HoOLOSKIT 4
Kihop of Newark, was Darned coftdjutor of New York with the right of sucoeasion, with the title of Archbishop of Petra. The Uat notable public ap- pearance of Cardinal McCloskey waa on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of lus ordination, 12 Jan- uary, 1884. His reply to addressee on that day waa yery suggestive; "On this occaaion I cannot but con- trast the scene of to-day with that of fifty years ago in old St. Patrick's Cathedral. There were only one bJBhop and two priests and not many people in the ohurcn. To-day, the fiftieth anniversarv of that event, I behold this aanctuair filled with me bishops of my province and the faithful clergy of my diocese, and this great cathedral crowded to overflowing with my devoted people. For all this I have only to thank God Who has spared me in His goodness to witnesa the glory of this day and the wonderful fruits of the mustaniseed. As to all you have said with r^ardta promotions that have followed one after another. I can onlysay that not one of them was ever sought oy me." These last words reveal the true character of America's liM cardinal better than volumes could do. The last public act of Cardinal HcCloskey is one for which the American Church will ever feel deeply grateful. The Italian Government's act of spoliation of ecclesiastical property threatened, in March, 1834, to expropriate tlie American College at Rome. At once the Cardinal laid the matter before President Arthur, appealing for the protection of this institu- tion as the property of American citiiens. The Secre- tary of State, Mr. Frelinghuysen. through the American HinlatcrtotheQuirinai, brought the ca3c to the notice of the Italian Government, and the college was saved.
Tile twenty-one years of his administration as arch- bishop covered all the sees of New York, New Eng- land, and most of New Jersey, his suffragans being All«Jiy, Boston, Brooklyn, Burlington, Buffalo, Hartford, Newark, Portland, Sprin^eld, and the territory later apportioned off for the Dioceses of Fall River, Ogdensburg, Syracuse, and Trenton. To pro- vide for the wants of thin vast territory, he held the Fourth Provincial Council of New York m September, 1883, havioK also held the Third and Fourth Diocesan Synods of T^w York. Considering his strength, he was perhaps the most hard-working man in his diocese. "To minister to the rapidly growing wants of his people, which now numbered 600,000, the priests having grown from 150 to 400. the churches and chapels from 85 to 229, schools and academies from 53 to 97, the pupils in the CathoUc schools from 16,000 to 37,000, was a t«sk that called for more than ordinary energy and seal. The New York Catholic Protectory will ever stand as a striking monmnent of his foresight in making pro- vision for a class of children much neglected, l«sides adding to the number of hospitals, homes, and asylums as the growing wants demanded. But perhaps the work which will ever stand out as evidence of his wonderful energy and ical, no less than of his refined and elevated taste, are the three cathedrals built by him: the Immaculate Conception, Albany; St. Pat- rick's, Mott St., rebuilt ftftcrtne fire, and St. Patrick's, Fifth Avenue, New York, which last was solemnly consecrated 5 October, 1910.
Cardinal McCloskey has often been compared with his predecessor by those who knew them both. Father Hewitt wrote: "During hia [Archbishop Hughes'] time of warfare, he wielded the battle-axe of Coeur de Lion, while hia successor [Cardinal McClos- key], whose characteristics were in marked contrast to
dinsi Gibbons said: "These two prelates had each his
predominant traits of character. The one [McCloskey]
recalls the Prince of the Apostles, blending authority
with paternal kindness; the other reminding us of the
Apostle of the Gentiles, wielding the two-edged swotd
01 the spirit, the tongue and the pen." Each prelate
waa a tnan of Providence, rused up by God for hia
time. StonnywerethedayawhenArchbishopHughea
took the helm, and he was equal to the emergency.
Peaceful the times of Cardinal McCloskey, no great
crises calling for striking evidences of ptower. He gave
himself unreservedly to the work his hands found
ready to do; to conserve and build up, to increase the
work of him who went before him. He waa a ripe
scholar, more erudite than prominent. If his profi-
ciency in sacred science was not generally accorded the
prominence it might well have commanded, we must
attribute it to his modesty and humility, of which we
find so many unmistakable signs in his letters. In fact
he never lost an opportunity of denying himself what
natural ambition might honestly take. As a young
Eriest in Rome he declined the degree of Doctor of livinity; he strove with all his might to avoid promo- tion to the Metropolitan See of New York, and no one was more surprised than himself when the news flashed aCTOn the ocean of his elevation to the cardinalate. He delighted to conoeal the gifts which, if allowed to display themselves, would have secured the applause of all men. His written and impromptu sermons and diaooutses showed his cultured mind and strong nat- ural gifts to the beet advantage The dignity and grace of manner, the quiet but persuasive style of matory that carries conviction to every hearer were particularly his. "But all these endowments were as nothing compared to the beauty of hia soul which waa the seat of all those virtues that render a man accept- able before Godand dear to his fellow-men. If we had to mention only one trait of character, we ahould select what perhapa was the most conspicuous, certainly the most edifying — the admirable blending in him of dig- nity which repelled none with a. sweetness whicu attracted all, a rare blessing —
' Non bene convcniunt nee in una sede morantur Hajestos et amor. . .' " Ja the soul of Cardinal McCloskey, where Christian virtue had solid roots, they co-existed in a wonderful manner. In him were coupled the majesty of a prince, which inspired no fear, but exacted the rever- ence of all, with the simphcity and amiablencss of a child. Wellmay we say of him that he was "Beloved of God and men."
McClohkht, MB. — Diaruanil JUaerary of JoMmtu to Rom* (1835} in Cad^rya Arehvoa of Ntw Yorki Cl^hke. ti™ o/ Dtceaied Prelain (New York. 1S88): Pablet. HiUoni of St. Palriri'i Calkrdral (Ne« York, !908): She*. History of Oie Catholic CAtirth in the UnilBd Statei (N«u York. lSe21: Hit-
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JoH.V M. Fahlet.
17 September, 1909. He was the youngest of five
brothers. Two of his older brothers also became
priests: John, tor years president of Mount St. Mary'a
College, Emmitaburg, Md.; and George, pastor of the
ordained subdeacon at that aeminary by Arch-
bishop Eccleston of Baltimore, and 6 Oct., 1852, was
ordained priest by Bishop Hughes in St. Patrick's
Cathedral, New York. He said his first Mass in the
basement of the Church of the Nativity, of which his
brother George was then pastor, and remained there
ten months as assistant. Then, from a dcsirctotive
in the aeminary eloiBter, he returned with the consent
of his superiors to Mount St. Mary's, where he taught
moral theology, Scripture, and Latin for about six
years. He was appointed, 1 Dec, 1859, the first rec-
tor (rf the American College at Rome, being the unani-
mous choice of the American bishops. He reache<l
Rome March, 1880. Georgetown University li^nl
sboKly before c<mferred on him the degree lA Doct or ot
