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point of view, the division proved unsatisfactory and
resulted in bitter contention and disorder which ended
only with the suppression of the See of Allegheny and
the" reunion of the two dioceses as though no division
had taken place. With foresight, energy, determina-
tion, and perseverance the new bishop faced the diffi-
culties with which he was surrounded, and entered
upon the task of restoring order and confidence, and
placing the embarrassed properties of the diocese upon
a safe and sound footing. He sacrificed his personal
comfort, his own private means, and reduced the ex-
pense of the diocese by the strictest economy, in order
that the creditors of the Church might not suffer loss,
and although his once vigorous constitution was shat-
tered by the labours and trials through which he
passed, confidence was restored, and the diocese
started on one of the most prosperous periods of its
history. Although these heavj' burdens rested on his
shoulders, as Bishop of Pittsburg, yet the Holy See,
on 3 August, 1877, after Bishop Domenec resigned,
entrusted to him the administration of thevacantSee
of Allegheny.
In the year 1883 Bishop Tuigg was warned of his approaching end by a stroke of paralysis, and, al- though he hngered for some years longer, suffering and pain were his constant companions. By slow but sure degrees hs continued to grow worse, until on 7 December, 1889, the soul of the venerable prelate passed away to its heavenly home. His last moments were singularly peaceful, and hisdeath was a fitting close to his long and saintly career. It may be said of him that he combined the qualities of firmness and gentle- ness to a degree rarely found in the same individual; strong and unyielding when confident of the justice and propriety of any position he took, he was at the same time kind and courteous to those from whom he differed. Proofs of his executive ability, his piety, and his self-sacrificing zeal abound throughout the diocese over which God called him to rule, and which he left in better condition than it had known for some years.
The Right Rev. Richard Phelan, the fom-th occu- pant of the See of Pittsburg, was born 1 January, 1828, at Sralee, County Kilkenny, Ireland. He was one of a family of nine children, four of whom em- braced the religious life. He entered St. Kieran's College, Kilkenny, in 18-14, to study for the priest- hood. When Bishop O'Connor visited Ireland, in 1850, in search of students to labour in the Diocese of Pittsburg, Richard Phelan volunteered his services. He came to the Unit ed Stat es, completed his theological studies at St. Mary's, Baltimore, and was ordained at Pittsburg by Bishop O'Connor, 4 May, 1854. He served as vicar-general to Bishop Tuigg. By a Bull dated 12 May, 1885, he was appointed titular Bishop of Cybara, and by a Bull dated 15 iMay, 1885, he was appointed coadjutor to Bishop Tuigg with right of succession, and was consecrated by Archbishop Ryan in St. Paul's Cathedral, Pittsburg, on 2 August, 1885. He succeeded as bishop to the united Dioceses of Pittsburg and Allegheny, 7 December, 1889. By a Bull dated 1 July, 1889, the See of Allegheny was totally suppressed, and the Diocese of Pittsburg was declared to embrace the territory of what had been the two dioceses, as though no division had ever taken place. The administration of Bishop Phelan was a remarkably successful one. He was a man of pru- dent zeal and extraordinary business ability. The people of manj' nationalities who were coming in large numbers to find work in the mines and mills of West- ern Pennsylvania were formed into regular congrega- tions, supplied with pastors who could speak their own languages, and the material and spiritual develop- ment of the diocese kept pace with the growth of the population. In May, 1901, the counties of Cambria, Blair, Bedford, Huntingdon, and Somerset were taken from the Diocese of Pittsburg to form, with several counties taken from the Diocese of Harrisburg, the new
Diocese of Altoona, leaving the Diocese of Pittsburg
its present territory (see beginning of this article).
When Bishop Phelan, as a priest, began his work in the Diocese of Pittsburg, religious prejudices ran high, and misguided men said and did things against Catholics which have passed into history. Placed in the most trying positions, he always disarmed bigotry by his straightforward adherence to principles of jus- tice and charity towards all men, and bj' his consider- ate treatment of those who in belief and worship were separated from him. His life as priest and bishop was coincident with a remarkable transitional period in Western Pennsylvania. No region has experienced so great changes within the last fifty years as has West- ern Pennsylvania. During the administration of Bishop Phelan these changes were most marked. He saw the wonderful growth and development of the iron, steel, coal, and coke industries, to which the western portion of the state owes its distinction and prosperity. The sudden advent of immense Catholic populations with strange tongues and strange cus- toms, and all of them impoverished, gave rise to problems that would have taxed the ablest men. Here was a field in which Bishop Phelan showed his splendid administrative ability. By his wise and pru- dent counsel, by the exercise of judgment and fore- sight which in the light of events to-day are seen to have been of the first excellence, either the difficulties that arose were solved or the way for their solution was prepared. At his death, which occurred 20 Decem- ber, 1904, at St. Paul's Orphan Asylum, Idlewood, Pennsylvania, he was the head of a diocese which in organization, in the personnel of its clergy and its adequate equipment for the needs of its people, waa second to none in the United States. His vicars- general were Very Rev. Stephen Wall, Very Rev. F. L. Tobin, and Very Rev. E. A. Bush.
The Right Rev. Regis Canevin, present (1911) Bishop of Pittsburg, was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, 5 June, 1853, educated at St. Vincent's College and the seminary at Beatty, and ordained priest in St. Paul's Cathedral, Pittsburg, 4 June, 1879. He became coadjutor to Bishop Phelan, with right of succession, being consecrated in the same cathedral by Archbishop Ryan, of Philadelphia, 24 February, 1903. His vicars-general are Rt. Rev. F. L. Tobin and Rt. Rev. Joseph Suhr. The present Cath- olic population is about 475,000, and is composed of so many nationalities that the Gospel is preached in at least fourteen languages: English, German, French, Italian, Slovak, Polish, Bohemian, Magyar, Slovenian, Lithuanian, Croatian, Rumanian, Ruthenian, and SjTian.
The religious communities of men in the diocese number as follows: Redemptorists, 6 members; Bene- dictine Fathers, 134; Passionist Fathers, 32; Brothers of Mary (Dayton, Ohio), 11; Capuchin Fathers, 50; Holy Ghost Fathers, 42; Carmelite Fathers, 7; Ital- ian Franciscan Fathers, 10. Total, 292 members. The religious communities of women number: Sisters of Mercy, 353 members; Sisters of Notre Dame (Motherhouse, Baltimore), 50; Franciscan Sisters, 239; Sistersof St. Joseph, 189; Benedictine Nuns, 78; Ursuline Nuns, 26; Sistersof Charity, 331; Little Sis- ters of the Poor, 32; Sisters of the Good Shepherd, 61 ; Sisters of Divine Providence, 180; Sisters of Mercy (Motherhouse, Cresson), 13; Sisters of Nazareth (Motherhouse, Chicago), 64; Slovak Sisters of Char- ity, 27; Third Order of St. Francis Nuns (Mother- house, Allegheny, New York), 7; Sisters of St. Joseph (Motherhouse, Watertown, New York), 16; Sisters of the Incarnate Word, 3; Missionary Franciscan Sis- ters (Motherhouse, Rome), 5; Sisters of St. Joseph (Motherhouse, Rutland, Vermont), 7; Felician Sis- ters (Motherhouse, Detroit), 40; Sisters of St. Agnes (Motherhouse, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin), 5; Passion- ist Nuns, 8; Immaculate Heart Nuns (Motherhouse,
