Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-02-19
TRIBUTE PAID TO
LIFE AND WORKS
OF LATE BISHOP
DR.. Shanahan by Hard Work
and Tenacity of Purpose
Accomplished Much
STORY OF LIFE WRITTEN
Brought Diocese Up From Poor
Financial Condition to
Sound Basis

torical Society. published in Philadel-
phia, is an interesting memoir of the
late Right Rev. John w. Shanahan,
ID. D., third bishop of the Harrisburg
Diocese. The historical sketch was
written by Right Rev. Monsignor
Maurice Nj. Hassett, d. d. V. c., rec
tor of st. Patrick's Cathedral, this
city.
Monsignor Hassett, in addition to
giving u complete story of the life of
Bishop Shanahan during his admin
istration of the affairs of the Harris
burg Diocese, shows q rapid growth of
Catholic churches and congregations.
The memoir compiled by Monsignor
Hassett is reprinted in the Harrisburg
Telegraph by permission, and follows
in part:
When, in the month of January,
1892, cablegram from Rome an
nounced the appointment as Bishop
of Harrisburg of the Rev. John w.
Shanahan, pastor of Our Mother of
Sorrows Church, Philadelphia, the
news was hailed with satisfaction by
the older clergy of the diocese, most
of whom had labored under and great
ly esteemed the first Bishop of the See
(1S6S-1SS6), the Right Rev. j. Il.
Shanahan, elder brother of the new
Bishop-elect.
Established in 1868, the Diocese of
Harrisburg had received super
abundance of territory but few sub
Jects; in an area almost as large as
Belgium Bishop jeremiah f. Shana-
han had found less than twenty-five
thousand Catholics, scattered among
a non-Catholic population of half
million.
when the second Bishop Shana-
han, a few days after his consecra-
ton (May i, 1890, came to Harris
burg, to him the time seemed to have
arrived for new developments and in
various directions. But, as a prelimi-
nary, the new Ordinary had of course
to get his proper orientation. To this
end he began an informal visitation of
his diocese, the thorough character of
which, nevertheless, was usually
brought home to pastors, later on, by
means of letters calling their attention
to dozen or two improvements the
Bishop would like to see carried out in
their respective churches, with the
least possible delay. Nothing escaped
his apparently benign glance, as he in
spected the parish premises, from the
sacristy pincushion to the altar boys
shoes; from the tabernacle key to the
forgotten dust in the most obscure
corner of the church; from the con-
fessional stole, often an interesting
relic of a forgotten founder, to the oil
stocks that should be, and sometimes
were not, in conspicuous ambry in
the sanctuary. To some of us, with
large dreams of the big reforms we
were eager to achieve. the Bishops
minute attention to the small things
of the house of God was cause of sur
prise, if not, occasionally, of an even
warmer feeling. Nevertheless, the
Bishop persisted in, as he would say,
worrying" us about what youthful re-
formers on the grand scale were dis
nnGp1 fn n nj
ually, we not only admitted he was
right, but many developed a like par
ticularity on their own account. "
'The three great projects which,
from the beginning of his episcopate,
Bishop Shanahan, with Gods help, de-
termined to carry through were the
erection of a cathedral, and the crea-
ton of two orphanages, wherein the
poor and neglected of both sexes
should find the home, the care, which
circumstances denied them. Yet, even
before he could seriously commence
to think of bringing his ideas to the
point of realization the preliminary
work to be done was simply enormous.
For instance, as regards the cathedral
when the Bishop arrived in the
Capital City he found there, among
population of fifty thousand, just
three thousand Catholics, in two small
churches, both heavily burdened with
debt For various causes, also, the re-
lations of Catholics with non-Cath-
Catholics themselves were plainly dis
couraged.
Raises Spiritual Standard
Here was a condition that might
damp the ardor of the average person,
but not Bishop Shanahan. Beginning
at once in the most vigorous style he,
with his aides, whom he speedily in
al I,s,
undertook to raise the spiritual stand
ard of Harrisburg Catholicism, and,
at the same time, to clear away the
material burdens that seemed to have
had on his people so depressing an in
fluence. The former object reached
the climax of it's attainment in the
fall of 1899, when a splendid mission,
conducted by the Rev. Xavier Sutton
G. p, whose name is still remembered
with affection in Harrisburg, instilled
new spiritual life into the entire Cath
olic community. Nor were the good
results of this famous mission con.
fined to Catholics alone; q weeks lee
lures to non-Catholics at the close
brought into the church more than
ffty converts
"The immediate results of q years
work of this character in the city of
Harrisburg may be summed up as fol-
lows: Two new parishes were formed,
in the eastern and southern sections
of the city; a mission, with parochial
school, was established in the north
ern section; a new spirit took possess
sion of the Catholic population; and,
last, but not of least moment, the nom
Catholic public began to look upon
Bishop Shanahan and all his works
with the greatest esteem. True, a GER
tain element, just then, endeavored
to fan the embers of n dying bigotry.
That first year, in addition to what
has been described, saw the frantic
efforts, in the form of three courses
of anti-Catholic lectures, of the mar
row sectary to stem the tide. But
these exertions, worthy of a better OBJ
iect, ended in a pitiable fiasco, on the
nature of which, at this date q charit-
able silence had best be observed.
'The success of the non-Catholic
mission in Harrisburg suggested the
idea of q series of similar missions
in every parish, and even in places
where there were no churches, in the
diocese, and this work, with most
commendable zeal, was carried out by
Father Sutton in the course of the fol-
lowing year. At the same time other
cities and towns of the Bishops juris-