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Dedication.
Dedication.
Allow me to mention your name the first among the many to whom I dedicate this book. I owe this to you as a token of gratitude for your help in my researches after the true murderers of our martyred President Abraham Lincoln. I found you as wise and honorable in your counsels as our country found you brave on the battlefields of Liberty. this book is also dedicated by the humblest of their brethren. Orangemen! Read this book: you will not only understand Romanism as you never did, but you will f
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SPECIAL NOTICE TO NEW EDITION.
SPECIAL NOTICE TO NEW EDITION.
Since the publication of the second edition of “Fifty Years in the Church of Rome,” the incendiary torch of the foe has twice reduced into ashes the electrotype plates, with many volumes already printed, and about to be delivered to subscribers. Though those two disasters have completely ruined me financially, they have not discouraged me, for my trust was in God, and in Him alone. Relying on His divine and paternal protection, I offer this New Edition to my brethren, with the prayerful hope tha
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Chapter I.
Chapter I.
My father, Charles Chiniquy, born in Quebec, had studied in the Theological Seminary of that city, to prepare himself for the priesthood. But a few days before making his vows, having been the witness of a great iniquity in the high quarters of the church, he changed his mind, studied law and became a notary. Married to Reine Perrault, daughter of Mitchel Perrault, in 1808, he settled at first in Kamoraska, where I was born on the 30th July, 1809. About four or five years later, my parents emigr
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Chapter II.
Chapter II.
In the month of June, 1818, my parents sent me to an excellent school at St. Thomas. One of my mother’s sisters resided there, who was the wife of an industrious miller, called Stephen Eschenbach. They had no children, and they received me as their own son. The beautiful village of St. Thomas had already, at that time, a considerable population. The two fine rivers which unite their rapid waters in its very midst before they fall into the magnificent basin from which they flow into the St. Lawre
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Chapter III
Chapter III
No words can express to those who have never had any experience in the matter, the consternation, anxiety and shame of a poor Romish child, when he hears, for the first time, his priest saying from the pulpit, in a grave and solemn tone, “This week, you will send your children to confession. Make them understand that this action is one of the most important of their lives, that for every one of them, it will decide their eternal happiness or misery. Fathers and mothers, if, through your fault, o
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Chapter IV
Chapter IV
Shortly after the trial of auricular confession, my young friend, Louis Cazeault, accosted me on a beautiful morning and said, “Do you know what happened last night?” “No,” I answered. “What was the wonder?” “You know that our priest spends almost all his evenings at Mr. Richards’ house. Everybody thinks that he goes there for the sake of the two daughters. Well, in order to cure him of that disease, my uncle, Dr. Tache, and six others, masked, whipped him without mercy as he was coming back at
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Chapter V.
Chapter V.
The day following that of the meeting at which Mr. Tache had given his reasons for boasting that he had whipped the priest, I wrote to my mother: “For God’s sake, come for me; I can stay here no longer. If you knew what my eyes have seen and my ears have heard for some time past, you would not delay your coming a single day.” Indeed, such was the impression left upon me by that flagellation, and by the speeches which I had heard, that had it not been for the crossing of the St. Lawrence, I would
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Chapter VI.
Chapter VI.
God had heard the poor widow’s prayer. A few days after the priest had taken our cow she received a letter from each of her two sisters, Genevieve and Catherine. The former, who was married to Etienne Eschenbach, of St. Thomas, told her to sell all she had and come, with her children, to live with her. “We have no family,” she said, “and God has given us the good things of this life in abundance. We shall be happy to share them with you and your children.” The latter, married in Kamouraska to th
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Chapter VII.
Chapter VII.
Nothing can exceed the care with which Roman Catholic priests prepare children for their first communion. Two and three months are set apart every year for that purpose. All that time the children between ten and twelve years of age are obliged to go to church almost every day, not only to learn by heart their catechism, but to hear the explanations of all its teachings. The priest who instructed us was the Rev. Mr. Morin, whom I have already mentioned. He was exceedingly kind to children, and w
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Chapter VIII
Chapter VIII
For the Roman Catholic child, how beautiful and yet how sad is the day of his first communion! How many joys and anxieties by turn rise in his soul when for the first time he is about to eat what he has been taught to believe to be his God! How many efforts he has to make, in order to destroy the manifest teachings of his own rational faculties! I confess with deep regret that I had almost destroyed my reason, in order to prepare myself for my first communion. Yes, I was almost exhausted when th
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Chapter IX.
Chapter IX.
I finished, at the College of Nicolet, in the month of August, 1829, my classical course of study which I had begun in 1822. I could easily have learned in three or four years what was taught in those seven years. It took us three years to study Latin grammar, when twelve months would have sufficed for all we learned of it. It is true that during that time we were taught some of the rudiments of the French grammar, with the elements of arithmetic and geography. But all this was so superficial, t
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Chapter X.
Chapter X.
In order to understand what kind of moral education students in Roman Catholic colleges receive, one must only be told that from beginning to the end they are surrounded by an atmosphere in which nothing but Paganism is breathed. The models of eloquence which we learned by heart were almost exclusively taken from Pagan literature. In the same manner Pagan models of wisdom, of honor, of chastity were offered to our admiration. Our minds were constantly fixed on the masterpieces which Paganism has
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Chapter XI.
