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 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC— A 
 COMPREHENSIVE STORY OF THE 
 DISCOVERY. By George Barton. 
 
 With an Introduction by Rev. James 
 F. LOUGHLIN, D. D., Chancellor of 
 the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. 
 
 1893: 
 
 JOHN MURPHY and COMPANY, 
 BALTIMORE. 
 
\Zo 
 
 Copyright, 1893, by George Barton. 
 
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO 
 
 MOST REV. PATRICK JOHN RYAN, D. D., 
 
 Archbishop of Philadelphia. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Author's Preface, 
 
 Introduction, 
 
 Columbus the Catholic, .... 
 At the Court of Spain, .... 
 At the Convent of La Rabida, 
 Departure from Palos, .... 
 Discovery of the New World, 
 Columbus at Barcelona, .... 
 The Church in the New vVorld, 
 
 ('olumbus in Irons, 
 
 Plan to Recover the Holy Sepulchre, 
 
 Death of Columbus, 
 
 Estimates of the Character of Columbus, 
 Columbus and the Church (Poem), . 
 Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, 
 Catholics at the World's Fair, 
 Columbus at Chicago, .... 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 vii 
 ix 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 29 
 
 38 
 
 50 
 
 58 
 
 67 
 
 75 
 
 82 
 
 89 
 
 99 
 
 105 
 
 120 
 
 129 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 The aim of the present volume has been to con- 
 spicuously set forth the pious zeal and religious 
 fervor that characterized the life of the illustrious 
 Columbus, and which finally led to the discovery 
 of the New World. The work has been done 
 faithfully without any attempt at exaggeration and 
 with strict regard for historical fact. It shows, 
 largely by the authority of non-Catholic writers, 
 that this great event in the history of humanity was 
 prompted by love of Holy Church and a laudable 
 desire to extend its influence and domain. 
 
 Catholics can take an honorable pride in the 
 thought that this glorious Continent was discovered 
 by a faithful son of the Church ; that it was an 
 humble priest who first gave his aid and encourage- 
 ment ; that it was the influence of a distinguished 
 prelate which secured for him the countenance of 
 the Spanish authorities ; that it was the substan- 
 
 vii 
 
Viii A UTHORS PREFACE. 
 
 tial assistance of a pious Catholic queen which 
 made the discovery possible, and finally that the 
 aifair took place under the auspices and with the 
 approval of one of that long line of Supreme Pon- 
 tiffs, that have graced, in an unbroken number of 
 centuries, the chair of St. Peter. 
 
 The author has also endeavored to tell the story 
 of Columbus in a simple and comprehensive style. 
 While giving due prominence to every striking 
 feature he has omitted a mass of tedious details 
 and controversial matter, which however impor- 
 tant from a historical point of view, are decidedly 
 uninteresting to the general reader. 
 
 The book proper is supplemented by the encyc- 
 lical of Pope Leo XIII on Columbus ; an essay 
 by Rt. Rev. J. L. Spalding, Bishop of Peoria ; a 
 poem on Columbus by Miss Eleanor C. Donnelly ; 
 estimates on the character of Columbus by emi- 
 nent ecclesiastics, and a chapter on Columbus as 
 he appears at Chicago. It is to be hoped that in 
 the mass of Columbian literature of the present 
 day, this distinctly Catholic offering may find a 
 
 welcome. 
 
 G. B. 
 
 Philadelphia, December 1, 1892. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In the days of ancient paganism, the discovery of 
 unknown regions of the earth and the foundation of 
 new colonies were regarded as very sacred enter- 
 prises, immediately superintended from first to last 
 by the immortal gods. The Deity, it was believed, 
 chose the hero who was to conduct the undertaking, 
 and whose inspiration came directly from above. 
 Religious rites dictated the time of departure. Tute- 
 lary spirits hovered over the vessels on the watery 
 plains, warding off tempests from the favored ones 
 of Heaven, and wafting them safely to the destined 
 shore. Religion received them at their arrival in 
 their new home, and nursed the sacred fire which it 
 was their first care to light. The anniversary of 
 their coming was the holiest of days for forever- 
 more; and the hero who had led them on the 
 perilous journey was transformed in time into a 
 
 ix 
 
X INTRODUCTION. • 
 
 demigod, becoming the embodiment of their 
 patriotism and the most popular object of their 
 public worship. 
 
 Beneath the exaggerations of pagan superstitions, 
 we discern in the awe with which the ancients re- 
 garded these voyages of discovery and of coloniza- 
 tion, and in the reverence with which they worship- 
 ped the memory of the ot/ctcrr^?, elements of truth 
 and nature, which touch our hearts and find therein 
 a responsive echo even in this blessed era of Chris- 
 tian civilization. Never more so than during the 
 present year, which has vividly recalled a name and 
 an anniversary among the most glorious in the 
 annals of humanity. What olKiarr]^ of old can be 
 compared with the towering personality of Colum- 
 bus ? What discovery of old with the discovery of 
 the Western hemisphere ? 
 
 Our purer religion forbids us to worship the great 
 mariner as a demigod ; but our gratitude compels 
 us to own him as our father, and history teaches us 
 to honor him as a man sent of God and true to his 
 divine calling. 
 
 The perusal of the following narrative, which the 
 talented Author has written in the light of the 
 most trustworthy evidence, will convince every fair- 
 
INTRODUCTION. xi 
 
 minded reader that never was an enterprise of dis- 
 covery and colonization so thoroughly pervaded 
 with the spirit of religion as that of Columbus. 
 His lifelong desire to extend the boundaries of the 
 Kingdom of Christ, first turned his thoughts to 
 surmised regions beyond the Ocean. Having per- 
 suaded himself of the existence and the accessibility 
 of countries not yet reached by the Gospel of our 
 Redeemer, his zeal nerved him to sustain the long 
 series of his trials, the sneers of the incredulous, the 
 sophistries of the learned, and the rebuffs of the 
 haughty. Nor was it until he had kindled within 
 the pious breast of the great Catholic Queen the 
 same zeal for the conversion of unknown tribes, 
 which burned in his own, that he finally obtained 
 the means wherewith to attempt the expedition. 
 Catholic Faith was the sacred fire which he brought 
 with him across the untraversed waters, and which 
 he lighted on the shore of San Salvador. 
 
 This Continent belongs to the Church of Christ 
 by every right which discovery can convey. Not 
 only did Catholicity inspire the original discoverer 
 to embark upon the enterprise ; Catholicity, burning 
 in the breasts of knights and missionaries, opened 
 up the entire Continent from the Atlantic to the 
 
xu INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Pacific. And that sacred fire has never been extin- 
 guished ; it still burns in the New World with ever 
 increasing brilliancy. The Holy Catholic Church, 
 which can justly claim the glory of having opened 
 the gates of this fertile country to impoverished 
 Europe, is the bond of union between the two hemis- 
 pheres. She alone speaks a language common to all 
 races ; she alone is capable of amalgamating all 
 comers into a grand Christian nation. Her pros- 
 perity is the strongest pledge of the prosperity of our 
 country. 
 
 How closely the glory of Columbus is associated 
 with that of the Faith which inspired him, has been 
 lately evidenced in the puny efforts made by certain 
 enemies of the Catholic Church to disparage and 
 malign him. These efforts have but served to bring 
 into bolder relief the great truth proclaimed by the 
 present Supreme Pontiff that Columbus is OurSy 
 a Catholic, first, last, and at every moment of his 
 life. 
 
 In view of these facts. Catholics everywhere 
 should welcome every effort made to place Colum- 
 bus before the world in his true light — as a propa- 
 gator of the Faith. The present volume does this 
 in a comprehensive manner. 
 
INTR OD UOTION. xili 
 
 In giving my own commendation to the work, 
 it affords me much pleasure to say that the book 
 meets with the approbation of His Grace, the Most 
 Rev. Archbishop of Philadelphia, and that it has 
 his best wishes for its success. 
 
 James F. Loughlin. 
 
 Feast of the Nativity, 1892. 
 
COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 Columbus the Catholic. 
 
 No institution on earth can point to a 
 longer line of illustrious children than the 
 Roman Catholic Church. This has been 
 demonstrated in nearly every great epoch 
 in the world's history and in no one more 
 pointedly than in the discovery, civilizing 
 and Christianizing of the New World. The 
 achievements of Christopher Columbus con- 
 stitute one of the brightest pages in the 
 history of progress and Catholicity. Faith 
 is the corner-stone of the Church and no 
 one possessed it in greater degree than 
 this eminent son of the Church. A man 
 of indomitable will and extraordinary firm- 
 ness, his sublime faith and intense religious 
 
 1 
 
2 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 zeal overshadowed all other characteristics 
 and almost threw a halo of sanctity over 
 his troubled life. He believed that he was 
 an instrument in the hand of Heaven 
 selected from among men for the accom- 
 plishment of a great work. This he 
 thought, not with pride, but with great 
 humility of spirit and an all-pervading 
 sense of responsibility. 
 
 Jayme Ferrer, acknowledged as the 
 most learned geographer in Spain, and a 
 great admirer of Columbus, wrote to him 
 saying: 
 
 " I think I make no mistake, sir, in say- 
 ing that you fill the office of an ambassador 
 of Grod sent by Divine decrees to reveal 
 His holy name to the lands still ignorant 
 of the truth." 
 
 Certain latter day authors have en- 
 deavored to prove that Columbus was a 
 very ordinary man, that although he suf- 
 fered very much and had to contend with 
 cruel hardships, these sufferings and hard- 
 ships were naturally incidental to the life 
 of such a man and finally, that if he had 
 not made the discovery some other man — 
 
COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 3 
 
 probably an ordinary man, too — would 
 have done so. It is difficult to be patient 
 with these literary Pharisees. They are 
 of the class of people who see nothing but 
 evil in this world and desperately shut 
 their eyes to everything that is good. 
 They would rob us of what little poetry 
 there is in life and make all things as 
 dull, dry and uninteresting as their own 
 pedantic natures. Washington Irving had 
 this class in mind when he exclaimed in a 
 burst of righteous indignation : " There is 
 a certain meddlesome spirit, which, in the 
 garb of learned research, goes prying about 
 the traces of history, casting down its monu- 
 ments and marring and mutilating its fair- 
 est trophies. Care should be taken to 
 vindicate great names from such pernicious 
 erudition. It defeats one of the most salu- 
 tory purposes of history, that of furnishing 
 examples of what human genius and lauda- 
 ble enter23rise may accomplish." 
 
 But happily these vandals cannot injure 
 the name of Columbus. He has taken his 
 place in history where he belongs and their 
 most persistent efforts cannot belittle his 
 
4 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 fame nor obscure one ray of the glory 
 that is his. 
 
 Pope Leo XIII says of Columbus : 
 " There are few who can be compared to 
 him in greatness of soul and genius," ^ and 
 later on, speaking of the religion that 
 inspired Columbus and the reason Catho- 
 lics should honor him especially, the Holy 
 Father says : " It is that he is one of us. 
 When one considers with what motives 
 above all he undertook the plan of ex- 
 ploring the dark sea and with what 
 object he endeavored to realize this plan, 
 one cannot doubt that the Catholic faith 
 superlatively inspired the enterprise and 
 its execution, so that by this title all 
 humanity is not a little indebted to the 
 Church.'' 
 
 Alexander Humboldt, the historian, 
 speaking of the Discoverer says : " He is a 
 giant standing on the confines between 
 mediaeval and modern times and his exis- 
 tence marks one of the great epochs of the 
 world." 
 
 ^ Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, on the Columbian centenary. 
 
COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 6 
 
 From the best obtainable authorities it 
 seems that Columbus was born in the city 
 of Genoa, Italy, about the year 1435. Since 
 his death six or seven cities have set forth 
 claims to being his birthplace. C. K. 
 Adams, President of Cornell University, 
 ends a review on the birthplace controversy 
 with the apt quotation : 
 
 " Seven cities claimed the Homer dead 
 In which the living Homer begged his bread." ^ 
 
 At all events the best of the Columbus 
 writers agree that^ Genoa was the place. 
 The discoverer was the son of Dominico 
 Columbus and Susanna Fontonarasso, peo- 
 ple in moderate circumstances. There has 
 been some controversy as to whether Col- 
 umbus was or w^as not of noble birth. His 
 son, Fernando, who was also his biographer 
 
 ^Adams' Columbus in Builders of America. 
 
 ^ The municipal government of Genoa has issued a limited 
 number of solid silver medallions commemorative of the dis- 
 covery. The face contains a bas-relief bust of Columbus, with 
 two beautiful female figures representing Europe and America. 
 The only medallion of the series known to be in this country is 
 possessed by Father J. L. Andreis of St. Leo's Catholic Church, 
 Baltimore. 
 
6 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 says : ^' I am of opinion that I should de- 
 serve less dignity from any nobility of an- 
 cestry than of being the son of such a 
 father." Columbus was the eldest of four 
 children and with them was carefully 
 trained in the precepts of the Church. At 
 an early age a longing for the sea developed 
 and his education was directed with a view 
 of fitting him for a maritime life. He re- 
 ceived a good general training and was 
 afterwards sent to the University of Pavia, 
 at which place he made a special study of 
 geometry, geography, astronomy and navi- 
 gation. He entered on a nautical life at the 
 age of fourteen and his first voyages were 
 made with an uncle who commanded a 
 naval expedition fitted out by John of An- 
 jou in a struggle for the crown of Naples. 
 Some years later Lisbon became the Mecca 
 for adventurous seamen anxious to partici- 
 pate in expeditions of daring. Thither 
 Columbus repaired in 1470. Minute de- 
 scriptions of the discoverer are given by his 
 son Fernando, by LasCasas, Irving and 
 others. According to these he was tall, 
 well formed, muscular and of an elevated 
 
COL UMB US THE CA THOLIC. 7 
 
 and dignitied demeanor. ^ Irving says his 
 visage was long and neither full nor mea- 
 gre ; his complexion fair and freckled, and 
 inclined to be ruddy ; his nose aquiline ; 
 his cheek bones rather high, his eyes light 
 gray, and apt to enkindle ; his whole coun- 
 tenance had an air of authority. His hair 
 in his youthful days was of a light color, 
 but care and trouble soon turned it grey 
 and at thirty years of age it was quite white. 
 He was moderate and simple in diet and 
 apparel, eloquent in discourse, engaging 
 and aifable with strangers and his amia- 
 bility and suavity in domestic life strongly 
 attached his household to his person. His 
 temper was naturally irritable, but he sub- 
 dued it by the magnanimity of his spirit, 
 comporting himself with a courteous and 
 gentle gravity and never indulging in any 
 intemperance of language. Throughout his 
 life he w^as noted for strict attention to the 
 offices of religion, observing rigorously the 
 fasts and ceremonies of the church ; nor did 
 his piety consist in mere forms, but partook 
 
 ^ Irving' s Life and Voyages. 
 
8 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 of that lofty and solemn enthusiasm with 
 which his whole character was tinctured. 
 
 He was so strict in his religious prac- 
 tices that it might be said that in fasting 
 and reciting the whole canonical office he 
 was more regular than a professed religious. 
 His life shows that he had an especial devo- 
 tion to our Lady and to the holy mendicant 
 of Assisa.^ One of the religious exercises 
 which he never omitted when he could help 
 it was hearing Mass daily ; and while at 
 Lisbon he attended Mass at the Convent 
 of All Saints. 
 
 It was here that he lirst met Dona Felipa, 
 daughter of Bartholomeo Monis de Peres- 
 trello an Italian cavalier. Friendship 
 ripened into a tenderer feeling and a mar- 
 riage of affection was the result. Through 
 his wife's family Columbus came into the 
 possession of numberless charts that aided 
 him greatly in his after work. They were 
 poor and the future discoverer supported 
 himself and his wife by making charts and 
 maps. History states that out of his meagre 
 
 ^ Life of Columbus, by F. Tarducci. 
 
COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 9 
 
 funds he supported his aged father at Genoa 
 and contributed to the education of his 
 brothers. While making maps he began 
 to study how much of the world was yet 
 unknown and to ponder on the possible 
 means of exploration. He finally became 
 convinced that there were great undis- 
 covered lands in the West. After many 
 months of study his reasons for this 
 thought were reduced to three heads. 
 First, the nature of things ; second, the 
 authority of learned writers ; third, the 
 reports of navigators, 
 
 '' When Columbus had formed his theory 
 it became fixed in his mind with singular 
 firmness, and influenced his entire charac- 
 ter and conduct. He never spoke in doubt 
 or hesitation but with as much certainty 
 as if his eyes had already beheld the 
 promised lands. No trial or disappoint- 
 ment could divert him from the steady 
 pursuit of his object. A deep religious 
 sentiment mingled with his meditations 
 and gave them at times a tinge of super- 
 stition, but it was of a sublime and lofty 
 kind. He read as he supposed his con- 
 
10 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 templated discovery foretold in Holy Writ, 
 and shadowed forth darkly in the mystic 
 revelations of the prophets. The ends of 
 the earth were to be brought together 
 under the banners of the Redeemer. This 
 was to be the triumphant consummation of 
 his enterprise, bringing the remote and 
 unknown regions of the earth into com- 
 munion with Christian Europe ; carrying 
 the light of the true faith into benighted 
 and pagan lands and gathering their count- 
 less nations under the holy dominion of 
 the church." ^ 
 
 Several years elapsed without anything 
 decisive being done. Columbus tried to 
 interest the authorities of Genoa but with- 
 out success. The King of Portugal sub- 
 mitted the matter to a council which 
 declared it ''not feasible," saying the 
 King " already had sufficient undertak- 
 ings of a certain advantage without engag- 
 ing in others of a wild chimerical nature." 
 In this connection the King made a most 
 inglorious attempt to defraud Columbus of 
 
 ^ Irving's Life and Voyages. 
 
COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 11 
 
 the fruits of his labor. The Navigator 
 was requested to leave his maps, charts 
 and explanations at the court for the con- 
 sideration of the monarch. In the mean- 
 time a caravel was fitted out and sent olF, 
 ostensibly to carry provisions to the Cape 
 de Verde Islands, but with private orders 
 to pursue the route laid out by Columbus. 
 After three days of stormy weather, the 
 pilot, seeing nothing ahead but an endless 
 waste of angry waters, lost courage and 
 returned, ridiculing the project of Colum- 
 bus as wild and extravagant. Columbus 
 was rightly indignant at this royal trick, 
 but was powerless to protest. 
 
 \/^, 
 
II. 
 
 At The Court of Spain. 
 
