ARCHDEACON THOMAS DUGGAN of T H E DIOCESE OF CORK, IRELAND TYPICALLY IRISH! By Richard Cardinal Cashing Archbishop of Boston A letter from the Holy See approving our apos- tolate in Latin America contains the following excerpt:— "The Holy Father is confident that the Priests of the Pious Society of Saint James the Apostle, sustained by their ardent apos- tolic zeal and inspired by love for the souls entrusted to their pastoral care, will accom- plish great results in Latin America. The warm atmosphere of sincere affection and mutual understanding which they will create will make them feel that they are truly breth- ren among brethren, fathers among their chil- dren, and will lay sound foundations for the happy success of their mission. "Such, indeed, is the desire, and such the recommendations of the Holy Father, to which He joins His most particular Blessing, imparting it to the entire Pious Society of Saint James the Apostle, its benefactors, and especially to Your Eminence, its founder and continual inspiration." Deacfdffied You have often heard of the phrase "typi- cally Irish." What does it convey to you? Read this and your ideas may be clarified. Archdeacon Thomas Duggan is seventy- one. Born in 1890 in County Cork, Ireland, he showed unusual ability in school, especially in mathematics. He preferred to go for the priesthood and was ordained in the National Seminary of Maynooth in 1915. His brilliant career as a scholar entitled him to a post- graduate course. But academic life was al- ready beginning to weigh heavily on the future Archdeacon. The Irish regiments in World War I were short of Chaplains and Fr. Tom Duggan per- suaded his bishop to let him go with the troops. So in 1917 we find Fr. Tom in Flan- ders. All went well until the Germans mount- ed the big offensive of March, 1918. He was three months in the trenches and then a German appeared at the opening of his dug- out with a grenade in his hand saying "Out come." And "Believe you me," says the Archdeacon, "out we came." Then many miles of marching to a German prisoner-of- war camp. His officer's boots were taken from him by one of his guards. A prisoner- of-war he remained for the rest of the "dura- tion." Coming home in 1919 he found his beloved country in the grip of the ruthless "Black- and-Tans" under the English Government. I need hardly say that Fr. Duggan was in the middle of everything. He always did the un- expected. The Duggans from whence Fr. Tom traces his background were always patriotic: his grandfather had been transported to Botany Bay, the notorious English penal colony, as a Fenian in 1867. When the English evacuated three-fourths of Ireland in 1921, a fierce civil 3 war broke out. Fr. Duggan played a very important part in the cessation of that ghastly strife. What was he to do now? The bishop solved that: "Go," he said, "into the local seminary and teach mathematics!" It must have been the darkest hour in Fr. Tom's life—teaching mathematics from 1923 to 1939. He was a symbol of the missionary spirit of the Irish. When Hitler arose on the world scene, Fr. Tom Duggan again went to war. This time he was assigned to the Durham Light Infan- try instead of his beloved Munster Fusiliers. He went through the "phony" war of '39 to '40 and "then he got the real thing once again. At Dunkirk he managed to get aboard one of the last boats and, despite the strafing, slept soundly the whole way to England. For his bravery during the retreat he was award- ed the Military Cross of the English Govern- ment, a rare distinction for a Chaplain. Despite all his efforts, Fr. Duggan could not go to the war front again. Instead, the British installed him as Head-Chaplain in Northern Ireland. When the war ended he was awarded thé Order of the British Empire. BaGk in Cork, his bishop appointed him President of the local seminary, 1945-1954. In 1954, he was made Parish-Priest and Vicar- Forane of Kinsale. Later on, he was made Archdeacon of the diocese. In 1957 he was transferred to Ballyphane in Cork and in 1961, to the great parish of St. Patrick, the foremost parish of the diocese of Cork and the largest parish in all Ireland. You might imagine that the Archdeacon would now be content. But you don't know this man. He encouraged three priests from the diocese of Cork to join our Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle. In gratitude to Bishop Lucey, I selected him as a member of our recent Papal Commission to South America. The Holy See approved. We need more and more priests for Latin America. I knew that Archdeacon Duggan would return to Ireland and appeal for their services. In Peru, Bolivia and other countries he met American and Irish Priests who are trying to serve the multitudes who have been without priests for years. He was impressed; he was 4 enthusiastic to return to Ireland and give himself as an instrument of God for the re- cruiting of young Irish priests for the Mission- ary Society of St. James the Apostle. God had other plans. Back to Ireland went the Archdeacon to fulfill his mission as