The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-07

who met him here is atteSted by tn s
short clipping from the S.. Faul Demo-
crat, July s. 1851, in its account of his
| arrival in this city.
Many CT our citizens are wc1l az
quainted with Bishop Gre tin lie spent
some time in this territory shortly after
his first arrival in the United States.
Those who know HIM well, AM Of d.
ferent sects, represent HIM as a highly
educated and excellent man and an Amer
lean in all his SyTnpath,es and warmly az
tached to the free Institutions of the
country"
Bishop Crctin was educated at st. Sui
pice he was an accomplished gentleman
and true character.
That he was truly "a highly educate
and excellent man and an American in Ii
his sympathies" is well attested by the
r. spect and love evinced towards him by
all his fellow citiZenS-PToteStant and
Catholic.
The first bishop of St Paul, reared IN
one of those homes of p ETY. and cour-
ageous patriotism where the persecuted
| refugee never failed to find succor ana
protection from. the terrors of the French
revolution the hunted priest and re
ligious, the devoted layman who would
not deny his faith, were always welcome
Gods blessing that followed this fam
llV was plainly WIIllGil III LllS lil1olL AON'S
and beautiful lives OF Bishop Crltin and
his kindred.
His earnest desire seemed to be to die
the death of a martyr in the pagan mis-
sionary field. Looking over the record OF
his brief years-he died at sixty -One-We
are struck with the unseldsh zeal Of the
mon who were pioneers in this new Worlu,
and who, like him, gave up every LhlhS
for God and human kind His burning
zeal was to win souls to Christ, and he
l-oVl Of tfc
man as priceless as his own.
The pioneer is one who clears the way
for the advancing army. AS columbus
the Christ-bearer, illed with unquea
tioning faith, turned his prows from the
beaten ocean tracks, and without chart
sailed fearleSSly into the west, so they
who followed him to the new world
plunged into trackless Wilds with the
child's simplicity and the martyrs couT-
age Whatever the motive OF the lay
men, the priests motive was of the SUP
limest order. When Cortes, preparatory
to invading Mexico, burned his ships, he
did an act of courage and of prudence
the courage to risk his own life and the
prudence which made mutiny impossible.
But these men of whom | speak left no
burning ships behind them. They had
none They had burned their ships
years before, when at Gods altar they
dedicated their lives to their fellow men.
And this is what the Catholic priest has
done from the beginning, and does every
love to call you by the endearing title
of the Irish tongue) will men never
learn the sublimity Of your Office and the
glory of your character?
The church, though not widespread,
was no stranger in Minnesota when the
bishop came. The earliest settlers of
Minnesota were French. The intrepid
priest, if ne did not lead, always
closely followed les couriers de bois-the
explorers of the woods, as they were call
ed. France has done much for the
world-much for America For it is
fact in our history written In the blood
of Frenchmen, that the declaration Of
independence-but a voice at first-be-
came through the Valor of French and
Continental troops a living reality lin
the trenches before Yorktown, in Viz
ginia," the 18th day of October, 1881, as
the capitulation of CORVALLIS reads.
1t was the sanity Marquette, who in
1913 opened the way from Green Bay,
Wis, by the Fox river, to discover the
Mississippi. Following him came La
Sale in 1881, navigating the Father Of
Waters to it's mouth, naming the whole
valley. Louisiana and taking possession
of it In the name of Louis XIV. With
La Sale came the Recollect prist, Father
Hennepin, who assembled the Mississippi
was carried prisoner by the Dakotas
to the falls above us, at Minneapolis,
which he called st. Anthony.
At Frontcnac the Ursuline Sisters own
the ground where the most ancient
chrch In Minnesota, erected in 1925 once
lnOu2n
had been passed over by the husbands
man centuries before Bishop Cretin came.
Sa!d that there We're but two priests
IN BlshoD Cretin's diocese when he came
Rather Gaultier had in 18A built a small
church at St. Peter and blessed the basil
lea and village here under the patronaea
Of st. Paul. the Apostle of the GentiIes
lie Jealous, good man, had passed by to
other fields Of labor and was not hel e
then; his spirit from the heaven above
looks down this night upon his WORK
1t was my purpose to name tonight
none save the deathless dead. But no
story of Bishop Cretin or of the church
IN Minnesota is complete If it omit the
name Of Mgr Augustine RavouX. To
name him in St. Paul audience Is
enough. Recognizing his virtues his
work, we stand in silent admiration be-
fore the simple majesty of his greatness.
Ihere'S another who has come from far
Calgary to take part, in this festival,
served the mission at Pembina. Grand
and venerable, with the glory Of his very
many Years upon him, still a splendid
type of the physical man.
'There were giants in those days
Giants In physique, giants in labor, giants
IN virtue, piety and good works And
thank Goa, they used their giant strength
NOT to destroy, but to save. Years and
nonors and peace in this life to thee,
Father RaVouX and Father Lac0mbe! Be-
yond it, the Master has prepared man
sion-not made by hands-for His serv-
ants.
Bishop Cretin came just a little in ad-
vance of the tide Of immigration which
following the star of empire set in to-
wards the West. His flock grew; his la
pors increased; but having once put his
hand to the ploW, he never looked back
ward. Short-lived as was his admins
tfalion,- Tor he died in 1851 the increase
IN the maternal church attested his zeal
and that Of his Jealous priests Al his
death 70 churches and IS stations were
served by 20 priests; convent schools.
the happy beginning of the MAGNIFICENT
establishment of the Benedictine Fathers
IN Stearns county-teaching brothers; the
hospital and many Catholic schools and
a catholic population Of $4,000 marked the
progress Of events. The present CaLhe-
dral had been begun. to be finished and
opened for worship shortly thereafter BY
rather RaVouX, who bore the burdens Of
the eplscopate as administrator of thu
olocese, until the conservation and arri-
val in 1859 of the Most Rev Thomas
Langdon Grace, the second bishop oil ST.
Paul; he, in turn, to be followed bv one
l need not name, who, by the grace OF
GOD ana the favor OF the apostolic see,
rules this archdiocese today.
OF Archbishop Grace [ cannot permit
myself to try to speak. His name brings
to me Hood of memories so tender, the
neart becomes too full to allow the lips
TO fashion word. AS a boy I knew
him, as far as boy could know a priest
Of his age, in my fathers house in old
Kentucky. Learned, retiring, courtly, he
was gentleman of the old school And
when I say this much, nothing more is
REQUIRED. His work is before your eyes.
/ need not point it out. The time is so
short since you all saw upon our streets
his familiar and kindly face, and great
events nowadays so crowd each moment
in its fight that We must wait perforce
until times melloWing hand has done its
work.
Great men grow greater by the lapse OF
time;
We know those least whom we have seen