Chapter XI.
We read in the history of Paganism that parents were often, in those dark ages, slaying their children upon the altars of their gods, to appease their wrath or obtain their favors. But we now see a stranger thing. It is that of Christian parents forcing their children into the temples and to the very feet of the idols of Rome, under the fallacious notion of having them educated! While the Pagan parent destroyed only the temporal life of his child, the Christian parent, for the most part, destroy
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Chapter XII.
Chapter XII.
ROME AND EDUCATION—WHY DOES THE CHURCH OF ROME HATE THE COMMON SCHOOLS OF THE UNITED STATES, AND WANTS TO DESTROY THEM? WHY DOES SHE OBJECT TO THE READING OF THE BIBLE IN THE SCHOOL? The word EDUCATION is a beautiful word. It comes from the Latin educare , which means to raise up, to take from the lowest degrees to the highest spheres of knowledge. The object of education is, then, to feed, expand, raise, enlighten and strengthen the intelligence. We hear the Roman Catholic priests making use of
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Chapter XIII.
Chapter XIII.
Talleyrand, one of the most celebrated Roman Catholic bishops of France, once said, “Language is the art of concealing one’s thoughts.” Never was there a truer expression, if it had reference to the awful deceptions practiced by the Church of Rome under the pompous name of “Theological studies.” Theology is the study of the knowledge of the laws of God. Nothing, then, is more noble than the study of theology. How solemn were my thoughts and elevated my aspirations when, in 1829, under the guidan
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Chapter XIV
Chapter XIV
Were I to write all the ingenious tricks, pious lies, shameful stories called miracles, and sacrilegious perversions of the Word of God made use of by superiors of seminaries and nunneries to entice their poor victims into the trap of perpetual celibacy, I should have to write ten large volumes, instead of a short chapter. Sometimes the trials and obligations of married life are so exaggerated that they may frighten the strongest heart. At other times the joys, peace and privileges of celibacy a
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Chapter XV.
Chapter XV.
Constrained by the voice of my conscience to reveal the impurities of the theology of the Church of Rome, I feel, in doing so, a sentiment of inexpressible shame. They are of such a loathsome nature, that often they cannot be expressed in any living language. However great may have been the corruptions in the theologies and priests of paganism, there is nothing in their records which can be compared with the depravity of those of the Church of Rome. Before the day on which the theology of Rome w
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Chapter XVI.
Chapter XVI.
THE PRIEST OF ROME AND THE HOLY FATHERS: OR HOW I SWORE TO GIVE UP THE WORD OF GOD TO FOLLOW THE WORD OF MEN. There are several imposing ceremonies at the ordination of a priest; and I will never forget the joy I felt when the Roman Pontiff presenting to me the Bible, ordered me, with a solemn voice, to study and preach it. That order passed through my soul as a beam of light. But, alas! those rays of light and life were soon to be followed, as a flash of lightning in a stormy night, by the most
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Chapter XVII.
Chapter XVII.
I was ordained a priest of Rome in the Cathedral of Quebec, on the 21st of September, 1833, by the Right Reverend Sinai, first Archbishop of Canada. No words can express the solemnity of my thoughts, the superhuman nature of my aspirations, when the delegate of the Pope, imposing his hands on my head, gave me the power of converting a wafer into the real substantial body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ! The bright illusion of Eve, as the deceiver told her “Ye shall be as gods,” was chi
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Chapter XVIII.
Chapter XVIII.
NINE STARTLING CONSEQUENCES OF THE DOGMA OF TRANSUBSTANTIATION—THE OLD PAGANISM UNDER A CHRISTIAN NAME. On the day of my ordination to the priesthood, I had to believe, with all the priests of Rome, that it was within the limits of my powers to go into all the bakeries of Quebec, and change all the loaves and biscuits in that old city, into the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, by pronouncing over them the five words: Hoc est enim corpus meum. Nothing would have remained o
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Chapter XIX.
Chapter XIX.
On the 24th September, 1833, Rev. Mr. Casault, secretary of the bishop of Quebec, presented to me the official letters which named me the vicar of the Rev. Mr. Perras, arch-priest, and curate of St. Charles, Rivierre Boyer, and I was soon on my way, with a cheerful heart, to fill the post assigned to me by my superior. The parish of St. Charles is beautifully situated about twenty miles south-west of Quebec, on the banks of a river, which flows in its very midst, from north to south. Its large f
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Chapter XX.
Chapter XX.
The name of Louis Joseph Papineau will be forever dear to the French Canadians; for whatever may be the political party to which one belongs in Canada, he cannot deny that it is to the ardent patriotism, the indomitable energy, and the remarkable eloquence of that great patriot, that Canada is indebted for the greater part of the political reforms which promise in a near future to raise the country of my birth to the rank of a great and free nation. It is not my intention to speak of the politic
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Chapter XXI
Chapter XXI
It was the custom in those days, in the Church of Rome, to give the title of arch-priest to one of the most respectable and able priests, among twelve or fifteen others, by whom he was surrounded. That title was the token of some superior power, which was granted him over his confreres, who, in consequence, should consult him in certain difficult matters. As a general thing, those priests lived in the most cordial and fraternal unity, and to make the bond of that union stronger and more pleasant
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Chapter XXII.
