CHAPTER XXIV.
ARCHBISHOP KENRICK.
After the death of Archbishop Eccleston the See of Baltimore remained vacant for several months; meanwhile Rev. Father Coskery, the Vicar-General, was administrator of the diocese. On August 13th, 1851, the elections took place at the Convent and Mother Delphina of the Annunciation, Elizabeth Smith, was elected Prioress. Rev. H. B. Coskery, assisted by Rev. Francis L'Homme, presided at this election. In the year 1851, Rev. R. Brady, S. J., was extraordinary confessor of the monastery.
The successor of Archbishop Eccleston in the See of Baltimore was Most Reverend Francis Patrick Kenrick, who by letters apostolic, dated August 3rd, 1851, was translated from the See of Philadelphia. Archbishop Kenrick, a man whose name will be respectfully remembered as long as the Church of the United States continues to exist, was born in Dublin, Ireland, on the 3rd of December, 1796. Having completed his collegiate course in his native country, he went to Rome to study at the Propaganda. Shortly after his ordination in 1821, he was sent, at the request of Bishop Flaget, to the United States. He labored with zeal in Kentucky until 1830, when he was appointed Bishop of Arath, in partibus, and coadjutor of Philadelphia, with full powers of administration. After the death of Bishop Conwell, in 1842, he became Bishop of the diocese, and labored amidst many difficulties until 1851, when he was appointed to the Archiepiscopal See of Baltimore.
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Father Neumann, as we have seen, had been appointed confessor of the Carmelite nuns; on September 26th, 1851, he was succeeded in this charge by Rev. E. A. Knight.
On the 15th of October, Archbishop Kenrick paid his first visit to the convent. He was received with the ordinary ceremonies, and the Sisters made their obedience to him. The Archbishop delivered a short discourse and appeared well pleased. Rev. Mr. Knight assisted him.
Hitherto the Carmelites had kept a school in which many girls, both Catholic and Protestant, had been educated. At this period it was in a flourishing condition. Archbishop Kenrick having assumed the administration of his diocese, thought it proper that the Sisters should return to the strict observance of their rule. Consequently, to the great joy of the Sisters, but at the same time to the regret of the public, the school was closed on Friday, December 20th. When the moment of separation between the Sisters and their pupils arrived, the scene was very affecting. Humanly speaking, the Sisters were again thrown into a state of indigence, for no provision had been made for their support; Divine Providence, however, never fails those who throw themselves blindly and confidingly into its arms.
Help was sent them in their necessities. A sum of money, which had been owing to them for many years and which they never expected to receive, was paid to them at this time. Frequently, when they were in great need, large baskets of provisions would be unexpectedly brought to the turn by strangers.
Towards the close of the year 1851, Rev. Father Ward, S. J., was appointed extraordinary confessor, and on February 21st, 1852, Father George Flaut succeeded Father Knight as ordinary confessor of the monastery. In March he went to reside at the out-quarters of the monastery.
On the 21st of January, 1852, Sister Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Miss Annie Mudd, made her profession.
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On May 9th, 1852, Baltimore witnessed a scene that surpassed all that had hitherto taken place in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States: the First Plenary Council of Baltimore was convoked by Archbishop Kenrick. Five Archbishops, twenty-six Bishops and a large number of theologians were present. Among the Bishops was Rt. Rev. John Nepomucene Neumann, the former confessor of the Sisters, who had been appointed Bishop of Philadelphia, and consecrated in St. Alphonsus' Church, Baltimore, on March 20th, 1852.
On the 4th of September, 1852, Rev. T. Dalton succeeded Father Flaut, as chaplain of the convent.
On the 2nd of March, 1853, Sister Anastasia of St. Joseph, Teresa Bevin, departed this life, fortified by all the rites of Holy Church. She had been a very exemplary and self- sacrificing religious. She was noted for her great spirit of mortification, her entire forgetfulness of self and love of labor. She toiled for the community from morning until night, without any thought of her own comfort, and seemed to have forgotten the wants of the body. In the refectory she was quite unmindful of what she ate, and mixed different things together, so as to render her food unsavory. She was full of charity for every one, and when she was portress, she took great pleasure in distributing food to the poor, who daily came to the turn for their share of alms. Once in the performance of this act of charity she caught the typhoid fever, as we have seen. Five or six other Sisters became ill, and three died from that disease within the space of two weeks. Sister Anastasia, however, recovered. At the time of her death she was sixty-four years old and had been forty years in religion.
