The San Francisco call. [volume], June 30, 1907, Page 14, Image 14

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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FIRST AMERICAN SAINT TO BE CANONIZED
BY ROME.
THE United States is soon to have
a patron saint in the Roman
Catholic calendar — the first Ame
rican to be canonized by Rome.
According to authenticated state
ments presented before Pope Pius IX
at a consistory held recently wonderful
miracles have been performed at the
tomb of ArchbJfchop John Xepomucene
ICeumann in St. Peter's church in Phil
adelphia.
In and out of the big church, at the
corner of Fifth street and Glrard ave
nue, there is a constant stream of sor-.<
row laden humanity — the lame, the
halt, the blind, the afflicted and the
\u25a0weary hearted — asking succor at the
crypt of an old man who grave up his
life nearly 50 years ago laboring for
the poor.
Many there are, according to the evi
dence gathered by Archbishop Ryan and
the priests of Philadelphia, who have
gone to the tomb afflicted and come
away perfectly healed. A few of these
casps were brought to the notice of
Pope Leo XIII 11 years ago. and at that
time the late pontiff placed Archbishop
Neumann among the "blessed and ven
erable of the church's servants of
God," one of the first steps toward
canonization. The case, according^ to
the canonical law, was then
placed on the calendar.
According to ecclesiastical procedure
two "devil's advocates." as they aro
formally termed, were appointed to in
vestigate the sanctity of the proposed
6aint. Bishop Maus and Bishop Horst
mann were chosen for this work, and
the canonization of St. John Xepomu
cene Is due largely to their inability to
disprove the miraculous occurrence and"
remarkable facts claimed for "the good
bishop" of Philadelphia.
The first proceedings of the investi
gation were conducted at the cathedral
in Philadelphia under the supervision
of Archbishop Ryan. All the witnesses
were examined and the proofs of sanc
tity established. The Rev. Father Weis
eel of the Redemptorist order iu .Phila
delphia was appointed "promoter" and
directed to carry the documents ap
proved by the court here to Rome, and
the case was opened under the jurisdic
tion of Pope Pius IX. who had placed
his imprimature on it. and the formal
bull proclaiming the canonization was
the one remaining formality.
One of the miracles reported to Pope
Pius and the one most replete with hu
man interest is that of Mary Hunne
kor. a little girl 11 years old, who •was
stricken with total blindness. The best
oculists in Philadelphia were-consult
ed, but after six months' treatment
there was no improvement. The world
of sunshine and flowers and beautiful
things hfid .slipped from the child's
grasp. She knew her dolls only by
touch and her books not at all. Grad
ually her conception of things grew
dimmer and dimmer.
Blind Child Cured
.After many months Mary Hunneker
\u25a0was taken to many oculists in Balti
more. The verdict \u25a0 was "incurable
blindness," and the advice that the
child be placed in an institution for the
blind. This suggestion struck terror
to the heart of the girl and slje begged
to bo taken home again. She could
not believe that the sight of her moth
er's face would never greet her again:
that she was to live in a world of
loneliness; away from the games of
lier little playmates; that she would
ttand by their hop scotch and hear only
the shuffle of their feet, the count of
their skips and jumps and the ring of
their laughter; that she would never
nee the white robed world of the win
ter time, nor • the budding trees in
\u25a0sprlnsr. nor the beautiful flowers and
the shining waters in the parks on
bright summer dayp, nor the brown
and red and yellow trees she had once
railed Indians at the time when the
leaves began to fall. But to live al
ways In a night world, away from all
the beautiful things she believed God
had made bec&fUCe he loved the world.
with, its sunshine, its stars and its
\u25a0 noon. •
Then one day Mary asked to be taken
to tlie good sisters who had taught
htrjSn the days before fever liad robbed
h<»r eyes of sight. One of the sisters
told the child to pray to the "Good
JSishop John" to Intercede tfn her be
half.
Mary Hunneker was led to her home
that evening with new hope ixi her
heart and her soul full of faith. A no
vena of nine days' prayer was begun,
ana- each morning Mary asked some
one to guide her steps to St. Peter's
church, and there she knelt, with her
curly head on the cold marble slab,
and poured out her childish heart in
a plea for freedom from the fetters
•which held from the joy of living. Tho
child's faith increased with each day,
and finally the priests of St. Peter's
and the nuns became Interested and
\u25a0w^nt each morning and evening to pray
with the little blind girl.
On the ninth day many were there
to see the close of the noveua, and It
is said few there were of faith. At th«
end of the prayer the child striod up
and declared rhe could see distinctly.