Chapter XXII.
I AM APPOINTED VICAR OF THE CURATE OF CHARLESBOURGH—THE PIETY, LIVES AND DEATHS OF FATHERS BEDARD AND PERRAS. The grand dinner previously described had its natural results. Several of the guests were hardly at home, when they complained of various kinds of sickness, and none was so severely punished as my friend Paquette, the curate of St. Gervais. He came very near dying, and for several weeks was unable to work. He requested the bishop of Quebec to allow me to go to his help, which I did to th
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Chapter XXIII.
Chapter XXIII.
THE CHOLERA MORBUS OF 1834—ADMIRABLE COURAGE AND SELF-DENIAL OF THE PRIESTS OF ROME DURING THAT EPIDEMIC. I had not been more than three weeks the administrator of the parish of Charlesbourgh, when the terrible words, “The cholera morbus is in Quebec!” sent a thrill of terror from one end to the other of Canada. The cities of Quebec and Montreal, with many surrounding country places, had been decimated in 1832 by the same terrible scourge. Thousands upon thousands had fallen its victims; familie
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Chapter XXIV.
Chapter XXIV.
I AM NAMED A VICAR OF ST. ROCH, QUEBEC CITY—THE REV. MR. TETU—TERTULLIAN—GENERAL CARGO—THE SEAL SKINS. In the beginning of September, 1834, the Bishop Synaie gave me the enviable position of one of the vicars of St. Roch, Quebec, where the Rev. Mr. Tetu had been curate for about a year. He was one of the seventeen children of Mr. Francis Tetu, one of the most respectable and wealthy farmers of St. Thomas. Such was the amiability of character of my new curate, that I never saw him in bad humor a
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Chapter XXV.
Chapter XXV.
SIMONY—STRANGE AND SACRILEGIOUS TRAFFIC IN THE SO-CALLED BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST—ENORMOUS SUMS OF MONEY MADE BY THE SALE OF MASSES—THE SOCIETY OF THREE MASSES ABOLISHED AND THE SOCIETY OF ONE MASS ESTABLISHED. In one of the pleasant hours which we used invariably to pass after dinner, in the comfortable parlor of our parsonage, one of the vicars, Mr. Louis Parent, said to the Rev. Mr. Tetu: “I have handed this morning more than one hundred dollars to the bishop, as the price of the masses which
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Chapter XXVI
Chapter XXVI
The hour of my absence had been one of anxiety for the curate and the vicars. But my prompt return filled them with joy. “What news!” they all exclaimed. “Good news,” I answered; “the battle has been fierce but short. We have gained the day; and if we are only true to ourselves, another great victory is in store for us. The bishop is so sure that we are the only ones who think of that reform, that he will not move a finger to prevent the other priests from following us. This security will make o
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Chapter XXVII.
Chapter XXVII.
QUEBEC MARINE HOSPITAL—THE FIRST TIME I CARRIED THE “ BON DIEU ” (THE WAFER GOD) IN MY VEST POCKET—THE GRAND OYSTER SOIREE AT MR. BUTEAU’S—THE REV. L. PARENT AND THE “BON DIEU” AT THE OYSTER SOIREE. One of the first things done by the curate Tetu, after his new vicars had been chosen, was to divide, by casting lots, his large parish into four parts, that there might be more regularity in our ministerial labors, and my lot gave me the northeast of the parish which contained the Quebec Marine Hosp
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Chapter XXVIII.
Chapter XXVIII.
DR. DOUGLAS—MY FIRST LESSON IN TEMPERANCE—STUDY OF ANATOMY—WORKING OF ALCOHOL IN THE HUMAN FRAME—THE MURDERESS OF HER OWN CHILD—I FOREVER GIVE UP THE USE OF INTOXICATING DRINKS. God controls the greatest as well as the smallest of the events of this world. Our business during the few days of our pilgrimage, then, is to know His will and do it. Our happiness here, as in heaven, rests on this foundation, just as the success and failures of our lives come entirely from the practical knowledge or ig
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Chapter XXIX.
Chapter XXIX.
CONVERSIONS OF PROTESTANTS TO THE CHURCH OF ROME—REV. ANTHONY PARENT, SUPERIOR OF THE SEMINARY OF QUEBEC: HIS PECULIAR WAY OF FINDING ACCESS TO THE PROTESTANTS AND BRINGING THEM TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH—HOW HE SPIES THE PROTESTANTS THROUGH THE CONFESSIONAL—I PERSUADE NINETY-THREE FAMILIES TO BECOME CATHOLICS. “Out of the Church of Rome there is no salvation,” is one of the doctrines which the priests of Rome have to believe and teach to the people. That dogma, once accepted, caused me to devote al
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Chapter XXX.
Chapter XXX.
THE MURDERS AND THEFTS IN QUEBEC FROM 1835 TO 1836—THE NIGHT EXCURSION WITH TWO THIEVES—THE RESTITUTION—THE DAWN OF LIGHT. The three years which followed the cholera will be long remembered in Quebec for the number of audacious thefts and the murders which kept the whole population in constant terror. Almost every week, the public press had to give us the account of the robbery of the houses of some of our rich merchants, or old wealthy widows. Many times, the blood was chilled in our veins by t
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Chapter XXXI.
