St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-31

| two pieces of land, he sold other
| church property in the city of st. Paul.
In 1855 the German Catholic con-
| gregation having been permitted to
| build church on Rt. Rev. Bishop
| Cretin's block, they began immediate
! ly the work, and had Divine service in
| it in 1856. Much praise is due to the
| Rev. Father Keller, then their pastor.
In 1856 the Ri. Rev. Bishop succeed
| ed in having for his diocese some
Benedictine fathers, who Immediately
| built a convent at st. Cloud.
I'm July, 1854 was begun the work
of the excavation for the basement of
! the cathedral, and two years after the
corner stone was blessed by the Rt.
Rev. Bishop of Buffalo, Mgr. Timon.
! On the last day of October the walls
were up to the water-table. If the
work advanced so slowly, it was not
! for want of energy and exertion on
| part of the Rt. Rev. Bishop, but for
want of money. Oh, how many times,
seeing the pressed necessity of having
a church which could furnish room
| enough for the
CATHOLIC POPULATION, :
| he spoke to me about his difficulties:
But where to find the meansn he
would at the same time exclaim. :
1.-THE Catholics living in st. Paul.
with a few exceptions, were not able
to help him much, and the price of
work and materials was very high
He could have borrowed money, it is
! true, but he was afraid, with good
reason, of mourning debt difficult to
| be afterwards discharged Though
| the Catholic population attached to
the cathedral was then nearly as nu7,
! merous as it is now in 1864, the whole
i amount of money he could collect from
| July, 1854 till February, 1857, was not
| over $1,000. In February, 1857, he had.
already expended $1,000 towards the
erection of the cathedral. Any one
| may judge of the difficulties he had to
encounter After that time they did
not last very long. Our merciful God,
witness Of all the works Of His good
and faithful servant, saw that he was
most beautiful fruit of the Divine
grace, ripe for heaven; that his soul
was shining with the splendor of all
virtues, and took him from this world
of woe to make him partaker of His
eternal glory and happiness
1.-THE right reverend bishop died on
the 22d of February, 1857. His illness
had been very long and painful, but
he always continued to be the good
and faithful servant of God, bearing
with the greatest patience all his suf-
ferings. When no more able to leave
his room, he almost constantly had
his mind occupied about the flock
intrusted to his care. He would often
speak to me on that subject, and write
letters to his friends in order to pro-
vide for the diverse wants of his do
cese. The last of these letters, which
was addressed to a French bishop,
and left unfinished, was dated Feb. q,
1857. More than once when his suffer-
ings were most intense, 1 heard him
exclaim: 1T is good for me to suffer
for my sins AS I cannot work,
I at least ought to offer my pains to
God for the faithful and for ALI
Were I asked what epitaph ought
to be written on his tomb, my answer
would be, let these words be engraved
upon it: %, God! the zeal of Thy
house hath eaten me up
Gould ask the Catholics of Ferney,
in France, and in America, those of
Dubuque, Prairie du Chen and St.
Paul, who, placed, though at different
times, under his pastoral care, if the
most lamented bishop of st. Paul is
worthy of such an inscription upon his
tomb, / have no doubt but they would
all answer: His ardent zeal and char
ity for his fellow men, his constant
labor, his mildness, his sincere humil-
ity and spirit of prayer were strong
and convincing proofs to us all that
in his mind, in his heart, he had but
two objects in view, the
GLORY OF GOD
and the sanctification of souls. and
that he is well entitled to have these
words upon his tomb: o, Godl the
zeal of Thy house hath eaten me up
May his soul rest in peace forever!
1.-THE numerous virtues and charming
qualities of Right Rev. Bishop Cretin
having very much endeared him to
the inhabitants of st. Paul, his disap-
pearance by death was felt deeply by
them all, Catholics and non-Catholics
But no one was overwhelmed with
more profound grief than myself. I
had lost the best of friends; 1 ought
to say the best of fathers. The infant
church of Minnesota, so much loved
by me, was deprived of her first pastor.
and, in my mind, the future prospects
were not without clouds.
who shall be sent to the afflicted
and mourning church to fight as well
the good fight of the Lord, as did, for
six years, her good, pious, and most
| devoted bishop?
How long will it be before another
be elected and receive the bulls from
! Rome?-
Twill the elect bishop accept the
| charge? -9
"And in the interim, will the respons-
Utility of the work be left in so feeble
hands as mine, because am already
an old pioneer of the place?
These reflections were to me the
cause of great anxiety; my weak
constitution required rest, not a vet
heavier task. What to do in such
! circumstances, except to raise nv
mind up to God, sursum corda, and
ask His assistance? This was. in fact.
the only means which gave me strength
and comfort in my aff1iction and diff
| cultieS ~