The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-01-07
BISHOP WIC('ER.
Death Of the Reyered Prelate
Occurred Saturday
Night.
FUNERAL WILL BE THURSDAY
Archbishop corrigan Will
Say Pontifcal Mass in
st. Patrick S Cathedral.

Especial to 1.-THE Jersey City News'o
SOUTH ORANGE. Jan. Z, 19Ol.-Death
came at 12 o'clock Saturday night to the
Rt. Rev. Winant M. Wigger, who mad
been i'll since Sunday in Seton Hall Col
iege, South Orange. a victim OF pneu-
monia
After passing a fairly comfortable nighe
he became worse Saturday and In VAIN
hope of tiding over the crisis oxygen was
administered. The Bishop, however, grew
steadily weaker as the congestion extend
ed and at midnight he expired.
His brother, Robert Wigger. was in con-
slant attendance as were his physicians,
Drs. Seidler and Haggerty of Newark;
Drs. Freeman and Runyon of South
Orange and DIR. Barauch of New York.
Archbishop Corrigan 81 ent the afternoon
of Friday at the bedside of the dying pre-
late. On his return to New York the
Vicar General of the Newark diocese as
sumed charge of the affairs of the dio-
cese.
This was the third attack of pneumonia
the Bishop had suffered. Once before he
was attacked in Rome, the other time in
Seton Hail. His tendency to pulmonary
trouble caused him to take several trips
to Bermuda and to Europe, and it was
stin hoped that as before he would again
recover.
The death of Bishop Wigger has plunged
the whole diocese of Newark into mourn
ing. The fact of the bishops death was
announced in all the Catholic churches OF
the diocese at all the masses. Special
prayers for the repose of the soul of the
late prelate were said. In Seton Hall a
constant vigil is being kept beside the
body of the late Bishop. 1t is still in the
Bishops apartments
Arrangements for the funeral were part
ly made yesterday. 1t was decided that
the body should lie in state in Seton Hall,
under guardof seminarians. until We'd
nesday, it will be taken to st. Patrick's
Cathedral. in Newark, to lie in state again
until Thursday morning, when, at ten
o'clock the funeral services will be held.
They will be the most elaborate, impress
sive and solemn of any held in the New
ark diocese since the death of Bishop
Bagley in the episcopal residence in New
ark twenty-three years ago.
Archbishop Corrigan. of New York, will
be the celebrant of the solemn high mass
of requiem He will be assisted by several
eminent prelates. Who the other officers
of the mass and pail bearers are to be will
be decided today. All the priests of the
diocese and many from other parts of
New Jersey and other States will attend
the funeral. Interment will be made in
the Cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre. in
Newark.
1t is not considered likely that there will
be any successor to Bishop Wigger ap-
pointed for several months. In case OF
death of Bishop. meeting of the Bish-
ops of the province, which in this case in
cludes all dioceses from Buffalo to Tren-
ton, must be held Immediately and select
the names of three priests to present to
the Pope.
The rectors known as the missionary,
or memorable, rectors of the diocese must
also meet. They are the Rev. Dean Nc
Nuity, of Paterson. Father Ter Woert, of
Jersey City; Father Poels, of Newark,
and Father Gesner, of Elizabeth. They
will also present three names to the Holy
See. Pope Leo XIII has the option of Sc
lecting Bishop from these six names
or appointing whom he sees fit
Winant M. Wigger, Bishop of Newark.
was born in New York go years ago. He
studied in ST. Francis Xaviers College,
and then entered the seminary in South
Orange. Too young at the conclusion of
his theology to be ordained he pursued
his studies in the College Brignoli in
Genoa, Italy, where he took the Doctors
degree.
On his voyage home cholera broke out.
and he labored among the sufferers in
the plague stricken ship. He was soon
appointed assistant priest in st. Patrick's
Cathedral Newark and afterwards rec
tor of st. yincent's Church, Madison. He
then went to st. Johns Church, Orange.
Afterwards he was transferred to st.
vincent's.
When Bishop Corrigan came to New
York as coadjutor to Cardinal McCloslzey
the New Jersey Diocese was divided and
Father Wigger became Bishop of Newark
hisc onsecration taking place October 49,
1881.
Charges of Cahensleyism was made
against Bishop Wigger in 1898. Always a
stanch advocate of the parochial schools.
Bishop Wigger frequently attacked the
position of Archbishop Ireland.
Bishop Wigger became known through
.out the religious world in 1899 by cele-
brating midnight mass on Christmas in
the Church of the Nativity, Palestine. He
was the first American to perform this
office.
In May, 1898. the bishops refused to at
tend the dinner and reception given to
Mgr. Satolli, by the Rev. Father Cor
rigan in Hoboken. Among his reasons
for declining to attend the dinner was
that some of the priests invited had been
at war with their pastors.