Chapter XXXI.
CHAMBERS AND HIS ACCOMPLICES CONDEMNED TO DEATH—ASKED ME TO PREPARE THEM TO MEET THEIR TERRIBLE FATE—A WEEK IN THEIR DUNGEON—THEIR SENTENCE OF DEATH CHANGED INTO DEPORTATION TO BOTANY BAY—THEIR DEPARTURE FOR EXILE—I MEET ONE OF THEM, A SINCERE CONVERT, VERY RICH, IN A HIGH AND HONORABLE POSITION IN AUSTRALIA IN 1878. A few days after the strange and providential night spent with the repentant thieves, I received the following letter signed by Chambers and his unfortunate criminal friends: “ Dear
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Chapter XXXII.
Chapter XXXII.
THE MIRACLES OF ROME—ATTACK OF TYPHOID FEVER—APPARITION OF ST. ANNE AND ST. PHILOMENE—MY SUDDEN CURE—THE CURATE OF ST. ANNE DU NORD, MONS RANVOIZE, A DISGUISED PROTESTANT. The merchant fleet of the fall of 1836 had filled the Marine Hospital of Quebec with the victims of a ship-typhoid fever of the worst kind, which soon turned into an epidemic. Within the walls of that institution Mr. Glackmeyer, the superintendent, with two of the attending doctors, and the majority of the servants, were swept
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Chapter XXXIII.
Chapter XXXIII.
MY NOMINATION AS CURATE OF BEAUPORT—DEGRADATION AND RUIN OF THAT PLACE THROUGH DRUNKENNESS—MY OPPOSITION TO MY NOMINATION USELESS—PREPARATIONS TO ESTABLISH A TEMPERANCE SOCIETY—I WRITE TO FATHER MATHEW FOR ADVICE. The 21st of September, 1838, was a day of desolation to me. On that day I received the letter of my bishop, appointing me curate of Beauport. Many times, I had said to the other priests, when talking about our choice of the different parishes, that I would never consent to be curate of
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Chapter XXXIV
Chapter XXXIV
“My thoughts are not your thoughts,” saith the Lord. And, we may add, His works are not like the works of man. This great truth has never been better exemplified than in the marvellous rapidity with which the great temperance reformation grew in Canada, in spite of the most formidable obstacles. To praise any man for such work seems to me a kind of blasphemy, when it is so visibly the work of the Lord. I had hardly finished reading the letter of Ireland’s Apostle of Temperance, when I fell on my
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Chapter XXXV.
Chapter XXXV.
FOUNDATION OF TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES IN THE NEIGHBORING PARISHES—PROVIDENTIAL ARRIVAL OF MONSIGNOR DE FORBIN JANSON, BISHOP OF NANCY—HE PUBLICLY DEFENDS ME AGAINST THE BISHOP OF QUEBEC, AND FOREVER BREAKS THE OPPOSITION OF THE CLERGY. The people of Beauport had scarcely been a year enrolled under the banners of temperance, when the seven thriving taverns of that parish were deserted and their owners forced to try some more honorable trade for a living. This fact, published by the whole press of Qu
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Chapter XXXVI
Chapter XXXVI
Has God given us ears to hear, eyes to see, and intelligence to understand? The Pope says, no! But the Son of God says, yes. One of the most severe rebukes of our Saviour to His disciples, was for their not paying sufficient attention to what their eyes had seen, their ears heard, and their intelligence perceived. “Perceive ye not yet, neither understand? Have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not, having ears, hear ye not? and do not ye remember?”—(Mark viii: 17, 18.) This solemn
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Chapter XXXVII
Chapter XXXVII
A few days before the arrival of Bishop de Forbin Janson, I was alone in my study, considering my false position toward my ecclesiastical superiors, on account of my establishing the temperance society against their formal protest. My heart was sad. My partial success had not blinded me to the reality of my deplorable isolation from the great mass of the clergy. With very few exceptions, they were speaking of me as a dangerous man. They had even given me the nickname of “ Le reformateur au petit
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Chapter XXXVIII.
Chapter XXXVIII.
ERECTION OF THE COLUMN OF TEMPERANCE—SCHOOL BUILDINGS—ADDRESSES—A NOBLE AND TOUCHING ACT OF THE PEOPLE OF BEAUPORT. The battle fought and gained at the grand dinner of the Quebec Seminary by the society of temperance had been decisive. The triumph was as complete as it was glorious. Hereafter her march to the conquest of Canada was to be a triumph. Her blessed banners were soon to be planted over all the cities, towns and villages of my dear country. To commemorate the expression of their joy an
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Chapter XXXIX.
Chapter XXXIX.
SENT TO SUCCEED REV. MR. VARIN, CURATE OF KAMOURASKA—STERN OPPOSITION OF THAT CURATE AND THE SURROUNDING PRIEST AND PEOPLE—HOURS OF DESOLATION IN KAMOURASKA—THE GOOD MASTER ALLAYS THE TEMPEST, AND BIDS THE WAVES BE STILL. On the morning of the 25th of August, 1842, we blessed and opened the seventh school of Beauport. From that day all the children were to receive as good an education as could be given in any country place of Canada. Those schools had been raised on the ruins of the seven tavern
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Chapter XL.
