The-Latin-Memoirs-of-Ferdinand-Helias-Corpus

1 (1837 A.D.) As regards the mission of St Joseph, Westphalia, in Gasconade County, established 105 miles from Saint Louis and as regards the mission of the Society of Jesus of Missouri and of the central United States, I have likewise presented myself as a living witness this year, 1837 This mission has been placed under a resident of St Charles out of concern for the welfare of our fellow man from whom once or twice a year it got spiritual aid that must not be underestimated Finally, because of the increased number of friends and settlers here and there and because of the troublesomeness of horse travel through rocky hills, seething streams, off-the-beaten paths, and uninhabitable forests, the mission could only allot minimal time for the individual stops within his district Due to his exhaustive schedule, the fruitful enlistments, growing every year, were relegated to those of lesser rank; thus, it seemed to the high governor of the Missouri Jesuit Mission, Rev Father Peter Joseph Verhaegen, whom God the Omnipotent Teacher should protect, that the Westphalia mission should be separated from those other Jesuit fathers already sufficiently and busily engaged and be fully honored with its own named resident Further, it is not only composed of the harvest of the Westphalian settlers and the abundant community of Jefferson City but also of other fertile fields ready for cultivating, about which I will speak elsewhere one-by-one so that together through diligence their workers might prove themselves a distinguished harvest already well-known at this harvest time Our Jesuit settlement of the working people of Westphalia, most populous at this time, had long ago envisioned the opportunity there for a missionary for our Society, for which reason it spilled over into subsequent settlements suitably established on both banks of the Missouri, Osage, and Maries Rivers For, since that interspatial distance is nearly equal, all these settlements can thus be more easily fostered and reviewed as well as those aids necessary for the maintenance of housekeeping and holy affairs; thereafter, for example, in consideration of the surrounding area, a post office was located in the town now commonly referred to as Lyletown And in our small village itself to be sure a certain man, Dr Bernard Bruns, a learned M.D., was by order of the @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 United States government transferred for use as Postmaster for the public use of those convening there either by river or by highway Thus, our overseers’ letters and those of our Jesuit Superior Order and of our benefactors and friends officially committed to writing and under seal of protection are all thus easily transferred not only from the nearby untouched and long-standing regions but especially from the city of Saint Louis Furthermore, it is proper that our rural estate itself be united to the city, like a daughter to her mother, toward the practice of mutual fame Indeed, by that very aid of messengers and by communication of officials, the disjointed members are joined to the Jesuit Society Then, stated for the record, therefore if you will, the wholesomeness and the charm of this place are on par with the heavens due to its vast, inherent gain Because of said benefits, the souls of both the laborers and inevitably those growing weak should be restored and lifted to an astonishing limit above the burden of so many massive tasks, worries, skirmishes, and every kind of poverty Thus, after the new year of 1838, with the onset of May following especially extensive signs from on high, Father Ferdinand Maria Helias (then a professor in Saint Louis University of canon law and moral theology and sometimes of the German and Italian languages), the first laborer who would be of this type of resident, set sail from the port of Saint Louis and is driven onward, transported here by steamboat But, lo, the ship was immediately incapacitated six times, an unheardof delay in sailing; yet, on the eleventh of that very same month, he finished the journey, although not without burdens and, having left his baggage on the way, he arrived at his designated place by horse He found the settlers split in disagreement, mainly because of the naivete associated with another less-Godly priest who had settled here from Europe for less than a year with some families He established himself here both as priest of the area and as the mission’s mediator to these ignorant combatants That earlier priest, strengthened with neither a letter from his non-Jesuit overseers enabling him to serve nor with a letter of approval from our superintendent, was not even performing any of the church’s duties But, he had at least taken to himself the task of educating at home some of the little children in Christian doctrine and later in the vernacular tongue Meanwhile, at the beginning of December without a doubt, though the plan of our Missouri mission was failing, this man (one who had by chance offended the good children of God in whom there was no evil intent due to @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 this outpost’s lack of direction) obtained from our Most Reverend Joseph Rosati, Archbishop of Saint Louis, legal jurisdiction in order that he may seek letters of transfer from his own superior and that he meanwhile might administer the spiritual guardianship of the Westphalians But, meanwhile that good man (Helias) was in fact spiritually