CHAPTER V.

The Edifice on Grand and Main Streets.—The Erection of the Present Church of the Congregation.—The Corner Stone Laying and The Dedication.—A Description of the Church.

In 1863 Father William McNulty, the present pastor of St. John's congregation, came to Paterson and took charge of the fortunes and spiritual welfare of the constantly increasing congregation. The Oliver street church had become too small and could no longer hold the large numbers which crowded to it every Sunday for the purpose of attending divine worship. Father McNulty consequently set to work preparing a new edifice. It was his intention to provide a church which should be large enough to afford every Catholic in the city all the conveniences of attending mass and receiving the sacraments and at the same time he intended to erect a structure which would be a credit to the liberality and enterprise of the congregation. He accordingly entered into negotiations with the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures and in 1865 he purchased from it sixteen lots on the corner of Grand and Main streets. The new enterprise seemed to infuse new vigor into the members of the congregation and the full amount of the purchase money of the real estate was raised in two months. Preparations were made for the construction of the new church and on September 10, 1865, the corner stone was laid.

The following account of the corner stone laying of the church is taken from the Paterson Daily Press of September 11, 1865:

"An immense concourse of people, numbering probably ten thousand, gathered at three o'clock at the site of the new Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist, to witness the ceremony of laying the corner stone of the edifice, by the Rev. Bishop Bayley, Roman Catholic prelate of this diocese. Music was furnished by the band attached to the Church of the Assumption at Williamsburgh, and a large choir of male and female voices. The procession of clergy, preceded by a cross, and accompanying the Bishop in full and splendid canonicals reached the southeast corner of the church about half past two, at which time the pressure was fearful. The corner stone after being crossed and blessed by the Bishop was then laid with the ceremonials prescribed in the Pontifical. It is carved with a cross on the two exposed faces, and has a cavity within, wherein were placed the following articles:

"Specimens of the United States currency, gold, silver, copper and paper; also copies of Paterson Press and Guardian of Saturday, copies of the New York Tablet and Herald, and the following document:

"JESUS HOMINUM REDEMPTOR.

"Lapis hic angularis Templi ad Dei Unius Omnipotentis cultum, sub Patricinio Sancti Joannes Baptistæ in hoc Patersoniensis urbe ædificandi ab illustrissimo et Reverendissimo Jacobo Roosevelt Bayley, hujus Novarcensis dioceseos, Episcopo Pio IX P. M., ecclesiam, per orbem regenti, Patricio Moran Vicario Generali, Gulielmo McNulty Parocho, Jacobo D'Arcy sacerdote coadjutore.

"Fœderatarum Americæ Septemtrionalis Provinciarum Preside Andrea Johnson, Novae Cæsareæ Gubernatore Joele Parker, urbis hujus Proctore Henrico A. Williams, Architecto Patrico C. Keely, ædificationis, delectis Carolo O'Neill, Roberto Hamil, Gulielmo Watson, Michaeli Morris et Patricio Curran. Benedictus et positus est III Idus Septembri, Anno Salutis MDCCCLXV. Hoc operato, concionem, maxime facundam magna civium adstantium corona, habuit jam laudatus præsul decus gregis, quem diu sospitem nostro sæculo servet,

"DEUS,

"Cui sit honor, laus et gloria in Sempiternum.

