/? (0 T 73 5 !



CONTENTS.

Number and Quality of Converts 1

Eminent Converts Speak of Their Happiness 2

The Conversion of An Anglican Bishop 6
The Happiness I Find in the Catholic Church 7

Says “Nothing Like Being Sure You Are Right” 9

Like the Blind Man Who Receives Sight 10
Says It Is Difficult to Convey His Happiness 11

Becoming a Catholic Was a Most Logical Step 12

A Nun’s Prayer Converted Him 13
Converts Among American Prelates 16

Conversion of Whole Religious Community 17

Jansenist Head in America Enters the Church 18

Anglican Converts 19

Russian Prelate a Convert 19

Noted Japanese Chemist 19

Converts in the Washington Family 19

Catholic Descendants of Franklin 20

Convert Naval Officers 21

Forty-four Generals of Civil War Were Converts 21

Joyce Kilmer 23

A Psychological Study of the Types of American Converts 24
Henry William Wilberforce 25

Sixty Thousand Converts Made in England in Six Years 25

How a Humorist Became a Catholic 26

“Away From Rome” Leader Becomes a Catholic 26

From “The Pilgrimage of Grace and Exeter Conspiracy” by Madeline and

Ruth Dodds 28

Dr. Max Pam, (Hebrew) of Chicago 28

Daughter of Joaquin Miller “The Poet of the Sierras,” 28

William Harrell Mallock 29

Some Practical Reflections 29

Prayer for Light 30

Climbing Mt. “Prejudice” 30

In God’s Good Time, They Return to the Fold 30

The Catholic Position 32

Deaddlfied



I'o'W.le '

CONVERTS
TO THE

CATHOLIC CHURCH

NUMBER AND QUALITY OF CONVERTS.

The priests of some dioceses, but not of
all, are required to report an-

nually on the number of converts they have
received into the Church, brom

this incomplete report it is estimated
that 40,000 adults in the United States

come into the Catholic Church each year
from the various Protestant

churches, and from the ranks of the previously
un-churched.

These converts represent every rank and
profession of life, and are led

into the Church over various roads. Many are moved
to study the Church s

claims by the very considerations which keep
others away. Never, for in-

stance, were converts so numerous as in these
days when the Church is so

bitterly attacked. There are those who surmise that
most converts to the

Catholic Church are marriage converts, and that these
are practically forced

into the faith. While it is to be expected that the
man who intends to marry

a Catholic should want to believe the same as she if he
can, not only is he

not forced to embrace the Catholic faith, but he
would not be admitted if he

could not honestly declare, after being instructed,
that he believes all the

Church teaches, and that he actually desires to become
a member.

.

Try it,

dear reader, and see for yourself. Protestant
churches are easy to join, not

so the Catholic Church. But converts tell us that
the effort is worth while.

In Boswell’s “Life of Johnson” the latter is quoted as saying:
“A man

who is converted from Protestantism to Popery may be sincere; he
parts

with nothing; he is only superadding to what he already had.
But a convert

from Popery to Protestantism gives up as much of what he has
held as

sacred as anything he retains; there is so much laceration of mind in
such a

conversion that it can hardly be sincere and lasting.”

Read this pamphlet thoroughly and prayerfully, and note how thorough

is the conviction, and how sincere is the happiness of eminent Converts.
In

quoting a number of former Protestant ministers, let us advert that only

those of the highest type are admitted to the Catholic
priesthood. But it

seems that even those ejected from the Catholic priesthood are readily ad-

mitted into the Protestant ministry. These things are not said either by way

of boast, or with any intention of being offensive, but solely to state a
fact.

We would like to know the name of a single former priest, now in the Prot-

estant ministry, who was in good standing in the Catholic priesthood when

he changed his faith.

The convert to the Catholic Church is sometimes lonely, because Cath-

olics do not obtrude their acquaintance upon newcomers. It is a common

complaint on the part of converts that they may be a part of a congregation

for months without being noticed. , ~



2 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

EMINENT CONVERTS SPEAK OF THEIR
HAPPINESS.

JOHN H. NEWMAN (Cardinal). ing to the Church of England is as in-
“I can only say, if it is necessary to

say it, that from the moment I be-

came a Catholic, I never have had,

through God’s grace, a single doubt

or misgiving on my mind that I did

wrong in becoming one. I have not

had any feeling but one of joy and

gratitude that God called me out of

an insecure state into one which is

sure and safe, out of the war of

tongues into the realms of peace and

assurance. I shrink to contemplate

the guilt I should have incurred, and

the account which at the last day

would have lain against me, had I not

become a Catholic; and it pierces me

to the heart to think that so many

excellent persons should still be kept

in bondage in the Church of England,

and should, among the many good

points they have, want the great

grace of faith, to trust God and fol-

low his leadings.”

HENRY EDWARD MANNING
(Cardinal)

Christianity is the fulness of the

revelation of God. Moreover, I find

that the maximum of human and his-

torical evidence proves this true and

perfect Christianity to be coincident

and identical with the world-wide and

immutable faith of the Catholic and

Roman Church. On these foundations

—four-square and imperishable—rests

the faith to which God in mercy has

called me, in which I hope to live and

die; for which I also hope that, by

God’s grace, I should be willing to

give my life.”

REV. ROBERT HUGH BENSON.
(Son of a Protestant Bishop)

“It seems very remarkable to be

obliged to say that the idea of return-

conceivable as the idea of seeking to

enter the Choctaw fold

“It is of no use to pile up assever-ii

ations; but, in a word, it may be said
that to return from the Catholic

Church to the Anglican would be the

exchange of certitude for doubt, of

faith for agnosticism, of substance

for shadow, of brilliant light for

sombre gloom, of historical, world-

wide fact for unhistorical, provincial

theory. I do not know how to ex-

press myself more mildly than that;

though even this, no doubt, will ap-

pear a monstrous extravagance, at

!

the least, to the sincere and whole-
|

hearted members of the Anglican
[

communion.”

C. KEGAN PAUL.

“Those who are not converts are

apt to think and say that converts

join the Church in a certain exalta-

tion of spirit, but that when it cools

they regret what has been done, and

would return but for very shame. It
j

has been said of marriage that every

one finds, when the ceremony is over,
;

that he or she has married another,

and not the bride or groom who seem-
;

ed to have been won, and Clough takes

the story of Jacob as a parable repre-

senting this fact. We wed Rachel, as
we think, and in the morning, behold
it is Leah. So the Church bears one i

aspect when seen from a distance,
j

ab extra
;
another when we have given

ourselves into her keeping.

“But the Church is no Leah, rather

a fairer Rachel than we dared to
dream, her blessings are greater than

we had hoped. I may say for my-
self that the happy tears shed at the

tribunal of Penance, on that 12th of

August, the fervor of my first com-



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 3

munion, were as nothing to what I

feel now. Day by day the mystery of

the Altar seems greater, the unseen

world nearer, God more a Father, our

Lady more tender, the great company

of saints more friendly—if I dare use
the word—my guardian angel closer
to my side. All human relationships

become holier, all human friends

dearer, because they are explained

and sanctified by the relationships and

the friendships of another life. Sor-

rows have come to me in abundance

since God gave me grace to enter His

Church, but I can bear them better

than of old, and the blessing He has

given me outweighs them all. May

He forgive me that I so long resisted

Him, and lead those I love unto the

fair land wherein He has brought me

to dwell! It will be said, and with

truth, that I am very confident. My
experience is like that of the blind

man in the Gospel who also was sure.

He was still ignorant of much, nor

could he fully explain how Jesus

opened his eyes, but this he could say

with unfaltering certainty: ‘One thing

I know, that whereas I was blind, I

now see.’ ”

RT. REV. MSGR. G. H. DOANE.

“I thank God that I can say, ‘It was

a true report that I heard in mine own

land,’ of the glory and blessedness of

the Catholic Church. ‘Mine own eyes

have seen it, and behold the half was

not told me; it exceeded the fame

which I had heard.’ Nay, when I re-

member the many doubts and misgiv-

ings which I felt when I was a Prot-

estant, and the many fears with which

I shrank from joining myself to a sys-

tem which I had long believed to be

corrupt and horrible, and when I com-

pare these feelings with the certainty

and peace and blesredness which I

have found since I had grace to make

the venture, it seems to me as if the
change which I have made can be

compared only to the happy death of

the just, from which in years gone by

they perhaps shrunk with dread, and

hardly dared to look forward to it;

but to which they forever look back

as to their new birtii into a state

blessed beyond all that the heart of

man can conceive. Oh, that every one

of my dear friends, who are sUll
trembling on the brink of that which

seems to them so dark a river, would

take courage by our example and risk

all upon the faith of the words of

Christ. And for myself I need ask

nothing else, nor is there anything

others need ask for me, beyond the

grace of perseverance, that, having

been sought out by the grace of my
Lord and Savior, and brought into the

Church of His mercy, contrary to my
own deserts, I may endure unto the
end, and through the blood of my
Lord and Savior, may lay hold of
eternal life.”

DR. WM. McGARVEY
“I have had many joys in my life,

but the joy which came to me upon
my reception into the Church was not
only one different in degree from any

joy I had experienced before, but it

was totally different in kind. I only

trust that I may have a few years in
which to help others to the attain-

ment of that same joy.”

ADELINE SERGEANT.
(The Novelist)

“Then came the inspiring thought

—

the Catholic Church is of God- It is

the Church of all nations and peoples.

Friends, family, tastes and opinions

must be given up for the love of God.

I dare not move without complete

conviction, and I am profoundly
thankful that I did not wait too long,

but was enabled to take the step

which brought me into the haven of
my desires, the Holy Catholic and



4 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

Apostolic Church of God, in which I

hope to live and die.

“My soul hath her content so abso-

lute that it is difficult to find words

adequate for the satisfaction that I

feel. Mind, heart, conscience, are at

rest; no longer tossed on the sea of

opinion, but safely anchored in the

harbor of God’s truth. This is more

than I ever dreamed of; this is in-

deed the Church, the Mother of us all,

the Heavenly City, the New Jeru-
salem, the Bride of God.”

THE HON. P. H. BURNETT
“The saints and martyrs of the old-

en time held the same faith, worship-

ped at the same altar, and used the

same form of worship as he (the

Catholic) does. He loves and vener-

ates their memory, admires their vir-

tues, calls them brethren, and asks

their prayers in heaven. He has no

accusations to bring against them

—

no crimes to lay to their charge.

“Besides all this, his faith is sus-

tained by a logical power, and a

Scriptural proof, that cannot be fair-

ly met and confuted. It is sustained

by every plain and luminous prin-

ciple upon which society and gov-

ernment are founded. His reason, his

common sense, the best feelings of

his nature, the holiest impulses of

his heart, all satisfy him beyond

doubt, that he is right.

“When eternity, with all its mighty

consequences, rolls up its endless pro-

portions before the dying vision—ah!
then, no Catholic asks to change his

faith! Oh! give me the last sacra-

ments of the Church! Let me die in

her holy communion! Let me be bur-

ied in consecrated ground! Let my
brethren pray for me!”

GILBERT K~ CHESTERTON.
“I always believed in the Catholic

view of Christianity, at least I have

believed it for twenty years. Unless

the Church of England was a branch

of the Catholic Church, I had no use i

for it. If it were a Protestant church,

I did not believe in it. In any case the

question is whether the Church of

England can claim to be in direct de-

scent from the medieval Catholic

Church. That is the question for

every Anglo-Catholic or High Church

man.”

“Among the people who have helped
j

me to answer the question as to

whether the Church of England was
i

Catholic are the Protestant leaders in

the Church of England; for instance,

Dr. Inge, Dean of St. Paul’s, and

Bishop Hensley Henson, Bishop of
j

Burham. They have done me this

good service and I wish to express my
gratitude to them for it. They have

done me the best service one man can

do to another. I will give you ex-

amples.

