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ARTES
1817
SCIENTIA
LIBRARY
VERITAS
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
PLURIBUS UNUM A
TUEBOR
SIQUARIS PENISSULAM AMINAM
CIRCUMSPICE
PARARAWANAPARALAJ
THE BEACON BIOGRAPHIES
EDITED BY
M. A. DEWOLFE HOWE
FATHER HECKER
BY
HENRY D. SEDGWICK, Jr.

JHecken.

UNIK
OF
Copyright, 1900, by Small Maynard Company

THE
Beacon Biographies
Eminent Americans
Edited by
MADe Salle
Mowe

The Summit of Beacon Hill, 1808.
PUBLISHED BY

Small Maynard & Company
BOSTON
FATHER HECKER
BY
HENRY D SEDGWICK, Jr.

SCIRE QVOD
SCIENDVM
BOSTON
SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY
MDCCCC
Copyright, 1900
By Small, Maynard & Company
(Incorporated)
Entered at Stationers' Hall
Press of
George H. Ellis, Boston
The frontispiece to this volume is from
a photograph loaned by Mrs. George V.
Hecker of a painting by Father Hecker's
niece, Mrs. J. Albert Locke. The original
is in the possession of the Paulist Fathers
in New York City. The present engraving
is by John Andrew & Son, Boston.
PREFACE.
The materials for this sketch have been
drawn almost entirely from the "Life of
Father Hecker," written by Father Walter
Elliott. Father Elliott has been for many
years a member of the Paulist community,
and had the privilege of intimate friendship
with Father Hecker. He had access to
Father Hecker's journal - the chief source
of our information concerning his thoughts
and feelings during youth—and to letters
written by Father Hecker to his family and
friends. There is no dispute about Father
Hecker's character or about his acts. The
controversy over "Americanism" is the
clash between contrary opinions concerning
the orthodoxy, and also the probable effect,
of certain ideas which bear, at least out-
wardly, a close resemblance to those held by
Father Hecker. The chapter on "Ameri-
canism" is a simple record of facts with
which the public is familiar.
Nobody who feels an interest in the
viii
PREFACE
religious and spiritual condition of this
country can fail to take hope and courage
from even a little knowledge of Father
Hecker's heart and soul.
NEW YORK, October, 1900.
H. D. S., JR.
1
FATHER HECKER
FATHER HECKER.
I.
ISAAC THOMAS HECKER was born in
a house on Christie Street, in the city of
New York, on December 18, 1819. He
was the youngest child of John Hecker
and Caroline Sophia Susanna Henrietta
Freund. John Hecker, whose father
was a brewer, was born in Wetzlar,
Prussia, and emigrated to this country
in 1800. His wife, who was fourteen
years younger than he, was born in
Elberfeld, Prussia, in 1796, the year
before her parents emigrated. Her
father, Engel Freund, was a clock-
maker. John Hecker was a machinist
and a brass-founder by occupation.
During his early married life he enjoyed
a fair degree of material prosperity.
Both families had belonged to the Luth-
eran sect, but Mrs. Hecker became a
Methodist. She was a woman of strong
character, devout nature, and quick
2
FATHER HECKER
sympathies. Father Hecker derived
from her his marked individuality, and
he was bound to her by the deepest
affection. After he was grown up, he
wrote to her: "Mother, I cannot ex-
press the depth of gratitude I feel toward
you for the tender care and loving dis-
cipline with which you brought me up
to manhood. Without it, oh, what
might I not have been! The good that
I have, under God, I am conscious that
I am greatly indebted to thee for. At
times I feel that it is thou acting in me,
and that there is nothing that can ever
separate us. A bond which is as eternal
as our immortality, our life, binds us
together, and cannot be broken."
When a little boy, the family means
diminished, and he was obliged to leave
school and go to work to earn his living.
He began in the office of a Methodist
newspaper, Zion's Herald. Afterward
he worked in his father's brass foundry;
and at eleven he pushed a baker's cart
FATHER HECKER
3
for his two elder brothers, who had a
bakery in Rutgers Street, near Cherry.
From the age of twelve to seventeen
Isaac continued to work in the bakery,
and then he began to show that eager
interest in the life of the community
which marked him so strongly in later
years. This interest took him into poli-
tics. There was at that time a radical
democratic party called the Working-
man's Party, which Hecker and his
brothers joined. Isaac used to harangue
in the streets on the subject of proper
currency when he was no older than
thirteen.
About this time he came under the
influence of one of the leaders of the
Workingman's Party, Dr. Orestes A.
Brownson. Brownson was a man of
most marked individuality and of varied
experience. He had strong human sym-
pathies and a keen, logical intelligence.
Born and bred in Vermont, as a young
man he had joined the Presbyterian
i
4
FATHER HECKER
Church.
that sect, and became a Universalist,
going into the ministry; but not long
thereafter, under the intellectual influ-
ences of Unitarianism, he shifted to the
Unitarian ministry. He was a philan-
thropist and a metaphysician. He took
up certain opinions similar to those of
Robert Owen, Saint-Simon and Fourier,
and forsook the ministry for the career
of a stump speaker and man of letters.
He was much interested in politics;
and at this time preached a species of
socialism of a somewhat material char-
acter, urging all men to labour for the
good things of this life, on the ground,
among others, that there was nothing
beyond. At this time, too, he seems to
have lost all faith in the Christian relig-
ion as a divine revelation, and yet to
have clung the closer to it as a social
system. Direct, ardent, eloquent, he
was a very effective speaker. Brown-
son was nearly twice as old as Hecker,
After a few years he quitted
FATHER HECKER
5
and acquired a strong influence over
him, which became reciprocal as years
went on. Brownson himself did not
join the Roman Catholic Church until a
few months after Hecker.
Hecker had been brought up by his
mother in the Methodist faith, and had
been taught to consider Christ as the
Sacrifice demanded by Divine Justice.
As Hecker felt no consciousness of sin
in himself, he had never been strongly
drawn to this conception. He had no
real attachment to Christian doctrines.
He became a half sceptic upon religious
matters.
Familiarity with Brownson increased
Hecker's natural interest in philosophy.
He gave himself to various metaphysi-
cal speculations, especially to the meta-
physical aspect of religion. There is a
story that Hecker was found one day at
the dough-trough with Kant's Critique
of Pure Reason fastened open on the
wall in front of him. He also read
6
FATHER HECKER
Fichte and Hegel, and at the same time
took a deep interest in the exposition
of religious doctrine. He would walk
three miles of a Sunday morning to hear
the Rev. Orville Dewey. Little by little
his mind began to desert the matters of
daily life, and to habituate itself to a life
half of thought, half of the imagination,
wholly perhaps of the spirit.
Not until he was twenty-three did
Hecker realise that he must break away
from the bake-shop, and lead a life out-
side the path of ordinary men.
As a
young lad, he had felt impulses out of
the common. At night sometimes he
would run out of the shop and wander
along the wharves of the East River,
speculating, thinking to himself, "What
does God desire of me?" Before he
was old enough to vote, he had lost all
confidence in social regeneration by po-
litical parties and political agitation.
As he grew older, he became inwardly
troubled. He deemed the whole scheme
FATHER HECKER
7
of the ordinary business of money-mak-
ing wrong.
"The heathenish selfishness
of business competition started me away
from the world." He felt that he must
break away from the city. So he went to
Chelsea, near Boston, in Massachusetts,
to see Brownson and get advice, comfort,
and leisure to reflect. From there at
Christmas time in 1842, he wrote home
to his brothers that he found it impos-
sible for him to continue to live with
them and be a baker, that there was some-
thing deeper than himself, beyond his
control, which urged him on, and that
there was nothing for him to do but to
follow the new life and light which were
opening before him. The influences at
work upon him, he describes in his diary:
'How can I doubt these things? Say
what may be said, still they have to me
a reality, a practical good, bearing on
my life. They are impressive instruc-
tors, whose teachings are given in such
a real manner that they influence me
8
FATHER HECKER
whether I would or not. . . If I should
not follow them, I am altogether to
blame. I can have no such adviser
upon earth. None could impress me so
strongly, with such peculiar effect and
at the precise time most needed. Where
my natural strength is not enough, I
find there comes foreign aid to my as-
sistance. Is the Lord instructing me
for anything? I had, six months ago,
three or more dreams which had a very
great effect upon my character. They
changed it."
At this time he had fits
of nervous depression. His family
thought that he suffered from some phys-
ical ill, that his body unknown to him
was asserting itself. They thought that
he should have more outdoor occupa-
tion, and that he had better marry, and
make a home for himself; but Isaac
knew better. He felt inwardly con-
scious that the centre of all life for him
was religion, and that the cause of all
his inward trouble was desire for com-
munion with God.
FATHER HECKER
9
Under date of January 10, 1843, his
diary reads: "Could I but reveal myself
unto myself! What shall I say? Is life
dear to me? No. Are my friends dear
to me? I could suffer and die for them,
if need were, but yet I have none of the
old attachment for them. I would clasp
all to my heart, love all for their hu-
manity, but not as relatives or individ-
uals. . . . Lord, if I am to be anything,
I am, of all, most unfit for the task.
What shall I do? Whom shall I cry to
but Him who has given me life, and
planted this spirit in me? Unto Thee,
then, do I cry from the depths of my
soul for light to suffer. If there is any-
thing for me to do, why this darkness all
around me? I ask not to be happy, ·
O Lord! Open my eyes to see the path
Thou wouldst have me walk in."
"January 11.-True life is one contin-
uous prayer, one unceasing aspiration
after the holy. I have no conception of
a life insensible to that which is above
10
FATHER HECKER
itself. ... I would not take it on myself
to say I have been 'born again,' but I
know that I have passed from death
to life. Things below have no hold upon
me further than as they lead to things
above. . . . Temptations still beset me,-
not sensual, but of a kind which seek to
make me untrue to myself. If I am not
on my guard, I become cold. May I al-
ways be humble, meek, prayerful, open
to all men! Light, love, and life, God
is always giving; but we turn our backs,
and will not receive."
There, in Chelsea, Brownson and he
used to discuss Victor Cousin, Pierre Le-
roux, and Gioberti. Their discussions
would lead them on, each opening his
mind and heart to the other, talking of
the deepest problems of life and relig-
ion, until unconsciously each guided the
other on the path toward the Catholic
Church. Hecker was manifestly restless
and ill at ease; and Brownson, no doubt
thinking that discontent with society
FATHER HECKER
11
1
Thither
was part of his ailment, suggested that
he should go to Brook Farm.
Hecker went in January, 1843.
II.
THE community of Brook Farm, as
everybody knows, grew out of the nobler
social discontent that affected the more
serious people of Eastern Massachusetts
nearly sixty years ago. Most of its
members were Unitarians, men and
women living under the influence of
Channing and Emerson. These people
sought to establish a society resting on
a foundation free from any social wrong,
wherein they should be able to follow in
conduct the practice of Christ, and at
the same time help one another share
the pleasures and refinements of the
mind. In this community, at the time
Hecker went there, were George Ripley,
George William Curtis, and others up to
the number of some seventy. Emerson,
Alcott, Brownson, and Margaret Fuller
were sometimes visitors. If a member
could not afford to pay the cost of his
living, some four or five dollars a week,
1
FATHER HECKER
13
he would work for more hours, or in
some way make up his contribution to
the prescribed level. Hecker used to
bake bread. Mr. Curtis has written this
description of him from memory: "He
was a youth of twenty-three, of German
aspect; and I think his face was some-
what seamed with small-pox. But his
sweet and candid expression, his gentle
and affectionate manner, were very win-
ning. He had an air of singular refine-
ment and self-reliance, combined with a
half-eager inquisitiveness, and upon be-
coming acquainted with him, I told him
that he was Ernest the Seeker, which
was the title of a story of mental unrest
which William Henry Channing was
then publishing in the Dial. . . . Among
the many interesting figures at Brook
Farm I recall none more sincerely ab-
sorbed than Isaac Hecker in serious
questions. The merely aesthetic aspects
of its life, its gayety and social pleasures,
he regarded good-naturedly, with the
14
ness.
manner.
FATHER HECKER
There
air of a spectator who tolerated rather
than needed or enjoyed them.
was nothing ascetic or severe in him,
but I have often thought since that his
feeling was probably what he might have
afterward described as a consciousness
that he must be about his Father's busi-
He was a general favourite
at Brook Farm, always equable and
playful, wholly simple and frank in
He talked readily and easily,
but not controversially. His smile was
singularly attractive and sympathetic,
and the earnestness of which I have
spoken gave him an unconscious per-
sonal dignity. His temperament was
sanguine. The whole air of the youth
was that of goodness. I do not think
that the impression made by him fore-
cast his career, or, in any degree, the
leadership which he afterward held in
his Church. But everybody who knew
him at that time must recall his charm-
ing amiability. . . . For a generation we
FATHER HECKER
15
lived in the same city, yet we never met.
But I do not lose the bright recollection
of Ernest the Seeker, nor forget the
frank, ardent, generous, manly youth,
Isaac Hecker."
The interest in his life at Brook Farm,
nevertheless, lies in the development and
growth of his religious nature, and not
in the education he received from inter-
course with members of that community.
On February 22, 1843, he writes to his
father and mother: "It is as impossible
for me to give you an explanation of
that which has led me of late as it would
be for a stranger. All before me is dark,
even as that is which leads me now and
has led me before. One sentiment I
have which I feel I cannot impart to
you. It is that I am controlled. For-
merly I could act from intention; but
now I have no future to design, nothing
in prospect, and my present action is
from a present cause, not from any past.
Hence it is that, while my action may
16
FATHER HECKER
appear to others as designed, to me it is
unlooked for and unaccountable. I do
not expect that others can feel this as I
do. I am tossed about in a sea without
a rudder. What drives me onward, and
where I shall be driven, is to me un-
known. My past life seems to me like
that of another person, and my present is
like a dream. . . . All appears to me as a
seeming, not a reality. Nothing touches
that life in me which is seeking that
which I know not.”
To his dear brother George he writes
on March 6: "What was the reason of
my going or what made me go? The
reason I am not able to tell. But what
I felt was a dark irresistible influence
upon me that led me away from home.
What it was I know not. What keeps
me here I cannot tell. It is only when
I struggle against it that a spell comes
over me."
On May 12: "Here I am,
living in the present, without a why or a
wherefore, trusting that something will
FATHER HECKER
17
shape my course intelligibly. I am com-
pletely without object; and, when occa-
sionally I emerge - if I may so speak-
into actual life, I feel that I have dissi-
pated time. A sense of guilt accom-
panies that of pleasure; and I return
inwardly into a deeper, intenser life,
breaking those tender roots which held
me fast for a short period to the out-
ward. In study only do I enter with
wholeness. Nothing else appears to
take hold of my life. . . . Perhaps I
may return and enter into business with
more perseverance and industry than
before; perhaps I may stay here; it
may be that I shall be led elsewhere.
But there is no utility in speculating on
the future. If we lived as we should,
we would feel that we lived in the
presence of God, without past or future,
having a full consciousness of existence,
living the 'eternal life.' ... George,
do not get too engrossed with outward
business. Rather neglect a part of it for
18
FATHER HECKER
