Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-03-27
[From the Boston Post.
Eloquent EuIOgy ON the Late
bishop Fitzpatrick.

A panegyric of the late Bishop Fizpat-
rick was pronounced in st. Stephens
Church, corner of Hanover and Clark
streets, last evening, by Rev. George f.
Haskins. Atan early hour the large church
was crowded. After appropriate introduce
tory services the panegyric was given. The
text was
ii. KINGS, 8, 3s; g Do you not know that prince
and great man has died this day in Israel 2"
The speaker commenced by saying that a
month has now passed since the announce
ment was made that our Bishop was no
more. The word that then fell upon our
ears struck us dumb with sorrow; but few
among us comprehended the terrible i'm
port of the sound; few could realize the
bitterness of the chalice presented to our
lips. We had only to bow our heads in
submission to the Divine will and say
"The Lord gave him to us, the Lord hath
taken him away, blessed be the name of the
Lord" But now that the poignancy OF our
first sorrow has been bluGted by time, and
we have opportunity to reflect now that
we can contemplate his virtues and rare
qualities of mind and heart by which he
achieved so much for the Diocese of Bos-
ton, and infused into it so much of health
and vigor, there caa no longer be one
among you but must feel and confess that
truly "a prince and great man has died
this day in Israel" We are not assembled to
praise our departed Bishop; not TO perpetu-
ate his memory, not to erect monument
over his remans-for an hundred crosses
glittering from as many churches on the
hillsides and in the valleys of Massachu-
setts, and two hundred thousand Catholic
hearts aspiring to Heaven--these are his
monument; not TO throw crowns and gar
lanus on his sepulchre,-but we are assem-
Ibled to offer up the august sacrifice of the
Mass for the living and the dead-that the
"eternal gates" may open to receive his
soul, and his triumph be completed. Oh,
what a cold, dreary, barren religion is that
which buries its dead and then forsakes
them; which turns its back upon them, and
denies them sympathy and prayer; which,
uncOncerned, abandons them to Heaven or
to He'll. Not this your faith,O Catholics;
you abandon not thus your dead. Your
Bishop has not been by you forsaken or
forgotten; and now, after the expiration of
a month passed in sacrifices and supplica$
tions in all the churches, you have come
together again to weep and to pray--again to
chant the wall OF requiem which recognizes
all as sinners and asks for mercy even for
the most blameless. Oh blessed purgato-
ryl How unspeakable are the consultations
1t imparts both to the living and to the
deadi 1t brings the dear departed back to
us; it takes us to them. The Holy
Sacrifice of Mass is celebrated to-day also
for the living-for ourselves, that we may
contemplate the life and the virtues of our
departed Father, and learn to initiate them.
The speaker then gave an interesting bio
graphical account of the late Bishop, re-
marking, among other things, that his pa
rents emigrated from Ireland TO this country
in 1905, at a period when emigration was
extremely rare. His parents were natives
of Tullasnore. At an early age John Be-
nard was taught to pronounce the name of
God In prayer, to hold 10 adherence every
indecent and profane word, to tremble at
the thOughtof committing sin, and to pant
for the waters of life and the tabernacle of
God. Young Fitzpatrick was not like most
other boys, though the favorite and beloved
of all! For balls, dances, and parties of
pleasuleheh had an unconquerable aversion.
Yet there was nothing In his character OF
austerity, reserve, or pride. On the con-