 About this time, which embraced the 
 most brilliant period in the history of the 
 Spanish monarchy, Columbus resolved to 
 seek his fortunes at the Court of Spain. 
 Under the wise and prudent government 
 of their Catholic Majesties, Ferdinand and 
 Isabella, Spain was rapidly assuming the 
 proportions and influence of a great nation. 
 There is no difference of oj)inion regarding 
 the ability of Ferdinand. According to one 
 of his biographers he was " devout in his 
 religion and indefatigable in business." 
 This can be said of Isabella in still greater 
 degree. " Isabella," ^ says Irving, " is one 
 of the purest and most beautiful characters 
 in the pages of history. She was well 
 formed, of the middle size, with great 
 
 ^ Irving' s Life and Voyages. 
 
 12 
 
AT THE COURl OF SPAIN. 13 
 
 dignity and gracefulness of deportment and 
 a mingled gravity and sweetness of de- 
 meanor. Her complexion was fair ; her 
 hair auburn inclining to red ; her eyes were 
 of a clear blue with a bright expression and 
 there was a singular modesty in her coun- 
 tenance, gracing as it did, a wonderful firm- 
 ness of purpose and earnestness of spirit. 
 Though strongly attached to her husband 
 and studious of his fame yet she always 
 maintained her distinct rights as an allied 
 prince. She exceeded him in beauty, in 
 personal dignity, in acuteness of genius and 
 in grandeur of soul. Combining the active 
 and resolute qualities of man with the softer 
 character of woman, she mingled in the 
 warlike councils of her husband, engaged 
 personally in his enterprises and in some 
 instances surpassed him in the firmness 
 and intrepidity of her measures ; while 
 being inspired with a truer idea of glory, 
 she infused a more lofty and generous tem- 
 per into his subtle and calculatory policy." 
 At that time in Spain religion and science 
 went hand in hand. The Church was, as 
 she always has been, the patron of art and 
 
14 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 learning. The chairs in the universities 
 were filled, and ably filled too, by ecclesias- 
 tics. Priests, Bishops and Cardinals direc- 
 ted in a great measure the afi*airs of the 
 State as they did of the Church. "It is 
 even common," says Irving, "to find 
 Bishops and Cardinals in helm and corselet 
 at the head of armies ; for the crosier had 
 been occasionally thrown by for the lance 
 during the holy war against the Moors. 
 The era was distinguished for the revival 
 of learning, but still more for the preva- 
 lence of religious zeal, and Spain surpassed 
 all other countries of Christendom in the 
 fervor of her devotion." 
 
 Macauley, writing of this period, says of 
 Catholic Spain : "After fighting Musselmen 
 in the Old World, she began to fight 
 heathens in the New. It was under the 
 authority of a Papal bull that her children 
 steered into unknown seas. It was under 
 the standard of the cross that they marched 
 fearlessly into the heart of great kingdoms." 
 
 As Columbus was of a deeply religious 
 turn of mind and as his main object in the 
 contemplated discovery was to enlarge the 
 
AT THE CO VET OF SPAIN. 1 5 
 
 domain of the Church, the conditions— 
 religiously speaking— were auspicious. 
 
 The fact, however, that the sovereigns 
 were preparing for the Moorish war ren- 
 dered them to a certain extent deaf to all 
 other matters. It was about this time that 
 Columbus married his second wife Beatrix 
 Enriquez. 
 
 The seeming indifference of the sovereigns 
 did not deter Columbus. He was persistent 
 and followed the court to Salamanca where 
 he secured the ear of the celebrated Pedro 
 Gonzalez de Mendoza, Archbishop of Toledo 
 and Grand Cardinal of Spain. Mendoza 
 was a man of great learning and influence 
 and through him Columbus was quickly 
 admitted to the royal presence. Ferdinand 
 was cold ; Isabella disposed to be friendly. 
 The matter was finally referred to a council 
 of the learned men of the kingdom. This 
 council heard Columbus in the Dominican 
 convent of St. Stephen at Salamanca. It 
 was composed of professors of astronomy, 
 geography, and mathematics, together with 
 learned monks and various dignitaries of 
 the Church. Columbus outlined his plans 
 
16 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 clearly, concisely and fervently. Objec- 
 tions, scriptural and otherwise were hurled 
 at him. He met them all bravely and 
 while a majority of the learned men were 
 against him he found several firm friends 
 there, the most conspicuous being Diego de 
 Deza a friar of the order of St. Dominic. 
 This learned man was professor of theology 
 in the Convent of St. Stephen and after- 
 wards became Archbishop of Seville. The 
 council was unable to agree, or rather did 
 not make any report. The simple mariner 
 who stood forth in the midst of this array 
 of greatness came from the conference — in 
 the opinion of many — a more important 
 man than when he entered it. But still he 
 was kept in suspense. The only thing cer- 
 tain seemed delay. 
 
 " The fabulous aspects of his career be- 
 came almost incredible," ^ says Castelar. 
 " Beholding how Columbus stored his mind 
 with all the gathered knowledge of his day, 
 how he urged before universities and 
 learned men the indispensable adoption of 
 
 ^ In Century Magazine. 
 
A T THE CO UB T OF SPAIN. 1 7 
 
 his plans, based in part on his personal 
 conjectures and in part on his experience 
 and his researches ; how in all that time of 
 steadfast preparation he staked his hopes 
 upon magnates, archbishops, monks and 
 potent queens and kings ; how learning and 
 calculation entered into his plans as much 
 as intuition and genius, many pious souls 
 professed to discover therein revelations 
 such as God made of old to his prophets, 
 and proposed to the Church his canoniza- 
 tion. I attribute such exceptional treat- 
 ment of Columbus to the fact that discove- 
 ries and discoverers exert a potent influence 
 upon the imagination ; and yet they hold a 
 lesser place in popular history than states- 
 men or warriors. How much more impor- 
 tant would it be in our day to know who 
 invented the flour mill than to know who 
 won the battle of Arbela ! The fact is that, 
 comparing the volumes devoted to state- 
 craft and to war, with those treating of 
 labor and industry, one is astounded and 
 dismayed at the incredible disproportion. 
 I can understand why this should have 
 been so in ages when manual toil was con- 
 2 
 
18 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 sidered degrading, and when trade, rele- 
 gated to the common sort who were politi- 
 cally debarred from coping with the patri- 
 cian classes, was despised. But even in 
 our day, transcendentl}^ the age of labor and 
 of industry, while the names of great com- 
 manders are borne on the world-wide wings 
 of fame, those of discoverers fall with the 
 utmost ease into ungrateful oblivion. For 
 one Gralvani, one Franklin, one Daguerre, 
 one Edison, who has spread his renown 
 among all classes and stamped an inven- 
 tion forever with his name, what a vast 
 number of unremembered or unknown 
 glories." 
 
III. 
 
 At the Convent of La Rabida. 
 
 Vexatious delays and disappointments 
 had harassed the soul of Columbus, and 
 filled with disgust he left Spain with a half- 
 uttered vow never to return again. He 
 was accompanied by his little son, and the 
 two trudged along the dusty roads the per- 
 sonification of distress. When within 
 about a league from the old seaport of 
 Palos, Columbus paused at the gate of the 
 ancient convent dedicated to Santa Maria 
 de Rabida, under the control of the Fran- 
 ciscan fathers, and craved a little bread and 
 water for the child. 
 
 " The mysterious ordering of events en- 
 countered in the life of Columbus is here 
 plainly marked. Want and hunger drove 
 him to knock at a gate for the alms of a 
 little bread and the opening of the gate 
 puts him on the road to the final accom- 
 
 19 
 
20 COL UMB US THE CA THOLIC. 
 
 plishment of his desire — the crossing of the 
 ocean and the discovery of a new world. 
 Philosophers may here find ample matter 
 for meditation on the strange vicissitudes 
 to which man's life is subjected ; but the 
 believer bows his head and adores, recog- 
 nizing the hand of God which by unknown 
 ways beyond all human counsel, reaches 
 the end established in His inscrutable 
 decrees." ^ 
 
 The Prior of the convent, Juan Perez de 
 Marchena, was struck with the appearance 
 of Columbus and entering into conversation 
 soon learned his story. The Prior was a 
 man of great learning, piety and patriotism 
 and his first thought was how to induce 
 Columbus to reconsider his determination 
 and return to Spain. The navigator was 
 asked to remain as a guest at the convent. 
 The Prior was impressed with the feasi- 
 bility of the plan for the discovery, but first 
 desired to have his judgment confirmed by 
 some persons of more worldly experience. 
 Accordingly, Dr. Fernandez, a physician of 
 scientific knowledge, and Martin Alonzo 
 
 * Tarducci's Life of Columbus. 
 
AT THE CONVENT OF LA RABID A. 21 
 
 Pinzon, head of a family of wealthy naviga- 
 tors were called in. It was this little coun- 
 cil, seated in a sparsely furnished room in 
 the ancient convent, that made the dis- 
 covery of the new world a possibility. 
 Before they separated each of the Coun- 
 cilors was fully convinced of the practica- 
 bility of the scheme. The worthy Friar 
 had once been the Confessor of Queen 
 Isabella and on the strength of this he 
 wrote a letter imploring an audience. The 
 Queen had made the good Friar her con- 
 fessor on account of his sanctity and learn- 
 ing. But the feasting and bustle of the 
 city were not suited to his disposition and 
 love of study and he returned to his humble 
 duties as guardian of the monastery of La 
 Rabida, where in his little cell in front of 
 the ocean he indulged in the study of 
 geography. The relation of Father Perez 
 to the Queen still retained something of the 
 confidential friendship of the confessor to 
 the penitent, and Isabella retained for him 
 the respect which a truly religious person 
 feels for the director of his or her con- 
 science ; especially when to the dignity of 
 
22 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 the office were joined such holiness of life 
 and reputation of learning as Father Perez 
 possessed. He was summoned to court at 
 once and saddling his mule repaired to the 
 city of Santa Fe where the sovereigns were 
 overseeing the taking of the Capital of 
 G-ranada. The Friar's appeal was enthu- 
 siastic. With ardent fancy he told of the 
 conquests which the Church of Christ would 
 make among the millions living in the 
 darkness of idolatry. The Queen was 
 touched. She sent for Columbus, at the 
 same time sending ample funds for his 
 expenses. Columbus changed his thread- 
 bare outfit for a garb more suited to the 
 royal presence and started for Santa Fe. 
 He arrived just in time to see the surrender 
 of Granada and to behold the Cross uplifted 
 in triumph over the Cresent. This specta- 
 cle witnessed by Columbus is thus elo- 
 quently described by Emilio Castelar, the 
 famous Spanish statesman : ^ 
 
 " Queen Isabella, having bidden farewell 
 to the Moorish King and restored his child 
 to him, waited without the Vega gate for 
 
 ^In Century Magazine. 
 
AT THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA. 23 
 
 the appearance in the towers within of the 
 silver cross borne by Cardinal Mendoza. 
 The day wore on, and the silver crucifix, 
 which was to crown and complete the story 
 of seven centuries, was not yet displayed 
 upon the heights of the Moorish palace. 
 Isabella, who impatiently looked for its 
 appearance, had found distraction from her 
 thoughts in awaiting the coming of Boabdil 
 and in her meeting with him. But when 
 the Moorish King passed on, and nothing- 
 remained to divert and occupy her mind, 
 she began to glance eagerly at the towers 
 and to be api^rehensive lest in that supreme 
 moment some untoward mishap might have 
 befallen the noble Cardinal. The Moors, 
 who had thronged about in the early 
 morning, filled with curiosity and the desire 
 to see the marshalled hosts of the Christians 
 and their gleaming armor, withdrew to their 
 dwellings as to the silence of the tomb, 
 when the emblazoned Cross entered beneath 
 those wondrous oriental archways. Grra- 
 nada seemed to be a deserted city in the 
 forenoon of that miraculous and memorable 
 day of deliverance. The hours passed, and 
 
24 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 the Cross shone not upon the Vermilion 
 Towers. Isabella, in her impatience, began 
 to fear that the terms of the capitulation 
 had been violated, and that the Cardinal 
 had perchance become the victim of some 
 ambuscade. But at high noon, upon the 
 great watch-tower called La Vela, the 
 emblem of the Cross appeared in all its 
 glory, shining like a day-star in rivalry 
 with the dazzling sun ; and when they 
 beheld it gleaming there, upon the greatest 
 and loveliest stronghold of the Koran, illu- 
 mined by the mystic light of innumerable 
 martyrdoms, and surrounded by the souls 
 of the countless heroes of so many genera- 
 tions, all the soldiers and all the magnates, 
 kings, princes, bishops and all beholders 
 whose hearts throbbed with the Catholic 
 Faith and with love for their Spanish 
 fatherland, knelt upon the ground, with 
 cross-folded arms, and to the mystic sound 
 of trumpets and clarions, as to the tones of 
 some vast organ, they intoned a devout 
 " Te Deum," which rose, as it were, from 
 the heart of the whole nation — a nation that 
 for seven centuries had fought for the sacred 
 
AT THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA. 25 
 
 prize of independence and unity, from 
 Covadonga to Granada." 
 
 This great event being at an end Colum- 
 bus explained his project once again to the 
 King and Queen. There was some hesita- 
 tion on the part of the King. The nation 
 had many other important enterprises on 
 hard ; the various wars had sadly drained 
 the royal treasury. These he pointed out 
 with many other objections pertinent and 
 otherwise. It was then that Isabella rose 
 to her full height and filled with a noble 
 resolve became the patroness for the dis- 
 covery of the New World. 
 
 " I will undertake the enterprise for my 
 own crown of Castile," she exclaimed, " and 
 will pledge my jewels to raise the necessary 
 funds." Columbus had started off again 
 but was quickly recalled and informed of 
 the Queen's resolve. Filled with great 
 joy he drew up papers of agreement to be 
 signed by the sovereigns. In substance 
 they were as follows : 
 
 1. That Columbus shall have, for him- 
 self during his life, and his heirs and 
 successors forever, the office of Admiral 
 
26 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 in all the lands and continents, which he 
 might discover or acquire in the ocean, 
 with similar honors and prerogatives to 
 those enjoyed by the High Admiral of 
 Castile in his district. 
 
 2. That he should be Viceroy and Grov- 
 ernor-Greneral over all the said lands and 
 continents ; with the privilege of nominat- 
 ing three candidates for the government of 
 each island and province, one of whom 
 should be selected by the sovereigns. 
 
 3. That he should be entitled to receive 
 for himself one-tenth of all pearls, precious 
 stones, gold, silver and all other articles and 
 merchandise in whatever manner found, 
 bartered or gained within his admiralty, 
 the costs being first deducted. 
 
 4. That he or his lieutenant should be 
 the sole judge in all causes and disputes 
 arising out of traffic in these countries 
 and Spain, provided the High Admiral 
 of Castile had similar jurisdiction in his 
 district. 
 
 5. That he might then, and at all times 
 after, contribute an eighth part of the 
 expense, in fitting out vessels to sail on 
 
AT TBE CONVENT OF LA HABIDA. 27 
 
 this enterprise, and receive an eighth part 
 of the profits. 
 
 The last clause was specially insisted 
 upon by Columbus, because of the intima- 
 tion in some quarters that he demanded 
 excessive emoluments, while incurring no 
 expense. This agreement was signed by 
 Ferdinand and Isabella in the city of 
 Santa Fe, on the 17th of April, 1492, 
 and the port of Palos was fixed upon as 
 the place where the fleet should be fitted 
 out. The elevated and noble purposes of 
 Columbus shone out conspicuously at this 
 time. He showed plainly and conclusively 
 that his main purpose in making the voy- 
 age, or rather that the zeal that urged him 
 on in the face of numberless obstacles, was 
 enkindled by a desire to propagate the 
 Christian faith and to extend the domains 
 of the Holy Catholic Church. To do this 
 meant to save souls and the mind of Col- 
 umbus was filled with bliss at the thought 
 of effecting such a great work of salvation. 
 The pious zeal of the great discoverer did 
 not stop at this. He appeared before the 
 sovereigns and ventured to make the sug- 
 
28 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 gestion that the limitless wealth accruing 
 from the discovery of the New World 
 should be blessed and consecrated to the 
 rescuing of the Holy Sepulchre from the 
 power of the Infidels. Thus, in the hour 
 of his preliminary triumph, did Columbus 
 lovingly offer the fruits of his labor for the 
 good of the Church. Truly he was the 
 worthy son of a precious mother. 
 
IV. 
 
 The Depakture from Palos. 
 
 It having been decided that the expedi- 
 tion should start from Palos, Columbus 
 repaired to that place. On his arrival he 
 once more became the guest of Juan Perez. 
 The following Sunday, May 23, 1492, Col- 
 umbus, accompanied by the friar proceeded 
 to the Church of St. George, in Palos. 
 Here the royal order was read by a notary. 
 It commanded the authorities of Palos to 
 have two caravels ready for sea within ten 
 days and to place them and their crews at 
 the disposal of Columbus. The latter was 
 also empowered to procure and fit out a 
 third vessel. Palos had given some offense 
 to the crown and in consequence had been 
 mulcted in the service of two armed cara- 
 vels for the period of twelve months. It 
 was directed that the seamen should receive 
 the usual wages of those serving in armed 
 
 29 
 
30 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 vessels and be paid four months in advance. 
 Criminal processes were suspended against 
 anybody engaged for the voyage, the sus- 
 pension to last for two months after the 
 return of the expedition. The royal order 
 met with general disfavor. No one cared 
 to undertake such a hazardous and appa- 
 rently visionary voyage. A few prisoners 
 from the jails consented to go but the gen- 
 eral reluctance was so great that a new 
 order had to be issued on June 20 com- 
 manding the impressment of the crews and 
 vessels. Success was finally made possible 
 by the aid of the Pinzons. But all told it 
 was a motley crew. It was with such ma- 
 terial that Columbus had to do the work on 
 which he had staked life, fortune and repu- 
 tation. In three months the expedition 
 was ready to sail. It was composed of the 
 Santa Maria, a decked vessel, and two cara- 
 vels or undecked boats, the Pinta and Nina. 
 The Santa Maria was of ninety foot keel ; 
 it had three masts, of which two were 
 square-rigged and one fitted with lateen 
 sails. It was decked from stem to stern, 
 having besides a poop twenty-six feet in 
 
THE DEPARTURE FROM PALOS. 31 
 
 length, beneath which was the armament 
 of heavy guns, with small pieces forward, 
 for throwing stones and grape. It was 
 commanded by the Admiral in person, and 
 carried a crew of fifty men, of whom the 
 muster-roll mentions one Englishman and 
 one Irishman. The Pinta, under Martin 
 Pinzon, carried thirty men, and the Kina, 
 under his brother, Vincente Yanez, had 
 twenty-four. Three other pilots were at- 
 tached to the expedition, together with an 
 inspector general of the fleet, and a royal 
 notary. There were also a surgeon, a 
 physician, some few adventurers and ninety 
 seamen— in all one hundred and twenty 
 souls who put their lives into the hands of 
 the dauntless Admiral. 
 
