A French Parish Gets an Irish Priest, And War Breaks Out in Fall River

The above link is to an interesting historical article (via Domenico Bettinelli of Bettnet.com) that shows that the arguments and battles within the Church are no where near as bad as they were in the past.    After all, the Church as a whole in the US is doing more to make sure various nationalities are welcomed and supported.  I am sure many would like to see the Church do more, but I have not seen anything at the level described in the article.  I have also seen other stories of ethnic clashes within the Church involving Italian, Germans, Irish, Polish, etc.  I found studying history makes me more optimistic than many people because the 'good old days' were never really that good. 


"In 1884, a French parish in Fall River, Mass., locked its Irish pastor out of the church and made his life a living hell. Parishioners evicted him from the rectory, seized the parish finances, insulted him on the street and disrupted Mass. The ensuing turmoil went all the way to the Vatican.
Bishop Thomas Francis Hendricken had deliberately appointed Father Samuel McGee as pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes. He wanted the clannish Franco-American parishioners to assimilate to their new home. The parishioners resisted. One Franco-American said he would ‘stand on the brink of hell’ before accepting an Irish pastor."

When Santa Punched a Heretic in the Face: 13 Memes on St. Nicholas

"Listers, St. Nicholas was born in AD 270 and became the Bishop of Myra in Lycia (modern day Turkey). He died on December 6, 343 leaving a legacy that would grow into a strong and multifaceted cult. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, itself from a series of elisions and corruptions of the transliteration of “Saint Nikolaos”. Although he is usually referred to as Sinterklaas, he is also known as De Goedheiligman (The Good Holy Man), Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas) or simply as De Sint (The Saint). His reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints. The actual feast day of St. Nicholas is December 6th.^"


Read the rest at St. Peter's List

Happy Thanksgiving

From Fr. Rutler:

"Looking toward Thanksgiving Day, there are countless causes for thanks, not the least of which is that our nation got off to a good start with so many honest people trying to establish a society respectful of God and his blessings."

"George Washington proclaimed the first Thanksgiving Day in 1789.  He had not planned on being president, though he knew that many wanted him.  In 1783 after resigning his command of the army at a farewell in Annapolis, he mounted his horse and rode back to Mount Vernon.  When the American-born painter, Benjamin West, told King George III that Washington had given up his power, the general's old foe said, "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world." 



And from Brad Miner:

"Every fourth Thursday in November, We the People gather with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving. Of course, there are in this New Colossus some for whom the day is an affront: a few of “your tired, your poor,/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,/The wretched refuse” from wherever – but not like earlier immigrants. Now some are huddled off in the proverbial corner: folks for whom liberty is just a Statue. For multiculturalists it must be a sour day, because Thanksgiving is all about e pluribus unum; about one free people unified despite their grievances.

Even the people who would strike “under God” from the Pledge or remove “in God we trust” from our currency pretty much leave Turkey Day alone, because it’s our great secular holiday.

To be sure, prayers are often a big part of the Big Meal. My Presbyterian grandfather’s unvarying prayer was, “For that which we are about to receive, may we be truly grateful,” to which my thoroughly irreligious parents would give a hearty “Amen!”

What drove English and American anti-Catholicism? A fear that it threatened freedom

From The Catholic Herald across the pond:

"The English-speaking peoples spent the better part of three centuries at war with Spain, France or both. The magisterial historian of the Stuarts, J P Kenyon, likened the atmosphere to that of the Cold War, at its height when he was writing. Just as western Communists, even the most patriotic among them, were seen as potential agents of a foreign power, and just as suspicion fell even upon mainstream socialists, so 17th-century Catholics were feared as fifth columnists, and even those High Church Anglicans whose rites and practices appeared too “Romish” were regarded as untrustworthy. The notion of Protestantism as a national identity, divorced from religious belief, now survives only in parts of Northern Ireland; but it was once common to the Anglosphere."

The “Fairy-Tale” Prince and the Five Surprises

I recently posted about the Mass being offered for Blessed Karl von Habsburg by the Canons Regular at St. Patrick's in Glen Cove.  Unfortunately, I was not able to make it to the Mass, and I have not seen any pictures made available.  This was one of many Masses recently celebrated for this Blessed Prince, and now via Mark Shea, I found this great post detailing why he was Blessed and hopefully soon a Saint.  Go and read the entire thing as it is very edifying.