On the 25th of April, 1853, Sister Clare of the Sacred Heart, Eleonora Williams, died an edifying death in her 39th year, having been fourteen years professed. She had given a beautiful example of patient suffering during her long and severe illness.
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Sister Clare taught for many years in the school, where she did much good and was greatly beloved. She was always assiduous at work, and endeavored never to lose a moment of time. She was known for her kindness and charity toward her Sisters, and was always ready to serve and please them.
In September, 1853, another change of chaplains took place, Father Damphoux being now appointed.
In a paper written by Archbishop Kenrick we find that in 1853 he had stated to the Holy See, that the Teresian Sisters, during the preceding sixty years, made solemn vows in his diocese. He asked to be empowered to dismiss any nun whose presence might be the cause of a riot.
On the 10th of April, 1853, the power to do so was granted in case of an emergency and impossibility of recourse to the Holy See, saving, however, the substance of the vows for which, in each case, recourse must be had to the Holy See.
On the 22nd of October, 1853, Sister Juliana of the Blessed Sacrament, Mary Rebecca Cannon, departed this life. She had given much edification by her silence, recollection, spirit of prayer and mortification. She suffered very much from cold, and her hands in winter would frequently bleed, but she would never use any remedy for them, saying that it was unworthy of a Carmelite to seek such relief. She was wont to say: “ It is sweet to suffer, but it requires courage." She died in the 24th year of her age, of consumption.
During her last illness she exhibited great patience and resignation to the Will of God. When she received the last Sacraments, her bed was covered with white and strewn with flowers, for it is a custom in the order thus to prepare for the reception of our Divine Saviour in the sick-room. When the ceremony was over, and she lay calmly thanking God for His goodness to her, she gathered up a handful of the flowers and asked that they might be sent to her father as a remembrance from his dying child.
As we have already said, Sister Juliana's father (who was a Protestant) greatly opposed her entrance into the convent.
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He never became reconciled to her and persistently refused to see her, notwithstanding the many affectionate messages she sent him: this little act upon her deathbed was the last token of her love for him.
Mother Delphina's term of office being ended, on the 12th of August, 1854, she was succeeded by Sister Teresa of Jesus, Juliana Sewall. The Archbishop, assisted by Father Damphoux, presided at the election.
In October, 1854, Archbishop Kenrick went to Rome to be present at the declaration of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception. He returned home in December and brought the Sisters some articles of devotion sent them by the Carmelite Fathers. Bishop Neumann, on his return, from the Holy City, whither he had gone with the same object as Archbishop Kenrick, also brought for his former penitents, the Carmelites, some small articles of devotion.
On the 25th of May, 1855, Sister Gabriel of the Immaculate Conception, Miss Ella Boland, made her profession. On the 21st of June she received the black veil from the hands of the Archbishop, for on her profession day he had been absent, and consequently this ceremony had been postponed.
About this time Rev. Father Seelos, C. SS. R.,1 of St. Alphonsus' Church, became ordinary confessor of the Carmelite monastery. Father Ardea, S. J., was then extraordinary confessor.
During the course of the year 1855, Rev. Father Theodore of the Mother of God, O'Loughlin, a discalced Carmelite in Rome, sent the Sisters several relics as a present. On December 12th of the same year a box was received from Mother Angelica of the Holy Spirit, at Antwerp, that contained many valuable Latin, French and English books and some relics.
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1Father Seelos was known among his brethren as a most saintly man, and died in the odor of sanctity, October 4th, 1867. His life has been written in German by Rev. Peter Zimmer, C. SS. R.
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A few days before the reception of this present, on the 2nd of December, Mother Delphina of the Annunciation, Elizabeth Smith, sub-prioress of the monastery, died in the 66th year of her age and the 43rd of her religious profession.
Mother Delphina was very exact and punctual in the observance of the rule. On a certain occasion a lady from a distant city was visiting the convent, and her brother, who accompanied her, had gone to attend to some business. Whilst she was conversing with Mother Delphina, the bell rang for prayer. The religious immediately arose and politely requesting the lady to wait until the arrival of her brother, excused herself for leaving her alone, saying, " My child, you know the bell is the voice of God."
