal Gibbons, in his RetrospeCl of Fifty 
 Tears, "did not do so from any doubt of the dogma, 
 but only from a feeling of the inopportuneness of the 
 decision and the fear lest the governments of Europe 
 would use it, as the German government did after- 
 wards, as a pretext for persecution, and lest the way 
 into the Church should be made hard for those multi- 
 tudes of people who were manifestly seeking the rest 
 and peace for their souls which they could only hope 
 to find in the Catholic Church. When, then, the 
 question of Infallibility came to be raised, it was 
 debated with great heat; not indeed in the public 
 sessions but in those private sessions in which the 
 Fathers discussed the dogma from every point of 
 view. Never have I heard such plain speaking in my 
 life; never have I seen men apparently more violently 
 attached to their own opinions, nor less ready to 
 give way to their opponents. There were times, 
 indeed, when the excitement rose to fever heat, and 
 when one was reminded of some of the earlier Councils, 
 as, for instance, the Council of Chalcedon. But all 
 the excitement was but the outward and visible mani- 
 festation of the burning zeal within, and when once 
 the decision was taken and the Bull containing it 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 287 
 
 promulgated, not one Bishop of that assembly forsook 
 the See of Peter and the CathoUc Church. I remember 
 the story told with regard to the late Archbishop of 
 St. Louis — the Most Rev. Dr. Kenrick. He was 
 violently opposed to the definition, not only because 
 of what he considered its inopportuneness, but because 
 he did not see that it was part of the deposit of faith ; 
 nevertheless no sooner was the decision promulgated, 
 than he most nobly accepted it and published it in 
 his diocese. Years afterwards somebody spoke of 
 the Archbishop to Leo XHI, and criticised his attitude 
 during the Vatican Council to the Holy Father, upon 
 which the Holy Father replied indignantly, 'The Met- 
 ropolitan of St. Louis was a noble man and a true 
 Christian Bishop. When he sat in Council as a 
 judge of the faith, he did according to his conscience, 
 and the moment the decision was taken, although it 
 was against him, he submitted with the filial piety 
 of a Catholic Christian.' 
 
 " I have often thought since what a commentary the 
 proceedings of the Vatican Council would be upon the 
 opinions of those who say that in the Catholic Church 
 there is no freedom of thought, and that we never see 
 but one side of the question. Certainly thought was 
 never freer in the world than it was within the walls of 
 the Council Chamber, and never was there a delibera- 
 tive assembly with greater freedom of debate than that 
 enjoyed by the Fathers of the Vatican Council." 
 
 On his return from Rome in September 1870, Arch- 
 bishop McCloskey was given a public reception by 
 the clergy and laity of the diocese. 
 
288 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 On February 12, 1872, Archbishop McCloskey was 
 called upon to say the last words over his friend and 
 guide. Archbishop Spalding of Baltimore, who had 
 passed away five days before. They had been 
 elevated to the two most prominent Archiepiscopal 
 Sees on the same day, nearly ten years before (1864), 
 and the correspondence which still remains in the 
 archives of their respedtive dioceses bear witness to 
 the fraternal spirit which guided all their adlions for 
 the Church of God in America. John McCloskey 
 first met Martin John Spalding in the month of 
 August 1834, ^ri New York City. The one was return- 
 ing from Rome and the other was just about to depart 
 for the Eternal City. The acquaintance which began 
 at that time soon ripened into a close friendship, and 
 the affedtion of the two prelates grew and strengthened 
 all through their lives. Both had begun their ministry 
 under pioneer bishops — Spalding under Bishop Flaget, 
 and McCloskey under Bishop Dubois. No two pre- 
 lates of that day possessed in so marked a degree, 
 such fatherly kindness and tenderness as these two 
 men, — one the young Coadjutor of New York, and 
 the other the Bishop of Louisville. Both were elo- 
 quent beyond comparison; and, although John 
 McCloskey never permitted himself to enter that 
 wider field of eloquence in which Martin Spalding's lit- 
 erary and historical works made him easily the master, 
 nevertheless, both were considered the brightest orna- 
 ments of the American hierarchy. Both had followed 
 illustrious men — the one became successor to Arch- 
 bishop Hughes, the other to Archbishop Kenrick, 
 but above and beyond all their honors, both cherished 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 289 
 
 more than all else the friendship which had made 
 them one in heart and mind for half a century. 
 
 An event which redounds to the credit of Cardinal 
 McCloskey is the Solemn Dedication of the Province 
 of New York to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, on 
 the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 1873. On 
 November 15, 1873, the following pastoral letter was 
 addressed to the clergy and laity of New York': 
 
 Venerable Brethren of the Clergy and Beloved Children 
 of the Laity: 
 
 Wishing to have part with our brethren of the 
 episcopacy in the propagation of a pious and salutary 
 work, and to make you sharers in the many spiritual 
 privileges and blessings which it brings with it, we 
 have resolved, with the Divine assistance, to dedicate 
 our respedlive dioceses, together with all their churches, 
 religious houses, charitable and educational institu- 
 tions, coUedtively and singly, to the Most Sacred 
 Heart of Jesus. And we have appointed, accordingly, 
 the approaching Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 
 the great patronal festival of the Church in these 
 United States, as the day on which this solemn adl of 
 consecration shall take place. 
 
 We feel sure that you will welcome this announce- 
 ment with sincerest pleasure. For in the gloomy 
 and perilous times upon which we have fallen, every 
 new ray of light, every fresh gleam of hope, every 
 additional source of strength and courage, is hailed 
 with joy. This better light and hope, this addi- 
 tional strength and courage, will be given to you in 
 the efficacious and beautiful devotion to the Sacred 
 
290 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Heart which it is the objedt of this adt of consecration 
 to promote. 
 
 There is a moral darkness overspreading the earth. 
 The light of Divine Faith, the only true light to guide 
 our footsteps, has become obscured. In some places 
 it is burning dimly, in others it is wholly or well-nigh 
 extinguished. Yet, men are seen to 'love the darkness 
 rather than the light, for their ways are evil.' They 
 have risen in open revolt against God and against 
 His Christ; against the supremacy of His dominion 
 over the minds and consciences of individuals and of 
 nations. The most essential truths of His revelation 
 are rejecfted; the holiest mysteries of His religion are 
 scoffed at and denied; the very life of Christianity is 
 threatened. Irreligion, indifferentism, unbelief, with 
 their attendant train of evils, abound on every side. 
 As a consequence, or rather as a means to an end, the 
 Church is persecuted. Her Supreme Pastor is held 
 in bondage. Her bishops and priests, in certain 
 portions of Europe, are forbidden the exercise of 
 their rightful jurisdidlion and authority over the 
 members of their own flock; some are proscribed and 
 exiled; religious communities are despoiled of their 
 property, driven from their homes, made subjedt to 
 indignities and hardships the most cruel and unjust; 
 even the faithful laity are not spared. 
 
 Although we, in our free and favored country, are 
 happily protected from extreme trials such as these, 
 still, as children of the Church, we are members of 
 one body in Christ; and when one member suffers, all 
 the members suffer with it. Our sympathies, there- 
 fore, go out strongly and warmly to our struggling and 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 291 
 
 afflidled brethren in other lands. Our prayers are for 
 them as well as with them. All together we lift up 
 our voices saying, 'How long, Lord, how long!' 
 *Thy arm alone is powerful to save.' Still we fear 
 not, we do not despond. We 'know in whom we have 
 trusted.' We know His promises; we believe His 
 word. 'I am with you all days.' 'Upon this rock I 
 have built my church, and the gates of hell shall 
 never prevail against it.' Even now the voice of the 
 same Divine Master, ever present in His Church, is 
 speaking to holy souls within her bosom words of sweet 
 comfort and encouragement ; telling them whither they 
 shall go for help and protection ; how best in the long 
 protradled struggle they may obtain courage to endure, 
 and strength to overcome. If you hear not these 
 words, you still may learn their import from the 
 pradlical response that is given to them. Look around 
 you, and what do you behold.'' Almost everjrwhere 
 you see bishops and priests, religious men and women, 
 holy servants of God, devout believers, both of high 
 and low degree, coming together in pious confrater- 
 nities, in associations of prayer, in pilgrimages, and all, 
 as if moved by one common impulse, hastening to 
 have recourse for succor and protedlion to the com- 
 passionate Heart of Jesus. There they confidently 
 hope to find a sure asylum, a safe refuge from every 
 danger. There also is the never-failing fountain of 
 infinite love and mercy, the over-flowing source of 
 every grace and blessing. Let us hasten, then, to 
 this divine Heart, and we too 'shall draw waters with 
 joy from the fountains of the Saviour.' 
 
 This, dear Brethren, is the motive which prompts 
 
292 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 us to ordain the solemn adl of consecration in which 
 you are invited to take part. In order that you may 
 do this the more worthily, we exhort you to prepare 
 yourselves beforehand by a good confession and by a 
 devout reception of Holy Communion on the great 
 festival day itself, if possible. 
 
 It is fitting also that you should join in this ad: as 
 a public profession of your faith especially in all the 
 great mysteries of redemption, which have their most 
 expressive symbol, as well as their living source and 
 centre, in the adorable Heart of the God-man, the 
 'World made flesh, and dwelling among us.' 
 
 You will offer it, besides, as an adt of reparation for 
 the daily outrages and insults, the sacrileges and 
 impieties, the indifference and unbelief, which so 
 grieviously afflidl and wound this divine Heart, so 
 tender and compassionate, so patient, charitable, 
 forgiving, notwithstanding the ingratitude and wicked- 
 ness of men. 
 
 But above all, you will seek to consecrate your own 
 hearts to the Heart of your dear Saviour. You will 
 take His for your model. You will study its lessons, 
 and teach them to your children. 'Suffer the little 
 children to come to me, and forbid them not.' See, 
 then, that you bring them to the loving and tender 
 Father, who wishes to press them to His heart and 
 have them walk the nearest to Him. But in what 
 way can you bring them to Him and keep them by 
 His side where they will be secure from harm? You 
 can only do so by giving or securing to them a sound 
 Catholic education; by taking care that their faith 
 and morals shall be guarded from the risks and perils 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 293 
 
 to which they must be inevitably exposed wherever 
 the first essential element of true education, that is to 
 say, religion, is excluded or ignored. Remember that 
 the interests of the soul are higher far than the interests 
 of the body. ' Seek first the kingdom of God and his 
 justice, and all things else will be added unto you.' 
 Watch, then, and pray both for yourselves and for all 
 those entrusted to you. Pray for our still suffering 
 Pontiff, for the necessities of the Church, for the 
 conversion of sinners; pray for your enemies, as well 
 as for your friends. Commend all to the Sacred 
 Heart of Jesus, and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 
 that so you may find help and protection during the 
 days of life, pardon and mercy at the hour of death. 
 
 The Rev. Pastors are requested to read this Letter 
 to their congregations on the two Sundays preceding 
 the 8th of December. On that day High Mass will 
 be celebrated with all due solemnity. After Mass 
 the Sermon will be preached, and then the Adl of 
 Consecration, a printed formula of which is sent you, 
 will be read aloud, the people meanwhile kneeling and 
 accompanying with their hearts the words of the 
 Priest. The ceremony will close with the Te Deum. 
 Where the urgency of time or place requires it, the 
 K&. of Consecration may take place at Vespers, with 
 BenediAion of the Most Blessed Sacrament. 
 
 'The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity 
 of God, and the communication of the Holy Ghost, 
 be with you all.' Amen! 
 
 Given at the Archiepiscopal Residence, New Tork, 
 this i^th day of November, 1873. 
 John, Archbishop of New Tork, John, Bishop of Brook- 
 
294 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 lyn, David W., Bishop of Portland, Francis Patrick, 
 Bishop of Hartford, Louis, Bishop of Burlington, 
 Stephen Vincent, Bishop of Buffalo, John J., 
 Bishop of Albany, John J., Bishop of Boston, 
 Bernard J., Bishop of Rochester, Patrick T., 
 Bishop of Springfield, Francis, Bishop of Rhesina, 
 Coadjutor of Albany, Thomas F., Bishop of Provi- 
 dence, Edgar P., Bishop of Ogdensburg, Michael 
 A., Bishop of Newark. 
 
 On March lo, 1874, the thirtieth anniversary of 
 the consecration of Archbishop McCIoskey was cele- 
 brated with becoming ceremonies. The priests of the 
 diocese, to the number of one hundred and seventy- 
 five called at the archiepiscopal residence, on Madison 
 Avenue, and when His Grace had ascended the throne 
 prepared in the drawing-room. Father Felix Farrelly 
 read the following address : 
 
 Most Rev. Archbishop: 
 
 We have come in this public manner to offer to 
 Your Grace our congratulations on this the thirtieth 
 anniversary of your episcopate. 
 
 It is not usual with the Church, as we know, to 
 be able to mark in her calender so long a service in 
 those she invests with her highest authority. The 
 weighty burden of duties and the exhausting and 
 corroding cares, oftener even than the weight of years 
 cut short the career of usefulness of many a bishop. 
 We cannot therefore help regarding it as a happy 
 augury for religion in our diocese, that to you has 
 been vouchsafed so long a term of episcopal administra- 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 295 
 
 tion, and congratulating you as we do now, in our 
 own name and in the name of the devoted flocks whom 
 you have entrusted to our pastoral care, we also pray 
 the Giver of life and the Great Disposer of all its 
 events, to lengthen still more your days, and to keep 
 yet longer in our midst the traditions you so worthily 
 represent, as an example and an incentive to us in 
 every vigorous exertion of our calling. 
 
 In saying these words of reverence and affection we 
 are astonished that our duty is properly at an end, 
 for the language of the heart is brief as well as sincere. 
 If then we are prompted by the occasion to add some- 
 thing more, it is merely that our thoughts may be the 
 companions of your own thought in the memories that 
 come up on so notable an anniversary. Such a review 
 cannot but increase our respedl for your high office, 
 and attach us to your person in bonds of still deeper 
 love and respedl, and if, besides, it should abate any 
 of the sadness in the nature of things inseparable from 
 the past, as your loving and devoted priests we enter 
 on it the more willingly. 
 
 There are, we believe, but few of the clergy of your 
 diocese, numerous as they are now, that witnessed 
 your consecration — two or three at the most — 
 and they were then but humble levites in the sanctu- 
 ary. Yet on that day of magnificence and joy, the 
 spacious sandtuary of St. Patrick's Cathedral was 
 filled with priests of every degree of age and usefulness. 
 They all have now gone to their reward. The two 
 bishops consecrated with you, and the august con- 
 secrator as well, equally rest from their labors. Not 
 long since you stood by the remains of the last of 
 
296 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 those laborious and devoted men and along with 
 your grief for the loss of your Vicar-General and your 
 friend came the sad feeling that now you were left 
 alone of them all. 
 
 It is, unhappily, not possible for any of us to fill 
 up this void in your heart, yet our number, our fidelity, 
 and our devotedness may do much to soften its pain, 
 and happily we can aid you by heartfelt zeal to bear 
 the heavy burden and labor which the province of 
 God clearly deems it necessary you should still bear 
 for your people. 
 
 We do not wish to detail the works that labor has 
 already accomplished. Still we cannot pass over in 
 silence the place you hold in the traditions of this 
 diocese. You are the only living priest in it, and 
 perhaps in its whole province, who saw the first Catho- 
 lic Church ever eredled in this city, old St. Peter's, 
 or who knew the first bishop that adlually ruled this 
 See. His hand, indeed, may have signed you with 
 chrism of confirmation. You were ordained by the 
 second consecrated by the third, whose successor you 
 are, and now as metropolitan preside over a province 
 with twelve suffragan bishops whose priests with your 
 own, number more than i,ooo. St. Vincent's Hospital, 
 in this city, is your work, eredled by you when pastor 
 of St." Joseph's Church, and the money that built it 
 was coUedled in your long and weary journeyings. 
 You were called from your pastoral charge to preside 
 over the first ecclesiastical seminary in our midst, 
 and over the college attached to it. To your energy 
 and zeal the present provincial seminary at Troy owes 
 its able and valuable professors, who have made it a 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 297 
 
 success and a blessing to the province from the number 
 of pious and zealous priests it has furnished to the 
 Church. You founded the Diocese of Albany and 
 built its magnificent cathedral. Called to govern 
 this diocese — your old home — you found among its 
 multiplied burdens the vast cathedral edifice, begun 
 by your illustrious predecessor, to be reared from its 
 foundations, and, thanks to your unflagging efforts 
 and patient toil, it now rises in grandeur above all that 
 surrounds it, just as your own life of worth and dignity 
 and honor in the priesthood is above all among us 
 whose lives are devoted to the service of God's 
 Church. 
 
 Still, in vigor and hope, after thirty years of most 
 prudent and successful administration, you can look 
 out over your vast diocese and see temples of God 
 rising everywhere; see, besides, the orphans fed and 
 cared for in comfortable homes, the homeless aged 
 of both sexes sheltered, the sick tenderly nursed, the 
 reckless sinner brought back in repentance and hope, 
 even the waifs cast out to perish on the heartless tide 
 of society, rescued for the sake of the image they bear 
 — in a word, institutions for the relief of almost every 
 want of humanity, if not founded by you at least 
 fostered and helped by your counsel and support. 
 All this is your consolation and your glory. No one, 
 then, could have been left longer among us who com- 
 bines so many of the traditions of this diocese, and 
 whose own works will live in benedidion. 
 
 You have grown with its growth, and now crown 
 its glory; more than that, your people and your 
 priests all see in you the steward of God, gentle, 
 
298 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 sober, just, holy, the very lineaments the divine Apos- 
 tle drew of a true bishop. May those lineaments we 
 know so well be long yet in our sight to cheer us in 
 our work, and to let us see how blessed it is before 
 men and angels to be a true servant of God. Begging 
 your Grace to accept this free-will offering of our love 
 and esteem, we ask your benedidtion. 
 
 After all the clergy had resumed their seats the 
 archbishop rose and replied as follows: 
 
 I thank you most sincerely, reverend and dear 
 friend, for the kind words which you have spoken. 
 I thank you all, very reverend and dear brethren, for 
 the affedlionate wishes and warm congratulations 
 which you have come to offer me on this thirtieth 
 anniversary of my episcopate. I am willing and 
 happy to believe, as I do believe, that in all you have 
 said you have been giving utterance not to mere 
 phrases of formal courtesy, but to the genuine feelings 
 of your hearts ; and allow me to assure you that your 
 words have not fallen simply as pleasant sounds upon 
 my ear, but have entered into my heart, and will 
 remain engraved there. They will remain as a precious 
 reminiscence of this anniversary. They will remain 
 as words of cheering and of comfort, as a help to 
 strengthen and encourage me through whatever further 
 term of life, or labor, or trial, may in the providence of 
 God be still allotted to me. This signal mark, not 
 alone of friendship, but of honor and respedt, enhanced 
 as it is by your numerous presence here from every 
 portion of the archdiocese, is one which affedls and 
 moves me more deeply than any words of mine can 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 299 
 
 tell. It is a compliment I did not anticipate, in as 
 much as I did not feel that I had any just claim to it ; 
 for of the thirty years of my episcopate, not more than 
 twelve have been devoted, properly speaking, to this 
 Diocese of New York — between two and three as 
 coadjutor, between nine and ten as your unworthy 
 archbishop — so that, in truth, the best and most 
 adlive years of my life were given to the diocese of 
 which I had the honor to be the first bishop — that 
 is, the Diocese of Albany. But Albany was only an 
 offshoot from New York, and for this reason, perhaps, 
 you have been pleased to consider the unities as still 
 preserved, and have given me credit accordingly. 
 This only makes my debt of gratitude still greater — 
 far greater than I shall be ever able to repay. 
 
 The archbishop left for Europe at the end of July, 
 1874, and at the first real stopping place, Paris, he 
 wrote on August 10, as follows to Father Preston: 
 
 Very Rev. dear Father Preston: 
 
 Behold me safely arrived at my old and comfortable 
 quarters in Paris, and I am happy to add in excellent 
 health, having had a most pleasant passage across 
 the ocean, without sickness, and without drawback 
 of any kind except the illness of Bishop Bacon, which 
 commenced a couple of days before our arrival at 
 Brest, where he is still detained, but surrounded by 
 kind sympathising friends and having the best attend- 
 ance of every kind. As his illness, though painful, is 
 not a dangerous one, I did not remain with him more 
 than two days in Brest, when he insisted that I should 
 
300 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 continue my journey — I came to Paris by way of 
 St. Brieux and Nantes in each of which places I spent 
 a day, to see about work which is being done for our 
 new Cathedral, reaching here on Saturday evening. 
 I had the good fortune to find Dr. Anderson here in 
 the same hotel, which makes me feel very much more 
 at home. He will leave in a day or two for Rome, 
 and thence for Calcutta to see the transit of Venus — 
 He has bought a telescope here of the most approved 
 kind, furnished himself with all sorts of books and 
 charts that may be of service to him and accompanied 
 by his two lady companions he will doubtless have a 
 glorious time in the way of star gazing — I must say 
 however that I pity the ladies. 
 
 I propose starting for Belgium at latest on this day 
 week, and on Monday of the week following hope to 
 be on my way to Rome. You will oblige me very much 
 by ascertaining from your copy of my extraordinary 
 faculties the letters of the alphabet by which they are 
 designated — There are, I think, three separate printed 
 sheets or pages each marked by a letter of the alphabet 
 — I discover that in my Report I have left a blank 
 which I forgot to fill up. In answering, diredl to the 
 Hotel de la Minerve, Rome. 
 
 I have not had time to see many persons or things 
 in Paris. I believe there are few of my American 
 friends now in the city. I hope your health is im- 
 proved and that all goes on smoothly. The weather 
 here is quite cool. In fadt with the exception of the 
 two first days at sea, I have not felt what would 
 by us be called a warm day since I left home. I have 
 been wearing almost winter clothing and sleeping 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 301 
 
 under a blanket every night. My story will be differ- 
 ent, no doubt, in a few weeks hence. 
 
 Dr. Anderson wishes to be kindly remenabered to 
 you. 
 
 With best wishes and regards, believe me. 
 Very Revd. Sir, 
 
 Very truly your fr. and bro. in Xt., 
 >i< John, Abp. of N. York 
 
 Another letter from Rome, dated September 16, 
 1874, tells of his reception in the Holy City, and of 
 his plan to return via Brest in the latter part of OAober, 
 or in the beginning of November: 
 
 Fery Rev. dear Father Preston: 
 
 Both your kind letters I received yesterday. The 
 one of later date came to hand in the morning, the 
 other in the afternoon. They were doubly welcome 
 for the reason that they were the first I had received 
 since my arrival here. I am glad that you are now 
 well enough to resume your duties. But it will be 
 necessary for you to spare yourself a little more in the 
 future than you have done in the past. I arrived here 
 on the last day of August, and having now got through 
 my work am preparing to resume my journey home- 
 ward. There being but few strangers in Rome at 
 this season, there has been no difficulty or delay in 
 having access to the Holy Father or to the Cardinal 
 Prefedl and Secretary of the Propaganda. I had my 
 first audience the second day after my arrival and 
 will have my parting one before the end of this week. 
 So that I expedl to leave Rome on Tuesday next. 
 
302 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Nearly all whom I know are out of town — the Redor 
 and students of all the colleges, Dr. Smith, Monsignor 
 Nardi, Monsignors Stuart and Cataldi are in various 
 parts on their vacation tour. I found Dr. Anderson 
 and friends in this hotel when I arrived. This has 
 made it very pleasant for me. They left on Sunday 
 morning. Bishop Bacon is still in the hospital at 
 Brest. He unfortunately had a relapse caused by his 
 saying Mass and giving Communion to nearly a 
 hundred persons on the Feast of the Assumption. 
 He will await my return, and we propose to sail to- 
 gether from Brest in the latter part of Odtober or 
 beginning of November. I am very anxious to make 
 a visit to Lourdes, and hope to do so on my way 
 towards Brest. There is no special news here. All 
 are waiting for the miraculous restoration. Things 
 are sadly changed. 
 
 Remember me most kindly to all my friends who 
 may think it worth while to inquire concerning me. 
 My health, thank God, continues good. Hoping that 
 you will take good care of your own, and wishing you 
 every blessing, I remain. 
 