Chapter XL.
ORGANIZATION OF TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES IN KAMOURASKA AND SURROUNDING COUNTRY—THE GIRL IN THE GARB OF A MAN IN THE SERVICE OF THE CURATES OF QUEBEC AND EBOULEMENTS—FRIGHTENED BY THE SCANDALS SEEN EVERYWHERE—GIVE UP MY PARISH OF KAMOURASKA TO JOIN THE “OBLATES OF MARY IMMACULATE OF LONGGUEIL.” Two days after my arrival at Kamouraska, I received a letter from the surrounding priests, at the head of whom was the Grand Vicar Mailloux, expressing the hope that I would not try to form any temperance soci
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Chapter XLI.
Chapter XLI.
PERVERSION OF DR. NEWMAN TO THE CHURCH OF ROME IN THE LIGHT OF HIS OWN EXPLANATIONS, COMMON SENSE AND THE WORD OF GOD. The year 1843 will be long remembered in the Church of Rome for the submission of Dr. Newman to her authority. This was considered by many Roman Catholics as one of the greatest triumphs ever gained by their church against Protestantism. But some of us, more acquainted with the daily contradictions and tergiversations of the Oxford divine, could not associate ourselves in the pu
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Chapter XLII.
Chapter XLII.
NOVICIATE IN THE MONASTERY OF THE OBLATES OF MARY IMMACULATE OF LONGUEUIL—SOME OF THE THOUSAND ACTS OF FOLLY AND IDOLATRY WHICH FORM THE LIFE OF A MONK—THE DEPLORABLE FALL OF ONE OF THE FATHERS—FALL OF THE GRAND VICAR QUIBLIER—SICK IN THE HOTEL DIEU OF MONTREAL—SISTER URTUBISE, WHAT SHE SAYS OF MARIA MONK—THE TWO MISSIONARIES TO THE LUMBER MEN—FALL AND PUNISHMENT OF A FATHER OBLATE—WHAT ONE OF THE BEST FATHER OBLATES THINKS OF THE MONKS AND THE MONASTERY. On the first Sabbath of November, 1846,
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Chapter XLIII.
Chapter XLIII.
I ACCEPT THE HOSPITALITY OF THE REV. MR. BRASSARD, OF LONGUEUIL—I GIVE MY REASONS FOR LEAVING THE OBLATES TO BISHOP BOURGET—HE PRESENTS ME WITH A MEDALLION, PORTRAIT OF THE POPE AND A SPLENDID CRUCIFIX BLESSED BY HIS HOLINESS FOR ME, AND ACCEPTS MY SERVICES IN THE CAUSE OF TEMPERANCE IN THE DIOCESE OF MONTREAL. The eleven months spent in the monastery of the oblates of Mary Immaculate, were among the greatest favors God has granted me. What I had read of the monastic orders, and what my honest,
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Chapter XLIV.
Chapter XLIV.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE LAST CONFLICT—WISE COUNSEL, TEARS AND DISTRESS OF FATHER MATHEW—LONGUEUIL THE FIRST TO ACCEPT THE GREAT REFORM OF TEMPERANCE—THE WHOLE DISTRICT OF MONTREAL, ST. HYACINTHE AND THREE RIVERS CONQUERED—TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND TEETOTALERS—THE CITY OF MONTREAL WITH THE SUPLICIANS TAKE THE PLEDGE—GOLD MEDAL—OFFICIALLY NAMED APOSTLE OF TEMPERANCE OF CANADA—GIFT OF £500 FROM PARLIAMENT. Our adorable Saviour said: “What king, going to make war against another king sitteth not down first,
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Chapter XLV.
Chapter XLV.
MY SERMON ON THE VIRGIN MARY—COMPLIMENTS OF BISHOP PRINCE—STORMY NIGHT—MY FIRST SERIOUS DOUBTS ABOUT THE CHURCH OF ROME—PAINFUL DISCUSSION WITH THE BISHOP—THE HOLY FATHERS OPPOSED TO THE MODERN WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN—THE BRANCHES OF THE VINE. The 15th of August, 1850, I preached in the Cathedral of Montreal, on the blessed Virgin Mary’s power in heaven, when interceding for sinners. I was sincerely devoted to the Virgin Mary. Nothing seemed to me more natural than to pray to her, and rely on her
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Chapter XLVI.
Chapter XLVI.
THE HOLY FATHERS—NEW MENTAL TROUBLES AT NOT FINDING THE DOCTRINES OF MY CHURCH IN THEIR WRITINGS—PURGATORY AND THE SUCKING PIG OF THE POOR MAN OF VARENNES. The most desolate work of a sincere catholic priest is the study of the Holy Fathers. He does not make a step in the labyrinth of their discussions and controversies without seeing the dreams of his theological studies and religious views disappear as the thick morning mist, when the sun rises above the horizon. Bound, as he is, by a solemn o
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Chapter XLVII.
Chapter XLVII.
