The Fordham Monthly

VOL. XXXII

NOVEMBER, 1913

No. I

T

HE average being of our modern age is altogether too selfcentered an individual to turn his eyes from the contemplation of his own greatness or to lead his mind from its smug conviction that the Present is Perfection, long enough to cast even a casual glance or bestow an idle thought on the vague shadows that to him signify the Past. "This is the greatest of centuries," he says, "what use is there in looking backward?" But what is there to make this century the greatest? Its splendor and glory do not spring up from within itself; its magnitude is not a child of its own bosom. What have we done? We have but watered the trees our fathers planted, finished the buildings they began. Ours is but an age of improvement; a noble thing, indeed; yet if we would look for true greatness, if we would feed and nourish our own minds, we must go back to by-gone years, and there, amid the pasture lands of greatness, we may browse away to our hearts' content.

And you will find no more interesting nor delightful taský than seeking out and estimating the great minds that have long since passed away. Let us delve awhile and see. We are Ameri cans, let us seek for a patriot; we are Catholics, let him be a Catholic. Clio, the hand-maid of the Past, presents to as a thousand brilliant names, but like a marble shaft among a myriad humble headstones, the name of one stands forth pre-eminent, a name that should be loved by every true American, the name of one distinguished in Church and State, a prelate and a patriot, John Hughes, first Archbishop of New York.

It was on the 24th day of June, the Feast of St. John the Baptist, 1797, at Annaloghan, County Tyrone, Ireland, that little John slipped silently into the world. No comets brandished their crystal tresses in the sky to signify his coming, but quietly and unobtrusively, in the "other" room of a little Irish cabin, he made his start in life. And when for the first time he came forth from that little rear room, and stood bathed in God's clear sunshine, a kindly Providence must have looked down and claimed him for her own, for in the lives of few men indeed has the guiding hand of a higher power been more clearly manifest. Even in his earliest childhood, he seemed to be one of those happy mortals whose path in life is already marked out. He never had need to use the words of St. Paul, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me do?" But rather it was a prayer from his own heart, perhaps no less fervent than that of the great Apostle, "Lord, give me but grace to do it," for the call of the priesthood had come upon him, and his soul had answered "Yea."

In spite of the weight of penal laws, and the wretched condition of Irish Catholics at that time, young John was able, through the zealous efforts of his father, a staunch and Godfearing Catholic, to obtain a fair primary education in the little grammar school in Augher, and the high school at Auchnacloss. He was a brilliant and industrious student, and we can well imagine the glowing career that the little family group, seated before the low turf fire in the quiet of a Sabbath evening, would map out for him. But as we ever build, and Fate, with seemingly careless hand, overthrows our tottering card castles, so their bright dream was rudely dispelled and their hopes for the future ruthlessly shattered.

....

When John was eighteen, a series of financial reverses and the consequent reduced circumstances of his father forced him to leave his Beloved books and sanguine hopes, to follow the plow with all its dreary drudgery. But even then, his confidence was revet shaken; already he must have known how unsearchable are the ways of the Lord, for with unabated enthusiasm, though with curtailed opportunity, he continued to devote every spare moment to his studies. It soon became evident that he would never make a successful farmer, so his father obtained for him a place on the estate of the Moutrays, at Favor Royal, where he was to take up the study of horticulture. But the financial state of the family went from bad to worse, until finally Mr.

Hughes decided to leave the land of his birth for the far-away shores of America, and within the next few years the whole family had transferred their home to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Here his father was fairly successful, and John was able to look forward to the fulfillment of his dearest wish with something more definite than a vague hope and a firm determination. Though without funds himself, he was relieved of the necessity of contributing to the support of the family, and was free to follow his own designs. At Mt. St. Mary's College at Emmittsburg, Md., where he made repeated application for admission, offering his services in any capacity in return for his education, there was no vacancy for him, and it was not until three years after he had come to America, that, thanks to his experience at Favor Royal, he obtained a position in the garden, and, in compensation for his labors there, acceptance into the college. With the goal of his ambition at last within reach, John redoubled his labors, and, on October 15, 1826, was ordained a "priest forever" by Bishop Conwell, of Philadelphia, in St. Joseph's Church in that city.

That was his first great triumph. Had his life ended there, had he been shorn of all the glorious achievements of his episcopate, his name would still deserve to rank high in the estimation of every loyal Catholic. The indomitable grit and magnificent persistency, which were so often manifest in his later life, had already had ample scope for display. The difficulties he labored under, the obstacles he overcame, in his grand struggle toward the dignity of the priesthood, would have submerged any ordinary man; but he, with his towering strength of character, resolute, fearless, rose above them all. Though his every muscle was worn and strained by the toil and drudgery of the hardest. labor, and though no rift in the clouds of adversity was visible, to the keenest eye, his spirit never flagged, but with unfailing confidence, he still fought on. His soul cried out to God, fer God, and God Himself guided his footsteps to success...

His first appointment was to the Mission of Bedford, a wild, rough district in the western part of Pennsylvania; but he had been there only a short time when he was called to Philadelphia. Here he spent an eventful ten years. The diocese was at that time in constant turmoil over the disputes arising from the wretched system of lay-trusteeism in the management of

Church affairs, and seemed almost on the verge of disruption. But the sudden throwing of Father Hughes' vigorous personality and outspoken denunciation of the system into the balance, turned the scale, and, in no small degree, owing to his efforts, trusteeism was crushed out of existence in the Philadelphia diocese. During this same period also, he gained great renown as a controversialist, engaging with vigor and energy in disputes with several prominent Protestant divines, and invariably coming forth from the fray victorious.

In 1837, eleven years after his ordination, after having been twice nominated for bishoprics, first for that of Philadelphia, and later for that of Cincinnati, he was appointed coadjutor bishop of New York, and shortly afterward, owing to the disability of Bishop Dubois, received the full burden of the management of the diocese on his own shoulders. At this period, the New York diocese was, if possible, in a worse state from the evils of laytrusteeism than the Philadelphia diocese had been before, and matters came to a crisis shortly after the young coadjutor's arrival. One of the Cathedral priests, suspended by Bishop Dubois for some act of insubordination, had been reinstated, elected rector of the parochial school, and voted a salary by the trustees, who refused to accept the appointment of a successor. Bishop Hughes, whose experience in Philadelphia was now to serve him in good stead, appealed directly to the people, defending the divine authority to govern granted by Christ to the Church, and painting so vivid a picture of the evils of lay domination in ecclesiastical affairs, that the parishioners not only sustained his action, but passed a resolution condemning the recalcitrant trustees, and elected a new board more disposed to submit to ecclesiastical authority. A short time after this, the first Diocesan Synod of New York, convoked by him, put an end to such disputes by giving the rector of the church authority oyer. temporals as well as spirituals.

This question settled, the energetic prelate turned his attention to the problem of education. The existing common school system, under the guise of non-sectarianism, was palpably antiCatholic, and a movement incipient among his flock toward the betterment of conditions was taken up and headed by the Bishop immediately upon his return from Europe, whither he had gone in 1839 to seek aid for his diocese. The contest resolved itself into a struggle between Bishop Hughes on the one hand and