The Morrisroes and O'Dohertys of County Mayo, Ireland

A PARTIAL FAMILY HISTORY

edited by J.C. Sullivan and Jim Rukosky

     In times of Eireanne, unfortunately similar to that of today,  two men of Mayo would stand firm. Patrick Morrisroe the son of Mary Brennan and John Morrisroe was born in Charlestown, County Mayo 19th February 1867.  His baptismal sponsors were Luke Brennan and Frances Kelly.  As seemed to follow family suit, he was educated at the local N.S. Seminary, then on to Ballaghadereen and Maynooth College. Following his ordination at the Cathedral at Ballaghadereen he served in the diocese of Achonry. In 1896 Patrick returned to Maynooth to become  Junior Dean in the College.

     Patrick was consecrated a Bishop at the age of 44 in the Cathedral, Ballaghadereen, along with his cousin Most Rev. Bishop Michael J. O'Doherty,  later to become bishop of Zamboagna, in the Philippines.  Most Rev. Dr. Healy, Archbishop of Tuam was the consecrating prelate, and was assisted by Rev. Dr. Clancy, Bishop of Elphin.  The congregation which filled the Cathedral included Messrs. John Dillon M.P., J. McVeagh M.P., and John O'Dowd M.P.  The sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Beechler, Maynooth College.

     A man of deep learning, Patrick was an authority on theological and liturgical matters. His Lenten Pastoral of 1941, one of great controversy was censored by the government.  In it he directs his final comments to a world in crisis.  "As we pen these pages, beloved Brethren, we are face to face with a spectacle probably more appalling than any recorded in the annals of history. Long ago it was predicted that nation would rise against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom."

     At the age of 79 Patrick died at the Palace, Ballaghadereen. Priests and people from all parts of the Diocese of Achonry attended the removal of the remains to St. Nathy's Cathedral.  The Archbishop of Tuam, Most Rev. Dr. Walsh officiated at the house.  The funeral procession was headed by the members of the Diocesan Chapter and a large number of surpliced clergy of the diocese who chanted the Miserere. Members of the St. Vincent de Paul and Gardai acted as pall-bearers and marshals, and gardai, under the direction of Supt. J. Lyons provided a guard of honour. Members of all the Catholic organizations marched in the procession.

  

   Julia O'Kelly and Michael O'Doherty welcomed son Michael J. into this world July 30, 1874 in Charlestown, County Mayo. Michael's brother Denis J. would later succeed him as rector of the College of Salamanca.  His Grace's early years were spent between his birthplace and Kiltinagh; his early schooling, he received at St. Nathy's College, in Ballaghadereen.  Finishing his course studies he proceeded to St. Patrick's College, Maynooth University for his philosophical and theological studies.  He was ordained a priest 30 November 1897.  He was then only 24 years old.

     A brilliant scholar, his first appointment was to a professorship in his native diocesan college, where he taught for several years.  It was largely through his efforts that St. Nathy's College was raised to a prominent place among the educational institutions of Ireland.

      Michael was appointed by the Council of Irish Bishops, Rector of the College in Salamanca, Spain, where he directed for seven years.  He was successful in restoring the ancient glory of the college.  For it's support Bishop O'Doherty recovered a number of legacies and endowments of which it had been deprived since the Napoleonic wars and subsequent upheavals in Spain.  He became a close friend of King Alfonso of Spain and was honored by the letter with the order of knighthood of the Spanish household, a rare distinction.

     At thirty-seven he had established himself as an educator and administrator and became a notable figure in the Catholic hierarchy.  When the diocese of Zamboagna was created in 1911, his Holiness, Pope Pius X appointed him the first bishop. After his consecration Michael traveled to Rome to meet with the Holy Father.  He met also with Cardinal Merry del Val and Cardinal de Lai.  He left Queenstown 22 February 1912 for America. Accompanied by his secretary Rev Stanislaus Hyghes, PhD. he toured the country from coast to coast visiting friends.  On 6th March he stopped in Baltimore to visit Cardinal Gibbons whom he wanted to meet since he was a child.  On July 26th 1912 he turned his sights east to a new endeavor in a new world.

