The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-12-02
TIE GERMAN CATHOLICS OF TIE
UNITED STATES.
THEIR ZEAL IN RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL
AFFAIRS.


United with us by the bond of faith, the
welfare of the German Catholics OF this
country is especially dear to Us, and In
their spiritual and material progress, pros.
pefity aud happiness we have deep and
abiding interest.
the United States had been numerically
insignificant and consisted chiefly of the
peasant class. The revolution of le4c bad
the effect not only of greatly Increasing
this emigration but Of materially changing
its character. An official report recently
OF Statia;ies at Berlin, states that the mum
ber Of GermaDs who emigrated to the
United States from lS45 to 1876, both
years inelusive, was 2. .6s5, ,43O. DIR. Eogel
remarks that . very largo proportion of
these emigrants Considerably more than
600 600 of them) were "strong men )"
there were few old or infirm people among
them; those of them who were not adult
males in the vigor of their manhood were
chiefly young and middle aged women and
children. A goodiy proportion of theee
emigrants must now be living among ne
We know by the eensus OF 1870 that our
German born population even then mum
bered ], ,690, ,4l0. The German race is hardy
and prolific; its women are good N others |;
their thrift, industry, and economical hsb
its enable them to live in comfort upon
modest resources; without being teetotal-
German born aud German >deecended pop
ulation Of the United States at present.
including in the latter class ouly those
Whose;parents On both sides or on one side
or the other were natives of Germany, bat
who were themselves born here-is believ-
ed to be about 5 SOC, 600 souls. The great
bulk Of this population is in the Central,
Western and Northwestern States tue Elk
States of New York, Illinois, Ohio, Wiscon
ein, Pennsylvania, and Missouri contain
nearly two thirds Of the whole number.
The German Empire as at present cou-
stituted contained az the latest census
fIs75) 42 723 242 people. Of these not
quite one-third are Catholics. Had the
immigration from the states which now
form the German Empire borne this pro
portion, We stouid have in the United
States 3 German Catholic population OF
1890 600 souis. But the Immigration was
largely from the Protestant states, or from
those In which the ProtestAnts were in the
majority. We should be satisfied, snd
more than eatisted, when We learn that the
German CStholics in the Coited States,
according to the latest and most accurate
computation, numbered ,237 ,563 sous. Ii
is q very large mum ber-laTge enough TO
establish the fact that the Catholic Ger.
naus arriving here have not lost their fat b,
but have preserved and guarded IL for
themselves and their chi .dren. These
Az ,563 German Catholics in America are
not mythical or Hypothetical persons; 10
making up the nuReTAtlon care was tax en-
TO Include only those who were known As
practical Catholics, frequenters Of the sac
raments, careful observers of their cutIes
as Catholic parents or Catholic children. IE
this connection we may add some figures
for which We are indebted to the courtesy
of 9 German prleet and statisticien, and OF
the accuracy of which our readers ma!
depend. First, however, let Us state, upoI
the best authority, that
THE CHURCH IN AMERICA LOSES VERY FEW
OF HER GERMAN CAlLDRES.
We we're extremely grati6ed With th
unanimous testimony which rewarded on
inquiries on this matter. 1t very Tarel
occurs that q young German Catholic e
either sex strays or is stolen from the fold
Neither the false philosophy of the ipfidG
OF Protestent German echools, nor the se
dueticus and Tidicuie of their infdel o
Protestant American neighboTs, lure thet
from the faith. We have observed in ou
own visits to the German churches in Ne,
York, especially at the early Masses, tb
large proportion Of male adult worshpert
soar old people, OF coaree, never leave rs,
said q learned German priest, land oU
young people rarely, very rarely, stra
away. They are faithful in their dutieI
and they appear to love their religion wit
all their hearts. When they marry aa
have children, they lock after them 8
Catholic parents should do. Our Parochi;
schools are we'll attended; our kighe
schools and academies are prosperous. 0u
teaching orders, OF men and women, hRv
their hands full of work, and they o.
almost without exception well supported
One OF the bishops in Western dioces'
- the greater part of whoee flock are Germ an
has the happiness of knowing that all tt
children OF his people are Ia attendanc
either in his parochial schools or 10 othe
schools of which the teachers are Catholics
Oar ,237, 500 German CAtholics in Amel
lea are ministered to in spiritual things b
1873 German priests. They have 90
church edifices, while there are l93 othe
congregations of them regularly visited b
priests, but as yet without church build
ings. The whole number of Catbol
priests in the United States, according {
the Catholic Directory for this year, is 5, 90
of churches ,292, and of chapels and sta
tions 9 2,765. Thus it will be seen that th
German priests number little more tha
one-fourth of our American ecclesiastic'
army. There is q German priest for ever