St Thomas High School - Thomist Yearbook (Rockford, IL)

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honesty of humility and the unquestioned power of an almost unassailable position of authority. In forty years of ecclesi- astical career, all of which years have been spent in very influential position, with a Held of labor that has never been merely parochial or diocesan, Bishop Mul- doon, as a churchman has won the golden opinions and the troops of friends that should be the solace of his latter years. He has preserved a mellow humor and, with a broad smile, assumes the role of advocatus diaboli in his own case and steadfastly resists the extra-legal can- onizationsfi which ever and anon are bestowed on him by that large group of admirers who see his importance as an American churchman, in every best sense of that term, much clearer than he will ever see it himself. Long association is supposed to give insight. It may be true in principle that to be much with another is to have some estimate of his character. But it is not always true that the faculty of expressing appreciation accompanies the opportunity of observing. This is the writer's apology for concluding with the words of another observer who had only a brief time in which to make his estimate of the Bishop, but who did it with commendable pre- cision and a high sense of values. The exact degree of responsibility to be at- tributed to Bishop Muldoon for the Bishops' program issued by the National Catholic Welfare Conference immediately after the war is not sufficiently known to the writer to render him competent to discuss it. However, so great was his share in contributing to the inspiration of the whole movement which was reflected in that document, and so well known was it that a celebrated correspondent from VVashington journeyed to Rockford to in- terview the Chairman of the Bishops' Executive Committee. This man is him- self a political observer, a sociologist, a writer of international repute-he is a also non-Catholic. He had this very illuminating thing to say about Bishop Muldoon, and it is repeated here in con- clusion because in short space it says everything important and says it with rare understanding. In that printed in- terview Mr. William Hard made this comment-I recommend it to all who have an appreciation of terseness and truth, and I recommend it also because it was written with great respect and was well deserved g- The Bishop is a burly person, fatherly yet companionable - seeming very near with an errand from very far away. U f14l

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'1-Z-e,,,,,, ,,,, , Q , Y , ,, L ,, Y , ,- 4 4 lt is not, indeed. enough that a great charity for the people and a consuming care for their salvation be the full extent of a Bishop's endowment or achievement -he needs something which, owing to the different forms under which it may be manifested, might seem different from this absorbing interest, but which in reality is an outgrowth of it. One must be of a sufficiently simple faith to believe that. He needs social vision, the uncom- mon gift of common sense, and a sheaf of other qualities. Someone has said that a Bishop must be a man who answers letters and suffers fools gladly. These other qualities are noted elsewhere with relation to the subject of these para- graphs, but just here it seems we must not depart from the conviction that per- sonal consecration to an arduous task is absolutely indispensable in a man whom one would honestly attempt to designate as a great churchman. Great business acumen and organizing ability are not, indeed, gifts to be flouted or minimized and when a churchman possesses them he can render a notable service to the cause of Christ-but failing in the highest type of personal devotion, forgetting that he must walk with kings nor lose the com- mon touch he falls short of eminence. And he falls short of eminence because it is exactly there in that unspectacular quality of the Shepherd's soul, genuine love for his people, that the vitality of his function resides. All else may pass away, but the Worcl that breathes into his heart across a span of 1900 years must not pass away. Secondary to this intimate dedication of self to the cure of souls in an eminent churchman should be a faculty for self- criticism, or to avoid the harshness which , M A A , 'E ,, is associated with that word, let us say self-examination and self-judgment. By that is meant the faculty of judging hon- estly the group of which the individual is an integral part and in the tradition of which his work is carried on. A distin- guished convert once said to the writer Bishop Muldoon has the best faculty of standing outside the Church and looking in of any man T have ever encountered. If there is anything the matter with the Church in America, Bishop Muldoon knows what it is-nor would he be afraid to voice his opinion. Human defects in- here wherever humanity carries on its work-but it is not usual to find an indi- vidual who is himself responsible for an important department in that work and who is not at the same time afflicted with that paralyzing discretion which fears to point out defects of method, the ulterior motives of some of its inspiration, or the general disabilities, predicated of bias, prejudice, and personal interest which mar the outline or halt the progress of that work-and this even at the highly personal cost of including himself in the indictment. To acknowledge an error of judgment, of practice, and to be willing to begin humbly again to work over the ground and submit to the discipline of so searching an experience-well, for that task, in any branch of human endeavor requires an honest man, a sincere man and a truly humble one. When the field of endeavor is the Church, where a cer- tain reverence and many cherished amenities would give pause to criticism from even a member of the hierarchy we may offer a sincere tribute, more preci- ous than conventional words of praise, to the Bishop of intellectual integrity, who mixes equitably in his nature the .... ....,.,... ...., N. ...... , ,.,.- . .,..,. ..,., . H ..,. , M .e ,,.. , ,e ., -E, fe' ' 1 A 'F 'f .... . -'ffif i I-'!a2e21:Si2s3f:i. 41: :sees-V :ssl-' ass. 'taizgsgersfzzfegfm as-, 'Rigs safe--1-.are!2s5'E:5sif ia5si::ff,: Y --'W e:asezv::15:':ggzea.. an M, 24242 4.1: - -, ff, 'xt '-yjf 'H ..,. as-If .VM 1 ,... 1fAt45f2-iff-122:21--.gifgr vdf A-1 Qiifi- QQ, 3::'l'?2 '2---if-----1-21---1-f.-1,-I IIS

