xt7v6w967h98 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7v6w967h98/data/mets.xml McGill, Anna Blanche. 1917  books b92-138-29329037 English Encyclopedia Press, : New York : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (Nazareth, Ky.) Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky  / by Anna Blanche McGill. text Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky  / by Anna Blanche McGill. 1917 2002 true xt7v6w967h98 section xt7v6w967h98 
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THE SISTERS OF CHARITY

             OF

        NAZA RETH



     KENTUCKY


         BY
ANNA BLANCHE McGILL



"Caritas Ch/iti ur   nos"



        NEW YORK
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA PRESS
   23 EAST FORTY-FIRST STREET


 

























      Copyright, 1917
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA PRESS, INC.


 








                    To

          SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL,


            APOSTLE OF CHARITY,


            PATRON AND PROTECTOR,


            FATHER AND FOUNDER


                    OF

THE SISTERS OF CHARITY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD;


                  AND TO

BISHOP DAVID AND MOTHER CATHERINE SPALDING,


           WHOSE ZEAL AND PIETY


               ESTABLISHED

    THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH,

               THIS VOLUME

          IS REVERENTLY DEDICATED

 INVOKING THEIR AID, PROTECTION AND BLESSING


                  UPON

      ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY


 This page in the original text is blank.


 










                       CONTENTS
                                                        PAGE
                         CHAPTER I
  Historical Background; Bishops Flaget and David-Momen-
tous epoch in National life; Kentucky's part therein-Eighteenth
century France aids Education and Religion in the United
States-The French missionaries, Benedict Joseph Flaget, John
Baptist David-Their early life-Labors in America-The Ken-
tucky field-St. Thomas's Seminary-The Sisters of Charity of
Nazareth   ....   . . .  . . .  . . . .  . . .  . .   .  1

                         CHAPTER II
  Formative Years-Foundation of Nazareth on St. Thomas's
Farm-School begun; Rule received; Vows first pronounced-
First Branch Houses: Bethlehem Academy, Bardstown, St.
Vincent's Academy, Union County-Removal of Nazareth's
Community to present site of Mother House-St. Catherine's
Academy, Scott County, near Lexington, Ky.-Sister Columba
Tarleton-First Public Examination at Nazareth Academy . .  19

                        CHAPTER III
  Mother Catherine Spalding-Early life-Joins Sisterhood-
Superior Kentucky Legislature grants charter to Nazareth-
Community's first Orphan Asylum and Infirmary begun in
Louisville-Proposed changes in rule, habit, etc.-Nazareth's
present church consecrated-New Academy-Mother Cath-
erine's Death.... .   .  . . .  . . . .  . . .  . .   .   45

                        CHAPTER IV
  Mother Frances Gardiner and Other Members of the Early
Sisterhood-Sisters Teresa Carrico, Harriet and Clare Gardin-
er, Ellen O'Connell, Martha Drury and others  .. .. . . 79

                         CHAPTER V
 Early Foundations-Bardstown, Union County, Lexington
 academies continued-Presentation Academy, St. Vincent's Or-
phan Asylum, St. Joseph's Infirmary, Louisville-St. Frances
Academy, Owensboro, Ky.-La Salette Academy, Covington,
Ky.-Immaculata Academy, Newport, Ky.-St. Mary's Acad-
                             V


 






                                                        PAGE
emy, Paducah, Ky.-St. Mary's Academy, St. John's Hospital,
Nashville, Tenn.-Ideals and Curricula at Nazareth and else-
where    .....................1

                        CHAPTER VI
  Mother Columba Carroll-Girlhood-Enters Novitiate-Di-
rectress of Studies-Superior-Anxiety and Charity during
Civil War and the Yellow Fever Plague-Death . ... .. 136

                        CHAPTER VII
  Civil War-Agreement between Bishop Spalding and Brig.-
Gen'l. Robert Anderson for Sisters as nurses-Heroic minis-
tries of the Sisters-Lincoln assures protection to Nazareth-
Skirmishings near Mother House and Branch lIouses-Gen-
erals Bragg, Buckner and Hood at Nazareth... . . .    . 148

                       CHAPTER VIII
  Post Bellum Days-St. Columba's Academy, Bowling Green
-Small pox epidemic in Kentucky-Sisters as nurses in St.
John's Eruptive Hospital, Louisville-Establishment of St.
Joseph's Hospital, Lexington, Ky ........... . 164