a re- cruiting officer for the Army of Christ in Latin America. He did so in a most effective and sensational manner. At the age of seventy-one, after forty-seven years in the priesthood, he resigned his parish. He re- turned to Boston, and from there he went himself to South America to join the Society of St. James the Apostle. Isn't it strange how history repeats itself? In the sixth and seventh centuries, most of Western Europe was evangelized by Irishmen—Columbanus, Columkille, Laserian, Virgilius and the rest. And, now that the Irish are free, thousands of them go to other countries. Among them went Arch- deacon Duggan, aged seventy-one; a Golden Jubilarían in three years. May the success of Columbanus, Columkille and their successors in the Vineyard of the Lord be his inspira- tion. Typically Irish? Well, what do you think? My thinking is he is a man sent by God to lay down his life for the Church in an area where there is only one priest to serve many thousands of souls. COMMENTS ON HIS CALL BY GOD I Writing for all the sixty and more priests of the Society of St. James the Apostle in South America, Father "Rudy" Masciarelli, the local superior, and his council, when in- formed by me of the big step this old soldier had taken, sent the following message: "The news about Archdeacon Duggan was like a beautiful burst of sunshine, breaking through the gray mist of Lima. My reaction and the reaction indeed of all the men here, is that 'a little bit of heaven fell from out the sky.' 5 "The step he has taken has caused universal rejoicing among all your priests. He will be an inspiration not only to Irish priests but to priests throughout the world. "We shall welcome him as the Irish of old welcomed St. Patrick. Having conferred with all our Consultors we agreed that Arch- deacon Duggan can be of great help to us in Peru. We shall assign him to our Language School in Cieneguilla, where he can act as a Spiritual Director for our men while he is getting at least a fundamental knowledge of Spanish. He can also assist Father John Lyons in the missions along the Lurin River, which can be reached fairly easily, as they are not too far away from civilization. "All the priests who met the Archdeacon when he came to Latin America with you were charmed by his personality. They will be more than happy to have him in their group as a fellow missionary as well as a Spiritual Father. What a man! W7hat a priest; —And he is ours. Thanks to Your Eminence." « « « « « H When releasing the Archdeacon from the great diocese of Cork the far-famed Bishop Lucey, the greatest missionary bishop in Ireland, wrote: "The Archdeacon is always full of fresh ideas. When he told me you wanted him to go to South America and insisted that he had seen you writing to me to that effect, I didn't know whether I was hearing a strange voice from St. Patrick himself or from that unpre- dictable Cardinal Archbishop of Boston. "What, my dear Cardinal, shall you do next? "I don't understand all these projects of yours. They are wonderful—greatly needed— but how can one man do them! "There is no doubt but that the departure of Archdeacon Duggan will focus atten- tion everywhere on the Missions of South America. And there is no doubt too but that he will pull his weight and more than his weight when there. In fact his health and his energy are amazing. You will be surprised at the enterprises he will start and the prop- ositions he will put forward. 6 "His departure from Ireland will be her- alded by all the people and especially by all our missionary sons and daughters through- out the world as one of the greatest and most memorable contributions we have made to Patrician Year—dedicated to the 1500th anni- versary of the death of St. Patrick. "I assure you that the Archdeacon has my permission and approval for joining the So- ciety of St. James. In truth whatever the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston wishes, I will always say 'Yes.' But my dear Cardinal, I warn you—when it is known that Archdeacon Duggan has joined your missionary society it will cause a tremendous sensation through- out all Ireland." My reply to the foregoing statement of the apostolic Bishop Lucey was cabled a few days later. Here it is: "My dear Bishop: That is just what I wanted to do—Create A Sensation Throughout All Ireland and Indeed Through- out the World." The Archdeacon arrived in Peru in the month of October, 1961. 