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.HT ' 1 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 1 'W ,,.- I 11, ':' 1 ': 1' 324. . lf zi, Q- 2-:I .-,f ':':' '3 -P fffiffiil wvv- l:25-I Hf ?E59i:5'-if-225-'if :'::: '-: 1 f-.1f E ff - ?f5iEif2f:'2'Ii'iif f-: 255553 3 1 ,.-' f f:f ': -'v':.' Il . St. Anthony's Hospital .54 ST. ANTHONY HOSPITAL St. Anthony Hospital dates back to the year 1899 when the Franciscan Sisters came from Peoria at the invitation of some prominent citizens of Rockford. The hospital grew rapidly from the beginning, and soon the lack of adequate accommodations for the increased number of patients made the need of a new building imperative. Early in the Spring of 1902 the cornerstone of the central building of the present hospital building was laid. By a happy coincidence the Right Reverend Bishop Muldoon, at that time Auxiliary Bishop to the Most Reverend Patrick A. Fee- D. D., Archbishop of Chi- han, cago, officiated, and preached a most spiritual address, which had much of prophetic import. in it As the years passed new build- were added to take care of the increased number of patients seeking admittance to the hospi- ings tal, and each time The Right Reverend Bishop of Rockford has graced the occasion with his presence. The Reverend Myles j. Hoare is the zealous Chaplain. Corpus Christi Monastery ln the Spring of 1916 the Right Reverend Bishop Muldoon ad- mitted into the Rockford Diocese a little band of five Poor Clares who were to form the nucleus of a Community of Contemplative Nuns whose aim it is to draw down God's blessing on the dio- cese and the world at large by their lives of penance, of mortifi- cation. and of prayer. On the feast of St. Clara of Assisi, August 12, the Right Rev- erend Bishop dedicated the home of the Sisters and blessed it under the title, the Monastery of Cor- pus Christi. ln March, 19.20, the Community took possession of the beautiful property on South Main Street. The Reverend E. I. Lehman is Chaplain. Marion Corley, '27, Kenneth Hanlon, '27, l 14 .5 CORPUS CHRISTI MONASTERY t-rf Efgttf 2'Q12 Etie i1s'i.- fiftt tffisii .12:ff ':ff vfiife 3153155 2 ee-5:51125 Qi ifrg r 5. i 'M 3 iiQ5i1Zp 3.51f5f.3a.3 1E1.- fi-3 ' yr..r,.rf1 I 15 l