CHAPTER XIV. JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS. HIS CONCEPTION OF SUCCESS THE OFFICE OF CARDINAL HIS BIRTHPLACE THE CARDINAL'S CATHEDRAL EARLY TRAINING FIRST PRIESTLY LABORS- MADE BISHOP- ATTENDS THE ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF 1869 AT RICHMOND ARCHBISHOP AT FORTY-THREE CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER HOME HABITS THIRD PLENARY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE -THE CATHOLIC UNI- My idea of success differs somewhat from that received generally, when regarded from the mere human, realistic, or utilitarian standpoint. Success, from a Christian standpoint, consists more in the supernatural perfection of intellect and will, than in the attainment of mere material advantages. The success of man must be measured not only by the brief span of life which measures his earthly existence, but it must reach into the life beyond the grave. Success which has only time and a transitory existence as its object is, according to the Christian's idea, only secondary. True success is attained by the conscientious discharge of duty, and by firm adherence to principle. The man who keeps his destiny before his eyes, and who sacrifices neither duty nor principle, will be a success. James (ard. Gibbons HE position of a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church is one of the greatest importance, and accompanied by no little difficulty. The bishops are the rulers of the Church, each one standing in the same relation to the entire body, as the governors of provinces to the nation, with the superadded dignity, that they share in the universal gov ernment of the Church and have each a voice in her councils. The miter means increased honor, but it also means an increase of care and solicitude. The bishop has to deal with his superiors at Rome, with his equals in the hierarchy, and with his inferiors, the priests and people of his diocese. He has, also, to uphold the honor of the Church before the public at large, and, in a country like this, where so many critical eyes are upon him, where a fierce light beats around his throne, he requires more than the ordinary amount of caution. All this is still more true of a cardinal, one who has reached the highest dignity in the power of the Sovereign Pontiff to bestow. The cardinal is a prince, he enters into relations with crowned heads, he becomes ipso facto international, and, as one of the papal electors, and himself a possible candidate for the papacy, he draws the eyes of the world to himself. Twice in the history of the American Church, one of its prelates was raised to the purple, the late Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, and the subject of this sketch, His Eminence James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore. The outlines of the life here drawn will show in what manner Cardinal Gibbons prepared himself for the honors that awaited him, and how he has borne them. sors. Baltimore has been the home of Cardinal Gibbons during the greater part of his life. There are few, if any, of whom it may be said what is a unique fact in the life of our American cardinal. He was baptized, ordained, consecrated, and he received the cardinal's birretta in the same church, the one which is now his cathedral, and where, according to all probability his obsequies will be held, and in which his remains will lie beside those of most of his illustrious predecesThe Cardinal is thus completely identified with his cathedral, which is one of the oldest edifices in his native Baltimore, and one of the oldest Catholic churches north of that portion of the United States which once formed part of the Spanish and French dominions. The corner stone of this venerable edifice was laid by Archbishop Carroll, but it was not dedicated until 1818, by Archbishop Maréchal, the second successor of Carroll. It has witnessed the growth of the Catholic church in the United States, and three national and a number of provincial councils have been held within its walls, wherein, at one time or another, the voice of the most illustrious bishops of the church has been heard. Sixty-seven years ago an infant was held over the baptismal font in this sacred edifice, who, in after years, was to be seated on its archiepiscopal throne. This was James Gibbons, born on July 23, 1834. His early years were spent in Ireland, the land of his ancestors, and there he received confirmation from a man whose name and deeds will long be remembered in the Irish Church, the great John Mac Hale, Archbishop of Tuam. In 1853, James Gibbons returned to the country of his birth, and took up his abode in the far South, in beautiful New Orleans. His sojourn in Louisiana, the land of sunshine and flowers, was brief, for, feeling the call to the priesthood, he placed himself under the care of the Sulpitian Fathers, to whom the cardinal has ever remained sincerely attached. He graduated at their college of St. Charles near Ellicott City in 1857, and proceeded thence to the higher studies in St. Mary's Seminary, at Baltimore. The learned Kenrick was, at that time, Archbishop of Baltimore, and the imposition of his hands made James Gibbons a priest in the cathedral on June 30, 1861. The country was then passing through the crisis of the Civil War, but the young priest had a mission of peace to fulfill, to which he has ever remained faithful; the tocsin of war was not for him. At the junction of Broadway and Bank street, a splendid Gothic edifice commands to-day our admiration. This is St. Patrick's. It is only a