"Pope John Paul the Great beatified The Blessed Karl in 2004. The global campaign had begun in 1949 Vienna, Karl was declared a Servant of God in 1954 and one of the two officially-identified miracles needed for canonization has been recognized so far (several more claims are under investigation). His late widow, now The Servant of God Zita, received Vatican assent in 2008 through her abbey. Their power to inspire grows larger every year.

The Blessed Karl’s feast is celebrated neither on the day of his birth, nor his imperial accession, nor his death, but on his wedding day – October 21st – the happiest in his brief life."

The Bones of St. Peter

How Does the Vatican Know That Those Old Bones Are the Relics of St. Peter?

Earlier I posted about the Vatican putting the bones of St. Peter on display for veneration for the first time ever.  Kathy Schiffer at Seasons of Grace offers some detail behind those bones:

"The Church has had a long tradition that St. Peter’s Basilica, construction of which was funded by the Emperor Constantine, was built in the early fourth century atop the burial site of St. Peter.  But in 1939–less than 100 years ago–a team of workmen digging a grave for Pope Pius XI in the crypt beneath the Basilica uncovered what was plainly the top of a Roman building.  The new pope, Pius XII, ordered further investigation; and archeologists gradually unearthed a well preserved Roman necropolis, or city of the dead, immediately beneath the foundations of St. Peter’s.

In actuality, we don’t know with certainty whose bones those are.  There are strong evidences through history:  writings by early popes and kings, graffiti messages in the tomb, and the placement of the graves themselves.  The early Christians, it seemed, considered it a great honor to be buried near the remains of Peter, the first pope.  And DNA testing has confirmed that the bones are from a male in his 60′s who likely died in the first century."

Click the link at top of this post to read the whole interesting story.

How the First Christians Changed the World (and What We Can Learn from Them)

A small snip from this article by Fr.Michael Giesler that describes the unique community of early Christians:

"Above all, the early followers of Christ showed an understanding and kindness to one another and to non-Christians that astounded the ancient world—a world often constructed on power, money, and cruelty. Though there were noble pagans who believed in personal discipline and stoic acceptance of adversity, their virtue was based on human efforts alone and often led to a feeling of sterility and helplessness.

But Christian fortitude had a twofold source. First, Christians were aware of the grace that came to them from baptism, a grace which made them children of God and gave them a power not dependent on human efforts or lineage (cf. John 1:12). Second, they shared the conviction that no Christian was isolated from another and that all of them—whether rich or poor, noble or slave, educated or uneducated—were equally loved and valued by Jesus Christ. Together the communities formed what the Catholic Church would later call the Mystical Body of Christ, in which each member, no matter how small, had an important contribution to make." 

Archaeological dig reveals Franciscan mission on Georgia barrier island

From Catholic News Service:

"For Bishop Hartmayer, the trip had a twofold purpose. He wanted to see the mission site where fellow Franciscans first brought Christianity to the New World. As bishop of Savannah, he is now in charge of advancing the sainthood cause of the Georgia martyrs, five Spanish friars who were murdered by American Indians in 1597. Two of them met their deaths on St. Catherines, two near present-day Darien and a fifth on St. Simons Island.

In March 2007, Conventual Franciscan Father Conrad Harkins, then vice postulator of the martyrs' cause, took 500 pages of documents supporting the case for their canonization to the Vatican.

Thomas, who has spent more than 40 years excavating in the Southwest and Southeast, said the more he studies the missions, the more he becomes fascinated by the contrast between the missions in the Southwest and those in the Southeast. He has come to think of the Franciscan missionaries at St. Catherines as 16th-century "Peace Corps members."

"Basically there was an alliance between the church and the Indians that preserved the Indian culture," he said. Instead of forcing religion on the American Indians, the Franciscans brokered an agreement with them that kept the Indians' way of life while incorporating the teachings of Christianity.

"There is no way that two barefoot friars could have stood up to 300 armed warriors," had the Franciscans chosen a confrontational approach, Thomas told the Southern Cross, Savannah's diocesan newspaper.

The narrative about the killing of the priests, first written in 1619, has maintained that the friars were slain because they protested the fact that an Indian leader wanted to take more than one wife.

Thomas believes there was more to the story and that the five Franciscans were victims of a conflict between warring Indian factions fighting for power."