aiding his fellow immigrants who had shared this vast migration following the construction, on the near side of the Maries River, of St John the Baptist chapel, which in any case had earlier been transformed for unholy purposes while the lack of approval of this area’s novice priest was being disregarded Therefore, he (the unholy priest) ran afoul of the ill-will of the Westphalians, nay, rather by his latest single irritation and by his speaking and proceding with absolute lack of foresight The settlers’ deep wounds of discord became raw again just as it had been in the past At this time our common working priest, Father Helias, otherwise a simple and prudent man as new resident of our mission but nevertheless now exceedingly angry, was not even capable of calming the minds of the settlers by any of his efforts as before So, that other priest with the approval of the local bishop was sent away by the highest director of our mission to the nearby as yet unfinished city of Washington, Missouri And this man is indeed now more in the likeness of a resident priest and although he resides about 60 miles from our fellow priests, nevertheless, he is easily able, if he so desires, to get their wholesome advice and warnings as well as spiritual help thanks to the convenience of the public byway (1838 A.D.) Meanwhile this now primary resident of St Joseph mission, Father Helias, while the hymns of the nearby sanctuary were being readied, remained in a neighbor’s home and chose to hastily prepare this and all those nearby neighbors’ souls entrusted to his care for the anticipated springtime Easter season prearranged by religious custom For, when that time for initial greetings had already expired, for many weeks, continually hastening about anywhere, he celebrated daily mass wherever, held publicly even in rooms of the chapels, ordinary in their lack, for German, French, or English crowds filled with idioms in those languages, and he celebrated these sacred rites with a more recurring ceremony He was received by all everywhere with an unbelievable exhibition of a rejoicing spirit; but his arrival brought salvation’s joy to no one more than to the people of Jefferson City This capital of our state and the city of the Supreme Court and of the representatives then contained an @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 almost innumerable amount of foreigners from Germany, Ireland, and Scotland employed in the huge construction of the new capitol Since from that time forth he was purifying totally this flourishing community with one change or another and since the settlers were continuing to approach the holy altar and to partake at the heavenly banquet table, thus, in a few days our missionary, through confession, purged even those new converts inflamed by the Catholic faith, and so he strengthened the divine worship of the mass to such a degree that he himself was bringing back the many expected fruits of his own effort the very least of which were barely objectionable For under the name and aid of our holy Jesuit Father Ignatius already 1,600 defenders of this type of religious direction were gathered into the fold and put into such a readiness for their own sanctuary and school that even this year they might be more easily initiated and so brought to perfection –God willing- because we had indeed bought an excellent architect who was most devoted to the Jesuits and its members Then, too, these workers, mentioned above as already building the capitol there, would soon put their efforts together even at a much-reduced wage toward the purpose of dedicating their arts and skills to God’s house Nay, even before winter the foundations of the venerable chambers had been laid and the walls now were rising up, built of solid rock lest this site be undeserving of the celebrated , great effort of those performing construction In fact, a certain man, Dnus C Dwyer, venerable among a select few and notable by virtue of his zeal, had even offered his services to our missionary as the obvious one to be selected from the 12 precincts of our citizenry without regard to payment Still, because of the distance from the center of the city’s location, nothing yet seemed proper as to construction of these foundations for the people Immediately city government, in a manner proposed and resolved promptly according to customs much older than ours, had entered into a plan, confirmed by all inhabitants’ signatures of petitioning the chief officers of the convened legislature, which there had so convened as was the custom of the time for the purpose of filling their own deliberative body and passing laws, lest they refuse to relinquish their old seats of elections now made useless by the construction of the new, magnificent capitol in favor of this new goal revered and useful for the citizens Indeed all the senators at least very courteously favored this laudable request down to the very last man, but the legislators of the other chamber did not @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 favor the agreement with the city so unanimously For, this solicitation of the citizens was rejected by more than a majority of the representatives, all done not without ill-will from their familiar town since the assembly now appeared to be in error to those crying out For which reason, to this end the above-praised citizens, once they established a register among themselves, took charge of buying up another area because it was even more healthful and