few years since it was dedicated upon the site of another church, one of Baltimore's landmarks, old St. Patrick's, older than the cathedral and inseparably connected with the memory of its first pastor, that type of monarchical France, the Abbé Moranville, and with Father James Dolan, who has left a monument in the hearts of those who knew him. It was to the latter, that the Rev. James Gibbons was appointed assistant, old St. Patrick's becoming thus the first scene of his priestly labors. His activity at St. Patrick's was brief, for he was soon appointed pastor of St. Bridget's, Canton, having under his care the Catholics of Locust Point, and the garrison at Fort McHenry. In this position he remained until 1865. In the meantime a change had taken place in Baltimore, for the venerated Kenrick had died two days after the Battle of Gettysburg, and the following year, the Right Rev. Martin John Spalding, Bishop of Louisville, Kentucky, had succeeded to the archiepiscopal See of Baltimore. It did not take Archbishop Spalding long to become acquainted with the merits of the unassuming young priest who was filling the arduous duties of his pastorate, in an obscure suburb of Baltimore, and, in 1865, the prelate took him to the cathedral, and appointed him Chancellor of the diocese. The following year was an important one in the history of the Church in America, and it afforded Father Gibbons an excellent opportunity to bring his talents into action, thus raising him still higher upon the candlestick. On October 7, 1866, the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore was convened by the Archbishop, and the Rev. James Gibbons was one of its chancellors. Little did he dream then, that he would preside at the next one, as successor in the See of Baltimore. The young priest was thus brought into contact with the entire American Church, for there were present seven archbishops, thirty-eight bishops, three mitered abbots, and more than one hundred and twenty theologians, a larger synodical body than had met anywhere in the Church, since the Council of Trent, and yet small, when compared to the Third Plenary Council, over which Archbishop Gibbons was to preside. Among the distinguished persons who witnessed its closing ceremonies, was Andrew Johnson, president of the United States. Two years later, Rev. James Gibbons was made bishop, at the early age of thirty-four. In March, 1868, a bull of Pope Pius IX. erected the state of North Carolina into a Vicariate Apostolic. This territory, from a human standpoint, was most uninviting to a bishop, but it afforded a magnificent field for the exercise of zealous labor. The entire district contained only three Catholic Churches, two or three priests, and about one thousand Catholics. It was over this portion of the vineyard that Father Gibbons was appointed Vicar Apostolic, in August, 1868. Archbishop Spalding, his friend and patron, consecrated him Bishop of Adramytum, the title he bore, until he was promoted to the See of Richmond. The consecration took place in the Cathedral of Baltimore, and Bishop Gibbons entered his vicariate soon after, on All Saints' Day. The new prelate did not allow the grass to grow under his feet, nor did he eat the bread of idleness, for, in a short time, he had built six churches, and prepared and ordained a number of priests. He began his labors, by opening a school which he personally conducted, and, traveling over the state, he made the acquaintance of every adult Catholic in his vicariate. Neglecting no opportunity of doing good, he would preach at all times, and every where, and I have heard the Cardinal relate how he preached in a Protestant Church, from a Protestant pulpit, to a Protestant congregation, that had been summoned together by a Protestant bell. Seeing how little the Catholic Church was known and understood, he determined to spread the knowledge of it by means of the press. "The Faith of our Fathers," a brief exposition of Catholic doctrine soon established his reputation as an author, as well by the solidity of the matter it contained, as by the controversy it evoked. It has gone through many editions, and it has been translated into a number of languages. We may say, that no Catholic book published in this country has met with such success. Shortly after his appointment as Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina, one of those opportunities was presented to Bishop Gibbons, such as come into the life of few Catholic bishops. Since the Council of Trent, in the sixteenth century, the entire Church had never been convened in an oecumenical council, until in 1869, that of the Vatican met at Rome. Bishop Gibbons, in company with Archbishop Spalding, attended its sessions. There he had an opportunity, not only of frequently meeting the great Pius IX., but of coming into contact with the most eminent members of the hierarchy throughout the world. There was Dupanloup, Bishop of Orleans, Von Ketteler of Mayence, Deschamps of Malines, Manning of Westminster, Pecci, the future Leo XIII., and a host of others, while that clever diplomatist and statesman, Antonelli, was still at the head of affairs at Rome. But the council was of short duration, for the thunders of Victor Emmanuel's artillery were soon heard approaching the Eternal City, and the Fathers of the Council, among them Bishop Gibbons, returned home, the council being suspended. Bishop Gibbons had been four years presiding over the Church of North Carolina, when the death of Bishop McGill left the See of Richmond vacant. The Vicar Apostolic of |