FRIARS
301
FRIARS
plied so that on the Pacific Coast the commissariat,
which was organized in 1S9S, comprises 3 monasteries,
8 residences, 1 classical college for aspirants to the
order, 1 orphanage for boys, 50 Fathers, 15 professed
clerics, 45 lay brothers, and 4 novices.
The bigotry of some of the English settlers pre- vented the Franciscans from securing a foothold in the Thirteen Colonies, though at the invitation of the Jesuits several friars came from England between the years 1672 and 1G99. Persecutions at home made it impossible to train and supply successors. Individ- ual friars found their way to Xew York, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, but no permanent foundation was ef- fected. Michael P^gan, who became first Bishop of Philadelphia, arrived from Ireland in 1803 and tried to establish a house, but failed for want of subjects. A convent of Poor Clares enjoyed a short life at Pitts- burg early in the thirties. In the great Xorth-West and West, Belgian Franciscans penetrated to Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois, but they too disappeared after a time, except at Detroit, where they continued until tlie close of the eighteenth century, and where one be- came a martyr.
Not till near the middle of the nineteenth century did the sons of the seraphic saint find it practicable to branch out from Austria, Germany, and Italy into the States. In 1844 the province of St. Leopold, Tyrol, re- solved to grant the petition of the Right Rev. J. B. Purcell, Bishop of Cincinnati, and sent Father William Unterthiener. He was given charge of the newly organized German parish of St. John the Baptist. Many other Fathers and Brothers joined him, so that on 4 October, 185S, St. Francis College could be founded for the education of aspirants to the order. In the following year the ten existing convents were united in an independent custody under the invocation of St. John the Baptist. In 1885 it became a province which at present numbers 5 monasteries, 31 resi- dences, 137 Fathers, 50 professed clerics, SO lay brothers, and 7 novices. The Fathers conduct an ecclesiastical college attended by 75 students, and are in charge of 84 parishes, 22 mission stations, including several Intlian missions in New Mexico and Arizona, 41 parish schools attended by 9000 pupils and one In- dian boarding school. They also publish " Der Send- bote", a German monthly periodical for the Apostle- ship of Prayer, "DerFranziskusbote", "St. Anthony's Messenger" for the German and English-speaking members of the Third Order, and "The Sodalist", a monthly for the young. — At the urgent request of the Right Rev. Henry Damian Juncker, Bishop of Alton, Illinois, the province of the Holy Cross, Germany, in 1858 sent three Fathers and six lay brothers to Teu- topolis. In the course of time many others followed, notably in consequence of the persecution inaugurated by Bismarck in Prussia, so that in 1879 the various convents were separatetl from the jurisdiction of the mother province and formed an independent province under the title of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The mother-house is at St. Louis, Missouri. At pres- ent the province, including the commissariat of Cali- fornia which has convents in California, .\rizona, and Oregon, is one of the largest in the order. It com- prises 13 monasteries, 33 residences, 250 priests, SO professed clerics, 190 lay brothers, and 12 novices. The Fathers are in charge of 42 parishes, 110 mission stations, including the Indian missions of Michigan, W'isconsin, California, ami Arizona, 2 ecclesiastical colleges, with about 200 students, 1 classical and com- mercial college, attended by 150 students, 97 parish schools frequented by 17,500 children, 1 boys' orphan- age which cares for 250 children, 5 Indian boarding schools, and 4 Indian day schools. In addition to their missionary and scholastic labours, several Fathers have been engaged in literary work. They have published catechisms and prayer l)Ooks in the languages of the Chippewa and Menominee, a Chip-
pewa Indian grammar and exercise book, books of
devotion, biographical works, several historical vol-
umes, and a well-known Latin ceremonial. They also
publish at Harbor Springs, Michigan, from their own
press, the "Anishinabe Knamiad" in the language of
the Chippewa, and "The Messenger of the Holy Child-
hood". Both are eight-page monthlies. — Owing to
the persecution of religious in Prussia, a number of
friars from the province of St. Elisabeth, Thuringia,
settled at Paterson, New Jersey, in 1875. In 1901
the several communities, joined by the English-speak-
ing friars of the Italian custody, were united in a
province under the protection of the Holy Name of
Jesus. It now has 4 monasteries, 7 residences, 64
priests, 19 professed clerics, 46 lay brothers, and 3
novices. The Fathers are m charge of 10 parishes, 30
mission stations, 1 seminary and college (Allegany,
N. Y.), 1 college for postulants, the College and Com-
missariat of the Holy Land, Washington, D. C, and 10
parish schools attended by 2200 children. They pub-
lish the "Pilgrim of Palestine" and "St. Anthony's
Almanac ". Father Paschal Robinson of the province
published "The Writings of St. Francis", ""The Say-
ings of Blessed Giles", "Introduction to Franciscan
Literature", and "The Life of St. Francis". — At the
request of the Right Rev. John Timon, Bishop of Buf-
falo, some Italian friars arrived at Buffalo in 1855.
They established several convents in the States of
New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The
custody of the Immaculate Conception was organized
in 1861. It now comprises 2 monasteries, 5 resi-
dences, 28 Fathers, 1 professed cleric, and 4 lay
brothers, in charge of 7 parishes, 7 mission stations,
and 5 parish schools attended by 2400 pupils. The
most noted of these Fathers was the Father Pamfilo
da Magliano, the author of " St. Francis and the Fran-
ciscans". He also founded the Missionary Sisters of
St. Francis, who follow the Rule of the Third Order of
St .Francis. — The Commissariat of Polish Franciscans in
Wisconsin is composed of 8 Fathers, 2 professed clerics,
20 lay brothers, and 3 novices, who occupy 1 monas-
tery and 2 residences. The Fathers have charge of 3
parishes, 1 mission station, 1 college attended by 25 stu-
dents, and 4 parish schools frequented by 650 children.
The Franciscans (Recollects) first appeared in Can-
ada in June, 1615, when the French Fathers Joseph le
Caron, Denis Jamet, Jean d'Olbeau, and Brother Paci-
ficus du Plessis arrived at Quebec. They at once de-
voted themselves to mission work among the Algonkin
and Wyandot or Hurons along the Great Lakes. For
commercial reasons the French traders were opposed
to the civilization of the natives and gave the mission-
aries considerable trouble. After laljouring amid in-
credible hardships, and finding that their forces were
too weak, the friars invited the Jesuits to share the
fiekl with them. The first Jesuit missionaries arrived
in 1625 and toiled side by side with the Franciscans.
One of the friars, Nicholaus Viel, was killed by a
savage and thus became the protomartyr of Canada.
In 1629 the English captured Quebec and forced both
the Franciscans and Jesuits to leave the country.
Brother Gabriel Sagard, who had come in 1623, com-
posed an Indian vocabulary of 132 pages, and de-
scribed the country and its missions in two volumes.
Some Franciscans in 1619 started a mission in Acadia
or Nova Scotia. A few were still serving there in
1633, but nothing more is on record. Near the mid-
dle of the seventeenth century several Frencli- Belgian
Franciscans arrived in Canada, the most noted of
whom. Father Louis Hennepin, passed Niagara Falls
in December, 1678, and was the first to describe them
in his "Description de la Louisiane" (Paris) and
"Nouvelle D^couverte" (Amsterdam). Hennepin
penetrated bej^ond the Mississippi and in 1680 dis-
covered St. .Vnthony's Falls. Father Emanuel Cres-
pel and others came to Canada in 1726. He passed
Great Falls and travelled as far as Fox River in Wis-
