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Show I 6rowtb of the Wait!) in Kentucky j Being Part of the Life Work of Rt. Rev. Dr. AcCloskey, Bishop of Louisville-Fiftieth Anniversary of Ordination to Pnekhood First President of the American CoIIe.ce at Rome. On Sunday last began the jubilee at Louisville celebrating the fiftieth anniversary an-niversary of Bishop McCloskey's ordination or-dination to the priesthood. The laity honored it grandly on Sunday afternoon, after-noon, an imposing procession of all the j Catholic societies being the principal i feature; the children on Monday and j the clergy on Tuesday afternoon. Of the life work of the venerable bishop of Louisville, the Record of that city, says: Our revered and now venerable bishop is a native of Brooklyn. N. Y., where j he was born on the 10th day of November, Novem-ber, in the Lord's year, 1S-3. On that sophical and theological studies, and, on Wednesday, May 8, 1850, he was promoted to the holy order of subdea-con subdea-con at that seminary by Archbishop Eccleston of Baltimore. Two years and five months later, on the 6th day of October. Oc-tober. 1S52, he, was ordained priest by Archbishop Hughes, in the old St. Patrick's cathedral. New York. After his ordination and for a short while he was stationed at the Church of the Nativity as assistant to his brother, the Rev. George McCloskey, the pastor. His learning and studious habits, however, how-ever, led his superious to assign him to the professional chair of sacred scripture, moral theology and Latin at Mount St. Mary's. In the meanwhile the saintly Pope Pius IX, with far-reaching vision, was evolving a plan for the establishment, under his own eye in the Eternal City, of an American seminary. On the first day of January. 1855. in his letter to the bishops asesmbled in the first provincial provin-cial council of New York, he proposed to them the establishment of such an institution "proprium vestrae natlonis Clerieorum collegium .n hac ipsa alma Urbe Nostra erigere -elitis." The first practical step tow-aids this end was taken by Mgr. O'Connor, bishop of Pittsburg, and at tie request of the archbishop of Bait more, whilst In Rome, in 1857, Pius X offered him the famous convent of Santa Maria dell' Umilta for, the projosed Americart institution. in-stitution. At the ttoe it was occupied by French soldiery. This interiorly ine building was erected in the yen: 1602 as a retreat for ladies of note but impoverished families. It passel to the care of the Order of St. Domhic. Many memories of historic worth cluster around it. It was rich in arthtic decoration. The &' .'lir'irW:""' e .hK ' '" ': ..;''' i '.' I J - I V ;3 "t ' i iifmi-. ' .:. ) '': , RIGHT HEV. WILLIAM GE0K GE K'CLOSKEY, Bishop of Louisville day, next month, he will have entered upon his 80th year His parents were highly respected and prosperous citizens citi-zens of Brooklyn. He is the youngest and sole survivor of five brothers. His' oldest brother, the Very Reverend Dr. John McCloskey, the late president of Mount St. Mary's seminary. Emmitts-burg, Emmitts-burg, enjoyed a national reputation for ability and amiability; he was dearly loved by a wide circle of ecclesiastics. So, too, his next oldest brother, the lamented Very Reverend George Mc-Ojskey, Mc-Ojskey, formerly pastor of the Church of the Nativity, New York, and afterwards after-wards president of Preston Park seminary, sem-inary, Louisville, and vicar general, who died in these capacities on Aug. 3, 1890, loved and esteemed by all, "and in particular by the large body of priests whom he had trained for their high calling. His two other brothers, successful suc-cessful merchants, died in recent years in our city. One sister, a most cultured lady, survives them. In early life the future bishop, after a course of studies in law. embraced the ecclesiastical state. He entered Mount Saint Mary's college and seminary sem-inary at Emmittsburg, Md., which was 1 then, as it is now, a celebrated institution institu-tion of learning, it having given to the church in this country a large number num-ber of distinguished priests and illustrious illus-trious prelates. In due course of years V.n ocooI V.r.-.TTtrVi Vlio olaocifal nhiln. pontifical government purchased it in 1822, and handed it over to the Visitan-dines, Visitan-dines, who occupied it until 1848. In the year 1859 it was repurchased by the propaganda, partially with contributions contribu-tions from the United States, comprising compris-ing the collections taken up by our bishops in their respective dioceses for the purpose, and given over as a seminary sem-inary for the use of clerical students fronj North America. The college became be-came very dear to Pius IX, its founder-he founder-he loved to visit it. One of its tablets records: "Pius IX. supreme pontiff, 1 parent and founder of the College of the Unit,ed States of North America, having celebrated the holy sacrifice in our house, nourished the students with the heavenly banquet, kindly inspected their home and honored all with his presence and conversation." The American college was opened on the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8. 