that which is immortal in its life, in-
comparable in its fulness. It is a deep
important truth, 'Seek first the king-
dom of God, and then all things will be
added.' In having nothing, we have
all."
On May 16: . "At present I wish
to live a true life, desiring nothing ex-
ternal, seeing that things external can-
not procure those things for and in which
I live. I do not renounce things, but
feel no inclination for them. All is in-
different to me,- poverty or riches, life
or death. I am loosed.”
At this time he began somewhat to
look toward the Catholic Church. He
attended service on Easter Sunday, and
the next day, April 17, wrote in his
diary:
66 'There may be objections to having
paintings and sculptures in churches;
but I confess I never enter a place where
there is either but I feel an awe, an
invisible influence which strikes me
FATHER HECKER
19
mute. I would sit in silence, covering
my head. A sanctified atmosphere seems
to fill the place and to penetrate my
soul when I enter. . . . A loud word, a
heavy footstep, makes me shudder, as if
an infidel were desecrating the place.
I stand speechless in a magical atmos-
phere that wraps my whole being,
scarcely daring to lift my eyes.
A
perfect stillness comes over my soul. It
seems to be soaring on the bosom of
clouds.
"April 20.- My soul is disquieted, my
heart aches. . . . Tears flow from my eyes
involuntarily. My soul is grieved for
what? Yesterday, as I was praying, the
thought flashed across my mind, Where
is God? Is He not here? Why prayest
thou as if He were at a great distance
from thee? Think of it. Where canst
thou place Him?... Is He not here ?
Is His presence not nearest of all to
thee? Oh, think of it! God is here.
"April 24.- The Catholic Church
20
FATHER HECKER
alone seems to satisfy my wants, my
..
faith, life, soul. . . . I may be labouring
under a delusion, yet my soul is Catholic;
and that faith responds to my soul in its
religious aspirations and its longings. I
have not wished to make myself Catho-
lic, but that answers on all sides to the
wants of my soul. It is so rich, so full.
One is in harmony all over,—in unison
with Heaven, with the present, living in
the natural body, and the past, who
have changed. There is a solidarity
between them through the Church. I
do not feel controversial. My soul is
filled.
66
May 16.- Life appears to be a per-
petual struggle between the heavenly
and the worldly. . . . I have faith that
there are spiritual laws beneath all this
outward framework of sight and sense,
which will, if rightly believed in and
trusted, lead to the goal of eternal life,
harmony of being and union with God.
So I accept my being led here.
Am
FATHER HECKER
21
I superstitious or egoistic in believ-
ing this? . . . Oh, were our wishes in
harmony with Heaven, how changed
would be the scenes of our life ! . . .
This accordance would be music which
only the angels now hear,- too delicate
for beings such as we are at present.
[May 31 (?).]-"About ten months
ago perhaps only seven or eight-I
saw (I cannot say I dreamed, — it was
quite different from dreaming,- I was
seated on the side of my bed) a beautiful,
angelic being, and myself standing along-
side of her, feeling a most heavenly pure
joy. It was as if our bodies were lumi-
nous and gave forth a moonlike light,
which sprung from the joy we experi-
enced. I felt as if we had always lived.
together, and that our motions, actions,
feelings, and thoughts came from one
centre. When I looked towards her, I
saw no bold outline of form, but an
angelic something I cannot describe,
though in angelic shape and image. It
22
FATHER HECKER
was this picture that has left such an in-
delible impression on my mind. For
some time afterward I continued to feel
the same influence, and do now so often
that the actual around me has lost its
hold. In my state previous to this vision,
I should have been married ere this; for
there are those I have since seen who
could have met the demands of my mind.
But now this vision continually hovers
over me, and prevents me by its beauty
from accepting any one else; for I am
charmed by its influence, and conscious
that, should I accept any other, I should
lose the life which would be the only
one wherein I could say, I live.
"June 26.-Solomon said, after he
had tasted all the joys of the world,
'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.' I,
who have scarcely tasted any of the
pleasures of the world, would say with
Solomon, 'All is vanity!' I see noth-
ing in which I can work. All are van-
ities, shadows: beneath all there is noth-
FATHER HECKER
23
ing. Great God! What is all this for?
Why torment and pain me so? Why
is all this action a profanity to me?
And even holiness, what is it? . . Oh,
why is it that the noblest actions of
humanity speak not to my soul? ... I
would joyfully be silent, obscure, dead
to all the world, if this alone which is
in me had life. I ask not for name,
riches, external conditions of delight or
splendour. No, the meanest of all would
be heaven to me, if this inward impulse
had action, lived itself out.
But no,
I am imprisoned in spirit.
prisons ?"
What im-
*
III.
HECKER did not find at Brook Farm
that which he was seeking. On July
11, 1843, he left, and went to Fruitlands,
a farm near the village of Harvard,
in Worcester County, Massachusetts.
There Mr. Amos Bronson Alcott, with
his wife and children, Mr. Charles Lane,
and a few others had established, or
rather had attempted to establish, a
"Family," which should bear to Brook
Farm somewhat the relation which
Brook Farm bore to an ordinary com-
munity. His diary and his letters are,
as usual, our guide to his doings and his
feelings.
"Fruitlands, July 12.- Last evening
I arrived here. After tea I went out in
the fields, and raked hay for an hour in
company with the persons here. We
returned, and had a conversation on
Clothing. Some very fine things were
said by Mr. Alcott and Mr. Lane. . . .
FATHER HECKER
25
66 July 17.—I cannot understand what
it is that leads me or what I am after.”
He began to doubt whether Alcott
and Lane could give him what he
sought. "Do I not feel that I have
something to receive here, to add to, to
increase my highest life, which I have
never felt anywhere else? Is this suf-
ficient to keep me here? If I can
prophesy, I must say no. I feel that it
will not fill my capacity. O God,
strengthen my resolution. Let me not
waver.
But I am sinful. Oh, for-
give my sins! What shall I do, O
Lord, that they may be blotted out?
Lord, could I only blot them from my
memory, nothing would be too great or
too much." Feeling that he could not
stay at Fruitlands, his thoughts turned
to the home he loved, wondering if it
might be that the spirit was directing
him thither.
"July 18.—I have thought of my
family this afternoon, and the happiness
26
FATHER HECKER
and love with which I might return to
them. To leave them, to give up the
thought of living with them again,-
can I entertain that idea? Still, I can-
not conceive how I can engage in busi-
ness, share the practices, and indulge
myself with the food and garmenture of
our home and city. To return home,
were it possible for me, would most
probably not only stop my progress, but
put me back. It is useless for me to
speculate upon my future. Put depend-
ence on the spirit which leads me, be
faithful to it: work, and leave results to
God. If the question should be asked
me whether I would give up my
kindred and business and follow out
this spirit-life or return and enjoy them
both, I could not hesitate a moment; for
they would not compare, there would
be no room for choice. What I do,
must do, for it is not I that do it, it is
the spirit. What that spirit may be is
a question I cannot answer. What it
I
FATHER HECKER
27
leads me to do will be the only evidence
of its character. I feel as impersonal as
a stranger to it. I ask, Who are you?
Where are you going to take me? Why
me? Why not some one else? I stand
amazed, astonished to see myself. Alas!
I cry, who am I, and what does this
mean? and I am lost in wonder. . . . My
relations with my family are very criti-
cal at this period, more so than they
have ever been. It is the crisis of the
state we have been in for this past year.
If God gives me strength to be true to
the spirit, it is very doubtful how far
those at home will be willing to second
it. I have written them a letter, asking
for their own aims and views of life; and
I am anxious for their answer. The
question of returning is not a wilful one
with me, for it is the spirit which guides.
me. If it can live there, I go back. If
not, I am governed, and must follow
where it leads, wherever that may be."
In that letter he says: "There are all
28
FATHER HECKER
the natural ties why we should not be
separated, and no reasons why we
should, unless there exists such a wide
difference in the aims we seek to realise
that it would be injurious or impossible
for us to live in family, in unity, in
love. I do not believe this difference
exists, but, if it does, and we are con-
scious of being led by a higher spirit
than our own, we should and would sac-
rifice all that hinders us from the divine
calling. That demands implicit, uncom-
promising obedience. It speaks in the
tone of high authority. That which
offends it must be got rid of at all costs,
be it wife, parents, children, brothers,
sisters, or our own eye or hand. I do
not contemplate a sacrifice of either of
these. Still, it is well to consider
whether, if such a demand should be
made of us, we are in such a state of
mind that we would be willing to give
one or all up if they should stand in the
way of our progress toward God. .
•
FATHER HECKER
29
"July 23.—I will go home, be true to
the spirit with the help of God, and
wait for further light and strength. . . .
I feel that I cannot live at this place as
I would. This is not the place for my
soul. My life is not theirs. They have
been the means of giving me much light
on myself, but I feel I would live and
progress more in a different atmos-
phere."
On July 25 Hecker departed from
Fruitlands. He made a short visit at
Brook Farm on his way back to New
York. His journal there reads:
"Brook Farm, July 31.-My expe-
rience is different now from what it has
been. It is much fuller: every fibre of
my being seems teeming with sensitive
life. I am in another atmosphere of
sentiment and thought. . . . There is not
that sense of heaviness, dulness, fleshli-
ness in me. I experience no natural de-
sires, no impure thoughts, nor wander-
ings of fancy. Still, I feel more in-
30
FATHER HECKER
tensely, and am filled to overflowing
with love and with desire for union.
us.
•
"August 2.-All our thoughts and emo-
tions are caused by some agent acting on
This is true of all the senses and
the spiritual faculties. Hence we should
by all possible means purify and refine
our organism, so that we may hear the
most delicate, the sweetest, the stillest
sounds and murmurings of the angels
who are about us. How much fuller
and richer would be our life if we were
more acutely sensitive and finely text-
ured! How many exquisite delights nat-
ure yields which we are not yet aware
of! What a world surrounds us of
which none but holy men, prophets, and
poets have had a glimpse !"
In August Hecker was back in New
York. He took up his share of the work
with his brothers in their bakery. He
continued to live after an ascetic stand-
ard. He practised the simplest diet-
grains, fruits, and nuts and drank
FATHER HECKER
31
nothing but water.
His discomfort, it
might be called distress, with the social
order was as strong as ever. He brooded
over the inequalities among men. "My
diet is all purchased and all produced by
hired labour. I suppose that slave
labour produces almost all my dress.
And I cannot say that I am rightly con-
ditioned until all I eat, drink, and wear
is produced by love." He tried in vari-
ous ways to better the condition of the
workmen employed in their business.
By agreement with his brothers, who
were most sympathetic and generous, he
was able to devote some of his time to
study and to meditation. He applied
himself to Latin and German; yet all the
time his restless soul was seeking for its
peace, and his thoughts turned more and
more toward leaving secular society and
joining a church.
"September 8.-— At times we are called
to rely on Providence, to be imprudent
and reckless according to the wisdom of
32
FATHER HECKER
the world. So I am willing to be thought.
Each of us has an individual character
to act out, under the inspiration of God;
and this is the highest and noblest we
can do. We are forms differing from
one another; and, if we are acting under
the inspirations of the Highest, we are
doing our uttermost,- more the angels
do not. What tends to hinder us from
realising the ideal which our vision sees
must be denied, be it self, wealth,
opinion, or death."
"September 24.-Instead of being on
the way of goodness, I am just finding
out the wickedness of my nature, its
crookedness, its impurity, its darkness.
I want deep humility and forgetfulness
of self. I am just emerging out of gross
darkness and my sight is but dim, so
that my iniquities are not wholly plain
to my vision. At present I feel as if a
week of quiet silence would be the means
of opening more deeply the still-flowing
fountains of divine life. I would cut off
FATHER HECKER
33
all relations but that of my soul with
the Spirit. All others seem intrusions,
worldly, frivolous. The inpouring of
the Spirit is checked by so much atten-
tion to other than divine things. In the
bustle and noisy confusion its voice is
unheard. ...
"October 18.-I feel this afternoon a
deep want in my soul unsatisfied by my
circumstances here, the same as I expe-
rienced last winter when I was led from
this place. It is at the very depth of
my being. Ah, it is deeply stirred!
Oh, could I utter the aching void I feel
within! Could I know what would fill
it! Alas! nothing that can be said
no, nothing-can touch the aching spot.
"November 3.-Often I think of my
past life and my present with such a
strength of emotion that I would cry
aloud: 'O Heaven, help me from my
course! This is not the life I would
lead; but how shall I change it? O
Lord! wilt Thou guide me and lead me,
34
FATHER HECKER
no matter what pain and distress I may
have to pass through, to the true path
Thou wouldst have me go in? Oh! I
thank Thee for all Thou hast in any way
inflicted on me; it has been to me the
greatest blessing I could have received.
And, O Lord! chasten me more, for I
need it. How shall I live, so that I may
be the best I can be under any condi-
tions? If those in which I now am are
not the best, where shall I go or how
shall I change them? Teach me, O
Lord and hear my humble prayer.'
(6 November 5.- How is it and why is
it that I feel around me the constant
presence of invisible beings who affect
my sensibility, and with whom I con-
verse, as it were, in thought and feeling,
but not in expression? At times they
so move me that I would escape them, if
I could, by running away from where I
am. I can scarcely keep still. I feel
like beating, raving, and grasping what
I know not. Ah! it is an unearthly feel-
FATHER HECKER
35
ing, and painfully afflicts my heart.
How to get rid of it I do not know. If
I remain quietly where I am, by collect-
ing its scattered rays it burns more
deeply into my soul, bringing forth deep
sighs, groans, and at times demanding all
my energy to repress an unnatural howl.
How shall I escape this? By remaining
here and trying to bear it or by travel-
ling? To do the latter has often oc-
curred to me of late. By such a cause
I was driven from home last winter.
What the result will be this time I can-
not tell; but, if I did know, I would not
wait, as I did then, until it came on me
with such power as to be torturing in
the extreme. Ah, what nervous strength
and energy I feel at such times!
66 Thanksgiving Day. And now, O
God! if Thou helpest not, I shall be
worse than before. Heavenly Father, as
the flower depends on the light and the
warmth of the sun for its grace and
beauty, so, and much more, do I de-
36
FATHER HECKER
pend on Thee for life and progress.
O
Lord! from the depths of my heart I
would implore Thee to aid me in all
good intentions. My heart overflows
with its fulness of gratitude for what
Thou hast done for me, and I know Thou
wilt not shorten Thy hand. Thy beauty,
Thy loveliness, O God! is beyond our
finite vision, far above our expression.
Lord, all I can utter is, Help my weak-
ness.
“December 6.- O Lord! my heart is
choked from the utterance of its depth
of thankfulness. O dear Christ! O
sweet Christ! O loving Christ! Oh,
more than brother, friend! Oh, more
than any other being can be! O Son of
God! O Thou who showest forth the
pure love of God! O Thou inexpres-
sible Love! Draw me nearer Thee, let
me feel more of Thy purity, Thy love!
Oh, baptise me with Thy Spirit, and
loosen my tongue that I may speak of
Thy love to men!"
IV.
