¦TZMJE-WSIIVEiaSinnr- • iLiiiaiB^mr •

Gift of
George L. Fox
19JU»

MONSIGNOR DENIS J. O'CONNELL,
Fuimcr Rector of the American College at Rome, and in 1903 appointed Rector of
the Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C.

STANDARD CATHOLIC LIBRARY
The Catholic Church
ft* THE ft*
TEACHER OF MANKIND
X OR ft*
The Light of the Cross
* IN THE ft*
Twentieth Century
THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH ON MODERN CIVILIZATION
HER TREATMENT OF THE GREAT MORAL AND
SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF OUR OWN TIME
TOGETHER WITH
THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH MADE MANIFEST TO
THE MODERN MIND
FROM THE PENS OF
The Paulist Fathers and Many Other Eminent Authorities
As Indicated throughout the Worh
WITH AN INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER BY
HIS EMINENCE JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS
SUMPTUOUSLY IXLUSXMA.IJEXt

VOLUME II

Published with the Imprimatur of
HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK

NEW YORK
THE OFFICE OF CATHOLIC PUBLICATIONS

IFUbil ©bstat IRemigius Xafort, S. Z* X.

CENSOR.

Imprimatur

3obannes fID. jfarles, 2). 2).
ARCHIEPISCOPUS.

New Yorky January 2, 1905.

Copyrighted, 1905, by fTermiali C. Curtin. Foreign Mights Reserved*
Address Editor, Zioch Sox 842, New Haven, Conn,

Sentents.

THE CHURCH IN THE PHILIPPINES.
Some Misconceptions Dispelled.
By Bryan J. Clinch.
The Organization of the Church in the Philippines — The Conversion of
the Savage Races. ...... 305
RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS IN THE
PHILIPPINES.
The Achievements of the Religious Orders and The Work of
The American Teacher.
American Misconceptions of the Philippines — Educational Work in the
Philippines — The Work of the Spanish Missionaries. . .321
A CATHOLIC PEOPLE, THEIR COUNTRY AND THEIR CUSTOMS.
PORTO RlCO AND THE PORTO RlCANS.
By Mark W. Harrington.
General Character of the Island — Character of the Population. , 325
THE CHURCH IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
By Rev. L. W. Mulhane.
Catholicity and the New American Expansion — The Heroic Story of a
Great Cleric of the Common Life — Father Damien the Apostle of
the Lepers — His Work Continued by his Brother. Father Pamphile
— Rev. John Alexius Augustine Bachelot, Apostolic Prefect of the
Hawiian Islands ........ 333
THE BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS.
A Great Teaching Order.
Its Work in the United States and Throughout the World.
By Max Mendel.
De La Salle the Founder, of a Distinguished Family — History of Inception
and Promotion — De La Salle the Real Founder of Primary School,
the Originator of Simultaneous or Class Instruction — The Canoniz
ation, May 1900, of Saint John Baptist de La Salle — Work and Spirit
of the Schools — Present Status of the Schools — Increase of the
Brother's Schools ....... 341

viii Contents. viii
THE CATHOLIC SISTERHOODS IN THE UNITED STATES.
By Rev. John Talbot Smith.
The Work of the Sisterhoods — Remarkable Record of the Catholic Sister
hoods — Work and Costumes of the Various Orders — Founders of
American Sisters of Charity — Rules of Convent Life — Novitiate the
Source of a Community's Strength. „ . . 359
THE SISTERS OF CHARITY.
Their Foundation Throughout the World.
Established in the United States by the Saintly Mother Seton, an American
Convert.
St. Francis de Sales and St. Vincent de Paul — Spread of the Organiza
tion — The Most Saintly Character of his Time — " God and the Poor "
— Origin of the Great Order — Origin of the Sisters of Charity — A
Noble and Saintly Woman — God Favors Formation of Community —
Vincent's Pious Methods — Womanhood According to the Gospel of
Jesus Christ — Constitution of the Order — A Strange and Bold Inno
vation — Difficulties Overcome — The Victory of Obedience. . 373
THE UNIFICATION OF THE URSULINES.
Inaugurated in America, Concluded in Rome.
A Glorious Achievement of the Pontificate of Leo XIII.
Discourse of Cardinal Satolli — Importance of Unification — The New
Generalate Instituted — The Pope Favors the Unification — Harmoni
ous Outcome of Assembly — Opening Sermon — The Need of Unity  •
A New Embodiment of the Past — The Seal of the Cross — Freedom
of Action and Generous Obedience — Persecution and Sacrilege —
Disadvantages of Isolation — Uniting the Past and the Future  A
Work Essentially Divine — The Perpetual Standard. . . 389
THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF MISSIONARIES TO NON.
CATHOLICS.
The Opening of a Divine Movement for America's Conversion.
By Rev. William L. Sullivan, C. S. P.
Father Hecker's Mission — The Position Presented — Apostolate Perman
ently Established — Work of Conference — Scope of the discussions
— The True Missionary Spirit — Immediate Needs of the Work. 405

ix Contents. ix
THE MISSIONARY AND HIS TOPICS.
By Rev. Walter Elliott, C. S. P.
The Essential Method — Explain the Interior Life of Catholics — The
Appeal to the Spiritual Motives — The Method to Adopt — Perpetuity
of the Church — No Minimizing — The Secret of Catholic Missionary
Success — The Missionaries to the Heathen — A Divine Movement
for America's Conversion ...... 429
A CATHOLIC COLLEGE FOR TRAINING NEGRO CATECHISTS.
For the Instruction of Afro-Americans in the Catholic Faith.
By Very Rev. John R. Slattery.
Religious Status of the Negro Race — Four Million Negroes of No
Religion — Need of Negro Workers on the Missions — Training
Catechists a Good Inspiration — The House of God — Catechists on
the Foreign Missions — African Apostolic College — The Method in
Uganda — Experience of Cardinal Massajo — A Lesson From the
Enemy — A Vital Necessity for the Negro Race. . . 439
THE BUREAU OF CATHOLIC MISSIONS.
For the Preservation of the Faith Among the Indians.
By Rev. H. G. Ganss.
Tne Indian Question a Vexatious One — Catholic Work Among the Indians
— Our National Indian Policy — The Agreement and Promise of the
Government — Revoked at the Instigation of Bigotry. 453
DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN CONVERTS.
Intellectual Reaction Against Sectarianism.
Dr. O. A. Brownson — Rev. Isaac T. Hecker — Eminent Paulist Converts —
Dr. Ives and Pius IX — Rev. Jam.es Kent Stone — Catholic Arch
bishops and Bishops formerly Protestant Ministers — Conquests of
Catholicity in New England — Catholic Conversions in England and
Other Lands. ........ 457
THE PROGRESS OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION IN THE
UNITED STATES.
Status of our Catholic Colleges — Catholics at Protestant Universities — A
short-sighted View — Advantages of Religious Education — Exposed
to Error and Doubt — Duty of Catholic Parents — Part of Our
Gospel. ........ 461

Contents.

LEADING CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING IN
UNITED STATES.
The Catholic University of America.
Approbation of the Pope — Object and Scope of the University —
Georgetown University, D. C.
The St. Louis University, St. Louis, Mo.
Notre Dame University, Indiana.
Mount St. Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Md.
St. Ignatius College, San Francisco, Cal.
St. John's University, Collegeville Minn.
The Creighton University, Omaha, Neb.
St. Francis College, Brooklyn, New York City, N. Y,
St. John's College, Fordham, New York City, N. Y.
St. Xavier College, Cincinnati O.
Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass.
St. Peter's College, Jersey City, N. J.
College of St. Francis Xavier, New York City, N.
Marquette College, Milwaukee, Wis.
Seton Hall College, South Orange, N. J.
The College of St. Thomas of Villanova, Villanova, Pa.
Boston College, Boston, Mass.
Detroit College, Detroit, Mich.
Christian Brothers College, Memphis, Tenn.
St. John's College, Brooklyn, New York City, N. Y
Canisius College, Buffalo, N. Y.
College of the Immaculate Conception, New Orleans, La
Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.

THE

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481486 487488
489 491491 495
496497 498 500
500 502 5°4
5°5 506508 51°
5"5i7

STUDENT'S LIFE IN OUR CATHOLIC COLLEGES.
Activities and Organizations for his Culture, Entertainment and
Recreation.
Physical Culture — Gymnastic and Outdoor Exercises — Students and
Cadet Military Organizations — Students' Devotional Societies in our
Catholic Colleges — Alumni Associations — College Journals Con
ducted by Students — Other College Societies — Literary, Debating
Dramatic and Musical. ....

521

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA.
By Jeremiah C. Curtin.
Foundation and Growth of the Church in French Canada — Cartier  •
Champlain — First Missionaries — First College North of Mexico 
The Ursulines — Destruction of the French Missions — Increase of
French Canadian Population — Catholic Education in the Dominion
— Laval University — Ottawa University — St. Michael's College
— The Episcopate of Bishop Bourget, of Montreal.

58i

xi Contents.

XI

CATHOLIC FRATERNAL AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES.
Catholic Federation, by Rt. Rev. Bishop Messmer.
Unity and Strength of Action Needed — To Spread the Light of Catholic
Faith — New Field for Catholic Societies — A United Laity. . 589
HISTORY OF FEDERATION OF CATHOLIC SOCIETIES.
By Thomas B. Minahan, First President of the Federation.
Cardinal Aim of Federation — Programme and Method of Federation —
Sources of the Federation — Lay Action Commanded by the Sover
eign Pontiff — Bishops Messmer and McFaul aid the Movement —
Objects of Federation — First National Convention. . . 601
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND FRATERNAL SOCIETIES.
By Rev. Henry A. Brann, D.D.
True and false Meanings of Fraternity — Christianity the Restorer of
Human Rights — Second Great Source of Natural Fraternity — Our
Laws of Christian Origin — The Church and Fraternal Societies. 623
THE GERMAN CATHOLIC CENTRAL VEREIN.
Foundation of the Organization — Excellent Work of the Verein — Its
Attitude toward Secret Societies and Catholic Schools — The State
Associations — Influence and Importance of the Central Verein. 653
THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS.
A Distinctly American Order — The Aim and Object of the Order — The
Founders of the Order — The National Council the Governing Body. 657
THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN.
Founding and Growth of the Organization — The Leading Features of
the Order — Supreme Ladies' Auxiliary of the Knights of St. John. 662
THE CATHOLIC MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION.
Founding and Object of the Society — Sanctioned by Pope Leo XIII —
Advantages of the Society — Excellent Record of the Association. 666
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHTS OF AMERICA.
Founding of the Association — A Prosperous Mutual Benefit Society —
Admirable Features of the Order — Catholic in Its Membership. 669
CATHOLIC KNIGHTS AND LADIES OF AMERICA.
Especially Strong in the South — Only Practical Catholics Admitted. 672
THE IRISH CATHOLIC BENEVOLENT UNION.
Origin of the Union — Its Basis and Spirit Essentially Catholic — Blessed
by Popes Pius IX and Leo XIII and Many Archbishops and Bishops. 673
THE CATHOLIC TOTAL ABSTINENCE UNION OF AMERICA.
By Rev. Alexander P. Doyle, C. S. P.
Formation of a National Temperance Union — Its Objects and Means —
A Centennial Memorial — Decrees of Baltimore Council — Growth of
the Temperance Movement — Future Outlook for the Movement. 676

xii Contents. xii
THE ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS.
American Branch of Order — A Supporter of Every Catholic Interest—
The Order an Advocate of Catholic Education — A Noble Record. 0^2
THE CATHOLIC BENEVOLENT LEGION.
Organization of the Legion — Approved by Highest Authorities — The
System of Organization — New York State Council — Beneficent
Results of Such Societies — Deserves the Support of Catholics. 687
THE YOUNG MEN'S INSTITUTE. By F. J. Kierce, Sup. Pres.
Catholic Fraternal Societies — The Primary Purpose of the Order —
Duties of the Members — Phenomenal Growth of the Institute. 69?
THE CATHOLIC ORDER OF FORESTERS.
Inception of the Order of Foresters — Object of the Organization — Con
ditions of Membership — Restrictions on Membership. . 700
THE LADIES' CATHOLIC BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION.
Founding of the Association — First of Its Kind on Record — Objects of
the Association — Condition and Status of the Society. , 703
CATHOLIC WOMEN IN THE PRACTICAL WORK OF THE CHURCH
By Louise Girod.
Conditions of Membership — Equipment for Mental and Physical Cul
ture—Courses in Sewing, Millinery, and Embroidery — Practical and
Domestic Instruction — Arithmetic, Penmanship and Bookkeeping. 707
CATHOLIC FEDERATION AS A UNIFYING FORCE.
By Jeremiah C. Curtin.
Inception of the Movement for Federation — The Benefits of Federa
tion — Need of Catholic Organization — Need of a Catholic Public
Spirit— Federation and Individual Societies. . . . 721
THE INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY.
By Jeremiah C. Curtin.
Mission of the Laity — The Society Formally Organized — Aims and
Methods of the Society — Disseminating Catholic Literature — Other Im
portant Objects of the Society. ..... 733

GENERAL JAMES F. SMITH.
One of the founders of the Young Men's Institute. Formerly Governor of the Island of Negros ;
one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines; accompanied Gov. W. H.
Taft as representative of the United States Government to the Vatican; appointed
Superintendent of Public Instruction in the City of Manila, by President Roosevelt.

first Hmencan Hrcbbisbop of JVIantla.

THE MOST REV. JEREMIAH HARTY, THE FIRST AMERICAN ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA.
CHE appointment of Rev. Jeremiah Harty as Archbishop of
Manila is in accordance with the policy of the authorities
in Rome for reorganizing the sees in the Philippines, and
appointing American bishops over them.
Father Harty was born in St. Louis, Mo., in 1853. He
received his education at the St Louis university, graduating in
1872. Afterward he took the theological course at St. Vincent's
College, Cape Girardan, Mo. He was ordained at St. John's
Church 1878 by Bishop Patrick J. Ryan, afterward Archbishop of
Philadelphia, and was appointed assistant pastor of St. Bridget's
parish, which position he held until 1888. Archbishop Harty's
suffragans will be Bishops Rooker, Dougherty and Hendrick, all
Americans.

The Ghtipch

IN

^1%© Philippines.
SOME MISCONCEPTIONS DISPELLED.

By BRYAN J. CLINCH.
That there are Catholic churches and priests, and even
bishops, in the Philippines is known, but the popular impression
is that those priests are something quite different from Catholic
priests in the rest of the world. Special correspondents have
described the islands as overrun and plundered by a crowd of
lazy and dissolute monks, who own most of the land and live in
luxury on the tributes of their native tenants. Even some
Catholics share, to a degree, these ideas. A friend of ours who
served in Manila expressed surprise at the great number of
priests there, not adverting to the fact that the great majority
were fugitives, driven there by the events of the occupation in
other parts of the country. We have heard others conclude,
from the butcheries committed by savage mobs on priests and
monks, that Catholic priests must be odious tyrants and hated
by the population. They wholly forgot that similar massacres
have been committed in the most civilized countries within the
present age. The murder of Monseigneur Darboy and his
priests by the Paris Commune was no evidence either of offence
given by the victims or hatred of Catholicity by the French
people at large. We believe the same to have been the case in
the Philippines.

3°6 Records of various Catholic Religious Orders. a 3°&
It has been subject to civilized laws and visited by European
traders, travelers, and scientists during a longer period than the
existence of any European settlement in this land of ours.
Its actual condition can be ascertained as easily as that of India
or Chili or Poland, if one only takes the pains to seek the same
sources of information in the proper places. The impressions
given by a flying visit to Manila by either soldiers or correspond
ents, ignorant for the most part of either Spanish or the native
languages, are not such sources. The writer resided for some
years in the house of a gentleman born and educated in Manila
at the beginning of the last century. He is acquainted with at
least one scientific explorer of the group who visited it forty
years ago, and he has met and conversed freely with Spanish
missionaries who had spent years there in different parts of the
islands. From the knowledge thus gleaned, and from a study
of the historical works published within the last ten years in
Manila itself, and the official returns published before the
insurrection of Aguinaldo, as well as from the records of the
various Catholic religious orders available to any student,
he has drawn the facts concerning the Church in the Philippines
which he now offers to the reader. In this he has been
materially aided by the Rev. Father Doherty, C. S. P., who accom
panied General Merritt to Manila as a Catholic chaplain.
The character of the Spanish friars is a favorite theme for
charges such as defamers are accustomed to make against the
Catholic clergy of our own country, and equally devoid of truth.
The worst of it is, that between the hostile feeling to everything
Spanish which prevails so widely, and the want of knowledge of
the island among ourselves, many Catholics have been disposed
to give some credence to the wildest calumnies, unsupported by
a shred of evidence and set afloat by men directly interested in
the plunder of the church in the Philippines.
The New York Herald purported to give the authority of
an unnamed Catholic priest for the following extraordinary
statement :
"The peace treaty provides free exercise of religion in the
island and a guarantee that the property which belongs to

307 Che Church in the Philippines. 307
the church shall not be taken from it. There is, however, a
vast quantity of property, especially in the Philippines, which
nominally belongs to the church, but to which there are many
claimants. . . .
"If the islands are to be held by the United States, as is
now almost certain, it is to be expected they will be placed
under the hierarchy of the United States.
"The government will not look with favor on the proposition
to allow the Spanish priests to remain in power and office in
these islands. While they are cordially disliked by a large
body of the natives, they are still very influential, and their
presence there (though guaranteed by treaty) would be a con
stant menace to the interests of this country, and a hindrance
to the work of Americanizing the islands,
" Two priests accompanied General Merritt when he sailed
for the Philippines. One of them expressed himself in vigorous
terms as to the character and habits of the Philippine priest
hood. They are totally different from the priests of this coun
try ! The priests are almost all friars, being members of
powerful religious organizations. As the organization never dies,
they (sic) accumulate wealth very rapidly. In this case they
have been assisted by the government, which gave the church
vast wealth which had been left behind by the original owners,
who fled to escape punishment by the rebels. These lands the
church hold on a tentative title, and it is expected [by whom?] it
will be compelled to surrender a large quantity of it either to the
government of the United States or to the original owners."
If this statement came from any of the common run of " no-
popery " lecturers it would only excite a smile of contempt.
Though one of the two priests may have expressed himself in
vigorous terms as to the methods of the Spanish in the Philip
pines, neither of them made the remarkable assertions credited
to them in the context.* The vast property nominally be
longing to the church needs some further definition before its
non-existence can be affirmed, but the expectation that the
* This is on the authority of one of them personally, the Rev. Father
Doherty.

308 Che Church does not Submit its Laws. 308
islands will be placed under the hierarchy of the United States
is grotesque in its ignorance of Catholic Church law and prac
tice. The hierarchy of the Philippines has been organized on
the common law of the Catholic Church for over three centuries,
and will remain the same whatever the changes in government
of the islands. The church does not submit its laws to the
whims of politicians, be they Russian, German, or Anglo-Saxon.
The hierarchy of Canada, of Malta, and of Ireland is not under
the hierarchy of England, nor will the hierarchy of the Philip
pines be under the hierarchy of the United States, whether
the two countries be joined politically or not.
As to the government of this country having anything to
say as to who shall exercise the pastoral office among Catho
lics, the writer wholly forgets both the constitutional prohi
bition against establishing a State Religion, and the treaty
obligation guaranteeing natives of Spain expressly their full
personal rights in the islands. If a parish priest of Spanish birth,
who has been regularly appointed by his bishop, has not the
full right to retain his post; regardless of the favor or dislike
of the administration at Washington, then indeed liberty of
conscience must be a dead letter in this land of ours. As to
their remaining in "power and office," an elementary acquaint
ance with the country would have taught that the priests of
the Philippines for some years past have absolutely no official
power beyond that of consulting membership in the parochial
councils or juntas. The hatred to them supposed to be enter
tained by a large body of the natives may be true, but we
would like some better authority for it when coupled with a
groan over the influence they enjoy notwithstanding. That it
is a menace to the interests of this country is hardly to be
believed by any intelligent Catholic in America. That the ma
jority of the Spanish missionary priests are friars is true, and
also that religious organizations do not die ; but neither
warrants the conclusion that they are totally different from the
priests in this country, or that orders invariably accumulate
wealth very rapidly. There are Franciscans and Dominicans
and Augustinians and Jesuits here as well as in the Philippines,

3°9 Organization of Church in the Philippines. 309
and if they are accumulating wealth very rapidly in consequence,
their neighbors are not aware of the fact. The final statement
of the remarkable means by which the religious organizations
have been assisted by the government in the accumulation of
wealth is very wide of the mark. If it means anything, it
must imply that the Spanish authorities, when blockaded in
Manila, confiscated the property of its own subjects opposed
to the rebels and handed their lands over to the church at
the moment when its priests were being massacred through
the island. The hint that the United States government would
grab this supposed property for itself, in defiance of treaty
obligations, supposes that the administration has the morality
of a buccaneer. We have dealt with this utterance at more
length than it deserves in itself, because it shows an ignorance
of the condition of the Philippines which may exist even in
the minds of some American Catholics. We shall try to give a
more accurate sketch.
The organization of the church in the Philippines is in essen
tials the same as in every other Catholic country. The Arch
bishop of Manila and four suffragan bishops have the same
spiritual authority over the priests and people of their respective
dioceses as the Archbishop of New York has over the priests
and people of New York, or the Archbishop of Dublin over
those of Dublin. The relations between the Philippine bishops
and their clergy are, indeed, more strictly defined, but it is only
because the general canon laws of the church are established
there, which make parish priests irremovable unless for cause
given and proved. The peculiarity in the Philippines is that the
larger part, about three-fourths, of the regular parishes are
entrusted by long-established law to various religious orders,
Auo-ustinians, Franciscans, Recollets, Dominicans, Benedictines,
and Jesuits. Each order, as a corporation, has the right of pres
entation to certain parishes. On the death or removal of a
priest in those parishes, the head of the order submits three
names to the bishop or archbishop, who chooses one, and gives
him canonical appointment if himself satisfied of his fitness. If
not satisfied he may require other names to be submitted, but in

3io Che Conversion of the Savage Races. 3IQ
practice little difficulty is found in the selection. The Augustin-
ian or Dominican priest in charge of a parish is subject to the
bishop in everything relating to its administration and to his
own conduct as a priest. He is not released from his vows as a
religious, however, and may be removed at any time by the
superiors of his order, besides being bound to the observance
personally of its special rules. Such an administration of
parishes is not peculiar to the Philippines. It is known in the
United States, in England, the West Indies, and in other
missionary countries. It is only that it is more extensive in the
Philippines than elsewhere that gives a peculiar character to the
church there.
To account for this predominance of religious, or friars, as the
Spaniards term them, in the Philippines we must go back over
three centuries. The Spanish kings of that day regarded as a
duty the conversion of the savage races within their dominions.
The Philippines, when Legaspi established the first European
settlement in Zebu in 1564, were peopled by Malay races in
about the same condition as the Hawaiians were when first
visited by Cook. They had no central government nor towns,
and they were engaged a good deal in piracy. Legaspi settled
his first post, and afterwards Manila, without bloodshed, and in
fact there has been little fighting in the whole history of the
Philippines except with the Sulu and Bornean pirates on the
south, or the English and Dutch rivals of Spain. Philip II
applied to the Augustinians for some of their priests to instruct
the natives in the Christian religion and the ways of settled life.
Eighty years of experience in the American colonies recom
mended the choice of friars rather than secular priests for such a
task, and the result has justified the selection. The Augustin
ians were followed by other orders, anxious to share in the work
of conversion. When Manila had become a place of some
importance it was made a diocese like any other part of Catho
lic Spain, but the friars continued to attend to the instruction of
the wild natives. By orders from Rome, the districts converted
were left under jurisdiction of the mission orders even when a
hierarchy was established of four, now five, bishops, The last

3 1 1 Christianity a Spiritual not a JWaterial force. 3 1 1
vestiges of heathenism have long disappeared from most of the
islands. A few Negritos and I go rotes in a condition like that of
the Sioux of the Western prairies a generation ago are still found
in Luzon. In Mindanao there is a large Mohammedan popula
tion, perhaps half a million. Through the rest of the group the
whole population is Catholic, but the friars up to the present
continue to furnish pastors to the descendants of their original
converts. Where sanctioned by the Holy See, as in the Philippines, there
is nothing abnormal in such a condition of affairs. The major
ity of missionary countries in Africa, Polynesia, and the West
Indies are to-day administered by religious orders or congrega
tions, from which bodies both priests and bishops are drawn. A
similar course was followed by the church in the conversion
of Europe. Anglo-Saxon England is a well-known historical
instance. The heathen Anglo-Saxon were converted to Chris
tianity by the Benedictines and the Irish monks of Columbkill's
order, and down to the revolt of Henry VIII the monastic orders
retained the right of providing pastors for a very large part of
the parishes of England, and even bishops for several dioceses.
It is worth remembering that in the whole Asiatic continent and
its dependencies, at the present day, the Philippines are the only
country which can be called Christian, though Christian influence
has been supreme in a large part of it for nearly four centuries.
There are three times as many Christians in the Philippines as
in the whole of British India.
It does not detract in the least from the credit of the men who
have built up this Christian population that the Catholic Fili
pinos are different in political institutions and material civiliza
tion from European or American Catholic nations. Christianity
is a spiritual not a material force. It teaches men of every race
their common destiny, and the laws of conduct towards God and
man which will enable them to attain that destiny ; but it does
not attempt to mould them on any particular political or social
lines. In earlier days a common faith did not make Catholic
Frenchmen the same as Catholic Germans or Italians, in social
life or national character. It does not make the Malays of the

312 Civilization is a very elastic Caord. 312
Philippines Europeans to-day. They have much in common with
their fellow-Christians of other lands, but they are still Asiatic
in temperament and intelligence. Christianity united Jew and
Greek and Roman in a common faith and common Christian
morality, but it did not give the Jewish convert the artistic tem
perament of the Greek nor the political genius of the Roman ;
neither has it given the Filipinos the energy nor the political
instincts of the Indo-European races. The latter may, or may not,
come in the course of time, but their development is not the task
set to preachers of the Gospel by the Church and its Divine Head.
ARE THE CHRISTIAN NATIVES THEN, A CIVILIZED NATION.
The question was put to a priest who had spent many years
among them in active work,- and who had been born and edu
cated in the north of Spain. " Civilization is a very elastic word,"
was his first answer ; but after a moment he added unhesitatingly,
"Yes, I can say they are." He then described briefly the points
on which he founded that opinion, which we shall give as he gave
them, letting our readers draw their own conclusions :
The bulk of the population, about six millions, roughly esti
mated, is of the Malay race, divided into three nations. The
largest is the Tagal, which occupies the greater part of Luzon,
and numbers about three millions. The Visayas, who occupy
the islands to the south, of which Panay, Zebu, Samar, Leyte,
and Mindoro are the chief, are about two and a half millions,
and the Pampangos between six and seven hundred thousands.
Each division has a distinct language, but none ever had a com
mon national government. Their social organization when the
Spaniards first came to the Philippines was a number of small
tribes under the rule of chiefs, mostly hereditary, but none of
any extensive dominions. In becoming Christians their mode of
government was little changed. The friars endeavored to group
them into villages to a greater extent than they had been in their
savage days, but the chiefs, under Spanish names of capitan or
gobernadorcillo — little governor — continued to direct the common
affaars of each pueblo. A Spanish governor in each island or
province controlled the general administration, and the governor-

3J3 JNatives are nearly all farmers or fishermen. 3!3.
general at Manila was practically the absolute ruler of the whole
group, subject, of course, to the laws of Spain and the will of its
home government. The natives are nearly all farmers or fisher
men, the first class owning their own lands, subject only to the
taxes imposed by the general government. Having no political
traditions and little intercourse with the outside world, they have
for generations found sufficient occupation for their energies and
thoughts in the quiet routine of daily life in a fertile country and
under a tropical sun. The parish church has been the chief
centre of their social life. They have gathered around for wor
ship on Sundays and holy-days, they have come to it for baptism,
for marriage, for burials and ever-recurring periods, and they
neither know nor desire political assemblies, nor the contest of
parties. The schooling of the children is provided for by at least
one school for boys and one for girls in each pueblo, and if any
of the pupils desire to follow higher studies there are colleges in
the towns, and a university at Manila which receives whites and
natives alike to its courses. Some time ago the university was
credited with two thousand students preparing for the different
professions, law, medicine, and the church. Lawyers and judges
and doctors of pure Tagal or Visaya blood are found, though
not numerous in proportion to the native population. There
are also rich planters cultivating large estates by hired labor, but
the great majority of Tagals, Visayas, and Pampangos are small
farmers. The Spanish friar stated that the proportion of the
natives that can read and write is larger than in many European
countries, and includes the majority of both men and women. It
may be added that slavery is wholly unknown and has never
existed in the Philippines under Spanish rule.
The white population is very small, not exceeding fifty thou
sand, or one per cent of the whole, excluding the army. The half-
breeds, or Mestizos, are several hundred thousand, but the ma
jority among them are not of Spanish but Chinese origin. From
the first settlement the Chinese element was conspicuous in the
population of Manila, and to-day the Chinese half-breeds form
the bulk of the population there and in the other trading towns.

314 Hcquaintance with a Suropean Language* 3*4
The character of the Mestizos is different from that of the Malay
country population. In business intelligence the Chinese can
hold their own with the shrewdest traders of the white race, and
they have transmitted their character to their Christian descen
dants in the Philippines. The Mestizos have besides, the advan
tage of acquaintance with a European language and schooling.
The Chinese are also as a people fond of forming secret societies
among themselves. This trait has been inherited by many of the
Mestizos. As a body they are more intelligent and less moral
than the Tagals or Visayas; much as town and country populations,
even of the same race, differ the world over. They furnish. the
largest part of the native professional men and clergy, and nearly
the whole of the politicians.
It is with this class, almost exclusively, that Americans or Euro
peans who visit Manila or other towns come in contact, and form
their ideas of the Philippine natives.
What has been said will give a clearer idea of the natives as
they are than general reflections about their advancement or
backwardness in civilization. They are Asiatics, and have the
general Asiatic characteristics of calmness of disposition, resigna
tion and obedience to established authority, without any thought
of changing the legislation under which they have been brought
up. If leading orderly lives of regular labor, respecting the
lives and property of those around them, and practising the
observances of the church of the largest part of the civilized
world, entitles them to be called civilized, they are so. If lack
of modern machinery or ways of government debars them from
that name, they are not civilized ; but then the same might be
said of the French habitans of Canada or the early settlers of
most of the United States. It is needless to discuss the point
further. One thing certain is, the Catholic Filipinos, Tagals,
Visayas, and others, have been a rapidly growing population
under the Spanish regime. The returns of 1896 gave an annual
increase, by the surplusage of births over deaths, of about a
hundred and sixty-five thousand in seven millions of population,
or twenty-five per cent increase in ten years. In British India
the increase by the last census was about ten per cent, in

3 1 5 Che JMemory of the Reroic father Damien. 3 1 5
England and Canada about twelve, and in most countries of
Europe lower. In our own country the increase is almost the
same as in the Philippines, though at least a third of it is due to
immigration. CONTRAST HAWAII WITH THE PHILIPPINES.
In order to understand the significance of these figures, it
should be noted that nearly all the islands of the Pacific, inhab
ited a hundred years ago by races allied to the natives of the
Philippines, have been almost depopulated since the appearance
of European civilization. Hawaii, which received its introduc
tion to civilization under the guidance of American ministers, as
the Philippines received it from the much-maligned friars, is a
striking example. When Messrs. Bingham and Thurston were
entrusted with the destiny of the Hawaiian natives by the widow
of Kamehameha I, their first care was to take a census of the
people. It gave over a hundred and forty thousand. Sixty
years of Protestant civilization and teaching had reduced the
number to thirty-eight thousand, with only a couple of thousand
American civilizers to take their place. In 1750 the population
of the Philippines was given at nine hundred and four thousand,
exclusive of infants under seven. In 1896 a detailed census gave
the number at nearly seven millions, who had grown up under
the instruction of the Spanish friars, and in the Catholic morality
taught by them. The Protestant missionary colony in sixty
years had, by its own statement, possessed itself of nearly all the
land and wealth of Hawaii, and it ended its mission by rising in
arms and seizing the government on that very plea. During
the insurrection over four hundred friars in the Philippines were
lying in prison in tropical jails, liable at any moment to the
death which had already come to more than fifty at the hands of
fierce mobs, for the sole reason that these friars were natives of
Spain. Yet writers in the American press do not blush to talk
of the greed and laziness and immorality of the Spanish friars,
even as a Hawaiian missionary in Honolulu reviled the memory
of the heroic Father Damien, and hinted at personal immorality
as the reason of his death in the Molokai leper settlement.

3 1 6 Doctrines of Christianity in own Congues. 3*6
To gather together a people of seven millions out of a few
tribes of pirates and uncivilized barbarians, to instruct them in
the doctrines of Christianity in their own tongues, and to fur
nish them regularly with all the sacraments and rites which form
an essential part of the life of every Catholic, is not the work of
laziness, and that work has been done by the friars of the
Philippines without peradventure. To pass life in almost soli
tary work in a tropical climate among men of a foreign race,
without family, without personal property, and without the
choice of even his own field of work, is not a prospect to attract
idle or dissolute or greedy men. Yet such is the prospect for
every member of a religious order who devotes himself to work
in the Philippines. Nothing is easier for unscrupulous men
than to throw out reckless charges of immorality, and few things
are harder to refute when neither names nor dates are given.
But why, it may be asked, should Catholic men, believing the
doctrines of the church, deliberately bind themselves by solemn
vow to life-long chastity, simply to gratify immoral tendencies,
The records of the Philippines do not warrant the charge.
In every country the number of Christian marriages annu
ally solemnized is regarded as a fair, if not absolutely sure,
test of the general morality. It is a stronger test in Catholic
countries, where divorce is unknown. General poverty and
general immorality are accepted as the natural causes of a small
proportion of marriages among any population. Applying this
test to the Philippines, it would appear that the morality of its
people bears comparison with any other land. In 1896 the
official statements of the various countries showed that in the
English colonies of New Zealand there was one marriage to
every hundred and forty-two individuals ; in New South Wales.
one to every hundred and forty ; in Scotland, one to every hun
dred and thirty-five ; in France, one to every hundred and
thirty-three ; in Prussia and England, one to each hundred and
twenty-five ; and, in the Philippines, in the districts 6erved by
the friars, one to every hundred and twenty persons. Incident
ally, this statement, taken directly from the parish church
registries, which are scrupulously kept in every parish under

3 1 7 Ilong before Dewey entered JManila Bay. 3 1 7
charge of the friars, disposes effectually of the common accusa
tion that the natives are kept from marrying by the exorbitant
fees required by the Spanish priests. By the ordinary church
law of the Philippines, as of other Catholic countries, the priests
are bound to bless all lawful marriages without fee, if the
applicants are to poor to pay one. In other cases, a very
moderate "right of the stole" is prescribed by the common
law of each diocese.
The "swarms of lazy friars" that form a picturesque if
rather unkindly feature of so many pen pictures of the Philip
pines are even more mythical than the exorbitant fees col
lected by them. We have already mentioned the reason why
so many were found during the insurrection in Manila, but the
official records of both the religious orders and the govern
ment, published long before Dewey entered Manila Bay, show
that in no Catholic country is the number of priests so small,
compared with the population, as in the Philippines. The
priests are fewer than in almost any diocese in the United
States compared with its Catholic population. In 1896 the
whole clergy of the islands only numbered nineteen hundred
and eighty-eight priests between all the orders and the seculars
combined. The secular clergy amounted to seven hundred and
seventy-three, of whom about one half were of the native races.
These had charge of a population of over eleven hundred thou
sand. The archdiocese of New York had five hundred and
ninety-seven priests for less than a million of Catholics, St. Louis
three hundred and eighty-eight for two hundred and twelve
thousand, and Chicago four hundred and fifty-nine for over half
a million. The secular priests of the Philippines are almost
exactly in the same proportion to the population as are the
priests in Chicago, which certainly is not the happy hunting
ground of swarms of idle clergymen.
The argument is far stronger in the case of the "friars." The
whole number in the Philippines, Carolines, and Ladrones was
only twelve hundred and fifteen, including Jesuit and Domini
can professors in the colleges, those in charge of the Manila
observatory, and the missionaries among the Mohammedans of

3 1 8 )Mindanao and the Reathens of the Carolines. 3 1 8
Mindanao and the heathens of the Carolines. The latter occu
pied a hundred and five of the hundred and sixty-seven Jesuits,
the other sixty-two being in Manila in the usual scholastic
work of their order. Two hundred and thirty-three Dominicans
supplied the religious needs of three-quarters of a million of
Catholics. That the task was not a nominal one is shown by
the registration during the year of forty-one thousand baptisms,
eight thousand marriages, and twenty-nine thousand interments
with the funeral rites of the church. The Jesuits and Benedic
tines, besides their literary work, attended to the parish needs of
nearly two hundred thousand Christians.
The Franciscans, properly so-called, had two hundred and
forty priests in the Philippines, and this two hundred and forty
attended to a population of over eleven hundred thousand.
The Recollets had three hundred and twenty-one priests for a
million and a quarter of Catholics. The task of the Augus-
tinians was the greatest of all. Three hundred and twenty-seven
priests, including the superiors and the general administrative
force in Manila, attended to the religious wants of two million
three hundred and forty-five thousand Catholics. In the year
they baptized a hundred and fifteen thousand children, buried
with due rites fifty-one thousand Catholics, and blessed sixteen
thousand seven hundred marriages. Add to this the celebration
of Mass and other public church offices for over two million
Catholics, the preaching, teaching, and hearing of confessions re
quired by them, and all the other details of the life of a Catho
lic parish priest, and let any discerning man say whether it was
a work that left any chance for lazy self-indulgence.
The wealth of the friars is another favorite theme for our
press-men. It is commonly asserted that the orders own as
much of the land of the Philippines as the New England ex-
missionaries have acquired in Hawaii. The actual facts are,
that the only property owned by the orders are a few estates de
voted to the support of hospitals and colleges. In the missions
the buildings of the church and presbytery, with a garden
attached, are the sole landed property held by the clergy. Their
support was provided for by a salary paid by government in the

3*9 #s to the Disposition of the Natives. 319
same way as in most European Catholic countries. The usual
amount was five hundred dollars a year in silver, though in some
large parishes eight hundred dollars were allowed. Unless a
pueblo or parish had more than ten thousand people, the salary
for only one priest was allowed it by the treasury. The friars in
many cases employed assistant priests, generally natives, to help
in the administration of large parishes ; but the support and
salary of these assistants had to come from the one salary, or
private charity. As the friars are bound by their vows to ac
cumulate no private property, any annual savings they might
make were handed over to the superiors for the common needs.
The revenue would not permit the accumulation of the fortune
of a Vanderbilt or an Astor, even if an order never enforced the
vow of poverty. Allowing the highest rate of salaries to each
Augustinian employed on the missions, he would receive an an
nual revenue of ten cents a head from the people entrusted to his
charge. The taxes, it must be remembered, were not collected
by the friars. They were raised by the native " capitan " who trans
mitted them to the Spanish provincial governor, who in turn for
warded them to Manila. The total amount paid to all the
missionaries for the religious service of nearly six millions of
Catholics was much under a million dollars in silver annually.
We think the Episcopal Trinity Church of New York could
nearly equal that figure, and Trinity certainly has not the spirit
ual care of one per cent of the number ministered to by the
Spanish religious in the Philippines.
As to the disposition of the natives of the country towards
their pastors, we were assured by all the exiled Augustinians who
passed through San Francisco that it was one of sincere attach
ment. Two of them, when arrested by the revolutionary emis
saries in their residences, had been delivered by their parishion
ers, and another assured us that in nine different pueblos he had
witnessed the general grief of nearly the whole population on
the arrest of their spiritual guides. As he told the story, the
arrest and murder of so many priests (there were over fifty put
to death and more than four hundred held captive) was the
work of small revolutionary parties, backed by the power of the

32 o Htrociously JMaltreated and JMurdered. 32°
revolutionary government set up by the Manila Mestizos. In a
way the course of events was not unlike that of the early days of
the French Revolution under Jacobin rule. The capital domi
nated the provinces more by fear than sympathy. The Philip
pine country folk are wholly unused to arms or violence. A
missioner assured us that before the revolution the number of
murders committed in the island of Panay, with a population of
over half a million, hardly averaged one in the year. In Manila,
among the Chinese Mestizos, it was worse, but even there the
amount of public crimes was much less than in most American
cities. It is easy to understand how among such a population a
few armed bands, claiming to be backed by the army of Agui-
naldo and the American fleet, were able to pillage and slay at will.
In many cases the jails were emptied and the released convicts,
maddened with drink, atrociously maltreated and murdered
priests and religious ; but these were not the acts of the popula
tion at large. It might be asserted with as much justice that the
French Catholic people sympathized with the murders of the
Commune, or that the latter showed the grinding tyranny of the
murdered archbishop and his priests.
One thing appears clear, and that is that the expulsion of the
Spanish friars would convulse the whole social system of the
Philippines to an unknown degree. Religion is intimately con
nected with the life of the natives, and for nearly six millions the
friars are the only teachers and guides. The Philippine lan
guages — the only ones in use — are practically unknown outside,
and it would take generations to train up an adequate supply of
priests from the native populations, even were vocations numer
ous enough among them. Spaniards or not, the friars cannot
be dispensed with unless the Philippines are to risk the fate of
San Domingo during the last century, and their population be
thrown back into barbarism. Let us quote the editor of the
Catholic World Magazine.
" In regard to the alleged immoralities of the friars, we have a person
al statement frpm the Superior-General of one of the religious orders in the
Philippines, that during his term of office, which has extended over a number
of years, not one case of any grave breach of discipline has been reported to
him, and this would have been the case had any occurred. As may be sup
posed, the same high standards of conduct prevail in the Philippines as pre
vail among the more highly civilized nations."

Religious and
educational Conditions
in tbe Philippines.
THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS AND THE
WORK OF THE AMERICAN TEACHER.
It is a striking fact that the colonists from every country main
tain a higher level of education than the people from whom they
spring. That this has been true of the English colonists has
long been a commonplace ; that it is equally true of the Spanish
colonists deserves equal recognition. The Spanish-American
republics, despite their enormous Indian population — often a
majority of the whole — have, as a rule, as good school systems
and as little illiteracy as Spain itself ; and even in the Philippines,
where the population is almost exclusively Malay, the ability to
read is more general than in many of the provinces of Spain.
The truth of this generalization was impressed upon the visitor
at the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, N. Y. , who took the
trouble to examine the educational exhibits. That made by the
Chilians in particular would seem to indicate that in the line of
manual training at least the "Yankees of South America" are
in advance of their fellows at the North ; and the exhibit sent in
from the Philippines, incomplete as it was, seemed to substantiate
Blumentritt's somewhat favorable comparison between the popu
lar culture in these islands and that in Spain.
In the Agricultural Building the Philippine exhibit did not
create this favorable impression. The implements exhibited
were so primitive that, did we not recall the hand-plows shown
among the relics of our Puritan ancestors, we might think that
the people using them were but a few stages above barbarism.

322 Hmerican jMisconceptions of the Philippines. 322
But in all such collections the desire for the peculiar and pictu
resque is likely to get the better of the desire for the fairly rep
resentative. In the educational exhibit, on the contrary, that
which was striking both in the pictures of the buildings and in
the photographs and work of the scholars was the similarity of
the civilization shown to that of our own people. Soon after
the writer saw this exhibit, a friend told him of a conversation
he had had with a cultivated woman in Switzerland who ex
pressed her surprise that his wife was not at all "red." Another
friend of mine had had an experience almost identical in Ger
many. His hostess had thought that an American was at least
part Indian. It occurred to me that these misconceptions of
America were not much more grotesque than certain prevalent
American misconceptions of the Philippines. There are relative
ly fewer Negritos in the Philippines than Indians in America,
and the entire pagan and Mohammedan population there is
hardly one-seventh of the whole people. The remainder have
been Christians for generations, and while the public provision
for education has been slight — only one school for each five
thousand people — the popular desire for education has made
the most of the meager facilities.
The most complete part of the educational exhibit was that of
the public schools of Manila. Here there were photographs of
all the forty-odd school buildings now in use. Nearly half of
them, I was glad to see, were for girls. There were also many
photographs of scholars and a few of teachers — both American
and Filipino. The former, I am informed, constitute barely
one-quarter of the eighty-odd now employed. Five hundred
additional American teachers have been sent to the Philippines,
and Superintendent Atkinson is reported to desire a thousand
more. But all of these are doubtless for portions of the islands
where there are now no Americans. It is not probable that the
proportion of American teachers in Manila will ever be increased,
for the salaries paid them, I was told, range from $1,050 to
$1,200 a year for ordinary teaching work. In other words, the
mere salary of the teachers exceeds two months' income for all
of the families represented in the schools. No people could

3^3 educational Work in the Philippines. 323
afford a large force of public-school teachers paid at such a rate
as this, and the American people, as well as the Philippine people,
would protest against the imposition of an extravagant "carpet
bag " school system. The salaries paid to the native teachers
are usually less than $25 (Mexican) a month.
But it is the work done in English which deserves the most
attention. This apparently is the branch which receives the
most attention ; even arithmetic is already in some instances
taught in our language. As educated Filipinos must already
learn the Spanish language in addition to their own, the
acquirement of a third tongue might be thought a good deal
of an undertaking, but apparently the children are mastering it
with extraordinary success. The spelling was always good, and
while there were some confused idioms as well as some confused
thought, the precision with which English words were used was
unusually remarkable. Here for example, is the English version
of a letter to the teacher, which the pupils at the public school at
Apatel, Luzon, were asked to write in Pampango, Spanish, and
English :
My dear Teacher :
I take much pleasure in the study of the English language, but it is a thing
very difficult for the Filipino's young men. Do you know your language has
many rules, and notwithstanding most of these are not conformed by motive
of the exceptions ; and besides the pronunciation is very curious.
Sometimes I think the inventor of the English language was a corn-
median. In the teacher's note to the collection of letters from which
the above was taken, it is stated that the ages of the children
writing them varied from six to thirteen years, and that " no one
of them had had more than two months' connected teaching "
in English, or any help whatever from the teachers in preparing
the papers forwarded. Such statements as this are well-nigh
incredible, but the many compositions forwarded from various
points seem to demonstrate that the Filipino children have a
remarkable talent for acquiring a foreign language.
Such work as this, while to the credit of the schools which the
Americans are supporting in the islands, is also to the credit of

324 Cdork of Spanish JVIissionarics. 324
the previous schooling which the Filipino pupils had obtained
under the Spanish government, and often from Spanish priests.
Since the outbreak of the war with Spain so much has been said
in denunciation of Spanish rule, both civil and clerical, that we
are in danger of forgetting that there are Spaniards and
Spaniards quite as much as Americans and Americans. It was
the unselfish work done for the Filipinos by the Spanish mission
aries which constituted the basis for the power gathered by the
Church, and it was the work of the Church which led the people
to accept the sovereignty of the Spanish government. It is
true that the successors of those who acquired power through
their services to the Filipino people often used this power for
their own aggrandizement and for the oppression of the people.
But in yielding to this temptation they simply manifested the com
mon weakness of human nature. While on the train returning from
Buffalo, the writer happened to be reading Woodbury Lowery's
excellent work on "The Spanish Settlements in the United
States," and he was repeatedly struck by the high aims not only
avowed by the Spanish Government but actually cherished by
the Spanish priests who took part in the conquest of America.
Of the latter the historian says : " Those who came to the new
fields were a devoted, self-sacrificing, patient, and energetic body
of men, whose confidence in their divine mission was such that no
hardship or danger could appall them, and no obstacle, however
insurmountable it might seem, give them pause. . . . Shod only
in sandals made of the fiber of the maguey, their sackcloth gowns
scant and worn, they undertook long journeys, sleeping upon
rush mats, their pillow a log or handful of dry grasses. . . . While
the discipline which they practice may to-day provoke the smile
of a less austere generation, it cannot but awaken admiration and
respect for their force of character, their singleness of purpose,
their heroic endurance, and their unfaltering faith." It was
priests such as these who by their self-sacrifice won the love of
the natives both in America and in the Philippines, and so built
up the power of the Spanish Church and State. Have we
teachers animated by nobler motives or ready to make greater
sacrifices? C_ g_ 5.

H Catholic people Cheir
Country and their Customs.
PORTO RICO AND THE PORTORICANS.
By MARK W. HARRINGTON.
The sunny seas that lie between our ports and those of Porto
Rico are much more peaceful than the stormy ocean which lies
between America and the Old World. The writer's voyage
took him, just before the transfer from Spanish to American
hands, to the southern port of Ponce, a busy, open roadstead,
one of the poorest, though, perhaps, the busiest, of the island.
The town is thoroughly tropical in appearance, with low, open
houses, abundance of gardens, and moist, shaded streets. The
capital, San Juan, next in size to Ponce and on the other side
of the island, has distinctly the appearance of a south-European
city, with high walls, and buildings tall and compact. Indeed,
the appearance is almost Syrian, for the roofs rise tier above tier
and are flat and much used by the inhabitants. The distance
between the two principal towns by the fine military road is
about eighty miles, and this distance we travelled a few days
later by carriage in sixteen hours. The ride was a most charm
ing one, and left the impression of both the picturesqueness
of nature and the gentleness of humankind which a journey
through Japan would give twenty years ago. But this is not so
much a journal of a six months' residence in Porto Rico as it is
a summary view of the island and its inhabitants, taken from
personal observation and experience ; with reference to giving
some idea of the character of the island as a territory of the
United States, and of the Portoricans as citizens.
This island is now American and it must remain American
for ever, and its history will make the first effective test of the

326 General Character of the Island. 326
capacity of the United States to absorb other states or races
without harm to itself and with benefit to the state absorbed.
The experiment has been tried several times already, but the
territories absorbed heretofore have in no case carried a heavy
population, while Porto Rico is the most densely populated rural
area in the two Americas, and one of the densest in the world.
Over an area of forty miles or so in breadth by about one
hundred in length there are distributed nearly a million people,
generally in the rural districts, never in towns of more than
forty thousand people, giving a density of about two hundred
and twenty-five to the square mile. This very dense population,
consisting of Spanish, Indians, and Negroes — descendants
respectively of the invaders, aborigines, and slaves — are now to
be made good citizens of the United States, for under no other
condition can we hold them.
The island itself offers a splendid opportunity for high pros
perity for a people as bright, expansive, and genial as are the
Portoricans of the present day. The West Indies are the
higher parts, exposed above water, of a submerged mountain
range, forked toward the west, and extensively volcanic in char
acter except precisely in Porto Rico, where the fork begins.
This island has the deepest known waters of the Atlantic just to
the north, and very deep waters for the Caribbean to the south.
It is an enormous mountain, massive in character, entirely under
water except for the uppermost fifteen hundred feet or so, with
an expanded, flattened top, which has been cut down to near
sea-level by innumerable streams, leaving the surface in small
table-lands and ridges, separated from each other by narrow,
deep valleys, and from the sea by relatively small alluvial plains.
This complex of hills and low mountains is freshened and kept
wholesome by the perpetual eastern trade-wind and is bathed by
abundant rains, except in certain sheltered areas lying to the
windward of the elevations, where the rains are scanty, and may
from time to time cease for a year or more.
Within this area, smaller than any State of the Union except
Rhode Island, and Delaware, there is every possible variation of
tropical climate from very wet to very dry, and from sea-level to

327 port© Rico and the portoricans. 327
an elevation of three thousand feet or more. The climate is as
favorable a one as the tropics afford, for the island lies just
within the tropic, and being at the outermost bend or knee of
the chain of the West Indies, it offers free and uninterrupted
access to the refreshing trade-wind ; but it has the serious
drawbacks of a tropical climate ; always unfavorable for people
from the temperate zone, and especially unfavorable, as history
shows, to the great race called Anglo-Saxon, to which Ameri
cans generally belong. It has no endemic yellow fever, but it
has serious malarias of its own, and the much-feared fever of the
West Indies may on favorable opportunity gain a foothold
there when it rages as a serious plague, extending its ravages to
the highest and most temperate parts of the island. White frost
is a sharp and summary cure for yellow fever, but this elegant
form of crystallized dew never occurs on this great island, so
mild are its lowest temperatures. The winters are almost
perfection in climate, though a little dry, for the winter is the
principal dry season of the island ; but the summers are hot and
enervating, and the heats in the more arid southern and western
slopes in summer can probably not be surpassed in the United
States except in the terrible Mojave desert in Southern
California. The endemic diseases of the island are numerous,
but not especially serious. The chief disease for the immigrant
is the relaxation and enervation caused by the continued hot
weather of summer, when the night temperatures under cover
may not for weeks together fall five degrees below those of the
day in the shade, nor lower than eighty degrees on the Fahren
heit scale. This uninterrupted high temperature tends to moral
disease in indolence and self-indulgence, and to physical disease
in disorders of the excretory organs, or the liver and the kidneys,
and to the lowering of the nervous tone until the resident
becomes very delicate and easily rendered ill by things which in
the tonic temperate zone would not affect him. A slight indis
cretion in food, drink, or exposure, entirely without significance
in higher latitudes, may cause illness in the tropics, occasioning
an access of catarrh or attack of pneumonia, or a general form
of low fever attributed to malaria.

328 H Crue emerald Isle. 328
h
The island is perpetually clothed with vivid green, and is
the truest emerald isle that the United States possesses. Rocks
are rarely visible, for a rich and luxuriant vegetation covers the
face of nature and the frequent washings by the rains keeps the
green fresh and bright. The ancient wild nature has perhaps
completely disappeared, for the island has been densely popu
lated for at least four hundred years, and probably longer by
some centuries. The largest wild quadruped which I saw in my
six months of residence there was a ground squirrel. Reports
of larger animals, as wild rabbits and hogs, are sometimes made,
but they probably refer simply to refugees from civilization.
One would think that the magnificent cattle of Spanish breeds
or the small ponies of native race would sometimes take the
same course to escape the cruelties of their masters, for they are
treated with greater lack of consideration than are our own
beasts of burden in the great North, in that they are driven
almost to collapse, and prodded with iron goads until the
surface of the haunches is a mass of abscesses ; but as a matter
of fact no wild cattle or horses are reported.
Nor is there room for bands of wild creatures of any size,
for the island's surface has been cultivated to the last cultivatable
inch over and over again, and genuine wild tracts of any magni
tude are unknown. Even the steep slopes are often cultivated,
and men are seen hoeing where the plough could not run, and
where a loosened rock rolls down the declivity hundreds of feet,
and the hoeing goes on at the level of the head. In the rough
est regions one comes unexpectedly on houses and huts perched
in every nook and at spots apparently inaccessible, and the
places which at a distance appear to be virgin forest are found
on near approach to be ploughed fields relapsed, with perhaps
the marks of the furrows still under the trees, or to be in actual
high cultivation, for several of the crops in Porto Rico, as
coffee and cacao, are grown under the shade of forest trees.
There are no dangerous land animals in the country greater than
a large spider or a small scorpion.
It is a garden spot for the cultivator who understands tropical
agriculture. The soil is not of superior quality, but the sunshine

329 Jit a Cost so Insignificant as to be Incredible. 329
and the frequent brief showers would bring crops on the most
barren soil with slight care. Though there are several wet and
dry seasons through the year, some of which are more favorable
than others, each for its own crop, there is no time or season
when a crop cannot be planted or harvested. There are few
if any crops that have but one harvest a year, most have two,
some three, four, or even more, and there is a series of cuaren-
tanas, or forty-day crops, which can be harvested at short inter
vals throughout the year. By the methods of the market-gar
dener most products could be made to give a continuous crop
from one end of the year to the other. The islands could be
made, with very small effort, the market-garden for the cities of
the great North, for there lie between San Juan and New York
only five days of ocean travel, and to Baltimore or Wilmington,
North Carolina, only four, and during this transit the products
remain undisturbed in the steamer's hold, where cold storage or
other arts of conservation can be easily applied. The whole
series of tropical and sub-tropical products could thus be de
livered at northern ports at any season of the year, and in a
condition almost as fresh as in the markets of Porto Rico.
The cheapest contribution which Porto Rico could make to
the food of our poor in the great cities of the North is its tubers
and other root crops. The whole series of underground crops,
as potatoes, yams, batatas, and many others not less important
but unfamiliar, with names often of Indian origin and changing
from district to district, are produced there in the greatest
abundance and at a cost so insignificant as to be fairly incredible.
A cent could feed a man a day on these not-to-be despised
sources of nourishment, as they are sold in the markets of
the island. The cost would be enhanced in New York,
but even there it would probably cost not a third what the
cheapest day's nourishment now costs. This is the opportunity
God gives us to alleviate the poverty of our great Northern
cities, and to contribute greatly to a wholesome prosperity in our
new possession.
The chief exports from this island are sugar, coffee, and
tobacco, and the United States is the chief customer, as heavy

33o Character of the population. 33°
import duties have been imposed, cutting off the former large
Spanish trade. Nor is the trade with the United States
improved or favored ; for, though Porto Rico is now our own,
the bar of our import duties is still up for her, and she has not
yet been admitted to the unrestricted trade with us on which
she counted to gain some prosperity when she gave herself
into our hands. Cut off from the old commerce and not
yet admitted to the new, she is in far worse commercial con
dition than before, and her whole series of industries suffers,
but chiefly the staples. Tobacco suffers less because of
almost universal local consumption which gives it a large
market at home, but the sugar and coffee industries, not very
profitable there at the best, are now threatened with bankruptcy
and ruin.
Spain has never been much given to publishing information
about her colonial possessions, nor have the Spanish publications,
such as they were, been known to the makers of the ordinary
text-books and encyclopaedias in English. The result is that
Porto Rico and the Portoricans were almost unknown to
Americans until the war, and are still little known except to
those who have lived among them. They have developed a
certain line of cultivation of their own, strikingly Spanish and
Catholic in character, yet possessing some native features of its
own, with its own authors, artists, and traditions. Its literature
is small but characteristic, and its own local development of the
arts and sciences is very creditable. It is in all these respects
distinctly better off than Cuba or the other Great Antilles, of
which it is the smallest.
The Spanish element now, in small part of Peninsular birth,
is largely of Andalusian origin and has the same bright, genial,
expansive, staccato character. They are most hospitable and
courteous, religious to a degree among the women, but gay and
fond of much speech and bright colors, generally swarthy in
complexion, rather small in stature, and not possessing over
much of the thriftiness which is a special trait of the Spanish
and their neighbors. They are clannish to a degree, but their
fealty is now transferred from the Peninsulars to the Americans,

33 1 fraternal Rites inherited from Hncestors. 33 l
and they are proud of their new great Metropoli. They are
highly musical, and I have heard as brilliant instrumentation in a
Portorican home in a small native town as I have ever heard else
where off the stage. They are of the artistic temperament, and
are cultured to the highest point of civilization. With them is a
considerable number of Frenchmen, generally occupied with the
production of coffee, and a much smaller number of Germans
and other Europeans, usually devoted to commercial pursuits.
These people are in the towns and in the better country
places, and are the leading class of the population. They are
true Portoricans, and love to call themselves Borinquefios, from
the aboriginal name, Borinquen — of the island. They form the
overwhelmingly leading political factor, though there are two
other races represented in great numbers. The one of most
interest is the Indio, or that of the descendants of the inhabi
tants found on the island at its discovery and settlement.
They form the great mass of the country laborers over the
island, especially in the centre and the northeastern section.
They have much of the serious appearance of the North Ameri
can Indian, with his high cheek bones, but their color is less red
and more swarthy. They are inclined to keep to themselves
and especially not to mingle with the blacks, but with the
Spanish they have mingled freely. Tradition gives them the
right to the soil, and they are said to still observe certain clannish
and fraternal rites inherited from their ancestors. They know
little of education and are generally mere day laborers. The
Africans or descendants of slaves imported chiefly from the
Guinea coast are very numerous and are multiplying rapidly —
probably more rapidly than the other classes ; and they mix
freely with all. They are often very bright, ambitious, and self-
educating. They form the poorest and most indigent class on
the island, but they are coming ahead both in numbers and in
education and with them the American government will have
much to do, for they have very generally the idea that the blacks
have not been well treated in the States. An element of
interest to the new-comer, though of little political importance,
is the considerable number of blacks from the British West

332 former Social Conditions. 332
Indies who are found in the coast towns, where they are likely
to become the servants of Americans, both because they speak
English and because they are very serious and honest, though,
not always particularly moral.
The social conditions of the people are not good in many
cases. The poorer classes live in dark and unwholesome quar
ters in the towns, and even in the country they contrive to
give a certain unwholesomeness to their huts by crowding',
dirt, and absence of windows. Wages are very low and the
facilities for education are much less satisfactory than appear
on paper. The school-houses are ill-contrived and are not
large enough to give school facilities to one-quarter of the
children of school age. The system is supported by the state ;
but with abundant guarantees of perfection in the law, which
is one of the most elaborate school laws in existence, the
operation is so imperfect that the great public, the unknown
majority, is almost entirely dissatisfied with it. Under this sys
tem they often do not want to be educated ; for the law requires
pupils to either pay for tuition, which they cannot afford, or to
get from an alcalde, or judge, a certificate of poverty, a thing
disagreeable in itself and causing, as is currently believed, the
pupil who brings it to be neglected and subjected to indignities.
The experiments of the Spanish in governing the island
had brought it to a high degree of prosperity when American
ideals intervened and a spirit of unrest took possession of it.
This caused an early attempt at Americanization, which was
summarily extinguished by the Spanish by several executions
on a field near San Juan, pointed out yet to Americans, though
the event took place over half a century ago. When Cuba
revolted Porto Rico remained loyal because she had to, not
because she wanted to. This burdened her with expendi
tures for a considerable body of soldiers and sailors, mostly
from the Peninsula, and this burden fairly made her writhe
until she paid upwards of half her taxation for her own servi
tude. Then she insisted on autonomy, when her burden be
came greater, because she then had to support an army of her
own official selection and lost not the Spanish army.

The story of Father Damien the Apostle of the lepers, in the Hawaiian Islands, is familiar to
all readers in all languages, and illustrates the missionary spirit of the Catholic
Church in all ages, and in all lands.

Catholicity in the Rawaiian Islands.

FIRST CATHOLIC CHAPEL IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, — BUILT BY FATHER BACHELOT:
Who, iii 1826, w.is made Apostolic Prefect of the Islands.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, -FATHER DAMIEN S GRAVE.

In the island of Molakai, where, cut off from civilization, he labored for years among " the
stumps and butts of humanity, " lie the remains of the world-renowned apostle of the lepers
Father Damien.

Catholicity in Hawaiian Islands.

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HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, - A GROUP OF MISSION FATHERS.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS,— GROUP OF BROTHERS OF MARY, ST. LOUIS COLLEGE.
Catholicity in the Hawaiian Islands.

RIGHT REV. GULSTAN F. ROPERT.
Vicar-Apostolic of ihe Hawaiian
Islands.

Bishop Ropert built a college,
founded parochial schools, intro
duced religious of both sexes, and ¦
left after him a growing Catholic Hill
community of over thirty-three
thousand souls. Bishop Ropert
was a native of Brittany, France,
where he was born in 1840. He
vas consecrated Bishop in JS92.

The Rt. Rev. Bishop Ropert
was one of the most zealous and
successful of modern missionaries.
For thirty-six years he labored in
the service of religion in the Ha
waiian islands, and with such ex
cellent results that at his death in
1903, nearly one-third of the popu
lation were Catholic, embracing
about one-hah of the natives.

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL, HONOLULU.

The Church

IN THE
Hawaiian Islands.
By REV. L. W. HULHANE.
The political disturbances some years ago, incidental to the
overthrow of the monarchy, and the annexation of the group of
islands in the Pacific Ocean known as "The Sandwich Islands,'
or " Hawaiian group," and the heroic labors of Father Damien,
the leper-priest on the island of Molokai, one of the group, has
attracted more than ordinary attention to this far-away ocean
land — " Where the wave tumbles,
Where the reef rumbles,
Where the sea sweeps
Under bending palm branches,
Sliding its snow-white
And swift avalanches ;
Where the sails pass
O'er an ocean of glass,
Or trail their dull anchors
Down in the sea-grass."
These islands consist of a group of twelve situated in the
North Pacific Ocean, midway between Mexico and China, and
lie in the path of. the steamers that ply between the United
States and Australia, and nearly all vessels carrying passengers
between the two countries stop at the chief city, Honolulu, which
is about 2,100 miles from San Francisco, a voyage usually made
in one week. The cable now being laid -will open direct and
rapid comi nication to the islands with the rest of the world.
The history of the missions of the church and of the heroic
labors of the missionaries in their efforts to evangelize the

334 Catholicity and the New Hmerican expansion. 334
natives is a most interesting one, and has much of fascination in
the simple recital of deeds, dates, and names.
In the year 1819 — the year before the arrival of the Protes
tant missionaries — Father De Quelen, a cousin of the archbishop
of Paris, visited the islands on the occasion of the voyage of the
French frigate Uranie, of which he was chaplain.
Among the visitors to the vessel was the chief minister of the
king, who, after a conference with the priest, was baptized and
the cross won its first conquest. In 1826 Father Bachelot was
named apostolic prefect of the islands. He sailed from Bor
deaux in November, 1826, and reached Honolulu in July, 1827,
after a voyage of nearly eight months. He was accompanied
by two other priests, Father Armand, a Frenchman, and Father
Short, an Irishman. Boki, the chief, welcomed Father Bachelot
and his companions, granted them permission to commence their
apostolic labors, and by many acts of kindness filled their hearts
with the most cheering expectations of success. This success
was destined to be overshadowed by a dark cloud. In 1829 the
natives were prohibited from assisting at any of the Catholic
services ; the prohibition, however, did not extend to foreigners.
The American missionaries were at the bottom of the suddenly
promulgated law. The natives, however, paid but little atten
tion to the new decree and sought out the priests for instruction
and baptism. The priests, supposing the opposition to them
had died out, went cheerfully on with their work until the law
was again published.
In the early part of 1831 the priests were commanded to
leave the islands ; this command was afterwards modified into
entreaties for a speedy departure. Unwilling as Father Bache
lot was to leave the scene of his labors, he remained until, as the
Sandwich Island Gazette, in its issue of October 6, 1838, in its
account of his death, says: "Threats, oft and oft repeated,
developed into a deed at which humanity — in all breasts where
its sympathies have a resting-place — has long and deeply shud
dered. On the 24th of December, 1831, force, sanctioned by
the presence of inferior executives, deputed by heads of govern
ment — cruel force, nurtured into action by the fostering infiu-

335 Che Church in the Hawaiian Islands. 335
ence of mistaken zeal — unnatural force, repulsive to heathenism,
disgraceful to Christianity — was employed to drive from the
shores of Hawaii the virtuous, the intelligent, the devoted,
who, in the footsteps of their divine Master, had reached these
shores with offerings of acceptable sacrifice in their hands and
with love of God in their hearts. Their offerings were spurned.
Hatred was their portion, for lo ! they worshipped God after the
dictates of their ozvn consciences ! "
The writer further says : " On that memorable day of Decem
ber the proscribed were embarked on board the brig Waverley,
Captain Sumner. They were not informed to what part of the
world they were destined to be conveyed."
We quote the words of another in description of the termi
nation of their forced voyage : " They were landed indeed, but
where and how? On a barren strand of California, with two
bottles of water and one biscuit, and there left on the very
beach, without even a tree or shrub to shelter them from the
weather, exposed to the fury of the wild beasts which were
heard howling in every direction, and, for aught their merciless
jailor could know, perhaps to perish before morning. No habi
tation of man was nearer to them than forty miles, save a small
hut at the distance of two leagues. On the beach, then, with
the wild surf breaking beneath their very feet, they passed a
sleepless night with the canopy of heaven to cover them and
the arm of Omnipotence to protect them. Forty-eight hours
from the time of their disembarkation they were welcomed at
the mission of St. Gabriel, and received that kindness and sym
pathy from their brethren of the Cross which had been denied
them in this land by the professed followers of the humble
esus. Father Bachelot remained in California until March, 1837,
when he again ventured to the Hawaiian Islands, but was again
exposed to the persecutors, accused of seditious intentions, held
up to the scorn of the natives ; he was again forced to embark
on what was called — a floating prison — the brig Clementine. He
was there kept a prisoner until the intervention of foreign
powers, especially France, caused his and his companions'

336 Hmid the Hcclamations and joyful Hpprobation. 336
release amid the acclamations and joyful approbation of the
friends of liberty. In accordance with a promise made to the
government, he prepared as soon as circumstances would per
mit for a voyage to some of the southern islands of the Pacific.
He was prostrated by a severe spell of sickness and on his re
covery insisted upon taking the voyage.
The following obituary notice in the Sandwich Island Gazette
of October, 1838, shrouded in black lines, tells us the closing
chapter of his life: "Died, on board the schooner Honolulu,
on his passage from the Hawaiian Islands to the Island of
Ascension, the Rev. John Alexius Augustine Bachelot, member
of the Society of Picpus, and Apostolic Prefect of the Hawaiian
Islands. The exiled priest is no more; he has gone to the
last tribunal to appear before the great Ruler of events — he
'who made of one blood all the nations of the earth' — in his
presence to receive judgment for the deeds done in the body !
May we not believe that at the hands of the Almighty he will
receive that mercy which his fellow-men have denied him ?
May we not picture in imagination the soul of the deceased
bowing before the mercy-seat in heaven, as he was wont to
kneel at the altar on earth, making intercession before Om
niscience for those who have willfully persecuted him ? His
humble tomb at the island of Ascension is the monument of
his exalted character, and, though it may seldom meet the eye
of civilization, it will stand beneath the canopy of heaven,
where rest the souls of the pious, a mark of warning to the
untutored man who may daily pass by it."
Father Bachelot was forty-two years of age at the time of
his death, having been born in France in 1796. He commenced
his studies in the Seminary of Picpus, Paris, was afterwards
professor of philosophy and theology in the same seminary,
and for a time also in the college at Tours, when on account
of his well-proved virtues and talents he was named apostolic
prefect of those islands in July, 1826, at the age of thirty, by
His Holiness Leo XII. Shortly after Father Bachelot's death
the French government took official notice of the treatment of
the Catholic missionaries, as they were nearly all Frenchmen.

337 6aining owr One Chousand Converts. 337
A frigate was dispatched to the islands ; the officers were au
thorized to demand twenty thousand dollars as a security for
the good faith of the natives to the following conditions :
ist. That all products and manufactured articles should be
admitted free of duty. 2nd. That the Catholic priests should be
allowed to land and pursue their labors without molestation,
and receive the full protection of the laws. The articles were
agreed to, and a party of Catholic missionaries disembarked
from the frigate and commenced building a chapel.
One of the ludicrous events of those days was the.action of
one of the " Calvinistic missionaries," who introduced for the
first time to the natives the mysteries of the magic lantern, and
showed them pictures of priests and sisters murdering and per
secuting people because they would not be baptized. It was
Fox's Book of Martyrs done up in true regulation style by the
aid of what was to the natives a great wonder — the magic lantern.
With the intervention of the French government matters wore a
brighter look for the church, and in the year 1840 the group of
islands were included as a part of the Vicariate-Apostolic of
Oceanica, and Bishop Rouchouze, titular Bishop of Nilopolis,
arrived there the same year.
A writer of this year says of the island : " One of the long-
proscribed Catholic missionaries, since the removal of the shame
less interdict which oppressed them, has already succeeded in
gaining over one thousand converts. A spot has been selected
near the beach. on which a splendid church is to be erected.
Thus the first object to salute the voyager in the distant ocean
will be the cross — and what could be more grateful to the eye of
the Christian after his long sojourn on the deep ? The beacon-
fire of the lighthouse tells of a harbor of rest on earth ; the
cross is not only the sign of peace in this world, but it also
points to another far more enduring. The Catholic priest, so
long a proscribed and persecuted man, afraid to show his head
in public, who said his Mass in a whisper and almost in the
dark — who has dodged oppression for nearly five years, his life
all the time in jeopardy, is now seen daily in the streets of
Honolulu."

338 father Damien at the Dedication. 338
Bishop Rouchouze went to France in 1842 and, with several
priests, brothers and sisters, embarked for the islands from
Bordeaux. They had obtained from friends in France many
valuable presents for their mission : books, vestments, farming
implements, and many of the things necessary for civilized life.
The last ever seen of the vessel was as she was rounding Cape
Horn. After nearly five years waiting in anxiety for news of
the vessel or of any of the survivors, she was given up as lost
— no doubt the bishop and his companions found a grave in
the waters of the Pacific — and, in 1847, the islands were made a
separate vicariate and Bishop Maigret, who had been a com
panion in the prison-ship of Father Bachelot, was consecrated at
Santiago, Chili, October 31, as titular Bishop of Arathia and
named first Vicar-Apostolic. For thirty-four years this zealous
bishop watched over the spiritual destinies of the islands and
literally wore out his life in the arduous task. It was during his
administration, in 1873, tnat Father Damien took charge of the
leper colony on the isle of Molokai, of which the poet Stoddard
says : "A lotus isle for midday dreaming
Seen vague as our ship sails by ;
A land that knows not life's commotion :
Blest ' No-Man's Land ! ' we sadly say ;
Has it a name, yon gem of ocean ?
The seaman answers, ' Molokai.' "
In that year Father Damien was present at the dedication of
a little chapel on the island of Maui, and heard the bishop
express a regret that he was unable to send a priest to the leper
settlement on the island of Molokai. He at once offered him
self. He was accepted, and, with the bishop and the French
consul, set out in a boat loaded with cattle for Kalaupapa, the
port of the leper settlement, where for sixteen years he labored
and toiled and finally succumbed to the awful ravages of leprosy.
For a time after his arrival on the island he was treated with
great harshness by the authorities ; permission was refused him
to leave the island even to visit a brother priest on the other
islands for the purpose of going to confession. The sheriff had
authority to arrest him and take him back should h.^ make the

339 forbade father Damien coming Hboard. 339
attempt. On one occasion Bishop Maigret passed in a vessel
within sight of Molokai. The bishop beseeched the captain to
land, but he refused ; all that he would grant was to stop the
steamer's machinery for a few moments and whistle. The signal
was heard, a canoe put off from the shore and drew alongside ;
but the ship's orders forbade Father Damien coming aboard.
The bishop leaned over the vessel's side , listening to the con
fession that came from the occupant of the canoe. It was made
in French, which penitent and bishop alone understood.
February, 1881, Bishop Koechemann was consecrated as titular
Bishop of Olba, at San Francisco, by Archbishop Alemany. He
died in 1892, when the present Bishop and Vicar-Apostolic,
Right Rev. Gulstan F. Ropert, was appointed. He was conse
crated by Archbishop Riordan, at San Francisco, as titular
Bishop of Panopolis, September 25, 1892.
The writer had the pleasure of meeting the present bishop
while in this country, in 1895, en route to Rome. He is a
charming character, simple as a child, with all the marked
suavity of the French race. He speaks English with a Breton
accent, and when he grows interested is a most entertaining
talker, especially when conversing about his " dear islands in the
Pacific." He is small of stature, iron-gray hair, pleasing
face, and evidently a hard worker. He was then fifty-five
years of age and had been on the islands for twenty-eight years.
He was nine months reaching the scene of his labors when
he made the voyage from France in 1867. Before his conse
cration he was pastor at Wailuku, and established a parochial
school for boys under the care of the Brothers of Mary from
Dayton, O., and also one for girls under charge of the Fran
ciscan Sisters from Syracuse, N. Y. While pastor there, in the
words of one of the brothers, " he never tired." When the
bishop was shown the press dispatch from San Francisco, con
cerning the object of his visit to Europe, he enjoyed a hearty
laugh when he reached the words that " he was going to
Rome to induce the Pope " to do certain things. He was going
to make his visit to the Holy Father — what is known as ad
limina.

34° Cwo heroic priests. 34°
While in Europe the bishop was successful in procuring the
services of brothers to take charge of the Leper Home for Boys
and Men on the island of Molokai, thus enabling the Franciscan
Sisters of Syracuse, N. Y., already there, to devote their entire
time to the Leper Home for Girls and Women on the same
island. The government had requested this of the bishop, and
as of late years the work has grown he was only too glad to
comply. He says that the number of lepers is now 1,200 — 100
in the Boys' Home, 100 in the Girls' Home, and the remaining
1,000 scattered about in various houses in "The Leper Settle
ment " of Molokai. The boys' home is called Kalawao ; the
girls' home Kaluapapa. The Board of Health of the island has
expended almost $10,000 at Kalawao, putting up new buildings
and adding to old ones. Mr. Joseph Dutton, an American and
a convert, who has been there for many years, has had charge of
the work. Since Father Damien's death the care of financial
and material affairs has been in his hands. The Board of
Health wished at least four brothers of the same order that
Father Damien belonged to, and paid their passage from
Belgium to the islands. The new home for men and boys is to
be a very complete affair in every way, and shows that Father
Damien's efforts to interest the government in treating the
lepers humanely, and in accordance with all that science and
modern civilization demand, is bearing fruit even after his
departure from earth.
Father Pamphile, a brother of Father Damien, accompanied
the bishop on his return to the Hawaiian Islands, and has gone
to Molokai to take up the work which his heroic brother laid
down with his life, in 1889, — a work which Robert Louis Steven
son called "among the butts and stumps of humanity." Twice
before had he arranged to go to Molokai, but each time serious
illness frustrated his desire. He was then fifty-eight years of
age, and his hair snow white. He had been a professor at
Louvain, Belgium. Besides this heroic priest, two other priests,
four brothers, and four sisters accompanied the bishop for mission
work on the islands.

