One of the most significant figures in the college's early history was Brother Justin (1834-1912), born Stephen McCarthy in Galway. He would serve as president of three colleges. One alumnus said of him:
We... marveled at his wonderful energy and vitality, his virility and clearness of thought, his grasp of mind and intense devotion to duty and the Church, his strength and directness of character.
It was Justin who advised George Mundelein, a senior from Manhattan's Lower East Side, not to become a priest in the New York Archdiocese. Otherwise he would "undoubtedly be assigned to a German parish," and "there would be very little opportunity for advancement." Mundelein became a Bishop in Brooklyn at age 37.
In the years before World War I, registration declined to below one hundred, and some consideration was given to closing the college. Manhattanville was no longer the idyllic landscape earlier advertised. Tenements, factories and elevated railroads were blocking out "the charming vistas of the Hudson."
But property had been purchased for a new campus near Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and ground was broken in 1921. On May 15, 1924, the new campus was dedicated by New York's Archbishop, Patrick Hayes, Class of 1888. He and George Mundelein, Class of 1889, had just been named Cardinals, on the same day. Manhattan was now known as a "veritable college of cardinals."
And that's why Manhattan College is in the Bronx!
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In