HECKER joined the Roman Catholic
Church in August, 1844.
In the pre-
ceding March he had made up his mind
to forsake secular life. This purpose
brought peace.
"I feel the presence of
In His
God, wherever I am. I would kneel
and praise God in all places.
presence I walk and feel His breath en-
compass me. My soul is borne up by
His presence and my heart is filled by
His influence. How thankful ought we
to be! How humble and submissive!
Let us lay our heads on the pillow of
peace, and die peacefully in the embrace
of God."
Having determined that he could not
find spiritual satisfaction outside of a
church, Hecker set about examining and
questioning members of various Protes-
tant sects, Episcopal, Congregational,
Baptist, and Methodist. He felt no
inclination toward any of these except
38
FATHER HECKER
the Episcopal. Brownson had had a
varied experience with Protestant sects;
he wrote Hecker that for his part
he could not accept Anglicanism. At
this time Hecker met the Roman Catho-
lic bishop, John Hughes, a prelate of
strong and somewhat rigid views. His
exposition of the Catholic faith and
discipline, however, seems to have turned
Hecker to an earnest consideration of
the Anglican Church. Among other
Episcopal clergymen he went to see a
Mr. William Herbert Norris, the min-
ister at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to whom
he had been attracted by a letter entitled
"A Sincere Enquirer," published by
the latter. But he came back in disap-
pointment. In the end of April he went
to Concord, to study, and after some in-
quiry found a comfortable lodging at
the house of Mrs. Thoreau, mother of
Henry Thoreau.
"April 25, 1.30 P.M.-I have just
finished my dinner: it was ein herrliches
f
FATHER HECKER
39
Essen, unleavened bread (from home),
maple sugar, and apples which I pur-
chased this morning. Previous to tak-
ing dinner I said my first lesson to Mr.
Bradford in Greek and Latin.
"I am extremely well situated, and feel
contented in myself, and deeply grateful
to you all for your goodness in helping
me to pursue the real purpose of my
being. All we can do is to be faithful
to God and to the work He has given us
to do, and, whatever end He may lead
us to, to have that central faith that ‘all
is for the best.' There is only one life,
and that is life in God; and only one
death, and that is separation from
Him.
"To you all I send my warmest and
purest love."
He passed his days like an anchorite.
Most of the time he saw no one except
his teacher, and his landlady who came
into his room for a few minutes every
day to make his bed. He read, studied,
40
FATHER HECKER
His drink
More and more his doubts
On
"How fruitful
and gave himself over to meditation.
His wants were of the most trifling char-
acter. He wrote to his family for some
hard bread, some unleavened biscuit, a
five-cent loaf, a linen coat. He lived
on unleavened bread and figs.
was water.
and difficulties passed from him.
May 23 his diary reads:
has this year been to me! How strangely
mysterious and beautiful! And now
my soul foreshadows more the next year
than ever it presaged before. My life is
beyond my grasp, and bears me on will-
lessly to its destined haven. Like a rich
fountain it overflows on every side.
From within flows unceasingly the noise-
less tide. . . . It is to me now as if I had
just been born, and I live in the Sab-
bath of creation. Everything that I see
I feel called on to give a name : it has a
new meaning to me."
On June 7 he received a letter from
Brownson saying that he had begun
FATHER HECKER
41
his preparations to join the Catholic
Church, and begging Hecker also to join.
The next day Hecker went to Boston to
see the Catholic bishop there, and put
himself under his instruction. Acting
under the bishop's counsel, he resolved
to go to Holy Cross College at Worcester,
to acquaint himself with practical relig-
ious life and a system of intellectual in-
struction, and then to go to New York
and enter the church. He wrote his
purposes to his family. His mother
preferred that he should join the Epis-
copal Church, but both she and his
brothers fully recognised his perfect
sincerity of purpose.
To pass from the influences of Concord
to the Catholic Church seems a strange
step, but, in fact, his sojourn in Massa-
chusetts during his wandering years had
helped him on his path. Introspec-
tive and docile to the interior prompt-
ings which came or seemed to come to
him from above, Hecker had no scien-
42
FATHER HECKER
tific interest in life. He had no care for
the order of nature nor for those physical
facts which do not, except in a remote
and not easily distinguished way, min-
ister to the soul of man.
Emerson, Al-
cott, the transcendentalists, served his in-
clinations. They attached fundamental
importance to the vague voices which
emerge from the depths of a man and
speak to him with authority. They gave
him a certain philosophy which rested
on those inner feelings, and not upon ex-
ternal facts. They taught hinr that man
had some kind of spiritual faculty by
which he could learn spiritual truths, in
like manner as by intellectual faculties
he learned physical truths. Thus his ed-
ucation strengthened his natural bent,
and bade him submit to the control of a
mysterious, inward authority. When
once he had learned that the source of
his education was within him, he began
to lose his interest in books. He felt it
drudgery or worse to study Latin and
FATHER HECKER
43
Greek, when he might be sitting at the
feet of the Spirit within. Before he
finally accepted this internal authority
as his master, he sought for proof that it
was not a mere wayward power, not
merely self in disguise, but proceeded
from the Divine Spirit. He found ex-
ternal manifestations of its mastery in
the world, in the spiritual authority of
the Christian religion as embodied in the
Roman Catholic Church. The proof of
its identity with that spiritual authority
his inward peace.
He writes
June 13: "I feel very cheerful and at
ease since I have consented to join the
Catholic Church. Never have I felt the
quietness, the immovableness, and the
permanent rest that I do now. It is
inexpressible. I feel that essential and
interior permanence which nothing ex-
terior can disturb."
was
From Worcester he wrote to his fam-
ily: "Respecting the purpose which
leads me to New York, I have scarcely
44
FATHER HECKER
a word to say. Quietly, without excite-
ment, I come with an immovable deter-
mination to be joined to the Roman
Catholic Church. There is a conviction
which lies deeper than all thought or
speech, which moves me with an irre-
sistible influence to take this step, which
arguments cannot reach nor any visible
power make to falter.
erless against it and inexpressive of it.
To attempt to explain or give to the in-
tellectual mind the reasons why and
wherefore would be as impossible as to
paint the heavens or to utter the eternal
Word, the centre of all existence."
Words are pow-
On June 25 Hecker was back in New
York, and presented a letter of introduc-
tion, which he brought from Bishop
Fitzpatrick, of Boston, to Bishop Mc-
Closkey, afterward archbishop and car-
dinal of New York. It was soon arranged
that Hecker should be baptised on Au-
gust 1. The bishop questioned him as to
whether he wished to become a priest.
FATHER HECKER
45
Hecker could not answer. He felt the
need of a period of meditation. The
bishop intimated that a brotherhood was
suited to his state of mind, but for that
he would have to go to Europe as in this
country all the ministry of the Church
was devoted to active work. On Au-
gust 1 he was baptised by the bishop,
and on the following day he went to con-
fession, and received the sacrament.
66
'August 2.- Penance ! Joy! Un-
bounded love! Sweet Jesus, Thy love
is infinite! Blessed faith! Sweet love!
I possess an internal glory, a glowing
flame of love! Let my whole life be
one act of penance! O dear Jesus, the
Life-giver! ... O ancient faith, how
dear, how good is God in giving us sin-
ners Thee! ... O blessed, ever blessed,
unfathomable, divine faith! O faith
of apostles, martyrs, confessors, and
saints !''
For a time after this period of exalta-
tion he felt somewhat depressed, but not
46
FATHER HECKER
The
for long. On August 20 the entry in
his journal says: "I feel my primitive
instincts and unvitiated tastes daily
becoming more sensible to inspirations
from above, from the invisible.
ideal world, the soul world, the kingdom.
of heaven within, I feel as if I were more
a friend and citizen of. O Lord! my
heart would break forth in praise of the
riches of the life given within! It seems
that in this that we enjoy all, know all,
and possess all. If we have Thee,
O Lord! if Thou hast taken up Thy
dwelling in us, we enjoy heaven within
and paradise without!"
He felt more and more that business
and living in the midst of the worka-
day world were not for him, that they
robbed him of the quiet and contem-
plation in which he best could live
his spiritual life. He wrote to Henry
Thoreau to suggest that they make to-
gether a pilgrimage to Rome, crossing
Europe on foot and begging their way.
FATHER HECKER
47
Bishop McCloskey gave his approval, but
Thoreau's moods and wishes had taken
different direction. Hecker joined a
class for the study of Latin and Greek;
but, as before, he seems to have taken
no pleasure in study. He continued to
practice ascetism, only more severely
than before. He allowed himself as
little time for sleep as possible. He
ate nothing but nuts, apples, and bread.
He threw himself into the spiritual life,
as it is set forth by the traditions of the
Catholic Church, with even more than
his accustomed fervour.
"December 18.- Dreams of the fut-
ure! Exalted visions! Beautiful, un-
speakable hopes! Deep, inarticulate
longings that fill the conscious soul!
Ah! so sweet, so harmonious, so delight-
ful, like an angel, like the bride of the
pure and bright soul adorned for the
nuptials, do I see the future beckoning
me with a clear, transparent smile on-
ward to her presence !"
48
FATHER HECKER
Nevertheless, his times of rapture were
interrupted by fits of penitential re-
morse. "I am in want of greater love
for those around me; I perform my
spiritual duties too negligently; too lit-
tle of my time is devoted to spiritual
exercises. I feel all over sick with sin.
Here is my difficulty, O Lord, and do
Thou direct me. I am always in doubt,
when I do not think of Thee alone, that
I am sinning and that my time is mis-
spent."
He increased his asceticism until in
Lent, 1845, he restricted himself to one
meal of "nuts, bread, and apples" a
day.
V.
BISHOP MCCLOSKEY wished Hecker
to become a priest; but Hecker did not
hear a divine call to that end. He went
to the seminary at Fordham, and talked
with the professors. He consulted
Bishop Hughes, who advised him to go
to St. Sulpice in Paris and to the Propa-
ganda in Rome. But Hecker felt an
inward and controlling need for retire-
ment from the world; and Bishop
McCloskey, recognising this need and
desiring to help Hecker learn how to
satisfy it, bade him read the lives of
Saint Ignatius and of Saint Francis
Xavier.
The
Hecker at this time made the acquaint-
ance of a German priest, one of the
Redemptorist Fathers who had recently
become established in the city.
rector of the house was Father Rumpler,
also a German. To that house Hecker
went frequently, and there he met two
50
FATHER HECKER
young Americans who had applied to
join the Order. One of these was Clar-
ence A. Walworth, son of the distin-
guished chancellor of New York, who
had been admitted to the bar, and had
practised his profession for a short time.
The other was James A. McMaster, from
Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish parentage,
a young man of very ardent nature.
At the end of July, Hecker was told by
Father Rumpler that these two, who
had applied to enter the Redemptorist
novitiate, had been accepted, and that
they would sail for Belgium the next
day. No novitiate had yet been estab-
lished in America. Hecker asked leave
to go with them. He was told that he
must present himself to the Provincial
of the Order, Father de Held, at Balti-
more. Hecker went thither at once,
travelling all night. Father de Held
examined and accepted him, and Hecker
took the first train back to New York.
His brother George had already packed
FATHER HECKER
51
his trunk. His passage was paid by his
brothers, and that evening he sailed
with his two companions on board the
Argo for London. During the voyage
Walworth taught him to say the rosary
and other matters of religious practice,
for Hecker had had very little regular
religious training. They stopped in
London a few days, and then took the
packet from Folkestone to Antwerp.
From there they went on immediately
to St. Trond, a little city about thirty-
five miles south-east of Antwerp.
The Order of the Most Holy Redeemer
had been founded by Saint Alphonsus
de Liguori about the middle of the eigh-
teenth century. It contained a number
of preachers who travelled about Europe
conducting spiritual exercises for a week
or a month, preaching penance and the
Redeemer's love for sinners. St. Trond
was the novitiate of the Belgian prov-
ince, which included Belgium, Holland,
and the convents in America and Eng-
land.
52
FATHER HECKER
The convent at St. Trond, situated
on a narrow street, was a solid building
some three hundred years old, with
little cells opening on long corridors. It
had a little garden, and was next to a
church, where the fathers served. There
were twenty novices, ten or twelve
fathers, and a number of lay brothers.
Most of these were Belgians, Dutch, and
Germans. French was the language
spoken. The three new-comers donned
the Redemptorist habit in September,
three weeks after their arrival. Hecker
wrote home: "For three days my heart
was filled with joy and gladness. I was
like one who had been transported to a
lovelier, a purer, and a better world."
The daily routine was strict. The day
began at half-past four in the morning
and ended at half-past nine at night.
The time was spent in devotional exer-
cises, meditation, recitation, study, and
reading. An hour was allowed for exer-
cise out of doors. Silence was imposed,
FATHER HECKER
53
except for one hour after dinner and one
hour after supper. On Thursdays and
on some feast days this rigour was
relaxed. Fridays were days of absolute
silence. The novice-master, as he was
called, was Father Othmann. He found
the three Americans different from the
other novices. They continually put
questions to him, asking for reasons.
Hecker's mystic philosophy seems to
have made him think that Hecker was
suffering from delusions, for he deemed
it his duty to put Hecker to severe
tests of obedience and humiliation ;
and he treated Hecker at weekly con-
fession with great rigour, causing him
much mental pain. Of this treatment,
Hecker many years afterward said:
"While I was kneeling among the
novices, outside Père Othmann's room,
waiting to go to confession, I often
begged of God that it might be His will
that I should die before my turn came;
so dreadful an ordeal had confession
54
FATHER HECKER
become on account of the severity of the
novice-master." At other times, too,
Father Othmann tried his humility.
Once a week the novices were allowed
a good long walk-a privilege which
Hecker enjoyed very much. Sometimes
when they were starting out, Hecker
in high spirits, Othmann would say:
"Frère Hecker, please remain at home;
and, instead of the walk, wash and clean
the stairway." Nevertheless, Hecker
was comforted by an inward conviction
that he was growing in grace. He in-
creased the severity of the discipline by
cutting his sleep down to five hours and
sometimes to three. This he did in
obedience to one of those inward im-
pulses to which he felt strict obedience
was due. At length Father Othmann
understood the novice, recognised his
special spiritual capacities, and fully
acknowledged them. The two subse-
quently became true friends.
McMaster was deemed unfit for a re-
FATHER HECKER
55
ligious life, and went home. The other
two Americans took their vows, and be-
came members of the Congregation of
the Most Holy Redeemer on October 15,
1846. To this Hecker had been looking
forward with the eagerness of a lover.
He felt, as he said, "a special attrac-
tion and devotion toward Our Blessed
Lord in the Holy Sacrament, and an
almost irresistible desire of receiving
the blessed Communion of Divine love.
This desire, so far from having abated,
has greatly increased, so that I have a
constant hunger and thirst for Our Lord
n the sacrament of His body and blood.
If it were possible, I would desire to
receive no other food than this; for it is
the only nourishment that I have a real
ppetite for. I cannot consider it other
han the source and substance of my
vhole spiritual and interior life. The
lay on which I have been deprived of
t I have experienced a debility and
vant of both material and spiritual life,

