The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-07-31
ARCHBISHOP IRELAND EUE0G|zED
IN A N0N-CATHOLC PERIODICAL
The Writer Declares That in the History of the Church in the
United States the Name Of the St. Paul Prelate Will Stand
Out Most Prominently Sketch of His Successful
Career Eccesastc.

In a recent issue of the Minneapolis
"Bellman," a secular periodical, the
following eulogistic article on Arch
bishop John Ireland, of st. Paul, ap-
peared from the pen of that distin-
guished Catholic layman, Count Will
liam j. Onahan, of Chicago:
The Archbishop of st. Paul is with
out doubt the most widely known, and
in many respects the most influential,
prelate in the American Catholic
church. His reputation is more than
national, it Is international. 1t would
| scarcely be an exaggeration to say it
Is worldwide. His name and renoWn
in France are almost as great as in
his own country; and at the seat and
center of church authority in Rome
whatever criticism there may be on
occasions of his views and policies. he
is always recognized power. In the
history of the Catholic church in tho
United States the prelates whose
names will stand out most prom
inently in the annals of the nineteenth
century are John England, Bishop Of
Charleston; John Hughes, Archbishop
of New York; John Ireland, Archbishop
of St. Paul, and the gracious Cardinal
|Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore.
The first named was a national fig
ure in church and public affairs dur
ing the second quarter of the last
century, when Catholicity was strug-
Cling against the adverse influences OF
bigotry and intolerance: the great
Archbishop Of New York successfully
stemmed, by the force of his eloquencc,
with voice and pen, the same insidious
spirit and subsequently during the pc
riod Of the Civil war rendered, rs
is we'll known. the most important
services to the Union cause.
At the time John Ireland was be-
! ginning his remarkable career, first us
chaplain to a Minnesota regiment, in
which capacity he signalized himself
by devotion to duty, by consideration
for the soldiers under his spiritual care
and by his ardor for the triumph OF
the Union arms. Although genera
ton has gone by since the close Of
the war, Archbishop ireland is still
| ho nj 0C ho oIx Lii
and, when he makes his appearance at
their reunions, is always received with
tumultous welcome and applause. He
was for a time, in recent years, chap
lain of the Grand Army of the Re-
public by unanimous choice.
Following his return from the war.
while pastor of the Cathedral OF st.
Paul. he took up the temperance cause
to which he had been devoted from
his early youth, and quickly made his
power and influence felt as the de-
voted champion of total abstinence;
indeed his zeal and success as a tenn
perance advocate won for him tho
title Of "the American Father Math-
ew." He has never relaxed in his ef-
forts in. that cause. Another OF his
notable works has been colonization
of which he has been the most con-
spicuous and the most successful pro-
may venture to say, has done more
effective work in this regard for the
state Of Minnesota in multiplying
colonies and dotting the state with
settlements than the energetic Bish-
op, now Archbishop of st. Paul.
The colonists and their SUCCESSORS
who profited by his foresight in thus
placing them in the opportunity Of in
dependence and even wealth-fol
many Of the original settlers became
well off by their industry and through
the increase in the value Of the land
acquired at an early day-these people
may well hold in grateful regard tho
man who gave them the first impulse
to farm life in the west. Archbishop
Ireland was likewise an importan
factor in the national colonization
work which was subsequently taker
up by the Catholic bishops and not
. able laymen Of the country. The op
crations of this organization extende,
the work Of colonization into sevcra