commendable Meanwhile, our priest alone, since those prisoners of this state, condemned like just any criminals to the slave-galley ships, were held in the custody of the public prisons here, was received most kindly by the governor at the capitol and won his enthusiastic approval to look after the prisoners, to champion them in their overseers’ chains, and to render them whatever aid possible so that those poor people might at least also possess that freedom with which Christ has already set us free This for the most part was accomplished by our people of Jefferson City this year, but the diligence of those same workers expanded far beyond the rural area of Westphalia and the City of Jefferson In fact this diligence extended towards villages of French each and every month and within the year to outposts of Catholics along the banks of both the Osage and Missouri Rivers which up to now were somewhat too distant For example, there are a couple of such outposts where those working carefully create feats that primarily must be described as noble, even for this mountainous district, intertwined with the thickest of forests except where the accessibility has been achieved with numerous efforts yet hinders those moving forth to visit our settlers spread out in the remotest areas, and it exceedingly wears down these travelers However, the fruits of their efforts at least soothe this genuine toil if they in fact don’t remove it altogether Then there is the other matter of the obstacles of the rivers and streams (and sometimes of wandering roads) which often swell to such a degree due to the rains, becoming indeed more dangerous on horse, that they seem least capable of being crossed on horseback; and those things sometime lead travelers around into the trap of night (which has happened to our missionary) with the result that after supper they are forced to sleep in the cold outdoors even in winter with a perceptible loss of their health And concerning each and every one of those outposts, indeed much had to be mentioned in addition to the account read by those who were satisfied enough to say that none of our holy ministers’ or of our inhabitants’ matter @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 of religious duty was ever omitted Although in older French colonies this year the harvest of souls was collected through a sacred promise of the harvesters, nevertheless it was not so small but that they once again flocked into their ecclesiastical storehouses like long ago, -these workers who were once alienated because of the absence of divine law and their own innate negligence and fickleness, now, as much as they can publicly profess according to their age, are undertaking even more than those little ones so dear to the faith inherited from their ancestors which they first received in baptism Among these there was a most fortunate baby for whom God’s blessing seemed to be the preservation of this enlightenment until the time he beheld this light in his own faith For scarcely reborn in baptism by our priest, he departed this life into a better and happier life This same day, when our same priest was driven back by an adverse wind from the nearby shore of the Missouri River, he stopped to ponder how he could continue his journey again while the disastrous wind was blowing Then he heard from a bystander that a decrepit old woman miles from that place was failing in her final struggle with death To that place he hurried and found her praiseworthy in her piety and in the purity of matters of faith, milling small amounts of unleavened bread for mass However, ever since she had journeyed forth to this new land from Europe, she had never ridded herself of her chronic sins through confession in the presence of a priest Furthermore, there was so much of her rejoicing upon our missionary’s unexpected arrival that he seemed scarcely able to contain her She, gushing with tears, completed this her last confession of sins In turn, nothing strengthened this woman in this life more than her desire to be made strong for her journey to eternity by the church’s other sacraments Because the situation was such, with an unbelievable joy she breathed out her soul to her Creator in highest peace On both sides of the Missouri River in small villages certain ones even from our first arrival, although reborn in the church, were behaving nevertheless as though they were infidels out living in the woods who, disregarding the warnings of others, easily broke the sanctity of the feast days with their servile work Yes, indeed not any better did they keep the other teachings entrusted to them from God or the church Others, to whom this matter was offensive, were setting right the violators who were themselves admonished even less by our priest up until the time when our pastor’s warnings soon had shed light on the subsequent evil deeds of some of them as an object of scorn to be condemned by God’s angry hand with severe punishments Then @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 the rest, deterred by their catastrophe, made use of the defeat of these poor souls toward their own improvement Subsequently, whenever one of those who persisted was out cutting trees on the very feast days of Christmas, all of his limbs were shattered by a very tall oak, and so in this tragic scene, while his mother and wife watched, he gradually died in horrible pain Moreover, on the following Sunday when it was winter’s coldest, a couple of the other infidels, drinking