56
FATHER HECKER
At
like one who is nearly famished.
times, when I would make my visit, I am
seized with such a violent love toward
the Blessed Sacrament that I am forced
to break off immediately, being unable
to support the attraction of the Spouse,
the Beloved, the Only One of my soul."
On August 26 he wrote to his brother
George, who had joined the Catholic,
Church at the same time with Isaac: "I
have now nearly eight weeks until the
time of taking the vows. Oh that it
were but eight minutes,-nay, eight
seconds, when I shall be permitted,
with the favour and grace of God, to
consecrate my whole being and life to His
sole service! Millions of worlds put on
top of one another could not purchase
me from my vocation." And just before
the ceremony he wrote to his mother
"Dear mother, in half an hour I go to
the chapel to consecrate my whole being
forever to God and His service. What
peace, what happiness, this gives me

FATHER HECKER
57
I
To live alone for His love, and to love
all for His love, in His love, and with
His love." After the ceremony he wrote
to his brother John, telling him to can-
cel all the business agreements between
them. "All this I leave to your judg-
ments; and as for me, dear brothers
John and George, in respect to the busi-
ness, you may regard me as though I had
never been connected with it, nor had
any title or claim upon it whatever.
am simply your dear brother Isaac, who
loves you from the depth of his heart.
This love, be assured, will never be di-
minished by any event. Whatever hap-
pens will only give me new motives
to love you the more. My conduct is
under your inspection, yours especially,
dear John, as being the eldest of us
three; and I trust your sincere love for
me will not let any word or action of
mine pass unnoticed which may be the
least unpleasant to you. My love, my
gratitude, my prayers, to and for you.
all."
58
FATHER HECKER
Having taken their vows, Brother
Hecker and Brother Walworth went to
Wittem, a small town in Holland, some
thirty miles east of St. Trond. There, in
an old Capuchin monastery, was the
house of studies belonging to the Or-
der. Most of the students were Dutch.
French was the language spoken, as at
St. Trond. Walworth was put in the
theological department, and Hecker in
the philosophical. Owing to the strict
rules, this difference separated the two
almost entirely. Walworth pursued his
course, and in two years was ordained
priest; but Brother Hecker found the
greatest difficulty in his studies. His
mind seemed to himself and to his teach-
ers heavily stupid. His attention could
be fixed only with great pains, and his
memory retained nothing. He prac-
tised severe asceticism: he fasted, he less-
ened his sleep, he wore a hair shirt. At
the end of the first year, apparently, all
capacity to study had left him. He was
FATHER HECKER
59
He
then put in charge of the sick as his
sole regular occupation. His stupidity
seemed to degenerate into folly. At the
end of the second year the superior
was at a loss to know what to do.
asked Hecker what, in his belief, God
meant him to do in the future. Hecker
answered that it seemed to him that
Providence had led him through differ-
ent ways of error, and had made him
acquainted with various classes of per-
sons in the United States, and with their
needs, in order that, when he had learned
the truth, God might employ him to
bring them into the way of that truth
that his vocation was to labour for the
conversion of his non-Catholic fellow-
countrymen; that, as it was apparent
that he could not study, God meant to
aid him by His grace; and that, if he
were left to study at those moments in
which his mind was free, he should be
able to learn enough to become a priest.
This plan was followed. Hecker felt
1;
60
FATHER HECKER
that he had received intimations from
the Holy Spirit that he was to convert
his countrymen. His mind, however,
was wholly lost in abstraction. He was
absorbed in mystical thought, and the
common facts with which studies were
necessarily connected found no point at
which they could lay hold of his interest.
"God, at times, seemed to demand of
me a frightful and heroic abandon-
ment of my soul to His good pleas-
ure. God alone knows how to ex-
ercise the soul in virtue, and the Holy
Spirit is its only true master in the spir-
itual life. Not only did the spirit of
God excite and elicit in me voluntary
acts of self-abandonment, but often my
soul was as if stripped of all support,
and placed, as it were, over a dark and
unfathomable abyss, and thus I was
made to see that my only hope was to
give myself up wholly to Him. The
words of Job well express this purga-
tion of the soul when he says, 'The
FATHER HECKER
61
arrows of the Lord are in me, the rage
whereof drinketh up my spirit; and the
terrors of the Lord war against me.'
Sometimes these pains penetrate into the
remotest and most secret chambers of
the soul. The faculties are in such an
intensive purgation that, from the exces-
sive pain which this subtle and purifying
fire causes they are suspended from
their ordinary activity, and the soul,
incapable of receiving any relief or es-
caping from its suffering, has nothing
left but to resign itself to the will and
good pleasure of God. Though envel-
oped with an unseen but no less real
fire, suffering in every part, limb, and
fibre from indescribable pains, fixed like
one who should be forced to look the sun
constantly in the face at mid-day, she
is, nevertheless, content, for she has a
secret consciousness that God is the cause
of all her sufferings, and, not only con-
tent, she would suffer still more for
His love."
62
FATHER HECKER
Hecker said afterward, "The time
in my whole life when I felt I had
gained the greatest victory by self-exer-
tion was when, after weeks of labour,
I was able to recite the Pater Noster
in Latin.' Hecker's own consciousness
that he had been brought under special
influences of divine grace from boy-
hood was so strong that his superior,
Père L'Hoir, thought the same, and sent
to him all the students who had difficul-
ties of a spiritual nature; and, in spite of
his mortification at his inability to study,
his inward peace was not disturbed. He
writes to his brother John: "As for me,
I regret nothing so much as that I have
not a thousand lives to sacrifice to His
service and love. Yes, I love you all
more than I ever did, and I would count
nothing as a cost for your present and
eternal good. Yet, by the grace of God,
I love my Saviour infinitely, infinitely,
infinitely more." Also, he writes to his
mother: "There have been times when,
FATHER HECKER
63
considering the wickedness of the world,
sensible of its miseries and my own,
and at the same time beholding ob-
scurely and, as it were, tasting the
things of heaven, I have longed and
wished to be separated from the body.
But, when coming back to myself and
thinking that with the aid of grace I
can still increase in God's love, and
hence love Him more in consequence
for all eternity, I feel willing to love
and suffer until the last day, if by this
I should acquire but one drop more of
Divine love in my heart."
His spiritual experiences at Wittem
were of the kind that we read of in the
lives of saints. He says: "Sometimes
I have felt singularly present and in in-
timate communion with certain of the
saints, such as Saint Francis of Assisi,
Saint Bonaventura, Saint Thomas, Saint
Peter of Alcantara, our holy father Al-
phonsus, etc. During this time-and
sometimes it is for many days — the life,
64
FATHER HECKER
the virtues, the spirit with which the
saint acted, occupy almost exclusively my
mind. I seem to feel their presence
much more intimately and really than
that of those who are around me.
I un-
derstand and comprehend them better,
and experience a more salutary influence
from them than perhaps I would have
done, had I lived and been with them in
their time. ... Twice I remember hav-
ing experienced in this manner the pres-
ence of Our Blessed Lord. While this
lasted, I felt myself altogether another
person. His presence excited in me
a greater love and esteem for the Chris-
tian virtues than I could have acquired
otherwise in years and years.”
Although Hecker surrendered himself
so completely to this inner mysticism,
and held so fixedly his purpose of devo-
tion to the divine will, and though his
mind had wandered so far from the path
of ordinary minds that his superiors
marvelled at his stupidity and his
FATHER HECKER
65
brethren deemed him a fool, yet the
genuine health and sanity of his nature
showed itself in unmistakable signs. At
St. Trond on July 4 the American nov-
ices told their superior that this was
their great national holiday, and asked
leave to celebrate it. He inquired how
they celebrated it. "By shooting off
firecrackers." There were no fire-
crackers. Their next suggestion was a
grand military parade. That plan over-
ruled, Hecker and Walworth cried out,
"Gingerbread !" So they were sent
off for a long day's walk, with their
pockets full of gingerbread.
At Wittem a bishop from hard by,
who paid the house a visit, said that he
could read English, but never had heard
it spoken, and that he should be obliged
to them if they would speak something
in English for him. Walworth and
Hecker put their heads together, and at
once recited "Peter Piper picked a
peck of pickled peppers." After listen-
66
FATHER HECKER
ing to English prose, the bishop asked to
hear an English song; and the two young
men sang
"There were three crows sat
on a tree, caw caw caw."
At Wittem, Hecker baked bread for
the whole community during almost all
his stay. He also carried in the fuel.
In August, 1848, Walworth was or-
dained priest; and the two young men
were sent to Clapham, London, to a new
foundation of the Order. Walworth was
sent on into Worcestershire, but Hecker
stayed at Clapham. After Hecker had
been there a year, he was found to have
acquired enough knowledge through his
irregular studies to fit him for ordina-
tion. He was ordained first sub-deacon,
then deacon, and on October 23, 1849,
in his thirtieth year, he was ordained
priest by Bishop Wiseman. He spent
the next year mainly in parochial duties
at Clapham.
VI.
In the beginning of 1851, together with
Father Walworth, Hecker was sent back
to America by Father Bernard, the new
Provincial of the Redemptorist houses
in the United States. The United States
had lately been made a separate prov-
ince. The Fathers sailed from Havre on
January 27, 1851, in the Helvetia, and
reached New York, after a bad voyage,
on March 19. They went to the convent´
in Third Street, and on April 6 opened
the first mission in St. Joseph's Church,
Washington Place.
The brethren of the Most Holy Re-
deemer bind themselves by the monas-
tic vows. Their chief purpose, as has
been said, is to conduct missions, - pe-
riods lasting from one week to a month,
and devoted to religious instruction and
exhortation, at which the Fathers, as
missionaries, urge the congregation of
Catholics to mend their lives and to
68
FATHER HECKER
come back to the life of the spirit. Mis-
sions find their equivalent in Protestant
churches in revival meetings. The exer-
cises are held by the Fathers in some
parish church. It is customary to give
moral instruction on the sacraments or
commandments in the morning, and
short doctrinal instruction and the mis-
sion sermon
- called the great sermon
at night. Father Hecker felt that he
lacked the qualifications of a preacher,
and asked that work be given him as
chaplain of a prison or of some public
institution of charity. But his superior
sent him upon the missions, to deliver
not the great sermon, but the doctrinal
or moral instruction, having first care-
fully schooled him what to say. To this
work Hecker gave himself with ardour.
He travelled about the United States
and into the British Provinces, going
from parish to parish, meeting many
priests, gathering knowledge of human
needs, and especially of the needs of the
FATHER HECKER
69
Catholic Church in America, and gradu-
ally becoming so proficient that no man,
it is said, equalled him as a doctrinal
and moral instructor. His manner of
speaking is described by them that knew
him as frank, clear, lively, and with an
element of humour. His tall figure, his
pale blue eyes, his ruddy brown hair,
presented a very attractive appearance.
He could, better than any of the other
brothers, depict true sorrow, teach how
to make hearty confession, and set forth
the worth of virtue and the dignity of
the Christian state. In the confessional
of which he said "no school of per-
fection can equal the self-denial necessary
to hear confessions well"- he was most
kind and patient.
The little band of Redemptorist mis-
sionaries consisted of Fathers Bernard,
Hecker, Hewit, and Walworth. Father
Bernard was superior for a year or two,
then he was recalled to Europe. He
was succeeded by Father Alexander,
70
FATHER HECKER
and he, not long after, by Father Wal-
worth. Subsequently the band was
joined by Father Deshon and by Father
Baker. For six years Father Hecker
laboured in this field, yet he felt that
this was not the way in which he could
put his natural gifts to their best use in
the service of the Divine Spirit. He
felt himself a special servant of God for
the conversion of the American people.
"Such strong and deep impulses, and so
vast in their reach, took possession of
my soul on my return to the United
States in regard to the conversion of the
American people that, on manifesting
my interior to one of the most spiritually-
enlightened and experienced Fathers of
the Congregation on the subject to ob-
tain his direction, he bade me not to
resist these interior movements, they
came from God; and that God would
yet employ me in accordance with
them." He tells how he first was
moved to set his hand to begin his real
FATHER HECKER
71
vocation: "The blessings of God upon
our missions were most evident and most
abundant, and my share in them most
consoling, as usually the most aban-
doned sinners fell to my lot. But, holy
and important as the exercises of the
missions among Catholics are, still this
work did not correspond to my interior
attrait; and, though exhausted and fre-
quently made ill from excessive fatigue
in these duties, yet my ardent and con-
stant desire to do something for my non-
Catholic countrymen led me to take up
my pen. That took place as follows:
One day, alone in my cell, the thought
suddenly struck me how great were my
privileges and my joy since my becom-
ing a Catholic, and how great were my
troubles, my agony of soul, before this
event! Alas! how many of my former
friends and acquaintances, how many of
the great body of the American people,
were in the same most painful position!
Cannot something be done to lead them
72
FATHER HECKER
to a knowledge of the truth? Perhaps,
if the way that divine Providence had
led me to the Church was shown to them,
many of them might in this way be led
also to see the truth. This thought, and
with it the hope of inducing young men
to enter into religious orders, produced
in a few months from my pen a book
entitled Questions of the Soul." This
book endeavours to show how, through
the Catholic Church, the deep yearnings
of man for a union with something out-
side of and greater than himself may be
satisfied; how the satisfaction of those.
great yearnings is proof that that
Church, by its sacraments, is the chosen
means of God to bring man into com-
munion with Himself. Some chapters
of the book are occupied by an indirect
account of Hecker's own experience:
others discuss the inadequacy of Protes-
tantism. He also wrote a second book
entitled Aspirations of Nature, in which
he sets forth the insufficiency of the
FATHER HECKER
73
I
unaided reason to satisfy the needs of
the intellect, and argues that divine
revelation is necessary to supplement
reason, and that the Catholic Church
truly embodies divine revelation. These
two books were written during the years
1852 to 1857.
VII.
IN the spring of 1857 it was proposed
to found a new house of the Order either
in New York City or in Newark, New
Jersey, which should be the headquar-
ters of the American members of the
Order, and where the language in com-
mon use should be English, to the end
that the Order might come into closer
contact with the English-speaking citi-
zens of this country. Bishop Bayley, of
Newark, and Archbishop Hughes, of
New York, had each made application
for such a foundation; but the superiors
of the Order both in this country and in
Rome misinterpreted the purposes and
hopes of the American Fathers, and re-
fused permission. To efface this mis-
understanding and to explain more
clearly than was possible by letters their
purposes in desiring the new foundation,
the Fathers decided that one of their
number should go to Rome and state
[
FATHER HECKER
75
their case to the General (Rector Major)
of the Order. They chose Father
Hecker. He sailed on August 5, 1857,
and arrived at Rome on August 26.
This journey was a turning-point in
Father Hecker's life, and was the cause
of founding the Paulist community. He
was charged with disobedience in going.
to Rome without the requisite permis-
sion. This charge raised a question of
canon law. The constitution of the
Order contained an article which pro-
vided that no member should go to
Rome, to lay a matter before the Rector
Major, without permission from his su-
periors, except under certain excep-
tional circumstances which the member
in his conscience deemed to justify the
journey. On joining the Order, Father
Hecker subscribed to this constitution;
he owed it obedience, and obtained cer-
ain rights under it. In 1855 a general
Chapter of the Order undertook to
change this article of the constitution.