Canonization of St. de La Salle.
"^HERE is no other instance in the history of the Church
where the ceremony of a Saint's canonization excited such
wide-spread fervor and interest throughout the entire world, as
that of St John Baptist de La Salle, founder of the Brothers of
the Christian Schools, at Rome, May 24, 1900. Nor was there

SAINT JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE.
ever a Saint whose life-work at the epoch of his canonization
had been productive of so many institutions, with so large a
host of disciples, people, youths and children zealously devoted
to the cause and the work inaugurated by him. The founder of
the Brothers has members of his Order and institutions of learn
ing in every country and in every clime.

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In the Christian Brothers School.

A TYPICAL CLASS-ROOM.
T^HE Christian Brothers regard the communication of know-
^^ ledge as only of subordinate importance when compared to
the intellectual exertion made in the endeavor to acquire clear, dis
tinct and adequate notions of all facts submitted to the mind for
reflection. They are firmly persuaded that each successive step
toward advancement in scientific knowledge must result from
the student's own efforts, aided and directed by methodical text
books and experienced teachers. Hence, their whole endeavor
is to bring the minds of their pupils to a full command and ready
employment of all their intellectual powers.
The Christian Brothers do not look upon education as a mere
automaton by which a certain complement of moral truths or
scientific facts may be crammed into the memory without, at the
same time, a strenuous effort being made on the part of instruc
tors to induce the reasoning faculties of their pupils to form a
clear conception of the knowledge acquired.

OF THE
Ghr>iskmn Bch@©ls.
H Great Ceaching Order.
ITS WORK IN THE UNITED STATES
AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
By MAX MENDEL.
Having entered on the twentieth century thoughtful minds will
naturally take count of the chief forces for good and evil which
will operate during the next hundred years. Thus, some
consideration of the world-renowned teaching order founded by
Jean Baptiste de La Salle, whose canonization took place in
1902, seems to be eminently in season at this juncture.
In tracing the history of the Brothers of the Christian
Schools we are led back to the fourteenth century, a
period which many ill-informed non-Catholic writers love to
depict as totally devoid of any thing like organized effort
for popular education, as this much misused term is understood
to-day. Even as far back as the fourteenth century there were the
" Little Schools," devoted to the instruction of what to-day are
called " the masses " ; and while these establishments flourished
chiefly in France, where they had been founded after the
University of Paris received due legal recognition, similar centres
of primary instruction existed elsewhere. All these benefited by
the countenance and material aid of the church, then, as now, the
discerning patron of every movement calculated to elevate the
people to a higher intellectual level. Much of the benefit
derivable from the " Little Schools " never accrued, owing to the
century of war commencing in 1350; but the intellectual evils
resulting from this long period of strife were largely remedied
by the labors of the society of teachers known as "maitres

35° De La Salle came of a Distinguished family. 35°
ecrivains," or writing masters, established at Paris in 1570,
whence it spread to many other cities. In the schools of this
admirable society the secular subjects included writing, arith
metic, and a little Latin, the pupils being supposed to aid the
clergy in the various church services. The maitres dcrivains
claimed many privileges and had a practical monopoly of popular
instruction. These schools were in vigorous operation in the memorable
year of 165 1, when Jean Baptiste de La Salle, illustrious
founder of the " Brothers of the Christian Schools," was born at
Rheims. De La Salle came of a distinguished family, his father being
an eminent advocate and king's counsel, a much more honor
able office then than subsequently, while both his parents could
trace a long line of famous pedigree. The future benefactor of
his kind early showed all those beautiful and winning traits
of heart and intellect which have so often marked, as "souls
apart," the man whom God has destined for great ends. So
that it is not surprising to find Jean Baptiste de La Salle the
canon of Rheims when but fifteen years old, though not ordained
priest until 1678.
The ardent piety and tender consideration for others which
had long marked the life of the young ecclesiastic, and which
had made him an ideal legal guardian for his brothers and
sisters, when death removed both father and mother, became, if
possible, more conspicuous once he was invested with the dignity
and grave responsibilities of the priesthood. So great a
reputation for virtue and zeal did he acquire that he soon found
himself unconsciously heading a regenerative 'movement, akin to
what is called a mission to-day. His preaching drew vast
multitudes, and he was eagerly sought as a confessor. Many
conversions to a better life attended his priestly labors ; and his
devotion, even then, to the education of youth caused M. Roland,
his spiritual director, to assign to him the charge of a school
founded by the Sisters of the Child Jesus for the instruction of
poor girls. Under the fostering care of De La Salle this school
achieved marked success.

35i primary and Secondary Instruction. 351
But perhaps more important results followed. It did not
require much reflection to see that a boys' school, on similar
lines, would produce equally good effects. Thus, when Mme.
de Maillefer, a relation of De La Salle's, and an energetic
patroness of education, commissioned M. Nyel of Rouen to
open such a school at Rheims, that worthy layman found the
ground broken, as it were, for the undertaking. And, naturally,
a warm friendship sprang up between this enthusiastic edu
cator and the zealous, far-seeing canon, who perceived the scope
of his own work for the elevation of the people sensibly widen
ing before his vision.
This was in the year 1680, when other good men and women
also devoted themselves to the cause of popular education.
The movement spread rapidly, and teachers were sent to many
cities, and great seigneuries offered to provide schools and
salaries. De La Salle organized about himself a chosen band of
devoted co-workers, who were, like himself, all young men.
But, despite the large measure of success attendant on these
efforts, the keen eye of De La Salle detected some grave defects
in the system of instruction, and in the training of the teachers,
such as it was. Himself one of the most systematic of men,
gifted with profound common sense, and a quick reader of
character, it was easy for him to see that if the popular schools
were to yield their best results there must be a clear delimitation
between primary and secondary instruction, and a radical
departure from the individual teaching of the day, which was
fast becoming impossible, owing to the great increase of pupils ;
while he saw also that many teachers were but ill-fitted for their
important work, through either lack of sympathy or lack of
proper training. Here, indeed, was a great problem to be
solved ; but the canon of Rheims was truly the man for the hour.
After a careful and exhaustive study of the conditions con
fronting him, De La Salle originated the system of simultane
ous instruction in classes, and clearly defined what was to con
stitute primary and what secondary education. And, to insure
the necessary efficiency on the part of the teachers, those whom
he had already closely associated with himself, under " com-

352 Rescuing Children from Ignorance and Vice, 35 2
munity " rules, and the obligations of the vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience, were to be trained in the novitiate of
his now thoroughly systematized Institute ; while the professors
and assistant teachers, collaborating with the " Brothers," were
to be trained in the normal school established by De La
Salle at Rheims in 1685. Thus he was the real founder of
primary schools ; of simultaneous, or class instruction ; and of
the first regularly organized training-school for "primary"
teachers in Europe — three great benefactions to his contempo
raries and to posterity. The completed organization of the
Institute, under its present name and rules, dates from 1684.
Previous to this De La Salle had resigned his excellent
prospects of church preferment, and even his private fortune, in
order to set an example of self-abnegation and trust in God to
the young men whom he had gathered around him in the
prosecution of his great undertaking, an effective and enduring
system of truly popular education that was to materially aid in
rescuing the children of the " plain people " from the clutches
of ignorance and vice.
The new schools gave free tuition, and were generally day-
schools, but boarders were accommodated in connection with
some ; and all met with extraordinary success. The saintly
founder often conducted classes himself ; and, as the foremost
educator of his time, within his own chosen lines, was some
times requested to re-organize, or otherwise reform, some large
and famous schools belonging to other systems, notably that
connected with the Seminary of St. Sulpice at Paris. In De
La Salle's primary schools Latin was an optional subject. The
vernacular, French, and catechism received much attention, as
did writing and arithmetic. The Brothers were to be always
laymen ; thus differing from the teachers in the " Scuole Pie,"
or " Pious Schools," founded by Joseph Calasanctius in 1597,
who might become priests. In these schools Latin was oblig
atory. England is often supposed to have been the cradle of the
Sunday-school movement ; but long before England founded
Sunday-schools, De La Salle had established his " dcole domin-

353 CClorh and Spirit of the Schools. 353
ical" at St. Sulpice, in 1699, f°r both secular and religious
instruction. But the first pioneer in this line was St. Charles
Borromeo, who, in 1580, had founded such a school at Milan.
It can be seen from the foregoing that centuries before the
French Revolution— by many ignorantly thought to have
marked the first foundation of primary schools for the " plain
people " — there was ample and efficient provision for the edu
cation of the "masses," so-called. Since 1857 many writers in
France have unearthed a mighty collection of books, documents,
etc. , conclusively proving the truth of this statement. The
curriculum in these establishments included common prayers,
religious doctrine, the alphabet, numeration, and writing. Even
the much-lauded primary schools of the Moors in Spain were
decidedly inferior in the scope of their instruction. As to the
more advanced schools of that and preceding ages, their work
and spirit are well if tersely set forth by the Rev. John Talbot
Smith, LL. D. , in his admirable Life of Brother Azarias. Says
this brilliant and forcible writer :
"Very learned and very beautiful is his description of the
teachers, pupils, books, studies, methods, and discipline of the
most famous schools of the modern time ; the schools which
gave us all the great lights of the early ages, so many of our
greatest saints, and kept the lamp of knowledge, in every depart
ment, burning through the centuries of civil disorder. Their
discipline, many of their studies, a few of their methods, and
their fine spirit, are the chief features in the Catholic colleges
and convents of the present time, and in many secular schools.
They trained the clergy, the monks, the philosophers, the princes,
the nobles, the gifted geniuses of ten centuries."
It was inevitable that a great, good, and successful man like
De La Salle should make enemies ; and he had many. The en
vious, the unprogressive, and the merely meddlesome seemed
banded against him and his salutary innovations. He had, also,
to contend against years of ill health ; but his faith in God, and
in the future of his splendid educational system, upheld him
through all adversity. For years before his death, in 1 719, he
had the gratification of receiving both royal and high ecclesias-

354 programme laid down by Illustrious founder. 354
tical approval and of seeing his schools in flourishing operation
in many cities and towns of France. There they have ever
since continued the systematic programme laid down by their
illustrious founder ; for even the demon-ridden tempest of the
French Revolution was powerless against the Institute of the
Brothers of the Christian Schools. A bull of approbation from
Benedict XIII, in 1725, made the Institute a religious congre
gation, which is to-day conducted on substantially the same lines
as those established by De La Salle in 1684. In addition to
over thirty primary schools, a normal school for the Brothers
and four for other teachers, he had founded also three practice
schools connected with the normal, two boarding-schools, two
schools of technical instruction, a reformatory, and a Sunday-
school, teaching commercial branches as well as religion. Truly
a master mind and a born educator ! Such, in brief, is the his
tory of this great teaching order.
Let us'now consider the character of their work, as we find it
in evidence around us to-day, more especially in this country,
where there are ample opportunities for comparison with other
educational systems. And, so doing, we will naturally find our
selves studying more in detail, as it were, the spirit which
animated their illustrious founder, and which still inspires and
directs the labors of the Brothers.
Jean Baptiste De La Salle had the ideal conception of
education. A fervent Catholic, his firm faith caused him to make
religion at once the foundation and the all-permeating influence
of his system of instruction. Above all else to be considered,
the pupil had a soul to be saved. But he was in the world, and
to a certain extent must be of it in order to properly fulfil his
duties as a social unit. To hold his own in the battle of life,
he must be mentally equipped with the best weapons for attack
and defence, so to speak. To this end his education must be
eminently practical ; the merely ornate must yield first place to
the strictly utilitarian. And it is easy to see what an immense
stride in this direction was taken when De La Salle made Latin
an optional subject in the curriculum of his primary schools,
intended, as already said, principally for the "plain people," as

^io present btatus of the Schools. 355
another great and good man, of towering mental stature,
Abraham Lincoln, has happily expressed it. The use of the
vernacular, as the chief vehicle for instruction, has completely
changed the scope and character of education, immeasurably for
the better, opening up as it does domains of knowledge
previously difficult of access to the children of the poor and
working classes. Thus, to-day we find in the United States that
the Brothers devote special attention to imparting a thorough
working knowledge of the noble English tongue, probably the
best of all languages for the general purposes of expression.
The term "thorough " is here used advisedly ; for thoroughness
is the key-stone of the Brothers' system of instruction. Both
fundamental principles and details are taught according to the
rule of "line upon line, and precept upon precept," frequent
revisions of study refreshing and strengthening the pupil's
memory ; while, in accordance with strictly modern methods, his
reasoning powers are appealed to at every suitable opportunity.
And, in justice to the memory of the saintly and far-seeing
founder of the Institute, it should here be recorded that De La
Salle himself was one of the first of European educators, if not
indeed the first, to perceive the great importance of constantly
applying ratiocination as well as memorizing to the ordinary
subjects of study.
The schools of the Brothers now include not only the ordinary
parochial day-school, but also the well-appointed technical, or
" trade," school, the reformatory, and the full-fledged college, so
to speak, with its staff of able, earnest, and sympathetic
professors. In all these the instruction cannot be surpassed, on
the chosen lines, by any association of teachers, lay or clerical.
And as this is eminently a " business " age, and as we Americans
are essentially a " business " people, the Brothers' schools, more
particularly the ordinary day-schools, devote much attention to
imparting a sound and thorough business education. The
average graduate of these schools can at least hold his own with
him of any other similar school in the fundamental subjects of
penmanship, commercial arithmetic, book-keeping, stenography,
type-writing, and business correspondence ; while his thorough

356 Che Logical JMind of the American ijuouc 35°
knowledge of the manly, " all-round " English tongue enables him
to easily shine on occasions when there is demand for something
outside a mere business education. He derives much aid in
reaching this latter phase of his scholastic status from the great
literary excellence of the text-books so carefully prepared by
his instructors. The writer, who has had extensive opportunities
for observation on this and other educational points, ventures to
say that in this matter of literary excellence there are but few
series of school-books equal to those compiled by the Brothers
of the Christian Schools ; while in arrangement of details, and
general presentation of the subjects taught, the excellence
of the Institute's text-books is equally evident. To mention
one instance in particular, probably no better series of
" Readers " has ever been issued or used by any other
educational agency.
To be a graduate of La Salle Institute is a strong recommen
dation in the eyes of many non-Catholic business men. Even
the most rabid anti-Catholic — a type happily fast becoming ex
tinct in this land of broad thought and general enlightenment —
seldom fails to properly appreciate the fact that for association
in business and daily life it would be well-nigh impossible to find
young people with more integrity, general moral elevation of
character, and " all-round " business or special technical ability,
than are almost invariably possessed by the graduates of the
Christian Schools. The logical mind of the American public,
probably the most intelligent the world has ever seen, has long
since concluded that only good results can accrue from the single
ness of high and holy purpose, the self-abnegation, the earnest
ness, and the thoroughly trained teaching ability of the members
of La Salle Institute.
From the foregoing it can be easily seen that the same ex
cellence of results obtaining in the ordinary popular schools of
the Brothers is to be found also in the colleges conducted by
them. As for the technical, or 'trade," schools of La Salle Institute,
it is well known that they too are unsurpassed of their kind.
In all the schools of La Salle Institute the pupils are taught to
be, first, and before all else, good Catholics, which insures their

357 Increase of the Brothers' Schools. 357
being good citizens ; but although in theory, and essentially, the
secular aspect of their education is properly subordinate to the
religious, even the most exacting utilitarian, if but reasonable,
must feel satisfied by the admirable system of instruction which
in practical operation causes both religious and secular instruction
to, as it were, intertwine and progress co-ordinately — each pre
serving its proper place and character in the harmonious and
effective result.
It is unnecessary to say that the Brothers of the Christian
Schools, ever adaptive and progressive, see to it that the "sound
minds" of their young charges are enshrined in " sound bodies,"
so far as a reasonable cultivation of "athletics" can insure such a
desideratum. The influence exercised on their contemporaries and posterity
by such teachers and such pupils must be powerful and far-reach
ing ; one might well say almost incalculable for good. Their
lives and work preach, silently but eloquently, to not only the
Catholic but also the un-Christian element of the community.
Where at all unbiased, and probably with more or less bewilder
ment and some overturning of cherished idols, the latter can see
that a man may easily be at once, and primarily, a Christian, and
also a man of the world, in the better sense of this much-abused
term. No wonder that La Salle Institute has had many imitators,
even from its foundation. And these increase as the years roll
on, wherever the Christian Schools are found. The march of
these latter is ever onward and upward. From their small and
humble beginning, of a little over two centuries ago, they have
grown and flourished until to-day we find them with a grand
total of 326,579 pupils in France, Belgium, Spain, England, the
United States, Canada, Spanish America, and other countries,
who are taught by 14,913 Brothers. In this country their pupils
number 16,769, of whom 8,509 are in New York City, where
also labor 239 Brothers.
Their most rapid increase in the United States has taken place
since the Civil War ; and they are now found, doing glorious
work for God and the state, in nearly all our large centres of
population.

35§ Daily Life of the Brothers. 358
And what of the daily lives of such men ? Much of these is
evident in the toil of the class-room, from nine o'clock until half-
past three, with the usual intermissions. The Brothers them
selves rise, the year round, at half past four. This early rising
is necessitated by their many daily spiritual exercises, which
occupy two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening.
The rest of their time outside the class-room duties is chiefly de
voted to study and to preparation for and examination of pupil's
work. The daily life of a member of La Salle Institute is thus that of
a teaching monk. As stated, he lives all his simple, hard-work
ing life as a member, under strict community rules, and bound by
the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. He owns
nothing, and must resign all ownership before entering the
society ; and is merely permitted the use of certain necessaries.
As to comforts and luxuries, these words are not found in his
personal lexicon. The influence for good of such devoted men
needs no comment.
In the foregoing brief re'sume' of the history, the work, the
spirit, and the daily lives of the Brothers of the Christian Schools,
the writer has placed their more personal aspect last, as well be
fitting these meek and humble subjects of his pen ; but he has
done this also because of a certain appropriateness in the appli
cation of this saying of Scripture, " The last shall be first, and
the first shall be last." The Brothers of the Christian Schools
in the United States, with whom this article is more particularly
concerned, were among the last of organized societies to enter
the field of educative effort here ; but, in a comparatively brief
space of time, they have taken and hold a position as educators
equal to the best ; and this is the unbiased opinion of the com
munity at large.
What of weal or woe for our race the present century may
hide is known to God alone ; but in the light of the present and
the past, this may be safely predicted : no educative influence,
lay or clerical, will produce, in proportion to its opportunities,
more beneficent and lasting results than those certain to accrue
from the unselfish, untiring, God-directed efforts of the Brothers
of the Christian Schools.

Che Catholic Sisterhoods

in
Che United States,
By Rev. John Talbot Smith.
Pounding and History of the Communities Whose riembers.the" Sisters
of the Common Life, " Have Devoted Themselves to the Service of the Suf
fering and the Needy, the Teaching of Children and the Care of Orphans.
|^HE term " sisters of the common life" may be applied to the
thousands of American women who have devoted them
selves to the service of the poor, wretched, and needy, in the
well-known religious communities. They lead their lives in
common, having one house, one table, one dress, one aim, and
one salary. From the superior down to the cook, all receive the
same remuneration which consists of board, clothes, and a home
while in health, and care in sickness and old age.
Not less than fifty thousand women are leading the common
life in the religious communities of the United States. The
exact figures are not easily acertained, because the statistics have
not been fully tabulated ; but fifty thousand is a minimum, and
the actual total may be as much as ten thousand higher. This is
enough to prove the charm which convent life has exercised on
so many. THE WORK OF THE SISTERHOODS.
These fifty thousand women are scattered over &
Maine to Alaska, and are to be found in the front-'

360 Remarkable Record of the Catholic Sisterhoods. 360
as readily as in the centers of population. They manage or
superintend seven hundred institutions of charity, six hundred
colleges and academies for the education of women, and three
thousand parochial schools. The charitable institutions care for
about a million orphans, patients, strays and waifs, old and infirm
persons ; in the colleges and academies about seventy thou
sand girls are educated ; and in the parochial schools eight-
hundred thousand boys and girls receive a common school
training. To these astonishing figures a significant fact may be appended.
The sisterhoods are becoming more numerous and advancing in
membership. It requires exertion on the part of church and
authorities to keep the increase normal, to shut out the merely
ornamental, and to avoid the dangers of mushroom growth.
The present condition may partly be due to the action of the
French and Italian governments, whose hostile policy has driven
many religious communities from their countries to England or
America : but more general causes seem to be at work.
Wherever a sisterhood establishes itself, it is sure to thrive, and
find recruits to keep its work going and to extend its activity
into other districts. When one considers the failure that has
attended nearly all secular attempts to lead the common life, the
success of the sisterhoods becomes a social phenomenon worthy
of attention and study.
The Catholic Church takes a special interest in the forma
tion of sisterhoods, and fosters them with great care, on
the principle that a life of voluntary celibacy is superior, as a
state of life, to that of marriage, when taken up out of love of
God and for the service of men. When such a life is accepted
by an individual, and some form of active service is adopted,
both the state and the service are solemnly and formally conse
crated to God by vow. These elements give the essence of
religious community life, in which membership means that the
member is bound by vow, either for a time or forever, to the
celibate state and a certain service. Most sisters take only the
simplest form of vow, from which they can be released almost at
pleasure. Only to the few, and then after long probation, are

561 GXcrh and Costumes of the "Various Orders.

01

vows permitted of so solemn a character that release is well nigh
impossible. THEIR NAMES AND UNIFORMS.
Very few of the sisterhoods who live in strict seclusion, and
devote themselves to a life of prayer and penance, have taken
root in this country. Such are the Discalced Carmelites and
the Dominicans in certain forms. Even these work at the making
of vestments and other church necessities, and thus maintain
themselves. The need of laborers is so keenly felt by the American clergy
that at present they care little for a sisterhood which does not
teach, or nurse, or busy itself in general with some form of charity.
Many sisterhoods have been compelled to change their old meth
ods in order to meet the wants of the new situation. The most
flexible in this matter are always popular, for the reason that
their work is seen and their members make large acquaintance
with the people. In popular art, the Sisters of Mercy in black
veil and white coif, and the Sisters of Charity in the starched cor-
nettes of Normandy, are familiar and pathetic figures. In large
cities and towns the Little Sisters of the Poor, who go from door
to door collecting food, clothing, and money for their sick and
aged, are well-known and highly esteemed for their labors.
As corporations, the communities are proud of their past
history, or at least of their present achievement, and are very
scrupulous about their corporate name and their distinctive
uniform. It is rather puzzling to an inquirer to find a reason
for some of the names, and a proper explanation of some of the
uniforms. For instance, there are the Poor Clares, the Servites,
and the Gray Nuns of the Cross. Only the story of their
beginning can give a meaning to such appellations. On the
other hand, the Sister of Charity, of Mercy, of Divine Compas
sion, of the Poor, does not require an explanation of her title.
The costumes of the communities are for the most part tradi
tional, and may be found in books of costume, either in part or
entirely, as having been worn by the women of ancient days.
The coif and the guimpe of white linen, concealing bosom, neck,

362 foundress of Hmerican Sisters of Charity. 362
and head except the face, are relics of the Middle Ages. It is
rather pretty to see how feminine taste has selected from these
ancient fashions the effective forms ; for the community costumes,
as a rule, give delight to the eye, although the material is coarse,
and not always are the patterns well made.
MOTHER SETON's COMMUNITY.
It will be of deeper interest to the social student, for whom
this information has been collected, to review the aims, methods,
and results of the various sisterhoods. The history and develop
ment of the community founded in 1809 by Mrs. Elizabeth Bay-
ley Seton, of New York, will afford a fair illustration of commu
nity life and methods. Mrs. Seton was a member of the famous
Bayley family, and widow of one William Seton a descendant of
the historic Scottish house whose present head is known as Lord
Winton. Encouraged by the clergy, she founded at Emmitts-
burg, in Maryland, a community of five persons to carry on
whatever works of charity might be required.
The new society had to take a name, and to adopt a constitu
tion. After a well-known community in France, they took the
name of Sisters of Charity, and also adopted the constitution, or
rule of the same community. The constitution, in effect,
requires three forms of activity from those who follow it. It
binds them to devote some hours of each day to prayer and med
itation ; to undertake some charitable work, such as teaching poor
children, or nursing the sick poor ; and to train the young women
who aspire to membership in the community. These three activ
ities constitute the life of the average sisterhood.
The rule regulates every detail of a member's life for a day or
a decade. Thus in Mrs. Seton's community it required the
members to rise at half-past four the year round, and to assemble
for the first religious exercises in the chapel at five o'clock.
After morning prayers came meditation and mass, lasting until
half past six, when breakfast was served, a very brief affair, eaten
in silence. After a short recreation the members of the commu
nity took up the various duties of the day, some going to the
schoolroom, others to outdoor duties. At noon they assembled

3^3 Rules of Convent Life. 363
again in the chapel for prayer and self-examination ; then to din
ner in silence, where they listened to the reading of an instructive
book. Before supper they again assembled in the chapel, and
also before retiring at night. Half past nine was the hour for
retiring. The rule of every convent is silence, except during the hours
of recreation, or when necessity and charity require conversation.
The hours of recreation are spent in common, either in the grand
community room, or in the private grounds of the convent,
where each sister is recommended to carry a cheerful air, and to
add her share to the Christian gaiety of the occasion.
Mother Seton, as she was always called, in a few years saw
her community increased to twenty members. She was enabled
to found a boarding-school at Emmittsburg, a hospital in Phila
delphia, and an orphan asylum in New York. For the establish
ment of these works of charity the rule carefully provided, a cer
tain number of sisters being detailed for each undertaking.
The new institutions were ruled from the first home of the com
munity, generally called the mother house.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NOVITIATE.
With increase of numbers and duties came the rise into prom
inence of the most important part of any successful community —
the training-school for the young women who aspire to member
ship, or, as it is commonly called, the novitiate. Here the novice
is instructed in the requirements of community life, more with
regard to the spiritual life than to the every-day duties. She is
taught to love the rule above all things, to observe it to the
utmost, to cultivate humility, patience, submission to God's will,
and devotion to the poor and wretched. The novice lives in the
community, but is not yet a part of it. She has her own quar
ters for study and recreation, but joins the general crowd at
meals and at religious services. Usually she has to pass through
four degrees of probation before the community accepts her as a
member of the first rank. Having examined her character,
reputation, and attainments after her application for admission,
the superiors admit her as a postulant. When they are satisfied

364 Novitiate the Source of a Community's Strength. 364
with her career in this grade, the grade and the uniform of nov
ice are ceremoniously conferred upon her. After a year or two,
her conduct having given satisfaction, she is permitted to make
her first vows, for a limited term. In due time she takes her
final vows, and then acquires a voice in the affairs of the commu
nity. These various promotions are highly valued by the recipients,
and are made the occasion in some communities of festive and
solemn ceremonies. For example, in the community of the
Sisters of Mercy, the postulant who has been advanced to the
novitiate arrays herself like a bride in white silk, wreath, and
veil, to take her first obligations in the presence of her relatives
and friends, and before the bishop of the diocese. She then
retires from their presence to remove the symbols of a worldly
career, and returns in the black robe and white veil of the novice.
After the ceremony she receives the congratulations of her
friends, and entertains them to a simple collation.
The novitiate is really the source of a community's strength,
and great attention is paid to it. Mother Seton made it a sub
ject of close personal supervision.
VICISSITUDES OF THE SETON COMMUNITY.
There were fifty sisters in her society at her death in 1821,
after twelve years of labor. Her two sisters and two of her
daughters also died members of the community. Its subsequent
growth has been remarkable. It now counts about four thousand
members, and is engaged in hospital work, the care of orphans,
and the teaching of the young. In the New York district it has
in its charge St. Vincent's Hospital, two orphan asylums in Ford-
ham, the Foundling Asylum on East Sixty-Fifth Street, and the
famous academy at Mount St. Vincent's on the Hudson.
As an example of the vicissitudes that mark the history of
these communities, one may note the peculiar divison of Mother
Seton's original society into bodies with radical differences of
constitution. Mother Seton modeled her community on the
French Sisters of Charity, so well-known to popular art by their
peculiar head-dress. She wished to affiliate with that famous

365 Anion of french and Hmerican Sisterhoods. 365
order, and made a vain effort to secure the aid of the French
sisters in establishing her society Some thirty years after her
death a union took place between the American and the French

A SISTER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, DEVOTED TO THE WORK OF
RECLAIMING WAYWARD GIRLS AND RESCUING FALLEN WOMEN.
sisterhoods, by which the supreme direction passed to the French
branch, and the American sisters adopted the French costume.
The New York foundation, however, declined to enter into
this arrangement, preferring to rule itself rather than be ruled
by remote superiors. It became, in consequence, an independent

366

Che JVew Y01*k Sisters Choose Self Rule.

366

community, with power to choose its own superiors, though the
election must meet with the approval of the bishop of the diocese ;
while the other branch is ruled from the mother house in France.
This difference of constitution really distinguishes one class of sis
terhoods from another, even more
r, , .r n ,, - ,- -r markedly than any variety of cos
tume or purpose ; and the point
has long been disputed among
churchmen, which constitution is
the better suited to American con
ditions. Some like the centralized
authority that controls every mem
ber and settles finally all ques
tions ; others prefer to deal with
superiors on t h e ground, thor
oughly acquainted with the Ameri
can situation. THE ECONOMICS OF THE
SISTERHOODS.
Apart from sentimental and re
ligious grounds, it is worth while
to examine the economic conditions
which have a large share in the
development of these sisterhoods.
While Catholic theologians teach
A SISTER OF THE ORDER OF ST. URSULA, COM- ..1, „ _„„„.  1,1 1 1 r
monly known as the ursuune order, the reasonableness and beauty of
which devotes itself chiefly to the convent life, and the church
THE EDUCATION OF THE YOUNG. authorities take means to render it
practicable for its devotees, certain social conditions also demand
the work of the sisterhoods. If this were not so, while they
would still flourish, their membership would hardly reach the
thousands. The unit of administration in the Catholic Church is the
diocese, and the bishop is administrator. He must look after
the poor and afflicted, the orphans, the ignorant, the neglected ;
and in his work he must have assistants who will devote all their

367

Reroism and Self Sacrifice of Sisters.

367

time and experience to charity. The bishop cannot, like the
state, pay a good salary to nurses, teachers, and professors.
The economic brunt of the question of charity falls upon the
sisterhoods. For their services in school, college, hospital, and
asylum they receive in this country, as a minimum, one hundred
dollars a year, and two hundred as a maximum. This sum is
paid to the community, for a sister is not allowed to keep or to
carry any money, except what is allowed her by her superiors
for immediate use. Her salary is
paid in board, clothes, and care.
A maximum salary of two hun
dred a year is not large, and in
consequence the church is enabled,
without ruinous expenditure, to
undertake and to keep up a system
of education and a system of char
ity quite remarkable. The sister
hoods are of the heroic sort, ready
to go anywhere and to attempt
anything under most disheartening
circumstances. THEIR CHARITABLE AND EDUCA
TIONAL WORK.
Most communities have tradi
tions as to their work and methods,
and do their utmost to adhere to
them ; but the new world has often,
perhaps too often, proved a solvent
for the finest traditions. The ten
dency towards specialization has
greatly affected the sisterhoods, and beneficently. In the matter of
education, the parochial school is modeled on the common school,
while holding to the teaching of a special religion. The acad
emies still follow the ancient system, which trains a young lady
rather for a life of leisure than of labor, but many of them have
broken away from the old method. The sisterhood of the

SISTER OF ST. DOMINIC, OF A COMMUNITY
DEVOTED TO TEACHING, THE CARE OF
ORPHANS, AND THE PURELY CON
TEMPLATIVE LIFE.

368 Cheir ]Wetbods of Craining Y°ung CHornen. 308
Sacred Heart, familiarly known as the Madames, holds more or
less closely to past methods ; whereas the sisterhood of Notre
Dame de Namur conducts Trinity College, in Washington, as a
school for women on the best modern lines. A respectable

A SISTER OF THE NOTRE DAME COMMUNITY, A BODY OF CANADIAN ORIGIN, DEVOTED
TO TEACHING.
number of sister teachers now take the State examination
in many States. There is a general movement to betu.
their standards, and to get them acquainted with the best
methods.

s
er

3^9 Cheir General and Special forms of Olork. 369
he specialization of work is nowhere more visible among
the sisterhoods than in the department of charity, in which their
success has always been very marked, both for efficiency and
originality. Thus the commu
nity of the Good Shepherd was
founded for the purpose of look
ing after wayward girls and res
cuing fallen women. One group
devotes itself to maternity j
hospitals; another to keeping
good boarding-houses for work
ing girls. Miss Drexel, of Phil
adelphia, has devoted her life
and her fortune to building up a
community which cares for the !
Indians. The Bon Secours!
Sisters act as nurses in private j
homes, while the Sisters of the I
Assumption go about among the b
sick poor as free nurses. There
is a community for deaf mutes,
another for the blind, a third for |
lepers, a fourth for consumptives, j
Very often a single community
will engage in all these forms of
labor, like the Sisters of Mercy
and the Sisters of Charity, who
turn with ease from hospitals to
colleges, from orphan asylums to
parochial schools, and seem to
be at home in all. In the South
there exists a community of
colored sisters, and in the North- A S|s r ,_ ... c.r IITY which
west a bodv of Indian sisters, undertakes any form of charitable work,
a. uw y , SERVING IN HOSPITALS, ORPHANAGES,
devoted to work among their prisons, refuges, and poor
SCHOOLS.
own people.
The public appearances of the sisters, according to rule, must
be made with modesty ; the eyes should be cast down, conversa-

37o

H Life of Cheerfulness ana ©ervn

tion in the street avoided, and the beads recited; so that as a
result many imagine their home lives must be of the same char
acter, demurely cold. On the contrary, they are a vivacious
body, deeply interested in their work, in their clients, and in

AN INNOCENT VICTIM "—SEYMOUR THOMAS WELL-KNOWN PAINTING OF THE DEATH OF A SISTER OF
CHARITY ACCIDENTALLY SHOT ON A BATTLEFIELD-THE SCENE IS IN FRANCE, BUT THE UNFORM
IS THE SAME AS THAT OF THE AMERICAN SISTERHOOD, WHICH IS AFFILIATED WITH THE
FRENCH ORDER.
one another, and are never tired of discussing- these pleasant
persons and agreeable things. It is one of their rules that rec
reation must be taken in common, that each must add to the
cheerfulness of the moment, and that the happiness of all should
be sought, not the particular joy of the few. Their convents
are kept beautifully, and the extreme simplicity of the furnishings
is made up for by waxen neatness and homelike orderliness.
The attraction which the convent life has for women is
proved by the ever increasing membership, and also by the fact
that very few retire voluntarily from service.

TKq Si$fer5 of Ck&rily.
Their Foundation Throughout the World.
Established in the United States by the
Saintly Mother Seton, an
American Convert.
Father Hecker once called the writer's attention to the
uniform, almost invariable, rule of Providence in the establish
ment of religious orders and other great revivals of the Chris
tian spirit, by which women have been associated with men both
as the pioneers and as the perpetuators1 of the divine purposes.
Not men only but men and women equally have from time to
time reformed religion, advanced God's kingdom by missionary
enterprises, and peopled it with new generations of saints. A
glance at church history shows the truth of this view.
This rule held good in the wonderful revival of religion which
was led and fashioned by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Francis de
Sales in the seventeenth century. The Vincentians and the
Sisters of Charity are related in the same close kinship as the
first and second orders of the mediaeval communities, and St.
Francis de Sales would not be what he is to the church had
he not been the founder and teacher of the Visitandines, the
largest part of his priceless spiritual doctrine being his best
thoughts given to his nuns. *
* The exceptions to this rule are more in appearance than reality. Take
for instance, the Sulpitians. Women cannot be associated in their work of
educating the clergy, but Jean Jaques Olier was placed in the closest super
natural association with saintly religious women, who were of essential help
to him in founding his community. The Sulpitians made it possible for
Mother Seton to establish the Sisters of Charity in America, and directed

Missing Page

Missing Page

374 St. f rancis De Sales and St. Vincent De paul. 374
As to St. Vincent, it is true to say that St. Francis alone
knew women as well as he, and knew as well as he how to
sanctify them. St. Vincent knew the good material among
them and advanced it to the highest degree of perfection. He
and his methods have made good women our angels. Bad
women he reformed, not in particular cases but in great multi
tudes, saving the evil ones by means of the good ones. Even
worldly-minded women could not escape him, for he got their
money for holy charity as no man before or since ever did, and
occasionally he secured their personal help.
Thus there are two men in the modern history of the female
sex who are pre-eminently their Apostles, St. Francis de Sales
and St. Vincent de Paul, the first being their doctor of holy
living and the second the lawgiver of their charity to the poor.
St. Francis is the doctor of holy living to all mankind, no less
t ) men than to women. But there is a special attraction in his
teaching for women who are yearning for the divine spouseship.
In St. Vincent, however, the sex found its master organizer.
And indeed, as we well remember Father Hecker insisting, an
integral work for human kind must sanctify men and women
equally if it is to be a mighty work, and an enduring one ; it
must train its heroines as well as its heroes.
But it is the peculiar glory of St. Vincent that his corps cC e~lite
her and her successors in that great undertaking. Again, if we must admit
that the martial spirit of St. Ignatius is hardly adjustable to the female char
acter, yet saintly Jesuits have been the chief means of founding various
religious communities of women, especially those devoted, like themselves, to
Christian education. It is well known that St. Ignatius was very unwilling
to have his fathers officially associated with communities of women. Yet St.
Teresa bears witness that in all her travels through Spain she found in every
Jesuit college men capable of directing her nuns in the contemplative life,
and the Jesuit Baltassar Alvarez was one of her best assistants in the
Carmelite reform. The Exercises of St. Ignatius are the yearly spiritual
renewal of all or nearly all the orders of women. Over a hundred years ago
the Jesuits of Maryland rendered inestimable service to religion in this
country by the establishment, under Incredible difficulties, of the Sisters of
the Visitation near their college at Georgetown, D. C. But it still remains
true that the normal relations of men and women in the great works of
religion, as seen in history, is an official one.

375 Spread of the Organization. 375
of heroic women, the female auxiliaries of his missionaries, the
church's modern apostolate of love, were chosen from the so-
called lower classes. The Ladies of Charity were destined to
survive only in fitful, broken, variable forms of public charity,
but the Sisters of Charity at once took root in the everlasting
church, are almost as universal . as that mother of all loving
sympathy herself, and seem destined to continue their glorious
career to the end of the world.
But what led to this was Vincent's organization of the ladies
of the French nobility in the relief of the poor. He first be
gan to organize his charity among ladies of the world in 1617,
while he was cure- of Chatillon-les-dombes, a large rural parish
in the diocese of Lyons, to which he had withdrawn to escape
the aristocratic surroundings of the Gondi family, of which he
was chaplain. The rules he there drew up are so full of practical
wisdom that they might stand to-day and indeed for ever — brief
and yet full, clear, easily observed and practical, yet breathing
devout sentiment. The best of the ladies, both married and
single, of the noble and gentle families of the neighborhood of
Chatillon-les-dombes were drawn into the society, which elected
its own officers, took charge of all the sick poor in the parish,
visiting them in person and feeding and washing and caring for
them in every particular. The ladies managed everything them
selves, but under Vincent's general direction, we might better
say his inspiration.
Hardly had this been accomplished when Vincent returned to
the Gondi family in Paris, and immediately began the formation
of the " Ladies of Charity, Servants of the Poor," as they were
termed, in the capital, upon precisely the same plan he had
adopted in the country.
Within an incredibly short time thirty such associations of
charity in as many different parishes, and composed all of
ladies of quality, were in active operation, begun and super
vised by St. Vincent. True Christian socialist, he always
began these societies of the rich for the relief of the poor im
mediately after preaching a mission in the parish church, and
it is hard to say whether he benefited the upper class any

37<> Che most Saintly Character of his Cime. 376
less by teaching them charity to the poor, than he did the
lower class by the eternal message of our Lord's pity for
sinners. The inceptive of Vincent's mighty work was thus taken among
the titled ladies of France. That race of beings who were then
and are yet the leaders in every frivolity, clean and unclean, of
fashion and love, became under his sway the foremost of their
sex, even of all human kind, in the offices of high and holy
charity. These ladies were the sisters of women who had totally for
saken the world to become Carmelites and Visitandines, and if
the oblation of the contemplatives was well pleasing to God,
hardly less acceptable was that of these noble visitors of the
hovels of the poor and co-workers with the Lord's anointed high-
priest of mercy to the miserable. Ardent love of the poor was
the air these ladies were made to breathe.
Many of them were educated far beyond the average of their
day, all were women of solid character and good common sense,
and all were likewise wealthy, most of them, indeed, mistresses
of vast fortunes, who lavishly spent large sums for the relief of
human suffering, if we may use the word lavish in connection
with the careful charity and systematic accountability maintained
by St Vincent in all his works of religion.
Of these ardent, enterprising, daring souls St. Vincent was the
guide, even the inspiring angel. He harnessed their fiery zeal
with his prudence and tempered it with his patience and
his tact. In him God — they soon began to learn it — had placed
at the head of their enterprises the most powerful and most
saintly character of his time. He alone, after the death of
St. Francis de Sales, was the most worthy to lead women who
proved themselves capable of selling their diamonds and their
carriages for the relief of the poor ; and who begged for them
by every kind of begging, from extorting hundreds and
thousands of livres from dainty courtiers to picking up the
greasy sous flung to them at the street-corners. History shows
no parallel to Vincent's success in using women of high
society for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the lowest classes.

V7 " God and the poor/' 377
At one crisis this organization, counting over three hundred
members, all of the highest classes, collected and spent nearly
two million dollars, equivalent in our money to at least twice its
nominal value. " But these ladies," says St Vincent's biogra
pher, " were not content with collecting money and becoming the
never-failing support of St. Vincent ; they went in person to see
the poor in the H6tel Dieu. This is what the saint held in
highest esteem. ' To send money is good,' he said, ' but we
have not really begun to serve the poor till we visit them,' "
And he instructed them elaborately on this point. "When
going to visit the poor," he said, "you should leave off your
jewels and finery, and be dressed very simply, for the contrast of
luxury on the one side and poverty on the other, makes the
condition of the poor all the more painful." He also loved "to
point out in detail the marks of profound respect which should
be shown to the poor, saying that the men should raise their
hats and the ladies incline their heads as before their superiors."
He would have all feel as he did himself : the poor literally
represented Jesus Christ to him. If he happened to be alone
with a poor person, he did not hesitate to kiss his feet. " Our
dear poor and sick," he said, "are our lords and masters, for
our Lord is in them, and they in him."
The visiting of the great hospital, the Hotel Dieu, by these
ladies, conducted, as were all Vincent's undertakings, with as
much tact as charity, and thoroughly systematized, resulted
not only in the cessation of many abuses and the full develop
ment of the institution's capacity for curing the sick, but the
very first year was the means of over seven hundred conver
sions to the Catholic faith. The Huguenots were yet numerous
in France, and the Hdtel Dieu was the receptacle of the un
fortunate of every race, including Turks and barbarians. Much
the same may be said of the work of the Ladies of Charity
in the prisons. Their motto was always and everywhere
"God and the poor," the true faith of Christ and his tender
charity. Nor did these ladies parade about as if they had renounced
their state of life as wives and daughters of the noblesse. No,

378 Che Rich became Servants of the poor. 378.
they were just ladies of the world, only fully alive to the maxims
of the Gospel. Of one who was, next to Mademoiselle Le Gras,
Vincent's chief lieutenant, it is said :
" What was most attractive in Madame Goussault was the
manner in which she united simplicity and affability with
virtue. She did not pose as a reformer, but lived simply and
uprightly. She thoroughly enjoyed an hour at backgammon,
for she always condescended in what was not sinful. Hence she
had only one regret after her stay at Angers, and that was
that she had refused to allow her portrait to be taken. ' It
is the custom,' she writes, 'everybody does it, and after death it
is placed in the church near the tomb. Now I refused to have
mine taken, and I am sorry, for it seems to me to have been
false humility, and condescension would have been better.' "
Yet Madame Goussault was a heroine of the highest order,
and her deeds of charity would render her worthy of canoniza
tion. As to the spiritual side of their lives, the very feeding-bed of
all these fruitful plants of holy charity, St. Vincent sketched it
with his masterly hand thus : " These ladies shall study to
acquire Christian perfection suitable to their state, spend half
an hour in meditation, and hear Mass daily. They shall read a
chapter from the Introduction to a Devout Life, or The Love of
God [the chief spiritual works of St. Francis de Sales], make an
examination of conscience every day, and confess and communi
cate at least each week."
The high nobility of France was thus toned up to high
religious fervor, and the women of the proudest feudal families
in Christendom became the humble servants of the poor. " For
more than eight hundred years," said St. Vincent de Paul to
them, "women have had no public employment in the church.
See here how Providence calls on you, ladies, to supply this
want : the support and instruction of the sick poor at the Hotel
Dieu, the nursing and rearing of foundlings, the spiritual and
temporal care of the galley-slaves, the relief of the desolated
frontiers and provinces of our country, the support of the
missions in the East, North, and South, these are the labors

379 Original of the Great Order. 379
you have undertaken and accomplished during the past twenty
years." They might and doubtless did respond that it was
by his courage, patience, genius of organization, and especially
his supernatural sway over women's hearts, that they had beeii
able to begin and carry on such stupendous enterprises of
heavenly charity.
That all this was smooth sailing no one can imagine. The
most peaceful of men, he yet was forced to fight, and in his own
way did fight and win many battles with women before he pre
vailed. We give a notable instance. It happened once that
Vincent managed, but only after a prolonged struggle, to prevent
the appointment of an unworthy young nobleman to a "lucra
tive" bishopric, an appointment which the queen had already
promised. Vincent succeeded with the queen only after incredi
ble and persistent protest. When he called on the duchess, the
young man's mother, he was received with great joy, because the
lady was full sure of having obtained the prize for her son.
"You come from the queen?" she eagerly asked. "Yes,
madame," and then he communicated the rejection of her son,
and added : " The queen counts on your religious principles,
and does not doubt that on reflection you will thank her now for
withdrawing her promise, and you certainly will in eternity."
Upon which the noble lady snatched up a footstool and flung it
at the saint. It struck him square in the face and cut a gash in
his forehead, covering his face with blood. Without a word he
wiped the blood off with his handkerchief and quietly left the
room. As he started home he made this, his only comment ;
" Is it not a wonderful thing to see how far a mother's love for
her son will carry her ? "
Vincent must have seen from the beginning that his charities
needed more for their full development than the Association of
Ladies could give ; his vocation was that of a great founder,
and he needed a numerous and enduring and coherent organiza
tion. Their duties at home were often imperative and hindered
their personal attention to charitable works ; their number was
limited ; their whole lives, except in such rare cases as Madame
Goussault, and Mademoiselle Le Gras, could not be dedicated to

380 Origin of the Sisters of Charity. 380
the poor, and, especially, their organization could not be otherwise
than partial and temporary. Vincent carefully watched his
opportunities, or rather followed his providences, and little by lit
tle selected devout country girls living at service in Paris, and
made them the Ladies' helpers ; in time they were destined to
assume entire charge. At first they lodged with the Ladies,
helped them in their visits to the sick and to the prisons, and
— here was an important step — Vincent finally began to assemble
them at St. Lazare and instruct them on the spirit of their
work — on their vocation, as he soon began to call it. And this
is the origin of one of the greatest religious orders of the Catho
lic church.
God sent Vincent such choice souls for this new undertaking
that we plainly see the divine hand in the selection of the foun
dation stones. We must refer the reader to Bishop Bougaud's
work for the details, the study of which reveals the marvellous,
and yet almost imperceptible, guidance of the Holy Spirit.
For the organization of the Sisters Vincent needed a great
woman, and God sent him Mademoiselle Le Gras. She was his
chosen associate for more than thirty years, and these two were
like two archangels for courage, for enlightenment, for love of
God and man, for harmonious action, and were rewarded with
perfect success. Not the least of Vincent's gifts was his knowl
edge of character, and, says his biographer, " he was not slow
to recognize the treasure God had sent him [in Mademoiselle Le
Gras], and he cultivated it like a master. He wrote to her al
most daily, and heard her confession weekly. He never left
Paris without going to see her, or excusing himself if he could
not do so. He directed her retreats and gave her the subjects of
her meditations. He solicited her advice on all matters, and in
such an humble and respectful manner that no sign of superior
ity, much less of familiarity, ever appeared, leaving us a perfect
and enduring model of the relation of director and penitent."
Louise de Marillac (such was her maiden name) was born of a
noble family in Paris in 1591. At the age of twenty-one, having
lost her father, she married Antoine Le Gras. He was not ex
actly of noble blood, though a gentleman of the court, and hence

38 1 H Noble and Saintly Gloman. 38 1
his wife could not be called Madame ; this explains her prefix of
Mademoiselle. After twelve years of very happy and very pious
married life she was left a widow. Providence had already
blessed her with the acquaintance of St. Francis de Sales, who
had enriched her soul with many jewels of heavenly wisdom.
But it was a soul from first to last very darksome, tending to
doubtfulness of God's love, over-sensitive to its own faults.
And her bodily health was never robust. During her whole life
she bore the double burden of an ailing body (and at intervals
one that was barely alive) and an anxious spirit. To these sub
jective trials family troubles of the most grievous kind were
added after her husband's death, for Richelieu beheaded her
uncle, Marshal Louis de Marillac, one of the foremost soldiers
of France, and her other uncle, Michel, once chancellor of
France, escaped a like fate by perishing miserably in prison.
Louise loved both these men tenderly, and they loved and
cherished her, and, besides, they were Christians of eminent
virtue. Overflowing thus with inner misery and overwhelmed with
outer misfortunes, Louise, meantime, worked zealously with the
Ladies of Charity and was guided by St. Vincent de Paul into
happier spiritual conditions ; these would last for shorter or
longer intervals, to be succeeded always by conditions of interior
distress, which again yielded to the influence of St. Vincent.
And so he helped her to bear her burden, as she shared his
heavy responsibilities in the relief of the poor and the foundation
of the Sisters of Charity. Louise was a saint of that kind of
heroism which must labor in the dark. She was like an artist
whose gifts are of the highest kind, and whose eyesight of the
worst. Absolutely no height of self-denial was beyond her
aspiration, and the love of God was her very passion. But her
providential union with St. Vincent in the formation of the
Sisters of Charity turned all the waters of her sadness and all
the aspirations of her heroic soul into the one absorbing purpose
of her life, the solace of human misery for the sake of Jesus
Christ. There were many great women those times, but to
Louise Le Gras was given an honor, in her association with

382 God favors formation of Community. 382
Vincent de Paul only, to be compared with that of Jane Frances
de Chantal similarly placed with St. Francis de Sales. When
Vincent had learned to know Louise well, he found in her that
Lady of Charity fitted to be the foundress of the Sisters of
Charity. What more could heart of woman crave ?
This great soul went to her reward on the fifteenth of
March, 1660, a few months before Vincent's death.
Every one now acknowledges that God favored the formation
of this wondrous community with a Providential guidance
altogether extraordinary. But even a cursory reading of this
life (and particularly that of Mademoiselle Le Gras) shows that
even in minute particulars God guided Vincent and his
coadjutrix with special light. How otherwise explain the fact
that these daughters of peasants so seldom failed, we will not
say of success, but of remarkable success ; that it was usual to
send a handful of these country girls into a large town to take
over the full control of a great hospital or asylum, deal with
exacting trustees about funds and sometimes with suspicious and
too often with indifferent ecclesiastics about canonical affairs, and
yet never, or almost never, to fail ? The spiritual training which
Vincent and Mademoiselle Le Gras gave the sisters accounts
mainly for this; and it was singularly patriarchal. His
conferences to the community in Paris, where all were prepared
for their work, were held frequently, and were the family
reunions, we might say, of father and mother and children.
Vincent, after a short prayer, proposed some virtue, and
explained it very simply. He then began asking questions,
giving each sister an opportunity to apply her mind, and invit
ing her to express her views, he commenting on them in the
most nai've spirit. Everything was very informal, full of good
sense, but aimed at the highest standard of perfection. This
method set the sisters thinking for themselves upon spiritual
things, and caused them to know as well by personal reflection
and intelligent assimilation as by instruction the virtues of the
Gospel, and the application of them to their state of life and its
various duties.
Pretty nearly all his dealings with the community, even the

383 Vincent's pious Methods. 383
most official, were carried on in this way. We quote a specimen
from the Life of Mademoiselle Le Gras (pages 218-219).
Having appointed a Sister Servant (as the superiors are called)
for an important undertaking, " a new mission in one of the
largest cities of the kingdom, he informed her in full community
that Providence had chosen her. ' What shall we give Sister
Elizabeth for her journey?' he asked, while she remained mute
with astonishment ; ' each one must give her something. Let us
see. What virtue can we give her ? ' The first sister who was
interrogated wished for her companion the love of God ; another,
wished her love for the poor ; Mademoiselle Le Gras, the cordial
support of her sisters ; and M. Almeras, invited to make his gift
also, wished her ' gay patience.' ' See what riches, my daughter ;
of which I wish you the plenitude,' said St. Vincent ; ' but
what I wish for you especially is to do the will of God, which
consists not only in doing what our superiors require,
though this is a sure way to arrive at it, but still more in cor
responding with all the interior inspirations that God will send
us.' "
This reveals Vincent's confident trust in the ripeness of the
sisters' personal holiness, and his desire that they should
turn their glances inward for the Holy Spirit's guidance,
never failing to use, however, the divine test of obedience
to the external order of God in the approval of superiors.
He never ceased to exalt their vocation to them, or to insist
upon its divine dignity. Mademoiselle Le Gras followed this up
in his own spirit and caught much of the familiar style of the
saint. We quote from her life (pages 291-292) : " ' Your spirit,
she said to the community, ' consists in the love of our Saviour,
the source and model of all charity, and in rendering Him
all the service in your power, in the persons of old men, infants,
the sick, prisoners, and others. When I think of all your
happiness, I wonder why God has chosen you. What could
you desire on earth for your perfection that you have not ?
You are called by God to employ all your thoughts, words,
and actions for His glory.' She insisted that although they
were not and never could be religious, they should lead a life

384 CHomanbood according to 'Jesus Christ. 384
as perfect as that of the most holy professed in a monas
tery. . . . They ought to be strong-minded women in the
right sense, finding no difficulty in labor ; open-hearted,
cordial, and meek with every one, having nothing constrained,
much less affected, in their manners. St. Vincent recommended
them, and Mademoiselle Le Gras repeated to them, to keep the
eyes modestly lowered, for an excess of modesty in this
respect might hinder outsiders from the service of God, by
frightening them, and thus prevent the good often effected by
modest gaiety."
The result of all this discipline of holy love was the Sister of
Charity as we know her to-day, and as men the world over know
her to their heavenly and earthly comfort — womanhood accord
ing to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
While Vincent and Mademoiselle Le Gras were thus enrolling
and disciplining these peaceful cohorts of holy women, arming
them with those weapons of love with which they were to win
heavenly victories all over the world, Louis XIV was begin
ning to form those great armies of men who were to make his
reign so "glorious," and so bloody. Vincent began the con
quest of the world with a few little groups of peasant girls.
His second in command was a delicate and scrupulous widow
lady who was always longing, as she was always waiting, to die
for the poor. Vincent's soldiers now garrison the cities of the
world, wearing a hundred different uniforms of love, daily vic
tors in many conflicts between pity and woe. See the contrast
between the village lads of France and their sisters as disci
plined respectively by Louis the Great and Vincent the Peace
ful, the one using the terror and hate of war, and the other the
love and patience of the Gospel as the inspiring motives. When
the Sisters heard of their companions dying in pest-houses or
among the wounded on battle-fields, they eagerly volunteered
to take their places. At one time news came of such a death,
and an old sister wrote: "Sister Marguerite is dead sword in
hand" and hurried on to take her place. It has always been
so. General Jacob D. Cox, an American Protestant, writing
in The Battles and Leadcrs_ of the Civil War, tells what hap-

385 Constitution of the Order. 385
pened when our great war broke out in 1861, and the regi
ments which were made up of country boys suffered from
epidemics of sickness. The scene was Camp Dennison, near
Cincinnati :
" The Sisters of Charity, under the lead of Sister Anthony, a
noble woman, came out in force, and their black and white
robes harmonized picturesquely with the military surroundings,
as they flitted about under the rough timber framing of the
old barn, carrying comfort and hope from one rude couch to
another." And this was kept up on both sides of the dreadful
conflict and to the very end. During the Spanish American war
hundreds of our Sisters of Charity and of the kindred com
munities ministered to the sick and wounded soldiers, and if
the official thanks of the government were scanty, the soldiers
and officers and surgeons bore abundant witness to their unas
suming but heroic devotedness. Then, and before, many notable
conversions were the spiritual fruit of the Apostolate of bodily
charity.* While teaching the Sisters the principles and practice of
perfection, Vincent was himself slowly studying how to draw up
their constitution. " That constitution," says his biographer
(vol. i. p. 306), "was singularly courageous. It took our saint
more than twenty years to conquer public opinion, the objec
tions of the king and parliament, and the prudent hesitation
of the pope and cardinals. It is true now, however, that that
constitution, after having been an object of wonder to the
world, has become an object of admiration." To perfectly
adapt the new institute to its work, St Vincent not only decided
against solemn vows and the enclosure, not only passed over
perpetual vows, but he asked the Sister of Charity to bind her
self only from year to year. " Perhaps," says Bishop Bougaud,
"if he had been free, he would have required no vows, and so
* It happened once that a poor wretch was brought to a Sisters' Hospital
and died after a few days of suffering. On entering he said he had no
religion and no use for religion. But the day he died he called for the
chaplain. " Sir," he said, " I want to die in the religion of that lady with the
big white bonnet who has been taking care of me."

386 H Strange and bold Innovation. 386
have allowed their devotedness its full liberty. . . . Despite
all opposition the saint created this new type of servants of
God in the service of his poor" (vol. i. p. 309). Nobody
thinks now that this great Christian legislator was anywise un
true to that highest ideal of the spiritual life which is secured
by the solemn vows and the cloister. We suspect, however,
that he was roundly accused of it during his long and patient
struggle for those advantages which, under certain circumstances
and for particular ends, are to be gained by a larger degree of
personal liberty. " You are not religious in the strict sense,'
he said to the Sisters, " and never can be, because of the
service of the poor. You must therefore even be holier than
religious, since you have greater temptations and less security"
(vol. i. p. 310).
Providence blessed this courage to an unheard-of degree.
Vincent's institute, preserving intact its peculiar features, has,
both in itself and in the innumerable congregations of women
which pattern on it, become the wonder of the world and, we
may even say, the chief glory of the Church of Christ. Thus did
he create a new form of the religious life outside of what was
technically termed the religious state, and this he did without
prejudice to any older institute or form of religion ; nay, the
spirit of St. Vincent has assisted various of the older forms to
reach out into newer methods without lesion to the salutary
bonds binding them to ancient ways.
The work of Vincent, evidently Christian as it seems to
our day, and peaceably, cautiously, we might almost say re
luctantly undertaken, was yet hard of entrance into the favor
of many in authority. The idea of the Sisters of Charity, to
quote the author of the Life of Mademoiselle Le Gras, had been
" unfolded under the breath of God, and yet it was in opposi
tion to the manners and ideas of the time." A community of
young girls having hardly a convent of their own, living as
much among the homes of the poor as anywhere else, " having
no enclosure but the streets of the city and the wards of the
hospital, having no grate but the fear of God, no veil
but holy modesty, was an innovation strange and bold, to

387 Difficulties Overcome. 387
some rash" It was introduced, besides, at a time when the
monastic life of women under strict enclosure was flourishing
in a high degree. The reader will also bear in mind that St.
Francis de Sales, not many years before St. Vincent began,
had been compelled, much against his will, to place in en
closure and under solemn vows his own community of women,
originally intended to be without either of these holy restraints.
Now, we know that Vincent's relations with St. Francis de Sales
were most intimate. Perhaps during their exchange of views
on God's purposes in their day, Francis made Vincent the
legatee of some of his own lights about the spiritual career of
women. In the founding of the Sisters of Charity love foreran the
law, the saint taught the canonist. This is nearly always the
case with God's greater works, for as the ordinary administra
tion of religion needs the discipline of statutes and precedents
and the orderly but too often routine mind of the official, so the
renewal of the fervor of the gospel must frequently break
through precedents with self-evident fruits of love, must often
suffer hurt from officials, who endeavor to whip it into con
formity with those legally established systems it is divinely
appointed to differ from, because it must improve them, some
times even supplant them. Only this must be noted : the saints
in carrying out God's will of the renewal of souls are taught by
his guidance the ways of peace and of obedience. Love does
not war against law, but overcomes by persuasion, and by
patience. Thus Vincent, the foremost innovator of his age, was
2ifestina lente innovator.
These new movements for the elevation of the peasant class,
who, as Bishop Bougaud tells us, were looked upon as little better
than beasts by the nobility, could not fail to arouse opposition.
The cry of novelty was raised, a cry ever at the lips of com
fortable mediocrity, and that cry was heard even in high places.
Let us recall an instance. When Mademoiselle Le Gras began
to go about opening schools for the peasant children she always,
and as a matter of course, obtained leave of the clerical authori
ties. Having spent two months at this work on one of her

388 Che Victory of Obedience. 388
journeys, " all at once the Bishop of Chalons, in whose diocese
she was traveling, became alarmed at the unusual practices and
demanded an account. ' If Monseigneur de Chalons wishes it
and he is near,' wrote St Vincent, ' you would do well to see
him and tell him quite simply what you are doing. Offer to
retrench as much as he wants, or to leave off altogether if not
agreeable to him : such is the spirit of God.' The bishop, whose
intentions are beyond all doubt, could not understand the ad
vantage of this new form of charity ; and Mademoiselle Le Gras
was obliged to return to Paris. The saint congratulated her on
this trial. ... ' Perhaps you will never meet with an occur
rence redounding more to the glory of God than this one.
Our Saviour will receive more glory from your submission than
from all the good you could have done' " {Life of Mademoiselle
Le Gras, pp. 90-91).
We hear much in our day of the elevation of the female
sex, and we hear it very gladly, for it is the weaker sex, the
one that suffers most, and the one which in its grandeur of
affection is the type of God's loving kindness. But we must
admit that many useless and some hurtful results follow con
temporary endeavors to better the condition of women. Vincent
de Paul leads the world in the true advancement of the sex,
always safe and yet wonderfully progressive.
Was ever a man so equal to the task of gaining women
their rights as Vincent ? Since our Lord emancipated the sex
by his mother's elevation to the throne of the Christian world,
no man, it seems to us, did so much as Vincent de Paul to
broaden the usefulness of woman, to enlighten her understand
ing, to sanctify her affections. Yet he never gushed over
women, nor relaxed his watchfulness against sexual familiarity.
He never forgot, not even unto extreme old age, the danger
that lurks in our fallen nature, even in the purest communica
tions between man and woman. The influence of St. Vincent,
exercised through the Society he founded, has continued to grow,
for the betterment of humanity, in all lands, and was never
more vigorous than at present.

The Unification ef the Idpstdines.
Inaugurated in America, concluded in Rome.
A Glorious Achievement of the Pontificate of Leo XIII.
A great and long desired work was brought to a happy
conclusion when, on November 28, 1900, the Holy Father gave
his formal approbation to the work of unifying the Ursuline com
munities of the entire world. The new organization will be
known as the " Canonically United Ursulines."
The Ursulines as a religious foundation are three hundred
and sixty-five years old. St. Angela Merici is their founder.
They date from that period of religious activity immediately
before the Council of Trent, when Italy particularly was stir
ring with evidences of awakened life. The peculiarities of their
organization placed them largely under the authority of the
bishops, and made the various houses self-governing. They
assumed as their special vocation the education of young girls,
and many of the communities added a fourth vow to that effect.
They were the first to cross the Atlantic, and in the very year
(1639) that John Harvard started the small school which ulti
mately became the great Harvard University, Mother Mary
of the Incarnation was gathering about her at Quebec the
daughters of the French settlers as well as the maidens of the
Indian tribes. Later on the Ursulines came to Massachusetts,
but the spoliation and burning of their convent at Charlestown
is not the proudest chapter in the history of New England.
There are now in this country twenty-four communities with
998 nuns, teaching over 10,000 pupils. In the entire world there

390 Discourse of Cardinal Satolli. 39°
are over 11,000 Ursulines. Two thousand nuns, wearing the
Ursuline habit and following the rule, were represented in the
first chapter held in Rome, November, 1900, but since the formal
approbation of the Holy See many more communities have
identified themselves with the newly consolidated order.
This great work of unification has not been brought about
without meeting with many difficulties, but the whole matter
has been handled with such tact, as well as consideration for
the immemorial customs of venerable institutes, that the most
harmonious relations have resulted. When the Holy Father
blessed the work he reserved to himself the privilege of ratify
ing the choice of officers by the general chapter. The delegates
chosen by the various houses met in Rome on November 15.
There were nine nuns there from America. The chapter
was opened by a discourse from Cardinal Satolli, who was
selected for this honor by the Holy Father on account of his
ecclesiastical relations with the Ursuline Community in Rome.
He said to the assembled mothers that it was the desire of the
Holy Father to unify, as far as opportunity offers, the various
separated branches of the different religious orders. After
passing some compliments to the Ursulines on account of the
many illustrious members who have left a name for learning
and sanctity, he said :
" It is with full knowledge that I speak of your order,
having closely observed it in America during my apostolic
mission to that country. I wish to salute here, in the person
of their representatives, the houses I know so well there,
one of which (Galveston) has recently experienced a most
unforeseen and most terrible disaster. It is in America I first
learned to know, to appreciate, and to love the Ursulines, as it
is there also that I understood from daily example the immense
strength for good even the least things acquire when vivified by
the all-powerful principle of unity.
" By such study and experience I was prepared to enter into
the relations with your order which have been assigned me by
the Holy Father. Named protector of the group of Rome,
Blois, and Calvi, I penetrated into the interior of your spirit,

39 l Importance of Unification. 391
and, to the glory of these three houses I wish to say here that
in the living mirror they afforded me of your abnegation, your
devotedness to the church and to souls — in a word, of all virtues,
the esteem which I had already conceived for your holy order
has grown beyond all power of expression, and with this esteem
has grown likewise my affection.
" But while I contemplated in spirit, on account of the ex
amples I had constantly before me, the marvellous strength of
supernatural life hidden away in your cloisters, I deplored that
this power for good was scattered, without cohesion and with
out mutual understanding or agreement Remembering what
I had seen in America in the order of secular affairs, I said to
myself : ' What could not religious souls of this calibre effect if,
thanks to unity of direction, they knew how to concentrate their
powers and harmonize their efforts ! '
" At this point the Pope spoke. With what joy did I make
myself the interpreter of his wishes ! I said, if you remember,
that I hoped and almost felt certain the century would not die
ere it had witnessed the unification of your glorious order. At
the very moment it is approaching its decline you are here
assembled to lay the foundation of this much desired union.
It is a difficult undertaking, but in nowise above your intelligence,
your good will, and your spirit of abnegation ; especially is it not
above divine grace.
" It is God who wishes this work, and everywhere his finger
is seen amid the many trials it has had to undergo ; these trials
have only imprinted thereon the divine seal of the cross. It
will be thus until the end ; that is to say, until the entire order
has joined you in a perfect unity. It may be that neither you
nor I shall witness this happy event, but you, Reverend Mothers,
will have had the glory of giving this first impulse to God's
work. Your names will be engraved in golden letters in the
annals of your order ; and, what is infinitely better, they will
be inscribed in that Book wherein is written for all eternity the
things done here below for the love of God and for his greater
glory. " To the work then, Reverend Mothers, under the direction

392 Che ]Sew Generalate Instituted. 392
of two men of science and oFtested prudence, viz., Monseigneur
Albert Battandier, protonotary apostolic — one of the most
eminent consulters of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and
of Regulars — and of Rev. Father Joseph Lemius, general
treasurer of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate as vice-president.
Monseigneur Battandier, as president of the assembly, is fully
and canonically empowered to direct the order and method of
the sessions, and while from afar I watch over the progress of
your labors I will beg our Lord, Reverend Mothers, through the
intercession of his Holy Mother and your patron saints, especially
Sts. Ursula and Angela Merici, to bless you and shower upon
you the light of his Holy Spirit."
The chapter proceeded under the presidency of Monseigneur
Albert Battandier. The largest liberty of thought and freedom
of expression were permitted under the rules laid down for the
guidance of the chapter, and when it came to the election the
triply sealed envelopes containing the choice of each delegate
were sent to Cardinal Gotti, to be laid before the Holy Father
for papal sanction. The result of the election was read aloud :
Rev. Mother St. Julien, of Blois, was elected Mother-General ;
Mother Ignatius, of Frankfort-on-the-Main, First Assistant ;
Mother Angela, of the United States of America, Second
Assistant ; Mother Stanislaus, of Aix-en-Provence, Secretary
and Third Assistant ; Mother Maria Pia, of Saluzzo in Italy,
Fourth Assistant ; Mother St. Sacramento, of Bazas, General
Treasurer. By the election the new generalate is fully established. Still,
the details of creating provinces, erecting houses of study and
novitiates, have been left to the future. The chapter, however,
took care to fix the scheme of organization in the nineteen
articles which have now the force of law. Many of the
communities which were not represented at the chapter have
since accepted the Constitution as approved in this first chapter.
The Holy Father was so solicitous that all should be amalga
mated that he himself designated the manner in which aggrega
tions may be made.
Previous to the unification there were eleven congregations in

393 Che pope favors dnif ication. 393
the order, differing more or less in the details of their manner
of carrying out their vocation as a teaching order. Four of
these congregations, viz.: Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and
Lyons, were very numerous, and the two first were particularly
illustrious by the importance of their houses, the number of
their subjects, among whom were to be found women of the
noblest rank and even of blood royal, and by their history and
vicissitudes. Paris antedates Bordeaux in papal approbation by
six years.
When it became evident that the old Monastery of Via
Vittoria in Rome was doomed, and when the work of spoliation
had begun, a very eminent French house, that of Clermont-
Ferrand, generously offered to go to their assistance, with
money and subjects ; but as the Roman sisters were of the
congregation of Bordeaux, they appealed to those of Blois, who
generously responded. Again the Paris branch, in the person
of Clermont-Ferrand, asked for co-operation in the good work ;
but their generous offers were declined and Blois took the
house under its protection.
Some time afterward, Mother St. Julien, of Blois, congre
gation of Bordeaux, finding that her position with regard to the
Italian houses was uncanonical, applied to the Sacred Congre
gation of Bishops and Regulars for necessary enlightenment and
legislation. His Eminence Cardinal Satolli was appointed
Cardinal Protector, and in an interview he had with the Pope
His Holiness expressed a strong desire for the unification of
the whole order. The cardinal designated Mother St. Julien to
make known this wish of the Holy Father to all the Ursulines
of the world. This she did without delay, by means of a
circular setting forth the great advantages to arise therefrom,
and the rectifying of many uncanonical things that during the
lapse of three centuries had crept into the very best and most
conservative houses of the order ; a state of things not even
suspected to exist in many cases.
The response to this circular was of such a nature that eight
months later an official letter was transmitted by the Sacred Con
gregation of Bishops and Regulars to all bishops having Ursu-

394 Rarmonious Outcome of Hssembly. 394
lines in their respective dioceses, directing them to ascertain by
secret ballot the desires of the Ursulines on the subject. In
many houses there was complete unanimity of opinion ; in others,
a large preponderance of those favoring it, and, in all, practically,
a desire for some kind of modification of existing things. The
response to this appeal was of such a nature that the Holy
Father commissioned his Eminence Cardinal Satolli to make
known to all houses that had unanimously adhered, with appro
bation of their bishops, that he would be much gratified by their
sending their superiors or delegates to a general assembly to be
held in Rome during the holy year.
Again Mother St Julien, who had spoken on the subject with
the Holy Father several times, in private audiences, was com
missioned by the cardinal to send out the invitations to the above-
designated communities. As she could not transcend her
instructions, many who would willingly have gone to Rome
received no invitation, although they would have been welcomed
as spectators, but not as partakers in the capitular assemblies.
This was clearly shown by a cablegram sent by Cardinal Satolli,
in the Pope's name, to the Ursuline convent of Springfield, 111.,
in which he stated that while other communities which had not
adhered would be welcome, they, the Springfield nuns, were
obliged to be represented as coming under the head of those in
dicated by the Pope's words. The Holy Father was greatly
pleased with the result of the general chapter, and spoke in heart
felt praise of their obedience to his wish to the Ursulines who
were honored with a private audience in the hall of Clement
VIII, in the Vatican, December 7, at 12:30 p. m.
Several modifications were made in the schema at the sugges
tion of the American nuns. While perhaps the conditions of
this country were less understood than those of Europe, there
was evident a strong desire for enlightenment and full under
standing of its needs on the part of the presiding and directing
ecclesiastics, and a great readiness to concede any point that
would render the order more efficient in its work.
The work of parochial schools will not be interfered with.
The cloister will not be enforced wherever it does not already

395 Rarmonious Outcome of the CClork. 395
exist or where it would hamper the higher duty of a teaching
order. Practically it is done away with in the United States;
and while the spirit of cloister is encouraged, its exterior sym
bolism of grates, etc., is no longer desired in our country. The
church does not wish the Ursulines to lose the vast moral sup
port their dependence on bishops gave them, and therefore,
while Rome takes to itself several privileges which formerly
belonged to the bishops, it legislates that many things must still
be done "intelligentia episcopi." Subjects cannot be tranferred
at the will of superiors alone ; houses remain independent in
money matters, only a small tax on net profits being asked to
support general and provincial officers. The lay-sister question
under American conditions was satisfactorily arranged ; in a
word, a great order, consisting of totally independent houses, of
eleven different congregations, has been merged into one great
homogeneous whole, as a generalate, while retaining many of
their former customs and privileges, and this has been done
with a unanimity, sweetness, and celerity which appear simply
marvellous. The harmonious outcome of this great work is due largely
to the tactful way in which the assembly was presided over.
Equal to the sagacity of Monseigneur Battandier was the broad,
sweet, and conciliating spirit of Father Lemius, the treasurer
general of the Oblates. The sermon that he preached at the
outset produced such a profound impression on all present that
its spirit seemed to pervade every gathering, and to animate the
discussion of every question. It is to this sermon as much
as to any other one thing that Is due the happy result. We
print the sermon in its entirety.
OPENING SERMON
delivered by Rev. Father Lemius, General Procurator of the
Oblates of Mary Immaculate, at the Ursuline Assembly
convened in Rome for tht purpose of Unifying the Order,
November 14, /goo.
" Let them be one as we are one " (St. John xvii. 22).
Reverend Mothers : God, who in the government of the world embraces
alike the great and the small, the general and the particular, nevertheless fol-

396 Che Feed of Unity. 396
lows with a more attentive regard and conducts with a more paternal hand
those beings that are more dear to him and closest to his heart. First of all
the church, after Jesus Christ, and through Jesus Christ the center of his
works ; next, in this church, souls who devote themselves to him without
reserve, and among those souls such as make of this devotedness a profession
and form associations for better practising it— that is, the Religious Orders ;
and even among these orders, those who must promote his glory by the sub
limity of their vocation and the fecundity of their works.
Yours is among the very first. Illustrious by the name of its foundress,
a virgin renowned among those whom the church honors and who do honor to
the church; illustrious by its antiquity of three centuries; further distinguished
by the most fortunate alliance possible of the contemplative and active life,
continuing by the former even in our agitated times the mode of life of the
ancient solitaries, and appropriating to itself by the latter the ministry most
dear to the church, that which has for its object childhood, especially among
those classes of society called by their rank itself to exercise a dominating
influence in human events. This ministry of the education of childhood was
inaugurated by the Ursulines ; others have followed them, but never have
they surpassed or even equalled them.
With what watchful care has Divine Providence surrounded this venerable
order during its long course of existence. While institutions solid in appear
ance, resisting many a storm, have gone down before the pitiless despotism
of time or have been swept away by furious tempests of persecution, yours
has not only defied the iniquity of men and braved the injury of time, but
has moreover drawn from opposition a new growth of strength ; in testimony
whereof your four hundred houses stand to-day an admirable net-work spread
over the whole earth.
An essential property of Divine Providence is to bring all things into unity,
and the words of my text illustrate this tendency because the most jealous
care of the Holy Trinity is to place its mark (of unity) upon all its works.
Not that eternal Wisdom does not know how, according to beings and times,
to relax this unity, for it belongs essentially to Divine Providence also to har
monize things according to their nature and the surroundings in which they
have been placed, but nevertheless its habitual tendency and constant effort
are towards unity, and it is usual for this watchful Providence to take advan
tage of favorable changes in times and circumstances to erase lines of division
and tighten the bonds of union.
What marvellous changes have been wrought in the relations among men!
In proportion as these relations were beset with difficulties in former times,
have they become easy in our own. We have subordinated to our use, I may
say, the most powerful forces of nature ; we have bent them to our service,
we have taught them to transport from one place to another ourselves and our
thoughts with a rapidity that is simply marvellous. These utilized forces
have annihilated distance, and produced a nearness that would have seemed

397 H [Vew embodiment of tbe Past. 397
incredible in former times, and thus united, so to speak, the whole human race.
Unity is in itself a force. Vis unita fortior: it grows by little things. Concordia
res parvcz crescunt : and increases those that are already great by giving them
greater development and strength of action. The wicked know this only too
well, and to speak but of the inventions of hell, the secret of their power lies
precisely in unity. Should the good, then, disdain such a force ? Is it right
that their most commendable respect for the past, and for venerable tradi
tions, should blind them to the advantages the new order of things offers for
promoting God's honor and glory. If throughout centuries these same
good people have lived isolated, is that a reason to remain in this isolation
when ancient conditions have passed away, when all things tend to unity,
drawing therefrom new strength and energy.
You here present, you have not thought that the past traditions of your
order were reasons for rejecting what Providence itself was offering you in the
present. The Past : let us take it in its entirety, not in certain places ; does it
not plead most eloquently for unity ? Allow me to sketch in a few words the
philosophy of your history, and the profound thought of that wisdom which
in the course of ages has brought about its successive phases. You did not
come into existence as members separated one from another on the face of the
church, but as a compact body, solidly attached to one head, your mother St.
Angela ; and after her, her successors took the title, written in your first con
stitutions, of " Mother General." It was like a first sketch of your holy insti
tute ; but God, who wished to make of it in all respects one of the most
illustrious parts as well as one of the most active and fruitful forces of his
church, resolved to raise it to the highest conceivable degree of perfection,
and to unite in it highest contemplation with active ministry ; in such a man
ner that the Ursuline Order became one of the most notable examples of that
form of apostolic life which gives out to the world in works what it has drawn
from heaven in prayer. Then it was in the designs of God to isolate you and
he did so, for a time seeming to obliterate the tie that had bound you in his
first design ; but this was only a temporary measure. Those who understand
the admirable logic of Providence and that spirit of wisdom which animates
all its works, could foretell that when the isolated members had become suffi
ciently permeated with this double life of contemplation and action, when it
had reached that point where action was but the corollary and, if I may use
the expression, the overflow-pipe of contemplation, then the order was to re
turn to its primitive unity at an hour clearly marked by a profound change in
the conditions of human society, and in response to the voice of him who is
here below the interpreter of the divine will. In this way the two first phases
of your history should meet, and form by an admirable synthesis a new embodi
ment of the past.
No it was not in the designs of God to abandon the primitive form he had
given your order, but during a period when, on account of the difficulties in
the relations among men, that form was ill-adapted to the perfection required

39s Che Seal of the Cross. 398
in its varied elements, God suspended the mark of unity until the difficulty
had ceased to exist. And as he conducts things to their end with as much
sweetness as strength, he took care to infuse into the bosom of the order it
self a vehement desire for union as soon as there seemed a possibility of its
realization. Many of its most illustrious members, and greatest among them
the Venerable Mother of the Incarnation, contributed to increase, as she tried
to realize this desire. You all here present must remember the grand move
ment of 1875, when one hundred houses affirmed the necessity of and the de
sire for this unification without one dissenting voice. Why, therefore, have
those very houses, the originators and most ardent directors of this movement,
combated and opposed with all their might the unification about to be
formed ?
It is without doubt that God wishes every work of his hand to bear the
seal of the Cross of his Son. Be that as it may, this first movement remained
sterile and without immediate result. Nevertheless it gave the impetus and
prepared the scattered elements of your holy order for a fusion which was in
the designs of God, who waited only the fit instrument — the man of his right
hand. What man, Reverend Mothers, has more than Leo XIII been the man
of God and of his times ? The man of God by a sanctity, a wisdom, and a
goodness which appear more than human ; the man of his times, by a clear
view of the imperious needs of modern society and a profound knowledge of
that century which has almost completely passed beneath his eyes ; knowing
besides that it is prudence to bend as much as possible to circumstances, and
that the church, immutable in doctrine and morals, should nevertheless place
itself in harmony, in its institutions and discipline, with the conditions of dif
ferent periods of time. Leo XIII has understood that the prime need of the
present is unity. Already, in many instances, he has established and encour
aged it among religious orders. How many stones dispersed over the face of
the church has his hand gathered, and with them built those superb edifices
which are the glory of the church and the edification of men. Now it is to
the Ursulines he turns and says : " Ut sint unum — Let them be one."
That the Pope desires this unification is a fact that needs no demonstra
tion. After the solemn affirmation of a prince of the church whom we know
to be especially beloved by Leo XIII; after the official letter of the Sacred
Congregation of Bishops and Regulars, in which were sketched the great
lines upon which this unification would be based, a letter which was in itself
the expression of the Holy Father's wish, without even taking into account
that this desire on the part of His Holiness was apparent in the wording of
the final formula " De Mandato SSmi," — after all that, unless some personal
interest exists, doubt is no longer possible. To-day, which brings you to
gether in a convocation made in the name of Leo XIII, such a doubt would
argue incurable blindness ; and to what lengths goes this desire of the Pope,
before leaving Rome you will have, I hope, the opportunity of seeing and
knowing for yourselves, without need of any go-between.