“It appears to me quite clear that

any church claiming to be an authori-

tative church must be quite definite

when great questions of public morals

are put. Can I go in for cannibalism

or the murder of babies to reduce the

population, or any other scientific and

progressive reform ? Any church

with authority to teach must say

whether it can be done. But the

Protestant churches are in utter be-

wilderment on these moral questions.

“For example, on birth control:

when you have people—and such sin-
cere men as Dean Inge—coming out
publicly and definitely as champions

for what I regard as a low and pois-

onous trick, not far removed from

infanticide, you can see what I mean.

On divorce, spiritualism and suicide

also they fail to speak with certainty.

It is perfectly true that there are in

the Church of England and other

Protestant bodies, many who would

denounce these heathen vices as much

as I can. Bishop Gore (retired

Bishop of Oxford), would speak about

them as strongly as the Pope. But



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 6

the point is the Church of England

does not speak strongly. In short, it

has no unity of action; it cannot give

a common reply to people when they

ask for authoritative view.

“It would take me too long to dis-

cuss all arguments which influenced

my decision, but those are the prin-
cipal, practical reasons which led me

to embrace Catholicism.”

ISAAC HECKER.

“Imagine my amazement at finding
here just what my soul has been
hungering for all these years. I soon

saw that what I already had of truth

and light, what my best nature and
conscience and my clearest natural
knowledge told me was truth, was

but -elevated and lifted up beyond all

conception by the doctrine of the

Church.

“And such was my indignation at
finding that I had been hoodwinked

from my childhood, that I vowed I
would devote my life to tearing the
bandage from the eyes of my fellow-
men.”

WALTER R. REECE.
“After forty years of silence upon

religious matters, after long medi-

tation, and upon the eve of entering

the Catholic, the Mother Church, I

am constrained to write to my non-
Catholic brothers and sisters, not as

an apology for this contemplated ac-

tion, but as an apology to the Cath-

olic Church for a narrow, self-satis-

fied position, and for so long having

turned a deaf ear to her teachings,

and for so long having beep skeptical

and cynical regarding her motives

and practices.”

MRS. GERTRUDE H. LANMAN
(Student and Philanthropist)

“I cannot see why any one should
be interested in my going into the
Catholic Church. It was a perfectly

natural thing for one who has studied

as deeply as I had upon religious

questions. I came to believe that the

Blessed Sacrament is the eternal

truth of religion, and I believe with

all my heart in the Real Presence.
What else was there for me to do
than to become a professor of the re-

ligion of the early Church—the one
Catholic Church. It is not true that

any one led me to think or study up-
on these questions. I have studied

them out myself.

“I have nothing but love and kind-

ness in my heart for the denomina-
tion that I have left. Having made

up my mind to become a Catholic I
went to New York and prepared for
entering the Church at the convent

of the Sisters of Marie Reparatrice,

at No. 40 Charlton street, and it was

in the little chapel attached that I

was taken into the Church. Now that
I am in the Mother Church my heart
is at rest.”

WILLIAM HARRELL MALLOCK.
in “Is Life Worth Living.”

“The more we compare her (the
Catholic Church) with the other re-

ligions, her rivals, even where she

most resembles them, shall we see in
her a something that marks her off

from them. The others are like vague

attempts at a forgotten tune; she is

like the tune itself, which is recog-

nized the moment it is heard and
which has been so near to us all the

time, though so immeasurably far

away from us. The Catholic Church
is the only dogmatic religion that has

seen what dogmatism really implies
and what will in the long run be de-
manded of it, and she contains in her-
self all appliances for meeting these

demands. She alone has seen if there

is to be an infallible voice in the

world, this voice must be a living
one, as capable of speaking now as
ever it was in the past; and that as



6 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

the world’s capabilities for knowledge

grow, the teacher must be always

able to unfold to it a fuller teaching.

The Catholic Church is the only his-

torical religion that can conceivably

thus adapt itself to the wants of the

present day, without virtually ceas-

ing to be itself. It is the only reli-

gion that can keep its identity with-

out losing its life, and keep its life

without losing its identity; that can

enlarge its teachings without chang-

ing them; that can be always the

same and yet always developing.”

DR. W. H. RUDDICK.

OF BOSTON

Asked whether any exterior causes

had contributed to his conversion, Dr.

Ruddick answered: “Yes, the faith

and resignation with which Catholics

meet death. My practice is largely
among Catholics, and I was early

struck by the calmness with which the

Catholic learns that his illness is dan-

gerous, and that promptness and as-

siduity with which he prepares for

the last journey, and the confidence in

God’s mercy that stays by him to the

last. Death to the Catholic is not the

fearful thing that it is to other men.”

“Life is not long at the longest, and

we know not the day nor the hour
when we shall be called. How often
do we hear of a person being taken

suddenly from this world without any

warning, and why should we imagine

we shall be more fortunate. Death

comes and then follows the judgment.

Is this not enough to make us reflect

upon the state of our souls?” (Quoted

from a letter of the saintly Debbie

M. Barlow, famous early American

convert; daughter of Hon. Bradley M.

Barlow, a former Vermont Congress-

man.)

THE CONVERSION OF AN ANGLICAN BISHOP.
(Rt. Rev .Frederick Joseph Kinsman, former Prot. Epis. Bishop of Delaware)

I ascribe my conversion to the Catholic Church to three things: first,
belief instilled in boyhood in the necessity of membership in One, Holy,

Catholic Church; second, to experience which led to recognition of the essen-

tial Protestantism of Anglicanism, with the consequent duty of seeking

Catholicism elsewhere; and last, to tardy, apprehension that Papal Primacy

represents the Principle of Unity in the Episcopate, and is of Divine Insti-

tution.

Although I had good instruction of a simple kind at home, I owe all

definiteness in religious conceptions to teaching received at St. Paul’s School,

Concord, New Hampshire, from Dr. Henry Augustus Coit, and in Oxford
from those who represented the later stages of the Oxford Movement. Dr,

Coit left his pupils with vivid impressions of the continual Presence of Our

Lord, of the Church as guarantee of this Presence, and of the Eucharist as

the central and characteristic feature of the Church’s life. In a general way,

he taught that the Catholic Church is the Divinely established means of re-

demption and sanctification, and without being specific, intimated that Pro-

testant Christianity is lacking. As a boy, therefore, I was led to believe in

the duty of being a Catholic, in the misfortune, if not danger, of being a

Protestant.

The impressions given at St. Paul’s were filled out and deepened at Ox-

ford. As a young man, I adopted the High Anglican theory that the Cath-

olic Church exists wherever there is a line of valid Bishops and Priests, and



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 7

convinced that the Church of England possessed these, I believed in the

Anglican Communion as one branch of the Catholic Church, others being the

Roman Catholic, the Eastern Orthodox, the Old Catholic, possibly the Swedish

Lutheran and the Moravian. Whenever there was an episcopate of Catholic

descent, there was the Catholic Church, permeating the several Catholic “Com-

munions” as an invisible abstraction somewhat as the University did the

twenty-five concrete Colleges in Oxford. Without thinking the Episcopal

Churches of England and America free from their defects, I nevertheless

believed in them as derived from the primitive Catholic Church, as possess-

ing all doctrinal and practical essentials, and as having special mission to

spread Liberal Catholicism in the English-speaking world.

This confidence I kept intact during fifteen years’ ministry in the Amer-

ican Episcopal Church, during which I had opportunities to know Anglican-

ism at its best in England, as well as in America. I lose it as the result of

fuller experience coming to me after my consecration in 1908 as Bishop of
Delaware. Although my personal experiences and associations were of the
pleasantest, and although I was devoted to my diocese and could have wished
no other post, I had not been at work three years before I began to. see that

the Anglican theory of identity with ancient Catholicity is not borne out

by the working facts.

Difficulties focused and culminated in the matter of Ordination. Did

Anglican Orders perpetuate an effective Catholic priesthood? Did they con-

fer a valid Catholic commission? The majority of Episcopalian ministers

seemed to have little conception of priesthood in the Catholic sense; only

a minority of them considered their work that of Catholic priests. If so, the

line was not worth perpetuating, even if technically valid.

Studies in the history of the Anglican Ordinal carried me further. It
seemed clear that the English Reformers under Edward VI. and Elizabeth

did not intend to continue the Mass, nor the line of Mass-priests. There was

a break in the line of the Church’s Eucharist succession, the line most to be

considered; and if so, priests, even if validly ordained, were not carrying

on the Catholic Church’s priestly work.

THE HAPPINESS I FIND IN THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH.

(C. L. Harbord, Kansas City, former Christian Minister)

I have no apology to make to any man for becoming a Catholic. I am
responsible to God and to God alone for my soul. Almighty God, through
the sacrifice of His Son, has furnished the means necessary to our salvation.

For nineteen hundred years the “True Faith” has been preached. By the
daily Sacrifice of the Mass, the tragedy of Golgotha has been kept fresh in

the minds of men. God gave man a mind, and He expects man to use it.
Church History.

Before speaking of the happiness I have found in the Catholic Faith, I

wish to state three principal reasons which led me to investigate the claims
of the Catholic Church. I received a grade of 100 in my final examination in
Church History. I am frank in saying, however, I was not satisfied with the
history of the Church as I was taught it. About fifteen years ago I began
a free and independent investigation of the history of the Church. The fact



8 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

that so many different sects differing from one another, at the same time,

all claimed to possess the “True Faith” convinced me that something was

wrong. I reasoned like this: If our Lord founded a Church in the year 33;

If that Church exists today there must be an unbroken history to that effect.

The Catholic Church is the only religious body, whose history goes back to

the days of Christ and the Apostles.

Private Interpretation.

I have heard much about the “Branches” of the church, the “Different

Persuasions,” “Christian Union,” “Christian Unity,” etc., all of which are

suggestive of division. I believe the principle of “Private Interpretation” is

absolutely responsible for “Every Wind of doctrine,” and the multiplicity of

sects, among which is found every shade of belief under the sun. My idea
of the “Oneness” of the Church could not be found under the above condi-

tions, hence the examination of the Catholic claims.

Misstatement of Facts.

The non-Catholics dispute one another’s position on many doctrinal

questions, each contending that the others are wrong. At the same time

they are ready to make a combined attack upon the Catholic Church. This

attitude of the non-Catholic bodies is the third reason which caused me to

investigate the claims of the Catholic Church. In bringing unholy indict-

ments against the Catholic Church these zealous people have absolutely no

regard for facts. The unkind things that are said about us can be traced

to some scurrilous book or paper. Many well-meaning people are deceived

by such literature because they do not know any better.

Happiness.

1. I am happy because the most solemn and important day of my life
was when I accepted the Catholic Faith.

2. Because all questions of doubt have been forever removed from my
mind.

3. Because the Church is “One” in Faith and Doctrine.

4. Because of the “Divine Presence” my soul is fed as never before.
5. Because the Sacraments are such a wonderful help in gaining a vic-

tory over sin.

6. Because the claims of the Catholic Faith are Apostolic—No more, no
less.

7. Because my mental and spiritual vision has been broadened. The
teaching of the Catholic Church is an education within itself. It is wonderful.

8. Because the Catholic Priests use no “Clap-Trap” methods. They

preach the Gospel, pure and simple—just as St. Peter and St. Paul did.
9. Because the Catholic Church possesses the only basis for Christian

Union. The absolute unity found within her own fold is an exemplification

of this fact.

11. Because the Catholic Church does not meddle in politics. She at-

tends strictly to Her own business—that of saving souls.
12. Because of the wonderful work that is being accomplished by Her

charitable institutions.