                        CHAPTER IX
  Expansion in the South-Foundation of Bethlehem Academy,
Holly Springs, Miss.-St. Clara's Academy, Yazoo City, Miss.
-Yellow Fever in the South-Sisters Laurentia, Cointha and
others, martyrs of Charity.... . . . . .. .. . . 177

                        CHAPTER X
  Expansion in the South, continued-Mother Helena's ad-
ministration-Foundations in Arkansas-Schools and Orphan-
age begun in Memphis, Tenn.-Sisters as nurses during
Spanish American War, East Lake Hospital, Chattanooga,
Tenn.-Foundation of St. Mary's Academy, Leonardtown, Md.;
St. Vincent's Orphanage, Roanoke; Ryan School and St. An-
drew's School, Roanoke....   . .  . . .  . . . . .    . 191

                        CHAPTER XI
 Expansion Northward and Eastward-Mothers Helena and
 Cleophas alternate as Superiors-Ohio Missions-First Eastern
 foundations: Newburyport, Mass.; Brockton, Hyde Park,
Lowell, Mass ................... . 206



VI



CONTENTS


 





                         CONTENTS                       VIU
                                                        PAGE
                        CHAPTER XII
  The Maternal Commonwealth-New Presentation Academy,
Louisville; Parochial Schools; Improvement of St. Joseph's
Infirmary, Louisville; Schools and benevolent institutions in
small towns and rural districts of the State-Improvements at
Nazareth-Alumnae Society formed  ....   .  . . . .    . 219

                       CHAPTER XIII
  Twentieth Century-Death of Mother Helena and Father
Russell-Mother Alphonsa Kerr, Superior-New Convent,
Nazareth, begun-Our Lady of Angels School, Barton, Ohio-
Nazareth's Exhibits in St. Louis Purchase Exposition; Alumna
Meeting in St. Louis-Mother Cleophas' Death-New Convent
Completed-Mother Eutropia McMahon, Superior-Papal Ap-
probation; Elevation of Society to rank of Religious Order-
Mother Eutropia Mother-General; Her Death  ... . .    . 251

                       CHAPTER XIV
  Centennial Year-Mother Rose Meagher Mother-General-
New Foundations in Kentucky and the East-The Nazareth
School, South Boston-Centennial celebrations at Nazareth
and Branch Houses .3............... .. 274

                        CHAPR XV
  Nazareth's New Century-Death of Mother Alphonsa-
Foundations in and Near Louisville-Death of Sister Maria
Minard-St. Dominic's School, Columbus, Ohio-Parochial
School at Old Nazareth, St. Thomas's Farm-Oregon  . . . 293


                       CHAPTER XVI
  Educational Ideals-Curricula at Mother House and Branch
Houses-Affiliation of Nazareth Academy with Kentucky State
University and Catholic University of America, Washington . 305

                       CHAPTER XVII
 The Spirit of the Order-General ideals and characteristics
-Rule    ....   . . . . .  . . .  . . .  . . . . .   . 329


                      CHAPTER XVIII
 Notable Scenes and Shrines at Nazareth . . . . . . . . 345


 





VIII                     CONTENTS
                                                         PAGE
                        CHAPTER XIX
  Ecclesiastical Friends and Superiors....  . . .  .    . 357


                        CHAPTER XX
  Conclusion  ....   . . .  . . .  . . .  . .  . . .   . 383


                          APPENDIX
 Sketch of Mlle Le Gras, the First Sister of Charity-Chron-
 ological List-List of Ecclesiastical Superiors-List of Moth-
 ers of the Society-Jubilarians-Summary-Centennial of the
Bardstown Cathedral ....   .  . . .  . .  . . .  . .   . 391


 









LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS



Nazareth .   ............... . Frontispiece
                                                       PACING
                                                       PAGE
Rt. Rev. Benedict Joseph Flaget . . . ..... . . . . 10
Rt. Rev. John Baptist David.... .   .  . . . .  . .   .   16
The Log Cabin of 1812 .... .    . . .  . . . .  . .   .   28
Old Nazareth .....     . . . .  . . .  . . .  . . .   .   40
Mother Catherine Spalding  ....          ....... .        54
Presbytery and Convent.... .    . . .  . . . .  . .   .   66
Mother Frances Gardiner ....    . . .  . . .  . . .   .   82
Colonial Porch  .....    . .  . . . .  . . . .  . .   .   94
Academy and Auditorium   ....   . . .  . . .  . . .   . 106
Front Avenue .....     . . . .  . . .  . . .  . . .   . 118
Mother Columba Carroll   ....   . . .  . . .  . . .   . 138
A Drive .................... . 152
Autograph of President Lincoln . ..... ...... 156
Monument to the Sisters, Holly Springs, Miss. . . . .  184
Mother Helena Tormey..          .....                    196
The Lake . ......                                        216
Autograph of St. Vincent de Paul . . .. . . . .. . . 226
St. Vincent's Church, Interior and Exterior  .... .   . . 238
Early Life at Nazareth.     .   .....                    246
Mother Cleophas Mills.      .   .....                    254
Mother Alphonsa Kerr..          ...                 . 266
Mother Eutropia McMahon..          .....                 272
Mother Rose Meagher.         .   ....                    278
Old Nazareth Day, Centennial Week..    .....             284
Columba Reading Room.        .   ....                    296
Religious Day, Centennial Week..     ......              300
Faithful Retainers, Centennial Entertainment ......  310
Museum and Art Gallery.       .   ....                   320
The Visit of Cardinal Falconio. ....             .       326
St. Vincent de Paul......                                332
Noonday Visit to the Church. . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Glimpses of Front Grounds.      .  .....                 346
Our Lady Seat of Wisdom    . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Rev. Michael Bouchet.       .   ....                     368
Rev. David Russell.. ..... 8



IX


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INTRODUCTION



THE present volume, as compiled by Miss Anna
T    Blanche McGill, makes a most interesting and
readable story of the rise and progress of the Society,
which under the auspices of the saintly Bishops Flaget
and David, had its birth a century ago in Nelson County,
Kentucky, in connection with St. Thomas's Seminary,
the Cradle of Catholicity in the West.
  The author is in deep sympathy with her subject and
has contributed to our Catholic literature a volume which
all may read with profit-a record that will prove espe-
cially edifying to the young members of the society, as
well as an inspiration to them in following the footsteps
of those who under difficulties and privations laid the
foundation stones of one of the most prosperous and
beneficent institutions of our land.
  From the portals of the Mother House, Nazareth,
Kentucky, band after band of zealous sisters has gone
forth to academies, parochial schools, orphan asylums,
hospitals and infirmaries. These religious have instructed
the young and ministered to the needy of all degrees and
kinds throughout Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Massa-
chusetts and elsewhere.  They have won laurels as
teachers wherever they have gone-to mention only one
place, Leonardtown of our State of Maryland. Many
daughters of the Southland during the past hundred
years have had mind and heart educated at Nazareth
Academy, and have carried forth from its threshold those
charming manners and sterling virtues which have caused
them to be loved and admired throughout the land.
  I am happy to send my blessing to the Sisters of this
                         XI


 



XII                INTRODUCTION
noble Community, that their excellent work may prosper
in years to come as successfully as it has done in the past.
And for the writer and reader of this volume, I ask a
blessing from the Heavenly Father, that the history of
the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth may be an inspiration
to a greater love for God and fellow-man.
             Faithfully yours in Christ,
                         JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS.

  Cardinal's Residence,
    Baltimore, Maryland.
      Feast of the Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin,
        Nineteen Hundred and Sixteen.


 









PREFACE



STEADFASTLY through a century to have solaced
the afflicted and warmed the hearts of the needy with
the fire of charity, to have been a lamp unto the feet of
youth and a light unto the path thereof, is to have en-
riched the years with deeds too precious to be left un-
chronicled. The present volume endeavors to record
such activities-the daily routine of the Sisters of Charity
of Nazareth, Kentucky, since their establishment.
  Cardinal Gibbons, generously commending the Order
and noting its geographical extension, has placed the
Sisters' good works in true perspective as significant con-
tributions to the history of religion and education in the
United States. Hence it is hoped that the following
pages may prove of interest not only to the community
itself but to other toilers in the vineyard. Laborers of
the present hour may derive stimulus from the careers
of Nazareth's pioneer bands who, in conditions far less
auspicious than those now prevailing, gave luminous
examples of courage, fortitude, dedicated industry. In-
spiration may be afforded likewise by the work of later
groups, faithful to their traditions of piety, benevolence,
able teaching.
  Whatever general interest the story of the Sisters of
Charity of Nazareth may have, the particular hope is that
it may be a source of gratification and encouragement to
the society's own members-tracing for them their ven-
erable family history. This purpose accords with a
sentiment once expressed by the late Archbishop Elder
of Cincinnati, approving "the practice of keeping little
memories of those who edify most the Community, writ-
                         XIII