399 freedom of Hction and generous Obedience. 399
It is not possible for a Pope to manifest publicly any desire which has not
for its object the greater good of the church; then it follows that every de
sire of a Pope is a counsel, and for souls tending to perfection every desire
becomes a command, because every desire, every counsel, every command of
a Pope is a desire, a counsel, a command of Jesus Christ. It is not necessary
for me to repeat to you that the Pope is indeed what St. Catherine of Siena
was wont to call him — Christ on earth ; Christ having hidden himself in the
silence and solitude of the tabernacle in order to remain on earth, to multiply
himself, and to bestow himself upon his creatures ; and seeing himself thus
bereft of human appearance, has borrowed that of the Pope : the lips of the
Pope with which to speak, the hand of the Pope to bless. In a word, Jesus
in his full integrity is for the Catholic soul, and still more for the religious,
the Jesus of the Tabernacle, but completed, rendered visible, and given a
voice through the Pope. If it is thus', Reverend Mothers, and we do not
doubt it, and not an Ursuline in the world doubts it, how do we explain this
reasoning : " The Pope indeed desires the union of the Ursulines — but a vol
untary union; let it then take place, but without our taking any part in it."
Is it not apparent how we kill by such reasoning what is best and most deli
cate in obedience — the very flower of this virtue ? A superior of a house is not
greater than the Pope; therefore, if the above reasoning is at all valid, what
would prevent a religious from saying in her turn, and with a better right :
" My superior desires such a thing, but she leaves me free; therefore I will
not do it." Woe to the house in which such reasoning prevails !
It is true that all desire by its very nature leaves freedom of action; but
let simple and generous obedience (and it is by these qualities obedience
shows itself refined and delicate) transform the desire of a superior into a
command, and a command binds.
The Pope has at the same time given and taken away liberty — he has
given it by his word, he has taken it away by his desire, at least from
those who fully understand the spirit of their profession. The contradic
tion is only apparent, and, in a word, what the Pope has done is^only a charac
teristic of the heavenly prudence of the church, which takes into account
human infirmity.
All praise be to you, Reverend Mothers, for having responded with perfect
simplicity of soul to this desire, this invitation of the Pope, and praised be
your houses in you. My praises, as myself, are nothing; but I am authorized
to express the approbation of the Pope himself.
Last Sunday — pardon me for mentioning myself — I had the happiness of
being at his feet, and he said to me, with an august gesture that spoke louder
than words: " Tell the Ursulines that I bless them and express to them my
satisfaction that they are here ! " This praise of the Pope does not end here.
No, it does not limit itself to you, Reverend Mothers, who listen to me, nor
to the houses represented through you ; it goes abroad over the whole face of
the church to all those Ursulines whom fetters have restrained but who are

400 persecution and Sacrilege, 40°
here by the deepest wishes of their hearts. Their feet are bound, but their
desires have not been strangled. Fear nothing ; this desire will grow until
it bursts forth from its broken chains.
After having commended your simplicity of obedience I must now praise
your clear-sightedness. You have indeed understood the necessity of this
union. Without speaking of the elevation of the educational plane in your
houses — elevation which is possible only by uniting — I will refer to the ex
change of subjects, which is so imperiously demanded in certain contingencies
that it actually takes place and the necessity of which you all understand.
But how does it take place ? First in a vague, uncertain manner, after long
and at times painful applications and delays, during which vital interests are
at stake. Secondly, and this is far more serious, outside of Canon Law and,
to speak more accurately, contrary to Canon Law, as will be demonstrated to
you in the course of the sessions with greater competency and authority than
I myself can bring to such a task. Objectively, therefore, these changes take
place illegally and illicitly. Two things are necessary in these exchanges:
ist, a regulating principle to facilitate and enlighten: to facilitate by a cer
tainty of indication that avoids tiresome and useless bungling; to enlighten
by precise directions as to the rights of subjects, thus preventing precipi
tancy and regrets; secondly, a principle of authority to sanction them. This
double principle can only exist in a union.
There is still another thing to be considered. With the greatness of heart
which ennobles you, what should animate these sessions is not only simplicity
of obedience and clearness of view, but moreover a profound sentiment of
solidarity, the true name of which is fraternal charity.
You do not know — you who here represent flourishing houses, or at least
houses that are self-sustaining, facing the future without misgiving or fear;
no, you do not dream of the sharp pain, the bitter anguish hidden away in
certain Ursuline convents. I have said in the hearts of Ursulines, your sis
ters, daughters of the same mother, members of the same family. You have
never known what it is to see, with agony of soul, the death of your house
approaching, with slow but certain step, as an inevitable necessity. Not one's
own death, that would be invoked with all the strength of grief; no, but the
death of one's house — of that house in which one was born to the religious
life and where one had passed long years in a sweet intimacy with God and
beloved sisters. The death of that house where, without stint or grudge,
the best part of her energies have been spent ; of that house of which she
loves every nook and cranny, because they have been marked by some
silent visitation of the heavenly Spouse; of that house, in a word, from which
she hoped to take her flight to heaven. Alas! it is condemned by an inflexi
ble law. Upon such a day, at such an hour, it must perish. What torture,
what agony! The hour strikes — a rude cart is at the door. Throw in, poor
victims, with those hands trembling with emotion, whilst your eyes are dimmed
with tears — throw in the few objects that the rapacious cupidity which dig-

4QI Disadvantages of Isolation. 401
nifies itself with the august name of Law has left you. Bid adieu to that
house which, already violated by sacrilege, will henceforth be devoted to pro
fane use and may become-the home of sin ; bid it adieu and silently follow
that poor cart. Oh! what would you wish in such an hour? Would you not
prefer to ascend that cart yourselves and, as in another infamous epoch, make
of it your ladder to God ?
But where will they go? What matters it indeed whither they go, since
they have left for ever their well-beloved home, the roof under which they had
hoped to die ? There are other sacred wrecks scattered around ; they will
increase their number, until sorrow, that sapper of life's foundation, will have
killed them. At a later day it will be said of their home : " You remember
that ancient monastery which had sheltered princesses and had been the honor
of the church — it lived its life and now it is no more. A few living stones of
the edifice dragged out a feeble existence in a corner of yonder strange house,
Where they awaited the summons of death. Death came and carried them off
in its turn ; it is finished — the tomb is sealed ! "
What ! you exclaim, had they no sisters, no family, no friends, no kind
heart to pity their lot ? They had. There exist in the world convents of the
Ursulines who enjoy highest prosperity. Vocations abound, their boarding-
schools are full to overflowing, everything is flourishing in the present, there
are no fears for the future. Are they, then, dead ? Yes they are dead — to
the needs of their unfortunate sisters. Alas ! blame not the hearts of men,
blame rather the condition of things. It is the fatal law of isolation that on
the same trunk some branches superabound in sap, whilst others dry up and
die. Oh, no ; do not blame the hearts of the Ursulines. I know them ; they
resemble the heart of Jesus their Spouse, who was moved and is still moved
by the miseries of those whom he has called and made his brethren.
The Ursulines ! What have they not tried to do to stop this work of de
struction and of death ? Almost immediately after the promulgation of the
infamous laws condemning your convents of Italy, the movement for unifica
tion began. An intense sentiment of fraternal pity was the soul of the
movement. And that same sentiment is found again in the first steps taken
towards that actual unification which has brought you together. Fraternal
pity — I proclaim it aloud, for I have closely followed the whole history of this
movement — has created the group of Rome, Blois, and Calvi, which in its
turn has been, not the cause exactly, for that is to be found in the Pope's wish
alone, but the occasion of all the rest. Decidedly God wills that in some re
spects we break with the old organization, how venerable soever it may be,
which by its form has held the Ursulines in check and centred upon them
selves, and that new ways be opened up for the overflowing of the kindly
sentiments of their noble hearts. No, it is no longer allowable that in pres
ence of the great changes that have so profoundly revolutionized human rela
tions, and especially in view of such great calamities, your holy order should
persevere in an isolation which so closely resembles, for those who do not
know you, a cold and unfeeling egoism.

402 Uniting tbe past and the future. 4°2
But what am I doing, Reverend Mothers ? I appear to be urging upon you
the necessity of this union, when you have undertaken such long and perilous
journeys only to be united. I am now at that by which I should have begun ;
that is, it now behooves me to point out to you the kind of union you are to
labor for and the dispositions you should bring to this labor.
You are too profoundly penetrated with respect for the present form of your
order, so venerable by its origin, which is pontifical ; by its antiquity, which
is of several centuries ; by its fruits, which are admirable, for me to tell you
that it is precisely with this feeling of respect that you should be filled. Not
one of you assuredly came here to do a work of destruction and to break with
so glorious a past. It is true some have failed to come, fearing such a result.
Why have they not better understood the guarantee against such a thing that
exists in the very city of Rome to which you have been summoned — Rome, so
jealous of tradition, and which engenders respect for the past by its very
appearance. And more than that : why have they distrusted that prudence of
the Holy See, full of delicacy and of sweetness, to which it appertains in last
resort to judge your deliberations, and to place its seal upon your new Con
stitutions. No more than the church do you wish, or could you destroy that
which has been determined in and transmitted to you from such ancient
times. Your work is one of adaptation alone ; the obtaining of certain ad
vantages, the eliminating of certain inconveniences; behold the just measure
of the contemplated union — as this union is precisely in its requirements the
exact measure of the modifications to be introduced into the actual organiza
tion. Must we cast aside our dependence upon bishops ? I do not think so.
Each house has, I may say, its individuality and its own features ; let each
one preserve them. Each subject has the right to live and die in the house
of her choice ; let her keep it. Houses and subjects have special relations
with diocesan authority, so that Ursulines have been called the daughters of
their bishops. Let these relations remain unbroken ; what is needed is simply
to modify all these things in such a way as to render a real union possible —
I say a real union, not one in name alone, but a union in deed and in truth
which will exactly respond to the end proposed.
Such is, if I mistake not, the principle, the rule, the fundamental maxim you
ought constantly to have before your eyes, to enlighten your discussions and
recognize the lines, often exceedingly fine, where should end your very natural
instinct of conservation and begin the work of re-formation. I have before
me the e"lite of your order, in point of intelligence and of virtue. Helped by
God, who wishes this union and who has so manifestly brought about its
beginning, you will, I am convinced, easily perceive those lines of which I
speak, where the past and the future meet. You must bring two dispositions
to the work, both of which are absolutely necessary ; a supernatural spirit
and a spirit of sacrifice.
It seems to me that your sessions should assume the character of medita
tions. We must not think, Reverend Mothers, that there are silent and soli-

403 H Cttork essentially Divine. 4°3
tary meditations only, where each one weighs in the bottom of his soul, and
in virtue of supernatural principles, the reforms to be brought about in one's
own life'. There are meditations which may be termed of the House, of the
Order. . Yes, true meditations, although made by several ; since deliberations
of the needs of houses and of the order, as well as those of the individual, should
be viewed from a supernatural stand-point. All meditation, strictly speaking,
has a triple aspect ; it demands, ist, attention to the subject as matter of
deliberation ; 2d, directing of the intention towards God as its end and aim ;
and, 3d, supplication to God for light and help. Thus, while you follow at
tentively the debates and take part in them, you will have God before your
eyes and God alone that is, his glory through the personal sanctification of
the Ursulines, and through the salvation of the children entrusted to their
care. Therefore, perfect disengagement from earthly and human views ;
none of those self-seekings, often so subtle, regarding certain points to which
one is attached, and which, if we know ourselves well, seem right and proper
and just only because they minister to the human interests still dwelling in
the bottom of our hearts. Had I before me saints ready for canonization I
would hold the same language to them, in right of the authority of my
priesthood, so deeply rooted is self-love within us, and so much is vigilance
needed to preserve us from such self-seeking, even when we sincerely believe
it thoroughly uprooted from our hearts.
The intention thus purely directed to God, you will pray ardently, and even
during the sessions, thus prolonging the Veni Sancte with which they will be
begun. The work you are about to perform is essentially divine ; and it can
only be accomplished by God and by the divine principle with which he will
animate you. Think you that he will abandon this order, so venerable, that
came forth from his hand and from his heart, — that he will abandon it, I say,
to the decisions of your minds, so small, so short-sighted, because so human ?
You do not think it. No, you do not think he will permit other hands to
touch a work he himself had formed, you know with what infinite love. What,
then, are you, Reverend Mothers ? Only simple instruments holding your
selves in readiness for his interior illuminations and inspirations, which are
the two means by which God moves the human soul. In these dispositions
sacrifice will seem easy to you.
Acts of abnegation will certainly be demanded of you, Reverend Mothers.
To pretend to create a union without changing existing things is a simple con
tradiction. It is not to create an empty name that you have undertaken
distant voyages, but to found a powerful and fruitful reality. And it is for
this the Pope has called you. Yes ; but to touch the established order, to
touch the ensemble of things that up to the present has constituted the life
of an Ursuline, is to touch your very selves. Not only because this life is
yours, but because it has penetrated into you, into your habits and into your
hearts, and has become, in a certain manner, your very selves. What is asked
of you is a work of self-renunciation. Dovou not see here the great symbol-

404 Che Cross the Perpetual Standard. 4°4
ism of all religous life — Sacrifice and the Cross? Doubtless you must study
well in order to understand them, the new paths by which Christ wishes to
lead you ; but once they are recognized, you must follow them boldly, the
cross in hand.
" Perpetual standard " (the cross), said Leo XIII, in his last encyclical, '' of
all those who wish, not in words but in deeds and in reality to follow Jesus
Christ." I have only, Reverend Mothers, put in words what I know is in your souls,
and each one of you, while I spoke, has but recognized her own sentiments
in my words. May God be praised for having inspired in you such generous
abnegation at a time when we have so much to deplore : the cowardice of
men bearing the name of Christians ! In God's name begin your work.
Lay the foundations of that edifice of which you are the first stones ; an
edifice which, with God's blessing, will increase in dimension and solidity : a
temple from which shall ascend to God most harmonious praise ; a fortress
from which shall be hurled with certainty and precision deadly weapons
against the enemy of God. In all the houses of the order, what views soever
they may entertain, some souls are praying ardently for you. The Pope
blesses you, as he has commissioned me to tell you. Nothing is lacking,
neither in yourselves, nor around you, nor above you, that can hinder you
from accomplishing a work wise and prudent, as well as strong and fruitful.
You will accomplish it ; and without speaking of the glory of this work, which
counts for nothing in your eyes, you will gain a special glory in heaven ; it
will be due to those souls who owe their salvation to the work you are about
to do. You will say to them eternally, in the words of St. Paul, " Vos enim
estis gloria " (1. Thess. ii. 20) : You are my glory. Amen.

The Ursulines were the first religious who established them
selves in the northern parts of America. Before the close of the
seventeenth century, there were in Canada six communities of
women, among whom two were of the Ursuline order ; the House
of Quebec, founded in 1639, and Three Rivers, founded in 1697.
In the United States, New Orleans was the first of all the cities
which obtained a community of Ursulines. This convent was
founded in 1727. At that period Louisiana belonged to France.
In 1730, the community of New Orleans numbered seven
Ursulines. Devoted to education and charitable works, they
directed a school, an hospital and an orphanage. There were in
1903 some thirty Ursuline convents in the United States,
engaged in the education of many thousands of pupils. There
are also several communities in Canada.

H Rotable Group of Churchmen.

^NF the accompanying noteworthy group of eminent ecclesias-
^ tics, four have been converts to the Catholic Church. The
late Rev. Alfred Young was a native of New Jersey, and subse
quent to his conversion joined the Paulist Congregation. He
was a man of broad and deep scholarship, and a writer of extra
ordinary force. His book: " Catholic and Protestant Countries
compared, in Civilization, Popular Happiness, General Intelli
gence and Morality," the New York Sun did not hesitate to
pronounce "the strongest piece of controversial literature upon
the Catholic side that has been put forth in recent times."

Rev. Alfred Youn
Paulist.

Auprustine Paulist.

Hewitt, Rev. Clarence Walworth

tlier Hecker, Archbishop . I .1 Keaue.
Pauhst.
I, Rev. Alfred Young, Paulist. 2, Rev. Father Hecker, Founder First Superior
General of Paulist Order. 3, Right Rev. J. J. Keane, D. D., Rector Catholic University. 4,
Rev. Augustine Hewitt, Superior General of Paulist. 5, Rev. Clarence Walworth of Albany,
Son of Chancellor Walworth of N. Y., who was a convert.
Few men have excercised a more beneficent influence on the
Church in America than Father Isaac T. Hecker, the founder
of the Paulist Congregation. His life and work are a portion
of the present day history of American Catholicity. Of his able
and zealous supporters none held a more conspicious place than
Rev. Augustine F. Hewit, who succeeded him as Superior of
the Paulist Society. Rev. Clarence A. Walworth, son of
Chancellor Walworth, of New York, and Most Rev. Archbishop
Keane, of Dubuque, and formerly Rector of the Catholic
University, Washington, are familiar names to American Catho
lic readers.

Confirmation Day amonr thf Catholic Indians at their Mission House.

Father Prando, S.j Right Rbv. J. B. Brondel. D.D Very Rev. Jos. Cataluo.
Saint Francis Xavier Mission School— Crow Indian Agency, Montana.

H Divine JMovement for Hmerica's Conversion.
XN the year 1896, the late Archbishop Corrigan requested the superior of the Paulist Fathers
to have some one delegated to inaugurate the missionary work to non-Catholics in the
Archdiocese of New York. Father Elliott was selected for this special duty. The success
of the movement has been phenomenal, throughout the greater part of the country.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF MISSIONARIES, AUGUST, 1891.

1. Rev. Peter McClean, of the Hartford Apostolate; 2. Mr. J. A. Blount, Anniston, Ala.
3. Mr. N. F. Thompson, Birmingham, Ala.; 4. Rev. Michael Otis; 5. Rev. Thomas F.
Cusack, of the New York Apostolate; 6. Rev. W. S. Kress, of the Cleveland Apostolate ;
7. Rev. Joseph F. Busch, St. Paul, Minn., Apostolate ; 8. Rev. W. S. Sullivan ; 9. Rev. H. E.
O'Grady, Missionary in Alabama; 10. Rev. Bertrand Conway; 11. Rev. F. B. Doherty ;
12. Rev. Edwin Drury, Missionary in Kentucky; 13. Rev. T. F. Price, Editor of Truth, North
Carolina; 14. Rev. Michael A. Irwin, of North Carolina ; 15. Rev. John Marks Handly ; 16.
Rev. Xavier Sutton, Passionist ; 17. Rev. Dr. Guinan, of New York Apostolate; 18. Rev.
John P. Michaelis, of the Cleveland Apostolate; 19. Rev. John T. Burns, Huntsville, Ala. ;
20. Rev. William Stang, D.D., of the Providence, R. I., Apostolate; 21. Rev. T. V. Tobin,
Chattanooga ; 22. Right Rev. Thomas S. Byrne, Bishop of Nashville ; 23. Rev. Walter
Elliott; 24. Right Rev. Edward P. Allen, Bishop of Mobile ; 25. Rev. A. P. Doyle.

Cbe Rational Conference
Of
jVKsstonaries to J^on-Catboltcs
WE ARE AT THE OPENING OF A DIVINE MOVEMENT FOR
AMERICA'S CONVERSION.
By REV- WILLIAri L. SULLIVAN, C. S. P.
It always takes time, it often takes vicissitudes and disasters,
for a great practical truth or a great hope to influence mankind.
There are two reasons for this : one in the speaker of the truth
or oracle of the hope ; the other in the generation which he
addresses. As to the prophet himself, his obstacle is in proving
his idea to be workable ; in finding ways and means of convinc
ing men that his enthusiasm can be harnessed to achievement,
and that his private illumination is a public and providential
breaking of light on pathways to new duties and new successes.
For rarely has it happened that to one given the vocation of
announcing such a truth or hope has the further blessing, been
vouchsafed of so presenting his message to the world that his
own times will accept it at his appreciation, and enter upon the
line of conduct which that message requires.
And this consideration points to the second obstacle, namely,
on the part of the generation of men to whom the prophet
appears. Because he has merely shed light, they do not follow
him. Though with his truth, speculatively stated, they agree ;
though with his hope they sympathize ; still because he has not
shown signs and wonders they hold off. They possess ideas and
expend their energy — and they may expend it unselfishly — on
lines that are settled, safe, respectable. To risk this safety and

406 father Decker's JYIiseion. 406
respectability in a mere venture, however inviting ; to hazard
failure, possibly to appear foolish — this they will refuse to do
because this is the part of enthusiasts who are daring ; and the
bulk of men are enthusiasts only when there is no special call for
daring. But show them that the truth spoken has the support
of the truth acted on ; that the hope which has cast into their
hearts the spark of aspiration needs for realization no more than
the support of willing hands, and then the new idea from an
opinion will become a cause, and will succeed in proportion to
the devotion back of it. The pity is that when it has become a
cause, the noble spirit whom God elected to fling the light of it
into the world is already dead, resting from the tardy understand
ing of men and the consuming of his own heart. Still, on the
grave of such a man the dust will not too long be allowed to
deepen, and some day there will be raised above his tomb a fit
temple to the truth he lived and died for.
A generation has passed since a man of this sort urged upon
the world what God had first inspired in him as a hope, and
later confirmed in him as a vocation — the conversion of the
United States to the Church of God; the making of a Catholic
America. How he wrought and prayed for that ; how for that
Note. — A photograph of Members of the first Conference was published
at the time. The group included:
1. Rev. Peter McClean, of the Hartford Apostolate ; z. Mr. J. A. Blount,
Anniston, Ala.; 3. Mr. N. F. Thompson, Birmingham, Ala.; 4. Rev. Michael
Otis ; 5. Rev. Thomas F. Cusack, of the New York Apostolate ; 6. Rev. W.
S. Kress, of the Cleveland Apostolate ; 7. Rev. Joseph F. Busch, St. Paul,
Minn., Apostolate ; 8. Rev. W. S. Sullivan ; 9. Rev. H. E. O'Grady, Mission
ary in Alabama; 10. Rev. Bertrand Conway; 11. Rev. F. B. Doherty ; 12.
Rev. Edwin Drury, Missionary in Kentucky ; 13. Rev. T. F. Price, Editor of
Truth, North Carolina ; 14. Rev. Michael A. Irwin, of North Carolina ; 15.
Rev. John Marks Handly ; 16. Rev. Xavier Sutton, Passionist ; 17. Rev. Dr.
Guinan, of New York Apostolate ; 18. Rev. John P. Michaelis, of the
Cleveland Apostolate ; 19. Rev. John T. Burns, Huntsville, Ala.; 20. Rev.
William Stang, D. D., of the Providence, R. I., Apostolate ; 21. Rev. T. V.
Tobin, Chattanooga ; 22. Right Rev. Thomas S. Byrne, Bishop of Nashville ;¦
23. Rev. Walter Elliott ; 24. Right Rev. Edward P. Allen, Bishop of Mobile ;
25. Rev. A. P. Doyle.

407 Cbe Position Presented. 407
he was worn by labors without and wasted by zeal within, only
those who lived with him may know, and even they inadequately.
But the great hope was then, as even now it sometimes is,
dashed hard against the stones of indifference, or against the
perhaps rougher rack of that sort of sympathy which is as
remote from active co-operation as it is uncolored by enthusiasm.
Nor could men be blamed if they took this attitude. No definite
working-plan for the great idea had been put in operation, and
the practicability of the whole scheme, so far as the human side of
it went, could be fairly debated by the prudent, the cautious, and
the calculating.
And so it came to pass that with a mind absorbed in the out
lines of a mighty campaign for God, but with a heart made heavy
because he faced the forlorn hope almost alone, Father Hecker
died. But his idea lived, for it is divine. And now, in the blessed
providence of God, that idea faces this generation in far different
equipment than when first it was addressed to the generation
just passing. The conversion of America may still be a far-off
realization of our present hope ; a harvest out of seeds now sow
ing of which no man can foretell the day of the gathering. But
the conversion of America is now more than merely a hope. It
is become an enthusiasm — a passionate vocation for some of the
fairest lives in the priesthood of the United States. It is now
more than the chance scattering of the seed of the word of God.
It is already a harvest. For already there have been gathered
into the barns of the. Master thousands of souls that have grown
out of the priestly labors and the holy intercessions sown in this
divine apostolate.
The great idea needed enthusiasts, who feared not failure nor
the charge of folly, and, thanks be to God ! it has them. It
needed lives exclusively consecrated to it, and it has gloriously
obtained them. It needed successes in the way of conversions,
and by the grace of the Saviour Christ, who alone can give the
increase, it has won them. As a result, the present position of
the work of winning our country to the church may thus be
summarily presented :

408 Hpostolate Permanently established. 4°8
i. The work is permanently, systematically, and efficaciously
established in the missions to non-Catholics.
2. It received the special commendation of Leo XIII in his
letter of September 28, 1895, to Apostolic Delegate Cardinal
Satolli. 3. It has the warm sympathy and active support of the Ameri
can bishops. In about thirty dioceses non-Catholic missions
have been given, and in about a dozen have priests, and almost
always diocesan priests, been set apart for these missions as
practically their exclusive work.
4. Regular pastors in fast-increasing numbers are giving non-
Catholic missions in their parishes, and following them up with
steady work for non-Catholics.
5. A Catholic Missionary Union has been incorporated under
the laws of the State of New York for the important matter of
financing the movement in needy parts of the country. This
Union, in which the Archbishops of New York and Philadelphia
are directors, has the charge of supplying a sufficient income for
support, and also missionary literature to missionaries to non-
Catholics in poor districts of the South and West. For this
purpose it is legally empowered to receive, invest, and disburse
whatever sums may be given or bequeathed to it.
6. A quarterly review — The Missionary — is the organ of the
movement, and reflects every phase of it.
7. In seminaries and in the novitiates of religious orders the fu
ture priests of the country are zealously entering into the spirit
of the work in a way that insures its perpetuation.
Last of all, and best of all, a great tide of intercessory prayer
for this Apostolate is breaking against the throne of God. In
convents and in seminaries, at the altar and in the world, holy
souls are beseeching God that He may accept their prayers and
sacrifices for a Catholic America.
For all this there cannot be a Catholic heart in America that
does not exclaim "Thanks be to God!" The hope that once
men feared to speak, so mighty was it ; the vocation lived for
and died for by a predestined vessel of election, is at last a Cause,
with its lovers openly professing it, and with Heaven's best gifts

4°9 dork of tbe Conference. 409
of mind and soul, of nature and grace, enlisted in it. God has
blessed the work. He will yet more richly bless it. As it has
had its prophet, it will have its apostles and its doctors. It will
have its share of prayer and sacrifice, of suffering and sanctity.
It will have all that any work of God has ever had , and in the
Providence that has already fostered and directed it, we cannot
doubt that it will have ultimate success in the achievement of
its supreme design.
A notable advance in the progress of the movement was the
organization of the workers in the field, effected at the Confer
ence of Missionaries to non-Catholics held during the last week
of August, 1 90 1, in the Paulist Convent of St. Francis de Sales,
at Winchester, Tennessee. Two bishops, Byrne of Nashville,
who presided, and Allen of Mobile, and twenty priests were
present at every session. In all respects it was a Catholic gather
ing: Catholic in the character and nationality of the missionaries,
for names like Kress and Stang and Michaelis and Busch are
sandwiched in between names like O'Grady and Doherty and
McClean ; Catholic in the sense of oecumenical, for all sections
of the country, except the extreme West, were represented ;
Catholic in composition, for priests of religious communities
touched elbows with the diocesan clergy, and the presence of
two convert laymen gave still further emphasis to the note of
Catholicity ; Catholic, finally, in the scope of its deliberations,
for no missionary interest, from an apostolate of prayer to the
foreign missions, was left unconsidered.
Indeed, nothing about the movement may make us more hope
ful than this universality of the persons and the interests con
cerned in it. For not being exclusively identified with one man
or one set of men, it avoids the animadversions of that perverse
element in human nature whereby those who have a real or an
imaginary ground of complaint against an individual or a society
carry forward their hostility to every possible act that emanates
from that individual or that society. , Because, as wise Joubert
puts it ; "Men are almost always led on from the desire to con
tradict the doctor, to the desire to contradict the doctrine." The
doctor in this case being practically the whole hierarchy and

410 Scope of tbe Discussions. 4 1°
priesthood of the country, we hardly need look for any serious
contradiction of the doctrine.
The first hour of the Conference was given over to the read
ing of letters from the American bishops and the superiors of
religious orders. And of the entire convention no hour was
more full of gladness and encouragement. To listen to the
blessings and commendations sent by Cardinal Martinelli and
over a score of bishops and provincials, gave the little company
of missionaries a sense of solidarity and support that will make
mightily for efficient work. Holy though the cause, and passion
ate the loyalty behind it, the one was made holier and the other
more absorbing by those kindly encouragements of our leaders in
Israel. The scope of three days' discussions will best be outlined by
giving the subjects of the papers read, and the names of those
who treated them : " The Work of a Diocesan Band of Mission
aries to non-Catholics," by Father Cusack, of the New York
Apostolate; "The Missionary and His Topics," by Father
Elliott, C. S. P.; "The Work of a Diocesan Band in its City
Parish," by Father Kress, of the Cleveland Apostolate ; " The
Use of Missionary Literature," by Father Xavier, C. P.; "An
Apostolate of Prayer for Conversions," by Father Younan, C. S.
P.; "The Question-Box," by Father Conway, C. S. P.; "The
Eucharistic Mission," by Father Michaelis, of the Cleveland
Apostolate; "The Personal Influence of the Missionary," by
Father Doherty, C. S. P.; "The Work in the South," by Father
O'Grady, of Alabama ; " Localized Work in Country Districts,"
by Father Price, of North Carolina; "The Educational Side of
the Movement," by Dr. Stang, of Rhode Island ; " The Outlook
among the Scandinavians of the Northwest," by Father Busch,
of Minnesota; "The Relations of a non-Catholic to a Catholic
Mission," by Father McClean, of Connecticut ; " The Catholic
Missionary Union," by Father Doyle, C. S. P.
Besides these, Bishops Byrne and Allen discussed work among
the negroes ; Father Drury, the Missions in Kentucky ; and
Messrs. Blunt and Thompson, of Alabama, spoke from the stand
point of laymen and converts.

411 Cbe Crue /Missionary Spirit. 411
These were the subjects treated ; but how inadequate is the
mere mention of them to tell of their spirit and their effect !
One would have to be present to know how our hearts leaped at
sentences like : " Before God we take the Church's foreign mis
sion heroes for our inspiration and our models " ; or at the
modestly spoken story of the complete and self-effacing sacrifices
of some Apostle of the South. Priestliness and the priestly
passion — zeal — were phrased in every sentence read and voiced
in every utterance delivered. In nothing was this so well illus
trated as in the frequent and affectionate mention of the foreign
missions. There is the test of the genuine missionary spirit.
Given an instinctive love for the heathen apostolate, and a spon
taneous reverence that is almost worship for the heroes laboring
in it, and you have the forever unshakable granite bed-rock of the
missionary character. Now, in almost every session there was
some touching reference to our brothers of the cross in heathen
dom. The project of a Seminary for the Home and Foreign
Missions are ardently talked over in an informal way, and every
heart prayed to God for the hastening of the day when in some
American city we shall have a house like the home of heroes in
the Rue du Bac, with all its glorious traditions, even, if God
may so bless us, to the Salle des Martyrs.
To the members of the Conference it mattered little that the
task they are attempting is gigantic. Not that they blind them
selves to a single obstacle or hypnotize themselves with an en
thusiasm which overreaches prudence and destroys judgment.
The conversion of America is a mighty labor, and none know that
better, or acknowledge it more calmly, than these missionaries to
unbelievers. Nevertheless, in their minds, neither the conver
sion of the country nor the supreme usefulness of non-Catholic
missions is for one instant fatuous or problematical. " Non-
Catholic missions are of no use " may be the sentiment or the
expressed opinion of some men, but those who have given
themselves to the work for one year, for five, for ten, abso
lutely reject such a view, and, to a man, will declare this work
for non-Catholics to be the grandest work now before the Church
in this country, and the sublimest labor to which a priest can

4 r 2 Immediate [Veeds of tbe CKork. 4 r 2
consecrate his life. They, better than other men, have seen
the appalling destitution of souls outside the bursting granaries
of God's kingdom ; have heard the " Come over and help us "
that brought St. Paul to Macedonia ; and know that the relig
iously-minded millions of America can be made to see that their
spiritual needs — now clamorous for the satisfaction of truth and
grace — must lead them to the holy household which is the ancient
sanctuary of Truth and the unfailing treasury of grace.
The non-Catholic mission movement, then, is now not of de
batable, but of certain and immense usefulness. It is no longer
the transient outbreaking of irrepressible enthusiasm, but a sys
tematic work of consummate prudence as well as of eager zeal.
It has risen unto the dignity of an organized movement depend
ing on no one man or group of men, but a great movement as
broad as the church, with the hierarchy behind it and the appro
bation of Rome smiling on it. Some of the immediate needs of
the work, as discussed in the Convention, are these :
1. That the missionaries engaged in it meet regularly for the
perfecting of mission-methods and the securing of more unified
co-operation. 2. That an Apostolate of Prayer for conversions be spread
everywhere, among priests, seminarists, convents, and the laity.
3. That the number of missionaries be augmented both by the
forming of bands of diocesan missionaries, and by the co-opera
tion of the religious orders.
4. That resident pastors should everywhere try to have mis
sions for non-Catholics in their parish churches at regular inter
vals, and should make special sermons for non-Catholics a con
stant feature of parochial ministration.
5. That the laity, and especially organizations of men, be
brought into active co-operation with this work.
6. That the Catholic Missionary Union be given the material
assistance absolutely indispensable for the carrying on of the
work in destitute parts of the country.
At the end of the Conference friendships had been formed,
methods of work suggested, and mutual encouragement given,
which wjll confer a thousand-fold increase of vigor and efficiency
to this great work for God. Vivat, floreat, crescat*

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Cbe JVKssionary and Rts Copies/
By REV. WALTER ELLIOTT, C. S. P.
THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE MOTIVE.
A patient study of existing religious conditions in America
should convince one that the people are famishing for the truths
that Catholicity alone can teach. The manifold religions which
sprang from the Reformation merely mock their divine appetite ;
and too often scepticism is the result.
The American people crave to know the truth. Seldom does
a kindly invitation fail to draw an audience of earnest seekers
after Christ and His salvation. There is no part of America in
which a Catholic priest may not have non-Catholic hearers for
the asking, men and women sincerely searching for the truth.
This missionary opportunity fires our hearts with courage.
Who can doubt that this eagerness to hear the truth means
the conversion of America ? And who can doubt that with
America will be converted England and Germany, forming with
our nation that mighty North into whose hands the world has
been delivered by its Creator, in order that the name of Jesus
may thereby become "great among the gentiles." Win America
for Jesus Christ and all is won.
Now, the appreciation of this missionary opportunity is part
of our inspiration ; and it should be made highly practical. That
means that the missionary should realize that as yet this people
belongs to the world and not to Christ, and needs to be saved,
just as a man in a burning house needs to be saved from being
burnt alive. Let us realize that the men and women about us
are under the empire of sin and error, and that they are to be
saved only by the grace of Jesus Christ as it is committed to
*A paper read at the First Missionary Conference, August, 1901.

43° Cbe essential JMetbod. 43°
His Church and is by her dispensed, because no other church
whatever has any divine mission to save men, or is, as an organ
ization, anything but false and spurious.
The question in each missionary's mind is, therefore, whether
or not he can save any of these poor souls from sin and hell,
souls longing to be saved, dependent on him for their knowl
edge of the means of salvation. This, therefore, is the main
question of our vocation : How can I shut the gates of hell to
these immortal souls, and open to them the gates of heaven ? I
am a preacher of salvation, an enemy of damnation.
It is for that reason that I am an advocate of the truth of
Christ and the Church of Christ, and for that reason alone. An
apologist defends Catholic doctrine. A controversialist assails
error. A missionary makes converts.
Practically viewed, the most important of our topics is that of
church authorities ; for the main difficulty of our hearers must be
the main topic of our missions : and that difficulty is the Church
itself. Non-Catholics, as a rule, accept particular doctrines more
easily than they accept the great dogma that all of Christ's doc
trines are committed to a society — one, exclusive, independent
church. Prove that this is so — that it is necessary, that the Church is
divine in its origin, rights, gifts ; prove the Church's claims,
and you prove the main thing for making converts. That must
be done ; whatever else is proved must help prove this essential
doctrine and essential fact. Prove any truth you please ; it
helps, as long as you prove that it is linked to the dogmatic and
disciplinary supremacy of the Church. Any argument on any
theme is effective for making converts in proportion to its lead
ing the hearer finally to accept the Church as his spiritual mis
tress and guide.
This is the essential way : Christ is divine and teaches through
his Church ; the inner divine life of man is indeed the real life ;
but it is had in and by the external Church, which is the body
of Christ, the Holy Spirit's bride. The practice of virtue is
God's life on earth, but it must be had in the Church ; the pardon
of sin is to be had securely only there ; the perfection of union

43 i explain tbe Interior Life of Catbolics. 43 1
with God through Christ is to be had only in the Eucharist, and
in the Church which has the priesthood and the altar of Christ ;
communication with the angels of God and with our glorified
dead, and with our departed but still suffering brethren, all this
is our privilege only because we are of the Church of the New
Jerusalem, and have come thereby to the company of many
thousands of the angels and of the spirits of the just made per
fect. Keeping this missionary pole star ever in view, one can treat
of any topic of natural or revealed religion, and thereby retain a
due sense of proportion in doctrinal matters.
The missionary, while exhibiting a perfect allegiance to all
truths, should show himself deeply impressed with those the
knowledge of which is most necessary. For example, in treat
ing of confession, we should show how the sacrament reveals to
the penitent the hatefulness of sin, involves the necessity of
heartfelt sorrow, and imparts the tender mercies of God ; not
confining ourselves to the standard arguments for the divine in
stitution of the sacrament. In treating of the blessed Eucharist,
besides showing its divine institution, we should dwell on the
unspeakable desire of Jesus Christ for union with us, and the
constant yearning of souls for union with him. The incalcula
ble worth of the certain truth, as against the delirious agony of
doubt, should be carefully explained while expounding papal
infallibility. Besides the logical and practical necessity of thus revealing
the intrinsic notes of Catholic truth, this method has evident
dialectic advantages ; especially this : we are enabled to start on
common ground with our non-Catholic hearers. Happy the
advocate whose cause finds an ally in the breasts of his hearers !
By displaying the interior worth of the Catholic faith we arouse
the religious interests of our audience. The most eager longing
of the guileless soul is the longing for God. That is what we
must appeal to. Learn how to speak well of God and of divine
things, and if the men and women you address have hearts of
stone you will sooner or later melt them into floods of religious
emotion.

432 Cbe Hppeal to tbe Spiritual JVIotives. 432
If an appeal for God is made with candor, intelligence, and
especially with genuine fervor, it can hardly fail to establish in
guileless souls the positive side of religion, and also its most
spiritual side associated with the appeal for God's Church. This,
furthermore, would seem the easiest method, as it is the most
direct. -Appealing to the spiritual motives awakens the most
widespread interest, and it goes to the root of all religious ques
tions — God, and Jesus Christ His Son, God and the Holy Spirit
in His Church.
But to many of us the temptation to confine ourselves to
attacking error, to proving that Protestantism is absurd, unscrip-
tural, self-destructive — in a word the temptation to assail and
rout the enemy is almost irresistible. This is the instinctive way.
It is more natural to rout an enemy than to make him a friend.
But as the latter is our ultimate purpose, it should be made, if
possible, our immediate, our continual one.
Again, the externals of the Catholic religion are so attractive
that they sometimes allure us to too exclusive a consideration of
the outer glories of the Church. Let us remember that there
are few who will bend to the yoke of Christ, that is to the
authority of the Church, because you prove that she founded
modern civilization, that she is the only enduring institution
among men, that Catholic life conduces to ideal citizenship. I
do not say that there is no room for all this, but I insist that
such topics are not the best convert-makers ; they have their
uses ; they prepare the way, they should not be entirely omitted ;
but they should not absorb the missionary's zeal.
Everything helps the truth ; but to awaken a deep longing
for divine union and a profound sorrow for sin are essential to
conversion ; these must be the final motives for entering the
Church. And they are often the very beginnings of the con
vert's approach to the church. Non-Catholics must be convinced
that they are sinners, they must be made to long for confession.
They must be made to long for the great Roman certitude,
"the Church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of
the truth"; they must hunger and thirst for Jesus Christ in
Holy Communion as men famish for food and drink in a desert.

433 Cbe JMetbod to Hdopt. 433
When they begin to listen to us, as a rule non-Catholics are
convinced that the Church stands as an obstacle between souls
and God, and our task is to show that the Church brings souls
nearer to God. They want God. But mostly they would rather
have God without any church. Our purpose is to show that
such is not God's will. When shall we realize that to non-
Catholics the extreme unity, universality, and perpetuity of the
Catholic Church make up a spectacle of power calculated to
arouse distrust ? These notes of the divine origin of our religion,
having first been fully proved, must then be shown in their spir
itual aspect, in their reference to the most personal of the Church's
notes, her holiness.
A powerful organization is not attractive to the religious
souls around us except it be proved to be a powerful means of
personal sanctification. The men with whom we deal are not
naturally religious imperialists. They fancy we want to make
them mere religious machines. Let non-Catholics know the
Church in its personal relation, namely, a divinely given means
for the union of the individual soul with God. The Church is
vast, indeed, but for the sake of vast numbers of men and
women, each separately to be saved and sanctified. It is one
for the sake of the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace for
all men and for every man. The priceless boon of the certain
truth to each man and woman is the reason of infallibility.
Earnest souls may admire a church with a splendid hierarchy
or a glorious history ; but they long for God— God leading their
minds out of the babel of Protestantism into the tranquil fellow
ship of the saints ; God saying to them through his ministry, " Be
of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee," a message so differ
ent from the Protestant assurance of election — subjective, gloomy,
censorious, fanatical ; they long for God in the sweet joy of Holy
Communion, in the Catholic interior life and love of the Holy
Spirit : God, in a word, perpetuating the work of Jesus Christ
through His Holy Brotherhood, the Church, through His blessed
Sacraments, through His ever-abiding Paraclete, through His
Church. To begin the conversion of a Protestant is to remove the

434 perpetuity of tbe Cburcb. 434
delusion that our religion is wholly or mainly a matter of observ
ances and formalities, hierarchies and uniformity. Oh, if they
but knew the interior side, the faith and hope and love that we
enjoy ; the witness of the Spirit, the nearness of Christ, and the
strength against sin, — if they knew these divine gifts, if they
but knew Catholicity as we know it, how very many more of them
would gladly give up all things to become Catholics. That, we
repeat, is only showing them what the Church practically is to
ourselves ; and yet it is the spiritual line of argument.
Earnest natures long to lead virtuous and spiritual lives ; they
will not consider seriously any other claim for a religion than
that it helps them to do so ; whatever else is proved, that claim
must be manifestly proved. Do we not know that it is dread of
externalism that sets men's minds most strongly against our faith ?
— the dread that we are for church ritual and church authority
rather than for the Spirit of God? Abate no jot or tittle of the
rights of eternal religion, nay, advance these rights to the utter
most by showing them to be divine, and by revealing the inward
spirit. Teach this : the Catholic religion is the dwelling of the Holy
Spirit in the souls of men, begun and perpetuated by Jesus Christ
through the ministry and ordinances of his Church. " Why I am
a Catholic," is a topic which in a detail way discloses this inner
worth of Catholicity. But all discourses, all answers to questions,
should smack of this deep meaning of the Church. As the actual
life of a true Catholic is the union of the interior and the external
life of God among men, so should be the presentation of the
Church to our separated brethren.
The perpetuity of the Church, her apostolic identity, is indeed
a glorious theme. All history bears witness to the splendid fact
that this is the same society that the Lord founded when He
chose the Twelve, when he chose them as the first bishops of
His one only society. But what for? Ah, dwell upon that
question and give it full answer, frequent answer: what was His
prophetic purpose in regard to your audience, the very persons
here and now listening to you ? Show that the Church is the
mediation of Christ between earth and heaven. Let your

435 No [Minimizing. 435
thoughts of the Church and your thoughts of Christ blend in
separably together, and so let your utterance be.
This being the mind of the missionary, he will of course teach
in all things the common doctrine of the Church : and his pur
pose to do so should be publicly claimed by him in his opening
discourse. He should quote from catechisms, from the councils
of Trent and of the Vatican, from the decrees of pontiffs, every
where from Scripture, especially from the New Testament. His
doctrine is such as to sound familiar to the bishops and priests.
It will past current instantly with practised theologians. He
adds nothing and omits nothing.
He has no theological fads, no devotional eccentricities to
advocate. Although the newest of all novelties to non-Catho
lics, to the faithful it is good, old-fashioned Catholicity, familiar
and beloved.
There must be no minimizing. Of all the felonies known to
man or God none is worse than that of obtaining converts under
false pretences. And it should be borne in mind that one may
minimize by omitting to mention certain doctrines as well as by
belittling the importance of others. The missionary must stand
for an integral Catholicity, doctrinal and devotional. Nor does
this hinder a right sense of proportion in doctrines, as already
noticed ; rather it opens the true perspective among Catholic
teachings. The message of salvation and the messenger must be of a
piece. "I knew nothing among you," said St. Paul, "but Christ,
and him crucified " ; and he would let no man be troublesome
to him, for he bore in his body the marks of the Crucified. No
topic is so interesting to non-Catholics as the missionary himself.
He himself should be his best discourse. No cause can be so
hopeless as a religious one which has an incompetent, shall we
say an unworthy advocate ? No cause is so favored as one
championed by a saint.
To gain the personal esteem of a non-Catholic is often the first
step towards his conversion ; frequently it smooths the last step,
that which is across the threshold. An inevitable question in
the soul's question-box is, What kind of a man are you ? Is it

436 Cbe Secret of Catbolic JMissionary Success. 436
rightly answered by, I am very eloquent ; or, I am awfully sharp,
you can't catch me ; or, I am extremely witty — I can raise roars
of laughter at your expense ; or even, I am deeply learned ?
So much depends on the man, that one who teaches with the
Apostle's " spirit and power " cannot fail of making converts, even
though his style be faulty and his delivery awkward. Himself
transformed into Christ, his teaching is the same. He that
dwelleth within him teacheth by him, namely, the spirit of Christ
that is in him.
Yes, they will certainly ask, What sort of a man is this Catho
lic priest? Let the answer be, He is a kindly man, very patient
with you ; he is one you would like to talk with privately ; he is
evidently in dead earnest ; there's nothing perfunctory about him,
nor any cant ; there is no parade of learning, yet he is familiar
with Scripture, and quite at home in religious questions ; he has
a well-trained mind, yet he is modest, straightforward, and open ;
he impresses you as a really pious man ; he may be homely
enough in his manners, but he has no airs ; rather a spirit of
gentle authority, as if conscious of a divine mission.
The secret of the Catholic missionary's success throughout the
world (a very open secret) is the kind of man he is — that as men,
our missionaries win reverence for themselves even before they
win conviction for their religion. They advance their cause by
personal holiness ; by a love for Jesus Christ too profound and
pervading to be hidden by the most ingenious humility ; by a love
of souls that never knows fatigue in their service, never cares for
danger or privation, that positively courts martyrdom ; by con
tempt for money and all the world's luxury. All this is not too
much to purchase the pearl of great price.
The best that the Catholic religion can do in forming charac
ter must be manifest in the Catholic missionary. If he will dis
arm prejudice, arouse souls from spiritual torpor, recommend a
religion, nay, impose the yoke of a religion so self-denying as
ours, he must be a model priest. Our task is not so much to
win assent to Catholic faith as to extort it. And then we have
to push on yet further ; we have to compel repentance for sin
and confession of the same to a fellow-man. How often have you

437 Cbe [Missionaries to tbe Reatben. 437
not seen those intelligent faces in your audience averted from
you, their very looks turned away from you as they hear your
arguments. They are saddened at your power, reluctant to admit
it. They listen to Catholic truth like men walking through a
pelting snow-storm.
How sincere must be the virtue of a missionary to meet such
conditions. Says the Imitation of Christ (ii. 12) : " No man is
fit to comprehend heavenly things who has not resigned himself
to suffer adversities for Christ." According to this doctrine
even to know religion well involves suffering for Christ. How
much rather shall this be said of teaching the faith, and that to
unwilling souls, nay, to hostile ones. How can we preach Christ
and him crucified unless we know what crucifixion is ? — and this
is a science learned mainly by experiment. However, upon this*
ascetical side of our vocation it is not my office to dwell.
Our lives are not without labor, but they are full of ease and
luxury, compared with the lives of our brethren of the foreign
missions. Side by side with our attack on error among civilized
races is the vast and sublime apostolate for the conversion of
the pagan nations ; and that apostolate is at once our wonder"
and our reproach. The missionary to the heathen is the ideal
Catholic missionary. We are indeed missionaries ; but oufc
blood-thirsty heathen are kindly Protestant friends ; ourperilour
journeys are in comfortable railroad coaches ; our deathly soli
tude is the copious supply of daily papers and the company of oui
brethren of the parish priesthood ; our hunger and thirst for the
sake of Christ's Gospel is our table plentifully supplied with
food. The rich and fertile field of this noble and gentle and
intelligent people is in vivid contrast with that tilled by the real
heroes of the Gospel of Christ, in far-off China, in darkest
Africa, in plague-stricken India, even at our very doors among
the degenerate remnants of the American Indian tribes. Can
we even claim fellowship with these glorious apostles of Christ ?
If so, let us make ourselves worthy of such an honor ; and let us
every way aid in their support by assisting the Society for the
Propagation of the Faith.
All hail to our brethren of the heathen missions ! They are

438 3 Divine Movement for America's Conversion. 438
indeed great souls ; they have given up all things to save men
and women redeemed by the blood of Christ — given up home
and country, language and civilization, ready to die for Christ
and His little ones, as many of their brethren and of their con
verts have already gloriously died. We declare before God that
we take them for our models ; that if we are not naked, nor
hungry for Christ's sake, we are at least simple and frugal and
unostentatious in our lives, we are disinterested, we aspire to be
heroic. And we would, if God willed it, suffer all things and
even death itself to save souls.
If we have no barbarous jargon to learn, we are at least
diligent students of our holy themes and of the dogmas of the
Church ; if we are well housed, yet we ungrudgingly give our
selves early and late to the service of all the people, to hearing
the sinner's sorrowful tale, to persuading non-Catholics — great
throngs of them, or one by one, patiently devoting ourselves to
instructing converts.
We are at the opening of a divine movement for America's
conversion. We can fail only by our failure to be true Catholics
and true missionaries — the very truest. We might fail by trust
ing to human aids rather than to God and to God alone. But
we have anchored our hopes in God's blessed favor, we trust in
Him alone ; in our interior vocation to be missionaries, which we
know to be the call of the Holy Ghost. To that we shall be
faithful unto death.
We shall be faithful to the external order of God. We shall
be absolutely obedient in word and work and spirit to God's
appointed rulers, the Bishops of the Church : we are only too
glad of their notice and their guidance. We shall be wholly one
in doctrine with the Vicar of Christ and absolutely subject to his
discipline. We shall feel honored to serve in submission to our
brethren, the local and parish clergy. And we shall endeavor
to deserve the good will and co-operation of the faithful laity.
God grant us the grace to realize our high ideal !

Note — On page 163, will be found an article in relation to mission work t<5
n.on-Catholics, by Rev. A. P. Doyle, C. S. P. which will repay perusal in con.
nection with this interesting subject.

Jl (\IKoIic College
FOR
Training Ne^ro (\IecKi515
FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF AFRO-AMERICANS IN THE
CATHOLIC FAITH.
By VERY REV. JOHN R. SLATTERY.
St. Joseph's Society for Negro Missions now numbers
twenty-one priests, who labor in seven States : Al-abama, Arkan
sas, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, and Virginia.
They have a seminary, apostolic college, churches, schools, indus
trial institutes, and orphanages. At present St. Joseph's Sem
inary has thirty-one divinity students on its roll, and its feeder,
the Epiphany Apostolic College, over sixty students. The
former sent out seven priests during the scholastic year 1 898-99,
and the latter in June, 1899, advanced fifteen graduates to the
seminary. With the spread of missions a new departure has
become necessary for the missioners, arising from the need of
helpers who will live in the various missions and take, as far as
possible, the place of the missionaries while absent. In a word,
catechists, officially and publicly appointed, are now in demand.
To understand this let us recall the
religious status of the negro race.
Of this people 144,536 are given as Catholics in the official
report for 1898 of the venerable Commission in charge of the
Negro and Indian Fund. This is a very small percentage in
deed of eight million American blacks. On the other hand.

440 four Million Negroes of fJo Religion. 44°
the various Protestant sects in their official reports claim less
than four millions. " Of the eight millions in this country a
very large proportion belong to Christian churches ; one million
six hundred thousand are reported to be members of Baptist
churches, about the same number are enrolled in the Methodist
churches, and besides these there are Presbyterians, Congrega-
tionalists, Episcopalians, and others " {Negro in America, by
Thomas J. Morgan, D. D.) Hence, four millions may be looked
upon as beyond the pale of any religious denomination. Fur
thermore, in the South negro Catholics, like white Catholics
are bunched, if we may use the term.
Maryland (Diocese of Baltimore) has 37,000 Negro Catholics,
Louisiana (New Orleans and Natchi
toches) has 83,000 " "
Kentucky (Louisville) has 6,000 " "
Alabama (Mobile) has 3»425 " "
In these four States, 129,425 " "
In other words, Louisiana has more than one-half the negro
Catholics in the United States, and Maryland more than one-
fourth, both together six-sevenths of them. That is to say, of
every seven negro Catholics in this country four live in Louisi
ana and two in Maryland. Thus there are left a trifle over
12,000 Catholic negroes in the other Southern States, and 3,000
in the Bahama Islands (Diocese of New York), which belong
to Great Britain.
Again, it is noteworthy that the States in which negroes
are most numerous are the very ones having the fewest Catho
lics of that race ; as, for example :
Virginia (Diocese of Richmond) has 650,000 Negroes, of whom
1,200 are Catholics ;
South Carolina (Charleston) has 690,000 Negroes, of whom 800
are Catholics ;
Georgia (Savannah) has 900,000 Negroes, of whom 1,300 are
Catholics.
To reach these millions, as yet alien even to the sight or

441 N;eed of J^egro Workers on tbe Missions. 441
voice of a priest, is the work appointed to St. Joseph's Society
for Colored Missions. It is of the true nature of the apostolic
vocation to make use of the people themselves for whom the
vocation is divinely granted. As the farmer needs the earth,
the astronomer the heavens, the sailor the sea, so does the
missionary demand the people, the Josephite the negro. But
quite unlike the earth or sky or waves are the negroes. For
men are they, able to co-operate, not alone by their presence
and submissiveness, but also by their action in personally work
ing with the missioners as well as in their influence over their
fellows. No wonder, then, that the common experience of the mis
sionaries of St. Joseph's Society proves that to win and convert
the negroes an indispensable means are the blacks themselves.
Appeals, therefore, have come to St. Joseph's Seminary from
different fields of labor, urging that negroes should be trained
for the work both as priests and catechists. Now, from their
foundation, St. Joseph's Seminary and its feeder, the Epiphany
Apostolic College, have had as students negro boys as well as
whites in preparation for the apostolic priesthood to labor
among the blacks. At present there are three negroes in the
seminary, and four more in the college. The colored boys,
very few in number are at once introduced among a dispropor
tionate number of whites. Some of them rise to the occasion
and equal and even outrank the whites, v. g, two of four negro
seminarians won the A. M. at St. Mary's Seminary, of whom
one carried off prizes in both years of philosophy, gaining eight
out of ten all round in his studies.
The College for Catechists now under review will tend to
increase the number of priestly vocations among negro youths,
although primarily intended to establish a system of negro
catechists. Moreover by its means the bulk of the negro youths
will be trained apart. In this matter we have before us the
example of the Protestant sects, which, although throwing open
their universities and colleges to the negro race, have, however,
almost all their negro students in separate institutes.
The need of native catechists and priests has been recognized

442 Craining Catecbists a good Inspiration. 442
always in the Catholic foreign missions of Asia, Africa, and
Oceanica. We have been in correspondence with Eastern mis
sionaries as well as with the superiors, general and local, of many
missionary societies. It will help our readers to understand
better our proposed College for Catechists if we give some of the
results. The Very Rev. A. Lightheart, Provincial of the Mill
Hill Missioners to the Maoris, thus writes:
" The idea of training catechists is a good inspiration. If it were not for the
catechists on our missions in New Zealand and elsewhere, our work might not
only be a trying one but very unsuccessful in many cases. On missions like
mine, for example, the priest is nearly always on the tramp from village to
village. He visits the same villages about four times a year, sometimes more,
sometimes less ; it all depends upon distances. Now every village has two
or three catechists who conduct public prayers, morning and night, and on
Sundays read the Mass prayers, sing Vespers, and teach catechism. We choose
men of good character only, and good speakers also. As a rule they acquit
themselves faithfully of this duty, for they consider it an honor to be appointed
as catechist. They have the good will of the people, who, with perhaps a very
few exceptions, would not dare to stay away from Mass prayers and the in
structions even of a catechist. So, you see, they are a great help in our work.
Furthermore, as most of our people cannot read, the catechist reads the cate
chism out to them, night after night, until it is remembered. It does not,
however, take long, as the Maoris have magnificent memories and intellects.
Then when the priest comes round he explains the more obscure parts. The
Maoris, on the whole, are very well posted in their catechism, children and
all" (Whangaroa, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, October 10, 1898).
The Right Rev. J. U. Gendreau, Vicar- Apostolic of Western
Tonquin, under date " Hanoi, Western Tonquin, September 4,
1898," sent us the synodal decrees on the question of catechism,
which cover the practices of that part of Asia since 1670 :
" the house of god."
" Our first missionaries very soon saw the necessity of having some one to
help them in their labors, especially in catechising the natives. In order to
fill this want they chose young men whom they trained in piety and knowledge,
so that later on these might perform the same offices as the clerics in the
early days of the church. In this way was established our ' House of God,'
where our catechists receive their training. All are supported from the com
mon purse and none receive a salary. Moreover these young men are in nowise

443 Catecbists on tbe foreign Missions. 443
bound by vow or contract, and any of them may return to the world when
ever he wishes to do so. Applications are as a rule very numerous ; but we
accept only such as are promising subjects and belong to good Christian
families. According to the rules adopted in the Synod of 1795, each priest
is supposed to bring up a certain number of boys of twelve or thirteen years
of age. These boys are first taught Chinese, and when they are about fifteen
or sixteen they are given in charge of a catechist, who initiates them in rudi
ments of Latin and plain chant. At the age of seventeen or eighteen they
enter the preparatory college, where they remain for six years. The fathers
are urged to recommend only such subjects as are truly good and who can
be really useful on the mission. Once their classics are finished, they are
examined, and, if found proficient enough, are placed as catechists either with
some native priests, or else employed in teaching the catechumens, according
as circumstances demand. Each parish has ordinarily three catechists ; one
who acts as procurator, whose duty it is to look to the material needs of the
mission, a teacher for the children, and a third who accompanies the priest on
his missions among the Christians. Missionaries in charge of districts also
have three or four catechists, whose duties are to preside at prayers, instruct
the children, and help the Christians prepare for the reception of the sacra
ments. Hence, the true and devoted catechist has always enough to do.
After five or six years' trial as catechist, those who have shown by their
exemplary conduct that they are worthy of a higher state enter the seminary
to make their theological studies for the priesthood. The catechists are, in
a special manner, precious auxiliaries for us. I would even dare say that they
are, under the missionaries, the principal agents of all the good done through
out the vicariate."
Passing from the Eastern missions, let us return to the mis
sions in our own land. Arizona and New Mexico received
missionaries about the same time as Western Tonquin. In far-
off Asia we have seen catechists in vogue ; so were they also in
the Western world. We quote from an article by the learned
Father Dutto :
" As a rule he (Rev. Eusebius Kino, S. J.) had a number of converted
Indians, from the mission of Dolores or from those further south, to accom
pany him. These drove herds of cattle, sheep, and hogs, some of which were
to be left in the care of the Indians at the different pueblos to multiply. His
first visit to a new territory was usually for the purpose of exploring it and to
impart the first notions of Christianity. On the second, the foundations of a
mission were laid ; that is, catechists (one or more Christian Indians) were
appointed, who at the same time acted as mechanical and agricultural in
structors. Thus the first steps were taken to insure not only a civilized
mode of life, but also to provide a permanent support for the mission, with a

444 Hfrican Hpostolic College. 444
resident priest whenever that might seem advisable or possible. In the
meantime visits were frequently made for the purpose of confirming the
catechumens and rendering them steadfast in their attachment to the Chris
tian religion. Such were substantially the methods of evangelization fol
lowed by both the Franciscans and the Jesuits during the seventeenth cen
tury, all along the line from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean " (Jesuit
Missions in Arizona," by Rev. L. A. Dutto, American Ecclesiastical Review,
July, 1899, p. 50).
The methods of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in
both hemispheres, have continued on to our day in the foreign
missions of Asia, Africa, and Oceanica. In the spring of 1899,
during our trip to Rome and other places of Europe, we inter
viewed the superiors of several missionary societies, viz : The
superior of the Foreign Missions of Paris ; of the African Fathers
in Lyons ; the superior of the Procure of the White Fathers in
Rome ; the Right Rev. Vicar-Apostolic of North Uganda, Africa,
is a " White Father " of the late Cardinal Lavigerie, and whom we
met at the Procure of his society in Rome. As there is at bot
tom a substantial oneness of view and practice among the various
missionary societies in training catechists, and the differences are
only in their development and details, a summary of our inter
view with Monseigneur Streicher, Vicar-Apostolic of North
Uganda, will give our readers a fair idea of the way in which the
Foreign Missions of Holy Church foster native catechists and
priests :
The White Fathers in his vicariate have not as yet the semi
nary proper, only an apostolic college, in which the course of
studies covers four years. The opening year is passed in study
ing the vernacular language ; the next year in mastering a
language which is used by the better classes throughout Africa.
It plays the same part in the Dark Continent that French had in
Europe at the beginning of this century. The next three years
the young negroes spend in poring over Latin and the Christian
doctrine. When advanced enough, the boys begin to teach
catechism, even while following their own studies ; they give
morning and evening instruction to catechumens ; they also assist
at the priests' instructions which follow their own. Of these
instructions they take notes and have to rehearse them to one of

445 Cbe Metbod in Uganda. 445
their professors. To understand this, it is well to add that in
Uganda the catechumens, to the number of 3,751 {Missions
dAfrique, January-February, 1899, Tables), assemble at ap
pointed places at the beginning of the week, returning to their
homes at its end, bringing with them enough food for the week.
While thus assembled they are instructed partly by the students,
chiefly by the missionaries.
At the Apostolic College the daily horarium is simple. They
rise at five-thirty, and after fifteen minutes' prayer, vocal and
mental, Holy Mass follows at six. Classes fill up the forenoon,
and class divides the afternoon with manual labor of one hour
and one-half, For catechetical work, however, several catechisms
are in use during the four years' course. A very simple one of
about forty pages in the vernacular is first mastered ; next a
larger and fuller, in preparation for the sacraments, and lastly
the catechism of a Frenchman, Pere Pacifique. It is taught
daily till it is learned by rote. In the year 1 898-1 899 Monseigneur
Streicher himself explained to the highest class St. John's gospel.
After finishing, the young men selected for that purpose by the
authorities are sent forth as catechists, who numbered on Janu
ary 1, 1899, in the vicariate, one hundred and one ; and these
teach schools as well as catechise. Every catechist is paid for
his work, and should he marry does not lose his place. Every
year for one whole month every catechist, married or single, has
to come to the preparatory college for a retreat, fresh instructions,
etc. While on the missions the catechists are entirely subject to
the local missionary, who pays the salaries, gives daily lessons in
theology, trains, corrects, and where necessary discharges them.
Upon him also does the preparatory college depend for pupils.
The seminary had not then been started, but Monseigneur
Streicher looked forward to see it in work at no distant day.
His plans made no provision for Greek or philosophy, while for
dogmatic theology the Catechism of the Council of Trent, and
in moral, the catechism of Pere Pacifique, will serve as text-books,
which competent professors shall explain and make practically
applicable to the needs of the heart of Africa. The entire
burden of the support, clothing, books, etc., of these boys falls

446 experience of Cardinal Massajo. 44°"
upon the White Fathers. It must indeed be very heavy and try
ing for the generous sons of Lavigerie.
Among missionaries of our day, Cardinal Massajo, who had
spent thirty-five years in Ethiopia, was one of the most eloquent
and emphatic advocates for native catechists and priests. His
memoirs, printed at Propaganda, Rome, fill eleven volumes folio.
While he had in his journeys a number of native youths, a kind
of walking seminary, he also left catechists at all mission stations,
who taught the people. Some he kept longer under instruction
than others — one lot as long as seven years. The teaching was
chiefly oral, and conducted by Massajo and his assistants, while
the only Bible they had was a Protestant edition. Without hem
or haw, he attributes the success of his apostolate to the native
catechists and priests.
Again, three of the bishops of Japan, writing February, 1891,
to M. l'Abbe Marnas, of Lyons, a priest devoting himself to
the work of educating and supporting native catechists in Japan,
declare :
"Aujourd'hui helas ! Ies catechists sont, en effet en nombre
insuffisant dans tous nos vicariats. Les multiplier equivaut,
dans une certaine mesure, a multiplier les missionnaires eux-
memes." We know not a better way to close our references to the work
of catechists in foreign fields than by giving the summary of it
from the History of the Foreign Missions of Paris, by l'Abbe
Adrien Launay :
SUMMARY OF INSTRUCTIONS TO CATECHISTS.
" The catechist on the missions is called to fulfil the duties of secretary
sacristan, physician, and teacher ; he is, in a word, a necessary aid to the
missioner, and one of the principal instruments of the apostolate. Without
his assistance the most ardent zeal would be barren ; with him, the work of
the missioner is rendered comparatively easy. The priest is the head of the
mission ; the catechist is the arm, but an intelligent arm, one who knows how
to adapt himself to circumstances. The catechist is in a position to know
thoroughly the manners, customs, and weaknesses of his compatriots ; and it
is from him ordinarily that the missioner receives that information which
enables him to act discreetly and to judge the people whom he may be called
to guide.

447 Cbe Duty of Catecbists. 447
" As the duty of the catechist is to teach others, he should be well instructed
in the doctrines of his faith, so that he may transmit them pure and unadul
terated to the catechumens. His constant warfare will be against the errors
of the infidels ; hence he should be thoroughly acquainted with their writ
ings ; he should study their fables, stories, and superstitions. It were useful
also to know the principal points of the pagan religion which bear a resem
blance to the Christian religion. With this preparatory training he will the
more readily refute the objections of the infidels by arguments drawn from
their own works. He should be clear and precise in his explanations of the
mysteries of religion, and be prepared to answer the difficulties which may
arise in the minds of his hearers. . . .
" A man who possesses the requisite qualifications should not be engaged
in this ministry unless he have a particular district in which he may labor
under the direction of a missioner or an older catechist " {Histoire de la Soci/te"
des Missions Etrangeres, par A. Launay.)
PROTESTANT NEGRO CHURCHES : THEIR CLERGY, THEIR
MANAGEMENT.
In Eastern lands Catholic missionaries deal with pagans ; we,
however, who labor for the negroes in the United States are
dealing with a people who cannot be classed as pagans even if in
great part unbaptized. Whatever religious sentiments and
ideals, training and education the American negroes enjoy, the
vast bulk of them have imbibed from their Protestant white
neighbors, whose slaves they and their ancestors had been for two
and one-half centuries. The " African Methodist Church " has
its bishops, ministers, itinerants, deacons, elders, exhorters, class-
leaders, as well as congregations fully equal to if not more than
one million and a half. Likewise the " African Baptist Church "
has the same officers, except bishops, and perhaps a larger
number of followers — all black also, in every case.
In the hands of these negro churchmen are the finances of
their respective congregations, which are never laggards in the
support and maintenance of their clergy and churches, having a
uniform yearly tax, besides Sunday offerings and special efforts,
v g., lectures, concerts, bazaars, etc., not to speak of help from
the royal generosity with which their Protestant white country
men pour out money in supporting them.
The white Protestants, ministers, lay men and women, labor-

448 fl Lesson from tbe 6nemy. 448
ing for the negro race in our Southland are to be seen in the
black people's universities, seminaries, colleges, normal and in
dustrial schools. Not a corporal's guard of white ministers can
be found in charge of negro churches. Moreover in those in
stitutes are twenty-five thousand negro scholars — forty thousand,
some say — of whom the seminaries alone have over a thousand
preparing for the Protestant ministry. Fas est et ab hoste doceri.
If we have not as yet attempted on the negro missions the work
of catechists, which has stood the test for two centuries on the
Eastern missions, our Protestant countrymen have done so very
successfully. In fact, what are all their efforts but the work of
catechists ? Even those of the ministers can be nothing more in
our eyes than such, since the Catholic Church refuses to recog
nize any valid orders among them.
The object and method of training negroes is, in part, to keep
alive the faith among our Catholic negroes, scattered up and
down, here and there, like the few grapes left on the vines after
the vintage. It is, however, chiefly to meet and offset the influ
ence among negroes generally of the Protestant negro preachers
and elders, class-leaders and exhorters, that we need negro cate
chists, who should be solidly grounded in Christian doctrine and
morals and thoroughly trained in a good course of studies.
The influence of the Protestant negro clergy over their church
members and people generally should not be pooh-poohed or set
down as trivial. The priests in the negro missions have too
often felt its strength. And we were not surprised to receive
urgent appeals from our missionaries in five different dioceses
urging that this long-thought-of college for negro catechists be
started. True, in nearly every mission and station the missionary
finds some one — an old "uncle" or "mammy" — who acts as
catechist, baptizes the dying children, visits the sick, argues for
his or her religion, announces the visit of the priest, and gets
things to rights for his coming. But such help is precarious,
without the proper fibre and especially without official standing.
Catholic catechists should be put in a position which would
make them in the eyes of their black countrymen as important
officially as the Protestant negro ministers.