76
FATHER HECKER
It restricted to Provincials the right to
go to Rome without permission in excep-
tional cases, and denied that right to all
others unless they should first obtain ex-
press permission from the Rector Major.
An alteration of the constitution, how-
ever, did not become legally operative
until it was approved by the Holy See.
This proposed change had been sub-
mitted to the Holy See, and was held
under advisement; it had not been pro-
mulgated nor approved at that time.
But there was also another point in
Father Hecker's way. The Rector
Major, in consequence of a flagrant
breach of this rule not in any way con-
nected with these American Fathers, had
addressed a circular letter to the Ameri-
can Province, in which, referring to this
proposed change in the constitution, he
stated: "In the General Chapter of 1855
it was declared that any one would de-
serve expulsion who should go to Rome
without the express permission of the
FATHER HECKER
77
!
Rector Major. And I hereby declare
any one who shall leave America with-
out permission expelled, ipso facto, from
the Order." This command obviously
restricted a right secured to the members
of the Order by the original constitu-
tion. Father Hecker and his friends
believed that the Rector Major had ex-
ceeded his power in issuing such an
order. The Provincial, apparently un-
willing to take the responsibility of de-
ciding a point of canon law, and not
feeling at liberty to disregard the letter
of the Rector Major, declined to give
Father Hecker the desired permission;
nevertheless, he gave him in writing
a statement bearing witness that he
had been a good Redemptorist, and
that up to that time his superiors had
been fully satisfied with him. The
question of right to take the journey
was one of canon law, but no doubt be-
hind it lay a question of policy, as to
which there was some feeling, whether
78
FATHER HECKER
it was better that the American Fathers
should act in concert as an English-
speaking body with greater indepen-
dence than theretofore or that the
Europeans should keep absolute control
of the Order in this country. There is
no doubt that Father Hecker believed
that he was acting wholly according to
his duty and within his rights under the
constitution of the Order. He had per-
mission to go from the head of the house
in New York; and he had explained
the matter fully to the Provincial. He
set upon his errand with a conscience
perfectly clear. His brother George
paid his travelling expenses. The ac-
ceptance of this money was also made a
charge against him as a violation of his
vow with respect to poverty.
On August 29 the General of the
Order, deeming Father Hecker's journey
to Rome a violation of his vows of obedi-
ence and poverty, after having received
him in the midst of his council, without
FATHER HECKER
79
warning, without giving him an oppor-
tunity to speak in self-defence, delivered
sentence against him, expelling him
from the Order. Father Hecker in
utter amazement fell on his knees, and
bowed his head. He went out, and
prostrated himself before the Blessed
Sacrament, returned to the council,
and on his knees begged the General
to consider his case further. The Gen-
eral refused, saying that his sense of
duty would not allow him to act other-
wise than as he had done, and added
that he did not mean to condemn Father
Hecker for any inward sin, but for his
external conduct. Father Hecker ap-
pealed to the Propaganda, and delivered
his credentials-letters from Archbishop
Hughes, Bishop Bayley, and others, orig-
inally intended for the Rector Major-
to Cardinal Barnabo, prefect, and to
Archbishop Bedini, secretary of the
Propaganda. Among these letters were
some from the four American Fathers,
80
FATHER HECKER
Dr.
stating that they shared in the respon-
sibility of Father Hecker's journey to
Rome, and naming him as their repre-
sentative in the matters for which he
went. Hecker at once won the sym-
pathy and friendship of Cardinal Bar-
nabo and of Archbishop Bedini.
Bernard Smith, professor of dogmatic
theology in the College of the Propa-
ganda, and subsequently abbot of St.
Paul without-the-walls, Bishop Con-
nolly, of New Brunswick, and Mon-
signor Kirby, of the Irish College, es-
poused his cause warmly. Hecker won
other friends. He also both made him-
self known and helped his cause by writ-
ing an article in the Civiltà Cattolica,
a leading Catholic journal, to show that
the people of the United States, the
freest in the world, were by no means
the most difficult to convert, but were
ripe for Catholic doctrines. He also
converted one Brown, an American
artist of some note in Rome. He did
FATHER HECKER
81
all he could for the success of his cause,
but he was sick at heart. "They have
driven me out of the home of my heart
and love." He writes to his American
brethren: "Our affairs are in the hands
of God. I hope no one will feel dis-
couraged, nor fear for me. All that is
needed to bring the interests of God to a
successful issue is grace, grace, grace ;
and this is obtained by prayer. And if
the American Fathers will only pray
and get others to pray, and not let
any one have the slightest reason to
bring a word against them in our
present crisis, God will be with us
and help us, and Our Lady will take
good care of us. So far no step taken
in our past need be regretted. If it
were to be done again, it would have
my consent. The blow given to me I
have endeavoured to receive with humil-
ity and in view of God. It has not pro-
duced any trouble in my soul, nor made
me waver in the slightest degree in my
82
FATHER HECKER
confidence in God or my duty toward
Him. Let us not be impatient.
God is
with us, and will lead us if we confide in
Him."
His adversaries were, no doubt, men
of position and influence. The General
of the Order had his supporters. Nor
were they lacking who felt that these
young American priests had been some-
what too self-confident and forth-putting
in their plan of freeing themselves to
some extent, at least, of European con-
trol, and in that, instead of yielding
meekly to the wishes of their Provincial,
they had sent an ambassador, as it were,
to Rome, to insist upon their own way.
The Roman Court and its followers had
not yet recovered from the shock of
1848, and felt a slight tremour at
any sign of independence. So there
were many who in utmost honesty
deemed Father Hecker a standard-bearer
of radicalism and rebellion. It could
hardly be expected that Italian prelates
FATHER HECKER
83
and dignitaries should understand or
sympathise with eager young mission-
aries from New York.
The Propaganda seemed favourable to
the Americans, but it soon became ob-
vious that Father Hecker's reinstate-
ment would not tend to maintain har-
mony in the American branch of the
Order. It was suggested that the Fathers
should petition the Pope for a separate
organisation under the rule of Saint
Alphonsus, but directly subject to the
Holy See, thereby splitting the Ameri-
can branch of the Order in two.
It was
also suggested that the separate organi-
sation should be subject to the Cisalpine
Redemptorists, at that time an indepen-
dent congregation. There was another
plan, the first failing, that the American
Fathers be released from their vows with
a view to forming a new organisation of
their own under the direction of the
bishops and of the Holy See.
A pe-
tition, following these various sugges-
84
FATHER HECKER
tions in their sequence, was drawn up
and signed by the four Fathers remain-
ing in America, Walworth, Hewit,
Deshon, and Baker. This was a novel
course of action suggested by the course
of circumstances. In the beginning the
American Fathers had not the slightest
idea of a possible separation from the
Order; but the summary expulsion of
Father Hecker, and considerations aris-
ing during the progress of the appeal,
made it apparent that some change
would come about. Father Hecker's
own views are clear from his letters to
his American brethren.
October 5, 1857. "You will remem-
ber, and I hope, before this reaches you,
will have answered my proposition in
my last note, whether or not you would
be willing to form an independent
band of missionaries to be devoted to
the great wants of the country. I have
considered and reconsidered, and prayed
and prayed; and, in spite of my fears,
FATHER HECKER
85
this seems to me the direction in which
Divine Providence calls us. With
all the difficulties, dangers, and struggles
that another [community] movement
presents before me, I feel more and more
convinced that it is this that Divine
Providence asks of us. . . . If you are
prepared to move in this direction, it
would be best, and, indeed, necessary,
not only to write to me your assent, but
also a memorial to the Propaganda - to
Cardinal Barnabo - stating the interests
and wants of religion and of the country,
and then petition to be permitted to
turn your labours in this direction. . .
I endeavour to keep close to God, to keep
up my confidence in His protection, and
in the aid of Our Blessed Lady. I pray
for you all. You cannot forget me in
your prayers."
October 26. "As for my part, I do
not see one step ahead, but at the same
time I never felt so closely embraced in
the arms of Divine Providence.”
86
FATHER HECKER
November 12. "My present impression
is that neither union with the Cisalpine
Fathers nor separation as a band of
[independent Redemptorist] mission-
aries in the United States will be ap-
proved of here... What appears to
me more and more probable is that we
shall have to start entirely upon our own
basis. This is, perhaps, the best of all,
all things considered. . . . Such a move-
ment has, from the beginning, seemed to
me the one to which Divine Providence
calls us, but I always felt timid as long
as any door was left open for us to act
in the Congregation. . . . I feel prepared
to take this step with you without hesi-
tation and with great confidence. . . . I
should have been glad, as soon as my
dismission was given, to have started on
in such a movement. But then it was
my first duty to see whether this work
could not be accomplished by the Con-
gregation [of the Most Holy Redeemer];
and, besides, I was not sure, as I now am,
FATHER HECKER
87
of your views being the same as mine.
... All indicates the will of Divine
Providence in our regard, and gives me
confidence.
•
"We should take our present missions
as the basis of our unity and activity;
at the same time not be exclusively
restricted to them, but leave ourselves
at liberty to adapt ourselves to the wants
which may present themselves in our
country. Were the question presented
to me to restrict myself exclusively to
missions, in that case I should feel in
conscience bound to obtain from holy
men a decision on the question whether
God had not pointed out another field
for me. ... Taking our missions and
our present mode of life as the ground-
work, the rest will have to be left to
Divine Providence, the character of the
country, and our own spirit of faith and
good common sense."
•
Father Hecker considered the matter
most devoutly. He consulted men of re-
88
FATHER HECKER
pute for wisdom and holiness. He had
constant recourse to prayer for divine
guidance. He drew up an elaborate
statement of his own religious life and
experiences and of the condition of
religion in America, and submitted it,
with the question whether or no there
was sufficient evidence of a special voca-
tion from God for him to undertake such
a work, to Cardinal Barnabo, Arch-
bishop Bedini, Father Francis, his di-
rector while in Rome, a Passionist,
Father Gregorio, a Carmelite,
Father Druelle, of the Congregation of
the Holy Cross. Hecker chose these
men as most spiritually enlightened, and
the fittest wisely to counsel him. They
all answered the question in the affirm-
ative. Hecker had the support of many
of the American hierarchy - Arch-
bishop Hughes of New York, Archbishop
Kenrick of Baltimore, Archbishop Pur-
cell of Cincinnati, Bishop Bayley of
Newark, Bishop Spalding of Louisville,
and
FATHER HECKER
89
Bishop Lynch of Charleston, Bishop
Barry of Savannah, Bishop De Goes-
briand of Burlington - all of whom sent
testimonials.
After examination by the Propaganda
the case went to the Pope, who sought
the decision of the Congregation of Bish-
ops and Regulars. Cardinal Barnabo
advocated Hecker's cause before that
tribunal. Father Hecker was granted
an interview with the Pope; he assured
him that he believed that his Holiness's
decision would be God's decision, and
that, be it what it might, he would
humbly submit to it.
On March 6, 1858, the decree of the
Congregation of Bishops and Regulars
was given forth. It recited the petition
of the American Fathers, setting forth
the different suggestions contained in it,
and denied the request to continue the
Americans in any way as a separate
branch of the Order of the Most Holy
Redeemer, and continued: "Since, how-
90
FATHER HECKER
ever, it was represented to his Holiness.
that the petitioners spare no labour in the
prosecution of the holy missions, in the
conversion of souls, and in the dissemi-
nation of Christian doctrine, and are for
this reason commended by many bishops,
it seemed more expedient to his Holiness
to withdraw them from the said Congre-
gation, that they might apply themselves
to the prosecution of the works of the
sacred ministry under the direction of
the local bishops. Wherefore his Holi-
ness, by the tenor of this decree, and by
his apostolic authority, does dispense
from their simple vows and from that of
permanence in the Congregation the said
priests — viz., Clarence Walworth, Au-
gustine Hewit, George Deshon, and
Francis Baker, together with the priest
Isaac Hecker, who has joined himself to
their petition in respect to dispensation
from the vows and declares them to be
dispensed and entirely released, so that
they no longer belong to the said
FATHER HECKER
91
Congregation. And his Holiness con-
fidently trusts that, under the direction
and jurisdiction of the local bishops, ac-
cording to the prescription of the sacred
Canons, the above-mentioned priests will
labour, by work, example, and word, in
the vineyard of the Lord, and give them-
selves with alacrity to the eternal salva-
tion of souls, and promote with all their
power the sanctification of their neigh-
bours."
The decree, it will be seen, deals solely
with the petition, and makes no reference
to Father Hecker's expulsion from the
Order; but, as it expressly declares him
as well as the others to be entirely re-
leased from the vows, so that he thereby
ceased to be a member of the Congrega-
tion, it is obvious that the decree dealt
with him as a present member of the
Order, and that the expulsion was
treated as ineffectual. Hecker, acting
against his own wish, but in deference to
the opinion of Cardinal Barnabo, had

92
FATHER HECKER
not signed the petition. Afterward,
learning of the Pope's intended action,
he wrote a note, which was submitted
to the Pope, stating that, if the other
Fathers were released from their vows
and his expulsion were set aside, he
would be content to accept his dispensa-
tion, also.
Hecker felt that this was a most happy
issue out of his afflictions. "I look
upon this settlement of our difficulties as
the work of Divine Providence, and my
prayer is that it may make me humble,
modest, and renew my desire to conse-
crate myself wholly to God's designs."
He had a second interview with the Pope,
who treated him with great kindness.
He returned soon after to America, car-
rying with him a special blessing from
the Holy Father for the work of the
American Fathers in making a new re-
ligious congregation. He bore with him
also this letter from Cardinal Barnabo,
as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation
"De Propaganda Fide":-

FATHER HECKER
93
"To each and every one who will
read this letter of ours, we declare and
testify that the Rev. Isaac Hecker, secu-
lar priest, is free from all ecclesiastical
censure, and that he is a man most illus-
trious for his religious zeal and sacer-
dotal virtues, most active in cultivating
the vineyard of the Lord, especially in
the United States of North America,
and for that reason especially beloved,
not only by very many bishops there,
but also by the Sacred Congregation of
Propaganda.
66 'We commend him most strongly in
the Lord to the American bishops, now
that he is leaving Rome for America,
and ask that they receive him kindly;
that they allow him to celebrate the
most holy sacrifice of the mass; and that
they do him all those good offices of
charity which they think worthy a man
who is truly religious and a great worker
for the salvation of souls."
VIII.
FATHER HECKER arrived in New
York in May, 1858, and the brethren
immediately made plans and arrange-
ments for the new organisation. Noth-
ing was determined without the fullest
consideration. Father Walworth did
not wholly agree with the others, and
withdrew, but joined them again in a
few years. The others elected Father
Hecker their superior, and drew up a
Programme of Rule. This was approved
by Archbishop Hughes, to whom they
submitted it on July 7, 1858. Saint
Paul, as apostle to the Gentiles, was
chosen as patron; and the name they
took was The Missionary Priests of Saint
Paul the Apostle. They are familiarly
known as the Paulist Fathers. The
habit adopted was black, with a narrow
linen collar, and was buttoned across the
breast, and girded in at the waist. The
Programme of Rule adopted an order of
FATHER HECKER
95
spiritual exercises similar to that ob-
served by the Redemptorists. Instead
of vows the members made a perpet-
ual voluntary agreement, affirming that
they were fully determined to promote
their sanctification by leading a life in
all essential respects similar to that led
in the religious orders. The observance
of obedience and poverty was enjoined
upon the members, and also of the daily
and periodical exercises of community
life. Their labour was to be chiefly to
conduct missions, but to do parochial
work as well. The archbishop's ap-
proval of the Programme of Rule gave
the Fathers the canonical status looked
to by the decree of the Congregation of
Bishops and Regulars. Subsequently
the Holy See granted permission to the
archbishop to establish the Paulist In-
stitute in his diocese, with the consent
of his suffragans, which consent was ob-
tained, and the Institute canonically
established.
96
FATHER HECKER
For some time the little community
had no home; but plans for establishing
a home and parish in New York had
already been made, and the site on 59th
Street, just west of 9th Avenue, at that
time unopened, a spot more in the coun-
try than in the city, was selected.
Money was raised, the land bought, and
on Trinity Sunday, June 19, 1859, the
corner-stone of the new building was
laid by Archbishop Hughes. The new
house and chapel were completed in
November, and the work of the Fathers
as parish priests began. About this
time Father Robert Beverly Tillotson
and Father Alfred Young joined them.
Father Walworth came back, and this
increase in numbers enabled them to
prosecute both their missionary and par-
ish work more vigorously.
To one who has not had the privilege
of knowing Father Hecker in person, his
active, energetic life, his eager interest in
doing, his fertility in plans, from the time
FATHER HECKER
97
of his journey to Rome until his health
failed him, are a continual surprise.
The contemplative, meditative spirit, ab-
sorbed in itself, and in visions and com-
munions known only to itself, which in
its time of preparation had seemed so
lethargic and dazed, even in the presence
of so slight a demand upon its activity as
study for the priesthood, suddenly stands
up and shakes itself, instinct with life
and zeal for active wrestling with the
enemies of right. It is hardly human
for a man so to begin anew as if his
old self had been sloughed off. The
seeds of active life, which showed them-
selves somewhat in his boyish years be-
fore he went to Brook Farm, had lain in
the rich soil of his ardent nature, ger-
minating and swelling till their ap-
pointed time. These two sides of Father
Hecker's nature inclined him toward the
two main purposes to which he devoted
his life obedience to the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, and conversion of his
98
FATHER HECKER
fellows to that obedience by using all the
influences of ordinary life as instruments
and assistant agencies. With all his
confidence in the inward impulses which,
according to his experience, come to the
honest seeker after spiritual life, he rec-
ognised the danger of wayward and vain
doctrines; and he had the deepest con-
viction that the Catholic Church was
the representative of God on earth, and
that by her teaching every man could
judge the truth of his own inward im-
pulses. He always insisted upon "abso-
lute and unswerving loyalty to the au-
thority of the Church, wherever and
however expressed, as God's authority
upon earth and for all time.” Never-
theless, he believed that all men, as
children of God, may have direct com-
munion with the Holy Spirit; but that
they must make themselves ready for
that great blessing by endeavour, by
prayers, and by the sacraments. "The
Holy Spirit is the inspiration of the
FATHER HECKER
99
inner life of the regenerate man, and in
that life is his Superior and Director.
That His guidance may become more
and more immediate in an interior life,
and the soul's obedience more and more
instinctive, is the object of the whole
external order of the Church, including
the sacramental system. . . . It should
ever be kept in view that the practice
of the virtues is not only for their own
sake and to obtain merit, but mainly in
order to remove all obstacles in the way
of the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and
to assist the soul in following His opera-
tions with docility. . . . True spiritual
direction consists in discovering the ob-
stacles in the way of the Divine guid-
ance, in aiding and encouraging the
penitent to remove them, and in teach-
ing how the interior movements of the
Holy Spirit may be recognised as well
as in stimulating the soul to fidelity
and docility to His movements. . . . The
whole aim of the science of Christian
UorM
100
FATHER HECKER
perfection is to instruct men how to re-
move the hindrances in the way of the
action of the Holy Spirit, and how to
cultivate those virtues which are most
favourable to His solicitations and in-
spirations. Thus the sum of spiritual
life consists in observing and yielding
to the movements of the Spirit of God
in our soul, employing for this pur-
pose all the exercises of prayer, spiritual
reading, the practice of virtues, and
good works. . . . The radical and ade-
quate remedy for all the evils of our age,
and the source of all true progress, con-
sists in increased attention and fidelity
to the action of the Holy Spirit in the
soul. 'Thou shalt send forth Thy spirit,
and they shall be created; and Thou
shalt renew the face of the earth.' "'
With regard to the contradiction that
might seem likely to occur between the
authority of the interior directions and
that of the Church he says: "The action
of the Holy Spirit embodied visibly in
MOU
FATHER HECKER
101
the authority of the Church and the
action of the Holy Spirit dwelling in-
visibly in the soul form one inseparable
synthesis; and he who has not a clear
conception of this twofold action of the
Holy Spirit is in danger of running into
one or the other, and sometimes into
both, of these extremes, either of which
is destructive of the end of the Church.
The Holy Spirit, in the external author-
ity of the Church, acts as the infallible
interpreter and criterion of divine reve-
lation. The Holy Spirit in the soul acts
as the divine Life-giver and Sanctifier.
It is of the highest importance that
these two distinct offices of the Holy
Spirit should not be confounded. .
What must one do in order to favour the
reception of the Holy Spirit and secure
fidelity to His guidance when received?
First, receive the Sacraments, the di-
vinely instituted channels of grace: one
will scarcely persevere in living in the
state of grace, to say nothing of se-
•
102
FATHER HECKER
curing a close union with God, who
receives Holy Communion only once or
twice a year. Second, practise prayer,
above all that highest form of prayer,
assisting at Holy Mass; then mental and
vocal prayer, the public offices of the
Church, and particular devotions accord-
ing to one's attrait. Third, read spir-
itual books daily,— the Bible, Lives of
the Saints, Following of Christ, etc. But
in all this bear ever in mind, that the
steady impelling force by which one
does each of these outward things is the
inner and secret prompting of the Holy
Ghost, and that perseverance in them
is secured by no other aid except the
same hidden inspiration. Cherish that
above all, therefore, and in every stage
of the spiritual life; be most obedient to
it, seeking meantime for good counsel
wherever it is likely to be had. . . . The
work of the priesthood is to help to guide
the Christian people, understanding that
God is always guiding them interiorly.
FATHER HECKER
103
The guide of the soul is the Holy
Spirit Himself, and the criterion, or test,
of possessing that guide is the Divine
authority of the Church. . . . The sacra-
ments, prayer, and holy reading, and
hearing sermons and instructions, are
the plain external instruments and ac-
companiments of the visitations of God,
and are sufficient landmarks for the
journey of the soul, unless it be led in
a way altogether extraordinary. And,
apart from these external marks, no
matter how you watch for God, His
visitations are best known by their ef-
fects. It is after the cause has been
placed, perhaps some considerable time
after, that the faith, hope, love, or
sorrow, becomes perceptibly increased, –
always excepting extraordinary cases.
Not to 'resist the Spirit' is the first
duty. Fidelity to the divine guidance,
yielding one's self up lovingly to the
impulses of virtue as they gently claim
control of our thoughts, this is the
simple duty."
104
FATHER HECKER
These quotations from Father Hecker
show his fundamental beliefs. But it
was not enough for him to enjoy mysti-
cal communion with the Holy Spirit.
He must be up and doing, a faithful
servant in the service of his Master. At
St. Trond he believed that he received
intimations from the Holy Spirit that he
had been chosen as a special instrument
of God to labour at the conversion of
this country. His belief grew in depth.
and power until, during his stay at
Rome, it seemed to him that Providence
reached out and set his hand to the
task. Father Hecker thought that the
differences between nations should not be
allowed to prevent their union within
one church. Rather must the individ-
uality of each nation, wrought out
through long centuries not without the
will of God, be used as the instrument
by which each people shall be brought
to God. For Italians the Italian char-
acter must be put to use, for Germans
FATHER HECKER
105
the German character, and for the
people of the United States the Ameri-
can character. Here in this country
was a people who in secular matters
had prospered, who in political matters
had adopted the new principles of de-
mocracy, and had made their country a
place of refuge and a home for the un-
successful and unfortunate from other
lands. Had this prosperity, this trust,
and this generosity flourished in the
absence of God's blessing? By no
means. Under Providence, so Father
Hecker believed, these [results in secular
matters were due to the freedom and
independent character of the American
people. Here, then, was the quality
that should serve to bring this people,
for the greater part of Protestant origin
and suspicious of alien authority, into
the way of truth as he believed it to be.
He himself had been born and bred
among the strongest Protestant sects.
He had been acquainted with persons of
106
FATHER HECKER
various fortunes and conditions in life.
He had wandered through most devious
ways, and had all the time felt strong
within him the spirit of freedom and
independence. Was he not especially
fitted to show to his countrymen that
not the Protestant Church, but the
Catholic Church, was in accord with the
principles of true liberty, with the
affirmations of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, and the inclinations of free
men? Hecker was particularly indig-
nant with the doctrines which he deemed
especially to mark the Protestant
Church, of election and of total deprav-
ity; and he denounced the inconsistency
of those doctrines with the belief that all
men are born free and equal. With
these beliefs and these hopes he girded
himself to the task of conversion.
His first means was the community of
the Paulist Fathers. He wrote, "The
controlling thought of my mind for many
years has been that a body of free men
FATHER HECKER
107
who love God with all their might, and
yet know how to cling together, could
conquer this modern world of ours." He
desired his community to minister to the
special needs of the people among whom
they lived, and to preach the special
virtues necessary to enable them to meet
those needs. "The main purpose of each
Paulist must be the attainment of per-
sonal perfection by the practice of those
virtues without which it cannot be se-
cured, mortification, self-denial, de-
tachment, and the like. By the use of
these means the grace of God makes the
soul perfect. The perfect soul is one
which is guided instinctively by the in-
welling Holy Spirit. To attain to this
s the end always to be aimed at in the
ractice of the virtues just named.
econd, zeal for souls; to labour for the
onversion of the country to the Catholic
ith by apostolic work. Parish work is
part, an integral part, of Paulist work,
ut not its principal or chief work - and