together at a tavern into the uncivilized part of the night, lost their way on their return because they were drunk and after crawling on all fours through the fields and gardens, they thusly were freezing; one of which froze solid Meanwhile, they were forced to amputate the appendages of the other one due to gangrene of his feet and hands About that same time a certain woman, in a like manner as far as her negligence in the teachings of the church and its religious body was concerned, thus suddenly died following the departure of our missionary to another area The unexpected death of this woman greatly moved the souls of the townspeople, because of which the priest at a town meeting in the following public speech used that death as an argument recommending confession for sins: said he… “Therefore just as God our Creator, to whom our many citizens have owed much, entered your country region, offering Himself to all as a remission of all debts for those who would only have to approach Him seeing forgiveness as long as He waited, then also no one was so unconcerned at this advantage that he soon raced to freely obtain confession, especially when they knew the time of their death to be uncertain, and he who was hardest pressed with more serious debt to God raced even faster So, seek the Lord while He can be found; call upon Him while He is near.” There was a wretched woman who was indeed present then but she had so hardened her heart against God that with respect to her self-reformation she seemed capable of great arousal neither by God’s boundless rewards of sympathy unto those who are repentant nor even by the strict punishments of God the Avenger There was another woman much more so an adherent to the teachings of God and the church Since her wedding day was present and in view of the absence of our priest, even though she had already arrived within her fiance’s parish, she put an end to it contrary to public expectation Now, even though the priest was summoned repeatedly by her fiancé, she was still incapable of being persuaded that she should continue on with a @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 civil ceremony before she had dealt with her own conscience according to religious custom in the church Enduring this tough time for most of a week, she put off the wedding, and for the others there present her wholesome example served as a reminder that the teachings of God and His church must not be lightly neglected Moreso the punishments that all this brought to mind produced even more than has been recalled here with the result that the rest of those who had long ago grown spiritually weak in the absence of their priest allied their strength and souls and at various times with a greater effort let flow orations renewed by our faith Those newcomers, recently driven here from Canada and France, especially stood out in this respect Although they are almost a mile from the church, where their holy duty is usually performed, still, whenever the church bells ring, they assemble there with the greatest eagerness, both summer and winter, where they are excited to a holiness that rivals that of this town’s citizens with its fresh zeal for reverence But those new settlers on their own behalf had already laid the foundations of their town, which they called New Besancon There they planned to raise out of their own funds a temple in honor of the Virgin Immaculate conceived under the invocation of God, our Supreme Teacher This temple will in fact soon rise up by the effort and generosity of these settlers This is due to the fact that no one wants to be excluded because of their lack of religious necessities No, in fact he should engage even the smallest details as though nothing else mattered and try to engage these tasks and trials even more diligently so as to join God’s community of worshippers So, only a while back certain settlers, emigrants from Germany on the west bank of the Osage River, fostered a similar plan especially pleasing to God This settlement of German Catholics, by far much more populated than the French settlement, when it was impossible to attend the eucharistic banquet en masse with all their fellow Westphalians whenever the church bells rang (recall the French settlers) because of the obstacle of the river, would then nevertheless attend to the building of their own property using their own meager funds in the name of and under the protection of St Francis Xavier even though for all concerned the already-established church of St Joseph was more their own at that time No matter how often our priest busily engaged the sacred rites there in the simple little chapel, so did every adult make use of both confession and the holy mass with incredible eagerness and reverent feeling A certain woman @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 of this settlement had presented her only little boy to our priest in view of this child’s long-standing wasting away due to illness and our priest soon thereafter restored his strongest health far beyond her expectations Wherefore, our Holy Mother, following God’s example, never ceased to show her gratitude to that priest for his great blessings Hereafter our priest’s effort and results and appearance were the same in the remaining, more distant outposts except where he was not frequently able to travel completely because of the distance to an area Here we deliberately make no mention of other separate events since due to their similar theme they are