449 Object Metbod of Craining. 449
In the efforts about to be made for training catechists the fol
lowing tentative plan will be followed till experience and time
enable us to develop and improve it :
i. Negro candidates for the catechetical school will live under
the watchful eye and care of the various missioners, who after
trying them for some time will send the selected ones to the
school itself.
2. At this college for catechists the course of studies will in
clude :
a. Course in English, mathematics, kindred branches, Chris
tian doctrine, and Latin, about three years.
b. Course of philosophy in last year of preceding course.
c. Three years' course of theology and Sacred Scripture. In
the former the Catechism of the Council of Trent, and in the
latter the Douai and Rheims Testaments, especially the four
Gospels, will be used as text-books, the professors by their ex
planations making them text-books for the catechist's use in his
future career among the negroes.
3. Throughout the whole course manual labor for about two
hours daily will be a feature. All work about the house and
premises shall be done by the students.
4. When graduating those fitted will be received as catechists
by an appropriate ceremony, and then sent to the various mis
sions for work, getting in return a fair salary.
5. Those of the catechists on the mission who persevere will
be advanced step by step to the priesthood, while they who marry
may remain as catechists. Mission schools will also be taught
by these catechists.
St. Joseph's College for Negro catechists will require a farm
of a few hundred acres of land, from which should be raised
most of the support needed. The buildings, large enough for a
hundred inmates, should be simple and plain, so that the cate
chists on returning to their homes would not fancy it a disgrace
to associate with their old companions. Again, the college must
not create wants in the catechists ill-suited to the tobacco, rice,
and sugar plantations upon which their fellows live. When
visiting Booker Washington's institute at Tuskegee, Ala., we

45° Of Vital Necessity for tbe Negro Race. 45°
were struck with the plainness of the buildings, the meagreness
of the food, and the simple appearance of the scholars. No
doubt poverty plays some part in this, but at bottom the real
reason seems to be not to wean the scholars from their native
surroundings, for we must remember that Booker Washington
receives from his white Protestant countrymen about one hun
dred thousand dollars yearly.
The foregoing pages are based upon a memorial which, in
April, 1899, we submitted to the Sacred Congregation de Prop
aganda Fide. Armed with testimonials from Cardinal Gibbons
to Cardinal Ledochowski, Prefect of Propaganda, and from Car
dinal Vaughan to Cardinal Ciasca, then Secretary of Propagan
da, we first discussed the question with these prelates, and then,
at the suggestion of the Cardinal Prefect, embodied the scheme
in a memorial. Our plan was received very cordially and a
hearty " God Speed " was given us on our departure from
Rome. Furthermore, we have consulted several archbishops,
bishops, and various priests, who, one and all, look upon this
movement as a development of vital necessity for the evangeli
zation of the negro race, several adding that a similar college for
catechists for the whites is also needed. In fact, when in Rome,
in an interview with the Very Rev. Father David, O. S. F., con-
suitor of some Roman congregations and a high official in his
order, he assured us that the Franciscans are thinking of estab
lishing a school for training catechists in England in order to
reach the masses of Englishmen.
Unless fortified by negro catechists and negro priests, we
shall always be at a disadvantage in dealing with the negro
millions beyond the pale of Holy Church. The negro looks
with suspicion upon white men. The impression left from
slavery ; the many dishonest tricks upon them ; unpaid wages ;
" store pay " ; bad titles to land ; unjust mortgages upon their
crops ; prisoners' stockades — these and countless other wrongs
make the negroes suspicious of the whites. During two-and-
twenty years we have been in the closest relations with the
black race, have had their confidence in countless ways, are
now steadily consulted by them in their little troubles, financial

45* JNtegro Catechists pJeeded. 45 *
and otherwise ; yet we are not afraid to say that there is no
white man living has a negro's full confidence. We are told
by those who know nothing of this poor people that they do
not trust their own, that they prefer white priests. How that
can be said in the face of the millions belonging to Protestant
churches, every mother's son of whom, from bishop to the
latest baptized infant, is black, goes beyond our comprehension.
Chiefly is this true of negro priests. How can any one say the
negroes do not want their own priests, since the experiment
has never been tried, for we have had but two, one of whom
is dead ? And to our own knowledge, at every big marriage or
funeral among the Catholic colored people of Baltimore, they
want the colored priest. From all parts of the country they
are ever inviting him. Human nature is human nature in a
black man as well as it is in a white man.
In conclusion, the Third Council of Baltimore speaks with
no uncertain sound in favor of negro catechists : " Finally, we
must not pass over in silence that the establishment of cate
chists of both sexes would not be more difficult among us
than in heathen countries, if missionaries would diligently at
tend to it. The aid of such co-workers should be made much
of. For they will prepare the way for the sacred ministers by
gathering together the negroes in the neighborhoods of churches,
and by teaching them catechism and religious hymns, so that
the hard labor of the priest will produce richer results " (Tit. viii.
§240). The twentieth century, on which we have entered, looms up
before us. Leo. XIII, the illustrious Pontiff, blessed the
opening age in proclaiming a universal Jubilee, and called upon
the whole world to consecrate itself anew to God and Him
whom He sent, Jesus Christ.
The various sects, too, look forward to the era before us ;
the Methodists of the British Isles are reported as about to
raise a million pounds sterling for their Foreign Missions.
Let St. Joseph's College for Negro Catechists be the offer
ing of our white Catholics to the cause of Christ and His
church in this land of ours.

452 Cbe evangelization of tbe Negro. 45 2
Surely the Negro race may hail the twentieth century in a
happier, better, state than the progeny of Ham have ever
known in the annals of mankind. What they lack is the true
Faith of Mary's Divine Son.
The nineteenth century brought them emancipation, right
of ownership, education, citizenship. Let the twentieth cen
tury crown all by imparting to them the truths of our Holy
Religion, in which glorious task, with God's blessed help, no
small part shall be played by Saint Joseph's College for Negro
Catechists.
St. Joseph's Seminary for Negro Missions, Baltimore, Md.

The evangelization of the negro in his original home is pro
gressing successfully. The scramble for Africa is almost now a
by-word. The nations of Europe have deliberately divided the
Dark Continent among themselves without as much as saying.
" By your leave " to the natives ; the soldiers, too, of the Cross,
in the peaceful way of Christ, have divided the country into
spiritual kingdoms. Along the shores of the Mediterranean are
the Franciscans ; in Abyssinia the Lazarists ; in Senegambia and
Senegal, the Fathers of the Holy Ghost ; the African mission
aries of Lyons are in Guinea, at the Cape, and in Dahomey ; the
missioners of Verona are in the country south of Egypt, formerly
overrun by the Mahdi ; the Jesuits are in the island of Madagas
car and neighboring islets ; the Oblates of Mary at Natal.
Pius IX, as he stood on the brink of the grave, gave the
impetus to this outpouring of the Spirit. His eyes were weary
in beholding the rising tide of irreligion in Europe, but they lit
up with ardor and enthusiasm at the prospect of the great con
quests to the Cross to be made among the one hundred million
souls in Africa. Among the obstacles enumerated by the late
Cardinal Lavegerie to the success of the evangelization of Africa
pre-eminent mention is given to Mahommedanism, for in its
train follow the evils of polygamy and slavery. With the efforts
to stamp out the latter the name of the great Cardinal will ever
be identified.

TKq Bureau of
(\IKoIic Anions;
FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE FAITH
AMONG THE INDIANS.
By REV. H. Q. GANSS.
The Indian question has at all times been a most vexatious
one ; has been a problem full of perplexities. It has been one ;
and although it has enlisted the most consummate statesmanship,
the highest judicial opinions of the nation, the most lavish expen
diture of philanthropic endeavor, and, again, the whole United
States army, it has not even at this day been solved. It has
baffled all solution.
The Catholic work among the Indian people began four hun
dred years ago, and it has gone on without cessation or interrup
tion to the present day. In this work we have the most heroic
efforts that the Church has ever made to establish the faith on
the American Continent. More than thirty martyrs have crim
soned the American soil with their blood and consecrated it by
their labors in this great work. And at the present day, on our
frontiers, the same heroic self sacrifice that characterized the
labors of Las Casas, or of a Fra Junifero, or the labors of a
Father De Smet are revealed to us in undiminished vigor.
The problem is a most perplexing one. It involves points
which we cannot discuss here, especially that of the comparative
merits of Anglo-Saxon and Latin civilization. Both may be
briefly summarized, that the one, the Anglo-Saxon civilization
appears to be always that of extermination, whilst the Latin civi
lization is that of amalgamation.
In Mexico we have 7,000,000 Indians who enjoy all the privi
leges and prerogatives of full citizenship. The highest offices in
the State are eligible to the Indian ; so that at present we have
a President of the Republic who is proud and boasts of his

454 Our National Indian policy. 454
Indian blood. In the episcopate likewise we have splendid
examples of the possibilities of the Indian when lifted up spiritu
ally on the higher plane of true Catholic civilization.
In our Republic here we have, at the present day, 270,000
Indians, the last remnant of a rapidly disappearing race It is
known what we did with the Indian and how we dealt with him.
How we drove him from the Deleware to the Ohio; from the
Ohio to the Mississippi ; from the Mississippi we entombed him
in the Black Hills, and there we thought we could bury him;
but in an unfortunate moment the white man discovered gold
there, and even that living tomb was no longer an asylum for
him. So we drove him on and on, until to-day he stands on the
shores of the Pacific Ocean, lifting up his hands to heaven, not
in the attitude of a supplicant begging for mercy, but out
stretched, appealing to the Great Spirit seated on the White
Throne for justice.
Was our policy, our national policy, a policy of extermination ?
I cannot say that it was ; I will not say that it was not. It is a
problem that the future historian must unravel. We behold, on
the one hand, the Board of Indian Commissioners, saying that
the policy of the United States Government in dealing with the
Indians had been a policy of "outrage, of spoliation, and of
murder." On the other hand, we have the Government making
every effort, in its own way, to lift up the Indian to civilization.
It spent $240,000,000 from 1869 to 1902 to educate and civilize
him. It now spends $3,000,000 each year to bring him up into
citizenship. But what was our policy during the past ? Gen.
Grant summoned the different representatives of churches to
Washington to inaugurate a new policy. The old policy had
been that of the force of arms. We had to fight the Indian inch
by inch. And be it said to the eternal credit of the Indian —
and in it he reveals himself to us, the exponent of the highest
and the loftiest manhood, — he would never yield unless he
cemented every inch of ground by his blood. He knew he was
the owner of the land by God-given title, and in his own mind
he realized that he could not relinquish it and remain true to
himself, true to his past traditions, and true to his posterity.

455 Cbe Hgreement and promise of tbe Government. 455
Gen. Grant, in 1869, inaugurated what we call the peace pol
icy. He summoned the representatives of the Episcopal, Metho
dist, Congregationalist, Unitarian, Presbyterian and other denom
inations to Washington to work this new policy. He confessed
then that our national policy in dealing with the Indian had been
bootless and fruitless in molding the character of the Indian,
and abortive in all its bearings. He addressed them, in effect :
" Gentlemen, we adopted the wrong policy ; we have been
unjust to the Indian. Now, you go out there and convert the
Indian to Christianity, aud through Christianity, bring him into
citizenship." In other words, what the Catholic Church had
been doing for nineteen hundred years — first to Christianize,
then to civilize — now flashed through the mind of that sturdy
and gruff old soldier. He then made a stipulation ; it was a
compact as sound and as sacred as any two right-minded men
can enter upon. He told them ; "You go out West, build your
schools, equip them ; send there your teachers, and I pledge the
word of the United States Government that we will support
those schools ; that we will give you a pro rata payment for
each child you educate."
On the strength of that promise we went out West. We
erected our schools. We sent there our most zealous men and
our most devoted workers and consecrated nuns. The results of
that work are apparent in the records of the nation, and espec
ially in the reports of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs.
The work progressed successfully and triumphantly. Our
success was our crime. Other denominations saw that they
could not compete with Catholic zeal.
We worked until 1895. An epidemic swept over the country
then, especially in the Middle States. An epidemic of devilish
malignity and insane bigotry and Satanic hatred. This undem
ocratic organization saw that it could on longer antagonize us,
because the Catholic Church was no longer a disintegrated mass,
an unimportant factor. The Catholic Church was one of the
most potent and one of the most potential factors, and it had
to be reckoned with in this great republic.

45^ Revoked at tbe Institution of Bigotry. 45 6
But on the frontier they saw the poor Indian ready to receive
Catholic teaching — saw how he flocked to the Catholic schools.
They saw the reverential awe with which he looked up to the
black gown. They saw likewise the docility with which he list
ened to the meek and tender voice of the nuns, and therefore
they intruded themselves into Congress, and there they clamored
that the appropriation given to the schools should be withdrawn.
And, be it said to the eternal shame of the American Congress
and Senate, and we must hang our heads in mortification when
we do say it, in a moment of weakness; vacillation and alarm,
panic-stricken and terrorized, yielding to the pressure, they
revoked the appropriation given to our Catholic schools.
We found ourselves in a most awkward predicament, a most
perplexing situation, and a crucial moment in the history of the
Catholic Church in the United States. What was to be done ?
How was it to be done ? From whence was the help to come ?
In that moment when counsel was dear, when help was not in
sight, there stepped into the midst of the Archbishops, assem
bled in Washington, a meek and modest woman, and in words
breathing the very soul of humility, said : " Fathers in Christ, if
the Government will not support those schools, I, by the help of
God, will support them until such a day when the Church can
make provision to support them."
This woman, and her name is enshrined in the heart of every
Indian — this woman, and her name should be uttered in perpet
ual benediction by the lips of every one who claims to be a
Catholic — this woman was Rev. Mother Katherine Drexel.
Since that day she has been supporting our Catholic schools.
True, we had to abandon some schools. True, we had to send
adrift 1,600 children from Catholic influences. Since that day
she has virtually carried the Red Man's burden. In one year
she gave no less than $230,000; in another year $140,000; in
fact, the amount is never looked after. Every year she is will
ing to make good the shortage to keep those schools wielding
the influences of Catholic civilization and Catholic relio-ion
Of the 276,000 Indians, 106,000 are Catholics.

Di5lm$ui5rie<i /Imeric&n (\)i2Yerl5
*Cbe Intellectual Reaction of tbe Hge
Hgainst Sectarianism
"ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME"
Honest seekers after truth will find many eminent American
Protestants have trodden various paths leading to Rome. It
would require many volumes to tell the stories of the thousands
of converts Catholicity has won in this country.
Probably the most illustrious name on the roll of the American
Catholic Church's conquest is that of Orestes Augustus Brown-
son, who was brought up in the Presbyterian fold, left that for
Universalism, then became a Socialist, a Unitarian and a Christ
ian Unionist, and finally found the truth he sought for so long
in the Catholic Church.
Let us put next the name of Isaac T. Hecker, whose life
story has been so admirably told by Father Elliott and whose
death caused universal sorrow. From Brook Farm to Rome
the road seems long, but Father Hecker found his way over it,
and those who have followed his progress, as that is told in
Father Elliott s biography, know how great was the happiness he
experienced when his wayfaring was done. To Father Hecker
the American Catholic Church owes a great debt. He it was
who gave us the Paulist Order, that religious body which has
done so much for American Catholicism in various ways, and
whose members are still carrying on the work which Father
Hecker inaugurated. With him, and through him, too, how many
more converts were led into the church ! There is Father
Hewit, his successor in the order, born of Congregational parents,
the erudite litterateur and profound theologian, the skillful con
troversialist and reviewer. There is Father George M. Searle,
class-mate at Harvard with John D. Long, able mathematician
and astronomer, and now lecturer at the Catholic University at
Washington. There is Father Walworth, formerly a Paulist,
then chancellor of The Albany Diocese, of one of whose books,

453 Dr. Ives and pius IX. 458
an eminent authority, said that "it has the solidity and elaborate
finish of a work executed with care and diligence by one who is
both a strong thinker and a sound scholar." There are Fathers
Deshon, class-mate at West Point with Grant, Robinson, Wv-
man and other members of the Paulist community, and to all of
whom American Catholicity is indebted for many signal services.
Protestant ministers almost without number have abandoned
their pulpits to embrace Catholicity, and one Protestant bishop
laid aside his ring and robes to do the same thing. That was
Levi Silliman Ives, a native of Meriden, Ct., who was at first a
Presbyterian, then became an Episcopalian and sixty years ago
was consecrated the Episcopalian bishop of North Carolina. In
1852 he visited Rome, and there his eyes were opened to the
truth of Catholicity. Seeking an interview with the lamented
Pius IX., Dr. Ives drew from his finger his Episcopal ring and
offered it to the Holy Fatheras a pledge of his submission to the
Holy See, but with that graciousness that was always character
istic of him, Pius IX. refused to accept it personally, and told
Dr. Ives to go and lay it on St. Peter's altar, where it was accord
ingly placed by the submissive convert. His " Trials of a mind
in its Progress to Catholicity " has smoothed the path for many
another convert, and in it he declares that although it cost him
much to leave his former position, " the sacrifice has been repaid
ten thousand fold in the blessings of present peace and in the
certain hopes of eternal life."
Then look at the many eminent converts who are or were to
be found in the ranks of our religious orders ; at Father Freitag,
the Redemptorist, the legal head of the illustrious House of Witi-
kind, who was received into the Church at Baltimore and who
did heroic duty during the war in the camps and hospitals around
Annapolis. Look at James Kent Stone, now Father Fidelis,
the Passionist, president formerly of Hobart and Kenyon col
leges, afterwards a Paulist and now a missionary, with another
eminent convert, B. D. Hill, now Father Edmund, the poet, in
South America. Look at Father Barnum, the Jesuit, now do
ing duty on the banks of the Yukon, who forfeited a fortune
when he became a priest, and the scores of other devoted relio--

459 Converts Advanced to fiigb Offices. 459
ious priests who became Catholics only after experiencing the
hollowness of Protestantism in this or that form.
And the Catholic Church which makes no distinction of persons
and regards alike the eleventh hour laborer and the toiler from
the dawn of clay, has often advanced to her highest offices and
trusts converts to her creed. Witness Archbishop Baylev,
who, formerly an Episcopalian minister, became the metropolitan
of Baltimore, and who, before attaining that dignity, had been
Secretary and Chancellor of New York and bishop of Newark.
Witness again Archbishop Wood of Philadelphia, Bishop Young
of Erie, Bishop Gilmour of Cleveland, Bishops Rosecrans of
Columbus, Wadams of Ogdensburg, Curtis of Wilmington and
others ; look at the late Monsignor Preston of New York ;
Monsignor Doane of Newark, and the many other ecclesiastical
dignitaries who were formerly enmeshed in the errors of Protes
tantism. There is scarcely any diocese in the country, now, which
does not count converts of Catholicity among the priests, and to
name such clergymen would require more space than the limits
of this article.
In every walk and condition of life are to be counted Catholic
conquests of the faith. The church has won her way with the
rich no less than with the poor ; with the learned as well as with
the poorly educated, with scientists of every description and men
and women of all professions. And in this universality of her
victories, which argues her adaptability for all, is seen a striking
evidence of her catholicity and divine mission. No other church
in this country can point to such a long and illustrious line of
converts as she. When this or that form of Protestantism gains
a new recruit, she counts her additions by the scores and hun
dreds. Making no boasts of her triumphs, pursuing the even
tenor of her way, and welcoming all who come to her in quest of
the truth, she rejoices, of course, over each new convert, but the
cause of her joy is because another soul has been shown the
light and the wanderer has returned to the fold.
In New England, Catholicity has won many conquests. From
the day when Father Thayer, himself a convert, received into the
fold, at the old church on School street, Boston, Mrs. Margaret

460 Converts in Gngland and tbe Continent. 460
Jackson, »<?*, -Talent, who enjoys the distinction of being
the first convert of Boston, down to the present time, Cath
olicity has every year added to the list of her converts, and mul
tiplied her conquests. It was Dr. Cheverus, Boston's first bishop,
who showed the way of truth to Mrs. Elizabeth Bayley Seton,
whose family has since given such illustrious sons to the church.
It was his successor, Bishop Fenwick, who saw the notable
Catholic movement that followed the conversion of the Hoyts
and the Barloavs in Vermont ; Bishop Fitzpatrick was consulted
by Father Hecker and many another earnest seeker for truth,
and his successor has welcdmed many a convert to the Catholic
fold. New Hampshire gave the Canadian Ursulines a nun, as
early as 1699, in Mary Anne Davis, a convert, and who can tell
how many more like her have found shelter and peace within
conventual walls ! George Parsons Lathrop and his wife,
Hawthorne's daughter, have recently found the truth they sought
for so long, in the bosom of the Catholic Church and how many
have entered the same fold unheralded, content with the know
ledge that their feet were at last in the right way, and that they
were within their Father's dwelling.
Nor is America the only English-speaking land wherein Cath
olic conversions have been many of late years. A more notable
Catholic movement has taken place in England, bringing into
the fold such men as Manning, Newman, and the hosts of
Anglican ministers who have followed their lead. One can
hardly take up an English paper, now, without finding recorded
therein the conversion of some prominent Protestant layman or
ecclesiastic. Converts find themselves at home in the goodly
company preceding them into the Catholic pale wherein Mann
ing, Newman, Parsons, De Vere, Digby, Faber, Challoner
and Marshall, with hosts of others, found all they sought, and
which counts among its conquests the names of Schlegel, Stol-
berg, Harter, Lalour, Ratisbonne, Lucas and Ward and in
this country numbers among its converts a Brownson, Ives
Hecker, Stone, Hill, Hecker (Geo. V.), Hewit, Preston
Doane, Bayley, Seton, Curtis and many others of renown and
merited fame.

tEbe progress of
Gatbolic j£6ucation In tbe
TUniteo States.
In no sphere of her activity, has the Church in the United
States, been more earnest and successful than in promoting and
fostering the cause of Catholic education.
Thus the Catholics of the U nited States are educating over a mil
lion of Catholic children free of cost to the State, and saving the
tax payer some twenty millions of dollars yearly, besides bearing
one-seventh of the burden for public education in the United
States. Unprecedented sacrifices have been made by our
Catholic people for Catholic education. Our Catholic schools
are multiplying and becoming more efficient from year to year.
And despite the efforts made by the enemies of the Church to
discredit our schools, wherever in recent years the pupils of our
Catholic schools have been allowed to compete with those of
the public schools, they have shown equal, or even superior, pro
ficiency in the secular branches of learning, in spite of the fact
that, owing to financial conditions, they must in most places
labor under great disadvantages. The increasing confidence of
Catholic parents in our Catholic schools is therefore well founded.
We have every reason to be thankful and even proud of their
present efficiency.
A glance at the annual reports of our Catholic colleges and
universities reveals very satisfactory results in higher Catholic
education as well. The standard of studies is generally of a
superior character. Our better colleges are acknowledged to be

462 Status of our Catbolic Colleges. 462
at least on a par in scholarship with the great non-Catholic
universities of the country while the test for graduation in some
of our Catholic colleges is decidedly higher. And this notwith
standing the fact that with one or two exceptions, our colleges
have no endowments ; they have to subsist on the fees paid by
the students and some small charities offered by the faithful.
Were not their staffs in most cases made up of religious, who
profess poverty and consequently draw no salaries, they could
not subsist at all. What is saved in salaries has to go towards
outfit and improvement of the institutions. We have not been
taught, says a well-informed writer on the subject, * to expect
better treatment and better patronage for our Catholic colleges,
and, such as they are, we are not only satisfied with them, but
we cannot help admiring them. They are doing a noble work,
and they are doing it well against great odds. They do not,
as a rule, make appeals for personal support. They are
satisfied with the patronage of Catholic parents, and act on the
principle, that those who would give a higher education to their
children should also bear the expense of it ; that the children of
wealthy Catholics are not objects of charity.
All they ask, then, for the present, is the patronage of well-to-
do Catholic parents. If they do the same work, and do it as
well as the great non-Catholic universities, which have millions
yearly at their disposal, they have a right to expect that Catholic
parents will send their children to them in preference to Protest
ant or secular colleges. The more they are patronized by Cath
olic parents the more efficiently will they be able to do their
work. Yet we regret to say that thus far they have not been ade
quately seconded in their efforts. They have a goodly number
of pupils, it is true ; but there is a great number they ought to
have and have not. We are not able to quote complete statistics
in this matter, but making a rough estimate from what we have
learned from private sources we judge that in the three great non-
Catholic universities of New England alone (we take them as an
illustration) there are not less than 1000 Catholic students in the
* Messenger of the Sacred Heart.

463 Catbolics at protestant Universities. 463
Arts Department alone, to say nothing of professional and
special students. On the other hand, in the Catholic colleges of
New England, which are in every way equal to these, from a
secular point of view, there are not quite that number. There
were, in 1901, 1,452 Catholic students in six per centum of the
non-Catholic colleges of America, and very many of these will
lose their faith, and all will be weakened in that faith, because
our people look upon their collegiate institutions as the property
of educational corporations which can be left to take care of
themselves. This is phenomenal, and we are inclined to ask the cause of a
fact so abnormal. The first cause, we regret to think, is the
ignorance and pride of wealthy Catholics. Many of those good
people have had no education, or at most a very imperfect edu
cation, themselves. Consequently they do not see the danger to
faith and morals that their children are incurring in these Protest
ant institutions. A course, or a few sessions, at Harvard or Yale
is, in their estimation, the highest ideal of an American education.
They have the worldly ambition to have their sons educated in
the same schools as the sons of Doctor and Lawyer and Senator
So-and-so. That gives them social standing, they think. So to
Harvard they shall go, whatever may be the consequence. Of
course, money is no consideration, and they are willing that their
sons should spend from one thousand to two thousand dollars a
year at Harvard, while they might have a better education for
them at from three hundred to five hundred dollars in a Catholic
college. There is another class of wealthy Catholic parents who contrib
ute largely to the number of Catholic students at Protestant
and secular universities, and who are more to be pitied than
blamed. It is those whose boys, from defective home education,
have proved unmanageable in Catholic colleges. For these
there is nothing to fall back on but the Protestant college with
all its academic freedom, or the house of correction. Their
parents cannot leave them altogether without an education. So
hither they will go, where they will have ample freedom from
religious and moral restrictions. We are inclined to think that

464 H Sbort-sigbted View. 464
not a few of the Catholic students at Protestant universities are
drawn from this unfortunate class, who do little honor to the
Catholic cause, and to the institutions from which they had to
be removed.
There is, however, another cause, probably the most potent,
for the great concourse of Catholic young men at Protestant
universities which we approach with some reluctance. It is the
unreasonable and fulsome laudation of these institutions by so-
called " distinguished " Catholics — lay and clerical. These well
meaning men, are never done commending the liberal spirit of
our great American centres of learning. A short-sighted or
liberal Catholic press looks upon any notice from them as a
tribute of honor to the Catholic religion. Articles are written
on " Catholicism at Harvard," the " Catholic Sons of Harvard,"
and what not. And the country is made to believe that Har
vard (we speak by way of illustration) is the place for our
Catholic young men. There they have their Catholic club, or
their own Greek-letter fraternity. They can have their own co
religionists, the most eloquent in the land, to address them with
in the very precincts of their college. Harvard, then, is the place
for our young men, and to Harvard they shall go.
Of course, the university authorities look on all this with favor,
and give a courteous and a cordial reception to our Catholic prel
ates and other ecclesiastics, if invited by the Catholic fraterni
ties of their respective institutions. In the administration of
President Elliot of Harvard, we would venture to say that there
has been no more diplomatic move than the invitations extended
by him to Catholic speakers to deliver addresses at Harvard,
and the great courtesy he has shown to such speakers. From
his own standpoint he deserves great credit for it. He has
decidedly gained his object. It is a well-known fact that since
this policy has been inaugurated, the attendance of Catholics at
Harvard has increased at least four or five hundred per cent.
Is it true, then, that our Catholic young men are safe at the
Protestant universities ? The answer is plain. They cannot
but suffer in many ways. First, they suffer by defect. If
religion is ignored altogether they are deprived of those

465 Advantages of Religious education. 465
elements in education and true culture which are most important,
and without which no education can be complete. What is
science without God ? What is the knowledge of the creation
without the Creator? How can true intellectual culture and
refinement exist without any knowledge of, or belief in, things
spiritual, moral and supernatural, which form the highest
element in human knowledge? How can true strength of
character be obtained if the highest standard of morals is public
opinion, or the sense of the majority ?
But to say nothing of religion, the most important element in
secular education is philosophy and history. Now, the fact is
that there is hardly any serious attempt made to teach philoso
phy outside our Catholic colleges, and if there is, what is taught
is not philosophy which is from a Catholic standard truth itself,
but speculations and theories, based on atheism or agnosticism,
and leading to materialism.
Parents who have boys ripe for college, and all Catholics
interested in education, should also be impressed with the
unique educational advantage of a solid course of religion and
philosophy as given in our better Catholic colleges. Apart from
the practical religious and moral aspect of the case, this opens a
new intellectual field for the student, which for the pupils of
non-Catholic colleges, from a Catholic point of view, must remain
forever an unexplored territory.
Experience shows also that history has never been understood
nor taught, and is not impartially taught, by Protestants, as a
class. A few individuals among them it is true, have risen above
the prejudices of Protestantism ; but these individuals are few
indeed. Thus Catholic students in Protestant institutions, in
the best case, are deprived of the best elements in education,
whether religious or secular.
Moreover, if we consider the study of art and literature, what
can it be without religion ? Divest the poetry of Dante, Milton,
Shakespeare, or even that of Homer and Virgil, of the religious
or supernatural element, what remains of it ? Dry bones, and
nothing more. The very essence of it is lost. The same is
true of painting, sculpture and architecture, all of which are

466 exposed to error and Doubt. 466
religious in their origin and development. For the Ag&bstic
there can be no true art. Art has no meaning for him. Art
has no soul, no substance to him, because, according to his prin
ciples, he cannot rise to the contemplation of what is unseen in
it. Every piece of art must be to him an empty sound, a mere
form, or a meaningless structure. And if this is not always the
case with infidels, it is because their instincts are better than
their principles. How much, then, is lost to the student of art
and literature from the neglect of religion in his special depart
ment ! What a gaping void exists in his education !
But this is only the negative view of the matter. Shall we
suppose that the university professor will confine himself within
the strict lines of secular instruction ? Shall we imagine that he
will never trench on religious topics ? Will he ignore in history
and literature the most powerful motives that have ever actuated
the conduct of man ? Can he abstract from or ignore religion
in philosophy? If so, he must be a poor specimen of a teacher.
The historian who does not enter into the causes of facts is no
historian ; the literary critic who does not search into the mo
tives of characters and actions in literature is no critic ; the
philosopher who does not inquire into the last causes of things
is no philosopher.
The fact will be, then, that the university professor cannot
help discussing religious topics, whether he will or no, and that
he will, consciously or unconsciously, impress his own peculiar
errors and prejudices on his pupils, and ten to one they will
return from the Protestant university with their minds full of
errors which they can never correct, and doubts which they can
not solve. If a student has gathered any ideas of philosophy
from his college course, they are sure to be wrong. He has
been taught to venerate as sages those who, basing all philoso
phy on doubt or nescience, ignore the data of common experi
ence and common sense. He has learned that creation is a myth,
that man is the descendant of the ape. His ideas of Christ
have been taken from Renan, Strauss and Schoppenhauer. He
has heard that the Church has been the foe of enlightenment
and the fosterer of slavery. He has listened to the recital of

467 Duty of Catbolic parents. 467
gruesome horrors of the " Dark Ages." He has been taught
that Protestantism brought enlightenment and culture and prog
ress into the world. He has heard the history of every Catho
lic country misrepresented. He would be more than humanly
wise or brutally stupid, if all this made no impression on him.
Add to this the entirely Protestant environment, pride and
human respect, from which very few are altogether free, and the
many other frailties to which university students are not
strangers, and then say, what is the probability that your Catho
lic young man at twenty-two, after spending four years at a
Protestant university will come forth unscathed ? Pie would be
an angel if he did.
But is it generally angels we send up to those institutions ?
Angels, indeed ; but rather of the fallen kind. They are, as a
rule, youngsters who never set foot in a Catholic school, who
never had any religious instruction except what barely fitted
them to make their First Communion, whose home education
has been in many cases flagrantly neglected — the plastic stuff of
which perverts are generally made.
With this condition of things before us, we may be permitted
to submit two questions : First, can Catholic parents entrust
their children to be educated at American Protestant universi
ties ? Secondly, can Catholic orators and writers, with a good
conscience, continue to panegyrize those institutions as a safe
and proper place for the education of our young men ? We
leave the answer to the wisdom of those whom it concerns.
Catholic parents, it seems to us, should be exhorted, in season
and out of season, to send their children to those Catholic col
leges, which are officially acknowledged to be at least on a par
with the great universities of the country. There is no lack of
such Catholic colleges, as we could easily point out, did we wish
to discriminate, as we do not. These colleges, it is true, have
not the same facilities as the great universities that have mill
ions to back them ; but with all their disadvantages they do the
same work in secular education and do it just as well. Besides,
they give a sound course of philosophy, which, from a Catholic
point of view, in a secular or Protestant university is simply an

468 Cbe Need of Religious Craining. 468
impossibility. This should be brought home to ignorant par
ents. Education, high as well as low, is a part of our Gospel ;
and woe betide us, if we fail to preach it ! Catholics must be
made to understand this, else Catholic education in America is
a lost cause, financially and otherwise. Make our Catholic
population understand the importance of Catholic education,
and, as in days of old, we shall soon see amongst us noble insti
tutions proudly rear their spires toward heaven, and their halls
crowded by the youth and genius — the hope of our country and
our Church.
It is not, however, for the sake of their superior efficiency in
the secular branches that parents entrust their children to Catholic
schools, but on account of the one thing needful — religious train
ing. It will not do to train the head and the hand at the expense
of the heart and the spirit. To separate religion from education,
to use the words of Leo XIII, is to execute the judgment of
Solomon upon the child — to cut him in twain. The advocates
of secular education say to the parent. Take you the trunk, let
us take the head of the child, and we care not whether God or
Beelzebub takes the soul. The child is divided ; there is no
harmony in its development. Such a system of education is nec
essarily imperfect, and objectionable.
In our Catholic Colleges and schools not only are our children
taught to know their religion, but they are taught likewise to
practice it. They are brought up in a Catholic atmosphere.
Religion and its practice becomes natural — as it were, a second
nature to them. They are taught religion and Christian virtue
not only by word and precept, but chiefly by example, which is
the best teacher. They continually see in their teachers the
highest exemplar of Christian virtue — the poverty and obedience
of Christ, and angelic purity, strengthened by religious vows and
consecrated by the sanction of the Church. They see before
them the highest ideal of heroic self-devotion, contempt of the
world and union with God, as far as it can be realized in this life.
Hereon are based the convictions of Catholic parents, who
refuse to sacrifice their children to the Moloch of secular educa
tion and procure them a Catholic education.

feeling (\IKoIic
In^lilulion^ of Imrmn£
In Tk (toiled 5W^5-
-a — $ — if-
Gbe Catbolic 'University of Hmerica.
The corner-stone of the new Catholic University of America
was laid at Washington, D. C, May 24, 1888. The President of
the United States, several members of his Cabinet, and a large
number of distinguished prelates, priests, scholastics, and semi
narians were present. After the conclusion of the ceremonies,
Right Rev. Bishop Spalding, of Peoria, delivered an address.
The site of the university is the old Middleton property, and
it is about a mile and a half from the city. It has an extensive
acreage, and the land is high, dry, and rolling. The grounds face
the North Capitol Street gate and front on one side of the Sol
dier's Home estate. From the new building a view is had of the
city of Washington, with the Capitol, the Washington Monu
ment, and a stretch of the Potomac as the most prominent fea
tures. The project of establishing an American Catholic university is
not of recent date. Twenty-one years previously the Second
Plenary Council of Baltimore, treating of the all-important sub
ject of Christian education, devoted an entire chapter to the
question of the founding of a Catholic university. Finally, the
Third Plenary Council, held in 1884, deeming that the time had
come, appointed a committee to take practical measures looking
towards that end. The project was advanced by the munificent
offer of $300,000 by Miss Mary Gwendolen Caldwell, of Louis-

47° Approbation of tbe pope. 47°
ville, Ky., as a starting fund. Bishop Spalding, of Peoria, 111.,
an old friend of the Caldwell family, was chosen to present the
offer to the Council, and as no conditions were coupled with the
gift, it was accepted, so far as the Bishops were concerned.
Miss Caldwell's sister gave an additional $50,000.
After the acceptance of Miss Caldwell's offer the Bishops of
the Council found that the decisive, vivifying word of the Pope
was alone needed to give the project shape and life, and this
they obtained without delay. Not only was the brief readily
granted, but His Holiness took a personal interest in the work,
which showed that from the outset his heart was set on its reali
zation. He also expressed his desire that the university should
be and should remain thoroughly American. " I wish," he said,
"that it should be founded by American means, and that it
should be conducted by American brains ; and if at first you
have to call in the help of foreign talent in your faculties, it must
be with the view of developing home intellect, of training profes
sors who will gradually form indigenous faculties worthy of the
name the university bears."
And in his brief approving of the university he says : " We,
therefore, moved by a desire for your good, and consulting the
best interests of the Republic, most willingly indorse your inten
tion of founding a university. But that this university may be
happily completed, and that day by day it may grow, it is neces
sary that it should be under the authority and protection of all
the prelates of the United States, and that the administration be
held by the prelates, whose duties it will be to mark out the line
of studies, to enact the proper laws, to choose the professors,
and to put in order whatsoever may pertain to the best govern
ment of this university. But when these things are completed
it is proper that they be handed over to the examination of the
Apostolic See, in order that they may receive its approbation."
And a short time afterwards, in an audience given to the
representatives of all the colleges of Rome, addressing his
remarks to the Rector of the American College, Pope Leo
earnestly said : " About the university at Washington, it is my
desire that all the bishops should work together with unity and

47 x Object and Scope of tbe University. 47 l
with energy. I have confided the care of the university to
them, and it would greatly grieve me did I suppose that there
could possibly be among them any want of agreement and of earn
estness in regard to it. Let them at once push this work to com
pletion, and they will win for the university the support of public
opinion in the United States. The honor of the American
Episcopate demands it — yes, the honor of the Church in the
United States and the dignity of the Holy See, which has so
solemnly given this university its approval."
From these earnest words it is evident that Leo XIII. mani
fests more than an ordinary interest in the American Catholic
University. He also warmly endorsed the action of the great
majority of the bishops in deciding that the university
should be located at Washington, being convinced that from no
other centre could it exercise its beneficent action as from the
National Capital. This was why the bishops chose Washington
in preference to any other city, in addition to the fact that the
students in that city would have the advantage of consulting and
visiting the Congressional Library, the museums, art galleries,
and other places of instruction.
The University will not in any wise interfere with the other
Catholic colleges or institutions of learning. It will belong to a
higher sphere, and will begin where they leave off. On any
lower level there would be no reason for its existence. It started
with the faculty of divinity, and will develop by degrees, and will
add on the other faculties as circumstances and popular apprecia
tion make it possible.
The branches outside of divinity that will be taught in the
new university will embrace philosophy, law, medicine, natural
science, mathematics, belles-lettres, history, and ancient and mod
ern languages.
It was recognized that philosophical studies must constitute
the essential characteristic of the University work; but, in order
to meet the practical demand of the American people, it was de
cided that especial care should be shown in the organization of
the School of Science, and this particularly in regard to its prac
tical reference to engineering in its various departments. It was

472 Cbe University is open to All. 472
i
concluded that in a few years, the School of Science would De so
organized as not only to form specialists in mathematics, physics,
chemistry, and natural sciences, but also to turn out men
thoroughly equipped in civil, electrical, and mining engineer
ing. The committee on organization was constituted a standing
committee with whom the Rector is to confer in regard to the
selection of professors, the final approval being always given by
His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons as chairman of the board of
directors. The institution will not be closely modelled after any other
university, but will aim to combine and incorporate the best
features of all. It will take the highest standards and the best
systems that experience has devised and adapt them to American
needs. The University is open to all who are able or anxious to profit
by it. Students who have graduated from colleges can there
listen to the most eminent lecturers that can be secured, who
will treat not of the elements of learning, but of the philosophy
of the various sciences. The professorial chairs will also be
open to all, laymen and clerics — no other condition being imposed
than the test of merit.
The divinity building cost $175,000, but it will require a million
dollars to wholly establish and equip this department. The total
cost of the University is estimated at $8,000,000. Not a dollar
of debt will be contracted. Neither is the University to be
built with the pennies of the poor. It is intended to make the
rich build it. They will especially profit by it, and the Bishops
think the poorer portion of the Catholic community have calls
enough upon them for other purposes.
When completed the edifice will consist of a centre building
55 by 57 feet and five stories in height, with wings on either side
105 by 45 feet each and four stories in height. The total front
age will be 265 feet, and, with the return wings at either end,
the total depth 160 feet. The interior of the divinity building,
is thus described : The public rooms are located on the first
floor, and consist of an entrance hall 15 feet wide, a corridor 14

473 Accommodations of tbe University. 473
feet wide the whole length of the building, which opens into four
parlors en suite in the centre building, a lecture-room seating 300
persons, three class-rooms, a prayer hall, refectory kitchen,
recreation-room, reading-room, and library. The latter is in the
basement of the chapel. The latter consists of a nave 26 by 60
feet and semicircular sacristy 18 by 26 feet. The ceiling is
ribbed and barrel-arched. Ten side altars are placed in alcoves
on each side of the nave. The library contains shelving for
10,000 volumes, which can be doubled in capacity by adding
cases in a gallery. The second, third, and fourth floors are
devoted to the living accommodations for the professors and
students, two rooms being allowed to each — sitting-room and
bedchamber. The total accommodations are : For the Rector and professors,
twelve double rooms ; students, sixty-four double rooms ; and
three rooms for guests. The grand staircase in the centre of the
room ascends in double and return flights in a hall twenty-
nine feet square, and at the ends of the wings is a fireproof stair
case of stone and brick. The building is designed in the Roman
esque style of architecture, and is built of red brick, trimmed with
brown sandstone, on a basement story of granite.
We cannot more appropriately conclude this sketch of the new
Catholic University of America than by quoting the following
extracts from Bishop Spalding's admirable address on the occa
sion of the laying of the corner-stone.
Of the Catholic Church in America he said :
" All observers remark its great development here — the rapid
increase in the number of its adherents, its growth in wealth and
influence, the firm yet gentle hand with which it brings hetero
geneous populations under the control of a common faith and
discipline, and the ease with which it adapts itself to new condi
tions and organizes itself in every part of the country. It is not
a little thing, in spite of unfriendly public opinion and of great
and numerous obstacles, in spite of the burden which high
achievements impose and of the lack of easy and supple move
ment which gathering years imply, to enter new fields, to bend
one's self to unaccustomed work, and to struggle for the right to

474 Cbe Catbolic Cburcb in America. 474
live, in the midst of a generation heedless of the good and mind
ful only of the evil which has been associated with one's life.
And this is what the Catholic Church in America has had to do
and has done with a success which recalls the memory of the
spread of Christianity through the Roman empire. It counts its
members here by millions, while a hundred years ago it counted
them by thousands, and its priests, churches, schools, and institu
tions of charity it reckons by the thousands, while then they
could be counted hardly by tens. And public opinion, which
was then hostile, is no longer so in the same degree. Prejudice
has not, indeed, ceased to exist ; for, where there is question of
religion, of society, of politics, even the fairest minds will not see
things as they are, and the multitude, it may be supposed, will
never become impartial ; but the tendency of our life and of the
age is opposed to bigotry, and, as we lose faith in the justice and
efficacy of persecution, we perceive more clearly that true religion
can neither be defended nor propagated by violence and intoler
ance, by appeals to sectarian bitterness and national hatred.
And by none is this more sincerely acknowledged or more deeply
felt than by the Catholics of the United states."
THE CHURCH IN THE FUTURE.
Of the Church in the future he said :
" But, like the old, the Church can look to the past ; like the
young, she can look to the future ; and if there are Catholics who
linger regretfully amid glories that have vanished, there are also
Catholics who, in the midst of their work, feel a confidence which
leaves no place for regret ; who well understand that the earthly
environment in which the Church lives is subject to change and
decay, and that new surroundings imply new tasks and impose
new duties. The splendor of the mediaeval Church, its worldly
power, the pomp of its ceremonial, the glittering pageantry In
which its pontiffs and prelates vied with kings and emperors in
gorgeous display, are gone or going, and, were it given to man
to recall the past, the spirit whereby it lived would be still want
ing.

475 Special Scbolarsbip established. 475
" But it is the mark of youthful and barbarous natures to have
eyes chiefly for the garb and circumstances of religion ; to see
the body only and not the soul. At all events the course of life
is onward, and enthusiasm for the past cannot become the source
of great and far-reaching action. The present alone gives
opportunity, and the face of hope turns to the future, and the
wise are busy with what lies at hand, with immediate duty, and
not with schemes for bringing back the things that have passed
away. Leaving the dead with the dead, they work for life and
for the living."
The Catholic University of America, at Washington, D. C,
desiring to encourage good work among the students of Catho
lic colleges, has established a number of special scholarships and
assigns to each college which grants the degree of A. B., one of
the scholarships thus established under the Faculty of Philosophy,
the Faculty of Law, or in the School of the Technological
Sciences.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, D. C.
Georgetown University consists of the College, the School
of Medicine (which includes a school of Dental Surgery), and
the School of Law. The College comprises three distinct
departments, viz.: The Graduate School, the Collegiate or
Undergraduate Department, and the Astronomical Observatory.
Each School or Department is under the direction of its own
Dean, and each Faculty has the power of legislating on its own
affairs, but this power can be exercised only in subordination to
the President and Directors of the University, and subject to
their approval.
The foundation of Georgetown College was projected as early
as the year 1785, when the Rev. John Carroll, afterward the first
Archbishop of Baltimore, formed the plan and proposed it to his
associates. On November 13, 1786, the Corporation of Roman
Catholic Clergymen, in the Chapter held at Whitemarch Md.,
took action in the matter. In 1788 the erection of the first

476 Oldest Catbolic University in United States. 476
building was undertaken. Students were not received before
1 79 1. Upon the reorganization of the Society of Jesus in Mary
land, in 1805, the College was transferred to the Fathers of that
Society, under whose control and direction the University still
remains. On March 1, 181 5, the power of granting degrees was
conferred by an Act of Congress; and in 1833 the Holy See
empowered Georgetown College to confer, in its name, degrees
in Philosophy and Theology. The next step in the develop
ment of the College was the erection and equipment of a com
plete Astronomical Observatory, in 1842. In the following year
the formal incorporation of the Institution was effected by Act
of Congress. The School of Medicine was opened in 185 1, and
the School of Law in 1870. The Graduate School was in exist
ence as early as 1856. The Dental School was opened in
1901. Georgetown College is situated on Georgetown Heights, two
and one-half miles distant from the Capitol, overlooking the
City of Washington, and the Potomac River, and commanding
one of the noblest views in the world. The site is singularly
healthful, and the climate exceptionally soft and mild. The
College buildings are seven in number, exclusive of the Obser
vatory, and present an aggregate frontage of about eight hun
dred feet. They are surrounded by grounds comprising seventy-
eight acres, a large part of which is occupied by the " Walks "
whose sylvan beauty has made them famous.
The exacting and comprehensive nature of the course of
studies pursued are seldom equaled even in the larger colleges
of the country. This is especially true of the Scientific depart
ment. The Library contains nearly one hundred thousand vol
umes, among them being many rare, curious and unique
works. In its location at the Capitol of the nation, Georgetown
University enjoys advantages, which can hardly be over estim
ated, and which must necessarily increase with the growth of the
country, in the unparalleled educational equipment in the great
scientific collections and libraries of the Government. By the
authority of Congress all such facilities for research and illustra-

477 educational System of Society of 'Jesus. 477
tion in the Governmental collections are made accessible to the
scientific investigators and students of institutions of higher
learning in the District of Columbia. The system of studies is
based on that followed by the Society of Jesus, and sustained by
three centuries of experience and success, by that greatest of
teaching bodies.
The educational system of the Society of Jesus, as elaborated
in the Ratio Studiorum, is thus briefly summarized by one of
the Fathers of the Society : Education is understood by the
Fathers of the Society in its completest sense, as the full and
harmonious development of all those faculties that are distinc
tive of man. It is not, therefore, mere instruction or the
communication of knowledge. In fact, the acquisition of knowl
edge, though it necessarily accompanies any right system of
education, is a secondary result of education. Learning is an
instrument of education, not its end. The end is culture, and
mental and moral development.
Understanding, then, clearly, the purposes of education, such
instruments of education, that is, such studies, sciences or
languages, are chosen as will most effectively further that end.
These studies are chosen, moreover, only in preparation, and in
such numbers as are sufficient and required. A student who is
to be educated will not be forced, in the short period of his
college course and with his immature faculties, to study a
multiplicity of the languages and sciences into which the vast
world of modern knowledge has been scientifically divided. If
two or more sciences, for instance, give similar training to some
mental faculty, that one is chosen which combines the most
effective training with the largest and most fundamental knowl
edge. The purpose of the mental training given is not proximately
to fit the student for some special employment or profession,
but to give him such a general, vigorous and rounded develop
ment as will enable him to cope successfully even with the
unforeseen emergencies of life. While giving the mind stay, it
tends to remove the insularity of thought and want of mental
elasticity, which is one of the most hopeless and disheartening

47§ Cbe Scientific Unfolding of Knowledge. 47§
results of specialism in students who have not brought to their
studies the uniform mental training given by a systematic
college course. The studies, therefore, are so graded and
classified as to be adapted to the mental growth of the student
and the scientific unfolding of knowledge ; they are so chosen
and communicated that the student shall gradually and harmoni
ously" reach, as nearly as may be, that measure of culture of
which he is capable.
It is fundamental in the system of the Society of Jesus that
different studies have distinct and peculiar educational values.
Mathematics, the Natural Sciences, Language and History are
complementary instruments of education to which the doctrine
of equivalence cannot be applied. The specific training given by
one cannot be supplied by another.
Furthermore, Language and History have always been held
in esteem as leading factors in education. Mathematics and the
Natural Sciences bring the student into contact with the material
aspects of nature, and exercise the inductive and deductive
powers of reason. Language and History effect a higher union ;
they are manifestations of spirit to spirit, and by their study and
for their acquirement the whole mind of man is brought into
widest and subtlest play. The acquisition of Language especi
ally calls for delicacy of judgment and fineness of perception, and
for a constant, keen, and quick use of the reasoning powers. A
special importance is attached to the classic tongues of Rome
and Greece. As these are languages with a structure and idiom
remote from the language of the student, the study of them lays
bare before him the laws of thought and logic, and requires
attention, reflection and analysis of the fundamental relations
between thought and grammar. In studying them the student is
led to the fundamental recesses of language. They exercise
him in exactness of conception in grasping the foreign thought,
and in delicacy of expression in clothing that thought, in the
dissimilar garb of the mother-tongue. While recognizing, then,
in education the necessity and importance of Mathematics and
the Natural Sciences, which unfold the inter-dependence and laws
of the world of time and space, the Jesuit system of education

479 Cbe Jesuit System of education. 479
has unwaveringly kept Language in a position of honor as an
instrument of culture.
Lastly, the system does not share the illusion of those who
seem to imagine that education, understood as an enriching and
stimulating of the intellectual faculties, has a morally elevating
influence in human life. While conceding the effects of educa
tion in energizing and refining imagination, taste, understanding
and powers of observation, it has always held that knowledge
and intellectual development of themselves have no moral
efficacy. Religion only can purify the heart, and guide and
strengthen the will.
The Jesuit system of education, then, aims at developing, side
by side, the moral and intellectual faculties of the student, and
sending forth to the world men of sound judgment, of acute and
rounded intellect, of upright and manly conscience. And since
men are not made better citizens by the mere accumulation of
knowledge, without a guiding and controlling force, the princi
pal faculties to be developed are the moral faculties. Moreover,
morality is to be taught continuously ; it must be the underlying
base, the vital force supporting and animating the whole organic
structure of education. It must be the atmosphere the student
breathes ; it must suffuse with its light all that he reads,
illumining what is noble and exposing what is base, giving to the
true and false their relative light and shade.
In a word, the purpose of Jesuit teaching is to lay a solid
substructure in the whole mind and character for any super
structure of science, professional and special as well as for the
building up of moral life, civil and religious.
On February 20, 21, and 22, 1889, Georgetown College cele
brated its first centenary, with marked dclat. The President,
members of his Cabinet, representatives from the diplomatic
corps, delegates from other institutions of learning, and a host
of distinguished visitors and alumni attended the splendid fes
tivities, the success of which elicited unqualified praise and admi
ration. Everything betokened prosperity, active and zealous
effort to raise the course of studies, and the means of inculcating
them to the highest point of excellence. Many practical proofs

480 Cbe Oldest Catbolic educational Institution. 480
bespoke the increasing attachment to their Alma Mater of
those who, in by-gone days, enjoyed her care ; and everything
gave earnest of the general confidence felt in Georgetown Uni
versity as the oldest and greatest Catholic educational institu
tion in the United States.

THE ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY,
St. Louis, Mo.
On Saturday, May 31, 1823, a little band of missionaries from
Whitemarsh, Maryland, after a long and tedious journey through
the wilderness, reached the then frontier town of St. Louis.
They were not altogether strangers to the country, for one hun
dred and fifty years before that date, in 1673, the frail canoe of
one of their brethren, the intrepid and saintly Marquette, on his
historic journey southward, had glided by the spot on which
they stood, and it was one of the members of that same Society
to which these missionaries belonged. The venerated Sebastian
Meurin, who, in 1766, was the first Catholic priest to minister to
the spiritual wants of the founder of St. Louis, Laclede, and his
little band of hardy pioneers.
For nigh two hundred years the members of their Society had
labored for the good of the savages who roamed the plains of
Illinois, and tracked the deer in the thickets of Missouri, and it
was to continue the unselfish and heroic work of this same apos
tolate that these missionaries had come from far-off Maryland.
Such were the founders of the St. Louis University.
The first beginnings of the university were made at Floris
sant, Mo., in the following year, 1824, when a log schoolhouse
was built for the education of the Indians in the neighborhood ;
but after struggling for a precarious existence until 1828, this
school was with reluctance abandoned. The white students, in
number about fifteen, were transferred to the newly-built college
in St. Louis, where classes were opened in 1829.
The institution was incorporated as a university under the Act

481 Library f*orty-two Cbousand Volumes. 481
of the Legislature of the State of Missouri, December 28, 1832,
and was empowered to confer degrees and academic honors in
all the learned professions, and generally " to have and to en
joy all the powers, rights and privileges, exercised by literary
institutions of the same rank." The first regular faculty under
the charter was organized on April 4, 1833. The Schools of
Philosophy and Theology were first opened in 1858 ; and in
1888 the university was removed to its present site on Grand
avenue, Lindell and West Pine boulevards. The university
comprises the College, Academy, Commercial Department, Mili
tary Science, School of Philosophy and Science, and the School
of Divinity. The library is a well-selected collection of forty-
two thousand volumes, covering the field of literature, theology,
philosophy and science. In addition there are libraries in the
Faculty of Theology, Philosophy and Science, besides the Library
for the Undergraduates. The Military Department is under the
direction of a United States Army officer, and the arms and ac
coutrements are supplied by the Government.
Thus, without State aid of any kind, with no endowments for
building or equipment, with no resources but the moderate tuition
of its students, the St. Louis University has survived the strug
gles of its earlier existence, and has grown apace with the city,
with whose feeble beginnings it has been so closely identified ;
and when material aid is added to the self-sacrifice and devotion
to Christian education which has signalized its promoters, it will
compare favorably with other and more favored institutions of
the kind.

NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY,
Indiana.
The University of Notre Dame was founded in 1842 by the
Very Rev. Edward Sorin, afterward Superior-General of the
Congregation of the Holy Cross, a religious society or order
that had been formed a few years previously at the City of Mans,

482 Cbe Log Cabin erected by f atber Badin. 482
France. In an act approved January 15, 1844, the Legislature
of Indiana gave the university power to grant degrees in the
liberal sciences, and in law and medicine, as is customary in
other universities in the United States.
When Rev. Father Sorin, on November 26, 1842, first stood
on the little clearing on the banks of St. Mary's Lake, and
looked out over the snow-covered landscape where now rise the
many walls and towers of Notre Dame, the scene that spread
before the eyes of the young priest, save the spot of clearing,
about ten acres, and the surface of St. Mary's and St. Joseph's
Lakes, consisted of primeval forest. To these ice-bound lakes
and to this snow-covered forest the zealous priest of the Holy
Cross, attended by six brothers, had come to found a seat of
learning. Such is religious enthusiasm. Such is inspired faith
in the direct protection of Almighty God. With God all things
are possible ; without Him, nothing. This truth we all profess.
Father Sorin and his little band felt it ; it was the inspiration of
their lives.
The spot chosen was the scene of the French missionaries
more than a hundred and fifty years before. In 1830, Father
Stephen T. Badin, the proto-priest — the first ordained within
the territory of the United States — built a chapel there among
the Pottawattomies bought a section of land, which, conveyed to
the Bishop of Vincennes, through him was dedicated in the in
terests of education to the Church, and is now the seat of the
University of Notre Dame. The buildings already on the ground
were the log cabin erected by Father Badin, 24x40 feet, the
ground floor of which answered as a room for the priest, and the
story above for a chapel. In addition to this there had been
added a few years previously, a little frame building of two
stories, somewhat more habitable, in which resided a half-breed
Indian with his family, who acted as interpreter when necessary.
The total amount of money to the credit of the young com
munity on their arrival at Notre Dame, including money collected
by the Bishop and still in his hands, and a small amount sent
from Europe, was less than $1,500. With this, aided by their own
labors and what help they could obtain from the people of the

483 Cbe Original College Building of Notre Dame. 483
neighborhood, they made their plans for the college, Church
and novitiate, all of which seemed absolutely necessary, even for
the purpose of making a beginning. The college must be done
in order to hold the land ; and accordingly that was first con
sidered. The building erected is the present square brick build
ing at the edge of St. Mary's Lake, known as the Farm House.
It served its collegiate purposes for nearly a year, for here the
first students were received and the first classes organized. It
may, therefore, although at first built to serve a temporary pur
pose, be called the original college building of Notre Dame.
The first student was the same boy who led Father Sorin
through the woods from South Bend to the lake, Nov, 26, 1842.
He afterwards became the wealthy wagon-maker of South Bend,
Alexis Coquillard. The humble beginnings of Notre Dame,
the magnificent institution of to-day, is further illustrated by
the fact that the terms per quarter for students in the college,
for tuition, board, washing and mending, were eighteen dollars.
Indeed, it is related, as an indication of the poverty and sim
plicity of those days, that Father Sorin and Father Cointet
for a long time had but one hat and one pair of boots between
them ; so that when Father Sorin was seen with the hat, it was
known that Father Cointet was in the college ; and when
Father Cointet had the hat, starting for the missions, it was
certain that Father Sorin was in his room.
The college building proper, was begun, Aug. 1843, and was
ready for occupancy in June, 1844. The building erected left
the little community heavily in debt. Indeed, this remained the
chronic condition of the institution for years. On several
occasions, it is related, Notre Dame was on the point of being
sold for debt. One day the farm horses were taken out of the
stables and sold by a creditor. Another time there was not a
morsel of food in the house. The unexpected arrival of a gift
of money from a stranger prevented the students from going to
bed supperless.
In 1844, a charter was also obtained for the Manual Labor
School, in which boys are taught useful trades and at the same
time receive a good English education. In connection with this

484 Crue Religion a correct System of education. 484
school, and indeed as parts of it, were erected the various shops
needed in the work of the community ; carpenter, cabinet, black
smith, shoemaker, tailor, etc. Boys were also taught bricklaying,
gardening and farming, until the hum of industry was heard on
every side. In 1853, so prosperous had become the university,
and so great the need of more room, that the two wings origi
nally designed, each 40 by 60 feet, were added to the original
central building.
On the coming on of the war for the Union, the character of
the growing community was put to a new test. With true relig
ion and a correct system of education, goes also love of country.
But the sons and daughters of the Holy Cross were equal to the
test. It is, therefore, no cause of surprise that Notre Dame took
so active a part in the war. There was, perhaps, not a battle-field
during the four years of that strife on which the blood of stu
dents of Notre Dame was not shed for the Union cause, which
they felt to be also the cause of liberty, equal rights, and good
government. From Notre Dame no less than seven priests went
as chaplains in the army. Of these patriotic chaplains of the
Holy Cross, three contracted diseases from exposure, which ended
in death.
One result of the war was the great influx of students from
the border states. The two hundred limit was soon reached and
passed. Then came three, four and five hundred students
who passed for admittance, until it became apparent that the
enlarged college edifice of 1853, ample as it then seemed, was
altogether inadequate for the present needs. Accordingly, in
1865, preparations were made to erect a larger and more modern
structure. There was then an urgent demand manifested for
educated young men in commercial pursuits, and Notre Dame,
in complying with this demand, soon began to send out these
graduates in large numbers. This development of the commer
cial course was of the utmost value to the university at that
time ; and the superior character of the young men graduated
did very much to make the institution known, and to bring in
a high class of students also for the other collegiate courses.
Then, also, was first established and developed the scientific

485 Cbe University's priceless treasures. 485
course of studies, as distinguished from the classical course. In
June 1865, the old building was taken down, and in May, 1866,
the new edifice was dedicated by Archbishop Spalding of Balti
more. In May, 1865, Father Sorin carried into effect a design which
he had long meditated, in beginning the publication of a periodical,
in honor of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God. The new
Journal was named the Ave Maria. The Ave Maria has become
one of the great religious journals of the world, circulating not
only in this country, but in every corner of the globe wherever
the English language is spoken by devout Catholics. The Ave
Maria has been in some respects as great a work for the advance
ment of the interests of religion and literature, as has been the
university itself.
Suddenly, and without a note of warning, on April 23, 1879,
the University, with priceless treasures, was burned to the
ground. But by the end of a year, there rose from the ashes
even a stronger, fairer, nobler Notre Dame than that which had
passed away. On June 20, 1883, the corner-stone of Science
Hall was laid by Right Rev. John A. Waterson, Bishop of Col
umbus, and shortly after were erected Mechanics' Hall, or Insti
tute of Technology, and the Astronomical Observatory. In the
Memorial Hall of Bishops is a unique collection that commends
itself to the interest of all who love and venerate the good men
who have ruled over American dioceses. It includes life-size
paintings, crayons, engravings, miniatures on ivory, busts and
casts of all the bishops and archbishops who have held dioceses
within the present limits of the United States. Besides the
portraits, there is also an extensive collection of autograph
letters and original documents written by the prelates ; bound
books, pamphlets and pastorals published by them ; manuscripts
relating to their histories, and printed volumes containing their
biographies. In large, glass-covered cabinets are displayed
wonderful collections of mitres, croziers, episcopal rings, gold
chains, pectoral crosses, and other articles used by our bishops,
archbishops and cardinals. This is the first attempt ever made
in any country to illustrate a nation's whole episcopacy by a

486 from a historical point of View. 486
monument of this description. Of even greater importance,
from a historical point of view at least, is the collection of
precious manuscripts in connection with the Bishops' Memorial
Hall. The University of Notre Dame is one of the most, if not in
deed, the most progressive Catholic educational institution in
America. Its growth of recent years has been marvelous. Not
only with respect to the number of students upon its rolls is
this true, but chiefly in the means adopted to meet the require
ments arising from this increase. The high standard of studies
in each department of the university has been steadfastly main
tained, and the tendency is to raise it still higher by the intro
duction of the newest features of the best educational systems
of the world. Thoroughness in each course is aimed at, and to
achieve this, approved methods are tried and new names added
to its already brilliant galaxy of educators.

MOUNT ST. MARY'S COLLEGE,
Emmitsburg, Md.
Mount St. Mary's College was founded in 1808 by Rev. John
Dubois, afterward Bishop of New York. In 18 12 Rev. Simon
G. Brute, afterward the first Bishop of Vincennes, was associated
with the founder in conducting the college. A new college
building was completed in 1824; but in June of that year it was
destroyed by fire. A larger building was erected and occupied
in 1826. The college obtained its first charter from the Legis
lature of the State of Maryland in 1830, during the presidency
of Rev. John B. Purcell, afterward Archbishop of Cincinnati.
From the year 1838 to 1871, Very Rev. John McCaffrey, D. D.,
presided over the college.
During the first century of its existence many men distin
guished in Church and State have been educated at Mount St.
Mary's College. Since its foundation, there has been maintained,
in connection with the college, an Ecclesiastical Seminary for
the education of missionary priests.

487 eminent Lay professors. 487
The institution is under the direction and control of an asso
ciation of clergymen, and in addition to the clergy, there are in
the faculty several eminent lay professors. The number of
teachers and tutors furnished by the Seminary is such that
classes are limited in membership, so that more than ordinary
attention can be given to each pupil. The material interests of
the college are under the control of a Board of Directors of
which the Archbishop of Baltimore, by virtue of his office, is
President. The college buildings are situated on high ground at the foot
of the Maryland range of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The
location is pleasant, healthy and convenient of access. The
vicinity of the college is a pleasant summer resort. The build
ings are substantially constructed of stone, and the college
possesses all that could be desired in the matter of health and
comfort. The Domestic department and the Infirmary are under
the care of the Sisters of St. Francis. The course of studies,
which must be followed by those who desire to take the degrees,
embraces the Latin and Greek languages, French (or German,
at the option of the student), Mental and Moral Philosophy,
Logic, Mathematics, Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Geology,
Rhetoric and Literature, History, Christian Doctrine and
Elocution. The study of Chemistry, Astronomy and other sciences are
facilitated by an excellent apparatus, a chemical laboratory and
an extensive mineralogical collection. There are also academic
and business courses, and a special three years' course for
the benefit of students who may be preparing for a scientific
career.

ST. IGNATIUS COLLEGE,
San Francisco, Cal.
St. Ignatius College, an excellent educational institution
with literary, scientific and philosophical courses of study, was
founded in 1855, and was incorporated by the State of Cali-

488 fathers of tbe Society of >sus. 488
fornia, April 30, 1859, witn authority to confer academical
degrees, with " such literary honors as are granted by any uni
versity in the United States." The college is conducted by the
Fathers of the Society of Jesus. In order to help those whose
parents wish them to enter the Academic course, two preparatory
classes are attached to the college. A Commercial course has
also been introduced to run through the period of the Academic
course.

5T. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY,
Collegeville, Minn.
St. John's University, conducted by the Fathers of the Order
of St. Benedict, is the oldest and largest Catholic institution of
learning north of St. Louis and west of Chicago. It was
founded in 1857, in which year the Territorial Legislature of
Minnesota granted a charter constituting the Order of St. Bene
dict a body corporate and politic, with authority to establish "St.
John's Seminary." The institution, however, became better
known under the name of "St. John's College." In 1869, the
State Legislature empowered it to confer all University degrees,
and on June 16, 1878, his Holiness Pope Leo XIII. empowered
the President of the institution to confer degrees in Theology,
Philosophy, and Canon Law. In 1883, the title of the institution
was changed to "St. John's University," by an act of the Minne
sota Legislature.
Far removed from the busy turmoil of city life, St. John's has
an ideal location for an educational institution. It is situated
on the north bank of St. John's Lake, a sheet of crystal water a
hundred feet deep, covering more than three hundred acres,
which is studded with beautiful islands, and indented with
picturesque bays teeming with fish and surrounded by the virgin
forest, thus rendering it one of the most delightful of Minnesota's
famous lakes. West of the College the lovely Watab meanders
through field and meadow towards the north, whilst beyond its

489 Like a Relic of JVIedieval Castle. 489
banks the eye is greeted by picturesque hillsides. Half a mile
towards the east, the great water reservoir towers on a high
elevation like a relic of a medieval castle, contrasting admirably
with its neighbor, the astronomical observatory ; whilst beyond,
primeval forests, which still cover two thousand acres of the
college lands, raise their lofty crowns toward heaven. The
regular grounds of the students comprise over one hundred
acres, affording ample room for the extensive playgrounds, which
are furnished with base ball diamonds, hand ball and lawn tennis
courts, as well as for delightful, shady walks. The main build
ings form a vast square measuring 260 feet on each side, with a
wing 40 by 100 feet extending the east front. They average
five stories in height and cover an area of seven thousand yards.
The astronomical observatory stands on the hill east of the main
building. It has a revolving dome, a transit room and a comput
ing room, and is well equipped with all necessary instruments.
The courses of study are the usual undergraduate university
courses ; the Classical and the Scientific, each of which is divided
into an Academic and a Collegiate department. There is also
a Commercial Course, an Ecclesiastical Seminary, a department
preparatory to the various courses and a Winter School for the
benefit of young men who are unable to attend college, except
during the winter months.

THE CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY,
Omaha, Neb.
This university is named after Mr. Edward Creighton, who
had proposed in life to form a free institution of learning, but
died intestate, November, 1874, before making provisions for the
fulfillment of his project. His wife, Mrs. Mary Lucretia Creigh
ton, inheriting both his fortune and his noble purpose, deter
mined to carry out her husband's wish, but did not live to behold
its realization. But in her last will and testament, dated Septem-

49° In Accordance witb a Clause of tbe CCKU. 490
ber23, 1875, sne made provision for the carrying out of the work.
In accordance with a clause of the will, the entire property and
securities were duly conveyed by the executors, Messrs. John A.
Creighton, James Creighton and Herman Kountze, to the Right
Rev. James O'Connor, D. D., Bishop of Omaha, July 1, 1878,
and to his successors in office. Bishop O'Connor, under an Act
of the Legislature of the State of Nebraska, vested the property
and securities in a corporation, to be known as the Creighton
University, appointing five members of the Society of Jesus to
constitute the Board of Trustees, Aug. 14, 1879. The project
met with unexpected success, thanks to good friends, and in
particular to Hon. John A. Creighton and his wife, both of whom
generously seconded the noble purpose of the original founders,
and by large benefactions carried on the good work to a develop
ment which without their munificence would have remained an
impossibility. In the establishment and development of the
Scientific department, Hon. John A. Creighton was generously
seconded by Hon. John A. McShane. The Astronomical depart
ment can justly lay claim to having one of the best equipped
students' observatories in the country, while the Classical depart
ment offers a course of studies superior to that of the large non-
Catholic Universities, though they are more richly endowed and
have a larger clientage to draw upon for higher studies.
The Medical department, in building, apparatus, staff of pro
fessors and clinical advantages stands unrivalled in the West.
Its appointments are all modern. Besides a free dispensary at
the college and a share of the advantages offered by the hospitals
of Omaha and Council Bluffs, it enjoys the exclusive use of the
clinical material furnished by St. Joseph's Creighton Memorial
Hospital, which is by far the largest and best in the West and
has as many patients in a year as all the other hospitals of the
city combined. A large operating building adjoining the hospital
is in constant use, affording an abundance of opportunities to the
students. Tuition is entirely free during the seven years of the classical
course, which is open to students from any one of the States of
the Union.

49 1 Cbe Brothers of tbe Order of St. francis. 491
ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE,
Brooklyn, New York City, N. Y.
This institution was opened for the admission of students in
October, 1859. It was incorporated by the State Legislature in
1868. In May, 1884, it was chartered and empowered to confer
such literary honors and degrees as are granted by the other
colleges and universities of the United States. It is under the
direction of the Brothers of the Order of St. Francis.
The course of studies pursued in the college embraces Litera
ture, Rhetoric, Poetry, Elocution, History, Mathematics, Astron
omy, Physiology, Botany, Zoology and Geology, the Greek and
Latin, French, Spanish, Italian and German languages, Logic,
Metaphysics and Ethics.
In the Academic Department, Latin, Greek, French or Ger
man, Mathematics, English, Roman, Greek and American
History, English Literature and English Classics, Civics, Nat
ural Philosophy and Chemistry are taught as approved by the
Regents of the University of the State of New York. The
Academic and Commercial departments, under the title of St.
Francis Academy, was regularly chartered as an Academy by
the Regents of the University, May, 1902.

ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE,
Fordham, New York City, N. Y.
This well-known institution is situated in the extreme northern
section of New York City. The property is a part of the old
Dutch village of Fordham in Westchester County. In 1639,
two hundred years before the foundation of the college, three
Indian sachems sold to the Dutch West India Company all the
land which is included between the Harlem and Bronx rivers, as
far north as the present city of Yonkers. About 1690, this land,
after having passed through the hands of various owners, was

492 Distinguished gatherings in Days of Revolution. 492
divided into several farms, and one of these farms, thereafter
known by the name of Rose Hill, now forms the College estate.
The original Rose Hill Manor House, destroyed in 1897, after
an existence of more than two hundred years, was the scene of
many distinguished gatherings in the days of the Revolution,
and was often visited by General Washington.
In 1839, tne Rose Hill property, containing ninety-seven acres,
was purchased for $30,000 by Bishop John Hughes, then Coad
jutor Bishop of New York. In addition $10,000 were spent in
fitting out the place for college purposes.
The college was formally opened on June 24, 1841, and studies
were begun the following September with six pupils. The ad
ministration was in the hands of secular priests until June, 1846.
During this time, the college had a brilliant gathering of men
for its faculty and directors. In the first place, its founder,
Bishop John Hughes, later the first Archbishop of New York,
was distinguished alike as a churchman and a patriot. Rev. John
McCloskey, later Archbishop of New York, and the first Ameri
can Cardinal, was the first president; Rev. James Roosevelt
Bayley, later Archbishop of Baltimore, was the third president ;
Rev. David Bacon, later Bishop of Portland, was a director.
The faculty included : Rev. Ambrose Manahan, a distinguished
priest and writer ; Rev. John J. Conroy, later Bishop of Albany;
Rev. F. P. McFarland, later Bishop of Hartford ; Rev. Bernard
McQuaid, afterward Bishop of Rochester.
On April 10, 1846, the Act of Incorporation was passed by the
New York Legislature, raising the college to the rank of a uni
versity, with the power to grant all degrees usually granted by any
other university. In the same year the college was purchased
by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus for the sum of $40,500.
Subsequently, upon the removal of the Seminary in i860, that
portion was also purchased for the additional sum of $45,000,
making an aggregate of $85,500. Since then more land has
been acquired, but about thirty acres of the original property,
lying along the River Bronx, were purchased by the city author
ities for park purposes.
The first Jesuit President, Rev. Augustus Thebaud, with the

493 Che CoUege estate embraces Seventy Acres. 493
other members of the early Jesuit faculty of St. John's, came
from old St. Mary's College, in Marion County, Kentucky.
With this identity of directors and faculties, St. Mary's College,
founded in 1820, and incorporated with all the powers of a uni
versity, was the Mother of the present St. John's College.
The college estate now embraces seventy acres. Immediately
adjoining, on the east, are the grounds of the New York Botan
ical Gardens, in the Bronx Park ; on the south, the New York
Zoological Gardens, also in Bronx Park. A mile to the west
flows the Harlem River, and farther away, the Hudson River.
The country for miles around is most picturesque. The climate
is notably healthy. Vast reaches of lawns, rows of noble trees,
and rich farm lands, surrounding the college buildings, present
an ideal rural scene and afford the seclusion necessary for a seat
of learning.
The second Rose Hill Manor House, a large, square, stone
building, was erected in 1838, and contains the offices of the
President and Treasurer, and the reception rooms. Attached
to it are two wings, which furnish a College Hall with a seating
capacity of 700, and Armory, Wardrobe, Music-Room, and six
teen large rooms for the Infirmary. These three buildings have
a combined length of 245 feet.
Two massive five-story stone buildings, one 136 feet by 60
feet, the other 140 feet by 60 feet, contain the Recreation-Rooms
and Gymnasium, Reading-Room, Study Hall, Class-Rooms and
Dormitory, of the First and Second Divisions of the students,
respectively. Similar accommodations for a third division of the students
embracing the youngest boys, are furnished by St. John's Hall
a four-story stone building, 106 feet by 40 feet. This was form
erly the Diocesan Seminary.
St. John's Chapel, built of stone, 120 feet by 47 feet, is richly
frescoed, and contains six valuable stained-glass windows.
Science Hall, a three-story stone building, 123 feet by 50 feet,
contains the Lecture Rooms for Physics and Chemistry, the
general and private Laboratories, the Cabinet, Museum, and
students' Library.

494 Developing and Craining the JVIind and Reart. ^494
Faculty Building, also of stone, with five stories, 1 70 feet by
50 feet, contains the students' Refectory and the rooms of the
Faculty. It also contains a students' Chapel, 75 feet by 50 feet,
two stories high, and adorned with three beautifully carved altars
and an altar screen, and with thirteen precious stained-glass
windows. All of these buildings are heated by steam and lighted by
electricity, both supplied by the college plants.
Ample facilities for bathing are provided at the college.
Surrounding the buildings of each division are extensive play
grounds arranged for out-door sports.
There is also a large and well-appointed Infirmary under com
petent charge.
St. John's College includes four departments under the same
management : the College, which furnishes the usual four year
course of studies leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts ; the
Academic department, which furnishes a four year course of
studies, so graded as to form a preparation for the College
course ; the Grammar department, intended for younger students,
who are not prepared to begin the study of classics ; and the
Commercial department, which affords facilities for a thorough
training in all the branches of a complete business education.
The method of instruction followed in all the classes is that
prescribed by the Ratio Studiorum of the Institute of the Society
of Jesus. It was the result of fifty years of experience and ob
servation and has been in Jesuit schools for more than three
hundred years.
The aim of St. John's College is to afford a complete liberal
education by developing and training the mind and heart. It is
not merely to prepare young men for professional studies. It sup
poses that in business life, no less than in the professions, a
young man needs habits of attention, application, accuracy.
These habits are developed and strengthened by the course of
studies. Though the college does not undertake to instruct
the student in actual business practice, it does undertake so
to discipline his mind as to enable him afterward to learn such
practice with double facility and precision, and to carry into

495 formed Rabits of Orderliness. 495
business life an increased mental activity and formed habits of
orderliness. The College Library contains forty thousand volumes, among
which are counted rich collections of works on history and
of periodical literature. It possesses, also, the famous Gambos-
ville Library, which, for works on ancient and modern art is the
largest and most valuable collection in the country.
Besides the College Library there is also the circulating
Library containing over ten thousand volumes, specially adapted
to the needs of the students. Connected with it is a large and
attractive reading-room, supplied with all conveniences for con
sultation and private work.
As St. John's College, Fordham, is registered by the Univer
sity of the State of New York among the highest in grade, its
graduates receive all the privileges and exemptions accorded to
the graduates of such college. In accordance with an Act of
Congress, an officer of the United States Army is detailed for
duty at the college as Professor of Military Science and Tactics.
The War Department furnishes the college with necessary arms
and equipments.

