Section 3. The External and Internal Growth of Roman Catholicism (Cont.) (14)

When news spread of the restoration of the order in America, scattered Jesuits from all over Europe began to flow to this new field of their activity. Soon after the reorganization, the Jesuit order in the United States was strengthened by a dozen new members[1] and activity resumed with vigor, having its center in the college in Georgetown, which from then on became the alma mater of American Jesuits.[2] Together with members of the Sulpician order,[3] who arrived in America during the turmoil of the French Revolution, they played the principal role in directing the activity of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States—until the time of the great migration of European peoples to America, which began in the 1840s. This was an important period in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in the country. Just freed from governmental oppression, it entered a new phase of its life and had to seriously and carefully weigh and determine its position, its strength, and its hopes. For this, there was needed the firm and penetrating judgment of a Jesuit combined with the selfless enthusiasm of the Sulpicians. The combination of these two forces proved a great blessing for the church, and to this fortunate circumstance it owes the fact that already under the leadership of the first Jesuit bishop it could rise to considerable heights both morally and in hierarchical and economic relations. The “patriarch of the American church,” Bishop Carroll, thanks to his Jesuit political acumen and Jesuit education, was able in his person to raise the church, so long despised and persecuted, to such a height that, upon the death of the founder of the republic, Washington, Congress unanimously entrusted him to pronounce the funeral oration over the valiant liberator of the nation.[4] Only the iron energy of a Jesuit could unite into a harmonious whole the scattered, diverse in race and language, mass of Catholic population from which the church was first constituted;[5] and only the selfless enthusiasm of the Sulpicians could fail to fear the vastness of the labor that lay ahead in the remote regions of the country. These two orders almost exclusively filled the highest hierarchical posts of the church from its very foundation and throughout the first four decades of the present century. The Jesuit order retained for itself the central post, the metropolitan see of Baltimore, while the Sulpicians occupied the newly created sees in neighboring cities, and thus were the chief pioneers in the work of organizing the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the United States.[6] At the same time, through their colleges, they prepared the first native priests[7] and together were the first laborers in the field of Catholic education, which was destined to play a very important role in the fate of the church.[8]

Besides Jesuits and Sulpicians, in the first quarter of the present century, only two orders came to America: the Trappists, who brought with them examples of rigorous asceticism,[9] and the Lazarists, whose purpose is religious, charitable, and teaching activity.[10] These orders were for the time sufficient for the needs of the church, as until the 1840s the Catholic population did not have extraordinary growth, and church affairs were limited to organization and the preparation of candidates for the priesthood to meet ordinary needs. But from the beginning of the 1840s, a new epoch began in the history of Roman Catholicism in America. At this time, the first wave of European emigration rose and poured onto the soil of the New World. This wave was the beginning of a general, continuous, and progressive influx of settlers to America, which with each year increased in volume. Thanks to this influx, the Catholic population began to increase with incredible force, and yearly new Catholic settlements were formed in previously unsettled places. Extraordinary efforts were demanded of the hierarchy to meet the religious needs of these settlers. But even with superhuman exertions, the forces at hand could not be sufficient for the constantly increasing needs. The church found itself in a difficult position. Continually newly formed Catholic settlements required priests, but there were none. The surrounding Protestant environment could absorb the inexperienced and distressed settlers, and the Roman Catholic Church could lose a significant portion of the harvest that had given it power and strength. Then, to aid the church, there came its reserve forces in the form of monastic orders, and they rendered it an invaluable service.