contained in the same details recounted above Finally in truth let us at last return from such great and numerous meanderings to the main outpost of St Joseph There someone offered to buy almost 27 acres of land, long previously untended, for our Jesuit missionary (in truth 14 of these acres he reserved for himself), whereby that year, with that benefactor’s consent and, certainly allowable under the terms of agreement, this acreage was portioned out in equal sections by our head missionary resident to certain workmen so that whatever family built themselves permanent homes along public roads might legally own them after nine years, -homes which initially were free of rent for the first years along with small plots of land and thereafter under church supervision the worker paid rent every 2-4 years according to the title This year those men together with our own workers built the first foundations beyond the initial ones built, as we have recounted above Thus also were built simultaneously parish buildings, among them both a sanctuary for use by our people and new buildings Even with these settlers’ scarcity these new buildings were erected for our peoples’ use with a struggling generosity, buildings of which one in particular far stood out over all the others… This new sanctuary was also especially striking with respect to the nature of its furnishings, thanks to the effort of this benefactor and a few others There truly at the high altar was the image of our church’s most glorious patron, St Joseph, between the encompassing arms of Jesus and Mary, while the heavenly angelic host above issued forth their approval, all depicted in tapestry by a master’s hand, and also there were even taller columns splendidly sculpted in the likeness of candlesticks, and there was equal ornamentation handworked from highly polished, gleaming crystal and decorated with other saints There was built on the left side of the chapel beginning at the confessional an elevated @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 10 seating area for the choral members which honeycombed as was the custom of the time In this area under a picture recalling the scene of Calvary there comes into view the secure receptacle of Holy Oils On the opposite side of the altar under a painting of the Annunciation to the Virgin arise the lifegiving baptismal fonts handworked with ornamentation The individual walls of the temple on this side and that are completely covered with a variety of paintings of those mourning the suffering Jesus being tortured at the Stations of the Cross and of tapestries of the patrons of our Jesuit order, some outlined with most unique materials Moreover, a linen canopy hangs high above the altar, (though an unnoticing, average lay member still is unmoved by it), down the front of which is a very large Immaculate Heart of the Virgin surrounded with a thicket of roses and lilies Underneath in clouds is seen the Most Holy Name, MARIA, out of which is sent blazing branches of light, like tree limbs, which even illuminate in the varying degrees of their hue both the foreground and even the rear areas of the entire sanctuary as well as all these other divine tapestries with their unique ornamentation and majesty A bell, made with 96 pounds of bronze, hangs in the tower and at set times convenes the townsfolk at their sacred times and puts them in a mind to greet their companions with voices as holy as God’s own angels times a day because of its pleasing and happy sound Around the church run solid wood trellises, elegant in their craftsmanship, which might prove to be both a strong enclosure for the cemetery and an excellent added decoration for our buildings A very tall crucifix containing Jesus Our Restorer, situated around rows into the middle of that cemetery, can be seen for and wide by travelers Out behind the cemetery fence, filling the fountains with the coldest, clearest spring water was a 14-foot deep cistern, whose overflow, even in the greatest drought of summer, was for sale Immediately after the 27th of July, arrived Father Jacob Gummarus Busschots, another worker from Saint Louis, who then might teach boys and also youths of more advanced age in the school to read and write according to American usage and later might assist his associate however he was able This man greatly encouraged the spirit of his supervising associate, who was already failing in health due to his inordinately burdensome trips Especially encouraging were his closeness at hand and his large supply of household @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 10 82 his ministry, but he was eventually installed as pastor of Westphalia on 24 November 1837 In April 1839 Bishop Rosati transferred him to the newly established parish of St Francis Borgia in Washington, Missouri He later became pastor at Ferdinand, Indiana, where he served until his death on 25 August 1847.” 