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Rev. James Hourigan to break out of a framing site |
According to Smith's History of Broome Co. NY, Rev. James Hourigan in the work, on pages 543-8, states he was appointed to his post in 1847 and was stll at the post when the book was published in 1883. Rev. Hourigan continued to serve in that position until his death in 1892, according to Broome County Heritage, published in 1983.
The biography from Smith's History is as follows:
Rev. James Francis Hourigan was born in Nenagh, county Tipperary, Ireland, on the 11th day of January, 1815, and has consequently passed the allotted three-score and ten years; to which fact his remarkable vigor, robust manhood andsturdy activity would seem to offer a direct and substantial contradiction. His father, Thomas Hourigan, was an Irish gentleman, an architect by profession, to which he devoted all his energies and talents with the ardor that has since characterized the efforts of his son in his ecclesiastical capacity. Father Hourigan had three brothers, one of whom, the Rev. Nicholas. Hourigan, was likewise a priest, for many years in charge of a numerous and prosperous flock in a large and important parish in Ireland. The family also included five sisters, to whom were allotted spheres of usefulness, and who left their mark upon their time and locality. Of this numerous family our reverend subject is the only living representative. Although he chose a life of toil and hardship, in which he has ever been remarkably active, and in which his ardent spirit has never permitted him to seek rest, he has yet survived all his family, and is to-day the substantial embodiment of health and vigor. Who shall say that there is not a Providence in these dispensations?
The collateral branches of Father Hourigan's family have contributed, in a remarkable degree, to the honor of God and the glory of the Catholic Church. Six nieces have abandoned the world and devoted themselves to a labor of love and devotion, in the holy seclusion of cloistered lives. Some of these have achieved religious prominence, partly on account of their educational culture and marked administrative powers, but chiefly on account of their austerity and devotion. A nephew of Father Hourigan, Rev. N. J. Quinn, is a priest well and widely known and his uncle's zealous and capable assistant. A brother of Father Quinn, nearly on the point of ordination, died several years ago, in which sad event his family and the church militant sustained a signal loss. A grand-nephew of Father Hourigan, the Rev. William Quinn, of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, was barely clothed in sacerdotal armor, and vested for a laborious western missionary life, when death closed a promising career. Other grand-nephews of this venerable priest are already preparing for the sacred ministry under the patronage and encouragement of their beneficent relative. Altogether, it would be difficult to discover another family, in which the church has found a stronger bulwark, or a more numerous body of able exponents; and it is almost needless to add, that it was owing to Father Hourigan's life and example that his beloved kindred have been enabled, in so marked a degree, to draw down upon themselves such abundant and extraordinary blessings.
Being impressed at an early age with the certainty of his divine vocation, and being fully alive to the importance of an extensive and careful preparation, Father Hourigan pursued his classical studies with unexampled ardor, at his native place; and when he found himself ripe for ecclesiastical distinction, he looked abroad for a field where the zealous and self-sacrificing worker might reap a rich harvest in the service of his Divine Master. Advantageous offers came to him from Maynooth College and also from San Sulpice in France; inducements most flattering, and tempting in no ordinary degree; for these institutions threw a nimbus of importance about their connections that was alluring to the youthful temperament, while the duties, though perhaps onerous, were yet modified by circumscription. But the New World had already caught the eye and the fancy of this energetic young disciple, as presenting a field, extensive and rich in materials, where, among his exiled compatriots, he might usefully employ the resources with which God had provided him. Stimulated by this project, he, with commendable self-sacrifice, rejected the glittering inducements held out to him on his own side of the water, and having made such preparations as a lasting separation might render advisable, he left his home on the sixth day of May, 1841, to take passage to America.
Prior to his embarkation he proceeded to Dublin, where he spent a few weeks with his cousin, William Carroll, esq., who was subsequently, in 1868-69, made Lord Mayor of Dublin, in which office he acquitted himself with dignity and distinction; and the honor and credit attached to his exalted position caused him thenceforth to be recognized as Sir William Carroll. It was at this time that Father Hourigan first met and was introduced to the illustrious Daniel O'Connell, the great "Irish Liberator," who was then standing as a candidate for parliament from the city of Dublin. Several interviews resulted from this meeting, which were highly beneficial and interesting to all parties. O'Connell was much impressed by the earnestness and singleness of purpose that characterized the young aspirant for ecclesiastical honors, and lost no opportunity of furthering the acquaintance, and encouraging, in his heartiest manner, the ardent disciple toward the important duties of his chosen career. Father Hourigan, on his part, evidenced the most tender respect for this illustrious patriot. His heart, burning with love for his enslaved countrymen, went out to the great O'Connell, whose life was devoted to the service of his people. Previous to his departure from his native land, he bade the noted liberator a tender farewell. Their final interview was touching in the extreme. These two hearts, animated with love for mankind; burning with zeal for the liberation of the oppressed; and both dedicated to God in the furtherance of his glorious designs, had crossed one another in their noble career, and had flown to each other in spontaneous recognition of their mutuality of religious and patriotic fervor. Daniel O'Connell invoked the blessing of God upon the young ecclesiastic, and upon his prospective work. This was an episode in Father Hourigan's career, around which the most tender memories can never cease to concenter. A promise extorted from him by the great O'Connell, that he should one day revisit his native land, when another meeting might result in the highest reciprocal gratification, was destined never to be performed. The great liberator has passed away. With "his heart in Rome, his body in Ireland, and his soul in heaven," only the memory of the great political apostle is left to his admiring and loving countrymen; but that memory is planted in the hearts of an affectionate people, and watered with the tears of love. Can you wonder that its bloom is perennial; that its fragrance is eternal?