 The general of the Order of Mercy for 
 the Redemption of Captives, sent one of 
 his priests. Father Solorzano, as chaplain 
 of the fleet. Thus was opened a vast field 
 for the labor of zealous missionaries, who 
 would compensate the Church to some 
 extent for her losses in the Old World by 
 the gains they would make in the new.^ 
 
 ^ Mgr. Seton, in Propagator of the Faith, 
 
32 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 Captain Duro/ of the Spanish Navy, has 
 investigated all questions relating to the 
 ships of the Columbian period and their 
 equipment with great care, and the learn- 
 ing he has brought to bear upon the sub- 
 ject has produced very interesting results. 
 According to this authority the two small 
 caravels provided for the voyage of Colum- 
 bus by the town of Palos were only partially 
 decked. The Pinta was strongly built, and 
 was originally lateen-rigged on all three 
 masts, and she was the fastest sailer in the 
 expedition ; but she was only 50 tons bur- 
 den, with a complement of eighteen men. 
 The Nina, so-called after the Nino family 
 of Palos, who owned her, was still smaller, 
 being only 40 tons. The third vessel was 
 much larger, and did not belong to Palos. 
 She was called a " nao," or ship, and was 
 of about 100 tons burden, completely 
 decked, with a high poop and forecastle. 
 Her length has been variously estimated. 
 Two of her masts had square sails, the 
 mizzen being lateen-rigged. 
 
 ^ Clements Markham, in Nature. 
 
THE DEPARTURE FROM PALOS. 33 
 
 That Columbus had a just sense of the 
 importance of literature is evident from 
 the fact that the expedition included a 
 historian. There was an interpreter who 
 knew Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic and 
 Armenian; a man of most remarkable 
 learning. Science was represented by a 
 metallurgist. The natural interest that 
 must be felt in the vessels of Columbus 
 may be satisfied by the following from 
 Emilio Castelarr^ "With my own^'eyes I 
 have seen in the Columbian Library at 
 Seville the caravels of Columbus admira- 
 bly portrayed. The discoverer himself 
 has sketched them faithfully, with the 
 steady hand long trained by his trade of 
 map drawing. They are found traced in 
 the first decade of Angleria's treatise, 
 which is preserved as one of the price- 
 less books of Ferdinand, the second son 
 of Columbus. The disproportion of size 
 between the ships at once strikes the eye, 
 and therewithal the very great diversity of 
 rig. The Santa Maria had the advantage 
 
 ^ In Century Magazine. 
 
 3 
 
34 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 of her consorts in build and size. Her 
 rigging aj^peared more complicated than 
 the others. Square sails were on the fore 
 and main masts, a lateen yard on the 
 mizzen. The contrast in the height of 
 the prow and the pooj) was startling. The 
 Pinta was shown in the sketch as a sort of 
 compromise between the S^nta Maria and 
 the Nina, but sparred and tackled more 
 like the former. The Mna looked very 
 like the modern fishing and trading lug- 
 gers, while her lateen sails recalled those 
 nimble skiffs, so common in the waters of 
 the Mediterranean, whose white sails, 
 bathed in the rays of the Southern sun, 
 show gaily between blue sea and bluer sky 
 like gulls skimming over the softly rippling 
 surface." 
 
 The solemnity of confession and commu- 
 nion was performed for the departing com- 
 pany by Pere Juan Perez. It was, indeed, 
 a great occasion for Columbus. His patient 
 struggles of twenty years, filled with rebuffs 
 and bitter disappointments, had at last 
 borne fruit, and the man knew that his fame 
 
THE DEPARTURE FROM PALOS. 35 
 
 and his fortune were to be made or lost for- 
 ever before the year ended. 
 
 On the morning of August 3d, toward 
 3 o'clock, Columbus, who was staying at 
 the convent, was awakened by the noise of 
 a wind, which he knew to be the one which 
 should take his ships to sea. The fact that 
 the day was Friday, in the mind of so de- 
 voted a Christian, was only a presage of 
 good fortune. It was the day of the re- 
 demption ; of the deliverance of the Holy 
 Sepulchre by Grodfrey de Bouillon ; of the 
 surrender of Grranada and the fall of Mo- 
 hammedan power in Spain. An odd coin- 
 cidence of events and days shows that Col- 
 umbus started on his great expedition on 
 Friday ; commenced his return voyage on 
 Friday, and on Friday reached the port of 
 Palos after his long absence. Columbus 
 went to the cell of a Franciscan, who soon 
 called an assistant to light the candles on 
 the altar and prepare for the mass. While 
 the Franciscan community slept, Columbus 
 entered the chapel alone and received the 
 sacrament from the priest. Then, accom- 
 panied by Pere Juan Perez, he noiselessly 
 
36 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 left the convent, and the two proceeded in 
 silence along the fragrant declivity which 
 led from the convent to the village. When 
 they api)eared on the shore they w^ere hailed 
 by the boat of the Santa Maria. The noise 
 woke the people in the neighboring houses. 
 Windows and doors were opened, and 
 mothers, wives and children ran weeping 
 to the shore. The sailors waved their 
 adieus, and Columbus, after pressing the 
 weeping Franciscan to his heart, threw 
 himself into the boat, which was rowed to 
 his ship. On the Santa Maria the stan- 
 dard was raised, which was the standard of 
 the Cross. It carried the picture of the 
 Saviour nailed to the tree. From the masts 
 of the Pinta and the ]N"ina, however, floated 
 only the banner of the expedition, a green 
 cross between the royal initials, surmounted 
 by a crown. Columbus, standing high, 
 waved his adieus to the shore, and, with a 
 voice that dominated the scene, in the name 
 of Christ commanded the sails to be spread. 
 Half an hour later the sun rose. The ships 
 were quickly hid from the sight of the vil- 
 lage people by a turn in the river, but from 
 
THE DEPARTURE FROM PALOS. 37 
 
 the terrace of the Convent of La Rabida | 
 
 the monks of St. Francis were able to watch i 
 
 the three ships dwindling in the distance ; 
 upon the bosom, vast and blue, of the 
 
 Atlantic, and to send after them their i 
 
 prayers and benedictions.^ i 
 
 Rossellj de Lorgues. 
 
V. 
 Discovery of the JSTew World. 
 
 After Columbus was fairly at sea there 
 was a profound calm that lasted for three 
 days. In the face of this it was all the 
 Admiral could do to keep the men at work. 
 In losing sight of land they lost heart and 
 the majority not possessing a superabun- 
 dance of moral heroism begun to have 
 gloomy forebodings. When Columbus 
 started out he begun to keep a journal 
 which was faithfully continued until the 
 end of the voyage. It was addressed to 
 the King and Queen and the introduction 
 was as follows : 
 
 " In nomine D. JN". Jesu Christi. Whereas 
 most Christian, most high, most excellent 
 and most powerful princes. King and Queen 
 of the Spains, and of the islands of the sea, 
 our Sovereigns, in the present year of 1492, 
 after your highnesses had put an end to the 
 38 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 39 
 
 war with the Moors who ruled in Europe, 
 and had concluded that warfare in the great 
 city of Granada, where, on the second of 
 January of this present year, I saw the 
 royal banners of your highnesses placed by 
 force of arms on the towers of the Alhambra, 
 which is the fortress of that city, and beheld 
 the Moorish King sally forth from the gates 
 of the city, and kiss the royal hands of your 
 highnesses and of my lord the Prince ; and 
 immediately in the same month, in conse- 
 quence of the information, which I had 
 given to your highnesses of the lands of 
 India, and of a prince who is called the 
 Grand Khan which is to say in our langu- 
 age. King of Kings ; how that many times 
 he and his predecessors had sent to Rome 
 to entreat for doctors of our holy faith to 
 instruct him in the same, and that the Holy 
 Father had never provided him with them, 
 and thus, so many people were lost, believ- 
 ing in idolatries, and imbibing doctrines ol 
 perdition, and therefore your highnesses, as 
 Catholic princes and Christians, lovers and 
 promoters of the holy Christian faith and 
 enemies of the sect of Mahomet and of all 
 
40 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 idolatries and heresies determined to send 
 me, Christopher Columbus to the said parts 
 of India, to see the said princes, and the 
 people and lands and to discover the nature 
 and disposition of them all, and the means 
 to be taken for the conversion of them to 
 our holy faith ; and ordered that I should 
 not go by land to the East, by which it is a 
 custom to go, but by a voyage to the West, 
 by which course, unto the present time, we 
 do not know for certain that anyone hath 
 passed. 
 
 "Your highnesses, therefore, after having 
 expelled all the Jews from your kingdoms 
 and territories, commanded me, in the same 
 month of January, to proceed with a suffi- 
 cient armament to the said parts of India, 
 and for this purpose bestowed great favors 
 upon me, ennobling me, that thence for- 
 ward, I might style myself Don, appointing 
 me High Admiral of the ocean sea, and 
 perpetual Viceroy and Governor of all the 
 islands and continents I should discover 
 and gain and which henceforward may be 
 discovered and gained in the ocean sea; 
 and that my eldest son should succeed me 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 41 
 
 and so on from generation to generation 
 forever. I departed therefore from the city 
 of Granada, on Saturday the twelfth of May 
 of the same year 1492 to Palos, a seaport, 
 where I armed three ships, well calculated 
 for such service, and sailed from that port, 
 well furnished with provisions and with 
 many seamen, on Friday, the third of 
 August of the same year, half an hour 
 before sunrise and took the route for the 
 Canary Islands of your highnesses, to steer 
 my course thence, and navigate until I 
 should arrive at the Indies and deliver the 
 embassy of your highnesses to those princes 
 and accomplish that which you had com- 
 manded. For this purpose I intend to 
 write during this voyage, very punctually 
 from day to day, all that I may do and see, 
 and experience as will hereafter be seen. 
 Also, my sovereign princes, beside describ- 
 ing each night, all that has occurred in the 
 day, and in the day the navigation of the 
 night, I propose to make a chart in which 
 I will set down the waters and lands of the 
 ocean and sea in their proper situations 
 under their bearings ; and further, to com- 
 
42 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 130se a book, and illustrate the whole in 
 picture by latitude from the equinoctial, 
 and longitude from the West; and upon 
 the whole it will be essential that I should 
 forget sleep and attend closely to the navi- 
 gation to accomplish these things, which 
 will be a great labor." In this manner did 
 the Navigator set forth the objects of his 
 momentous journey. 
 
 It is needless to go into all the petty 
 vexations that Columbus was subjected to 
 on this eventful and perilous voyage. Suf- 
 fice it to say that his marvellous firmness 
 and his gift of adapting himself to circum- 
 stances enabled him to overcome them all. 
 On the 14th of September, 1492, the first 
 harbingers of land made their appearance 
 in the shape of tropical birds that hovered 
 about the ships. The greatest excitement 
 prevailed. The sovereigns had promised a 
 reward in the form of a pension to the man 
 who should first see land and as a conse- 
 quence intense rivalry prevailed among the 
 crew. On the 25th of September Martin 
 Alonzo Pinzon who was in the stern of his 
 vessel exclaimed : 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 43 
 
 "Land! Land! Senor, I claim my 
 reward." 
 
 He was greatly agitated and pointed to 
 the Southwest, where about twenty-five 
 leagues distant, there was the appearance 
 of land. On seeing this Columbus fell upon 
 his knees and fervently returned thanks 
 to Grod while Pinzon still greatly excited 
 recited the " Grloria in Excelsis " in which 
 he was joined by his crew. The report, 
 however, proved to be a false alarm, 
 for after several days' sailing, there was 
 still no sight of actual land. After that 
 the sailors were continually giving the 
 cry of land and just as continually being 
 disappointed. 
 
 It was the invariable custom on board 
 the Admiral's ship for the mariners to join 
 in singing the " Salve Regina " at sundown. 
 This was done with special impressiveness, 
 on the evening of October the 7th. Col- 
 umbus joined in with a will and the 
 strong male voices rang out v/ith great 
 solemnity on the boundless expanse of 
 waters as they sang: 
 
44 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 Salve Kegina, unto thee 
 
 Whose ear is open to the prayer 
 Of all that in humility 
 
 Of spirit claim thy care ; 
 We, wanderers of the pathless deep 
 
 From hope of earthly succor far, 
 Pray that for us thou watch wilt keep 
 
 And be our guiding star. 
 
 Salve Kegina, mother blest ! 
 
 To Him who hath in slumber lain 
 A helpless babe, upon thy breast 
 
 Thou can'st not plead in vain ; 
 Then pray for us, that when of life 
 
 The weary voyage shall be past. 
 We may escap'd from storm and strife 
 
 Safe moor in Heaven at last. 
 
 Some lines in the journal of Columbus 
 indicate that the crew sang the beautiful 
 hymn of the Church called the " Star of 
 the Sea." It is probable that they sang 
 both. The words of the latter were very 
 appropriate : 
 
 Bright Mother of our Maker, hail ! 
 
 Thou Virgin ever blest 
 The ocean's star, by which we sail. 
 
 And gain the Port of rest. 
 
 Whilst we this Hail do thus to thee 
 From GabrieUs mouth rehearse ; 
 
 Prevail that peace our lot may be, 
 And Eva's name reverse. 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 45 
 
 The time and the hour had almost 
 arrived, and Columbus knew it. He made 
 a most impressive address to the crew, 
 reminding them of the goodness of God in 
 conducting them with safety through so 
 many miles of strange waters. He thought 
 it very probable that they would make land 
 th?t very night ; at least not later than the 
 next morning. He ordered a sharp lookout 
 to be kept from all quarters and himself 
 maintained an unremitting vigil from the 
 top of the cabin of the Santa Maria. 
 
 At precisely 2 o'clock the next morning 
 the loud report of a gun from the Pinta 
 proclaimed the joyful tidings of land. It 
 was on Friday, October the 12th, that the 
 little band first beheld the New World. 
 As day dawned they were enabled to get a 
 better view of the country. It was a level 
 island, covered with trees, and although 
 uncultivated seemed to be well populated. 
 Scores of perfectly naked inhabitants were 
 seen issuing from the woods and running 
 towards the shore. The small boats being 
 launched, Columbus, richly attired, entered 
 his own holding aloft the royal standard. 
 
46 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 The Pinzons entered their boats each hold- 
 ing a banner containing a green cross and 
 the initials of the Castilian monarchs sur- 
 mounted with a crown. 
 
 Columbus, beaming with gladness and 
 mute with delight, stepped on the shore 
 with the elastic ardor of youth. Scarcely 
 had he touched the new land than he sig- 
 nificantl}^ planted in it the standard of the 
 cross. Unable to contain his gratitude he 
 prostrated himself in adoration before the 
 Supreme Author of the discovery. Three 
 times bowing his head, he kissed with 
 streaming eyes the soil to which he was 
 conducted by the Divine Groodness, all 
 those who accompanied him, participating 
 in his emotions and kneeling as he did, 
 elevated a crucifix in the air. Raising his 
 grateful hands and thanking from the 
 bottom of his heart his Heavenly Father, 
 Columbus found in the effusions of his 
 loving gratitude, an admirable prayer, the 
 first accents of which are preserved by 
 history : " Lord Eternal and Almighty 
 God , who by Thy sacred word hast created 
 the heavens, the earth and the seas, may 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 47 
 
 Thy name be blessed and glorified forever. 
 May Thy majesty be exalted who hast 
 deigned to permit that, by Thy humble 
 servant, Thy sacred name should be made 
 known and preserved in this other part of 
 the world." ^ 
 
 His gratitude and piety found utterance 
 in sublime expressions. Then standing up 
 with majesty and displaying the standard 
 of the cross, he offered up to Jesus Christ, 
 the first fruits of his discovery. In order 
 to give glory to God who had shown it to 
 him, after having protected him from so 
 many perils, he gave the island the name 
 of San Salvador, which means " Holy 
 Saviour." 
 
 When the ceremony of taking possession 
 was over, Columbus caused two large pieces 
 of wood to be cut and making a rude cross, 
 raised it on the same spot where the royal 
 banner had been planted as he said, " To 
 leave a sign that possession of that land 
 had been taken in the name of Christ." He 
 did the same ever after in every land he 
 discovered, whether large or small, leaving 
 
 ^ Kosselly de Lorgues. 
 
48 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 everywhere the sign of Redemption, as in a 
 place that had come under the domination 
 of the Catholic religion. The joy of Col- 
 umbus also found expression on paper, as 
 the following denotes : 
 
 " Let then the King and Queen, the 
 Princes and their happy kingdoms unite 
 with all Christendom in returning thanks 
 to our Saviour Jesus Christ for granting us 
 such victorious success. Let them make 
 processions, celebrate solemn festivities and 
 ornament the temples with flowers and 
 palms ; and let Christ exult with joy on 
 earth as in Heaven, at the prospect of sal- 
 vation for so many nations heretofore 
 destined only to perdition."^ 
 
 The spot where Columbus first landed in 
 the New World is the eastern end of the 
 south side of Watling Island. This has 
 been established by the arguments of Major 
 and by the calculations of Murdoch beyond 
 all controversy. The evidence is over- 
 whelming. Watling Island answers to 
 every requirement and every test, whether 
 based on the Admiral's description of the 
 
 ^ Extract from the Journal of Columbus. 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 49 
 
 island itself, on the courses and distances 
 thence to Cuba, or on the evidence of early 
 maps. ^ We have thus reached a final and 
 satisfactory conclusion, and we can look 
 back on that momentous event in the 
 world's history with the certainty that we 
 know the exact spot on which it occurred — 
 on which Columbus touched the land when 
 he sprang from his boat, the standard 
 waving over his head, the emblem of his 
 faith in his hand, crying with that ardor 
 and religious enthusiasm his soul pos- 
 sessed: " I take possession of these lands in 
 the name of Jesus Christ and their Catholic 
 Majesties, the King and Queen of Spain." 
 
 ' Clements Markham, in Nature. 
 
 4 
 
VI. 
 
 Columbus at Barcelona. 
 
 Columbus continued his explorations and 
 a day or two later discovered another Island 
 which he called Santa Maria de la Concep- 
 tion in honor of the Immaculate Conception 
 of the Blesssd Virgin. The devotion of 
 Columbus to the mother of God was one of 
 the conspicuous traits in his deeply religious 
 character. For this reason a special fond- 
 ness for the Island of Conception seemed to 
 take possession of him. He lingered here 
 longer than anywhere else, and one of his 
 earliest acts was the erection of a large 
 cross in the centre of the island. 
 