3-“Most Reverend Joseph Rosati”: “The first bishop of the Diocese of St Louis was Bishop Joseph Rosati He was the first administrator of both the St Louis and New Orleans dioceses in 1826, and then the following year became the first bishop of the Diocese of St Louis.” Source: Archdiocese of Saint Louis/archives and history; www.archstl.org/archives 3-“Westphalians”: “To secure a missionary center for the fathers from which they could conveniently attend the various Catholic stations of central Missouri, Father Verhaegen, with the consent of Bishop Rosati, decided to open a residence on the Maries At a meeting of the superior with his official advisors, April 23, 1838, it was determined that Father Helias and Brother Morris be sent to the station generally known as Westphalia settlement near Jefferson City.” –Garraghan, p 449 4-“new capitol”: Missouri’s first statehouse, which was completed in 1826, had been destroyed by fire on November 15, 1837 4-“Dwyer”: Charles Dwyer of St Louis @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 82 83 5-“another area”: “This first Catholic church in Jefferson City was named in honor of St Ignatius Loyola, dedicated on Easter, 1843, where Father Helias served until July, 1846, upon the arrival of Father James Murphy, the first resident priest of Jefferson City.” –Garraghan, p 458 5-“governor”: Lilburn Williams Boggs (December 14, 1796-March 14, 1860) was governor of Missouri from 1836-1840 5-“3 villages of French”: probably Cote sans Dessein, French Village, and New Besancon 8-“foundations of their town”: “The recently arrived French-Canadians of whom Helias makes mention… proposed to start a settlement of their own to be known as New Besancon There is no record of such intention having been carried out.” –Garraghan, p.460 9-“27 acres of land”: “This benefactor is listed as Francis Geisberg” [brother of Henriette Geisberg Bruns], -Garraghan, p 452 9-“over all the others”: At this point part of the original manuscript is missing 9-“the effort of this benefactor”: His name was contained in the missing portion of the manuscript 10-“around the church run”: Here follows an unintelligible word in the manuscript @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 83 84 10-“Busschots”: “Father Busschots arrived on the scene July 27, 1838 He remained in New Westphalia until September 23 of the following year when he was transferred to the new Jesuit residence of St Francis Borgia in Washington, MO Father Helias was then left without an assistant priest until the arrival in 1846 of Father James Cotting.” –Garraghan, p 453 13-“visited”: See Garraghan, pp.453-455 for Bishop Rosati’s own recollection of this event 15-“weapons”: Governor Lilburn Boggs had issued an executive order known as the Extermination Order on October 27, 1838, which was meant to expel Mormons from Missouri On October 30 of that year some of the state militia, probably not even aware of the order, killed 17 Latter Day Saints men and boys during the Haun’s Mill Massacre As a result of the Mormon War, thousands of the Latter Day Saints members left for Illinois 19-“1000 guardians”: -Garraghan, p 460; this amount is estimated at ca $2000 20-“certain one of these criminals”: -Garraghan, p 459, “A young Englishman, Henry Lane by name, of aristocratic connections and a one-time college student.” 26-“10 acres of property”: -Garraghan, pp.461-462; “As the ground on which the church stood had been acquired by him [Helias] from Henry Harr…the village went for a @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 84 85 while by the name of Haarville Later, it took the name of the post office of the district, Taos…” 27-“our Society”: Source-The homepage of the Jesuits (www.jesuit.org) “In 1540 St Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus as a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church Its members would come to be known as Jesuits.” 29-“those who dissented”: -Schroeder, p 109, from a letter dated May 7, 1841 “Things are not going well with our pastor anymore It is sad One can never go to church without finding some objection to his sermons He exaggerates horribly and turns everybody against him…If only we had a good German minister who would be concerned with the well-being of the community!” 30-“Jesus and Mary”: This church is now known as Sacred Heart Church in Richfountain 31-“(John 15:19)”: -Garraghan indicates that the note was in Latin and read “Why should the man who covets hardships hie [hasten] to the dusky Indies? Let him come to Westphalia and he will find hardships aplenty.” -p.465, footnote 39 31-“Pilot Grove”: -Garraghan, p 467: “…services were held three or four times a year at Holy Cross in Pilot Grove, Cooper County.” @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 85 86 31-“SS Salvatoris D.N.I.C Of the Cross”: In the manuscript this is a reference to the Latin “Sanctissimi Crucis Salvatoris Domini Nostri Iesus Christi,” i.e The Most Holy Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a church now referred to as Holy Cross on Father Helias’ map (see Garraghan, p 478) This church was not an established foundational parish at first It became so in 1893: “Under the open sky or in the homes of the Catholic farmers the first masses were celebrated…Then in 1893, St Joseph Catholic Church was organized by Father John Conrad…In the same year Samuel Roe gave an acre of land for a church.” –from the combined historical accounts of Levina Reuter, Lillian Twenter, and Mrs Fred Schuster, p 19, Catholic Missourian files, Diocese of Jefferson City 32-“Cote Sans Dessein”: French for “Hill Without Design,” this is the “site of an ancient French village This place has its name from an isolate hill that is standing, as if by accident, on the riverbank…The commissioners to locate a permanent seat of justice for Missouri at one time looked favorably upon Cote Sans Dessein as a site for the capital, but owing to doubt as to the title of the place abandoned it in favor of Jefferson City.” –p.2, Tebbetts Page, Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society (www.kchsoc.org/tebbetts.html) 37-“Harrville”: see endnote 26 38-“Roothaan”: 21st General of the Society of Jesus @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 86 87 39-“poor of our mission”: At this point in the manuscript the top half of the page is totally illegible As translator I surmise that this drastic change in Father Helias’ lucid style may be due in part to anxiety brought about by the proposed changes within the province 39-“in a city”: In Rome the Collegium Germanicum was founded in 1552 40-“burned in port”: -Garraghan, p.469: “But the steamer bearing the precious cargo, when almost in sight of St Louis, caught fire and sank, a complete wreck.” 