Quigley Preparatory Seminary - La Petit Seminaire Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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3A mI'll1Lf566l,I'lC8 0 udcc HEN Giuseppe Sarto began his seminary life at Padua, he was immediately attracted to the line Gregorian chant class which was an important part of the seminarys curriculum of studies Although quick to acquire an intelligent understanding of the intricacies of the chant, he was at the same time dissatisfied with the type of music commonly heard in the churches, claiming that it did not carry out the true ideals of the liturgy As his semmarian years ended, he be came more proficient in the art of chant, so much so that during the last year of his seminary course at Padua, he was made director of the seminar of experience for his new responsibility he worked and studied even more in tensively than before Yet the more deeply he penetrated into the nature and history of chant and the more profoundly he reverenced its original purity, the more obvious became the defects of the music given him to teach He wished to put into use the true Gregorian which the monks of the French Benedictine Abbey of Solesmes under the leadership of their abbot, Dom Gueranger, had been trying with some success to raise from the decline into which it had begun to fall as far back as the twelfth and thirteenth CCntur1CS After his ordination Don Sarto was appointed curate of a village church in nearby Tombolo Here, he took ad vantage of the first opportunity 38 afforded him for introducing the rudi ments of pure Gregorian to the towns folk Here, too, in serving God s poor with the gifts of divine song his love for music became 1nseparablv linked with his love for God This 7eal for music was manifest at every stage of his priestly ministry It became a key note of his lifes work As pastor at Salzano, he assembled a fine choir of men and boys and taught them true Gregorian Later as a monsignor he encouraged greater attention to beau tiful passages of pure chant bemg sung in the churches of the dioceses W hen Giuseppe Sarto became Bishop of Mantua at the age of only forty nine, works of charity left him little oppor tunity for rest, but even then he occa sionally managed to find some leisure time to devote to music He was a so able to help with the music at t e seminary, and he was happy to dis cover there a gradual return to t e purity of genuine Gregorian The sem 1nary treasured certain musical scores written by the Bishop himself W hen B1shopSarto became Cardinal Patriarch of Venice, he issued a pas toral letter on the reform of church music This letter was sent throughout the archdioceses in the summer of 1895 Church music, wrote His Eminence, ought to stimulate the faithful to med itation and prepare them to receive with greater fervor the fruits of grace That IS its only reason for existence And it must rely on three factors to U O Q . . . . , 3 . . . . . . , - ' x 9 ians' choir. Keenly aware of his lack his ecclesiastical duties and his zealous. , Y V . . . A . . . I 1 . . . h . . h . . p 7 . . ' as ' H ' ' . . U . .

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guished, show1ng the highest lnterest IH every branch of study Philosophy excellent, because he IS a good thinker and acquires not only knowledge but also understanding Latin very good because of a keen understanding good translatlon, and pleaslng style Greek distmgulshed because of broad knowl edge of the grammar and exactness in explaining and translating H1StOfY notable because of clear understanding of events and their historical sequence Mathematics very good has great natural gift 1n this d1rect1on especially apt in Algebra and Geometry Physics notable because of clearness of ideas, exact knowledge and clear demonstra t1ons He continued thus throughout h1s years of study at the sem1nary Even later when he became a teacher each student as far as possible the same degree of scholarship as he himself had attained in the seminary And so too lt was when he became sp1r1tual direc tor for his aim was to imbue lnto that lntellectual foundation the strength of a prayerful life Thus work and prayer are inseparable since both must be com bmed to make a priest Ora et Labora Work and Pray such is the motto of Quigley Later when he became rector of the seminary at Treviso Monsignor Sarto made every effort to further the study of Scripture He knew it well and was determined that every student should likewise take a special interest At uigley the case IS similar Monsignor Schmid our own rector, has arranged in conjuncnon with religion, a special course 1n reading and studying the Scriptures The first year students are offered the writings of the Old Testa ment and in second year a Bible His tory study Third year begins a study of the New Testament through the Epistles and in fourth and fifth year lt conslsts of an analysis of the life of Chr1st Today Monsignor Schmid teaches the senior classmen When he was elevated to the ofiice of bishop, the priesthood in its fullness there continued in Giuseppe Sarto a love and interest for the semlnary and he proceeded in making it one of the chlef duties of his ofiice He realized the importance of the seminary in se curing for the future priest a strong foundation in rel1g1ous and scholarly ways and he was therefore bent on making it the nursery for his future co laborers and a place of piety and 1n the account of the progress of the seminary He visited it often as does our own Cardinal Archbishop today and he d1d everythmg possible to induce the students to improve the1r habits and studles so that they might become pious servants of the altar Never did Gluseppe Sarto fail to help the priest and seminarxan whether It be through advice or example Hls learning did not end ln the seminary but had continued even after he had become curate bishop, and pope He had read extensively Holy Scripture, Theology and History seemed to be the subjects he preferred and even amidst the daily cares and incessant labour of his exalted office he managed, I could see, to pursue many a volume and to keep 1n touch with modern thought These are the words of Cardinal Merry del Val PIUS X s Secretary of State 37 , . . i . 2 , . . 1 I ' 1 . 2 . . . . , . : , . . . , . , - in the seminary he tried to instill into study. The bishop took special delight 7. . . , 5 . S . . I . . . . . ,, 3 D ' P . , .