 He desired to consecrate this place by the 
 erection of a church in which three Masses 
 were to be celebrated daily ; the first in 
 honor of the Blessed Trinity ; the second in 
 honor of the Immaculate Conception, and 
 the third for the faithful departed. One 
 50 
 
COLUMBUS AT BARCELONA. 51 
 
 day the aid of the cross erected by Colum- 
 bus, being invoked with a sincere faith 
 wrought a miracle.' Those who had fevers 
 were cured by touching it. Its fame spread 
 and the Indians determined to destroy it. 
 They came to it in large force and tried 
 with all their might to pull it down. The 
 cross remained unmovable, defying their 
 strength. Mortified at this failure, they 
 tried to destroy it by fire. Having collected 
 a lot of dry brush-wood they came at night 
 and surrounding the cross with the in- 
 flammable fagots to a considerable height, 
 set fire to them. The fire burned with great 
 force. The cross soon disappeared in the 
 flames and smoke. The idolaters went 
 away satisfied, but the next morning they 
 perceived the cross, subsisting entire and 
 perfectly preserved amid the smoking 
 cinders. Its natural color was not even 
 altered, except that at the foot there 
 appeared a little dark spot as if some one 
 had approached it with a lighted candle. 
 After a cruise among the Bahama Islands 
 and the discovery and coasting of Cuba and 
 
 ^ Rosselly de Lorgues. 
 
52 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 Hispaniola, Columbus, on the 4th of June, 
 1493, set sail for Spain. The voyagers had 
 only been out to sea a few days when an 
 awful storm arose. Human skill was com- 
 pletely baffled, and the lives of all on board 
 seemed to be in imminent danger. In the 
 midst of all this, while many of his com- 
 panions were panic-stricken with terror, 
 Columbus stood out brave, noble and digni- 
 fied. His pious training asserted itself. A 
 carefully prepared account of his voyage 
 and discoveries addressed to the Spanish 
 rulers was placed in a cake of wax and this 
 in turn placed in a barrel and cast on the 
 waters. Then after the performance of 
 appropriate acts of devotion, Columbus 
 ordered a number of beans to be placed in 
 a cap. One of them was cut with the sign 
 of the cross. Each man made a vow that 
 should he draw the marked bean, he would 
 on his return to Spain make a pilgrimage 
 to the Shrine of Santa Maria de Gaudalope, 
 bearing a wax taper of five pounds. The 
 lot fell to Columbus. The same perform- 
 ance was gone through again, this time lots 
 being cast for a pilgrimage to the Chapel 
 
COLUMBUS AT BARCELONA. 53 
 
 of Our Lady of Loretto. This time it fell 
 to a seaman named Pedro de Valla. The 
 third time the drawing was for a pilgri- 
 mage to Santa Clair de Moguer for the 
 purpose of hearing a solemn Mass and 
 watching all night in the chapel. This also 
 fell to Columbus. It is needless to say that 
 all these devotions were afterwards per- 
 formed with scrupulous exactness. 
 
 The storm abated finally and after some 
 weeks of clear sailing the crew arrived at 
 the Island of St. Mary's, a possession of 
 the crown of Portugal. Here the Admiral 
 reminded his men of a vow they had made 
 to perform a pious procession at their first 
 landing. There was a chapel on the island 
 dedicated to the Virgin and a couple of 
 messengers succeeded in finding a priest 
 who consented to say Mass. One half of 
 the crew landing, walked barefooted and 
 bareheaded to the chapel while the Admiral 
 remained on the vessel, waiting to do the 
 same with the other half. An incident 
 occurred though that somewhat marred the 
 solemnity of the occasion. The sailors were 
 surrounded by a crowd of officials, seized 
 
64 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 and thrown into jail. This outrage was 
 performed at the instigation of a number 
 of men high in position at the Court of 
 Portugal, who thought that the fruits of 
 Columbus' voyages might thus be forcibly 
 wrested from him and placed to the credit 
 of the Portuguese crown. They recognized 
 the weakness of their position, though, as 
 soon as the outrage had been perpetrated 
 and the sailors were almost immediately 
 released with profuse and hypocritical pro- 
 fessions of regret at the " mistake " that 
 had occurred. 
 
 Before leaving the country Columbus, 
 out of courtesy, called on the King of Por- 
 tugal, by whom he was received with high 
 honors. The discoverer received a great 
 ovation at the port of Palos. He did not 
 linger here but proceeding at once to Bar- 
 celona where the sovereigns were in grand 
 state. This was in the middle of April. 
 The town was in a fever heat of excitement 
 and Columbus was fairly covered with ex- 
 travagant praise and admiration. Men in 
 high place who had once scoffed at his ideas 
 now claimed him as a brother and for the 
 
COL UMB US AT BABCEL ON A, 65 
 
 time being constituted themselves his spe- 
 cial patrons. Thus does the world go round. 
 Truly nothing succeeds like success. 
 
 A procession formed. First came the 
 half-naked Indians, painted in fantastic 
 fashion, their head-gear filled with feathers, 
 strings of beads about their necks and 
 bracelets upon their wrists. Then came 
 some members of the crew, sharing in the 
 honors bestowed on Columbus, and carry- 
 ing various kinds of live parrots, stuffed 
 birds, rare plants, Indian bracelets, coro- 
 nets and other trophies of their marvellous 
 voyage. Columbus, richly attired for the 
 occasion, brought up the rear on horseback 
 and surrounded by a cavalcade of the 
 noblest youth in Spain. The pageant un- 
 doubtedly created a great sensation. It 
 would be idle to presume that Columbus 
 was not pleased and affected at this. He 
 had been looked upon as an adventurer and 
 as a wild dreamer and being human, Avas 
 naturally anxious to dissipate this idea and 
 to secure the confidence of an ever-fickle 
 public. 
 
 Columbus when ushered into the presence 
 of the King and Queen was received with 
 
56 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 great distinction. He made a movement 
 as if to kneel before them but they arose 
 and as is customary in receiving a person 
 of high rank, ordered him to seat himself 
 in their presence. This was a rare honor, 
 indeed, at this proud and chivalrous court. 
 Columbus then in eloquent but simple 
 words depicted the story of the voyage from 
 the time of leaving Palos until the return to 
 Spain. The sovereigns listened with rapt 
 attention, and at its close praised Grod for 
 his mercy and goodness. The Te Deum 
 was sung and there was general rejoicing. 
 These were the sunniest days in the life 
 of Columbus. He was treated with much 
 distinction wherever he went, and was uni- 
 versally hailed as the great benefactor of 
 Spain. JVext to the countenance shown him 
 by the King and Queen, may be mentioned 
 that of Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, the 
 Grand Cardinal of Spain, and first subject 
 of the realm; a man whose elevated char- 
 acter for piety, learning and high prince- 
 like qualities gave signal value to his favors. 
 He invited Columbus to a banquet, where 
 he assigned him the most honorable place 
 
COLUMBUS AT BARCELONA. 57 
 
 at table, and had him served with the 
 ceremonials which in those punctilious days 
 were observed towards sovereigns. At this 
 repast is said to have occurred the well- 
 known anecdote of the egg. A shallow 
 courtier present, impatient of the honors 
 paid Columbus, and meanly jealous of him 
 as a foreigner, abruptly asked him whether 
 he thought that, in case he had not discov- 
 ered the Indies, there were not other men 
 in Spain who would have been capable of 
 the enterprise. To this Columbus made no 
 immediate reply, but taking an egg^ in- 
 vited the company to make it stand on one 
 end. Everyone attempted it, but in vain ; 
 whereupon he struck it upon the table, so 
 as to break the end, and left it standing on 
 the broken part ; illustrating in this simple 
 manner that when he had once shown the 
 way to the T*^ew World, nothing was easier 
 than to follow it.^ 
 
 ^This story of the Qgg is told by Benzoni, the Italian histo- 
 rian, but is disputed by several writers. Indeed, some of the 
 more pious ones regard it as too frivolous for use in a serious 
 story of Columbus, but as they consider it of enough importance 
 to controvert, it is deemed of sufficient interest for reproduction 
 in the present work. 
 
VII. 
 
 The Church in the New World. 
 
 The most important step taken by the 
 Spanish sovereigns at this time was the ob- 
 taining of the sanction of Pope Alexander 
 YI to what had been accomplished by 
 Columbus. His Holiness at this time issued 
 the celebrated papal Bull of partition, defin- 
 ing the territories belonging to Spain and 
 Portugal. The King of Portugal was not 
 satisfied with this, claiming that it en- 
 croached on ground that had been set aside 
 for Portuguese discoveries. A protest was 
 therefore sent to Sj^ain. 
 
 At the same time that Portugal sent 
 her protest to Spain, she exerted all her 
 influence at Rome to have the Bull either 
 withdrawn or suspended. The Pope re- 
 mained unmoved ; or rather, under date 
 of September 26^ 1494, published another 
 Bull, not only confirming the rights settled 
 58 
 
THE CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD. 59 
 
 in the first, but still further extending 
 them — hence the last is called the Bull of 
 Extension. Spain and Portugal then by 
 mutual agreement resolved to move the 
 Pope's line to the west. The matter was 
 little thought of then, but later discoveries 
 show that the Pope's line cut the entire 
 terrestrial globe from pole to pole with 
 marvelous precision, without even touching 
 land ; thus assigning the entire New World 
 to Spain, but depriving it of the immense 
 region now known as Brazil.^ 
 
 Whilst Columbus lingered in Spain, six 
 Indians, after being duly instructed in 
 Christian doctrine, or rather in the funda- 
 mental beliefs of the faith, were baptized 
 with great pomp and ceremony. They 
 were the first inhabitants of the New World 
 that received the sacrament of Baptism, 
 the King, Queen and Prince Juan being 
 the sponsors. Thus was the Church in 
 America begun. 
 
 Columbus started on his second voyage 
 filled with renewed hope and courage. As 
 has been said, he was very devout to the 
 
 ^ Francesco Tarducci's Life of Columbus. 
 
60 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 Virgin Mary, and placed his voyages under 
 her special protection. On arriving once 
 more in the JSTew World, he founded the 
 city of Isabella.^ It was about this time 
 that the first substantial steps towards lay- 
 ing the foundation of the Church in the 
 New World were taken. A Pontifical 
 brief from Rome nominated a Yicar Apos- 
 tolic for the Indies. The dignity was 
 conferred on Father Bernard Boil, of the 
 order of St. Francis. Twelve other religious 
 of different orders were assigned him as 
 companions to aid in the work of converting 
 the tribes of the New World to the True 
 Faith. The devout Isabella reserved for 
 herself the consolation of providing the 
 sacred ornaments and vessels for the service 
 
 ^ A movement, first broached by Mr. Thomas H. Cummings, 
 of Boston, and taken up by the Sacred Heart Keview of that 
 city, to erect a monument to Columbus on the site of his first 
 settlement in the New World, at Isabella, in Santo Domingo, 
 has progressed so far that the statue is being modeled. It is 
 proposed to erect the monument at Isabella over the site of the 
 first Catholic church in the New World. In view of the increas- 
 ing interest in the matter it is hoped to make the monument 
 worthy of the event celebrated, and to have a colossal statue in 
 bronze, the cost of which will be about $10,000. This monu- 
 ment is intended to mark the starting point of Christian 
 civilization in America. 
 
THE CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD. 61 
 
 of the first church that should be raised in 
 the JN'ew World. Accordingly, one of the 
 vessels that sailed on the second voyage of 
 discovery with Columbus carried all that 
 was required for religious purposes in the 
 way of vestments, chalices and altar orna- 
 ments. Thus did the pious Catholic Queen 
 show herself worthy of the ancient faith. 
 It is interesting to know that an offering 
 of the first gold from the New World was 
 made by Isabella to Pope Alexander VI, 
 who applied it to cover the cedar wood 
 ceiling of the ancient Basilica of St. Mary 
 Major at Rome. 
 
 "I have been highly rejoiced," said a 
 correspondent in Rome to the Catholic 
 Sentinel recently, " in making what the 
 learned world would call an important 
 discovery. Some Pontifical documents re- 
 garding Christianity in America before 
 Columbus are published and known ; but 
 the very first Papal bull that was ever 
 issued in direct regard to religion in the 
 West Indies, after the memorable event 
 whose centenary we celebrate this year, has 
 remained to this day buried in the dust of 
 
62 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 the Vatican archives. I had the good for- 
 tune to first lay my finger on it. It is the 
 Bull of Alexander VI, who sends to the 
 newly-discovered lands the Franciscan 
 friar, Bernard Boil, together with twelve 
 other priests, secular and regular, to con- 
 vert to Christianity the savage tribes that 
 were suffering under the yoke of actual 
 spiritism or degrading devilism. The 
 Pontiff grants all necessary and useful 
 faculties to this first American vicar apos- 
 tolic, for himself, his companions and for 
 the people that may cross the Atlantic to 
 contribute toward making of America a 
 Catholic country. The document is of im- 
 portance in several respects. It settles the 
 question, long debated by Wadding and 
 other learned men, to what religious order 
 the Right Reverend Boil did belong; it 
 indicates the moral worth of the first 
 American pioneers of the Cross, and it 
 affords one of the proofs of the pious 
 zeal for the propagation of the faith and 
 civiization which animated a slandered 
 Pontiff. The Bull is dated from Rome, 
 June 2b^ 1493, and is recorded in the 
 
THE CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD. 63 
 
 register 777, folio 122, of the Vatican 
 secret archives." 
 
 The zealous missionaries found them- 
 selves working against great odds in the 
 New World. The fact that the Indians 
 were wholly untutored was discouraging 
 enough in itself, but when to this was 
 added the bad example set by the wretched 
 Spaniards, the labors of the priests became 
 difficult in the extreme. Finally, a number 
 of the missionaries returned to Spain in 
 disgust. Father Roman Pane who styled 
 himself "the poor hermit," and the Fran- 
 ciscan, Juan Borgonan, remained at work 
 among the Indians. The blameless life of 
 these two men caused them to be received 
 everywhere with veneration by the Indians. 
 They worked persistently and incessantly 
 until finally the chiefs were able to recite 
 the Pater Noster, the Ave Maria and the 
 Credo. 
 
 These prayers were recited once a day 
 by the chiefs of these tribes. The unre- 
 strained vice of the white men, however, 
 practically nullified the work of the good 
 priests. How could the savages be ex- 
 
64 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 pectecl to cultivate the virtues when the 
 example of excesses was being set for 
 them by the civilized w^hites.^ 
 
 Columbus, by his zeal, wisdom and dis- 
 cretion was laying the foundation for a 
 peaceful and prosperous community, but all 
 of his good work was destined to be set at 
 naught by the wickedness and indiscretions 
 of the Spaniards. Deep in their hearts they 
 had a distrust and dislike of Columbus, and 
 this was vented in various ways at every 
 opportunity. During his absence on tours 
 of discovery, all sorts of abuses were com- 
 mitted at Isabella, until a genuine hostility 
 sprung up between the natives and the 
 Spaniards, finally resulting in disastrous 
 wars between the two. The ringleaders 
 among the Spaniards were weak, vain men, 
 and although they had not the ability to 
 build up were adepts in the art of tear- 
 ing down. With a patience almost noble, 
 Columbus continued on his mission in spite 
 of the obstacles constantly jDlaced in his 
 path by the envious Spaniards. 
 
 ^-Narrative of Friar Pane in Fernando Columbus' History of 
 his Father. 
 
THE CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD. 65 
 
 It was a custom with the Admiral, in all 
 remarkable places which he visited, to erect 
 crosses in conspicuous situations, to denote 
 the discovery of the country and its subju- 
 gation to the true faith. While coasting 
 about the island of Cuba, Columbus came 
 to one very beautiful river. "He ordered 
 a large cross of wood to be erected on the 
 bank of this river. This was done on a 
 Sunday morning with great ceremony and 
 the celebration of a Solemn High Mass. 
 When he disembarked for this purpose he 
 was met upon the shore by the Cacique and 
 his principal favorite, a venerable Indian, 
 fourscore years of age, of grave and dignified 
 deportment. The old man brought a string 
 of beads of the kind to which the Indians 
 attached a mystic value, and a calabash of 
 a delicate kind of fruit ; these he presented 
 to the Admiral in token of amity. He and 
 the Cacique then each took Columbus by 
 the hand and proceeded with him to the 
 grove, where preparations had been made 
 for the celebration of the Mass ; a multitude 
 of natives followed. While Mass was per- 
 forming in this natural temple, the Indians 
 5 
 
66 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 looked on with awe and reverence, perceiv- 
 ing from the tones and gesticulations of the 
 priest, the lighted tapers, the smoking in- 
 cense and the devotion of the Spaniards, 
 that it must be a ceremony of a sacred and 
 mysterious nature."^ 
 
 The Indians possessed an inborn love 
 of the beautiful, and the grand rites sur- 
 rounding the solemn celebration of the 
 Mass had a fascinating interest for them. 
 The missionaries were not slow to take 
 advantage of this interest. It has been 
 said that great accessions to its ranks 
 always follow the grand public cere- 
 monials of the Catholic Church. Who 
 can doubt but that this was as true, 
 among the Indians, four hundred years 
 ago, as it is of the people of the present 
 day, and that as a result of that Mass 
 in the grove many souls were brought 
 to the True Church of Christ. 
 
 ^ living's Life and Voyage 
 
YIII. 
 
 Columbus in Ieons. 
 
 The misrepresentations of Columbus at 
 the Court began to grow in volume. When 
 he returned to Spain he found a decided 
 decline in his former wonderful popularity. 
 The stories of the traducer and the back- 
 biter were having their effect. It is a most 
 marvellous fact, that holds good in all ages 
 and countries, that no matter how meritori- 
 ous the labors of a man may be, there are 
 always some weaker and smaller-minded 
 men on hand to cheapen them in the eyes 
 of those with whom they should find the 
 most favor. Columbus was aware of the 
 change in the public mind, and he returned 
 to Spain much dejected in spirit. When he 
 appeared on the street he was attired in a 
 garb resembling in form and color the habit 
 of a Franciscan monk. He had permitted 
 his beard to grow, and altogether presented 
 
 67 
 
68 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 a most solemn and austere appearance. By 
 appointment he proceeded at once to Bur- 
 gos to meet the King and Queen. He felt 
 that the indifference or contempt of the 
 people might have the effect of impeding 
 his work in the future. In order to avert 
 this, he made an attempt to arouse interest 
 by a public display of the curiosities and 
 treasures he had brought from the JN'ew 
 World. These included some five or six 
 half-naked Indians highly ornamented. 
 
 The reception of Columbus by the King 
 and Queen set him entirely at ease. Con- 
 trary to his expectation they had paid no 
 attention to the evil reports that had been 
 circulated about him, and expressed entire 
 confidence and satisfaction in what he had 
 done. This gladdened the heart of Colum- 
 bus, who beneath a proud exterior possessed 
 a most sensitive nature. He gave a de- 
 tailed explanation of what he had accom- 
 plished and then proposed a third voyage. 
 He wanted to make more extensive dis- 
 coveries than ever and asked for eight 
 ships — two to be despatched to the island 
 of Hispaniola with supplies, the remaining 
 
COL UMB US IN IRONS. 69 
 
 six to be placed under his command for 
 a voyage of discovery. The Sovereigns 
 promised to do this at once, and probably 
 meant to. But alas for the frailty of human 
 promises, Columbus was kept in suspense 
 for months and months. He fretted ex- 
 ceedingly over what he considered the 
 unfortunate procrastination of the Sover- 
 eigns. After many disappointments and 
 delays Columbus finally started on his third 
 voyage of discovery on May 3, 1498. 
 