"The Bishop, and attending clergy, then traversed the foundations of the edifice, the Bishop blessing them and sprinkling them with holy water. Then returning to the corner-stone the Bishop proceeded to deliver the following address:—'It is the custom of the Bishop in laying the corner-stone of a new church to say something upon the occasion, and it is always a source of great pleasure for me to lay and bless the corner-stone of a new church. The circumstances, it is true, are not always the most agreeable, the ceremony being performed in the open air, and it is sometimes too hot, and sometimes too cold, or it may rain, although to-day the sun has shone out most opportunely. But these, after all, are slight inconveniences. As I officiate upon these occasions, it is impossible for me to separate them from the source of the blessings to follow to the individual and to society. The thought that is always uppermost in my mind when I lay the corner-stone of a church is of those wells in the desert spoken of so beautifully in the old Scriptures; those fountains in the dry and sandy deserts of the East, made by the old patriarchs, which still spread beauty and fertility around them, and still refresh the weary traveller. The wild Arab ranging the desert as he sees and drinks of those living waters, blesses the names of those old patriarchs who made them flow. So it is with the Church of Christ. That Church is, indeed, a fountain of living waters in the desert, spreading fertility and blessings around it and refreshing and blessing the weary traveller on his journey through life. It is indeed a great and a good work we are engaged in. It is a work for the glory and honor of the Good and Supreme Ruler of all things, and it cannot fail to bring down blessings on ourselves and all who come after us. The erection of a church is a noble and substantial act of faith; not expressed in words but built up in enduring brick and stone, and thus stronger and more complete than mere words. It shows that you honor God and love your religion; that you are anxious for the glory of the House of God, and wish its rites to be fitly celebrated. It shows, too, that you are anxious that those who come after you shall bow at the same altars, and be guided by the same precepts that you are guided by. Some would say, looking at the foundations I have blessed to-day, Why an expense that seems disproportionate to the means! It is, perhaps, a natural question, and yet it is one that always sounds badly to the Catholic ear. We should not speak of cost in connection with the house and glory of Almighty God. The question I allude to was first asked by Judas, concerning an act of charity and love done for our Divine Master. Let us recognize by our generosity, by the size, cost and magnificence of the temples we erect to Him, that God is ruler not only over the world, but in our hearts. If you will visit Catholic cities you will find the most beautiful buildings erected, not to purposes of science and art, but to the glory of God, and for works of charity done in His name. The Catholic Church has always been a church builder. She began with the Catacombs, which you will find in many parts of Europe and particularly at Rome. To those places the faithful were wont to flee from the light of day to offer their rites and worship God in their own way. As you pass along those corridors, cut from the solid rock and lined on either side with the bodies of the dead, you find in places they expand into chambers where church rites were held. I recall one near Naples, a church called after St. Agnes, near the scene of her martyrdom, where there is a beautiful church, with an altar and a seat for the Bishop. In some of these churches where the light of day does not shine the walls are decorated with frescoes, from subjects of the Old Testament. I need not say that when the Church came up to worship God in the light of day she continued to erect noble edifices to the glory of God, hence those noble basilicas, churches and cathedrals we see in the old countries. Those noble structures have been stigmatized as creations of the Dark Ages. Some of you may have seen them. Those who have not can form no idea of their beauty and grandeur, which impress even those of other faiths who enter them. They are truly noble poems, built in stone under the light of Heaven. It would be quite as easy for an ordinary person to compose a stanza of Paradise Lost, or Dante's Divina Comedia, as to construct even the slightest portion of one of those beautiful works. It has been the theory of a certain school, now I am happy to say fast passing away, that these noble buildings were the result of superstition; that they were built by men of habits of great violence and crime, who compounded with God, as it were, to keep a portion of their stolen goods, while with the remainder they erected those noble churches and monasteries. This theory was entirely false. These were men like unto ourselves, as regards human nature: when they did wrong they might offer reparation, but it was no superstition that found means to build these churches. In our days men are recognizing a better theory; that it was faith, piety and love for God that prompted these works. Those men in erecting their churches gave expression to their faith, and showed their love to God as you are showing it now.'

"(The Bishop said he could not enter into a description of these churches. He would only refer briefly to one, the Cathedral of Chartres, France, of which he found it noted in the chronicle of Haman that it was seventy years in building. One is not surprised that it should have been so, when he looks upon it. It has suffered from the tooth of time, but many of its interior features, and especially its noble old stained windows, are very perfect still. He had been told by an archæologist that it would cost three or four millions of francs to restore it. This noble cathedral was built not by the rich and titled, but by the hands of poor men. There must have been thousands working on it night and day for those seventy years. Thousands of noble persons were busy in supplying provisions to the laborers. Delicate maidens might have been seen carrying stones for the church. The whole population labored, not merely the citizen, but the dweller in the province, to erect that building that should stand until the end of time.)