     Six months after arriving at his diocese Michael’s memories reflect his despair: "When I sit down to ponder (on the needs of my diocese), I am not overwhelmed by the burden, for if God wishes every necessity supplied, so shall it be.  But I feel at a loss to know where to begin".

     There were 40,000 square miles to cover by seventy priests. Often times this resulted in a parish only being visited once a year for sacraments.  Michael writes: "Our great need is Priests . . . and we have no Seminary, not one Catholic hospital in this diocese.  There is no high school for boys and girls, no orphan asylum or other asylum of any kind, no training schools for teachers no Cathedral worthy of the name, no bishop's residence."

      Narrowly escaping the hurricane of October 15th ,where the roof was torn off the pastor's house where he was staying, and two days later surviving a near drowning at sea in a 40 ton steam launch, he would change these missing foundations of Catholic belief. Having assessed the needs of the flock, Bishop O'Doherty began working to establish a general hospital in Zamboagna. Concurrently he began the establishment of Catholic schools.  With great energy, wisdom and courage he set about laying the foundations of an enduring progressive diocese.

     It was at this time that Michael crossed swords with General John J. (Black Jack) Pershing, US Army.  It was not a duel fought in the wee hours between two adversaries  rather a war of the pen between a prince of the church, in defense of his faith, and the enemies and the attacks that are forever aimed at the Catholic religion.  Christianity and Catholic education were the objects of offense and defense. The battleground was the Mindanao Herald, the paper of Zamboagna.  Changes were being made with the enlargement of the "Moro Province".  The opening headline read; With the enlargement of Moro Province to include the vast area and population of the pagan tribes of Agusan and Bukidnon there accrue increased responsibility for our new Governor".  In this was a distinct implication that the majority of the inhabitants of Agusan and Bukidnon were pagans, an insinuation belied by the majority of Christian Filipinos in those areas.  The article piled up more assertions; this geographical change is an appropriate one as it places the bulk of the non-Christians of the southern archipelago under one government..."  A Challenge - a provocation - an attack that had to be answered.

     Without delay, his Lordship advanced readily to the engagement. In a letter dated 11 December 1913 to the editor, He undertook to express the general resentment of the Catholics in having been unceremoniously grouped with the "bulk of the non-Christians of the southern archipelago..."  As the Bishop pointed out the phrase used "either ignores the existence of the Christian Filipinos who are in the majority, or insults excellent Catholics, by including them among the pagans, which they and I as their Bishop resent most heartily."  General Pershing filed a report which read in part "The Public Schools maintained throughout this province are well in advance of the sectarian schools in every particular..."  If there was a way to raise the dander of the Irish born Michael this was it.  He could not let this provocation go unanswered. 

     In his second letter to the editor he showed, based on current data how the parochial school of Dipolog was the finest materially, and on the question of intelligence he revealed that the "parochial schools of Dipitan, Caraga, and the girls' school of Tetuam, even in the matter of English, can stand side by side with the best of the public schools; and in the moral line the less that is said the better for the public schools".

 The Mindano Herald became the forum for these great powers. Numerous erroneous statements were made against the Catholic Church, and the people of the province.  In this duel of great powers, Michael was to win. The final lunge by Bishop O'Doherty was both direct and fatal to Gen. Pershing and Supt. of schools Mr. Charles R. Cameroon.  This lunge delivered with such swift and vigorous ease, sounded the finale in this unique duel. For the adversary's reply was neither parry nor feint, it was an apology: "I apologize for having made these erroneous assertions and beg to withdraw the entire statement, very respectfully, Charles R. Cameroon."  

     To his credit Archbishop O'Doherty was the catalyst in building such notable landmarks in Zamboagna as the Malate Catholic School, the De La Salle College, the Cathedral at Zamboagna, and of course the Hospital blessed by Michael at 9:00am, Sunday 6th February 1916. To his credit Archbishop O'Doherty is credited with founding the National Catholic Education Council, as he was a staunch defender of Catholic education.

     Much is written about Michael's life in Zamboagna, and his service to mother church. To date I have been unable to ascertain information regarding his death.  It is unclear if he was returned to Eireann for internment, or remained in Zamboagna.  Perhaps it may be more fitting that he remained there as this man of Mayo had grown roots deep into the soil of Manila and the Philippines.