 " The Admiral's old friend, Father Perez, 
 accompanied this expedition. When they 
 reached Hispaniola, Father Perez erected 
 an humble convent of his order, which was 
 the first foundation of the Franciscans in 
 America. When the great city of San 
 Domingo — so called in honor of St. Domi- 
 nic — was laid out and made the first epis- 
 copal see of the JN'ew World, Columbus, 
 who was a member of the Third Order of 
 St. Francis, built a substantial church and 
 convent for Father Perez and his brethren. 
 Besides Franciscans, there were Domi- 
 nicans, Augustinians and other mission- 
 aries who accompanied Columbus either on 
 
70 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 this or on his third and fourth voyages, and 
 all were equally encouraged and assisted 
 by his liberality, so that this simple lay- 
 man, this illustrious navigator, this great 
 discoverer, may be justly called a propa- 
 gator of the faith and a champion of Holy 
 Church."^ When he arrived at Isabella he 
 found a rebellion in progress. The rebels 
 were finally arrested and shipped to Spain. 
 On their arrival they at once proceeded 
 to the court, where they brought charges 
 against Columbus in the most approved 
 style. The King promptly decided to send 
 Don Francisco de Bobadilla, an officer of 
 the royal household, to investigate the alle- 
 gations. Bobadilla proved to be a veritable 
 beggar on horseback. When he entered the 
 harbor of Isabella he saw on either bank a 
 gibbet containing the body of a Spaniard 
 lately executed. This, to his mind, was 
 proof conclusive that all the charges against 
 Columbus were true. He did not pause to 
 consider that these men had been found 
 guilty of treason and rebellion after an im- 
 partial trial before a tribunal constituted 
 
 ^ Kt. Eev. Mgr. Kobert Seton, D. D. 
 
COL UMB US IN IRONS. 71 
 
 and authorized by the Sovereigns. Colum- 
 bus was absent from the city at the time, 
 and Bobadilla, instead of investigating, at 
 once assumed command, and in a violent 
 order summoned Columbus to appear before 
 him. The latter, instead of setting this 
 offensive command at defiance, called on 
 Bobadilla. As soon as the Admiral ap- 
 peared, the arrogant and officious " Investi- 
 gator," with his little brief authority, gave 
 orders to put the Discoverer in irons and 
 confine him in the fortress. Even the bit- 
 terest enemies of Columbus were shocked 
 at the outrage to his venerable person, and 
 shrank from the task of putting on the irons. 
 Finally, to fill the measure of ingratitude 
 meted out to him, it w^as one of his own 
 domestics, a graceless and shameless cook, 
 w^ho, with unwashed front, riveted the fet- 
 ters with as much readiness and alacrity as 
 though he were serving him with choice and 
 savory viands.^ Through all of this Colum- 
 bus conducted himself with his natural dig- 
 nity and patience. His two brothers were 
 also put in irons, and the three placed in a 
 ship and sent to Sj^ain. 
 
 ^ Las Casas, History of the Indies. 
 
72 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 They were hardly out of the harbor when 
 the master of the ship offered to take off 
 the chains. " No," replied Columbus, with 
 noble dignity, " I am grateful to you for 
 your good will, but cannot consent to what 
 you propose. Their Majesties have written 
 to me to submit to whatever Bobadilla 
 might command me in their name, and it 
 was in their name that he loaded me with 
 these chains ; and I will carry them until 
 the King and Queen give orders to take 
 them off. Moreover, I will keep them in 
 future as a monument of the recompense 
 bestowed on my services." ^ 
 
 To say there was a sensation when the 
 Admiral appeared in the Old World in 
 chains, puts the situation mildly. There 
 was a reaction, and the popular feeling, 
 only a little while before against him, now 
 run high in his favor. The Sovereigns at 
 once disclaimed any responsibility for this 
 outrage, and invited him to appear at the 
 court. The heart of the noble-minded 
 Isabella was filled with indignation at the 
 manner in which Columbus had been 
 
 • Las Casas, History of the Indies. 
 
COL UMB US IN IRONS. 73 
 
 treated and the royal authority abused. 
 However coldly Ferdinand might have felt 
 toward Columbus, he could not well resist 
 the popular will, and joined with Isabella 
 in denouncing the indignity to the person 
 of the Admiral. They wrote a letter to 
 Columbus, couched in terms of gratitude 
 and aifection, and ordered at the same time 
 that two thousand ducats should be ad- 
 vanced to defray his expenses in coming to 
 the court. 
 
 The loyal heart of Columbus was again 
 cheered by this declaration of his Sover- 
 eigns. He felt conscious of his integrity, 
 and anticipated an immediate restitution 
 of all his rights and dignities. He appeared 
 at court in Granada on the 17th of Decem- 
 ber, not as a man ruined and disgraced, 
 but richly dressed, and attended by an 
 honorable retinue. He was received by 
 the Sovereigns with unqualified favor and 
 distinction. When the Queen beheld this 
 venerable man approach, and thought of 
 all he had deserved and all that he had 
 suffered, she was moved to tears. Colum- 
 bus had borne up firmly against the rude 
 
74 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 conflicts of the world, he had endured 
 with lofty scorn the injuries and insults of 
 ignoble men ; but he possessed strong and 
 quick sensibility. When he found himself 
 thus kindly received by his Sovereigns, 
 and beheld tears in the benign eyes of 
 Isabella, his long-suppressed feelings burst 
 forth ; he threw himself on his knees, and 
 for some time could not utter a word for 
 the violence of his tears and sobbings.^ 
 
 During the month that elapsed between 
 the arrival of Columbus and the answer of 
 the Sovereigns, history has lost sight of the 
 Admiral. It is only known that disgusted 
 with the deceit and weaknesses of the court, 
 and counting only on God, he wished to 
 retire from the world. Unmindful of what 
 might be thought of him he allowed his 
 beard to grow, and wore the habit of the 
 order of St. Francis. It is believed he 
 seriously contemplated joining this order 
 at this time.^ 
 
 Irving' s Life and Voyages. ^ Rosselly de Lorgues. 
 
IX. 
 
 Plan to Recover the Holy Sepulchre. 
 
 In the midst of all his troubles Columbus 
 remembered his vow to furnish the neces- 
 sary funds to rescue the Holy Sepulchre 
 from the unbelievers. He had promised, 
 it will be remembered, within seven years 
 of the time of his discovery to furnish 
 50,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 horses for 
 this purpose. He therefore prepared a 
 long and elaborate letter to the Sovereigns 
 on the subject. In this letter he urged 
 them to set on foot a crusade for the de- 
 liverance of Jerusalem. He entreated them 
 not to reject his present advice as extrava- 
 gant and impracticable, nor to heed the 
 discredit that might be cast upon it by 
 others ; reminding them that his great 
 scheme of discovery had originally been 
 treated with similar contempt. 
 
 75 
 
76 COL UMB US THE CA THOLIC. 
 
 He avowed in the fullest manner his 
 persuasion, that from his earliest infancy 
 he had been chosen by Heaven for the 
 accomplishment of those two great designs, 
 the discovery of the JN^ew World and the 
 rescue of the Holy Sepulchre. For this 
 purpose, in his tender years, he had been 
 guided by a Divine impulse to embrace the 
 profession of the sea, a mode of life, he 
 observes, which produces an inclination to 
 inquire into the mysteries of nature ; and 
 he had been gifted with a curious spirit to 
 read all kinds of chronicles, geographical 
 treatises and works of philosophy. In 
 meditating upon these, his understanding- 
 had been opened by the Deity, " as with a 
 palpable hand," so as to discover the navi- 
 gation to the Indies, and he had been 
 inflamed with ardor to undertake the enter- 
 prise. " Animated as if by a heavenly 
 fire," he adds, " I came to your Highnesses ; 
 all who heard of my enterprise mocked at 
 it ; all the sciences I had acquired profited 
 me nothing ; seven years did I pass in 
 your royal court disputing the case with 
 persons of great authority and learned in 
 all the arts, and in the end they decided 
 
THE HOL Y SEPULCHRE. 77 
 
 that all was vain. In your Highnesses 
 alone remained faith and constancy. Who 
 will doubt that this light was from the 
 Holy Scriptures, illumining you as well as 
 myself with rays of marvelous brightness." ^ 
 "These ideas so repeatedly expressed by 
 a man of the fervent piety of Columbus, 
 shows how truly his discovery arose from 
 the working of his own mind, and not from 
 information furnished by others. He con- 
 sidered it a Divine intimation, a light from 
 Heaven, and the fulfilment of what had 
 been foretold by our Saviour and the proph- 
 ets. Still, he regarded it but as a minor 
 event preparatory to the great enterprise — 
 the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. He 
 pronounced it a miracle effected by Heaven, 
 to animate himself and others to that holy 
 undertaking; and he assured the Sover- 
 eigns that, if they had faith in his present 
 as in his former propositions they would 
 assuredly be rewarded with equally tri- 
 umphant success. He conjured them not 
 to heed the sneers of such as might scoff 
 at him as one unlearned, as an ignorant 
 
 ^ Irving's Life and Voyages. 
 
78 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 mariner, a worldly man ; reminding them 
 that the Holy Spirit works not merely in 
 the learned but also in the ignorant ; nay, 
 that it reveals things to come, not merely 
 by rational beings but by prodigies in 
 animals, and by mystic signs in the air and 
 in the Heavens."^ 
 
 Columbus also prepared a book on the 
 subject. The title of the work was " Collec- 
 tion of Prophecies Concerning the Recovery 
 of Jerusalem and the Discovery of the In- 
 dies." Fourteen of these j^ages are still pre- 
 served, but they are evidently taken from 
 the first sketch or draft, in which the Admi- 
 ral was setting down as he came to them 
 the witnesses and authorities in his favor, 
 as preparatory material for the work he in- 
 tended ; for the passages collected and the 
 authorities cited have no connection of ar- 
 gument or coordination with each other. ^ 
 
 In the meantime the mind of the Admi- 
 ral became filled with a plan for a fourth 
 voyage of discovery. He was convinced 
 that there must be a strait somewhere about 
 
 ^ Irving's Life and Voyages. 
 
 * Francesco Tarducci's Life of Columbus. 
 
* THE HOLT SEPULCHRE. 79 
 
 his former discoveries and opening into the 
 Indian Sea. He was anxious to bring the 
 Crown great revenue from his discoveries. 
 The Sovereigns listened to his plan with 
 great attention, and finally consented to his 
 executing it. He was authorized to fit out 
 an armament. He repaired to Seville in 
 the autumn of 1501 to make the necessary 
 preparations. 
 
 " Though this substantial enterprise di- 
 verted his attention from his romantic 
 expedition for the recovery of the Holy 
 Sepulchre, it still continued to haunt his 
 mind. He left his manuscript collection of 
 researches among the prophecies, in the 
 hands of a devout friar, of the name of 
 Gaspar Gorricio, who assisted to complete 
 it. In February, also, he wrote a letter to 
 Pope Alexander VI, in which he apologizes, 
 on account of indispensable occupations for 
 not having repaired to Rome according to 
 his original intention, to give an account of 
 his grand discoveries. After briefly relating 
 them, he adds that his enterprises had been 
 undertaken with the intention of dedicating 
 the gains to the recovery of the Holy Sepul- 
 
80 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 chre. He mentions his vow to furnish, 
 within seven years, fifty thousand foot and 
 five thousand horses for the purpose, and 
 another of like force within five succeeding 
 years. This pious intention, he laments, 
 had been impeded by the arts of the devil, 
 and he feared without Divine aid would 
 be entirely frustrated, as the g-overnment 
 which had been granted to him in perpe- 
 tuity had been taken from him. He informs 
 his Holiness of his being about to embark 
 on another voyage, and promises solemnly, 
 on his return, to repair to Rome with- 
 out delay, to relate everything by word 
 of mouth, as well as to present him with 
 an account of his voyages, which he had 
 kept from the commencement to the present 
 time, in the style of the ' Commentaries of 
 C^sar.'"^ 
 
 It is plainly to be seen that the predomi- 
 nant thought of this truly great man was 
 Rome! Rome!! the mistress of the world 
 and the mistress of his soul. When he de- 
 sired comfort, when he desired authority ; 
 in the midst of his deepest sorrows and 
 
 ^ living's Life and Voyages. 
 
THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 81 
 
 greatest triumphs his thoughts naturally 
 turned to the Eternal City, to the seven 
 high hills that led to the earthly throne, 
 whereon was seated the successor of St. 
 Peter, and the visible head of the Holy 
 Catholic Church/ 
 
 ' In this connection it is gratifying to know that, in the world- 
 wide movement to honor Cohimbus, the Eternal City is not to 
 be outdone. • An International Committee has been formed for 
 the purpose of securing the erection of a worthy monument to 
 the great discoverer. The Committee has invited Catholics 
 throughout the world to cooperate in the movement. Pope Leo 
 XIII has taken a great interest in the matter, and has given it 
 his sanction and blessing. The monument will either face the 
 Vatican or be erected within the precincts of St. Peter's. 
 
 6 
 
X. 
 
 The Death of Columbus. 
 
 Columbus started on his fourth and last 
 voyage of discovery at the age of 66, with 
 a constitution impaired, but with an intel- 
 lect as bright and as vigorous as ever. He 
 sailed from Cadiz on the 9th of May, 1502, 
 and the voyage was without any striking 
 incidents. Owing to the unsettled condi- 
 tion of affairs at Hispaniola, and the fact 
 that his enemies were still in control of 
 that island, Columbus was instructed not 
 to stop there. He made his arrangements 
 accordingly. When he reached San Do- 
 mingo, however, his vessel was in a leaky 
 condition, and he started toward that place. 
 It is a singular commentary on the' injustice 
 of man toward man, that Columbus was 
 insolently refused shelter in the very har- 
 bor he had discovered. The leak was 
 patched up without entering the harbor, 
 82 
 
THE DEATH OF COLUMBUS. 83 
 
 and Columbus continued his voyaging 
 along the shores of Costa Rica. He was in 
 much personal distress at this time, and 
 there were continual murmurings on the 
 ship. As he was not in a condition to 
 make tempting promises to the crew he 
 finally directed the ship toward Spain, and 
 returning repaired to Seville. Here he 
 discovered his personal affairs to be in a 
 state of almost hopeless confusion. Then 
 began a long and wearisome struggle with 
 the Crown for his rights and possessions. 
 He cared not for the financial returns to 
 which he was entitled, but he was highly 
 sensitive regarding his title and the similar 
 honors assured him when he embarked on 
 his venturesome expedition. 
 
 His bodily ailments continued to in- 
 crease, and the last ray of hope seemed to 
 die in the careworn body when he learned 
 of the death of his royal friend and bene- 
 factress. Queen Isabella. It seemed a fatal 
 blow to his fortunes and to the fortune of 
 his family. Filled with grief, he wrote the 
 following characteristic letter to his son on 
 the Queen's death : 
 
84 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 " It is important above all," he says, " to 
 recommend the Queen our lady to God with 
 all your heart and with great devotion. 
 Her life was always Catholic and holy, and 
 directed in all things to His holy service ; 
 and for this reason we ought to believe 
 that she is in His glory, without a shadow 
 of longing for this harsh and painful world. 
 The next thing is to apply yourself with 
 zeal in everything and everywhere for the 
 King our Lord, and help to make him for- 
 get his grief. His Highness is the head of 
 Christendom. Think of the proverb which 
 says : ' When the head suffers, all the 
 m.embers languish.' Therefore, all good 
 Christians ought to pray for his health, so 
 that he may live long; and we who are 
 under greater obligations to serve him than 
 others, ought to do it with more zeal and 
 diligence." 
 
 All that winter Columbus was confined 
 to his bed. He wrote letter after letter to 
 the court, but they were received with cool 
 indifference. Finally he determined to 
 make a pilgrimage to court. What a con- 
 trast to this Columbus and the Columbus 
 
THE BE A TH OF COL UMB US. 8 5 
 
 who was received in triumph at Barcelona. 
 Then he was in the prime of life flushed 
 with his triumph, and received the ap- 
 plause of the fawners that surround a court. 
 Now he was old, careworn and feeble, a 
 melancholy and neglected man, treated 
 with indifference by the King, and ignored 
 by those about the throne. The King gave 
 him no satisfaction, and he left the court a 
 more miserable man than he had ever 
 been before in his life. The ingratitude of 
 Ferdinand chilled his heart. He went 
 home — to die. 
 
 On the fourth of May, 1505, he is said to 
 have written an informal testamentary codi- 
 cil on the blank page of a little breviary 
 given him by Pope Alexander YI. This 
 provided, among other things that, if schism 
 should occur in the Church, his heirs were 
 to offer their persons, power and wealth to 
 extinguish the schism, and prevent any at- 
 tempt on the honor and property of the 
 Church. They were to build a church in 
 Hispaniola to be called St. Mary's of the 
 Conception ; to have Masses said for his 
 soul, and for those of his ancestors, and for 
 
8a COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 posterity. Four "good professors of theol- 
 ogy" were to be taken to Hispaniola to con- 
 vert the people of that place. His heirs 
 were solemnly enjoined to show a copy of 
 this will to the priest every time they went 
 to confession, so that the confessor might 
 inquire if its provisions were faithfully 
 carried out. Two weeks later, on the eve 
 of his death, he wrote a more complete 
 document. When he discovered that his 
 troubled existence was coming to a close 
 he turned all his thoughts towards God, 
 and, with a silent resignation character- 
 istic of the man, he waited for the end. 
 He confessed and received the sacrament. 
 Several of the good Franciscans, who had 
 remained his constant friends through good 
 and evil, were by his bedside. Over the 
 head of the bed, on the wall on a nail, 
 hung a pair of handcuffs — a bitter memo- 
 rial of the occasion on which he was 
 placed in irons by order of a servant of 
 the King of Spain. His two sons, Fer- 
 nando and Diego, were on their knees at 
 his bedside. 
 
THE DEATH OE COLUMBUS. 87 
 
 "After enriching Spain with so many 
 regions and such treasures as no human 
 tongue ever told of," says Tarducci, " after 
 changing, by his discoveries, the face of 
 the known world, doubling the known 
 space of the globe, he was now groaning in 
 abandonment and contempt in a wretched 
 lodging-house, and had to beg for a loan 
 of money to buy a cot to die on; and 
 those who ridiculed his undertaking were 
 triumphing in wealth and ease, in powder 
 and honor." 
 