1859; but as the bishops of the United1 .States had not then chosen a rector ?or it, the institution institu-tion was temporarily placed under the direction of the Right Rev. Mgr. Bernard Ber-nard Smith, a Benedictine professor at the propaganda, pending the selection ana election of a permant rector. Two months later they had arrived at a decision; de-cision; their choice fell on the Rev. William George McCloskey of- Mount St. Mary's college. About this time Georgetown university, Washington, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor Doc-tor of Divinity. On March 3. I860, he took charge of the college as its first permanent rector or president, and remained re-mained as such until May, 1868, a period peri-od of about eight years. Under his rectorship the college prospered, fulfilling the high expectations expecta-tions of Piux.IX, and the American hierarchy. Many of Dr. McCloskey's students afterward attained to high ecclesiastical positions. His grace, the late Archbishop Corrigan, was one of his students. Also, for a while, the present archbishop of San Francisco, 1 Mgr. Riordan: Bishop Northrop of Charleston, Bishop Richter of Grartd Rapids, Bishop Horstmann of Cleveland, Cleve-land, the late Dr. McGlynn, the Rev. Dr. Parsons and others whose - names are prominent in this -country. The position of rector-of a national "colleg in Rome is a peculiarly delicate and gravely responsible one. It brings its incumbent into formal and intimate relations re-lations with the holy see and varied national interests. The utmost pru'-' 1 dence and tact is obviously required of him who is rppointed to this office. That Dr. McCloskey fulfilled the duties appertaining to it in an able, graceful and satisfactory manner is well known. Under his presidency of eight years the American college was ever the Roman Ro-man home of our bishops, and the home-like attraction of our citizens when in Rome. On the occasion, in particular, of the great centenary celebration cel-ebration of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 1S67, when the bishops bish-ops of the whole Catholic world gathered gath-ered around Pius IX, many and loud were the praises' bestowed upon the rector of the North American college because of his magnificent hospitality. On the evening o the 11th of May, 18117, the Diocese of Louisville was bereft be-reft of its third bishop, the saintly Lavialle, after a brief but fruitful episcopate of sixteen months. In due course the names of several ecclesiastics ecclesias-tics were proposed and submitted to the Holy See as his successor. Pius IX. chose none of them; not because they were not worthy or were not fitted for the exalted office, but because be-cause he had come to know and to esteem one who, under his immediate immedi-ate eye, he had found eminently qualified qual-ified to preside over one of the oldest and, most illustrious of American dioceses. dio-ceses. The selection of Dr. McCloskey was a pontifical recognition of his merits, and of his successfud administration admin-istration of the American college. His consecration, as the fourth Bishop Bish-op of Louisville, took place in the magnificent Chapel of the College, Rome, on the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, May the 24th, 1868. It was a gala day at the college and a notable one even for Rome. The consecrating con-secrating bishop was His Eminence Charles Augustus Cardinal Count de Reisach, Archbishop of Munich. He was assisted by the personal friend of the Pope. Mgr. Frederick Francis Xavler de Merode, minister and almoner to Pius IX.; Archbishop of M.elitene a prelate w'lose fame is allied to -that of Pius IX., whom he served with faithful devotion, and by Mgr. Nobile Viteleschi, ' Archbishop of Osimo and Cingoli. Five and thirty years of episcopal life and work will have gone by on May the 24th. next, since that memorable mem-orable day. They have been well filled years years of episcopal burdens and years of splendid achievements. To few bishops is it given to have such fulness .of years, such results, such merit before God and man, as are his in his now golden year. When, in the late summer of 1S6S, he humbly and unheralded for he. evaded the magnificent mag-nificent reception his clergy and people peo-ple sought to give him he arrived in his diocese, he found sixty-four for the most part unpretentious churches; today to-day he presides over 135, for the greater great-er part new and handsome temples of God. The eighty zealous Kentucky priests who rejoiced in the coming of their new bishop in 1S6S have grown in number of 173 faithful, self-sacrificing ministers of God, mostly ordained or-dained by him, who are devoced to him, who love him, who revere him, and who ever seek to lessen his labors, la-bors, his burdens, his trials, his anxieties, anx-ieties, and to co-operate with him, heart and soul, in his ceaseless efforts for the glory of God and the salvation salva-tion of priceless souls. The eight congregations con-gregations he found in his episcopal city have grown to thirty-two, whose churches do honor to them and to the bishop who established them. In no episcopal city in the United States are found so many consecrated churches. With his coming came the Passionist Fathers, the Fathers of the Resurrection, Resurrec-tion, the Sisters of Mercy, the Little Sisters of the Poor the Franciscar! Sisters and the Brothers of Mary. Under Un-der him educational institution have multiplied, imposing academies and colleges col-leges have been erected, parochial schools, whose structures vie with any in the land, have been attached to all the thirty-one city churches and to many of the principal , churches out- uiue vl me cpisuuyai city; uiie new orphanages, or-phanages, superb hospitals and religious re-ligious homes, convents and monasteries, monas-teries, have been erected or supplied; kindergartens have been established, and where, in the first year of his episcopate, only 2,000 children were attending at-tending the ten nine city parochial schools, there are today 7,000 in the thirty-one Louisville schools, and about 9,000 in the parochial schools of the whole diocese. Such, in brief, was the Diocese of Louisville in the year of the consecration consecra-tion of our illustrious bishop, and such is the diocese on the eve of his Golden Gold-en Sacerdotal jubilee, in the thirty-fifth thirty-fifth year of his episcopate. It is a magnificent record of work in God's holy service. Therefore, bn the 6th of October,- now at hand, his beloved priests, ' religious people and children will crown him with a golden diadem of affection, honor, reverence and veneration, ven-eration, and will cry out with the disciples dis-ciples at Emaus: "Mane nobiscum, quondam advesperascit" "Stay with us, because it is toward evening and the day is 'now 'Sir spent"); stay with us "that our harts may continue to burn within us: stay with us as. long as Flaget stayed with us "mane no-blscun!"' |