     "It is needless to point out the achievements of the Catholic church in the Philippines, as they speak for themselves. However, it is not amiss to state that Catholicism has taken a deeper significance in the lives of the Filipino people . . . and has played a greater role in their conduct.  This, undoubtedly, is due to the influence of the man at the head of Catholicism in the Philippines - Archbishop O'Doherty". Manuel L. Quezon President of the Philippines 24 August 1936.

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Bibliography

The Vatican - per Jim Rukosky

Most Rev. Thomas Flynn - Bishop of Achonry, Ireland

Mssr. Patrick Corrish - Archivist, Maynooth College, Ireland Maynooth Library

Mr. JC Sullivan, Northfield, Ohio, USA

Mr. James Rukosky, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

On being Catholic

Being Catholic these days is a burden on the soul. Consider Sister Regina Fierman of Richfield, Ohio. In today's Plain Dealer she opines we should be spending money to help the needy instead of on "overeating and self-indulgence." She is thinking of the people of Haiti who have allegedly been driven to eat "mud cakes" because they have no food.


While I certainly have empathy for people anywhere in the world that are suffering, nonetheless, I also adhere to the belief that we Americans, indeed all of mankind, should have a Statue of Responsibility to balance a Statue of Liberty..

What I interpret that concept to mean is that people have a responsibility to one another. Haiti, as in many other geographic locations around the globe, is a mish-mash of people without a culture. Poverty and overpopulation has created a physical glue-together existence. The adults who have created the mess don't have any sense of responsibility to the rest of us, nor to their immediate neighbors. They live on the edge and it doesn't take much to push one over the cliff, just what the earthquake did to the capital of Haiti. And then, in their misery and suffering, they demand.

As fellow human beings we have a responsibility to help them where we can and with the resources we have. However, they are NOT Americans. We have no obligation to bring them here en masse to "re-settle them". I fear the Obama Administration will attempt to do just that, further burdening the current generation of Americans and future ones. Then the question beggars an answer, "Who pays?"

We have a responsibility to nourish our own and promote our own prosperity. Or has prosperity become a dirty word in America? 

Time Enough for the Kilbane Brothers

Father John Sullivan, S.J.

Copy and paste -

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The Promise of Christ, a Giver of Life

His promise is the pillar of our faith - everlasting life. His birthday announces His arrival. His death and resurrection reveals His triumph over death. Both days of our calendar year renew our belief in His promise.

We all have two parents, four grandparents, eight great grandparents and so on, to the beginning. We are descended from them and they are the ones who have given us physical life. Doesn't that mean that they live in and through us? And perhaps that also means there really is no such thing as what we call death?

If we could begin to see our life and our physical being as multi-generational, our lives would begin to change dramatically. In other words, if we would understand that life IS us, then each generation would make things better for future generations, believing that we, the living, are really going to be around to enjoy the fruits of our labor. And life will be better for all.

The sin of suicide stunts the ongoing development of both ones body and spirit, i.e., soul. We all must live our own life, that is our destiny. However, if we, the living, in all nations of earth, began to see that we are all of the same root, and if we all love ourselves as God wishes, then everlasting Peace would truly begin to emerge.

A SULLIVAN FAMILY CHRISTMAS STORY

by

JC Sullivan

One Christmas in the mid 1950s, when we were parishioners at Cleveland's St. Margaret of Hungary Church, my father sent a bottle of spiked eggnog over to the good Sisters there. The courier was my younger sister Mary Jo.

A few days later Dad noticed the returned (and empty) bottle in the kitchen sink. He asked Mary Jo if the Sisters had said anything to her. "Oh Yes, Dad", Mary Jo replied. "They said thank you very much......and could they have some more."

2009 - Year of the Priest

Catechism on the Priesthood
by St. John Vianney (A.D. 1786-1859)

Thanks to J. Michael Finn for forwarding this to me.