 





ing down their many good works and edifying traits
 . . The old Acts of the Martyrs were exactly little
memories of this kind, carefully preserved."
  For aid in compiling the little and great memories
herein gathered, acknowledgment is made to all who
facilitated the task: especially to the late Sister Marie
Menard, who collected some of the material used; to
Sister Adelaide Pendleton, for help in selection of data;
to Sister Marietta, whose assistance and counsel are
affectionately remembered by her one-time pupil. Help-
ful for the early chapters were "The Life of Bishop
Flaget" and "Sketches of Kentucky" by Archbishop
Spalding, and "The Centenary of Catholicity in Ken-
tucky" by the Hon. B. J. Webb. It is a special pleasure
to name these two historians, many of whose kinswomen
have been associated as pupils or religious with the Sis-
ters of Charity of Nazareth.
                          ANNA BLANCHE MCGILL.

  Louisville, Kentucky,
    January, 1917.
                        (ix)



XIV



PREFACE


 









BIBLIOUGRAPHY



Spalding, M. J., Life of Bishop Flaget (Louisville).
Sketches of Kentucky.
Webb, B. J., Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky
  (Louisville).
Burns, Rev. J. A., The Catholic School System in the
  United States (New York)
Herbermann, C. G., The Sulpicians in the United States
  (New York)
Minogue, Anna, Loretto, Annals of the Century (America
  Press)
Maes, C. P., Life of Father Nerinckx.
Howlett, Wm. J., St. Thomas' Seminary (St. Louis).
Steiner, E., History of Education in Maryland (Mary-
  land).
Stuart, Janet Erskine, The Education of Catholic Girls
  (New York)
Stuart, Janet Erskine, The Society of the Sacred Heart
  (New York).
Sadlier, Agnes, Elizabeth Seton (New York).
McCann, Sister Mary Agnes, History of Mother Seton's
  Daughters (New York).
Religious of the Sacred Heart, Mother Aloysia Hardey
  (New York).
Hughes, Rev. Thomas, Loyola (New York).
Schwickerath, Robert, Jesuit Education (New York).
Newman, John Henry, Idea of a University.
Collins, History of Kentucky (Louisville).
Johnston, Stoddard, History of Louisville (Louisville).
Winterbotham, History of the United States.
Logan, Mrs. John, Personal Recollections of a Soldier's
  Wife (New York).
Catholic Almanacs, 1832-35; 1841-45 (Philadelphia).
Dewey, John, Ethical Principles Underlying Education
  (Chicago).
James, William, Talks to Teachers (New York).
                        xv


 


XVI                 BIOGRAPHY
Canby, Henry Seidel, College Sons and Fathers (New
  York).
Wynne, John J., Catholic Schools (New York).
Catholic Encyclopedia (New York).
Dewey, John, Schools of To-morrow (New York).
Walsh, J. J., Education; How Old the New (New York).
Spalding, J. L., Means and Ends of Education (Chicago).
Spalding, J. L., Thoughts and Theories of Education
  and Life (Chicago).
The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas.
Burstall, Sarah, Impressions of Education in America
  during 1908 (New York).
Butler, Nicholas Murray, Education in the United States
  (New York).
Barton, Angels of the Battlefield.


 








CHAPTER I



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND; BISHOPS FLAGET AND DAVID

