The Portland daily press., 1891-06-12
CATHOLIC PROS PERIIY.
Bishop heaIy as Corporation Sole:
and the Increase OF the Church's
Real Property In Sixteen Years.

Il
for record. 1t is the deed by which Bishop
James Augustine Healy, of the Diocese of
Maine, conveys all the property Of the Cath
olic church in this state to a corporation Of
which. by special law passed by the legisla-
| ture Of this state. Bishop Healy is the sole
corporator. Bishop Healy simply transfers
| the property from himself as bishop to him
| self as bishop incorporation. The same per-
son holds the title of the property; but he
| holds 1t In different way. When, In 1875.
| Bishop Healy assumed the charge Of the d.
oeese of Maine. Archbishop John McClos-
key, afterwards a cardinal and now dead,
transferred TO him by deed all the church
property In Maine. This was transferred to
Bishop Healy personally, that being the usu-
al method at that time OF giving the church
property over to the hands of the clergyman
In charge Of diocese. Legally. that proper
ty was In the hands Of Bishop Healy to be
disposed Of In any way that he might see fit.
Legally. he might have given 1t away to
his friends; and. had he died without max
ing will, the whole church property Of
Maine would have gone to his heirs This
contingency was obviated by Bishop Healy
making a will devising the property to the
bishop takes advantage Of his position to
use the church property in any other way
| than for the good Of the church. But the
case Of Bishop Purcell of Cincinnati shows
that the property Of the church is. some
times. put in grave peril by the business
complications Of bishop. Neither Is it in |
conceivable that in the case Of schism In |
the church. rebellious bishop, or several Of |
them. might take away and confer upon |
body Of schismatic subjects Of the church |
an immense amount of property that the |
church had been gathering together for |
years, or even centuries.
In order to put the property Of the diocese |
on surer basis and more thoroughly In the |
hands OF the church, instead of In the hands |
OF the individual who happens for the time |
to be bishop, Bishop Healy applied to the |
legislature In 1887, through Mr.. Looney, wAO /
was member Of that body from Portland,
for a law creating the Bishop Of Portland /
corporation sole. An ordinary corporation.
by the law Of the state, must have at least |
three members. so a special law was needed
to create the bishop corporation by himself
By this law the church property Of Maine Is
vested in corporation, of which the repre-
4
Should at any future time bishop die, the
property Of the church would continue in |
the church; should bishop become involv-
ed with his superlors, as did Purcell, or in |
connection with some widespread schlsm in /
the church, the property of the church /
would still remain with the old organization
Of the church, which has the Pope for its
head and the regularly appointed cardinals
and archbishops for its administrators. The
corporation sole gives greater permanenee
and stability to the church.
Although the law was passed in 1887, the
transfer has just been made. As the church
has property In each Of the sixteen counties
of Maine, the deed of transfer has to be re-
corded in each county, and this Is barely
completed. The recording In the Cumber-
land registry was done some time ago. The
deed is a long document, and it conveys
property of immense value, In fact all the
property Of the Catholic church In Maine.
The wording Of the deed is in the usual
form, beginning as follows:
Know all men by these presents that l. James |
Augustine Healy Of Portland County of Cumber
Land Iana and state OF Maine In consideration Of one
paih hg the eHms9 81! !G@tPel..e; ssho" - p"sts.s
the Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland and his |
suceessorsa corporation sole,' the receipt where
OF do hereby acknowledge, do hereby convey to
said Roman Catholic Bishop Of Portland, as su
and ts ssh and GSsgds Is d iST
furniture. organs Vestments, sacred vessels and
candle sticks In or about any Of the churches,
veyed, excepting my personal library
The deed then goes on to convey the real
estate as we'll as the personal property. This
deed OF the real estate shows that the church
has prospered greatly in Maine under the
careful and able administration Of Bishop
Healy. When Archbishop McCloskey
turned the property Of the diocese over to
Bishop Healy in 1875. he decided to him
property In the sixteen counties Of Maine
The value of this property at that time Is not
generally known. 1t was probably large
then but not nea ly so large as is the prop
erty Of the church In Maine now. Since
Bishop Healy assumed charge there has been
a constant acquisition of real estate in
Maine, almost wholly In growing .cities and
villages. There is probably hardly more
than one piece of real estate in the list that
is not likely to continue increasing in value.
This exception is the grave Of Father Sc
bastIan Rasle. at Norridgewock, on the Ken
nebec, where was the Jesuit mission in old
colonial days. Father Rasle was one Of the
ablest Of the early Catholic missionaries, and
he attested his piety and manhood by martyr
dom, when the soldiers from Massachusetts
attacked his flock. Nothing could be more
fitting than for the diocese Of Maine to hold
the title to the grave Of this early priest.
The other acquisitions made In the diocese
have been principally real estate for churches
cemeteries and converts. At Frenchvllle,
on the Upper st. John, in ArOoStook, lots
for a church, house and schoolhouse have
been acquired at Van Buren the St. Bruno
church property; at st. Francis plantation
the st. Charles church property; at Fort
Fairfield land for church; also land at
Presaue Isle and Caribou, where the lots
were for church and cemetery.
In Somerset county real estate has been
acquired at Fairfield for the church, and at
Skowhegan for cemetery and house.
In Sagadahoc county land has been ac-
quired for the church at Richmond.
In Androscoggin county there have been
large acquisitions In Lewiston for church
and school houses; at Lisbon for a church
and cemetery.
In Cumberland county land for church and
house at Brunswick; for cemetery, church
and house at Saccarappa; for addition to the
lot of st. Dominic's church in Portland; for
a cemetery at Cape Elizabeth; for a church
at Yarmouth.
In Kennebec county they have acquired
cemetery and the Canadian church property |
at Augusta; the convent and parochial school |
at Waterville: the church lot at Vassalboro; |
house and cemetery at Gardiner and church /
ct Winthrop.
In Penohscot county there has been aeoui
sition of two church lots, the new convent |
property and cemetery property; at Winn /
there Is cemetery, presbytery and farm on |
the Indian islands at Oldtown a church lot. |
In Hancock county there Is house lot at |
Ellsworth and a church lot at Bar HarbOr
In Waldo county there have been acquisi- |
tions In Belfast and Winterport; and In
Lincoln at Newcastle for church.
In Washington county there Is a house and
lot at Pembroke among the acquisitions; the
Catholic chapel at Machias, and lots for the |
lot at Eastport.