Her spirit of recollection impressed all who saw her, and she always endeavored to instil into the minds of her novices a firm conviction of the necessity of interior recollection and union with God in the midst of exterior occupations. Our Lord tried his servant during many years, by means of bodily sufferings. Towards the end of her life she was afflicted with a complication of diseases, added to dropsy, which reduced her to a most painful state. Being unable to lie down on account of the pressure on her chest, and too weak to sit up, she was placed in a large chair, her swollen feet supported on pillows and her head tied by a bandage to the back of the chair, as she had not sufficient strength to keep it in its natural position without a support. She remained in this suffering state for many weeks, a subject of edification and admiration to the community by her heroic patience and perfect resignation to the holy Will of God. She had the happiness of receiving the last Sacraments.
Scarcely had the mortal remains of Mother Delphina been consigned to their last resting place, when another member was summoned to exchange time for eternity. Mother Angela of St. Teresa, Mary Ann Mudd, departed this life on the 2nd of January, 1856, in the 80th year of her age and the 54th of her religious profession. For ten years she had been in con-
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stant danger of sudden death, on account of an enlargement of the carotid artery. Finally the long expected moment arrived. She had always had a great esteem for Rev. Wm. F. Clarke, S. J., who was then extraordinary confessor of the monastery, and she often begged our Lord that she might have his spiritual assistance at her death. On January lst the Reverend Father was called to see Sister Veronica, who was thought to be dying, and after he gave her Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction, Mother Angela, taking advantage of his presence at the convent, went to confession to him and received great help and consolation. She had gone to confession, she said, because she might die, and she wished to be prepared. Her presentiment was realized. She retired as usual that night, and about five the next morning one of the Sisters, hearing a noise in her cell, went to her and found her in a dying condition; for the artery had burst. As soon as she saw the Sister, she exclaimed: “O! if this be death !” The Sister replied: “ If it is death, Mother, I am sure you are resigned." "O yes!" she answered,"perfectly resigned," and in a few seconds her soul had passed away. There was no time to summon a priest; but the evening before, by the goodness of God, she had obtained the spiritual help she desired.
Mother Angela had been the immediate successor of Mother Clare Joseph, and had passed fifteen years in the office of prioress. She was a religious remarkable for her humility and charity.
On the 19th of January, 1856, Sister Veronica of the Crown of Thorns, Juliana Saxton, died in the 41st year of her age and the 15th of her religious profession. She had been a very fervent and pious religious, noted for her humility, laborious self-denial and charity towards all. She was also a great subject of edification by her love of silence, her spirit of prayer, and her devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament. Our Divine Lord sweetly attracted her heart to Himself hidden in the Tabernacle, and she constantly longed to be united to Him in Holy Communion.
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In her last sickness she was attended by the saintly Father Seelos. After receiving Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction, she lingered three weeks, contrary to the expectation of all, and each day Holy Communion was brought to her. This rare privilege was no doubt a reward granted her by God for her devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament.
In May, 1856, Father Seelos, who had shown much zeal for the advancement in perfection of his spiritual children, having become rector of St. Alphonsus' Church, ceased to be the confessor of the community. He, however, continued to fill the post of extraordinary confessor until he was succeeded by Rev. Father Early, S. J. As ordinary confessor, Father Seelos was succeeded by Rev. Father Poirier, C. SS. R.
The Carmelite Sisters of Antwerp, belonging to the community founded by Mother Ann of St. Bartholomew, proved themselves to be benefactresses of their Sisters in America. On the 20th of February, 1857, a box was received from them containing many useful articles of clothing, and devotional objects; it was prepared by Mother Angelica and forwarded by her successor, Mother Agnes, who a short time before had been miraculously cured.
On the 9th of the same month, Sister Margaret of the Angels, Araminta Edelen, died very suddenly. She was in the 81st year of her age and the 58th of her religious profession.
Sister Margaret was a very holy religious, remarkable for her regularity and her laborious and mortified life. She was always willing to perform humble occupations. When over eighty years of age she still had charge of the clothing room, and undertook herself the mending of all the clothes. Her recollected manner at work was a constant subject of edification to the younger religious, who often observed her when she was quite unconscious of it. She would, when seated in her cell engaged in sewing, from time to time stop her work, take Holy Water, which she kept on her table, make some pious aspirations and continue her occupation. She was ani-
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mated with a great zeal for the observance of the rule and always tried to impress upon the younger Sisters the necessity of fidelity in little things and of care in correcting their minor faults.