Catholicism in Romania

Priest-Martyr Vladimir Ghika Continues to Inspire Romania’s Catholics

"BUCHAREST, Romania — The life of a saint can be part parable, part thriller and, often, part nightmare — but always 100% inspiration.

A beloved Romanian priest, Vladimir Ghika, was beatified Aug. 31 before 10,000 people at a Mass in Bucharest celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, together with Cardinal André Vingt-Trois of Paris, Romania’s sole cardinal, Lucian Muresan, and more than 200 other priests and bishops.  
Msgr. Ghika’s sacred story reads like a novel with a tragic ending."

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/priest-martyr-vladimir-ghika-continues-to-inspire-romanias-catholics/#ixzz2fZo23iDu

When parishes in the Diocese of Rockville Centre were founded

This is a list of the parishes of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in the order they were founded, starting with St. Patrick in Glen Cove (1856) and ending with St. John Chrysostom Malankara in Hempstead (1999).

The parishes that have been a part of my family's history are:

• 1856—St. Patrick, Glen Cove. At first, Brooklyn pioneer priests, Revs. Edward Maginnis and John McCarthy who traveled from Jamaica, offered Mass here. An influx of Irish Catholics fled from the Famine to work here in a starch factory. This led to formation of a parish in 1856. Rev. Patrick Kelly was the first resident pastor. A new church was dedicated in 1900. In 1915 a parish school opened with the School Sisters of Notre Dame in charge

•  1871—Our Lady of Loretto, Hempstead. There were few Catholics in this town prior to 1850, after which Irish and German immigrants began to settle in large numbers. The first Mass, celebrated in the home of Barney Powers in 1840 by Rev. John O’Donnell, was attended by only 7 persons. Bishop Loughlin sent Rev. Eugene McSherry to be pastor in 1871. A Catholic school opened under the Sisters of Charity BVM in 1927. The present church and rectory were dedicated in 1954.

• 1898—St. Martin of Tours, Amityville, was a mission of St. Kilian’s in Farmingdale until established as a parish in 1898. On Christmas Day, Rev. Benno Ferstl, OSB, the founding pastor, offered Mass in a small building. Men of the parish actively participated in the building of the first church which was completed and dedicated in 1899; a new church was dedicated May 24, 1964. The school, built in 1921 was staffed by Dominican Sisters from Amityville.

• 1901—Corpus Christi, Mineola, a mission of St. Brigid, Westbury, was canonically erected with Rev. James F. Flynn as the first pastor. A small chapel, built with funds collected by 23 Catholic families in 1895, was replaced by a church in 1908 which served the parish well until 1971 when the present church was dedicated. The school, staffed by the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville, began in an estate residence in 1922. The cornerstone for a regular school building was laid in 1954.

•  1928—St. William the Abbot, Seaford. A butcher shop was the site of the first Mass in Seaford in 1913. Rev. Theodore J. King of Bellmore accepted the offer of the butcher’s Catholic daughter to use it. Father Galvin of Bellmore was authorized by the bishop to build a church where the first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1926. In 1928, St. William became a parish with Rev. Francis X. Debold as pastor. The Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk opened the school in September 1954.

Communist destruction of the Our Lady of Consolation Trappist Abbey at Yangjiaping in 1947

From Catholic World Report:

The untold story of the Communist destruction of the Our Lady of Consolation Trappist Abbey at Yangjiaping in 1947


"One of the most tragic examples of how merciless the Party can be is the appalling Communist massacre of 33 holy martyrs connected to Our Lady of Consolation Trappist Abbey at Yangjiaping. Still today, Chinese Catholics only speak of this incident in hushed tones for fear of the government. In 1947, a bedraggled and terrorized group of Trappist monks arrived in Beijing, where the American Jesuit, Father Charles J. McCarthy, SJ (1911-1991), was the first person to collect the horrible stories of what had happened to their celebrated abbey, then in ruins. The stories they provided Father McCarthy had clearly stirred the young priest, for he later penned one of the most harrowing accounts of Communist atrocities in China’s early modern history. He began his narrative in vivid terms:

In the early morning hours of August 30, 1947, the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Consolation…was reduced to ruins by fire. … The burning of their monastery, effected by Communists who control this region, was but one act, and not the most pathetic, in a long tragic persecution inflicted on the brave Trappist Community. At present writing, 16 Trappists are known to have died during the ordeal. (1)

The death toll indeed rose beyond 16, and as the details of their deaths came to light the inhumane tactics of China’s Communists also became known. "

Viva Cristo Rey! The Cristeros Versus the Mexican Revolution

Catholic Culture.Org has an article by Christopher Check who gives an overview of the incredible story of The Cristeros.  These Catholic peasants were the subject of the recent film - For Greater Glory starring  Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, Peter O'Toole, Bruce McGill, Ruben Blades, and Eduardo Verastegui.