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do thxs holmess, artlstxc pur1ty, and unlversallty The crownlng work 1n hls eH ort to reform church mus1c was yet to come VS hen the beloved Cardlnal Sarto was elected Supreme Pontlff on August 4 1903 at the age of slxty elght he chose the great dream of Salnt Paul staure omnla ln Chrlsto C to restore all thlngs m Chrlst D as hls motto and program of actlon Man of actlon that he was the new Pope P1us X, 1n hls typlcally clear and dlrect manner 1m medlately undertook h1s program of restoratlon Scarcely three months after the begmnmg of hxs pont1Hcate the Holy Father lssued hls Motu Proprlo on Sacred Music The work was hxs very own defimte and plam spoken It was IH reallty an elabor atlon ofthe ldeas expressed m h1s pas toral letter It emphaslzed the fact that church mus1c was to apply to the entlre Isplrltual realm of the Holy Father The pontlff s alm as set down ln the Motu Proprlo was prec1se church music must be made subordm ate to prayer H1s declared 1ntent1on upon assumlng the burden of h1s office was the restoration of all thlngs ln Chrlst In h1s v1s1on of th1s compre henslve task mus1c found ltS proper role-a form of prayer and an a1d to worshlp Today after almost fifty years Qulg ley Preparatory Semmary IS enjoymg the frult of Plus X s labor 1n its fulness ust as the sem1nar1ans of Padua sang Gregor1an at the1r cathedral every Sun day so also do the older sem1nar1ans of ulgley at the1r own Cathedral of the Holy Name ust as the S1st1ne Cho1r dellvers the glorlous works of Palestrma, Refnce, and Perosl under the dome of Samt Peters Baslllca m the Vatlcan so do the younger semln arlans of Qu1gley under the tltle of the Cardmals Cathedral Chonsters, every Sunday ln the sanctuary of the1r Cathedral Thus, on each Sunday as well as on numerous speclal occaslons it IS certalnly gratlfymg to recognxze the llturglcal contrlbutlons of beauty and Cllgnlty and splendor made by both Qulgley Chanters and Cathedral Chor lsters Here sacred mus1c properly approached and properly lnterpreted falls naturally 1nto the role for which lt was deslgned an ald to worshxp Both of these excellent vocal groups were 1nst1tuted at Qu1gley w1th the express wlshes of Plus X 1n mmd In ecclesiastical semmarxes and ln stltutlons the tradltxonal Gregorlan Chant must be cultivated wlth all dlllgence and love and let superlors support the cause by w1despread en couragement and open handed pralse of the1r young subjects In llke manner wherever lt IS posslble let a Sclzola Cantorum be establlshed for the best posslble execution of sacred polyphony and of good llturglcal mus1c The Qu1gley Gregorlan Chant Cho1r composed of fifth year sem1nar1ans, IS the oldest muslcal group at the sem mary It has developed and mam tamed throughout 1ts years an admlr able qualxty 1n provldxng all Gregorlan chant, the trad1t1onal mus1c of the Church at the Cathedral celebratlons Father R1chard Wojclk IS completlng has second year as the young dlrector of the group Father recelved hxs early 1nstruct1on ln chant at Qu1gley under the sklllful guldance of both Monslgnor 39 . . H . , . . . . , .. ' 9 I, . . , . 3 5 ' J ' 7 . U. . . - m- , . . . ,, H . . . . . . . . . ,, . . . . . . J 9 ' 3 ' ' D J . 1 9 ' ' ' CK . ,, . . . . . . 9 Q ' ' . . H . . . . . ' Q x ' ' . . . . . . . 3 . , . . , - . H I . H . . . . . , . ' J ' 3 7 . . . . . . ,, . ' ' Q , - o a - J 9 ' J , - 9 - J