Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/79

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

CLEVELAND


55


CLEVELAND


Africa and the Orient adhered faithfully to this list, which is also given in the very ancient Roman Canon of the Mass, except that in the iatterC'lctiis is the form used, and the same occurs in St. Epiiilianius, St. Jerome, Rufinus, and in many fifth- and sixth-century lists. This second successor of St. Peter governed the Roman Church from about 76 to about 88. The "Liber Pontificalis" says that his father was Emeli- anus and that Clctus was a Roman by birth, and be- longed to the quarter known as the I'/r^s Patrid. It also tells us that he ordained twenty-fne priests, and was buried in Valicano near the body of St. Peter. There is historical evidence for only the last of these statements. The feast of St. Cletus falls, with that of St. Marcellinus, on 26 April; this date is already assigned to it in the first edition of the "Liber Pontificalis". (See Clement I, Saint, Pope.)

LiGHTFOOT, Apostolic Fathers, Pt. I: St. Cicnurnt of Rome (2nd ed., London, 1890). 201-345; Ddchesne, Liber Ponlifi- calis. I. LXIX-LXX. 2-3. 52-53; H\knack, Gcsch. dnr att- christl. Ul. bis Eusrbius. II-I. 144-202; Aria S.S.. .^pril. III. 409-11; DE Smedt, Dissertationes sctcctw in hist, cedes. (Ghent, 1876), 300-04.

J. P. KiRSCH.

Cleveland, Diocese of (Clevei>anden.si.s), estab- lished 23 April, 1847, comprises all I hat part of Ohio lying north of the southern limits of the Counties of Columbiana, Stark, Wayne, Ashland, Richland, Craw- ford, Wyandot, Hancock, Allen, and Van Wert, its territory covering tliirty-six counties, an area of 15,- 032 square miles.

Eaklv History. — The Jesuit Fathers Potier and Bonnecamp were the first missionaries to visit the territory now witliin the limits of Ohio. They came from Quebec in 1749 to evangelize the Huron Indians living along the Vermilion and Sandusky Rivers in Northern Ohio. Two years later they received the assistance of anotlier Jesuit, leather de la Richardie, who had come from Detroit, Michigan, to the southern shore of Lake Erie. Shortly after his arrival he induced a part of the Huron tribe to settle near the present site of Sandusky, where he erected (17.51) a chapel — the first place of Catholic worsliip within the present limits of Ohio. These Huroiis assumed the name of Wyandots when they left the parent tribe. Although checked for a time by Father Potier, they took part in the Indian-French War. Soon they became implicated in the conspiracy of Pontiac, in consequence of which the Jesuits were unjvistly forced in 17.52 to leave the territory of Ohio, Father Potier being the last Jesuit missionary among the Western Hurons. The Indian missions, established and cared for by the Jesuits for nearly three years, had now to depend exclusively on the chance visits of the priests attached to the military posts in Canada and Southern Michigan. Despite the spiritvial deprivation which this implied, the Hurons (Wyandots) kept the Faith for many years, although tlieir descendants were ultimately lost to the Church tlirough the successful efforts of Protes- tant missionaries, .\fter the forced retirement of the Jesuits no systematic efforts were made to continue the missionary work begun by them until 179.5, when the Rev. Edmund Burke, a .secular priest from Quebec, came as chaplain of tlie military post at Fort Meigs, near the present site of Maumee. Father Burke remained at the post until February, 1797, mini.stering to the Catholic soldiers at the fort, and endeavouring, though with little success, to Christianize the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians in the neighbourliood.

In the meantime the See of Bardstown was erected (1811)). embracing the entire State of Ohio, as well as Michigan and Kentucky. Bishop Flaget sent (1817) the Rev. Edward Fenwick, O. P. (later first Bishop of Cincinnati), from the Dominican monastery at Somerset, Ohio, to attend the few Catholic families who had settled in Columbiana and Stark Counties,


in the north-eastern part of Ohio. From that time forward he and other Dominican Fathers, especially the Revs. Nicholas D. Young and John A. Hill, con- tinvied to visit at regular intervals the Catholic families in that section of Ohio (notably in Colum- biana, Stark, Mahoning, and Wayne Counties), then very sparsely .settled. It is, therefore, from this l)criod that Catholicity in Northern Ohio really dates its beginning. In the course of time the Dominican Fathers gradually gave up to the secular clergy their pastoral charges in the above-named counties until, in 1842, they withdrew altogether. St. John's, Canton, was their last mission. Meanwhile the central portion of Northern Ohio (Huron, Erie, Sandusky, and Seneca Counties) had received a con- siderable influx of Catholic immigrants, principally from Germany. Similar conditions were obtaining elsewhere in the State, and the need of more com- ]iact organization to minister to growing wants made ('incinnati an episcopal see in 1822, with the entire State for its jurisdiction. Little seems to have been done, however, for the northern part of the State, and but little could be done, as Catholics were so few. until the. advent of its second bishop, John B. Purcell. He succeeded (13 Oct., 1833) the saintly Bishop Fenwick, who, while engaged in a confirmation tour, died at Woostcr, Ohio (26 Seii- tember, I.s;i2) of cholera, then raging in Ohio. In 1834 Bishop Purcell commissioned the Redemptorist Fathers, who had just arrived in America, to take charge of the widely scattered German missions then existing in these counties, and to organize others where needed. The Rev. Francis X. Tschen- hens, C. SS. R., was the first jiriest assigned to this task. Later on he was assisted by other members of his community, among them the Revs. Peter Czakert, Francis Haetscher, Joseph Prost, Simon Saenderl, Louis M. Alig, and John N. Neumann (later Bishop of Philadelphia). The Redemptorists remained in Northern Ohio until November, 1842. They were succeeded, January, 1844, by seven Sanguinist Fathers (the Revs. Francis S. Brunner, M. A. Meier, J. Wittmer, J. Van den Brock, P. A. Capeder, J. Ringele. and J. B. Jacomet), who came from Europe at that time at the solicitation of Bishop Purcell. They settled at St. Alphonsus' church, Peru, Huron County, whence they attended all the missions formerly under the care of the Redemp- torists. They also accepted charge of the scattered missions in Lorain, Medina, and Wayne Counties, besides attending the Catholic Germans in Cleveland. Their advent was hailed with delight wherever they went, and their priestly labours were signally blessed. LTnder their vigilant care religion flo\irished. so that the healthy growth of Catholicity in Northern Ohio may justly, imder God, be ascribed in large measure to their untiring zeal and self-sacrifice.

The secular clergy are no less deserving of mention, as they, too, laboured in this part of the Lord's vineyard, amid trials and difheulties, often side by side with their bretliren of the religious orders, and more often alone in the widespread missions of Northern Ohio. They did yeoman service, blazing the way for those who succeeded them, and laying the foundations for many missions, which have long since <levelo|5eil into vigorous and prosperous con- gregations. The first of these secular clergy was the Rev. Ignatius J. Mullen, of Cincinnati. Between 1824 and 1834 ho frequently attended the missions in Stark, Columbiana, Seneca, and Sandusky Counties. Other pioneer .secular priests of prominence were: the Hev.s. Francis Marshall (1.S27), John M. Henni (later Bi.shoi) and Arehbisho)) of Milwaukee), resident pastor of Canton (1831-34), Edmund Quinn, at TiflSn (1831-3.5), William J. Horstmann, at Glandorf (183.5-43), James Conlon, at Dungannon (1834-.53), Matthias Wuerz, at Canton (183.5-45), John Dillon,