This summary of the article gives the overview-

"Less than a century ago, the devoutly Catholic population of Mexico was de-Christianized by atheistic revolutionaries who declared war on the Catholic Church. Citizens who refused to comply were captured, tortured, and violently murdered. In this article, Christopher Check provides an excellent overview of the Cristero cause and how they restored the Catholic faith to Mexico."

America and Catholicism

Here is a mostly negative review of Christopher Ferrara’s "Liberty: The God That Failed".

And here is a review by Jeff Miller (aka The Curt Jester) of Rusell Shaw's new book:  'American Church: The Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall, and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America'




So, what are we Catholics to think?  Is America compatible with Catholicism or not?  Has America been good for the Church at large, and has it been good for us Catholics who live here?  How are we to live as Catholic Americans?  I can't wait to dig more into these books.

The Rise, Fall and Future of Catholicism in the U.S.

Russell Shaw has written a new book:  American Church  The Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall, and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America


The history of the Catholic Church in America is fascinating and one I want to learn more about.  Shaw talks a bit about this history and the importance for American Catholics today here in Catholic World Report. 

Snip:

"CWR: What is the "Americanization of American Catholicism"? What have been its fruits over the past few decades?


Shaw: The expression refers to the process of cultural assimilation by which American Catholics entered the mainstream of American secular culture, became part of it, and bought into many of its values and attitudes. On the plus side, the result has been acceptance, upward socio-economic mobility, and much professional and material success.

But it has come at a high price. Buying into American secular values has time and again meant buying into a toxic value system in radical conflict with Catholic and Christian convictions on many fronts. And that has meant an ongoing loss of religious identity and commitment to the Church on the part of millions of nominal Catholics—to say nothing of the 22 million ex-Catholics in the United States."

Catholic Founding Fathers - The Carroll Family

At the Catholic Education Resource Center, this article on the Carroll family was written by a direct descendent of one of the Carrolls.

"George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin. Nearly every schoolchild recognizes them as the Founding Fathers — signers of the Declaration of Independence, framers of the Constitution, heroes of the Revolutionary War.

There were a great many more Founding Fathers, however, even if their names are not so familiar as the above. Several of those lesser-known men who played key roles in the creation of the United States of America were Catholics. Chief among them were three members of the Carroll family of Maryland: Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence; his cousin Daniel Carroll; and Daniel Carroll's brother John Carroll, who became America's first Catholic bishop."

Read the rest here.

Shimabara Rebellion

The Latin Mass Magazine has introduced me to numerous Catholic people and historical events but unfortunately their articles are mostly unavailable online.  It is well worth subscribing to the magazine anyway because the layout and quality are very good.  The articles remind me of why I love Catholic history, culture and tradition.  One such event I learned about through the magazine's most recent edition is the Shimabara Rebellion. 

"The Shimabara Rebellion was an uprising in southwestern Japan lasting from December 17, 1637 to April 15, 1638, during the Edo period. It largely involved peasants, most of them Catholic Christians.

...Religious persecution of the local Catholics exacerbated the discontent, which turned into open revolt in 1637. The Tokugawa Shogunate sent a force of over 125,000 troops to suppress the rebellion and after a lengthy siege against the rebels at Hara Castle, defeated them.

In the wake of the rebellion, the rebel leader Amakusa Shiro was beheaded and the prohibition of Christianity was strictly enforced. Japan's national seclusion policy was tightened and official persecution of Christianity continued until the 1850s."

  Statue of Amakusa Shiro, the rebellion leader who was only 16 years old.   

    Shiro's battle flag, which states Worship and Adore the Most Holy Sacrament (more details on the flag can be found here)  

Sousa Mendes saved more lives than Schindler so why isn't he a household name too?