13. Because of the high standard of Christian morals found in the

Catholic Church.

14. Because the Catholi : Church is the greatest influence for good in

the world today.



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 9

SAYS “NOTHING LIKE BEING SURE YOU
ARE RIGHT ”

(By the Rev. Michael Andrew Chapman, former Episcopal Minister)

Probably no convert enters the Catholic Church in the hope of finding

there but one single answer to the manifold questions which have exercised

his mind during the long process of conversion. But usually there is one

thing which he desires above all else to find in Catholicism, and that is the

very opposite of the thing which was his great lack in his non-Catholic days.

As an Episcopal Minister I was much distressed by the utter lack of uni-

formity in doctrine, which Anglicans call “comprehensiveness,” but which

I saw, long before my conversion, really means inability to deliver a sure,
certain and definite faith to those who are unsatisfied with individual specu-

lations. One Minister, who happens to be High Church, preaches a religion

which can hardly be distinguished from Catholicism, indeed he calls it that.

But in the very next parish (it may be) another Minister, in equally good

standing, ordained by the same Bishop, using the same Prayer Book, preach-

es a religion which is the direct negation of Catholicism, which may be, and
in fact frequently is, nothing but the most out-and-out Rationalism. I am
aware that there are some Episcopalians, who glory in this diversity of

teaching in their denomination, who are proud of the fact that “the Epis-

copal Church is big enough and broad enough to include within its fold men
of the most widely differing beliefs.” But the question which, more perhaps

than any other, troubled me in those days was, “precisely what is the offi-
cial doctrine of the Episcopal church?” I knew what the Catholic Church

taught, and I knew what each of the more prominent Protestant denomina-

tions stood for, but there was no one to tell me exactly what the denomina-
tion, in which I was a Minister, officially held to be the truth. Myself, I

preached Catholicism, believing it to be the divinely revealed Truth. But I

realized that I had no more right to expound Catholicism to my congregation
as being the religion of the Episcopal Church, than my next door neighbor
had the right to preach his rationalistic doctrines as the official teaching of

the Episcopal church. And so, because I believed that Catholicism was the
Truth, I became a Catholic, by the Grace of God.

So it is not strange that now, within the Catholic Church, my chief satis-
faction is in the knowledge of the unity and definiteness of the dogmatic

teaching of the Catholic Church. It is no longer a question of what my own
intellect has worked out, or of what does or does not “appeal to me” as a
comforting or a necessary doctrine. If I may no longer pick and choose the
doctrine which I will believe and preach, I am more than recompensed by the
knowledge that the religion I expound is not only guaranteed by Almighty

God to be true, but is believed wholly and entirely by all Catholics every-
where, and has' been so believed since the beginning. It is accepted not on
my word, but on the word of the Church. Nor do I have to trim my doc-
trine to avoid a clash with certain members of my congregation who might
take offense at what, in the old days, they rightly considered to be “inno-

vations” in the dim uncertainty of Anglicanism.
If an Anglican minister preaches heresy (and it must be remembered

that the semi-Catholic doctrines of the High Churchmen are “heresy” to the
Low Churchmen, just as the rationalism of the Low Churchman is “anath-



10 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

ema” to the “Anglo-Catholic”) there is no one to call him to account, for if

his Bishop should presume to question him, immediately the problem would

emerge, who shall decide what is or is not heresy in the Episcopal Church?
If, as a Catholic priest, I preach heresy, I shall very quickly be silenced, for

there is no manner of question as to what the Catholic Church teaches offi-

cially and definitely. If you add to this uniformity, the unquestioned faith

of Catholics that their Church teaches Truth, and is divinely protected from

error, you have the exact opposite to the condition which so distressed me in
the old days, and it will at once be apparent why satisfaction and happiness
are mine in the Catholic Church.

LIKE THE BLIND MAN WHO RECEIVES SIGHT.
(Rev. J. R. Buck, Pastor of St. Joseph’s Church, Salem, Oregon)

It would be exceedingly difficult to describe to a man who had been blind

from his birth, the beauties of a gorgeous autumn day in a land blessed with

all the richness of nature, when hill and plain, mountain and valley, lake

and river are bathed in the mellow sunshine, bringing every color and shade

into relief. What words could one use to give any conception to the poor

man of light, of color, of shades, of distance or perspective? But should the

blind man undergo treatment and sight is given to him, what words would

he use to describe his happiness and joy

So too is it difficult for one to describe the beauties and wonders of the

Catholic faith, to a person who is blind to the truth of spiritual things and

makes no effort to gain vision. Faith is a gift from God, freely bestowed on

man, but no one is forced to accept it.

I was reared in an atmosphere of distrust and suspicion of all things

concerning the Catholic Church, my reading had been one-sided and super-
ficial, and my ignorance of any positive religion was colossal. Is it any
wonder then, that I was a sincere A. P. A.? At one election I drove a team

all day carrying anti-Catholics to the polls to defeat a certain man, who was

running for the office of county superintendent of schools, simply because

he was a Catholic. I looked upon priests as emissaries of Satan, and nuns

were little better than scarlet women to my mind.
But “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform,” and my

lot was cast for a considerable time among Catholics. It was then that the

cure for my prejudice—blindness—began. I commenced to see the workings
of grace, and while in my semi-Puritanical mind I criticized many Catholic
customs and practices, I nevertheless recognized the real sincerity and good-

ness of the people.

I became curious and commenced to study Catholicism from a new angle.

I was disillusioned concerning the horrible tales I had heard all my life about
Catholics, and at length I took up the study seriously. I attribute my be-
coming a Catholic to my sincere hatred of what I believed Catholicism was,
and an earnest desire to know the truth. Christ Himself has said, “Ask and

you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto

you,” so through the great grace of God I came to know the true end of

my creation and the means of attaining it. I found Catholicism a positive,
infallible faith, and I learned how to truly pray, “Not my will but Thine be
done.”



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 11

Why should not the happiness found by converts in the Catholic faith

be the greatest happiness, even as the beauties of nature are appreciated

in a far greater measure by*a person receiving .sight after having lived for

years in a darkened world?

SAYS IT IS DIFFICULT TO CONVEY HIS
HAPPINESS.

(Harry Wilson, Los Angeles, Calif., former Episcopal Minister)

The joy of a soul leaving Purgatory for Heaven is the only simile I

can think of to express the happiness found by myself, as a convert, in the

Catholic Faith.

As a boy I was a Protestant, at least I called myself a Protestant, but

as I look back it seems to me that I was simply ignorant. As far as I can

remember my Protestantism consisted in a general horror of “Rome,” as
being something dreadful and terribly wicked. How I acquired this feeling

I have not the least idea.

When I was about fourteen I discovered a Church where the Service of

the Church of England was very “High.” This delighted me and there I

learned to worship. At the age of eighteen I grasped what was meant by the

Incarnation; at twenty-three I was ordained, and at that time I certainly

believed in the Real Presence and ten years later I grasped what was meant

by the “Sacrifice.” Ten years later still I learned the doctrine of the in-

vocation of the Saints. Then came a gap of twenty-years, and at sixty-three

I grasped the truth of the Unity of God’s Holy Church and was received

into the True Fold.

It was a long, slow process; every step was made with great deliber-

ation. Everything had to be proved, and proved, and proved till I was obliged

to believe. The Bible, the writings of the early Christians, and the Prayer

Book of the Church of England, were my chief sources of information
It was a long, slow process, but every step was as it were an entrance

into a new and brighter realm. Thank God I was spared long enough to take

the final step, and enter into and enjoy the glories of the true Kingdom of

God.

What' led me finally to investigate the claims of the Catholic Church
was a vote taken in the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal

church.

The Episcopal church under certain circumstances allows re-marriage

after divorce. To this the majority of the Bishops and Clergy were opposed,

and endeavored to do away with the Canon which permitted such re-mar-

riage. To do this another Canon must be passed in the General Convention,

where it had to receive the consent of the Three “Houses” viz. that of the

“Bishops,” the “Clergy,” and the “House of Laymen.” The Canon was not

passed as the Laymen would not consent to it. This happened twice, at two
successive Conventions, and it appeared exceedingly clear to me that in the
Episcopal church the sheep were ruling the shepherds.

Then too, there came a very disturbing thought. The General Conven-

tion had complete control over the Faith and morals of the Episcopal church.

By a majority vote it could make changes in either, and this seemed to be
a very dangerous situation. Many years ago a General Convention had



12 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

passed a Canon permitting the re-marriage of the “innocent party” after

divorce, thus teaching that Christian marriage might be dissolved. If the

Canon spoken of above had been passed at the two recent Conventions this

teaching would have been changed, and marriage would then be held to be

indissoluble.

And if such a change could be made (much as I myself desired it), then

any other doctrine might be changed just as easily. As a matter of fact,

the General Convention uses far greater power in the Episcopal church than

the Pope himself in the Roman Communion. The Pope might define what

was doubtful, but he could not change the Faith, or modify the morals of the

Catholic Church, while the General Convention could do either or both.

It did not seem possible that such a church could be the True Church

of Jesus Christ, so I decided to investigate the claims of the Catholic Church,

with the result that I eventually grasped the truth of the Unity of the True

Church. It was indeed a happy day when I was received, but every year

since then seems to have brought an increase in happiness as one has learned

more and more of the love and goodness of God, and the glories of His Holy

Church.

BECOMING A CATHOLIC WAS A MOST LOGICAL
STEP.

(By Robt. R. Hull, former Christian Minister)

I sometimes doubt if I ever were a Protestant. I am sure that my Pro-
testantism never extended as far as sympathy for Protestant denomination-

alism. I always protested as much against Protestantism as against Cath-

olicism, and I have always believed in One Church. I could not conscientious-

ly enter into co-operation with Protestant ministers in union revival meet-

ings. There never was a time, since very early in my “Protestant” ministry,
when the Roman Catholic Church was not the only alternative for me, should

I ever contemplate a change.

What I really stood for as “a Protestant” was No Church. I rejected

every semblance of “organization” as the work of man. As soon as I was

convinced that external unity and government were necessary, I became a

Catholic. With me, it was either No Church or the Catholic Church. If a

Protestant at all, I was a negative Protestant purely. I felt no affinity for

the Protestant denominations. Passing over from my former position to my
present one was effected with the utmost ease.

The universality of the Church made a very strong appeal to me. I could

not conceive of a Church of Christ which was provincial and could not rise

above national barriers. The Church I sought must include the saints in

heaven. It must be a Church in which interchange between saints in heaven

and on earth is practiced.

The perennial youth of the Catholic Church appealed to me as a young

man. Militant Catholics are ever happy crusaders in search of the Holy

Grail. Catholicism presents the Christian ideals in symbols of living beauty.

My youth broke over the narrow conventions with which it had been sur-
rounded, and reached out for “the more abundant life,” which the Saviour

came to bestow.

God’s finger pointed clearly to the Catholic Church as my goal. Other-



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 13

wise my sufferings in Protestantism were meaningless, and what I saw as

God’s personal dealing with me was but a delusion and a snare. I accepted

my chastisement as of God. He would bring me unto Himself. He does not

willingly grieve nor afflict the children of men. In the Catholic Church I

have found an end to my strife, my anxieties, my doubts. There has come

to me a great peace, a maturity and mellowness of spirit.

The Catholic Church is the hope of the world. Only in Her heavenly

citizenship may men truly be united and wars cease. Not being willing to

despair of humanity, and seeing what results have come from the dissolu-

tion of Christian society that followed the Protestant Reformation, I have

come home to my Father’s House where there is room for all, and I wish to
be one of those workers who are striving to bring to a war-disturbed world

the realization of the Kingdom of God.