Her death was caused by congestion of the lungs, and it was so sudden that she could not receive the last Sacraments. One of the characteristic features of the life of Sister Margaret was her devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.
On the 24th of February, 1857, Sister Bernard of St. Teresa, Elizabeth Dorsey, made her holy profession.
Soon afterwards, Father Poirier, the confessor of the monastery, was called to a better world. In the chronicles of the convent we find the following notice. "March the 18th, 1857, our excellent Father Poirier, C. SS. R., died, whose death we deeply regret, he having served us gratis and with great care for our increase of virtue and the faithful observance of our holy rules and constitutions." Father Poirier was the fifth confessor of the monastery who died in that capacity; during his illness Rev. Henry Giesen, C. SS. R., was appointed confessor.
On March 25th, 1857, Sister Antonia of the Purification, Catherine Lynch, made her profession in the 30th year of her age. She was born in Chesterfield District, South Carolina, and was the daughter of Coulan Lynch, and Ellen Neason, daughter of Patrick Neason.
Miss Catherine Lynch was a Sister of the Right Rev. P. N. Lynch, Bishop of Charleston, S. C., and of Mother Baptist, superior of the Ursuline Convent of Columbia, S. C. Her pious parents trained her in the paths of virtue and imbued her with an especial love to the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the day of her First Communion she promised the Blessed Virgin to recite daily the fifteen decades of the Rosary in her honor. This pious practice she faithfully continued until her death, no matter what were her occupations. She possessed an affectionate nature and felt keenly the separation from home and family, but her love of God made her triumph over these
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natural ties and she became a most detached and fervent religious.
On August 7th of the same year, Sister Ignatius of the Greater Glory of God, Amelia Keating Bauduy, made her vows in the 37th year of her age. She was born in Philadelphia, Penn., of Jerome Keating, and Eulalia Margaret Keating, daughter of John Keating. Her father died while she was still young. Her mother, also a Keating, and cousin of Jerome, was a daughter of John Keating, to whom the town of Manayunk, Pennsylvania, is greatly indebted. Baron John de Keating had been a colonel in the French service; he was a chevalier of the Order of St. Louis and the last of the Irish Brigade. His grandfather, Geoffrey Keating, distinguished himself at the siege of Limerick, but was afterwards obliged to withdraw with the army of James II to France, and his family estate and titles of Earl Dunraven and Lord Adair were given to an apostate cousin.
After the fall of the Bourbons, in whose service he had held a distinguished military position, John Keating refused all solicitations to continue in the French army, and having come to the United States with letters of introduction to Gen. Washington, settled in Philadelphia and soon after was wedded to Eulalie Deschappelles. He lived to be ninety-four years old, and was renowned for his charity to the Church and the poor. He wanted the latter to come daily to his hospitable mansion, and one day, finding that none arrived, he was troubled and was afraid that they had been offended.
At the early age of sixteen, Amelia Keating married Dr. Peter Bauduy, who, four years later, fell a victim to the pestilence then raging in Havana, Cuba, which he contracted in the discharge of his duty. Mrs. Bauduy was thus, at the age of twenty, left a widow with two children, one of whom, a daughter, died in infancy. Her son, Jerome Bauduy, M. D., became an honored member of the medical profession at St. Louis. Her mother, Mrs. Keating, entered the convent of the Visitation at Georgetown, while Mrs. Bauduy was still
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young, and died a few years since. Mrs. Bauduy had received it as a charge from her mother not to leave her grandfather, Mr. John Keating. In obedience to her mother's wish she remained with the aged gentleman during the sixteen years of her widowhood in the world. Her grandfather died in 1856, and she was thus left free to follow the vocation to Carmel, which she had felt for seven years.
She delayed not, nor did she listen to the arguments that were used to deter her from her purpose. She was thirty-five when she bade farewell to a world of which she had been a bright ornament, to shut herself up behind the grating of a Carmelite convent. Of course, the world could understand nothing of this sacrifice, for its wisdom is not that of God.
She had studied the rule of Carmel before her entrance into the convent, and was thus fully prepared for her duties in religion. Hence it was, that she soon signalized herself by her simple obedience and her complete forgetfulness of the world she had left behind.
On October 14th, 1857, Sister Michael of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Anna M. Fitzpatrick, made her holy profession.