"'They did not build in vain. Their time was well spent. That church has been a constant sermon telling for over a thousand years the glory of God. Who may tell what force such a church may add to a preacher's words? Such churches have stood bearing witness against heresy and false doctrine and helping Catholics to keep the faith. They have been beacon-lights to warn men who wished to serve the true God from their false philosophy. The spirit shown in the project of the large and costly church here commenced is that which has always animated the Catholic heart. I congratulate you, then; I congratulate your zealous and faithful pastor; I congratulate you all; Catholics of this city, and Protestants too; for this is a matter which concerns the interests of all who believe in and love God, who reverence law, order and public security, because all these are founded upon religion. In the place where people do not believe in God, there must be degradation, violence, insecurity and sometimes anarchy. Here we erect another bulwark against irreligion, indifference and vice, which all must acknowledge are spreading over our fair republic. He did not feel the necessity of spending any more breath in exhorting them to carry on generously and faithfully the great work they had undertaken. The rubric in the Pontifical which I hold in my hand imperfectly translated says that it is the duty of the Bishop before he lays the corner stone of a church to take care that means are provided for its completion, and for the support of its clergy, and the proper celebration of worship. But the times are not as they once were. Now we do not find it necessary to wait until all the means are provided. We depend now upon the wide-spread liberality of our people, many of whom, it is true, are poor. We saw to-day a woman, who from her dress and appearance, was evidently casting her all into the treasury of the Lord's House. I cannot condemn her, since the Lord once blessed such an act as hers. How dear will this spot be henceforth! Here you shall worship God; here receive the holy sacraments; here come to hear the words of eternal truth. May it indeed be to you in the language of the old Patriarch, the House of God and the Gate of Heaven. May you here obtain the grace of a good death and be hence admitted to everlasting glory, to a habitation not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.'

"While the address was in progress, baskets were passed among the crowd for contributions, a handsome sum being realized. The congregation was dismissed with the Pontifical benediction."

The erection of the walls of the church was at once proceeded with. P. C. Keely, of New York, was the architect, but every day while work was going on Father McNulty was present supervising the erection and attending to the many matters which require attention in the construction of so large a structure as St. John's Church. The building was erected by day's work and is one of the most substantially built churches in the country. Father McNulty was assisted by an advisory building committee consisting of Charles O'Neill, Robert Hamil, William G. Watson and others. The stone used in the construction of the church was brought by canal from Little Falls and dressed on the ground as required. The slate used in the roof was imported from England. The chime of bells, the only one in the city, which had been used in the Oliver street church, was transferred to the new edifice. Before the completion of the main building a neat little chapel was built on the north east corner of the property; this was at once fitted up and is at present used for confessionals and other purposes. The total seating capacity of the new church is 1750. The following brief description of the church is taken from the recently published History of Bergen and Passaic Counties:

"The church is eighty-eight feet front and one hundred and eighty feet deep; twin turrets rise on each side of the front to the height of the peak, ninety feet, but are to be carried thirty feet higher; on the Grand street side there is a square tower, about one hundred feet high at present; it is to be adorned with a spire rising to the height of two hundred and twenty-five feet from the ground. The main entrance is on Main street, through a fine doorway, the arch of which is about thirty feet high. The roof is supported in the interior by graceful stone columns, sixty feet high, from which spring stout arches of wood painted to resemble stone. The ceilings and walls are decorated in the mediæval style by two celebrated artists from Munich, Messrs. Lang and Kinkeln. Symbolic paintings adorn the side walls, depicting the twelve stations upon a background of gold flecked with blue. The windows are of stained glass each contributed by some member of the congregation."

The sanctuary also contains five masterpieces of the painter's art, being representations of the five principal mysteries of the life of Christ, the Annunciation, the Birth, the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, the Resurrection and the Ascension.

The following are the positions of the windows and the names of the persons or societies who donated them:

The stained glass windows in the chapel were given by Elizabeth Mooney, Mary Freel, Anna Sullivan and Hannah St. Lawrence.

The following is the estimated cost of the various parts of the work:

The present debt of the church is $27,000, and its annual income about $30,000 from all sources, barely sufficient to meet all the large and numerous demands on the treasury. The number of Catholics in the city is estimated at 20,000, more than one-third of the population.

The church was dedicated on the 31st of July, 1870. The following account of this ceremony is taken from the Paterson Daily Press of the next day:

"Yesterday was a great day for the Roman Catholic population of Paterson, and a proud day for the Rev. Father McNulty, the energetic pastor of St. John's Church, to whose remarkable energy and zeal his people are indebted for so grand a design as the erection of the splendid church which was solemnly dedicated yesterday with all the pomp and magnificence of the Roman Catholic ritual. Before the hour for commencing the services an immense throng had collected in the vicinity of the old and the new church in upper Main street to witness the ceremonies outside while the church was crowded by a vast congregation, admitted by tickets at one dollar each to see and hear the splendid service within. Of the church itself, its main architectural features, dimensions, etc., we have so often spoken that we need not refer to it particularly here save to notice what has been added by the way of furnishing and decorations. The building is yet far from completion and no doubt its full embellishment will be the work of years. It already, however, gives promise of being a very beautiful church. It is frescoed in stone colors, crimson, green, blue and gold. The sculptured capitals of the stone columns are elaborately decorated and gilded. The arches of the clere-story are stone color, edged with maroon, and gold stars, the tracery in relief being light green. The side walls are salmon drab. The seats are of hard wood, walnut, ash, etc., seemingly fashioned more for durability than beauty. The altar, reached by two steps, is placed in a spacious chancel, flanked by commodious chapels. The walls and ceiling of the chancel are frescoed in the same colors as the body of the church, and contain numerous paintings of scenes in the life of our Savior and St. Peter, and other saints. Its large east window has not its glass in yet. The other stained windows of the church are complete. They are very beautiful, and each bears the name of its donor, some of the faithful of the congregation having contributed the money for each, and as long as the church stands the indelible record of their generosity will endure. The chancel is covered by a handsome carpet of brown and blue. The altar is painted white, mauve and gold. It is elaborately ornamented with vases, pictures and flowers, and hung with white lace embroidered with gold grapes. A wreath of vivid green leaves, interspersed with white lilies, is twined in the front. It contains a multitude of tapers, and is surmounted by a figure of Christ upon the cross. The pulpit placed within the body of the church is small, and far from imposing in its appearance.

"The ceremonies of dedication commenced outside of the church, where a procession was formed of the clergy and societies, the latter consisting of the Sons of Erin, and the St. John's and St. Patrick's Temperance Societies. The procession was headed by two taper bearers and a crucifix bearer, several of the officiating priests, and the Right Rev. Bishop Wood, of Philadelphia, who conducted the ceremony of dedication. The Bishop was clad in magnificent robes of white satin superbly embroidered in gold devices, and silk flowers of glowing colors. He wore his mitre and carried a gorgeous crozier. The procession marched around the church chanting the Miserere, the Bishop sprinkling the walls with holy water. It then entered the front door and proceeded up the centre aisle to the alter, the Bishop and procession chanting alternately the Litany of the Saints. The Bishop and attendants then traversed the interior limit of the church, the walls of which were sprinkled with holy water by the celebrant, the priests solemnly chanting the while. During this ceremony the candles on the altar were lighted, and all was made ready for the celebration of a solemn mass in the presence of a Bishop. This was celebrated with the utmost pomp. The Bishop commenced the mass and proceeded as far as the Confitieor when the celebrant, Father Senez, of Jersey City, proceeded in the usual form. Father Hennessy, of Bergen, acted as Deacon, Dr. Garvey, of Hackensack, as sub-Deacon, and the Rev. P. McCarthy, of Seton Hall, as Master of Ceremonies. Among the clergy present were the Rev. Monsignor Seton, Chaplain of the Convent at Madison; Dr. Corrigan, President of Seton Hall College; Father Corrigan, of St. Peter's, Jersey City; Father Byrne, of Camden, and the clergy of the church, Fathers W. McNulty, Thebaud and Vescelle. The Bishop's secretary and several of the seminarians of Seton Hall College were also present.

"The sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Byrne, of Camden, from the 6th Chapter of the Second Book of 'Paraleipomena,' or 'Book of Things Omitted,' and was an earnest and eloquent appeal in behalf of the Catholic faith, which he said makes sermons even of stones, and by its grand and solemn services impresses the mind even of the stranger. The preacher told an anecdote showing how powerfully a Baptist lady had been impressed while visiting Bishop Wood's Church in Philadelphia, so that she dropped upon her knees and prayed as fervently as any. The speaker paid a glowing compliment to the zeal and generosity of the congregation, and especially to the worthy pastor, for the erection of this noble offering to God. It was beautiful architecturally, but it had a beauty for the child of faith, the earnest Catholic, before which all its outward beauty vanished as the glory of the earth before the glory of the heaven. It is the glory and beauty of the indwelling of Christ.

"After the close of the mass, the Bishop addressed a few words of congratulation to the congregation. He said they had reared a beautiful and spacious temple and had reason to be grateful to God who gave them so earnest and devoted a pastor to lead them. It is an evidence of His special love. They should have but one sentiment. Thanks be to God; from God all good things come. They must give him all he asks with grateful hearts. He regretted that their own noble Bishop was not there and yet he ought not to regret it, for in that case he (the speaker) should have probably lost the great pleasure of being there. Remember the more God bestows, the more he requires. Their struggle here will only cease with life. There are signs on the horizon, that a special struggle may be coming following the action of the General Council now in session. The storm may come but God will direct it, and it will pass away, and be succeeded by a longer and more glorious sunshine.