LETTER FROM THE REV. BISHOP VANDEVELD, OF CHICAGO—VAST PROJECT OF THE BISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES TO TAKE POSSESSION OF THE RICH VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PRAIRIES OF THE WEST, TO RULE THAT GREAT REPUBLIC—THEY WANT TO PUT ME AT THE HEAD OF THE WORK—MY LECTURES ON TEMPERANCE AT DETROIT—INTEMPERANCE OF THE BISHOP AND PRIESTS OF THAT CITY. On the 15th of December, 1850, I received the following letter: Rev. Father Chiniquy , Dear Sir :—When I was in Canada, last fall, I intended to confer
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Chapter XLVIII.
Chapter XLVIII.
MY VISIT TO CHICAGO IN 1851—BISHOP VANDEVELD—HIS PREDECESSOR POISONED—MAGNIFICENT PRAIRIES OF THE WEST—RETURN TO CANADA—BAD FEELINGS OF BISHOP BOURGET—I DECLINE SENDING A RICH WOMAN TO THE NUNNERY TO ENRICH THE BISHOP—A PLOT TO DESTROY ME. The journey from Detroit to Chicago, in the month of June, 1851, was not so pleasant as it is to-day. The Michigan Central Railroad was completed then only to New Buffalo. We took the steamer there and crossed Lake Michigan to Chicago, where we arrived the nex
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Chapter XLIX.
Chapter XLIX.
THE PLOT TO DESTROY ME—THE INTERDICT—THE RETREAT AT THE JESUITS’ COLLEGE—THE LOST GIRL, EMPLOYED BY THE BISHOP, RETRACTS—THE BISHOP CONFOUNDED, SEES HIS INJUSTICE, MAKES AMENDS—TESTIMONIAL LETTERS—THE CHALICE—THE BENEDICTION BEFORE I LEAVE CANADA. The first week of September, 1851, I was hearing confessions in one of the churches of Montreal, when a fine-looking girl came to confess sins, whose depravity surpassed anything I had ever heard. Though I forbade her twice to do it, she gave me the na
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Chapter L.
Chapter L.
ADDRESS PRESENTED ME AT LONGUEUIL—I ARRIVE AT CHICAGO—I SELECT THE SPOT FOR MY COLONY—I BUILD THE FIRST CHAPEL—JEALOUSY AND OPPOSITION OF THE PRIESTS OF BOURBONNAIS AND CHICAGO—GREAT SUCCESS OF THE COLONY. Though I had kept my departure from Canada as secret as possible, it had been suspected, by many; and Mr. Brassard, unable to resist the desire that his people should give me the expression of their kind feelings, had let the secret slip from his lips, two days before I left. I was not a littl
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Chapter LI.
Chapter LI.
INTRIGUES, IMPOSTURES, AND CRIMINAL LIFE OF THE PRIEST IN BOURBONNAIS—INDIGNATION OF THE BISHOP—THE PEOPLE IGNOMINIOUSLY TURN OUT THE CRIMINAL PRIEST FROM THEIR PARISH—FRIGHTFUL SCANDAL—FAITH IN THE CHURCH OF ROME SERIOUSLY SHAKEN. “Please accompany me to Bourbonnais; I have to confer with you and the Rev. Mr. Courjeault, on important matters,” said the bishop, half an hour before leaving St. Anne, after having blessed the chapel. “I intended, my lord, to ask your lordship to grant me that honor
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Chapter LII.
Chapter LII.
On the 20th of May, 1852, I received the following letter from Bishop Vandeveld: Rev. Mr. Chiniquy. My Dear Mr. Chiniquy :—The Rev. Mr. Courjeault is just returned from Bourbonnais, where he ought never to have gone back. He has told me of his complete failure and ignominious exit. I bitterly regret having allowed him to go there again. But he had so persuaded me that his criminal conduct with his servant girl was ignored by the people, that I had yielded to his request. I feel that this new att
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Chapter LIII.
Chapter LIII.
The 8th December, 1854, Pope Pius IX. was sitting on his throne; a triple crown of gold and diamonds was on his head; silk and damask—red and white vestments on his shoulders; five hundred mitred prelates were surrounding him; and more than fifty thousand people were at his feet, in the incomparable St. Peter’s Church of Rome. After a few minutes of most solemn silence, a Cardinal, dressed with his purpled robe, left his seat, and gravely walked towards the Pope, kneeled before him, and humbly p
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Chapter LIV
Chapter LIV
There are two women who ought to be constant objects of the compassion of the disciples of Christ, and for whom daily prayers ought to be offered at the mercy-seat—the Brahmin woman, who, deceived by her priests, burns herself on the corpse of her husband to appease the wrath of her wooden gods; and the Roman Catholic woman, who, not less deceived by her priests, suffers a torture far more cruel and ignominious in the confessional-box, to appease the wrath of her wafer-god. For I do not exaggera
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Chapter LV.
Chapter LV.
THE ECCLESIASTICAL RETREAT—CONDUCT OF THE PRIESTS—THE BISHOP FORBIDS ME TO DISTRIBUTE THE BIBLE. On the first of Aug., 1855, I received the following letter: Rev. Mr. Chiniquy. You will have the goodness to attend a spiritual retreat to be given next month at the college, in Chicago, for the clergy of the diocese of Chicago and Quincy. The spiritual exercises, which will be conducted by the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Louisville, are to commence on Tuesday, the 28th of Aug., and will terminate on the
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Chapter LVI.
Chapter LVI.