108
FATHER HECKER
parish work should be done so as to form
a part of the main aim, the conversion of
the non-Catholic people of the country.
Our vocation is apostolic,- conver-
sion of souls to the faith, of sinners to re-
pentance, giving missions, defence of the
Christian religion by conferences, lect-
ures, sermons, the pen, the press, and
the like works. . . . He [the Paulist]
must do the work of the Church. The
work of the Church, as Church, is to
render her note of universality more and
(6 a
more conspicuous." . . . But also
Paulist is to emphasise individuality
that is, to make individual liberty an
essential element in every judgment that
touches the life and welfare of the com
munity and that of its members. . .
The individuality of a man cannot b
too strong or his liberty too great wher
he is guided by the Spirit of God.”
IX.

THE Paulist Fathers did regular, faith-
ful parochial work in a poor parish, con-
sisting chiefly of labourers and their
families living in the outskirts of the
city. They kept up their missions from
1858 to 1865. In that year Father
Baker died; and the little band, becom-
ing too few, were obliged to forego them.
Until that time they had held eighty-
one missions, travelling all over the
United States and into Canada. They
preached the special virtues needed by
the times, manliness and intelligence.
They gave doctrinal instruction, and
they waged continuous war against
drunkenness and most severely con-
demned the liquor saloons.
Father Hecker also delivered lectures
far and near upon Catholic doctrines
and Protestant doctrines, with the pur-
pose of proselytising. Some of the
titles of these lectures were: 66 The
110
FATHER HECKER
Church and the Republic," "Luther
and the Reformation," "How and Why
I became a Catholic," "The State of
His
Religion in the United States."
appearance was very dignified. He had
a tall figure, broad back, large head
with prominent features, and a long,
forked beard. His voice, though it had
no graces, carried well. His gestures
were simple, but at times very energetic.
His usual method was to begin by dwell-
ing upon the American love of liberty
and capacity for free government, then
to argue that Protestant doctrines were
inconsistent therewith, next to explain
the position of the Catholic Church, and
to try to persuade his audience that the
teachings of that Church were in all
things appropriate and fit for the free
Father Hecke
dom-loving American.
was very active in lecturing from 186
to 1872, when health began to fail him.
A third means very dear to hi
heart for the conversion of his country

FATHER HECKER
111
men, was what he called the Apostolate
of the Press. He entertained a pro-
found conviction that all the circum-
stances and modes of modern life are in
their nature adaptable as means of
grace; and, as among the influences of
modern life none is greater than the
press, he desired, and felt that his
desire was from above, that the press be
made the servant of God. Not by the
voice only, but by the written word,
spread as wide among men as might be,
and reiterated as often, should the truth
be published. The absorbing interest of
the war thwarted for a time Father
Hecker's plans; but no sooner was the
war over than in April, 1865, he began
the publication of The Catholic World, a
nonthly magazine. There were many
difficulties in his way. His public was
mall, priests were busy, educated lay-
hen were scarce. His contributions
vere few and at first hard to get, so that
or a year the magazine was chiefly

112
FATHER HECKER
filled with articles culled from foreign
magazines and books. After that it
prospered. It has always had great
variety of matter, information concern-
ing thought outside the Church, studies
in history, controversial discussions, ex-
positions of Catholic doctrines, literary
criticism, fiction, and consideration of
social problems.
In 1866 he founded
The Catholic Publication Society for the
purpose of publishing such tracts and
books as might tend to convert Protes-
tants and confirm Catholics in their
faith; and in 1870 he started The Young
Catholic, a periodical edited by Mrs.
George V. Hecker, meant to prevent the
minds of young Catholics from straying
from a consciousness of the truths of their
religion during the temptations and dis-
tractions of youth.
The burden of maintaining The Cath-
olic Publication Society fell mainly on
the Paulist Fathers. The purpose of the
society was missionary, and to that end
FATHER HECKER
113
•
its publications were always given away
or else sold at or below cost. Raising
the necessary money was a hard matter ;
but at the meeting of the Second Plenary
Council of Baltimore, in 1866, Father
Hecker - whose whole heart was in this
work and Archbishop Spalding, by
their vigorous pleading, persuaded the
Council to enact a decree that the bish-
ops "establish branches of this Society
in their dioceses, [and] shall there-
fore appoint a yearly collection for their
support, to be taken up in all the prin-
cipal churches, or shall make other pro-
vision for the same purpose according to
their best judgment." The Council also,
in their Pastoral Letter, earnestly urge
the clergy to give their strong support
"to the undertaking, which is second to
none in importance among the subsidiary
aids which the inventions of modern
times supply to our ministry for the
diffusion of Catholic truth." Father
Hecker was most happy over his suc-
114
FATHER HECKER
cess; and his intention was to establish
branches everywhere in
in the United
States, delegates from which should
meet regularly and control the whole
work, thus giving the Catholic Church in
America the support of a strong body of
laymen. The decree of the Council
bears witness to Father Hecker's power
over men; but the needs of the Church
in building churches and schools, in pro-
viding priests and teachers for the rapidly
increasing Catholic population, left the
dioceses no money to spare for the Pub-
lication Society. Collections of money
made were soon spent, and no more came
in. Thereupon Mr. George V. Hecker
generously paid the cost. Subsequently,
finding that he had put much money into
the work, he was obliged to turn the so-
ciety into a publishing business. Father
Hecker was greatly grieved at this lost
opportunity, but he bore what was for
him a bitter disappointment with gentle
submission.
FATHER HECKER
115
One more attempt he made to further
the Apostolate of the Press. In 1871 a
New York daily paper, a member of the
Associated Press, was for sale, and could
be bought for $300,000. Father Hecker
jumped at the prospect of a daily news-
paper, with its first purpose to further
divine truth. He persuaded various
rich men to subscribe. Archbishop
McCloskey headed the list. More than
half the necessary sum was raised, when
Hecker fell ill, and the project had to
be abandoned. There was no man to
take his place. Yet the Apostolate of
the Press had spread Father Hecker's
fame. In 1869 Pius IX. wrote him an
autograph letter, commending the vari-
ous works in which he and the Paulist
Fathers were engaged, especially this
work of the press, and bestowing upon
them all his blessing.
When the Council of the Vatican was
called together, Father Hecker was urged
by his friends to go to Rome; and Bishop
116
FATHER HECKER
Rosecrans, of Columbus, Ohio, being
himself unable to attend the Council, ap-
pointed Father Hecker his proxy. He
arrived in Rome in November, 1869;
but he was not allowed to attend the
Council, because there were so many prel-
ates present in person that proxies were
not recognised. The archbishop of
Baltimore, however, made Hecker his
theologian, whereby he obtained the
privileges of reading all the documents of
the Council, of knowing all that took
place in it, and of taking part in the de-
liberations of the American hierarchy,
which met by themselves to consider the
interests of the Church in the United
States. He abstained from taking part
in the controversy concerning the infalli-
bility of the Pope, although he had always
believed in the doctrine. He said: "I
have always heard the voice of Rome as
that of truth itself. . . . All I have to say
is that, if the Roman Court prevail [in
the deliberations of the Council], it is
FATHER HECKER
117
•
•
the Holy Ghost who prevails through the
Roman Court." And, after the Coun-
cil was over, he wrote: "The definition
of the Vatican Council completes and
fixes forever the external authority of the
Church against the heresies and errors of
the last three centuries. ... None but
the declared enemies of the Church and
misdirected Catholics can fail to see in
this the directing influence of the Holy
Ghost.
The definition leaves no
longer any doubt in regard to the au-
thority of the Chief of the Church. For
my part, I sincerely thank the Jesuits
for their influence in bringing it about,
even though that were as great as some
people would have us believe. .. This
had to be done before the Church could
resume her normal course of action.
What is that? Why, the divine ex-
ternal authority of the Church com-
pleted, fixed beyond all controversy, her
attention and that of all her children can
now be turned more directly to the
118
FATHER HECKER
divine and interior authority of the Holy
Ghost in the soul. The whole Church,
giving her attention to the interior in-
spirations of the Holy Spirit, will give
birth to her renewal, and enable her to
reconquer her place and true position in
Europe and the whole world. For we
must never forget that the immediate
means of Christian perfection is the in-
terior direction of the Holy Spirit, while
the test of our being directed by the
Holy Spirit, and not by our fancies and
prejudices, is our filial obedience to the
divine external authority of the Church.
"If for three centuries the most in-
fluential schools in the Church gave a
preponderance in their teaching and spir-
itual direction to those virtues which are
in direct relation to the external author-
ity of the Church, it must be remembered
that the heresies of that period all aimed
at the destruction of this authority. The
character of this teaching, therefore, was
a necessity. There was no other way of
FATHER HECKER
119
preserving the children of the Church
from the danger of this infection. If the
effect of this teaching made Catholics
childlike, less manly and active than
others, this was, under the circum-
stances, inevitable.
66 The definition of the Vatican Coun-
cil, thanks to the Jesuits, now gives us
freedom to turn our attention in another
direction, and to cultivating other virt-
ues. If one infidel was equal to two
Catholics in courage and action in the
past, in the future one Catholic, moved
by the Holy Spirit, will be equal to half
a dozen or a thousand infidels and
heretics."
Father Hecker had an interview with
the Pope, and saw Cardinal Barnabo
and many old friends, during his stay
in Rome. He was full of spiritual con-
fidence, and was sure that he then re-
ceived special illumination from God on
the relation between the inner and the
outer action of the Holy Ghost in sancti-
120
FATHER HECKER
fying the soul. He wrote to his brothers'
family that one day, as he watched rep-
resentatives of the Catholic Church
gathered together from the civilised
world, marching in a throng through
one of the great piazzas, he hardly kept
himself from crying out, "Three cheers
for Paradise, and one for the United
States." He also writes: "I return
with new hope and fresher energy for
that better future for the Church and
humanity which is in store for both in
the United States. This is the convic-
tion of all intelligent and hopeful minds
in Europe. They look to the other side
of the Atlantic, not only with great in-
terest, but to catch the light which will
solve the problems of Europe. Our
course is surely fraught with the interests,
hopes, and happiness of the race.
never felt so much like acquitting myself
as a Christian and a man. The convic-
I
tions which have hitherto directed my
course have been deepened, confirmed,
FATHER HECKER
121
and strengthened by recent experience
here; and I return to my country a
better Catholic and more an American
than ever.
""
Father Hecker was always turning
over in his mind new plans to further
what he believed to be the cause of God
in this country. One of the earliest
notions he had entertained to this end
was to use the capacities for devotion
and self-sacrifice in women. This idea
came to him again forcibly in Rome.
One day he said Mass in the catacombs
of St. Agnes in the presence of a small
company of persons. In that solemn
spot, hallowed for him by the prayers
and sufferings of martyrs, he prayed with
his whole heart. "What did I pray
for?" he wrote to his brethren.
you all, especially for the future. What
future? How shall I name it? The
association of women, in our country, to
aid the work of God through the Holy
Church for its conversion. My convic-
"For
122
FATHER HECKER
tions became fixed, and my determina-
tion to begin the enterprise consecrated.”
After leaving Rome, he went to va-
rious places in Italy; but the spot that
drew out his heart was Assisi. "I
could have kissed the stones of the
streets of the town when I remembered
that Saint Francis had trodden these
same streets, and the love and heroism
which beat in his heart. .. I said Holy
Mass at the tomb of Saint Francis, and
in presence of his body this morning
a votive Mass of the Saint. It seems
I could linger weeks and weeks around
this holy spot. . . . What Saint Francis
did for his age one might do for one's
own. He touched the chords of feeling
and of aspiration in the hearts of the
men and women of his time, and organ-
ised them for action. Saint Dominic
did the same for the intellectual wants
of the time. Why not do this for our
age? Who shall so touch the springs of
men's hearts and reach their minds as
FATHER HECKER
123
to lead them to the desire of united
action, and organise them so as to bring
forth great results? There is no doubt
that the age wants this.'