"The music of the mass was remarkably fine, under the skillful direction of Prof. Davis, the organist of St. John's church. Only a small temporary organ had been set up, it being the intention to order a superb new organ, of dimensions suitable for the church. The full effect, therefore, of the pieces could not be given, but they were rendered with great skill and effect. The Kyrie and Gloria were by Cerutti, the Offertory by Millard, the Credo by Farmer, the Sanctus by Mercadante, and the Agnus Dei by Farmer. The solos were finely rendered by Misses Graham and Maggie O'Neill and Mr. Hensler, bass, and Nauwerck, tenor. The latter is the only one who does not belong to the regular choir of the church. The other members, all of whom did admirably, are Misses Theresa O'Neill, Bowen, Quin, McGuire, Sheehan and Hawley.

"The entire services were very impressive and occupied three hours in all. Among the crowded congregation were a great many prominent citizens not of the Roman Catholic faith. The ushers attended with great courtesy to the comfort of all."

The time occupied to build the church as it stands at present was fourteen years.

In 1872 the congregation purchased four lots of land on Grand street, east of the church building, from the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures, paying therefor the sum of $10,800. The property was bought for the purpose of erecting a parsonage and work on this was begun soon after the acquirement of the real estate. The parsonage is a handsome structure built in the same style as the church and of similar materials. The mason work was done by Patrick J. St. Lawrence, the price being $7,000. The erection of the building cost altogether about $15,000.

The congregation retained the old church property in Oliver street but a number of important alterations were made. The building was changed into a hall for lectures, concerts, entertainments and the like and is known as St. John's Hall. A portion of the building is used for school purposes to relieve the parochial school which adjoins it.

CHAPTER VI.

Sketch of the Pastor of St. John's Church.—A Silver Jubilee.—A Life Devoted to the Service of the Almighty.—The Choir of the Church.—Various Societies of the Congregation.

No person in Paterson has done harder and more energetic work in the cause of Catholicism than the reverend pastor of St. John's congregation, Father William McNulty. His pluck, untiring zeal, kind disposition and many other laudable characteristics have endeared him to all. Never was this more plainly shown than at the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination. On this occasion, August 6th and 7th, 1882, the clergy, of whom there were nearly half a hundred present presented Father McNulty with an address giving a short sketch of his life and paying him tributes which he had so richly deserved. As this address faithfully depicts the character of the worthy priest and tells of some of the many worthy and more prominent actions it is here reproduced in full:

"We are met here to-day to congratulate you on this auspicious occasion, the twenty-fifth anniversary of your elevation to the sacred priesthood. Not to many is it given to see your years in the holy ministry, though years constitute no merit; but to few indeed is it granted to accomplish works such as you have achieved, for you are fuller of works than of days.

"Imbued with the missionary spirit of your countrymen, you early left your native land, 'the island of Saints and Apostles,' bidding 'adieu to Ballyshannon and the winding banks of Erne.' Arriving in New York in 1850, you entered the celebrated halls of the Jesuits at Fordham, where you drank deep of classical and philosophical lore; and graduated with distinction. Thence you repaired to that illustrious seat of learning, so justly styled 'the nursery of priests and bishops'—Mt. St. Mary's College, Emmettsburgh, Md., where for four years, guided by the spirit of the saintly Dubois, and the indomitable Brute; under the tutorship of the learned McCaffrey and the gentle Elder 'you were nourished up in the words of faith and good doctrine.' There, under the peaceful shadow of 'the old mountain,' you were taught the chief characteristics of a true minister of Christ; who, according to the Apostle, should be 'of blameless life, sober, prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, modest, not quarrelsome, not greedy of filthy lucre, holding the mysteries of the faith in a pure conscience, an example of the faithful in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith.'

"Thus prepared, and having received ordination at the hands of the late lamented Archbishop Bayley, you went forth five and twenty years ago to-day, 'to labor as a good soldier of Christ' in the Diocese of Newark.

"You were first selected to assist as Vice-President the present distinguished Bishop of Rochester in conducting at Madison the college of Seton Hall which has since developed into the far-famed institution at South Orange, much of whose success may be traced back to the fact that you reproduced at Madison the zeal which you had seen exercised, and the discipline which you had seen enforced at your mountain 'Alma Mater.'

"You were afterwards placed over the missions of Morris county, including Mendham, Basking Ridge and other neighboring stations, where you erected churches and attended to the spiritual wants of that extensive district, at the same time discharging the office of chaplain to the infant community of the Sisters of Charity at Madison, and assisting them very materially in the management of their temporal affairs.