 Amid the pious offices of the Church, 
 Columbus expired on the day of the Ascen- 
 sion, the 2()th of May, 1506, in his seventieth 
 year. His last words were: "Into thy 
 hands, Lord, I commend my spirit." He 
 died clad in the frock of the Franciscan 
 order, to which he was much attached. The 
 body was deposited in the convent of St. 
 Francis, the obsequies taking place with all 
 of the pomp and solemnity possible in the 
 ritual of the Church of which Columbus was 
 such a faithful member. These ceremonies 
 occurred at Valladolid, in the parochial 
 church of Santa Maria de la Antigua. The 
 
88 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 remains were taken to Seville, thence to 
 the Cathedral of San Domingo, and finally 
 placed under the high altar of the Cathe- 
 dral at Havana/ Thus ended the earthly 
 existence of one of the greatest men of all 
 the ages. 
 
 ^ The removal of the remains of Columbus from San Do- 
 mingo to Havana were attended with elaborate ceremonies. 
 The event began on the 20th of December, 1795, and occupied 
 several days thereafter, the time being occupied with vigils and 
 Masses for the dead, said by the Archbishop, who was assisted 
 by the Dominican and Franciscan friars and those of the Order 
 of Mercy. The remains arrived at Havana on the 15th of 
 January, 1796, and were deposited with great reverence in the 
 wall on the right-hand side of the grand altar. 
 
 All these ceremonies were participated in by the highest re- 
 ligious and secular dignitaries of the day, and the nobility and 
 gentry of Havana, " in proof of the high estimation and re- 
 spectful remembrance in which they held the hero who had 
 discovered the New World, and had been the first to plant the 
 standard of the cross in that island." 
 
XI. 
 
 The Chakacter of Columbus. 
 
 Time, which tempers all things, has done 
 full justice to the memory of Columbus. 
 Eminent critics of all countries and creeds 
 join in declaring him one of the most 
 remarkable men of all ages. Every im- 
 partial person has the means of making an 
 estimate of the character of Columbus ; but 
 in order to give the reader the advantage 
 of the best thought on the subject, it has 
 been deemed desirable to present the views 
 of a number of prominent ecclesiastics in 
 the form of a symposium. The following 
 abstracts are therefore presented as a fair 
 illustration of the great esteem in which 
 the memory of Columbus is held : 
 
 " The glory of the great Catholic discov- 
 erer is that his heroic life and patient, 
 persevering labors were inspired by a sub- 
 lime zeal for the spreading of the knowledge 
 
 89 
 
90 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 and love of the true religion of God." — Most 
 Rev. J. J. Williams^ Archbishop of Boston, 
 Mass. 
 
 " The great explorer was a devoted Catho- 
 lic ; his enterprise was made possible by 
 the noble Catholic Queen of Spain, Isabella ; 
 his first act when landing on the shore of 
 the newly-discovered world was to plant 
 the Cross — the symbol of Catholic faith. 
 Liberty, almost unknown, found a home in 
 the land Columbus discovered. Catholics 
 enjoy its blessings, while they share with 
 their fellow citizens the great prosperity 
 that everywhere prevails." — Most Rev. P. 
 A. Feehan^ Archbishop of Chicago, III. 
 
 " Catholics, especially, should pride 
 themselves in celebrating the discovery 
 of America, since this magnificent event 
 was brought about by devoted children 
 of Holy Church. In every other event 
 in the noble history of America, Catholics 
 can point with pleasure to the splendid 
 part which our brethren in the faith have 
 taken for the welfare of our common 
 country." — Most Rev. William Gross, Arch- 
 bishop of Portland, Oregon. 
 
THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. 91 
 
 " This greatest man of his age exempli- 
 fied in his own person the fate of the 
 leaders of mankind. As the rock must be 
 struck by iron to elicit the vital sparks, so 
 must the heart of man be wounded to pro- 
 duce the fire of immortal fame that flashes 
 into a beacon -light of history. Suffering is 
 the mark of true greatness ; for no head 
 has ever worn the wreath of laurels which 
 has not been crowned with thorns. The 
 heroes of the world are o-reatest when they 
 have suffered most." — Et. Rev. Mgr. Robert 
 Seton, D. I). 
 
 " It should be a source of inspiration, 
 and a pledge of greater devotion to country, 
 to know that the God of Nations in His 
 wisdom has vouchsafed to open up to us 
 through a devoted Catholic and Christian 
 explorer the privileges that we now enjoy 
 as Catholics in the unfettered practice of 
 our dear religion. 
 
 " The prosperity of the Church, which is 
 certainly abreast of the best advances of 
 our country in the pathway of a truly 
 Christian civilization, has assumed, during 
 the last fifty years, proportions of strength 
 
92 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 and grandeur before which every unbiassed 
 intelligence must stand in silence, if not 
 demonstrative admiration. It is impossible 
 for such an organization to come into touch 
 with our national institutions without be- 
 coming a forceful element in the make-up 
 of American life. This influence, however, 
 must enter into our nationality through the 
 fidelity which we extend to the religious 
 teachings of the Church ; and out from 
 that fidelity to God must inevitably come 
 a greater loyalty to country." — jRt. Bev. 
 Thomas Beaven, D. I)., Bisliojp of Sj^ringjield^ 
 Mass. 
 
 " Columbus never suspected the real 
 greatness of his discovery. He thought 
 that he had reached Asia. Had he with 
 prophetic eye glanced beyond the horizon 
 of his time, and beheld what were then only 
 splendid possibilities, developed now into 
 marvellous realities, those mighty rivers 
 which he thought the arteries of a continent, 
 floating great ships laden with the fruits of 
 countless industries ; prosperous cities with 
 their millions of happy homes in place of 
 what was then a wilderness, and, above all. 
 
THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. 93 
 
 had he beheld the cross he planted on every 
 shore he discovered, gleaming proudly 
 above so many magnificent temples dedi- 
 cated to God by that Church he loved so 
 passionately, his cup of glory had surely 
 been filled. The glorious prospect would 
 have been as unction to the soreness caused 
 by his chains, and would have consoled him 
 for his inability to execute his other grand 
 design. For, strange as it may seem, his 
 extraordinary achievement was subordinate 
 to another which he contemplated. He 
 would liberate the Holy Sepulchre from the 
 desecrating touch of the Saracen. He was 
 ambitious for gold. Yes, but apart from his 
 just rights this was the motive of that am- 
 bition. This hope of his later years he 
 was not to realize. The evening of his life 
 was clouded. He had to wear the crown of 
 thorns and drink the chalice of God's will. 
 The country he discovered does not bear 
 his name. But the bays and rivers and 
 mountains and capes he discovered bear 
 witness in the names he gave them to his 
 love for God and Church. He needs no 
 monument of brass or marble. His noble 
 
94 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC 
 
 deeds are written in the fleshy tablets of 
 millions of hearts. May they never be 
 effaced !" — Rev. T. F. Kennedy^ Seminary of 
 St. Charles Borromeo, Overbrook, Fa. 
 
 " May we not reasonably assume that 
 the great navigator, after all, was a willing 
 instrument in the hands of God ? Consider 
 the times. The old order was changing. 
 Three great inventions, already beginning 
 to exert a most potent influence, were des- 
 tined to revolutionize the world — the print- 
 ing press, which led to the revival of 
 learning ; the use of gunpowder, which 
 changed the methods of warfare ; the mari- 
 ner's compass, which permitted the sailor 
 to tempt boldly even unknown seas. These 
 three great factors of civilization, each in 
 its way, so stimulated human thought that 
 the discovery of America was plainly in the 
 designs of that providence which ' reach eth 
 from end to end mightily and ordereth all 
 things sweetly.' Once more, take God's 
 dealings with the human race, as illustrated 
 in the central fact of all history, the incar- 
 nation of His Son. The promise of the 
 Redeemer runs through the Scriptures in 
 
THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. 95 
 
 the Old Testament as a thread of gold in a 
 tangled web. When all seems forbidding, 
 the gracious promise is most clearly re- 
 newed. For instance, Abraham is told of 
 the wonderful increase of his posterity, 
 when, in the order of nature, he could not 
 hope for issue, and later on he is bidden to 
 sacrifice his son, through whom the promise 
 was to be accomplished. Just as all seems 
 hopelessly lost an angel stays the father's 
 uplifted arm, and the patriarch receives 
 the divine assurance : ' I will multiply thy 
 seed as the stars of heaven and the sands 
 by the seashore, and in thy seed shall all 
 the nations of the earth be blessed.' " — Most 
 Bev. M. A. Corrigan^ ArchbisJiop of New 
 York. 
 
 "Whoever has studied the philosophy of 
 the discovery of the New World and looked 
 into the heart of the great Mariner, must 
 have perceived that the religious faith of 
 Columbus, deep, intense and self-sacrificing, 
 was the chief inspiration of the marvellous 
 project, the realization of which has immor- 
 talized his name. ' I hope that it will be 
 given to me some day to propagate, with 
 
96 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 the help of God, the most holy name of 
 Jesus Christ and His Grospel,' said the navi- 
 gator to Ferdinand and Isabella. This was 
 the motive also that warmed the heart of 
 the holy Monk who sustained him in his 
 trials and inspired the advocacy and sacri- 
 fice of the great generous Queen, without 
 whose aid the people of this great Conti- 
 nent might have remained for years ' in 
 darkness and the shadow of death,' and 
 consequent barbarism. Behold, then, the 
 central group of our Christian civilization, 
 the Monk, the Mariner, and the Woman, 
 representing — as has been suggested — 
 Faith, Hope and Charity — the theological 
 virtues of Christianity." — Most Rev. P. J, 
 Ryaii^ ArcJihisJiop of Philadelphia. 
 
 ''As patriotic citizens of this most glori- 
 ous and free of the republics and govern- 
 ments of the new world, we can most 
 readily appreciate the benefits that have 
 accrued from the discovery to the civiliza- 
 tion and betterment of the human family. 
 Here liberty, so long enthralled beyond the 
 seas, has found a congenial home. Here 
 has been afforded the spectacle of a nation 
 
THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. 97 
 
 which enjoys freedom without license and 
 authority without despotism; the purest 
 democracy allied with a stable Government. 
 Peace and happiness, as far, perhaps, as is 
 attainable on earth, result from most favor- 
 able conditions. Climate, soil, vegetation, 
 and mineral products, found in a most end- 
 less variety and profusion, all conspire to 
 make our country the most desirable in the 
 world. Nor can we forget to note, with a 
 love for our religion as strong and as true 
 as that for our country, the magnificent ex- 
 pansion God has given to the Church, and 
 how sturdily and beautifully this flower of 
 Christian faith has grown, untrammelled, 
 under the benign influence of our republi- 
 can institutions. At the birth of this Con- 
 tinent on the world's vision, our fathers 
 came bearing the cross of Christ and the 
 torch of enlightenment, waving the banner 
 of liberty, and sowing the seeds of com- 
 merce and religion. In the civilization of 
 the country and in the perpetuation of its 
 benefits they have taken a prominent and 
 decisive part, and have joined hand and 
 heart with their fellow -citizens irrespective 
 7 
 
98 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 of creed. They have aided in exploring 
 and in colonizing it and in developing its 
 resources. They have spent their life's 
 energies toward its prosperity, and many 
 their life's blood in the defence of its liber- 
 ties." — James (Cardinal) Gibbons, ArchbisJio^ 
 of Baltimore. 
 
XII. 
 
 Columbus and the Church. 
 
 Professor Thrope, of the University of 
 Pennsylvania, in a lecture in the University 
 Extension course at Sea Isle City, N. J., 
 in the winter of '91-92, said : " Virtually, 
 we owe the discovery of America to an 
 obscure and humble priest." Miss Eleanor 
 C. Donnelly, the gifted poetess, has used 
 this thought as the theme for a beautiful 
 poem entitled " Columbus and the Church." 
 This poem was read at the Catholic Quadri- 
 Centennial Celebration of the Discovery of 
 America, presided over by Archbishop 
 Ryan, and held in the Philadelphia 
 Academy of Music on the evening of 
 Wednesday, October 12, 1892.^ 
 
 ^ Published with the approval and special permission of Miss 
 Donnelly. 
 
 99 
 
100 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 When we chant our mighty paean for Columbus, 
 Grand "Te Deum " of the nations far and near ; 
 
 When we crown him with a glad and golden nimbus, 
 And shrine him in the glory of the Year; 
 
 When we strive to limn in gorgeous hues, yet tender, 
 The ancient court of Ferdinand, the King, 
 
 And of Isabella, robed in regal splendor, 
 A choral of Castilian sweetness sing ; 
 
 When we boast of Dom De Deza and Mendoza, 
 Of Saint Angel, Quintanilla and the rest. 
 
 Ah, forget not Fra Juan Perez de Marchena, 
 Of all the friends the bravest and the best. 
 
 The poor Franciscan, gifted Father Guardian 
 Of La Rabida (old convent near the sea. 
 
 Close to Palos, on the blue waves' breezy margin, 
 Where the fishing boats were rocking in the lee) ; 
 
 Who bade welcome unto bed and board monastic, 
 The Pilgrim with the thorny chaplet crown'd. 
 
 The great Genoese — the grave, enthusiastic 
 Chkistofero Columbo, world renown'd ! 
 
 In his wand'rings, gave him rest and consolation, 
 In his disappointment, filed fate's iron chain. 
 
 Helped him open wide the mansions of salvation 
 To the waiting millions lost beyond the main ; 
 
COLUMBUS AND THE CHURCH. 101 
 
 Cheered his spirit when it pined amid the shadows 
 Of a dark distrust, a wearisome delay ; 
 
 To a conquest, grander far than old Granada's, 
 Sent him forth, at last, exulting on his way. 
 
 Let us steal the dulcet lyre of an angel 
 
 From the shining ranks that harp before the 
 Throne, 
 Rather, snatch the silvern trump of some Archangel, 
 
 With its rarest notes by Seraph lips unblown, 
 
 To give the land, in strains of matchless sweetness. 
 The moral of the poor Franciscan's fame. 
 
 The glory that enshrines in rich completeness, 
 Juan Perez de Marchena's humble name. 
 
 Erst the guide of queens, the confidant of princes, 
 In the splendid court of Leon and Castile, 
 
 In his bare and lowly cloister, he evinces 
 All a simple friar's unpretending zeal. 
 
 From his convent-tower (nightly vigils keeping), 
 Among the stars his virgin thoughts take wing ; 
 
 With planet lore entranced — perchance, when sleeping, 
 He sees, in dreams, those lamps of Heaven's King 
 
 Illume a mighty land beyond the surges, 
 
 A continent across the western wave. 
 Where grieving angels moan pathetic dirges 
 
 O'er full many a lonely heathen grave. 
 
102 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 II. 
 
 Whose eye, like his, hath searched those starry realms? 
 
 Whose ear hath caught that wail upon the breeze ? 
 The burden of his hopes and fears o'erwhelms 
 
 The spirit of a great soul's Genoese. 
 
 Behold, he comes ! His hand is on the portal ! 
 
 His foot hath gained its heav'n appointed goal ! 
 The Hero comes — Columbus, the immortal ! 
 
 Fra Juan salutes the brother of his soul ! 
 
 Say not that greed for gold or precious spices 
 
 Allures the noble sailor to his quest. 
 Is it not rather zeal for souls entices 
 
 His generous heart? Faith animates his breast. 
 
 What time he sees the flames of Hope expire. 
 Quenched by the torrent of a strong man's tears, 
 
 He comes — he meets, he greets the pitying Friar, 
 He tells his wondrous tale to willing ears. 
 
 Tho' wholesome heart with bitterness be cankered, 
 Tho' waves of desolation round him roll. 
 
 And, like a ship among the icebergs anchored. 
 He feels the chill of death assail his soul ; 
 
 Praise God ! he finds among the sons of Francis 
 One spirit broad enough to grasp the plan, 
 
 Despised and scorned as wildest of romances 
 By sage and doctor, knight and nobleman. 
 
COLUMBUS AND THE CHURCH. 103 
 
 Glory to Fra Perez, brave De Marchena ! 
 
 Who nerved the Hero in his hour of gloom 
 To meet and master in Faith's wide arena, 
 
 Those giant shades of Hell — Despair and Doom. 
 
 All glory to the Church of God Eternal, 
 
 Our mighty mother, Christ's immortal spouse, 
 
 Who, through her servant,snatched from powers infernal. 
 Unnumbered souls, as gems to" bind her brows ! 
 
 III. 
 
 Ah ! when to-day, Columbia, from her eyrie. 
 
 Looks out with eagle glance across the land, 
 And sees the gardens crowding out the prairie, i 
 
 And hamlet wid'ning to the city grand — I 
 
 Sees, from afar, where plagues and perils chasten, j 
 
 Mid wreck of thrones and sceptres downward hurled 
 
 Swift to her shores, across the billows hasten 
 The exiled and evicted of the world — 
 
 Sees nature's bounty. Science, Art, Invention, 
 
 Flooding her children's homes with joy and light, 
 
 While Freedom, 'neath the Starry Flag's extension. 
 Above the humblest, spreads her aegis bright. 
 
 Broad as her skies (whence bigots' ban hath drifted, 
 
 And Justice guards the lights of Liberty), 
 Will she not cry, with heart and voice uplifted, 
 
 " O Church of God, how much we owe to thee ! 
 
104 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 " For thou didst prompt the Spanish Friar's devotion, 
 Didst spoil the Spanish Queen of gems and gold, 
 
 Didst guide Columbus o'er a trackless ocean. 
 To give a New World to the wondering Old, 
 
 " And thine it is, with tongue and law unspotted. 
 To bid thy sons around their banner band. 
 
 As Christian freemen, patriots devoted. 
 Prove ever true to God and Fatherland ! 
 
 " Yea, thine it is, across Time's troubled waters, 
 To point us to a fairer Shore than this, 
 
 To guide (Columbus-like) thy sons and daughters. 
 To that New World of everlasting bliss! " 
 
POPE LEO XIIL 
 
XIII. 
 
 Pope Leo XIII on Columbus. 
 
 If anything were needed to convince 
 Catholics of the interest they should take 
 in everything connected with Columbus, it 
 is the position taken by His Holiness, Pope 
 Leo XIII. He has issued an encyclical to 
 the Archbishops and Bishops of Spain and 
 the two Americas, which has been pro- 
 nounced by competent critics one of the 
 finest literary efforts of the present decade. 
 Catholics of the United States will be espe- 
 cially gratified at the remarkable interest 
 shown by the Holy Father in the Colum- 
 bian Exposition. Much significance is at- 
 tached to the action of the Pontiff in asking 
 for space at the Fair. There is no prece- 
 dent in the Papal history for an act of this 
 kind, and it is only to be inferred that the 
 Pope is willing to especially honor the great 
 American enterprise. 
 
 106 
 
106 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 Letter of Pojpe Leo XLIL. 
 