""
Father Hecker's deep desire to es-
tablish the kingdom of God on earth
found America too narrow for its hopes.
His passionate confidence in the Ameri-
can people led him to imagine America
carrying the gospel back to Europe.
"The work that Divine Providence has
called us to do in our own country, were
its spirit extended through Europe,
would be the focus of new light and an
element of regeneration. Our country
has a providential position in our century
in relation to Europe, and our efforts to
Catholicise and sanctify it give it an
importance, in a religious aspect, of a
most interesting and significant char-
acter."
Full of beliefs, full of hopes, with all
his convictions strengthened, and with
an ever-increasing desire to put his..
124
FATHER HECKER
strength into the most enduring work
for God and the Church, he went back
to his brethren in New York.
Maou
3
· X.
FROM 1871 to 1888 the story of Father
Hecker is very sad. His health, under-
mined by the too severe self-denials of
his youth, gave way. Headaches, dys-
pepsia, sleeplessness, tormented him. By
the summer of 1872 he was unable to
continue at work, and he was sent by
his physicians to the South and after-
ward to Europe on a search for health.
He travelled through Europe, made a
journey up the Nile, and visited Pales-
tine. At times he was better, and had
periods of relief; but, as the years.
went on, his nervous system failed in its
functions, his blood became thin. For
four or five years before his death he
had frequent attacks of angina pectoris.
But bodily pain was less sad than the
darkness which seemed to come over his
spirit. His mind was unaffected, but
trouble came upon him, sorrow took the
place of gladness, and it seemed to him
126
FATHER HECKER
as if he sat in the desolation of sin. In
1874 he writes: "As to my health these
last ten days, I cannot say much. My
interior trials have been such that it
would be impossible that my health.
should improve under them. As long
as they last, I must expect to suffer.
I
see nothing before me but darkness, and
there is nothing within my soul but des-
olation and bitterness. Cut off from all
that formerly interested me, banished
as it were from home and country, iso-
lated from everything, the doors of
heaven shut, I feel overwhelmed with
misery and crushed to atoms. . . . There
remains nothing for me but to confide in,
to follow, and abandon myself to that
Guide who has directed me from the be-
ginning. I read Job, Jeremias, and
Thomas à Kempis, and meditate on the
sufferings of Our Lord and the character
of His death. I recall to mind what I
have read on these matters in spiritual
writers and the Lives of the Saints. I
Į
FATHER HECKER
127
reflect how from the very nature of the
purification of the soul this darkness,
bitterness, and desolation must be; but
not a drop of consolation is distilled into
my soul. The only words which come
to my lips are, 'My soul is sad unto
death'; and these I repeat and repeat
again. At all times, in rising and in
going to bed, in company and at my
meals, I whisper them to myself, while
to others I appear cheerful and join in
the talk.. Withal, I try to have pa-
tience, resignation, endurance, and trust
in God, waiting on His guidance and
leaving all in His hands. . . . My expec-
tations to return to my former labours are
not sanguine. It seems to me sometimes
that I am cut off from these to be pre-
pared for a deeper and broader basis for
future action. But whether this will be
or not, is in the hands of God. What-
ever He wills me to do, I must do it.
My own will has become null, and all
that is left for me to do is to wait on His
128
FATHER HECKER
good pleasure and His own time.
To
act or not to act, to suffer or not to suf-
fer, to speak or to keep silence, to return
to my former labours or never to return,
to live on or die, all have become indif-
ferent to me. I am in God's hands,
with no will of my own; for He has
taken it, and it is for Him to do with
me whatever He pleases.
If this be a
source of pain to others, none but God
knows what it has cost me."
One cannot but conjecture that his
melancholy came, at least on its human
side, from the weakness and helplessness
of the once strong body, from the idle-
ness of the eager mind, and from his
impotence in the presence of great pur-
poses. "To be separated from all; to
look upon one's past as a dream; to
become a stranger to one's self, wander-
ing from city to city, from country to
country, ever in a strange land and
among strangers; to be attached to
nothing; to see no definite future; to
FATHER HECKER
129
be an enigma to one's self; to find no
light in any one to guide me; isolated
from all except God,— who will explain
what all this means? . . . God alone has
been always the whole desire of my
heart, and what else can I wish than that
His will may be wholly fulfilled in me?
Having rooted everything else out of my
heart, and cut me off from all things,
what other desire can I have than that
He who has begun the work should
finish it according to His design? It is
not important that I should know what
that design is: it is enough that I am in
His hands, to do with me whatever He
pleases. To be and to live in His pres-
ence is all. . . . God has given me to
see the terrors of the Day of Judgment,
and it has tried me with dreadful sever-
ity; but it is a wonderfully great privi-
lege. . . . All this suffering, though it
has been excruciating, has greatly puri-
fied me, and was of the last necessity to
Oh, how proud I was! How vain
me.
130
FATHER HECKER
I was! And these long years of aban
donment by God have healed me.”
Between the times when he was over-
come by brooding, as it were, not upon
divine love, but upon the awfulness of
God and upon the mystery of His justice.
and His punishment, there were periods
of sereneness; and in them his brave,
eager spirit kept grappling the problem
how the Church, God's visible agent on
earth, should bring all the civilised
world into her communion and gather
together all men under the guidance of
the Holy Spirit. "The Holy Spirit is
preparing the Church for an increased
infusion of Himself in the hearts of
the faithful. This increased action of
the Holy Spirit will renew the whole.
face of the earth, in religion and in
society. Souls will be inspired by Him
to assist in bringing about this end.
The question is, how shall such souls co-
operate with Him in preparation for
this extraordinary outpouring of divine
FATHER HECKER
131
grace? The law of all extensive and
effectual work is that of association.
The inspiration and desire and strength
to co-operate and associate in facilitating
this preparation for the Holy Spirit
must come to each soul from the Holy
Spirit Himself.
"What will be the nature of this
association, and the special character of
its work? The end to be had in view
will be to set on foot a means of co-oper-
ation with the Church in the conquest of
the whole world to Christ, the renewal
of the Apostolic spirit and life.
unity, activity, and choice of means,
reliance should be had upon the bond
of charity in the Holy Spirit and upon
His inspirations.

For
"The central truth to actuate the
members should be the Kingdom of
Heaven within the soul, which should
be made the burden of all sermons,
explaining how it is to be gained now.
Men will be called for who have that
132
FATHER HECKER
universal synthesis of truth which will
solve the problems, eliminate the antag-
onisms, and meet the great needs of the
age; men who will defend and uphold
the Church against the attacks which
threaten her destruction, with weapons
suitable to the times; men who will turn
all the genuine aspirations of the age,-
in science, in socialism, in politics, in
spiritism, in religion,- which are now
perverted against the Church, into means
of her defence and universal triumph."
In the winter of 1875 he published a
pamphlet entitled An Exposition of the
Church in View of Recent Difficulties and
Controversies and the Present Needs of the
Age, in which he admitted a weakness
and lack of energy of character among
Catholic nations, in contrast with the
greater virility of Protestant peoples.
His theory was that, after the Reforma-
tion, the Church, in struggling against
Protestantism with its exaggeration of
personal independence, of necessity laid

FATHER HECKER
133
great stress upon the duty of implicit
obedience, in order to maintain her-
self and her divine authority, and that
in consequence the Catholic peoples
acquired habits of submission, depend-
ence, and also an exaggerated esteem of
the passive virtues. That submissive-
ness had played a worthy part, and had
maintained the Church in her author-
ity; but now, at the end of three cen-
turies, changed times demanded changed
virtues, action must be put first, self-
reliance cultivated, and, as these quali-
ties were more marked in the Anglo-
Saxon and Teutonic peoples than among
the Latins, the former must be brought
to put their strength and vigour to the
service of the Church, taking their turn
in upholding and strengthening God's
authority on earth. The Southern races,
with their capacity for understanding
the value of organisation, discipline,
and the aesthetic aspects of religion, must.
Dermit the Northern races to satisfy
134
FATHER HECKER
their reason and their inclination to an
inner life within the Church, even if the
consequence should be a slighter ob-
servance of external forms. All labour
and effort must strive to the end that
the power of the Holy Spirit be re-
newed in each individual soul. This
essay, together with others, was published
in 1887 under the title The Church and
the Age, and attracted much attention.
In 1875, at the earnest request of his
Paulist brethren, who needed his advice
and guidance, he came back to this
country, and lived on in feebleness of
body, passing his winters in New York,
either at the Community or with his
brother, and a part of his summers at
Lake George. In spite of illness he kept
up his interest in the cause of the
Church, and insisted upon the need of
action. He said to a bishop who was on
his way to Rome, "Tell the Holy
Father that there are three things which
will greatly advance religion: First, to
FATHER HECKER
135
place the whole Church in a missionary
attitude, make the Propaganda the
right arm of the Church. Second,
choose the cardinals from the Catholics
of all nations, so that they shall be a
Senate representing all Christendom.
Third, make full use of modern appli-
ances and methods for transacting the
business of the Holy See." And to a
young priest just returned from Rome,
who desired to go back, saying that "I
find no time here to pray," he answered:
"Don't be such a baby. Look around
and see how much work there is to be
done here. Is it not better to make some
return to God — here in your own coun-
try for what He has done for you
rather than to be sucking your thumbs
abroad? What kind of piety do you call
that?"
On February 14, 1888, his brother
George died. "George and I," he
once said, 66 'were united in a way no
words can describe. Our union was
136
FATHER HECKER
66
something extremely spiritual and di-
vine." Father Elliott says, 'Those
who attended Father Hecker could not
but be convinced from what they saw
and heard that God allowed George to
visit his brother more than once after
his death." His brother John had died
before, and he himself was not doomed
to carry about his suffering body for
long. On December 22 he died.
Father Hecker was a man of profound
convictions and strong character, res-
tive under contradiction and quickly
provoked by opposition, but of un-
bounded patience. In him was united,
in a most rare degree, a mystic sensibil
ity such as is told of in lives of saints.
with an energy of action to a definite
end, such as marks active leaders of
men. In contemplation, he was lost in
supersensuous mysticism. In deed, h
was bold, practical, and greatly am
bitious. His detachment from the eart
and the bonds of the body was absolute

