Evening star., 1941-09-01
Americans on Leave
In Reykjavik Find
City in Mourning
IceIund's First Catholic
Bishop in Centuries
Paid Final Honors
(Elerenth OF q Series on Iceland }
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,

star St6lI IOTTeSpOnutIIl
REYKJAVIK. Iceland. - All Ice
land is in mourning.
Flags of Reykjavik are at half
mast, the flag poles draped with
black, many of the stores closed.
folks standing with doleful faces on
the street corners. The little king
dom's best beloved citizen Is being
carried to his grave on the rocky
hillside and all the bells are tolllng
and sobbing.
For 80 years this outlander has
been among them. He has healed
the sick and fed the poor and shell
tered the orphans and comforted
the sorroWing of all classes. When
he came they were somewhat hos
tile to him. Their fathers had
chopped off the head OF his last
predecessor. $50 years ago, as the
wave of the great Reformation
swept from Europe over the Arctic
island
But this week there we're few ma
tives of any creed who did not re-
move their hats as they passed the
dark gray stucco cathedral he had
built on the hillside, the shadow of
whose golden cross fell over the
Uind-tossed green waters OF Reyk-
javik Harbor. For four days the old
man had lain there in state and
there was less than ever the custom
ary small gayety in ReykjaVlk.
Scene Greets Americans.
This was the scene that greeted
hundreds of Americans on leave
one dav last week 1t was a day
IN Pevkiavik's history when the
body of the first Catholic bishop
In centuries was lowered into his
grave.
Monsignor was a DutChman. He
came to Reykjavik already a man
of middle age. His charges we're a
handful of scattered souls spread
over 1000 miles of coast line. He
built churches, schools and hos
pital. He trained native priests who
could preach in 1celandic. He
braved the stormy waters OF long
Arctic fjords to cheer the lonely
IdHlllltS
1celand's uncanoniZed saint.
There are two churches in Ice
land. the Danish Lutheran and the
Catholic. By far the majority OF
1Celanders belong to the former.
They are quite a religious people.
The long darkness, the storms and
the constantly threatening glaciers
and volcanoes turn men to brood
ing and dreaming of higher powers
who will recompense for the sor-
rows of this world.
The original IcelanderS were
heathens. Eirikur the Red and
Leifur Eiriksson-old friends OF
American grade school history with
their names spelled correctly-Were
followers of Thor and Wooden. In
the year 1000 the Catholic religion
was adopted by the Althing and
Iceland, like ireland, became one
of the gems of the Roman church.
Curiosity of History.
Bishop followed bishop to rule
over the far-fung diocese OF Ice
land, Greenland, Vineland and the
lands lying beyond" 1t is a Curl
osity of history that in the year
1892 there was named at Rome the
last of a line of 18 bishops of what
is now North America. This man
was an Icelander who never saw
the rest of his diocese. Long since
the Mortimer in Greenland and
If any remained elVe-in Nova
Scotia or Massachusetts, had lost
all contact with the homeland.
Iceland's subsequent religious his
tory has some parallels to that of
Ireland. In 1850 the faith Of the
Reformation was imposed, as the
only available guidebook says, "by
tyranny of the crown of Denmark
after the people had risen up in
defense of their rights and their
faith. Subsequently an age of des-
potism and lamentable fanaticism
set in and the whole nation was
reduced to an oppressed subject
class"
Like the Irish, to judge from
the guidebook, the Icelanders still
are mad about it. But the in
tensely Catholic nobility had been
killed off in the civil wars and
famine, starvation and pestilenCe'
left the Reformation supreme.
Icelanders Like Danes.
Today Icelanders like Danes bet
ter than any other foreigners and
most of their cultural relations
are with Denmark. But before it
established its present independ-
ence-a status less subject to Den
mark than is that of Fire to Great
Britain-it was rather recalci-
trant foster child of the little Euro
pean kingdom.
About the middle of the past CEN
tury Breton fishermen, on their way
to the Grand Banks, occasionally
became wrecked off Iceland and
remained there. A few Irish fish
ermen we're likewise cast ashore
and the intimate trade relations
with Portugal brought a few busi-
nessmen from that country to
Reykjavik.
When this foreign colony has
reached respectable proportions the
old Dutchman came and after more
than 400 years the church was re-
stored. Now it is represented not
only in Reykjavik but in several
other towns and includes many
native Icelanders.
Perhaps nowhere on earth has
there been less religious dissention
In the last half century and no.
body seemed to mourn the passing
of the monsignor more than the
Lutheran clergy.