A NUN’S PRAYERS CONVERTED HIM.
MR. CHARLES W. MEYERS RELATES STORY IN CONNECTION WITH

HIS ACCEPTANCE OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH.
Los Angeles Calif., Nov. 20, 1923.

My dear Father Noll:
In reference to your kind request that I should write a brief article for

0. S. V. on what has been the chief comfort I have found in the Catholic

Faith, I beg to say that I am truly glad that you asked for a brief article
on an easy subject. I am still too “lame in the head” to do any strenuous
thinking on difficult subjects. So I will just tell you a little story connected

with my conversion, which I had to omit from the account of my conversion
in the “Minister’s Surrender,” for want of space. Sometimes I think now
that I should have included it in that account, as this little story is really

better than anything in the booklet. The book simply contains an account

of the mental process of my investigations of Catholic Truth, while this little
story gives the higher .spiritual influences that prompted and directed my
investigations.

You remember, perhaps, that on January 20, 1919, you wrote me a letter
containing the following sentences:

“Prof. Chas. W. Meyers, San Antonio, Tex.,
Dear Friend:—I am enclosing a letter received from a religious, which

I am sure will give you pleasure. Now I can see how you were led to in-
vestigate the truth of the Catholic Faith.

Sincerely yours in Xto,

John F. Noll.”

Here is the letter, verbatim, which you enclosed to me:

Holy Family Convent.

Danville, Pa., Jan. 17, ’19.

Rev. John F. Noll.

Dear Father:—Would be so grateful to you if you could tell me the ad-
dress of Mr. Charles W. Meyers, of whose conversion I read in the Sunday
Visitor. He is a cousin of one of our deceased Sisters, who prayed so much
for him, and who told me shortly before her saintly death, that she would
never cease praying for him. I know this will be a great consolation for Mr.
Meyers. He knows of her death, for I informed him; and he wrote me a very
nice letter, begging me at the same time to pray for him, which I faithfully
did. God’s ways are wonderful, indeed.

Yours sincerely,

Sister Magna.



14 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

This letter from Sister Magna discloses the fact that I had a cousin in
the Convent, who had died several years before, and who had prayed for my
conversion unceasingly during all her severe illness. It also shows that

Sister Magna had previously reported my dear cousin’s death to me, and had
received a courteous response from me, expressing my sympathy and con-
dolence. At that time (1911) I was located at Avon Park, Fla., as pastor of
a Congregational church.

About ten days after writing the above letter to you, Sister Magna wrote
me the following good letter:

Holy Family Convent

Danville, Pa., Jan. 27, 19.

Prof. C. W. Meyers, San Antonio, Texas.
Dear Sir:—Although many years have passed since I wrote to you and

announced dear Sister Christiana’s death, yet I have always had you in mind,

praying for you, as you had asked me to do when you answered my letter,

—

the only letters we had ever exchanged.

With great interest, I read the articles in the Sunday Visitor about a
Minister’s Conversion, saying to myself quite often, Oh, if it were only Mr.
Meyers! I redoubled my prayers for you, and you cannot imagine my sur-
prise, my joy, when at the conclusion of that wonderful narrative I read
your name! (Those who read the story of my conversion as it appeared in
0. S. V. will remember that my name was withheld till the close of the series.)
A fervent Deo Gratias escaped my lips, and I uttered it so loud that one of
the Sisters came to my room, thinking something had happened to me. Yes,
indeed, something wonderful had happened—the prayers of many years were
heard at last; and I was convinced that your cousin, our dear Sister Chris-

|

tiana, was admitted to the Celestial glory.

Let me congratulate you most heartily. I cannot tell you how grateful
I feel to the dear Sacred Heart, and to our beloved Mother Mary, for grant-

ing you the greatest of all gifts—the gift of Faith. How often did dear
Sister Christiana speak to me about you. She prayed very much for your
conversion, and offered up her great sufferings in the same intention, and told
me shortly before her saintly death that she would continue her prayer for
you, and never cease until the dear Lord would grant her request. She also ;

asked me to pray for you, which I did faithfully all these years. I included
you in all the prayers of the Community, and although I never heard from

you since Sister’s death, I felt convinced that my prayers would not be in
vain. And I assure you now that I shall continue my prayers for you, hop-
ing the dear Lord will grant you greater favors yet.

Now, is it not wonderful that we, whom you never met, had to pray for
you, who most likely had forgotten the Holy Family Convent, the home of
your cousin for many years! Yes, indeed, God is wonderfully good; may He
be praised!

Of myself, I will say, I am an old nun—not far from 70—who has the
grace of having been a Spouse of Christ over 50 years; and I ask a little

prayer from you, which I am sure you will not deny me.
May God bless you a thousandfold. I hope you will favor me with a

letter.

Sincerely yours,

Sister Magna.
To this good letter I wrote a prompt response, and in the following April

I

received another letter from Sister Magna in which she expressed great in-
terest and concern about the progress of my newly-found Faith. Here it is,
verbatim

:

Mr. Charles W. Meyers: April 10, ’19.

My dear Friend:—The long time that has intervened between your kind



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 15

and more than welcome letter and this, my answer, must not bring you to

the conclusion that I was about to forget you. Far from it, for there is not

one day that I do not think of you before God. That is a promise I made to

your dear cousin, our good, sainted Christiana, and which I mean to keep

faithfully as long as I live. I have been thinking of you so often, and have

been wondering how you were, and whether you were happy in your new

occupation, and I am looking forward to the next letter with which you will

favor me, I hope. Although I never had the pleasure of meeting you, I can-

not think of you as of a stranger; but I have spoken to the dear Lord too

much about you, and, therefore, feel as if I knew you personally. I hope you

are in the best of health, and that you are perfectly at home in that beautiful

land of flowers, and that the work you are doing is congenial to you. May I

ask what your occupation is? Some time ago I read an article from your

pen in Our Sunday Visitor, that of course excited my interest doubly. May

God bless your work, which, I am sure, is for the greater honor and glory

of God. May the dear Lord fill your heart with His Holy Love and may He

draw you to Him and enclose you, and hold you forever, in the sweet wound

of His Sacred Heart. Let us meet there and pray for one another.

I have not been in good health all winter; but after all, our troubles and

sufferings are all tokens of love.

But I must close now, wishing you a most joyous Easter. That God may

bless you, and that our dear Mother Mary may have and hold you in her
motherly care, is the fervent wish and prayer of

Yours sincerely,

Sister Magna.

This letter reads like a message from Heaven. I responded to it prompt-

ly, expressing my gratitude for her saintly benedictions; but I never heard
from her again. No doubt God called her sweet soul away, soon after this,
for she was already far advanced in age.

I certainly have much reason to be happy, not only in my Catholic Faith,
but for my Catholic Faith, as it surely came to me by the supernatural in-
fluence of faith and prayer.

Not only did faith and prayer bring it to me, but faith and prayer have

sustained it through all the bitter trials and disappointments of my Catholic
life. Among all the disheartening, and almost heart-breaking experiences
I have had, as a Catholic, nothing has been so comforting as my Catholic
Faith; indeed, it is the only thing that has kept me from sinking into despair.

Do I love and prize this “Pearl of Great Price,” which came to me as the
Gift of Faith? Yes, I can say, sincerely, that I prize it as the supreme

blessing, of my life; and I think I have proved my devotion to the Holy Faith
by what I have been willing to suffer for it.

Not only have I suffered the loss of friends and means, but even my
enthusiastic efforts to propagate this Holy Faith have been so strongly

misinterpreted, and misunderstood. My motives for the good work I was
trying to do, have been impeded, and my work hindered and opposed, when
I least expected it. But in spite of all this, I kept on spending my time and
means and strength for the propagation of this precious Faith among those
who knew it not. You know, dear Monsignor, how you found me in my little
“den” in L. A. staggering under the weight of an overwhelming correspond-

ence, that had resulted from the wide circulation of my booklet,—“A Minis-
ter’s Surrender,”—and how you came to my relief by sending me a large box
of Catholic pamphlets, gratis, with which to enlighten my non-Catholic in-
quirers and critics. This was a great relief to me, as it saved my strength
and means; but my intense zeal for the Holy Faith caused me to continue to
spend my small means for more books, with which to spread Catholic Faith.
Indeed, I was a walking “Catholic Truth Society.” As St. Paul said of him-



16 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

self, I was a “fool for Christ’s sake.” All this, without the donation of a

dollar, or a word of sympathy, to help me in this work. Of course, the time
soon came when my resources were exhausted, and then, like the “Prodigal
Son,” I “began to be in want”; but through the intercession of the Blessed

Saints and angels help came unsolicited from unexpected sources, which sus-

tained me and helped me to continue my beloved work. For a while I was
engaged by the Knights of Columbus to lecture to non-Catholic audiences,

—

a service which I did with enthusiasm and delight. Then, when the lecture
course was ended. I cast about to find something else t& do in the interest of

the Faith, which I loved; and as the matter of Schools and education was in

the air, I got busy and prepared my little pamphlet on “Why We Need
Church Schools,” for which our Rt. Rev. Bishop kindly gave his Imprimatur

and also ordered 2,000 copies. Other large orders came in, in rapid suc-

cession, until its circulation' has advanced to nearly 40,000. All this, by the

very hearty endorsement of the Hierarchy, in spite of very determined ef-

forts from other sources to prevent its circulation.

But I was so eager to get the booklet out on time that I worked almost

day and night, and broke down under a paralytic stroke which has almost
entirely disabled me. I am so nervous now that even the writing of this lit-
tle article is a strenuous task to me, and I would not do it for any other man
in the U. S. but you.

But while I have lost much of my strength, I have not lost my spirit, and
despite all my hindrances, I am determined even yet to stay on my feet and
hobble about if necessary, to spread Catholic Truth.

Though my material circumstances are very trying and extremely hard
to bear, yet I am happy in my Catholic Faith, and expect to live and die in
my devotion to it. Now, in my present condition, it is practically my only
source of happiness.

CHAS. W. MEYERS

CONVERTS AMONG AMERICAN PRELATES.
One of the most striking evidences of the vitality and truth of the

Catholic Church is its power of winning, year by year. non-Catholic clergy-
men as converts to the Faith. These gentlemen, who are the fine flower of
their sects, have, from a worldly standpoint, everything to lose and nothing

to gain from joining the Church. The change usually means loss of social

consideration, often even the loss of a livelihood; for by resigning their

ministry, they become just Catholic laymen. All honor to their single-mind-

edness, and unselfish devotion to the truth which they see shining in the com-

munion of the Church of Christ!

Their example brings home to us who are Catholics from birth the ir-
resistible appeal of the Catholic Faith to the noblest type of intellect. The

sacrifice which they make, the privation they endure, the obloquy they court,

the social and domestic ties they sever—all these are consequences to be tak-
en into account if one will estimate the heroism of their action, and the com-

pelling power of the Church’s claims to be Christ’s Way and Truth, and
Life. The spiritual peace and serenity which they find in the household of the

Faith must be unmistakable evidence to outweigh all material considerations.

