The College of St. Francis Xavier was founded in 1847 by the Jesuits in Manhattan. Until 1912 it operated a high school division and a college division. The college closed in the early 1920’s and the high school still operates today as Xavier High School on West Sixteenth Street. The following is a list of requirements for admission to the college in 1899. The College of St. Francis Xavier. Requirements for Admission. The requirements for admission to the Freshman Class... Read more
Founder of St. Joseph’s Hospital. Fr. Francis, of German extraction, entered the Franciscan Order in 1862; was ordained priest in 1867, and was successively appointed Assistant Pastor, Apostolic Missionary, College Professor, Pastor and Superior and Episcopal Consultor in various places before coming to Memphis in 1887. Here in Memphis he built and enlarged St. Mary’s School, organized the Chickasaw Council of the Young Men’s Institute, of which he was the first chaplain, was Pastor simultaneously for four years of St.... Read more
A well-established character actor in the Silent Era and in Hollywood’s Golden Age, Frank McGlynn made some 138 films between 1911 and 1947, playing alongside the likes of Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, and a young John Wayne. He holds the record for playing Abraham Lincoln no less than ten times onscreen, in films such as Shirley Temple’s The Littlest Rebel (1935), John Ford’s The Prisoner of Shark Island (1937), and the first Lone Ranger movie in 1938. Born to... Read more
ASCENSION DAY. “And while they gazed on Him going into heaven.” From this Day’s Epistle. SURELY, my brethren, our Lord Jesus Christ took to heaven with Him His Apostles hearts and souls. And this formed part of His joy. Next to the joy of being with them, was that of consciousness that their souls lovingly followed Him to His throne of everlasting bliss. He knew that scarcely anything but His glory could now engage their minds. Should it not... Read more
A PRIEST’S TRIBUTE TO NUNS. Mgr. Conaty’s Sermon at the Georgetown Convent. (The New York Times, May 31, 1899) Washington, May 30— Cardinal Gibbons, Papal Delegate, Mgr. Martinelli, and other prominent Catholic churchmen took part today in the second-day’s celebration of the centennial of Georgetown Convent. It is estimated that at least one thousand women, representing every State in the Union and many of the Latin-American countries, took part in the ceremonies. Solemn Pontifical Mass was celebrated this morning, Cardinal... Read more
MANHATTAN, 5; C.C.N.Y., O Opening Game of the Baseball Season at Jasper Oval. The New York Times, April 1, 1900 The Manhattan College baseball team opened the season of 1900 yesterday on Jasper Oval with a victory over the boys from the College of the City of New York. The field was in excellent condition despite the snowfall of Friday night. A large crowd of adherents of both institutions greeted the rival teams, and warmed the chilly atmosphere by... Read more
Today, the day that the Class of 2014 graduates from the United States Military Academy, offers an opportunity to look at some of the Catholic graduates West Point. During the nineteenth century, the majority of the Corps of Cadets was Protestant, and would be for a very long time. This 1908 article profiles some of the academy’s graduates who converted to Roman Catholicism, in itself not a small number: Scannell O’Neill, “Convert Sons of West Point,” The Rosary Magazine, Vol. 32... Read more
Regina Theresa Sherwood was for many years closely aligned with religion, education and charity in Nassau County. She lived in Glen Cove for 66 years and her intense Catholicity and beneficent work were recognized by Pope Benedict XV. Mrs. Sherwood was born in New York City, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Stoll, and resided there for twenty years. In 1873, she married James Ogden Sherwood of Montana in St. Patrick’s Church, Glen Cove, with Very Rev. Msgr. James McEnroe,... Read more
ST. PHILIP IN HIS GOD Philip, on thee the glowing ray Of heaven came down upon thy prayer, To melt thy heart, and burn away All that of earthly dross was there. Thy soul became as purest glass, Through which the Brightness Incarnate In undimm’d majesty might pass, Transparent and illuminate. And so, on Philip when we gaze, We see the image of his Lord; The Saint dissolves amid the blaze Which circles round the Living Word. The Meek, the... Read more
Why did the monks chain the Bible in the Middle Ages? To save it from thieves. Why do people chain a cup to the town-pump, or a city directory to a desk in a drugstore? This is readily understood when one considers how valuable a copy of the Scriptures was in those days, owing to the fact that they were copied out word for word by the monks. Whole libraries were chained in this way, both in England and on... Read more
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