Father Henry H. Wyman, C.S.P. (1849-1929): Convert, Author, Pastor

“Rev. Henry H. Wyman, Paulist Father, Native of Westminster, Dies in Chicago; Burial Here,” Fitchburg Sentinel, March 9, 1929


Rev. Henry H. Wyman of the Paulist Order of Chicago, a native of Westminster, died in Chicago Thursday, the day following his 80th birthday.

A funeral mass will be celebrated at the Paulist church, Chicago, Monday morning at 10 a.m. and the body, accompanied by a Paulist priest, will be brought to this city. It will be taken from the train to St. Joseph’s church Tuesday night by J.B. Aubuchon, undertaker, and will lie in state Tuesday night. At the request of Rev. Fr. Wyman, a low mass will celebrated at St. Joseph’s church Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. Burial will be in St. Joseph’s cemetery.

Rev. Fr. Wyman’s only survivor is a brother, Alfred Wyman of Cambridge and Leominster.

Rev. Fr. Wyman was born March 6, 1849, in Westminster. He was graduated in 1871 from Brown University. In 1871 he became a convert to the Catholic Church; previous to that time he had been a Congregationalist. On January 6, 1872, he entered the Paulist Novitiate, and was ordained a priest on March 8, 1876. His first appointment was to St. Paul’s church, New York.

The following year he was sent on missions, and labored as a missionary until the year 1894, giving missions in the eastern and western middle states. In 1877 he was a member of the mission-band that conducted missions, in Chicago, at St. Pius church, and St. James church, then located on Prairie avenue. In the early 80’s he again returned to Chicago for missions given at St. James’ church, All Saints church, and St. Elizabeth’s.

In 1894 he was sent to San Francisco, with Rev. Fr. Edward B. Brady, to open a new Paulist house, where he remained until 1914. Rev. Fr. Brady died in 1899, and Rev. Fr. Wyman was appointed San Francisco’s superior of the new foundation. Afterward he labored as a missionary on the Pacific coast and also assisted in the parish work. In 1914 he was assigned to Old St. Mary’s in Chicago, where he remained until 1920, when he was again transferred to St. Paul’s church, New York.

After four years in parish work there he was again appointed to Old St. Mary’s, in which church the celebration of his golden jubilee was held March 18, 1926.

Rev. Fr, Wyman was the author of a booklet entitled “Certainty in Religion,” and two pamphlets; “The Story of My Religious Experiences,” which is the story of his conversion to the Catholic Church, and one on “Scholastic Philosophy,” which has a permanent value as apologetic literature.

The golden jubilee of Rev. Fr. Wyman was an event of great joy in the Paulist community, and hundreds of his friends were present on the occasion of his jubilee mass to offer their gifts of prayer and share in the happiness of the jubilarian of 50 years.

NOTE
The Paulist Fathers, officially titled the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle, were founded in 1858 by Father Isaac T. Hecker, a convert to Catholicism. It was the first religious community of men founded in the United States. Their purpose was to work for the evangelization of the country. Today they pursue this through an active ministry to non-Catholics as well as those fallen away from the Church. Since their founding they have maintained an active presence in the media, first through newspapers and now through the internet and radio.

Old St. Mary’s, Chicago, was the first Catholic Church founded in Chicago. Founded in 1833, it was the original cathedral for the Archdiocese of Chicago. It was destroyed during the Great Chicago fire of 1871 but was rebuilt. Holy Name Cathedral has since replaced it as the cathedral. The Paulists have administered the parish since 1903.

 Old St. Mary’s, San Francisco, was founded in 1854 as California’s first Catholic cathedral. A new cathedral (also named St. Mary’s) was competed in 1891. The Paulist Fathers took charge of Old St. Mary’s in 1894 and have maintained charge ever since. It was severely damaged during the 1906 earthquake that rocked the city, but it was Father Wyman who was committed to restoring it.