Monastic orders, as a social force, are entirely dependent upon the quantity of religious needs that called them into existence in society, and therefore of necessity they fully reflect all its movements. When European population began to flow to America, the monastic orders in Europe either had to reduce their numerical strength or follow the settlers. Since the settlers took their religious needs with them, it was natural for the orders to follow them in order to meet those needs in the soil of the New World. And indeed, from the very beginning of European emigration to America, the emigration of monastic orders also begins, and to the extent that the wave of popular emigration increased, so also increased the number of emigrating orders. Beginning with the 1840s, which marked the start of the European migration of peoples, a long, unbroken procession of monastic orders stretches out, which almost yearly arrived at the shores of the United States. In 1838, the Redemptorists came and began their labors in the metropolitan see of Baltimore, among the German population, which was in dire need of priests of their own nationality.[11] This was the first vanguard of the monastic forces, followed by the main army. In 1841, the “Congregation of the Holy Cross” came to the soil of the New World and began to carry out its mission of Christian education.[12] In the following year, 1842, the “Fathers of Mercy” set out across the ocean and developed their missionary activity chiefly among the French population—from Canada to New Orleans.[13] In 1844, the order of the Precious Blood arrived and founded several monasteries and a seminary in the land of gold—California and in the state of Ohio.[14] In 1846, the venerable and historically experienced and renowned order of Benedictines set out across the ocean. In its members in America appeared the truest embodiment of historical papacy, since it was renowned for having given from its ranks about fifty popes.[15] “The chief purpose of this ancient order is the glorification of God through regular and solemn divine worship, day and night; as well as literature, agriculture, and the education of young people.”[16] An extensive field of activity opened to them in the new soil, and so the order soon took root in America and began to spread rapidly, and at present it is one of the most flourishing in the country.[17] But even greater spread and significance was achieved by the order of “Christian Brothers” that arrived in the same year. The Roman Catholic Church in the United States owes very much to this order for its success. By its arrival, it remedied one of the most significant deficiencies in the church—the lack of teachers for specifically Catholic schools. The Protestant school, supported by the state, began to make rapid advances in the country and exerted strong influence on the Catholic population. The hierarchy used all efforts to create its own special Catholic schools, in which Catholic youth could be educated in the Catholic spirit, away from the influence of Protestant schools. But there were no teachers. Then the archbishop of Baltimore, Eccleston, turned to the “Christian Brothers” for help, to whom the main and special vow is teaching. The order responded to the call and established its institutions first in Baltimore, then in New York.[18] From that time on, the order began to spread its branches in all directions throughout the country and soon covered it with a network of its colleges, academies, and schools. At present, there is scarcely a more or less significant city in the country where the “Christian Brothers” do not have their institutions. They manage parish schools in New York, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Albany, Brooklyn, Chicago, and many other important cities of the country. The number of pupils under their supervision amounts to thirty thousand.[19] Besides schools, the order manages many higher institutions of learning, namely ten colleges, which are located throughout the country and enjoy great popularity not only among Catholics but even among Protestants. Their college in New York, the so-called Manhattan College, is considered one of the finest in the state. According to 1876 statistics, the order numbered seven hundred (700) brothers and had under its special supervision forty-nine (49) establishments.[20] Such success of the order in the thirty years since its establishment in the United States shows not only the great need of the Catholic population for Catholic education but also testifies to the need for Christian education in general on the part of the American population, which from necessity is obliged to content itself with the state’s secularized school. In 1847, the order of Franciscans renewed its mission in America, which it had begun in the sixteenth century. In 1848, the order of the “Immaculate Mary” arrived, whose vow is care for the oppressed and forgotten classes of society as well as teaching in theological seminaries and colleges. The order by its very name appeared as an embodiment of the doctrine of the immaculate conception, favorably received by the prelates of the sixth provincial council of Baltimore.[21] In 1849, a new specifically teaching order, the “Brothers of Mary,” arrived, and together with the “Christian Brothers” zealously devoted itself to serving Roman Catholicism through Catholic education, and at present has about twenty-five (25) establishments in various cities and states of the Union.[22] In 1853, the order of Passionists arrived. “Their life’s work is the conversion of sinners, drawing people to God through exhortation and persuasion. In achieving this goal, they combine the severity of the Trappists with the energy of the Jesuits.”[23] They lead the strictest and most ascetic life. They perform divine service at midnight and at sunrise engage in daily labor. The order had great success in America, and this is the more remarkable in view of the well-known practicality of the American character, which seems completely foreign to the purposeless severity of asceticism.[24] In 1854, the order of “Xaverian Brothers” arrived,[25] strengthening the ranks of teaching orders. Then followed a series of other orders down to the most recent times, such as: the Society of Mary (1863), Carmelites (1865), Alexian Brothers (1866), Servite Fathers (1870), the Congregation of the Holy Viator (1865), the Congregation of the Sacred Heart (1874), the Congregation of the Resurrection (1865), the Brothers of the Sacred Heart (1874), the Brothers of Mercy (1874), and others. According to 1876 statistics, there were in the United States 27 male Roman Catholic orders.[26]