7 TYPICALLY IRISH—HIS DEATH For about two months the Archdeacon saw much, learned much. From the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Carboni, a big man with a heart and missionary spirit as big as you will ever find, to the youngest priest he was a favorite. Everyone expected great things from him! He seemed to be everywhere. But God's ways are not our ways. On Gaudete Sunday, December 17, 1961, Arch- deacon Duggan arose early to start the last day of his life. He had planned to go to a nearby convent to celebrate Sunday Mass for the Sisters. Within a few moments after six-thirty he was stricken with the first of a rapid series of heart attacks that were to take his life within an hour. With his usual sim- plicity and serenity, he made his confession and received Communion. When the Society Superior gave him Viati- cum and Extreme Unction he recited the prayers with the rest of the priests that had gathered in his room. Before he lapsed into unconsciousness, he asked the Fathers to ex- cuse the inconvenience he was causing and as a last favor to bury him in Lima, the City of Santa Rosa. Bishop Alcides Mendoza Cas- tro of Abancay, assisted by eight priests of the Society, gave him his Episcopal blessing as he expired. Typically Irish was he in death as in life. On Monday, after his body had been pre- pared for burial by his brother priests, Arch- deacon Duggan lay in state at the Central House of our Society in Lima. During the afternoon and evening many neighbors and friends, both lay and religious, came to pay their final respects and to pray for the repose of his soul. Throughout the hours of the night the Columban Fathers caine to keep the tra- ditional Irish vigil with the lifeless form of their countryman. In six short weeks Arch- deacon Duggan's merry wit, his profound wisdom and most of all his Christ-like kind- ness won him many friends in Lima. 8 At nine-thirty on Tuesday morning, having left a sick bed and with Bishop Cornelius Lucey of Cork, Ireland, whom I met at New York, I arrived in Lima on a jet plane from the States to celebrate the Requiem Mass for my dear friend, "Tom" Duggan. Early the same morning the Archdeacon's body was moved to the Chapel of Villa Maria in a school of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Office of the Dead was chanted at nine o'clock and, assisted by the priests of the Society of St. James the Apostle, I celebrated the funeral Mass at eleven o'clock. Present in the chapel were representatives of all the religious groups of English-speaking Brothers, Sisters and Priests as well as many Peruvian clergy. In the sanctuary were their Excellencies: the Apostolic Nuncio of Peru, Most Reverend Romolo Carboni; the Arch- bishop and Primate of Peru, Most Reverend Juan Landazuri Ricketts; the Bishop of Cork, Ireland, Most Reverend Cornelius Lucey; the Bishop of Piura, Peru, Most Reverend Carlos Arce. The President of Peru was represented by his Aide-de-camp, Colonel Augusto Rios. As I preached the eulogy I was impressed by the presence of the native Peruvian priests because our priests and those of other mis- sionary groups far older and greater than our little Missionary Society of St. James have one supreme desire, namely to encourage more vocations, to train them in the best man- ner, to cooperate with them when they are ordained, and when they are ready to assume the parishes and works we now have founded they should be in full charge of them. Mean- while we want our priests to work with the native priests. Our only ambition is to en- courage and train native vocations. To that end I have collected hundreds of thousands of dollars to help my dear friend, the Arch- bishop of Lima, to found a minor seminary for the training of native Peruvian priests. At mid-day on Tuesday in a prominent corner of a cemetery in Lima, Bishop Lucey and I granted Archdeacon Duggan's last wish and lowered his mortal remains into the soil of Peru, that he had come so far and so late in life to sanctify. 9 The effect of Archdeacon Duggan's heroic sacrifice on those who knew him was summed up by the words of Mrs. Irene Silva de San- tolalla, a Peruvian Senator, who came to the Fathers of the Society of St. James and thanked them on behalf of the Peruvian peo- ple "for giving Peru another saint." The Sena- tor was right. Ireland gave a saint to the Church of feru. 10 TYPICALLY IRISH—HIS EULOGY I have come on a long journey to pay tribute to my dear departed friend, Arch- deacon Duggan. His bishop, at a great sacrifice, accompanied me. But it was a journey of love—our tribute to an Irish priest, Typically Irish, as Irish missionaries live and die to fulfill the mission of Ireland to restore all things to Christ, the Lord. Archdeacon Thomas Duggan of the Dio- cese of Cork, Ireland, urged me and literally commanded me and Bishop Lucey, in the name of God, to allow him to join my Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle. With confidence in his unusual characteris- tics and in the will of God, I welcomed him. If God permitted me to found this Society, He sent "Tom" Duggan to make perfect His plans. I was the architect—"Tom" Duggan was the builder to publicize and perfect an apostolic project for recruiting diocesan priests for foreign lands. Some four years ago this Society became a reality. It was founded to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the* Diocese of Boston. Its purpose was to send volunteer priests to help the Church in Latin America where there was and still is an unprecedented scarcity of priests. The response on the part of the United States and Ireland surpassed all expectations. If there was not a great need for diocesan priests in the United States and in Ireland, we would have today at least two hundred priests affiliated with the Society. That num- ber and more have offered their services. But their respective bishops could not give them the necessary permission to leave their under- staffed dioceses. Ireland has a surplus of re- ligious order priests but in the light of the need of diocesan priests to serve the Irish emigrants in England, Canada, Australia, the United States and elsewhere, Ireland could only give a limited number of diocesan priests to Latin America. 