Some one a?k^d for a test, and accord
ing to the testimony of a dozen persons
who were present the child stood tip
and Tvhile the tears of joy streamed
down her cheeks, answered:
"I can see and I will count the lights
and the flowers and the people." -\u25a0
And fo she did. l,atpr Mary Jlun
ttckor entered the Xotre Dame school.
This <-asc spread the local fame of
th** healing power of prayer"; to the
"Good BiMiop." and since then the lit
tle courtyard that leads to the tomb of
the saint has rarely been empty.
Another miracle which has been au
thenticated is that of Sister Mary An
gelina, of the school sisters of Notre
Dame in Philadelphia.
Sister Anselma had charge of the
boys' department of St. Peter's school,
with 170 small boys under her care,
fc-he had become afflicted with deafness
some, years ago, and as time passed
the malady grew worse until no ordi
nary sound could penetrate to her hear
ing-. Teaching haa*J}ecome impossible
and the life work of the nun had ap
parently come to a close.
A novena was begun by the nuns of
Notre Dame and Sister Anselma went
each day to pray at the tomb of "the
Good Bishop." At the close of the nine
days' prayer Sister Anselma said that
the could hear perfectly, and it Is at
tested that «for. flve years "from that
time she has conducted her classes In
t-t. Peter's school without an inter
ruption.
The Redemptorlst fathers, Arch
bishop Ryan and Bishops Maus and
Horstmaan aesert that many epileptics
have been cured and -that lameness and
such afflictions as render persons use
less have been healed at the tomb of
tst. JCepomucene.
After the canonization shall have
been formally announced . Bishop , Neu
mann will be known as. St. John Xe
pomucene. fourth bishop of Philadel
phia. March 28, his birthday, "will be
come his feast day and all the Catholic
churche* in; the. world wllP.on that day
in each year include tlie saint's namo
In its church, services. '.; At St. Peter's
in Philadelphia, where the body of the
saint rep^ees, t!ie ceremony, will be
performed .with rail the pomp and cere
mony of the church. ,
. In nearly -ovcry Catholic liousehbld
in Philadelphia" arid .in many of the
smaller ' lowrin' in Pennßylvania. and
New York the name .of "the Good.
Bishop; John" is a "eacml inrinory. ' <.;o
into any. Catholic pcliool ii\ t!io Quaker
town and. the <-hildrpu can tojl you
many, stories about .him— <>' how ho
lived in utter. poverty, savn his all- to
the*. poor, and endured a life' of hard
ship; and selfrdenial: "of ho\y many a
night he returned to his home;;bare
footed and s coatless, with not so Vmueh
as a, flve cent, piece on his. person,
having glven;his clothins to some less
fortunate being. , .. , ,/
The old housekeeper at the archiepis
copal palace ha 3 told how every espe
cially tempting morsel which came to
; lhe bishop's table always found its way
to some house .."who re; poverty, reisrnedi
If evm'-a wealthy.-, uicinbur . of^ -.Bishop
Xoumann'jsTdioccse presont'ed soine'coin
fo rt. or luxury 'to" the h<»acl of tlio Phila
delphia ; see.;* the ; following * day . fountl
pome [ unfortunate friinily^thatv'nH'.ch
t ho . riciiviv- T.arsc: contributions v/fn:
given into tho handling , of "tliei Good
St; John" and J. yet .'ho^died \u25a0without a
penny,-- but -J^ft .xhis \u25a0 dloccso iu.a.pro.s-|
porous aud--perfectly.-;organized'condi
tion;- and .thousands: of.; the city's \u25a0poor
followed "him *to" his. tomb and 'called
him' blessed. :j " ; •. ; ; ; i
;r ,St.';-; John ;Nepomuceile was born on
«ob 3'; Friday, in/ ISII, in Prachatltz,
Bohemia. 'When ;he > was ll'j years old
he^ntered the seminary at Budweis and
four years later went; tb}the>Uniyersity.