 Very Rev. dear Sir 
 
 Very truly yr. fr. and bro. in Xt., 
 >I«JoHN, Abp. of N. York 
 
 He reached New York on November 4, 1874 ^^^ ^^e 
 following Sunday, he addressed his people in the 
 Cathedral, calling to their attention the fad: that 
 Almighty God, Who had so generously watched over 
 him in his journey, had called to his reward the Bishop 
 who had accompanied him — Bishop Bacon of Port- 
 
SECOND ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK 303 
 
 land. Me. Bishop Bacon died the day after they 
 reached New York, November 5, 1874. He became ill 
 on the ship when they were going over to France in 
 July, and was forced to remain in the Naval Hospital 
 of Brest, until Archbishop McCloskey began the return 
 journey. The bronze altar of the Sacred Heart, in 
 St. Patrick's Cathedral, was eredled by Archbishop 
 McCloskey as a memorial to his friend. To have seen 
 the two prelates together on shipboard, — the one 
 strong and vigorous, the cherished friend of the 
 Catholic and non-Catholic people of Portland, and 
 the other weighed down with the cares of a large arch- 
 diocese, and still bearing the signs of that frail phy- 
 sique which had been his lot since boyhood, no one 
 would have thought that the stronger of the two was 
 to be called to his eternal reward that year, and that 
 the other would live a decade as the first prince of the 
 Church in America. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE FIRST PRINCE OF THE CHURCH IN AMERICA 
 (1875-1885) 
 
 Archbishop McCloskey Created Cardinal Priest of the 
 Church. Ceremony of Reception of Cardinal's Biretta. 
 Celebration at the " Mountain." Leaves for Europe. 
 Testimonial from Irish Hierarchy. Letters to Father 
 Preston. Death of Dr. Anderson. The Cardinal's 
 Sermon. Election of Leo XIII. Cardinal McCloskey 
 at the Coronation. Dedication of St. Patrick's Cathe- 
 dral. Archbishop Ryan's Sermon. Appointment of 
 Bishop Corrigan as Coadjutor to Cardinal McCloskey. 
 Golden Jubilee of the Cardinal's Priesthood. Failing 
 Health. The Third Plenary Council. The Last Tears. 
 Sickness and Death. Funeral Discourse by Cardinal 
 Gibbons. 
 
 ARCHBISHOP JOHN McCLOSKEY had al- 
 ways spent the day of March tenth as a 
 day of spiritual holiday. It was his birthday 
 as well as the anniversary of his episcopal consecration. 
 His sixty-fifth anniversary was to bring him the 
 greatest honor the Holy Father of the Faithful can 
 bestow. On March 7, he received a cablegram from 
 Father Lewis, pastor of St. Mary's church, Clifton, 
 Staten Island, who was then in Rome, telling him that 
 his name was mentioned among the Cardinals to be 
 created at the public Consistory of March 15. On 
 
 304 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 30S 
 
 Thursday, March 9, McMaster, editor of the New 
 York Freeman's Journal, called at the archbishop's 
 residence and informed His Grace that he had been 
 informed by cablegram from Rome to the same effedl. 
 Later in the day, the archbishop received the following 
 message from his agent, Cavaliere Scalzi: " Rallegra- 
 menti Cardinalato. Attendo instruzioni, pagare spese, 
 consistorio, brevi, bolle — Congratulations on your ele- 
 vation to the Cardinalate. I await instrudlions in 
 regard to meeting the expenses of Consistory, Briefs, 
 and Bulls. Scalzi." This placed the matter beyond 
 doubt. 
 
 The next morning, the thirty-first anniversary of 
 his consecration, his secretary went to his room after 
 breakfast to congratulate His Grace and to wish him 
 ad multos annos. He addressed him for the first time 
 as "Your Eminence." He stayed about an hour and 
 they talked over the suddeness of the news. "It 
 was none of my will," said the Cardinal, "they never 
 told me anything about it, when Twas in Rome last 
 Autumn. The only hint I received, and which I 
 perceive now was meant to be a hint to me, was the 
 manner in which Cardinal Franchi addressed me. 
 'You can speak to me as a brother now,' he said. 
 That I took only as a sign of friendship, as an Italian 
 expression of warm attachment, but now I think they 
 must have had this in view." His Eminence also 
 said: "Oh! it was Cardinal Cullen who got me into 
 this box!" On March 15, Cardinal McCloskey was 
 preconized, in public Consistory by Pius IX. Cardinal 
 Franchi cabled that same day: " Preconizzato Cardinale 
 odierno Consistorio. Scrissi 24 Febbraio. Ablegato 
 
3o6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Roncetti: Guardia Marefoschi. Baltimora imporra 
 biretta. Franchi." The first American Cardinal in 
 the history of the Church took the news very quietly, 
 and the only thing that gave him any concern was 
 that the expenses incidental to his elevation would 
 lessen his ability to contribute as generously as he 
 wished to the new cathedral. It was found finally 
 that the expenses were very small. 
 
 The official announcement of his elevation was re- 
 ceived in the United States with universal applause. 
 Catholics and Protestants felt that no one was more 
 worthy, as a representative of the American Church, 
 to receive the highest honor in the gift of the Holy 
 See. It was the strongest proof that the old-time 
 prejudice was passing away and that the era of good 
 feeling and brotherhood was fairly well begun. Ex- 
 pressions of joy reached him from all sides. His old 
 friend, Bishop de Goesbriand wrofe to him in March, 
 1875: "With sincere joy I have read about the in- 
 tention of the Holy Father to create Your Grace one 
 of the members of the Sacred College of Cardinals. 
 Please accept my congratulations. It strikes me 
 that this deserved promotion draws our Church of 
 America closer to the heart of the Church. I consider 
 it as a presage of still greater benedidlions which I 
 hope its Divine Founder will pour upon it. May you 
 live long for the welfare of our dear country, and 
 please accept the assurance that the Bishop of Burling- 
 ton will continue, with an increase of respedt toward 
 your person on account of the new dignity, to enter- 
 tain towards you sentiments of very sincere affedlion." 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 307 
 
 Bishop Ryan of Buffalo, sent the following letter: 
 
 Buffalo, March 12, 1875 
 Monseigneur: 
 
 I hesitated in writing the above address, and I do 
 not know but that I should have written Eminence 
 instead, as I really have taken up the pen to offer you 
 my heartiest congratulations on your elevation to the 
 high dignity and great honor of first American Cardinal- 
 To you I know the dignity was unlooked for and to you 
 personally it may be of little consequence, yet it is an 
 honor for the hierarchy of the United States and if it 
 was to come, you will allow me very frankly, but very 
 sincerely, to say that in my humble opinion it has very 
 properly and rightly fallen on yourself and on New 
 York. We wish you then from our hearts many long 
 years yet in your new dignity, which I am sure will set 
 very becomingly on you, and we shall always be proud 
 to have a Cardinal Archbishop of New York and 
 Prince of the Court of Rome and EleAor of the Sover- 
 eign Pontiff to preside at our Council Board. I may 
 be premature and perhaps officious in this but please to 
 accept it as the expression of the genuine sentiments of 
 Your Eminence's devoted friend and brother in Christ. 
 ►!< Stephen V. Ryan, Bp. of Buffalo 
 
 The Redlor of the Irish College in Rome, Dr. Kirby 
 offered his congratulations in the letter which follows: 
 
 Rome, 15 March, 1875 
 My dear Lord Cardinal: 
 
 The important Consistory has just been celebrated 
 by the Holy Father which gives to America its first 
 
3o8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Cardinal in the person of the illustrious Bishop of New 
 York. And I hasten to offer to Your Eminence my 
 most sincere congratulations and those of the humble 
 Irish College of Rome on the happy event of this your 
 elevation to the Sacred Purple, so well merited, not 
 only by your exalted ecclesiastical position in the church 
 of the Western Hemisphere, but also, and much more, 
 by your learning, zeal and important services rendered 
 to our holy religion. There is only one voice in Catho- 
 lic Rome on the subjedt of your Eminence's promotion 
 — that of joy, and congratulation, with which you may 
 rest assured few more cordially unite than your sincere 
 and most devoted friends in the Irish College. 
 
 His Holiness is happily in excellent health, and is 
 quite proud of this, his latest grand adt, which will 
 excite a thrill of joy through the entire Christendom. 
 
 Again offering Your Eminence my most sincere 
 and heartfelt congratulations and kissing devoutly 
 the sacred purple, I have the honor to be, with most 
 profound veneration. 
 
 Your Eminence's most devoted and humble servant, 
 
 T. KiRBY 
 
 Father Isaac Hecker, who was then in Rome writes 
 a beautifully worded appreciation of the honor the 
 Holy See had conferred on the United States : 
 
 Rome, March i6, 1875 
 Eminence: 
 
 The rumor current here for some time past that 
 you were to be named Cardinal must have reached 
 you, if the event was not already known to you before. 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 309 
 
 Discretion as well as a certain delicacy of feeling made 
 me hesitate, until the rumor became this morning a 
 fadl, to express to you my sincere congratulations. 
 
 The choice of the Supreme Pontiff in making you the 
 first Cardinal of the hierarchy in the United States 
 gives great satisfadlion here to all your friends. For 
 as honors and dignities in the Church proceed by only 
 distinguished merit and abilities, the qualities which 
 they have always recognized and esteemed in you, are 
 by this event made known to the whole world. 
 
 This elevation to the Cardinalate of an American 
 prelate is a cheering sign that the dignities of the 
 Church are open to men of merit of all nations, and it is 
 to be hoped that every nation will be represented in 
 this College of Cardinals in proportion to its importance 
 and in this way the Holy See will be represented by its 
 eminent advisers in the entire world, and thus render 
 its universality more complete. The Church will be a 
 gainer and the world too; and I have no doubt that 
 your appointment to this new office in the Church, 
 will be from this point of view, popular with the 
 American people. 
 
 Your elevation to this great office will increase 
 opportunities of your accomplishing greater good for 
 the Holy Church, it will be, therefore to your faith and 
 zeal, a great source of true joy. 
 
 That you may have the grace with health and 
 strength to fulfill for a long period the new duties 
 imposed upon you, is my most sincere wish, which wish 
 will be the constant prayer of 
 
 Your ever sincere and humble servant in Xt., 
 
 I. G. Hecker 
 
3IO JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 None the less interesting are the letters which reached 
 him from Redlors of the Provincial Seminary of Troy, 
 and of the American Colleges of Rome and Louvain. 
 The present Bishop of Ogdensburg, then the Redtor of 
 Troy Seminary, wrote in French of which the following 
 letter is a translation : 
 
 Provincial Seminary of St. Joseph 
 
 Troy, N. Y., March i8, 1875 
 Tour Eminence: 
 
 Will you not permit your friends of the Provincial 
 Seminary of St. Joseph to join their voices to the 
 universal concert of approbation and gratitude which 
 has been caused by Your Eminence's elevation to the 
 Cardinalate of the Holy Roman Church. It is to 
 Your Eminence, after God, to whom we owe everything. 
 You have done more than anyone to establish and 
 maintain this Institution, and among the works which 
 have merited for Your Eminence this high distindlion, 
 we dare to flatter ourselves that not the least of them 
 is this Seminary, so dear to your heart. We beg you 
 to accept these congratulations which I offer in my 
 own name as well as in that of my confreres, and of 
 the student-body of the Seminary. We shall ever 
 be proud to labor under the diredlion of Your Eminence. 
 Asking your blessing for the Provincial Seminary, 
 I have the honor to be 
 
 Your Eminence's 
 
 Most obedient and devoted servant 
 H. Gabriels 
 
 President 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 311 
 
 The Cardinal replied as follows: 
 
 New York, March 21, 1875 
 Very Rev. dear Sir: 
 
 I beg to thank you very sincerely for the kind words 
 of congratulation which you have addressed to me 
 both in your name and in that of the professors of 
 the Provincial Seminary. 
 
 Be assured that the new dignity which has been so 
 unexpectedly bestowed upon me shall never lessen but 
 rather increase my earnest exertions for the continued 
 prosperity of the institution over which you so worthily 
 preside, as well as my sense of esteem and gratitude 
 towards yourself and the reverend confreres who are 
 so devoted to this all important work. 
 
 Wishing you health and blessings, 
 
 I remain, Very Rev. Sir, Very truly yours in J.C., 
 
 ^ John, Abp. of N. Y. 
 
 From Rome, came the following important letter 
 from the present Bishop of Indianapolis, then Redlor 
 of the American College : 
 
 Tour Eminence: 
 
 It is hardly needful that I should express the gratifi- 
 cation with which in common with your numerous 
 friends everywhere, we at the American College re- 
 ceived the news of your Eminence's exaltation to a 
 place in the August Senate of the Vicar of Christ For 
 myself I had a triple motive for thankfulness, — as a 
 Catholic, an American, and I may say too a Moun- 
 taineer, independently of any more personal motives 
 with respedl to yourself. We have all rejoiced in this 
 
312 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 choice of the Holy Father, and pray God to give Your 
 Eminence all those graces called for by your impor- 
 tant position. 
 
 It will not be useless perhaps to say a few pradlical 
 words regarding the events that will soon transpire 
 in America on the arrival of the Apostolic Ablegate, 
 Monsignor Roncetti, who takes with him Professor 
 Ubaldi. 
 
 With regard to these, it is a work of supererogation 
 for me to state that it is usual that they be the guests 
 of the Cardinal, newly-created. They will all, the 
 Conte Marefoschi included, reach New York on the 
 same day. As soon as they land, the Conte Mare- 
 foschi, charged with the biglietto from His Eminence, 
 the Cardinal Secretary of State, and with the zuchetto, 
 will go at once to your residence, and enquire when it 
 will please Your Eminence, to receive him. On the 
 evening of that day or the following one, the time 
 being named by you, he will present himself in full 
 uniform to Your Eminence dressed in your archiepis- 
 copal robes, and will with a few words present the 
 biglietto with the zuchetto or calotte. The next even- 
 ing Monsignor Roncetti will present the birretta. 
 His Grace, the Most Rev. Archbishop of Baltimore will 
 receive an invitation from the Holy Father to impose 
 the birretta, in his name. This ceremony it is desired 
 here should be publicly performed in the Cathedral 
 of New York. Two thrones should be eredled in the 
 sandtuary, the one for Your Eminence on the Gospel 
 side, the other for His Grace, the Archbishop of Balti- 
 more, on the Epistle side. A Pontifical High Mass 
 should be celebrated either by the Most Rev. Arch- 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 313 
 
 bishop of Baltimore, or another, at the choice of Your 
 Eminence; the latter possibly being preferable. At 
 the end of the Mass, Your Eminence and His Grace 
 being at your respedtive thrones, the Ablegate, dressed 
 as a Cameriere Segreto, will approach to the throne of 
 the Most Rev. Archbishop of Baltimore, and will read 
 the Brief of the Holy Father, giving him the charge 
 of imposing the cardinalitial birretta. He will then 
 make an address in which he will, as is usual, expose 
 the reasons held by His Holiness in determining his 
 choice of Your Eminence, and the Most Rev. Arch- 
 bishop will reply, accepting the charge. Your Emi- 
 nence will reply to both the Most Rev. Archbishop, 
 and the Ablegate. After this both Your Eminence 
 and His Grace will leave your thrones, come to the 
 middle of the sandluary, go together to the Altar, 
 and ascend to the platform, where you will stand 
 facing each other. The Ablegate will stand at the left 
 of the Most Rev. Archbishop of Baltimore, and on re- 
 ceiving the birretta from his Secretary, will hand it 
 to His Grace who will place it on the head of Your 
 Eminence. This done, both will descend the steps of 
 the Altar, and a Te Deum will close the ceremony. 
 
 If there be any need, as there may be, of further 
 dired:ion in this matter, Monsignor Roncetti will of 
 course be happy to inform Your Eminence's master 
 of ceremonies. The above, it has been judged well 
 to communicate in advance. Besides this office, in 
 respedl to the conferring of the insignia of the cardinal- 
 itial dignity, Monsignor Roncetti is charged with the 
 Briefs, and Palliums for the four new Archbishoprics. 
 He has no other office entrusted to him; but I think. 
 
314 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 as he is a very intelligent person, it will be well to have 
 him see as much of the Church in America as possible, 
 for the information he may get will certainly redound 
 to the good of our Catholic people. I take it for granted 
 that the Papal Allocution was published in New York 
 on the morning of the 15th. This was done that the 
 document might not be tampered with, the Herald 
 agent having promised to transmit it entire. It was 
 not published in Rome until the second day after. 
 The Holy Father himself gave the copy for transmission. 
 
 As it is late, and the shortness of the time makes it 
 advisable to send at once, the Ablegate having started 
 today for America, I must close. 
 
 Rev. I. Hecker, as a member of the Council of Your 
 Eminence, today gave a dinner to Monsignor Ron- 
 cetti at this College, which I think has given pleasure 
 generally. 
 
 Praying God to preserve you many years yet of useful- 
 ness and merit, in the enjoyment of a well-merited 
 reward, and that His blessing may attend your works, 
 I have the honour to be 
 
 Your Eminence's most obedient humble servant in 
 
 Silas M. Chatard 
 Re£lor, American College, Rome. 
 
 The student-body of the American College of Lou- 
 vain was no less enthusiastic in its joy over the honor, 
 and on May 27, 1875, they sent the following letter, 
 signed by the Redtor, the professors, and themselves 
 to the Cardinal. The letter is in the handwriting of 
 Samuel B. Spalding, a nephew of the Archbishop of 
 Baltimore: 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 315 
 
 American College, Louvain, Belgium 
 Most beloved Cardinal: 
 
 In all the absorbing joy of this glad occasion, when 
 all eyes and hearts are turned upon our newly created 
 Cardinal, we hope it will not be thought unbecoming 
 if we, a college of missionaries, children of the Church, 
 and devoted soldiers of our infallible Pontiff, should 
 offer to you our sincere felicitations and raise our voice 
 in unison with entire America in congratulating you 
 who have been found worthy of such a dignity. In 
 calling you to the signal honor of a seat in the Supreme 
 Council of Christendom, Our Holy Father has crowned 
 forty years of sacerdotal devotedness and an apostolate 
 distinguished by the most brilliant success. It is an 
 occasion well calculated to fill the hearts of the faithful 
 with joy and will always remind us of the paternal 
 care and solicitude of Our Holy Father, the Pope, who, 
 although persecuted on all sides by enemies, does not 
 forget his most distant children. 
 
 By your elevation to the Cardinalate, His Holiness 
 has forged a new link in that golden chain which will 
 draw us more closely if possible, around the feet of our 
 persecuted Father. Scarcely half a century has elapsed, 
 since the eredlion of the first episcopal See in our coun- 
 try and already we possess more than sixty. We have 
 often hoped that on account of our numbers and in- 
 creasing influence, the Holy Father would favor us with 
 a voice in the august senate of the Church, and now we 
 rejoice to see our hope realized in the choice of a prelate 
 who has governed with so much zeal and ability one 
 of the most important dioceses in America. It 
 marks a new epoch in the history of the Church in our 
 
3i6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 country. If we can judge of the future by the past 
 what bright prospedts are in store for the American 
 Church. With a Cardinal distinguished for his learn- 
 ing and piety, with a hierarchy as devoted as zealous, 
 we may predidt a glorious future. 
 
 In conclusion, we wish Your Eminence a long life 
 and pray that God may give you a generous persever- 
 ance in defence of the faith for which you are called 
 to combat in the first rank; that you may cause our 
 Sovereign Pontiff, Pius IX, to be loved more and more 
 and that you may receive strength in procuring the 
 extension of the Kingdom of God. 
 
 Accept these. Your Eminence, as the fervent senti- 
 ments of. 
 
 Your respedtful and devoted servants, 
 
 J. J. PULSERS, 
 
 President and Prof, of Moral Theol i^ Can. Law 
 
 S. GoENS, Vice-President 
 
 T. WiLLEMSEN, Prof, of dogm. Theol. 
 
 P. D, Marty, Prof, of Holy Scripture 
 
 etc., etc. 
 
 May 27, 1875. 
 
 The arrangements for the bestowal of the biretta, 
 of which there is mention in Dr. Chatard's letter of 
 March 19, were immediately begun. On April 8, 
 187s, Cardinal McCloskey wrote to Archbishop Bayley, 
 as follows: 
 
 Most Rev. dear Archbishop: 
 
 You are doubtless already aware of the arrival of the 
 messengers from Rome. The Ablegate has written to 
 you, and he informs me that you ought ere this to be 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 317 
 
 in receipt of a letter from Cardinal Antonelli, inform- 
 ing you that the Holy Father has appointed you to 
 confer the biretta, as his representative. 
 
 I hope sincerely that the rumor of your ap- 
 proaching promotion to the Cardinalate may prove 
 true. 
 
 The ceremony here will take place, if all can be in 
 readiness, on the 22nd inst. The Ablegate spoke of 
 going in the meantime to pay you a visit. I told him 
 that I thought you would prefer to meet him here, and 
 invite him to accompany you to Baltimore after the 
 ceremony. 
 
 Be so kind as to let me hear from you. 
 
 Very truly your friend and brother in Xt., 
 
 John Card. McCloskey 
 Abp. of N. r. 
 
 A second letter, dated April 11, treats of the same 
 matter: 
 
 Most Rev. and dear Archbishop: 
 
 I am sorry that the ceremony cannot be so arranged 
 as to be without inconvenience to you, or without 
 interfering with appointments already made. But 
 unfortunately I have to await the arrival from France 
 of an indispensable portion of the Cardinal's robes. 
 They were to have been sent by the same steamer 
 which brought the Ablegate and his companions; but 
 I learn by cable dispatch received yesterday that I 
 may expedl them by the steamer which sailed on that 
 day (loth inst.) This will cause a further delay, so 
 that we cannot fix on an earlier day than the 27th. 
 The Ablegate might in the meantime, pay you a visit. 
 
3i8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 I shall speak to him on the subjed:, before closing this 
 note. 
 
 It may be well for you to know that the Ablegate 
 in the public fundtion, when he hands you the biretta 
 which you are to impose on the head of your humble 
 servant, will address you in Latin, to which it is expedted 
 that you will reply in the same tongue. In giving me 
 the biretta you are again to say a few words, after 
 which I have to respond to you and address the Ab- 
 legate. 
 
 All this they say is de rigeur. 
 
 It is for Your Grace also to say whether you will 
 pontificate on the occasion, or whether you wish me to 
 invite another prelate. 
 
 I hope you will not blame me for having become the 
 innocent cause of so much trouble. I trust it will 
 be possible for you to get Bishop Becker or Bishop 
 Gibbons to help you out in your visitation. 
 
 Commending myself to your sympathies and prayers, 
 I remain very truly your friend and brother in Xt., 
 John, Card. Abp. of New York 
 
 P.S. I have spoken to the Ablegate Apostolic who 
 informs me that he has made engagements which will 
 hold him here and hereabouts until the 21st. That he 
 will be happy to leave here for Baltimore on the 22nd 
 to present to Your Grace his credentials, and if it so 
 please you, to return with you to New York. 
 
 The letter which he wrote to you failed to be sent 
 to the post before today. 
 
 Finally, the ceremony was definitely fixed for 
 April 27th: 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 319 
 
 N. Y. Apl. IS, 187s 
 Most Rev. dear Archbishop: 
 
 The ceremony is definitely fixed for Tuesday the 27th 
 inst. The Ablegate having made an appointment to 
 dine with some friends whom he is unwilling to dis- 
 appoint, will not be free to leave here for Baltimore 
 before Wednesday morning of next week. He is very 
 anxious to pay his respedts to you in person, and would 
 have done so earlier had he been sure of finding you at 
 home. He is the bearer of the apostolic letters for the 
 Bishop-Eledl of Wheeling. He is spending to-day with 
 the Franciscan Fathers of the Italian Church, and most 
 probably will write you to-morrow. 
 
 We will exped: Dr. Foley on next Tuesday. 
 
 Believe me as ever, dear Monseigneur, 
 
 Your brother and friend in Xto., 
 
 John, Card. Abp. of N. York 
 
 The investiture was one of the most memorable 
 events in the history of the Church in the United 
 States. The biretta was imposed by Archbishop 
 Bayley, as delegate of the Apostolic See, and the bearers 
 of the cardinalitial insignia, Monsignor Roncetti, Dr. 
 Ubaldi, and Count Marefoschi, were present and took 
 their important parts in the brilliant scene. Cardinal 
 McCloskey's sentiments on this great occasion were 
 known to all. His humility kept him from accepting 
 the honor as a personal' one, for he saw in it solely 
 a distindion conferred upon the Church in America, 
 of which he considered hinaself the unworthiest repre- 
 sentative. "Not to my poor merits," he says, "but to 
 those of the young and already vigorous and most 
 
320 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 flourishing Catholic Church of America has this honor 
 been given by the Supreme Pontiff. Nor am I unaware 
 that, when the Holy Father determined to confer upon 
 me this honor he had regard to the dignity of the See 
 of New York, to the merits and devotion of the vener- 
 able clergy and numerous laity, and that he had in 
 mind even the eminent rank of this great city and the 
 glorious American nation." 
 
 None rejoiced more in the honor which had been 
 conferred on Cardinal McCloskey than the president, 
 faculty and students of his old Alma Mater, — Mount 
 St. Mary's, Emmitsburg. A committee of the alumni 
 called upon His Eminence and invited him to be present 
 at the commencement exercises that year. Dr. Mc- 
 Sweeny, the historian of the Mountain writes: 
 
 "The 23d of June, 1875, saw the greatest and grand- 
 est event that up to this took place at the Mountain, 
 the reception to America's first Cardinal, her son. 
 The concourse of visitors greatly exceeded the accom- 
 modations, so that the students and Seminarians were 
 forced to sleep in the outer buildings or in the open 
 air. The programme was carried out on a grand scale, 
 coupled as it was with commencement exercises, 
 enlivened by the finest music (among the bands present 
 being that of Fort McHenry), and graced by the talent 
 and dignity of the American Church. The scene was 
 a spirited, a glorious one, favorably impressing not only 
 the American prelates present but the Papal dignitaries 
 themselves." 
 