40-“out in the open”: A reference to Mark 4:22: “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.” (New American Standard Bible) 41-Gregory XVI…born September 18, 1765, died June 1, 1846; Pope from 1831 to 1846; last man chosen as pope even though not already a bishop John Tyler, Jr….born March 29, 1790, died January 18, 1862; 10th President of the United States from 1841 to 1845; he began as Vice President on March 4, 1841, assuming the presidency on April 4, 1841, upon the death of William Henry Harrison; he annexed Texas in 1845 Peter Richard Kenrick…born in Dublin, Ireland, August 17, 1806, died in St Louis on March 4, 1896; ordained March 6, 1832; appointed coadjutor to Bishop Rosati of St Louis November 30, 1841; appointed Bishop of St Louis September 27, 1843 Meredith Miles Marmaduke…born August, 1791, died March 26, 1864; Missouri’s 8th governor, assuming office @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 87 88 February 9, 1844, when then Governor Thomas Reynolds committed suicide Bishop James Oliver Van de Velde… born near Termonde, Belgium, April 3, 1795, died November 13, 1855; president of Saint Louis University; vice-provincial of the Jesuits and later bishop of Chicago and then Natchez, MS 41-“by which we praise God”: The hymn is Te Deum Laudamus (We praise You God) 42-“birthday of St Francis Xavier”: In 1844, Easter was celebrated on Sunday, April St Francis Xavier was born on April 7, 1506, in Navarre, Spain 47-“225 ?”: The Latin word in the manuscript here is SCUTA It translates as “payment in lieu of other service” or “shields” or “protectors.” It must be assumed it is a Belgian form of currency 47-“Corpus Christi”: Thursday, May 22 47-“port of Saint Louis”: see first endnote for page 40 47-“uniquely shaken”: At this point Father Helias lapses into the first person, undoubtedly demonstrating great personal sadness 47-“decorated and maintained”: -Garraghan, p 469, footnote 51: “…from 1839 he received almost annually generous donations from his family in Belgium.” Owing to @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 88 89 this munificence St Francis Xavier Church in Taos is now home to some rare 17th Century Italian Renaissance art “The oil paintings which are housed in the three altars are the work of the Italian Renaissance artist, Guido Reni (1575-1642) These three paintings (dated 1601) are believed to be some of only a few remaining originals The Smithsonian and the Vatican each have a work by Reni These paintings were a gift from Father Helias’ mother, the Countess of Lens, and they were brought to this country from Europe in 1846 The center altar is adorned with a piece entitled The Flagellation On the left side altar is a painting of St Francis Xavier, our parish patron The right side altar houses the painting of St Francis of Assisi, one of the most beloved saints.” –from the St Francis Xavier Church Welcome Brochure, Taos 49-“St Francis of Girolamo”: born 1641 at Grottaglie, Italy, died May 11, 1716, Naples; canonized May 26, 1839, by Pope Gregory XVI; organized laymen into a group called Oratio della Missione to help Jesuit missionaries Source: www.saints.sqpn.com 50-“Gertrude Evens”: for Garraghan’s account of this illness, see p 470 50-“C.C.D.”: The common interpretation of this abbreviation is Catholic Christian Doctrine, in which basic church teaching is learned by Catholic boys and (now) girls The de facto abbreviation stands for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 89 90 51-“St Augustine”: “For this reason, the man who lives by God’s standards and not by man’s, must be a lover of the good, and it follows that he must hate what is evil Further, since no one is evil by nature, but anyone who is evil is evil because of a perversion of nature, the man who lives by God’s standards has a duty of ‘perfect hatred’ (Psalm 139:22) towards those who are evil; that is to say, he should not hate the person because of the fault, nor should he love the fault because of the person He should hate the fault, but love the man And when the fault has been cured there will remain only what he ought to love, nothing that he should hate.” –St Augustine of Hippo (354-430), City of God, 14.6 52-“40th”: In the manuscript this number is unclear 53-“Dr Barron”: -Garraghan, p.263, footnote 69: “Bishop Edward Barron, Vicar-Apostolic of the two Guianas, was making a confirmation tour through Missouri under commission of Bishop Kenrick of Saint Louis.” 