11 At the present time, there are sixty dioce- san priests in the Society. About one-half come from Boston. The remainder come from other dioceses in the United States and Ire- land. They are assigned to the poorest of the poor in Peru and Bolivia. In the month of August, 1961, I went as a Papal Legate to the National Eucharistic Congress in Bolivia. Archdeacon Duggan accompanied me. He had the missionary zeal of the Irish. The year 1961 was the fifteen hundredth anniversary of the death of one of the greatest of all missionaries, St. Patrick. This was the acceptable time for some great missionary contribution. on the part of Ire- land. Archdeacon Duggan was given the assignment by God. Our mission to Bolivia having been com- pleted, Archdeacon Duggan returned to his native land. He came back to Boston a few weeks later to prepare for his departure for Peru. Within a fortnight he was enroute to his destination. Letters soon followed de- scribing his love for his adopted country and for souls. Other priests, now veterans in the apostolate, wrote of their love for him. They selected him to preach their retreat; they consulted with him about their problems; they enjoyed his unique Irish wit. Happy, thrice happy, he was in helping priests forty and more years younger than himself. Sunday morning, December 17th, I re- ceived a telephone call from Peru that "Father Tom" died at 7:30 A.M. It was "Gaudete Sunday." For me it was "Passion Sunday." "Father Tom" had been examined by doc- tors in Ireland and in the States prior to his departure. There was no evidence of heart trouble. But his body was not strong enough to contain his overwhelming love for God and souls. He would sleep only a few hours each day; his meals were hardly able to sustain him—he thought only of the need for priests, dedicated priests for the priestless poor of Latin America. His heart broke, not from physical strain or overwork but from his 12 thirst for priests and souls. His one request was to be buried in Peru. That would com- plete his mission. Having volunteered, after forty-seven years in the priesthood, to go to a foreign land to work for souls who had no priests, he caused a sensation throughout all Ireland. When he died on Gaudete Sunday he caused a sensa- tion throughout the entire Catholic world. Most Rev. Cornelius Lucey, Bishop of Cork, and myself met at Idlewild International Air- port in New York, Monday evening, Decem- ber 18th, and took the long, sad journey to Lima to attend the final obsequies of "Father Tom." Although it was a sad journey we are consoled by the thought that he had accom- plished more for the Church in Latin America in a few weeks than all of us have accom- plished over a prolonged period of time. Henceforth and forever I will never have any worries about the Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle for now we have an intercessor, a representative, not in Ireland or the United States, but in the glorified ranks of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let no one say he was too old to go to Latin America. Although approaching his Golden Jubilee in the holy priesthood he was God's choice to inspire more native vo- cations to His service—God's man to inspire younger priests from all nations to seek the sheep who are wandering from the fold of Christ because they have no shepherds to guide, to instruct and to save them. Typically Irish? Well what do you think? Yea, more than Typically Irish—here is An- other Christ in the truest sense of the word who laid down his life for Christ, the Lord. He is a "Martyr of Charity." His memory will be forever as green as the hillsides of Ireland; his example will inspire others to follow in his footsteps and his body and blood will fructify the fertile soil of Peru and all of Latin America so that thousands of native young men and women will give their lives, their talents, their all, to the service of God and thereby meet the greatest need of the Church in Latin America—Priests, Sisters, Brothers, Lay Apostles. "Tom Duggan" is the greatest 13 contribution that Ireland could make to the fifteen hundredth anniversary of the death of her great apostle, St. Patrick. He has left behind him a host of friends of all faiths, who will pay tribute to him by moulding their lives after his life. He has left behind him a sister, Lucy Duggan, who can claim him as a "saint"—a "martyr of char- ity." Later on we shall bury his body within the shadows of our language school in