"In 1863 the church of St. John the Baptist, Paterson, was without a pastor. The Right Rev. Bishop, knowing the importance of this growing city, which has since become one of the most successful manufacturing centres of the country, and thoroughly appreciating its religious wants, cast his eyes over his clergy, to find one capable of holding the reins of its destiny with a vigorous hand. He knew that in large manufacturing cities, there were numerous dangers to souls, and none more to be dreaded than those arising from intemperance. With that correctness of judgment which always marked his appointments, he fixed his eyes on the Vice-President of Seton Hall, and commissioned him to enter on a new sphere of labor on the banks of the Passaic. Here, indeed, you found a field not wholly uncultivated, for zealous priests had preceded you. That veteran missionary and church-builder, Father Senez, now the highly esteemed pastor of St. Mary's, Jersey City, had labored some years on this mission with distinguished success. The lamented Fathers O'Reilly, Quinn and Callan had left the impress of their zeal and piety on the Catholic population of Paterson. Here you found a spacious church, and a large congregation of generous and devoted Catholics. Nevertheless your penetrating mind soon perceived that the wants of your growing flock were not sufficiently provided for, and that the church was too small to accommodate the crowds which presented themselves Sunday after Sunday for divine worship. In 1865, therefore, having purchased a most suitable location, you laid the corner stone of this magnificent temple, one of the noblest monuments of religion in the United States. After five years of ceaseless toil, at night collecting from your generous flock the necessary funds, by day laboring even with your own hands in the quarry, measuring the stone, mounting the walls, and giving directions to the builders, with untiring zeal and unremitting effort, after an expenditure of $200,000, you at length beheld your church ready for dedication to God. The Archbishop of Philadelphia in the absence of your own ordinary, did you the honor to come from his archiepiscopal city to consecrate this magnificent edifice to the worship of the Most High. This was indeed a proud day not merely for yourself and your devoted people, but also for the entire population of Paterson, all rejoicing that they had in their midst a pastor capable of conceiving and executing so grand a work.

"Had you rested here you had done enough to enshrine your name and perpetuate your memory in the grateful hearts of the people of Paterson. But happily this was only the first of your great achievements in their behalf. Having completed the new church of St. John, you next turned your attention to the wants of the orphan, and the need of a suitable cemetery for the burial of the Catholic dead. In 1868, you purchased the beautiful site two miles from the city on the banks of the swift flowing Passaic. Here you erected St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, and laid out the cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre. In that asylum, under the direction of the Sisters of Charity, ever ready to care for the fatherless, you have every year maintained nearly a hundred orphans, while the cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre, so charmingly situated, and so elegantly laid out bids fair to become one of the most admired repositories of the dead in this State. Finding in 1870, that notwithstanding the immense proportions of St. John's Church, the entire Catholic population could not be accommodated within its spacious precincts, you purchased a very desirable property on Broadway, whereon you erected St. Joseph's Church, which you attended for seven years, and which when ready to be erected into a regular parish, you found to have a value of $30,000. The good work which you began there was successfully carried on by the lamented Father Molloy, and is now being continued with no less success by the present distinguished pastor, the zealous and learned Dr. Smith.

"A few years afterwards, perceiving that the Catholic population on the left bank of the Passaic had increased very considerably, you purchased a suitable plot of ground at Totowa, and erected thereon a commodious brick edifice, making the lower story answer for religious, and the upper for educational purposes. At the same time you introduced, and provided a residence for the Sisters of St. Dominic, to take charge of the schools there. Three years ago, after accumulating a property of $20,000, for the new foundation, you recommended the Right Rev. Bishop to erect this second daughter of St. John's into a regular parish church, and had the satisfaction of seeing appointed to its first rectorship Rev. Father Curran, the courageous founder and indefatigable editor of the 'Paterson Times.'

"One of the most pressing needs in a great city like Paterson, where in consequence of extensive manufactures there is great liability to accident and disease, was a hospital for the sick and wounded, to the establishment of which in 1869, under the management of the Sisters of Charity, you largely contributed. Under your fostering care and liberal encouragement, this institution of benevolence has gone on for fourteen years in its career of mercy, sheltering the sick and disabled without distinction of country, creed or color. Long may it prosper in its Godlike work, and long may you be spared to be a father and guide to the self-sacrificing sisters who so successfully conduct it.