"With the Nazi invasion of France came an order from Portugal that no Jews or dissidents be granted passage. But one man stood tall against the decree – and in issuing visas for 30,000 people, Aristides de Sousa Mendes was to risk everything. Seventy years on, the people whose lives he saved are battling to restore his honour..."


Read more about this Catholic hero here.  

See also the Sousa Mendes Foundation 

His grandson wrote this article that points out the interesting fact that we have Mendes to thank for Huey Lewis and the News, Salvador Dali and Curious George!

Pope Francis to canonise 800 Italians slain during historic siege

"Pope Francis is preparing to canonise an estimated 800 Italian laymen killed by Ottoman soldiers in the 15th century. The canonisation service will be on May 12 in St Peter’s Square and it will be the first carried out by the Pontiff since he was elected in early March.

The killing of the martyrs by Ottoman troops, who launched a weeks-long siege of Otranto, a small port town at the most eastern tip of southern Italy, took place in 1480.

When Otranto residents refused to surrender to the Ottoman army, the soldiers were ordered to massacre all males over the age of 15. Many were ordered to convert to Islam or die, but Blessed Antonio Primaldo, a tailor, spoke on the prisoners’ behalf. “We believe in Jesus Christ, Son of God, and for Jesus Christ we are ready to die,” he said, according to Blessed John Paul II, who visited Otranto in 1980 for the 500th anniversary of the martyrs’ deaths."

More on the canonizations here.

More on the history of Otranto can be found on Catholic Answers here - How the 800 Martyrs of Otranto Saved Rome

Catholic Culture

I have always enjoyed the blog by JP Sonnen - orbis catholicus secundus.  The blog always has great pictures of Catholic culture from around the world especially Italy.  This post introduced me to a great priest who just died at the age of 100:

HERO: One of the Greatest Living Legends in the Face of Modern Evil - Fr. Leon Stepnia (RIP 1913-2013)

The post links to this article on the priest's death:

Polish priest who was oldest surviving prisoner at Dachau concentration camp dies aged 100

"The oldest surviving inmate of the Dachau concentration camp has died at the age of 100.
Leon Stepniak, a Polish priest, was arrested by the Gestapo in 1940 in the village of Klebowiec.
He spent the next five years in Dachau, a site in south-east Germany which was the first concentration camp to be opened by the Nazi goverment.
After being released at the end of the Second World War, he returned to Poznan in Poland, where he died over the weekend.
The clergyman was well-known for a speech he made at a commemoration to mark the liberation of Dachau.
He told the audience that the camp's legacy should not be as a demand for revenge or recrimination, but as a sign of reconciliation."

Most Holy Trinity - St. Mary Church, Brooklyn, NY

On Sunday afternoon I drove to Brooklyn to take the tour of Most Holy Trinity run by Urban Oyster. This parish was my family's parish from at least 1880 to around 1930. It was where my grandfather was baptized and where he married my grandmother. The parish merged with a nearby parish St. Marys some years ago. I was happy to see two things:

1. The parish is still an active parish serving Catholics in the area and not just a relic of 'time gone by'.
   
2. The parish Church was renovated but not ruined with many original parts of the Church refurbished rather than tossed away.
   

I recommend this tour highly - tour guides Cindy and Fr. Timothy do an excellent job giving the background of the parish and its importance in the community. MHT was a German national parish and Williamsburg was a heavily German area. The tour explored the whole Church, from the beautiful sanctuary to the bell tower (scary) to the crypt below. Cindy and Fr. Dore also went into some of the Christmas customs and the history behind some of the statues in the Church. The tour ended in the cozy rathskellar in the rectory. I hope to take the Brewed in Brooklyn tour that delves into the history of the German brewers in the neighborhood. (My family sold liquor wholesale so they did business with the local brewers). Below are some pictures from MHT - click to enlarge.

The facade - I did not even get the giant towers in so check out the extensive parish website for photos of them. The tops are covered in copper which was coated with brown material to match the rest of the towers. This was due to the towers literally falling apart.



The sanctuary with high altar - the top of the table altar is just visible.



Closer view of the high altar (where my grandparents wedding Mass was offered!)




The pulpit -
More pictures will be posted later. For more information on this great Church, check out the Tour of the Church page on the MHT website, which has to be one of the best parish websites I have seen.