Here in the United States within the past century, over 500 converted

Protestant clergymen and 400 laymen have been admitted to the ranks of the

priesthood. Of these distinguished converts more than a dozen have adorned

our American Hierarchy. Three of them have occupied the historical See

of Baltimore; namely Archbishops Whitfield, ‘Eccleston and Bayley. The

first on our roster, Most Rev. James Whitfield, was born in England. After

conversion he received minor orders in France at the hands of Cardinal



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 17

Fesch, Napoleon’s uncle; was ordained in Lyons in 1809, and came to Balti-
more. In 1828 he was consecrated Archbishop, dying in 1834. The Most
Rev. Samuel Eccleston, who also became Archbishop of Baltimore in 1834,
was born of Episcopalian parents in Maryland in 1801. He died at the Visita-
tion convent, Georgetown, D. C., in 1851. The third, the Most Rev. James
Roosevelt Bayley, became eighth Archbishop of Baltimore. He was a near
relative of ex-President Roosevelt. His career was interesting and eventful.
Born in 1814 near New York, he became an Episcopalian clergyman, but re-
signed his charge in 1841. He was received into the Church at Rome in 1842.
Thereupon he was promptly disinherited by his uncle—of whom he was the
closest of kin—who built the Roosevelt hospital, New York, with the funds
intended for him. After two years’ studies in St. Sulpice, Paris, he was or-
dained in old St. Peter’s church, New York, by Bishop Hughes, whose secre-
tary he later became, and whose life he wrote. In 1853 Fathey Bayley was
consecrated first Bishop of Newark. One of the acts of his episcopate was
the founding of Seton Hall college and seminary, named after his aunt,
Mother Bayley Seton, founder of the American branch of the Sisters of Char-

ity and herself a saintly convert. Later he was consecrated Archbishop of
Baltimore, receiving the Pallium from Archbishop Wood of Philadelphia.

Archbishop Wood, just referred to, was also a convert. He was born
in Philadelphia in 1813, was ordained in 1844, succeeded to the bishopric of
Philadelphia in 1860. He it was who founded the diocesan seminary of St.
Charles Borromeo at Overbrook, Pa.

The first incumbents of the bishoprics of Hartford, Erie, Columbus,
Wilmington and Ogdensburg, namely Bishops Tyler, Young, Rosecrans.

Becker and Wadhams, respectively, were all converts. Another, Bishop Al-
fred A. Curtis, who was born in Somerset county, Md., in 1851, was received
into the Church by Cardinal Newman. He acted as Vicar General of the
Archdiocese of Baltimore in 1896 and was afterwards Bishop of Wilming-

con, Del.

Archbishop Christie of Oregon City was of Vermont Protestant extraction.

Archbishop James Hubert Blenk, late archbishop of New Orleans was born
in Germany of Lutheran parents; ordained priest in 1885, consecrated Bishop
of Porto Rico in 1899, and transferred to New Orleans in 1906.

CONVERSION OF WHOLE RELIGIOUS
COMMUNITY.

In the summer of 1913 there arrived on this side of the Atlantic a
booklet containing copies of letters which passed between the Archbishop

of Canterbury, the Bishop of Oxford, the Bishop of Fon du Lac (Wisconsin),

all prelates of the Anglican Church, and a correspondent who signed him-
self “D. Aelred, O. S. B., Abbot,” manifestly, also, at the time the letters

were written, a member of the Church of England.
What was revealed at the close of the correspondence was that “D.

Aelred, 0. S. B. Abbot,” and nearly all the members of his community, had

decided that they must leave the Church of England. They had become

converts to the Catholic Church and were preparing to make formal sub-
mission to the Holy See, with the hope of being admitted to the Order of

Saint Benedict. They had believed, while in the Church of England, that
they were Catholics, that they were entitled to restore the Benedictine order

within the Church of England. They had been encouraged by the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury to do so; they had attained a considerable measure of

success in their work, and then they were suddenly compelled to take

decisions which resulted in their leaving the Church of England and seeking

haven in the Catholic Church. The incident was the most significant, per-



18 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

haps, in English religious history, since the conversion of Cardinal Newman.
There was this difference, however. The throes of Newman’s spiritual

agitation had shaken the world for years before he found peace. The
Caldey conversion was a bolt out of the blue. Neither did the correspond-
ence reveal at all clearly the inspiration, as in the Newman case, of a
definite personality behind the controversy, which went on by letter over

various matters of spiritual and temporal interest. Whatever may have
been the case in England, few on this side of the Atlantic knew much about
the Abbot of Caldey up to the time he appeared before them in the flesh in

the winter of 1917-18.

Doubtless there are plenty of choice spirits in the world who are
content, in presence of such a fact as the translation of a whole communi-

ty out of the Anglican and into the Catholic Church, to see in the event so

striking an example of the inscrutable workings of Providence as to allay

all feelings of curiosity concerning the personality of the participants. And
yet the Newman incident lost nothing in significance from the fact that the
white light beat constantly, for years, upon the individual character of the

convert. True, Newman was a literary gladiator; whereas the Anglican
Benedictines were devoted to the cloister and to the contemplative life.

JANSENIST HEAD IN AMERICA ENTERS
THE CHURCH.

Archbishop de Berghes et de Rache, Metropolitan of the old Roman
Catholic (Jansenist) Church of America, the highest dignitary of that re-

ligious sect in the western hemisphere, submitted to the authority of the

Pope in 1922.

The submission of Archbishop de Berghes et de Rache is of historic im-

portance in religious annals.

120.000 Communicants Here.

Archbishop de Berghes et de Rache is the acknowledged head of a group

of congregations claiming to number about 120,000 persons scattered through
the United States and Canada.

The American branch of the Jansenist Church is the most populous and
powerful unit of the creed in the world, now. For decades there has been

a steady drift of its membership back to Rome in all other countries, so that
today its total strength is little if any more than 250,000 souls.

The Convert-Archbishop declared: “My action was inspired, of course,
by faith. Then too, my experience and my studies had taught me the neces-
sity for a centre of unity and a living interpreter in religion. The question
of the validity and recognition of Orders was important also. My submis-
sion was the logical consequence of my work and—but it is difficult to de-
fine clearly. It is a thing that grows, a process of development within one.

“My life has been a succession of steps upward. I was reared as a child
in the Protestant Low Church of England. At Cambridge I became High
Church and was interested in what was called the Anglo-Catholic clique. My
mother, hearing of it, had me transferred to the faculty of Protestant theo-
logy in the University of Paris. This was frankly Calvinistic. Later. I en-
tered the Anglican Church, receiving Holy Orders.

“But the question of the validity of the Orders and authority concern-

ed me. Partly for that reason I joined the Old Roman Catholic Church, the
Orders of which have long been conceded valid, though irregular, by Rome.

It is an unusual situation, though thoroughly understood. Rome does not
recognize the Orders of the Old Roman Catholic or Jansenist Church, though
valid, but may regularize them.



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 19

Urges Flock to Follow.
“My submission is complete and unqualified. As to my future plans,

I shall in all probability enter one of the great active religious orders. How
many of my former flock will follow me I cannot say, but I will advise all
who are qualified to do so. It would not surprise me to hear that my Bishop
in Chicago would return to the Roman Catholic Church/’

ANGLICAN CONVERTS.
No fewer than one hundred and fifty Anglican clergymen have renounc-

ed Protestantism and entered the Catholic Church from 1910 to 1920, ac-
cording to a statement in the London Catholic Times. Many have been
ordained priests. The number quoted does not include converts from Angli-
can religious orders, which would make the number still higher.

RUSSIAN PRELATE A CONVERT.
Paris, Oct. 29.—The Russian Archimandrite Serge Dabitch delivered his

formal profession of the Catholic faith into the hands of Bishop Chaptal

who had been specially delegated by the Holy See for this occasion. The
Archimandrite is a Doctor of Laws and Divinity and has served as chaplain
to the Russian Embassy in Paris and was rector of Russian Orthodox
Churches in Austria, Hungary, and the Catholic parts of Germany. By
special permission of the pope, he is permitted to retain the title of Archi-

mandrite and to wear the pectoral cross, crosier and mitre.

It is believed that this is the first time since 1439 that a prelate of such

high rank in the Russian Church has embraced the Catholic faith.

NOTED JAPANESE CHEMIST.
Though born of Buddhist parents in the Far East, Dr. Takamine forsook

that religion many years ago. He later joined the Masonic Order. About
six weeks before his death, in 1922, he was baptized into the Roman Catholic
faith.

I can imagine no happier lot than to have lived as an artist or musician

in some small South German State, in an entirely Catholic atmosphere, amid
a people of neighbors untroubled by political ambition or religious doubt.

—

Rev. R. L. Gales, England, Protestant, 1911

NOTED CONVERTS—BY SCANNELL O’NEILL

CONVERTS IN THE WASHINGTON FAMILY.
George Washington although not a Catholic, was as we know, well dis-

posed to the Church and to our people, and counted among his intimate
friends Charles Carroll, General Moylan, Colonel Fitzgerald, George Mead,

Archbishop Marechal, and other noted Catholics. We are told that he al-
ways kept hanging over his bed a picture of the Immaculate Conception,

which is today to be seen in its old place at Mount Vernon. There is, too, a

tradition, that on the night on which Washington died, Father Neale, S. J.,

of the Maryland province was hurriedly sent for, and rowed across the

Potomac, where he remained for four hours with the dying patriot. If true,

this is significant, in view of the fact that no Protestant clergyman attended

Washington in his last moments.



20 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

If Washington was received into the Church on his death-bed, he was
but returning to the Church of his forefathers. In the Magazine of Amer-
ican History for 1879, we are told that James Washington, a brother of
General Washington’s great grandfather, John, went to Holland in 1650,
the year his brother came to America, and settled in Rotterdam. His des-
cendants today are all Catholics, and are named Washington.

But if we cannot claim the first President as one of our own, we number
several of his relatives among our converts. Here are a few names of
such persons:

A Catholic Washington was John Nicholson Washington, Mayor of New-
bern, North Carolina, who graduated at Yale in 1841, and was a great-grand-
nephew of General Washington. A daughter of John Washington, Mother
Sallie Vail Washington, was for years Superior of the Ursulines in St. Louis.

Elizabeth Francis Nash Cecil of Powhatan County, Va., was a descendant
of Elizabeth Washington and Frances Madison. She was a well-known
writer of the last century, and a devout Catholic.

Another convert come to us from this historic family was the late Miss

Eugenia Washington of Washington. D. C., one of the founders and first

Registrar-General of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Miss

Washington was a daughter of William Temple Washington, a son of Gen-

eral Washington’s favorite nephew and secretary, George Stephen Washing-

ton. She was therefore, a great-granddaughter of Augustine Washington

and Mary Ball (the mother of George Washington). Miss Washington was

bom in 1839, and died in 1899, under most distressing circumstances. Her sis-
ter is the last surviving member of this particular branch of the Washing-
ton family.

Still another convert from the historical family of the Father of our

Country is Richard Blackburn Washington, a native of Charles Town, Jeffer-

son Co., W. Va., son of George Washington (last member of the Washington
family born at Mount Vernon), a grandson of John Augustine Washington,

the last owner of Mount Vernon, who sold this historic property to the ladies
of the association. Richard Blackburn Washington is quite a young man,

being now in his twenty-fifth year. Although he was attracted towards the
Church in early boyhood, it was not until 1909, during his residence in Rich-

mond, Va., that he applied to the Rev. Joseph Magri of St. Peter’s Church

for instructions in the doctrines of the Catholic faith. Business interests

having called him to Atlanta, Ga., the instructions were continued under the

Rev. Father Dubois of the Marist order, who baptized him at the Sacred
Heart Church, Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 4, 1912. His First Communion was made
the following Easter Sunday. Having removed to Washington, D. C.. Mr.

Washington was confirmed by Cardinal Gibbons in St. Dominic’s Church,

that city, on Dec. 22, 1912.

CATHOLIC DESCENDANTS OF FRANKLIN.
The following are the names of some of the living Catholic relatives of

Benjamin Franklin:

Margaret Perry La Farge, New York, great-great-granddaughter.
Franklin Bache, Philadelphia; great-great-grandson.

Franklin Bache, Jr., Philadelphia; great-great-great-grandson.

Francis Howard, the painter, London; great-great-grandson.

Oliver Hazard Perry La Farge, Seattle, Wash.; great-great-great-grand-

son.

Christopher and Bancel La Farge, New York City; great-great-great-
grandsons.