 The Catholic Mirror of that week tells how the 
 Cardinal with Mgr. Roncetti, the Papal Delegate, and 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 321 
 
 Dr. Ubaldi, the latter's Secretary, came on Monday, 
 June 23, driving up from Mechanicstown (Thurmont), 
 as the Emmitsburg railway was not yet open. On 
 Tuesday, the Cardinal and the Delegate said Mass in 
 the Old Church on the Hill. Tuesday afternoon saw 
 an entertainment by the boys and a reception at the 
 convent by the girls. On Wednesday the Cardinal 
 said Mass in the college chapel, and at half past 
 eight the commencement exercises began. A special 
 train leaving Baltimore at 5.30 a.m. brought a large 
 delegation, which arrived after nine. Father Edward 
 Sourin, S.J., '30, opened with an address to his old 
 schoolmate and a poem, then came the boys' speeches, 
 then the dodlorate in theology was conferred by 
 Georgetown on the President, Father McCloskey, 
 who read a reply in Latin and rendered it in English 
 afterwards, alluding incidently to his venerable friend 
 and predecessor. Dr. McCaffrey, who, being called on, 
 made a characteristic speech. The distribution of 
 prizes came after lunch, as well as the valedictory 
 and the Cardinal's charming address. "Whatever I 
 am, whatever I may be, under God's Providence, I 
 owe to this institution more than any other here or 
 elsewhere. Hurrah for the Old Mountain!" and he 
 waved his red biretta. Words fail to describe the 
 enthusiasm. No one can appreciate it but one who 
 realizes that this was the first Cardinal of the American 
 continent and that he was a child of the most genuinely 
 American college. 
 
 The Cardinal replied to the addresses read to him in 
 the following graceful words: . . . "When the great 
 ceremony which you have heard my friend from early 
 
322 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 youth (Father Sourin) describe in a style so ornamented 
 with poetical imagination, — when that terminated in 
 the Cathedral of New York, my thoughts were more 
 and more drawn to the dear old Mountain, the scene 
 of so much of my youthful happiness. I was filled 
 with a desire to visit it as soon as time and circum- 
 stances would permit. I resolved to visit it, not to 
 receive such an ovation as has been tendered to me and 
 the other Bishops today, but to make a pilgrimage 
 to the sacred spot where I had knelt when a boy and 
 an ecclesiastic in the seminary, where I imbibed those 
 lessons in whose spirit I have walked till now; where 
 I received my first call to devote myself to God and the 
 service of the Church. I came not so much to renew by 
 copious draughts of the mountain air my bodily 
 health, but much rather my spiritual health, so that 
 I might be fitted for the work which still remains for 
 me to do. I came to renew my vows before the altar 
 where I first pronounced them. I came in truth a 
 pilgrim to the shrines of my early life. . . . Alas! 
 how few are there left when I look around me here or 
 elsewhere! How few there are who were boys or 
 ecclesiastics with me ! One by one they have dropped 
 away. Father Sourin, your venerable president, and 
 one or two others are all that are left who were with 
 me in rhetoric or theology. I thought, as I sat here, 
 how soon the first generation of Mountaineers has 
 passed away. I look to you gentlemen of the gradu- 
 ating class. You are to grow to take their places. 
 You are to be the standard-bearers of the College, but 
 you are to carry it higher than your predecessors, for 
 you have a smoother way and a greater encouragement. 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 323 
 
 All you need is God's blessing. May you be a blessing 
 to the Church and to your families, and after a happy 
 life on earth, may you have a still happier future! 
 I thank you for all your kindness, which I have not 
 been able to witness without swelling emotions. I 
 say simply in parting that if in this honor any church 
 or diocese has been particularly honored, what place 
 has a right to claim a larger share in the honor than 
 Mount St. Mary's, to which I am indebted for what 
 I have been, for what I am, for what I may be in the 
 future." 
 
 An eye-witness of this brilliant scene has described 
 it as follows: "I can see the Cardinal this minute as 
 plainly as on that occasion, and I am not given to seeing 
 things, when he rose from his seat on his great satin 
 throne, on the back of which was suspended a laurel 
 wreath, and the top of which was tipped by a big 
 bouquet of cardinal roses specially sent by the New 
 York Herald for the occasion. When the tremendous 
 cheering subsided, the Cardinal pointed his long thin 
 finger at the clock over the prayer bench and said: 
 'Nothing would give me more pleasure than to speak 
 as I wish to the graduates and students, but the hands 
 of yonder clock warn me that time is flying fast. If, 
 in the dignity conferred upon me, the Church, the 
 Diocese of New York, or the United States, have been 
 honored, what place in the United States is more 
 entitled to that honor than Mount Saint Mary's 
 College, to which institution I am indebted for all I 
 have ?' 
 
 "It was the unanimous opinion that the Cardinal 
 on this occasion made one of the most felicitous 
 
324 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 speeches of his Hfe, filled as it was with touching and 
 loving remembrances of his Alma Mater; and the great 
 audience went away with the gratification and con- 
 vidtion that a loving son had brought home his laurels 
 and had laid them at the feet of his benign mother, 
 acknowledging that to her alone was the glory." 
 
 On Saturday, August 7, 1875, Cardinal McCloskey 
 and his Secretary, Father John M. Farley, sailed from 
 New York for Havre. While in Paris, they met 
 Monsignor Roncetti and Dr. Ubaldi. Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey also sat for his portrait at Healy's studio 
 there. They arrived in Rome, Thursday, September 
 7, and on Thursday, the Cardinal wrote to Father 
 Preston: 
 
 American College, Rome, Sept. gth. 1875 
 Dear Father Preston: 
 
 Your kind letter of the i8th inst. was handed to me 
 by Monsignor Chatard just after my arrival here on 
 Tuesday evening 7th. inst. Monsignor Cataldi, whom 
 we met in Paris, accompanied us to Rome. We were 
 received at the station by Card. Franchi, who gave me 
 a truly paternal embrace and greeting, and by the 
 Redlor of the College, Monsignor Roncetti, Dr. Smith 
 and others, who all gave me a hearty welcome. Yester- 
 day evening I was received by the Holy Father in 
 private audience. He is looking remarkably well, 
 notwithstanding the almost daily fatigue he has to 
 undergo in giving audiences, making addresses, etc. 
 He seemed to be much gratified by the offering from 
 New York and especially by the manner in which the 
 appointment of a first Cardinal has been received by 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 325 
 
 the country at large. The day of the Consistory is 
 not definitely fixed. It will not be sooner than the 
 23 d or 26th. I am still ignorant of what title will be 
 assigned to me. 
 
 Sept. 9th. — This morning I have received your 
 second letter. I am much pleased to hear that every- 
 thing is going on well and quietly. The Retreat I 
 hope will ■ be fruitful in good results. I have not yet 
 
 had the pleasure of seeing either or . 
 
 They are both in the city and are soon to call to make 
 the presentation of a mitre and cappa magna, the 
 gift of kind American friends in Rome. I am very 
 much pestered with petitions of various kinds ; quite 
 a pile of them is already on my table, yet I am here 
 only two days. How will it be in ten or twenty days 
 more ! It is hard for me to tell at the present writing 
 what amount of expense I shall have to incur. The 
 present prospedt is somewhat alarming. But alas! 
 there is no means of escape. Monsignor Chatard has 
 fitted up apartments for me here very handsomely, 
 and as all the students are at Albano, I do not feel 
 myself in anybody's way. Msgr. Chatard himself is 
 all kindness, and sees that nothing is wanting to my 
 comfort. Dr. Smith was here just now and desires 
 to be kindly remembered to you. He is looking re- 
 markably well and is as obliging as ever. I cannot 
 as yet form any corredl idea of the length of time I 
 may be detained here. One thing is certain that I 
 shall take my departure as soon as I am free to do so. 
 The weather's not very warm at present, and it is 
 hoped that the great heats have passed. There are 
 very few strangers in Rome, which I do not at all regret. 
 
326 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Remember me kindly to all at home. Hoping to 
 hear from you soon, and wishing you health and 
 blessing, 
 I remain. 
 Very truly your friend and servant in Christ, 
 
 John Card, McCloskey 
 Abp. of New Tork 
 
 While in Rome, Cardinal McCloskey received a 
 letter of congratulation from his old friend Cardinal 
 CuUen, which was accompanied by an address from the 
 Irish Hierarchy: 
 
 Dublin, zist Sept. 1875 
 My Lord Cardinal: 
 
 The Bishops of Ireland assembled in a National 
 Synod at Maynooth during the last weeks determined 
 to address a letter of congratulation to Your Eminence 
 on the occasion of your promotion to the dignity of 
 Cardinal, and at the same time to thank you for your 
 zealous labors in favor of our poor countrymen in 
 America. 
 
 I am happy to forward this letter to your Eminence, 
 and I need scarcely say that I cordially agree with the 
 Irish Bishops in all the good wishes they express in your 
 regard. I hope your visit to Rome has been agreeable 
 as far as possible in these bad times, and that you have 
 found our Holy Father well and vigorous. 
 
 Kissing your hand with respedl, I remain. 
 
 Your Eminence's humble servant in Christ 
 
 Paul Card. Cullen 
 
 P.S. I hope your Eminence will visit Ireland and 
 Dublin especially on your return from Rome. 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 327 
 
 Address 
 Eminence: 
 
 We the Archbishops and Bishops of Ireland assem- 
 bled in the first session of our National Synod, before 
 commencing our work of legislation for the people 
 committed to our care, deem it a duty to express our 
 feelings of reverence and paternal affedtion for the 
 Princes of the Church whom we are more specially 
 bound to honor. 
 
 The name of Your Eminence was announced and 
 hailed with hearty acclamation. 
 
 For many reasons we rejoice that you have been 
 enrolled in the illustrous Senate of the Church, and 
 that you are now among the trusted Councillors 
 of our Sovereign Pontiff — the Infallible Vicar of 
 Christ. 
 
 Your Eminence is one of our race and the honor con- 
 ferred on the Church of America by your elevation to 
 the Purple is largely shared by the Church of Ireland, 
 which feels a Mother's pride in the glory of her distant 
 Children. 
 
 The people over whom Your Eminence presides are 
 in large number the children of our own loved land. 
 Many more who are as yet at the Mother's breast, 
 will be placed under your fostering care. Though 
 we part with them with sorrow, we rejoice that they 
 shall be transferred to the jurisdidlion of a Prince of 
 the Church whose love will be not less than our own, 
 and under whose strong guardianship their souls will 
 be in safe and holy keeping. 
 
 We have had the happiness of personal acquaint- 
 ance with Your Eminence. We remember the gentle 
 
328 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 courtesy which marked your intercourse with us 
 during the Vatican Council. We remember the en- 
 Hghtened wisdom with which Your Eminence diredled 
 our deliberations; and we do not wonder that our 
 Sovereign Pontiff should have seledted you from among 
 the assembled Prelacy of the Catholic world to be 
 his helper and adviser in the government of the 
 Universal Church. 
 
 We see the hierarchy of the United States, with the 
 instindlive energy of its nation taking a foremost place 
 amongst the heirarchies of the world. The name of 
 Your Eminence is now and will be forever associated 
 with its prosperity and its glory. We pray that you 
 may long live to witness its increase, and to be the 
 decus et tutamen of the faithful people whom God has 
 blessed in your ministry. 
 
 In the name of twenty-seven Archbishops and 
 Bishops of Ireland assembled in the National Synod 
 of Maynooth. 
 
 Paul Card. Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin 
 President of the Plenary Synod of Maynooth. 
 
 George Conroy, Bishop of Ardagh. 
 
 Gerald Molloy, S.T.D., a secretis. 
 
 GuLiELMUS J. Walsh, S.T.D., a secretis. 
 
 Walter Canon Lee, Chancellor. 
 Maynooth, Sept. 20, 1875. 
 
 On September 30, 1875, Cardinal McCloskey took 
 possession of his church — that of Santa Maria sopra 
 Minerva, where the first Bishop of New York, the 
 Right Rev. Luke Concanen once lived. On Odlober 
 3, His Eminence's secretary wrote a long letter to 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 329 
 
 Father Preston, telling him of their movements since 
 their arrival a month before: 
 
 American College, Rome, 0(1. ^rd, 1875. 
 Fery Rev. and dear Father Preston: 
 
 I hasten to thank you for your kind letter which I 
 received some days ago, but have not had a moment 
 up to the present to answer it. In fadt I never had my 
 hands full till I came to Rome, and if you asked me 
 what it was all about I could not tell you. Well you 
 may judge for yourself. Here is the skeleton of our 
 history since reaching Rome on September 7th. Next 
 day was consumed in visiting the Holy Father, Car- 
 dinal Antonelli and Cardinal Franchi, who was so ex- 
 ceedingly kind as to meet His Eminence of New York 
 at the depot with his own carriage and convey him 
 to the American College — quite an unusual attention 
 on the part of a Roman Cardinal. The Holy Father 
 was very kind and warm in his reception of his Emi- 
 nence. I had the honor and blessing of being admitted 
 and being spoken to and of speaking to the Holy Father, 
 at the close of His Eminence's audience. Don't believe 
 the reports about the ravages made in his looks by time 
 or trouble. I could hardly perceive any change after 
 five years. I have seen him three times or four since, 
 and almost always without a cane walking at a regular 
 trot. The succeeding days up to September 17th — 
 day of Consistory — was taken up in paying visits, 
 either personally or by card, to the Cardinals now 
 resident in Rome. They returned the visits punctually 
 next day or day following. The Consistory was an 
 event. With Monsignor Chatard (of whose elevation 
 
330 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 to the Prelacy you have doubtless heard), I got into 
 a "cubby hole" through the contrivance of the master 
 of ceremonies and the connivance of cameriere so 
 that we could see the whole proceedings of the Secret 
 Consistory. We saw the Cardinal getting the ring 
 and title of which you will have read before this reaches 
 you. There were some twenty-four Cardinals present 
 on the occasion. One or two visits to the Holy Father, 
 during which His Eminence of New York walked in 
 the library with the Pope — which, by the way, is the 
 duty, not the privilege, of Cardinals calling at the hour 
 of his walk; a day at the College in Albano and re- 
 ceiving visits from sundry nobles and prelates filled 
 to the 30th., when the ceremony of taking possession 
 was held. It was a grand sight, notwithstanding the 
 "dead season" and the necessary privacy that now 
 attends those once glorious celebrations. I cannot 
 here enter into a description, besides, you will have read 
 it when this reaches you. Through all the fatigue of 
 travel and ceremony and hot weather His Eminence is 
 in better health, by far, than when he left New York. 
 He delivered quite a long address in Italian and another 
 in English on that occasion. The papers spoke highly 
 of his Italian. 
 
 We expedt to be able to start from Rome by to- 
 morrow week — nth or 12th. Can't yet say when we 
 may sail from Queenstown. I send you at His Emi- 
 nence's request the new formula for heading letters, 
 which you may have printed at once; his new arms 
 and the motto replace the old. The Cardinal was sorry 
 to hear of the death of poor Father McKenna, but had 
 expedled it. I was surprised to hear of Father Bod- 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 331 
 
 fish's new departure. Father Hecker will feel sad over 
 it, I fear, on his reaching home. He sailed yesterday, 
 from Liverpool I believe. Dr. Chatard thanks you 
 sincerely for your kind regards and begs to return you 
 his warmest wishes. He has been exceedingly kind and 
 obliging to the Cardinal and myself since our arrival. 
 I write to Father Quinn today so that 'tis not worth 
 while telling you to present my kindest regards. Please 
 remember me to Father Lynch, and believe me 
 
 Most sincerely yours in Xt., 
 
 J. M. Farley 
 
 A second letter to Father Preston, written from the 
 Bishop's House of St. Brieuc, France, on Odlober 28, 
 1875 tells of the plans to return home: 
 
 Very Rev. and dear Father Preston: 
 
 I "thought of writing you before leaving Paris but did 
 not succeed ; and now that I find here on my table, pen, 
 ink and paper, though of the Eveche of St. Brieuc, 
 I think I cannot better employ the spare half hour than 
 by telling you a little more of our history. But first 
 I may inform you that we have engaged our passages 
 on the Cunard Str. Abyssinia which sails from Liver- 
 pool on 13 th Nov. We go aboard at Queeenstown the 
 following day. I wrote you last from Rome, I believe, 
 after the ceremony of taking possession, of which you 
 read in the papers more particulars than I could com- 
 press into a letter. Everything went off remarkably 
 on Saturday the 9th. The good Holy Father was much 
 affedled at the parting, for really he loves the Cardinal 
 very much. Besides his presence in Rome was a source 
 of great moral support, as is the presence of every 
 
332 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 foreign Catholic and hence a sense of loneUness comes 
 upon him on such occasions. 
 
 The week before leaving was a busy one. We had 
 to spend a day at the Irish College Villa at Tivoli, 
 and two days at the Propaganda Villa, where there 
 was great rejoicing. These, with receiving all the 
 callers and returning cards left His Eminence hardly 
 a moment's breathing space. However we got things 
 together and left on the 12th. 
 
 Paris, Nov. 1. I had to break off this letter in 
 St. Brieuc and have not had an opportunity of return- 
 ing to it till the present. Before leaving Rome we paid 
 a last visit to the grand altar of our Cathedral. It was 
 set up that His Eminence might see it all together. 
 Well, I assure you, I have seen nothing equal to it in 
 richness as an altar in all my travels. A portion of 
 it is being made in St. Brieuc, which will be completed 
 in about six weeks, so that the whole altar will be 
 ready for transportation in less than two months. 
 
 To continue an account of our journey — Monsignor 
 Roncetti accompanied us as far as Pisa. We took to 
 the 1 8th to reach Paris, staying at Pisa, Genoa, Mar- 
 seilles and Lyons on the way. The Cardinal's health 
 seems to improve with fatigue. He is much better now 
 even than when we left Paris. During the first four 
 or five days after our return here, he made no calls but 
 quietly rested incog. Soon however his presence be- 
 came known to the Americans staying here and the tide 
 of invitations began to pour in. Last Sunday evening, 
 your kind friends, the O'Reillys, gave a magnificent 
 reception at which some fifty Americans and others 
 were present. Amongst them Viscount O'Neill of 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 333 
 
 Tyrone, Count Nugent, etc. The O'Reillys sent their 
 kindest regards to you. Last Wednesday we started 
 for St. Brieuc. I enjoyed the trip very much. We 
 saw the work for the Virgin Altar, the throne, baptistry, 
 and a portion of the high altar. Everything is near 
 completion and promises a surprise such as New York 
 has seldom undergone. We dined twice at the de 
 Nantieuls — once at Mme. Nantieul's, sister of M. 
 L. Binnse, and once at his nephew's, the Count de 
 Nantieul. We got back to Paris on Friday evening. 
 Sunday we were entertained at the Irish College where 
 the Earl of Fingal and son met His Eminence and in 
 the evening dined at Mr. Glover's, whom you know. 
 We leave for London in the morning, then for Dublin, 
 and then home again where I trust in God and by the 
 assistance of your good prayers, we shall arrive safe 
 and soon. Excuse the confusion of this letter as I 
 have had to write it by scraps. 
 
 Yours in Christ, 
 
 J. M. Farley. 
 
 When the Cardinal reached Dublin on the return 
 journey, the Lord Mayor of the city, Peter Paul 
 McSweeney, gave him a public dinner. Cardinal 
 Manning had also honored him at St. Mary of the 
 Angels, Bayswater, London, where the eminent Eng- 
 lish churchman was then residing. 
 
 Shortly after his return to New York, the Cardinal 
 lost one of his dearest friends. Dr. Henry Anderson, 
 the scientist and educator. Dr. Anderson was born in 
 New York on February 6, 1799, and after graduating 
 from Columbia College, took up the study of medicine. 
 
334 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 When twenty-six years old, he was appointed to the 
 chair of mathematics and astronomy in Columbia, a 
 post he occupied for a quarter of a century. As a 
 geologist and astronomer, he had an international 
 reputation. In 1849, he became a Catholic, and from 
 that date till his death, was one of the leading Catholic 
 laymen of the United States. In the Spring of 1875, 
 he went to Calcutta to observe the transit of the 
 planet Venus, and on the return journey, died at 
 Lahore, in India. His body was brought to New York 
 and buried on March 19, 1876. Cardinal McCloskey's 
 sermon over his old friend was considered by many at 
 the time as the finest tribute ever paid to a Catholic 
 layman. Dr. Anderson's son, EUery Anderson, writes 
 to the Cardinal on March 20, 1876: 
 
 Tour Eminence: 
 
 In the chorus of many voices that have with one 
 accord rendered their tribute of love and honor to the 
 memory of my dear father, there is one voice whose 
 earnestness has caused it to be heard above all others 
 and whose warm sympathy has touched my heart more 
 deeply than any other, and that. Your Eminence, is 
 your own. As I read again today those tender words 
 so full of feeling and yet so delicately chosen that they 
 could offend no one, that no heart would be so closed to 
 human sympathy as to fail to respond, I feel a heart 
 full of gratitude to you for the sweet and beautiful 
 tribute you have paid to my dear father's memory. 
 For those words which so long as I live I shall never 
 forget, I do thank you with my whole heart. Truly 
 the gentle and noble spirit of the dead has found a 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 335 
 
 fitting utterance thirough a spirit kin to him in gentle- 
 ness and nobility. 
 
