Mount Saint Marys College - Eagle Yearbook (Orchard Lake, MI)

Page 117 text:

rejoicing over their release. The crusaders of centuries ago set out for the Holy Land to free and defend it from the Moslems. Christians in 1950 can become modern crusaders by pilgrimaging to the Holy City to restore the peace of Christ throughout the world. Chester S. Frysiak THE PUPES HHH THE UHITEU STHTES When on the twelfth of October 1492, Christopher Columbus reached San Salvador Island in the Bahamas 400 miles east of Florida, the See of Peter was held by its 216th occupant, Pope Alexander VI. Seven months later, in 1493, Alexander signed three documents which conferred on Spain all the islands and the lands of the new world dis- covered by Columbus. A month later on june 25, 1493, the Pope issued a Bull by which he appointed Father Bernard Boyl first Bishop of the new world, introducing the church officially into the Americas. In the next 290 years, thirty-six Popes followed Alexander VI in the long line of successors of St. Peter. During these 290 years, the new world discovered by Columbus was explored, settled and developed by Europeans. One area particularly grew more quickly than others. It was the United States which developed from thirteen small British colonies founded in the early seventeenth century into an independent republic in 1783. At the close of the War of Independence, the number of Catholics in the new Republic was about 22,000 scattered mainly throughout Maryland and Pennsylvania. The first direct relations between the Holy See and the English Catholic Church in the United States occurred in 1784 with the appointment of Father john Carroll as Prefect-Apostolic by Pope Pius VI, the 252nd successor of St. Peter. The same year, on june 16, Pope Pius VI issued a special letter to the Catholics in the United States extending to them the privileges of the Holy Year of 1775, in which American Catholics had been unable to participate owing to the outbreak of the War of Independence. On November 6, 1789, Pope Pius VI issued a brief, Ex has aportolicae, creating the first Episcopal See in the United States-Baltimore-and appointing the first Bishop in the United States-Father john Carroll. This is the first and most precious papal document in the possession of the church in the United States. It marks the formal establishment of the American hierarchy. When the United States acquired the Louisiana Territory and the two Floridas, Pope Pius VII on january 29, 1791, made the new terri- tories a part of the diocese of Baltimore. As years went by, the work in this vast diocese became too large for one Bishop. So in 1799 Pius VII established four new dioceses-Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Bardstown. The four sees were made suffragan to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. I On November 8, 1823, Pope Leo XII decreed the establishment of the provinces of Michigan and the Northwest as a separate diocese with the Episcopal See in Detroit. But the brief of March 20, 1827, erecting the See of Detroit for some unaccountable reason never left Rome. The See of Detroit was finally created on March 8, 1855. In 1840 Pope Gregory XVI condemned those who unjustly molested Indians and Negroes and despoiled and enslaved them. During the Pontificate of Pope Gregory new sees were formed at Indiana, Natchez, Dubuque, Nashville, California, Texas, Pittsburgh, Hartford, Milwau- kee, Chicago and Little Rock. The work of forming new dioceses was continued by Pope Pius IX, who created sees at Oregon, Buffalo, Albany and Cleveland. Pius IX also confirmed the choice of Mary Immaculate as the Patroness of the United States. In 1850 Pope Pius IX acceded to the American request for holding a national Council and appointed Archbishop Francis P. Kenrick to preside over this First Plenary Council in the United States. In his letter of August 9, 1855, Pius IX urged the American Bishops to found an American College in Rome, which was erected on August 15. 1858. When in 1875 the Question of Catholic education was discussed by the American Bishops, the Holy Father urged the American Bishops to establish parochial schools, when various other plans were proposed. On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the American College, Pope 113

Page 116 text:

112 part in the procession of Corpus Christi, and on the 11th and the 18th of the same month, he will preside at canonizations. Thousands of Catholics from the whole world will visit Rome to take part in the ceremonies. Throngs will fill the famed Basilicas. Pil- grims will pray at the High Altar in St. Peter's where the body of the first Bishop and Pope lies. They will venerate the relics located in other basilicas. In the famed Basilica of St. john Lateran, the pilgrims will view the table on which the first sacrifice of the Mass was offered by the First Priest, Jesus Christ. They will also visit the catacombs and the tombs of saints and martyrs. But sightseeing is not the main purpose of the Holy Year pilgrimages. They are not tours nor pleasure trips. Pope Pius XII warns against such a view and points out the true purpose of the Holy Year: This pil- grimage, beloved children, must not be undertaken after the fashion of pleasure-seeking tourists, but in that spirit of earnest piety which moved the faithful of Christ of every class and country in past ages to over- come numerous obstacles and hardships of a journey sometimes made on foot to Rome in order to wash away their sins by the tears of pen- ance and implore pardon and peace from God. On May 26, 1949, Pope Pius XII issued the Bull, jubilaeum Maxi- mum, inviting all nations to join in celebrating the Holy Year and surn- moning all the faithful not only to expiate their faults and amend their lives but also to lead them to acquire virtue and holiness accord- ing to the words of the Holy Scripture, 'Sanctify yourselves and be ye holy, because I am the Lord your God'. The three main purposes of the Holy Year may be summed up in the words: Prayer, Penance, Peace. During this year of great return and pardon, Christians have a unique opportunity to lift their hearts to God and beg Him for forgiveness of sins. Nations downtrodden by, Communism, torn by political strife, threatened by famine, need thej prayers of all Christians. It is the hope of the Holy Father that every-Y where . . . the tranquility of order, founded on a just settlement, may be restored as soon as possible, that the various social classes, with hatred banished and differences settled, may be united together in jus- tice and fraternal agreement, and that finally the great number of those in want may be given work to earn an honest living and may receiveq necessary and opportune aid from those who are in better circum- stances. Only by Prayer, Penance and Peace can the success of the Holy Year be achieved. Pilgrims who make the visit to Rome in the spirit of the Holy Year' will gain indulgences. An indulgence is the remission of all or part of! the temporal punishment due to sins already pardoned by the Sacra-, ment of Penance. The Sacrament of Penance forgives sins and the eter-l nal punishment due to them, but it does not remit the temporal punish-l ment due to sin. This temporal punishment due to sin ,must be atoned, for in some way either in this world by works of penance and charityl or in the next world in purgatory. Indulgences can be substituted fori these ways of atoning for the temporal punishment. An indulgence is granted on certain conditions and only by the au- thority of the church. The Pope as the Vicar oft Christ on earth has the, authority of granting indulgences. The Holy Pontiff has granted a fullq indulgence, that is, pardon of all the temporal punishment due to sin' during this year of expiation, to all the faithful who duly confess theiri sins in the Sacrament of Penance, who receive Holy Communion andi visit on that day, or on different days and in the order of their choice, the Basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Peter's in the Vatican, St. Pauls on the Ostian Way and St. Mary Maior's on the Esquiline, and recite! in each Basilica thrice the 'Our Father,' 'Hail Mary' and the 'Glory bd to the Father' for our intentions and in addition the Creed. , Pilgrims will have an unusual opportunity to be reunited with God.l During the Holv Year. they will be able to focus their attention on thel spiritual side of life. Through the merits of Christ, they will benefit by the numerous indulgences, drawn from the Church's spiritual treasury. The Catholic Church includes the Church Militant on earth,1 thel Church Triumphant in heaven, and the Church Suffering in purgatory. We are members of the Church Militant. It is our duty during the Holy Year to do everything to help the Church Suffering. The Holy Year gives us unusual opportunities for gaining indulgences which can be offered for the members of the Church Suffering, the souls in purgaJ tory. By doing this, we can join the Church Triumphant in Heaven i

Page 118 text:

114 Leo XIII raised it to the dignity of a pontifical institute in his Bull of October 25, 1884, Ubi primum. When the assembled Bishops at the Third Plenary Council of 1884 expressed the hope that a Catholic uni- versity be founded in America, Pope Leo XIII sanctioned the under- taking and by the Apostolic Letter Magni nobir gaudii of March 7, 1889, approved the university constitution and statutes, and empowered the university to grant degrees. So came into being the Catholic Uni- versity in Washington, D. C. The flow of immigrants into the United States after the Civil War was great. Pope Leo XIII saw the need of special work among various immigrant groups. In 1879 he authorized the erection of a special college and seminary for the training of priests for the Polish Cath- olics. ln 1889 he urged Mother Cabrini to go to America and put her community at the service of the Italian immigrants. Another problem 1 solved by Leo XIII was the question of a papal representative in the United States. Hitherto the Archbishop of Baltimore acted as the Pope's representative. In 1895 the Pope appointed Archbishop Satolli as Papal Legate with residence in Washington, D. C. Pius X showed his regard for the church in the United States on several occasions. On March 11, 1906, he wrote an inspiring letter Qzmm centum ante anno: to Cardinal Gibbons in commemoration of , the centenary celebration of the erection of the mother diocese of the Church in the United States. In his lettet Sapienli Comilio of june 29, 1 1908, Pius X released the American Bishops from the jurisdiction of the Sacred Congregation and put to an end the mission era of the Cath- olic Church in the United States. After the first world war, Pope Pius XI gave the American Catholic Church new evidence of papal benevolence. During the Holy Year of 1925, the Pope decreed the solemn beatification of eight missionaries l of the Society of jesus, who in the middle of the seventeenth century , were put to death by the Indians in Canada and northern New York. T Five years later, on june 29, 1950, Pius Xl canonized these Northy American martyrs, one of whom, St. Isaac Jogues, met his death in the northern part of New York state. In 1936, Pope Pius XI sent his Secre- 1 tary of State, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, to visit the United States. Pius XI once again honored the United States when he beatified Mother Cabrini in 1938. In 1939 Cardinal Pacelli ascended the throne of Peter. Five months after his election, Pope Pius XII showed a great interest in the Negro and Indian missions in the United States. In his encyclical letter to America, Sertum Laetitiue, issued on November 1, 1939, Pius XII praised the American Catholics and called on them to continue their splendid Apostolic work. When President Roosevelt appointed Myron C. Taylor as his personal representative to the Pope, Pius XII in his I Christmas Eve speech of 1939 expressed his joy at Roosevelt's step, 1 which, he said, was especially gratifying since it would bring valuable contributions not only to the efforts of peace but also to the victims of 1 war. When ten years later Taylor resigned due to ill health, Pope Pius l expressed his regret at the ending of a mission which has proven so l efficient and fruitful. Perhaps the most outspoken token of recent papal regard for the Catholics in the United States came in july, 1946. In his first canoni- zation after the second world war, Pope Pius XII raised to the altars of the church the foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, who has been called the mother of Italian emigrants in the United States, and the first American Saint. The canonization marks a fitting close to this brief outline of papal relations with the United States-a record of which American Cath- olics are justly proud in this Holy Year of 1950. Bernard J. Czechowicz y THE UTTITED STHTES HITD THE PITPES ' The two hundred and fifty-second successor of St. Peter sat on the T papal chair when the United States emerged out of the War of Inde- pendence as a free and self-overning nation. His name was Pius VI I and he ruled from 1775 to 1799. To him was addressed the first peti- tion of American Catholics in 1783.