Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-24
CATHOLIC CENTENARY
New York Diocese Plans Great
Celebration.
NOTED PRELATES TO MEET
Cardinal Logue, Primate of Ireland,
to Be Present.
WORLDS CHIEF CATHOLIC CITY
One Hundred Years Since Plus VII
Made Father Concannon, Domini-
can Monk, First Bishop.
WORLDS CHIEF CATHOLIC CITY
BY WILLIAM T.. CURTIS

BY WILLIAM F. CURTIS.
Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
The week beginning Sunday. April &c
and ending Sunday. May ;. will be cele-
brated by the Roman Catholics of New
York with many solemn and splendid cere-
monies. II marks the centennial ami
ver.ary Of the establishment Of that do
cese. There will be a gathering of the
Observation-Disclosures. archbishops and men,
bers of the clergy-from all parts of the
United States. and several distinguished
prelates are coming from Europe to par
ticipate In the celebration at the invita-
ticn of Archbishop Farley. Among the
guests of honor will be Cardinal Logue,
Archbishop Of Armagh and Primate OF
ireland. At the close Of the ceremonies
the distinguished guests will go to Balti-
more to attend the conservation. at the
hands Of Cardinal Gibbons. OF the Rev.
Dennis Joseph OConnell, rector Of the
Catholic University Of America at Wash
ington. who has recently been appointed
Bishop Of Sebaste.
The gathering will be marked especially
by reunions OF priests from all sections OF
the Union who are natives OF the New
York diocese or have been educated there.
Strongest Catholic City.
New York Is the strongest Catholic city
in the world. There may be more people
in Paris who have been baptized into the
church. and there may be an equal num-
Der In Vienna, but neither Paris. Vienna
nor Rome nor any other city, has so large,
SO prosperous. so intelligent, so active or
SO benevolent a Catholic population as the
American metropolis. And the same can
be said OF the Jews. New York has
larger Jewish population than any other
city. Every fifth person you meet on the
street Is a Jew: every third person you
meet is Catholic. The Jewish population
in New York city Is more than 10000;
tbs Roman Catholic population Is more
than 100000. and the growth OF both
communities continues with the most ex-
traordinary rapidity.
More than a million souls are added to
our population every year by immigration.
r0ae-fourth of them are Jews; the other
Three iourths are Catholics. The number
of Protestants that pass through the great
wide-open gates at Ellis Island is merely
neutrality-suspicious. $1,000 a year, or per
cent OF the entire number.
Early Days Of Diocese.
The exact anniversary of the founding
Of the diocese Of New York occurred ear
Her in the month for the rescript Of Pope
f1u8x VII IL udt6Q April ., lSSSS, anu
Father Luke Concannon, an Irish Do
minican monk, was appointed Bishop of
New York on that date. He was conse-
Grated at Rome April "a. 1908. but was
seized with fatal sickness before he
started upon his voyage across the At
lantic and never saw his diocese.
st. Peters. on Barclay street. between
the present site Of the post office building
and the Hudson river, was the only
Catholic church in New York city at that
time. and, outside Of the city were only
a few scattered missions in distant parts
of the state. In June, 1909, the corner
stone of st. Patricks Cathedral was laid
on Mott street between Broadway and
the Bowery. which was then on the ex-
IRENE outskirts Of the city and much
than the present location Of the unfln-
ished Episcopal Cathedral of st. John the
Divine overlooking the Hudson near the
tomb Of Gen. Grant. with Morningside
Drive to the westward. The original site
of st. Patrick's Cathedral il now the
center, Of the Chinese quarter and the
haunt of the slum-hunter. The rubber
neck wagons" which afford strangers an
excellent opportunity of seeing New
York" go down there every night. The
cathedral was finished and dedicated May
4. 1915. at a cost of about 500, 900. which
was an enormous sum for those days and
for many years the diocese struggled un-
der debt OF more than half that
amount.
Growth Of the Church.
The second Bishop of New York, the
Ri. Rev. John Connolly of Ireland, did
not arrive until 1914. four years after the
death of his predecessor. but the young
church struggled along and gradually
gained In numbers and substance during
that interval. Bishop Connolly found
two churches besides the cathedral and
who had fed from France keeping a
school called The New York Literary In
sttute. This was the first Catholic
school In the city and it had a short life
Napolean reached their ears the Jesuits
hurriedly packed their robes and prayer
books and took the first vessel for Havre.
leaving their house and all it contained
TO three Trappist monks who turned it
into an orphanage-the first benevolent
institution founded or maintained by the
Catholic Church in the state of New York
There were about 5000 Catholics in the
city at that time. and about 1900 in the
state. so far as the estimates go, but
they are not TO be relied upon. No census
was taken for many years, and il was not
until 1875 that reports from the parishes
we're received and compiled. The de-
mand for laborers in the construction of
the Erie canal attracted large numbers of
Canadians. and the political troubles in
Ireland caused a considerable emigration
from mat country. so that In 1925 there
were thirteen churches and missions re-
ported. with about 5000 communicates
and population of 10000 belonging
10 that faith.
New FORKS French Bishop.
Bishop Connolly died in 1926 and was
succeeded by Father Dubois. a French
man who was considered an intruder.
forced upon an unwilling diocese The