 Always yours with affedlion and respedl, 
 G. Ellery Anderson 
 
 Cardinal McCIoskey's sermon deserves a permanent 
 place in this biography, but its length prevents us from 
 giving it entirely. He said in part: 
 
 My Beloved Brethren: 
 
 We are told by the voice of inspired wisdom, that 
 "it is better to enter the house of mourning than the 
 house of feasting. For in that we are put in mind of 
 the end of all, and think of what is to come." We have 
 come this day into the house of God as into the house 
 of mourning, for we are here in the presence of the 
 dead. We are in the presence of those who are most 
 truly mourners, and with whom we are united in sin- 
 cerest sympathy. We come here as into the house of 
 mourning, but our mourning is not without solace. 
 The gloom of sorrow, and the darkness which seems 
 to obscure from our vision what lies beyond the grave, 
 is brightened by the radiance, the sweet and holy 
 radiance of Christian faith and Christian hope, symbo- 
 lized by the mystic lights that shine within the sanc- 
 tuary, or flicker around the bier. But, while we are in 
 the house of mourning, we are at the same time in the 
 house of prayer, for God's house ceases never to be a 
 house of prayer; we have come here to pray. We 
 have come here especially to offer up our earnest and 
 devout supplications for the eternal repose of the soul 
 of the dear departed. This we have done by uniting 
 our thoughts and intentions with those of the right 
 
336 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 reverend prelate who stood just now at the altar, 
 offering up what we hold to be the sublimest and most 
 efficacious form of prayer, as well as the profoundest 
 and most perfedl adl of homage and adoration to the 
 Almighty God — the holy sacrifice of the Mass. If 
 there have been those who have felt that they could not 
 join us in this offering, I would fain believe that there 
 is no breast here in which some sympathetic chord has 
 not been touched with gentle soothing by the plaintive 
 chants, the solemn ceremony, the impressive religious 
 rites with which holy Church, as a fond mother, loves 
 to honor those of her departed who have died, signed 
 with the sign of faith and who repose, we trust, in 
 the sleep of peace. And now, before the last sad 
 office is performed around this bier of death, dear 
 brethren, you will bear with me if I presume to add a 
 few words of tribute to the memory of one whom in 
 life we all so highly esteemed and so truly honored, 
 but in a more special manner, I may say, as expressive 
 of our sympathy with those to whom the pang of 
 separation and bereavement, always sore, has come 
 with greater force and greater acuteness by reason of 
 the fadl that the beloved father and cherished relative 
 and friend died far away from his home, in the midst 
 of strangers, with but one faithful heart beside him. 
 That he had with him from the beginning. One who 
 sat by his bedside and closed his eyes in death, per- 
 forming with truly filial gratitude all the offices of a 
 loving daughter, and bearing heroically the burden 
 that God put upon her. She made all necessary 
 preparations in that country where she was a stranger, 
 in order that his remains might be brought safely to 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 337 
 
 his home, and the consolation given as now to all of 
 seeing the proper religious ceremonial performed before 
 the altar that he loved. In the outside world, dearly- 
 beloved brethren, the name of Dr. Anderson is asso- 
 ciated with that of the accomplished scholar, the 
 learned scientist, the eminent professor, the genial 
 friend, the wise counsellor, the cultivated gentleman, 
 the lover of his country, the benefador of his kind. 
 But here within these sacred precindts, we do not 
 care to speak, hardly to think, of these qualities, 
 admirable though they be, because his learned science, 
 his accomplishments, will sleep with him in the tomb 
 or will avail him little or naught before the judgment 
 seat. We think rather, and would rather speak of 
 those qualities of mind and heart and soul, that have 
 not died with him, which in this life were the high 
 adornments of a pure soul, and which in the life wherein 
 he now is, shine forth more brightly and more glori- 
 ously, winning for him, through the merits of merci- 
 ful God and Saviour, an everlasting recompense and 
 crown. We would think, and I would speak though 
 briefly and imperfecftly, of his virtues — and those 
 virtues were very many. If we would wish to single 
 out any one above the other, we should be at fault, so 
 evenly were they balanced and so closely were they 
 blended with one another. Still I think that there 
 was one that dominated all the rest, especially from 
 the hour in which he was first received into the bosom 
 of the Catholic Church until the last hour of his life. 
 That was his earnest, sincere and Christian faith. 
 It may be truly said that, from the hour that he was 
 received into the bosom of the Church, there was 
 
338 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 hardly one of all her children impressed with a deeper 
 or fuller convidlion of the truth of all the dodtrines 
 that she proposes for our belief. Hardly one that 
 listened with more docility to all her teachings, and 
 that sought to live up more closely, more fully to the 
 standard of life and condudl that she prescribes. And 
 yet, with all the earnestness of faith and depth of 
 devotion, he was most tolerant of all, no matter how 
 much they differed from him, either in religious creed 
 or in human opinion. I do not know that in a long 
 acquaintance with Dr. Anderson, I ever heard him 
 give utterance to one harsh or resentful word, hardly 
 ever indulge in reproach or censure — even of those 
 who had wounded, and wounded deeply, his religious 
 feelings; hardly ever speak of the faults of another, 
 for when he could not praise he preferred to be silent. 
 He had that faith animated by charity, of which the 
 Gospel says: "Charity is patient, charity is kind, 
 charity thinketh no evil, adleth not perversely, is not 
 puffed up, is not ambitious, is not selfish." He pos- 
 sessed kindness and forebearance to a most wonderful 
 degree. He was not puffed up, for with all his learn- 
 ing, he had the simplicity and humility of a child. 
 I remember to have heard from the lips of a most 
 distinguished graduate of Oxford College, who, having 
 made the acquaintance of Dr. Anderson, and having 
 been brought frequently into his society, said to me 
 that he had rarely met a man of more varied, accurate 
 and profound learning, and still more rarely, one in 
 whom that learning was associated with deeper hu- 
 mility. ... He was thoroughly devoted to the Holy 
 Father, who in turn regarded him with special favor. 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 339 
 
 and conferred honor upon him. On the occasion of 
 his last visit to Rome, when I had the pleasure of 
 being in company with him, he was twice received in 
 private audience. The last, which was on the eve of 
 his departure for the East, was a long, and to him, a 
 most consoling one. He asked and received the 
 Apostolic benedidlion for the long journey he was to 
 undertake. It was truly a parting blessing, the last 
 he was ever to receive. He went to Rome as a pilgrim 
 of religion, he left as a pilgrim of science. . . . How 
 widely his loss is felt, how universally lamented, is 
 shown by the vast concourse that is here assembled 
 to pay their last sad tribute of honor and respedl. 
 He was one of a school that is fast dying out among 
 us and greatly to our regret. He was one of those 
 high-toned, old-time, honorable Christian gentlemen 
 who were looked up to with reverence by all. They 
 are passing away, and, alas! their places are hardly 
 being filled by others like them. We can ill afford to 
 lose them, for they are needed, greatly needed, espe- 
 cially in this our day and generation. Our venerable 
 friend has gone from us. He has more than fulfilled 
 the term of years allotted to man on earth. His 
 course was run, his task finished, God has called him 
 to rest from his labors, to receive his reward. He has 
 gone but his memory remains: the memory of his 
 many virtues, of his good deeds, of his exemplary life 
 and condudt. This he has bequeathed as a precious 
 legacy to his family, more precious than gold and 
 silver or broad lands. This he has left to us, that 
 we may be encouraged to imitate his good example, 
 and be consoled by the thought that "blessed are 
 
340 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 the dead who die in the Lord, for their works follow 
 them." 
 
 There was a question of the Cardinal's going to 
 Rome in November 1877, to receive the Cardinal's 
 hat, which can only be conferred by the Holy Father 
 himself. Dr. Hostlot, the Redlor of the American 
 College wrote on November 14, 1877, to communicate 
 to the Cardinal the wishes of Cardinal Simeone: 
 
 Tour Eminence: 
 
 At the request of one of the Secretaries of Cardinal 
 Simeone, who called here this morning, I communicate 
 to you the following. There will be a Consistory 
 about the middle of next month, and if it would be 
 convenient for Your Eminence to come on and receive 
 your cardinalitial hat, the Holy Father would be 
 much pleased. Your Eminence however is at perfedl 
 liberty in the matter, to do as may seem proper. I 
 write then merely to express their wish in this matter. 
 The invitation is the same as that given to Your 
 Eminence some months ago by Mgr. McNierny. 
 I asked the Secretary why he did not communicate 
 the wish of the Holy Father to Your Eminence per- 
 sonally, and not have me do it, but he replied, that if 
 he would write himself, it might be interpreted as a 
 command, so in order to avoid this, they have asked 
 me to write. I told them moreover that in case your 
 Eminence should come, there should not be sufficient 
 time to inform you by letter, as the distance is a trifle 
 farther and longer, than from London or Dublin. 
 At which they seemed to be a little surprised. Car- 
 dinal Manning is expedted. If Your Eminence could 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 341 
 
 come, I am certain you would confer a favor not only 
 on the Holy Father and the Cardinal Secretary of 
 State, but also on many other dignitaries of the Vati- 
 can. . . . The Holy Father is still in good health, but 
 the years are telling on him, though he feels better at 
 present than last summer. His Holiness and Cardinal 
 Franchi have been very much pleased to hear of the 
 interest Your Eminence has taken in the affairs of 
 the College. . . . Thanking Your Eminence for the 
 interest you have taken in the College, 
 I am, with great respedt, 
 
 Your humble servant in Christ, 
 
 L. E. HOSTLOT 
 
 The journey was postponed that year on account of 
 the alarming news of the Pope's health. Pius IX was 
 then in his eighty-sixth year, and for some months dur- 
 ing the year 1877, he was unable to walk on account of 
 rheumatism. The Pope's health excited great anxiety 
 for the welfare of the Church in every part of the 
 world. Pius IX died on February 7, 1878, and Cardinal 
 McCloskey set out for Rome to assist at the Conclave. 
 He arrived too late; Leo XIII was eledted on February 
 20th, but he assisted at the great Pontiff's coronation. 
 His letter to Monsignor Preston announced that the 
 Holy Father would confer the red hat in March: 
 
 Rome, March 8, 1878 
 Fery Rev. dear Father Preston: 
 
 I had hoped to be able to write sooner after my 
 arrival here but between the fatigue consequent upon 
 my long and rapid journeying and constant occupation 
 since I have been in Rome, my wishes and intentions 
 
342 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 have been unfulfilled till now. Father Farley has, 
 meantime kept you posted as to our movements and 
 other matters of interest. Yesterday I had another 
 audience of the Holy Father in which he was pleased 
 to make many enquiries concerning the affairs of our 
 diocese and to express himself much satisfied with the 
 information given him. His Holiness has graciously 
 promised to confer upon me the Cardinal's hat at the 
 first Consistory to be held since his coronation, which 
 will be about the 20th inst. Not sooner — it may be 
 later. I shall then be free to begin my journey home- 
 ward. I am very anxious to reach home for Easter, 
 yet I fear it will hardly be possible. There are several 
 little matters to be settled before I can leave here. . . . 
 Whatever may betide, the Church has in the person 
 of Leo Xni a Pontiff who, strengthened by God's 
 blessing, will prove himself equal to all the duties and 
 responsibilities of his sublime office. Doubtless you 
 have all the news of passing events as early in New 
 York as we have it here. . . . Kindest remembrances 
 to all. Pray for me and believe me as ever. 
 
 Very truly your friend and servant in Xt., 
 
 ►I^JoHN Card. McCloskey 
 Abp. of New York 
 
 It is of this visit to Rome that John Russell Young 
 in his Around the World with General Grant, writes: 
 
 "Our visit to Rome had been fairly well timed, for 
 though the period between the death of Pius IX, and 
 his successor Leo XIII, had been but short, the ex- 
 citement over the elecHiion of a new pontiff had quite 
 subsided. 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 343 
 
 "Our time of arrival was indeed in some respedls 
 most fortunate, as the presence of his Eminence, 
 Cardinal McCloskey, would give us certain facilities 
 in the Holy City which perhaps would not have been 
 otherwise possible. As the representative prelate of 
 the Catholics in the United States, His Reverence, 
 Cardinal McCloskey immediately called on General 
 Grant, and under the auspices of the Cardinal and 
 Monseigneur Chatard, redlor of the American College 
 of the United States in Rome, the ex-President was 
 received by his Holiness Leo XHI. The interview 
 was of a most agreeable charadler, and left a very 
 pleasant impression on the General. Of course this 
 reception highly flattering as it was to the distinguished 
 head of our party, was not to be considered as partaking 
 of a religious character. It was simply a visit of 
 respediful courtesy of Americans to the highest digni- 
 tary of the Catholic Church. The manners and 
 habits of Leo XIII, are of the simplest characfter, free 
 from all pomp and parade, and those who had the 
 honor to be present at the interview were struck by 
 the quiet ease, dignity and impressiveness of His 
 Holiness." 
 
 The Cardinal returned to New York in April, 1878, 
 and in his first sermon in the Cathedral spoke feelingly 
 of the Holy Father: 
 
 "If it is to you a pleasure to be able to present to 
 me as you now do your joyful congratulations on my 
 safe return home, be well assured that it is to me not 
 alone in equal but in tenfold greater measure a happi- 
 ness and delight to find myself once more in the midst 
 
344 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 of my beloved clergy and people, to look upon the 
 faces of so many of them here before me, to hear from 
 the lips of their chosen representatives so many words 
 of kindness, so many eloquent and noble expressions 
 of Catholic faith and loyalty, still more to be permitted 
 to unite with you all here before these holy altars in 
 offering our fervent tribute of gratitude to the Giver 
 of all good gifts for his tender mercies and for the 
 many favors and blessings bestowed upon me. Besides 
 the acknowledgment of our common debt of gratitude 
 to Him, permit me to acknowledge my personal debt of 
 gratitude to you for this touching manifestation of your 
 filial attachment and respedt. It is to me a renewed 
 source of strength and consolation, and will serve, I 
 trust, as an additional incentive to brotherly love. 
 
 " But do not suppose that I for a moment deceive 
 myself as to the true significance of the words which 
 have been spoken or of the scene now witnessed within 
 these sacred precindls. Whatever of honor is shown 
 to me in consideration of my office to guard you as 
 your archbishop, or of the dignity with which, not- 
 withstanding my small deserts, I am invested as Car- 
 dinal, is only secondary to the honor which you wish 
 to show to the new Pope Leo XIII, from whose pres- 
 ence I have just now returned and whose apostolic 
 benedidtion I bring to you from him, now gloriously 
 reigning and whose life now becomes so precious to 
 the whole Church. May God in his infinite goodness 
 long protedl and preserve him." 
 
 A characfleristic aft of the Cardinal occurred in 
 connexion with General Sherman, who had written 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 345 
 
 to him regarding his son. Young Mr. Sherman called 
 on the Cardinal at Mt. St. Vincent and presented the 
 letter, the substance of which was an appeal to the 
 Cardinal to dissuade the young man from his purpose 
 in becoming a Priest. This of course His Eminence 
 could scarcely do, after hearing the young man's 
 story. Later Mr. Sherman was admitted to the 
 Society of Jesus, and General Sherman in an interview 
 with the reporter of a St. Louis paper, stated that the 
 Cardinal had robbed him of his son, mentioning the 
 letter he had written. The editor of the paper tele- 
 graphed the Cardinal, asking for an answer. The 
 Cardinal directed his secretary to reply that "General 
 Sherman's letter to me was marked 'Private and 
 confidential.' " i 
 
 The great event of the year 1879, and the greatest 
 in the Cardinal's lifetime, was the dedication of the 
 most beautiful Gothic cathedral in the United States. 
 St. Patrick's Cathedral was formally opened and 
 blessed on the Feast of St. Gregory, May 25, 1879. 
 "The newspapers of the day hailed the new Cathedral 
 as one of the noblest temples ever raised in any land 
 to the memory of St. Patrick, and as the glory of 
 Catholic America." On January 3, Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey invited Archbishop Ryan, then Coadjutor 
 Bishop of St. Louis, to preach the sermon. Archbishop 
 Ryan's reply was as follows: 
 
 St. Louis, January 8, 1879 
 Most Eminent and Most Rev. Lord: 
 
 I beg to acknowledge the receipt of Your Eminence's 
 esteemed letter of the 3rd. inst., in which you do me 
 
346 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 the great honor of inviting me to preach the sermon 
 on the occasion of the Dedication of your great Cathe- 
 dral. 
 
 As I cannot find in my heart humility enough to 
 decline this unexpedled honor, I shall be at Your 
 Eminence's service on any Sunday in May, which may 
 be determined on. I only request that Your Reverend 
 Secretary will inform me of the day as soon as con- 
 venient, so that I may so order my Confirmation 
 appointments for May, as to give me time sufficient 
 for my visit to your city. 
 
 With sincere esteem and friendship, I have the honor 
 to remain, 
 
 Your Eminence's faithful son and servant in Christ, 
 
 ►I^P. J. Ryan 
 
 Archbishop Ryan was then recognized as America's 
 greatest preacher and certainly one of its greatest 
 orators : 
 
 "Joy holy and exultant," he said, "fills our hearts 
 today as we go into this glorious house of the Lord. 
 This joy is universal. You, Most Eminent Cardinal 
 Archbishop, rejoice, because you behold this your 
 great work accomplished, crowned by the magnificent 
 ceremony of this morning . . . And you. Most 
 Reverend, Right Reverend, and Reverend brothers 
 of the episcopacy and the clergy, rejoice, for you 
 behold in the magnitude and majesty of this temple 
 the evidence that the spirit of the ages of faith still 
 lives on — that the spirit that planned and ereAed 
 the vast Cathedrals of the Old World survives in the 
 men of this New World, and that here are found 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 347 
 
 heads to conceive, the hands to execute, and hearts 
 to love the glorious monuments that shall be eredted 
 — that in the utilitarian nineteenth century. Catholic 
 faith retains all its fidelity and all its beauty. The 
 men of this age have said to us that we could possess 
 no more Cathedrals like those of past ages, because 
 the faith that built them was dying or dead. Behold 
 the splendid refutation of this charge ! 
 
 "And also, you, my dear brethren of the laity, I well 
 know what a flood of joy and gratitude to God in- 
 undates your hearts today, as you behold this off- 
 spring of your piety and generosity consecrated to 
 your good God! You, the rich Catholics of this me- 
 tropolis, have nobly done what was at once your duty 
 and your highest pleasure in giving openly of your 
 means to eredl this temple, and you are justly proud 
 of it. And what shall I say to you — the children of 
 toil — who have given so generously and so constantly 
 of your scanty means, at the call of your devoted 
 pastor ? I know and feel how happy you are this morn- 
 ing under this roof of your Father's house. I know 
 how you glory in what has been said, as if in reproach, 
 that the great Cathedral of New York was built chiefly 
 by the pennies of the poor. The pennies of the poor! 
 The most sacred offering to Him whose first temple 
 on earth, the first spot where His Body and Blood, 
 soul and divinity were tabernacles, was the stable of 
 Bethlehem. ... It is appropriate that the poor whom 
 He so honored should aid to build His house, which is 
 also their house and home. We accept, then, the 
 imagined reproach as an honor, and we ask in turn: 
 where in this great city have the thousands of bond- 
 
348 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 holders erected a temple like this temple, built up and 
 adorned by the 'pennies of the poor?' 
 
 "Fearless and alone, it stands above all churches 
 here, as the faith which inspired its eredlion is superior 
 to all creeds. It shows what poverty with faith can 
 do, and that the Church has the mark of Christ upon 
 it. 'The poor you have always with you.' I am satis- 
 fied, too, beloved brethren, that the liberal non-Catho- 
 lics of New York rejoice in the consummation of this 
 great work. They behold the greatest church edifice 
 of the New World, the ornament of their city, the 
 temple of religious art, and the powerful means of pre- 
 serving morality amongst those who shall worship 
 within its walls." 
 
 The preacher 'then paid a glowing tribute to the 
 steadfastness of the faith of the Irish people. "To- 
 day," he concluded, "the eyes and hearts of that 
 devoted race in every part of the world are turned to 
 this scene. Here they behold the greatest temple 
 of the New World dedicated to God under the invoca- 
 tion of their national saint, and forever more it shall 
 be known as St. Patrick's Cathedral of New York." 
 
 The Cathedral is an immortal monument to the 
 architedlural skill of James Fenwick, who designed it, 
 and who watched over its construdlion from 1859 until 
 its dedication on May 25, 1879. I have already told 
 the story of his unflagging devotion to the Archdiocese 
 of New York in the building of the Cathedral in 
 my History of St. Patrick's Cathedral (1908). 
 
 In March 1880, Cardinal McCloskey called a meet- 
 ing of his suff^ragans — the Bishops of Albany, Buffalo, 
 
ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL 
 
 New York 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 349 
 
 Brooklyn, Newark, Rochester, and Ogdensburg, for 
 the very important question of seledling a Coadjutor 
 to the See of New York. Bishop Wadhams of Ogdens- 
 burg wrote to the Cardinal on March 31, 1880, saying 
 that he was deUghted with the idea because it would 
 give the Cardinal the rest he required. "For a Coad- 
 jutor to the See of New York, with right of Succession, 
 my earnest desire is that it may be the Bishop of 
 Newark. I will name some among many reasons, 
 
 1. his amiability, character, and priestly dignity; 
 
 2. because of places where he received his education — 
 Mount St. Mary's, Emmitsburg, and the American 
 College, Rome, — and the traditions that would likely 
 be perpetuated by this appointment; 3. on account 
 of his education; and, lastly, on account of his entire 
 devotion to his work and his piety. You know him 
 better than I do, but this is as I see the man for 
 the metropolitan and cardinalatial See of New 
 York, and for the position it holds in the Church. 
 He is just now rather young, but he will be all the 
 better qualified to govern; and old enough, before 
 his time comes, to relieve you of all weight of office 
 and Government over the clergy and people." 
 
 The growth of the diocese and the increasing in- 
 firmities of age called for the aid of an assistant, and 
 on Odlober i, 1880, Bishop Corrigan of Newark, was 
 named Coadjutor of New York with the right of succes- 
 sion and given the title of Archbishop of Petra. 
 Michael Augustin Corrigan was born August 13, 1839, 
 at Newark, N. J., and like the Cardinal, was a gradu- 
 ate of Mount St. Mary's, Emmitsburg. He was or- 
 dained to the priesthood in Rome, September 19, 1863, 
 
350 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 and became Bishop of Newark In 1873. After seven 
 years in Newark he was transferred to New York, and 
 from that time on till Cardinal McCloskey's death, he 
 bore the heavier part of the burden of the diocese. 
 
 "The summing up of the Cardinal's career," says 
 John Talbot Smith, in his History of The Catholic 
 Church in New Tork, "may be said to have taken 
 place with the holding of the Fourth Provincial Council 
 in 1883, when he assembled the Bishops of New York 
 and New Jersey and formulated the laws which were 
 to govern the ecclesiastical province, now reduced in 
 size by the withdrawal of New England into the 
 Province of Boston. The Bishops of Albany, Brook- 
 lyn, Newark, Buffalo, Ogdensburg, Rochester, Trenton, 
 and Curium attended, and united in a pastoral letter 
 to their respedlive flocks, whose separate articles fairly 
 represent the aims and ideas which had dominated 
 the life of the Cardinal. The letter began by thanking 
 God for the wonderful growth of the Church in America, 
 and the people for their generous aid in maintaining 
 the works of religion; the disappearance of the old 
 prejudices against Catholics was a source of joy to 
 all; the Republic deserved praise and congratulation 
 for the freedom which it secured to all citizens ; never- 
 theless the increase of infidelity had become so marked, 
 and its errors were so openly advocated, that the 
 Fathers of the Council found it necessary to warn the 
 people of their danger, and to advise the best methods 
 to ward off threatening consequences. On the subjedt 
 of marriage the people were reminded that no power 
 on earth can dissolve the bond, and were urged to 
 marry only with Catholics, to prepare thoughtfully 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 351 
 
 for the sacrament, and after receiving the sacraments 
 to be married with a nuptial mass. In the work of 
 Christian education, they were warned that the Church 
 cannot accept a training for the children which de- 
 liberately excludes religion, and they were strongly 
 urged to build schools of the proper charadler, and to 
 take a careful and conscientious part in the education 
 of the children. They were warned against the dangers 
 of a licentious press, and instructed in the useful- 
 ness of a religious and God-fearing press, being recom- 
 mended to support Catholic journals and magazines 
 and to establish libraries. The nature of secret 
 societies was explained at length, and connexion 
 with them forbidden. The temperance movement 
 was highly commended, also the common parochial 
 organizations of piety and charity; extravagance in 
 funerals, and such excesses as Sunday picnics and 
 moonlight excursions for charity, were condemned. 
 Congregational singing was urged upon the people. 
 The whole document breathed a spirit of authority 
 and dignity and sweetness. Its protest against the 
 increasing indifference to religion, and against a 
 sneering materialism startled Christian society. Its 
 defence of the ancient and revered dodlrines, at the 
 moment when denunciation of them had become 
 common, reminded the anti-Christian party that 
 faith in Christ was not an outworn institution, but 
 had still its able defenders and millions of believers." 
 
 It was on the occasion of the receipt of the Adls 
 and Decrees of this important Synod that Pope Leo 
 XIII sent the following letter to Cardinal McCloskey: 
 
352 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 To Our Beloved Son, John McCloskey, Cardinal Priest 
 of the Holy Roman Church, of the Title of Sandla 
 Maria Supra Minervam, Archbishop of New York. 
 
 Beloved Son, Health and Apostolic Benedidion: 
 
 It was a source of very great joy to us to receive a 
 copy of the fourth Diocesan Synod of New York, held 
 by you in your metropolitan church in November 
 last, containing also the statutes of the preceding 
 synods. We rejoice exceedingly, beloved son, to see 
 that you have labored so successfully in the discharge 
 of that duty of the pastoral work which the Holy 
 Council of Trent has so earnestly recommended to 
 the attention of all the Bishops, and we are filled with 
 the firm trust that your zeal and that of those who 
 labor with you for the spread of Catholic faith and 
 worship, for the preservation of ecclesiastical discipline 
 amongst clergy and laity, and for the salvation of 
 souls, will be blessed with richest fruits throughout 
 your diocese. But this is only one of the evidences 
 of your sacerdotal zeal and pastoral vigilance. Your 
 life is filled with shining examples and we cannot 
 permit this opportunity to pass without bestowing on 
 some of them the well-merited testimony of our appre- 
 ciation and our love. We are aware, beloved son, 
 with what care you study to imbue the youth of your 
 diocese, especially those destined for the service of 
 the altar, with the sound teaching of the Angelic 
 Dodlor, drawn from the fountain head, after the method 
 recommended by us. We know with what unceasing 
 fidelity you, together with your clergy and faithful, 
 have always striven to aid the Apostolic See in the 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 353 
 
 painful extremities into which it has been forced by 
 the evil times and the mahce of men. Whereupon, 
 we have longed to express to you our deep sense of 
 gratitude and affedion, and through you to make 
 known our gratitude and love to all those devoted 
 children of the Church who, bound to us by the bonds 
 of filial piety, fail not, particularly in these days of 
 trial, to second our wishes and to give evidence of their 
 loyalty to this Apostolic Chair. Whilst, therefore, 
 we offer up fervent prayers that the faithful of your 
 illustrious diocese may learn to love God daily more 
 and more and that under your episcopal care and 
 guidance their merits may increase with their numbers, 
 we at the same time beg of God from our heart that 
 he may bestow upon you an abundant increase of his 
 grace and strengthen with power from on high your 
 co-laborers and people, and graciously grant to all who 
 sow in blessings that of blessings also they may reap. 
 May our apostolic benedidlion, which we most affec- 
 tionately in the Lord impart to you, beloved son, and 
 to all the clergy and faithful over whom you are 
 placed, be a pledge of divine grace, as it is a token of 
 our especial favor. 
 
 Given at St. Peter's, Rome, the fifth day of April, 
 1883, in the sixth year of our Pontificate. 
 