ST. XAVIER COLLEGE,
Cincinnati, O.
This institution was established Oct. 17, 1831, by the Right
Rev. Edward D. Fenwick, D. D., first bishop of Cincinnati,
under the name of the "Athenaeum." In the year 1840 it was
transferred, by the Most Rev. Archbishop J. B. Purcell, D.D.,
to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, who have conducted it
ever since under the title first mentioned. It was incorporated
by the General Assembly of the State in 1842. In 1869 an act
was passed which secures to the institution a perpetual charter
and all the privileges usually granted to universities.
The course of study embraces the Doctrine and Evidences of
the Catholic Religion, Logic, Metaphysics, Ethics, Astronomy,

496 possess a Valuable CoUection. 496
Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Mathematics, Rhetoric, Compo
sition, Elocution, History, Geography, Arithmetic, Penmanship,
Bookkeeping, Actual Business, Commercial Law, the Latin,
Greek, English, German and French languages. The college is
provided with suitable Philosophical Apparatus, and possesses a
valuable collection of Mineralogical and Geological specimens ;
In the department of Chemistry extensive improvements have
been made, both in point of a large stock of apparatus, and of
excellent facilities for work. The new Laboratory is supplied
with every requisite appliance, and is used by students in Quali
tative Analysis and General Chemistry ; a Laboratory course in
the latter being required in addition to the regular lecture and
daily repetition.
The Library numbers about sixteen thousand volumes. There
are also select libraries for the use of the students.
A post-graduate course of Philosophy and Literature enables
the graduates to continue their philosophical and literary studies.

HOLY CROSS COLLEGE,
Worcester, Mass.
The College of the Holy Cross, founded in the year 1843, by
the Right Rev. Benedict Joseph Fenwick, second Bishop of
Boston, is the oldest Catholic college in New England. The
most cherished wish of Bishop Fenwick was to establish in his
diocese an institution which should furnish a secular education
of the highest grade, and at the same time thoroughly imbue its
students with the principles of the Catholic faith. He was aided
in his first steps to realize this desire by the generosity of the
Rev. James Fitton, of Boston, who in 1840 had erected near
Worcester the Seminary of Mount St. James. This, with nearly
sixty acres of land attached, Father Fitton presented to the
Bishop in 1842, and on the site of this structure, or in its im
mediate vicinity, the distinguished prelate determined to lay the
foundation of his college., .

497 Cbe Charter was not Granted until 1865. 497
The fact that the site was a gift was not the only consideration
that induced the bishop to erect his college upon it. The health-
fulness of the location and the natural beauty of the scenery that
surrounds it were controlling motives. The bishop had called
the Fathers of the Society of Jesus to take charge of it. Classes
were organized in the Seminary of Mount St. James on the 2d
of November, 1843, and there continued until January 13, 1844,
when the college building was completed. The corner-stone of
the latter was laid by Bishop Fenwick, June 21, 1843. The first
annual exhibition was held July 29, 1844. A few days before
his death, August 6, 1846, Bishop Fenwick ceded to the Fathers
full control and possession of the institution which he had
founded. The buildings and grounds were transferred to the
Fathers free of encumbrance. In 1849 tne college applied to
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the privilege of incor
poration. The charter was not granted until 1865, when the
sobering influence of the Civil War had caused all differences of
opinion in regard to the college to be set aside. Meantime
Georgetown College conferred the degrees on the Holy Cross
College graduates. In July, 1852, the college was largely
destroyed by fire, but was opened again in October of the fol
lowing year, enlarged and remodelled. The old buildings,
whose accommodations satisfied the students of a quarter of a
century ago, have been enlarged and improved in many ways,
and extensive new constructions and improvements have been
made.

ST. PETER'S COLLEGE,
Jersey City, N. J.
St. Peter's College, first opened, September 2, 1878, is con
ducted by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, and comprises an
Academic or High School Course, Collegiate and Graduate de
partments. It has been duly incorporated and enjoys all the
privileges of a university. Its standard is that of other Jesuit
colleges, and in December, 1896, the Board of Regents of the

498 fitted up in tbe most Modem Style. 498
University of the State of New York placed the college on the
list of registered institutions, thereby entitling students desirous of
taking up a Law or Medical course in any college subordinate
to that university to many privileges in the matter of studies and
examinations. The college possesses a large supply of valuable instruments
for experiments and for illustration of the scientific lectures.
The Museum, or Cabinet of Natural History, contains a collec
tion of the different metal ores, as well as geological and litho-
logical specimens suitable for a course in Geology. The Chemi
cal Laboratory has been fitted up in the most modern style and
contains every facility for the work even of a specialist.

COLLEGE OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER,
New York City.
The College of St. Francis Xavier, conducted by the Fathers
of the Society of Jesus and intended for day scholars only, was
founded in October, 1847, and in January, 1861, was endowed
by the Regents of the University of the State of New York
with full collegiate power and privileges.
The first Latin school in New York City was opened over two
hundred years ago, in 1683, by members of the English Province
of the Society of Jesus. At that time the city, which has since
grown to such size and importance, consisted of a little collec
tion of cabins, grouped about the old fort at Bowling Green.
The pupils of the Jesuit Fathers' School were called to their
classes by the ringing of the bell of the old Dutch church in the
fort. In 1809 a school was established on a new site on Fifth
Avenue and Fiftieth Street, and was known as the New York
Literary Institute. The present cathedral has been erected on
the grounds of that institution.

499 Che Destruction of that Church by fire, 1848. 499
The New York Literary Institute was followed in 1847 by the
School of the Holy Name of Jesus, in the basement of the
church of that name near the corner of Walker and Elizabeth
Streets. After the destruction of that church by fire, January,
1848, classes were conducted for a time in the basement of St.
James' Church, on James Street. Later a house was rented at
No. jj Third Avenue, between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets,
while more capacious accommodations were in preparation on
the present site in West Fifteenth Street. When the students
entered their new quarters in September, 1850, the present name
of the College of St. Francis Xavier was adopted.
The first annual commencement of the college was held at
the end of the scholastic year, 1850-185 1. The College of St.
Francis Xavier comprises three distinct departments : the Grad
uate School, the College proper, and the High School depart
ment. The lectures in the Graduate School, although intended
primarily for graduate students, are open to all gentlemen de
sirous of hearing ethical and other subjects scientifically discussed.
The Science department, which is excellently equipped, occu
pies one entire floor of the college building, with its lecture
rooms, apparatus, cabinet and workshop.
The Museum contains an extensive collection of minerals from
every explored region of Europe and America, geological speci
mens from all the known strata, and numerous fossil remains
illustrating the crust-changes and formations going on in every
epoch. The Herbarium consists of twenty-five thousand speci
mens of American and foreign flora.
There are, besides, in the Museum many beautiful and well-
assorted corals and shells, curious Oriental, South Sea Island
and Indian wares, together with a large number of foreign and
rare coins, both ancient and modern.
The Library contains one hundred thousand volumes, of which
fifteen thousand have been carefully selected for the use of
students. The college possesses more than thirty scholarships. Th«
students of the various departments number over six hun
dred.

500 equipments and facilities are Comprehensive. 5°°
MARQUETTE COLLEGE,
Milwaukee, Wis.
The educational institution known as " Marquette College,"
of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was incorporated under this name and
style by an act of the Legislature, March 22, 1864. The act
empowers Marquette College to grant such literary honors and
degrees as its trustees may deem proper. Marquette College is
under the sole and exclusive control of the Society of Jesus.
The course of studies is that usually followed in the Jesuit Col
leges ; and the equipments and facilities in the various depart
ments are comprehensive and up-to-date.

SETON HALL COLLEGE,
South Orange, N. J.
Seton Hall College was founded in 1856, by the Right Rev.
James Roosevelt Bayley, who three years previously had been
consecrated Bishop of the newly erected See of Newark. In the
establishment of the new institution of learning, Bishop Bayley
was ably seconded by the Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid, the first
President of Seton Hall, and afterward Bishop of Rochester.
The College was originally situated in Madison, New Jersey. It
was named Seton Hall by Bishop Bayley, in honor of his revered
and illustrious aunt, Mother Elizabeth Seton, the foundress of
the Sisters of Charity in the United States. In i860, the college
was removed from Madison to its present location in South
Orange, N. J.
The new property consisted of a valuable tract of land on
which was a palatial marble villa surrounded by superb grounds
and stately trees. The villa was adapted for a seminary, and
the corner-stone of the new college building was laid in May,
i860, by Bishop Bayley. The new college was completed and
ready for use at the beginning of the next scholastic term, in

501 During tbe trying Days of the Civil <GQar. 501
September of the same year. On May 21, 1863, Bishop Bayley
laid the corner-stone of the College Chapel.
During the trying days of the Civil War, when so many institu
tions of learning were obliged to close their doors, at least tem
porarily, Seton Hall not only held its own, but through the
persistent energy and able management of Father McQuaid, the
number of students so increased, that in 1865, the college building
had to be enlarged to twice its original size.
But the new building had hardly been completed when a great
misfortune overtook the institution. On January 27, 1866, afire
broke out, reducing the beautiful marble mansion to a smoulder
ing mass of ruins. Father McQuaid bravely faced the exigencies
of the occasion. Encouraged by Bishop Bayley, he rose equal
to the emergency, went to work with his accustomed energy and
the present seminary building, a handsome edifice, with a facade
of 134 feet, was pushed forward in the face of many obstacles,
and in 1867, was ready for occupancy.
Hardly had this great undertaking been accomplished, when
Father McQuaid was appointed, in 1868, Bishop of the newly
erected See of Rochester, New York. The Vice-President of the
college, the Rev. Michael A. Corrigan, D. D., was selected by
Bishop Bayley to succeed Bishop McQuaid as President. Dur
ing the years of his administration, Dr. Corrigan improved and
developed the material side of the institution, completed its
equipment, beautified the grounds, advanced the standard of
studies, and dedicated the new chapel.
In 1873, Dr. Corrigan was consecrated Bishop of the diocese
of Newark. He retained the office of President of the college
until 1876, when his brother, Rev. James H. Corrigan, became
his successor. Owing to ill health, Father Corrigan resigned, in
1888, and was succeeded by Rev. William F. Marshall, the Vice-
President, whose term of office was marked by great financial
success and by increased attendance in all the departments. He
resigned in 1897, and was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Q. Synnott,
D. D.
• In 1873, by an act of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey,
the institution was incorporated, empowered to grant academic

502 Che Buildings are of Architectural Beauty. 5°2
degrees, and endowed with all the rights belonging to similar
corporations by the law of the State. The college, established
under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Newark, is conducted by
the clergy of the diocese, assisted by lay professors. The college
property embraces about seventy-five acres. The buildings are
of rare architectural beauty and contain the most modern improve
ments. The college library contains about forty thousand volumes,
to which the students have access.
The aim of Seton Hall is to impart a good education in the
highest sense of the word — to train the moral, intellectual, and
physical being. The mere imparting of knowledge is looked
upon as but a small part of the work of the institution. The
training of the heart and the formation of character under the
guiding influence of Christian principles, the awakening of the
intellectual faculties, the arousing and strengthening of laudable
ambition, the acquiring of habits of logical thought, correct
methods of study, self-discipline and refinement, the realization,
in a word, of the highest ideals of excellence in the cultured
Christian gentleman — these are the ends that Seton Hall keeps
steadily in view in the arduous and sacred office of educating
youth. The students are instructed in the doctrine of the Catholic
Church and trained in its practices. The religious instruction is
thorough and is continued throughout the entire course ; it aims
at making the faith of the students an intelligent faith, and
enabling them to withstand and repel the manifold attacks that
their religious belief will probably encounter after their college
days are ended.

THE COLLEGE OF ST. THOMAS OF
Villanova, Pa.
The long and ripe experience of missionary work in this country,
both under colonial and democratic rule, taught the Fathers of
the Order of St. Augustine the need for Christian enlightment,
and the urgent demand for institutions that would not only teach,

503 educate in tbe Crue Sense of tbe Cdord. 503
but educate in the true sense of the word, that would build up
the character of the future citizen in the true knowledge of his
dignity, in the recognition of his rights, and his duties to his God
and his fellow-men, and in the year 1841 the Fathers then in
charge of the old historic Church of St. Augustine in Philadel
phia, determined to erect, with the help of God, a Mother House
for the Order in America, a place where " contemplation will
prune her wings," and at the same time, " learning will trim her
lamp," a seat of learning reared on the deep fundaments of true
Christian erudition. Looking around for a suitable site, they
were attracted by a veritable garden spot, the present site of the
Augustinian College and Mother House at Villanova. On Janu
ary 5, 1842, the title to the future college property passed into
the hands of the Fathers of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine,
and in September, 1843, having been placed under the patronage
of St. Thomas of Villanova, the holy and learned Bishop of Va
lencia, Villanova entered on her educational career. On March
10, 1845, ^e institution was granted all the rights and privileges
of a university, by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The natural position of Villanova can hardly be excelled any
where in the country, and the advantages growing out of the
location for an institution of learning cannot be overestimated.
Villanova, twelve miles from Philadelphia, situated at an eleva
tion of 465 feet above tide-water, with extensive grounds and a
magnificent college campus, beautiful by nature and made attrac
tive by art's ingenuity, has a farm of about two hundred acres
attached to it, and affords all the seclusion required for student
life and all that nature and the hand of man can contribute
toward bodily health and contentment. The buildings are among
the best erected for educational purposes. The course of studies
is comprehensive and logically graded. In the sphere of disci
pline, no rule exists that does not regard the intellectual elevation
and the moral culture of the student, no regulation that is not
unreservedly demanded for the realization of the very idea of
education, the building up of character, the drawing out of the
powers of soul and body, and the guidance of intellect and will
in pursuit of the true and the good.

504 One of tbe decided Advantages of the System. 5°4
St. Nicholas' Academy, a preparatory school under the same
supervision, with a four years course, affords young pupils an
opportunity to prepare for their future college course at
Villanova.

BOSTON COLLEGE.
This institution, controlled and directed by the Fathers of the
Society of Jesus, was chartered May, 25, 1863, by the State of
Massachusetts, under the corporate title of "The Trustees of the
Boston College in Boston," with power and authority to grant
the usual degrees conferred by colleges in the Commonwealth.
Under the Act of Incorporation, schools were opened September,
5, 1864.
It is one of the decided advantages of the system followed in
this College, that the student may begin his studies in the
Preparatory School which is connected with the college, and
then pass on through the college course to graduation, in the
same institution. This secures, besides the moral influence thus
gained, a uniform and homogeneous course of teaching and train
ing. The result of such a course of study is a continuous and
normal development of the mental faculties along well-defined
lines, and the possession of a clear and coherent system of
principles upon which any special courses may afterwards safely
rest. The course and system are practically those pursued in all
institutions of learning, under the direction of the Society of
Jesus ; the moral and religious part of education being considered
to be incomparably the most important.
There are various societies in which, under the moderatorship
of college officers, the work of the class-room is supplemented,
or special fields in the liberal arts are cultivated. There are
some sixty scholarships, which are offered for competition when
ever they are vacant.

505 Che fathers of the Society of 7«8us. 505
DETROIT COLLEGE,
Detroit, Mich.
Detroit College, under the care of the Fathers of the
Society of Jesus, was founded in 1877, and incorporated April,
27, 1 88 1, according to the general law of the State of Michigan,
with power to grant such literary honors, or confer such degrees,
as are usually conferred by similar colleges and institutions of
learning in the United States.
When the Rt. Rev. Caspar Borgess succeeded to the See of
Detroit in 1871, his first care was for the education of the
young of his flock ; and thenceforward he devoted his best
efforts to the promotion of parochial schools and the establish
ment of a college. In 1877, he transferred in fee simple the
church of S. S. Peter and Paul and the adjoining residence to
the Jesuit Fathers on the sole condition that they should
establish and maintain in the city of Detroit, a college or school
for the education of youth. The college was formally opened
on September 3rd of that year, the first President being the
Rev. John Baptist Midge, afterward Bishop of Messenia and
Vicar-Apostolic of Kansas. On June, 25, 1879, he laid down
the burden of his office to take up a greater and more arduous
one, and Father James G. Walshe was installed as rector.
Under the new rdgime the works and the spirit of the first
three years were continued, and improvements were made. In
1885, Father J. P. Frieden, who as Vice-president during three
years had much to do with the college's success, succeeded as
rector, Father Walshe having been called to work in Dublin,
Ireland. In 1889, the announcement was made that Father
Frieden had been appointed to the office of Father Provincial,
and on the 25th he departed for St. Louis. The ex-provincial,
Father Meyer, afterward assistant to the General of the Society
in Rome, acted as vice-rector until 1889, when Father M. P.
Dowling was appointed rector of the college.
On September 1, 1890, classes were opened for the year in the
new college building, and Detroit College had found a home

506 Cbe Cause of Catholic Rigb education. 5°6
worthy of the work it had accomplished, and was still to do.
With increased facilities it was prepared to do still more and
greater things for the cause of Catholic higher education. In
1 89 1, the attendance reached over three hundred.
In 1893, Father Dowling was succeeded by Rev. H. A.
Schapman, S. J., as president. The prosperous condition that
characterized these years continued under the rule of his
successor Rev. James D. Foley, S. J., who became rector in
December, 1897. Father Foley at once gave a new impetus to
higher education in Detroit by means of " founded scholarships,"
obtained from generous friends of the institution. Under
Father Foley, too, was celebrated with great pomp and splendor
the golden jubilee of the Church's consecration and later still the
bi-centenary of Catholicity in Detroit.
To encourage others to imitate the good example set them by
those who had contributed the sum of $5,000, each to the erec
tion of the college, Father Foley had the names of those
"Founders" engraved on a tablet erected in the college vesti
bule. In the Church and in the world, Detroit Alumni have made
their mark. In the chair of theology and philosophy of literature
or of science, in seminary and college, as well as in the arduous
duty of saving souls, the Detroit College "boys" of these
twenty-five years, are found through the length and breadth of
the land. On the roll of their country's defenders in navy and
army, may their names be found, and some have even given
their lives in obeying their country's call. In medicine and law,
in the legislative halls of their native states, as in the business
life of their city, the college alumni have won, and are winning
for themselves name and fame and fortune.

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS' COLLEGE,
Memphis, Tenn.
The Christian Brother's College in Memphis, Tennessee, is
conducted by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, the

Brother Maurelian and Ris Co-Laborers.

THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS COLLEGE, MEMPHIS, TENN.
i. Brother Maurelian, President. 2. Brother Anthony,
Vice-President. 3. Brother Nicholas. 4. Brother John.
5. Brother Luperius, Vice-President. 6. Brother Clement.
7. Brother Abban, Vice-President.
T-HE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS
COLLEGE, Memphis, Tenn., is
conducted by the Brothers of the Chris
tian Schools, the renowned religious
order founded in France in 1680, by St.
John Baptist de la Salle. To carry into
effect the fundamental and crowning
principles of an enlightened and decidedly practical education
has been the chief aim and constant endeavor of the faculty and
professors of the Christian Brothers College.

St. La Salle's 6reat Ceacbing Community.

JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE.
'| "" HERE is no other instancel
^•^ in the history of the Churchl
when the ceremony of a Saint'sl
canonization excited such wide-l
spread fervor and interest!
throughout the entire world, asl
that of Saint John Baptist de La*
Salle, founder of the Brothers
of the Christian Schools, on May 24, 1900. Nor was there ever
a saint whose lifework at the epoch of his canonization had been
productive of so many institutions, with so large a host of disci
ples, people, youths and children zealously devoted to the cause.

BROTHER MAURELIAN.
Founder of the College, 1871

THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS COLLEGE, MEMPHIS, TENN.

507 A Career of Success and prosperity. 507
renowned religious order founded in France in 1680 by St. John
Baptist De La Salle. The order is now spread throughout the
world, having schools and colleges in every land.
The college in Memphis was formally opened on November
19, 1871, at the urgent solicitation of the clergy and people of
the city, and especially of the Most Rev. P. A. Feehan, then
Bishop of Nashville, and afterward Archbishop of Chicago.
Previous to 1871 efforts had been made to induce the Chris
tian Brothers to establish one of their colleges in Memphis. In
1865 a very desirable location on Wellington Street was pur
chased for the erection of a school for the Brothers by the Rev.
Thomas L. Bower, O. P., then pastor of St. Peter's Church.
The pressing demand for schools in other places, however, made
it impossible to open the Memphis house before 18 71. The
great fire of that year having destroyed the Christian Brothers'
College in Chicago, the Provincial was enabled to spare a few
members of the order for the purpose of establishing a college
in Memphis. The bishop, the clergy, and citizens of all denom
inations united in a subscription for the purpose of paying the
first installment on the college property.
The college property is situated on Adams Street, in a central
part of the city. The institution received its charter in 1872
from the Legislature of Tennessee, empowering it to confer
such degrees as are usually conferred by similar institutions in
the United States ; and since that time its career has been one
of success and prosperity, despite many obstacles and discourage
ments, and disadvantages, so that to-day it stands as the one and
only thoroughly established Catholic college in Tennessee, and
the adjoining states. Without endowment, without capital of
any kind other than their own self-sacrifice, the Christian Bro
thers entered on their work in Memphis. Men and money they
have expended in the cause of education, and with no other in
come than tuition fees they have built up an institution of
which Memphis has just reason to be proud.
The college has been honored with testimonials for the excel
lence of its work exhibited at the International Health Exposi
tion, London, England, 1884 ; at the World's Industrial and

508 Brother JMaurelian's 6reat CKorfe. 5°8
Cotton Centennial Exposition, New Orleans, La., and at the
World's Columbian Exposition, 1893.
The system of teaching and training is that usually followed
by the Order ; and the Brothers during their time in Memphis
can point with pride to the number of young men who have
gone forth from their institution to occupy positions of trust and
responsibility in the Church, in the mercantile, and in the pro
fessional world. But among all these who have contributed so
much to the upbuilding of this great institution of learning, of
which every Memphian, regardless of creed, is justly proud, it
must be conceded that its success is chiefly attributable to Presi
dent Maurelian and Vice-President Anthony, two of its founders,
and who are still at the head of the college they established and
over which they have so zealously watched, and for which they
have so diligently labored during the past quarter of a century.
It was their untiring zeal, their indomitable courage in the face
of all obstacles, their implicit faith in the eventual success that
would crown their efforts, that have proven the chief factors in
the grand educational institution that is to-day so well known
throughout the South, and such an appreciated credit to Mem
phis. While others have borne their full share of the labor,
upon these two devolved the heaviest portion of the burden.
Cheerfully and conscientiously they have performed their labor
of love, and the gratifying result is now apparent to all.
Brother Maurelian's great work at the World's Fair, where he
so successfully managed the greatest Catholic educational exhibit
that this or any other country has ever seen, is too well known
to need more than passing notice.

ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE,
Brooklyn, New York City, N. Y.
In the year 1865, Right Rev. John Loughlin, first Bishop of
Brooklyn, invited the Priests of the Congregation of the Mission
to establish a college for boys in that city. The invitation was

509 Vested with tbe power to confer Degrees. 509
formally accepted in 1867, when Very Rev. S. V. Ryan, C. M.,
Visitor of the Congregation of the Mission, afterward Bishop of
Buffalo, decided to take steps to procure a suitable site for a
college and church.
Under the superintendence of Rev. E. M. Smith, C. M., a
frame church was erected in 1868; and in 1869 the present
college building was begun and completed in the summer of
1870. On September 5 of that year the college was formally
opened to receive students, under the presidency of Rev. J. T.
Landry, C. M. In Rev. J. A. Hartnett's term of office as Presi
dent, the Church of St. John the Baptist, one of the most magnifi
cent church edifices in the country, was built and dedicated.
Under Father Hartnett's administration, also, the Seminary wing
was added, and formally opened on September 21, 1891.
St. John's College was chartered under the general law of
the State of New York, and is vested with the power to confer
degrees. The primary aim of the college is to prepare boys
for entrance into the Ecclesiastical Seminary. But the college
also aims at imparting such commercial, scientific and literary
training as will fit a young man to take up special courses in
professional schools.
St. John's College offers two courses of study, the classical and
the commercial.
Athletic sports are fostered and encouraged, but are always
made subservient to the principal end of college education. A
competent military instructor is employed to give lessons twice
a week in military drill and tactics ; and the College Battalion is
reviewed from time to time by United States officers. Several
prize scholarships are offered by patrons of the college. St.
John's College has been marked in its growth and successful in
its work since its establishment. Its Alumni Association
includes in its membership some of the most prominent clergymen
and laymen in the Borough of Brooklyn.
Connected with St. John's College is St. John's Theological
Seminary, for the training of young men preparing for the
priesthood. It is an excellent institution, and is in charge of the
same religious body that conduct the College. Many of the
clergy of Brooklyn diocese are graduates of this Seminary.

5 10 power to confer Degrees and Academical Ronors. 5 10
CANISIUS COLLEGE,
Buffalo, N. Y.
Canisius College, conducted by the Fathers of the Society
of Jesus, was opened in September, 1870, and incorporated in
January, 1883, by the Regents of the University of the State of
New York, with power to confer degrees and academical honors.
The object of this institution is to afford to aspiring Catholic
youth the facilities of securing a classical education based on the
principles of religion and calculated to fit them for a successful
career in life.
The curriculum, although paying due attention to natural
sciences and elementary business practice, gives prominence to
the refinement embodied in the ancient classics, which, with a
liberal amount of mathematical training and history, will form a
highly cultured, well-stored and evenly-balanced mind. The
method employed is the time-honored system of the Society of
Jesus. The course of instruction contains an Academic and
Collegiate department. The Library contains twenty-four
thousand volumes, to. which the students have access ; while suit
able magazines, reference books and illustrated works, in many
languages, are provided.
Mental Philosophy is one of the most important studies in a
college curriculum. The principles of a sound Catholic philoso
phy are of paramount value in combating the glittering array of
false philosophical systems and in stemming the tide of infidelity
and indifferentism. Canisius College lays great stress on Mental
Philosophy. The course extends over two years. Thus time
and opportunity are secured to apply the principles of Catholic
philosophy to all important modern questions. A sound judg
ment, a clear insight into problems of our age, and the leading
principles with regard to important moral, political, and social
questions are advantages which are appreciated by all who fol
low the course. Not only the candidate for the priesthood,
but the candidates for the legal, medical and business courses

5 * 1 Bids fair in tbe future to improve on tbe past. 5 1 1
are permanently benefited, whilst some electives may be chosen
by the students with special reference to his particular calling.
Although young in years, Canisius College has proven itself
worthy a prominent place in the list of Catholic educational
institutions, and bids fair in the future to improve on the past.
The college has over three hundred students.

COLLEGE OF
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION,
New Orleans, La.
From 1726 to 1763, New Orleans was the Jesuit Headquarters
for the Missions of Louisiana and Illinois. Though the establish
ment of a college was greatly desired by the French authorities,
various reasons, especially the fewness of their number, prevented
the design. The French Jesuits returned to Louisiana in 1837
and established themselves at Grand Coteau. Subsequently, in
1847, they took charge of Springhill College, Alabama.
The ground at the corner of Baronne and Common Sts. New
Orleans, was purchased in 1848, and the building commenced at
once. The opening of the College was announced for Jan 6th,
1849, hut forcibly delayed until Feb. ist, in consequence of the
yellow fever epidemic, then prevailing in the city. Only the
lower classes (Latin, French and English) were taught at first,
and but a small number of students could be admitted. During
the following years, the number continued small on account of
the epidemics — both cholera and yellow fever — which ravaged the
city every year in the earlier fifties. Gradually, however, the
attendance increased and by 1859 became such that friends of
education urged the Fathers to establish at once a branch of the
institution in another part of the city. This could not then be
done, as the teachers were too few. In March, 1856, the College

5 1 2 Chose one of the Learned professions. 5 1 2
was endowed by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana, with
the full powers and privileges of a University.
The higher classes of Rhetoric, Mental Philosophy, Physics
and Chemistry were successively added to the curriculum, and
in 1856 the College graduated its first two A. B. who, later on,
became Dr. Auguste Capdevielle, and Architect James Freret.
Among the graduates of the following years were Paul Cap
devielle, afterward Mayor of New Orleans, his brother Armand
Capdevielle, the able editor of the " Abeille," Dr. Thomas
Layton, and others.
In 1868 the Degree A. M., and in 1887 that of B. Philos., for
Post-graduates were added. Up to the year 1903 the graduates
numbered B. Philos., 19; A. M. 38, A. B. and S. B. 229. Of
these the greater number chose one of the learned professions ;
clergymen, physicians, lawyers, engineers etc., and achieved
success in it.
The Post-graduate Course of Lectures was introduced in the
month of November, 1886, and it has since been continued with
good results.
Sociology, Natural and International Law, Political Economy
and General Physics are the subject-matter of the lectures.
The Annual Course opens on the first Monday of October
and closes at the end of April. The general subject-matter will
be distributed over several years, so as to vary the treatises of
those who may desire to attend for more than one term.
At the termination of the complete course, such members of
the class as have given satisfaction by regular attendance may
apply for the Degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, which will be
granted on condition that they pass an examination on Theses,
to be selected from the matter developed during the course,
and present an original and creditable paper on a given subject.
The Degree of A. M. will be bestowed after one term of
Post-graduate Lectures, faithfully and studiously attended, on
those who have previously received the Degree of A. B.
Graduates of the college, or of any college of the same grade,
students of Law or Medicine, and gentlemen of literary or
scientific culture, will be admitted to the above course.

513 ¦ Southern Colleges were compelled to Suspend. 5 13
During the war (1861 to 1865), while the greater number of
Southern colleges were compelled to suspend, the Jesuit College
continued its work both under Confederate and Federal rule,
with reduced numbers, it is true. Many of the other students
entered the army and not a few of them ended their life on the
various battle fields, while several of the Fathers acted as chap
lains, F. Darius Hubert during the whole war.
Attached to the college is a splendid church in the Moresque
style, erected betweed 1851 and i860, after the plans and under
the direction of F. I. Cambiaso S. J. It is constantly visited
and greatly admired by foreigners, and much frequented by the
New Orleans people of all classes. The Jesuit Fathers, even
the teachers, when at leisure, are ever ready to give assistance to
the secular clergy in the city and country.
The present four-story brick building is also in the Moresque
style. It comprises, besides the class, and dwelling-rooms, the
dining-hall, the library, the beautiful exhibition hall, etc. There
is also, in course of construction, an elegant Moresque chapel,
the gift of Mrs. Thomas J. Semmes, as a memorial to her
husband. A separate building, comprising the class rooms of
the junior students, is a gift of the Brothers Bernard, Patrick
and Hugh McCloskey. Erected partly in 1880, partly in 1900
and 1 90 1, the buildings are sufficient for the present need. But
much remains to be done to carry out the full plan and set the
inmates completely at ease. Some generous benefactors have
indeed, contributed their share to promote the work of the
Fathers. But the principal expenses were defrayed by the
Fathers themselves, out of the Boys' tuition ($6 a month) and
the revenues of the church. A great desideratum, v.g., is a more
convenient place for a library, the books of which (twelve to
fifteen thousand) are stored away in various apartments of the
house. The same is true of the Physical and Chemical Labora
tories, the Museum of Art, and the Mineral and Geological
Collections, most of which were obtained by purchase after the
New Orleans Exposition in 1884, and through the kindness of
the United States Government.
The faculty consists of a President, two Vice-Presidents and

5 14 favor piety, Study and Realthy exercise. 5 *4
a Treasurer, with staff of Professors (from twenty-two to twenty-
five), all Jesuits and the greater number of them priests. The
younger members have been prepared for teaching by a full
course of Literature, Philosophy and Sciences, according to the
methods of the Order.
The number of students was 333 in 1898 — 99, 269 in 1899 —
1900 (opening delayed by builders), 379 in 1900 — 01, 501 in
1 901 — 02, 460 in 1903. The Classical Course is divided into the
Class of Philosophy (Mental Philosophy, Physics, Chemistry,
Higher Mathematics), Rhetoric, Poetry, and three grades of Hu
manities ; the Commercial Course is divided into Superior and
three Commercial Classes ; the Preparatory Course comprises
two classes. Whenever the number of students grows too large,
classes are divided between several teachers of the same grade.
French, Spanish and German form extra courses without extra
charges. Twice every year each student has to undergo a searching
oral examination before a Board of Examiners : success above
mediocrity is required for promotion. Each week a half-day is
devoted to a written competition on the various class matters,
the results of which are published at the end of the month and
communicated to the parents together with the marks of conduct
and application. At the Annual Commencement, besides the
ordinary premiums in the classes, medals donated by friends of
education, are bestowed on successful competitors for essays
in Philosophy, Mathematics, Oratory, Penmanship etc.
The grounds, though not very spacious, are very convenient
for healthy exercise during the interval of classes and on
vacation days. During their stay at college, the students are
never left alone, but the attending prefects rather favor, than
interfere, with their youthful sports. In general, though dis
cipline is strictly maintained, the authority exercised by the
directors is paternal and liberal.
To favor piety, study and healthy exercise, various societies
are established amongst the students. There are Sodalities of
the Blessed Virgin and of St. John Berchmans, Library Associa
tions, the College Orchestra and Chair, the Thespian Society for

515 Cbe Cultivating of public Speaking and Acting. 515
the cultivating of public speaking and acting, etc. There are
two Baseball Clubs and, since 1900, a Cadet Corps has been or
ganized under the direction of one of the Fathers and the instruc
tion of an officer of the United States Army. The Cadets, in
neat uniforms and with guns supplied by the United States at the
instance of Hon. Ad. Meyer, Representative for Louisiana, turn
out on public occasions, when they present quite an interesting
sight. The Cadets enrolled in the battalions contract no obligation
to be called upon for military service, either by the State or the
General Government.
The officers are selected from the Cadets most distinguished for
soldierly bearing, good conduct and proficiency in drill and tactics.
The uniform adopted is the regulation West Point fatigue
uniform. It can be worn at all times so that it is not necessary
to be provided with two outfits of clothing.
The instruction in the department is both practical and theo
retical. The practical instruction, which all students must attend, is
two hours per week and consists principally of the instruction
prescribed by the Infantry Drill Regulations of the United
States Army.
The theoretical instruction is limited to the students of the
graduating class. It consists of a short course of lectures by the
Military Professor on Discipline, Military Hygiene, Military
History and kindred subjects.
The time given to the Military Department will not in any
way interfere with the usual college curriculum.
At the enthusiastic reception tendered President William
McKinley, on his Southern tour, by the City of New Orleans,
the Jesuit College Cadets appeared to very great advantage,
and were singularly honored by being requested to act as a
special guard of honor to His Excellency the President of the
United States, on the occasion of his visit to the historic Cabildo.
In order to keep up a sort of fraternal union among the
ancient students of Jesuit Colleges, an Alumni Association was
formed in 1895, of which any gentleman, who has been for at

5 1 6 GUitbout Religion there can be no education. 5 J 6
least two years a student in any Jesuit College and has left it in
good standing, may become a member. The Society — some 350
in number — has its regular meetings in the college hall, where
occasional lectures on various subjects are delivered, plays acted,
concerts executed etc. Once every year a grand banquet is
given in one of the hotels. In 1902 an excursion was made to
Springhill College, where alumni met from Alabama and else
where at a splendid banquet tendered to them by the President
of Springhill College. The first President of the Association
was the Hon. Thomas J. Semmes LL. D., a graduate of
Georgetown ; the second, Hon. Paul Capdevielle, Mayor of
New Orleans ; the third, Mr. Charles Janvier, President of the
"Sun Insurance Company."
The College authorities are convinced that, without Religion,
there can be no education, in the true sense of the word, that is
to say, no complete and harmonious development of the intellect
and heart of man. They hold, furthermore, that religious truth,
being definite and certain, like any and every other truth, is as
susceptible of teaching as the science of language, or the theory
of numbers. Hence, the Catechism of Christian Doctrine is a
text-book in every class, and lectures on it are given twice a
week. In all the classes the day's work begins and ends with
prayer. The Catholic Religion alone is taught, but non-Cath
olics are also welcome and their religious opinions studiously
respected. Catholic students go to Confession the third Satur
day of each month, then on the following Sunday, in the Church
annexed to the college, hear Mass and receive Holy Communion.
The advantageous position of the College in the very center of
the city ; the constant improvements of the buildings and equip
ment ; the uninterrupted existence of the College, since 1849, one
of the oldest in the city and State ; the number of distinguished
men, in every walk of life, it has produced, most of whom wish
to have their sons receive their education in their own Alma
Mater ; the increased attendance of students, their good discipline
and earnest application to their studies — all these reasons com
bined — justify the hope of future and ever increasing usefulness
and prosperity.

5 T 7 Cbe Uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte. 5 J 7
SPRING HILL COLLEGE.
Near flobile, Ala.
Spring Hill College was founded in 1830, by the Rt. Rev.
Michael Portier, D.D., Bishop of Mobile. The preceding year
the zealous bishop had gone to Europe to engage professors and
collect funds for his projected college. He did not appeal in
vain to the generosity of his friends in Europe. Cardinal Fesch,
the uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte, and a personal friend of the
Bishop made him a donation of 30,000 francs, and as a mark of
personal friendship presented to him the beautiful painting that
is one of the treasures of Spring Hill College to-day. The
classes were first taught by a devoted band of priests that had
come over from France with Bishop Portier, in 1829. A few
years later the college was entrusted to the care of the Eudist
Fathers, who remained in charge until 1846, when the Bishop
handed it over to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus who still
direct it.
Spring Hill College is built on a rising ground, five miles dis
tant from Mobile and elevated one hundred and fifty feet above
the sea-level. It enjoys a constant, refreshing breeze, which ren
ders its situation both agreeable and healthy. Pine woods
surround the college on all sides, and a never failing spring at
the foot of the hill furnishes an abundant supply of water to a
beautiful lake.
The hygienic conditions of the college have always been con
sidered excellent. In the issue of September 10th, 1902, of The
United States Health Bulletin, we read the following under the
heading of " Schools and Health " :
" The United States Health Bulletin has had occasion to
examine into this subject quite extensively during the past few
months * * * * These investigations have been made without
th« instigation of the proprietors and generally without their
knowledge, consequently they are absolutely unbiased and un
prejudiced. Among the schools that met with the general
approval of the experts investigating these matters for us and

5*8 In tbe Light of experience and Ristory. 5 * 8
which we have no hesitation in recommending to our readers is
the Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala. We know nothing about
the course of study at this school for it is of no interest to us,
but if the same care is taken with the mental welfare of the
pupil as is shown and plainly shown to be taken with the physi
cal, we feel that it deserves the support of parents and the
encouragement of the public."
Half a century after the location of the college (1883) one of
the eminent medical authorities of the day and a non-Catholic,
Dr. William H. Anderson, in a publication of his, thus sanc
tioned, without knowing it, Bishop Portier's choice of site
in these words : " The health of this location (Spring Hill) is
proverbial. During forty years I have never known a case of
malarial fever to originate at Spring Hill. Indeed, there is
nothing there to produce it. The water is of the purest quality ;
the growth is exclusively pine, and the subsoil is white sand for
one hundred feet beneath the surface. The Gulf breeze reaches
it summer and winter, and there is no location on the Continent
better adapted to the health of persons suffering from lung dis
eases." When in the light of experience and history one con
siders Bishop Portier's choice of a location for his college, he is
inclined to ask if inspiration did not lead the holy man's doubt
ing steps to this spot, unique in very excellence. Indeed, had he
desired to locate his college in some famous health resort, medi
cal authorities tell us that he could not have made a better choice.
Again, had the Bishop's aim been an historic environment,
which one in all Southland teems with story like this one ? Be
fore the passion of spoil brought European fleets to do battle
between themselves along those shores the little Indian nations
came and went. Mobilian and Choctaw and Creek and Chicka
saw had their days of peace and of war, of defeat and of tri
umph. Men still living recall the Redmen of the Spring Hill
woodlands ; how there they found happy hunting grounds and
brought with the fruit of their infant industries the hunter's
spoils to traffic with the students of those distant days ; how
often domestic feuds arose and war's alarms disturbed the peace
of their little settlements.

519 On Classic Grounds tbe Indian reared bis Sligwam. 5X9
It is difficult at this day to realize that on those classic grounds
the Indian reared his wigwam. There his little ones played, and
there his council fires blazed. There too, doubtless, was heard
his ringing warwhoop for the gathering of the clans when on the
site of ancient Maubilla (not so far from Spring Hill) was
fought the greatest battle, says Bancroft, that ever took place
on the Continent between white man and Indian — a battle in
which De Soto, despite infantry, cavalry and artillery, nearly lost
his life and his army, and six thousand Indians lay dead on the
field. The Indian ceased from his warring for a while, but it was
only that the surrounding territory might become a field on
which the roar of battle between Spaniard, French and English
was to be hushed only when all interests were merged in one
and all bowed at last to the supremacy of the one flag. Of all
the adventurers that came to discover or pillage the gulf coast,
many a one must have traversed those Spring Hill solitudes, and
many a time soldier, and traveller and emigrant going along the
old colonial road or mail route that ran beside those college
grounds, must have there pitched his wanderer's tent, or laid his
weary limbs to rest. Still, none or few of them have left men
tion of their visit there. The first known allusion to that particu
lar spot was made in 1771 in his book, by a certain Captain
Romans, who, by order of his government, explored that section
of the country, and pitched his camp not far from the spring.
Mention of it again occurs when local historians tell us that to
the west of Spring Hill and not far from it, Jackson camped
with his little army of heroes in his great march from Mobile to
the victory and glory of Chalmette.
There, too, in still later days around the college grounds
bivouacked other hosts, when, after the last sea fight in Mobile
bay, and the last land fight at Blakely, forty-five thousand Federal
troops awaited there the dawn of peace.
Experience and history have justified Bishop Portier's choice
of this spot. Men have applauded his work there and heaven
has blessed it with success.
The foundation and success of the college was the work of

520 Che progress of Catholic education. 520
one man — Bishop Portier — not only its creation but its preser
vation. For through all its vicissitudes — until ceded to the
Society of Jesus in 1846 — he never allowed it under its various
administrations, to go entirely out of his control. It may be
said he was its life and it was his life.
The college was incorporated in 1836 by the Legislature of
Alabama, with all the rights and privileges of a university, and
empowered in 1840 by Pope Gregory XVI, to grant degrees in
Philosophy and Theology.
On February, 4th, 1869, the old college erected by Bishop
Portier was totally destroyed by fire. Nothing daunted by this
disaster the directors resolved to rebuild the college, and so
vigorously was the work pushed that in December of the same
year the college was enabled to open its doors to the numerous
pupils who sought admission.
The plan of instruction is established on a large scale, and is
calculated to suit not only the wants, but also the progress of
society. It consists of three principal courses under the names
of Preparatory, Commercial, and Classical.
Spring, Hill has sent into the world, graduates now famous
among the hierarchy, the clergy, the judiciary and in the various
walks of life. Among the more prominent are the following :
Rt. Rev. D. Manucy, Vicar Apostolic of Brownsville, Tex., and
Bishop of Mobile ; Rt. Rev. A. Pellicier, Bishop of San Antonio,
Tex. ; Edward E. Bermudez, Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of Louisiana ; Hon. Geo. A. Gallaghar, Justice of the
Supreme Court of Arkansas; Hon. N. H. R. Dawson, United
States Commissioner of Education ; Hon. Samuel D. McEnery,
United States Senator for Louisiana; Hon. Frank E. Corbett,
Speaker State Senate, Montana ; Paul Morphy, champion chess
player of the world.
The buildings are spacious, the grounds extensive, improve
ments are made every year, so that Spring Hill is one of the
most up-to-date and best equipped educational institutions of
the South.

Catholic Institutions of Learning.

VERY REV. EDWARD SORIN, C. S. C, FOUNDER AND FIRST PRESIDENT
OF NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY, INDIANA.

This eminent and saintly man was born in France, 1S14 ;
founded Notre Dame, 1842; became Provincial of the Con
gregation of the Holy Cross in America, 1S65 ; Superior-
General of the Congregation, 1868, and after a fruitful,
holy and edifying life, died in 1893,

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, NOTRE DAME, IND.
Founded in 1841, by Very Rev. Edward Sorin, and Conducted by the Fathers of the Holy Cross.

MAIN BUILDING, GEORGETOWN, ERECTED BY REV. P. F. HEALY.
In November, 1879, the main building erected by Rev. P. F. Healy was completed- It lies to the east of the structure formerly constitu
ting the College, and connects the old North Building with the southern row.

Catholic Institutions of Learning.

W s*^

<KSfBSft

|

REV. P. F. HEALY. S.J.

GEORGETOWN COLLEGE,—
The Old North Building from Quadrangle. This Building was erected, 1806.
Rev. Patrick F. Healy, S. J. was the twenty-eighth President, Georgetown College, 1873-1882.
He was an extraordinary man, eminent even among the presidents that had graced the roll of
Georgetown. He discharged his duties with wisdom, firmness and broad-minded views.
During his administration he reorganized the classes and the whole course of instruction.

Catholic Institutions of Learning.

# •v-dBfltafllterS!

VIEW OF ORIGINAL COLLEGE BUILDING ERECTED 1791 GEORGETOWN, D. C.
Bishop Carroll, its first president, March i, 1788, wrote : " On this academy is built all my hope
of permanency and success to our holy religion in the United States."

OBSERVATORY AT GEORGETOWN COLLEGE ERECTED AND EQUIPPED IN 1843.
The inspiration and execution were due to Father James Curley, the professor of mathematics
and astronomy, who survived the work nearly fifty years, and whose name will ever be connected
with it. It now ranks with observatories of international fame.

REV. W. G. READ MULLEN, S. J.
President Boston College, Boston, Mass.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH.
Connected with Boston College.

FRONT VIEW OF BOSTON COLLEGE, BOSTON, MASS.
Conducted by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus,

VIEW FROM JUNIOR HALL.-ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, FORDHAM, N. Y.

APPROACHTO THE ROSE HILL MANOR. "—THE OLD COLLEGE BUILDING.-ST. JOHN S COLLEGE, FORDHAM. N. Y.

Catholic Institutions of Learning.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, MANHATTAN COLLEGE.

THE CAMPUS AT MANHATTAN COLLEGE.

Che «lork of tbe Brother's Completed.

THE STUDENTS ARE PREPARED FOR PUBLIC LIFE
MauhaLLan College.

*| "HE great difficulty experienced by all instructors is, how to.in-
^^ duce each individual pupil to so thorough a course of mental
training, at first slow and imperfect in its results, but finally rapid
and complete, as to fit the mind for emergencies encountered in
the practical walks of life. Hence, the Christian Brothers agree
with all the profound theorists on education, that, to secure ulti
mate success, the mind of the student must be accustomed to
efforts of self-activity, and that nothing must be done for him
which he is capable of doing for himself.
It is their conviction, deduced- from long experience in teach
ing and from the writings of the most eminent instructors in
past ages, that, the intellect should be conducted to the discovery
of truth by the pure efforts of its own innate activity, and that
no scientific fact should be received into the mental capacities
without being distinctly perceived by the understanding.

HOLY CROSS COLLEGE, WORCESTER, MASS.

X

rip m

HOLY CROSS COLLEGE, WORCESTER, MASS.
A full view from the north.

INTERIOR VIEW OF THE CHAPEL, HOLY CROSS COLLEGE, WORCESTER, MASS.

1

fe£TSi'

INTERIOR VIEW FENWICK HALL, HOLY CROSS COLLEGE, WORCESTER, MASS.
Conducted by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus.

Catholic Institutions of Learning.

CANISIUS COLLEGE-FRONT VIEW.

flt tbe College of Canisius.

INTERIOR VIEW OF CHAPEL, CANISIUS COLLEGE. BUFFALO, N. Y.
TJ FACT which cannot be controverted and by which the
simplest persons may judge of the excellence of the Jesuit
education is the unparalleled success of their students. The enu
meration of all the great men who were educated by the Jesuits
is the best indication of their system. In France alone almost
every one of the men who shed so much intellectual splendor on
the reign of Louis XIV. had studied in the Jesuit schools. Not
only priests and popes, but immortal generals, magistrates, ora
tors, writers, poets were educated by the Jesuits.

Catholic Institutions of Learning.

COLLEGE QUADRANGLE, JESUIT COLLEGE OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, NEW ORLEANS.

JESUIT COLLEGE OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, NEW ORLEANS.

prepared for tbe Duties of Life,

CLASS OF GRADUATES.

|^HE highest honors of the graduating class are eagerly looked
foreward to, and mark a memorable day in the life of the
student. The curriculum of studies in the College of the Immac
ulate Conception, New Orleans, La., conducted by the Fathers
of the Society of Jesus, is such that the student on whom a
degree is conferred must needs be both diligent and intellectual.
The plan of studies embraces the Doctrines and Evidences of
the Catholic Religion, Logic, Metaphysics, Ethics, Astronomy,
Natural philosophy, Chemistry, Mathematics, Rhetoric, Compo
sition, Elocution, History, Geography, Arithmetic, Penmanship,
Book-keeping, Stenography, Typewriting, the Latin, Greek,
English, French, German, and Spanish Languages.

INTERIOR OF CHURCH. ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY, COLLEGEVILLE, MINN.

CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING" SOUTH VIEW OF COLLEGE.
Spring Hill College, Alabama. '

CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING,— GRADUATING CLASS.
Spring" Hill College, Alabama.

Student Life In Our
Catholic CoUeges.
Activities and Organizations for his Culture,
Entertainment and Recreation.
Physical Culture — -Gymnastic and Out-door Exercises.
Experience has shown that moral and intellectual training
without physical culture is an incomplete education. Aware of
the importance of physical training and the part it plays in the
harmonious development of the entire man, our Catholic col
leges spare no pains to secure for their students all the benefits
to be derived from approved modes of exercise. Hence, all
forms of manly sports are encouraged. A feature of these exer
cises is that care is taken that they serve the purposes of a higher
education, whether physical, mental or moral. Man's three
fold nature is everywhere and in everything recognized, and in
the education given, body, mind and soul are always kept in
view. That the physical man should grow in strength, grace and
beauty; his intellect, in knowledge and wisdom; and his heart
in virtue, are deemed essential toward attaining a complete
education. It may be asked, why should it be necessary to prescribe
health rules for the student, any more than for the tradesman or
artisan ? Are health principles not the same for all ? They are;
but to each class of men certain principles are more important
than others. The student, too, and especially if he be earnestly
devoted to his studies is exposed to the danger of neglecting his
physical welfare; he is often liable to forget that the sound mind
can exist only in the sound body.

522 HU dork and no play makes >ck a dull Boy. ^ 522
Young boys need a great amount of vigorous and wholesome
exercise, when they are required to do much mental work.
Study is wearing enough on any person, but for the youth who
does not directly see the benefit of it, application to books is
doubly tiresome. He measures greatness more by the standard
of sports than by any such qualities as broadmindedness and cul
ture. Hence to satisfy his longing for games, his desire to
match his skill and strength with his fellows, he must be given
ample opportunity to engage in such contests. Thus will his
mind be relieved of the strain that study would naturally put up
on it. And if there is any truth in the old saying that " all work
and no play makes Jack a dull boy," it must necessarily follow
that a suitable amount of play will sharpen the intellect and ren
der its possessor much more competent to work in a beneficial
manner. Furthermore, physical exercise and out-door sport de
velop a strong constitution, a sound bodily strength, and a confi
dence in one's own ability.
Hence, the health and physical development of the students,
through fitting and sufficient exercise, is an object of solicitude
in all our Catholic institutions. The grounds set apart for
recreation contain lawn-tennis courts, ball alleys, baseball and
football fields, athletic and bicycle tracks, and means for almost
all kinds of exercise. During the winter season, besides literary
and musical entertainments, skating and sleighing parties and
the various in-door games furnished by well-equipped gymnasi
ums relieve the monotony of the season. Physicians connected
with the institutions pay regular visits and may be consulted at
any time by the students who need advice regarding the forms
of exercise best suited to develop their physical powers and ben
efit their health.

STUDENTS AND CADET MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS
Many of our Catholic colleges employ competent military in
structors to give lessons in military drill and tactics. These
exercises are important features of physical training, inasmuch as
they develop erect carriage, precision of movement, and con-

523 Hdvantages of Military Instruction. 523
certed action, and are regarded as very valuable in developing
both mind and character. Besides these special advantages,
military exercise exerts, in a general way, a beneficial influence
on our young men.
The theoretical is one hour per week, and is limited to stu
dents of the Senior, or graduating class. The course consists
of lectures by the Military Professor on Discipline, Military Hy
giene and Etiquette, Military History, and kindred subjects,
and of recitations in Wagner's text book, " The Service of Secur
ity and Information." Each student of the Senior Class is
required to submit, at the close of the academic year, an essay
on some military subject to be announced by the Military
Professor. Proficiency in the Military Department is necessary for the
student to receive the military diploma awarded graduates. The
names of the three students of the graduating class standing
highest in the Military Department are published in the Annual
Army Register.

STUDENT'S DEVOTIONAL SOCIETIES IN OUR
CATHOLIC COLLEGES.
In all our Catholic colleges devotional and pious societies are
established, adapted to the different classes of students, and
designed to promote the spiritual advancement and the practice
of virtue and piety among its members. They are always under
the supervision or direction of a spiritual guide, and constitute
an adjunct or part of the course of religious training.
In the institutions conducted by the Jesuit Fathers, the college
associations are practically the same. Apart from the ordinary
college alumni, literary, athletic and kindred organizations, are
the Apostleship of Prayer and League of the Sacred Heart, and
many others entirely of a devotional character. The object of
the Apostleship is twofold: ist, to instill into the students that
Apostolic spirit which, as public men, it is hoped they will later
on exercise in the midst of the world ; and, 2nd, to join in the

524 Hngelic Virtue so dear to the Queen of Hngels. 524
great work of reparation for the outrages daily offered to our
Lord by sinners. The public exercises, besides the regular
Promoters' meetings, consist of a monthly visit of reparation to
the Blessed Sacrament on the first Friday of each month.
The Apostleship of Study, or the Pope's Militia, is a
branch of the Apostleship of Prayer. Its object is to give a
deeper meaning to the studies of the student by making his col
lege work serve as a means to promote a filial love for our Holy
Father, the Pope, and an apostolic zeal for souls, by offering
daily three hours of study, silence and recreation for the inten
tions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the interests of our Holy
Father, the Pope. Only those are admitted as Associates who
attain an average of eighty per cent, during the first term.
The Sodality of the Immaculate Conception is intended for
the undergraduate students, and has for its object the promo
tion of filial love toward the Mother of God, and practice of vir
tue and piety among its members. The director is appointed
by the faculty, and the other officers are elected by the members.
The Sodality of our Lady Immaculate of Georgetown College,
is the oldest sodality in this country, having been organized in
1810. The St. John Berchmans' Sanctuary Society is devoted
to the service of the altar, and aims at the exact performance of
the ceremonies of the Church. Membership is strictly limited
to boys of exemplary deportment.
The Sodality of the Holy Angels has for its object to fos
ter among the younger students a spirit of love and devotion
towards the Holy Angels, and to encourage them in the practice
of the Angelic virtue so dear to the Virgin Queen of Angels.
The St. Thomas Philosophical Society is intended to pro
mote solid knowledge of Catholic Philosophy which must be re
garded as one of the most efficient means to disarm modern
philosophical pretensions. Catholic philosophy has justly been
called the impregnable wall surrounding the citadel of the
Church. The billows and surges of modern infidelity will break
and rebound harmless against this solid bulwark. It is the aim
of the Society by essays and discussions to gain a clear insight

525 Cbe Beauty and Grandeur of Divine Worship. 525
into the principles of Catholic Philosophy and to apply them to
questions of the present hour.
The Acolythical Society is designed to add to the beauty
and grandeur of divine worship on solemn festivals by providing
a well organized band of acolytes for the ceremonies of the
sanctuary and a trained choir of chanters for the sacred re
sponses. A CONFERENCF OF THE SOCIETY OF St. VlNCENT DE PAUL was
organized among the students of Georgetown University in the
year 1889-90 under the title of the Conference of St. Francis de
Sales, of Georgetown College ; and on the 25th of January,
1892, it was formally aggregated to the Society as an Aspirant
Conference. Its purpose is primarily not only the actual relief
of the poor in the neighborhood of the College, but also the
training of its members in the spirit and methods of this admir
able organization. Yet the charitable work performed is by no
means inconsiderable. Every year a large sum of money and
many articles of clothing are distributed. The members of the
Conference, among other commendable acts, have given active
and regular assistance to the Mission established among sol
diers, at Fort Meyer, Va., teaching Sunday-school there, con
ducting the choir, and in other ways aiding the Father in charge.
The Devotion of the Sacred Heart is eminently practical
in its aims and methods. Our Lord, in instituting this devotion
had one end in view ; to get men to love Him. He gave them
His Heart, that is His love, expecting and asking their love in
return. This He clearly declared to Blessed Margaret Mary,
saying, " I thirst, I burn with the desire of being loved, I long
to win souls to my love." So, too, does the Church whenever
she speaks of the devotion, declare that its end and reason for
existence is to make us give Christ love for love. But what sort
of a love are we to give Him? To love God with our whole
being is the first and great commandment of the New as of the
Old Law. The love, then, which the God-man asks for is a
whole-souled love, which is, as the apostle declares, the fulfilling
of the Law. Anything which will aid us to fulfil this obligation,
must be of the greatest value. Hence Cardinal Pie rightly said

526 Cbe Compendium of all Religion. 5*6
that the devotion to the Sacred Heart is " the very quintessence
of Christianity, the compendium and substantial summary of all
religion, precisely because it so effectively moves men to fulfill
their greatest obligation to God, and to return love for love."
They see the love of God, incarnate, and extending the bene
fits of this incarnation by His abiding presence on their altars,
and by becoming the food of their souls in Holy Communion,
and this, too, after having given the greatest proof of His love
in laying down His life for them. How shall they return such
love? What proof shall they give of their love ? For, unless
love proves itself by works, it is not true love. Words, indeed,
it may use, but what true lover would be content with these ? A
true lover never wearies of his beloved, he is ready at all times
to show his devotion, he is proud of it, he is willing that all
should know it. Moreover, he is willing to defend his beloved
against all attacks, to fight all comers. If others, who should
love her, look coldly upon her, if they refuse what belongs of
right to her, he endeavors to make up by extra attention, by
more warmth of affection, by greater generosity for their cold
ness, injustice and niggardliness. Were the object of his love
capable of being loved by all without any detriment to any, were
she entitled by right to universal love and homage, then would
he endeavor to spread abroad the knowledge of her claims and
win all who came within his reach to acknowledge them and show
her their devotion.
Such are the three duties to which every true lover of the
Sacred Heart is bound. He must profess and prove his love by
actions as well as by words ; and this we call honor. But since
all who are bound do not honor our Lord, he endeavors to make
up for the deficiencies of others and this we call reparation.
Believing that, if men only realized what the love of Christ is
and what His claims are, they would all honor and love Him, he
tries to awaken all who come in contact with him to a sense of
their relationship to Christ, and this we call apostolate.
What is not true of any finite being is true of the God-man,
who has so many titles to. the love of all, who can gratify and
satisfy the love of all out of the inexhaustible treasures of His

527 Che Crue Light that enligbtenetb every jMan. 527
Sacred Heart, yet in such a way that no one loses by sharing
that love.
He is the true light that enlighteneth every man coming into
this world, the true sun whose rays give to the universe light
and warmth and vivifying power, yet without any person or
thing being the poorer for sharing it with an indefinite number
of others.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS.
Alumni Associations exist in connection with nearly all of
our Catholic colleges. Their purpose is to maintain and foster
friendly relations between former students of the same institu
tion. Experience amply attests that sentiments and feelings,
even the noblest, need to be quickened and kept alive by the
genial friction of association. Thoughts lie dormant unless
awakened into activity by the touch of sympathetic interest.
Among the most generous, most unselfish sentiments are those of
College men for their Alma Mater. The Alumni associations
aim at reviving " the tender grace of a day that is dead," at stimu
lating interest in their former college, and at helping to realize the
high ideals of Catholic education. The former graduates are
brought together socially and kept in touch with their Alma Ma
ter through the college journals or magazines, the general Alumni
association, and the local branch organizations, when such exist.
Some of the colleges conducted by the Fathers of the Society
of Jesus, admit as alumni all those who have graduated from a
Jesuit institution of learning. Honorary members consist of
those on whom such associations may see fit to confer the title.
Besides maintaining a bond of communication and friendship
among themselves, Alumni societies usually take an active inter
est in the welfare of their Alma Mater, and render her substan
tial benefits through their organizations. Many of the older
and wealthier of our non-Catholic institutions of learning testify
annually to the devotion of their scholars who have gone forth

528 Catholic population Growing. 528
from their halls, and who have made it part of their life-wonc to
contribute to the glory and to the usefulness of those institu
tions. It is true that there are not many of the students of our Cath
olic colleges who have accumulated or acquired their millions, or
even their hundreds of thousands, like some of those who have
made donations to more fortunate seats of learning ; but there
are some who have done much, and in the future the number
and benefits of such will increase. The Catholic population of
the country is growing in wealth as well as in numbers, and it
may be confidently expected that our Catholic universities and
colleges will not be left to depend wholly on the tuition fees of
their students as they do practically to-day. And none can be
more efficient in enlisting the interest of wealthy Catholics, in
the cause of higher education, and inducing them to contribute to
its advancement than those who have gone forth from those insti
tutions.

COLLEGE JOURNALS CONDUCTED BY STUDENTS.
The importance and necessity of a vigorous Catholic press is
universally acknowledged, and by no one has this fact been
more clearly realized and more forcibly expressed than by His
Holiness Leo XIII. In an address delivered to a delegation of
Catholic editors, February 22, 1879, he compares this army of
Catholic writers to a chosen band of soldiers, well skilled and
trained in literary warfare, ready at the word of command from
their leader to rush into the thickest of the fray, and, if need be
leave their lives on the field.
"This," says His Holiness, "is all the more a source of joy to
me, because our age, stands in need of such powerful defence.
For such is the freedom, or I should rather say, license, of the
press, that turbulent innovators have spread a countless multi
tude of journals, whose object it is to attack or to question all
truth and right, to calumniate and revile the Church, and to fill
men's minds with the most ruinous principles. And so far have
they succeeded in their endeavors that all men agree that the

529 fostering a Caste for journalism. 529
numberless ills, and the deplorable condition, under which society
labors, is the unhappy results of a wicked press.
Since, therefore, the periodical press has become a general ne
cessity, Catholic writers should endeavor to use, for the rescue
of society and for the defence of the Church, those same weap
ons that are employed by the enemy for the destruction of both.
For although Catholic writers cannot have recourse to the same
devices and allurements which their adversaries frequently use
yet they can easily equal them in variety and elegance of style as
well as the abundance and accuracy of news; nay, they can easily
surpass them in useful information and especially in the present
ment of truth— for which the mind of man naturally yearns, and
which contains such power, excellence and beauty, that once per
ceived by the mind it necessarily forces conviction even upon
the unwilling."
This is only one of many utterances of Leo XIII, in commen
dation of the work of the Catholic press. The bishops of the
Catholic world also in their national synods are most earnest in
their recommendation of the Catholic press. Nothing has been
more widely discussed in the great Catholic congresses which
have been held all over the world. And we had occasion at
different times to see the good results in some countries, particu
larly in Germany, France and England.
Most of our Catholic colleges issue serial publications written
and edited by the students, many of which are highly creditable.
Apart from fostering a taste for journalism, such publications en
courage literary effort among the students, and serve as a useful
means of intercommunication among the alumni.
The Georgetown College Journal is an excellent specimen of
this class of college work, and will compare favorably with many
of our more pretentious secular monthlies. Its first number ap
peared in 1872; and, in its modest and unpretentious salutatory, it
aptly said, as a reason for its appearance, " The advantages of a
journal of this kind have been made apparent by long experi
ence in other colleges. A spirit of ambition and rivalry is there
by aroused among the students, which leads to an improvement
of their English style unattainable by other methods. The jour-

53° Hn Hcquisition of Great Value. 53°
nal is a medium of communication with those outside who are
interested in the college, and who wish to hear the news it will
impart. And when, as in the present instance, the typographi
cal work is performed by the students themselves, an opportuni
ty is afforded them on the spot of learning a useful art, an
acquisition of great value in this busy land."
The " College Journal " was issued from its office in the base
ment of the north building, and was controlled by a stock com
pany. The first suggestion of such a monthly came from Fath
er Edmund J. Young, S. J., Professor of Rhetoric, who had
been connected with the " Owl," published by the students of
Santa Clara Colleg-e.
The College Journal has ever since continued to improve
and grow in point of interest, variety and ability, even as George
town University herself has grown, and bids fair to grow in her
splendid and successful work in the cause of Catholic higher
education. The first editors of the College Journal were
William H. Dennis, Thomas E. Sherman and George P. Fisher,
Father John H. Sumner acting for many years as director, and
taking a deep interest in the standing and success of this speci
men of college work.
Elsewhere we have referred to the Ave Maria, which, though
published by Notre Dame University, cannot properly be classed
as a college publication. In point of excellence, it has few
equals in any language, in the list of Catholic serial literature.
Like the University itself, it is an enduring monument to its
founder, Father Sorin, and the Fathers of the Holy Cross. But
in the Notre Dame Scholastic, the students of Notre Dame
are admirably represented in the roll of Catholic college journal
ism. It was founded in 1866. The Ave Maria had already
been established, and a printing press was in operation at Notre
Dame. The war, too, was over, and college life had settled
down to thoughts of literature, arts and science. A great intel
lectual era had set in. The time was, therefore, ripe for a college
paper. Father Corby, the president, gave the project his hearty
encouragement, and Father Lemonier, the vice-president and
director of studies, took an active part in its establishment. The

53 r Give frequent Hccounts of tbe Institution. 53 1
first number was issued September 7, 1867. It was in the begin
ning little more than a fly-leaf of the Ave Maria, to which it
was attached. As stated in the salutatory, printed in the first
number, it was intended chiefly, in addition to being a literary
medium for the writings of students " to give to parents frequent
accounts of the institution in which they had placed their
children." In March, 1868, the editorial supervision fell into the hands of
Father Lemonier, as director of studies, and for many years the
director of studies continued to be the nominal editor, selecting
and classifying the matter furnished him by the students. The
original idea, though, of an editorial corps of students, has
always remained a constituent part of the plan of organization.
Very early, however, contributions were offered and received
from the whole body of the students, each one being encouraged
and urged to write for the pages of the college paper. While,
however, the very high rank the Notre Dame Scholastic has at
tained as a college paper has been in great measure due to its
directors, the excellent material which has for so many years filled
its columns has been almost exclusively furnished by the literary
and scientific students of the university. It has been to them a
great educator, drawing out the modest talent that might not
otherwise have manifested itself.
Among other college journals may be mentioned The Purple,
of Holy Cross College, an excellent publication of its class ; the
Fleur de lis, published bi-monthly by the undergraduates of St.
Louis University; The St. John's University Record, a monthly
of forty pages or more, published by the members of the
Alexian Literary Association of St. John's University, College-
ville, Minnesota, and the Xavier, a monthly paper, published by
the students of the college of St. Francis Xavier, New York
City ; the Fordham Monthly, of St. John's, Fordham, New York,
and The Mountaineer, the recognized organ of the students
and alumni of Mount St. Mary's College, Md. Published every
month during the school term in the very centre from which all
college news emanates, and at the point toward which all
alumni gossip is directed, it is a safe and reliable medium of
college information and an exact chronicler of alumni news.

532 Culture Broad, and Httainment Varied. 53*
OTHER COLLEGE SOCIETIES.
Literary, Debating, Dramatic and flusical.
The study of music, both instrumental and vocal, has always
been practised and encouraged in our Catholic colleges, and op
portunities for musical training under the direction of profes
sional teachers are offered to all students who desire to avail
themselves of them. Apart from the refining influence which
music by its very nature exerts, as well as for the many-sided de
velopment which its cultivation effects, musical organizations are
calculated to foster a musical taste among the students, and to
add a charm to the Church services, annual commencements, as
well as to the entertainments, given under college auspices, dur
ing each scholastic year.
Literary, debating and dramatic associations have for their
object the fostering of a taste for eloquence, history and general
literature, and in improving in oral discussion, and acquiring a
correct and refined style of writing and speaking. The dramatic
associations serve the purpose of cultivating an interest in theat
ricals, and affording the students opportunities for obtaining the
benefit of the training resulting from participating in the produc
tion of the highest class of dramatic performances.
The library and reading-room associations furnish facilities for
interesting and useful reading, and acquiring information upon
current topics, and forming sound opinions upon important ques
tions. Leading magazines, reviews and journals, and works of
reference are at the service of the members. The necessity of
wide and sympathetic reading in the best authors is obvious, if
culture is to be broad, and attainment varied. In particular, the
teaching of literature is not by precepts" alone, but in large
measure, by that manner of practical instruction, which consists
in bringing the students' mind into intelligent contact with the
b«et •samples of literary thought and form.

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Zhe Catbolic Cburcb
lln tbe
^Dominion of Ganaba
By Jeremiah C. Curtin
Jfounbatfon, process anb (Browtb
In reviewing the progress of the Church in the Dominion of
Canada the subject may seem almost to be overshadowed by her
marvelous growth in the United States, from less than twenty-
five thousand in 1784, at the appointment of Rev. John Carroll
as prefect-apostolic, to nearly fourteen millions in 1903, yet the
healthy increase and development of the Church in the Dominion
of Canada, especially within the past half-century, is, in a manner,
no less noteworthy. At the period of the Conquest or session of
Canada in 1 763, the French Canadian population, who then con
stituted the entire body of Catholics, did not number more than
sixty-five thousand. Yet, at the beginning of the twentieth cen
tury, without any additional increase through immigration from
France, and with but a limited and slow flow of Catholic immi
gration to the English-speaking provinces, we find the Church in
the Dominion flourishing throughout the vast territory from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the international boundary to
the northermost settlements, embracing within its area seven arch
dioceses, twenty-three dioceses, upward of three thousand three
hundred clergy, and a Catholic population of nearly two and a
half millions, almost one half of the population of the Dominion.
The history of the Church in Canada dates from the discovery
of the country. On Whitsunday, May 16, 1535, Jacques Cartier.
a man of deep religious feeling, assembled the officers and crews
of the three small vessels, that constituted his expedition, in the
Cathedral of St. Malo, France, where all, in imitation of Colum
bus, when sailing from Palos, went to confession, received Holy
Communion and received the Bishop's blessing. With him sailed
two Benedictine fathers, Dom William and Dom Anthony, in the
capacity of chaplains. On the 10th of August following, nearly

582 Cartier and Champlain. 582
a hundred years before the foot of the Puritan touched the
shores of Massachusetts Bay, Cartier sailed up the majestic river,
on which, being the feast day of the holy martyr St. Lawrence,
he bestowed the name which it still bears. The gallant explor
er's first act on taking possession of the country in the name of
the French King had been to erect a cross thirty feet high on
the shores of Gaspe Bay. Leaving the Indian village of Stada-
cone, now Quebec, the Frenchmen pressed on until they reached
the greater village of Hochelaga, the site of the present city of
Montreal, where they were warmly welcomed. They were met
in the open square within the village, and surrounded by the
chief and his warriors, and the women and children. A number
of sick, maimed and afflicted crowded about the Frenchman, beg
ging him to relieve them of their miseries.
" The simplicity of these people ", relates Charlevoix, touched
the captain, who, arming himself with a lively faith, recited
with all possible devotion, the beginning of the Gospel of St.
John. He then made the sign of the Cross on the sick, and
gave them beads and Agnus Deis. This done, he began to pray,
and earnestly besought the Lord not to leave these poor idolaters
longer in the shades of unbelief. Then he recited aloud the
whole passion of Jesus Christ. This was heard with great atten
tion and respect by all present, and the pious ceremony was
closed by a blast of trumpets, which put these Indians beside
themselves with joy and wonder."
Cartier was succeded many years later by Samuel de Cham
plain, the real founder of the colony. In 1608 he laid the foun
dation of the city of Quebec. His primary motive, in under
taking the hardships and braving the dangers of the forests and
encountering their savage denizens was to plant the cross in these
new regions, and rescue souls in darkness to the light of the
Gospel of Christ. " The salvation of a single soul," he writes,
" is worth more than the conquest of an empire, and kings should
seek to extend their dominions in countries where idolatry reigns,
only to cause their submission to Jesus Christ," and he declares
that he undertook his Canadian toils and labors with patience,
in order "to plant in this country the standard of the Cross, and

583 Che first JMissionaries. 583
to teach the knowledge of God and the glory of His Holy Name,
desiring to increase charity for his unfortunate creatures." A
favorable time having come, Champlain determined to invite
missionaries to visit the banks of the St. Lawrence for the pur
pose of reviving and sustaining the faith among the French
and of preaching the Gospel to the dusky sons of the forest. He
would fain rescue from perdition a people living, as he says, " like
brute beasts, without faith, without law, without religion, with
out God." To accomplish such a sublime enterprise, he "sought
out some good Religious, who would have zeal and affection for
God's glory ". As those who earnestly seek always find, so
Champlain did not look in vain for apostolic men. Four Fran
ciscan Fathers offered their services, but " as they were as weak
in resources as Champlain himself," says Parkman, "he repaired
to Paris, then filled with bishops, cardinals, and nobles assembled
for the States General. Responding to his appeal, they subscribed
fifteen hundred livres for the purchase of vestments, candles,
and ornaments for altars. The Pope authorized the mission,
and the King gave letters-patent in its favor. The four religious
pioneers named for the Canadian mission were Fathers Denis
Jamet, John Dolbeau, Joseph Le Caron, and Brother Pacific du
Plessis, — men writes Champlain, " who were borne away by holy
affection, who burned to make this voyage, if so, by God's grace,
they might gain some fruit, and might plant in these lands the
standard of Jesus Christ, with fixed resolution to live, and, if need
were, to die, for His Sacred Name."
The necessary preparations for departure having been made,
"each of us," to quote once more the words of Champlain,
" examined himself and purged himself of his sins by penitence
and confession, so as best to say adieu to France, and to place
himself in a state of grace, that each might be conscientiously
free to give himself up in the keeping of God, and to the bil
lows of a vast and perilous sea."
Champlain ordered the sails to be spread, and the good ship
stood out to sea, leaving Honfleur in April, 1615. Quebec was
reached toward the end of May. A little convent and chapel
were erected for the missionaries, and on the 25th of June,

584 Begining of Catholicity in Canada. 584
Father Dolbeau had the happiness of celebrating the first Mass
said in the rude, rock-built capital of the little colony, since the
voyages of Cartier and Roberval.
" Nothing was wanting," writes Father Le Clercq, " to render
this action solemn, as far as the simplicity of the infant colony
would permit. All made their confessions and received Holy
Communion. The Te Deum was chanted, and its sounds mingled
with the roar of the artillery and the acclamations of joy, which
were re-echoed by the surrounding solitudes, of which it might
be said that they were changed into a paradise, all therein invok
ing the King of Heaven, and calling to their aid the guardian
angels of these vast provinces."
A month after, Mass was celebrated regularly every Sunday
at Quebec. Truly it was a grand and beautiful day for Cham
plain and for the colonists who clustered around him in the poor
little chapel of Quebec, as they assisted for the first time at the
Holy Sacrifice on the banks of the mighty St. Lawrence. This
was the beginning of Catholicity in Canada. During a century
and a half the Church of Quebec was the center and the only
focus of the Faith, with the single exception of the Catholic
colony of Maryland, in the immense regions which extended from
Hudson's Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. Of the wonderful story
of the Jesuit missionaries in Canada we need not speak ; their
deeds and records are a portion of the most inspiring and heroic
annals in the history of the continent. The Jesuits founded at
Quebec the first college in the New World north of Mexico.
"Its foundation was laid," writes Bancroft, "under happy aus
pices, in 1635, just before Champlain passed from among the
living ; and two years before the immigration of John Harvard,
and one year before the general court of Massachusetts had made
provisions for a college."
The Ursulines were the first religious that established them
selves in the northern parts of North America. Before the
close of the seventeenth century, there were in Canada six com
munities of women, among whom were two of the Ursuline
Order; the House of Quebec, founded in 1639, and that of the
Three Rivers, founded in 1697.