( ROWNED with the beauty of a century's maturity,
C.-' in a thousand acres of Kentucky meadowland,
stands the mother house of the Sisters of Charity of
Nazareth. This famous educational and benevolent in-
stitution is situated in Nelson County not far from the
Lincoln Road, about forty miles from Louisville, Ken-
tucky, and two and a half miles from Bardstown. Be-
tween rows of oak and maple a long driveway leads from
an artistic station to "Nazareth". Over a hundred years
ago Bishop David gave this hallowed name to a log cabin;
today it designates a group of buildings with a frontage
of a thousand feet, consisting of academy, convent, chapel
and chaplain's residence. Sixty branch houses in the
South, East and North still farther extend the order's
influence.
  Lowly cabin of yore and stately edifices of the present
symbolize Nazareth's story. Superficial, however, would
be the observation that failed to discern beyond this
material expansion the spiritual forces which accom-
plished such development. Hence the following pages,
while chronicling the laying of stone upon stone, record
a far more impressive process, the triumphs of faith.
fortitude, charity. To these virtues majestic mother
house and prosperous branch houses are eloquent monu-
ments.
  Nazareth's history begins in a momentous national
epoch, that of America's second Declaration of Independ-
ence, the War of 1812. During that conflict Kentucky
                          I


 


SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH.



was weaving two distinctly different patterns upon his-
tory's loom. In the battle of Raisin River, the subsequent
massacre, and the relief of Fort Meigs, many of the
States's fairest names were incarnadined; Kentucky
heroes-Isaac Shelby's sharp-shooters-upheld Perry's
arms at Lake Erie and swung the tide of battle to victory.
Meantime, while these sons of the old Commonwealth
were thus militantly active, a few of its daughters were
entering upon valiant careers as a Legion of Peace; the
first Sisters of Charity of Nazareth were inaugurating
their labors for the honor of God, the good of humanity
and the sanctification of their own souls.
  Beginning thus in a time so eventful, Nazareth's
earliest records commemorate scenes, personalities, inci-
dents such as give vitality, dignity, engrossing interest to
history's page.  The background is typical of those
pioneer days which charm historians and romancers. A
beautiful if needy and difficult virgin soil, awaiting ex-
plorer, colonist, missionary-such was the Kentucky
wilderness of the early nineteenth century wherein the
garden-spot, Nazareth, was to blossom with the roses of
faith and charity.
  But to discover the actual origin of this flowering, the
imagination must press even beyond the primitive Ken-
tucky wildwood to Europe of the eighteenth century, to
the drama of the French Revolution. That catastrophe,
enthroning Madame Guillotine and sowing dragons'
teeth of atheism, was eventually to be responsible for
planting seeds of benevolence and piety upon American
soil, through the agency of noble spirits forced to flee
hither to preserve their lives and, what they prized still
more, their faith.
  The heart has repeatedly been stirred by the story of
the French exiles who bore Christianity to America as
once the Levites transported the Ark to its allotted goal.



2


 


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.



Yet, though so familiar, the narrative has not lost power
to inspire.  It forms an indispensable prelude to the
history of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, who revere
as their spiritual fathers two of those distinguished
fugitives, Benedict Joseph Flaget and John Baptist David.
  The former of these illustrious exiles was born in
Contournat, France, in 1763. Baptized Benedict because
his family welcomed him as a blessing, he was to prove
an inestimable blessing to his adopted country, the United
States. Left an orphan at an early age, this child of
benediction was entrusted to the care of an aunt and an
uncle, the Abbe Benedict Flaget, canon of the collegiate
church of Billom. As a mere boy the future American
bishop entered the college of Billom, where he manifested
much proficiency in his classes and that piety which won
for him the appellation, "the saintly Flaget." In his
eighteenth year he entered the Sulpician seminary of
Clermont for his ecclesiastical studies, finally uniting him-
self with the Sulpician Order in his twentieth year. His
clerical course was completed before he had numbered
years sufficient for entrance into the priesthood; hence,
after the manner of so many great souls preparing for
their life-work, he withdrew for a while to solitude, in
the Sulpician house at Issy near Paris-"Paradise on
earth," he termed this season of pious meditation.
  During his first sacerdotal years M. Flaget was pro-
fessor of dogmatic theology at Nantes, and later in the
seminary of Angers. He had been in the latter institution
only a few months when the French Revolution began;
the seminary was closed; students and faculty were
forced to flee. The young Flaget retired to his family
at Billom, and there he heard the mysterious and pro-
phetic inner voice which in his childhood had often whis-
pered to him that he would some day go far away and
that his family would see him no more. Now while the



8


 


SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH.