 Leo XHI 
 
 The last notable public occasion in which the Cardi- 
 nal took part was the celebration of the Golden Jubilee 
 of his ordination to the priesthood, held in New York 
 on January 12, 1884. All during the previous year 
 this happy event had been discussed by the bishops 
 
354 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 of the province and the priests of his diocese, and 
 several times it was feared that he would not live to 
 see this anniversary. Bishop McQuaid wrote to 
 Archbishop Corrigan, on May 23, 1883, asking him 
 to keep him advised of the Cardinal's condition. "It 
 seems to me," he writes, "that his end is approaching. 
 He has only been kept alive by great caution on his 
 part, and great care on the part of his attendants. 
 When these fail he will go quickly. It would have 
 given every one great pleasure to have had him preside 
 at our Council, making this the crowning adt of a long 
 and glorious career." A meeting of the clergy was 
 convened for December 20, at which the Vicar-General 
 Monsignor Quinn presided, and a substantial testi- 
 monial was voted to be presented to His Eminence on 
 January 12, 1884, on which day a solemn Pontifical 
 Mass was to be celebrated. The Holy Father sent a 
 letter of congratulation and a precious chalice. On 
 the day itself, Bishop Loughlin, of Brooklyn, read the 
 following address^from the Bishops of the Province : 
 
 "At the close of the late Provincial Council we had 
 the honor of addressing some words of respedl and 
 admiration to Your Eminence. We then expressed 
 our hope that we might have the great pleasure and 
 privilege of offering to you our cordial congratulations 
 on the festival of your Golden Jubilee. Our hopes 
 and expectations are now realized; we are enabled to 
 participate in the joy which pervades the whole Catholic 
 community on this festive day — the anniversary of 
 your promotion to the high and holy dignity of the 
 Priesthood in the Church of God. 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 355 
 
 "The Apostle has written that 'We are made a 
 spedlacle to the world and to angels and to men,' and 
 the same apostle has said that we should 'Take heed 
 to ourselves and to the whole flock over which the 
 Holy Ghost hath placed us bishops to rule the Church 
 of God.' And again: 'Let a man so look upon us as 
 ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries 
 of God.' 
 
 "Now, most eminent prelate, we are here to express 
 our conviction that Your Eminence has been 'A 
 spedlacle to the world and to angels and to men,' 
 and that you have borne this in mind from the day 
 of your ordination till the present day, and that you 
 have exhibited yourself as a 'minister of Christ' — 
 that you have 'presented yourself unto God — a 
 workman that needeth not to be ashamed' — and on 
 this convidlion is based our congratulations chiefly, 
 and not merely on the length of time during which 
 by the disposition of an All-wise Providence, you 
 have exercised the holy ministry of His Church. 
 
 "While we consider these things in your life, we feel 
 it incumbent upon us to praise and bless Almighty 
 God for having permitted us to be witnesses of your 
 life amongst us and before us, that we might be edified, 
 encouraged and confirmed in the discharge of our 
 duties. 
 
 "While we will not be called upon to celebrate 
 your centennial jubilee, we are assured that your 
 name and the record of your prudence and zeal for 
 God's honor and glory and the salvation of souls, will 
 even then not be forgotten. In memoria aeterna erit 
 Justus." 
 
3S6 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 This was followed by an address from the priests 
 of the archdiocese, read by Monsignor Quinn: 
 
 "The clergy both secular and religious of the Arch- 
 diocese of New York, beg leave humbly to approach 
 Your Eminence, and to avail themselves of this oppor- 
 tunity of the celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary 
 of your ordination to the Holy Priesthood, to offer to 
 you, their Cardinal Archbishop, the full expression of 
 their sincere and hearty congratulations. 
 
 "It is not a common event for a priest or prelate to 
 celebrate his Golden Jubilee; and few have been the 
 instances in all these long years of the Church's history 
 when the sacerdotal life has been filled out, like yours, 
 through half a century. 
 
 "It can be but a matter of consolation for Your 
 Eminence to recall the great and singular progress of 
 the Holy Church which, during this period, your eyes 
 have witnessed in this country. No more remarkable 
 and rapid extension of the Holy Faith has been re- 
 corded in any region of the world since the apostolic 
 age. Your Eminence has especially witnessed the 
 growth of two most important dioceses — Albany and 
 New York. You recognized the first by giving to it 
 its grand cathedral — its churches — asylums — 
 schools and other ecclesiastical institutions. The lat- 
 ter is also indebted to Your Eminence's prudent and 
 persevering guidance for its magnificent Cathedral, 
 its Catholic protectory, its academies and schools of 
 learning, its numerous religious houses, and its wonder- 
 ful increase in churches. Fifty years ago there were 
 in this city but six churches; now there are sixty. 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 357 
 
 There were but twenty priests in the diocese; now 
 there are three hundred and eighty. At that time 
 there were in the whole United States only nine bishops ; 
 now there are fifty-nine. Then there was but one 
 archbishop; now there are twelve, one of whoni has 
 been elevated to the august senate of the universal 
 Church. Your Eminence sees more Catholics under 
 your episcopal care within our City limits alone, than 
 there were at the date of your ordination to the priest- 
 hood, in the entire Republic. There is perhaps no 
 City in the whole world more Catholic, when measured 
 by the standard of the number of its Easter com- 
 munions, than the metropolis over which you preside 
 as Archbishop. To you, therefore, whom God has 
 allowed to behold and to bear part in this astonishing 
 progress, such a sight, we repeat, must be most con- 
 soling; knowing that great as has been the number 
 of those who have come to the United States as pro- 
 fessed Catholics, the true greatness, as well as growth 
 of the Church in America, as everywhere else, is due, 
 above all, to the inherent force of divine faith — to 
 the profound convidions which that faith produces in 
 the souls of men, and to the steadfast and affedtionate 
 attachment which it alone inspires. Together with 
 all this it must be a matter of personal congratulation 
 in which Your Eminence cannot fail to be a partner 
 with us, to know that your elevation to the episcopal, 
 and archiepiscopal dignity, and to the higher rank of 
 the Cardinalate, was due, not to courtly influence or 
 to political favor, but to the free choice of the Supreme 
 Pastor of God's Holy Church in the sole view of your 
 fitness and merits. Your advancement to this last 
 
3S8 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 position of honor, so highly and so deservedly esteemed 
 throughout the world, found an universal response of 
 unfeigned satisfadion, not only among Catholics, but 
 indeed among all the citizens of the United States. 
 To the growth of God's Church in this free western 
 land your labors have largely contributed; and may 
 we not piously hope that in the providence of God 
 you are destined to crown your services in the past 
 by others still more signal? Your wisdom and pru- 
 dence presided over the recent Provincial Council in 
 this City, than which no more important one has been 
 held in America. May that same wisdom and pru- 
 dence, under God, guide the deliberations of the 
 forthcoming Plenary Council. In Your Eminence 
 both clergy and people have ever found a true and 
 good pastor, whose mild but firm guidance, whose 
 meekness in the exercise of authority recall to their 
 minds the words of our blessed Saviour, 'He that is 
 greatest among you shall be your servant.' All alike 
 we feel that it is good for us to live under the pastoral 
 staff of such a shepherd. Therefore, this is a day of 
 thronging memories and sincere congratulations, and 
 of great joy to us all. Our united hearts, full of 
 thanksgiving to God for the uncounted blessings of 
 the past, and animated with most confident hope for 
 the future, are deeply moved with mingled emotions 
 of joy, affection and gratitude which, amid the public 
 evidences of manifest rejoicing, struggle for adequate 
 utterance on this auspicious occasion, in your venerable 
 presence, and in the hearing of the whole world. May 
 God's mercy spare you yet many years to His Church 
 and His People. This is our heartfelt prayer. May 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 359 
 
 you be spared also to see the beginning, at least, of 
 that triumph foreseen by the late Supreme Pontiff 
 Pius IX., of holy memory, and so earnestly sought by 
 His Holiness Leo XIII. , now happily reigning — the 
 triumph of the Holy Church of the Son of God over 
 the whole earth. Ad Multos Annos." 
 
 The address of the laity, read by the Hon. John E. 
 Devlin, was, if possible, even more enthusiastic : 
 
 "Fifty years. Your Eminence, of sacerdotal life! of 
 devotion to the highest and holiest interests and 
 aspirations of your fellow men! fifty years of labor, 
 of self-denial, of self-sacrifice, of ministrations by day 
 and of calls and visits by night, amidst dangers, 
 pestilence, heats of summer and storms of winter, 
 with increasing responsibilities and trying cares as 
 bishop and archbishop, half a hundred years today 
 completed, a priest of the Holy Roman Catholic 
 Church — this is truly a crowning Anniversary — a 
 Golden Jubilee! The Coadjutor Archbishop, fresh 
 from the inspiring presence of the Holy Father, hasten- 
 ing through the Continent and over wintry seas, that 
 he might not miss this auspicious occasion. Prelates 
 from all the land — the large assemblage of surpliced 
 priests and the laity in crowded mass, filling this 
 sacred and spacious edifice, brought to its present 
 state of completeness by the unceasing efforts and 
 untiring energy of Your Eminence, all meet and are 
 gathered here today, prelates, priests and laymen, 
 unite in offering up praise and thanksgiving for the 
 long period vouchsafed you in the ministry, to pray 
 for its extension during many years to come — to 
 
36o. JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 manifest their gratitude for your labors in their behalf 
 and for your friendship, and to attest their affedion 
 for Your Eminence. Fifty years ago, then the city, 
 which is now third in magnitude, was the rising village, 
 set upon a hill, in which Your Eminence first breathed 
 the vital air, while her greater and elder sister, lying 
 side by side on either shore of the river, was proud and 
 boastful of a population of two hundred and fifty 
 thousand souls. Today the two just now united by 
 hooks and cables of steel, dominate the Nation in 
 wealth and influence, and in population outnumber 
 all the great cities of our country lying on the two 
 oceans, on the mighty river and the gulf combined! 
 What development, what growth, what expansion, 
 since the day Your Eminence entered upon the sacred 
 duties of the priesthood! Side by side with this 
 unexampled advance have increased also the cause 
 and the membership of the Catholic community. 
 When a priest first visited this Island of New York — 
 even then a busy mart — the number of the laity 
 was only two. Fifty years ago the churches were 
 less than seven — the clergy were few and there was 
 one benevolent institution — colleges were not — and 
 Catholic schools well-nigh unknown. Now churches 
 and chapels are counted by scores, priests by the 
 hundred and the laity by hundreds of thousands. 
 Institutions of benevolence have arisen throughout 
 the city, seats of learning of the first order and schools 
 of every degree without number. Thus, the develop- 
 ment of all that could confer power and influence and 
 efficiency, that could minister to spiritual wants and 
 needs, that could aff^ord solace and relief to the suffer- 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 361 
 
 ing and the necessitous, that could enlarge and culti- 
 vate the intelledt, has more than kept pace with the 
 material growth of the metropolis. Recognizing these 
 impressive facfts, Pope Pius the Ninth of blessed 
 memory, placed the church here on a plane with the 
 Catholic hierarchy of the most favored parts of 
 Christendom, and accorded it a representation in the 
 Sacred College. The selection of Your Eminence for 
 this exalted honor was but a fitting tribute to your 
 life-long devotion to the interests of the church, and 
 filled with joy every Catholic heart. For these accumu- 
 lated blessings of churches, clergy, charities, colleges 
 and other institutions of learning and education all for 
 their good, the laity feel themselves in the first and 
 highest degree indebted to two illustrious chieftains of 
 the church, your immediate predecessor, the first 
 Archbishop of New York, and Your Eminence. How 
 thoroughly, how profoundly and how vividly they 
 appreciate this facft, is attested by their generous re- 
 sponse to every appeal, by their pious remembrance 
 of the deceased prelate, manifested on each recurring 
 occasion, and by their tender and affectionate regard 
 for yourself. In commemoration of this joyful event 
 in gratitude to Almighty God, that you have been 
 spared to us and that we have lived to meet you 
 on this auspicious day, and on behalf of the laity, 
 whom I have been selected here to represent, I ten- 
 der Your Eminence their warmest congratulations, 
 and, bowing down in profound reverence, I lay at 
 your feet this tribute of their homage and assur- 
 ance of their loyal attachment and devotion to your 
 person." 
 
362 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 The response of the Cardinal to the addresses 
 presented shows the same felicitous touch which he 
 possessed from the beginning of his priesthood : 
 
 " Venerable Bishops, Beloved Brethren of the Clergy, 
 devoted Children of the Laity. I confess I find words 
 inadequate to express my sense of gratitude for 
 the kind and generous remarks presented in your 
 various addresses, and the many fadts in my career 
 you have been pleased to mention. These congratula- 
 tions which come to me from the bishops of this 
 province, most of whom it was my happiness to conse- 
 crate ; from the priests of this diocese, most of whom 
 were promoted by myself to holy orders, and whose 
 zeal and labors have eflfedled so much for religion; 
 from devoted laborers in the great work of Christian 
 education, and from the generous and faithful Laity, 
 fill my heart with joy on this the fiftieth anniversary 
 of my ordination. On this occasion I cannot but 
 contrast the scene of today with that which occurred 
 fifty years ago in the old St. Patrick's Cathedral. 
 There were only one bishop and two priests in the 
 sandtuary, and not many people in the church. That 
 bishop was Bishop Dubois who consecrated my hands 
 with the sacerdotal undlion, and the two priests, one 
 his vicar-general. Very Rev. Dr. Power, and the other 
 the Rev. Dr. Pise; and today, the fiftieth anniversary 
 of that event, I behold this sandluary filled with the 
 bishops of my province, and the faithful clergy of my 
 diocese, and this great Cathedral whose foundations 
 were laid by my illustrious predecessor, crowned to 
 overflowing with my devoted people. For all this I 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 363 
 
 have only to thank God, who has spared me in His 
 goodness, to witness the glory of this day and the 
 wonderful fruits of the mustard seed. At the time of 
 my ordination few thought that I, so feeble in health 
 would outlive all those who were my contemporaries 
 in the ministry. And when, shortly after, I went to 
 Europe for the advantage of additional study, my 
 friends supposed I would not return. Providence 
 spared me beyond my expectations. In regard to 
 the dignities conferred on me personally, to which 
 you so kindly allude, I can safely say that not one of 
 these honors was ever sought by me. The progress 
 of the Church referred to in the addresses is true, and 
 so true that it is clearly the work of God and not of 
 man. 
 
 " What success may have attended my efforts must 
 be attributed to the good will, zeal and generous 
 cooperation of the clergy and laity; for by them have 
 churches, convents, hospitals, and various charitable 
 institutions increased in number and usefulness beyond 
 my most sanguine hopes. The secret of this success 
 may surely be found in the ready assistance rendered 
 to me by the priests and people of the diocese. I am 
 satisfied that the same generous support will always 
 be extended to my Coadjutor. 
 
 "There is only one thing we desire — that you all 
 stand together in unity — the priests reverencing the 
 bishops, the laity loving and obeying the priests, and 
 all, laity, priests and bishops continuing in communion 
 with the august head of the church, the vicar of Christ. 
 This is my prayer, and my hope, and my faith. May 
 the Almighty God, whose mercies so abound amongst 
 
364 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 us, bless you, the clergy, the laity and the faithful, 
 and grant to all an increase of faith, hope and charity, 
 of zeal and devotion in the cause of our holy religion." 
 
 The last years of Cardinal McCloskey's life were 
 spent in one of the most intensely adtive periods of 
 Catholic episcopal life in this country — the prepara- 
 tion for the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, 
 which opened on November 7 and closed on December 
 9, 1884. In the eighteen years which had passed since 
 the Second National Council (1866), a host of new 
 problems had arisen, and among these were the method 
 of nominating bishops to vacant Sees, the canonical 
 visitation of the dioceses and the visits ad limina; 
 clerical education, cathedral chapters and parish 
 priests, the Indian and Negro Missions, the immi- 
 grants, parochial schools, and the temporal administra- 
 tion of Church property. To arrange the committees 
 of bishops for the preparations of the decrees, and to 
 plan the whole work thoroughly beforehand, were 
 indeed difficult problems. In all these questions, 
 the venerable and revered Cardinal Archbishop of 
 New York was looked to as guide and counsellor. 
 It was hoped that His Eminence would be able to 
 preside in person at the opening session. The Holy 
 See thought it best to call a number of the bishops 
 to Rome in order to perfedl the plans for the Coun- 
 cil; and, accordingly. Archbishop Corrigan set out in 
 Odlober, 1883, for Rome. His weekly correspondence 
 with the Cardinal shows how many and varied were 
 the difficulties to be overcome before the sessions could 
 be opened in Baltimore. These preparatory labors in 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 365 
 
 Rome lasted all through the months of November and 
 December, and Archbishop Corrigan left Rome on 
 December 17, 1883, sailing from Liverpool on the 
 25 th, and arrived in New York early in January, 
 1884. Cardinal McCIoskey was unable to be present 
 at the sessions of the Council and was represented by 
 Archbishop Corrigan. 
 
 The new year of 1885 saw him very weak in health 
 and it was apparent to all that his days were numbered. 
 He spent most of this time at Mt. St. Vincent's on the 
 Hudson, where the Sisters of Charity gave him every 
 attention. 
 
 It may surprise many to learn that it was only 
 during the last ten years of his life that Cardinal 
 McCIoskey felt the need of a physician's care. The 
 present writer was Secretary to His Eminence in 1875, 
 after the Cardinal's return from Rome, and he noticed 
 in him a feverish condition which necessitated a 
 dodtor. Accordingly he visited Dr. Keyes, who was 
 then living near by, and asked him to call to see the 
 Cardinal. Dr. Keyes found His Eminence suffering 
 from a low fever, which lasted through the winter of 
 1875-76. The attack was brought on. Dr. Keyes 
 distindlly remembers, by a cold caught at a celebra- 
 tion in Rome in the autumn of 1875. After his first 
 visit, Dr. Keyes came regularly to see the Cardinal, 
 but found no real malady except a very mild paralysis 
 agitans, due to increasing old age. The Cardinal 
 gradually weakened between 1880 and 1885, and died 
 with his faculties unimpaired. 
 
 "From the time when he was invested with his 
 highest dignity," wrote Father Hewitt several months 
 
366 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 after his death, "the Cardinal was never well. ■ Even 
 before that he must have been sensible of failing 
 strength and begun to grow weary. He was not one 
 to complain of fatigue, but once, when he gave his 
 pallium into my charge for a time, he expressed with 
 a sigh the wish that he might lay it aside altogether, 
 and uttered the exclamation beati vol! 
 
 "During his last years he was compelled to retire 
 more and more into that seclusion and quietude, for 
 which he had longed. Unable during a long time 
 even to read, though he continued to diredl the ad- 
 ministration of his diocese through his vicars-general, 
 the greatest part of his time was passed in solitude, 
 with no resource or occupation except prayer." Some 
 two weeks before the death of the Cardinal, Father 
 Fedigan, the Provincial of the Augustinians, called to 
 visit him, having known His Eminence for many 
 years. Father Fedigan said: "I hope your Eminence 
 will soon be able to repeat your visit to Atlantic 
 City, and that this second visit will do you twice as 
 much good as the first." Lifting his eyes heaven- 
 ward, the Cardinal replied in a feeble voice: "No, 
 Father, I am going on a longer journey. God has 
 been good to me all my life, and I hope He will be 
 good enough now to take me home." Two weeks 
 later he was dead. 
 
 He died on Odlober lo, 1885, aged seventy-five 
 years. "I was struck," said one of the priests who 
 stood at his bedside, "at the change produced by death 
 in the face of the Cardinal. Five minutes after death 
 his face, which, previously to his demise was wan and 
 drawn by pain, became smooth and had lost twenty 
 
PRINCE OF THE CHURCH 367 
 
 years of the age written on it before. He looked just 
 as his portrait painted twenty years before looked. 
 I had noticed the same thing in the dead face of Arch- 
 bishop Bayley. He reminded me forcibly of the 
 familiar portraits of his aunt. Mother Seton." Ten- 
 nyson apropos of this same change writes : 
 
 As sometimes in a dead man's face 
 To those that watch it more and more, 
 A likeness, hardly seen before. 
 Comes out, to some one of his race. 
 
 It was little more than a year before that Cardinal 
 McCloskey had stood surrounded by his suffragans 
 and priests, the recipient of their good wishes and en- 
 comiums on the occasion of his Golden Jubliee. New 
 York — Protestant and Catholic — had rejoiced in 
 that ceremony and now its citizenship, without respedl 
 of party or creed, was to pay its final respedls to the 
 dead Cardinal. For two days his body lay in state in 
 the great Cathedral he had finished, and at least one 
 hundred and fifty thousand people passed before it to 
 see the dead prelate. The day of the funeral called 
 forth an unprecendented crowd. The Cardinal's death 
 brought sorrow to the Church universal as well as to 
 the Catholics of America and New York. As Cardinal 
 Gibbons so well expressed it in his Funeral Oration on 
 Odober 25, 1885, at St. Patrick's Cathedral: "It has 
 filled with grief the great heart of the Sovereign Pontiff 
 and the College of Cardinals, of which he was an illus- 
 trious member and a distinguished ornament. It has 
 fallen heavily upon you, venerable brethren of the 
 clergy. You justly recognized in your Cardinal-Arch- 
 
368 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 bishop a kind father, a devoted friend, a watchful 
 shepherd, a fearless leader, and, above all, an impar- 
 tial judge. His death has stricken with sorrow you, 
 also, brethren of the laity, and the sadness depidled on 
 your countenances is the expression of the grief which 
 fills your hearts. Nor is this grief confined to those 
 who are of the household of the Faith. It extends to 
 all classes and creeds of the community. The great 
 heart of New York has mourned him, as well becomes 
 the Empire City, lamenting the death of one of its 
 most illustrious and honored citizens. Neither wealth, 
 nor power, nor rank, could command such heartfelt 
 and universal respedl as has been paid spontaneously 
 to the remains of your revered prelate. He had won 
 the hearts of the people." Under the high altar of 
 the Cathedral, which he completed, his remains rest 
 in eternal repose beside those of his illustrious pre- 
 decessor who had projedted this magnificent temple 
 of Gothic art. The simple inscription on the door of 
 the vault reads: "John Cardinal McCloskey, died 
 Odober lo, 1885." His cardinalitial hat hung high 
 above the sandtuary which he so well adorned, 
 reminds the prayerful worshipper in the Cathedral of 
 a glory that has departed forever. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 CHARACTERISTICS OF CARDINAL MCCLOSKEY 
 
 IT was said at the time of Cardinal McCloskey's 
 death that "the recording angel has in the Book 
 of Life, the only full biography of the deceased 
 Prince of the Church. And when that book is opened, 
 and not till then, will mankind know the great services 
 which he rendered to the United States and to the 
 Church of which he was such a distinguished ornament." 
 
 With Cardinal McCloskey such undoubtedly must 
 always remain the case. There are no stirring epochs 
 in his life as in that of his predecessor, Archbishop 
 Hughes and, to a certain extent, in that of his suc- 
 cessor, Archbishop Corrigan. He was preeminently an 
 ecclesiastic. All his life long, as Father Hewitt, his 
 friend, has described him, "his interior occupation had 
 been more spiritual than intelledtual and had not been 
 distradled or disturbed by incessant outward adlivity." 
 
 From more than one standpoint, it is impossible to 
 sum up within a few pages the chief charadteristics of 
 such a life as his. His public life as a prelate, as a 
 Prince of the Catholic Church and as the chief citizen 
 of the great metropolis, over whose Catholic hearts he 
 was placed to rule, is known too well to need a fuller 
 description. That public life has been portrayed in 
 the letters and other documents contained in this 
 biographical sketch. But all through these pages we 
 cannot help but be conscious that much that is essential 
 
 369 
 
370 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 to the story of this rare figure must be left untold. 
 Out of the heaps of material in our possession, we have 
 been able to use only the minor part. And yet, to those 
 who fail to catch the underlying principle upon which 
 his life was based, his public career might seem almost 
 devoid of extraordinary interest. 
 
 That underlying principle was humility. 
 
 His modesty of speech, his benignity of manner, his 
 great personal simplicity of heart, may not be to the 
 eyes of the world the outward dress of a fearless and 
 uncompromising disciplinarian or of a strong masterly 
 personality in affairs of Church and State. His dislike 
 for public display and his careful avoidance of every- 
 thing that might bring him before the public gaze, 
 are probably the most salient aspects of his charadler. 
 
 Among the many humorous incidents of his life 
 familiar to the older clergy of the present generation, 
 is one which shows his calmness under provoking cir- 
 cumstances. Father McFarland, the pastor at Utica, 
 was disliked by a fadlion among his parishioners, and 
 they despatched a delegation down to Albany to see 
 Bishop McCloskey in order to have him removed. 
 The Bishop heard them very patiently, and when 
 they had lodged their complaint to their entire satis- 
 faction, he replied: "Gentlemen, your petition shall 
 be granted very shortly. I have just received from 
 Rome the bull appointing your pastor Bishop of Hart- 
 ford." It is needless to say that the delegation was 
 thunderstruck; but they showed the proper spirit .by 
 returning to Utica with the glad news and by taking 
 an adtive part in the public reception given to Bishop 
 McFarland. 
 
CHARACTERISTICS 371 
 
 The Cardinal was always noted for his coolness and 
 self-possession under every circumstance. The follow- 
 ing instance is an evidence of this. When he was 
 Bishop of Albany, he was driving with one of the 
 pastors on some business, when the horse became 
 frightened and unmanageable. The pastor jumped 
 from the carriage, but the bishop seized the reins, and 
 kept the horse in the road until he came to a turn where 
 he was able to swing him into an embankment, he 
 himself jumping from the carriage and seizing the 
 animal before he could rise to continue his flight. 
 