of Prague," where- ha attained the-high
est literary? honors.*; Years , after" Pope
JiCo Xlir. himself .a. versatile scholar'
hiiii a note«lC:i>rayer; writer,.? declared
I 'is hop -Xeviniainir to IbeVth'e J author .of
i some " of , tlif; most ' l»e;vuti£ lil ', prayers
ever siyenvtolthe church. - ; . -,-.•._ ... \u25a0" '
' Uishop ' xOuniann'P education . . was
lilninif'il jilnny ]iroa<3. lines, and although^
'in; lipcanie a -..theologian v of^(profound ;
wisdom ho was ..also inV'sciontist" ami
a -man uf \u25a0lcttcr.s. lie was one' of , the
greatest 'astronomers : in the <;atholic
church. - Tlji.- ambition of his life/hovr
cvtf,; wns.to «nto.r ; ,thc i priesthood, ; and
liocainc. to \.witli'-,tlii.s". inton
tionV". havihfr;'th<>>nilssionary iio!,l , for
Ills goal.? Bishop Neumann reached Xs u -
VoVkf^in i,thVs'--.. spring ... -of ' 133t5,%Avhcn
BJshop r.'Dubois'; hold .tho;. see now : octfu
pk-d .by/Archbishopi;Farley. :
: . ! .Th«;.- bishop fJohn .Xeumann
ttV . ,t lio priesthood :: 'and, ":.'as,-: Uc^'as a
fluent ••Engli3h£scholar,; reg.ue«tetl ;him
1 6"i* conduct j missions Jri ." Netv- ;-.York.
.DuringV the f f our '» years < following;^ St.
Joh'niJNepomucene • had^ chargei of .rriis
sion s : in > the \ west crn ; par.t of . New "York
state. Then - came . a* ; desire -^:by . the
young, missionary -for a more: earnestly
religious v lif e." and :;he^ asked ,; to ; be 'ad-.
tnitted'tQ 'the:* Redemptorlst '.ordcr.Voho
off the -most learned Jbut*' humblest of
the 'church's orders; . ' '.. .. '
The San Francisco Sunday Call:
-. Completing .-Ills, novitiate St. John
wasTseht to IVhusylvania'as a niission
ury/. "There '-his unusual- success- in
building' up .parishes, making. convert?.
e.<tablishin£r . schools and orphanajres.
l-rousht hitn Into prViriinoricc through
6ut x thef« : yuntry, . H*' was made super
ior 'of j th*> KeUemptorl«t order, and a
!ittU x later -wns eJevatf-iltd the 'position
of vice provt:ifiat uf tho ordqr. ; Ilov!"
ever, it wen unty a briof time, that he
was. to direct tho great .religioifs order
of * St. .'Alphonsus.
" The see; of '^Philadelphia' was made
vacant" by the elevation of Bishop Ken
rick. to 'Baltimore, ' where he preceded
Cardinal; •* Gibbons. Bishop Kenrick
recommended as hl3 successor the hum
bls *J missionary -'.who.': had -come to be
knovrn as ". '.'the Good Father John."
Pbpp '"_ Pius. IX- at ,once" chose hlrn llfor
bishop of Phlladeiphla, enjoinlns him
upon obedience to Rom* to accept the
office. He was copMcaUd on his
forty-first birthday. In JSS2.
Bishop Jfeumann's rei*n Is unique m
the history of the American hierarchy.
He was less of the mitred, prelate and
more of the humble monk. The bishop's
palace became a Mecca for all In need.
He abolished red tape, and when, he
was In his house could' be seen by the
lowliest as well as those of power. He
also introduced t lnto this . country the
now universal devotion of the 40 hours,
commemorating the 40 hours of the
Savior's prayer.
St. John "Xepomucene died of heart
disease on January 5. IS6O. The funeral
was held In the Philadelphia cathe
dral, but after the services the body
was conveyed to St. Peer's, the Re-.
demptortst church. It lies In a vaulted
chapel directly under the sanctuary of
the church. There 1» an Iron gate that
leads Into a large, grassy court at the
side . of St. Peter's church. A paved
walk leads to the monastery door. NV.»v
this Is the arch, which !**ds into trlj
low cellinged chapel con***:rated to Sc.
John. Directly in front of the altar
is the. saint's tomb. .It .Is sealed, and
on the top slab are cut two medallions,
one representing thecoat of arms of tbe
Redemptorlst order, the other that of
St. John as bishop o'*' Philadelphia.
There is a light always before this
tomb, and the rise of the Sun each day
flnds some of the -heirs, of human Ills
kneeling there In supplication, and the
last rays of the setting sun streaming
through the stained glass chapel win
dow fall upon afflicted men and
women with their heads bowed down in
prayer. * Such is the shrine of- the first
Roman Catholic American saint.
A Dutch Method of
Launching a Ship
THERE have been many • queer
launchlngs. no doubt, since man
first began to work at the trade of
shipbuilding, but a recent one at Ams
terdam. Holland, about reached the
limit of the remarkable.