Lima, Peru, at the foot of a mountain that sym- bolizes the greatness of his courage and the power of his faith that could move moun- tains, in the soil of a sector of the Vineyard of God, where the sun always shines and where "saints" like him are the greatest hope of the future. If the Church in Latin America will one day experience a second spring, and I am sure it will, it must have heroes and heroines, clerical and lay, like Father "Tom Duggan." I ask you to pray to him, not for him. My intimate association with him over the years prompts me to say that we are laying at rest today a priest of God who may one day have his name on the calendars and altars of the Church as another saint for the Second Spring of the Church in Latin America! For forty years I have considered myself a living tool or a slave for Christ. I have helped everyone in the mission fields of the world when I was able to assist. At all times my help represented sacrifice on the part of benefactors, hard work on my part. Archdea- con Duggan's death is the greatest sign I ever received from God that my efforts have not been in vain. He has given his life through me for souls. I have given only myself to en- courage him and others. God did not need me; He desired a veteran priest to make the supreme sacrifice. I was not worthy of the honor. But inspired by the death of Archdeacon Duggan I pray that the hierarchy of Peru will give me in the near future their unani- mous approval to plan the building in Peru of a Missionary Seminary that will accept candidates for the priesthood for all Latin America and in due time for the Universal 14 Church. I pray also that the Maryknoll Fa- thers will staff this seminary as they staffed a similar institution that I started in Mexico. This proposed Missionary Seminary will be our monument to Archdeacon Duggan, our tribute to the native bishops and priests of Latin America. Typically Irish—Ah yes, a man of Irish origin is a man of Christ—the man of the Universal Church! 15 TYPICALLY IRISH BY MOST REVEREND ROMOLO CARBONI APOSTOLIC NUNCIO, PERU Although I knew Archdeacon Duggan only since last August, I had already considered him my friend. As a matter of fact, I had re- ceived a letter from him only last week and answered him on Friday. Two days later, within an hour after his death, I had the sad privilege to bless the body that had housed his noble soul for more years than the Sacred Scriptures allot to man. Canon Thomas Duggan took dinner with me here on the Feast of the Immaculate Con- ception. We discussed his plans for work with the priests of the Society of St. James the Apostle, and his ideas for making the needs of the Church in Peru better known to his fellow countrymen. Truly his passing has been a shock. But like His Eminence, I feel an inexplicable peace and optimism occasioned by the death of this great priest of God. Surely his act of self-immolation for the Church in Latin Amer- ica cannot be ignored by God Almighty. The great man's death, I am convinced, will give birth to multiple sources of help to the em- battled Church here. He was in God's plan the seed that must die, if the fruit is to spring forth. The marvel is that his great sacrifice was made so quietly, while it has produced echoes that are resounding throughout the world. The presence of His Eminence, the Arch- bishop of Boston, here this evening, is due to his intimate friendship with Archdeacon Duggan. His Eminence mentioned in his splendid eulogy that the journey from Boston to Lima was not a sad one, because he was on his way to attend the funeral obsequies of a "martyr of charity." It takes a man of charity to recognize another. 16 I am especially honored to have Cardinal Cushing with us tonight to thank him person- ally for what he has done and what he is doing for Peru: more priests for the Society of St. James, a new center house and retreat house for the Society, rectories, churches, schools, and new religious communities of both men and women for Peru. In addition, he has provided scholarships to seminarians, priests, and Sisters to study in the United States and Canada, Papal Volunteers, and last but not least, his chairmanship of the American Episcopal Committee for Latin America is responsible in large measure for the aid from the north, which we have been receiving in increasing quantity. Your Eminence, a heartfelt and a profound "Thank You." I can only assure you that what you are doing for Peru is genuinely appreci- ated and is being put to the best possible use. The presence of another honored guest of the evening, Bishop Cornelius Lucey, Bishop of Cork, reminds me of Chesterton's Father Brown stories. When God really wants some- thing, He just gives a little "tug on the string." We had invited Bishop Lucey to Peru earlier this year to address the Second Week on Catholic Social Studies, but previous Commit- ments made it impossible for him to accept the invitation, despite his great desire to do so. But God evidently wanted the Bishop of Cork to visit Peru and He used Bishop Lucey s deep