54-“Jacob Cotting”: -Garraghan, p 471: “Father James Cotting, a Swiss,…was a man of robust health, with energy and zeal to match, and in Helias’ words, ‘An exceedingly zealous and active young missionary.’” @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 90 91 57-“holy year”: Pope Pius IX (Giovanni Maria Mastaiferretti), 1792-1878, was pope from 1846 to 1878 The dogma of the Immaculate Conception and the veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were instituted by him Traditionally Holy Years arrive every 25 years Pius IX did not declare 1850 or 1875 Holy Years due to political unrest in Rome There is some support for Jubilees celebrated in odd-numbered years “Jubilee was accordingly proclaimed by Pope Martin V in 1423, but Nicolas V in 1450 reverted to the quinquagesimal period, while Paul V decreed that the Jubilee should be celebrated every 25 years and this has been the normal rule ever since,” (www.newadvent.org; see Holy Year of Jubilee) “The Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore made the Immaculate Conception the patronal feast of the United States in 1846 Pope Pius IX almost immediately after his election that year undertook a series of acts in favor of the belief…” Ineffabilis Deus, Acta Pii IX 1.1: 616 This series of acts may have included a year of Jubilee but no record of such exists Thus, there is no record of 1847 being declared a Holy Year 58-“St Peter”: June 29 58-“starvation”: 1847 was the summation of the Irish potato famine 58-“St.Ignatius’ feast”: July 31 59-“Paul”: The International Order of the Daughters of Charity was founded in 1633 by St Vincent de Paul in @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 91 92 Paris St Elizabeth Seton opened their first American institution in Texas in 1809 60-“in the future as well”: Here, inspired by the literary tradition of his Classical mentor Marcus Tullius Cicero, Father Helias exhorts himself and his reader to employ prudence and foresight concerning impending strife 63-“Battle of Sacramento”: “At the battle of Sacramento, near Chihuahua, Mexico, February 28, 1847, one of the actions incident to Col Alexander W Doniphan’s conquest of northern Mexico, ten pieces of artillery were captured by the American troops Subsequently Col Doniphan joined the army under General Wood, who presented him with the guns captured at Sacramento After the war the guns were taken to Missouri via the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and presented to the state,” Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History (1912), vol II, p 617 63-“2 Chronicles 7:18”: “Then I will establish your royal throne, as I made covenant with your father David saying, ‘You shall never lack a successor to rule over Israel.’” 63-James K Polk was the 11th President of the United States from 1845 to 1849 John Cummins Edwards was Governor of Missouri from 1844 to 1848 64-“Nativity of the Virgin”: September @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 92 93 64-“feast of the children’s crusade”: No feast day on the calendar could be found for this It could be a locallyrecognized event, perhaps in October 64-“help us”: Father Ehrensberger established Westphalia as a secondary residence in central Missouri He arrived on November 17, 1848, and departed on September 17, 1851 His focus was on Sacred Hearts at Richfountain, home to fellow Bavarians 65-“Ambrosian Hymn”: St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan from 374-397 and Doctor of the Church, is credited with having composed the first version of the Te Deum Laudamus (see endnote 41) St Ambrose is also the author of the quote “When in Rome, as the Romans do,” as he was trying to explain local church customs to the visiting St Augustine 65-“flee into another”: Father Cotting had incurred the animosity of the “Latin farmers” of Westphalia, as had Father Helias, to the point of having to defend himself in a law suit which he lost, the reparations of which were mitigated by the intervention of Helias Upon threat of a second suit, Cotting was reassigned (see Garraghan, p.472, for his account of this reassignment) 66-“Mary’s month”: May 69-“barely inhabited then”: Here begins Father Helias’ contemplation of his own death @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 93 94 72-“Charon in hell”: Charon in Classical mythology is the boatman on the subterranean rivers who delivers souls to the afterlife This blend of pagan and Christian belief is not uncommon Charon appears at the bottom of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment fresco on the front wall of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican 72-“O Lord”: Here Father Helias composes his own funerary memorial 72-“earned eternal rest”: These words about his burial are written in the margin of the manuscript He is in fact buried inside the church, not in the cemetery 72-St Ferdinand III: King of Leon and Castile; born in 1198, died May 30, 1252 He liberated Spain from Saracen rule and is buried in the cathedral at Seville He was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671 72-“earthly pilgrim”: Evidence of Helias’ Classical education, this is a direct reference to the ancient Roman funerary epigram “Hodie mihi, cras tibi” (Today this grave is for me, tomorrow it will be for you) 74-“covers us all”: Father Helias died on August 11, 1874, at Taos Written on his tomb inside St Francis Xavier Church there are these words: “Flanders was my cradle; France instructed me; Italy, Germany and Switzerland sheltered me After many ventures and labors on land and sea, God settled me in Missouri The foundations of @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 94 95 Westphalia were laid by me and seven churches were founded by me to the greater glory of God.” @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 95 96 @J.S.Farris-October 2, 2006 96