The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-07-12
CATHOLIC CHURCHES JOIN.
THEY MAKE THE EVENT ONE
WHICH THE VETERAN PRIEST
WILL NOT FORGET.
Wholesale SaddIers' Association
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of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the
| ordaining of Father Cleary to the
! priesthood. The pope had sent his spe
cial benediction for the occasion, and
! the people, not only of the parish over
| which he ministers, but of all the par
ishes Of the city, Joined in making the
event one which Father Cleary and his
! friends can never forget.
a quarter of a century ago, July 8,
1872, Bishop Heiss, of Milwaukee, con-
! ferred upon him the ordinances of the
! priesthood He had been prepared for
! the holy office at the college of st.
Francis, in Milwaukee, and his work
for over twenty years was in the state
in which he was reared to manhood and
in which his parents still reside.
| Father Cleary was born within sight
of the Bunker Hill monument, in 1S49,
and he has never forgotten that he was
an American. With his parents he
came West, settling near East Troy,
| Walworth county, Wis, where his par
| entS still live on their original home
stead, hale and hearty, in spite of their
! seventy-eight years. Father Cleary's
| first station was at Boscobel, afterward
he went to Platteville. then to SinSi-
niwa, and lastly to Kenosha, Wis. A
little over four years ago he came to
Minneapolis and preached for some
time in halls, but his congregations
grew, and he was led to build st.
Charles church, over which he still is
the honored priest. The church was
dedicated about three years ago, and
its congregation is one of the most &C
tive and aggressive in the city.
At the service yesterday Father
Cleary's parents and two brothers
were in attendance. One brother, T. L.
Cleary, is assistant United States at
torney for the district of Wisconsin,
residing at Platteville, and the other
is DR.. NJ. H. Cleary, of Galena, Ill.
The jubilee ceremony yesterday morn
ing consisted of the solemn high mass
in which Father Cleary was celebrant,
Father Christie deacon, and Father
Ward, of Beloit, Wis, who was or
dained at the same time with Father
Cleary and who was a college friend,
was subdeacon. DR.. Dagnan, of New
Richmond, Wis. was master of cere-
monies. The choir was reinforced by
a large number Of volunteers from
other churches, and the music was ex-
quisite. They sang Marcos "Messe
Solemne," a splendid production for
such an occasion. %
DR.. Dagnan preached the sermon,
upon the office of the priesthood, All
earnest, scholarly and forceful dis
course. In the beginning he showed
that Christ came on earth, not merely
to save and redeem fallen humanity
but to establish a sacrifice, a worship
religion, a bond of union between
God and man. This noble object of
His mission was accomplished in the
eucharistic institution, when He es-
tablished a means of sanctitication
and union of every individual with
his maker. And when He ordered His
apostles, do this in commemoratiou
of me-" He perpetuated the work Of
union and sanctification by means of
the divinely established priesthood.
The two obstacles to union with Cod
| said the preacher, were sin and igno-
rance, and Christ provided for the
overthrow of both by giving His apos-
ties the power of forgiving sin. And
He overthrow ignorance and idolatry
by the gospel of faith and knowledge
He showed that the priests were the
heralds of the same gospel of Christ,
the harbingers Of peace and glad It'd
ingS to men; that they were also the
pioneers of true and lasting civiliza-
ton. He pointed out that modern
ClVlllZdIlOH is not the 6VOluClOn OF a
pagan civilization, but the result of
Christ's gospel the work of Christ's
church, upheld and promulgated by
Christ's priesthood. He showed also
that the priests in the old world, as
well as in the new, were champions OF
true freedom, and that the constitution
of the United States was, in a great
measure, a Catholic document, in that
it re-echoed the teachings of Pope
Zachary in the eighth century, and of
Pope Alexander III. in the twelfth
century. He referred to Archbishop
Layton, who had withstood the tyrant,
King John, at Runnymede, when Mag
ma Charta was won, and in this land he
| found no greater name than that of
Archbishop Carroll, of Baltimore, who
| planted the seeds of religious freedom
and Of the Catholic church so deeply
in the soil that they shall never perish
from the American continent. He
showed how the priest is bound to be
a leader from the very nature of his
| calling and his office He is leader
! in the science Of salvation and the
| spiritual welfare Of mankind, and, if
| he is a true priest, he voices not the
sentiments of man, nor of any party,
! but the sacred teaching which fell from
! the halloWed lips of Jesus Christ. He
| unveils to the vision of men the good
ness, the beauty and the wisdom of the
| kingdom of God. Hesis. the guide, phi
| losopher and friend of the poor and the
distressed of humanity everywhere
In conclusion DR.. Dagnan paid
tribute to the worth of Father Cleary
as a brilliant example, ornament and
light Of the priesthood. He referred to
his triumphant work and how he had
been blessed by Pope Leo XIII He
| said that Father Cleary, as a minister
was no blind leader of his people, no
hireling shepherd, afraid to raise his
voice when the wolf threatened the
fold, but, as the people Of Minneapolis
knew, demagogues, false teachers and
hostile journalists had all fallen before
| his lance; his pen was no less mighty
| than his eloquence. But, while feared
! by the enemies Of church, law and or
| der. all were forced to respect him, and
! many loved him for the enemies he had
made.
Father Dagnan then read a letter full
| of friendly feeling from Archbishop J.
J. Keane, formerly rector of the Cath
Ollie university at Washington, and af-
ter this the pope's benediction.
| The services concluded with the ben
ediction of the blessed sacrement and
| the singing of the "Te Deum" in Eng
lish.
| In conclusion, Father Cleary made
short address of thanks to the con-
gregation, fer the many presents which
he had received as a token of friend
ship and respect for his sacred office.
q. He thanked the choir for their pres
ence and volunteer contribution to the
success of the services, and to the
| priests who had left their own duties to
do him honor upon the occasion.