The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-10-24
ARCHBISHOP KAHN.
Death Of Distinguished Prelate at Bal
timOre. Md.

| st. Louis died at 6.2O o'clock Tuesday
evening, Oct. ID, at st. Agnes SAM
tarium, after an illness of nearly six
months. The end came peacefully.
His Grace apsed into Inconsistencies
Monday morning and remained in
this condition to the last. Gathered
about his bedside We're his sister,
Mother Mary Joseph, Sister of Char
! ity; Sister Olympia. the superior of st.
Agnes Sanitarium; Sisters De Clantai
and Ambrose, Right Rev. Mgr John Il.
Murray. president of Mount st. Mary's
Seminary. Cincinnati. and Rev. Jere-
niah y. Murray. pastor of the Church
of the -ttOncnent in Cincinnati. both
! cousins of the deceased prelate; Rev.
Mathew callill, Rev. Francis Donohue
of Washington: Rev. Father Henry. of
the Passionist Monastery: Rev. james
+. Mnckin. of Washington. and Rev.
l.. j. Byrne. the Archbishop's private
secretary. For the last three days;
| death had been expected almost hour
| y. Since Sunday two weeks ago,
| Wien the patient was stricken with an
attack of appendicitis his condition
had been regarded as precariolls. But
| for the age of the distinguished patient
and his weakened condition, due to the
long illness from which he had been
| suffering previous to the attack an
| operation would have been performed.
| After several days the symptoms of
appendicitis had practically disappear
ed and the archbishop began to rally
somewhat. But in less than one week
there was another change for the
worse, and from that time on Mgr.
Kahn continued to sink. During the
last four or five days he was nearly
always unconscious, the comatose
state being interrupted occasionally by
short lucid intervals, during which His
! Grace would open his eyes and wills
per a few words to those about him.
Early Tuesday morning the patient
suffered a stroke of paralysis, which
affected the greater portion of his
right side. Archbishop Kahn was one
of the most widely known and highly
esteemed prelates of the Church in
America. Born in NIartinsburg, Va
NOW West Virginia), May 81, 1911, the
son of Jeremiah and Ellen Kahn, he
had the advantage of an early training
In the real essentials of life. At the
age of 16 he presented himself as a
student for the priesthood at St.
Charles College, Ellicott City, Md,
being one Of the same class with Arch
bishop John Joseph Keane, of Du-
buque. The two young men We're firm
friends, but also great rivals in their
studies, and both attained high honOrs.
Their names being pronounced exactly
alike. there was great difficulty in dis
tinguisling them apart, and finally the
students adopted the plan of calling
student Kahn "Old Virginny' and stu
dent Keane "NIy Maryland" Graduat-
ing from st. Charles in 1862, the flu
ture archbishop entered st. Mary's
seminary, Baltimore, in the same year.
There he also took high honors and
was ordained Il priest by Archbishop
July ., 1866. His first assignment was
to the little church ut Harper's Ferry.
Va, overlooking John Browns fort.
His parish covered Il territory of about
forty square miles. He had to visit
more than half Il dozen counties. He
was indefatigable. Churches destroy
ed during the war were rebuilt. Be-
fore his assistant was appointed, this
was in 1867, he seemed to be every
where ut once. "Once," says a friend.
Il recall the incident, but cannot re-
member the exact locality, Il farmer
lay dying. We thought that Father
Kahn would not reach him in time, for
the messenger had started off in Il
binding storm, and we calculated that
unless Father Kahn Travelled like Tam
O'Shantcr and overlooked the danger
of the rising flood he would be too
late. How we prayed! How we
hoped! There was an old Irish wom-
an among U.S. and between the dec
AIDES of her Rosary she would con-
tinually say. Nothing will stand in
Father kain's way. and he'll come if
it kills him. and sure enough, drip
ping. weary. mud splashed, almost at
the eleventh hour. Father Kahn did
come" Sometimes he travelled great
distances to preach to only half Il doz-
en- farmers and their wives. His SER
mons were always carefully prepared.
however, and delivered with all the
oratorical powers which subsequently
made him famous. and his reputation
gradually extended throughout Vir-
ginia. West Virginia and into Mary
land. lii 1919. upon the death of
Bishop Whelan. of Wheeling. w. Va.
he was appointed Bishop of Wheeling.
y touching feature of the ceremony
of his conservation on May % of that
year was the presence of his mother.
theWin her eightieth year. In Wheel
ing Bishop Kahn continued his hard
work and built up and strengthened
Il ~ ~ srs s5sss 81 4 81