585 Che Church in Che Other provinces. 585
For the three succeeding centuries, the soil of French Canada,
says a Canadian writer, has blossomed with daring deeds, bold
adventure, noble discovery, heroic martyrdom, generous suffer
ing, and high emprise. What a mine of inspiration there is in
the history of French Canada ! Fit theme, indeed for poet,
novelist, historian, and painter ! Behold the background of its
national historic canvas !
There is the era of discovery and settlement, represented by
Cartier, Champlain, and Maisonneuve ; that of heroic resistance
to the Iriquois through a hundred years of warfare, represented
by Dollard and Vercheres ; of daring adventure in the pathless
woods, by Joliet and La Salle ; that of apostleship and martyr
dom, by Brebeuf, Lallemant, and Jogues ; that of diplomacy and
administration, by Talon, the great disciple of Colbert ; that of
military glory, by Tracy and the lion-hearted Frontenac ; that
of debauchery and corruption by Bigot and Penan ; that of
downfall and doom by Montcalm and Levis.
Though the French Canadians were guaranteed certain rights
and privileges by the Quebec Act of 1774 and the Constitutional
Act of 1 791, the English governor and his executive frequently
attempted to ignore those — to ignore the will of the people, and
as a consequence the French were for many years made to feel
that they were a subject class and that the yoke of Britain was
upon their shoulders. Nay, more. The English governor did
not even stop here. He attempted to make the Catholic Church
a creature of the state, and it was only after many years of strife
and struggle that the saintly and heroic Bishop Plessis won for
himself and his successors that freedom of action in things spirit
ual which belongs to the office of a bishop of the Catholic
Church. After the destruction of the French missions in
Acadia — Nova Scotia and New Brunswick — an Irish Catholic
Church, replete with vigorous life, strong in that vitality of the
faith inherent in the race, sprang up on their ruins. A steady,
though slow, immigration into the English speaking provinces
has resulted in the healthy growth of the Church, whose adher
ents, outside of the Province of Quebec, number over a million
souls. In considering the development and increase of Cath-

586 Laval University founded. 586
olicity in Canada, it is worthy of mention that a large influx from
the Dominion, especially of French Canadians, to the United
States has taken place since about 1870. It is not over the mark
to estimate the number of Canadian Catholics, and their child
ren, or descendants in the United States to-day at a million, or
more. Hence it will be seen that the increase of the children of
the Church in Canada has been noteworthy, while that of the
French-speaking portion, without the infusion of new blood from
France, or elsewhere, has been simply unprecedented.
In the matter of Catholic education, Canada holds a promi
nent place. The separate school system prevails, and Catholics
are not forced to support their own schools, while contributing
their share of taxation to the public schools, as their co-religion
ists in the United States. There are over fifty Catholic Colleges,
and high grade commercial institutions of learning, seventeen
seminaries, and two universities.
Laval University, which derives its name from the first bishop
of Quebec, who founded in 1663 the seminary for the training
of priests, is the principal Catholic educational establishment in
the Province of Quebec. It was instituted in 1852 by a royal
charter from Queen Victoria and a charter from Pope Pius IX.
The building is large and spacious, and the university, which is
held in high esteem, is well equipped with apparatus, a library
of over 85,000 volumes, a museum, geological specimens, and a
picture gallery. Laval has a strong staff of professors, lay and
clerical, and the faculties • are theology, law, medicine, and arts.
In connection with this institution are the grand seminary
founded in 1663, where theology is taught, and the minor semin
ary for literature and philosophy. Laval Normal and Model
School, the Ursuline Convent — a very large establishment for
the education of young ladies, founded in 1641, — the Convent
of the Good Shepherd, and several nunneries together with sev
eral excellent Christian Brothers Academies and schools are
among the list of Catholic educational institutions of the City of
Quebec. Laval University has also a branch at Montreal, with a large
Staff of professors, chiefly in theology, law, and medecine, The

587 Catholic educational Institutions. 587
Seminary of St. Sulpice, Montreal, is a theological training school
for priests, where the larger portion of the Catholic clergy of
the province of Quebec have received their theological education
and ecclesiastical training, and also a college where a large num
ber of the French Canadian youth obtain their education. This
Seminary is held in high esteem, and attracts many Catholic
students from the United States, and the Canadian provinces.
In addition to these institutions, the Montreal diocese possesses
several commercial academies, conducted by the Christian Bro
thers, and members of other religious communities, seven class
ical colleges, twenty-seven colleges and high schools for boys,
forty-six academies and high schools for girls, and a large num
ber of Catholic charitable and benevolent institutions.
The growth of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of
Ottawa has been more marked, perhaps, than in any other por
tion of Canada. When the diocese was founded in 1847, the
territory was but sparsely settled, and the increase from immi
gration to that section had scarcely begun. To-day the Domin
ion capital is the seat of an archbishopric, with a Catholic popula
tion of over one hundred and sixty thousand souls. Among the
Catholic institutions of learning, may be mentioned the Univer
sity of Ottawa, under the direction of the Fathers of Mary
Immaculate, assisted by a lay faculty in the various departments
— an institution of high standing — and St. Joseph's College con
nected with the University, and attended by more than five
hundred students.
The Basilian Fathers established St. Michael's College in
Toronto in 1852, the first superior being Father Soulerin, who
brought with him from the mother house in Annonay, France,
four professors — Fathers Malbos, Maloney, Vincent and Flan-
nery. During the intervening period of more than fifty years
there have been four presidents of the college — Fathers Soulerin,
Vincent, Cushing and Teefy — all men of great zeal and scholar
ship. The provincial of the order is the Very Rev. Father
Marijon. The present head of the college, the Rev. Dr. Teefy,
is a Catholic educator of great force and broad scholarship, who
has during his incumbency as president built up very much St.
Michael's College. Its course is adjusted to the curriculum of
Toronto University, with which it is affiliated, thus making St.
Michael's a degree-conferring college, where Catholic students
may pursue their studies and obtain their degrees from Toronto
University. The institution celebrated its golden jubilee in

588 «lork of Bishop Bourget of JMontreal. 588
1902, with much e*clat, the occasion being graced by the presence
of His Excellency, the Apostolic Delegate at Ottawa, Monsig
nor Sbarretti, and a large concourse of distinguished prelates,
priests, and laymen of Ontario and the neighboring States.
From this excellent institution have graduated many students
who have acquired eminence and honor both in the Church and
the learned professions.
The episcopate of Bishop Bourget was the most remarkable
in Canadian ecclesiastical history. No Canadian ever did more
for the cause of education than he. He brought into Canada
the Jesuits, the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, the Oblate Fathers,
the Fathers and the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the Clerks of St.
Viateur, the Christian Brothers, the Brothers of St. Joseph,
beside such charitable orders as that of the Sisters of Providence,
who teach the poor, and the Good Shepherd, who have a flour
ishing academy quite apart from their special work. In the
Deaf and Dumb Asylum, which was one of his foundations, the
work of educating its unfortunate inmates is carried on. While
speaking of his foundations, though these latter are not in con
nection with education, we may mention the St. Pelagie Hospi
tal, directed by the Sceurs de la Misericorde, whom he brought
to Canada; the House of Providence for old people ; the Hos
pice St. Joseph, for infirm priests ; the Association of the Ladies
of Charity, and the Society of Ste. Blandine, for servant girls.
He established there the Propagation of the Faith, of which he
continued director until his death, and the St. Vincent de Paul
Society. Fifteen religious orders owe their introduction there
to him ; twenty religious associations or confraternities were his
work. He instituted the first chapter of titular canons on this
continent, and substituted the ceremonies according to the
Roman liturgy for the old Gallican forms throughout the diocese.
He caused annual retreats to be given for the clergy, that they
might thus spend a portion of time every year in solitude and
prayer. He likewise began the Adoration of the Forty Hours in
Canada. There is scarcely a church which does not owe to him
some beautiful devotion, as well as precious relics which he
brought from Rome. He made the Church of the Gesu, Mon
treal, the place of pilgrimage to the Sacred Heart for the diocese.
No doubt it was on this account he so dearly loved that beautiful
place of prayer. He created seventy-five new parishes, ordained
an incalcuable number of priests, and gave episcopal consecration
to five archbishops and bishops, whilst creating more than one
episcopal see.

(\IKoIic FedenJion
THE APOSTOLATE OF THE LAITY. *
By RIGHT REV. BISHOP MESSMER.
In the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians, chapter the
fourth, verses first to fourth, we read the following :
" I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you
walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called, with all
humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another
in charity : careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of
peace ; one body and one spirit ; as you are called in one hope
of your calling."
My dear, beloved brethren, dear delegates of Catholic
Societies, and friends of the Federation : It may be right in the
speaker to say that in the whole history of the Catholic Church
there has never been a Pope sitting in the chair of St. Peter
who has so prominently called attention to the public social
duties of Catholics and the Catholic laity, to what we might
call the apostleship of the Catholic laity, as the present glorious
reigning Pope, Leo XIII. And, if some one would carry out
the happy idea of collecting from the different encyclicals, pas
toral letters and public addresses of the Pope, all those passages
which refer to what we might call the social duty of Catholics
in our days, it would make a great, magnificent volume ; and I
do not know if from the whole range of the sacred writings, any
more fitting text to that volume could be found than the words
that I have just read you from the Epistle to the Ephesians :
* Sermon preached at the Convention in Chicago, August, 1902, when the
American Federation of Catholic Societies was permanently formed.

590 Unity and Strength of Hction Needed. 59°
Brethren, I beseech you, walk worthily of your vocation, in
humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another
in charity, careful to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond
of peace, one body and one mind, in the one hope in which you
are called.
The object and the purpose, dear friends, for which we have
gathered from different parts of the country to-day, and the
object and aim of our discussion in which we shall engage dur-
- ing these days, is precisely to answer to this call of our great
Leader, to respond willingly and courageously to the invitations
sent out to the Catholic men of the whole world by our great
Pontiff, to engage upon these public duties that devolve upon
the Catholic and the Catholic citizen of to-day.
It will be proper, within the few moments at our disposition,
to call attention to a few of those duties, to point out some of
the great and beautiful work that lies before the Catholic laity,
to show some of the great Christian work to be performed in the
exercise of that Christian apostleship of the Catholic man. We
need only follow the indications given us by the Holy Father;
and, first of all, like St. Paul, he insists upon one thing as an
absolute condition of success, the unity and the union of mind —
to be of one mind and one spirit, unity in the bond of peace and
harmony, and He tells us that this unity of mind and the unity
of heart must be attained, and will be attained by our listening
willingly to whatever are the teachings of the Church and the
teachings of the infallible guide appointed in the Church, by
willingly following the laws and the rules laid down by him, the
supreme governor and ruler of the Church. He, from the high
position in which he is placed, looking out upon the Catholic
world, and the world outside of the Church, and seeing and
perceiving, guided by the spirit from on high, the needs and the
wants of the Church, as well as society at large, shows the way
upon which to go and to do the work that lies before us. By
following him, if all the different sections and parts of the Church,
all the laity in different countries of the world, in the different
dioceses and provinces of Our Lord — if they all, with one mind,

59 1 first Duty of Catholic Citizens. 591
follow his guidance, then there will be unity and strength of
action, and there will be success of the work.
He tells us that the first duty of a Catholic as a citizen, as a
member of society — and he tells us this in his famous encyclical
on the duties of Catholic citizens — he tell us that this first duty
of ours is to spread the light of Catholic faith, in both ways, by
helping to diffuse the light of the Catholic faith, showing forth to
the public the faith that is in us, making known to others what
are the great and salutary doctrines of Holy Church, delivered
unto her by the Eternal Son of God, but also showing forth the
beauty and the splendor of this Catholic truth, of the Catholic life,
of Christian virtue, by our own lives, by our conduct. He says
that in this way Catholics will do a great work, and he tells us that
it is the work of the Catholic laity ; that while there are in the
Church the bishops, appointed by the Holy Ghost to rule in the
Church, the successors of the Apostles, upon whom devolves
that great mission to go and teach all the nations of the world
— that while they are appointed the authoritative leaders in the
Church of God, united with the supreme head of the Church,
the successor of St. Peter, yet he says it would be a grave mis
take to think that the Catholic laity had nothing to do in regard
to the teaching or in regard to the spreading of Catholic doc
trine and Catholic truth ; that it is their part, according to the
positions in which they are placed, the circumstances in which
they find themselves, the opportunity that is offered to them, un
der the guidance, as obedient children, of the teachers appointed
by the Holy Ghost, to go and teach others what they them
selves have received, make known to others the same sacred
truths of our holy religion by which their own minds have
become enlightened. Is this a work for the Catholic Federation ?
Is this a work for Catholic societies? Undoubtedly. How
could it be otherwise? The Holy Father tells us that this is the
duty of every individual, of every single Catholic man, accord
ing to his opportunities, and according to his capability. How
much more must it be a work most proper, a work most fit for
United Catholics, the children of the Church, brought together
into organized bodies. And there is no doubt, dearly beloved,

592 New field for Catholic Societies. 592
that just in this one regard there is a great field before the
Catholic laity.
I need only mention Catholic literature, call your attention to
what is nowadays called Catholic Truth Societies, call your at
tention to the work of the Catholic press as a Catholic educator
of the laity. And let me call your attention to another work
upon these same lines, spreading the Catholic truth, not only
among ourselves, within the walls of the Catholic Church, but
spreading that light all over, wherever there are willing ears to
listen and hearts willing to receive the truth. It is that move
ment which has been started in this country by the Paulist fa
thers of New York, which has already been taken up successfully
in different dioceses of the country. I mean the missions to non-
Catholics, a work which is gradually being developed upon
wider and further lines to take in regular missionary work
among our own parishioners in our own dioceses, among our
own people. Is there not a beautiful field here for Catholic
societies, for a federation of Catholic societies, to help on this
work ? Is it not their field ? Are not they the Catholic men
who stand before the public, recognized as Catholic men, as true
and loyal members of the Holy Church? Is it not a beautiful
field for them to prepare the way for the missionaries, to help to
overcome difficulties, and to make the work more successful ; to
spread the idea, make it acceptable and pleasing to the com
munity, bring their friends — friends that so far have not as yet re
ceived the truth — bring them to listen to what these missionaries,
as the messengers of God's Holy Church, have to tell them?
To my mind it is a work which is not at all outside of the aims
and objects of the Catholic Federation. For what is that work ?
It is simply, as our Holy Father tells us again, to support, to
promote, to advance, to foster the interests of Holy Church,
help on the work. It is a mission of the laity ; it is properly
called the apostleship of the laity ; to bring Catholic principles
and the influence of Catholic truth upon the social questions and
conditions, public conditions of society, in order thereby to help
remedy the evils existing, help promote the spiritual welfare of
the people, and by this very fact to promote the temporal wel-

593 Catholic principles to Bear Upon Society. 593
fare and temporal happiness of the laity. These are not my
own words or my own ideas. I simply tell you here and for
ever, to give it in short outlines, the teaching of our Holy Father.
Have we not a beautiful field in this regard right here with
us in the United States? There is no doubt whatever that our
non-Catholic fellow-citizens, as a rule, are willing to listen to
what we have to say ; they are willing to give us the opportunity
that we seek for, if we only seek for it ; they will give us the
chance to bring Catholic principles to bear upon society. We
have the same opportunities, we have the same chances as others
to influence public opinion, and, through public opinion, to in
fluence the minds of our fellow-citizens. We have a magnifi
cent opportunity here within the United States, we Catholics,
Catholic laymen in particular, to infuse Catholic principles, Cath
olic views, and Catholic opinions upon the public opinion of the
people. But it lies with us to make use of these opportunities.
And sometimes it becomes first a duty to seek for these oppor
tunities, to bring about these opportunities, and this is a duty, as
our Holy Father tells us, and it is a religious duty; it is a duty
that we owe to God Almighty, in gratitude for the light we
have received ; it is a duty that we owe to God by our alle
giance to him, our absolute subjection to Him, acknowledging
that He is the Supreme Ruler of the nations ; that His will
must be the sovereign will upon which all laws, just and le
gitimate, are to be based ; it is a duty of us, I say, in this
regard, that we should see that our fellow-citizens, those of
our own faith, as well as others, should recognize these prin
ciples and act accordingly ; it is a duty that we owe by the vir
tue of charity to our neighbors. Do we not know that the
more we spread the light of Catholic truth, that the more we
bring Catholic principles to become a leading factor in shaping
and forming the principle force and power in the lives of our
fellow-citizens, especially in the public life of society, that the
more we become the true and the only true benefactors of
society? How can it be otherwise ? Is it not the truth of God,
what we believe and what we teach, and the principles of mor
ality that we follow ? Are they not the unchangeable principles

594 H tremendous power, a tremendous Influence. 594
laid down by Him, who is the Supreme Root of good or of evil,
by which we have to judge, and can rightly and truly judge
what is right, what is wrong ; what is good, what is evil ; what
is well for man, what is hurtful to him? It is a duty that we
owe to ourselves, for do we not know that we ourselves are
greatly influenced by our surroundings ? And do we not ex
perience that particularly with ourselves, the children of the
Church ? Are we not surrounded by all the blessings and the
safeguards of holy religion, by all the blessings and the safe
guards given for the welfare of our souls, the spiritual interests
of our souls by the Saviour of mankind ? Does not the Church,
like a tender mother, watch carefully over everything that we do
and everything that concerns our welfare ? And yet, notwith
standing this, how often are all these things in vain, because
of the still stronger influence that we allow other circumstances,
external conditions, to have and to exert over us. It is a
common saying, and the truth, generally acknowledged by all,
that just as in the realm of nature, so in the realm of the spirit,
the surroundings naturally and necessarily exercise a powerful
influence over us. The more, then, that we try among our
selves to be united in the one mind and in the one spirit,
strengthened by the same supernatural means, the more power
of divine truth and the more power of divine grace — I say, the
more that we try to be united in all this and strengthened by
these means to exert Christian influences and to lead good
Christian lives, the more gain do we profit ourselves, strength
ened among ourselves, every one for himself, the spirit of true
Christian life.
And so it is with the Federation. A Federation of Catholic
men, of Catholic societies, must naturally and necessarily exert
a tremendous power, a tremendous influence upon its own mem
bers. Let us imagine that all the Catholic societies here of the
United States were actually gathered into one great federation •
that they were all brought together, eye to eye, mouth to mouth,
face to face, heart to heart, mind to mind, one body and one
soul, in the one bond of peace and the one unity of the spirit.
Suppose that all these societies, under the guidance, first of all,

595 Christian principles of the Catholic Cruth. 595
of the appointed shepherds of the Church of God, in the light of
the same Holy Truth, the one faith delivered unto us, that they
all would exercise that Christian spirit, bringing forth into action
those Christian principles of the Catholic truth and the Catholic
faith, what a tremendous power that would be for the strength
ening and the uplifting, the upbuilding of Catholic spirit, and
Catholic work, and Catholic life among the children of the
Church, first of all, and then among those that are separated
from us ! What a great influence for the spiritual welfare, as
well as the temporal welfare, of the society in which we live, for
the security and the guarantee of the privileges and the blessings
of the government and the constitution under which we live in
these United States !
This duty, as the Holy Father tells us, of the Catholic laity or
Catholic laymen, must also be put forth in shaping and moulding
the social conditions, the public conditions of society. And here
again, what a great field opens for us ! If all the Catholic men
of this country, brought together in one grand and strong union,
would all exert their influence, and all the Catholic societies, on
the given opportunities and conditions, oh ! how much we could
do to improve, let us say, the public morality of the people and
of the nation ! We speak so much and we hear so much of the
evil of intemperance. We read of different ways and different
methods by which a remedy should be found against that evil.
We talk of legislation by which what is usually simply called the
saloon, the American saloon, could be regulated and the traffic
in intoxicating liquors could be regulated. All these proposi
tions, all these methods, all these means proposed may be good
enough in themselves, but it will never do the work unless it is
taken up by the united strength and the concerted action of the
well-meaning citizens, Catholic or Protestant. There is a field
here where a Catholic federation can join and unite, hand in
hand, with the work of others, in attaining the same great end.
There is, again, that great evil of our day, the degradation,
the profanation of the sacrament of marriage. And our Holy
Father, by the way, in different encyclicals calls attention to this
public duty that every Catholic has in regard to this very matter,

596 Che Question of Socialism. 596
the sacrament of marriage. He tells us that here also is a duty
of the Catholic laity, to influence public opinion, to bring Catho
lic principles to bear upon the solution of the question, and even
to take part in political affairs when it is necessary to regulate
this matter of Christian marriage. With us there would be no
difficulty at all ; the ballot box and the legislative measure, the
means are at our hands, just as well as at the hands of others.
And if Catholics all through the country did unite, and would
unite their action in demanding a reform of our marriage laws
and a reform of our divorce laws, the civil laws of the country,
there certainly would be and must come a reform.
There are so many other fields that open to the activity of tha
Catholic laity. There is what is called in a restricted sense, and
in a more restricted sense, the social question, the question of
capital and labor, a question which, as the Holy Father points
out repeatedly, is not a mere economic question, but is a ques
tion which involves moral principles, a question which can only
be properly solved on the principles of the natural law, aa well
as the principles of the Gospel. Let us take that one question
of socialism. Are we not bound by the bond of charity, a? the
apostle says, supporting one another in charity — are we not
bound by the bond of the one faith in which we center al( our
higher and greater interests, to help our brethren ? Now look
over the United States and look at the Catholic laborer? ; see
in what difficult positions they are placed nowadays. Th&re are
all those many and powerful labor unions, but do we not know,
unfortunately, that socialism is gaining ground from day to day
in those very unions, that socialistic principles are openly preach
ed in their unions, that so many of the so-called labor organs,
the labor press, preach socialism outright, without any restriction
whatever, rejecting all and every Christian principle v»hich would
be wholesome and efficacious in the solution of the question ?
It has come to the point, or at least it will soon come to this,
where a Catholic laborer will have to decide between the prin
ciples of Christianity and the principles of socialism, which of
themselves are anti-Christian. I do not deny, and I do not
mean to say that there are not some demands, some positions

597 Doctrines laid down and preached by Socialists. 597
or doctrines laid down and preached by socialists that we could
not admit ; I do not mean to say at all that some of the
demands made by socialists, or made by the labor unions, are
not just ; they are just and a remedy ought to be found for the
evils of which the laborer justly and rightly complains. But
when I speak of socialism, or mention socialism, I mean it as a
system, I mean all that it comprises, and I take it as it is at this
very day, at the present hour, preached and talked in our labor
unions. I say, then, the question comes before the Catholic laborer to
choose either between the principles of the Catholic faith, the
principles of Christian rule and morality, or to leave his Church
— choose the Church and leave the labor union, or remain in the
labor union and leave the Church. He will not be able to serve
two masters, and there are two masters. Does it not become a
duty of our Catholic laity to provide ways and means for our
Catholic laborers, who are our brethren in the faith, that when
once they are placed before this great dilemma and this most
difficult position, when the question of providing for their wives
and children, their families on the one hand, and on the other
hand of losing employment and being thrown out of work comes
before them — to provide ways and means whereby they can
choose with all safety and conscience, and in the spirit of the
Catholic interest and religion, what is right to God and right in
the sight of man ? This is a work that the Catholic laity has to
do. There may be a difference of opinion as regards the ways
and the means, but as to the fact that we are now before this
problem to devise such ways and means there can be no doubt
whatever. There is another field for the Catholic laity and the religious
duty of the Catholic laymen, as our Holy Father tells us, and
that is in the field of politics. It is a great mistake to suppose
that politics have nothing to do with religion. Our Holy Father
has clearly pointed out in his encyclical on the constitution of
Christian states, clearly pointed out and laid down as a Catholic
principle, that society and the laws of society, and the public life
of society must be based upon religion, just as well as the

598 Responsibility of tbe Catholic Citizen. 59§
private life of individuals. What is society but the collection of
individuals. What is it but the unity, the organized unity, of all
individuals? If, therefore, the individual is bound to an ever
lasting God and to observe the will of this God, of this Almighty
God, then society is bound in its doings and in its work to
observe those same laws. And for Catholic citizens, therefore,
it becomes a duty, in the exercise of their citizen rights, and
their duties as members of the organized society of state, to do
whatever they can in order to shape the public life of the nation,
and the laws of the nation, on the lines of Christian principles.
That does not mean that religion must be brought in in every
thing that is called politics, but it means, for instance, that it is a
duty of the Catholic citizen and the Catholic layman, as a citizen
of society, that he must follow as a supreme rule and law the wel
fare of the country and not his own private interests ; that in
matters of public welfare and public concern, he must not con
sider this or that person, he must not be led by mere personal
views or personal or human respect, but he is bound by the law
of Christian doctrine, by the law of conscience, to vote and act
according to principle. Is there not a great field for the Catho
lic laity in this regard, in this, our country, and with us in par
ticular? Here where we are under a purely democratic form of
government, here the responsibility for the public life of the
nation, the responsibility for the laws of the nation, whether
federal laws or state laws, or municipal laws, wherever there are
laws — the responsibility rests in the last instance upon each
individual voter. You cannot shirk that responsibility, and you
cannot throw it upon either the President or his Cabinet, or
Congress, the House and Senate. If those gentlemen make
laws which are not according to Christian principle, which are
not for the welfare of the country but simply to promote private
interests, then it is you who become responsible for it, who have
voted for those men that made those laws. They are your
representatives, they are your delegates, they are your servants,
and in your name, the name of the people, they make those laws
for the people. Under a democratic form of government the
responsibility, the political responsibility of the citizen, becomes
at the same time a matter of conscience.

599 Duty of the Catholic Layman. 599
It is here, as our Holy Father tells us, where Catholics, as citi
zens, are bound to act according to conscience, and to act there
fore according to the principles which are the basis of our con
science. Is there not a great field here for Catholic action ?
Politics ! Politics, the Holy Father tells us, becomes the duty
of the Catholic layman where it is necessary to defend the rights
of the Church, where it is necessary to make known and insist,
as far as principle and prudence command, upon the claims of
the Church being respected. It is useless to go into any partic
ulars. We all know that in this regard, too, is a great field
before the Catholic laity of this country. We know there are
still a great many things whereby the rights of the Church are
interfered with. It is true, under conditions like ours in Amer
ica, in which the Church is placed here, we cannot expect, and it
would be imprudent to demand, a remedy for all the disad
vantages under which we labor. But we have at least a right,
and I say we have a duty, to demand that the rights and the
claims of the Church be respected as far as our Constitution, the
,very Constitution of the country allows. We do not demand, we
do not ask for privileges, we do not ask for exemptions we are
not willing to allow others ; we simply ask for equal rights and
equal justice for all, as guaranteed under the Constitution of the
country. This we have a right to demand, and it, according to
the teaching of Leo XIII, is a duty of Catholic citizens to
demand wherever they can.
Friends and delegates of the Federation, is this not therefore
the work of the Federation ? Although, as you may perceive
from the remarks I have made, it would be a great mistake to
think that this was the only work that the Federation had to
accomplish. It is not so. The object and the aims of the
Federation are greater than merely to remedy some of those dis
advantages under which we labor as Catholics ; it extends far
wider ; it covers a larger and a greater field, just as if it had been
mapped out by our Holy Father. But it is one of the opportuni
ties and one of the aims of the Federation. We need not deny
it, and it is better to tell it plainly to our fellow citizens.

6oo power of a United Laity. 600
We have then, delegates and friends, a great work before us,
and it is a work worthy of our calling ! it is a work that lies
before us by the very fact of our being the privileged children
of God's own Church ; it is a duty that devolves upon us because
of that great vocation that the Lord has given us when He called
us into His Holy Church, and when He showered upon us those
blessings that are bestowed only within His Holy Church. But
we must carry out that work, as the Apostle said, in unity of
mind and spirit, not in contention, not in pride, as he says in
another place, one thinking himself better than the other ; not by
seeking private interests, but all working for the one great object,
to support and to strengthen Catholic spirit and Catholic life
among our own, to bring, as far as we can, the blessings of our
holy religion and the blessings of the redemption of Jesus Christ
through our Holy Church also to those children of God who are
not now within the fold of Christ. It is a great work, the very
work of the Church.
While the bishops and priests, endowed with special powers,
supernatural powers, and endowed with authority which is given
to them alone by Him who said, " All power is given to Me in
heaven and upon earth " — while they are the only authorized
leaders in the Church, while they live to point out the way and
show the way — yet it is the Catholic laity that must come up and
help. It is like, as we read in the Bible of that great leader and
judge of the Jewish people, in the midst of trying circumstances,
when he selected his men and with only three hundred strong
and valiant, courageous men, slew the army of the Midianites of
one hundred and thirty-five thousand. It was with the light of
their torches, and it was in the strength of their swords. And
so, if the Catholic laity gets together and unites on the divinely
appointed leaders to go forth in the light of Catholic faith and
in the strength and the power of Catholic principles, of Catholic
morality, to help their own brethren, and to help the brethren
outside of the Church, oh what a great and what a beautiful
work, worthy of our calling as children of God and children of
His Holy Church!
Amen.

Most Rev. Sebastian <i. Messmer, D. D.
Archbishop of Milwaukee, Wis.
(From a photograph shortly prior to elevation as Archbishop. )
>od}n>iirbigfier ©ebaftian 33. 501 e jj m e r , D. D.
@rjMfcf)of Doit 2JJUtt>au!ee, S5M8.
(Jlacfj eitier SN^tngrapljie tuts nor Grfiebiing jum ErjBifd)of.)

THOMAS B. MINAHAN.
Previous to his election as National President of the American Federation of Catholic Societies,
Mr. Minahan was President of the State Federation of Ohio. lie is a prominent mem
ber of many Catholic Societies and is known in all as an industrious and, enthu
siastic worker. His able and conservative management of the
Federation has now unqualified commendation.

H Ristory of the formation
of the
Hmerican federation
of Catholic Societies*
By THOriAS B. MINAHAN,
FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERATION.
Since the Columbian Congress no event in the life of the
Church in America has had such wide attention, or aroused so
much interest as the recent Chicago convention of the federated
societies. This attention and interest are not confined to our
own country. From England, Australia, Ireland and the Philip
pines come letters asking for information and copies of the re
cent convention proceedings. In our own country, Federation's
opportunities for great and prominent usefulness have attracted
distinguished recognition. The day of indifference to the further
progress of unifying Catholic forces is past. Federation is al
ready a factor to be reckoned with. More, therefore, than ever
its scope, aims, advantages and methods challenge thoughtful
consideration. It is true that there is still a lack of correct information, con
siderable misunderstanding and some mistrust regarding the
great movement. It is equally true, too, that neither intolerant
confidence of being in all things unquestionably right, nor pet
ulant impatience of opposing opinions will correct erroneous im
pressions or remove honest doubts and apprehensions. Hence
*he necessity, even at the risk of frequent repetition, of present-

602 Xt8 cardinal Him, tbe One embracing all Others. 602
ing again and again plain statements about what Federation is,
and what it is not.
What then is the scope of Federation, what are the objects
aimed at, what the advantages to be gained, and the methods of
accomplishing them ? A brief statement of these may, as a
prelude, add greater interest to the rapid review of the devel
opment or history of the movement, which is the main object of
this paper.
Bishop Messmer certainly spoke authoritatively for Federation
in his sermon at the mass opening the Chicago convention. No
delegate in the convention, no friend of the movement anywhere,
will hesitate to endorse the Bishop's sermon as a correct ex
pression of the layman's best ideal of the scope of Federation.
As there outlined, the meaning, and the only meaning, of Federa
tion, its cardinal aim, the one embracing all others, is the lay
man's active co-operation for the upbuilding, the advancement
and the strengthening of Catholic interests. The purpose of the
Bishop's sermon was to emphasize the opportunity for unity of
lay action in the broad field of the moral, social and civic life of
the country. He pointed out specific lines of work along which
the united efforts of Catholic laymen could realize great results
for God and country.
The work it contemplates is marked out in the following sum
mary of the programme made by one of its most distinguished
and zealous promoters :
I. Religious :
a. Education (Catholic schools, colleges, universities).
b. Literature (periodical press, books, Catholic literary so
cieties, Catholic Truth Society).
c. Emigration, homes for Catholic sailors, colonization, etc.
d. Catholic conventions and demonstrations, Catholic con
gresses, state and national.
II. — Social.
a. The poor and orphans (St. Vincent de Paul Societies,
Catholic Aid Societies).
b. Labor (Labor Unions, Strikes, etc.).

603 programme and JMetbod of federation. 603
c. Marriage and divorce.
d. The Sunday observance.
e. Correction of the abuse of liquor.
f. The theatre.
g. Obscene literature, gambling, etc.
III. — Civil.
a. Religious rights of Catholics.
1. In State institutions (reformatories, prisons, work
houses, orphan and insane asylums).
2. In the public schools (sectarian exercises, anti-Catholic
text-books, discrimination against Catholic teachers).
3. Chaplains in the army and navy and homes of veterans.
b. The Catholic Indians.
c. Taxation of church property.
d. Support of sectarian institutions.
e. Protection of Catholic civic rights.
From this it must appear evident that the leading thought of
the promoters of Federation has always been and still is to co
operate in that kind of work, which every earnest Catholic as
well as all good citizens must commend. As to the methods of
Federation, the best condensation of all that can be said upon the
subject is that education is the instrument, as it is the philosophy,
of the movement.
Among the advantages to be gained by Federation, the most
desirable and important is the development of a Catholic public
sentiment. There never has been a distinctly Catholic public
opinion in this country. Public opinion in America is the power
behind the throne. To have a share in it, either in locality or
nation, is to wield a power. Millions of Catholics, united and
prudently asserting themselves by this means, cannot fail of
recognition. Another benefit which, in itself, should Federation never ac
complish anything more, would fully repay all the time, labor
and expense thus far given, is the uniting of the different nation
alities. Heretofore the nationalities making up our Catholic

604 Che most profound Cbinher of tbe Hge. 6°4
life have always regarded each other with suspicion and jealousy.
They have been as unknown to each other and as regardless of
their common interests as though not of the same great house
hold. This condition in itself has been probably the greatest
stumbling block to their mutual welfare and the proper advance
ment of their common religion. The influence that can harmon
ize and knit together these separated and often conflicting forces
must be hailed as a God-send to the Church. Federation has al
ready successfully accomplished much of this most difficult work.
A most striking feature of the Chicago convention was the en
tire absence of race discord. The sentiment of common fellow
ship and mutual recognition throughout the entire sessions of
that cosmopolitan gathering impressed itself upon every delegate
in attendance. Through the blending influence of Federation
these great national Catholic bodies have already learned that
the secret cause of their weakness has been remaining apart here
tofore as mere fractions of what should be a magnificent unit.
The mere fact of Catholics of all nationalities, and of every so
ciety, standing united in the nation, as in each locality, will
accomplish much to be desired. Had this unity been sooner ac
complished, certain events would not have to be recorded in our
recent history. Very many of the unfortunate conditions affect
ing Catholics would disappear in the united presence of all our
nationalities and societies.
Our intention, however, as already suggested, was not so
much to dwell upon this phase of the subject as to trace Federa
tion to its true source, and while recording the facts of its devel
opment and progress, explain as far as we may its method of
organization and the means by which it will accomplish its pur
poses. Who would search for the real sources of the Federation of
Catholic societies will find his pathway leading directly to the
study of the most profound thinker of the age — Leo XIII.
The central idea of Federation — which in its fullest meaning is
but another name for an apostolate of the laity — is actually only
a single ray from the broad stream of light pouring from the
Vatican for a quarter of a century. In the germ, Federation

605 Lay Hction commanded by tbe Sovereign pontiff. 605
may be recognized in the famous encyclical defining the duties
of Catholic citizens. Analyzed, its utterances all point towards
just such an awakening of Catholic endeavor on the part of lay
men. To the great White Shepherd Himself we owe the first
thought of the grand movement for an apostolate of the laity.
His was the clarion voice that first called upon Catholics every
where to co-operate in moulding social thought and directing
public, moral and intellectual life. As crystallizing his thought
upon lay action take this paragraph of one of the encyclicals :
" Catholic action, of whatever description it be, will work with
greater effect if all the various associations, while preserving
their individual autonomy, move together under one primary and
directive force." Here, in the block, is Federation as it is being
gradually chiseled out in detail.
His Eminence, Cardinal Gibbons, about the same time repeated
the papal message for an apostolate of the laity. In an address
delivered in Baltimore, illustrating the power of " each for all
and all for each," he said : " A drop of water does not appear to
amount to much, but let us take millions of them and unite them
and we have the great Mississippi winding its way to the Gulf."
Bishops McFaul and Messmer, as the Episcopal directors of
Federation, united in interpreting to the Chicago convention the
great message and appeal for lay action to co-operate in spread
ing Catholic truth. "The object and aims of the Federation,"
they said, " are greater then merely to remove some of those
discriminations under which, as Catholics, we labor. It extends
far wider ; it covers a larger and greater field and is just what
has been mapped out by our Holy Father." Understanding
fully, and knowing correctly the real sources of the movement,
a number of archbishops and nearly forty bishops have put the
seal of their approval upon the work of federating all Catholic
societies. For its origin, therefore, for its desirability, for its
usefulness, for the necessity of its existence, it is beyond ques
tion that Federation has the highest and most distinguished
authority, the broadest possible field for its beneficent activities.
In view of these facts it is difficult to understand how some
can persuade themselves that partisan politics have any possible

Co6 Lines of Strict Hutonomy for each Society. 606
connection with Federation. We might say here in passing
that the idea of coupling Federation with political purposes
or "a Catholic party" originated with two Catholic papers,
both of which have been for some time under the same
management. From them the secular press seems to have
taken its cue and has industriously kept this idea alive to the
prejudice and injury of the movement. With the exception
of the two papers referred to, the entire Catholic press has
from the first strongly advocated the project of uniting all
the Catholic societies. There have been differences as to
the most practical method of bringing about such union but
never any doubts or apprehensions about effecting this union.
With Federation largely accomplished in the matter of its organ
ization, aims and methods, a vote of the Catholic press to-day
would be almost unanimous in endorsing the movement in its
present development.
The honor of being the first among the Catholic organizations
to respond to the call for united Catholic lay action belongs to
the Knights of St John. At their national convention in Cleve
land, Ohio, in June, 1899, they first discussed the subject and
decided upon an effort to unite their local commanderies. Again
at their national convention in Philadelphia in 1900 they dis
cussed the broader subject of uniting not merely their own
commanderies, but all the Catholic societies with the approval of
His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons and the Apostolic Delegate,
Monsignor Martinelli. They had issued a leaflet addressed to
all the archbishops, bishops, and Catholic societies upon the sub
ject, and in response twenty-two Catholic unions favored the
project and delegates from eight of these unions met with them.
The very first outline drafted was along the lines of strict auton
omy for each society. It was a clearly defined recognition of
separate independence and the jealous preservation of the cher
ished customs as well as the languages of each of the different
racial and national societies. These first promoters of trans
lating the papal thought into practical American realization had
a broad grasp of the great subject as it is now rapidly develop
ing. Anything having the slightest semblance to organizing for

607 6rowtb of tbe federation JMovement. 607
political purposes was farthest from their thought or intentions.
The discussion of the subject of a general Federation and the
method of bringing about the union presented many serious dif
ficulties, and the representatives at the Philadelphia meeting
concluded to hold another in New York City. Although the
Catholic press at once favored the project, there was some indif
ference among the societies. The seed, however, had been
planted and a few local societies were soon federated. On
Thanksgiving Day, 1900, fifty] delegates, representing fourteen
societies and branches, and having as leaders the officers of a
few national organizations, met at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New
York. The societies there represented were the Knights of St.
John, the Catholic Benevolent Legion, the Ancient Order of
Hibernians, Irish Catholic Benevolent Union of Pennsylvania,
Staats Verbund, Catholic Mutual Benevolent Association, the
New York Staats Verbund, Catholic Total Abstinence Union of
America, Catholic Young Men's Union of New York and the
General Benevolent Association. This conference remained in
session the entire afternoon, Mr. Henry J. Fries, president of
the Knights of St. John, acting as chairman, and Mr. John J.
O'Rourke, of Philadelphia, as secretary. The purpose and scope
of Federation as outlined at this meeting was :
" The cementing of the bonds of fraternal union."
" The fostering of works of piety, religion, education and
charity." " The study of conditions in our social life, and the spread of
Catholic truth."
Before adjourning they appointed a committee of ten, with Mr.
Thomas P. McKenna, of Long Branch, New Jersey, as chair
man to draft plans for federating all the Catholic societies and
to report at a convention to be held in Cincinnati, May 7, 1901.
It was shortly before this time that the movement attracted
and enlisted the interest and guidance of the Rt. Rev. James A.
McFaul, of Trenton, New Jersey. He was the first prelate to
take up the work and to advocate a national Federation. His
energy and unobtrusive but masterful leadership kept the falter
ing work alive. Calling to his aid his former professor at Seton

6o3 Che first efforts of Catholic Laymen to Unite.

608

Hall, Bishop Messmer, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, these two zeal
ous prelates began in earnest the great work of shaping wisely
the first disorganized efforts of Catholic laymen to unite together
the fragments of American Catholic fraternal life. In these
formative days of the movement they had the encouragement
and counsel of several distinguished archbishops. To the An
cient Order of Hibernians, the Knights of Columbus and others,
Bishop McFaul wrote and spoke frequently, urging co-operation.
He also wrote a notable article in the North American Review,
which attracted much attention and provoked but one adverse
reply from a cleric who feared, it would seem, that certain politi
cal interests would be jeopardized by the movement. The Cath
olic weeklies continued to favor the efforts put forth, and the
periodicals, especially The Messenger, spoke earnest and encourag
ing words. The movement, however, gathered strength slowly
with the societies, and the trend of Catholic lay-thought was hesi
tant and along dividing lines. The great national and racial
bodies shrank from what they appeared to fear most — surrender
of autonomy of the several societies.
Instead of holding the convention contemplated for Cincinnati
on May 7, it was thought wiser to hold another conference
before venturing a general convention. This took place at Long
Branch, August 28 and 29, 1901. The gentlemen attending
numbered about fifty-five, and representatives of national organ
izations, a few local federations, one or more German State
leagues and some Catholic temperance societies. At this gather
ing the first temporary national organization was formed. Mr.
Fries was chosen as president, Mr. O'Rourke as secretary, and
Mr. M. P. Mooney, of Cleveland, Ohio, as treasurer. An execu
tive board of seven was also provided for, and a committee
appointed to arrange for the first national convention, to be held
in Cincinnati, on December 10, 11 and 12 of the same year.
Father Lavelle and Drs. Wall and McGinnis were requested to
address a circular to the clergy of the entire country requesting
their co-operation. Much doubt existed as to what form the
proposed union of the societies should take. Discussion divided
as between diocesan, county and state, and various other

609 Objects of federation. 609
methods of union. Some were strongly for merging the move
ment through the Catholic Truth Society. A temporary consti
tution was drafted, and the name of The American Federation
of Catholic Societies of the United States was given to the pro
posed union. The objects as stated in this constitution were :
" The cementing of the bonds of fraternal union ; the foster
ing of Catholic interests ; works of piety, religion, education and
charity ; study of conditions in our social life ; encouragement and
spread of Catholic literature and the aid of the Catholic press."
No scheme of unification having been fixed upon, much dis
cussion afterwards arose upon the then all-important matter of
" Plan and Scope," as it was called, of unification. Mr. M. P.
Mooney, the delegate representing Ohio at this conference, had
strongly urged the idea of county, state and national organiza
tion upon the same lines as the civic organization of the country.
From its first suggestion Federation had taken firm hold upon
the Catholics, generally, of Ohio, and the largest cities of the
state rapidly organized upon the American plan of representa
tion. Already some counties of the state had organized a state
Federation. This plan found favorable consideration and
became practical in Ohio, and has since been known in Federa
tion circles as the " Ohio idea " of Federation organization.
Here I must digress to the German societies. The real credit of
being first to recognize the advantage and necessity of union for
promoting and safe-guarding Catholic interests belongs to the
German societies. It is true their idea was at first confined to a
union of the societies of their own nationality. For more than
fifty years the German societies have organized into state leagues,
and these were centralized in the Central Verein or national
body. There are some sixteen such state leagues, and they
aggregate the largest number of German Catholics in fraternal
life. Their long work of organization, their efforts towards the
promotion of Catholic interests and defence of Catholic rights
are neither generally known nor adequately appreciated. Long
as this German Federation has existed, no single whisper has
been heard to justify, on the part of certain Catholics, any appre
hension of certain Catholic parties in politics.

6 1 o first National Convention. 6 10
On December 19, 1901, at Cincinnati, the Federation's first
national convention was opened, with Mr. Henry J. Fries presid
ing. According to the secretary's official list there were about
two hundred and fifty accredited delegates present. The large
majority were from the middle west, Ohio having the largest
number as compared with other localities, and the only state
organization. A striking feature of the personnel of the dele
gates was the high order of intelligence and deep current of earn
estness manifested. True, there were few among them of great
distinction in financial or fashionable circles. They represented
for the most part the forces which are most vigorous if not most
prominent in our Catholic life. The suggestion comes unbidden,
how much more of strength and influence we would have if all
classes of Catholics were but united, if all who kneel together
should work together ?
The opening session of the Cincinnati convention gave zest
and direction to the after sessions. The most Reverend Arch
bishop Elder's presence lent dignity and weight to the occasion.
The Right Reverend Bishops McFaul, Messmer, Horstmann
and Maes all took active part, while Governor Nash spoke the
welcome of the State, and Mayor Fleishmann that of the city.
Father Lavelle had preached a stirring sermon, and Dr. Wall
was prominent among a very liberal sprinkling of priests who
were delegates.
The representation direct from the great national societies was
comparatively small in this convention. The national officers of
some were present, but of these few were authorized to speak
officially for their societies. Some few others, as the Supreme
Knight and Solicitor of the Knights of Columbus, were there
merely as observers. There was an uneasy and doubtful feeling
as to the possibility of any success in unifying different nation
alities or of laying the foundations of a union that would even
tually assimilate the various and numerous societies. No one
appeared to doubt the desirability, usefulness or necessity for
union. The novelty of the situation, though, made it a matter
of great difficulty just where and how the work of organization
should begin. To be entirely frank, there were many more who

6 1 1 Distinctly a Layman's JMovement. 6 1 1
did not, than there were who did, know just what it was all
about. Some, too, who thought they knew might have been
very easily persuaded they did not. After intelligent discussion,
much patient hard work and with a strong desire on the part of
the different nationalities and of all the societies represented to
get together upon some basis, a charter bond was at last framed
and "The American Federation of Catholic Societies" began its
career and closed its first convention with the national anthem,
" America," on its lips. Some comment upon this convention
may be in place.
Looking back now and recalling the fact that while there
seemed general satisfaction and gratification among the delegates
upon the general results, there was, -nevertheless, a reluctant
conviction with the more thoughtful that the result was some
what vague, that much was left to the future as experimental,
and all more or less crude. Looking at the results from this
distance, I suspect the thought of Longfellow best expresses the
impression the writer, as well as many of the other delegates,
then had of Federation :
" There are great truths that pitch their shining tents
Outside our walls, and though but dimly seen
In the gray dawn, they will be manifest
When the light widens into perfect day."
While the " perfect day " of the movement is likely still in the
far distance, rapid events have shed much light since the " dawn "
of the first efforts at unification.
A feature of the convention very noticeable was that in its
accomplishments it was distinctively the work of laymen. There
was entire absence of any influences that could stamp it as cleri
cal. Many priests were there kindly to lend welcome, aid and
counsel, but none became officers, few mingled in debate, and
even the bishops, except to assist with suggestions, studiously
avoided taking sides in the many earnest discussions and
animated scenes. Just here, I would repeat again the invitation
given in the call for the Chicago convention :
" Because it is a layman's movement, many clergymen feel

6 1 2 first JYKlestone on tbe Road to progress. 6 1 2
they should not, perhaps, actively forward the matter of organi
zation. This is a mistake. No one more than the clergy should
be interested in the success of Federation. Certainly no one so
much as they can forward the difficult task of organizing. As
the work intended is mainly to co-operate with them, this should
guarantee their powerful assistance in the work of organizing."
It has been remarked that in the late Chicago convention the
bishops instead of the laymen spoke for the convention. It
might so appear. The truth, however, is that because of condi
tions that made it eminently proper, it was discreetly thought
best to let the message from that assembly to the public come
from the episcopal advisers, and the voice of the laymen speak,
as it did, in the resolutions embodying the sentiments of the
entire convention.
As calculated to quiet the fears of some on the score of danger
from "wire-pulling" influences to make use of Federation, there
was an occurrence and a scene in the Cincinnati convention that
will long be remembered by the participants and all in attend
ance. So swift and stern was the rebuke administered that it
served memorable notice that the mere manipulator or politician
would find himself without an occupation in the councils of
Federation. One of the most gratifying results of the Cincinnati gathering
was the reassurance it gave the friends of Federation, that the
project of blending the nationalities and unifying all the societies
was not at all impracticable. The disposition towards mutual
forbearance and the entire absence of society jealousy forced the
conviction that the idea was feasible and required only opportu
nity to prove its final and complete success.
That nothing succeeds like success was illustrated by the sud
den impetus given the movement by the union effected at Cin
cinnati. Many who had argued strongly against the practicabil
ity of the project as well as those who were ever apprehensive
of results, took courage and the setting of the first milestone on the
road to progress was hailed with favor from unlooked-for sources.
This favor was increased by the influence in some sections, of
the creation, through locd Federations, of a Catholic public

6l3 Difficulties and Obstacles Overcome. 613
opinion which succeeded in silencing some notorious maligners
and redressing successfully some local phases of discrimination
against Catholic interests. The organizers of Federation realize
that by results it will be judged. It will be conceded that in its
mere formative condition its power for accomplishment has been
necessarily limited. There are acknowledged evidences, how
ever, that in a tactful, prudent, yet firm manner Federation has
already made its influence felt, and in the minds of the thought
ful it has established its possibility for great and permanent good.
If scarcely more than a " habitation and a name " has commanded
respect, what may not be hoped for when it shall have reached
the full stature of its growth ?
But the title of this article recalls us to the march of Federation
since the Cincinnati convention.
The German sprichwort that " Aller Anfang ist schwer," has
had its full exemplification in the difficulties and struggles of
Federation since that convention. In recording the history of
the movement, it may be just as well to tell the whole story— its
ups and downs, its difficulties and trials. When the delegates
left Cincinnati it was believed that a complete understanding had
been arrived at in the important matter of the plan for perma
nent organization. In a very little while some misgivings de
veloped as to the practical working out of County and State
Federation. The system began to be questioned until such
staunch friends of Federation as Dr. Cantwell, in a very able
article, attacked the method of organization adopted. At length
even the spiritual advisers, Bishops McFaul and Messmer,
seemed to disagree upon the plan in actual operation under the
constitution. This, of course, created confusion and lack of
confidence, and the work of organizing moved very slowly.
Then, too, arose the misunderstanding, in this regard, with the
Germans and other nationalities. The project being as yet
only experimental in practice, these nationalities — especially the
Germans, who had spent so much time and labor in building
their own organizations — feared Federation threatened to merge
them, and that, should it fail, their organizations would perish
with it. At once the German press sounded the alarm and

6 1 4 Barmonizing of different Racial Interests. 6 1 4
determined opposition began. The impression also grew that
Federation would cause antagonism among societies of different
nationalities in the matter of customs and languages. This con
dition soon brought all progress with the non-English-speaking
societies to an end. The situation was most discouraging.
These difficulties, however, proved in the end to have been bless
ings in disguise. Discussion on the subject resulted in light
from the sparks of friction, and the final outcome was that the
Executive Board determined to modify the misunderstood and
incomplete compromise that had been embodied in the con
stitution adopted. Recognizing that it was a condition and not
a theory they had to deal with, the board took steps that, finally,
at Chicago, led to an adjustment entirely satisfactory to all the
nationalities and completely eliminated the always most difficult
problem to solve — the harmonizing of the different racial inter
ests. Since the report is still in process of preparation for
publication and has not yet been made public or generally known
to the societies, we give here the plan of organization as modi
fied and perfected by the convention in Chicago. Should there
be inaccuracy in the statement, it will be because the original
draft is not in the writer's possession. First, it is proper to say
that the unobserved but really hardest work of the recent conven
tion was this revision of the constitution. It is believed by all
that it has put the Federation upon a logical and substantial
basis of representation. The leading features of representation
now are :
1. Direct representation from individual and isolated societies
is abolished. 2. The smallest unit from which direct representation is per
mitted is the County Federation.
3. Direct representation from County Federations in a State
is only permitted where there are less than five County Federa
tions in such State ; when there are five or more such County
Federations, they are required to form a State Federation, and
then the representation is directly from the State to the National
Federation. 4. In view of the fact that the National Federation finds

6 1 5 features of Representation. 6 1 5
already organized and existing certain racial organizations, like
the German Central Verein, German State Leagues, Polish,
Bohemian, French and other organizations, which are reluctant
to come into the Federation, unless the absolute integrity of
their societies can be preserved, concession has been made as
follows :
Case a: Where there is a State Federation of the English-
speaking societies, and a Staats Verbund or other State racial
organization. In such case the State League or Verbund can at its State
convention name the number of delegates its membership enti
tles it to, submit its 1/ist of delegates to the State Federation for
formal approval and ratification, and they are to be included in the
list of delegates certified by the State Federation to the National
Federation. The State League pays the per capita, through
the State Federation, upon its membership, to the National
Federation. Case b : Where there is no State Federation of the English-
speaking societies, but only County Federations, and an existing
State League of German or other racial societies ; in such case
the County Federations certify their delegates directly to the
National Federation, and the State League does the same inde
pendently. Case c : No State League of German or other racial societies,
but only some county organizations like the local Central
Verein. In such case, if there be a State Federation, these local county
racial organizations may certify their delegates to the State
Federation, and they are certified by the State Federation to
the National organization.
Ii there be no State Federation, they will join the local County
Federation in certifying delegates directly to the National
Federation. If there be no County Federation, they can certify directly
and independently to the National body, as if they were a County
Federation. Sporadic racial societies must join the County Federation,

6 1 6 Delegate for each thousand JMembers.

616

where one exists, or form a County Federation, in order to
secure representation at all.
Any exceptional case not herein covered will be passed upon
by the National Board of Directors as applications for member
ship are made.
The intention of the German and other racial societies is to
permit them to select their own delegates to represent thern in
the Federation and at its conventions ; such also is the intention
with respect to the English-speaking County Federations.
As the German State Leagues hold an annual convention,
they can name their own delegates at such convention, and mail
the list so selected to the Federation State Secretary or send it
duly certified by one of its members to the State Federation
convention. The State Federation Convention need not be composed of
more than one delegate from each County Federation, to whom
voting power on all matters except selection of delegates to the Na
tional Federation shall be accorded, on the basis of the member
ship he represents. As the Convention will be confined, on the
delegate question, to ratifying the selections made by the County
Federation and the State Leagues, it is unimportant how they
vote so it be approvingly.
Reverting to the selection of representatives of the County
Federations : Each County Federation is permitted to name its
own delegates, that is, its delegates by which it wishes to be rep
resented in the National Convention, and in doing so, it has it
in its power to so apportion them as to give representation to
the various societies that compose it, thus gratifying the natural
society pride that exists everywhere ; but always subject to the
limitation on representation provided in the National Constitution,
I e., " that each State or County Federation shall be entitled to
one'delegate for each 1,000 members or major fraction thereof ;
but each State or County Federation shall be entitled to at least
one delegate."
Instead of the expense of a large number of delegates to a
State Convention, the County Federation can send one delegate
who takes with him the list of local delegates which are approved,

6 1 7 Hdvantages of plan Hdopted. 6 1 7
of course ; and in the event that no delegate is sent to the State
Convention, the list, with the per capita can be mailed at all
events. The payment of this per capita to the State Federation and
by it to the National, is at all times to be the test of the repre
sentation to which the State or County Federation or State
League is entitled.
The advantage of this plan is that it permits County Federa
tions to admit even parish representation within itself, thus
embracing every Catholic in the county, and the National body
is entirely relieved from any care as to the individual societies.
The natural limitation upon the complete carrying out of this plan
is the fact that parishes are usually without means out of which
to pay per capita. The adjustment of this detail is left to the
County Federation to work out in whatever way it sees best.
Another important feature is that absolute home rule is given to
the County Federations, no restrictions being placed on them by
the National Constitution, except this, that the general plan for
County Federation, which has been tried and found successful,
and has been printed and circulated, will be forwarded to each
County Federation and it will be expected to conform to the
same, except so far as local conditions may demand some modi
fication. The State organization will be determined by the delegates
from the County Federations.
In addition to the foregoing representation, and for the pur
pose of keeping up the interest of the National Societies as
bodies, each National Society (for example, the Knights of
Columbus, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Knights of St. John,
National Central Verein, Young Men's Institute, Catholic Men's
Benevolent Association, Catholic Order of Foresters, etc.) , is
entitled to send one delegate for each 10,000 of its membership,
as delegates at large, with full powers, upon payment of the
fixed sum of $10 for each delegate it is entitled to in the Con
vention. It would probably serve no purpose to attempt further enumera-

6 1 8 Che Dissensions and Variance of Opinion. 6 1 8
tion in detail of many of the difficulties and trials Federation
met with during the first six or eight months of its existence
after the Cincinnati convention. Except from a very few, there
was at no time opposition to the idea itself of uniting the socie
ties. The dissensions and variance of opinion were all confined
to mere methods and detail of bringing about the union.
The greatest drawback to organizing was lack of funds. The
running expenses (without salaries to anyone) were necessarily
kept within the most meagre bounds. A stenographer for the
secretary, stationery and postage were the utmost that could be
met. The traveling expenses of the members of the executive
board, in attending meetings of that body, had to be met by the
members themselves. Certainly at times, if, indeed, not all the
time, the executive officers found themselves obliged to present
a confident front in the determined effort to keep the ship afloat.
Early in the spring, 1902, seeing the whole movement threatened
with apathy and actual dissolution unless some effort was made
to organize, the executive board authorized the president to en
deavor, somehow, to get a hearing for Federation in the large
centres of Catholic thought. It was hoped that if foothold could
be got in some of the larger cities, the movement would spread
in at least- some of the States. Federation was then at an
exceedingly low ebb. Through the personal kindness of Mr. D.
P. Toomey of the Young Men's Catholic Club of Boston, a
magnificent meeting was held in the Hollis Street Theatre of
that city. Upon the hearing so generously given, for they paid
even the traveling expenses, Federation was enthusiastically
endorsed, and, as a result, Massachusetts was represented at
Chicago by a State organization second only to Ohio. It was
urgently sought to repeat the Boston meeting in New York
City. For a time this prospect was most encouraging. The
unexpected death, however, of Archbishop Corrigan brought
everything to a standstill. A meeting was arranged in June in
Indianapolis. This was well attended by representatives from
«very part of the State, and so favorably was the hearing re
ceived that a State Federation was immediately organized. In
New Jersey Bishop McFaul organized a meeting in Newark and

6 19 Hpatby and Opposition Overcome. 619
brought about a State organization. Bishop Messmer made
several ineffectual attempts to hold a meeting in Milwaukee.
Just two weeks prior to the recent convention Milwaukee
accorded us a hearing and, although the Catholic Citizen there
had always opposed the movement, and a few of the leading
Catholics there expressed their opposition in the daily papers,
the meeting was, notwithstanding, large and representative, and
resulted in bringing to Chicago perhaps the largest State delega
tion in the convention. After repeated but unsuccessful efforts
for a meeting in the convention city itself, Chicago finally
arranged for a hearing. This was within less than a month of
the convention. The Chicago societies were all exceedingly slow
to take any interest. In fact, some of the State officers of the
Knights of Columbus of Illinois openly and vigorously antagon
ized every effort made, and even went so far, after the meeting
was finally had, to publish a long article in their official bulletin
and mail it to every member of the order in the city and through
out the State. This action, we are assured, did not correctly
represent the disposition of the Knights of Columbus generally.
That the rank and file of the order favor Federation was
evidenced by the large number of members in the Chicago con
vention. A prudent conservatism, we feel very confident, explains the
reluctance of the national board of the Knights of Columbus to
delay having brought that great order in as a commanding factor
in the movement.
The Chicago meeting was held in the Paven's Theatre. It
was well attended and the audience exceptionally representative
of the best Catholic element of its Catholic fraternal life. The
result far exceeded anything hoped for, under the existing condi
tions, and a committee of one hundred was at once appointed to
make all local arrangements for the convention. Had this meet
ing not been so long delayed and the proper arrangements there
by interfered with, Bishop Spalding would have been one of the
speakers at the mass meeting of the convention. Until this
meeting it did not seem possible to hold the convention in
Chicago — or, for that matter, anywhere else. An incident

620 H Discouraging Outlook. 62o
associated with the meeting is here recalled to show how un
founded are the fears that Federation will excite the antagonism
of non-Catholic denominations. After the meeting, while sitting
in the Sherman House, a stranger, excusing himself for intruding,
introduced himself. He said he resided in Kansas City ; that
by the merest chance he happened in, out of the drenching rain,
to the Paven's Theatre meeting. " I am a Methodist," he said,
" but if what I heard at that meeting correctly represents the
Federation of Catholic Societies, you can't let your fellow-citizens
of other denominations know of it quickly enough." " Educated
Americans of all creeds," he added, "are rapidly reaching the
only logical and sensible conclusion, that in matters of religion,
as everything else here, it is bound, sooner or later, to be the
' survival of the fittest.' "
This Protestant gentleman's thought not only contradicts the
fear of bitterness, but it emphasizes the opportunities all about
us for an apostolate of the laity to assist in winning America to
the religion most consistent with the naturally broad and logical
trend of the American mind.
As the darkest hour is that just before the dawn, so the exper
ience of Federation immediately preceding the Chicago conven
tion was most gloomy and discouraging. Within a week of the
convention failure broadly stared us in the face. All the indica
tions seemed to point to a very meagre attendance. Want of
funds made it almost impossible to arrange for the event at all.
Apparently the great racial organizations had become hopelessly
estranged. In the convention city itself determined, open and
bitter hostility continued on the part of its most influential or
ganization. Even those friendly to Federation and the arrange
ment committee itself were despondent. The hot rays of
criticism from within and without, from high and low, were
beating upon the entire movement. Grave and exceedingly
difficult questions of national import to Catholic interests chal
lenged the utmost discretion. Unseemly wrangling in the public
eye threatened where there should be nothing but quiet, respect
ful and thoughtful action. All these difficulties and omens of
failure cast their shadows, broad and threatening.

62 1 JWagnif icent Success of Convention. 62 1
In the representative and magnificent attendance ; in the uni
versal sentiment of harmony permeating the whole body ; in the
innumerable messages, by letter and telegram, of encouragement
and confidence, from prelates, priests and laymen throughout
the entire country ; in the unlooked for but most satisfactory
solution of the grave problems associated with the plan of organi
zation ; in the harmonizing of conflicting and mistrustful race
feeling ; in the unmistakable evidence of the firm bond of union
finally effected ; in the wise, conservative, yet manly and out
spoken resolutions officially voicing the convention's sane judg
ment ; in the public measures deeply affecting Catholic interests ;
in the encouraging replenishment, at least partially, of an empty
treasury ; in the calm, conservative wisdom of the entire work —
in view of all these most unlooked-for results, we cannot but
believe that the soul-stirring acclamation of other times is as
applicable now to Federation as it was to the crusaders of old,
and " God wills it " is the spontaneous voice of almost the entire
Catholic press and people. From every quarter has come the
most encouraging assurances.
That the generous confidence so widely expressed may not
fail of realization can only be assured by pushing forward with
untiring energy and patience, with prudence, thoughtful deliber-
ateness, and abiding trust in the guidance of God to fulfil the
great message of His Vicar for an apostolate of the American
Catholic laity, to the end that our country may be in heart as
well as intellect at the forefront of the best progress of the great
opening century.
As evidence of the magnitude Federation has assumed we
add an enumeration of the representation in its first convention.
The executive officers of National and State organizations : Nich
olas Gonner, President of the German Central Verein ; Rev. V.
Kohlbeck, President of the Bohemian Societies ; Mr. Krolbassa,
President of the Polish Societies ; Mr. Franchere, representing
the French Societies ; Thomas H. Cannon, High Chief Ranger
of the Foresters ; F. J. Kierce, Supreme President of the Young
Men's Institute ; J. T. Keating, ex-President of the Ancient
Order of Hibernians ; F. W. Immekus, President of the Penn-

622 Representation in first Convention. 622
sylvania State German League ; Henry J. Fries, Supreme Presi
dent Knights of St. John ; Daniel Duffy, President Irish Catho
lic Benevolent Union; Messrs. A. Koeble and Kauffman,
representing the State League of German Societies of New
York ; E. D. Reardon, the Catholic Knights of America ; P. M.
Keerst, German State League of Minnesota ; Hon. Peter Wall-
rath, State League of Indiana; Rev. L. M. Roth, Catholic
Knights' League of America, Officers of the State Federations
of Ohio, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Indiana, representatives
from forming State Federations in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illi
nois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The list here given is incom
plete, the official list being in the hands of the national secretary.
There were also delegates from branches of the following socie
ties : Knights of St. John, Catholic Knights of America, Ameri
can Catholic Union, Young Men's Institute, Catholic Benevolent
Legion, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Catholic Order of Forest^
ers, Knights of Father Matthew, St. John Benevolent Associa
tion, Knights of St. Lawrence, Wenceslas Catholic Union,
Federation of German Catholic Societies of Chicago, Polish
Catholic Alliance, St. Joseph's Society, German Central Verein
of Dubuque, St. Bernard's Society, Catholic Union of Louisville,
St. Aloysius' Benevolent Society, the Irish Catholic Benevolent
Union, the Temperance and Benevolent Society, Knights of
Columbus, St. John's Temperance and Benevolent Society, Ger
man Catholic League of New York City, German State League
of New Jersey. The accredited number of delegates in the con
vention approximated five hundred and represented more than
a million Catholic laymen.
The third national convention of the American Federation of
Catholic Societies was held at Atlantic City, N. J., in August,
1903. Delegates representing 1,500,000 were present from nearly
every State in the Union. The Secretary reported that three
Cardinals, including two Apostolic Delegates, and fifty-three
archbishops and bishops had declared in favor of the Federation.
Four thousand Sioux Indians were represented at the convention
by a chief. The Centro Catholic Society of the Philippines and
Porto Rico were also represented.

The Catholic Church
and Fraternal Societies
BY REV. H. A. BRANN, D.D.
Like many other words that are frequently on the lips of
publicists, or are used as the shibboleths of party gatherings,
" fraternity " has its false as well as its true meanings. The
anarchist cries fraternity, and stabs the head of the state ; the
representative of authority is not his brother. The socialist
cries fraternity, and proceeds to rob the rich ; the owner of
property is not his brother. The French Revolutionist shouted
for liberty, fraternity, and equality, and yet in the same breath
he cried : " The aristocrats to the lamp-post " ; aristocrats
or priests were not his brethren because his ideals were
pagan. The Catholic Church supplied the world with a new and
distinct term in the word "brother," and attached to it a
meaning that was unknown in pagan civilization. The head of
a fraternal organization, which in his day was destined to be
come, and since his day really has become the greatest frater
nal organization the world has known, wrote : " And finally be ye
all of one mind, having compassion one of another, loving the
brotherhood, merciful and humble." * It was his care to foster
a spirit that animated a brotherhood that was instituted for
the whole world, for Jew and Gentile, for rich and poor, for
savage and civilized. This brotherhood is the Catholic Church.
Its founder was God, who assumed our human nature, and thus
became our brother, and elevated us to the dignity of being the
sons of God.
* i St. Peter iii. 8.

624 Che Church and fraternal Societies. 624
The Prince of the Apostles learned the true meaning
from the master who had planned it and gave it its consti
tution and laws. From the divine Master's lips he had heard
the command to spread the brotherhood over the whole
world in unity of government, faith and charity. He had seen
the divine Master institute the fraternal banquet at which
all the brethren sat down in perfect equality, and which was
to be repeated to the end of time. Peter was present at
the first feast where Christ sat with the twelve as brothers
at the same table, a love-feast that continues to be celebrated
every day in the year and in every land, "from the rising of the
sun even to the going down." * It was this banquet, and
the spirit of it, that made the early Christians call one another
brethren, and made them known as brethren even to the
pagans. This great brotherhood is a living and fruitful organism, and
hence the creator of organizations like to itself in spirit and
character. They are the product of its fecundating love. As
a great lake, overflowing with the waters of never-failing springs,
sends many streams through the plains and valleys to refresh
and fertilize them, so the Catholic Church sends out from her
inexhaustible bosom countless organizations for religious and
benevolent purposes. Her religious orders, her societies of St.
Vincent de Paul, her society for the propagation of the faith, for
the redemption of captives, are all the fruits of Christian
fraternity. They are the product of Christian faith and Chris
tian charity, which, being Catholic, concern the welfare of the
whole man, body as well as soul.
We all see the action of this fraternal spirit in the world of to
day. We know now that where that spirit exists there is genuine
Christianity. But the spirit of fraternity is now so common that
we often forget its origin, and the cause which produced it. We
often ungratefully forget that it was the Christian religion which
not only produced fraternal organizations of its own, but,
acting outside of itself upon all the natural sources of fraternity,
purified them where they had become adulterated by paganism,
* Malachias i n.

625 Christianity tbe Restorer of Duman Rights. 625
and made them wholesome springs for the regeneration of the
world. The natural sources of fraternity are chiefly two, the family
and the nation. The family is the first source of fraternity.
Children of the same mother, living in the same house, eating at
the same table, are brothers ; and, in a wider sense, relatives are
brothers, because the same stream of blood flows in their veins.
This is according to the law of nature, the law of consanguinity.
Now, how did the Christian Church find this law when she
undertook to evangelize the world ? She found the natural law
ignored and trampled on. The father stood in the family an
uncrowned despot, having practically the power of life and death
over his wife and children. Neither natural justice nor the
voice of nature controlled his action. The family was a cold,
heartless creature of the state ; agnation, which was simply an
extension of the father's despotic power in the line of his own
relatives before marriage, instead of consanguinity or the
more direct tie of blood, controlled the descent of property
and the right to inherit. Compare the laws of the twelve
tables, and the commentaries on them of the pagans Ulpian
and Caius, with the great code of the Christian emperor, Jus
tinian, if you wish to see how Christianity restored the family
to the rights which it had by the natural law, and which it has
by the laws of Christ ; how Christianity curbed the power of
the father, elevated the mother through the sacrament of mar
riage, and restored the rights of children to life, to liberty, and
to property. Through the Christian code they became not
only the subjects of their parents but brethren and co-heirs in
Christ. Christianity made the child the brother of his own
father. It is a noteworthy fact that when politicians apostatize from
the Christian religion, and with the hatred of apostasy wish to
destroy its influence, they return to pagan models, and make
war on the natural rights of the family. For instance, they
make laws of divorce, or laws enforcing godless education — the
one to degrade the mother, the other to rob the child of an in
alienable right ; or they make laws to punish Christians for try-

626 Second Great Source of Natural fraternity. 626
ing to sustain the teaching of Christ. Thus the only fraternity
of the pagan and the apostate is one of hate. They combine
to destroy the rights of the family, which Christianity defends
and protects.
The second great source of natural fraternity is the nation
or the race. We have a natural attachment to the land in which
we were born, to its mountains, valleys, rivers, and lakes, and
to the people among whom we have lived, whose feelings and
aspirations we share. The man who does not love his country
is a monster. " Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land ! "
The quotation is trite, but the words are always appropriate.
This love of country becomes stronger with age, and especially
when, besides the natural beauties, the justice of its laws and
constitution make the country doubly dear to the inhabitants.
Our own great land is a case in point. There is no flag which
represents such excellent political institutions as our starry ban
ner. It is the only flag unsullied by religious or political per
secution. No other people can say that of any other flag.
After every civil war in Europe hecatombs of victims have
fallen, sacrificed to political hate. After our civil war we let
our erring brethren go, and in a short time forgave and forgot
their offences. The history of every nation in Europe is stained
by bloody penal codes to punish religious offences. Our govern
ment alone has never put a man to death for his religion. And
therefore we have double reasons for loving our country. It
has acted so far according to the spirit of Christianity. Our
laws are tempered by its spirit and teaching. The laws of
nature, the rights of individuals, and the laws of the Church are
recognized. Our civil laws leave her free, respect her discipline,
and protect her persons and property. Our political system is
aptly calculated to make our nation one great Christian frater
nity. Now, whence has our country derived that spirit of equity

627 Our Laws of Christian Origin. 627
that reigns in her Constitution and law? Certainly not from
the pagan idea of the state or nation. Paganism made the
state God. From the state all rights were derived. Religion
itself and the priesthood were the creatures of the civil power.
Hence the first Christians who dared to practise a religion not
recognized by the state were accused of treason and punished
as traitors. The fact that they professed belief in the divinity
of Christ was deemed a mortal offence to the divinity of the
emperor, and deserving of death. Yet it is this very theory of
the power of the state that the apostate politicians of modern
times accept. They claim for the state a spiritual as well as a
temporal supremacy. Acting upon this claim, in Europe they
have imprisoned and disfranchised clerics, and confiscated
church property. They have claimed for Csesar the rights of
God, and made laws oppressive of the conscience of the people.
They have established state churches, and governed them as if
they were purely political institutions, as in England. They
have made the will of the law-maker, whether he be a czar in
an empire or the majority in a republic, the supreme criterion
of right and wrong, the god whom to disobey is treason. Act
ing upon this pagan theory, the so-called republic of France is
as much a foe to fraternity as Russia. Fraternity implies a
union of hearts of the whole people. How can there be fra
ternity when the majority is always depriving the minority of
its rights ? The majority in this country — that is to say, our
ruler — in spite of certain pagan tendencies, has not yet begun,
openly and directly, to deprive the minority of its legitimate
rights. The spirit of our people and of our institutions was
unknown to Grecian or Roman paganism. This spirit is not of
barbarian origin. We have not derived it (although some say
so) from a race of ferocious pirates, who before they became
Christians held their brothers in slavery, and whose fundamental
principle of law was that " every man should have a lord," and
who spent most of their time in butchering one another. The
spirit of our laws, like the laws of the good King Edward, and
the laws deriving their origin from Magna Charta, is Christian.
It is in the Christian code of Justinian and in the Canon Law

628 Catholic Brotherhood as Realized in the Church. 628
of the Catholic Church that you must seek the origin of our
enlightened legislation. The limitation of the husband's power,
the right of dower for the wife, the right of property, as it now
exists, for the children, are all of Christian origin. Long before
our system, the political systems of Spain, France, and Italy, in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, breathed the spirit of
Christian fraternity. The separate provincial parliaments hold
ing the authority of the kings in check, the fueros of Spain, the
coutumiers of France, the privileges and exemptions of the
Italian republics and princedoms, were all foreign to the despotic
idea of pagan government, and the product of Christian ideas.
They were not perfect governments, for nothing human can be
that ; but they were immeasurably superior to the cruel, central
ized despotism of the pagan system, which destroyed, both in the
family and in the nation, the idea of fraternity. Christianity, by
fostering that idea, softened the severity of the civil laws, and
made mankind realize that all were descended from a common
pair, and created by a common Father, who is in heaven.
In fact, our very political system seems to be copied from the
idea of Catholic brotherhood as realized in the church. There
is no political organization in the world so like the Catholic
Church as that of the United States. Just as in the church we
have many dioceses, each having its own laws and its own rulers,
yet subordinate to the central power in Rome, so have we in the
United States, each having its own laws and home rule, but
subject to the central power in Washington. We have that
unity in variety which makes political, as it helps to make all
other beauty. The spirit of Christian fraternity pervades our
laws, and makes all the citizens equal ; as in the church all the
faithful are equal at the same sacramental banquet.
Protestantism, which is essentially a rebellion against the author
ity of God residing in His Church, has rendered impossible the
beautiful spirit of fraternal charity which flourished in the Reform
ation days in the Catholic guilds. The spirit of faith has gone
from those who cut themselves off from the centre of unity and
has been succeeded by the reign of indifferentism and a lack of
true Christian charity and fraternity.

REV. WILLIAM F. McGINNISS D.D.
President International Catholic Truth Society. Rev. Dr. McGinniss of St. Francis Xavier's
Church, Brooklyn, New York City, and founder of the above society, is a scholarly, eloquent,
and zealous young clergyman, whose work in promoting a knowledge of Catholic truth,
and refuting mistatements, though the T. C. T. S., has received the warmest
commendations of the hierarchy clergy and laity.

MISS ALICIA BLANEY.
Supreme Trustee, Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association, and Historian of the Society.

MRS. E. B. McGOWAN.

Supreme President Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association appointed director of the Pan
American Exposition, prominent in Catholic societies and a member of The Woman's Union,
The Working Boys' Home and the Juvenile Court, the Professional Womens' Club and the
Auxiliary Board of directors of Trinity College, Washington, D. C, formerly principal of one
of Buffalo's public schools.

332

Spirit of Catholic Unity. 332
AT HO LICS have a peculiar fitness for society rule and life.
The Catholic who knows his church or is accustomed to
scrutinize her sacred character has
learned to love her for her unity and
the unity which she inculcates. Lik
ened to the mysterious unity existing
between her Divine Founder and
herself one in doctrine, in doctors
and in pupils ; one on earth and in
heaven, in the midst of this world's
kingdom, which is ever and in all
things divided, and hence ever falling,
this solitary claimant of perpetual
thomas h. cannon. oneness must gladden and delight
High Chief R.mger, Catholic Order of
Forresters. the heart that loves unchanging truth.
He knows, too, that so close is the unity which must exist,
that in this family of God there
can be no distinction of any
kind. Graced with such a spirit
of unity and manifesting it in
each society duty, what a mag
nificent form of organization is
within the capabilities of the
good Catholic man. A truly
Catholic Society can be a bul
wark of all that is calculated to
subserve the public good. Mor
ality will be a distinguishing
characteristic of its members ;
temperance and all the virtues
will flourish under its sway, and
the community in which it exists
must acknowledge the charity from which it came forth and the
Faith which sustains it.

JOHN A. HENNEBERRY.
President New York Council, Catholic Be
nevolent Legion.

633

Growth of the Organization,

63:

EMBLEM OF THE ORDER.

REV. MICHAEL J. MoGIVNEY.
and the average cx-i
accomplishing t h i si
had been $16,000 fori
years. for the protection of[
was $886,237, and
of $62,321 in the
been paid out to ben-
300,000, while thej
deaths had been only
was passed providing that the national]
directors use $250,000 for a new na
tional headquarters building to be
erected in the city of New Haven,
Conn. Among other important laws
adopted was the change of the amount
of insurance. Formerly the order is
sued but $1,000 insurance to one mem
ber. Under the new constitution the
order can issue one, two, or three thou
sand dollars of insurance, as desired.
On the occasion mentioned Su
preme Knight Edward L. Hearn thus
referred to the growth and work of the

"J^HE growth of the Knights of Col
umbus has been remarkable, es-
I pecially in recent years. At the gen
eral convention, being the twenty-first
annual meeting of the National Council
held in New Haven, Conn.., June, 1903,
the report showed that there were 730
councils of the order, with a member
ship of 93,906, of which 35,580 were the
insured membership. The gain in the
four years preceding had been 51,136
members. During the same period,
twenty-three States had been invaded,
doubling the territory formerly covered,
Ipense to the order in
(marvelous growth
Peach of the fout
The surplus func
existing contracts
there was a balance
treasury. There had
eficiaries over $1,-
total number of
1 81 5. A resolution

REV. PATRICK P. LAWLOR.