FATHER HECKER
137
The mystics-Jacob Boehme, Saint John
of the Cross, Saint Theresa were his
spiritual kin. Yet the tie which bound
him to his mother and his brothers was
most tenderly loving. In science the
study of a material world-he took no
interest, in art and literature but little;
Coventry Patmore was his favourite
poet. In such matters he found no oc-
cupation for his soul. In a generation
less sympathetic, perhaps, than any
other with the mysteries of the Spirit,
in a country not understanding his
Church, he accomplished much. Had
he lived at another time, here or else-
where, he might have achieved more;
but he could not have given a nobler
example of loyalty to the highest that he
knew. His presence and manner were
charming. Well may Archbishop Ire-
land say, "We shall always distinguish
Isaac Thomas Hecker as the ornament,
the flower, of our American priesthood.'
XI.
No account of Father Hecker which
ends with his death is complete. His
ideas affected a number of prelates in
the Catholic Church in this country,
and also represented clearly and defi-
nitely a certain trend of thought among
American Catholics, so that, as events
shaped themselves, those ideas of his
became the subject of much difference
of opinion both here and in Europe.
To an outsider this difference of opinion
seems a part of the inevitable opposition
between those minds which naturally
hold fast to the past, clinging to old
habits and associations, loving and rev-
erencing those things which are hal-
lowed by the loves and sufferings of men
long dead, and those other minds which
naturally turn to change, feeling that
everything changes, that life means
growth, and that many old things must
and should in the course of nature slough
FATHER HECKER
139
off. About this fundamental diversity
of character and of opinion clustered
various other differences, that of race,
that of nationality, that of education.
Hence there naturally arose two parties
in the Catholic Church, both in this
country and in Europe, one pulling for-
ward, the other holding back, which
were radically opposed to one another.
The biography of Father Hecker was
the chance spark that set these opposing
views ablaze.
It happened not long after Father
Hecker's death that several distin-
guished prelates - Cardinal Gibbons,
Archbishop Ireland, Archbishop Keane,
at one time rector of the Catholic
University at Washington, Monsignor
O'Connell, at one time rector of the
American College at Rome, Monsignor
O'Gorman, bishop of Sioux Falls, South
Dakota, Archbishop Kain of St. Louis-
began to represent in the public mind,
rightly or wrongly, a certain set of ideas
140
FATHER HECKER
and a certain line of conduct, which
were more closely connected with a
sympathy with American institutions
and with American independence than
the public, at least the Protestant pub-
lic, had expected to find among the
high officers of the Catholic Church.
For example, Cardinal Gibbons pro-
nounced the opening prayer at the Con-
gress of Religions held at the World's
Fair in 1893; and Monsignor Keane
read papers there in the presence and
company of men representing practi-
cally all the Protestant sects and all the
various religions of the world. In 1894
Monsignor Keane delivered an address
before the International Scientific Con-
gress of Catholics in Brussels, in which
he expressed very freely certain ideas
very similar to those which Father
Hecker had held. In 1891 Father
Walter Elliott's Life of Father Hecker
had been published in New York, with
an exceedingly interesting and striking
FATHER HECKER
141
J
introduction by Archbishop Ireland.
As Father Elliott was one of the Paulist
Fathers, this book seemed but a natural
and pious duty; and the ideas expressed
in it were so nicely in harmony with the
ideas prevalent in this country that
it provoked no discussion here. Very
largely on account of the reputation of
Archbishop Ireland the book attracted
attention in France; and in the summer
of 1897 a translation into French was
made, which was preceded by cer-
tain eulogistic newspaper articles.
translation was not exact, it was com-
pressed, and therefore might give a
somewhat different general impression
from that given by the English version.
M. l'Abbé Klein, a professor in the
Catholic Institute in Paris, wrote a pref-
ace, in which he expressed his fervent
admiration for Father Hecker. The
translation itself was anonymous.
In
this same summer Monsignor O'Connell
made an address before the Catholic
The
142
FATHER HECKER
Scientific Congress at Fribourg, in which
he praised those ideas which were be-
ginning to be known as American ideas.
By these and other means the conserva-
tive party among the French Catholics
was made aware of the sharp differences
of opinion between it and this liberal
branch of the Church in America, and of
the use which the progressive or radical
party in the French Church made of
those American opinions to gain support
for itself. Thereupon M. l'Abbé Maig-
nen, a priest of the Congregation of Saint
Vincent de Paul, wrote a book entitled
Le Père Hecker est-il un Saint? and sub-
sequently an English version of it, with
certain slight changes, entitled Father
Hecker, is he a Saint? Cardinal Richard,
archbishop of Paris, to whom jurisdic-
tion in the matter properly belonged,
declined to give his imprimatur. M.
l'Abbé Maignen had recourse to Father
Lepidi, a Dominican monk, master of
the Sacred Palace in Rome, who gave
FATHER HECKER
143
the Vatican imprimatur. This unusual
proceeding betrayed strong sympathy
with the publication. The book repre-
sents the views of the conservative, or
retrograde, party in the Church, and
sets forth very plainly the great differ-
ences between its opinions and the so-
called American opinions. It contains
a running commentary upon Father
Elliott's Life of Hecker, and perhaps
makes unduly prominent and perhaps
distorts those ideas with which Maignen
particularly finds fault and then replies
to those ideas with argument and invec-
tive. Maignen felt very strongly and
spoke very plainly. These two books,
the French translation of Hecker's Life
and Le Père Hecker est-il un Saint? set
forth the two sides, and raised a very
sharp issue between the two sets of
ideas. The controversy spread to
Rome. Strong, almost bitter feelings
were aroused against the Americans,
and were strongly uttered.
144
FATHER HECKER
His Holiness, Leo XIII., has twice ex-
pressed himself upon the line of conduct
and the set of ideas which the party of
progress in America had adopted or had
been supposed by the public to have
adopted. The first time was in a letter
to Monsignor (now Cardinal) Satolli, the
Apostolic Delegate to the United States
upon the subject of congresses, commonly
called "Parliaments of Religions." His
Holiness forbade Catholics to take part
in such mixed congresses; but in his let-
ter he says :
"While thus fulfilling a
duty of Our apostolic charge in making
this communication, We are pleased at
the same time, Venerable Brother, to
recommend to you the method followed
by the Paulists.
It is their wise prac-
tice to give public conferences for Our
dissident brethren, explaining Catholic
teaching and refuting the objections that
are urged against it."
The second time, the Pope delivered
his judgment directly upon the contro-
FATHER HECKER
145
1
versy, as it appeared to be, between the
ideas attributed to the advanced party in
the Church and the conservative ideas of
their adversaries. This letter, entitled
"Concerning New Opinions, etc.," is
dated January 22, 1899; but it was not
published until February. It is directed
to Cardinal Gibbons, and reads in part as
follows: "It is known to you, beloved
son, that the biography of Isaac Thomas
Hecker, especially through the action of
those who undertook to translate or in-
terpret it in a foreign language, has ex-
cited not a little controversy on account
of certain opinions brought forward con-
cerning the way of leading Christian
life. . . The underlying principle of
these new opinions is that, in order more
easily to attract those who differ from
her, the Church should shape her teach-
ings more in accord with the spirit of
the age and relax some of her ancient
severity and make some concessions to
new opinions.
Many think that these
146
FATHER HECKER
✔
?
concessions should be made, not only in
regard to ways of living, but even in re-
gard to doctrines which belong to the
deposit of the faith. They contend that
it would be opportune, in order to gain
those who differ from Us, to omit certain
points of her teaching which are of lesser
importance, and to tone down the mean-
ing which the Church has always at-
tached to them. It does not need many
words, beloved son, to prove the falsity
of these ideas if the nature and origin of
the doctrine which the Church puts for-
ward are called to mind. The Vatican
Council says concerning this point: 'For
the doctrine of faith which God has re-
vealed has not been proposed, like a
philosophical invention to be perfected
by human ingenuity, but has been de-
livered as a divine deposit to the Spouse
of Christ, to be faithfully kept and infal
libly declared. Hence that meaning of
the sacred dogmas is perpetually to be
retained which Our Holy Mother, the
FATHER HECKER
147
Church, has once declared; nor is that
meaning ever to be departed from under
the pretence or pretext of a deeper com-
prehension of them.'— Constitutio de Fide
Catholica, Chapter IV.
"We cannot consider as altogether
blameless the silence which purposely
leads to the omission or neglect of
some of the principles of Christian
doctrine.
•
"But, beloved son, in this present mat-
ter of which We are speaking there is
even a greater danger and a more mani-
fest opposition to Catholic doctrine and
discipline in that opinion of the lovers
of novelty, according to which they hold
such liberty should be allowed in the
Church, that her supervision and watch-
fulness being in some sense lessened,
allowance be granted the faithful, each
one to follow out more freely the leading
of his own mind and the trend of his own
proper activity. They are of opinion
hat such liberty has its counterpart in
148
FATHER HECKER
the newly given civil freedom which is
now the right and the foundation of al-
most every secular state.
"In the apostolic letters concerning
the constitution of states... We... set
forth the difference existing between
the Church, which is a divine society,
and all other social human organizations
which depend simply on free will and
choice of men.
"It is alleged that now the Vatican
decree concerning the infallible teaching
authority of the Roman Pontiff having
been proclaimed, that nothing further on
that score can give any solicitude, and
accordingly, since that has been safe-
guarded and put beyond question, a
wider and freer field both for thought
and action lies open to each one.
such reasoning is evidently faulty.
But
"Coming now to speak of the conclu-
sions which have been deduced from the
above opinions, and for them, We readily
believe there was no thought of wrong
FATHER HECKER
149
or guile, yet the things themselves cer-
tainly merit some degree of suspicion.
First, all external guidance is set aside
for those souls who are striving after
Christian perfection as being superfluous
or, indeed, not useful in any sense - the
contention being that the Holy Spirit
pours richer and more abundant graces
than formerly upon the souls of the faith-
ful, so that without human intervention
He teaches and guides them by some
hidden instinct of His own.
"To practise virtue, there is absolute
need of the assistance of the Holy Spirit;
yet We find those who are fond of
novelty giving an unwarranted impor-
tance to the natural virtues, as though
they better responded to the customs and
necessities of the times. .. This over-
esteem of natural virtue finds a method
of expression in assuming to divide all
virtues in active and passive, and it
is alleged that, whereas passive virtues
found better place in past times, our
150
FATHER HECKER
age is to be characterised by the active.
That such a division and distinction can-
not be maintained is patent. . . .
"From this disregard of the evangeli-
cal virtues, erroneously styled passive,
the step was a short one to a contempt
of the religious life which has in some
degree taken hold of minds. That such
a value is generally held by the up-
holders of new views We infer from
certain statements concerning the vows
which religious orders take. They say
vows are alien to the spirit of our times,
in that they limit the bounds of human
liberty, that they are more suitable to
weak than to strong minds; that, so far
from making for human perfection and
the good of human organisation, they
are hurtful to both; but that this is as
false as possible. . . is clear.
"Finally,
it is stated that the way
and method hitherto in use among Cath-
olics for bringing back those who have
fallen away from the Church should be
FATHER HECKER
151
left and another one chosen, in which
matter it will suffice to note that it is
not the part of prudence to neglect that
which antiquity with long experience
has approved and which is also taught
by Apostolic authority. . . .
'From the foregoing it is manifest,
beloved son, that We are not able to give
approval to those views which, in their
collective sense, are called by some
'Americanism.'''
Archbishop Ireland, Monsignor Keane,
and Monsignor O'Connell have all de-
nied that they had held the doctrines
thus designated as “Americanism.'
And it is plain that His Holiness has
not condemned Father Hecker nor all
of his opinions, but rather an extreme
and distorted representation of those
opinions as they appear in the fearful
minds of the conservatives. Good Cath-
olics may still find in Father Hecker's
mysticism a likeness to Saint Theresa,
and in his vigorous life a likeness to
152
FATHER HECKER
Saint Bernard. It has often been that
opinions feared by the timid to-day be-
come their stay and strength on the
morrow; so it may be that the Church
of the twentieth century will gladly
take Father Hecker's opinions as the
rough materials out of which to fashion
sound doctrines that shall help men to
lead better lives.
CHRONOLOGY.
1819
December 18. Isaac Thomas Hecker was
born in New York City.
1830
Began to work in his brother's bakery.
1834
Made the acquaintance of Orestes A.
Brownson
1843
January. Went to Brook Farm and
stayed till July.
July 11. Went to Fruitlands.
July 25. Left Fruitlands.
August. Returned to New York.
1844
April. Went to Concord, Massachusetts,
to study, and stayed till June.
August 1. Was baptised into the Roman
Catholic Church by Bishop (Cardinal)
McCloskey.
X
CHRONOLOGY
1
1845
Made the acquaintance of the Redemp-
torist Fathers in New York City.
July. Sailed for Belgium to begin his
novitiate in that order at St. Trond.
August 31. Began his novitiate.
1846
October 15. Became a member of the
Congregation of the Most Holy Re-
deemer.
October 16. Went to Wittem, in Holland,
to study.
1848
September. Was sent to Clapham, Lon-
don.
1849
October 23. Was ordained priest by
Bishop (Cardinal) Wiseman in London.
1851
March 19. Got back to New York.
1852-1857
Life as
Redemptorist in America.
CHRONOLOGY
xi
!
Wrote Questions of the Soul and Aspira-
tions of Nature.
1857
Plan for founding an English-speaking
Redemptorist house.
August 26. Arrived in Rome on his
errand to the General of the Order of
the Most Holy Redeemer.
August 29. Expelled from that Order.
December 22. Had his first audience with
Pius IX.
1858
March 6. Decree of the Congregation of
Bishops and Regulars releasing Hecker
and his brethren from their Order.
May. Returned to New York.
July 7. Paulist Programme of Rule ap-
proved by Archbishop Hughes.
1859
June 19. The corner-stone of the first
Paulist house was laid.
November 24. The house was completed.
xii
CHRONOLOGY
1865
April. Founding of The Catholic World.
1866
Founding of The Catholic Publication
Society.
1869
November 26. Arrived in Rome to attend
the Council of the Vatican.
1870
June. Returned to New York.
Founding of The Young Catholic.
1871
Lost his health.
1872
Went to the South for his health.
1873-1875
1875
Travelled abroad.
February. Published An Exposition of the
Church in View of Recent Difficulties and
Controversies and the Present Needs of the
Age.
October. Returned to New York.
CHRONOLOGY
xiii
1887
Published The Church and the Age.
1888
February 14. His brother George died.
December 22. Isaac Thomas Hecker died
in New York City.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
The Life of Father Hecker, by Father
Walter Elliott, is the only biography
of the subject of this sketch. Father
Elliott was one of Father Hecker's dis-
ciples. It was most fitting that it should
have fallen to him to write the life of
his friend and master. That biography
is fair, complete, and full of quotations
from Father Hecker's private journal
and from his letters to his brothers and
friends.
The other books, essays, and articles
which are enumerated below add no in-
formation about Father Hecker. They
concern themselves chiefly with the
controversy which arose over that bi-
ography.
I. THE LIFE OF FATHER HECKER. By
Rev. Walter Elliott, with an Introduc-
tion by the Most Rev. John Ireland,
D.D., Archbishop of St. Paul. (New
York, 1891, 1894: The Columbus Press.)
154
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
II. The Dublin Review, vol. iii., July,
1892. "Isaac Hecker." By Dr. Will-
iam Barry. This article is merely a
review of Father Elliott's book.
III. The Catholic World, vol. lx., Janu-
ary, 1895.
"The Consecrated Mission
of the Printed Word." By Margaret E.
Jordan. This article deals with the
Apostolate of the Press as begun by
Father Hecker. It contains no infor-
mation concerning Father Hecker ex-
cept what is in the Life.
IV. The Catholic World, vol. lxvii., June,
1898. "Personal Recollections of Fa-
ther Hecker." By l'Abbé Dufresne.
The substance of this article appeared
in the appendix at the end of the Life.
L'Abbé Dufresne had known Father
Hecker in Switzerland.
LE
V. ÉTUDES SUR L'AMÉRICANISME
PÈRE HECKER, EST-IL UN SAINT? By
Charles Maignen, S.T.D., priest of the
Congregation of the Brothers of St. Vin-
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
155
cent de Paul. (Rome International
Catholic Library - Desclée, Lefebvre &
Co. Paris: Librairie de Victor Retaux.
1898.) This is an examination of Father
Elliott's Life and a criticism of certain
ideas found, or claimed to be found,
therein.
VI. FATHER HECKER, IS HE A SAINT?
By the same. This is an English ver-
sion, with very slight differences, of the
foregoing book. It has the same pub-
lishers in Rome and Paris. In London,
Burns & Oates. 1898.
VII. The Open Court, vol. xii., Novem-
ber, 1898. "Latin and American in
the Roman Catholic Church." By J.
Murphy. A slight article.
VIII. ORESTES A. BROWNSON'S EARLY
LIFE: FROM 1803-1844. By Henry F.
Brownson. Detroit, Michigan, 1898:
H. F. Brownson, Publisher. This vol-
ume contains a number of letters from
Hecker to Brownson, written in 1843
and 1844.
156
BIBLIOGRAPHY
IX. ORESTES A. BROWNSON'S MIDDLE
LIFE: FROM 1845-1855. By Henry F.
Brownson. Detroit, Michigan, 1899:
H. F. Brownson, Publisher. This vol-
ume is a successor to the last. It con-
tains a few letters from Hecker.
X. The National Review, vol. xxxii,
March, 1899. "An American Religious
Crusade." By Dr. William Barry.
This article touches the controversy con-
cerning “Americanism.” Dr. Barry
sympathises with the liberal party.
XI. The Outlook, vol. lxi., March 11,
1899. 66 'Americanism versus Roman
Catholicism." By Victor Charbonnel.
The writer, a Frenchman, had been a
priest, and had espoused the liberal
cause with great zeal. Finding himself
out of accord with his superiors, he left
the priesthood.
XII. The Nation, vol. lxviii., March 30,
1899. "Americanism,' or the Catho-
lic Church in America." By Richard
BIBLIOGRAPHY
157
Norton. The writer, living in Rome,
gives a sketch of the controversy from a
point of view unfavourable to the con-
servative party.
XIII. The Reformed Church Review,
fourth series, vol. iii., June, 1899.
"The Pope's Letter on Americanism."
Editorial. This is a slight editorial
from a liberal.
P. L. Péchenard.
XIV. The North American Review, vol.
170, No. 3, March, 1900. "The End
of Americanism' in France." By
The writer is the
Rector of the Catholic University of
Paris, and writes in sympathy with the
conservative party.
XV. The North American Review, vol.
170, No. 5, May, 1900. "The Genesis
of 'Americanism.’’’ By J. St. Clair
Etheridge. The writer is in sympathy
with the American party, and contends
that the ideas condemned by the Pope
were not advocated by that party.
THE BEACON BIOGRAPHIES.
M. A. DƐWOLFE HOWE, Editor.
The aim of this series is to furnish brief, read-
able, and authentic accounts of the lives of those
Americans whose personalities have impressed
themselves most deeply on the character and
history of their country. On account of the
length of the more formal lives, often running
into large volumes, the average busy man and
woman have not the time or hardly the inclina-
tion to acquaint themselves with American bi-
ography. In the present series everything that
such a reader would ordinarily care to know is
given by writers of special competence, who
possess in full measure the best contemporary
point of view. Each volume is equipped with
a frontispiece portrait, a calendar of important
dates, and a brief bibliography for further read-
ing. Finally, the volumes are printed in a form
convenient for reading and for carrying handily
in the pocket.
SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY, Publishers,
6 BEACON STREET, Boston.
[OVER.]
THE BEACON BIOGRAPHIES.
The following volumes are issued :——
Phillips Brooks, by the EDITOR.
John Brown, by JOSEPH EDGAR CHAMBERLIN.
Aaron Burr, by HENRY CHILDS Merwin.
James Fenimore Cooper, by W. B. SHUBRICK Clymer.
Stephen Decatur, by CYRUS TOWNSEND BRADY.
Frederick Douglass, by CHARLES W. CHESTNUtt.
David G. Farragut, by JAMES Barnes.
Ulysses S. Grant, by OWEN WISTER.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, by Mrs. James T. Fields.
Father Hecker, by HENRY D. SEDGWICK.
Sam Houston, by SARAH BARNWELL ELLIOTT.
"Stonewall" Jackson, by Carl Hovey.
Thomas Jefferson, by Hon. THOMAS E. WATSON.
Robert E. Lee, by WILLIAM P. TRENT.
James Russell Lowell, by EDWARD EVERETT HALE, Jr.
Thomas Paine, by ELLERY SEDGWICK.
Daniel Webster, by NORMAN HAPGOOD.
The following are among those in preparation:
Louis Agassiz, by ALICE BACHE GOULD.
John James Audubon, by JOHN BURROUGHS.
Edwin Booth, by CHARLES TOWNSEND COPELAnd.
Benjamin Franklin, by LINDSAY Swift.
Alexander Hamilton, by JAMES SCHOULER.
Henry W. Longfellow, by GEORGE Rice Carpenter.
S. F. B. Morse, by JOHN TROWBRIDGE.
J. G. Whittier, by RICHARD Burton.
THE WESTMINSTER BIOG-
RAPHIES.
The WESTMINSTER BIOGRAPHIES are uniform in plan,
size, and general make-up with the BEACON BIOGRAPHIES,
the point of important difference lying in the fact that
they deal with the lives of eminent Englishmen instead
of with those of eminent Americans. They are bound in
limp red cloth, are gilt-topped, and have a cover design and
a vignette title-page by BERTRAM Grosvenor Goodhue.
The following volumes are issued:
Robert Browning, by ARTHUR Waugh.
Daniel Defoe, by WILFRED WHITTEN.
Adam Duncan, by H. W. WILSON.
John Wesley, by FRANK BANfield.
Many others are in preparation.
SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY, Publishers,
6 BEACON STREET, BOSTON.

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