McCLOSKEY, JOHN. 



563 



oient of the Catholic Church in his diocese, 

 but never challenging public attention or min- 

 gling in public controversy. When he went to 

 Albany, the diocese, stretching over the north- 

 ern part of the State, contained fewer than 

 forty churches, the congregations were scat- 

 tered, and there was an insufficient supply of 

 priests. When he left the diocese it contained 

 113 strong churches, 8 chapels, 54 minor sta- 

 tions, 85 missions, 3 academies for boys, 1 for 

 girls, 6 orphan asylums, and 6 parochial schools. 

 He introduced various religious organizations : 

 Ladies of the Sacred Heart, Sisters of Charity, 

 'Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph, those of 

 the third order of St. Francis, Hospitalers, 

 Jesuits, Oblates,*Augnstinians, Franciscans, and 

 Capuchins ; but the work that was most dis- 

 tinctively his own was the building of the 

 Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and 

 the founding of the theological seminary at 

 Troy. In 1850, while on his way to attend a 

 provincial council in New York, Bishop Mc- 

 Closkey was injured in a railway collision near 

 Tarrytown. The boots were torn from his 

 feet, and his right foot was badly crushed. The 

 $5,000 that he received from the railroad com- 

 pany by way of damages he turned over to the 

 building-fund of the cathedral. In 1851 he vis- 

 ited Rome, where he was received with favor. 

 i Archbishop Hughes, who had been advanced 

 in ecclesiastical rank Oct. 3, 1850, died on 

 Jan. 3, 1864, and Bishop McCloskey became 

 Archbishop of New York, May 6, 1864. The 

 province at that time included New England, 

 ,New York, and New Jersey. Archbishop 

 McCloskey was installed at St. Patrick's old 

 cathedral, Aug. 21, 1864. He left Albany with 

 the good-will of all classes, declining a banquet 

 tendered him by the Governor and the State 

 officers, but accepting a portrait of himself and 

 an archiepiscopal cross and ring presented by 

 the priests of the diocese. He took up the 

 duties of his new office in an unostentatious 

 but effective way, and the progress of the 

 Catholic Church in New York was rapid. 

 Many fine churches were built; the Found- 

 ling Asylum, the Institute for Deaf-Mutes at 

 Fordham, Homes for Destitute Boys and Girls 

 in connection with St. Stephen's and St. Ann's 

 churches, Homes for Aged Men and Women, 

 and orphan asylums without the city were es- 

 tablished ; and communities of various religious 

 orders were introduced during his administra- 

 tion. Two labors he assumed special control 

 of the establishment of the Catholic Protect- 

 ory in Westchester, and the building of the 

 new cathedral, the corner-stone of which Arch- 

 bishop Hughes had laid Aug. 15, 1858. Arch- 

 bishop McOloskey attended the General Coun- 

 cil of the Vatican in 1869, and served on the 

 Committee on Discipline ; he also visited Rome 

 in 1874. 



On March 15, 1875, the Pope appointed 



Archbishop McCloskey a cardinal priest, with 



the title of Sancta Maria supra Minervam, and 



on April 27 the ceremony of his investiture 



took place in the old cathedral, Archbishop 

 Bayley, of Baltimore, a convert who had re- 

 ceived instructions in Catholic doctrine from 

 him while he was pastor of St. Joseph's, plac- 

 ing the cardinal's hat on his head. The pomp 

 of such a ceremonial, the presence of an officer 

 of ^the Pope's guard in full uniform, the general 

 pride of the Catholic population, and, above all, 

 the wild gossip of the newspapers about the 

 affair, awakened some uneasiness among the 

 Protestants of the country ; but it passed away 

 as it became clear that the cardinal, not less 

 than the archbishop, remained a plain citizen, 

 though a prince of the Church. lie gave $10,000 

 to build the high altar and the episcopal throne 

 in the new cathedral, which he dedicated on 

 May 25, 1879. 



In 1878 the cardinal was summoned to Rome 

 to take part in the conclave held to elect a 

 successor to Pope Pius IX. His last notable 

 public appearance was at the golden jubilee of 

 his ordination as a priest, held Jan. 12, 1884. 

 On that occasion he received various address- 

 es of congratulation and presents, the Pope 

 sending a cameo engraved with his own por- 

 trait, and a golden chalice. The address pre- 

 sented by the clergy said: "Fifty years ago 

 there were in this city but six churches; 

 now there are sixty. There were then but 

 twenty priests in the diocese ; now there are 

 380. At that time there were in the whole 

 United States only nine bishops ; now there 

 are 59. Then there was but one archbish- 

 op ; now there are eleven, one of whom has 

 been raised to the great senate of the universal 

 church." The cardinal looked pallid and in- 

 firm, and had barely strength to take part in 

 the ceremonial. During the last ten years of 

 his life he was not in robust health, and as 

 early as Oct. 1, 1880, Archbishop Corrigan 

 was made his coadjutor at his request. The 

 failure of his vital powers was gradual but 

 constant; so that in the summer of 1885 he 

 was unable to make a visit to Newport, whith- 

 er he had gone once or twice for his health, 

 and later he could not move without assist- 

 ance. In the end he passed away quietly and 

 without pain. 



Cardinal McCloskey was tall and slender, 

 but of erect and elastic bearing. His forehead 

 was broad, and his features pleasant. His eyes 

 were bright blue and deeply set, and his mouth 

 mobile. His manner was quiet but impressive. 

 He was a profound scholar, especially well 

 versed in things appertaining to his calling, 

 and was an effective preacher, making careful 

 preparation for his sermons, and yet especially 

 happy where no set effort was required. He 

 had courage unaccompanied by any aggressive 

 propensity. On one occasion, when he was 

 pastor of St. Joseph's, there was a cry of fire, 

 and a panic broke out in the congregation 

 while he was administering communion ; but 

 he stopped an instant to order the organist 

 to play, and then went on with the service 

 calmly. When about to ascend the pulpit at 