 Again while journeying in a train to Albany, at 
 the Tarrytown station the conducftor warned the 
 passengers of an impending collision. The bishop 
 succeeded in reaching the platform of the car and had 
 almost alighted in safety, when the crash came and his 
 foot was caught, with the result that his ankle was 
 crushed and he was dragged some distance before getting 
 clear. He was taken to the redlory at Tarrytown and 
 cared for. A gentleman seated in front of him in the 
 train, who received the same warning, did not even 
 get out of his seat, but was thrown against the next 
 seat and killed. 
 
 His utter fearlessness in the presence of danger to 
 the institutions of the Church cannot be better de- 
 scribed than in his attitude towards the Church 
 Property Bill of New York, and again towards the 
 Italian government in 1884, when it was a question of 
 the confiscation of the American College at Rome. The 
 Cardinal's letter to President Arthur on March 3, 1884, 
 and his stirring Pastoral on the subjed: gave courage to 
 all parties concerned and saved the college from ruin. 
 
372 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Cardinal Gibbons relates an episode in Cardinal 
 McCIoskey's life which caused considerable talk at the 
 time. "In the early seventies," says His Eminence, 
 "when I was Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina, resid- 
 ing in' Wilmington, North Carolina, I received one day 
 a letter addressed To any Catholic Priest in Wilming- 
 ton. This letter was from a Dodtor Monk of Newton 
 Grove, North Carolina, who made inquiries in regard 
 to Catholic belief. This letter lead to some corre- 
 spondence between us and I sent him a number of 
 Catholic books. Dodtor Monk wrote to me that he 
 would be in Wilmington on a certain day with his 
 family to receive the grace of Baptism, if I found him 
 worthy. The result was that I baptized him and his 
 whole family. After the baptism I asked him what 
 had convinced him of the true faith, and he replied 
 that he had never before seen a Catholic priest, that 
 no Catholic lived in his country and that he had never 
 been in a Catholic church, but by chance had come 
 across an abstracfl of a sermon by Cardinal (then Arch- 
 bishop) McCloskey in the New Tork Herald which 
 gave him the first glimpse of light. Hence his letter 
 to me. As a result of the conversion of Dodlor Monk 
 and family, three hundred people of that vicinity fol- 
 lowed him into the Church, and now at Newton Grove 
 there is a Church, Redtory and School." 
 
 The Cardinal was always a conspicuous figure in 
 the Councils of the Church. As a young Bishop he 
 assisted at the First Plenary Council of Baltimore in 
 1852; and at the Second, in 1866, he took a leading 
 place both in the pulpit and in the council sessions. 
 His was not the part of a debater so much as that of 
 
CHARACTERISTICS 373 
 
 a dire<flor. At the close of a discussion, in which he 
 rarely took an adlive part, all looked to him for a 
 clear sumrnary of the arguments on both sides of the 
 debate, and rarely did anyone differ from the con- 
 clusions he voiced. In the Vatican Council, where he 
 was a member of the Committee on Church Discipline, 
 he held a most important post. Pope Leo XIII often 
 spoke of him as a prelate of princely bearing and of 
 a saintly disposition. 
 
 Cardinal McCloskey was self-contained and reserved, 
 and did little that would enable the general public to 
 estimate the profound depth of his charatfter. He was 
 a man of affedtionate nature, and loved many things 
 with great tenderness. 
 
 His devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, to the 
 Blessed Virgin, and to the Holy Souls, was enhanced 
 by a] filial aff edtion for the Holy See, which shines out 
 with a brilliancy all its own in every period of his 
 life. It would be easy to multiply evidences of this 
 from his letters and papers, but one will suffice — his 
 letter to Pope Pius IX, on the occasion of the Silver 
 Jubilee of his Pontificate (1871): 
 
 Most Holy Father: 
 
 Many trials and sorrows have pressed on your 
 paternal heart during the course of a long Pontificate, 
 which may be truly said to have been rendered glorious 
 no less by the sufferings that you have heroically en- 
 dured than by the triumphs that you have achieved 
 for God's Holy Church. And now again fresh troubles 
 have come upon you, new perils encompass you. 
 The work of iniquity long since begun by perverse and 
 
374 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 wicked men who, conspiring against the Lord and 
 against His Christ, have labored incessantly and by 
 every unlawful means to effedl the overthrow of your 
 temporal power, has, for a time at least, been con- 
 summated; and we behold you no longer as before, a 
 sovereign free and independent, but a prisoner in your 
 own capital. This spectacle has shocked the hearts 
 of your faithful children throughout the world, and 
 fills them even now with grief and indignation. 
 
 We, Most Holy Father, who are not alone your 
 children but bishops also of the Church, called to have 
 a share in your solicitude, can not be unmindful, at 
 such a moment, of our high office nor of the ties which 
 bind us to you and to your Apostolic See. Moved 
 therefore, by sentiments of sincere fidelity, of warmest 
 love and veneration, we come to offer at the feet of 
 Your Holiness the expression of our heartfelt sym- 
 pathies, and to raise our voice in most earnest and 
 solemn protest against the unjust and sacrilegious 
 adts whereby your venerable authority has been out- 
 raged, your rights and privileges violated, and that 
 temporal sovereignty which belongs to you by titles 
 higher, holier, and more just than those of any crowned 
 head in Europe, wrested by fraud and violence from 
 your hands. 
 
 In your august person we recognize the Vicar of 
 our divine Lord on earth, the infallible teacher, the 
 Supreme Pastor appointed to feed, to rule and govern 
 the whole church of Christ. This spiritual supremacy 
 you have derived not from man but from God and no 
 power of man can take it from you. 
 
 In the civil sovereignty and temporal domain which 
 
CHARACTERISTICS 375 
 
 the faith and piety of Cathohc ages bestowed on 
 your predecessors and of which you are the rightful 
 inheritor, we recognize a Providential dispensation, 
 wisely ordained to proted: and uphold in a befitting 
 manner the sublime dignity of Head of the Church, 
 and to secure for him that full measure of independence 
 which is necessary for the free, secure and impartial 
 exercise of his Apostolic office. This temporal sover- 
 eignty and domain were confided not for the exclusive 
 benefit of any one country or people but to be held and 
 administered as a sacred trust for the benefit and wel- 
 fare of the universal church. So that all the Church's 
 children may be justly said to have a right and an 
 interest therein. To despoil Your Holiness, therefore, 
 is to rob the Church, to violate the rights and offend 
 the consciences of all Catholics throughout the world; 
 it is besides, to deprive you of what in the order of God's 
 Providence has served for more than a thousand years 
 as an essential safeguard and indispensable guarantee 
 of that unrestricted liberty which must belong to the 
 Supreme Pastor whose spiritual jurisdidtion extends 
 over all Catholics, over princes and rulers, as well as 
 over subjedts and people. 
 
 Your cause, then. Most Holy Father, is our cause, 
 the cause of the whole church, the cause of God. It is 
 one, also, to which we are unwilling to believe that 
 Christian governments can long remain indifferent, 
 since it effecfls interests so dear and sacred to millions 
 of their loyal subjedls, since it involves principles which 
 lie at the foundation of all civil sovereignty on the 
 one hand and of true allegiance on the other; principles 
 of national honor of public faith, of truth, and justice 
 
376 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 among men. Of these great principles Your Holiness 
 has ever stood forth before the world as the noble 
 advocate and defender — and it is for this reason, 
 because you have loved justice and hated iniquity that 
 we admire and applaud your noble and dignified 
 constancy, your unshaken reliance on divine aid and 
 protection. 
 
 We cease not to pour forth our prayers, in common 
 with our faithful clergy and people, to the Father of 
 mercies and God of all consolation that He may bring 
 joy out of sorrow, triumph out of humiliation; that 
 He may speedily reestablish you in the possession of all 
 your rights and privileges, and restore peace to the 
 Church and to the world. 
 
 Imploring for ourselves and for all committed to 
 our pastoral care Your Apostolic benedidlion. 
 We remain. Your Holiness' 
 
 devoted servants and children in Xt. 
 
 Of all the friends who surrounded Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey during the last years of his life, none knew 
 him more intimately than his successor, the late Arch- 
 bishop Corrigan. 
 
 Hidden away in the files of the newspapers of the 
 day is his eloquent panegyric at the month's mind 
 memorial Mass for Cardinal McCloskey, on November 
 lo, 1885. In his own strong way. Archbishop Cor- 
 rigan thus pictures his saintly and beloved prede- 
 cessor: "It was Cardinal McCloskey's privilege," he 
 says, "to grow up with Catholicity in this diocese, 
 and to be spared to witness, both in the Church and 
 in the land of his birth, a progress and a development 
 
CHARACTERISTICS 377 
 
 unparalleled in history. It gives us some idea of this 
 unpredecented growth, when, bearing in mind the 
 present condition of the Church in this city, with its 
 half a million of Catholics, we remember that he 
 himself may be considered the first-fruits of the sanc- 
 tuary; for he was the first native priest of this State 
 of New York who, as a secular priest, devoted him- 
 self to the service of the altar. Promoted to the epis- 
 copal dignity, he poured the oil of unAion on those 
 who are today the oldest and most venerated orna- 
 ments of our priesthood. From his hands, nearly all 
 the bishops of this province received episcopal conse- 
 cration. No wonder, then, that the clergy learned to 
 look up to him with the love and veneration due to 
 a pioneer and a patriarch." 
 
 Cardinal McCloskey could indeed look back to a 
 period in the ecclesiastical life of the See over which he 
 presided so admirably, when there was but a handful 
 of priests and people. But it was not mere length of 
 days, nor the attainment of high honors — not even 
 the sacred dignity of Prince of the Church, which drew 
 the hearts of all towards him; but that which, as a 
 magnet, drew honors themselves to him — his sweet 
 and gentle life, and his exalted virtues. "It is not too 
 much to say," continues Archbishop Corrigan "that if 
 one virtue were more conspicuous than another in the 
 career of the illustrious Cardinal, it was the virtue 
 of prudence. His whole life might be quoted in 
 illustration, and instances chosen at random from any 
 part of it." Archbishop Corrigan then related the 
 story of the beginning of the Cardinal's sacerdotal 
 ministry and explained how thoroughly prudent the 
 
378 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 young priest had been in his dealings with the trustees 
 of St. Joseph's in 1837-38. 
 
 Another marked trait in the Cardinal's charaAer — 
 the result partly of his own native gentleness, partly 
 of the abiding grace of humility — was his great con- 
 sideration of others. It was this innate force which 
 made Cardinal McCloskey a man amongst men, full 
 of tadl and persuasiveness, and overcoming difficulties 
 so simply that no one ever felt offended. His judg- 
 ment and consideration in using the immense power 
 and influence placed at his disposal were remarked by 
 all; one of his suffragans admitted that his pressure 
 on the province had always been as light as the 
 touch of a little finger. 
 
 So lived and so died John Cardinal McCloskey, 
 first Prince of the Holy Roman Catholic Church in 
 the United States, a loving father to his spiritual 
 children, a faithful shepherd of the true Fold, and an 
 example for the whole Christian world. 
 
 In the words of the beloved second American 
 Prince of the Church, James Cardinal Gibbons, we 
 may say: "Oh beloved Pontiff! may thy soul be this 
 day in Paradise! We cherish thy memory; and even 
 in the years to come, when thy life shall be viewed 
 through the mellowing atmosphere of time, thy mem- 
 ory, like the memory of Josias, will be as the com- 
 position of a sweet odor made by the art of the 
 perfumer; thy memory shall be sweet as honey in 
 every mouth, and as delicious music at a banquet. 
 They will speak of thee as the kind, and gentle, and 
 fatherly Cardinal McCloskey!" 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 IN no sedion of the American Church can the 
 historian trace a steadier growth of CathoHcity 
 than in New York State. When Richard Luke 
 Concanen, the illustrious Prior of the Dominicans of 
 San Clemente, Rome, was appointed first Bishop of 
 New York in 1808, the number of Catholics in his whole 
 diocese was hardly twenty thousand. These were 
 mostly of Irish parentage, with a few Spaniards, a large 
 number of Germans, and some Frenchmen. In 1821, 
 the year John McCloskey entered Mount St. Mary's 
 College, the Church in the " Bishopric of New York," 
 — as we read in that rare little volume The Laity's 
 Diredory to the Church Service, had already given 
 evidence of its future strength. The following state- 
 ment which is copied from the Laity's Direilory (1822) 
 explains that growth in detail : 
 
 "bishopric of NEW-YORK 
 
 " Rt. Rev. Dr. John Connolly, Bishop 
 "The bishopric of New- York, comprehends the whole 
 state of New- York, together with the northern parts 
 of Jersey. The residence of the Bishop is in New- York. 
 This city contains two Catholic Churches, viz: the 
 Cathedral (St. Patrick's) and St. Peter's. The Cathe- 
 dral is a superb edifice, 120 feet long by 80 feet wide, 
 finished in a superior manner in the inside, and is 
 
 379 
 
38o JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 capable of holding 6000 people. The exterior, as to the 
 ornamental part, is yet unfinished. The style of the 
 building is Gothic; and from its great extent and 
 solidity, must have cost upwards of 90,000 dollars. 
 No Church in the United States, (the Cathedral in 
 Baltimore excepted) can compare with it. 
 
 "St. Peter's, which is the first Catholic Church 
 eredted in New- York, is a neat, convenient, and hand- 
 some building. It was eredled about 20 years ago, 
 at which time the number of Catholics did not exceed 
 three hundred. At present they number upwards 
 of twenty thousand. They are mostly natives of 
 Ireland and France. There are in this city two exten- 
 sive Catholic charity schools, conducted upon a judi- 
 cious plan, and supported partly by the funds of the 
 state, and partly by moneys raised twice a year by two 
 congregations. Independently of these two estab- 
 lishments, the Emmitsburg sisters of charity have 
 a branch here of their pious institution, exclusively 
 for the benefit of female orphan children, whom they 
 board, clothe and educate. Their house fronts the 
 side of the Cathedral, and is in one of the most healthy 
 situations in New- York. 
 
 " In Albany there is likewise a Catholic church — a 
 neat and compact building. It was eredled about 
 14 years ago, and is attended by a growing congre- 
 gation. The clergyman officiating in this church, 
 visits occasionally Troy, Lansingburgh, Johnstown, 
 and Schenedlady. 
 
 "In Utica, a large and beautiful church has lately 
 been eredled and consecrated, which refledls great 
 honour on the Catholics residing there. Their number 
 
CONCLUSION 381 
 
 is not great; neither are they generally wealthy — • 
 their zeal however, for the house of God, and the place 
 where his glory dwelleth, has enabled them to surmount 
 every obstacle to the exercise of their piety. From the 
 multitude flocking annually to this flourishing village, 
 no doubt can be entertained but this will shortly become 
 one of the most numerous, and respediable congre- 
 gations in the diocess. In Rome, (15 miles distant 
 from Utica,) there is as yet no Catholic church, but a 
 beautiful lot is reserved, by the liberality of Dominick 
 Lynch, Esq., on which one will be eredled, as soon 
 as the number of Catholics settling there will render 
 its eredlion necessary. The situation of this little 
 town is healthy and beautiful. 
 
 "In Auburn, an agreeable little town, still farther 
 distant in the state, there is likewise a Catholic church, 
 recently eredted. 
 
 "In New Jersey, in the town of Patterson, there is 
 also one, which is regularly attended by a clergyman. 
 
 "In Carthage, near the Black River, a small and 
 neat church has been lately eredled. 
 
 " The Following are the Catholic Clergymen Officiating 
 in this Diocese 
 
 New-York 
 
 Rt. Rev'd. Dr. John Connolly | ^^ ^^^^ .^^,^ ^^^^^^^^ 
 
 Rev D Michael O Gorman J 
 
 Rev'd. Charles French 1 ^ _, , 
 _ , _ „ )St. Peters 
 
 Rev D. John Power J 
 
 Rev'd. Mr. Bulger, Patterson 
 
 Rev'd. Michael Carroll, Albany and vicinity 
 
382 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 Rev'd. John Farnan, Utica and vicinity 
 
 Rev'd. Patrick Kelly, Auburn, Rochester, and other 
 
 districts in the Western parts of this state 
 Rev'd. Philip Larissy attends regularly at Staten 
 
 Island, and different other congregations along the 
 
 Hudson River." 
 
 Another interesting series of statistics was furnished 
 by the late Dr. Charles G. Herbermann in his sketch 
 of the Life of Bishop Dubois. We set them down in 
 chronological order: 
 
 1816. Bishop Connolly's estimate (for New 
 
 York City) 13,000 
 
 1 8 16. Bishop Hughes' estimate (for New 
 
 York City), written in 1836 . . 16,000 
 1 82 1. Archbishop Marechal's estimate (for 
 
 New York Diocese) 50,000 
 
 1823. Bishop Connolly's estimate (for New 
 
 York City) 15,000 
 
 1827. Shea's estimate (for New York 
 
 Diocese) 150,000 
 
 1829. Bishop Dubois' estimate (for New 
 
 York City) 3S,ooo 
 
 1829. Bishop Dubois' estimate (for New 
 
 York Diocese) 185,000 
 
 1833. Bishop Dubois' estimate (for New 
 
 York Diocese) 200,000 
 
 The Catholic Almanac for 1844, — the year John 
 McCloskey became Coadjutor of New York, gives the 
 following summary for the Diocese of New York: 
 
CONCLUSION 383 
 
 Churches 90 
 
 Chapels 7 
 
 Missions 60 
 
 Clergymen 91 
 
 Seminary i 
 
 Clerical Students 31 
 
 Colleges I 
 
 Female Academies 3 
 
 Institutions under Sisters of Charity . . . 11 
 
 Asylums for Orphans 6 
 
 Orphans supported 420 
 
 Catholic population, over 200,000 
 
 Twenty years later (1864), Archbishop McCIoskey 
 returned to New York as its ecclesiastical head, and 
 the account printed in Sadliers' Catholic Direilory of 
 1864-65, would indicate that the twenty years be- 
 tween 1844 and 1864 had not been a period of intensive 
 growth on the part of the priests and people. The 
 churches listed number about one hundred, and the 
 institutions, twenty-two. There were twelve seledl 
 schools and thirty-one free or parochial schools. The 
 priests numbered about one hundred and twenty. 
 
 It is during the next twenty years (1864-1885), dur- 
 ing which time Archbishop John McCIoskey faced in 
 New York State the same crisis which existed all over 
 the States — the crisis of Reconstru<5lion, that the 
 most remarkable part of that growth is to be seen. As 
 Rev. Dr. John Talbot Smith has written in his History 
 of the Catholic Church in New Tork (1808-igos) : "The 
 Civil War arrested all development in every department, 
 and either threw things into confusion, or brought them 
 
384 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 to a standstill." But the Civil War has proven a boon 
 to Catholics in other ways. For Know-nothingism it 
 meant extinction, the snuffing out of the lesser in the 
 greater interest. For the- Catholics it meant freedom 
 from persecution, and the opportunity to convince the 
 most obstinate of their obvious loyalty. The Civil 
 War was coming to an end when John McCloskey 
 began his rule as the second Archbishop of America's 
 greatest civic centre, and he found the situation, while 
 critical, changed to a great extent for the better. 
 "The masterful career of Archbishop Hughes had 
 welded into one harmonious body the scattered ele- 
 ments of power in the Catholic masses. Opposition 
 had died out, a definite policy had become a custom, 
 prestige had increased, and time had more than justified 
 the methods of Dr. Hughes." 
 
 Archbishop McCloskey, therefore, saw the future 
 of the Church with untroubled eyes. He used to say 
 of himself that it was his good fortune to reap where 
 others had sown; and the harvest he gathered during 
 the twenty years of his archiepiscopate exceeded 
 that of any of his predecessors. At his death in 1885, 
 the Catholic population had increased to 600,000. 
 There were over four hundred priests in his Diocese, 
 and the churches, chapels and missions numbered 274. 
 Eight orphanages sheltered over two thousand chil- 
 dren, and thirteen industrial schools trained five 
 thousand pupils. 
 
 Apart from the three cathedrals which he built, 
 St. Patrick's pro-Cathedral, in Mulberry Street, the 
 Cathedral of Albany, and St. Patrick's Cathedral on 
 Fifth Avenue, Cardinal McCloskey's greatest legacy to 
 
CONCLUSION 385 
 
 the archdiocese is his successful organization of the 
 educational and charitable institutions of New York. 
 No one realized the vital necessity of the parochial 
 school as did Cardinal McCloskey. At the death of 
 Archbishop Hughes, there were thirty-four parochial 
 schools with a student-body of over sixteen thousand 
 boys and girls. It is true that the great impulse 
 towards parochial school education came only after 
 the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884; 
 but during the two decades preceeding that event, 
 Cardinal McCloskey spared no eflFort to spread Catho- 
 lic education throughout his diocese. He increased 
 the number of church schools from thirty-four to 
 one hundred and fifteen, of which sixty were for girls 
 and fifty-five for boys. These schools contained over 
 thirty-three thousand children, and their pupils were 
 not only not inferior to the children of the State schools 
 but often outrivalled them in competitive examinations. 
 
 Nor was higher education negledled. The Jesuits 
 possessed two colleges of high standard — St. John's 
 College, at Fordham, the nucleus of the present Uni- 
 versity, and St. Francis Xavier's College on West 
 Sixteenth Street. Besides these two Jesuit institu- 
 tions, the Christian Brothers conducted the well- 
 known Manhattan College, with several subsidiary 
 schools and institutes, in which "they prepared for 
 the Church a fine body of priests, their proudest 
 service, and for society a superb body of laymen, 
 whose success in after years proved that self-sacrificing 
 teachers could produce fine charadler and robust 
 faith." 
 
 The Sisters of Charity led the way in the education 
 
386 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 of girls. Their well-known institution, Mount St. Vin- 
 cent-on-the-Hudson, and some twelve other academies 
 and schools under their charge gave to the Catholic 
 girls of the diocese every opportunity of competing 
 favorably with the graduates of other colleges. The 
 Ladies of the Sacred Heart, under Cardinal McClos- 
 key's patronage, developed their splendid college at 
 Manhattanville into one of the finest academies of 
 the East. The Ursulines, the Dominican Sisters, the 
 Franciscans, the Sisters of Mercy, and the Sisters of 
 the Holy Cross, cooperated in this laudable work, and 
 though they were never generously supported by the 
 Catholic public of the day, they brought their insti- 
 tutions into prominence through methods which have 
 since won for them a permanent place in educational 
 circles throughout the State. 
 
 Cardinal McCloskey's efforts on behalf of clerical 
 education have been described in detail in these pages. 
 As first vice-President of the first Seminary at Nyack, 
 as President of St. John's, Fordham, and as a partner 
 with Archbishop Hughes in the foundation of the 
 Provincial Seminary at Troy, N. Y., the name of Car- 
 dinal McCloskey will ever be found among the pio- 
 neer educators of New York State. 
 
 Among the numerous charitable works which occu- 
 pied his attention during the twenty years of his admin- 
 istration, was the care he took of the orphans of the 
 diocese. The two institutions in charge of the Sisters 
 of Charity formed the nucleus of this work. A third, 
 St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, was in the hands of the 
 Notre Dame Sisters and sheltered at that time nearly 
 five hundred German children. The New York Catho- 
 
CONCLUSION 387 
 
 lie Protectory was incorporated under Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey's diredl care and was placed in the charge of 
 the Christian Brothers. This great institution grew 
 out of a work begun by the former Episcopal Bishop 
 of North Carolina, the convert, Dr. Levi Silliman Ives. 
 
 A work, similar in design, was one equally famous, 
 that of Father John Drumgoole, for the homeless boys 
 of the city, for newsboys, and others who had no rela- 
 tives or friends to care for them. 
 
 The Sisters of Mercy had three charitable institu- 
 tions under their direction at this time; the Franciscan 
 Sisters, and the Sisters of the Good Shepherd also di- 
 redted charitable works. 
 
 The hospitals were not forgotten. St. Vincent's 
 Hospital, in charge of the Sisters of Charity; St. Fran- 
 cis' Hospital, in charge of the Franciscan Sisters of 
 the Poor ; St. Joseph's Hospital, diredled by the same 
 community, and several others, were given that im- 
 petus by Cardinal McCloskey which has since gained 
 for them the highest reputation in the city. "The 
 crown of this edifice of charity," says Dr. John Talbot 
 Smith, whose summary for 1885 we have been follow- 
 ing, "was the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. There 
 were fifty Conferences in the Diocese with one thou- 
 sand members." 
 
 The historian always requires a long perspedive 
 to be a fair and impartial witness of the past. But 
 even at this small distance, for it is only thirty-two 
 years since Cardinal McCloskey went to his eternal 
 reward, the charader of America's first red-robed 
 Prince of the Church bears the unmistakeable signs 
 of greatness. 
 