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 21

The Rev. Father John La Farge, S.J., Leonardtown, Md.; great-great-
great-grandson.

Mary Teresa Evelyn Converse, Medway, Mass.; direct descendant (exact
relationship not known).

CONVERT NAVAL OFFICERS.
Rear-Admiral William Shepherd Benson, U.S.N., Chief of the Bureau of

Naval Operations.

Rear-Admiral William H. Emory, U.S.N., (retired).

Rear-Admiral Franklin J. Drake. U.S.N., (retired); graduate of Ann-
apolis, 1868; became a Catholic in 1912.

Rear-Admiral Benjamin Franklin Sands, U.S.N., (1811-1883); father of
Rear-Admiral James Hoban Sands, U.S.N.

The late Rear-Admiral William Judah Thompson, U.S.N.

Rear-Admiral Stephen Rand, (1844-1915); Pay Director, U.S.N.
Rear-Admiral Francis Munroe Ramsey (1835-1914); Superintendent

United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, 1881-86; Chief of the Bureau of
Navigation, 1887-97, etc.

Rear-Admiral Andrew Allen Harwood. U.S.N. (1802-1884); great-grand-
son of Benjamin Franklin.

Rear-Admiral Augustus Henry Kilty, U.S.N. (1807-1879).

The late Rear-Admiral William R. Kirkland, U.S.N.

The late Rear-Admiral Samuel Rhoades Franklin, U.S.N.

Commodores

Commodore Theodore Hunt, U.S.N., who served under Bainbridge, in
Tripoli.

Commodore John G. Beaumont, U.S.N. (1821-1882).

Commodore John Guest, U.S.N. (1821-1879).

Commodore Benjamin Franklin Bache, U.S.N.; great grandson of Ben-
jamin Franklin; Professor of Chemistry at Kenyon College, etc.

Other Officers.

Captain William W. Low, U.S.N., who became a Catholic in 1886.
Captain Joseph Tarbell, U.S.N. (1773-1815).

Commander James Harmon Ward, U.S.N. (1806-1861); Instructor at
Annapolis; first officer killed in the Civil War.

Lieut-Commander Plenry Dinger, U.S.N.

Lieut-Commander Francis H. Sheppard, U.S.N.; graduate of Annapolis,

1863.

FORTY-FOUR GENERALS OF CIVIL WAR
WERE CONVERTS.

Catholic Loyalty and Patriotism Largely Responsible.

UNION.
Major-General William Stark Rosecrans, U. S. A. (1819-1898); graduate

of West Point, 1842.
Major-General Thomas West Sherman, U. S. A. (1813-1879); graduate

of West Point, 1836.
Major-General Andrew Jackson Smith; graduate of West Point, 1838.
Major-General Erasmus Darwin Keyes, U. S. A. (1810-1895); graduate

of West Point, 1842.
Major-General Nathaniel Giddings Tecumseh Dana, U. S. A.; graduate

of West Point, 1832.



22 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

Major-General Joseph Lane, U. S. A. (1801-1881); Governor of, Member
of Congress and U. S. Senator from Oregon; candidate for President of the

United States, 1860.

Major-General John Newton, U. S. A. (1823.-1895); graduate of West

Point, 1842. General Newton blew up Hell Gate and other obstructions in

East River, New York.
Bvt.-Major-General and Brigadier General Thomas Kirby Smith, U. S.

A. (1820-1887).

Major-General David Sloan Stanley, U. S. A.; graduate of West Point,
1852.

Major-General Thomas McCurdy Vincent, Commissary-General, U. S. A.;
graduate of West Point, 1853.

Major-General Daniel Edgar Sickles, U. S. A. (1823-1914).

Major-General Don Carlos Buell, U. S. A. (1818-1898); graduate of West
Point, 1841.

Major-General James Allen Hardie, Inspector-General, U. S. A. (1823-

1876); graduate of West Point, 1843.

Major-General William Selby Harney, U. S. A. (1800-1889), the great

Indian fighter; brother of Father Harney, Dominican and poet.

Major-General Henry Jackson Hunt, U. S. A. (1819-1889)
;
Chief Artil-

lery Officer, Army of the Potomac; graduate of West Point, 1839.
Major-General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick, U. S. A. (1836-1881); graduate

of West Point, 1861; Minister to Chili, 1865-68.

Brigadier-General Abbott Hall Brisbane, U. S. A. (1805-1861); graduate

of West Point, 1825.
Brigadier-General John Gray Foster, U. S. A. (1823-1874); graduate of

West Point, 1846.
Brigadier-General Samuel Warren Fountain, U. S. A. (retired); grad-

uate of West Point, 1870.
Brigadier-General Martin D. Hardin, U. S. A. (retired); graduate of

West Point, 1859.
Bvt.-Brigadier-General C. Carroll Tevis (“Nesiah Bey”); later Brigadier-

General in the Provincial Army of France, the Egyptian and Turkish Armies
and an officer in the Pontifical Zouaves of Pius the Ninth; graduate of West
Point, 1849.

Brigadier-General George Croghan Reid, U. S. M. C. (1840-1914).

Brigadier-General Amiel Weeks Whipple, U. S. A. (1818-1863); killed
at Chancellorsville; graduate of West Point, 1837.

Brigadier-General Samuel Davis Sturgis, U. S. A. (1822-1880); grad-

uate of West Point, 1846.
Brigadier-General Charles Pomeroy Stone, U. S. V. (1824-87); grad-

uate of West Point, 1845; engineer-in-chief of the construction of the Barth-
oldi statue; Lieutenant-General and Commander of the Egyptian army.

Brigadier-General William A. Olmstead, U. S. V.; died a priest at*Notre

Dame, Ind.
Brigadier-General Charles McDougall, M. D., U. S. A.; surgeon at West

Point; Assistant Surgeon-General, U. S. A.

Brigadier-General John Watts Kearney, U. S. A.; son of General Philip
Kearny.

Brigadier-General Eliakim of Parker Scammon, U. S. A.; graduate of
West Point, 1837.

Brigadier-General Joseph Warren Revere, U. S. V., (1812-1880); grand-
son of Paul Revere of the Revolution; officer in the Spanish army of Isabella!
the Second in Mexico.

CONFEDERATE.
General James Longstreet, C. S. A.; graduate of West Point, 1842; U. S.

Ministry to Turkey under Hayes.



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 23

General Lucius Bellinger Northrop, Ctmmissary-General, C. S. A.; uncle

of the Rt. Rev. Henry Kickney Northrop, D. D., present Bishop of Charles-
ton; graduate of West Point, 1830.

General Daniel Marsh Frost, C. S. A.; graduate of West Point.
General William L. Cabell, C. S. A.; graduate of West Point, 1850.
General William J. Hardee, C. S. A.; graduate of West Point, 1838; Com-

mandant of Cadets at West Point previous to the outbreak of the civil war.
General James Jones, Adjutant-General, C. S. A.
General John Floyd, Governor of Virginia and father of Governor John

B. Floyd, successively Governor of Virginia and Secretary of War in Buch-
anan’s cabinet.

General William Henry Carroll, C. S. A.; son of Governor Carroll of
Tennessee. A member of a “strayed” branch of the illustrious Catholic fam-
ily of that name.

Gneral Sterling Price, C. S. A., baptized on his deathbed in 1867, by
Rev. Father Garesche, S.J. General Price was governor of Missouri.

General Randall Lee Gibson, C. S. A., successively Member of Congress
and United States Senator from Louisiana, and one of the founders of Tulane
University. Father of Mr. Preston Gibson of Chicago and Washington.

General Henry C. Wayne, Adjutant-General and Inspector-General, C. S.
A. Descendant of “Mad Anthony Wayne” of the Revolution.

General Albert Gallatin Jenkins, C. S. A.

General Robert Crittenden Newton, C. S. A.

General S. A. M. Wood, C. S. A.

JOYCE KILMER.

Joyce Kilmer, poet, publicist, critic, a brilliant writer, and hero of the

late war, was a devout convert to the Church.

He was born in New Brunswick of parents who still live in the city by
the Raritan, and received his college training in Rutgers and Columbia.

After his graduation he followed whither his talents led him into a
life of literary work. He wrote poems which soon brought him fame. He
held high position in the literary department of the metropolitan papers.

His light was ever in the ascendant. He bade fair to rank high in contem-
poraneous literary history.

Mr. Kilmer married an adopted daughter of the editor of harper’s Monthly.

God blessed their union with four children.

“The history of his life is a wonderful evidence of how the Catholic
faith begets the greatest patriots. Kilmer when he first came to us,

years ago, was groping for that spiritual truth which would, in turn,

give unity and direction to the many problems, political, social, economic,
that vexed and tried his soul. He came to us bewildered and when we
spoke of the supreme revealed truth of God, as taught by the Catholic

Church, his soul was roused and attentive. He had studied the teach-
ings of the Church but he could not accept. There followed many
months of conference. Then Kilmer saw and wished to make his own

the truth of Jesus Christ. But never was it more evident that faith

is the gift of God, and the gift came not. At that time Kilmer was

working on the New York Times. Every day at lunch hour he went
to the Church of the Holy Innocents and there prayed that God’s hand

would give him the power, the grace, to make his own what he wished

to make his own but could not.”
“God’s mercy was not slow. The gift came. Joyce Kilmer re-

joiced as a child in its coming, and walked in simplicity and full accept-



24 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

ance of the Catholic faith ever afterwards. It was the light that for
him enlightened his whole being, his whole life and all that affected it.
It sanctified the love of wife and children; it made possible the great
sacrifice his wife and he were asked to endure and finally to consummate.

It purified and exalted his love of country. It consecrated and inspired

his poetry. It kept clear his vision so that in this world tragedy he

saw straight from the beginning, and it was that Faith that led him to
make the supreme sacrifice; it was that blessed Faith that has crowned
him before all his country and throughout history with the crown of
a hero and patriot.”—Catholic World.
Kilmer joined the 165th Regiment, the old Sixty-ninth, as a private.

As the Rainbow Division was early in the fighting, Kilmer was soon thrown
amidst the sternest perils of the war. His letters home told of the priva-
tions and dangers and he gloried in them.

And then the news flashed “Joyce Kilmer killed in battle.” He died
as he lived—wedded to the highest ideals. His memory, radiated by his
glorious death, will long survive. His poetry will be haloed by the ro-

mance of his fate.

A PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE TYPES OF

AMERICAN CONVERTS.

The Rev. Edward J. Mannix, S.T.L., is the author of a recent book, en-

titled “The American Convert Movement,” which supplies a decided need in

Catholic literature. The price is $2.00, and same may be procured from the

Devin-Adair Co., 437 Fifth Ave., New York City.

There is a “Convert Movement” in America. This movement will be

accelerated, because of the general breaking up of Protestantism over doc-

trinal issues, such as is represented in the contest between the Fundamenta-

lists and the Liberals. Intelligent men and women, who really love the Lord,

will seek in the fold of the Catholic Church the peace and security from

clamorous dissensions which is awaiting them there.

In 1785 there were only 30,000 Catholics in the United States. Now they
number 23,000,000; and of these it is estimated that 700,000 are converts or

the descendants of converts.

The Catholic convert always attracts notice. It is taken for granted

that there will be more or less change between the various Protestant de-

nominations. Persons become dissatisfied, and go from the Methodist to the

Baptist church, or from the Baptist to the Methodist church. All this is

passed over as worthy of little notice. In the case of a conversion from

Protestantism to the Catholic Church, however, there must have been a

mighty change effected—a revolution which breaks up even the very founda-
tions.

Catholic converts do not “get religion,” with all the vociferous accom-

paniments of the traditional “camp-meeting” article. Conversion, in the

Catholic sense, denotes a change in heart, will, and mind. The many dis-

tinguished names, of eminent scholars, statesmen, generals, and ministers, is

evidence enough that Rome assuredly appeals to reason.