 The following is the full text of the Pope's 
 encyclical on the subject of Columbus : 
 
 " To the Archbishops and Bishops of 
 Spain and Italy, and of the two Americas, 
 Leo XIII, Pope. Venerable brothers: 
 
 " Grreeting and apostolic benediction : 
 From the end of the fifteenth century, since 
 a man from Liguria first landed, under the 
 auspices of God, on the trans- Atlantic 
 shores, humanity has been strongly inclined 
 to celebrate with gratitude the recollection 
 of this event. It would certainly not be an 
 easy matter to find a more worthy cause to 
 touch their hearts and to inflame their zeal. 
 The event in eifect is such in itself that no 
 other epoch has seen a grander and more 
 beautiful one accomplished by man ; as to 
 he who accomplished it there are few who 
 can be compared to him in greatness of soul 
 and of genius. By his work a New World 
 flashed forth from the unexplored ocean, 
 thousands upon thousands of mortals were 
 returned to the common society of the 
 human race, led from their barbarous life 
 
POPE LEO XIII ON COLUMBUS. 107 
 
 to peacefulness and civilization, and, which 
 is of much more importance, recalled from 
 perdition to eternal life by the best avowal 
 of the gifts which Jesus Christ brought to 
 the world. 
 
 "Europe, astonished alike by the novelty 
 and prodigiousness of this unexpected event, 
 understood little by little, in due course of 
 time, what she owed to Columbus, when, by 
 sending colonies to America, by frequent 
 communications, by exchange of services, 
 by the resources confided to the sea and 
 received in return, there was discovered an 
 accession of the most favorable nature pos- 
 sible to the knowledge of nature, to the 
 reciprocal abundance of riches, with the re- 
 sult that the prestige of Europe increased 
 enormously. 
 
 "Therefore, it would not be fitting amid 
 these numerous testimonials of honor and 
 in these concerts of felicitations that the 
 Church should maintain complete silence, 
 since, in accordance with her character and 
 her institutions, she willingly approves and 
 endeavors to favor all that appears, wher- 
 ever it is, to be worthy of honor and praise. 
 
108 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 Undoubtedly she reserves particular and 
 supreme honors to the virtues preeminent 
 in regard to morality, inasmuch as they 
 are united to the eternal salvation of souls ; 
 nevertheless, she does not despise the rest, 
 neither does she abstain from esteeming 
 them as they deserve ; it is even her habit 
 to favor them with all her power, and to 
 always honor those who have well merited 
 of human society and who have passed to 
 posterity. 
 
 ''Certainly, God is admirable in his 
 saints ; but the vestiges of His divine vir- 
 tue appear as imprinted in those in whom 
 shines a superior force of souls and mind, 
 for this elevation of heart and this spark of 
 genius could only come from God, their 
 author and protector. 
 
 "It is, in addition, an entirely special 
 reason for which we believe we should com- 
 memorate in a grateful spirit this immortal 
 event. It is that Columbus is one of us. 
 When one considers with what motive 
 above all he undertook the plan of explor- 
 ing the dark sea, and with what object he 
 endeavored to realize this plan, one cannot 
 
POPE LEO XIII ON COLUMBUS. 109 
 
 doubt that the Catholic faith superlatively 
 inspired the enterprise and its execution, so 
 that by this title all humanity is not a little 
 indebted to the Church. 
 
 " There are, without doubt, many men 
 of hardihood and full of experience who, 
 before Christopher Columbus and after 
 him, explored, with persevering efforts, 
 unknown lands across seas still more un- 
 known. Their memory is celebrated and 
 will still be so by the reason and the recol- 
 lection of their good deeds, seeing that they 
 have extended the frontiers of science and 
 of civilization, and that not at the price of 
 slight efforts, but with a very exalted ardor 
 of spirit, and often through extreme perils. 
 It is not the less true that there is a very 
 great difference between them and he of 
 whom we speak. The eminently distinc- 
 tive point in Columbus is that, in crossing 
 the immense expanses of the ocean, he 
 followed an object more grand and more 
 elevated than the others. This does not 
 say, doubtless, that he was not in any way 
 influenced by the very praiseworthy desire 
 to be master of science, to well deserve the 
 
110 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 approval of society, or that he despised the 
 glory whose stimulant is ordinarily more 
 sensitive to elevated minds, or that he was 
 not at all looking to his personal interests. 
 But above all these human reasons, that of 
 religion was uppermost by a great deal in 
 him, and it was this, without any doubt, 
 which sustained his spirit and his will, and 
 which frequently, in the midst of extreme 
 difficulties, filled him with consolation. He 
 learned in reality that his plan, his resolu- 
 tion profoundly carved in his heart, was to 
 open success to the Gospel in new lands and 
 in new seas. 
 
 " This may seem hardly probable to those 
 who, concentrating all their care, all their 
 thoughts, in the present nature of things, as 
 it is perceived by the senses, refuse to look 
 upon greater benefits, but, on the other 
 hand, it is the characteristic of eminent 
 minds to prefer to elevate themselves 
 higher, for they are better disposed than 
 all others to seize the impulses and the 
 inspirations of the divine faith. Certainly 
 Columbus had united the study of nature 
 to the study of religion, and he had con- 
 
POPE LEO XIII ON COLUMBUS. HI 
 
 formed his mind to the precepts intimately 
 drawn from the Catholic faith. It is thus 
 that, having learned by astronomy and 
 ancient documents that, beyond the limits 
 of the known world, there were in addition, 
 towards the West, large tracts of territory 
 unexplored up to that time by anybody. 
 He considered in his mind the immense 
 multitude of those who were plunged in 
 lamentable darkness, subject to insensate 
 rites and to the superstitions of senseless 
 divinities. He considered that they mis- 
 erably led a savage life, with ferocious 
 customs ; that, more miserably still, they 
 were w^anting in all notion of the most 
 important things and that they were 
 plunged in ignorance of the only true God. 
 Thus, in considering this in himself, he 
 aimed, first of all, to propagate the name 
 of Christian and the benefits of Christian 
 charity in the West. As a fact, so soon as 
 he presented himself to the sovereigns of 
 Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, he ex- 
 plained the cause for which they were not 
 to fear taking a warm interest in the 
 enterprise, as their glory would increase to 
 
112 COL UMB US THE CA THOLIC. 
 
 the point of becoming immortal if they 
 decided to carry the name and the doctrine 
 of Jesus Christ into such distant regions. 
 And when not long afterward his prayers 
 were granted, he called to witness that he 
 wished to obtain from God that these 
 sovereigns, sustained by His help and His 
 mercy, should persevere in causing the 
 Gospel to penetrate upon new shores and 
 in new lands. He conceived in the same 
 manner the plan of asking Alexander VI 
 for apostolic men by a letter, in which 
 these words are found : ' I hope that it will 
 some day be given to me, with the help of 
 God, to propagate afar the very holy name 
 of Jesus Christ and His Gospel.' Also can 
 one imagine him all filled with joy when 
 he wrote to Raphael Sanchez, the first who 
 from the Indies had returned to Lisbon, 
 that immortal actions of grace must be 
 rendered to God in that He had deigned 
 to cause to prosper the enterprise so well ; 
 and that Jesus Christ could rejoice and 
 triumph upon earth and in heaven for the 
 coming salvation of innumerable people 
 who previously had been going to their 
 
POPE LEO XIII ON COLUMBUS. 113 
 
 ruin. That if Columbus also asks of Ferdi- 
 nand and Isabella to permit only Catholic 
 Christians to go to the JN'ew World, there 
 to accelerate trade with the nations, he 
 supports this motive by the fact that, by 
 his enterprise and efforts, he has not sought 
 for anything else than the glory and the 
 development of the Christian religion. 
 This was what was perfectly known to 
 Isabella, who, better than any other person, 
 had penetrated the mind of such a great 
 man ; much more, it appears that this 
 same plan was fully adopted by this very 
 pious woman of great heart and manly 
 mind. She bore witness, in effect of 
 Columbus, that in courageously giving 
 himself up to the vast ocean, he realized 
 for the Divine glory a most signal enter- 
 prise. And to Columbus, himself, when 
 he had happily returned, she wrote that 
 she esteemed as having been highly em- 
 ployed the resources which she had conse- 
 crated and which she would still consecrate 
 to the expeditions in the Indies, in view of 
 the fact that the propagation of Catholicism 
 would result from them. 
 8 
 
1 1 4 COL UMB US THE CA THOLIC. 
 
 " Also if he had not inspired himself 
 from a cause superior to human interests, 
 where then would he have drawn the con- 
 stancy and the strength of soul to support 
 what he was obliged to the end to endure 
 and to submit to, that is to say, the un- 
 propitious advice of the learned people, 
 the repulse of princes, the tempests of 
 the furious ocean, the continual watches 
 during which he more than once risked 
 losing his sight. To that adding the com- 
 bats sustained against the barbarians, the 
 infidelities of his friends, of his companions, 
 the villainous conspiracies, the perfidious- 
 ness of the envious, the calumnies of the 
 traducers, the chains with which, after all, 
 though innocent, he was loaded. It was 
 inevitable that a man overwhelmed with 
 a burden of trials so great and so intense 
 would have succumbed had he not sus- 
 tained himself by the consciousness of ful- 
 filling a very noble enterprise, which he 
 conjectured would be glorious for the 
 Christian name and salutory for an 
 infinite multitude, and the enterprise so 
 carried out is admirably illustrated by 
 
POPE LEO XIII ON COL UMB US. 1 1 5 
 
 the events of that time. In effect, Col- 
 umbus discovered America at about the 
 period when a great tempest was going 
 to unchain itself against the Church. In- 
 asmuch as that it is permitted by the 
 course of events to appreciate the ways 
 of Divine Providence, it really seems that 
 the man for whom Liguria honors herself 
 was destined by a special plan of God 
 to compensate Catholicism for the injury 
 which it was going to suffer in Europe. 
 To call the Indian race to Christianity — 
 this was, without doubt, the mission and 
 the work of the Church. In this mission, 
 commenced from the beginning, she con- 
 tinued to fulfil it with an uninterrupted 
 course of charity, and she still continues 
 it, having advanced herself recently so far 
 as the extremities of Patagonia. As to 
 Columbus, certain as he was of tracing- 
 out and of preparing the ways of the 
 Grospel, and fully absorbed in this thought, 
 caused all his actions to converge to it, not 
 undertaking anything of any kind, but 
 imder the shield of religion and with the 
 escort of piety, we recall in this in reality 
 
116 COL UMB US THE CA THOLIO. 
 
 things which are well known, but which 
 are none the less remarkable in order to 
 show forth the mind and the heart of this 
 great man. Thus, when compelled by the 
 Portuguese, by the Genoese to leave with- 
 out having obtained any result, he went to 
 Spain. He matured the grand plan of the 
 projected discovery in the midst of the 
 walls of a convent, with the knowledge of 
 and with the advice of a monk of the order 
 of St. Francis d' Assizes. After seven years 
 had revolved, when at last he goes to dare 
 the ocean, he takes care that the expedi- 
 tion shall comply with the acts of spiritual 
 expiation. He prays to the Queen of 
 Heaven to assist the enterprise and direct 
 the course, and before giving the order to 
 make sail he invokes the august divine 
 Trinity. Then once fairly at sea, while 
 the waters agitate themselves, while the 
 crew murmurs he maintains, under God's 
 care, a calm constancy of mind. His plan 
 manifests itself in the very names which 
 he imposes on the new islands, and each 
 time that he is called upon to land upon 
 one of them he worships the Almighty 
 
POPE LEO XIII ON COLUMBUS. 117 
 
 Grod and only takes possession of it in the 
 name of Jesus Christ. At whatever coast 
 he approaches he has nothing more as his 
 first idea than the planting on the shore of 
 the sacred sign of the cross, and the divine 
 name of the Redeemer, which he had sung 
 so frequently on the open sea, to the sound 
 of the murmuring waves, he is the first to 
 make it in the new islands. In the same 
 way, when he institutes the Spanish colony, 
 he causes it to be commenced by the con- 
 struction of a temple, where he first pro- 
 vides that no popular fetes shall be cele- 
 brated by august ceremonies. Here, then, 
 is what Columbus aimed at, and what he 
 accomplished, when he went in search over 
 a so grand expanse of sea and of land, of 
 regions up to the time unexplored and 
 uncultivated, but whose civilizations re- 
 nown and riches were to rapidly attain 
 that immense development which we see 
 to-day. In all this, the magnitude of the 
 event, the efficacy and the variety of the 
 benefits which have resulted from it, tend 
 assuredly to celebrate he who was the 
 author of it by a grateful remembrance 
 
118 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 and by all sorts of the testimonials of 
 honors ; but, in the first place, we must 
 recognize and venerate particularly the 
 divine project to which the discoverer of 
 the JN'ew World was subservient and to 
 which he knowingly obeyed. In order 
 to celebrate worthily, and in a manner 
 suitable to the truth of the facts, the 
 solemn anniversary of Columbus, the 
 sacredness of religion must be united to 
 the splendor of the civil pomp. This is 
 why, as previously, at the first announce- 
 ment of the event, public actions of grace 
 were rendered to the province of the 
 immortal God, upon the example which 
 the Supreme Pontiff gave, the same also 
 now, in celebrating the recollection of the 
 auspicious event. We esteem that we 
 must do as much. We decree to this 
 effect that the day of October 12th, or the 
 following Sunday, if the respective diocese 
 bishops judge it to be opportune that, after 
 the office of the day, the Solemn Mass of 
 the Very Holy Trinity shall be celebrated 
 in the Cathedral and collegiate churches 
 of Spain, Italy and the two Americas. In 
 
POPE LEO XIII ON COL UMB US. 119 
 
 addition to these countries, we hope that, 
 upon the initiative of the bishops, as much 
 may be done in the others, for it is fitting 
 that all should concur in celebrating with 
 piety and gratitude an event which has 
 been profitable to all. In the meanwhile, 
 as a pledge of the celestial favors and in 
 testimony of our fraternal good will, we 
 affectionately accord in the Lord the apos- 
 tolic benediction to you, venerable brethren, 
 to your clergy and to your people. 
 
 " Given at Rome, near St. Peter's, July 
 16, of the year 1892, in the 15th of our 
 
 Pontificate. 
 
 ^' Leo XIII, Pope." 
 
XIY. 
 
 Catholics at the World's Fair. 
 
 The position of the Catholic Church 
 regarding education, and the Catholic 
 .educational exhibit at the Columbian Ex- 
 position, are ably set forth by Bishop 
 Spalding in the following words : ^ 
 
 " The Catholic Church is irrevocably 
 committed to the doctrine that education 
 is essentially religious, that purely secular 
 schools give instruction but do not properly 
 educate. The commemoration of the dis- 
 covery of America, by holding an Exposi- 
 tion which will attract the attention and 
 awaken the interest of the entire world, 
 offers an opportunity such as we cannot 
 hope to have again in our day, or in that 
 of our children, to give public evidence of 
 the work we are doing. In the four hun- 
 
 ' From an article in the Calholic World, reproduced by per- 
 mission of Rt. Rev. J. L. Spalding, Bishop of Peoria, 111. 
 120 
 
CATHOLICS AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 121 
 
 dred years which have flown by since the 
 stars of heaven first saw reflected from these 
 shores the white man's face, beside his white 
 sail, there has been no such occasion for 
 such an advertisement, and when the fifth 
 centenary shall be here there will be no need, 
 we may confidently trust, of special efi'orts 
 to commend and uphold the cause of reli- 
 gious education. Catholics assuredly have 
 a right to a prominent place in this great 
 celebration. Juan Perez, Isabella and Co- 
 lumbus to whose lofty views and generous 
 courage the discovery of America is chiefly 
 due, were not only devout Catholics, but 
 they were upheld and strengthened in their 
 great undertaking by religious zeal and 
 enthusiasm. Their faith was an essential 
 element in the success of their enterprise. 
 There should be no desire to ignore or ob- 
 scure this fact, even on the part of the foes 
 of the Church, and it is a duty which Catho- 
 lics owe to the honor of the name they bear 
 to see that the part which their religion 
 played in opening to the Christian nations 
 a new hemisphere, thereby extending and 
 quickening the forces of civilization through 
 
122 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 the whole world, shall not be misunder- 
 stood or passed over in silence at this 
 time, when the eyes of all men turn to 
 America to behold the marvels which have 
 been wrought here by strong hearts and 
 awakened minds. 
 
 " To this end the Catholic educational ex- 
 hibit, if rightly made, cannot but contribute ; 
 and since it will be the only distinctively 
 Catholic feature in the Columbian Exposi- 
 tion, every honorable motive should impel 
 us to leave nothing undone to make it wor- 
 thy of the event commemorated, and of our 
 own zeal in the cause of Christian education. 
 We shall thus place before the eyes of the 
 millions who will visit the exposition a clear 
 demonstration of the great work the Catho- 
 lic Church in the United States is doing to 
 develop a civilization which is in great part 
 the outgrowth of religious principles, and 
 which depends for its continued existence 
 upon the morality which religious faith alone 
 can make strong and enduring. There can 
 be little doubt that many are opposed to 
 the Catholic school system, from the fact 
 that they have never given serious attention 
 
CATHOLICS AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 123 
 
 to the principles upon which it rests, or to 
 the ends which it aims to reach. It is the 
 fashion to praise education, and hence all 
 declare themselves favorable to it; but those 
 who love it enough to make it a matter of 
 thoughtful and persevering meditation are, 
 like the lovers of Truth, but few. But 
 those who do not read seriously or think 
 deeply, may be got to open their eyes and 
 look ; and what they see may arouse in- 
 terest and lead to investigation. Opinion 
 rules the world, and the Catholic exhibit 
 offers a means to help mould opinion on the 
 subject of education, which in importance 
 is second to no other ; and in an age in 
 which the tendency is to take the school 
 from the control of the Church, to place it 
 under that of the State in such a way as 
 to weaken its religious character, nothing 
 which may assist in directing opinion to 
 true views upon this subject may be 
 neglected by those who believe that educa- 
 tion is essentially religious. 
 
 " The exhibit will help also to enlighten 
 and stimulate teachers, by diffusing among 
 them a more real and practical knowledge 
 
124 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 of the various educational methods and 
 appliances. It will arouse a new interest 
 in pedagogics as a science and an art. We 
 may easily become victims of the fallacy 
 that a school is Catholic because this ad- 
 jective is affixed to its name, or because in 
 it prayers are said and catechism is taught. 
 A poor school cannot exert a wholesome 
 influence of any kind. Idle, inattentive, 
 listless and unpunctual children will not 
 become religious, however much they are 
 made to pray and recite catechism. In 
 a truly religious character self respect, 
 truthfulness, a love of thoroughness and 
 excellence, a disinterested ambition, are as 
 important as a devotional spirit. Where 
 the natural virtues are lacking, the super- 
 natural have no proper soil in which to 
 grow. A right school system does not 
 necessarily make a good school. 
 