PUBLIC ACTS OF SIMONY—THEFTS AND BRIGANDAGE OF BISHOP O’REGAN—GENERAL CRY OF INDIGNATION—I DETERMINE TO RESIST HIM TO HIS FACE—HE EMPLOYS MR. SPINK AGAIN TO SEND ME TO GAOL, AND HE FAILS—DRAGS ME AS A PRISONER TO URBANA IN THE SPRING OF 1856 AND FAILS AGAIN—ABRAHAM LINCOLN DEFENDS ME—MY DEAR BIBLE BECOMES MORE THAN EVER MY LIGHT AND MY COUNSELOR. A month had hardly elapsed since the ecclesiastical retreat, when all the cities of Illinois, were filled by the most strange and humiliating clamors a
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Chapter LVII
Chapter LVII
BISHOP O’REGAN SELLS THE PARSONAGE OF THE FRENCH CANADIANS OF CHICAGO, POCKETS THE MONEY, AND TURNS THEM OUT WHEN THEY COME TO COMPLAIN—HE DETERMINES TO TURN ME OUT OF MY COLONY AND SEND ME TO KAHOKIA—HE FORGETS IT THE NEXT DAY, AND PUBLISHES THAT HE HAS INTERDICTED ME—MY PEOPLE SEND A DEPUTATION TO THE BISHOP—HIS ANSWERS—THE SHAM EXCOMMUNICATION BY THREE DRUNKEN PRIESTS. The Holy Scriptures say that an abyss calls for another abyss ( abyssus abyssum invocat ). That axiom had its accomplishment
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Chapter LVIII.
Chapter LVIII.
ADDRESS FROM MY PEOPLE, ASKING ME TO REMAIN—ADDRESS OF THE PEOPLE TO THE BISHOP—I AM AGAIN DRAGGED AS A PRISONER BY THE SHERIFF TO URBANA—PERJURY OF THE PRIEST LEBELLE—ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S ANXIETY ABOUT THE ISSUE OF THE PROSECUTION—MY DISTRESS—NIGHT OF DESOLATION—THE RESCUE—MISS PHILOMENE MOFFAT SENT BY GOD TO SAVE ME—LEBELLE’S CONFESSION AND DISTRESS—SPINK WITHDRAWS HIS SUIT—MY INNOCENCE ACKNOWLEDGED—NOBLE WORDS AND CONDUCT OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN—THE OATH OF MISS PHILOMENE MOFFAT. The Sabbath afternoo
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Chapter LIX.
Chapter LIX.
MOMENT OF INTERRUPTION IN THE THREAD OF MY “FIFTY YEARS IN THE CHURCH OF ROME,” TO SEE HOW MY SAD PREVISIONS ABOUT MY DEFENDER, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, WERE TO BE REALIZED—ROME THE IMPLACABLE ENEMY OF THE UNITED STATES—SHE WANTS TO CONQUER AND RULE THEM, IN ORDER TO DESTROY ALL THEIR RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES AND LIBERTIES. When it became evident, in 1851, that my plan of forming a grand colony of Roman Catholic French-speaking people on the prairies of Illinois was to be a success, D’Arcy McGee, then editor
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Chapter LX.
Chapter LX.
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, DRAWN FROM THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST—ROME CANNOT THRIVE AND STAND IN THE UNITED STATES WITHOUT DESTROYING THEIR PRINCIPLES OF FRATERNITY, EQUALITY AND LIBERTY, WHICH ARE THE FOUNDATION OF THE REPUBLIC—MY FIRST VISIT TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN TO WARN HIM OF PLOTS I KNEW AGAINST HIM—ROMISH PRIESTS CIRCULATE THE NEWS THAT HE WAS BORN IN THE CHURCH OF ROME—LETTER OF THE POPE TO JEFF DAVIS—MY LAST VISIT TO THE PRESIDENT—HIS ADMIRABLE REFERENCE TO M
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Chapter LXI.
Chapter LXI.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN A TRUE MAN OF GOD, AND A TRUE DISCIPLE OF THE GOSPEL—HIS ASSASSINATION BY BOOTH—THE TOOL OF THE PRIESTS—MARY SURRATT’S HOUSE—THE RENDEZVOUS AND DWELLING PLACE OF THE PRIESTS—JOHN SURRATT SECRETED BY THE PRIESTS AFTER THE MURDER OF LINCOLN—THE ASSASSINATION OF LINCOLN KNOWN AND PUBLISHED IN THE TOWN THREE HOURS BEFORE ITS OCCURRENCE. Every time I met President Lincoln, I wondered how such elevation of thought and such childish simplicity could be found in the same man. After my in
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Chapter LXII.
Chapter LXII.
DEPUTATION OF TWO PRIESTS SENT BY THE PEOPLE AND THE BISHOPS OF CANADA TO PERSUADE US TO SUBMIT TO THE WILL OF THE BISHOP—THE DEPUTIES ACKNOWLEDGE PUBLICLY THAT THE BISHOP IS WRONG AND THAT WE ARE RIGHT—FOR PEACE SAKE, I CONSENT TO WITHDRAW FROM THE CONTEST ON CERTAIN CONDITIONS ACCEPTED BY THE DEPUTIES—ONE OF THOSE DEPUTIES TURNS FALSE TO HIS PROMISES AND BETRAYS US, TO BE PUT AT THE HEAD OF MY COLONY—MY LAST INTERVIEW WITH HIM AND MR. BRASSARD. When alone, on my knees, in the presence of God,
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Chapter LXIII.