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 25

HENRY WILLIAM WILBERFORCE.

The Catholic is, and has ever been, hated by the world. I need not
prove this; you know and see it. A man may be anything else that he
will. He may be a Churchman, or a Dissenter, or among the Dissenters he
may join whatever particular sect of Dissent he likes best, or he may make
a new one if he will. His neighbors will care nothing about this: his
friends and family will laugh, and perhaps shrug their shoulders, and there

is an end of it. Men may laugh at him, but they will not think worse of him,
much less do they hate him. He may have no religion at all if he pleases,
and they will feel it is no business of theirs. But if he dares to become a

Catholic, he must prepare himself for the hatred of all the world. Even by
dear friends and relations he will probably find himself altogether abandoned,

or at least coldly received. Educated men and women will behave towards
him as they would to no other man, making in his case an exception to the
common rules of courtesy and civility.

And yet, wonderful to say, amidst this strife of tongues, God is ever
finding His own. One after another they are drawn in: they begin by
curiosity perhaps; they go on to doubt whether there is not some truth in

the Catholic religion after all; they inquire; they hesitate, not daring to

act; some go back, as men did from our Lord Himself, (John vi. 66,) others
persevere and become Catholics. Many trials have those who do so; but,
amid them all, they have that presence and favor of Christ our Lord which

makes trials easy and afflictions sweet.

Let us pray that in our several trials and difficulties we may all have
the grace from God to “stand firm, acquit us like men, be strong.”

.

“The

time is short—the fashion of this world passeth away.” Very soon it will
be nothing at all to us whether we have been rich or poor, honored or de-

spised by men, cherished or abandoned by friends. But whether we have

indeed been earnest and sincere in striving to know the will of God—*

whether we have from our hearts prayed to Him to guide and enlighten us
to know it—whether we have been ready at all costs to follow it when we
knew it,—these things will be to us of moment unspeakable, infinite* ever-
lasting. Let this, then, be your prayer: “Give me, Lord, knowledge of Thy

will in all things, both small and great. Give me grace to choose, to follow,
to do, to love it, at all costs, and simply because it is Thine.” Long, my
dear friends, has this been my daily prayer; let it be yours, and who can say
how soon God by His grace may lead you into that Church into which He
has brought me.

60,000 CONVERTS MADE IN ENGLAND IN 6 YEARS.

London, Dec. 17.—More than 60,000 persons have been received into the
Church in England during the last six years, Father Woodlock stated in the

first of a series of lectures on “The Road to Rome.”

According to the baptismal register of the Farm Street church of the

Jesuits, he said, in the last sixty years more than 5,000 persons have been

received by the priests at this church alone. The average was more than 100

a year during the last quarter century. In England, more than 800 clergymen

have “come over” since the Oxford movement, and since the year 1910, 168

ministers have come into the Church, Father Woodlock said.



26 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

HOW A HUMORIST BECAME A CATHOLIC.
Editor of the London PUNCH

One of the most unexpected ways of becoming interested in the
Church

is that which is recorded in the case of Sir F. C. Bumand, editor for
many

years of London Punch. A busy writer of quaint and humorous comment

on current happenings, he had never given religion or polemics
any serious

thought. He was a member of the Church of England, and apparently

quite satisfied with the Establishment. Almost the only thing
he was

serious about was his editorial wor%for, as he himself said: It
is no

joke to find bread for a family of six by making jokes.” So he
was con-

stantly on the lookout for material for his work. . T * u
One day, in pursuit of such material in an old bookstore in

London, he

picked up a copy of St. Augustine’s “Confessions,” a book
which, though he

had often heard of, he had never read. He took it to his office,
knowing

from experience that even in the most unexpected places
one sometimes

finds hints and suggestions valuable for one’s work.

The book lay open on his desk when an Anglican bishop
called. Con-

cluding at once that Mr. Bumand was on his way to “Rome, as
there had

been a number of conversions recently, the good bishop
asked the humor-

ist solemnly: “Have you really considered the step you are
about to take

.

—“I have considered it very carefully,” replied the humorist, thinking that
the question related only to some projected, irreverent use

which the bishop

feared might be made of St. Augustine’s great work.—
Well, said the

bishop, “come to me tomorrow, and I will show you reasons
against it.

Burnand went, and the bishop explained to him the
Anglican position.

He listened respectfully, apparently much impressed by the
cogency of the

reasoning of his right reverend friend. “I shall
now show you how weak

the Roman position is,” went on the bishop, having
finished his argumenl

in favor of Anglicanism.—“Oh, pardon me,’ said
Burnand, but don t yoi.

think your Lordship, that Cardinal Newman would be the
best man to gc

to for the Roman position? You have interested me
deeply m a subjed

to which I confess I have never given any
thought. It is a most importani

matter now, as I see from your words; and I do not
think it would be fan

to myself, or to a subject so vital, to decide
at once about it. I shall tak<

up the Roman side of the question with the Cardinal. ,

He went to see Cardinal Newman, and soon after
entered the Chuich

remaining until death a very fervent, zealous
Catholic.

The last lineal descendant of John Knox,
leader of Calvinism in Scot

land, and at one time the tutor of poor little
Edward VI of England^ died .

Brother of the Holy Cross of Notre Dame. Ind.
His name m religion wa

Brother Joseph, but previously he was also John
Knox.

“AWAY FROM ROME” LEADER BECOMES
CATHOLIC.

Rev. John Albani, Head of Notable Movement
Agains

the Church, Tells How He Was Led to Change Views

Vienna, Dec. 10, 1923—When in 1897 the “Los von Rom”
(Away froi

Rome) movement broke out in Austria inspired by
political a^nts and fii

anced with subsidies from Germany, there
appeared, among the numeroi



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 27

Protestant ministers who poured into Austria, the Rev. John Albani, D.D.
He came from Saxony and boasted of being a descendant of the ancient Ital-
ia TJu

e
.

family t0 which Pope Clement IV and several Cardinals belonged.
Dr. Albani was a passionate representative of the Protestant cause, and the
Catholic journalists of Austria clashed with him repeatedly. He caused con-
siderable mischief by his proselytizing activities among the liberal citizens
of several towns who had long before been alienated from the Catholic
Church.

Failure of Movement.
The ‘‘Los von Rom” movement failed pitiably in Austria. Some Protest-

ant churches, built then and empty now, and a few thousand “New Protest-
ants who have nothing in common with their adopted religion except the
mere name, are all that remain. Among those who have recognized that
movement as a mistake, strangely enough, is its one-time hard promulgator,
the former Protestant minister, Albani. He who had been a passionate ad-
versary of Rome has now become an adherent of Rome, a faithful and zealous
son of the Catholic Church.

Dr. Albani has written a history of his conversion. After having been
sorely disappointed during his activity in Austria because of the purely
worldly character of the demagogic propaganda for Protestantism, he return-

*1.0
hl

f .
na
^
v
f,
Saxony to continue his pastoral work. But the impressions

gathered in Catholic Austria gave him no rest. Thereafter, he occupied him-
self thoroughly with Catholic doctrine. He made a zealous study of the
writings of St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose spiritual exercises he made the
subject of a book.

How His Conversion Came About.

_
“T

*

he outbreak of the war,” he writes, “caused me to make a still more

f^
eS

w^
am

Vf
atl?” °.f affairs and a thorough self-examina-

fonU’ o
1
*6

!.

131

?
tbe

^ j*
bokc Priests seemed at their Mass, in compar-

“
+

th®
,

Protestant soldiers depending on the sermon and measuring,
according to it, the value of their ecclesiastical community. Also in the sphere

advantage

PerStltl°nS ^ their suppression
’
the Catholic Church showed to

When I gave the Lord’s Supper from morning to night to an infantry
regiment shortly before the march of my division toward Verdun, I was
forced to look into many hundreds of downcast faces and but few cheerful
ones. I must confess that there were not two out of two thousand men who

an
f

satlsfactory conception of what they celebrated. It was
then that I formed a firm resolution that, if God showed me the way, I would
?
ot ™^am myself from going beyond the limits of my Church, if need be,m order to acknowledge the Divine Revelation without restriction.”

lb
lni th?

n tells bow
’ ^turning from the war, he recognized more

anncSof
’
tb

£
0U2h earnest studies, the dogmatic foundation of the Papal

apostolate. It was difficult for him for a long time, he says, to detach him-
self entirely from the Protestant train of thought. The faithful Catholic

^
aS n

?
notlo

P
of how difficult it is for a sincere Protestant, edu-

j:he Catholic Church
^6

It is to®hear"hi^
over and his

Consolation of His First Confession.

aff
Tded m ,e the neatest benediction," he

ThnfiVn^n,
h
,

eIp
.

for m« such as nobody had ever given me before,rhus from the very beginning Confession had not been for me a duty but a



28 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

high privilege. In days of threatening external distress, I had, unexpectedly

and undeservedly, the good fortune to become intimately acquainted with
things to which my dogmatic thinking had not previously extended, I mean
communion with the Blessed Virgin and the Saints. It is all the same to
me what my former fellow-believers may say—they may laugh at me. I
found wonderful help, absolute help from the saints in hours of distress.
Since that time, respectful communion with them has become a consolidation
of my life in the light of eternity. I enjoy their counsel when my will is
vacillating. I have their aid when my strength is growing weak. Thus my
life has become a rich and ever richer gathering of the harvest.”

The former “Los von Rom” enthusiast finishes the story of his conver-
sion with the confession: “I believe iir the Holy Catholic and Apostolic

Church; that is the real reason and the aim of my return to Rome.”

(FROM “THE PILGRIMAGE OF GRACE AND THE
EXETER CONSPIRACY”—BY MADELINE

AND RUTH DODDS).
“The Papal authority was not always popular in England; men sneered

at the Pope, grumbled at him, criticized him; but that he was the only su-
preme head of Christianity was as firmly believed, and as confidently accept-
ed, as that the sun rose in the East.”

Brooks Adams, in his (“The Law of Civilization and Decay,”): “Cruelty
was one of Henry’s most salient traits, and was, perhaps, the faculty by
which he succeeded in imposing himself most strongly upon his contempo-

raries. He not only murdered his wives, his ministers, and his friends, but
he pursued those who opposed him with a vindictiveness which appalled
them.”

DR. MAX PAM, (HEBREW) OF CHICAGO).
Every European country today is face to face with grave problems.

Our turn is coming; in fact, it is a grave question if it be not already here.

“The Catholic Church holds the traditions of the past; it is conservative;

it stands for authority, for government, for the rights of the individual and

for the chief elements that enter into individual and national happiness; it

has the largest number of communicants of any religious institution in the

country; it has the opportunity of moulding character, developing the intelli-

gence and creating a proper sense of the duties and responsibilities of citizen-

ship, not only amongst those who are citizens at the present moment, but

amongst the millions who will come from other lands, seeking better oppor-
tunities and more favorable conditions of life.”

DAUGHTER OF JOAQUIN MILLER, “THE POET
OF THE SIERRAS.”

“As to the dread some Protestants have of their children becoming

Catholics, I can only give my experience. I am not myself a Catholic, nor
do I profess any particular creed; although I think I see some good in all.

But, holding with that eminent Englishman that ‘man is a religious animal/

and knowing in my own heart that religion is as strong an element for good
and is as necessary to the perfection of a soul as is the sentiment of love, I

desired that my daughter should be religious. And I desired, too, that, after
some years of reflection, she should choose her own religion. After a year

or so of observation and reflection, she chose to be a Catholic.”