"In 1874, the old pastoral residence having become too small for the accommodation of the clergy, you erected at a cost of $15,000 this elegant parsonage, which forms a fitting appendage to the church of St. John, at the same time converting the old rectory into a home for the good sisters.

"But amid all the excellent works of religion in which you have been engaged, not one has claimed more of your attention than the providing of sufficient school facilities for the education of your children, for you have been thoroughly convinced that without the solid groundwork of a sound Catholic education, the Catholic faith cannot take a firm hold on the hearts of our people. Hence from the very commencement of your administration, your most strenuous efforts have been directed to promote the welfare of your numerous spiritual children in this respect. In 1880, although your school facilities were by no means contemptible, yet you saw that the growing wants of the parish demanded more school room, and you accordingly gave orders to your architect so to alter old St. John's Church as to afford you additional school accommodation for one thousand children, while at the same time you entered into negotiations with the Brothers of Mary to conduct those of your schools which were designed for the larger boys. You have now the satisfaction of knowing that, with the Sisters of Charity to teach your schools for girls and smaller boys, and the Brothers of Mary to direct the schools for the larger boys, there are few if any parishes in the diocese that can claim the same advance in education as you can in this great city of Paterson. Again do we say long may you be preserved to preside over the destinies of the Catholic education in this portion of the diocese of Newark.

"In 1873, flying from the tyranny of a Bismarck, the Franciscan Fathers, bidding adieu to their native land, arrived in the City of Paterson, friendless and well nigh penniless. Learning that it was their intention, with the permission of the Right Rev. Bishop, to establish themselves in this city, and anticipating no small good to religion from the presence of so zealous and self denying a body of religious men, you extended to them a friendly hand, gave them every encouragement, and permitted your generous people to aid them in the erection of their beautiful church and monastery on Stony Road. Thus St. John's church has had the satisfaction of beholding another of her children snugly ensconced on the banks of the Passaic.

"Three years ago, finding that the city was largely extending itself in the direction of the new hospital, and there were numerous children who resided too far away from St. John's schools to avail themselves of their advantages, you erected a frame building for the accommodation of these children, placing it in charge of the devoted Sisters, ever ready to second your efforts in behalf of Catholic education, and it is believed that in a short time the spiritual wants of that portion of the city will enlist your zeal for the erection of a new church and the foundation of a new parish in that section. We may also be permitted to allude to the new church now in course of erection near the river for the Catholic Hollanders under the zealous care of the Rev. Father Hens and not without your encouragement and cooperation. Thus, then, we may on this day congratulate St. John's church upon being the joyful mother of a numerous offspring, which cluster round about her on every side, and may indulge the hope that while each is guarded by its own titular saint, the spirit of the Baptist will still hover over them all. In addition to your labors within the limits of Paterson, you did not fail to extend your pastoral zeal to the neighboring missions of Hohokus and Pompton, where you built churches, and for many years attended to the spiritual wants of the Catholics of those extensive districts, which are now under the zealous charge of the Fathers of St. Boniface's church.

"There is another department of your labors to which we cannot close this address without referring. We allude to your efforts in the great temperance movement, which indeed we may say you were the first to inaugurate both in this city and throughout the diocese. Upon your taking possession of this great parish, you were not slow to perceive that one of the greatest evils, and one of the most formidable stumbling blocks to the advancement of religion in your parish was the prevalence of the soul destroying vice of intemperance. We do not by any means wish to insinuate that Paterson was worse in this respect than any of the other great cities of the diocese, but it will be easily understood that in a city like this where the manufacturing interests are so extensive, requiring the employment of so many men and women, and even boys and girls, and distributing such liberal amounts of money in compensation for labor, the temptations to the abuse of intoxicating drinks are indeed very great. Your earliest efforts, therefore, were directed to the restraint if not the total destruction of the vice of drunkenness in your parish. Hence you were not slow to organize temperance societies, not merely for the older men and women, but also for the young men, and even for boys, and from the very day on which you entered the City of Paterson, up to the present moment, you have never relaxed your energies in the promotion of the cause of temperance, and in checking the ravages of intemperance in your parish. And it is not by means of temperance organizations alone that you have succeeded so well in this noble work, but by your personal exertions in visiting the home of the drunkard, in entering the rumshops even at the dead of night to chase away to their homes the resorters of these places, and to reprimand with the boldness and freedom of the Gospel the keepers of these dangerous haunts. Often have you been seen after a hard day's work on the Lord's Sabbath parading the streets of Paterson as if with police authority, to see whether any of your people were staggering along the sidewalk, after filling themselves with drink, or gathered in the beershops indulging in the noise and riot for which such places are notorious. In this persevering effort to maintain sobriety and good order you have had the countenance and support not merely of your own people, but of the entire population of Paterson, and for this work you have received from your fellow citizens, without distinction of creed, the esteem and gratitude it has so eminently merited, while your name has become a household word in Paterson. Even in times of riot and disorder, when the civil authorities found them unable to cope with violence, they did not fail to call upon the pastor of St John's to co-operate with them in the re-establishment of peace and order.