friendship with Ireland's great modern apostle to Peru to make the visit possible. Canon Duggan certainly penetrated deeply into the fabric of the life of the Church in Peru in a very short time. A warm welcome to Your Excellency! It is a long-anticipated pleasure for me to meet you. The Columban Fathers and the Irish Diocesan priests have told me much about you, and it is a delight for me finally to have the opportunity to speak with Your Excel- lency in person. I think that it is a remarkable sign of the catholicity that is found in our beloved Peru- vian Prelates, that the Archbishop Primate of Peru celebrates his birthday among fifty Irishmen! Yesterday was the official day of 17 celebration for His Excellency, but by reason of the funeral services the festivities were postponed. Ad Multos Annos, Archbishop Landazuri! Since Your Excellency's mother's name was Ricketts, you are not in such strange company after all. I want to thank the Archbishop of Lima and our other honored guests, Archbishop Perez Silva of Trujillo, and Bishop Arce Masias of Piura for their wholehearted and sympathetic collaboration with the mission- ary activities of the priests and religious who have come to work for the good of souls in Peru. They have given these missioners a sin- cere welcome and have offered them every assistance to make their work more effective. I am extremely grateful to them for that. One of the major reasons for my wanting to have this modest little supper tonight was to give me the opportunity to offer my hum- ble, but overflowing thanks to the superiors and priests of the Society of St. James, of the Columbans, of the Irish Diocesan priests, and in a special way to welcome the newly ar- rived Irish Fathers to Peru. I know Ireland. I have visited that country and I have worked with your countrymen in Rome, the United States, Australia, and Peru, but I have never kissed the Blarney Stone. Therefore, you can believe every word that I am going to say! There are many fine priests in this world but there are none any finer than the Irish. The Church blesses the day that the Irish have come to help minister to souls in Peru. You men have a great tradition behind you. I welcome you here with open arms. You have it within your power with the Grace of God to collaborate with the Peruvian Hier- archy to transform Catholic life in Peru, that the nation may return to the age of sanctity for which the nation is uniquely famous. Few countries in the world can boast as many or as great saints as St. Rose of Lima, St. Toribio, St. Francis Solano, and the soon to be can- onized Blessed Martin de Porres. With your help and leadership our Peruvian people will follow more closely the example of their great heavenly intercessors and form a bul- 18 wark of strong Catholic life here against the inroads of the enemies, which threaten from every side. Evil people try to weaken and even destroy the Church through different lands of perse- cution. In some other countries they have attempted to wreak their havoc insidiously by deliberately refusing to promote the local or native clergy, motivated by a malicious racism or nationalism. Such racial prejudice has done, perhaps, no less harm to the Mys- tical Body of Christ, than all the heresies put together. For many centuries in many countries the Church has been struggling between life and death for lack of priests. There is need of a priest for every 500 inhabitants, whether they be good or bad Catholics, Protestants, Jews, or Pagans. There is need of a seminarian for every one thousand inhabitants. We know that the Church will always sur- vive and triumph eventually at the end of the world. But we must not deceive ourselves with a false sense of complacency, when we know that in many parts of the world only between five and twenty-five percent of the Catholics can be said to be practicing. I should like to comment for a moment, if I may, on a remarkablev statement made by Cardinal Cushing during his sermon at the funeral of Canon Duggan. He said that the reason he entered the seminary to study for the priesthood, was that he believed that the Catholic Church was a missionary church, and that that ideal has motivated his entire life. Cardinal Cushing has not only believed this all his life, he has lived it. For him the Church is the Church Universal. He was not the type of a pastor who thought of his flock as limit- ed by the parish boundaries. He was not the type of a Bishop that never had an idea in his head beyond that which immediately con- cerned his own diocese. He is not that type of a man, who thinks only of the nationalistic interests of the Church in his own country. Cardinal Cushing is a catholic prelate! He recognizes the world as his responsibility, just as the salvation of the entire world should 19 be the over-riding interest of every Catholic, whomsoever and wheresoever he may be. While we must give tremendous personal credit to His Eminence for this attitude, we cannot overlook the fact that his forebears had it. He comes from missionary