634 Work of tbe Order in New Y^1* and JVIassacbusetts. 634
order : "A generation past the possibilities of an organization
such as ours were scarcely dreamed of. The announcement
twenty-one years ago of the organization of a society for the
purpose of uniting through the potem
influence of fraternity the Catholic men
of this broad land, would have won for
its projector the title of dreamer. But
in the lapse of a score of years the po
tential has been reduced to reality, and
the golden mead of success has been
our portion. The Catholic Knight of
Columbus from the far away shores of
the Pacific extends to his brother on
the Atlantic seaboard the cordial and
sincere hand of friendship and the
Catholic Knights of the Republic can
daniel colwell. hail as brothers their co-religionists in
the Dominion to the north. If we had accomplished nothing
further than this, we might well say a worthy achievement had
been attained, but apart from enrolling in one grand, compact
body the Catholic men of this country
whose imposing phalanx bristles with
impregnable armament of unity, we
have accomplished and are continually
accomplishing other meritorious deeds.
In New York and Massachusetts we
have seen our brothers working earn
estly and untiringly to establish free
beds in hospitals for the care of sick or
wounded, while in these and in other
states the charity of our members has
been manifested in the establishment
of free scholarships in Catholic col
leges for the benefit of worthy students william m. geary.
who are in need of assistance. Another great work to which
the members of the order in Massachusetts have turned their
attention is the task of seeing that Catholic orphans who become

635

H ]Meritorious CClork.

635

wards of the state are placed in Cath-
| olic institutions. This is a most mer
itorious work and should commend itself
to our members in every state."
It was also announced that the fund
of $50,000 for the purpose of establish
ing a chair of secular history in the
Catholic University at Washington was
completed. The work was certainly a
most worthy one. and the members who
have acted so generously in the matter
will feel amply repaid in the great good
work which will be accomplished
james t. mullen. in giving to the world the truth
regarding the gigantic labors of Catholic individuals
and of the Catholic Church in the progress and develop
ment of this continent. Impartial historians are a scarcity
and the important part played by Cath
olics in the history of this continent has
never been frankly admitted by the
historian of different creeds. But the
establishment of this chair of secular
history in the Catholic University will
go far to dispel the obscurity into
which the Catholic pioneers of this con
tinent have been thrust by biased writ
ers of history.
The Catholic character of American
discovery, exploration and colonization
has been almost wholly overlooked by
non-Catholic writers, and frequently
where alluded to the acts and motives of many of the great
Catholic characters of our early history have been minimized or
misrepresented. In its inspiration, inception and execution the
discovery of the New World was an essentially Catholic enter
prise ; and while other and different claims have been set forth
at various times. It is generally conceded the world over
that the only systematic, continued and successful attempts

HON. CORNELIUS T. DRISCOLL.

636

Day of prejudiced historians passed.

636

JOHN T. KERRIGAN.

to Christianize and civilize the aboriginal
inhabitants of the continent were made
by Catholic missionaries.
From that period the Catholic Church
has contributed her share, and more than
her share, to American development, not
only in this Republic, but to the north
and the south of it. Yet from the pre
tentious, not to say prescriptive, tone of
some writers, the unthinking reader
would be led to conclude that the
Catholic Church was an imported insti
tution here, unmindful of the fact
that as she is the oldest institution in
Europe, so she is also the oldest in
America. The day of prejudiced historians like Robertson and
Roscher, or of well-meaning fanciful romancers, like Irving
and Prescott, is past. The " closet-explorers," as they are
aptly termed by a recent writer, will be
superseded by those who regard history
as a science, and base their deductions
on the principle of investigation and
research. That justice has not been
given to the early Spanish pioneers is
simply because most of our American
writers have been misled, by the pre
judiced pictures of English historians.
These pioneers made a record unpar-
alled : but our text books have not
recognized that fact, though they no
longer dare dispute it. It was, there
fore, eminently fitting that the Knights mathew c. cconnor, m. d.
of Columbus should endow a chair of secular history in the
Catholic University of America, an act which is undoubtedly des
tined to bear abundant fruit in the future, especially in relation
to that much neglected phase of American history ; namely, its
Catholic character.

637

Catholic Knights and Ladies of Hmerica.

637

REV. LEANDER M. ROTH SUPREME SPIRITUAL
DIRECTOR CATHOLIC KNIGHTS AND
LADIES OF AMERICA

T* H E Catholic Knights and
Ladies of America, a sketch
of which will be found elsewhere,
is of comparatively recent founda
tion, and has thus far been mark
edly successful among our leading
Catholic societies. Rt. Rev.
Bishop Byrne of Nashville, Tenn.,
in a letter commendatory of the
aims and methods of the society,
writes : " I can only say that the
purpose of the organization as se"
forth in the constitution, and the
qualifications for membership are
such as any Catholic Bishop can
approve and commend, and as long
as the members live up to the let
ter and spirit of the fundamental law, they may feel assured of
the favor and good will of the church. As for myself I am
heartily in sympathy with all or
ganizations of Catholic laymen,
whose object is the promotion, by
legal methods, of the spiritual and
temporal welfare of the members
and which require as a qualification
of membership, a genuine Cath
olicity and a full and prompt
obedience to lawful ecclesiastical
authority ; such, as I understand
the constitution, are the object and
the spirit of the C. K. and L. of
A., and hence I gave to this or
ganization my approval and sup
port, and I now cheerfully com
mend it to the Catholics of the
Diocese."

JOHN DUFFY SUPREME SECRETARY CATHOLIC
KNIGHTS AND LADIES OF AMERICA

638

Che Knights of St. lobn.

638

SUPREME PRESIDENT HENRY J FRIES.

discussed the subject and decided
upon an effort to unite their local
commanderies. Again at their na
tional convention in Philadelphia
in 1903 they discussed the broader
subject of uniting not merely their
own commanderies, -but all the
Catholic societies with the approval
of His Eminence Cardinal Gib
bons, and the Apostolic Delegate
Monsig/nor Martinelli. At the first
two conferences held for that ob
ject Mr. Fries was chosen Chair
man, and on the occasion of the
Federation's first National Con
vention, at Cincinnati, Dec. 10,
1 90 1, Mr. Fries also presided. A
prominent and earnest worker in
the interest of the Knights of St.
John, also, is the Supreme Secretary,
Buffalo, New York.

Ty|R. HENRY J. FRIES, of
}**¦ Erie, Pa., Supreme Pres
ident of the Knights of St. John,
is not only a prominent member
of that organization, but is also
closely associated with the forma
tion of the American Federation
of Catholic Societies. The
Knights of St. John was the first
Catholic organization to respond
to the call for united Catholic lay
action in that movement. This
was largely owing to the initiative
and advocacy of Mr. Fries, who
foresaw the great and beneficent
results that must necessarily follow
from a union of all the various
Catholic societies of the country.
At the national convention of
the Knights of St. John, in Cleve
land, Ohio, in June, 1899, they first

SUPREME SECRETARY M. J. KANE.

Mr. M. J. Kane, of

639

Cwo 6reat Catholic Organizations.

639

J. A. ROWE NATIONAL TREASURER CATH
OLIC BENEVOLENT LEGION.

^\F the various Catholic benevo
lent and fraternal organiza
tions, the Catholic Benevolent Le
gion, and the Catholic Mutual
Benefit Association possess a most
commendable record. The latter
during the first twenty-five years of
its existence paid out in benefits
$11,000,000, while the former, from
its foundation in 188 1 to 1903, had
distributed among its beneficaries
the enormous amount of $14,000,-
000, besides paying to its disabled
comrades the sum of $108,000. Of
this class of societies an eminent
. American Bishop writes : " I believe
that such societies are beneficial to
the individuals comprising them
and to the Catholic community at
large ; that they prevent Catholics
from drifting into forbidden asso
ciations and largely contribute to
create a healthy social atmosphere
distinctively Catholic ; that they
bring together Catholic gentlemen
and ladies under the best social
conditions and thus prevent to a
great extent the evil of mixed mar
riages, . and that their members
being profoundly devoted to the
Church are always ready to aid
their pastor in carrying forward
any good work in promoting the
best interests of the Church ; and
pastors will find in organizations
such as these powerful allies in their many and laborious under
takings for the preservation of the faith.

JOSEPH CAMERON SUPREME RECORDER
CATHOLIC MUTUAL BENEFIT ASSOCIATION.

F. J. KIERCE.
Supreme President, Young Men's Institute.

JAMES E. DOLAN,
National President Ancient Order of Hibernians. Mr. Dolan is a man of ability and energv,
and has ever been a champion of the rights and interests of Ireland and Irishmen.
Previous to his election as Nat;onal President he held the office of National
Vice-President, to which he had been unanimously chosen, at two
consecutive conventions.

JOHN J. HYNES.
Supreme President, Catholic Mutual Benefit Association.

RICHARD B. TIPPETT.
Supreme President, Catholic Benevolent Legion.

Nicholas Gonner, President of the D. R. K. Central-Verein.
Editor "Katholischer Westeii," "Luxemburger Gazette,"
and "The Catholic Tribune."
Nicholas ©onner, <Prfiftbent be8 2). SR. $. Central = Serein,
SRebolteur be§ „JS.,tf)oli(cI)e>- SBeften," bev„SujemSurger ©ajette" unb
"The Catholic Tribune."

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(Latbolic jfraternal anb
Benevolent Societies
ITn tbe laniteb States
Unclublng all tbose Ibavlng IRational ©rgam3ations.
THE GERMAN CATHOLIC CENTRAL VEREIN.
Among the many Catholic organizations in the United States,
the German Catholic Central Union holds a foremost place. It
was founded in Baltimore, April 15, 1855. Since then, with the
exception of the year 1859, it has held an annual general con
vention in some one of our large cities.
Contra-distinguished from the fraternal and other associations,
whose chief objects were of a pious character, many German-
American Catholic organizations, whose purpose was mutual
assistance in case of sickness or death, existed from an early
date. Experience has shown that associations of this nature
constitute an effective safeguard against the corrupting influences
of secret societies. So long, however, as these societies acted
separately and locally, they failed to fully attain the object for
which they were designed. When, for instance, a member
moved to another locality, he lost his claims to any benefits in
the organization to which he had formerly belonged. This fact
gave rise to the movement to unite all the German Catholic
Benevolent Societies into one great organization, and this union
was consummated in the German Roman Catholic Central
Verein. The advantage of this project was that, while it served
to guard its members against the temptation of joining secret
societies, it afforded them the same social and financial benefits
as did the latter, and a member of any branch of the Central

654 Questions touching important Catholic Interests. 654
Verein received recognition from any other affiliated branch in
whatever place he chanced to be. He did not lose his member
ship by change of location, or forfeit the benefits accruing to
him in the society to which he had formerly belonged.
Until the year 1867, the Central Verein, on the occasion of
its yearly conventions, occupied itself exclusively with the con
sideration and conduct of its own affairs. At the convention of
that year, however, which was held in Pittsburg, Pa., its scope of
action was increased. In view of the fact that the number of its
members had grown to thirty thousand, the time seemed to have
come when the Society should take an active interest in ques
tions affecting the general welfare. The important subject of
immigration first engaged its attention ; and a committee was
formed to investigate the matter in New York. In the conven
tion at Chicago, in 1869, it was resolved to assist the German
Catholic Normal School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With this
move the practice was inaugurated of taking cognizance, in the
general conventions, of not only the affairs of the organization,
but also of questions touching important Catholic interests in
the United States, always, of course, with the approval of the
church authorities, to whom all resolutions are submitted;
This widening of the action of the Central Verein did not imply
any neglect of the interests of the individual branches of the
Union. The latter grew, and continues to grow, in membership
from year to year. In 1882 the organization established a fund
for widows and orphans of its deceased members. Perhaps the
best evidence of the efficiency of the Central Verein can be
found in the statistics published on the occasion of its last gene
ral convention. It had then, in round numbers, over six hundred
affiliated branches, with an aggregate membership of about fifty-
five thousand, and possessed a reserve fund of $1,030,000.
Some seven thousand sick members were assisted during the
preceding year, at an outlay of over $160,000, while the families
of eight hundred deceased members received within the same
period the sum of nearly $140,000. Branches of the Verein are
established in more than thirty States of the Union.
The Central Verein has not only received every year the

655 Our German-Hmerican Catholic Citizens. 655
blessing of the Holy Father, but all the members of the Hier
archy are united in their praise of the Catholic spirit which ani
mates its members in all things pertaining to the interests of the
Church in the United States. It inculcates and fosters, as far as
possible, in all its members, a thorough, practical, Catholic senti
ment, and hence it has always been free from the canker of
lukewarmness and indifference, where action is needed. In its
growth and development, for nearly half a century, the Central
Verein. and its constituent branches have had to contend with
many difficulties and have encountered countless obstacles, but
through perseverance and wise and judicious management, and
especially its dominating Catholic spirit, it has attained its pres
ent condition, and stands an enduring monument to the spiritual
and moral worth of our German-American Catholic citizens.
In relation to the two important questions of Catholic schools
and secret societies, the Central Verein has been especially vigil
ant and active. Every year since its foundation it has embodied
in its resolutions the declaration : " We, the members of the
Central Verein hold that Catholic schools alone can satisfy the
rights and meet the requirements of the children of Catholic
parents." And after a prolonged controversy this opinion has
prevailed, for it reflects the sincere convictions of true, earnest
Catholics of all nationalities. To everything, also, in any wise
savoring of the secret lodge and its mummeries, the Central
Verein is unalterably and persistently opposed. And in this it
proves its patriotism, as well as the soundness of its moral posi
tion ; for any agency that tends to prevent the introduction
here of the corrupt and corrupting influences of the evil and
infamous secret societies of Europe and the revolutionary oligar
chies of South America, is doing an important service to the
State and society.
The continued increase of the Central Verein is provided for
in the Central Association of German Catholic Youth. This
organization was founded in Pittsburg in 1890, and placed under
the patronage of St. Aloysius. The objects are 1. to work for
the establishment and spread of Catholic Youth societies
and* the Catholic faith ; 2. the close union of all the Catholic

656 6erman-Htnerican Catholic Y°"th of tf>c ^and. 65<5
Youth societies, the promotion of Christian love of our neighbor
and exemplary conduct ; 3. to make easy the entrance for
Catholic youth, who are compelled to change their place of
residence, from one union into another, and so maintain the
Catholic unions. This organization embraces the German-
American Catholic youth of the land. By this method these
unions, which are formed in all the principal parishes, constitute
an unbroken chain binding the school children with the unions
of adults, so that recruits for the Central Verein never fail. Not
only does this system serve as an assured feeder for the parent
organization, but the training received by the youth of the paro
chial schools in their societies prepare and fit them for member
ship in the Central Verein on reaching the age of admittance.
To appreciate adequately the influence and significance of the
Central Verein in the United States, we may remark that there
exists, through that organization, a number of affiliated bodies of
German speaking Catholics throughout the different States,
known as Staats Verbande, or state associations. As the Central
Verein represents the interests of the German speaking Catholics
of the United States, so the state associations look after the
religious needs and other interests of the Catholics of their re
spective states, and in special cases take such public action as
may be deemed necessary. These state associations have on
various occasions, through protest, agitation and kindred methods,
materially influenced legislation, when Catholic rights were
threatened or infringed upon. This has occurred especially in
relation to legislative measures affecting the schools, taxation of
church property, and Catholic institutions, when adverse or discrim
inating legislation was prevented. Instances of the vigilance and
successful action on the part of the German Catholic State
associations have taken place in several states, notably in Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.
These state associations, formed of the local societies of the
respective states, constitute a middle bond between these societies
and the national organization, the Central Verein. Hence, we
find in the German speaking Catholic societies a thorough solidar
ity and completeness of organization that reflect high credit on the

657 first Rank of Catholic Benevolent Societies. 657
wisdom, earnestness and zeal of their directors and members.
They are united by a common bond from the parish school
societies — the future recruits of the others — through the local
societies, and the state associations, to the national organization.
This it is which gives the German Catholic Central Verein an
influence and importance far beyond that of mere numbers and
financial resources, although in both these respects it stands in
the first rank of Catholic benevolent societies.

THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS.
The Knights of Columbus is distinctly an American Order.
Its aims are patriotic from the standpoint of unadulterated
Americanism, and religious from the standpoint of true Christi
anity. It was designed to unify American Catholic citizens of every
national and racial origin in a social and fraternal organization,
giving scope and purpose to their aims as Catholics and as
Americans, whether, in developing the social and fraternal spirit
that should exist among those who are sons of the same Church
and citizens of the same Republic, or in furthering great educa
tional and religious enterprises undertaken by the Church in
America. The history of the American Continent dates from its discovery
by Columbus, whose name the Order bears. The history of the
Catholic faith in the New World dates from the planting of the
Cross on its shores by the great discoverer and priest of God
who accompanied him.
The records of Catholic achievements on this continent have,
to a great extent, been falsified by the prejudiced, or misinter
preted by the fair-minded non-Catholic historian. That the
Order of the Knights of Columbus has a great educational mis
sion before it, and that it appreciates its grand opportunity to
help re-write our history in accordance with truth, where it bears

658 Co establish a Chair of Hmerican Secular ffistory 658
on events, in which the actors were Catholics, or where Catholic
purposes and methods are to be construed is seen by its action
in National Convention assembled, in the city of its birth, New
Haven, Conn., on March 7, 1899, when in response to the ad
dress of the Very Rev. Dr. Garrigan, Vice-Rector of the Catholic
University of America, $50,000 was unaminously voted to
establish in the University a Chair of American Secular History.
It was for the purpose of giving to the Catholic men of this
country a fraternal order with insurance features in some respects
similar to certain non-Catholic societies, but of a character con
forming to the requirements of Catholicity that the Knights of
Columbus was inaugurated. The remarkable rapidity with which
the Order has spread shows that it filled a well-defined want.
Our non-Catholic fellow citizens had their secret fraternal soci
eties with their insurance features and social and other advan
tages. These secret societies were not acceptable to the
authorities of the Church. Many of their advantages, however
were so attractive that large numbers of Catholic young men
were led into joining them.
The Order of the Knights of Columbus is well designed to
fill the great want of our best Catholic young men for a fraternal
order organized in harmony with Catholic teachings and tradi
tions, and its sanction by the Church shows her wonderful ability
to adapt her methods to the conditions and environments of
every age and nation. The method is one of social co-operation,
and men have a tendency to combine for mutual benefit, and
when they combine according to the laws of their country and
the laws of God they become an immense force for good in the
community, in the nation, and in the world.
Several of the originators of the Knights of Columbus were,
prior to its organization, associated together as members of a
society known as the " Red Knights." This was a local, social
body composed wholly of Catholic young men. During, their
association together in this society they conceived the idea of
organizing the Knights of Columbus, and held many conferences
in relation thereto, preparing the first draught of the Ritual, etc.
It is the same story that can be told of many other great move-

659 Its founders builded wiser than they Knew. 659
ments ; it had a humble beginning and its founders builded wiser
than they knew.
The first meeting to perfect the organization of the Knights
of Columbus was held in the year 1881 in the office of Cornelius
T. Driscoll and Daniel Colwell, both of whom were among its
charter members. Mr. Driscoll, a graduate of Yale University,
was at that time Corporation Counsel of the City of New Haven,
and was afterward, in 1899, elected its Mayor. He was also the
first Grand Knight of the first Council organized.
Daniel Colwell, one of the original forty-two who organized
the Sarsfield Guard, 2d Regiment C. N. G., was at that time
an officer of the Superior Court of Connecticut. He was first
elected Grand Secretary of the Order in 1884, and held that
office continuously, being again re-elected in 1899. In view of
the growth of the Order this office has now become one of con
siderable responsibility and great importance.
The charter members were: Rev Michael J. McGivney, James
T. Mullen, John T. Kerrigan, Mathew C. O'Connor, M. D.,
William M. Geary and Rev. P. P. Lawlor. To the heroic efforts
and personal devotion of Father McGivney more than to any
other person is due the fact that the Hierarchy of the Church
gave to the Order its encouragement. The Catholic Church is
unalterably opposed to the so-called secret societies, and not
until thoroughly satisfied that the Order was one organized on
lines consistent with Catholicity did the Church give to it its
sanction. At the time the Order was established, Father Lawlor was the
Rector of St. Mary's Parish, New Haven, Conn., where he offici
ated from 1879 to 1886, and Father McGivney was a zealous
young curate in the same parish. His enthusiasm, and the sanc
tion of Father Lawlbr did much to advance the interests of the
Order before it had secured a standing before the Church and
throughout the Nation. Both these priests have since passed to
their reward. Father Lawlor died on May 20, 1886, and Father
McGivney on August 14, 1890, in Thomaston, Conn., his remains
being interred in Waterbury. They have gone, but the work
they advanced will live long after them.

660 Re Sacrificed his Life in furthering the Work. 660
James T. Mullen, the first Supreme Knight of the Order and
one of its charter members, was the man who suggested the name
of the Order. He really sacrificed his life in furthering the work
of the Order in its early days. He worked for its establishment
and growth in season and out, traveling to all parts of the state
in all kinds of weather, being up early and late in promoting its
development. His strenuous efforts on its behalf were the cause
of his last illness. He passed away July 6th, 1891.
Mr. Mullen was a native of New Haven, an active business
man of considerable force of character. While yet a boy he
enlisted in the Civil War. He afterward became a member of
the famous Sarsfield Guard and a Knight of St. Patrick, and was
a fire commissioner of the City of New Haven for thirteen years,
and president of the Board of Fire Commissioners for a number
of years. He also served as a member of the Board of Alder
men. Other charter members who rendered valued service to the
Order were William M. Geary, Dr. Mathew C. O'Connor, and
John T. Kerrigan. Mr. Geary, at the time the Order was
founded was employed in the Town Agent's Office. He after
ward became Grand Knight of San Salvador Council. He has
rendered most valued assistance to the Order in the Grand
Secretary's Office.
Dr. O'Connor, a physician identified with New Haven's best
interests, was graduated at St. Xavier's College and the College
of Physicians and Surgeons of New York City. He has held
the positions of Officer of the Board of Health, President of the
Knights of St. Patrick, Vice-president of the New Haven
Medical Association, and Fellow of the Connecticut Medical
Society. He was from the first active in advancing the interests
of the Order of the Knights of Columbus, and held for three
years the office of Supreme Council Physician.
John T. Kerrigan, one of the best known post-office men in
the United States, having been connected with the department
for over thirty years, held the post of Chief Mailing Clerk, in
the New Haven Post-Office. Mr. Kerrigan assisted in organiz
ing in Meriden the second Council established by the Order, and

66 1 Che Rational Council is the Governing Body. 66 1
was Deputy Supreme Grand Knight shortly after the Order
was incorporated. The first Council established was called San
Salvador No. i, being the name given by Columbus to the island
on which he first set foot in the Western World.
The National Council is the governing body. It is composed
of State Deputies and Representatives elected by State Councils,
and the last past Deputy of each State Council to the Grand
Council, as also the charter members of the Order, the latter
being life members of the National Council. The National
officers are elected every two years. The National Council
elects not less than five nor more than twelve members of the
Board of Directors ; these with the National Officers form the
Board of Directors. The title to the property of the Order
vests in the National Council.
Each State has a State Council composed of delegates from
the Local Councils throughout the State. The State Councils
in turn send delegates to the National Council. Death claims
are settled by the National Council and sick benefit claims by
the member's own Local Council.
That the Order has the full sanction of the authorities of the
Church, as well as that its principles tend to make its members
not only better Americans, but also better Catholics, is evidenced
in the fact, that each Council, local, State and national, has for
its chaplain a priest of the Church.

THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN.
The Knights of St. John recalls to the mind of the student of
history a glorious past in the Catholic Church. Records of
unparalleled heroism stand to the credit and glory of the
Order. From its very beginning its aim has been to nurse the
sick and wounded and help the needy of all classes. The
name is taken from that of the Knights of St. John Hospitalers
of Crusaders in the eleventh and the twelfth centuries, and the
uniforms now worn are as near alike as can be gathered from
tradition.

662 Knight in fact as well as in j^ame. 662
A writer in paying a tribute to the organization, of which he
was a member, said : "In our work for God and humanity we
try to teach the necessity of every member of the Order to be a
Knight in fact as well as in name, and as good Catholics to bear
in mind that the Knights of St. John always taught chastity,
obedience and benevolence. We accept the teachings of our
patron saint 'to love one another,' and to carry out the precepts
of faith, hope and charity with unity and loyalty added. This
means unity in purpose and good deeds among ourselves and
neighbors, loyalty to God and our country. These are principles
that every one, whether they be Christians or not, can ap
plaud." Knowing the love of military display inherent in mankind
from childhood to age, and recognizing the attractiveness and
benefit of drill exercises for young men, nothing could be more
natural than the formation of uniform societies, semi-military in
nature, and holding up by Catholic young men the precepts of
the Knights of the Crusades. Realizing the vast amount of
good that might be accomplished by a union of all these organ
izations into a national body, the progressive members held a
preliminary convention at Niagara Falls in 1878, and plans were
discussed and ways and means adopted to bring about such an
organization. A national convention was held at Baltimore,
Md., in 1879, at which the Roman Catholic Union of the
Knights of St. John was permanently organized with Cardinal
Gibbons as its spiritual adviser, which position he held for three
years. The convention has been held on the Patron Saint's day,
June 24th, every year since the first. The growth of the organ
ization was very slow at first, the fifth convention in Rochester,
in 1883, only showing forty commanderies with 1,500 members.
At the Cincinnati Convention in 1901, the report showed 285 com
manderies and 15,000 members. There are now over 300 com
manderies and a total membership of 20,000.
In 1882 the Widow and Orphans' Department was organized
upon the mutual insurance plan, each policy certificate being for
$500 and limited to three policies for each member. In 1886 it
was incorporated in the State of New York, fn 1888 the regu-

663 Che Knights of St. ^ohn Ranks fiigb. 663
lation uniform was adopted. In 1895 the name was slightly
changed, making it to read " Knights of St. John."
The Knights of St. John ranks high wherever its benefits or
its influences are known. It is strictly a Catholic organization
and no one is admitted to its ranks who is not a believer in the
faith. The good being done by the Knights of St. John is
known to some extent in almost every city of the land, yet very
much of the good performed by the members of this organization
is never known outside the circles of those who are the recipients
of the favors dispensed in one way and another. Every mem
ber of the organization is in duty bound to sustain the high
reputation of the name he bears. In the first place he must
live and act a Knight, " on Knightly errand bent," and besides
he is supposed to ever keep the great character whose name
this organization has assumed in mind. It is an impossibility
for any loyal Knight of St. John to be anything else than one of
America's best citizens. The very nature of the Order compels
him, if faithful to the same, to be a good Catholic, and any man
who is a good Catholic is a good citizen. No Knight of St.
John can be anything else than a lover of his God, his country
and his home.
The Order confers two benefits upon its members, one a sick
benefit which secures to the invalid Knight who, by sickness or
injury, becomes incapacitated from attending to his business, a
weekly stipend ; and the other, a Widow and Orphan benefit,
paid to the family of a deceased Sir Knight.
The qualifications for membership are, that a man must be a
practical Catholic, of sound body and mind, between the ages of
eighteen and fifty years. Every applicant must have the signa
ture of the pastor of his parish to his application paper, as a guar
antee that he possesses this first qualification, before his appli
cation can be considered in any Commandery.
The leading features of the Knights of St. John are Catholic,
semi-military, civil, social, insurance and benevolent.
The Knights of St. John have steadily grown year by year,
never deviating from the principles of religion and citizenship,
until to-day we behold a mighty organization of three hundred

664 practical Catholics and Hmerican Citizens. 664
and fifty prosperous uniformed commanderies in the United
States and Canada, with a membership of over twenty thousand
wearing the standard uniform when on drill or parade. The
healthy growth and popularity of the organization bespeaks its
sterling worth and influence, and proves that the Knights of St.
John are held in highest esteem by those who appreciate the
true worth of practical Catholics and American citizens. The
meetings of the Knights of St. John are continually honored by
the presence of the high dignitaries of Church and State, and en
joy their hearty approval.
Each commandery provides the necessary committees for the
proper protection and treatment of its sick and deceased mem
bers, as provided for in its By-laws.
In connection with the Knights of St. John there is established
an insurance feature, called the Widow and Orphan Department,
to which all the members of the Order are invited to participate
in the benefits of said department. The expense of carrying a
certificate is so small that every member, no matter in what walk
of life he treads, can carry at least $500 insurance.
The military features of the Knights of St. John is the promi
nent mark of the Order. The uniform — consisting of a chap-
eau, double-breasted coat, pantaloons, sword, belt and necessary
trimmings — makes a very neat and beautiful appearance. The
Knights of St. John is the leading and most prominent semi-
military Catholic organization in the country.
The advantages to be gained from military exercise are many,
and it exerts a beneficial influence on our young men. It begets
obedience to authority, which is the very foundation of discipline ;
it imparts that martial training, now so extensively recognized
in Catholic schools and colleges as an important essential to a
practical education ; it inspires patriotism of the highest order,
because it trains the individual in the use of the weapons of the
soldier, and fits him, should the occasion arise, to defend the flag
against an enemy. Besides these attributes, self-reliance is also
acquired, which is decidedly helpful to young men in every walk
of life ; and a manly bearing and physical development must
necessarily accompany such a schooling.

665 filial Respect for the Spiritual Huthority. 665
The Knights of St. John are organized for the inculcation of
the noblest of Christian principles, the practice of the highest
civic virtues, and for the purpose of infusing into human society
a broader and loftier morality than is known at the present day.
Its purposes are to create and foster fraternity among its mem
bers, to inculcate sympathy and charity by alleviating the condi
tions of such members of the brotherhood as through sickness
or misfortune are unable to sustain themselves, to promote a
more generous and filial respect for the spiritual authority of the
Church, to infuse among its members, and all other good
citizens, a broader and purer patriotism, and thus exert a whole
some and beneficial influence upon existing social conditions.
Furthermore, to more fully justify its claims of being peculiarly
a charitable association, it has established a benefit fund from
which a sum not to exceed two thousand dollars is paid on the
death of a member to such person or persons as may be
named in the benefit certificate, and its members are pledged
to assist, as far as practicable, all charitable endeavors.

SUPREME LADIES' AUXILIARY OF THE
KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN.
The Subordinate Commanderies of the Order were the first
to recognize and appreciate the benefits of a Ladies' Auxiliary to
their organization, and having thus foreseen the benefits that
would eventually come from such affiliation, they were quick to
avail themselves of the opportunity thus offered. From the
Subordinate Cornmandery Auxiliary sprang the District Auxil
iary, and, in 1900, at the 22d Annual International Convention,
the representatives of the Subordinate Auxiliaries from many
cities, resolved themselves into an international body and
adopted a constitution for the government of the International,
District and Subordinate Auxiliaries. Among other things
adopted was a uniform death benefit to be paid by the Subor
dinate Auxiliary.

666 Care for their Sick and Needy Sisters. 666
The establishment of these Auxiliaries has been a great benefit
to the ladies connected therewith. It has enabled them to care
for their sick and needy sisters and to pay a fair benefit in case
of death to those who are left behind. These Auxiliaries have
also been of great help to the Subordinate Commanderies, in a
social as well as in a financial way.
At the present time there are about one hundred and twenty-
five Subordinate Auxiliaries, with a membership of over eight
thousand, and from the outlook the Auxiliaries will be a very
strong factor in the Order.
Mr. Henry J. Fries, Erie, Pa., Supreme President of the
Knights of St. John, was chosen Treasurer of the National
Federation of Catholic Societies, when that movement was
finally consummated at Chicago, Aug. 1902. Mr. Fries was
among the prime movers in the formation of the Federation.
The first and second conferences of the Society, held in Phila
delphia and New York, respectively, were presided over by Mr.
Fries. He was absent from the third conference at Long
Branch, N. J., but was neverthelesss elected national president.
He presided at the Cincinnati Convention, and at its close was
elected national treasurer, to which important office he was
re-elected at the great convention in Chicago.

THE CATHOLIC MUTUAL BENEFIT
ASSOCIATION.
The Catholic Mutual Benefit Association was organized in the
village of Niagara Falls, N.Y., in July, 1876, and was incorporated
by the Legislature of the State of New York in 1879.
The object of this association, as set forth in its charter, is to
improve the moral, mental and social condition of its members ;
to educate them in integrity, sobriety and frugality ; to endeavor
to make them contented with their position in life, and to aid and
assist members in case of death.
The organization of this association was first suggested by the

667 Sanctioned by Pope Leo XIII. 667
late lamented Rt. Rev. S. V. Ryan, Bishop of Buffalo, and by its
members he is referred to with pride and affection, as the " Father
of the C. M. B. A." His name, with those of many other dis
tinguished prelates, and a vast number of the reverend clergy
throughout the United States and Canada, adorn its rolls.
The qualifications for membership are, that a man shall be a
practical Catholic, physically sound, of the full age of eighteen
years and under fifty years of age at the date of initiation.
Every applicant must have the signature of the pastor of his
parish to his application paper as a guarantee that he possesses
the first qualification, before his application can be considered in
any branch.
The association is sanctioned by Pope Leo XIII, and approved
by cardinal, bishops and priests, several of whom are officers,
while the rank and file are and must be practical Catholics. Its
members are and may be of every race and nationality. Besides
benefiting a man, the C. M. B. A. also benefits his family through
its excellent insurance system. The C. M. B. A. is so cheap
that for six cents a day a man, if under twenty-five years of age,
or nine cents a day, if under forty-five, may secure for his family
two thousand dollars at his death. The association also looks
after its sick and indigent members. It aids unemployed mem
bers to find work. It has transfer cards which give members
equal privileges, no matter where they go, or how often they
change their residence. Its badges, when worn, secure to travel
ing members many advantages. The association elevates the
standard of Catholic society, and keeps Catholics from joining
secret and non-Catholic societies. It relieves parish priests of
the burden of providing for the widows and orphans of its
deceased members, as otherwise they might be called to do. It
diminishes the demands on public charity for the support of the
orphan asylums. It combines strict business principles, with
charitable designs and social features, all based upon firm Catholic
and mutual foundation. The economical management of the
C. M. B. A. together with its excellent record, steady growth,
low death rate'and safe reserve fund, all tend to make it a favorite
and to insure its permanency.

668 Che perpetuation of the Hssociation. 668
The total membership of the association on January i, 1903,
was about sixty-two thousand. Up to the same date, there had
been paid by this association to the beneficiaries nearly twelve
million dollars.
As a measure toward the perpetuation of the association and
for the protection of its members from the effects of epidemics
or heavier death rate, when assessments might be more numerous
than members would be able to pay, a Reserve Fund has been
established, surrounded by the safest and most reliable safe
guards for its protection. It is accumulated by setting apart ten
per cent of each assessment collected. On January first 1903,
it amounted to over a million of dollars, and is increasing rapidly.
The records of the Insurance department of the State of New
York prove that, of all the co-operative insurance societies doing
business in that state, of which there are over two hundred, the
C. M. B. A. stands pre-eminently at the head of the list, equalled
by none, as being the best and most economically managed, its
ratio of expenses to receipts being the least.
The cost of insurance in the C. M. B. A. is only about one
quarter of the cost of a similar amount of insurance in any of the
regular old-line companies, and instead of a member being required
to pay the whole year's premium at one payment, the C. M. B. A.
divides the cost into twelve parts and lets the members pay one
part each month. Thousands of the poorest paid laborers are
members of the C. M. B. A. because their payments are easily
made. Indeed, it is called the poor man's insurance, it is so
easily within his reach.
The Right Rev. J. E. Quigley, Archbishop of Chicago, is the
Spiritual Adviser of the association. The pastor of a parish in
which a branch exists is by virtue of his office as such, the
Spiritual Adviser of the branch, whether he is a member or not.
Few, if any, societies have done so much to unite our Catholic men,
to bring them together, to get them acquainted with one another,
to elevate them morally and socially, to wipe out the lines and
prejudices of nationality, to brighten their intelligence by con
tact in meeting, and by inculcating a spirit of brotherly love, unity
and affection, make them better men and better citizens.

669 Christian Impulses actuate its JMembcrs. 669

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHTS OF AMERICA.
Under the familiar title of the " Catholic Knights of Amer
ica," and extending to almost every village in the United States,
one of the most prosperous and substantial mutual benefit asso
ciations challenges the admiration of our countrymen for the
excellence of its management, the grandeur of its accomplish
ments and the- Christian impulses which actuate its members and
bind them in Catholic unity.
Life Insurance is a large subject to handle. More people are
directly interested in it than in any other institution in existence,
except it be the government of our country or the Church, and
one can safely say that more money is invested in it than in any
other business. Old line companies are instituted as business
ventures, fraternal insurance associations to foster the spirit of
the brotherhood of man and to protect the family. To provide
for wife and family even beyond the grave is the duty of every
husband and father. To comply with this duty he must accept
any possible and honest means, and Life Insurance is the best
plan by which a man in medium circumstances can make this
provision. Before the existence of any Catholic Life Insurance on a mu
tual assessment plan, many Catholics drifted away from their
faith into other lodges and insurance organizations, and to pro
tect Catholics against such evils, the Catholic Knights of Amer
ica was instituted at Nashville, Tenn., in April 1877.
James J. McLoughlin, a practical, energetic and zealous Cath
olic and previous to this time a loyal Knight of Honor, was the
founder. He was also the first President of Branch No. I,
which started with seventeen members. What impelled Mr.
McLoughlin and his sixteen associates to make the venture into
the then doubtful and speculative arena of Life Insurance? Sim
ply because as faithful Catholics they were barred from member
ship in the secular secret orders by which they were surrounded.
The venerable Archbishop Feehan of Chicago, then the
Bishop of Nashville, advised this little band to institute a society

670 Hdmirable features of the Order. 670
of Catholics on the same basis as another order under the ban,
eliminating what the Church regarded as objectionable. They
listened to their good bishop, and inexperienced though they
were, launched their craft on the unknown sea, taking as their
pilot Him who stilled the waters of the Sea of Galilee.
The little acorn planted at Nashville grew to be a sturdy oak
that spread its protecting branches over the entire Union. The
many admirable features of the Order soon commended them
selves to all practical Catholics, and the marvellous progress
which it made bore the impression of the generous encourage
ment and active assistance of Bishop Feehan, through whose
divinely inspired warning the Order had its origin. Such were
the growing demands for admittance that it was deemed advis
able to establish a Supreme Council, and a session for this pur
pose was called in Louisville, July 9, 1878.
Through the efforts of some of Louisville's most prominent
citizens and zealous Catholics, the Order was now in a flourish
ing condition in that city, and Branch No. 4, of the Cathedral,
came to the front as the banner Branch of the First Supreme
Council, and one of its most active leaders, Hon. W. C. Smith,
was elected the First Supreme President. Kentucky has now
thirty-five branches with a membership of 2,305. The aim and
object of the Society, as here adopted and as at present stands,
are as follows : —
To unite fraternally all acceptable Catholics, male and female,
of every profession, business and occupation ; to give all pos
sible moral and material aid in its power to members of the Or
ganization, by holding instructive and scientific lectures, by
encouraging each other in business, and by assisting each other
to obtain employment ; to establish and maintain a benefit fund
from which a sum not to exceed two thousand dollars shall be
paid at the death of each member to his family or to be disposed
of as he may direct ; to establish a fund for the relief of sick and
distressed members of the Association.
To admit the ladies was a point only decided upon at the con
vention in 1899. In the chivalrous Order of Catholic Knights
they will be welcomed and cherished. They will have the oppor-

671 Che sterling Loyalty of its JMembership. 671
tunity of providing for some loved one of their families and of
participating in the noble work of helping the needy.
Prominent among the notable features of this Society is its
Sinking Fund, which was established by the Supreme Council in
1885. They passed a law setting aside five per cent, of the Wi
dows' and Orphans' Fund to be placed as a reserve which would
meet any emergency that the Order might encounter. Contem
poraries jeered at the scheme and said, " We keep our Sinking
Fund in our pockets ; we pay only when the demand is made upon
us by the death of a member." The successful experience of the
Knights has taught them the fallacy" "of their reasoning. These
fraternal societies are now hastening to follow their example, and
are eager to establish similar funds to prevent their members
from deserting them.
The Order has had over five thousand deaths, and has paid
$9,927,429 to the Widows and Orphans. It disbursed in
benefits the last fiscal year $768,025. There are forty-two State
councils ; six hundred and nine subordinate councils ; its mem
bership is twenty-four thousand, and its Sinking Fund now reaches
$480,000,00. This is the glory of the Order ; the equitable rate
of assessment is incomparable, and its prompt payment of bene
ficiaries unequalled.
The Catholic Knights of America does not offer "something
for nothing." The assessments are placed at such a rate that,
with a reasonable increase in membership, there is no possibility
of there being over two a month during the lifetime of the
youngest member in the Order. So that fear of more assessments
next year, which is the bane of other societies, cannot exist with
it. The Catholic Knights of America claim the highest standing
of any fraternal insurance organization in this country, a society
which has become famous among thinking men and women for
the sterling loyalty of its membership, and for the conservative
and just manner in which its business is conducted.
As to the Catholicity of the Catholic Knights of America, be
sides the fact that its membership includes over seven hundred
clergymen, all the members on Low Sunday of each year approach

672 JMet all Obligations due to the first Generation. 672
the Divine Banquet. And when the dirge is sounded for a
member's Requiem, behold them filing to the church to honor
his memory. Remembering his valiant fight in this life to lift the
widow and the orphan and the helpless above the wave of depen
dence and poverty, they breathe a prayer that the Recording
Angel may blot out the transgressions written on the wrong side
of the Book of Life, and that he may enter into eternal rest.
Nearly a generation of the Catholic Knights of America have
passed over to the great majority. The Society has reached the
crucial time in the whole scheme of fraternal insurance and has
conquered. It has met all obligations due to the first generation
of lives in the Order. The present members, and the men and
women who follow them, will provide in the same way for a
second generation of lives, and so on will the Catholic Knights
of America prove perpetual.

CATHOLIC KNIGHTS and LADIES of AflERICA
This organization had a novel beginning. On March 27,
1890, about nine o'clock in the evening, a cyclone struck the
city of Louisville, Ky., and destroyed millions of dollars' worth
of property, and caused the death of about one hundred persons.
One of the places destroyed in this cyclone was the Falls City
Hall on Market Street. In this hall was an organization hold
ing a session at the time, and the walls fell in and crushed to
death many of the assembled members. At the funeral of these
victims some of the Catholics of Louisville thought it would be
well if an organization could be formed uniting all Catholic
men and women for the purposes of fraternity, unity and charity.
Acting on these thoughts an organization called the Catholic
Knights and Ladies of America was formed in May of the same
year. This organization spread from Louisville to Cairo, 111.,
Memphis, Tenn., and later to Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis' and
many cities and towns throughout fourteen different States of
the Union, until it has now a membership of over ten thousand
Catholic men and women between the ages of eighteen and

673 Organization is especially Strong in the South. 673
forty-five. It has paid out to the beneficiaries of deceased mem
bers, during the first ten years of its existence, over $260,000
and has brought comfort and consolation to many homes that
looked dark and dreary. It has had directing its spiritual affairs,
Bishop Byrne of Nashville, and Archbishop John J. Kain, of St.
Louis, under whose spiritual guidance it could not fail to be suc
cessful. The organization is especially strong in the South and
is rapidly increasing.
The Order admits only practical Catholics, requiring from
each applicant the endorsement of his pastor ; and each branch
of the Order requires the members thereof to receive Holy Com
munion in a body at least once a year, during the Eastertime,
under a penalty of expulsion from the Order and a forfeiture of
all benefits.

THE IRISH CATHOLIC BENEVOLENT UNION.
The Irish Catholic Benevolent Union was organized at Day
ton, Ohio, August 16, 1869. Prior to its formation, suggestions
relative to the beneficial effect probable from the uniting of the
various Irish or Catholic Societies of the country had been made
in Irish- American or Catholic papers. Societies had proposed
such a measure. It would entail considerable historical research
to discover by whom the idea was first proposed ; but, like all
other great movements or enterprises, the idea was the out
growth of necessity or the development of time. As often be
fore, ideas needed organization, and the organizer is but the active
developer of ideas generated by time or the growth of necessity.
On Jun'e 6, 1869, St. Mary's Church, Piqua, Ohio, was rededi-
cated by Most Rev. J. B. Purcell. Invitations had been sent to
the Hibernian Society of Richmond, Ind., and the Hibernian
Society of Dayton, Ohio, to unite with St. Patrick's Society of
Piqua, Ohio, in adding to demonstrations usual on such occa-
ions. The visiting societies attended. The idea of a union of
the societies and of others in Ohio and Indiana at once took
form. Hon. Dennis Dwyer presided. It was resolved to issue

674 Its Basis and Spirit essentially Catholic. 674
a call for a convention of " all Irish Benevolent Societies, to be
held at Dayton, Ohio, August 16, 1869, to take the initiative
step to secure a more perfect union amongst them."
This was an important point in the history of the Union. It
shows societies almost wholly of Irish Catholics combining ; and
though in the membership of each may have been one or two non-
Catholics, we observe Faith active and prevailing. So these foun
ders of our Catholic Union declared " its basis and spirit to be
essentially Catholic." Thus the Union laid its foundation in
Catholicity. It would make societies Catholic in title, Catholic
in their " basis and spirit," like the Union they were invited to join.
It would gather these " Irish Catholic Benevolent Societies," as
they were familiarly called, and infuse Catholicity into them, and
make them in spirit and in action Catholic, like the Union was
intended to be.
The second convention met in Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 19, 1870.
Thirty-eight societies were represented. Archbishop Purcell
attended and addressed the convention.
At the Louisville Convention, in 1 871, the practical Catholic
basis was adopted, and societies were required " not while a
member of the Union to admit knowingly into their body any
other than practical Catholics, nor any member of secret or
sworn societies condemned by the Church." Thus the soci
eties were required to be — as the Union itself had been for two
years, Catholic societies admitting only practical Catholics. The
Union impressed this the more strongly when it declared in its
Constitution that "all delegates to the convention of this Union
must be in practical connection with the CatholicXhurch." It
desired, however, to impress this fact, that it was a Catholic
Union ; that it resolved that it is the duty of every 'officer, or
body of officers, of this Union in issuing an address, a circular,
or other official document, to express the word 'Catholic' in
giving the name of this Union." Rev. John J. Kean, then of
Washington, D. C, afterwards Bishop of Richmond, and subse
quently Rector of the Catholic University, and Archbishop of
Dubuque, was chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, and
presented this resolution, which the Convention adopted.

675 Blessed by the pope. 675
During the Union's career it has received the blessings of the
Archbishops and Bishops in whose sees the annual conventions
have met. The blessings of Popes Pius IX. and Leo XIII. have
been repeatedly given.
The traveling and withdrawal cards of the Union secure
members absent beyond the limits of their own society, all the
rights which their local societies guaranteed. On presentation
to societies of the I. C. B. U., or of the German Roman Catholic
Central Verein and the I. C. B. U. of Canada, in localities
where there is no I. C. B. U. Society, the holder of the travel
ing card will in case of sickness or disability, receive the same
benefits as at home.
On July 25, 1898, the Union was chartered under the laws of
the State of Pennsylvania by the Court of Common Pleas of
Schulylkill County.
The convention of 1889 met at Kingston, Canada, the first
meeting beyond the limits of the United States. It was most
cordially welcomed by the noble Archbishop Cleary, the clergy
and citizens.
In time of public calamities the Union has ever been prompt,
and, indeed, foremost in giving help to the distressed. To the
sufferers by the Chicago fire, the yellow fever of 1878 and 1879,
the Ohio River flood, Charleston earthquake and Johnstown
flood, relief was quickly given. The societies of the Union have
been aiders of Ireland's efforts for Home Rule, contributing on
one call over $5000.
A singular evidence of the Union was proven in September,
1888, by the action of its convention at Columbus, Ohio, on the
claim of the Catholic Church of Chattanooga, Tenn., against the
United States Government, when within two days, Congress
passed and the President approved the payment of a claim which
had been pending many years.
The projectors of the Union, founded in 1869, have witnessed
an extension of Catholic Unity far beyond their hopes, as illus
trated by the many National Catholic Unions for the promotion of
special Catholic endeavor which since the formation of The Irish
Catholic Benevolent Union have been formed.

676 Catholic fraternal Societies. 676
THE CATHOLIC TOTAL ABSTINENCE UNION
OF AMERICA.
By Rev. Alexander P. Doyle, C. S. P.
Although many'Total Abstinence Societies existed through
out the United States it was not until 1871 that any bond existed
between them. In that year the societies throughout the State of
Connecticut were formed into a State Union and in 1872 on
February 22, in the City of Baltimore Md., the formation of the
National Union was begun. A Constitution was adopted and
the Union named "The Catholic Total Abstinence Union of
America." Its objects as stated in Constitution are : —
ist. To secure to its members the privilege joi being received
into societies connected with this Union in any part of America.
2d. To encourage and aid communities and pastors in estab
lishing new societies.
3d. To spread, by means of Catholic total abstinence publica
tions, correct views regarding total abstinence principles.
MEANS.
To accomplish these objects we rely upon —
ist. The practice of our holy religion by all members, individ
ually. 2d. The observance by our members of the maxims laid down
for our guidance by the reverend clergy.
3d. The influence of good example and kind persuasion by
our members upon our fellow-Catholics.
4th. Our connection with the Association of Prayer in honor
of the sacred thirst and agony of Jesus.
5th. The appointment of a Lecture and Temperance Truth
Bureau. The pledge of the Union is : — I promise, with the Divine
assistance, and in honor of the sacred thirst and agony of our
Saviour, to abstain from all intoxicating drinks ; to prevent as

677 H Centennial ]Memorial. 677
much as possible, by advice and example, the sin of intemper
ance in others, and to discountenance the drinking customs of
society. The first president was Rev. James McDevitt of Washington
D. C, and B. J. Driscoll first secretary. At the third Conven
tion Rev. John Ireland of St. Paul Minn., now Archbishop of St.
Paul and Rev. J. B. Cotter of Winona Minn., now Bishop of
Winona were delegates. At this Convention a resolution was
adopted to erect a fountain in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, in
the name of the C. T. A. U. of A., and as a memorial to the
Centennial of American Independence. The fountain was
dedicated July 4, 1876, Governor Carroll of Maryland and Gover
nor Hartranft of Pennsylvania, being present and delivering ad
dresses. This memorial which was erected at a cost of $57,000
consists of a central figure of Muses and four figures representing
respectively Archbishop Carroll, Charles Carroll of CarroUton,
Commodore Jack Barry and Father Mathew.
The eighth convention was held in Indianapolis Md., in
1878. At this convention a memorial was prepared and forward
ed to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII. In response a brief was
received commending the objects of the Union and granting the
Papal blessing. In accordance with the brief the Feast day of
the Union was made June 24th, the Feast day of St. John the
Baptist. At the fourteenth convention held in Chicago 1884, a commit
tee with Rev. Walter Elliot, C. S. P., as chairman, was appointed
to prepare a memorial to the Plenary Council which was to
assemble at Baltimore on December of that year. The memorial
was presented and acted on favorably, the following decrees
being issued : —
262. We approve and heartily commend the laudable practice
of many of the faithful who totally abstain from the use of
intoxicating drinks. By this means they combat the vice of
drunkenness more effectually than otherwise, whether in them
selves by removing its occasion, or in others by exhibiting a
splendid example of the virtue of temperance. We gladly
proclaim their zeal to be according to knowledge ; it has already

678 Decrees of Baltimore Council. 678
brought forth abundant fruit of virtue and gives promise of yet
greater results in the future. " The Catholic Total Abstinence
Union" and "The Confraternity of the Sacred Thirst" are
societies which we recognize as worthy of much praise. They
are actuated by a spirit truly Catholic, trusting, as they do, not
so much to the native firmness of their own will as to the graces
obtained by prayer and the reception of the Sacraments. . . .
We also bestow on these societies the marks of our good will ;
and in order that they may continue to flourish more and more,
we commend them to the fatherly care of all our clergy ; the
priests should not only strive to increase their membership, but
also guide them in the path of Catholic virtue.
263. Finally, we warn Catholics engaged in the sale of intox- '
icating drinks to consider seriously by how many and how great
dangers, by how many and how great occasions of sin their
business — though in itself not unlawful — is surrounded. Let
them, if they can, choose a more becoming way of making a
living. Let them, at any rate, strive with all their might to re
move occasions of sin as well from themselves as from others.
They must not sell drink to minors — that is to say, to those who
have not come of age ; nor to those who they foresee will abuse
it. They must keep their saloons closed on Sunday, and never
allow blasphemy, cursing, or obscene language. Saloon-keepers
should know that, if through their culpable neglect or co-opera
tion, religion is brought into contempt, or men brought to ruin,
there is an Avenger in Heaven who will surely exact from them
the severest penalties.
At the twenty-second convention held in Indianapolis, Ind.,
in 1892, a publication bureau was inaugurated under the manage
ment of Rev. A. P. Doyle, C. S. P. A monthly publication
" Temperance Truth" was started and has been in active operation
since. At this convention, Secretary Philip A. Nolan's report
showed a membership of 52,448 members in 738 societies. At
the twenty-third convention the acknowledgment of the endow
ment of a Professorial Chair, was received from the Catholic
University of America, through its Rector, Rt. Rev. J. J. Keane,
now Archbishop of Dubuque, Iav

679 Growth of the Cemperance jMovement. 679
The twenty-fifth General Convention, the Silver Jubilee of the
National Union was held in New York City. Solemn Pontifical
Mass was celebrated in St. Patrick's Cathedral, his Excellency
Monsignor Satolli pontificating, the sermon being by most Rev.
P. J. Ryan, Archbishop of Philadelphia. A grand public
demonstration was held in Carnegie Hall at which the highest
ecclesiastical and civil authorities assisted and delivered ad
dresses, notably among them, Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, then
President of the Board of Police Commissioners.
At the thirty-first convention, held in Hartford, Conn., a
practical settlement was made of the question of writing a
history of the temperance movement. Rev. Dr. Edward
McSweeny, for some years professor at Mt. St. Mary's College,
Emmitsburg, Md., was chosen historian.
The organized movement for total abstinence in the Catholic
Church has grown from the few thousands of thirty years before to
a well disciplined army of over 85,000 in 1902.
These 85,000 members are all total abstainers, pledged to "ab
stain from intoxicating drinks in any form, and to prevent as
much as possible by advice and example the sin of intemper
ance in others and to discountenance the drinking habits of
society." They are admitted into the various societies and pre
serve their good standing therein only on the condition that they
take and keep their pledge. The societies are organized on
various models, sometimes they are religious sodalities meeting
in the church, with the members having little or no voice in the
regulation of their internal affairs, or they are clubs in which the
members manage a club house with gymnasium and libraries and
preserving in their own hands the disposition of their own
monies. The National organization allows the fullest liberty to
individual societies to conduct their own affairs as they please,
insisting that they shall be first of all, Catholic, by complying with
the yearly duty of all Catholics, and, secondly, that they shall be
total abstainers. The National organization is exceedingly com
pact and well disciplined, and readily cuts away from its rolls of
membership any societies or individuals who do not come up to
its standard.

680 Visit of father JMatthew. 680
While the bald statement of 85,129 membership is the meas
ure of the organized movement in the Catholic Church it does
not by any means represent the extent of its influence. The
best work of the organization has been that of a leaven. A few
generations ago there was very little of the total abstinence senti
ment among Catholics. Many of them came to this country
from the wine drinking countries of Europe where total abstin
ence as well as drunkenness was unknown, and to them the idea
of abstaining entirely from intoxicating drinks was unheard of.
It was in 1849 when Father Mathew made his memorable
trip through the States and pledged over 500,000 in all the large
cities from Boston to New Orleans. Our movement to-day is
the outgrowth of his work. Fearing that his labors would be
but an ephemeral effort, his disciples created the organization
which now bears the total abstinence banner. We count among
our active members many of the hierarchy, notably, Archbishop
Ireland of St. Paul, Archbishop Ryan of Philadelphia, Arch
bishop Williams of Boston, Archbishop Elder of Cincinnati, a
great number of the bishops and a thousand or more of the
priests, while the bulk of the organization is made up of people
in all ranks of society. There is a society known as the Ame
thyst Club in Chicago, composed exclusively of lawyers and
others whose membership is confined entirely to priests or
seminarians. The growth during the last few years has been phenomenal.
In 1893 we numbered but 49,000, in 1902 we are 85,729, and now
we are reaching out for the 100,000 mark. Besides the profess
ed members there are many thousands who feel the influence of
our work, in their homes, through the ban that was put on the
social glass. There are other organizations, that have felt them
selves strengthened to refuse to allow liquor sellers to become
members by means of the public sentiment which is the result of
our work and it is not an unusual thing now to find large gather
ings at banquets during which no wine is served.
Another great good the National organization has done is to
preserve the temperance movement among Catholics from being
invaded by the crank and the fanatic. The truths that we stand

68 1 favors personal Cotal Hbstinence. 68 1
for do not include the statement that the use of intoxicating
drinks is an evil in itself but it is rather the abuse that we con
demn. We are leagued against the vice of intemperance and
our opposition is reserved for all that encourages and fosters
drunkenness. We are against the unregulated saloon. We
have refused constantly to ally ourselves with the prohibitionists
and have stood only for the greatest of all prohibitionary meas
ures — that of personal, total abstinence. We do not assert that
liquor is malum in se or even that the use of it is wrong, but we
do affirm that owing to the tyranny of drinking, custom very
often obliging a man to drink more than is good for his head, or
his stomach, or his purse, it is better for him to abandon the use
of drink altogether. While we do not say that every one is
bound to total abstinence, still we applaud the man who can and
will abstain and if he does so from a higher motive we say that
he may serve God and his fellow-man better. We favor the
statutory laws regulating the saloon not that we think that a
man can be made moral by law but we know that every law that
shields the citizen from danger, that protects his home and him
self from the allurements of vice, is a blessing to society and to
citizenship. While we do not affirm that total abstinence is a law
to be followed at all times and in all places, still, in the presence
of the blighting and withering plague of intemperance as it prevails
in this country, the practice of total abstinence is by all means
the best weapon to combat it. Where total abstinence prevails
we are persuaded that the standards of citizenship will be higher,
the health of the people will be better, the paths to the school
and the library and the church will be more frequently trodden,
the higher ideals of life will be sought for and nine-tenths of the
destitution and squalor of debased and degraded homes will be
averted. It is the opinion of many men of experience and foresight
that as the years go on there will be an increasing need of a
vigorous temperance crusade. The brilliant and restless activity
of our modern life, which has placed the English-speaking races
in the lead of modern civilization has had as one of its waste
products the vice of intemperance. We continue to work and

682 future Outlook on the JMovement. 682
live at high pressure and the fierce strivings of mercantile life
generate a strained vitality and over-wrought nerves which in
their turn demand the stimulus of alcohol to whip up their flag
ging energies. Our modern ways of living generate the excessive
use of intoxicating drink so while drunkenness continues to be
prevalent there will also be the necessity for the existence of an
extraordinary remedy for the social disease.
Moreover, there is an all-powerful and far-reaching American
institution which has for its main purpose the developing of a
taste for alcohol. It is the saloon. Where there are so many
saloons as there are in America, and consequently such fierce com
petition they cannot all thrive unless they deliberately set to work
to develop a taste for drinking. There are methods peculiar to
the trade which have for their direct purpose the cultivation of
the drink habit.
These are some of the reasons why we believe that there will
be a continued demand for a vigorous temperance crusade. So
that we are quite prepared to believe that the membership of
85,000 only the beginning of the army that will be arrayed against
the drink evil. Recent conventions have given a decided impetus
to the organization of juveniles into societies as well as the pro
spective teaching of Total Abstinence principles among the young
in the schools, so that there is strong hope that instead of waning
the movement will grow to greater strength.

THE ANCIENT ORDER OF HIBERNIANS.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians are the strongest Catholic
body organized in the United States. They are the strongest
body in the world comprised of one nationality and belonging to
one religion. Their career has been marked by a conservatism
of action which has earned the confidence, not alone of those of
their own faith, but has won the respect of those of all creeds
and nationalities in the varied population of the American
Republic.

683 Hmerican Branch of Order. 6S3
Their labors in the field of benevolence have carried peace
and happiness to many bereaved homes. Their impartial fideli
ty to the truths of true fraternity has strengthened the principles
of co-operation and self reliance among Irish Americans. Their
sincere devotion and careful observance of their duties as Cath
olics have strengthened the bulwarks of Mother Church and
carried her holy influence far and wide on the fields of blessed
fruition. The development of the Order has kept pace with
natural evolution, and changes of environment consequent
through new conditions have been met with a promptness and
energy which argues well for the perpetuity of the society and
the security of its fundamental principles.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is a strong bulwark against
the irreligious and immoral societies so prevalent at the present
day. It has never deviated from its'rule of confining its member
ship to men of one nationality and one creed. It has been dis
tinguished by a long list of noble charities, loyalty to Mother
Church and uncompromising fidelity to its fundamental princi
ples. Take its membership in Ireland, Great Britain, America,
United States, Canada, Australia, and it numbers close on half
a million ; a wonderful power when we take into account the
qualifications for membership. The society is united both in
America and elsewhere, its motto " Faith and Country," and its
principles " Unity, Friendship and Christian Charity," every
where prevailing.
The American branch of the Order dates from 1836. As
stated in the Constitution, " the intent and purpose of the Order
is to promote Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity
among its members, by raising or supporting a fund of money
for maintaining the aged, sick, blind and infirm members, for the
advancement of the principles of Irish Nationality ; for the
legitimate expenses of the Order, and for no other purpose
whatsoever." The motto of the Order is " Friendship, Unity and Chris
tian Charity." As set forth in its Constitution :
" Friendship shall consist in helping one another, and in
assisting each other to the best of our power."

684 H Supporter of every Catholic Interest 684
Unity, in combining together for mutual support in sickness
and distress.
Christian Charity, in loving one another and doing to all
men as we would wish that they should do unto us.
This Order is to be formed exclusively of practical Catholics.
Therefore, each member is expected to comply with all his
Christian duties.
Should any of the members fail in the above, and, instead of
giving edification and encouragement, become a stumbling-block
and a disgrace to the Organization, such a one, after proper
charitable admonition, unless there be an amendment in his con
duct, shall be expelled from the Order.
In Order, however, that all may be done with justice, Chris
tian charity, and edification, there shall be in each County a
Chaplain appointed by the Ordinary of the Diocese, to be con
sulted by the Division before determining anything relating to
morality or religion.
The Chaplain in each County shall see that nothing is done
or countenanced within his jurisdiction which is contrary to the
laws of the Catholic Church, the Decrees of the Plenary Councils
of Baltimore, and the Synodical Constitutions of the Diocese.
In any difficulty or doubt which he may not be able to solve, he
shall consult the Ordinary of the Diocese.
It shall be the duty of the members of this Order to receive
Holy Communion at least once a year, within the Eastertime.
Any member failing to do so, at the time, place and manner
determined by his Division, shall be tried by the proper tribunal,
and, if found guilty, suspended."
From its foundation, the Ancient Order of Hibernians has
been a generous supporter of every Catholic interest, and a
liberal contributor to the building and support of Catholic
churches and schools. The Order has always proclaimed and
maintained, well and truly, that there is but one thing to save
the Church in the United States and in every other country, and
that is Catholic education of the youth ; and, therefore, the
Ancient Order calls upon every one of its members to stand by
the Church on that question and to contribute nobly and gener-

68j Che Order on Catholic education. 685
ously toward the support of Catholic schools in the United
States. The attitude of the Order on this question was thus expressed
by the National President, at the Forty-third Biennial Conven
tion, in his Report ; " The public high schools and normal
schools are the primary schools for modern materialism. In
them can be found no standard of right. In them can be found
no influence which will keep a youth loyal to the Catholic pre
cept, and Catholic dogma. We must provide the Catholic train
ing school, the Catholic commercial school for our youths. It
will require sacrifices, but if we are loyal to the hope that those
who follow us will be true to faith and Motherland, we must pro
vide an equipment for them which will enable them to serve our
cause under the new conditions which will surround them in the
future. Give the children a chance in life's battles. Give them
an opportunity to pull us up higher. Don't grumble because
they are studying what you were not asked to study when you
were young. Give them an opportunity of developing whatever
latent talent is in them, and discovering what they are best
suited for. Don't stunt their growth in the misnamed business
college and crowded store or workshop. Let them have a few
more years in school and provide the proper school for them.
Give them the education, so that, when the flood in the tidal
stream of men's affairs touches their breasts, they can strike
boldly out and win the prize they deserve. Let us aspire to
higher education for youths in Catholic High Schools, Catholic
manual training schools, Catholic technical schools. Let us do
this and among the captains of industry who in the future will
rule the world, the Irish Catholic will hold the high place ; a
trained mind, a pure heart, honest intent can ever win ! "
What the Ancient Order has done for the education of our
Catholic children, by the support of the parochial schools, it has
also tried to do for their higher education by endowing a Chair
in the Catholic University at Washington, for the teaching of
the Gaelic language, with the donation of the sum of fifty thou
sand dollars. The organization has also lent its support to the
Gaelic League, of Ireland, for the revival of the Irish language,

686 Condition of the Order. 686
and the allied movement for the encouragement of Irish indus
tries, thus providing means to check the exodus of the popula
tion which has dismayed all true friends of Ireland. It likewise
advocates and promotes the study of Irish history, and recom
mends its teaching in our parochial schools and other Catholic
institutions of learning, where the majority of the pupils are of
Irish descent.
In regard to charitable calls occasioned by emergencies, even
of a non-Irish character, the Ancient Order of Hibernians has
never been found wanting. As instances of its generosity, and
sympathy, we may mention, among others, its splendid contribu
tion to the relief of the sufferers, on the occasion of the Galveston
disaster of 1900 ; and its aid to the struggling Boers of South
Africa, by which, at the expenditure of $15,000.00 it enabled the
Irishmen of this country to equip and send to the Transvaal an
ambulance corps, composed of members of Irish societies, and
render other more substantial support.
In 1896, a Ladies' Auxiliary was organized, which grew rapidly.
The enlistment of the interest of the Irishwoman in the great
work of the society means the easier solution of many questions
that present themselves. It also provides an additional incentive
to the members of the Order, who are now realizing that its
work is not confined to the spheres of benevolent or national
enterprise, but in addition thereto, extends out into the fields of
economic and social development.
In the year 1900, the Order established the official organ, the
National Hibernian, published monthly in Washington, D. C,
which carries from State to State the narrative of its progress,
the ideas of its members, the workings of subordinate bodies,
and the inspiring interchange of well-expressed suggestions for
the welfare of the society. Over one hundred and fifty-thousand
copies are published monthly, linking the membership, in sym
pathy, fraternity and enthusiasm, from ocean to ocean, from
Canada to Mexico.
The prosperous condition of the Order is attested by the
following facts: Membership, for the year 1903, in round num
bers, 108,000; military companies 51 ; total receipts for the two

687 Organization of Catholic Benevolent Legion. 687
preceding years $1,935,000.00 ; paid for sick and funeral bene
fits $381,500.00 ; for charitable purposes $1 14,399.00 ; total dis
bursements $930,000.00 ; and a balance on hand of $1,076,000.00.
1 ne Ladies Auxiliary, with a membership of 31,000, paid out
for sick and funeral benefits $48,500.00; for charitable purposes
$6,720.00, having a cash balance on hand of $111,500.00.

CATHOLIC BENEVOLENT LEGION.
Among the many Catholic Fraternal Societies in existence
to-day there is none that has done more for the Catholic homes
of this country than the Catholic Benevolent Legion. It was
founded in the City of Brooklyn, N. Y., on the 5th day of Sep
tember, 1 88 1, and during the twenty-one years, from its founda
tion until 1902, it distributed amongst the beneficiaries of its
deceased comrades the vast sum of fourteen million dollars
($14,000,000,) besides paying to its disabled comrades the sum
of ($108,500) one hundred and eight thousand five hundred dol
lars. The object for which it was instituted and the spirit of frater
nal charity which actuated the eleven men who founded this
admirable organization, has been strictly adhered to, from the
date of its incorporation down to the present time.
The first Council was instituted by George R. Kuhn, M. D.,
John C. McGuire, John D. Keiley, John Rooney, John D. Car
roll, William G. Ross, James H. Breen, Thomas Cassin, Patrick
F. Keany, David T. Leahy and Robert Myhan, and was known
as " The Supreme Council," from which has sprung up 709 Coun
cils with a membership of 37,000 scattered over twenty-five
States of the Union, besides a number of Councils which are lo
cated in the Dominion of Canada.
Five of the Charter members are still living, ( 1 903,) all of whom
are honored and respected citizens of the Borough of Brooklyn,
as were also their colleagues who have passed away.
The Legion at large feels justly proud of the men who formed
such a grand organization which has done such a vast amount

688 Hpproved by highest Huthorities. 688
of good, and has been so carefully, honestly and economically
managed from the day it was instituted.
Its funds have been carefully guarded, and every dollar of the
millions which have passed through its official hands has been
honestly and faithfully accounted for.
It has received the sanction and approval of all the Dignitaries
of the Church of this country, and under date of Dec. 12, 1902,
His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons, of Baltimore, again renewed
his unqualified endorsement and approval of the Legion, and
praised it for the good work it has done in providing and main
taining the Catholic homes of our country.
" When I gave my approval to the establishment of the Cath
olic Benevolent Legion in the Archdiocese of Baltimore," writes
His Eminence, " I held and stated that any laudable enterprise
whose aim is to bring our Catholic men together with a view to
co-operating with one another is deserving of encouragement.
That the society then proposed to be established was intended
not only to create a friendly intercourse among our Catholic
men, but was well calculated to foster a spirit of judicious econ
omy and an honorable emulation in advancing their temporal
interests. That every one who became a member of this society would
derive, in my estimation, a two-fold advantage from the step
which he took.
First, he would increase his prospective income ; secondly, he
would acquire a habit of self-denial and economy which is speci
ally desirable in young men who are surrounded by so many
sources of temptation. And I said, that to make the association
a permanent success, two conditions were essential : — First, the
association should be governed by a wise and well matured code
of laws ; secondly, these rules should be rigidly and impartially
enforced. And I now learn with pleasure that the Order, founded over
twenty-one years ago, has thus far accomplished its mission.
That as a result of the business tact and judgment I then
hoped for, it has gone on collecting from its members the pre
miums or assessments from which it continues to regularly meet

689 Che System of Organization. 689
its obligations. Again, the educational influences of the Order,
both moral and secular, upon our Catholic men have been most
noticeable. For its good work, and especially its charity in collecting and
dispensing nearly fifteen millions of dollars to the beneficiaries
of about seventy-four hundred deceased members, whereby so
many of their families have been raised above mendicancy, their
homes preserved and their children educated in religion and to
be useful citizens, I again commend the Order, and renew my
cordial approbation."
All Catholic men between the ages of 18 and 55 years are
eligible for membership, providing they can pass a good physi
cal examination. Its rates of assessments are based upon the
age of the applicant when he enters and the amount qf insurance
he applies for.
Policies are issued for $250.00, $500.00, $1,000, $2,000, and
$3,000, which brings the Legion within reach of all, no matter
what their condition in life may be, who are desirous of placing
the mantle of protection around their homes to guard and pro
tect those who are near and dear to them.
The following were elected officers of the organization for
1902-3 : President, Richard B. Tippett, Baltimore, Md.; Vice-
President, Edmund D. Hennessy, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Secretary,
John D. Carroll, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Treasurer, James A. Rowe,
Newark, N. J. Mr. Tippett, a prominent lawyer, an eloquent
and convincing speaker and a man of much energy and ability,
has done effective work for the organization, and has given it a
new impetus. Under his direction, and inspiring ardor, it has in
creased rapidly in membership, and bids fair to surpass even its
past record.
The system of organization of the Catholic Benevolent Legion
provides in its plan of government, a Supreme Council ; State
Councils ; comprised of representatives from all the Councils in
a given State, and Local Councils. In the State of New York
the State Council was formed in April, 1883. The number of
councils at that time were few, the membership small, and the
society in its very infancy. The New York State Council has

690 New York State Council. 690
kept steadily at work until to-day it represents a membership in
the State of about 20,000 members, divided into about 240
Councils. There are Councils in all the cities of the State and in
many of the towns. The bulk of the membership in the State of
New York lies in that territory known as Greater New York,
there being about 5,000 members in Manhattan ; 6,000 in Brook
lyn, and about 1,200 in the Bronx, Richmond and Queens.
New York State Council meets annually and is composed of
representatives from the local councils and these annual meetings
are looked forward to with great expectation by the representa
tives. The State Council usually meets in different cities in each
successive year and is always attended with great enthusiasm, and
a good deal of practical work is done at the meetings.
The plan of government by the State Council divides the
State into fourteen districts, two districts being in Brooklyn ;
one in Manhattan ; one in Staten Island ; one in Albany ; one in
Troy ; one in Buffalo ; one in Syracuse ; one in Binghamton ;
one in Rochester ; one in Hudson ; one in Flushing ; and one in
Jamaica. These districts are presided over by a District Depu
ty and through the District Deputy .Deputy State Chancellors are
appointed, whose duty it is to look over the Councils' books, audit
their accounts and install their officers. Every President of a
Council and every Chancellor of a Council and every Deputy
State Chancellor is a member of the district in which he resides.
It will therefore be seen that the real work of the Legion is
done through the District system, for through the district system
close touch is made with the membership at large, through the
officers of the councils. In all fraternal organizations, and espec
ially in the Catholic Benevolent Legion, the missionary work must
be done by personal effort, and recognizing this to be the case,
the State Officers visit all the principal cities of the State of
New York, these meetings usually being held on Sundays, with
the result that a renewed feeling of confidence is spread, not
only amongst the members, but in others not in the organization,
that the Catholic Benevolent Legion is a substantial, wise and
safe institution. The present State officers feel that a substantial
increase in membership from now on may be looked for in the
State of New York.

691 Beneficent Results of such Societies. 691
The officers of New York State Council elected for the year
1902-1903 were President, John A. Henneberry, New York City,
N. Y.; Vice-President, Michael Werner, Buffalo, N. Y.; Secreta
ry, Thomas B. Lee, New York City, N. Y.; Treasurer, Peter G.
Schakers, Brooklyn, New York City, N. Y.
Mr. Henneberry, President of the New York State Council, is
an untiring worker in the interests of the organization, and has
contributed largely to its efficient standing in New York State;
as has also the Treasurer, Mr. James A. Rowe, of New Jersey,
both within and without that State.
Such organizations as the Catholic Benevolent Legion are de
serving of unqualified commendation. They aim at realizing in
a secure and comparatively easy way some of the chief ends for
which we live and labor. They provide for the families of their
members, in case of their disability or death. They alleviate
their last suffering by the assurance that want shall be avert
ed from those near and dear to them. They stimulate the
courage of the widow and orphans. They afford them the
means of battling successfully against the adversities of the world.
They enable the careful and provident mother to maintain, edu
cate and rear her children as good Christians and useful members
of society. They bespeak a continued interest of the members of
the fraternity or union in the family of their deceased associate,
and an effort to procure suitable employment for the children.
A workman acting by himself and for himself frequently for
gets, until too late, the important duty of making provision for
his helpless family. His example teaches selfishness, improvi
dence and vicious habits to his children. In their poverty and
bitter need they are prompted each to look out for himself. The
tie to the family center is broken. They lose sight of one another,
and their fortune is as varying as their environments. Again,
the mother's death may be hastened through the weight of her
sorrow and the consciousness of her helplessness. Then the last
hope is gone. No one is left to guide them in the way of relig
ion, in the path of morality, in the instruction of the schools.
How many children might be saved to the Church and morality,
to the school and usefulness, if provision were made for them be-

692 Deserves the Support of Catholic Community. 692
fore the death of the father — if they could continue to live under
the family roof-tree.
Men are differently constituted. A great many of our work
ing people seem to lack the power to save. There can be no
doubt that every man of that class would derive advantage from
joining such a fraternal benefit association. In it he would meet
the best element of working men — men who read and think, men
who enjoy a sense of manly independence in the consciousness
that neither in sickness, disability nor death need they or their
families fear the poorhouse or soul withering consequences of
abject poverty. Membership in it would teach him to be practi
cal, industrious, economical and attentive to the probable wants of
the future. It would make him self-respecting and manly. It
would encourage him to strive to provide a home for his family,
and to surround himself with the comforts of life, if not the lux
uries. It would bring him into closer relationship with his asso
ciates of the brotherhood than he would otherwise be. He would
become interested in their welfare and they in his. They would
advance mutually their common weal. Their interest in his wel
fare would make him a greater power in the community than
ever he was before or could be without their co-operation. In
short, he would become a steadier man and a better citizen.
The strictly beneficiary society, with its frequent meetings and
fraternal association and what is called social accompaniments, as
under the management of the Catholic Benevolent Legion, is a
system that has been warmly received by our Catholic people,
and the admirable supervision of these associations has elicited
the respect and confidence of the public generally. There is no
doubt also, that such societies are gradually destroying the hurt
ful influence which Masonry, Oddfellowism and other objection
able organizations have heretofore wielded over careless Catho
lics. The financial benefits which they confer, as instanced in
the record of the Catholic Benevolent Legion, have done much
to lessen poverty and to establish families in thrifty ways, and
their continued success is worthy the deepest attention and earn
est support of all interested in the welfare of the Catholic com
munity.