388 JOHN CARDINAL McCLOSKEY 
 
 He filled a position alive with difficulties with a 
 dignity and a success which stand out prominently 
 in the story of the Catholic hierarchy of America. 
 All the troubles which threatened the stability of 
 Church organization in the time of his successor — 
 the school question, Cahenslyism, the problem of 
 American methods and viewpoints, — these and many 
 other thorny subjedls which need not be mentioned 
 here, existed in his time, but his consummate prudence 
 and his profound knowledge of men kept him from giv- 
 ing issue to movements which he felt could best be 
 trusted to the gentle hand of Time. 
 
 Cardinal McCloskey was "a prince among princes, 
 a man of learning and of fine parts, devoted to his 
 church work, and well adapted to smooth over the 
 asperities of the past and quell opposition by the 
 meekness and gentleness of his manner." With this 
 tribute from the great ecclesiastic of Rochester, Bishop 
 McQuaid, to John McCloskey, a prince of peace and 
 a saintly exemplar of all the episcopal virtues, this 
 volume may be fittingly ended. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Albano, 330 
 
 Albany, 165-224 passim; Bishop Mc- 
 Closkey's first sermon at, 165- 
 171; cholera in, 179; Putnam's 
 Church Property Bill, 187-190, 
 191-192, 194; growth of city dui^ 
 ing Bishop McCloskey's time, 
 215-216; people's appreciation, 
 letters, citizens' invitation, clergy's 
 address, 216-222 
 
 American College, Rome, Cardinal 
 McCloskey's letter to President 
 Arthur and Pastoral on, 371 
 
 American Oxford Movement, the 
 Heckers, McMaster, etc., 153-158 
 
 Amiens, 250 
 
 Anderson, Ellery, letter to Cardinal 
 McCloskey, 334-335 
 
 , Dr. Henry, 300, 301, 302; death 
 
 of, the Cardinal's eulogy, letters, 
 
 333-340 
 Antonelli, Cardinal, Carroll's letter to, 
 
 6-7. 317. 329 
 
 Around the World with General Grant, 
 342 
 
 Arthur, President, Cardinal McClos- 
 key's letter to, 371 
 
 Association of Lyons, Bishop Dubois' 
 letter to, 68, 176; McCloskey's 
 letter to, 177-179 
 
 Astor, John Jacob, 20 
 
 Asylum and Labor School for Orphan 
 boys, 178 
 
 Auburn, N. Y., 381 
 
 Axiern, 146 
 
 Bacon, Bishop, 198, 261; illness of, 
 299, 302; death, 302; Archbishop 
 McCloskey's memorial to, 303 
 
 Baltimore, 6, 12, 13, 16, 89, 140, 183, 
 189, 19s, 207, 209, 210, 212, 255, 
 256, 259, 261, 262, 312, 313, 314, 
 317, 318, 319, 321. Acts of 
 Councils, 189; 1st. Prov. Council, 
 i; 3d. Prov. Council, l; sth. 
 Prov. Council, 146; 6th. Prov. 
 Council, 160; 1st. Plen. Council, 
 I9S> 372; 2d. Plen. Council, 
 261-271, 275, 372; 3d. Plen. 
 Council, problems of, preparations 
 for, 362-363, 385 
 
 Banagher, Cardinal McCloskey's 
 mother's birthplace, 2 
 
 Bandol, Father Seraphin, 8 
 
 Barnabo, Monsignor, 182, 198, 206, 
 209, 213, 243, 270, 276 
 
 Bayley, Elizabeth Ann (Mother Seton), 
 141 
 
 , James Roosevelt (Bishop and 
 
 Archbishop), 140; ancestry, birth, 
 conversion, ordination, 140-142; 
 letter to McCloskey, 207; Car- 
 dinal's letters to, 316-317, 317- 
 318,319,367 
 
 , Richard, 141 
 
 Becker, Bishop, 318 
 
 Beckx, Father Pierre-Jean, S.J., letter 
 to Archbishop McCloskey, 249- 
 250 
 
 Bedford, McCloskey farm at, 20; 
 accident at, 20, 34, 35 
 
 Bedini, Archbishop, 185 
 
 Belgium, 18, 19, 122, 243, 260, 300 
 
 Bellarmine, 92 
 
 Belleville, N.J., 140 
 
 Binnse, M. L., 333 
 
 Bodenham, Mrs., 88 
 
 Bodfish, Father, 330-331 
 
 389, 
 
390 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Boston, 6, 119, 147, IS2, 15s. 180, 19s, 
 203, 243, 260, 261, 294, 3SO 
 
 Boulanger, Father Clement, S.J., 246 
 
 Bourke, Gilbert, 9 
 
 , Nicholas, 13 
 
 Brady, Thomas, his ambition for 
 young McCloskey, 16, 19, 34 
 
 , James T., 16 
 
 , John R., 16 
 
 Brebeuf, Father, 5 
 
 Brest, 283, 299, 301, 302, 303 
 
 Brooklyn, i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 14. 72. 75. 152. 
 20s, 211, 261, 293-294, 349, 350, 
 
 354 
 Brownson, 154, 155 
 Brute, Bishop, 23, 49, Ji, 56, 59. 62, 
 
 66, 109, 112 
 Buffalo, 14, 152, 160, 185, 190, 205, 
 
 206, 261, 284, 307, 348, 3So; 
 
 Bishop Timon of, and trustees, 
 
 IBs 
 Burlington, 152, 207, 261, 294, 306 
 Butler, Charles, 47 
 
 , Dr., Bishop Dubois' letter to, 76 
 
 Byrne, Bishop Andrew, 147 
 
 Camden, Lord and Lady, 183, 184 
 
 Canada, 255. 271; "invasion" of, 275 
 
 Cardinal, American, talk of an, 275- 
 276 
 
 Carroll, Archbishop, Bishop Con- 
 canen's letter to, 4; letter to 
 Antonelli, 6-7, 16; strained rela- 
 tions of, with Catholics of New 
 York, 10; letter to Gardoqui, 11; 
 and the Father Nugent trouble, 
 12; consecration of, 88-89 
 
 Cass, Mr., 183 
 
 Casserly, Eugene, 131 
 
 , Patrick, 130, 131 
 
 Cataldi, Monsignor, 302, 324 
 
 Catholic Almanac, The (1844), 382-383 
 
 clergy, during Civil War, 262 
 
 Herald, 108 
 
 Mirror, 320-324 
 
 Catholics , (Bishop) Carroll's estimate 
 of in United States, 6-7; of New 
 York and Spanish King, 8-10 
 
 Celibacy, 56 
 
 Chambersburg, 42 
 
 Channing, Rev. Dr., 90 
 
 , Edward Tyrrel, 90, 154 
 
 Charles III, of Spain, gift to St. Peter's, 
 Barclay St., 9 
 
 Charleston, 195 
 
 Charlestown convent, burning of, 120 
 
 Chatard, (Bishop) Silas, letters to Car- 
 dinal McCloskey, 31 1-3 14, 324, 
 
 325. 329. 331. 343 
 Cheverus, Cardinal, 2 
 Chicago, 147, 270 
 Christian Brothers, 215, 385, 387 
 Church Property Bill (Putnam), 184- 
 
 194. 371 
 
 Churches: St. Ann's, 19s; St. Francis 
 Xavier's, 248; Holy Name, 247; 
 Immaculate Conception (Albany 
 Cathedral), 174, 175, 178; St. 
 Joseph's, 190; St. Joseph's, N. Y., 
 127, 132, 133, 134, 140, 142, 146, 
 189, 378; St. Louis, Buffalo, 185, 
 189; St. Luke's, P.E., 195; St. 
 Maria Maggiore, 183; St. Mary of 
 the Angels, Bayswater, London, 
 333; St. Mary's, Albany, 165, 174, 
 215; St. Mary's, Clifton, S.J., 304; 
 St. Mary's, Troy, 252; Nativity, 
 19s; St. Patrick's, N. Y. (Old 
 Cathedral), 4, s. 9. I4. "5. 147. 
 148, 161-162, 379, 380, consecra- 
 tion of the three bishops at, 147- 
 148, installation of Archbishop 
 McCloskey it, 226; St. Patrick's 
 (New Cathedral), work on and 
 opening of, 241-242, dedication 
 of. Bishop Ryan's sermon on, 345- 
 348; St. Peter's, N. Y., 2, 4, 5, 
 16, 23, first church in New York 
 State, 5, cornerstone laid, 9, 
 first Mass, 9, lo-ii, anti-Catholic 
 demonstration at, 13, 380; St. 
 Peter's, Rome, 86, 87, 88, 183, 
 353; Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, 
 328 
 
 Cincinnati, 23, 207, 285 
 
 Clarke, Dr., 18 
 
INDEX 
 
 391 
 
 Colleges: American, Louvain, 259, 
 310, 314, letter to Cardinal 
 McCloskey from, 315; American, 
 Rome, 208, 276, 283, 310, 311, 
 324, 329, 340, 349; Columbia, 
 20; Dr. Anderson and, 334; 
 Georgetown, 16, 17; Irish (Rome), 
 103, 108, 120, 213, 307, 308; 
 Manhattan, 385; Mt. St. Mary's, 
 16, 17, 20, 22, 36, so, 67, 69, 
 70, 76, 103, 108, 109, 124, 125, 
 126; celebration in honor of Car- 
 dinal McCloskey at, 320-324, 349; 
 Propaganda, 103, villa of, 332; 
 St. Charles, Md., 254, 255; St. 
 Francis Xavier, 248, 249, 251, 
 385; St. John's, Fordham, 132- 
 
 133. 139. 140. 246, 248. 251. 385; 
 St. Joseph's, Fordham, 151, 246, 
 
 251 
 
 Concanen, Bishop, 4, 13; letter to 
 Archbishop Carroll, 4; 328, 379 
 
 Congregation of Good Works of 
 Renaix, Brothers of, 260 
 
 Connelly, Pierce, conversion of, letter 
 to Bishop McCloskey, 158-159 
 
 Connolly, Bishop, letter to Cardinal 
 Litta, 69; on growth of Catholicity 
 in New York, 379-382 
 
 Conroy, Father, later Bishop of Al- 
 bany, 223, 224, 245, 261, 328 
 
 Cooper, John Taylor, 217 
 
 Corcoran, Rev. Dr., 276; letter to 
 Archbishop McCloskey, 276-278; 
 on papal infallibility, 278 
 
 Corning, Erastus, 217, 218 
 
 Corrigan (Archbishop), 211; coad- 
 jutor of New York, 349-350; 
 preparations for 3d. Plen. Council, 
 Baltimore, 362-363, 369; pane- 
 gyric on the Cardinal, 376-377 
 
 Crevecoeur, Heftor St. John, 8 
 
 Crosby, Mr., and the Church Property 
 Bill, 188, 189, 190 
 
 CuUen, Cardinal, 74, 88; relations 
 with Church in United States, 90, 
 305; letter of congratulation to 
 Cardinal McCloskey, 326 
 
 De Lamennais, 115, 116; Leo XII 
 
 on, 115; Wiseman and, 115-116; 
 
 Madame Swetchine and, 116; 
 
 UAvenir, Les Affaires de Rome, 
 
 114-117 
 Delebecque, Bishop Louis Joseph, 259 
 De Neve, Very Rev. John, 259 
 Devlin, Hon. John E., 359 
 Diary, 105, 106-107, 225, 226 
 Diary and Visitation Records (Kenrick's) 
 
 SS7S6 
 
 Dominican Sisters, 386 
 
 Dongan, Governor Thomas, 5 
 
 Downes, Father, 91, 107 
 
 Drumgoole, Father John, 387 
 
 Dublin, IS, 326, 328, 333, 340 
 
 Dubois, Bishop, 20, 23, 49, 50, 56, 63, 
 66, 67, 69, 71, III, 112, 114, IIS, 
 117, 123, 150, 160, 288, 362; and 
 John McCloskey's vocation, 20; 
 letter to Association of Lyons 
 giving plans for college, agreement 
 with Mt. St. Mary's, purchase of 
 site, opening of, 76; McCloskey's 
 letters to, 93-94, 112, 114, 117- 
 119; plans for new college and for 
 Father McCloskey, 112; Lacor- 
 daire and, 115; new seminary, 
 119-120, letter to President Butler 
 on proposed arrangements for, 124- 
 127; resignation of, 138; death, 146 
 
 Dubreuil, Rev. Joseph Paul, letter to 
 Archbishop Hughes, 256 
 
 Dungiven, Ireland, 2 
 
 Egan, Bishop, 23, 69, 70 
 
 , Father Michael de Burgo, 24, 37, 
 
 42, 84-85 
 
 Elliott, Rev. Walter, C.S.P., 154 
 
 Emigration to America, Irish, causes 
 for, 3 
 
 Emmitsburg, Mount St. Mary's Col- 
 lege at, 16, 20, 38, 52, 55, 69, 71, 
 103, 320, 349 
 
 England, Bishop, 41 ; words to students 
 at Mount St. Mary's, 41; coin- 
 cidence in lives of Bishop and 
 Cardinal, 41 
 
392 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Erie Canal, 163 
 
 Esmonde, Father H., S.J., 142 
 
 Farley, Anthony, 143 
 
 , Rev. John (Cardinal), 5, 324; 
 
 letters to Monsignor Preston, 
 
 329-331, 331-333. 342. 348 
 
 Farmer, Father, 6, 7 
 
 Farrelly, Father Felix, 294 
 
 Fedigan, Father, 366 
 
 Fenians, origin of in America, motives 
 and plans, attitude of the Church 
 towards. Bishop McCloskey's cir- 
 cular and address in New York 
 Cathedral on, 269-275 
 
 Fenwick, (Bishop) Benedidl, S.J., 2, 
 
 4. 147 
 
 , James, Archited: of St. Patrick's, 
 
 N. Y., 348 
 
 Fesch, Cardinal, 108, 109, no 
 
 Fitzpatrick, Bishop, 155; efforts 
 towards Provincial Seminary pro- 
 jeft, 252, 259, 260, 261; Arch- 
 bishop Hughes' letter to, 257-258; 
 letters to Bishop McCloskey, 
 203-204, 243-245 
 
 Flaget, Bishop, 288 
 
 Floridablanca, 9, 1 1 
 
 Forbes, Dr. John Murray, episcopal 
 minister, convert, priest, apostate, 
 
 19S-197 
 Fordham, 127, 133, 137, 139, 140, 151, 
 
 19s, 246, 247 
 Fort McHenry, 320 
 Forty Years in the United States of 
 
 America (Thebaud), 152 
 Franchi, Cardinal, 305, 306, 324, 329 
 Franciscans, 386 
 Fransoni, Cardinal, 112 
 Freeman's Journal, 156 
 Freres des &coles Chretiennes, 178 
 
 Gabriels, Bishop, 67, 259, 260; 
 
 letter to Cardinal McCloskey, 
 
 310 
 Gage, Father Charles, S.J., 5 
 Gansevoert, Peter, 217, 218 
 Gardoqui, Diego de, 8, II 
 
 Gartland, Right Rev. Francis Xavier, 
 Bishop of Savannah, 25, 43 
 
 Gavassi, 188 
 
 Georgetown, 16; in 1821, 17 
 
 Gerry, Rev. Mr., 43 
 
 Ghent, Bishop of, 244, 245, 249 
 
 Gibbons, James (Cardinal), his con- 
 trast between Hughes and Mc- 
 Closkey, 150; on Archbishop 
 McCloskey at 2d. Plen. Council, 
 Baltimore, 261; mentions Arch- 
 bishop's self-control, 267; recol- 
 leftions and description of men 
 and discussions on Infallibility at 
 Vatican Council, Archbishop Mc- 
 Closkey's attitude on, 285-287; 
 congratulates Cardinal McCloskey, 
 306, 318; sermon at the Cardinal's 
 funeral, 368; on conversion of 
 Dr. Monk and family, as an evi- 
 dence of the Cardinal's far-reaching 
 influence, 372, 378 
 
 Goesbriand, Bishop de, 207, 261 
 
 Grant, General, on visit to Rome, 
 Cardinal McCloskey's courtesy to, 
 audience with Leo XHI, 342-343 
 
 Gregorian University, lo8 
 
 Gregory XHI, 92 
 
 XVI, 109, 116, 146 
 
 Halifax, 285 
 
 Hardy, Mme., 159, 180 
 
 Harrison, Father Henry, S.J., 5 
 
 Hartford, 152, 261, 294 
 
 Harvey, Father Thomas, S.J., 5 
 
 Havermans, Rev. Peter, 252, 256 
 
 Hawley, Gideon, 217 
 
 Healy, Rev. Alexander Sherwood, 245, 
 260 
 
 Hecker, George, 153 
 
 , Isaac, influence, guidance and 
 
 support given by Bishop Mc- 
 Closkey to, 153-158; letters to 
 Cardinal McCloskey, 308-309, 314, 
 
 331 
 Heeney, Cornelius, 14, 20, 74, 119, 123 
 Hewitt, Father, on Cardinal's love of 
 
 God, 162, 365-366, 369 
 
INDEX 
 
 393 
 
 Higglns, Matthew, 143 
 
 Historical Sketch of the Provincial 
 Seminary at Troy, N. T., 67 
 
 History of the Catholic Church in New 
 York, 3S0, 383 
 
 History of St. Patrick's, S, 348 
 
 Hostlot, Dr., letter to Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey, 340-341 
 
 Huet de la Valiniere, Father Pierre, 
 8 
 
 Hughes, John (Archbishop), 23, iij, 
 123, 124, 146, 147, 148, 163, 164, 
 166, 167, 168, 169, 175, 185, 202, 
 203, 208, 219, 260, 288, 369; 
 coadjutor of New York, 134; 
 McCloskey's description of, 135; 
 appeal to Leopoldine Association, 
 135-137; Lafargeville, Rose Hill, 
 subscriptions for. Bishop Dubois' 
 resignation. Bishop Hughes' pas- 
 toral (Feb. 10, 1849), opening of 
 St. Joseph's Seminary, 137-140; 
 charadler and greatness, 148-IJ0; 
 opposition to, his tad: and Mc- 
 Closkey's gentle influence. Cardinal 
 Gibbons' contrast of the two, 150; 
 plan for central seminary. Bishop 
 Tyler's letter on, 152-153; growth 
 of diocese, 160-161; letter to 
 trustees of St. Mary's, Albany, 
 166; speech against Kossuth, 182; 
 letter to Greeley, 182; trusteeism, 
 184-194; Dr. Forbes, 195-197; 
 need for coadjutor. Bishop Bacon's 
 letter, illness and death of great 
 Archbishop, Bishop McCloskey's 
 eulogy, 197-202; his love for 
 America, 236, 240; sermon at 
 laying of corner-stone of new 
 cathedral, 241, 242; efforts towards 
 seminary, arrangement with Jes- 
 uits, diiBculties, 246-249, 251; 
 purchase of Troy University, oflFer 
 to Sulpicians, Hughes' letters, 
 other letters on, Bishop of Ghent's 
 aid, professors sent, opening of 
 seminary by Archbishop McClos- 
 key, 252-261 
 
 Indianapolis, 311 
 
 Infallibility, Papal, Cardinal McClos- 
 key and, 278, 283 
 
 Ireland, 2,3; Aft of Union, 3 ; emigra- 
 tion from, 3; struggle for Catholic 
 relief, 2-3, 184, 271, 273, 326, 
 327, 328; Fenian Movement in 
 America, 269-273 
 
 Irish College, Rome, 71, 74, 103, 108 
 
 hierarchy, address to Cardinal 
 
 McCloskey, 327-328 
 
 Ives, Dr. Levi Silliman, 387 
 
 Jay, Hon. John, 20 
 
 Jesuits of Maryland, 6; law against, 
 6; Missions, 5; restoration of, 17; 
 Roman College in charge of, 92; 
 Bishop Dubois' seminary and, 
 124, 125; in charge of Fordham, 
 151-152; arrangements with Arch- 
 bishop Hughes, difficulties, 246- 
 249; 251; Archbishop McCloskey's 
 solution. Father Beckx, Father 
 Mestian, 249-251 
 
 Jogues, Father, 5 
 
 Journal of Travels, 77, 78, 80, 83-84 
 
 Kenny, Rev. J. (Oswego), 166, 167 
 
 Kenrick, Bishop, 55, 75, 76, 88, 285, 
 288; and McCloskey, 55; opposi- 
 tion to Infallibility, 285; complete 
 acceptance of, Leo XIII's appre- 
 ciation of his charadier, 287 
 
 Keyes, Dr., Cardinal McCloskey's 
 physician, 365 
 
 King, Rufus H., 216, 217 
 
 Kirby, Very Rev. Tobias, 213, 307, 308 
 
 Knownothingism, 189, 384 
 
 Kohlmann, Father Anthony, S.J., 4; 
 Vicai^general, 14; confessional 
 case, 19; McCloskey's account of 
 death of, 110-112 
 
 Lacordaire, and McCloskey, close 
 friendship, their life at Rome, 
 McCloskey's reminiscences of, in- 
 fluence on McCloskey, 114-117 
 
 Ladies of the Sacred Heart, 178, 180, 
 215, 386 
 
394 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Lafargeville, 137 
 
 Laity's DireHory in the Church Service 
 
 (1822), statistics of New York 
 
 from, 379-383 
 Lambruschini, Cardinal, 146 
 Law against Jesuits and Popish Priests, 
 
 6 
 Leo XII, us 
 XIII, 78, 287; eledion of, 341, 
 
 342, 343, 344; letter to Cardinal 
 
 McCloskey on Diocesan Synod, 
 
 3S2-3S3. 3S9. 373 
 Leopoldine Society of Vienna, 112, 
 
 13s, 136, 163 
 Letters: 
 
 Anderson, Ellery, to Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey, 334-33S 
 
 Bacon, Bishop, to Archbishop 
 Hughes, 198-199 
 
 Bayley, Archbishop, to Bishop Mc- 
 Closkey, 207 
 
 Beckx, Father Pierre Jean, S.J., to 
 Archbishop McCloskey, 249-250 
 
 Carroll, Prefed Apostolic, to Cardinal 
 Antonelli, 6-7 
 
 Carroll, Prefedt Apostolic, to Cardi- 
 nal Gardoqui, 11-12 
 
 Chatard, (Bishop) Silas, to Cardinal 
 McCloskey, 31 1-3 14 
 
 Citizens of Albany to Archbishop- 
 eled McCloskey, 216-217 
 
 Concanen to Archbishop Carroll, 4 
 
 Connelly, Pierce, to Bishop McClos- 
 key, 158-159 
 
 Connolly, Bishop, to Cardinal Litta, 
 69 
 
 Corcoran, Dr., to Archbishop Mc- 
 Closkey, 276-278 
 
 CuUen, Cardinal, congratulating Car- 
 dinal McCloskey, 326 
 
 Dubois, Bishop, to Association of 
 Lyons, 68 
 
 Dubois, Bishop, to President Butler, 
 76 
 
 Dubreul, Father, to Archbishop 
 Hughes, 256 
 
 Farley, Father John, to Monsignor 
 Preston, 329-331, 331-333 
 
 Fitzpatrick, Bishop, to Bishop Mc- 
 Closkey, 203-204 
 
 Fitzpatrick, Bishop, to Bishop Mc- 
 Closkey (on seminary), 243-245 
 
 Forbes, John Murray, to Archbishop 
 Hughes, 196 
 
 Gabriels, Bishop, to Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey, 310 
 
 Goesbriand, Bishop de, to Bishop 
 McCloskey, 207, 306 
 
 Hecker, Rev. Isaac G., to Bishop 
 McCloskey, 156-158 
 
 Hecker, Rev. Isaac G., to Cardinal 
 McCloskey, 308-309 
 
 Hostlot, Rev. Dr., to Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey, 340-341 
 
 Hughes, Archbishop, to Cardinal 
 Altieri, 182 
 
 Hughes, Archbishop, to Bishop Fitz- 
 patrick (Troy Seminary), 257-258 
 
 Hughes, Archbishop, to Dr. Forbes, 
 197 
 
 Hughes, Archbishop, to Fornari, 182 
 
 Hughes, Archbishop, to Greeley, 182 
 
 Hughes, Archbishop, to Leopoldine 
 Association, 135-137 
 
 Hughes, Archbishop, to Bishop Mc- 
 Closkey (on Troy), 257-258 
 
 Hughes, Archbishop, to Sulpicians 
 (offer of Troy), 252-253 
 
 Hughes, Archbishop, to Trustees of 
 St. Mary's, Albany, 166 
 
 Kirby, Dr. Tobias, to Cardinal 
 McCloskey, 307-308 
 
 Leo XIII, to Cardinal McCloskey, 
 
 3S2-3S3 
 McCloskey, to President Arthur, 371 
 McCloskey, to Archbishop Bayley, 
 
 316-317, 317-318, 319 
 McCloskey, to citizens of Albany, 
 
 declining dinner invitation, 218-219 
 McCloskey, to Bishop Dubois, 93-94 
 McCloskey, to Emperor Francis 
 
 Joseph, 176-177 
 McCloskey, to a friend, 104-105 
 McCloskey, to Bishop Gabriels 
 