Chapter LXIII.
MR. DESAULNIER IS NAMED VICAR GENERAL OF CHICAGO TO CRUSH US—OUR PEOPLE MORE UNITED THAN EVER TO DEFEND THEIR RIGHTS—LETTERS OF THE PEOPLE OF CHICAGO TO THE BISHOPS AND TO THE POPE—LETTERS OF THE BISHOP OF MONTREAL AGAINST ME, AND MY ANSWER—MR. BRASSARD FORCED, AGAINST HIS CONSCIENCE, TO CONDEMN US—MY ANSWER TO MR. BRASSARD—HE WRITES TO BEG MY PARDON. It was evident that the betrayal of Mr. Desaulnier would be followed by new efforts on the part of the bishop to crush us. Two new priests were se
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Chapter LXIV.
Chapter LXIV.
I WRITE TO POPE PIUS IX. AND TO NAPOLEON, EMPEROR OF FRANCE, AND SEND THEM THE PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PROVING THE BAD CONDUCT OF BISHOP O’REGAN—CARDINAL BIDINI ORDERED TO INVESTIGATE—THE BISHOP CALLED TO ROME, IS FORCED TO RESIGN, AND BECOMES A BANKER—BISHOP SMITH, OF DUBUQUE, NAMED ADMINISTRATOR OF THE DIOCESE OF CHICAGO—GRAND VICAR DUNN SENT TO TELL ME OF MY VICTORY AT ROME—I GO TO DUBUQUE TO OFFER MY SUBMISSION TO THE BISHOP. I had not forgotten the advice given me by Archbishop Kenrick, of St. Lou
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Chapter LXV.
Chapter LXV.
EXCELLENT TESTIMONIAL FROM MY BISHOP—MY RETREAT—GRAND VICAR SAURIN AND HIS ASSISTANT, REV. M. GRANGER—GRAND VICAR DUNN WRITES ME ABOUT THE NEW STORM PREPARED BY THE JESUITS—BISHOP SMITH, ORDERS ME BACK TO DUBUQUE—HE REJECTS THE ACTS OF SUBMISSION—THE VOICE OF GOD—THE BISHOP REQUIRES A NEW ACT OF SUBMISSION—I REFUSE IT—VISION—CHRIST OFFERS HIMSELF AS A GIFT —I AM FORGIVEN, RICH HAPPY AND SAVED—BACK TO MY PEOPLE. Bishop Smith had fulfilled his promise in addressing to me a testimonial letter, whic
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Chapter LXVI.
Chapter LXVI.
THE SOLEMN RESPONSIBILITIES OF MY NEW POSITION—WE GIVE UP THE NAME OF ROMAN CATHOLIC TO CALL OURSELVES CHRISTIAN CATHOLICS—DISMAY OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS—MY LORD DUGGAN, COADJUTOR OF ST. LOUIS, HURRIED TO CHICAGO—HE COMES TO ST. ANNE TO PERSUADE THE PEOPLE TO SUBMIT TO HIS AUTHORITY—HE IS IGNOMINIOUSLY TURNED OUT AND RUNS AWAY IN THE MIDST OF THE CRIES OF THE PEOPLE. Where shall I find words to express the sentiments of surprise, admiration and joy I felt when, after divine service, alone
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EVANGELISTIC SERMONS
EVANGELISTIC SERMONS
S. D. GORDON and the Present World Outlook “A refreshing volume on the simple though really important things in the Christian life. The latest book by one of the most popular of all devotional writers—refreshing as a cool draft on a sultry day, enheartening as a familiar voice in the dark, and helpful as a lift in carrying a heavy load.”— Alabama Baptist. R. A. TORREY, D.D. Sermons Used in Saving Myriads of Sinners all Around the Globe. Twenty-five of Dr. Torrey’s best evangelistic addresses—add
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FOR REACHING MEN
FOR REACHING MEN
C. F. WIMBERLY, D.D. Introduction by Henry C. Morrison, D.D. A vigorous, bracing discussion of the factors which make for victorious manhood. Not by men who are a law unto themselves are life’s highest achievements attained, Dr. Wimberly contends, but by men whose thoughts and deeds are influenced by the indwelling Spirit of the Most High. It is the God-governed, not the self-governed life which counts for most, which is best worth while....
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CHRISTIAN MOVEMENTS
CHRISTIAN MOVEMENTS
FRED B. SMITH (Editor) Addresses delivered at Citizenship Conference. By Bishop W. F. McDowell, D.D., Hon. Roy A. Haynes, Dr. E. H. Cherrington, Mrs. Raymond Robins, Justice Florence E. Allen, Rabbi Wise, Hon. Carter Glass, Hons. Mabel W. Willebrandt, William Jennings Bryan, Gifford Pinchot, Henry J. Allen, Louis Marshall, William E. Borah, Dr. Joseph Fort Newton, etc. CHARLES S. MACFARLAND, D.D. For a number of years past, the Evangelical Churches and Christian organizations of various kinds th
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