693 Catholic fraternal Societies. 693

THE YOUNG MEN'S INSTITUTE.
Although the Young Men's Institute has been in existence
only since 1883, its progress has been marvelous. Its remark
able development has drawn toward it more than the usual atten
tion given to beneficial and fraternal organizations. It is the
only beneficial and fraternal organization originating in the
West, which has become a great national organization.
It has been said that the purpose for which any fraternal or
ganization exists is best expressed in the preamble or constitution
which governs such body. What is true of fraternal bodies in
general is true of the Young Men's Institute in particular. Look
ing at the very first section of its constitution we find its objects
and purposes thus defined : " Mutual aid and benevolence, the
moral, social and intellectual improvement of its members, and
the proper development of sentiments of devotion to the Catholic
Church and loyalty to our country in accordance with its motto,
' Pro Deo, Pro Patria."' The Constitution of the Detached
Councils particularizes how this work is carried on, as follows :
" In order that these objects may be successfully attained its
efforts will be directed toward procuring libraries, halls and read
ing rooms where young men may meet in social intercourse,
that thus an interest may be created in each other's welfare."
The Young Men's Institute, therefore, has a definite purpose
and a well defined plan for carrying out its objects. It may not
be as successful in distributing its material advantages as some
other organizations, but the mutual aid and benevolence which it
does bestow have not been limited to its own membership ; the
distressed and needy in every community without regard to
creed have been assisted without respect to membership in the
organization. The aid and benevolence bestowed have always
been abundant and timely.
The primary purpose of the Order, however, is not so much
the financial benefits which flow from membership, as the benefits
bestowed by the moral, social and intellectual improvement of
the individual members. The Order is not charged with the

694 Che primary purpose of the Order. 694
duty of sanctifying the whole world, but it aims to improve in a
moral way the individual coming under the influence of the so
ciety, to make him a better man, a better citizen and a better
member of God's Church by precept and example and by so do
ing to influence his moral nature that moral improvement will be
shown. The social improvement of the individual is not to be neglected,
and follows as a sequence to the moral improvement attainable
in the organization. Of paramount importance, however, is the
intellectual improvement of the member. Nowadays that be
comes of special importance. In the every day walks of life the
Catholic layman is called upon to give reasons for the faith that
is in him, and through the instrumentality of this society, the
lectures given, the advice heard, the meeting and continuous
commingling with his fellows, he is enabled to thereby actively
and intelligently defend God's Church. In this country, in
particular, it is all-important that the Catholic laity should be
intelligent and well versed in the history of the past, and the
history of the particular country in which they live.
The Young Men's Institute, which has branches in nearly every
State in the Union and in nearly every place in British Columbia
which can support a Council, and also in the Hawaiian and
Philippine Islands, was founded in San Francisco, California.
The temporary organization of the society was effected on the
10th day of February, 1883, but the society was not organized
into a permanent form until the 4th of the following month, so
that the date of the founding of the organization is March 4th,
1883. At the time the Order was established there was no
Catholic society which filled the want which was then felt among
our Catholic young men. At that time the Catholic societies
existing and which, in fact, now exist, other than the Young
Men's Institute, were organized on three separate, independent
and distinct lines. The first was the Parish Society. This, of
course, had no outside connection and when a young man sepa
rated from the particular parish in which this society existed, his
connection with the organization became completely severed.
The second was the National Catholic society, and, in this, mem-

695 founders of the Institute. 695
bership was restricted to those of a particular nationality or to
the descendants of a particular nationality, and consequently,
there could be no union of all Catholics therein. The third was
the insurance organization, and as the greater number of our
Catholic young men did not desire insurance they were debarred
of the privileges of association with this kind of a society, except
at great expense.
The men who founded the Young Men's Institute and with
out mention of whom no sketch of the organization or record of
the society would be complete, consisted of John J. McDade,
James F. Smith, George R. E. Maxwell, W. H. Gagan, W. T.
Ryan and E. I. Sheehan. Five of these men are still living and
are yet active spirits in the organization ; the other, W. H.
Gagan, departed this life in 1898.
Many preliminary meetings were held, and after painstaking care
and much deliberation, a Constitution was formed and adopted
and officers elected. The founders of the Young men's Insti
tute saw that it was necessary to have a society which would
adopt the best characteristic of each of the organizations then
existing and unite them into a single society. The Institute has
done this in a marked degree and it has accordingly attracted
widespread attention.
One of the founders of the organization, James F. Smith, has
become a national character. He was selected as the first
President of the first council of the Order, Pioneer Council No. I.
He was a unique character and possessed that indomitable
energy and perseverance which has characterized him not only in
connection with the Institute, but in every walk of life where
duty called him. As President of what is now known as Pioneer
Council No. I, and subsequently, as Grand President of the
Pacific Jurisdiction, his name became a household word wherever
a branch of the Young Men's Institute existed. At the out
break of the Spanish- American War, he was Colonel of the First
California Regiment and by successive stages became Brigadier
General, Governor of the Island of Negros, one of the Justices
of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, next accompanied
Gov. W. H. Taft as the representative of the United States

696 Che pacific and Htlantic jurisdictions. 696
Government to the Vatican and was afterward appointed
Superintendent of Public Instruction in the City of Manila.
The organizers of the Young Men's Institute turned their
thoughts to the establishment of new councils and San Jose"
Council No. II was organized in the City of San Jose\ California,
on March 30th, 1885, and within five months, councils from
number 3 to Vallejo No. 13 were organized and have at all times
maintained their existence.
The man who took the initiative in this work of organization
was John J. McDade, the first Grand President and afterward,
the first Supreme President of the Young Men's Institute. He
was one of the most earnest and active members of the organiza
tion, and when a sufficient number of Councils had been
organized a Grand Council was called and he presided at its
deliberations. It was held in San Francisco, California, on the
4th day of July, 1885. He was there elected Grand President.
He was re-elected at the second Grand Council held in San
Jose in 1886, and again re-elected at the third Grand Council
held in Sacramento, California, in 1887. The fourth Grand
Council was held in Stockton, California, in September 1888,
prior to which time councils had been organized in Nevada,
Oregon, Utah, British Columbia, Montana, Ohio and New
York. M. W. Fleming was elected Grand President in
San Francisco. He was in turn succeeded by Hon. J. F.
Sullivan, who served in the capacity of Grand President for
two terms. During his administrations in 1888 and 1890
the Atlantic Jurisdiction was organized with F. E. Macken-
tepe of Cincinnati, Ohio, as the Grand President. From that
time on the organization continued in two jurisdictions, the
Pacific Jurisdiction and the Atlantic Jurisdiction. J. F. Smith,
heretofore referred to, was elected Grand President at the Grand
Council held in Watsonville, California, in 1891. His admin
istration was one of the most memorable in the history of the
Order, as he made a tour of the Pacific Jurisdiction during which
he visited every council therein. C. P. Rendon was elected
Grand President at Fresno, California, in 1892, and was succeeded
by the Hon. F. J. Murasky at_the Grand Council held in Marys-

697 first Supreme Council Reid. 697
ville, California, in 1893. The latter made efforts to convene a
Supreme Council of the Order during his term of office, but
without success. The tenth Grand Council held in San Francisco,
California, in 1894 elevated F. J. Kierce, afterward Supreme
President, to the position of Grand President of the Pacific
Jurisdiction. Like his predecessor, J. F. Smith, he visited all
the councils allotted to the Pacific Jurisdiction. It was during
his term of office that a plan for the organization of the
Supreme Council satisfactory to the Atlantic and Pacific Juris
dictions was adopted.
The delegates elected to the First Supreme Council from the
Pacific Jurisdiction consisted of J. J. McDade, J. F. Sullivan, J.
F. Smith, F. J. Murasky, F. J. Kierce, James Gallagher, E. I.
Sheehan and Frank McGlynn. John Lynch was elected Grand
President of the Pacific Jurisdiction at the eleventh Grand
Council held in Vallejo, California, in 1894. It was during his
term of office that the first Supreme Council of the Young
Men's Institute was held at Denver, Colorado, on February 15th,
1896. The action of the Supreme Council in separating the Atlantic
and Pacific Jurisdictions into the seven Grand Council Juris
dictions now existing shortened his term of office, and owing to
the unavoidable absence of past Grand President James F.
Smith, John Lynch attended as his Alternate and participated in
the deliberations of the First Supreme Council.
The history of the Young Men's Institute since the adjourn
ment of the First Supreme Council centers around the work of
that body in controlling and directing the different jurisdictions
and Detached Council and in assisting in the carrying on of
their works.
The first Supreme Council of the Young Men's Institute
selected as the Supreme President John J. McDade of San Fran
cisco, California. The second Supreme Council held in St.
Louis, Missouri, in October, 1898, the Third Supreme Council
held in Denver, Colorado in 1900 and the fourth Supreme
Council held in Omaha, Nebraska, in October, 1902, selected as
the Supreme President F._L_ Kierce, of San Francisco, Cal.

698 Laws and plan of the Institute. 698
More than any other fraternal society the Young Men's
Institute has modeled its laws and plan of operation after that
masterpiece of the world's statesmanship, " The pride of every
model and the perfection of every master," the Constitution of
the United States.
In our country we have a general government and a Federal
Constitution which guides and directs the affairs of the several
States, but without interference with their internal workings.
In the Young Men's Institute there are a Supreme Council and
a Supreme Council Constitution in which is vested supreme
authority over the several Grand Council Jurisdictions, having a
uniformity of general laws, but without interfering with the local
conditions peculiar to the separate Jurisdictions. Beneath the
various State Governments exist the County Governments. In
the Young Men's Institute there are the Subordinate Councils
standing in the same general relations to the different Grand
Council Jurisdictions that the several counties stand to their re
spective States. Under the American plan of government the
different territories not yet strong enough to sustain a State
Government are under the direct supervision and control of the
general government, and in the Institute, to complete the parallel,
there are Detached Councils under the direct supervision and
control of the Supreme Council and its Officers, because they
are not yet able to sustain a Grand Council Jurisdiction or are
too far separated from the centers of the Grand Council Juris
dictions. Many of these Detached Councils are to be found in
the different parts of the country and in addition to that, there
are three Detached Councils in the Hawaiian Islands and one at
Manila in the Philippine Islands. On the 16th of November, 1902,
a Detached Council was established in Dawson City Yukon
Territory with one hundred and forty-three charter members
under the name of Judge Council No. 580, in honor of the
pioneer priest of the Klondike. Speaking of the Young Men's
Institute the Editor of the Catholic Progress of St. Louis, Mo.,
said :
" I was very .inch impressed with the evident vigor and zeal
of your organization and splendid system. I am indeed very much

699 Duties of the JWembers. 699
interested in the matter of Catholic organization, especially the
organization of young Catholic laymen in this country. This
is what we need above everything else, and you may be sure I
was greatly rejoiced to learn of the vigorous and flourishing con
dition of your Young Men's Institute. Such societies are, I
may almost say, the salvation of the Church in this country.
Had such societies generally flourished in this country for the
past twenty-five years, we would now have twenty instead of
ten millions of Catholics. The leakage of our ranks has been
through the young men. If they had been held through the med
ium of societies, in character like your Young Men's Institute,
we would not to-day bewail the loss of millions.
But I believe we have at least realized this, and are seeking to
remedy it. I do not know of any organization in this country
better adapted or equipped for such work than your own. I
hope to see it spread over the entire Union in a few years."
The duties of the members of the Young Men's Institute are
manifold ; not only do they owe duties to their fellow-members,
but they also owe duties to their faith and to their country. The
first duty of a member of the Young Men's Institute is to his
fellow-members and to the organization. His efforts should be
directed to the upbuilding and uplifting of his fellows and to
increasing the influence of a society which can appeal to Catho
lics in every place to unite with him in furthering the interests
and purposes of the organization, which presents no line of
demarkation as to eligibility for membership, no matter what the
age limit may be, or the social or worldly -condition of the appli
cant. The Constitution of our common country declares that all
men are created free and equal, and the Young Men's Institute
would deem itself unworthy of the name of a Catholic or an
American fraternity if it fell short of permitting any practical
Catholic to enter its ranks. As its constitution is framed, the
young men from the age of eighteen to forty-five are eligible
for beneficial membership, while those who are not able to pass
a medical examination, or are too far advanced in years for bene
ficial membership may become associate members in the organiza
tion, which membership gives them all of the privileges and ad-

7°o phenomenal Growth of the Institute. 7°o
vantages given to the beneficial members, except participation in
the sick and funeral benefits. Again, the initiation fees are placed
at such a figure that any practical Catholic without respect to his
financial position may become a member. In addition to the
duties which members owe to the society proper, they also owe
duties apart from these ; they are charged with the mission of
elevating our young men in accordance with the requirements of
the constitution of the order. The members should be animated
by an apostolic spirit and should be valiant auxiliaries in Church
work everywhere. They should aim to preserve the faith and
morality of Catholic young men and make them proud of their
Church and its traditions, and ever ready to stand by justice and
right in all things.
The growth of the Young Men's Institute has been most phe
nomenal. From the original five members who founded the
society in 1883, with no idea that it should be more than a merely
local one, it had grown in 1903 to five hundred and eighty-one
subordinate councils with a membership in excess of twenty
thousand, with these branches spread throughout the whole of
the United States and British Columbia and even in the far-off
Philippine Islands and Dawson City.
The future prospects are encouraging, if we judge of the
organization by its past success. The future success is in the
hands of those charged with the work of carrying forward the
purposes for which it was founded, not with the idea of advancing
their material interests or political aspirations, but with the
unfaltering hope of promoting at all times the objects embodied
in the motto of the Young Men's Institute.

THE CATHOLIC ORDER OF FORESTERS.
The Catholic Order of Foresters was chartered May 24, 1883,
and on March ist, 1903, had a membership of 105,745, confined
to the Northern States from Maine to California, and also the
Canadian Provinces.

701 Inception and Object of the foresters. 701
The organization had its inception in the Jesuit parish of
Chicago, Illinois, and was due to Mr. Thomas Taylor. The
assessments are operated on a graded scale of rate according to
age ; there being two classes, the hazardous and the ordinary.
Since its organization, until 1903, the Order has paid out in
death claims $5,111,609, and $262,000 for sick and funeral bene
fits. At the time mentioned, the Order held in investments in
government, state and municipal bonds $434,126, and had a
cash balance of $73,592.
The High Chief Rangers of the Order have been successively
John F. Scanlan, J. P. Lauth, Patrick J. Cahill, John C. Schu
bert, and, in 1903, Thomas H. Cannon, with High Secretary,
Theo. B. Thiele.
The object of the organization, as stated in its constitution, is
to promote Friendship, Unity and True Christian Charity among
its members ; Friendship in assisting each other by every honor
able means ; Unity in associating together for mutual support
of one another when sick or in distress and in making suitable
provision for widows, orphans and dependents of deceased mem
bers ; True Christian Charity in doing unto each other as we
would have others do unto us."
The amount of benefit payable by this Order to the benefici
ary of a deceased regular member is $500, $1,000, or $2,000.
Beneficiaries must be between the ages of eighteen and forty-five
years to be acceptable for membership. While membership is
divided into two classes, the ordinary and the hazardous,
those engaged in trades or occupations deemed dangerous are
ineligible. Thus the interests of the Order are safeguarded, and
the amount of death payments kept down to the lowest possible
limit. Persons engaged in any of the following occupations are not
eligible to regular membership ; Aeronauts, anthracite coal miners,
blasters in mines, tunnels and quarries, circus riders, professional
acrobats, prize fighters, professional base ball players, profes
sional cyclists, professional outside window washers, railroad
switchmen in yards, makers of powder, percussion caps, cartrid
ges, fireworks or any explosive, drop forger, professional diver,
sub-marine diver, or any person engaged in the marine life-sav-

702 Restrictions on JMembership. 702
ing service, steeple climbers, jockeys, iron and steel bridge
builders, or iron and steel building constructors, wild animal
tamers, electric light linesmen, makers and handlers of phosphor
ous, handlers of dynamite, brakemen in or about the yards of
steel plants on dinkey trains, window glass workers, namely, all
persons working in the mixing room, grinders of the plate on
which glass is laid, plate glass workers, namely, all persons
employed in the pot house department, plate tampers and all
persons working in the mixing department or bath houses, all
persons engaged in laying glass upon the bed prior to grinding,
plate glass grinding department, namely, the grinder, the repair
man who repairs the machinery, the polishing and finishing man,
plate glass plaster department, namely, all employees, lead and
zinc miners and all other persons whom the High Court shall
deem to be engaged in occupations of like hazard as those men
tioned. And persons engaged in certain occupations are eligible to
regular membership in the hazardous class only including :
Officers, members of crew and other employees of ocean or
inland steamers, or sailing vessels, oyster dredgers, railway
trainmen, namely, conductors, brakemen, expressmen, baggage
men, news agent, porter, mail clerks, engineers, firemen and all
other employees whose occupation requires them to go upon
moving trains, railway employees, namely, yardmasters, yardmen,
track repairers in cities, telephone and telegraph linesmen,
metal polishers, varnish makers, match makers, rubber grinder
or mixer, salaried members of fire brigades in cities, salaried
police officers and policemen in cities of 10,000 population or
over, marble and stone cutters, quarrymen, master miners, gold,
silver, copper and iron miners, surface miners, coal miners
(except anthracite coal miners) , steam shovelers and lifters,
slaters, glass bottle blowers and window glass blowers, buzz,
band, circular and gang sawyers and edgermen, those engaged
in any regular military or naval service in time of war, all per
sons actively engaged in the manufacture or sale of intoxicating
liquors, Bessemer, open hearth and crucible steel workers, blast
furnace employees, namely, cupola man, top filler, salamander,
brakeman, puddler, guide in hoop mill, and men employed as
laborers in and around blast furnaces and rolling mills, rod mill
employees, namely, puddler and assistant roller and roller's assist
ant, rougher and rougher's assistant, etc, and all other persons
whom the High Court shall deem to be engaged in occupations
of like or equal hazard.

7°3 JVIust be practical Catholics. 703
No person who for any reason whatever has been expelled
from the Order, or who is a member of any society condemned
by the Catholic Church, or who has not complied with his Easter
duty during the last preceding Easter time, or, if such time has
expired, has not approached the Sacraments since that time, is
eligible either to regular or honorary membership in the Order.

THE LADIES' CATHOLIC BENEVOLENT
ASSOCIATION.
The Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association was organized at
Titusville, Pa., April 9, 1890, and chartered under the laws of
Pennsylvania, It was the first women's fraternal insurance
society organized in the United States. It has no State Councils,
all business being transacted directly with the Supreme Council,
and representatives to the Supreme conventions being direct
from subordinate Branches.
In 1903 it was organized in twenty-two states, had 805 sub
ordinate Branches and a total membership of 80,1 16 with a total
protection of $69,100,000. It had a reserve fund of $136,187,
a surplus in the Beneficiary fund of $19,924 and a total credit
balance of $193,838.23. It had paid to beneficiaries of deceased
members $2,314,459.27.
A glance through the history of civilization and we find the
facts that moulded the conditions of woman and the influences
controlling her power for good were entirely those of Christian
ity down through the long ages up to the discovery of our own
country, and since that period the position attained and strength
ened by the continued impulses of Christianity has been modified
by two important forces — the progress of intellectual refinement
and its consequent breaking away of prejudicial influences ; and
the tendency of all classes and nationalities to become distinc
tive as a class in the forwarding of some special movement for
the advancement or betterment of the human family.
Keeping pace, then, with these progressive ideas, the women

704 first of its Kind on Record. 7°4
of the past century have to an unprecedented extent distin
guished themselves, but no movement inaugurated may be clas
sified of greater worth and broader principles nor more prolific
of good results than that conceived and propagated within its
last decade by the Catholic women of the age and whose idea
resolved itself into the Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association.
The Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association is a fraternal and
insurance organization composed entirely of women and under
their exclusive management and control. The Association was
the first of its kind on record where Catholic women have banded
themselves together in a united sisterhood for mutual benefit
during life and with a provision for those dependent upon them
after their own death. It has gained for itself recognition and
attained an unquestionable standing among the beneficiary socie
ties of the country.
Early in 1890, a few earnest, thinking women, seeing the need,
and feeling that the time for action had been reached, and with
an earnest desire for the betterment of their own class, conceived
the idea of forming a benefit or insurance organization, to be
governed solely by women, and that would admit only women to
membership ; but this new departure needed experienced minds
to direct and these were not found wanting.
Guided by the advice and experiences of long-time members
of fraternal societies based upon the lodge system, notably the
C. M. B. A., whose strength and record placed it in the fore
most ranks of insurance societies, these few representative
women took the lead and scoffing at the idea that to join any so
ciety or assist in its formation when intended to make provision
for dear ones in the future was to become unwomanly or to step
without the bounds of domesticity, they took also the initiative
with a determination to succeed. These woman from out the
homes of Catholic influence were agreed that neither propriety
nor any other essential principle would be violated by uniting
their efforts for mutual good and a benefit to those that followed.
Interest was at once created through correspondence, and pre
liminary branches were organized in Pennsylvania, New York
and Ohio.

705 Other Subjects of the Hssociation* 705
Like other insurance organizations, the Ladies' Catholic Be
nevolent Association is required to present a detailed report to
the Insurance Commissioners of every State with or in which it
transacts business. Upon every occasion the utmost satisfaction
has been expressed and commendations received for the excel
lence of management and discipline. In cost of membership
and in maintenance of Supreme Council and adjustment of all
legitimate demands, it is the lowest of any fraternal association
in the country, the annual expense of the vast Association being
less than fifty cents per member.
Of the 160 insurance associations in the country, but six are
larger than the one organized in 1 890 at Titusville, and all of the
Catholic associations but one shows a longer list — the Catholic
Order of Foresters.
In view of the past, therefore, it may not be too extravagant a
prediction that ere another biennial season has come and gone,
the Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association may stand side by
side with the foremost, and that they may go foreward with the
same united and devoted spirit, the same desire to serve their
day and generation with a service with which past ages have not
been blessed.
Although the Ladies' Catholic Benevolent Association is
known to the public generally as an insurance organization, it
has other objects of a Christian Character of still greater im
portance. The ritual while stating that the Association is
formed to unite in a fraternal sisterhood Catholic women of ap
proved moral character and in good physical condition, between
certain prescribed ages and possessing such other qualifications
for membership as the Constitution and By-Laws may prescribe,
also declares in substance that it is for the further purpose of
elevating them morally, mentally and socially. There is also
another object which in this age is one of great significance,
namely, by means of Christian literature to educate members
and those dependent upon them in piety, integrity and frugality,
truly a combination of noble aims. From the recounted experi
ence of those who have introduced the Association and made
known its benefits in sections where fraternal organizations did

706 Hdvantages of JVIembersbip. 7°6
not exist, it is learned that it has been a potent agent in uniting
the classes and infusing a spirit of contentment among them
and at the same time a desire to advance in the approved direc
tion. In fact, it has been a quiet educator, while the reliefs ex
tended through the beneficiary department have eased many a
mother who realized that were she taken from her little ones
they would in a measure be provided for.
It has been argued that women did not need insurance and
that such should be left to the male members of a family ; but
women may be deprived of their natural protectors, the source
of their livelihood stopped and the care of their young families
dependent upon the mother's resources. Hence, we find in every
city and town of our broad land hundreds of women who support
themselves and provide for others also. The economic conditions
difficult for man are still more difficult for woman, and statistics
tell us that the mortality of working women is largely in excess
of that of men. Is it not a wise precaution, therefore, to lay
aside through assessment associations that which can be accumu
lated by the working woman in no other way ?
A small amount paid monthly will prevent the orphan from
depending upon charity and place the aged parent beyond want ;
and though the Association does not pay a disability claim, the
presentation of a beneficiary certificate and the stating of dispo
sition will secure the needed care in sickness and provide for
burial. To those who do not need the insurance, The Social
Department should present many attractions and perform the
mission intended— that of preventing the affiliation with non-sec
tarian societies and forming a stronger union with those of their
own creed.
To both classes, however, the social advantages are many.
By attendance at meetings women gain confidence in themselves
and by an interchange of thought and sympathy are led into va
ried sources of learning that will and have proved of lasting
results.

jfl Field For (\lKoIic Women
I3ST THE
Practical Work of iLe C^urcL
Che Hdaptation of Rer Labors to the J^eeds of Our Hge,
THE CATHOLIC WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION.
BY LOUISE GIROD.
On Prospect Place, in the Borough of Brooklyn, stands a large,
commodious house, whose outward appearance is no more pre
tentious than that of its neighbors, but within whose walls a
corporation, known as The Catholic Women's Association, has
labored assiduously since 1894. To help young women to help
themselves is its object. This is accomplished by aiding them in
obtaining a knowledge of such branches of the useful arts as may
be suited to their ability, and in which they may afterward obtain
lucrative employment and better their condition in life. In
order to inculcate a feeling of independence, a nominal fee is
charged for all classes except those in sewing, elementary Eng
lish, and arithmetic and penmanship, which are free.
The accommodations of the present building have long been
inadequate for the enlargement of the scope of the work, and a
fund for the erection of a new and suitable building in the not
far distant future is steadily assuming larger proportions.
In order to provide every facility for the proper conduct of
such work as the association should undertake, Father McCarty
selected a corps of earnest women to aid him in carrying out his
philanthropic enterprise. He is assisted by two vice-presidents, a
recording secretary, a financial secretary, and a treasurer, who,

7°8 Conditions of JMembersbip. 708
in conjunction with the Board of Managers, meet on the second
Wednesday of each month, except July and August, to settle all
affairs of moment. The chairmen of the library, educational,
entertainment, membership, house, employment, finance and
lecture committees are members of this board, and at these meet
ings render an account of the work of their several committees
during the previous month. The membership of these commit
tees is made up from the general membership of the association.
The memberships are honorary, life, contributing, active, and
associate. Any person, upon the payment of one hundred dol
lars, may become a life member, and receives the privilege of
placing a student in any one of the classes for a period of five
years — not necessarily consecutive. The life members include
some of the most representative Catholics of the city. Any
person, upon payment of twenty-five dollars annually, is inscribed
as a patron of the association, and receives the privilege of plac
ing a student in any one of the classes for one year. Any person,
upon the payment of five dollars annually, will be enrolled as a
contributing member. Men, as well as women, may become life
and contributing members, or patrons. The larger portion of the
membership roll is composed of the active members, who pay an
annual fee of two dollars, and have the privileges of the library
and of the entertainments, and of course may enter classes.
In order to conform to the rule of the association that all
persons connected with it should be members, the students of the
classes are allowed to become associate members upon the annual
payment of one dollar, and receive the full privileges of the
association. The members of the Library Committee are assiduous workers.
They keep the library up to date and have in it the best works
ready for circulation. A fine collection of four thousand care
fully selected books is at the disposal of the members. As else
where, a fondness for fiction seems to predominate. However,
an examining committee passes judgment on all books con
sidered for the shelves, and selects none but those which will add
to the mental and moral growth of the readers. All the latest
standard works of fiction are secured.

709 practical and Domestic Instruction. 709
This is the only school in the greater city where instruction
may be obtained on the bonnaz machine. Every facility is pro
vided for gaining a working knowledge of this branch of the use
ful arts. The instruction comprises chain-stitching, braiding,
cording, feather-stitching, etc. The bonnaz machine has been
steadily improved upon for"a number of years, until an expert
operator is now able to turn out an original design, which upon
close inspection can scarcely be detected from hand embroidery.
This style of trimming is used so extensively that there is always
a demand for skilled operators, and the knowledge is easily
acquired. Perseverance and constant practice in manipulating
the hand-bar underneath the table are the principles to keep
steadily in mind.
Regular courses in cooking are given, both day and evening.
Ample facilities are provided for obtaining a knowledge of all the
fundamental rules of cooking, and in the preparation of such arti
cles of food as would be necessary on a well-appointed home
table. In addition, a fancy course is given ; an invalid course,
which comprises the preparation and serving of daintily prepared
dishes, special emphasis being placed on the nutritive value and
digestibility of foods, as affected by seemingly unimportant con
ditions in their preparation. Also, a chafing-dish course, in
which each member solves her own problems, a chafing-dish
being provided for each individual. This method is preferable
to the demonstration work given in other schools, and better
results are obtained. A feature each year in the cooking depart
ment is a chafing-dish course for men. Superintendents and
principals of the schools, doctors, lawyers, and other gentlemen
of prominence have by this means been instructed in the mys
teries of cookery. They finish their courses fully equipped to
cater to their stag parties in the city, and to their camping-out
parties in the woods. Each year's work ends with a stag dinner
of many courses. Each course is cooked by two members of the
class. Their work thus far has equalled, if it has not surpassed,
that done by the women. It may not be significant, but usually
most of the members are married men. A children's course, in
an abridged form, is arranged for Saturday afternoons. Parallel

7io Hritbmetic, penmanship and Bookkeeping. 710
with the technical work instruction in theory is given, the notes
being recorded in note-books, which are examined at the end of
the course.
The class in elementary English is one of the most helpful
features of the work. To train adults in the fundamental prin
ciples of the language is unique to this association. While it
is true that some grown persons find study irksome and are un
able to apply themselves to it, the majority, including some who
cannot write their own names, are glad of the opportunity of ac
quiring the ability to read and write. These apply themselves
diligently to the tasks set before them. Beginning at the very
foundation, they advance step by step, growing more and more
interested during the gradual unfolding of their minds, until the
close of the year. They are then able to read fairly well, write
simple general and business letters, and make out bills. The re
sults are very gratifying to teacher and pupils, who become quite
proud of their accomplishments. A well-equipped class-room is
provided for their accommodation, which is excluded from the
inspection of visitors.
Instruction in arithmetic and penmanship begins with a review
of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and includes
interest, percentage, profit and loss, partnerships, exchange, dis
count, partial payments, etc., which are presented from a busi
ness stand-point. Penmanship is taught in a practical manner,
with a view of acquiring a good business hand. Written exer
cises in spelling, accompanied with exercises in oral definition,
etc., are given in connection. In this class the students are pre
pared for the book-keeping course.
The fundamental principles of debit and credit are included in
the book-keeping course, with thorough drill in journalizing,
posting, analysis of accounts, detecting errors in trial balances,
short methods in interest, discount, multiplication, etc., rapid
addition, and computations generally. A comprehensive under
standing of the system of double-entry books required in dif
ferent kinds of wholesale and retail business, checks, drafts,
notes, bills, invoices, receipts, etc., may be acquired in this class.
Single entry is taught in its relation to double entry.

711 employment and exchange Bureau. 711
The Employment Bureau has not been developed to the de
sired extent, owing to lack of adequate space. Great care,
however, has been exercised in making it as helpful as possible,
until the erection of the new building. It carefully investigates
references as to character, and endeavors to rectify any injustice
which may be done to any one under its patronage. It has been
largely successful in adjusting the wants of both mistress and
maid. It is the intention to enlarge its scope to cover higher
employment, in the way of finding positions, so far as is possible,
for the graduates of the various courses given by the association.
An exchange in charge of this Bureau has been organized and
is open every Saturday afternoon, with members of the commit
tee in attendance. It is designed to assist worthy women by
selling for them such articles of their own manufacture as they
may present for home or personal use or ornament. Biscuits,
cakes, preserves, pastry, confectionery, and a variety of useful
and fancy needlework form an attractive display when the ex
change is open.
The association has been incorporated under the University
of the State of New York, and has been made a University
Extension Centre. The object of this new departure was to
widen the influence of the association. It accommodated at
once many teachers and others who applied for university
courses. The initial work in this line was a course of thirty
lectures on psychology, under especially able management,
which proved both beneficial and popular. About three hundred
students were enrolled as members, the majority of whom were
public school teachers, some coming from the Borough of Man
hattan. Their attendance-marks and note-books were carefully
examined by the lecturer, and certificates granted to those who
fulfilled the required conditions. All certificates issued by the
association are recognized by the Board of Education of the
City of New York.
For the accommodation of all who may wish to benefit by
them four courses of lectures are now in progress, and are con
ducted by lecturers of great skill in their respective lines. In
the eastern section of Brooklyn there is a course in elementary

712 University extension Course* 712
psychology, and in the western section three courses : one in
advanced psychology, one in literature, and one in Sacred
Scripture. A full course in Sacred Scripture has never been
offered before to the general public, and should be of great
interest not only to the laity but to the clergy as well. The
reverend president has received many grateful acknowledg
ments from those who have been benefited by this extension
work, which promises to grow rapidly.
By entering this field of University Extension work the
Catholic Women's Association has erected a platform from
which the Cathoiic side of important subjects can be presented
to the public. In lectures, and in courses of lectures, given un
der non-Catholic auspices, the history, doctrines, and practices of
the Church are being constantly misrepresented, and errors
flagrant and hurtful are deliberately taught. Whether this hap
pens intentionally or not, the truth suffers and the people are
misled. Generally the decision has gone against us by default.
We have said nothing. The aim of this association is to handle
in its lecture courses practical subjects of vital importance, and
thus to do its very best to spread the light.
Although handicapped by environment in many respects, the
work of the Catholic Women's Association is steadily improving
in character and extent. , The number of students regularly
increases, and represents widely separated and remote districts
of the city. There are at the present time attending its various
classes approximately six hundred and fifty pupils. While it is
the only Catholic institution of its kind in the city, and was
established mainly for the benefit of Catholic women and girls,
it is non-sectarian in character, and numbers many Protestants
on its membership rolls. Its spirit is truly catholic in the
broadest sense, and a feeling of universal brotherhood pervades
all its actions. These helpful women extend the right hand of
fellowship to both Catholic and Protestant with equal cordiality,
in conformity with the maxims inculcated by the president, to
whom this organization will stand as an object lesson of his
energetic and untiring zeal in promoting the welfare of his
fellow-men.

founder of the Catholic (SHomen's Hssociation.

¦J^HE association was
founded by the
Rev. Edward W. Mc
Carty, rector of St.
Augustine's Church,
Brooklyn Borough,
New York City, who
is also its president.
Though constantly
busy with other in
numerable cares and
occupations, he still
gave much time and
thought to evolving
this scheme whereby he
might assist young wo
men to become s e 1 f-
reliant and self-support
ing, which assumed
tangible form at the
time. He selected the
building, No. 10 Pros
pect Place, as one suited
to his requirements, re
constructed it from top
to bottom, and furnished it with such equipment as is used in
schools of similar character.
The basement is fitted up as a cooking school, and contains all
the latest apparatus for the successful conduct of classes in cook
ery. It also contains a small gymnasium, where instruction in
physical culture is given. The first floor contains the reception-
room, the reading-room, the library and the general office. On
the second floor are the dress-making, millinery, sewing, bonnaz
machine, and English rooms. The third floor is devoted to the
stenography, type-writing and book-keeping rooms, etc.

REV. EDWARD W. McCARTY.

Co fielp Yo""S CClomen to fietp Chemselves.
f^HE Educational Com-
^"' mittee is responsible for
all class work, and two mem
bers are in attendance each
evening-. The scholastic
Year is divided into three
terms, beginning first of Oc-
tober and ending the last of
June, each term comprising
a period of twelve weeks.

Well-trained teachers pre
side over all classes, and fol
low the methods endorsed
by the best educational au-
thorites. Two exhibits are
given each year, and these
practically demonstrate the
character and completeness
of the work. Promptness,
regularity of attendance, and interest are noticeable on the part
of all students. Certificates of the association are awarded at
the end of each year to those who have completed one or other
of the branches and have secured the percentage required bv the
association.

Che fiigber Branches are Caught.

/^LASSES in Spanish,
^"/ French, or German are
formed when sufficient ap
plications are received to
form a class. The natural
method is employed, sup
plemented by all necessary
grammatical drills. Con
stant practice is given in
conversation, reading and
writing. The stenography
course is divided into three
grades ; and instruction is

%-

given on standard type
writing machines and covers
graded exercises in words,
commercial phrases, bus
iness correspondence, head
ings, titles, addresses, mis
cellaneous, mercantile, and
legal forms, testimony, spec
ifications, etc., special atten
tion being paid to manifold
ing, mimeographing, letter
press copying, and construc
tion and care of machines.
In both the stenography and type-writin
exercises are given in spellinp-. composition and punctuation.

T. C. W. A., BROOKLYN, N. Y.
o- classes short dictation

MRS. JOANNA «. ROYER.
Supreme Recorder, Ladies' Caiholic Benevolent Association.

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Catholic federation AS
H Unifying force
Demanded by the Conditions of Our Hge and Country.
BY JEREJ1IAH C. CURTIN.
The American Federation of Catholic Societies is now per
manently established. For some time, especially of recent years,
the excellent results to be expected from a large body, engaged
in work which individual organizations, owing to limited ter
ritory and resources, could not presume to undertake, much less
accomplish, was universally recognized. The leaders of the
movement were laymen ; they were the original organizers ; by
their efforts alone could it succeed and be introduced into the
different states, and then only, as in the case of other societies,
with the consent of the Bishop of the diocese.
Among the special benefits hoped to flow from the Federation
of Catholic Societies were :
First. The pleasure and the profit of knowing, understand
ing and sympathizing with one another.
Second. The facility of meeting in convention, where, by fric
tion of brain and interchange of expression, we may improve
our plans of organization and enlarge our power of good.
Third. Greater strength and dignity for every individual
organization as a result of its membership in the Federation.
(The strongest state in the Union, standing by itself, is an in
significant power, but as an integral part of the great American
Republic, it has a part in shaping the destinies of the world.)
Fourth. Wide advertisement of our various societies and

722 Che Benefit of federation. 722
their objects, with the consequent large increase of membership
for all of them. Some of our most useful societies are known only
in particular sections of the country, or only in large cities.
Fifth. Opportunity to discuss those needs of our Catholic
people who are not yet joined by associations of piety, charity or
benevolence. Sixth. Promotion of the growth and spread of Catholic lit
erature. Seventh. Refutation that will reach the whole body of the
people of misunderstandings and calumnies, dogmatic, historical
and inferential, which are so often uttered against the Church.
Eighth. The impregnation of Catholics with horror for the
dreadful doctrines of Anarchy, and kindred pernicious errors.
Ninth. Intensification of the spirit of patriotism in the hearts
of all our co-religionists.
Tenth. The social, civic and intellectual improvement of the
whole Catholic body through the benefits derived by union
among ourselves.
Eleventh. The practical demonstration on a large scale to
our separated brethren of what the Catholic Church really is,
and the elimination from their minds of the bugaboo which they
have sometimes mistaken her for.
Twelfth. The gradual eradication of all the old-time unrea
sonable prejudices against the Church as a body and against
Catholics as individuals — prejudices once so strong, and yet not
entirely dead, as to have sometimes made our otherwise fair-
minded fellow-countrymen allow us to be repressed and even, at
least indirectly, deprived us of some of our Constitutional rights.
Surely, these are benefits so desirable that it is worth while to
strive to obtain them. This movement belonged to no particu
lar section of the community. It was the entire thought of all.
Every Catholic organization that joined the Federation was re
ceived with open arms, with brotherly welcome, with absolute
respect for its individuality, its autonomy, its vested rights, its
acquired privileges and its well-deserved success.
It has frequently been remarked that American Catholics, so
practical in their religious duties, and so self-sacrificing in sup-

723 Nwd of Catholic Organization. 723
porting and advancing the interests of the Church, have hitherto
exercised slight action in what the Most Rev. Bishop Messmer,
in his sermon before the Federation Convention, aptly terms the
apostolate of the laity. When all is said about. the favorable
conditions of the Church in the United States, one question still
needs an answer, and it is, how comes it that in a democracy,
which is supposed to bring out what is best in the individual
citizen, we, as Catholics, appear, at least, to have so little pub
lic spirit, and to assert but faintly, if at all, the belief we profess ?
Why is it that in countries, which some of us are but too ready
to look upon as inferior in many respects to our own, Catholic
men are not only capable of expressing their views in a manner
and style to excite the admiration of their clerical hearers, but
fearless and energetic enough to compel the attention and re
spect of men whose tradition and interest it is to antagonize them
in every way ? We have, or at least pretend to have, political
advantages far superior to theirs.
Have we really such superior advantages over Germany, for
instance, or Belgium, or, for that matter, over Spain, or Switzer
land? If we have, it only adds to the difficulty of accounting for
our failure, as individuals as well as a body, to impress the stamp
of our religious faith, and the strength it should impart to our
mental and moral character, on the sentiments of our fellow citi
zens, on the institutions which we, as well as they, originate and
maintain, and on the action which quickens our national life?
Are we inferior in education to our brethren in the Old World ;
or, if equal to them, are we, as compared with them, far inferior
to those about us ? Considering the excellence of Catholic edu
cation generally in Europe — even in France this is the chief
objection of the present government against it — considering^also
the disadvantages under which we have had to labor, we may
easily admit some inferiority to Catholics abroad without any
discredit to ourselves, and without admitting, in spite of certain
obvious advantages of theirs, any real superiority on the part of
our non-Catholic fellow-citizens.
In the last analysis it is not political or educational or any
other disadvantage, which must account for this strange reverse

7H N«d of a Catholic public Spirit. 724
in the order of things, by which with all our liberty, or, at least,
with comparative freedom from untrammeled conditions, which
so many regard as liberty, we still lack the public spirit of Catho
lics in countries which are not democratic like our own. It is
idle to say that we have been used to having our priests act for
us. If this be true it is not the fault of the priests, but our own.
For years the most worthy priests of this land, not merely the
men to the manor born, but others quite as patriotic, and often
much broader in mind and heart, all, in fact, who have been best
acquainted with the needs of its people, have been exhorting
and organizing the laity, men and women, young and old, and
urging them to take a more active part in the life of the nation
in its political, social, intellectual life, in its reforms, enterprises,
charities, civil and social functions, literature, art, music, in a
word, in all that helps to make the model citizen and extends his
influence to the widest circle. In proof of this we need only
mention the splendid and effective organization of the laity in
our German Catholic societies and in the various national and
racial bodies which have been formed and, in great measure, sus
tained by the co-operation of our priests. Just as in the Catho
lic Congresses in European countries the bishops and clergy
have been the most generous in support of the laity, so likewise
the members of our own hierarchy, and our priests as a rule have
urged the laity to cultivate a public spirit, and none more than
they have rejoiced at every slightest manifestation of it.
FEDERATION AND PUBLIC SPIRIT.
If Catholic laymen in the United States have done but little
hitherto towards influencing public opinion and impressing the
stamp of their faith on the social life of the nation, it is not,
therefore, because of their political or educational disadvantages
as compared with their fellow-Catholics in the Old World ; nor is it
because of any unsought or unwarranted clerical interference.
On the contrary, what little influence they have exercised thus
far is due, for the most part, to the encouragement received
from the prelates and priests of the country, who have always been
ready to approve and promote every genuine movement among

725 Che Disadvantage of Isolation. 725
the laity as soon as it reached the stage which justified their
action in its favor. Witness the zeal with which two of our bish
ops, the Right Reverend James A. McFaul and Sebastian G.
Messmer, have labored to advance and consolidate the move
ment for the federation of Catholic societies, which is essentially
a laymen's movement. Witness, also, the readiness and heartiness
with which nearly one-half the members of our hierarchy and
hundreds of our prominent clergymen have bidden the move
ment God-speed, for the simple reason that they recognize in it
the very best means of developing in the Catholic laity an ac
tive Catholic spirit, a union for the employment of the most
effective Catholic agencies in all that can further the moral,
social and civil status not of Catholics only, but of every citizen
in the land. Our greatest drawback in times past has been
that besides, being comparatively few in number, we have been
scattered up and down the land, isolated practically from one
another as well as from those who are not of our faith. To
speak out was like crying in the wilderness, and Catholic socie
ties were, like individual Catholics, units apart. It was all very
plausible to bid them take part in movements in common with
all our fellow-citizens, irrespective of creed, when, for want of
union among themselves, they could not compel a recognition of
their rights. It was all very well to say that what was needed
to influence or form public opinion was a leading Catholic week
ly or daily newspaper. A great newspaper may influence, but
not create nor develop, public opinion ; it merely helps to form
an opinion which is already in process of formation, and to con
firm the same by giving it popular and permanent expression.
The real editor has to study what is in the mind of his readers
much more than they have to study what he writes in his editor
ial. He has to divine what they are thinking ; they have only
to recognize in his expression the thoughts they had formed but
not expressed. Living apart, often apparently with conflicting
interests, with no ready means of communication, a common
Catholic sentiment was impossible, and without this a Catholic
newspaper, weekly or daily, would have no reason for existence.
United, and kept in contact by actual and frequent communica-

726 Che Scope and purpose of federation. 726
tion, it will very soon require several newspapers to give expres
sion to the public Catholic sentiment that will thus be developed ;
and if we may judge by the excellent work our Catholic weeklies
have been doing recently, they will be quite equal to the demand.
This union federation has effected in a manner which may seem
but natural to us now, but which the future chronicler of this
remarkable year in the history of the Church in the United
States will record as nothing short of marvellous. Very justly
may the President of the Federation write, as he does in the
following article : " Since the Columbian Congress no event in
the life of the Church in America has had such wide attention
or aroused so much interest as the recent Chicago convention of
the federated societies."
And he writes this without the slightest boast. Indeed his
article is throughout suggestive of the modesty which disposes
men to reckon with the difficulties in their way before grappling
with them. To him and the laymen who have been associated
with him in this great movement, we owe more than we can
fairly estimate. To express disappointment with the work done
in the convention of delegates for the American Federation of
Catholic Societies assembled in Chicago the first week in August,
1902 ; to ask why they did not accomplish more; to enumer
ate what they failed to do, is to overlook the fact that they did
more for the union of Catholics of every nation and race in the
United States than the great conventions in Baltimore in 1889,
or at the World's Fair in 1893, even more, in some ways, than
the Baltimore Plenary Council in 1884.
The scope and purpose of the Federation has been thus sum
marized by Mr. Thomas B. Minahan, its first president :
" First, a word on the political side of Federation ; this, because
politics has been the only, and is, at first blush, a seemingly valid
objection to the movement.
" It will be conceded, I think, that legislation, national and
state, hostile to Catholic interests is constantly in evidence.
Sometimes such legislation, and also executive action, are with
out intentional hostility. More often, however, they are with
malice aforethought. Those who do not clearly see this fact

727 Che JMission of federation. 727
must live far from Washington, or from state capitals, or belong
to the " inclosed " orders. This assertion involves no lack of
perception of the general broadness of our government in its re
lations to all creeds. Because it is our government do we want
a Catholic public opinion forceful enough to keep it what the
founders intended it to be ; an impartial protector of the rights
of all religions, with special favor to none.
"It is not the government nor, in the main, the executive
officers in state or nation, that are at fault, so much as it is a
certain class of ubiquitous, jealous, narrow meddlers, who persist
in poisoning the wells of the public mind on the subject of the
Catholic Church in America. They are always active. Their
work goes on unhindered, save when lamely opposed by some
chance individual effort.
" The constant admonition to us in such cases is : " Keep quiet ;
things might be worse." Our reply in this regard is that things
would be very much better if we had fearless, systematic and
tactful opposition, backed by the power of more than one-half of
the professed church-going people of America, assertive enough
to call their souls their own, and forceful enough to take their
Church out of the slough of continual apology for its presence
in this country.
" How can Federation change existing conditions ? Not by
noisy declamation against grievances that sometimes have no
foundation in fact ; not by exaggerated denunciation of executive
or legislative bigotry ; not by hurling dire threats against this or
that political party ; in a word, not by blusteringly stultifying
ourselves in the eye of a public opinion which, if discreet and
tactful methods were taken to win, might be made our stoutest
shield. Not by these methods does Federation intend to solve
its problems.
" For state and national legislation, and in dealing with those
in power, Federation appoints a committee on law. The business
of this committee, acting with an executive body and advisory
board, is to closely study and watch legislative and executive
action involving Catholic interests with the special view of fore
stalling hostile measures, The work of this committee, whether

728 fio Interest in politics or party Candidates. 728
it be one appointed by County, State or National Federation, is
so hedged about with safeguards that the~reasonably conserva
tive can put aside all fears of indiscretion. The work of this
committee is not, however, so hampered as to prevent its meet
ing the full expectations of the prudently aggressive. The
Federation's work along this line, once the movement is crystal
lized into a thorough, disciplined organization, will be felt rather
than proclaimed. The living fact of a thoroughly organized
body, with a membership of a million or more, need not be pro
claimed from the housetops. Its existence alone will bespeak
its influence.
" Further than in the manner here outlined, Federation has no
interest in politics or party candidates. Its membership is of all
parties. It expressly forbids the endorsement of any candidate.
Partisan politics cannot be even discussed in any of its gather
ings. We can unhesitatingly declare that Federation will always
set its face firmly against the danger or disgrace of mingling
mere politics with a judicious, necessary and most effective
defence of the best interests of our Church.
" Federation, we believe, can be trusted, too, not only to devise
lines of action, but to make fewer mistakes than mere individual
effort along the same lines. Many instances might be cited of
such ill-advised individual action as makes us hope for some
means to defend us from our friends, no matter how eminent or
obscure they happen to be.
"A condition arises in some locality. A tramp vilifier comes
into a community and by calumny, abuse, and indecency, makes
an effective bid for newspaper notice. Unfortunately the daily
press too often weighs its fearlessness and manliness in the scales
against dollars and cents, and cravenly suffers itself to be used,
when common decency would counsel at least silence. But let
the combined action of thousands in the city, or hundreds in the
town openly put their patronage with the newspaper that will
make common cause with them and vindicate the constitutional
right of religious belief and practice free from public slander,
and it will not take long to make newspaper managers realize
that cowardice in "the public press will not pay. The cash-

729 Che 6reat CKork of federation. 729
drawer is a tender nerve of modern journalism ; let a powerful
public opinion press that, and you have the open sesame to edi
torial policies. In other words, Catholic unity alone can enforce
a hearing that will be respectful, and thus find a voice in the
forum of every community, large or small. No matter what the
number of Catholic societies, as long as they are mere broken
fragments instead of links in one grand chain, as long as they
fail to recognize the power of " All for each, and each for all,"
just so long must they expect to remain an unrecognized quan
tity in the problem of how to fairly and properly create and
enforce a Catholic public opinion with weight enough to be
respected. " One needs but little reflection to realize that if Federation
were even partially organized on the magnificent scale it aims at,
if it were in position to take up and successfully carry out one-
tenth of its purposes, then opportunities and occasions by the
score would await it. There are projects to its hand whose
practical accomplishment would easily win the recognition and
esteem of all true Americans, and largely contribute to effectually
destroy that mistrust which more than a hundred years of open
and insidious defamation has.succeeded in planting in the Ameri
can Protestant mind.
"In the last analysis a most important mission of Federation
is to secure the layman's part in helping to make this country
Catholic. Nor is such hope an idle dream. To even superficial
observers and thinkers Protestantism has not satisfied, and can
not resist the stern, searching logic of American thought. Infi
delity, agnosticism, or absolute indifference, is already digging
the grave of Protestantism in the United States.
" The vital, the great work, then, of Federation, is to build up
Catholicity into a living, controlling force in the moral, social
and intellectual activities energizing and throbbing at the heart
of this restless American age. Federation must forge to the
front as a leader in that kind of endeavor which not only compels
respect but also begets confidence and wins esteem. Its best
energy, its highest ideals, should find expression in labors
inviting and sure to receive the approval and even co-operation

73o Unison of Rationalities promoted. 73°
of all Americans — labors that will make for nobler manhood
among men and therefore better citizenship for the Republic.
There are more than ample opportunities about us for the work
of Federation. Masterful direction and successful accomplish
ment by this body will make Catholicity in this country what the
incomparable Leo XIII has made the Church in the world at
large — a factor of commanding influence instead of a timid,
shrinking apologist for its very existence. Such a position
achieved, misunderstanding will clear away, the tongue of slander
will be hushed in the silence of shame, and Catholicity will take
its proper place in the hearts and minds of the people, a place
which Protestantism cannot fill.
" Some of the great Catholic journals have already recognized
the immense possibilities of Federation as a powerful factor in
removing what in American life has proved a great drawback to
a closer union — the barriers of nationality. We all despise the
man ashamed of his race. But we sometimes carry racial pride
so far into our American life that it spurs us to retaliation ; and
we become indignant at hearing men removed no further than
ourselves from the immigrant ship prating about the "foreign
element." Federation is the most effectual means to knit more
closely together men of different races — especially those of Ger
man and Irish blood. Time was when racial methods, manners
and customs were so radically different, that congenial associa
tion seemed an impossibility. But a great change has been
wrought. Former conditions are so modified now that only the
opportunities of Federation on a large scale are wanting to blend
and harmonize the men of different bloods. The practical effect
of such a union upon American Catholic life and its resulting
influence upon all our communities mean more than we probably
comprehend. " Aside from the union of societies, as such, there is still another
important phase of the subject. Take any city, large or small ;
let the number of its Catholic societies be as great as it may —
can you name one place where the just criticism will not apply
that there is no Catholic sentiment, no Catholic public opinion,
no Catholic social life, to speak of, representing these societies.

73 l federation and Individual Societies. 731
What should hinder Federation, at least once or twice a year,
bringing all these elements together in social contact so that
they might at least become better acquainted for a common
cause ? The result of such getting together could not do other
than make for the betterment of the interests of Catholics, and
by thus gradually forming a Catholic sentiment and public
opinion, rear a tower of strength for the protection of Church
interests. The idea does not at all necessarily involve a clan-
nishness that would be un-American. It is undoubtedly true that
the more closely Catholics and Protestants are engaged in busi
ness, social and professional life, the more they learn to under
stand one another to the end of destroying the barriers of bigot
ry. This fact is not, however, in conflict with the idea, as things
practically are about us, of Catholics on proper occasions getting
closer together in that social acquaintance and intercourse which
would be certain to make them a power in every community.
" There have been those who feel indifferent or even hostile to
Federation, under the mistaken impression that it may in some
way interfere with or lessen the influence of some separate
society. The existence and practical working of Federation,
in either its aims or methods, will have no effect whatever upon
the objects or absolute autonomy of individual societies. Each
society will hold the tenor of its way and pursue its separate
work as though Federation were never thought of. Federation
organizations in city, county and state will not encroach upon
local and district societies, but simply serve as a common bond
of unity, leaving all free and autonomous. Whatever Federation
may achieve will be equally shared in by all alike. Its work will
necessarily be directed toward the general good and advance
ment of the common interests of all.
" If the great national organizations were to enter Federation
permanently by a representation of their national officers, or
other delegates, there would be serious danger of such emulation
for direction and control as might beget those jealousies and
contentions for supremacy inherent in the combination of separate
and distinct dependencies. The plan of organization contem
plated for Federation avoids this danger. Further it can sue-

732 future influence of the federation. 732
ceed in blending nationalities without at all interfering with
those societies, which may still cling to distinct national tenden
cies. The use of a common language in Federation assemblies,
where all nationalities mingle, does not interfere with predilections
for separate national customs, languages or tendencies in any
component society. The American idea in this plan encourages
the blending and unison of all nationalities without seeking to
antagonize their cherished customs, to erase the proud and tender
memories, or the deathless traditions of any. This method of
organization secures, too, to County and State Federations con
trol of their own local affairs and backs them with the power of
the national organization."
The influence of the Federation will be far-reaching and will
have great effect on the trend of Catholic thought and action in
the future. Being a union of all the most important societies
in the United States, it is intended to reflect the thought and
voice the sentiments of Catholics the country over.
It is important, too, in that its work must have a result that
will be most beneficial, because its members are laymen, men
who are in the world, working, coming every day in contact with
men of all creeds, and of no creeds at all ; and in consequence the
influence they are able to exert is not confined to any one class,
but extends out into every profession, business, and other part of
common life. The members are of the active, living class, the
class that is interested in every social and moral movement, not
because it is a movement that has only abstract attractions for
them, but because they themselves will be benefited or affected.
There is another noteworthy peculiarity about the Catholic
Federation that marks it off from all other purely moral as well
as religious organizations. For the members of the Federation
do not represent a single nationality, but like the church to which
they belong they represent a spirit as cosmopolitan as is the
church itself. The majorities of societies areas a rule distinctive,
that is they represent in a distinctive way the peculiarities of a
certain class of individuals. And they must. For a society to
succeed must be made up, usually, of men who are devoted to the
attainment of some single object.

ftbe International
Gatbolic ftrutb Society
By JEREniAH C. CURTIN.
Some one has said that we need an apostolate of the laity,
under the inspiration and guidance, of course, of the Church.
No truer words could be uttered. The propagation of truth, the
confutation of error, the promotion of Catholic interests must
not be left to the clergy alone. They need the strong, loyal
arm of the laity.
The vigorous life and healthy growth of religion depend upon
the earnest co-operation of laity and clergy. It is doubtful whether
the laity here have hitherto exercised their full duty, rights and
privileges in the great work of spreading the Gospel and defend
ing and extending the Church. Their attitude, while not indif
ferent, seemed to imply that they never viewed this work in the
light of a duty. But latterly a great change has come over
them ; so that, whereas we had only luke-warmness and timidity
in the past, we have now a large body of earnest, intelligent men
and women, zealous for the best interests of the Church, and
active missionaries within the circle of their influence. They
accomplish a work which could not be performed by priest or
bishop ; they come into daily contact with non-Catholic people,
who, if converted at all, must be guided to the true fold by lay
teaching and lay example. They enjoy the confidence of non-
Catholic neighbors — a confidence which priest or bishop, by
reason of the aloofness of their office, does not share. And
hence their part in the upbuilding of the Catholic Church in
America is both serious and large.
Touching a kindred subject, his Eminence Cardinal Gibbons
says ; "There is one fact which is overlooked or rarely

734 Mission of tbe Laity. 734
mentioned, and that is, the conspicuous part that was taken by
learned laymen in defence of the Christian religion in the
primitive days of the Church. I might mention among others
Justin Martyr, St. Prosper, Arnobius, Lactantius, called the
Christian Cicero, Origen and Jerome. Some of these learned
men had written eloquent apologies before they were raised to
the priesthood. The others remained laymen all their lives. In
later years Sir Thomas More, in England, Montalembert,
Chateaubriand and the Count de Maistre, in France, and Brown-
son in the United States, have abundantly shown how well the
Christian religion may be vindicated by the pen of laymen.
Thank God, there are not a few laymen in our country to-day,
who are aiding the cause of religion and morality by their voice
and by their pen. If the Apostles, with all their piety, zeal and
grace, could not have accomplished what they did without the
aid of the primitive Christians, how can we ministers of the
Gospel, who cannot lay claim to their piety or zeal or grace — how
can we hope to spread the light of the Gospel without the co
operation of the laity ? Wherever this co-operation is found
the church is sure to flourish. "
It is but fair to say that Catholic laymen are recognizing this
opportunity ; the large numbers enrolled in the various Catholic
societies furnish ample evidence that they are organizing for
the welfare of the Church, and the interests of religion. This
has been, perhaps, in no wise more markedly evidenced than in
the establishment of the International Catholic Truth Society
and its affiliated branches.
On the evening of March 22, 1899, at 225 Sixth Avenue,
Brooklyn, New York City, the Rev. William F. McGinnis,
D. D., called together a few gentlemen to discuss the wisdom of
forming a Truth Society for the purpose of diffusing a knowl
edge of the Catholic Church, and of refuting the unjust attacks
of her adversaries. The approval of the Right Reverend Charles
E. McDonnell, D.D., Bishop of Brooklyn, having been secured,
the Society was formally organized April 14, 1899, under the
title " Metropolitan Truth Society." Communications were sent
to the members of the hierarchy explaining the full scope

735 Che Society formally Organized. 735
of the Society, and the methods which were to be followed.
The replies received from this source convinced the organizers
that the Society was destined to meet an urgent need, and to
accomplish much in the cause of our holy religion.
Having received the indorsement and promise of co-operation
from a large number of the hierarchy, stimulated by the warm
welcome extended by many of the ablest laymen in the country,
and encouraged by the blessing of His Holiness Leo XIII, the
Society filed letters of incorporation on April 24, 1900, at the
office of the Secretary of State in Albany, N. Y., under the
title " The International Catholic Truth Society."
The original name was changed at the instigation of some
members in Canada, who justly claimed that the term "inter
national " was more expressive of the real nature of the society.
The particular objects for which it is formed are : To answer
inquiries of persons seeking information concerning the doctrines
of the Catholic Church ; to supply Catholic literature gratis to
Catholics and non-Catholics who make request for the same ;
to correct erroneous and misleading statements in reference to
Catholic doctrine and morals ; to refute calumnies against the
Catholic religion ; to secure the publication of articles promot
ing a knowledge of Catholic affairs ; to stimulate a desire for
higher education among the Catholic laity, by printing and dis
tributing lists of Catholic books, and otherwise to encourage the
circulation and reading of standard Catholic literature, and to
generally assist in the dissemination of Catholic truth, and per
form other educational and missionary work.
Its principal office is located in Brooklyn, New York City, and
the United States and Canada comprise the chief field of its
operations. Local committees may be formed in various places,
which will co-operate with, and serve to increase the efficiency of
the central, society.
The far-reaching aims and practical, original methods of the
International Catholic Truth Society have commended them
selves to a large number of the ablest minds in the Catholic
Church, who recognize the need and value of an organization
with such an efficient and widespread membership, whose central

736 Hims and JVIetbods of the Society. 736
bureau is becoming a sort of "clearing house" of Catholic ideas,
issues, information, etc. Careful observers of the status of Catho
licity in this country have not failed to recognize that one con
stant element of failure all along the line is to be found in the
isolated, desultory, local character of Catholic action. Thus, an
unjust, poisonous book will, after much labor, be ousted from the
schools of a particular town ; how much more profitable to refer
the matter to the I. C. T. S., and thereby bring to bear upon
the publishers such pressure as will result in amending the book
for the whole country ?
The number, persistency and variety of attacks upon the
Church in newspapers, magazines, text books, historical works,
etc., and the apparent futility of adequately opposing such insid
ious warfare have been the source of much regret in the past.
Calumnies of the most malignant type, circulated through the
multifarious channels of an all-pervasive press, have sown the
seeds of bigotry and hostility in a soil not naturally adapted to
such growths. Ephemeral and unorganized attempts have been
made at times to stem this tide, but it has always been realized
that nothing effective would be accomplished until a thorough
organization was established. Such organization the Inter
national Catholic Truth Society has sought to realize. Having
in its active membership specialists in various departments of
learning, it is peculiarly fitted to undertake the detailed refuta
tion of attacks, and the correction of mistakes affecting Catholic
doctrine and interests. As a rule, the public press of the country
is willing to print corrections when sent in by men of recognized
ability. Many articles of this nature are contributed to the cur
rent press by members of the society.
Of course, no intelligent Catholic will for a moment under
estimate the power of the Catholic press, the importance of the
field it fills or the value of the results it has obtained. But not
one, on the other hand, can deny that its field of usefulness is
circumscribed by well-defined limits, beyond which it has little or
no influence. What does the public at large know about the
Catholic press? How many non-Catholics ever read a Catholic
journal ? The exceptions are only sufficient to prove the rule.

737 Utilizing the Secular Press. 737
With many, alas ! the very name " Catholic " is enough to arouse
prejudice, and thwart the good that is intended. We are forced
to admit, therefore, that when the mountain will not come to the
prophet the prophet must go to the mountain.
Hence, the feature of the work proposed by the International
Catholic Truth Society — to have recourse to the columns of the
secular rather than the Catholic press. Misstatements, slanders
and libels against Catholic truth do not appear in Catholic
papers, hence that is hardly the place to correct them. More
over, the value of a correction often depends largely on the
promptness with which truth is sent traveling on the heels of
error. This promptness can never be secured in the columns of
our Catholic weeklies. The damage is done in the secular
dailies, and they are the ones that must repair it. Nor is this in
reality an unreasonable demand to make of the secular press.
Newspaper editors do not, as a rule, wilfully or knowingly slan
der or libel their readers. They aim to give the news impar
tially and correctly. Now, the statistics furnished even by our
adversaries show conclusively that Catholicity to-day is numeri
cally the representative religion of the principal cities and towns
in the land, as, indeed, it is of the United States at large and
the entire western hemisphere, including North and South
America. Notwithstanding its heavy losses, owing to causes
that no longer exist, Catholicism has steadily progressed till it is
to-day the banner religion of America. It is not surprising,
therefore, that there should be an increasing demand for reliable
information concerning it. Again, it is admitted that much of
the best newspaper work in the land is done by Catholics.
Surely, then, American Catholics would be false to their country
if, knowing the truths that must be of such vital importance to
it, they do not reveal the knowledge they possess. When pagan
Rome built her magnificent highways she supposed it was for
her legions to carry her eagles to the ends of the earth ; but in
reality it was to enable the apostles to carry the cross beyond
the eagles. So to-day, when the miracles of science are anni
hilating time and space, men imagine it is only to increase their
material progress, but in reality it is to serve God's purpose in

738 facilities of Information and Communication. 738
spreading the knowledge of the true religion in which all were
to be saved. The means are at hand, the opportunity offers,
and the International Catholic Truth Society has surely a mag
nificent mission to accomplish.
A department of the Society's work that has awakened much
interest is the Foreign Correspondence Bureau, organized for
the purpose of providing reliable news concerning the Church in
distant countries. Weekly letters received from members located
at important centres give authoritative information regarding the
contemporary relations of Church and State, and comment upon
subjects of timely interest. These letters appear regularly in
the Catholic press from New York to California, and are repro
duced to some extent in the secular papers. The result is that
very interesting Catholic affairs are placed in a new and authen
tic light before a large portion of the American public.
The Society now has reliable personal sources of information
in Canada, Cuba, South America, England, Italy, Belgium, Hol
land, France, Egypt, Scandinavia, India, and other countries.
The Society has also at its disposal a cipher code which will
be placed in the hands of members for the facilitation of tele
graph and cable messages. Frequently the necessity arises for
prompt inter-communication, the mails being unadapted for cer
tain urgent contingencies, and this use of the code serves to
supply former deficiences in this respect. A false report emanat
ing from Rome or some other distant place, often does irremedi
able harm before its denial, received through the mails, can be
used against it. By means of the cable code this fatal delay
may be obviated.
Through the kind offices of Cardinal Rampolla, Papal Secre
tary of State, September, 1901, the Society was accorded the
privilege of a representative at the Vatican, an authorized and
competent person, who would be in a position to give an authen
tic denial, explanation or qualification of untrue or misleading
statements cabled from Rome to the secular press in the United
States. The remailing department, which supplies Catholic magazines,
newspapers, books, pamphlets, etc., to poor families and to per-

739 Disseminating Catholic Literature.

739

sons living in distant places has awakened perhaps a wider var:-
ety of interest than any other phase of the Society's work. In
spite of the quantity and cheapness of printed matter which is
the special characteristic of the period, there remains a surpris
ingly large portion of the population whom circumstances deprive
absolutely of reading material. There are hundreds of Catholic
families, isolated in far-off regions, who do not see a priest, twice
in a year, and to such as these a Catholic periodical regularly sent
would probably have the result of preserving their faith. Only
those who have visited remote districts can appreciate the avid
ity with which reading matter is received in such benighted
places, and the moral effect accomplished by scattering the good
seed of Catholic reading over such ground cannot be estimated.
The method followed in this work is simple. Through its
ramifications the Society is enabled to learn where the need of
literature is most pressing and where it will do the most good.
Members living in remote places are invited to send to the head
quarters in Brooklyn names of those who would appreciate a
magazine or paper sent to their address regularly. These
names are forwarded to persons subscribing for such magazines
and papers, the subscribers pledging themselves to remail the
literature when they have finished with it. In this way the in
fluence of good reading matter, hitherto carelessly discarded, is
doubled and tripled. This work of the Society has been grate
fully welcomed by many bishops and priests living in the South
ern and Western States.
As there is practically no expense involved, and the labor of re-
mailing a paper is so slight, there would, seem to be no reason
why thousands of homes should not be gladdened and helped by
this phase of the Society's work. Moreover, priests engaged in
giving missions to non-Catholics will find this plan an effective
supplement to their work. When the visiting missionary, hav
ing done noble work in a locality where there is no resident
priest, is about to leave those who have gotten an insight into
Catholic doctrine, his work will be strengthened and made more
permanent by forwarding to the Society the names of those non-
Catholics who will be pleased to increase their knowledge of the
Church.

740 Objectionable Cext Books Opposed. 740
The friends of honesty in literature have reason to approve
the efforts which have been successfully made by the Society
with a view of discouraging gross perversions of history in text
books intended for the young, and for the training of teachers.
Many of the text-books in the public and high schools contain
statements and inferences which are directly calculated and de
signed to weaken the faith of Catholic pupils, and to lessen their
reverence for ideals which are the dearest part of their inherit
ance. The use of works, thus polluted, is a manifest wrong to
such pupils, and it has been the object of the Society to bring
such matters to the attention of the authorities and to obtain
the proper redress. Histories of education especially offend in
this manner.
Much quiet work has also been done by the members and
friends of the Society in the matter of calling the attention of
publishers to flagrant errors and misrepresentations in historical
and educational works, and books of reference. In such cases,
courteous attention is usually extended, and the corrections, where
shown to be reasonable, are willingly made. It may be added
that the only reason such books have been tolerated in the past
is that Catholics have neglected to protest against them.
The work of the Society in popularizing Catholic authors of
standard merit has also met with marked favor. Students in the
rich fields of current thought have been struck with what would
seem to be the systematic neglect in the libraries of this country,
of the great contributions which Catholic scholars in Europe are
making to contemporary literature. Writers like Wiseman, Gas-
quet, Allies, Brunetiere, De Vogue and a host of others of simi
lar reputation have been persistently ignored, while sedulous
care is bestowed upon meretricious writers whose shallowness is,
as a rule, the passport to popular success. Pages could be filled
with a bare list of the names of eminent writers of Catholic
Europe of whose existence the reading public of America is ab
solutely ignorant.
Students with a taste for scientific or religious historical read
ing have ready access to an alluring feast of the infidelistic litera
ture of the age, but are forced to subsist on the mere crumbs

741 Che Society's public Library Cdork. 741
that fall from the table of orthodox learning. It is the frequent
comment of men who have drunk at the fountain of learning in
Italy, Germany and France, that hosts of honest and inquiring
minds in this country are lost to the church through lack of op
portunity to read the other side in serious controversy.
What will be instantly admitted by those who keep abreast of
the present remarkable age of the exploitation of specialized
learning, is the striking fact, — that never in the history of letters
has there been such a general awakening of the public to the
value of learning and education, and never before has the hither
to forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge been scattered
broadcast with so lavish a hand. Public libraries, multiplied by
the lavish beneficence of private individuals, have placed the
heaped-up intellectual treasures of the ages at the cheap behest
of all, and works which a generation ago were at the command
of the rich only, are now common property. This socialization
in the realm of literature, effected by the great and beneficent
system of modern public libraries, has, needless to remark, given
a wonderful impetus to the general taste for knowledge, and it
is much to be regretted that Catholic scholarship has not asserted
its rights in the new republic of letters thus constituted. That it
has not successfully done so is an undoubted and generally ad
mitted fact. If anyone doubts this assertion let him but glance
over the list of works of standard repute compiled by the Inter
national Catholic Truth Society, and consider the number of
authors of the first eminence and of European reputation who
are denied a place upon the shelves of American public libraries.
What is sadly to be deplored and what the society ventures
the hope of remedying in some degree, is the neglect which
characterizes nearly all the popular libraries with regard to the
domain of Catholic apologetics. It is certainly not too much to
expect that the civic authorities will give some heed to the good
old motto, " Audi alteram partem," in the constitution of their
book lists. Laying aside altogether the question of right, such
a policy would be productive of great benefit even to non-Catho
lic students, who are now shut out from whole vistas of contem
porary literature, and to whom a morejiberal policy of library

742 Library and Library Lists. 742
selection would open new worlds of interesting philosophical
speculation. The library work of the Society is now systematized,
so that a complete classified list of all standard English Catho
lic literature may be obtained.
Thousands of printed library lists, prepared with the greatest
care, have been distributed with a view of encouraging and stimu
lating a taste for valuable reading. These lists have not been
scattered indiscriminately. They have been distributed among
the members of the Society, regular and associate, among cultured
Catholics, journalists, teachers, writers, lawyers, physicians and
professional men in general, and in fields where results seem most
promising and immediate. The intention is that those who
receive these lists will interest public librarians in such works of
sterling merit as have been overlooked in their collections, in
order that they may add to their shelves books for which there
is a demonstrated demand.
To facilitate such effort library report blanks, containing the
number of the book applied for, the list number, the date of
application, name of applicant, and result of application are dis
tributed throughout the country. These blanks, filled out with
data obtained at the various libraries, are returned to the central
headquarters in Brooklyn. The summarized statements of what
are clearly shown to be legitimate demands for certain works are
then referred to the library authorities in different cities. In the
majority of cases these authorities accede to the demands.
Inasmuch as our public libraries are founded and maintained
by the proceeds of municipal and state taxation, to which Catho
lics contribute their share, it is but just and proper that they
should strenuously insist that such libraries should contain a
share of good Catholic works. This injustice in most .cases, is
due to the ignorance of the librarians, not to any ill-will or pre
judice. They simply do not know that such books exist. To
rectify this defect is one of the chief objects of the society : and
it is pleasing to note as stated that most of the public libraries
have shown a willingness to meet the requests of Catholic pa
trons for standard Catholic works.
In addition to the general work of supplying literature, with

743 Other Important Objects of the Society. 743
the object of enlightening bona fide inquiries in Catholic doctrine,
the Society engages itself to answer personally letters requesting
information outside of the beaten path of knowledge or affecting
cases of peculiar import. Many correspondents desire not stero-
typed, but personal and intimate information. When such a let
ter reaches the general office its answer is referred to a member
who is a specialist. The fact that the membership of the Inter
national Catholic Truth Society embraces trained specialists in
every department of learning and controversy, emphasizes with
out the need of comment, the value of this department. An
interesting feature of the Society's work is the procuring of
books from publishers for persons interested in special depart
ments of literature. This is, of course, an entirely gratuitous
project, without shadow of financial profit for the Society and
designed solely for the advantage of members who might have
difficulty in procuring books in special fields of literature.
The unfamiliarity of educated Catholics with standard works
by authors of their own faith, dealing with subjects of history,
science, philosophy, religion, etc., is appalling. We think few
will question the statement that, while religion is a burning
theme, the trend of thought, as guided by the press, daily and
periodical, and the output of free-thinking men, is decidedly
against the dogmatic teachings of the Church and the supernat
ural basis upon which we believe morality must rest.
Far-seeing minds in the church realize that the near future
will reveal that our efforts must be not to demonstrate the truth
of the Catholic doctrines to non-Catholic Christians, but to con
vince men that there is a God, a soul, a Redeemer. So much
the greater reason, then, why efforts should be made, importune,
opportune, to present to earnest Christian souls the Catholic
Church in her divine beauty and strength. Nor should we limit
our efforts to strictly religious channels. Many minds are drawn
toward the church by a clearer insight into her satisfying systems
of philosophy, by reading reliable works of recent historical
research that set at rest forever many of the calumnies that have
lived for ages, or through an acquaintance with the venerable
character and imposing grandeur of her mighty past.

744 Imperative Need of the Organization. 744
It becomes a question, then, of stimulating a taste for Catho
lic classics, and bringing them within the reach of students by
demonstrating to librarians that there is a genuine demand for
them. Such are a few of the considerations that have convinced
thoughtful men of the present imperative need of an international
organization for the defense and exploitation of Catholic Truth,
and we venture the hope that organized intelligent effort along
the lines indicated will result in permanent benefit.
The Society issues a monthly serial — The Bulletin — to aid in
perfecting that thorough organization and practical intercourse
of widely separated members which are essential to the success
of the Society ; and to serve as a nexus among cultured Catho
lics of the country, and particularly among the various Catholic
Truth Societies in the United States, England, Canada, and
Australia. Father McGuinness says of the Bulletin :
"As the character of the Bulletin is a direct departure from
publications in general, we may be permitted to explain the
statement, that it is not to be considered a newspaper or monthly
periodical in the ordinary sense. We wish it to be considered a
personal message which the officers of the society will send each
month to the members and to a small number of cultured Catho
lics not actually enrolled upon the membership list, but known to
be in sympathy with the aims of the I. C. T. S. It is not issued
for the general public : it will not be sold at news stands, nor will
copies be sent to the secular press. Frequently during the year
it is necessary to send communications to a large number of the
members — to call attention to a particularly insidious book ; to
acquaint them with the history of some fraud who is touring the
country for the purpose of explaining ' from personal knowledge1
the iniquities of the Roman Church ; to give lists of the best
works of the Catholic authors in fiction, history, philosophy, etc.
In view of this the Executive Committee has wisely decided that
such communications might be made more systematically, at less
expense, and far more efficiently, in the form of the Bulletin
than through private correspondence."

ill

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