"The very children as you move about the city, without distinction of religion, never fail to recognize their dear 'Father Mac,' and you yourself make it your special delight to stop and salute these children. And if by any chance you passed by without noticing them, even Protestant children would run after your carriage and say 'Father Mac, you know me.' Nor did you neglect the young men and the young women of your parish. For the former you provided suitable halls with libraries and reading rooms, and organized them into literary and benevolent societies, where, drawn away from the temptations of the rumshop, and the professional billiard-room, they might have harmless recreation and innocent enjoyment. Many of these young men under your fostering care and liberal encouragement entered the ranks of the priesthood, and are now edifying the Church in various positions of the Diocese, while others similarly favored, are now fitting themselves for the sacred ministry in the principal seminaries of the Church. The young women you gathered into pious sodalities under the direction of the saintly Sisters, and the patronage of the Immaculate Virgin, thus furnishing them with every safeguard against the numerous temptations to be found in populous manufacturing cities, and your labors for both classes have been crowned with success, as any one can see, on Sundays in St. John's Church, whose altar rails are crowded with those devout young men and women, coming forward to nourish themselves with Christ's life-giving bread. Of these young women, not a few, under your fatherly care, and liberal patronage, have joined themselves to the good Sisters, devoting their lives and energies to the teaching of the young and the nursing of the sick.

"During the long course of those twenty-five years, with the exception of two brief trips to your native land, you never found the necessity of taking any recreation, but felt it to be your pleasure to increase your labors for your flock. You have worked with the energy of one who truly loves his Divine Master 'Nullo fatigatus labore.' And your disinterestedness may well claim for you the words of the Apostle, 'Nulli onerosus fui.' Your patient self-denial, your affability to all, your readiness to listen to the tale of woe, and to relieve the cry of distress, your unflagging zeal in the confessional, your never failing attendance on the sick at the dead of night as cheerfully as at midday, your unwearied earnestness in preaching the word of God, 'in season and out of season,' holding up to your people the beauties and happiness of a virtuous life, and denouncing to them the terrible consequences of wickedness and wrongdoing, your ceaseless efforts to prepare your numerous children for the holy sacraments, all this entitles you to the praise and reward of a true apostle of Christ, and has endeared you to the hearts of young and old—'pueris senibusque carus.' In the exercise of your sacred ministry you have been ably seconded and encouraged by your bishops, by the lamented Bayley, the zealous and learned Corrigan, and the amiable, scholarly and energetic prelate who now rules the destinies of this diocese. Nor should we omit to mention the material aid which you have received from the many worthy assistant priests that have labored with you,—the indomitable Kirwan, the polished Moran, the lamented Darcy and Cantwell, the self sacrificing Thebaud, the gentle Zimmer, the hardworking Downes, the zealous Hanly, the laborious McGahan, the eloquent McFaul, the historian Brennan, the courtly Whelan, the genial White and the patriotic Corr, and last but not least the energetic Hickie, most of whom are now filling with distinction the pulpits of flourishing churches. You have won from your fellow-priests the highest esteem and love, which they on this occasion endeavor to express, however feebly, by the accompanying testimonial. Commemorating to-day your five-and-twentieth year of ordination we earnestly hope and pray that your silver crown may be transmuted into gold on your fiftieth anniversary, and that the next quarter century of your ministry may be characterised by the same fruitfulness in good works which we however imperfectly have endeavored to record of the five and twenty years just ended.

"Eternal praise and thanksgiving be to the Great Head of the Church and Chief Shepherd of the Flock, Jesus Christ, who has given you the grace and the strength, the health and the perseverance to pass with so much profit to religion this long period of your ministry. Nor should we fail to thank in your name the people of St. John's Church, who for all this time have never faltered in their fidelity and generosity, always responding with liberal hearts to the numerous calls made upon them for religion, education and charity. Well may we conclude with the poet:—