“And Now Bishop, Minister, and Church Are All Catholic!”

St. Charles Borromeo parish, Brooklyn, N.Y., was founded in 1849 by Father Charles Constantine Pise (1801-1866). He bought the former Episcopal Church of the Emanuel, remodeled it, and dedicated it to St. Charles Borromeo. It was in this church that Right Rev. Levi Silliman Ives, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of North Carolina, ordained Rev. Donald McLeod (seen above). Some years later, the bishop and the minister met again in this church. The church had become a Catholic Church. The minister had become a Catholic priest and a professor at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Cincinnati. The Bishop had become a Catholic layman and the head of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in New York City. One day Dr. Ives was invited to dinner by Father Pise. Donald McLeod, a mutual friend, was also a guest. After making a visit to the Blessed Sacrament in the church, McLeod said: “Doctor, do you remember when we last met here ?” Dr. Ives stopped for a moment to recall his thoughts and exclaimed : “Oh ! the mercy of God! The last time I was here was when I, as a Protestant Bishop, ordained you an Episcopal minister, and now bishop, minister, and church are all Catholic, thanks be to God !” And it was really the case.

Very Rev. Joseph Faà Di Bruno, P.S.M., Catholic Belief: Or, A Short and Simple Exposition of Catholic Doctrine (1884)