 (Redtor of St. Joseph's, Troy, 
 
 N.Y.),3ii 
 
INDEX 
 
 395 
 
 McCloskey, to Bishop Hughes, i8o- 
 184, 187-190, 191-192, 194 
 
 McCloskey, to Father Jameson, 52-54 
 
 McCloskey, to Leopoldine Associa- 
 tion, 176-177 
 
 McCloskey, to Pius IX, 373-376 
 
 McCloskey, to Dr. Power, 72, 95- 
 98, 1 10-11 2 
 
 McCloskey, to Monsignor Preston, 
 281-283, 283-285, 299-301, 301- 
 302, 324-326, 341-343 
 
 McCloskey, to Cardinal de Reisach, 
 204-207 
 
 McCloskey, to his sister, 99-100 
 
 McCloskey, to Bishop Spalding, 
 209-210, 210, 214, 242, 263, 268- 
 269 (on Catholic University), 270 
 (on Fenians), 276 
 
 McCloskey, to Trustees of Oswego, 
 166-169 
 
 McCloskey, to Rev. William Mc- 
 Closkey, 211 
 
 McQuaid, Bishop, to Archbishop 
 Corrigan, 354 
 
 Mathew, Father Theobald, to Bishop 
 McCloskey, 179-180 
 
 Mestian, Father, S.J., to Archbishop 
 McCloskey, 249-250 
 
 Odin, Archbishop, to Bishop Mc- 
 Closkey, 202, 203 
 
 Power, Dr., to Dr. Cullen, 71 
 
 Power, Dr., to Father Jameson, 50 
 
 Preston, Monsignor, to Bishop Mc- 
 Closkey, 207 
 
 Purcell, Archbishop, letter from, 55, 
 
 56 
 
 Ryan, Bishop S. V., to Cardinal 
 McCloskey, 307 
 
 Ryan, Bishop P. J., to Cardinal 
 McCloskey, 345-346 
 
 Seminarians, to Father McCloskey, 
 142-145 
 
 Smith, Rev. Dr., to Bishop McClos- 
 key, 210 
 
 Sopranis, Father, to Father Tellier, 
 209 
 
 Spalding, Bishop, to Bishop Mc- 
 Closkey, 208-209, 212-214, 276 
 
 Trustees (N. Y.), to Spanish minister, 
 
 9-10 
 Trustees (St. Joseph's, N. Y.), to 
 
 Bishop Dubois, 128-129, 129-130 
 Tyler, Bishop, to Bishop Hughes, 
 
 152-153 
 Wadhams, Bishop, to Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey, 349 
 
 Lewis, Father, 304 
 
 Litta, Cardinal, 69 
 
 Little Rock, 147 
 
 Lives of the Deceased Bishops, 18 
 
 Long Island, 53 
 
 Loughlin, Bishop John, 72, 205, 354 
 
 Louisville, 206, 288 
 
 Lourdes, 302 
 
 Loysane, P., S.J., 249 
 
 Luers, Bishop, 213 
 
 Lulworth Castle, England, 88 
 
 Lynch, Dominic, 9, 381 
 
 Lyons, 84, 181, 332 
 
 , Association of Propagation of 
 
 Faith at, 176 
 
 McCaffrey, Dr., 50, 321 
 
 McClellan, William, 143, 146 
 
 McCloskey, Elizabeth (Harron), mother 
 of the Cardinal; his first teacher, 
 14-15; consultations about his 
 future, 16, 18, 19, 20, 34; earnest 
 words of, 35-36 
 
 , Patrick, father of Cardinal, 2, 3, 
 
 18 
 
 , John (Cardinal), ancestry, mar- 
 riage and emigration of parerits, 
 early days in America, their 
 friends, birth and baptism of John, 
 early recoUeAions, condition of 
 Catholicity in New York and 
 United States in early days. 
 Father Carroll's letter on, 1-7; 
 mother first teacher, 14-15; first 
 school, 14; Mrs. Milmoth's School, 
 15-16; Brady school, 16; farm at 
 Bedford, accident at, 20, 34, 35; 
 personal appearance and charader- 
 istics, 22-23; vocation, 17-19; 
 Mount St. Mary's — reports, fel- 
 
396 
 
 INDEX 
 
 low-students, graduating speech, 
 22-34; Bishop Brute, 23; Bishop 
 Dubois, 23; Bishop England's 
 visit and address to students, 
 coincidence in lives of England 
 and McCloskey, 41; Michael de 
 Burgo Egan and, 23-24; Father 
 Constantine Pise, influence of, 25; 
 Rev. Mr. Egan and, 38; first 
 orders, 55, 56; Bishop Kenriclc, 
 55; Archbishop Whitfield's refer- 
 ence to, 56; Purcell's reference to, 
 56; ordination, 66; early priestly 
 life. Bishop Dubois and seminary 
 prefedt, opening of Nyack, sermon 
 at dedication of Chapel, notes of 
 first ledlure, 67-73; plans for 
 going abroad, departure, journey, 
 people, books, storm, 73-89; Rome 
 — Dr. Cullen, Monsignor Mai, Dr. 
 O'Connor, Cardinal Weld, 88-89; 
 Edward Tyrrel Channing, 90; 
 enters Roman College, lodges 
 with Theatine fathers, professors, 
 91-92; "packages" from Dr. 
 Dubois and Dr. Poswer to Cardinal 
 Weld, latter's advice, 94-95; health 
 and studies at Rome, 101-103; 
 homesickness, Catholic Herald, 108; 
 Mme. Bonaparte, 109; Bishop 
 Brute's interest, 108-109; Lacor- 
 daire, 114-117; Dr. O'Reilly, 120; 
 influence of Rome, Wiseman's 
 words on, 120-121; sadness at 
 leaving, 121-122; efiFeft of stay in 
 Ireland, 122; return to New York, 
 122; appointment to St. Joseph's, 
 N. Y., trustees' hostility, young 
 priest's final complete viftory, 
 remarkable sermons, 130-134; first 
 president of Fordham, 127; James 
 Roosevelt Bayley, 140-142; re- 
 turns to St. Joseph's, N. Y., 
 address and letter of seminarians, 
 142-145; coadjutor of New York, 
 146; consecration, 147; Native 
 American Movement, Church Prop- 
 erty Bill, 148; Bishop Hughes' 
 
 dependence on his coadjutor. Car- 
 dinal Gibbons' contrast of the two, 
 148-150; new seminary at Ford- 
 ham, Bishop McQuaid's notes, 
 151; American Oxford Movement 
 the Heckers, McMaster, Walworth, 
 153^158; Hecker's letter, 156-158; 
 Connelly conversion and letter, 
 158-159; attitude towards con- 
 verts, 160; Bishop of Albany, 161; 
 resolutions of the Board of Trustees 
 161-162; early recognition of 
 worth. Father Hewitt's words, 
 162; special fitness for Albany, 
 163; statistics of diocese, 163- 
 164; Father Schneller and trustees, 
 the Bishop's strong letter to 
 Oswego trustees, Rev. Mr. Kenny, 
 165-173; Albany Cathedral, 174, 
 175, 178; trusteeism, Putnam's 
 bill (Church Property bill), 184- 
 194; fidelity to Archbishop 
 Hughes, 198; eulogy on, 199-202; 
 New York — rumors of appoint- 
 ment to New York, the Bishop's 
 efforts to prevent letter to Cardinal 
 de Reisach, 202-207; arrival of 
 Bulls, 212; imposter incident, 
 225-226; installation, first sermon 
 after, 226-236; reception and 
 banquet, Charles O'Conor's toast. 
 Archbishop's response, 236-240; 
 work for and final accomplish- 
 ment of new cathedral, 242; semi- 
 nary prdjedi:. Archbishop Hughes' 
 difficulties, closing of St. Jo- 
 seph's, Fordham, Father Beckx and 
 Father Mestian's letters, purchase 
 of Troy University, professors 
 from Bishop of Ghent, opening, 
 251-261; 2d. Plen. Council, Balti- 
 more, Cardinal Gibbons' descrip- 
 tion of Archbishop McCloskey, 
 261; of his calmness, 267; the 
 opening sermon, 263-267; special 
 interests. Catholic University, 261- 
 269; Fenian Movement, letters, 
 circular and address of Archbishop 
 
INDEX 
 
 397 
 
 in New York Cathedral, 269-275; 
 Cardinal's hat, rumors of, 275-276; 
 preparation for Vatican Council, 
 Dr. Corcoran sent to Rome, gift 
 and address of priests of New 
 York diocese, sailing of Archbishop 
 and Father McNierny, 278-283; 
 McGlynn difficulty, McMaster's 
 violent attacks on, 284, 285; 
 Infallibility — Cardinal Gibbons' 
 recoUedions and description of 
 discussions on, Archbishop Mc- 
 Closkey's attitude, 285-287; Arch- 
 bishop Spalding's death, 288-289; 
 dedication of New York to Sacred 
 Heart pastoral, 289-294; 30th. 
 anniversary of consecration, cler- 
 gy's address, Archbishop's response, 
 294-299; sails for Europe, letters, 
 Bishop Bacon's illness, return 
 and Bishop Bacon's death, the 
 Archbishop's memorial to, 299- 
 303; first American Cardinal, 
 cables, letters, arrangements for 
 ceremony, celebration of Mount 
 St. Mary's, 304-323; leaves for 
 Rome, consistory, receptions at 
 Dublin, London, Paris, Rome, 
 324-333; return to New York, 
 death of Dr. Anderson, the Car- 
 dinal's sermon, letters, 333-340; 
 Dr. Hostlot's letter, 340-341; 
 death, of Pius IX, 342; eledion 
 of Leo XIII, confers Cardinal's 
 hat, letters, 342; meeting with 
 General Grant, the Cardinal's 
 courtesy to, 343; return to New 
 York, tribute to Leo XIII, General 
 Sherman incident, 343-345; dedi- 
 cation of St. Patrick's cathedral. 
 Bishop Ryan's sermon, 345-348; 
 coadjutor for New York — meeting 
 called of Suffragans, Bishop Wad- 
 hams' letter. Bishop Corrigan 
 chosen, John Talbot Smith on 
 "summing up of the Cardinal's 
 career," 4th. Prov. Council, Bish- 
 ops' pastoral (marriage, educa- 
 
 tion, the press, secret societies, 
 temperance movement, extrava- 
 gances, excesses), Leo XIII's letter 
 of commendation, 348-353; Car- 
 dinal's Golden Jubilee — testi- 
 monial, Leo XIII's letter and 
 chalice. Bishops, priests, laity's 
 addresses. Cardinal's reply, 354- 
 364; last years — 3d. Plen. Coun- 
 cil of Baltimore, new problems, 
 correspondence with Bishop Corri- 
 gan from Rome, 364-365; increas- 
 ing weakness, death, New York's 
 respedl and love shown, Cardinal 
 Gibbons' oration, 365-368; char- 
 adleristics — humility, aversion to 
 public display, instances of his 
 calmness and self-possession, 369- 
 371; fearlessness, American Col- 
 lege incident, letter to President Ar- 
 thur, Pastoral, 369-371; Cardinal 
 Gibbons' account of Cardinal Mc- 
 Closkey's far-reaching influence, 
 conversion of Dr. Monk and family, 
 372; the Cardinal's prominence in 
 councils, Leo's appreciation, 372- 
 373; special devotions, 373; affec- 
 tion for Holy See, letter to Pius 
 IX (silver jubilee), 373-375; Arch- 
 bishop Corrigan's panegyric, 376- 
 377; Cardinal Gibbons' tribute, 
 378; Statistics of Church in New 
 York — 1822, Laity's Diredory, 
 1844, Catholic Almanac, 1864, 
 Sadlier's Catholic Diredory, 1885, 
 at Cardinal's death, cathedrals, 
 charitable institutions, schools and 
 colleges, 379-388 
 
 McFarland, Bishop, 261 
 
 McGerry, Rev. John F., 69, 70, 71, 73, 
 
 77 
 McGlynn, Rev. Dr. Edward, 284, 285 
 McMaster, James, 153, 156, 285, 305 
 McNierny, Father, later Bishop of 
 
 Albany, 199, 224, 278, 281, 284 
 McQuaid, Bishop, 151, 354, 388 
 McReady, Dennis, 9 
 McSweeney, Peter Paul, 333 
 
398 
 
 INDEX 
 
 McSweeny, Dr., on Mt. St. Mary's 
 celebration in Cardinal's honor, 320 
 
 Mai, Monsignor Angelo, 88, 91, iii 
 
 Malone, Sylvester, 143 
 
 Malou, Father Peter, S.J., friendship 
 with McCloskey family, influence 
 on John, 18-19. 
 
 Manning, 140, 160, 183, 333, 340 
 
 Marafoschi, Conte, 306, 312, 319 
 
 Maria Monk, Awful Disclosures of, 134 
 
 Marshall, Rev. Mr., 43 
 
 Maryland, 8; Jesuits of, and Law of 
 1700 in New York, 6, 254 
 
 Mass, laws against, in New York, 5-6 
 
 Maynooth, 91, 326, 328 
 
 Mechlin, Archbishop of, 259 
 
 Mestian, Rev. P., S.J., letter to Arch- 
 bishop McCloskey, 250-251 
 
 Methodists, Troy University, 252, 
 253, 256, 257, 258 
 
 Milmoth, Mrs. Charlotte, convert, 
 school teacher, the Cardinal's 
 tribute to, 15-16 
 
 Missionary Society of St. Paul the 
 Apostle, 153-158 
 
 Missions in Western New York and the 
 Church History of the Diocese of 
 Buffalo, 185 
 
 Mitchell, John, the patriot, 2 
 
 Monk, Dr., conversion of, 372 
 
 Montreal, 54, 254, 255, 259, 260 
 
 Morris, Andrew, 9 
 
 Mt. Ida, Troy, 253 
 
 Mount St. Mary's, 16, 17, 20, 22, 36, 
 50, 67, 69, 70, 76, 103, 108, 124, 
 125, 126; celebration in honor 
 of Cardinal McCloskey, 320-324, 
 
 349 
 Mount St. Vincent, 345, 365, 386 
 MuUedy, Father, 94 
 Mullen, Edward, 77 
 
 , James, 53 
 
 , Michael, 77 
 
 Nardi, Monsignor, 301-302 
 Native American Movement, 148 
 Naylon, Charles, 9 
 Newark, 152, 211, 261, 294, 349, 350 
 
 New England, 152, 236, 350 
 
 New Jersey, 14, 152, 350, 381 
 
 Newman, Cardinal, 89, 140, 160 
 
 New Orleans, 53 
 
 Newton Grove, N. C, Dr. Monk of, 
 372 
 
 New York, growth of Catholicity in, 
 schools, colleges, institutions, 379- 
 386 
 
 New York, Catholic Proteflory, 386- 
 387 
 
 , Fourth Prov. Council of, 350-353 
 
 Freeman's Journal, 305 
 
 Herald, 241, 323, 372 
 
 Tribune, on the Church Property 
 
 Bill, 186-187 
 
 Nugent, Count, 333 
 
 , Father, uncertain charafter of, 
 
 faculties withdrawn, schism among 
 parishioners, 12 
 
 , Andrew, 7, 11 
 
 Nyack, 62, 63, 64, 71, 72, 122, 124, 125; 
 Bishop Dubois and seminary ar- 
 rangements with Mt.,St. Mary's, 
 opening of Nyack, opposition to, 
 67-71; destroyed by fire, 74 
 
 O'Connor, Dr., Vice-Redor, Irish 
 College, Rome, 88; first Bishop of 
 Pittsburgh, 90 
 
 , Thomas D., 143 
 
 O'Conor, Charles, toast at banquet to 
 Archbishop McCloskey, 237-238 
 
 Odin, Archbishop, 202 
 
 Ogdensburg, 259, 294, 310, 239, 350 
 
 O'Neill, Viscount, 332 
 
 Paris, 78, 83, 84, 88, 180, 181, 184, 254, 
 
 299. 300, 324, 332, 333 
 Parker, Amasa J., 217 
 Paterson, N. J., 381 
 Patriotism, Speech on, 25 
 Penco, Father Anthony, CM., 151 
 Philadelphia, 6, 24, 55, 75, 119, 149, 
 
 184, 185 
 Pierrepont and McCloskey families, 
 
 3. IS 
 
INDEX 
 
 399 
 
 Pise, Father Constantine, writer; 
 
 chaplain to United States Senate, 
 
 23> 37> 66> 94; pastor of St. 
 
 Joseph's, N. Y., 128-130, 131, 362 
 Pius IX, 160, 182, 220, 305, 316, 341, 
 
 342, 3S9> 361; Archbishop Mc- 
 
 Closkey's letter to, 373-376 
 Portland, 198, 261, 294, 302, 303 
 Power, Dr., 16, 73, 74, 77, 88, 95, 148, 
 
 Ijo, 362; influence on John Mc- 
 
 Closkey, latter's tribute to, 16; 
 
 letters to Dr. CuUen, 71; to 
 
 Father Jameson, jo, 66 
 Preston, Monsignor, 195, 281, 283, 299, 
 
 324, 328, 329, 331, 341 
 Prince, Monsignor, 183 
 Propaganda, 68, 69, 88, 102, 103, ill, 
 
 124, 125, 126, 183, 184 
 Providence, R. I., 152, 294 
 Pruyn, John, 217 
 
 , Lansing, 217 
 
 Puissant, Rev. Peter, 259 
 
 Pulsers, Rev. J. J., 316 
 
 Purcell, Archbishop John Baptist, 23, 
 
 43. 51. 53. S4. 208, 28s 
 Putnam's Bill (Church Property Bill) 
 187-194 
 
 Quarter, Bishop William, consecra- 
 tion, 147 
 Quinn, Father James, 127-130 
 
 Redemptorists, 124, 125, 208 
 Regents of the University, 246 
 Reisach, Cardinal, letter to, 165 
 Relation on the State of Religion in the 
 
 United States {1790), 6-7 
 Reynolds, Bishop, 195 
 Richmond, 147, 148 
 Riker, Mr., disapproves of law for 
 
 young McCloskey, 19 
 Rochester, 294, 349, 350, 388 
 Roman College, 91, 92, 100, 102 
 Roncetti, Monsignor, 306, 312, 313, 
 
 319, 320, 324, 332 
 Rose Hill, 137, 142 
 Rumpler, Father, C.SS.R., 153 
 
 Ryan, Archbishop, letter to Cardinal 
 McCloskey, sermon at dedication 
 of St. Patrick's Cathedral, 345-348 
 
 Ryan, Bishop Stephen V., 307 
 
 Sadlier's Catholic Diredory (1864-65), 
 
 383 
 St. Andrea della Valle, 91, loi, 115, 117 
 St. Brieuc, 300, 331, 332 
 
 St. John's, Fordham, 132-133, 139, 
 140. 3SI. 38s, 386 
 
 St. Joseph's, Emmitsburg, 126 
 
 , Fordham, iji 
 
 , Hospital 387 
 
 , Orphan Asylum, 386 
 
 , Provincial Seminary, Troy, N. Y., 
 
 153,251; blessing of, 261, 310, 386 
 
 St. Mary's University, 16, 17 
 
 St. Patrick's, N. Y. (Old Cathedral), 
 4, 5, 9, 14, 15; consecration of the 
 three bishops in, 147-148; testi- 
 monial to Bishop McCloskey, 160- 
 161; installation of Archbishop 
 McCloskey, 226; St. Patrick's 
 (New Cathedral), work on and 
 opening of, 241-242; dedication 
 of, Bishop Ryan's sermon, 345- 
 348; the Cardinal's contrast of 
 fifty years, 362 
 
 St. Peter's, N. Y., 2, 4, 5, 16, 23; first 
 church in New York state, 5; 
 cornerstone laid, 9; first Mass, 9, 
 10, II; anti-Catholic demonstra- 
 tion at, 13 
 
 , Rome, 86, 87, 88, 183, 353 
 
 St. Sulpice, Paris, 119, 142, 155 
 
 , Society of, Archbishop Hughes' 
 
 letter to (offer of Troy seminary), 
 252-255 
 
 St. Trond, 158 
 
 St. Vincent's Hospital, 387; St. Vin- 
 cent de Paul, society of, 387 
 
 San Clemente, Rome, 379 
 
 Santa Maria sopra Minerva, 328, 352 
 
 Sapienza, University of, 108 
 
 Schneller, Rev. Father, 73 
 
 Seton, Mother, 13, 23 , 
 
 Seward, 189, 190 
 
400 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Seymour, Horace, 216, 217 
 Shea, John Gilmary, 8, 13, 85 
 Sherman, Gen., to Cardinal McCIoskey, 
 
 344.345 
 Silva, Jose Roiz, 7, 8 
 Simeoni, Cardinal, 281, 340 
 Simple Advices from an old Friend, 62- 
 
 66 
 Sisters of Charity, 215, 385, 386, 
 
 387 
 
 of Good Shepherd, 387 
 
 of Mercy, 386, 387 
 
 of Notre Dame, 386 
 
 of the Holy Cross, 386 
 
 Smith, Rev. Dr., letter to Bishop 
 
 McCIoskey, 210, 301, 324 
 
 , Rev. John Talbot, 350, 383, 388 
 
 Societe de la Propagation de la Foi, 
 
 173 
 
 Sopranis, Father, 209, 210 
 
 Sourin, Edward, 25, 322 
 
 Spalding, Archbishop, 206, 207, 208, 
 209, 210, 214, 242, 263, 268, 270, 
 276, 288; letters to Bishop Mc- 
 CIoskey, 208-209, 212-214, 276; 
 petition to Cardinal Barnabo, 270; 
 death of, friendship with Arch- 
 bishop McCIoskey, 288 
 
 , Samuel, 314 
 
 Springfield, 294 
 
 Starrs, Father, 199, 245, 278 
 
 Stephens, James, 270 
 
 Sterckx, Cardinal, 259 
 
 Stewart, James, 8 
 
 Stiles, History of Brooklyn, IJ 
 
 Story of the Mountain, 22, 24, 49, JO 
 
 Sullivan, John, 9 
 
 Sulpicians, 253, 254, 255, 257, 258 
 
 Tarrytown, 371 
 
 Tellier, Father M., S.J., 209, 249, 250 
 
 Ten Eyck, Philip, 216 
 
 Thayer, Father, 13 
 
 Thebaud, Father Augustus, S.J., 149, 
 152, 246 
 
 Timon, Bishop, trouble with trustees. 
 Church Property Bill, Bishop 
 McCIoskey 's letters on, 185-194 
 
 Tractarian Movement, effedl in Amer- 
 ica, IS3-IS4 
 
 Troy, N. Y., 127, 128, 153, 201, 244, 380 
 
 , University of, purchase of by 
 
 Archbishop Hughes, efforts to 
 secure professors for, opening of 
 by Bishop McCIoskey, 252-261, 
 310 
 
 Trusteeism, system of, Bishop Timon 
 of Buffalo and. Shea on petition of 
 to legislature, Netv Tork Tribune 
 on, Bishop McCloskey's letters to 
 Archbishop Hughes on, 184-194 
 
 Trustees, Bishop Dubois' difficulty 
 with, 71 
 
 , letter to Spanish minister, 9-10 
 
 , of St. Joseph's, 378 
 
 — ^ — , of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Board 
 of, 161-162 
 
 , Oswego, 268-269 
 
 Tyler, Rt. Rev. William, 152; letter to 
 Bishop Hughes, 152-153 
 
 Ubaldi, 312, 319, 321, 324 
 
 United States, i, 2, 129, 134,^163, 176, 
 
 185, 247, 254, 262, 307, 323, 328, 
 
 334. 343. 3S7. 3S8, 369. 378; 
 
 petition against citizenship rights 
 
 for Catholics, 134-135 
 Ursulines, 386 
 Utica, 14, 163, 190, 215, 370, 380, 381 
 
 Van Buren, John D., 217 
 Vandenhende, Very Rev. Canon Louis 
 
 Joseph, 259, 260 
 Varela, Dr. Felix, 77, 147 
 Vatican, Council, 270, 276, 287, 328, 
 
 373 
 Vaughan, Cardinal, 248 
 Vilanis, Rev. Dr. Fehx, 140, 151 
 Vincentian Fathers, 140 
 Virginia, 6 
 
 Wadhams, Bishop, letter to Cardinal 
 
 McCIoskey, 349 
 Walworth, Clarence, 156 
 Washington, 28, 29, 30, 137 
 
INDEX 401 
 
 Weed, Thurlow, 191, 194, 216, 217 55; reference to John McCloskey, 
 
 Weld, Cardinal, 88, 89, 94, 95, 96, 108 56 
 
 Wheeling, 5; Bishop of, 319 Willet, Dr., Father McCIoskey's 
 
 Whelan, Bishop, 147, 148 travelling companion to Rome, 82, 
 
 , Rev. Charles, 7; resignation, 84 
 
 trouble in Kentucky, death, 7-8 Wilmington, N. C, 372 
 
 White Plains, 137 Wiseman, on LeoXII, 115-116, 120-121 
 
 Whitfield, Archbishop, unfavorable atti- 
 tude towards Mt. St. Mary's, Young, John Russell, 342-343 
 
 FEINTED IN THE UHIIED STATES 07 AUEXICA 
 
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