 " An educational exhibit will help to im- 
 press these and similar truths more vividly 
 upon the minds of educators ; it will enable 
 a very large number of Catholics to take 
 a general survey of the educational work 
 which the church in the United States is 
 
CATHOLICS AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 125 
 
 doing, of which most of us have but a very 
 inadequate knowledge ; it will bring into 
 juxtaposition the methods and systems of 
 the various teaching orders, and will make 
 it possible for all to adopt whatever may 
 be found excellent in any of them. There 
 will, of course, be no unworthy rivalry, no 
 thought of advertising this or that institu- 
 tion or teaching order. The aim is to 
 advance the cause of Catholic education. 
 We care little where or by whom good 
 work is done, it is enough to know that it 
 is done. In certain instances a bishop will 
 prefer to make a separate exhibit of the 
 work done in his diocese, because he be- 
 lieves that in this way the end will be 
 attained more effectually. From a similar 
 motive the teaching orders ma}^ choose to 
 make collective exhibits of their work ; 
 and institutions of learning which stand 
 alone and have an individuality of their 
 own, will avail themselves of this oppor- 
 tunity to offer evidence of the kind of 
 education they give. All our institutions 
 of learning, from the university to the 
 
126 COL VMB US THE CA THOLIC. 
 
 kindergarten come within the scope of this 
 display of educational work. 
 
 " The third Plenary Council emphasizes 
 the urgent need of a wider and more 
 thorough training of the priesthood, and 
 it is believed that the theological semi- 
 naries will make an exhibit which will be 
 interesting and at the same time a valuable 
 evidence of the progress we are making in 
 fitting our priests for the special and ardu- 
 ous tasks which this age of unsettled opin- 
 ions and weak moral convictions imposes 
 upon them. It is not rash to hope that the 
 Catholic educational exhibit will awaken 
 new zeal, arouse a more generous spirit of 
 sacrifice, inspire a deeper enthusiasm in 
 the cause of Christian* education, which is 
 the cause of our country and our religion. 
 
 "The question has been made that this 
 exhibit will offer a favorable opportunity 
 to hold a congress of Catholic teachers. 
 The good results to be expected from such 
 a meeting are numerous and manifest. 
 Those who have paid any attention to the 
 workings of the associations either coun- 
 try, state or national, of the public school 
 
CATHOLICS AT THE WORLDS FAIR. 127 
 
 teachers, are aware of the stimulating and 
 illuminating effect which their discussions 
 and deliberations produce. It is desirable 
 that our Catholic educators should be 
 brought together, and they should learn 
 to know and appreciate one another, that 
 they should correct one another by a com- 
 parison of opinion and experiences. This, 
 and much else, could be done in an educa- 
 tional congress. A regret is often ex- 
 pressed at the absence of lay action in 
 Catholic affairs. Education is precisely 
 the field in which Catholic laymen can 
 most readily and most effectively bring 
 their knowledge to bear upon the living 
 issues and interests of the Church. They 
 build and maintain our schools, and there 
 is no good reason why they should not 
 take an active part in stimulating them to 
 higher efficiency. A certain number of our 
 teachers are of the laity, and their relative 
 proportion will doubtless increase. One 
 need not be a Brother or a Sister to be at 
 the head of even the best of Catholy3 schools. 
 Why should not the intelligent laymen or 
 women of a parish be invited to visit the 
 
128 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 schools and to examine the pupils ? Their 
 presence would have a good influence upon 
 the children, and their knowledge of the 
 school would enable them to counteract 
 the apathy or opposition of indifferent and 
 foolish parents. 
 
XV. 
 
 Columbus at Chicago. 
 
 An interesting sketch on " Columbus 
 himself at Chicago " has been written by 
 Mr. E. T. Lauder, of New York.^ In sub- 
 stance, it says : 
 
 A fine distinction will mark the arrange- 
 ment in the Latin -American Department 
 of the Columbian Exposition, which is to 
 comprise an extensive and inestimably 
 valuable historical collection. This is 
 planned as an addition to the regular ex- 
 hibit of the Department of State, and is in 
 charge of the Bureau of the American Re- 
 publics, organized in 1890 under the super- 
 vision of the head of that department. This 
 manifold and broadly conceived system of 
 illustration is to present the history of 
 the Spanish-American republics and colo- 
 
 ''■ Eeprinted by permission from Harper's Weekly, August 13, 
 1892. Copyright, 1892, by Harper and Brother. 
 
 9 129 
 
130 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 nies from the discovery to the present day. 
 As far as possible the life history of Colum- 
 bus will be shown, with a complete pre- 
 sentation of the condition of navigation 
 and of geographical knowledge at his time. 
 
 The building to contain so interesting a 
 collection will be of itself in the character 
 of history. This is to be constructed as a 
 reproduction of the Convent of La Rabida 
 on the headland projecting into the lake 
 south of the pier. The selected tongue of 
 land forms the most elevated site on the 
 exposition grounds. To aid the exactness 
 of the copy of this ancient convent at or 
 near Palos in Andalusia, where Columbus 
 frequently was sheltered during long inter- 
 vals of repose as the guest of the friendly 
 prior, the official emissary to Spain has 
 made wax impressions from the struct- 
 ure in different features of the design. A 
 room in the building is to be fitted up to 
 correspond precisely, according to accepted 
 evidence, to that given the discoverer of 
 America in his conventual abode. 
 
 A great feature of the historical display 
 of 1893 will be a correct model of the Santa 
 
COLUMBUS AT CHICAGO. 131 
 
 Maria, in which Columbus sailed from Palos 
 on his first voyage. An officer of the United 
 States navy, Lieutenant McCarthy Little, 
 has been despatched to Spain to seek full 
 information, and to build the caravel. 
 While Avork is begun on the reproduction 
 of the Santa Maria ^ Lieutenant Little has 
 been directed to make contracts for the 
 construction of the Finta and the Mna, a 
 bill having been passed by the Senate 
 making the necessary appropriation for 
 the work. When the construction is com- 
 plete, this co])j of the Old World fleet 
 will be navigated across the Atlantic, but 
 whether in the original direction is not 
 stated. The ships, at any rate, will be 
 on hand to take part in the great naval 
 review in ISTew York Harbor when that 
 spectacle is offered. The journey hither 
 from any country will be repaid by the 
 sight of the naive little Sa7ita Maria bear- 
 ing the royal blue flag of the flotilla as 
 four hundred years ago, and holding her 
 honored way among the proudest modern 
 ships of the entire world. 
 
132 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 A hundred and forty-five men are at 
 work at Cadiz building the caravel. In 
 the naval review and during the term of 
 the exposition the Santa Maria will be 
 manned by Spanish sailors in the costume 
 of the Columbian period, and be rigged 
 and equipped as nearly as possible as 
 during the great navigator's first voyage. 
 After the display in JN'ew York Harbor 
 this decked, four-masted vessel of ninety 
 feet keel, with her armament of heavy 
 guns, and small pieces forward, will be 
 taken through the canals and lakes to 
 Chicago, to be anchored beneath the walls 
 of the Convent of La Rabida during the 
 exposition. At its close the caravel will 
 return to Washington, and will be per- 
 manently moored in the lagoon south of 
 the Executive Mansion. 
 
 The first series in the comprehensive 
 historical collection to be offered will illus- 
 trate the fifteenth century ideas of geogra- 
 phy, and the contemporary methods of 
 navigation, by maps, models, and fac- 
 similes of different kinds. The available 
 evidences supporting the claims made in 
 
COLUMBUS AT CHICAGO. 133 
 
 reference to pre-Columbian discoveries by 
 the Phoenicians, Norsemen, Welshmen, 
 and other nationalities will be impartially 
 arrayed. One of the conspicuous features 
 in this section will be a statue of the 
 immortal Leif Erikson, towering among 
 the wonderful old maps, charts, photo- 
 graphs of places associated with his name, 
 models of Norse ships, and other forms 
 of illustration. With many interesting 
 things coming from Christiania is a Vik- 
 ing boat that was discovered some years 
 ago. To combine the literary with the 
 archaeological record, the Danish govern- 
 ment has agreed to send over the original 
 Icelandic sagas referring to the New World 
 as a part of its contribution in valuable relics. 
 A fine collection of navigating and other 
 nautical instruments used before and dur- 
 ing the time of Columbus will be exhibited. 
 In that age of intellectual restlessness and 
 yet haphazard exploration, the compass, 
 the astrolabe, etc., had been adapted to 
 navigation. The illustration of the activity 
 impelled by the imagination of the time — 
 running wild in theories of the Indies, the 
 
134 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 fabled land of Cathay, and all the golden 
 kingdoms of the East — will be certainly a 
 marvellous study in one collection. 
 
 The complete series of charts, including 
 in originals or copies all the ancient maps 
 known, from the earliest representations 
 of the earth by the Hindoos, will be an 
 extraordinary part of this display. Proba- 
 bly at one spot were never amassed so 
 many of the early symbolic atlases as will 
 be shown, each of which indicates by fanci- 
 ful images of monsters more and more 
 frightful the nearer degrees of latitude to 
 the equinoctial line, around which the 
 Mare Tenebrosum stretched its gloomy 
 waves. As strange to the majority of 
 observers will appear the collected maps 
 of the Arabian geographers, prohibited by 
 their religion from representing living ani- 
 mals. These bear instead, as a sign of 
 ominous significance, a black and crooked 
 hand, the hand of Satan protruded from 
 this awful deep — the Arab Bahr el Talmet 
 — to drag into its gulfs the seamen who 
 would be daring enough to brave its waters. 
 The original globe of Martin Behaim, pre- 
 
COLUMBUS AT CHICAGO. 135 
 
 served in the town-hall of Nuremberg, is 
 among the other quaint geographical works 
 to be expected, as the United States Min- 
 ister at Berlin has made a request for it, 
 which probably will be granted. 
 
 With this preliminary series the life 
 history of Columbus will be brought for- 
 ward as the chief part of the representa- 
 tion. As evinced in the present course of 
 acquisition, no possible element will be 
 omitted from this romance of history with 
 its veracity clouded. In the fullest man- 
 ner, and principally in photographs and 
 sketches, will be illustrated the different 
 cities claiming Columbus as a native — 
 Cogoleto, Quinto, Genoa, etc. — with a model 
 of the house in which he is believed, on 
 comparatively credible evidence, to have 
 been born, if not of the various houses for 
 which the same distinction is claimed ; 
 models of his burial-places, and, as is 
 generally expected, of the casket containing 
 his alleged bones. If other points in the 
 history of Columbus are subject to sceptical 
 treatment, few persons ever seriously have 
 denied that he was buried in two hemis- 
 
136 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 pheres and more than once in each. Some 
 of the investigators may believe with 
 Harrisse that no bones of Columbus ever 
 were interred at Havana ; but this burial- 
 place will be equally represented with that 
 of San Domingo, the folly generally being- 
 avoided of having an exhibition marred by 
 scientific conclusions. 
 
 The course of Columbus at the University 
 of Pavia, where, as the biographers attest, 
 he was studying abstruse sciences at a 
 tender age, will be illustrated in photo- 
 graphic and other views. His subsequent 
 experiences in Portugal and Madrid are to 
 be similarly followed, with attention given 
 finally to his association with Spain in 
 illustrious adventure, and when the Con- 
 vent of La Rabida figures as one of the 
 most interesting scenes. 
 
 For another complete series all the 
 different places known to have been vis- 
 ited by Columbus will be represented. 
 " Wherever ship has sailed," he writes, 
 "there have I journeyed." So, under the 
 limitations of his epoch, this geographical 
 illustration must be of comparatively wide 
 
COLUMBUS Al CHICAGO. 137 
 
 extent. A great relief map of the two 
 continents is to be modelled to show the 
 routes taken by the navigator in the New 
 World expedition, and on which the places 
 thus visited will be indicated. To increase 
 the interest of this part of the exhibit 
 photographers have been sent from Wash- 
 ington to obtain a large number of views 
 in the West Indies and on the north coast 
 of South America, in order to show all 
 such places in their present condition. 
 
 An extensive picture-gallery is to contain 
 all the paintings in which Columbus figures, 
 either as originals or copies, and of them- 
 selves presenting a connected story if not 
 in all its features authentic. A considera- 
 ble number of original paintings probably 
 will be loaned for this exhibition ; of such 
 as form mural paintings, or for different 
 reasons cannot be removed, copies of value 
 are to be substituted. A supplementary 
 gallery, to represent the court of Ferdinand 
 and Isabella, will contain a large collection 
 of historical portraits, including those of the 
 Pinzons and of Juan Perez de Marchena, 
 prior of the Convent of La Rabida, who 
 
138 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 interceded sucessfully for Columbus after 
 his project had been rejected, and whose 
 influence in the later issue of securing a 
 crew was again decisive. 
 
 The entire series of portraits of Columbus 
 acknowledged as having any artistic merit 
 will be shown in a separate room. As 
 many as forty-five of these singularly 
 dissimilar examples — for a considerable 
 part is necessarily in the form of copies — 
 are already collected. The list includes 
 the Rincon, in the private gallery of the 
 Queen at Madrid ; the Orchi — claiming, 
 like the Yaiiez, of which the Wisconsin 
 Historical Society has a copy, to be the 
 prime original, and to have been acquired 
 by the Orchi family on the dispersion of 
 the famous Giovio collection ; the painting 
 by Christoforo dell' Altissimus from the 
 " Giovio " portrait, mentioned by Vasari 
 and now in the Uffizi gallery — of which the 
 Massachusetts Historical Society possesses 
 the fine copy made for Thomas Jefiferson — 
 with the remainder of the group of half a 
 dozen or more most prominently figuring 
 in the contest for authenticity. The col- 
 
COLUMBUS AT CHICAGO. 139 
 
 lection of the Duke of Veragua contains 
 two of the number for which the claim of 
 originality is made, including the Munoz, 
 which is comparatively well known. 
 
 With her general good fortune, Chicago 
 has secured two of the most esteemed of 
 these portraits. The exposition naturally 
 may be expected to profit by these as 
 property in private ownership. That 
 painted by the Venetian artist Lorenzo 
 Lotto, and recently purchased by Mr. 
 Ellsworth of Chicago, is the only one in 
 this country claiming to have been painted 
 from life. For this work, received by Mr. 
 T. B. Clarke, of New York, in transit, 
 the United States government has made a 
 requisition. Before passing into the hands 
 of its Chicago purchaser, it is to be repro- 
 duced at the Bureau of Engraving in 
 Washington to place on a bank-note or 
 a government security. This showed 
 formerly the head of an Indian in the 
 background; but the policy of extermi- 
 nating the Indian was applied when the 
 canvas was cut down, making it only three 
 feet by two feet eight inches in size. The 
 
140 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 picture was obtained by Mr. Ellsworth 
 from Antonio delle Rovere, and its owner- 
 ship is traced back to Signer Gandolfi, and 
 through the Rossi family at Venice for 
 about three hundred years. Although not 
 absolutely conclusive, the circumstantial 
 evidence is very clear in favor of the 
 theory that Lotto, who visited Spain 
 under the patronage of the Venetian 
 Ambassador at the Spanish court at the 
 height of interest in the achievements of 
 Columbus, had the privilege of life studies 
 in painting this portrait. 
 
 Of the portrait recently secured by Mr. 
 Charles F. Gunther, of Chicago, the artistic 
 authenticity is credibly established. This 
 work was painted by Sir Anthony Moore, 
 at the order of Margaret of Parma, from a 
 miniature said to have been in the posses- 
 sion of the family at Madrid. The portrait 
 is the one selected by Irving to illustrate 
 his Life of Columbus, and it was obtained 
 by Mr. Gunther in England. One of the 
 five copies of Columbus portraits in this 
 country is that of the Worcester Anti- 
 quarian Society, painted by Scardoni ; and 
 
COL UMB US AT CHICAGO. 141 
 
 the oldest is a public possession in the 
 Senate Chamber at Albany, said to have 
 been painted in 1592, the centennial of 
 the Columbian discovery, by some Span- 
 ish artist. 
 
 Another series in this complete life inter- 
 est of Columbus will consist of fac-similes 
 of all the busts, statues, and monuments 
 associated with his name which exist in 
 the world, from the fine Genoa monument 
 down to the least noble things. These 
 copies will be made generally as bromide 
 enlargements. 
 
 The personal relics of Columbus have 
 been collected in considerable extent. The 
 ruins that marked the site of Isabella, the 
 first of the Spanish settlements in the New 
 World, will be re-erected in this scheme 
 of illustration. An authentic anchor, a 
 cannon left by Columbus at Navidad — 
 where he built a stockade from the wreck- 
 age of the Santa Maria — and the identical 
 bell that was hung in the church tower at 
 Isabella, will be shown. A series of photo- 
 graphs just received illustrate the votive 
 off*erings from Columbus when up in the 
 
142 . COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 
 
 Pyrenees Mountains, and from these fac- 
 similes are to be made. 
 
 An exceedingly interesting section in 
 bibliography will be one of the most im- 
 portant combinations in this department. 
 This collection will richly illustrate the 
 manner in which a knowledge of the dis- 
 covery of America was communicated to 
 the world, and the swiftly issuing crowd of 
 new ideas and fancies in connection. 
 
 A collection of charts and maps will 
 show the results of the voyages of Colum- 
 bus, beginning with the earliest sketches, 
 and continuing down to the representation 
 of the present topography marking the 
 American continent, and the elaborate 
 system of its political divisions. The 
 reasons for which America was given its 
 name will be elucidated by other exhibits, 
 a copy of the first edition of the Cosmogra- 
 johiae Introduction published at St. Die, to 
 which the continent owes its christening, 
 being the most important. This precious 
 book, the possession of Mr. Ellsworth, of 
 Chicago, will be shown in a glass case 
 placed in the centre of the room. Around 
 
COLUMBUS AI CHICAGO. 143 
 
 it will be gi-ouped a collection of illustra- 
 tions of the place where the book was 
 printed, portraits of the author and pub- 
 lishers, and the patrons under whose 
 auspices it was issued. Of the costly first 
 editions with which this section is to be 
 enriched, nearly all will be generously 
 loaned, with very few secured by pur- 
 chase : copies of the Tma^o Mundi and of 
 other books constituting the librars* of 
 Columbus on the Santa Maria will be 
 added. A curious series of drawings and 
 descriptions will be copied from De Bry. 
 Philipono. and other imaginative writers 
 of the time, who published fantastic repre- 
 sentations of the original inhabitants, the 
 faunal life, etc.. of the new continent. 
 With the record of these impressions from 
 voyagers* reports and travellers' tales will 
 be united the ethnological and archaeo- 
 logical collections illustrating the true con- 
 dition of ancient man in these countries. 
 
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