It also demonstrated the resourceful
ness of the Uutch shipbuilders. Find
ing that a steamer they had constructed
was too big for the available depth of
water, they calmly opened the sesgates
and allowed the Atlantic to pour In *
sufficient tide to float the vessel. .
The Incoming rush of waters did not
stop there, however. It inundated ths
lower sections of the city at 2 o'clock in
the morning, routine out many famlHei
and causing general consternation. Am
sterdamers hope that vessels built ther»
hereafter will be smaller.
It is on account of this unheard of
episode that the liner Rembrandt of th<t
Java fleet is now an object of more ca
riosity than any other vessel in* the
harbor. Visitors are all anxious to get
a look at the craft which was floated at
the expense of flooding a' city.
This seems to have been one of thO3e
strange cases that happen at times—al
though why they should no one can
explain — of experienced and reputable
craftsmen building at great ..e^ense
something which they cannot use after
it Is finished.
The Inventor who spent a year con
structing an airship in his. cellar and
then for the first time thought of the
problem of getting it out might be ex
cused on the ground of eccentricity.
Who, however, would expect the
launching of a ship in water too shal
low to" float the craft?
There was great merriment in *0
Amsterdam that day the hull of th«*
Rembrandt was completed. She was
a beautiful two deck ship and was
palnted~a bright yellow, with burnt
sienna trimmings; she was strong and
graceful and in every respect seemed
to justify the large cost of construction.
ANlay for the launching was act. Th*
•laughter : of one of the officers of th«»
company was chosen to break a bottle
of -wine over the bow when the prop*
should be released and the new brido
of old ocean should blushingly trip
down the ways Into his loving arms.
Crack! Crack! The, sledges, propell*d
by sturdy arms, battled with one sup
port after another, until, the last on*
save way, and then, with [a. srentle
movement the Rembrandt slipped from
her cradle into the river below. Just M
the little sponsor swung the bottle <t?
wine and said: "I baptize" thee Rem
brandt." "...
But there, at the foot of the. cradle
from vrfilch she tad slipped, the Rem
brandt stayed. /stuck fast in the mud.
Her hull, had been made to draw more
water than tho canal would supply.
Thi» burghers looked at one another
In astonishment and the Ms; men of the
company went Into executive session
to think out some rom?dy.
This brings 'us to the .night of the
tlrlusre. Amsterdam, was sleeping". A
larpc number of the people of Amster-/j
•lam. especially in the low districts neat A
the/water front.. reside in basement*. * \u25a0 t
It was. of course, the baspmeTjjrtlwel- \
ers ,that first became affected when the j
Seagate sluices at Gmulden were opened
In order to raise, the water in the canal
sufficiently to float the Rembrandt. The
middle' of the, .night had been chosen
for the operation, as that was the hour
of flood tide, and Consequently- It wotilil <
not fc.9 necessary, to let 30 much of the j
sea water In., „\u25a0
Imagine the scene*" in those . little j
basement sleeping rooms, with their |
scant furniture, when through cracks jj
and: crevices In the walls and under 1
the doors came seeping, then surging, S
the water irom the s«a.
There could be but one explanation-"
r— the woria .was coming to an end. i
The "deluge was here. When Amster
dam bad gone. to. bed the s»y had l-cfn
clear, with „ no indication or rsi»r», »«>*
the floods must. havt* llt*ral_y descend
ed/In sheets, so the"* terror-stricken
peopla thought.
There were sick people in oomo
homes; Infants were sleepiw* In their
oid-fashioned cradles: it w»-i" an enor
mous task to : get" them out to safety.
Lights . w«re but. . In fear, caused by j
the "water f and darkness, people** rani
holter skelter. ; V"
Here and ; there tn the streets y.;erej
veritable waterspouts, where over-^
charged, sewers .had bur3t and sent,
their -covflen ta • upward.
/;It\was», found "that th« severs hat^M
been . a prime ' factor in permitting tJl^2
ingress of water to so many homtjßy
Still," at great volume of 1. lowed rlsflfit^
through- tne. streets. ,",• -
"Amsterdam people are stoical. Aftftih
having 'dried out! their provisions and,
their bed clothing: and -pumped t£t» <
vrater.out of the cellars and flrst{sjl|
rles of; their 'homes they calmly mosMMB
- in \ agaln/V ?'-.\u25a0'.
Anyhow ,the- Rembrandt had b«ta '.
launched.— Chicago Chronicle. \u25a0