The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1915-10-23

Lne OnAVefelIy was accOIQe0 10 MN.
And today the traveller may zee the
portraits of stapleton and Lombard
amidst the portraits of the illustrious
sons of their Alma Mater in the Uni
versity halls.'
II nothing else could be said Of Ire.
lands achievements at Louvain, surely
the fact Of having two Of her exile sons
during the harassing times Of the sew
enteenth century appointed to the
highest position in Louvain would be
glory enough Yet Ireland gave hun
dreds Of others to the work at LOU
vain, men who won distinction there,
and were lavishly honored by their
Alma Mater. AS presidents of the
various colleges, as lecturers in the
arts and sciences, as Jealous mission
aries who went to the perilous parts
of the British Isles, these Irishmen Of
Louvain won the halo Of honor for
their names. They were cognizant of
the scholarly traditions of their ances-
tors, of the monastic schools and the
great abodes Of learning that once
adorned their native land, Of Bangor,
Clonenach, Glendalough, Mungret and
Iniscaltra, Tuam and Clonmacnoise,
schools that numbered their students
by the thousand, hundreds drawing
from the continent, schools where the
learning and sanctity fourished, that
won for Ireland the great name Of
Island Of Saints and Scholars" And
we of these later centuries are en-
titled to remember, when we are in.
vited to pity the devastation that war
has made in Belgium, that Ireland once
had schools and monasteries older
than Louvain, more valiant than
Liege, and more brilliant than Brus.
sells, and that little commiseration has
been sought for them in the pages of
English history. Countries upon the
continent have borne witness to the
scholarly zeal of these great Irish
apostles. Spain and France and Italy
might write Of them passage similar
to this from the learned Kessel in his
summary of the achievements of the
Irish in the German provinces. Every
province in Germany proclaims this
race as benefactor Austria celebrates
st. Colman, st. Vigilius, st. Modestus,
and others. To whom but to the an
cient Irish was due the famous 'Schot-
tenkloster' of Vienna? Salisbury, Rat
lisbon, and all Bavaria honor st. vigili-
US as their apostle. Burgundy,
Alsace, Helvetia, Suevia with one
voice proclaim the glory of Colum-
banus, Gall, Fridolin, Arbogast, Flor.
entius, Trudpert. Who were the
founders of the monasteries of St.
Thomas at Strasburg, and of st. Mich.
olas at Memmingen, but these same
Irish? -. The Saxons and the
tribes of northern Germany are in
debted to them to an extent which
may be Judged by the fact that the
first ten bishops who occupied the See
of Verdun belonged to that race"
Likewise, as. we have recorded in a
brief manner, Louvain has always held
in affectionate memory the names of
the illustrious Irishmen who honored
her schools, especially in the seven.
teenth century The Fasti Academici
and the Bax Manuscripts have their
names in great numbers; yet even on
the admission of these sources, only a
partial list OF the Irish students is
given. "Would that it were allowed"
writes David Rothe in his 'Analecta,
ito collect all of them into one, so that,
as If from shipwreck, some, at least, of
these lists might be preserved for pos.
terity. But many Of them have per.
ished; many are hidden away in old
libraries, and ii they could be brought
to light, they would show how wonder.
full was Ireland"
A grateful memory is one of the
precious characteristics of an Irish.
man. And the little army of exiles
who received hospitality in Louvain
during the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, gave of their generosity to
the support of their Alma Mater;
whether they remained there to fill
places of distinction, or went back to
labor in their own perilous Ireland
they kept devoted affection for Lou
vain. Let the words of Richard
Creagh speak for them. He took his
degree at Louvain' in 1861, and was
appointed later Archbishop of Ar
magh. Being sent to the tower OF
London as prisoner. he was asked
what he would have done if he had
been received Archbishop Of Armagh
he said he would have lived there
quietly. Being asked what he would
have done if he had been refused, he
answered that he would have gone
back to Louvain to his track again, as
being discharged Of his obedience"
pESENTe pEpnpr ar eI,Io~u