My children, we have come to the Sacrament of Orders. It is a Sacrament which seems to relate to no one among you, and which yet relates to everyone. This Sacrament raises man up to God. What is a priest! A man who holds the place of God -- a man who is invested with all the powers of God. "Go, " said Our Lord to the priest; "as My Father sent Me, I send you. All power has been given Me in Heaven and on earth. Go then, teach all nations. . . . He who listens to you, listens to Me; he who despises you despises Me. " When the priest remits sins, he does not say, "God pardons you"; he says, "I absolve you. " At the Consecration, he does not say, "This is the Body of Our Lord;" he says, "This is My Body. "

Saint Bernard tells us that everything has come to us through Mary; and we may also say that everything has come to us through the priest; yes, all happiness, all graces, all heavenly gifts. If we had not the Sacrament of Orders, we should not have Our Lord. Who placed Him there, in that tabernacle? It was the priest. Who was it that received your soul, on its entrance into life? The priest. Who nourishes it, to give it strength to make its pilgrimage? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, by washing that soul, for the last time, in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest -- always the priest. And if that soul comes to the point of death, who will raise it up, who will restore it to calmness and peace? Again the priest. You cannot recall one single blessing from God without finding, side by side with this recollection, the image of the priest.

Go to confession to the Blessed Virgin, or to an angel; will they absolve you? No. Will they give you the Body and Blood of Our Lord? No. The Holy Virgin cannot make her Divine Son descend into the Host. You might have two hundred angels there, but they could not absolve you. A priest, however simple he may be, can do it; he can say to you, "Go in peace; I pardon you. " Oh, how great is a priest! The priest will not understand the greatness of his office till he is in Heaven. If he understood it on earth, he would die, not of fear, but of love. The other benefits of God would be of no avail to us without the priest. What would be the use of a house full of gold, if you had nobody to open you the door! The priest has the key of the heavenly treasures; it is he who opens the door; he is the steward of the good God, the distributor of His wealth. Without the priest, the Death and Passion of Our Lord would be of no avail. Look at the heathens: what has it availed them that Our Lord has died? Alas! they can have no share in the blessings of Redemption, while they have no priests to apply His Blood to their souls!

The priest is not a priest for himself; he does not give himself absolution; he does not administer the Sacraments to himself. He is not for himself, he is for you. After God, the priest is everything. Leave a parish twenty years without priests; they will worship beasts. If the missionary Father and I were to go away, you would say, "What can we do in this church? there is no Mass; Our Lord is no longer there: we may as well pray at home. " When people wish to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer any priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice there is no religion.

When the bell calls you to church, if you were asked, "Where are you going?" you might answer, "I am going to feed my soul. " If someone were to ask you, pointing to the tabernacle, "What is that golden door?" "That is our storehouse, where the true Food of our souls is kept. " "Who has the key? Who lays in the provisions? Who makes ready the feast, and who serves the table?" "The priest. " "And what is the Food?" "The precious Body and Blood of Our Lord. " O God! O God! how Thou hast loved us! See the power of the priest; out of a piece of bread the word of a priest makes a God. It is more than creating the world. . . . Someone said, "Does St. Philomena, then, obey the Cure of Ars?" Indeed, she may well obey him, since God obeys him.

If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I should salute the priest before I saluted the angel. The latter is the friend of God; but the priest holds His place. St. Teresa kissed the ground where a priest had passed. When you see a priest, you should say, "There is he who made me a child of God, and opened Heaven to me by holy Baptism; he who purified me after I had sinned; who gives nourishment to my soul. " At the sight of a church tower, you may say, "What is there in that place?" "The Body of Our Lord. " "Why is He there?" "Because a priest has been there, and has said holy Mass. "

What joy did the Apostles feel after the Resurrection of Our Lord, at seeing the Master whom they had loved so much! The priest must feel the same joy, at seeing Our Lord whom he holds in his hands. Great value is attached to objects which have been laid in the drinking cup of the Blessed Virgin and of the Child Jesus, at Loretto. But the fingers of the priest, that have touched the adorable Flesh of Jesus Christ, that have been plunged into the chalice which contained His Blood, into the pyx where His Body has lain, are they not still more precious? The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus. When you see the priest, think of Our Lord Jesus Christ.