stock. The Emerald Isle of his ancestors has been throughout her history one of the foremost missionary nations of the world. From the age of St. Patrick, the Christian world has been literally saved time and time again by the Irish missioners. St. Columban and his companions turned to Christ the sav- age hordes, which might have wiped out all European civilization. In collaboration with other nationalities the Irish went to work to build the Church in the United States, now one of the most devoted in the Catholic world. This then is the lesson that I see in the death of the beloved Archdeacon Duggan. The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, is by its very definition catholic, that is, uni- versal; and apostolic, therefore missionary. Anyone who does not think of the Church in those terms is not thinking with the Church. P The Church today is in difficulties in many parts of the world. Those difficulties concern Catholics not only of the nations where the problems exist, but they concern Catholics in every nation on the face of the globe. The fact that many Catholics are not aware of, or, for personal and selfish motives, are not interested in this mark of universality, does not affect the issue in the slightest, nor does it change the responsibility before God, un- der which the rest of us labor. This universality of the Church of Christ has a double aspect. It means that Catholics in the more fortunate parts of the world have a grave responsibility to investigate, study and help solve the serious problems that be- set their co-religionists in other parts of the globe. These Catholics must measure their ability to carry out the advances they had planned for their own countries, against the desperate plight of the Church in other lands. If staff- ing a Catholic school with priests in a very Catholic city is going to result in a certain 20 religious progress, all well and good. But how are these Catholics going to answer be- fore the throne of the Almighty, when He asks them: "Why did you not send these priests to save the millions of souls literally abandoned in other parts of the world, while you were luxuriating in the sun of a one hundred percent sacerdotal education?" I know that the needs of the Church in many strongly Catholic countries are still great, but they cannot even be compared to the desperate situation in so many other countries, where the Church is literally losing tens of thousands of Catholics a year. The other side of the picture in regards to the question of the Church's universality is this. No country, no matter how holy its priests, no matter how intelligently planned its projects, no matter how generous its faith- ful may be, no country can help Latin Amer- ica, unless Latin America wants to be helped. Help is a two way street. It must be given and it must be received. If those who need the help resent it; if those who need the help do not admit that part of the reason they are in trouble is because they put themselves there; if those who need the help do not realize that it is quite possible that the very local customs, which they are jealous to pre- serve, can be part of the cause of their sad plight; then no one under God's sun will be able to help them. That is not to say that those who come to help them should think that they know all the answers and attempt to ride roughshod over their needy fellow Catholics. That would be a fatal error. But it does mean to say that if the Church is to be saved in Latin America, the help of Catholics must be given and must be received! All of these thoughts are symbolized by the death of Archdeacon Duggan. After forty- seven years in the priesthood, during which he served as a chaplain in two world wars, suffered for years as a prisoner of war, was honored on two occasions for bravery by the English Government and then assigned by Bishop Lucey to the largest parish in all Ireland—he came to Peru. God called him. 21 For what? To lay down his life for the Church in this part of the world and thereby teach in a most effective manner that the Church— The Entire Church, is a Missionary Church and that for the present Latin American countries need the services of every available priest until there is an ample supply of native clergy. The sacrifice made by the Archdeacon will be a lasting inspiration to all of us and the most powerful appeal made to the pres- ent time in behalf of the multitudes of Peru and other countries who have no priests to instruct them or to break for them the Bread of Life. God rest his noble soul. « « « ft o My dearly beloved—I pray that this brief account of a man of God—Typically Irish- may inspire you to pray for vocations here at home and everywhere so that the Church founded by Our Lord and Savior may meet the challenge of the twentieth century and succeeding centuries. Priests—totally dedi- cated priests—holy priests are the greatest need of our time. Pray please that their numbers will be multiplied. C A R D I N A L ' S R E S I D E N C E 2101 Commonwealth Avenue Brighton 35, Mass.