Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1883-07-12


and he finally determined to aban-
doc the law and take up the ministry.
He went to Princeton College for some
tine and, graduating It the New
York Theological Seminary. he was
ordained deacon Of the Episcopal
Church BY the late Bishop Stone, and
shortly afterwards, in 1886. was rails
ed to the priesthood and given the
rectorship Of st. Andrews parish, in
Somerset county. He remained there
but short time, and in 1888 was
elected rector OF st. Mathews parish,
Prince Georges county, and took up
his residence in Bladensburg. Here
he remained fifteen years, and about
1855 married Miss Elizabeth Lowndes,
daughter of Benjamin o. Lowndes,
well-to-do farmer near Bladensburg,
and who wss related to the Hon.
Lloyd Lowndes, Of Cumberland. Their
estate near Bladensourg. was named
Blenleim, which, until his death, was
the home Of the Bishop. Near the
time Of his marriage he was elected
to the rectorship OF the Ascension
Church, Washington. It was bu.
small charge when he took hold of it,
but he soon developed it to the prin-
cipal parish in Washington, and
through his exertions the present
handsome edi6ce was erected. He
was still the rector Of Ascension
Church at the time Of his death, Rev.
DIR. Elliott being his assistant. In
1870 he was elected assistant Bishop.
Of the Diocese Of Maryland, assisting
the late Bishop Nottingham, and,
owing 10 the feeble health of the lat
ter. for several years performed most
of the Bishops work In the diocese.
Bishop Nottingham died in October,
1879, and Bishop Pinkney then sue
ceeded him. During his nearly four
years of the bishopric he was an in
defatigable worker, He greatly de-
veloped the home missions, and during
his administration over thirty new
churches and chapels have been
erected in the diocese, and the mis-
sion offerings of the churches have
been trebled.
The Most Rev. John Baptist Pur-
cell, Archbishop of CINCINNATI, died
at the Convent of the Ursulines in
Brown county, near st. Martins,
Ohio, on the night of the 9th of July,
instant. It was to the Convent of
the Ursulines that the Archbishop,
with his brother. Rev. Edward Pur-
cell, had retired after the bankruptcy
Of the diocesan bank in 1880, the par
ticulars of which are familiar, we sup
pose, to our readers, as full publica-
ton was given to them at the time
and they have since been made the
subject Of judicial examination. The
Archbishop was conscious at the mo-
ment Of death, though the power to
converse was denied him, his tongue
having been previously stilled by pa
ralysis. He was able, however, to
give tokens of recognition to his
friends. His death was peaceful and
apparently without physical pain.
Slight commissions appeared toward
the end and in one of these he passed
away.
John Baptist Purcell was born in
Mullow, Ireland, February 26, 1900,
and came to the United States at an
early age. He began his theological
studies in Mount st. Mary's College,
Emmittsburg, Nd, completed them
in st. Sulpice, Paris, and was ordain-
ed a priest in that city in 1926. |
After his return to the United States
he taught theology at Mount Saint
Mary's, and became president of the
college in 1929. In 1888 he was con-
secrated bishop Of Cincinnati by Arch |
bishop Whitfield in the Baltimore
Cathedral. At that time there was
but one Catholic church in Cincinnati, |
while the diocease comprised the en- |
tire state of Ohio, but the members of |
his flock rapidly increased, and he |
founded many important institutions. |
The diocese was divided in l847 by
erection of Cleveland into an indie |
pendent one, and the diocese of Co
iumbus was separated in 1868. When |
the see of Cincinnati was raised to |
the metropolitan rank, in 1850, DIR. |
Purcell became first archbishop, and |
had the honor of reviewing the pallium |
from the hands of Plus TX. himself |
in the Popes private chapel. In 1859 |
he attended the council of the Vati-
can, and voted against the opportune-
ness of defining the doctrine of pom |
ti6cial infallibility. After his return |
to Cincinnati in 1870 he was involy-
ed in a public discussion with the /
free-thinker Vickers. Long before |
that, in 1887, he had a seven DAYS
discussion with the Rev. Alexander |
Campbell, which excited great inter-
est, and an account Of it was after
wards published in a volume. Arch
bishop Purcell also published a vol
ume Of Lectures and Pastoral Let
ters, and edited Donald Macleod's |
History Of the Devotion to the Bless
ed Virgin Mary in North America"
and Kenelm Digby's ages of Faith"