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 29

“I hold that the Protestantism of today is a totally different thing from

the Protestantism of three hundred years ago. That was negative, this is
positive. It is bold, aggressive, and defiant. It contends for the right of

man to think what he pleases, believe what he pleases, construct what reli-
gious societies he pleases, and worship as he pleases. It flaunts at all that

historic Christianity holds sacred, repudiates the creeds as of any binding

obligation, scoffs at an accredited ministry with divine power in matters

sacred, and teaches something totally different from the sacramental system

embedded in historic Christianity. It is a disintegrating force, and its final

battle will be in the rejection of all essential religion.”—Bishop John H.
White, (Epis.) Michigan City, Ind., April 1916.

WILLIAM HARRELL MALLOCK
(Author of “Is Life Worth Living?”)

The Catholic Church comes to us in I have never lied. Can you trust me
exactly the opposite way. She, too, thus far? Then listen and I will tell

brings with her the very same testi- you my story. You have heard it told
monials (the Scriptures), but she one way I know, and that way often
knows the uncertainty that obscures goes against me. When you know me
all remote evidences, and so at first as I am you will give me the benefit
does not lay much stress upon them, of every doubt.” It is thus the Cath-
First she asks us to make some ac- olic Church presents the Bible to us.

quaintance with herself, to look into Believe the Bible for my sake, she
her eyes, to hear the words of her lips, says—not me for the Bible’s. And
to watch her ways and works, and to the book as thus offered us changes

feel her inner spirit, and then she its whole character. We have not the
says to us: “Can you trust me? If formal testimony of a stranger; we
you can, trust me all in all. For the have instead the memoranda of a
very thing I declare to you is—that friend.

Gilbert Chesterton, once took to

task an English writer for stating

that “a man on becoming a Catholic

leaves his responsibility at the thresh-

hold of the Church, and is converted

to save the trouble of thinking.”

His reply to the ignorant critic was
characteristic. ’“Euclid,” said Mr.
Chesterton, “does not save geometri-

|

cians the trouble of thinking when he

I

insists upon absolute definitions and
1

unalterable axioms. On the contrary,

j

he gives them the trouble of thinking

j

logically. . . . The dogma of the
Church limits thought about as much

j

as the dogma of the solar system lim-

I

its physical science. It is not the ar-

I rest of thought, but a fertile basis and
I constant provocation of thought.”

SOME PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

Because the state of illiteracy is rather high in some of the Latin coun-
tries, which are for the most part Catholic, the conclusion is drawn that the
Catholic Church can prosper best in a country where the people are not pro-
gressive.

The contrary, however, is true. In no countries is the Catholic Church
prospering more than in the most enlightened countries, and in the so-called
Protestant countries. The Catholic Church alone is growing in England, in
Holland, in Sweden, in Germany; in the United States it is growing faster
than any other religious body.



30 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

A few years ago Mulhall, the great Protestant statistician, wrote: “The
progress of Catholicity in Great Britain is chiefly among the educated
classes.” He quotes from a work published by Noon and Sonnenschein, Lon-
don, which classifies according to profession, eminent converts to the Catholic

Church between the years 1850 and 1900. The names of 658 graduates of
Oxford and Cambridge are given, of whom more than 400 were clergymen.

Since Mulhall quoted these figures, the Romeward movement has been
stronger.

PRAYER FOR LIGHT.
Recited by the Rev. John Thayer, a Puritan Minister of Boston

Almighty and eternal God, Father of mercy, Savior of mankind, I
humbly entreat Thee by Thy sovereign goodness to enlighten my mind, and
to touch my heart, that by true faith, hope and charity, I may live and die
in the true religion of Jesus Christ. I am sure that as there is but one
true God, so there can be but one faith, one religion, one way of salvation,
and that every other way which is opposite to this can only lead to endless
misery. It is this faith, O my God, which I earnestly desire to embrace, in
order to save my soul. I protest, therefore, before Thy Divine Majesty, and
I declare by all Thy Divine attributes, that I will follow that religion which
Thou shalt show me to be true; and that I will abandon, at whatever cost,
that in which I shall discover error and falsehood. I do not deserve, it is

true, this favor, on account of the greatness of my sins, for which I have
a profound sorrow, because they offended a God so good, so great, so holy

and worthy of my love; but what I do not deserve, I hope to obtain from Thy
infinite mercy, and I conjure Thee to grant through the merits of the

Precious Blood which was shed for us poor sinners by Thy only-begotten
Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Like Bishop Newman’s “Lead Kindly Light,” the above prayer led Rev.

Thayer into the Cathoolic Church.

CLIMBING “MT. PREJUDICE.”

A remarkable and noteworthy sight it is, indeed, to be witness to a sun-
rise from the top of a high mountain. All the labour and fatigue of a long

climb are amply repaid by the grand spectacle that unfolds itself in all its

splendor and glory. The same pleasure awaits the man who, after a long and
tedious groping about in the forest of doubt, finally overtops “Mt. Prejudice”

and for the first time beholds the truths of the Catholic Church in all their

beauty and grandeur.

IN GOD’S GOOD TIME, THEY RETURN
TO THE FOLD.

Men devote their untiring energies to the promotion of beliefs which

they approve, and to the thwarting of dogmas which they do not understand.

But the pendulum on the clock of Time swings steadily, albeit slowly, and

presently it will tick off the reaction of men’s futile efforts. In the realm

of religion, it would seem, these strange sequels occur most frequently.

The first infidel book published in the United States was written by

the Vermonter, Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame, yet his own daughter,

Fanny Allen, not only became a convert to the Catholic Church, but was

the first daughter of Puritan New England to enter the cloister.



CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 31

During the “Know Nothing” riots in Philadelphia in 1844. Saint Mi-
chael’s Church was burned. On the very morning of the day, whose night
witnessed its burning, a young Irish girl, just in her teens, arrived in Ken-
sington from Ireland, and took up her temporary abode with her brother
about half a square from that church. Late that afternoon, her brother and
she were compelled to move, because the police had been warned the life
of every Catholic in the vicinity of the church would be in danger after sun-
set. That night, the young woman, standing on a hill near what is now
Twenty-fifth and Girard Avenues, watched the dames leap high in the air
as the sacred edifice was consumed. It was a bitter experience for an im-
migrant who had dreamed of liberty in this land of the free, and although
she prayed fervently, the future of her Faith appeared very bleak to her.

In a few years she married and settled down in Conshohocken. She
had two sons and as the years rolled on one of them was ordained a priest
from Overbrook Seminary. Meanwhile St. Michael’s had been rebuilt and

had flourished beyond expectation. In 1906, a vacancy occurred in the rec-

torship. and the ordained son of the little Irish girl was appointed to this
parish. The priest built a magnificent convent on the very site of the
house in which the “Know Nothings” had stored the torches with which old
St. Michael’s was set ablaze.

When John G. Coyle, M. D., was lecturing on the life of General James
Shields, he told how this immigrant lad, severely injured in both legs, and
believed to be a hopeless cripple, was put ashore in New York to die. But he
had a perfect recovery, went West, taught school and studied law. He
became a member of the Illinois legislature; justice of its Supreme Court;
land commissioner of the U. S.; territorial governor of Oregon; a strikingly

successful general in the Mexican War; was the first senator from Minne-
sota; and was the general who defeated Stonewall Jackson, in the Civil War.

Coyle says: “In describing the fight for the election of senators in

1855, I told how the governor of Minnesota attacked Shields because he was
Irish and Catholic. The campaign was bitter, but in the end, Minnesota

legislature chose James Shields. I told of reading a history of Minnesota

which ended with the admission of the territory to the Union and of having

seen a print in the book of the signing of the commission of Shields and the

other senator. I described the picture.

“From the audience rose a fine looking old gentleman. He said in
measured tones: ‘I am the son of that governor of Minnesota who at-
tacked Shields because of his religion. I am the young man whom you
saw in the picture standing near the governor. And I am a Catholic.' ”

The Rev. Dr. Randolph H. McKim, rector of the Episcopal Church of
the Epiphany, Washington, D. C., fought the Catholic Church as vigorously

as any Protestant minister in America. But curiously enough, his daughter

Elinor, living in Denver, Colorado, is a convert to the Catholic faith.

Across the water, the same effect has come with the passing of the

years. Ernest Renan, entered the Seminary of St. Sulpice in 1844, to study

for the priesthood. He lost the precious gift of faith, and finally became
noted for his hostility to all traditional Christianity. Around his works, for

he was a voluminous writer, raged bitter controversies, “whose volume was

rivalled only by their acrimony.” His influence has been a strong factor in

French literature. But with the passing of seven decades of Time, we find

the grandson of that French infidel, Ernest Psichari, deciding that he will

give up his life to the Church, that he will go to Rome and take Holy Orders,
and become a simple village priest, in order that by the gift of his life, he

will expiate the wrong done by his grandfather. At that moment the Eu-

ropean War broke out and Ernest Psichari was one of the first to fall in
the disastrous retreat from Belgium.



32 CONVERTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

Sir Walter Scott was one of the great English writers with much anti-
Catholic bigotry. In his diary in 1829 he wrote: “I hold Popery to be such
a mean and degrading superstition that I am not sure I could have found
myself liberal enough for voting the repeal of penal laws as they existed
before 1780.” Scott had one great ambition; he devoted high hopes, vast
energy, and large sums of money, to the making of a great house and a
fine estate to be the ancestral home of a distinguished family, spending
thousands on the acquisition and beautifying of Abbotsford. Today, his only

direct descendants are Catholics and Abbotsford has long been in their

Catholic hands.

Reverend Charles Kingsley, of the Established Church is remembered
for his honest and ill-informed antagonism to' Catholicism. Kingsley met
his Waterloo in the controversy with Newman which led to the writing of
the Apologia, and this defeat clouded Kingsley’s last days. Later his bril-

liant daughter, Lucas Malet, who was a writer of strength and distinction,
joined the Church.

It is Dickens, however, who furnished the most astounding example of
personal intolerance towards the Catholic Faith, As an editor, he positively
declined to print one single word, however true, in favor of the Catholic

Church. But in the course of Time, one of Dickens’ sons became a Catholic,

and the daughter of another son, Miss Mary Angela Dickens, was received
into the Church in 1907.

Martin Luther, the apostate priest, set out to be a reformer, but even-

tually became a revolutionist; he who had renounced the One True Church,
was the cause of hundreds of dissenting churches coming into being. Today,

in various parts of Pennsylvania, there are many descendants of Luther, and
THEY ARE CATHOLICS. Rev. Father Aloysius Luther, 0. S. B., was re-
cently appointed pastor of St. John the Baptist Church, Longmont, Colo.

Four hundred years ago, Luther nailed ninety-five so-called “theses”

on the door of the church at Wittenberg, Saxony. It was his act of defiance

of the Catholic Church. Now, countless billboards are used to invite the

followers of his “Reformation” back to the churches. “COME TO CHURCH
SUNDAY” is a favorite slogan printed on flaming posters and these are ex-
pected to offset the results of his Wittenberg placard. How relentless is
Time!

If the conversion of the children be the sequel of parental bigotry, some

future time will produce a vast number of converts, the descendants of those

who today are spending themselves in futile rage against the grand old
Church which has always thrived best on persecution.

THE CATHOLIC POSITION.
POPE PIUS IX.

(In an Encyclical to Italian bishops Aug. 10, 1863): “It is known to us

and to you that those who are in invincible ignorance of our most holy reli-

gion, but who observe carefully the natural law and the precepts graven by

God upon the hearts of all men, and who being disposed to obey God, lead an

honest and upright life, may, aided by the light of Divine Grace, attain to

eternal life; for God, who sees clearly, searches and knows the heart, the

disposition, the thoughts and intentions of each, in His supreme mercy and

goodness by no means permits that any one suffer eternal punishment who

has not of his own free will fallen into sin.”