turmoil of persecution was afflicting his native land, his
thoughts turned toward a distant country where, with the
freedom to work and pray, he could serve the God Whose
altars France was desecrating. His native land virtually
forbade his fulfilling his vocation, but the missions of the
United States were ready to welcome such men as he;
Bishop Carroll's huge diocese sorely needed more priests,
and M. Flaget resolved to share that exacting apostolate.
In 1792 he set sail from Bordeaux, having as his travel-
ing companions two other Frenchmen, M. David and M.
Badin. Those ready to note the hand of Providence in
human undertakings may find significance in the fact
that, without any prearrangement whatsoever, these three
missionaries to Kentucky met at Bordeaux, whence to-
gether they set sail for the great work which they were
to share beyond the sea. Especially touching is an inci-
dent following their arrival in Baltimore. Setting out to
pay their respects to Bishop Carroll, they met this revered
prelate on his way to welcome them. A tribute to their
worth as well as to his need of them was Bishop Carroll's
greeting: "Gentlemen, you have travelled fifteen hundred
leagues to see me; surely it was as little as I could do to
walk a few squares to see you."
  After a brief sojourn in Baltimore, M. Flaget set forth
on a long journey to Vincennes, Indiana. Going by
wagon to Pittsburgh, he was detained there for six
months. His delay was far from idle; he boarded in a
French Huguenot's home where, unique as was the situa-
tion, he daily said Mass. He devoted some time to in-
structing the French citizens and the Catholic soldiers.
Small-pox devastated the city during his stay, and he
generously performed spiritual and corporal works of
mercy for the afflicted.
  At this time General Wayne was stationed in Pitts-
burgh, preparing for his famous expedition against the



4


 



HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.



Indians of the Northwest. Bishop Carroll had given M.
Flaget letters of introduction to the general and the pres-
entation bore good fruits, for General Wayne became
deeply attached to the young cleric. Finally, when navi-
gation down the Ohio was possible, M. Flaget resumed
his journey to Vincennes. General Wayne gave him a
letter of introduction to General George Rogers Clark,
then in command of a garrison on Corn Island, near
Louisville, Kentucky. This was the beginning of a loyal
friendship between the French missionary and the noted
Kentucky pioneer, who armed a bateau for M. Flaget's
journey, and himself joined the party, offering every
courtesy to his new friend-to the extent of sharing a
tent with him.
  M. Flaget held the laborious charge of Vincennes for
two years; then Bishop Carroll recalled him to the Balti-
more diocese, where he became chief disciplinarian at
Georgetown College. After a few years in this office he
joined three Sulpicians who were planning to open a col-
lege in Havana, Cuba. This project did not materialize;
but M. Flaget remained in Havana for two years as tutor
in a distinguished family. One of the incidents of this
sojourn was his acquaintance with Louis Philippe. When
this fugitive king and his two brothers were about to
leave Cuba for the United States, M. Flaget was ap-
pointed by the islanders to present to the exiles a purse
of money in token of sympathy for their misfortunes.
Years later when Louis Philippe was King of France and
M. Flaget had been made Bishop of Bardstown, the
former's appreciation was expressed in handsome gifts
which remain today the chief treasures of the historic
St. Joseph's Church of Bardstown, formerly the cathe-
dral1. Among these royal benefactions were paintings by
old masters, golden vessels set with precious stones, vest-
' See Appendix, Bardstown Cathedral.



is


 


SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH.



ments of much fine needlework wrought by the Queens
of France and their ladies. A certain chasuble of red
velvet was elaborately embroidered on one side in a design
representing the Kings of the House of David; on the
other side was the French coat-of-arms; this was re-
moved by Bishop Flaget, with the remark: "We are
living in a Republic, not a Kingdom."
  This, however, is to anticipate a few interesting de-
tails forerunning the elevation of M. Flaget to episcopal
honors. In 180l, he had returned from Havana to Balti-
more and circumstances were being shaped for his
establishment in a permanent life-work. To such pro-
portions had the United States grown, it had become
necessary to lighten the venerable Bishop Carroll's bur-
dens. Therefore, to the Holy Pontiff was recommended
the foundation of four new sees: Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, and the little Kentucky hamlet, Bardstown.
  At this point of the story appears upon the scene an-
other native of France, the Rev. Stephen Badin, M.
Flaget's fellow-voyager from the Old World, and the
first priest ordained in the United States. Father Badin
was assigned to Kentucky shortly after his ordination.
Being only twenty-five years of age and having but a
slight knowledge of English, he was at first reluctant to
accept such a charge; but Bishop Carroll justly divined
that his zeal, his energy and his buoyant French tempera-
ment could be relied upon in the difficult missions of the
Middle West. Obediently therefore, and on foot, the
young Badin and a companion set forth. They trudged
from Baltimore to Pittsburgh, thence by boat down the
Ohio, ultimately resuming their journey as pedestrians
over primitive roads to the Kentucky wilderness. Dur-
ing his sojourn in Kentucky, Father Badin is said to have
ridden a hundred thousand miles on horseback. His
heart knew "solicitude for all the Churches," if the term



6


 


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.



may be applied to the primitive stations fifty or sixty
miles apart, where he said Mass, visited the sick, in-
structed his widely scattered flock. Of him and Bishop
Flaget it was justly said: "Though born abroad, both
were Kentuckians in the best sense. They explored the
forests with General George Rogers Clark, with Boone
and Kenton. They lived in lonely log cabins during the
period of the Indian warfare."
   Pages have been filled and might still be filled in com-
memoration of Father Badin's piety and his indefatig-
able toil. His especial connection with the subject of
this chapter lies in the fact that, when there was rumor
of making Bardstown a bishopric, it was he who jour-
neyed to Baltimore to recommend M. Flaget for the pro-
jected see. His suggestion found favor; and thus by
the recommendation of Bishop Carroll and that of Father
Badin, their friend received episcopal honors, with juris-
diction over the vast territory of the West and North-
west. Thus was established that see of Bardstown which,
as an earlier chronicle observes, "bears the same relation
as that of Baltimore to the whole United States. Each
is a Mother Church to which many spiritual daughters
look up with gratitude and reverence."
  When his election was reported, M. Flaget went to
Baltimore for confirmation of the news. After his ar-
rival one of the first persons he met was his fellow-
traveller from France and his future coadjutor, M.
David, who had also been suggested for the episcopal
office. His greeting was typical: "They told me I was
to be Bishop of Bardstown. I did not believe it; but I
determined that, should this happen, I should invite you
to accompany me. The case being now reversed, I tender
you my services without reserve."
  Not till three years later was the bishop to start for his
diocese, his means and those of his future flock being



7


 


SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH.



too slender to provide for the journey. Finally, however,
in 1811 he and his suite departed from Baltimore, over
the mountains to Pittsburgh, down the Ohio River to
Louisville.  A letter written at the time by Father
David to a friend in France, gives an idea of the river
voyage: "The boat on which we descended the Ohio
became the cradle of our Seminary and the Church in
Kentucky. Our cabin was at the same time chapel,
dormitory, study and refectory. An altar was erected on
the boxes and ornamented so far as circumstances would
allow. The Bishop prescribed a regulation which fixed
all the exercises and in which each had its proper time.
On Sunday after prayer, every one went to Confession;
then the priests said Mass and the others went to Com-
munion. . . . After an agreeable navigation of thirteen
days, we arrived in Louisville, next at Bardstown, finally
at St. Stephen's Farm several miles from Bardstown, the
residence of the Vicar General, Father Badin," with
whom the Bishop and his suite made their home for a
year.
  Bishop Flaget's own words vividly describe another
part of the journey: "The faithful of my Episcopal city
put themselves in motion to receive me in a manner con-
formable with my dignity. They despatched for my use
a fine equipage drawn by two horses, and a son of one
of the principal inhabitants considered himself honored
in being the driver. . . . It was then, for the first time,
that I began to see the bright side of my Episcopacy and
that I began to feel its dangers. Nevertheless, God be
thanked, if some emotions of vanity glided into my
heart, they did not long abide. The roads were so de-
testable that, in spite of my beautiful chargers and my
excellent driver, I was obliged to perform part of the
journey on foot. . . . In entering the town I devoted
myself to all the guardian angels who resided therein,



8


 


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.



and I prayed to God with all my heart to make me die a
thousand deaths, should I not become an instrument of
His glory in this new diocese."
  The charm of simplicity and picturesqueness invests
Father Badin's account of the pilgrimage from Bards-
town to St. Stephen's Farm: "The Bishop found there
the faithful kneeling on the grass and singing canticles
in English; the country women were nearly all dressed
in white and many of them were still fasting, though it
was then four o'clock in the afternoon, they having en-
tertained the hope of being able to assist at Mass and to
receive Holy Communion from the Bisho