On arriving in this country, Father Hourigan presented himself to the present Cardinal, Archbishop of New York, who was then president of St. John's College at Fordham, who extended to the young missionary a cordial welcome, and promised to introduce him to the Right Rev. Bishop Hughes, that splendid ecclesiastical giant to whom the Catholic Church in America is so largely indebted. Receiving every encouragement from these worthy dignitaries of the church, Father Hourigan pursued his ecclesiastical studies at St. John's College, and on the 7th day of February, 1847, was elevated to the dignity of the priesthood, being ordained by Right Rev. Bishop McCloskey.
He was immediately appointed assistant pastor of St. Joseph's Church, New York city, whose chief pastor was Rev. Father McCarron, and in which parish the Very Rev. Father Quinn, Monsignor and Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of New York, was then acting in the capacity of curate. Father Hourigan commenced his clerical labors in this church during the jubilee of that year, the duties of which, being laborious and exhausting, gave the young priest ample opportunity to test his zeal and his ardor in the sacred ministry. He continued in this, his first field of ministerial labor, for some time, and was then sent to Rondout, Ulster county, to afford relief to Father Maxwell, who had pastoral charge at that place, and whose exhaustive missionary labors had rendered rest and recuperation absolutely necessary. During the short time that he remained here -- about two months -- he visited the different missions in the vicinity, and celebrated mass in Rosendale, on the banks of the Hudson, the first time that the Holy Sacrifice was ever offered up in that place.
In the month of July, 1847, Father Hourigan received his appointment as pastor of Binghamton and its contingent missions from Rt. Rev. Bishop McCloskey, then coadjutor of the diocese of New York. The text of this document was as follows:--
"Given by order of the Bishop of New York and attested by the seal of the Diocese, this 19th day of July, 1847.
Can the reader form an estimate of the magnitude of the work that spread itself out before the eyes of this zealous young priest, when he surveyed the scene of his future missionary labors. Imagine what the three counties of Broome, Chenango and Delaware must have been forty years ago, when Father Hourigan assumed spiritual jurisdiction over them. One hundred and sixty square miles of trackless wilderness; sparsely populated -- no means of travel save such as were inconvenient and altogether unsatisfactory; the only railroad (the Erie) merely skirted the southern border of the mission, and was practically useless as a medium of travel. Think of the pathless wilds that must be crossed, the swollen and bridgeless rivers that must be forded, the dangers that must be faced, the obstacles that must be surmounted by the young priest, at night and alone, bearing consolation and the Holy Viaticum to the bedside of some dying parishioner! Can you wonder if at times his courage faltered and his heart sank within him? Can you wonder if, appalled by the magnitude of his task and disheartened by the interminable prospect of a life of ceaseless labor, he stopped short in his chosen career? But did he falter? Did he for one moment permit discouragement to confront him, or despair to take possession of him? Let his subsequent life make answer. Let the skeptic sybarite ponder well on the pioneer missionary's laborious duties; let him weigh the earnestness and zeal he brings to bear upon his sacred work, and ere he condemns, or at least ridicules what he cannot understand, let him comprehend that his reward is not achieved in this world; that it is only beyond the grave that he can hope to benefit by his perseverance and his labors in this life.
Father Hourigan's first administrative work lay in his paying off the interest and a goodly share of the principal of the debt with which the church property was burdened on his arrival. The church was a small and unpretending structure, dedicated under the patronage of St. John, the evangelist. This the good priest found it advisable and even necessary to enlarge. In the the course of time as its wisdom and practicability became apparent, he purchased some of the adjoining lots, thereby enlarging the church property, and rendering it unsurpassed in extent and value by any in the interior of the State. So much had been accomplished in 1856, and the debt reduced to the insignificant sum of six hundred dollars. His next work was the building of a pastoral residence; and in this matter Father Hourigan's humility and self-sacrificing spirit were admirably displayed. No gorgeous edifice was the outcome of his determination, but a plain and humble structure marked the abode of this zealous priest, exemplary of the course that he has always pursued, giving all to God and keeping nothing for himself.
Father Hourigan, in the mean time, had not neglected the cause of education. An academy was erected and supplied with teachers for males and females, and nothing was omitted that could in any way conduce to the advancement of science, the sister of religion. The old church organ was placed in this academy and a new one purchased at a cost of two thousand dollars. The good priest himself accorded especial attention to the education of young men who gave evidence of unusual talent or displayed any particular fitness for the higher range of professional life. Solidly educated himself in classics and the sciences, and mindful of the difficulties, in a pecuniary sense, that often beset the path of talented ambition, he devoted his time and energy to the cultivation of those whose worthiness recommended them to his attention, and many who now occupy exalted positions in the sacred ministry, and in the legal and medical professions, can bear witness to the substantial benefits derived from Father Hourigan's early ministrations.
The increase of his congregation, and the restricted nature of the ground set off for burial purposes, next prompted Father Hourigan to the purchase of a cemetery. His election fell on a site, about a mile and a half from the village limits, on the banks of the Susquehanna. The choice was a most admirable one. A beautiful slope descends gracefully to the water-side. The cemetery is well fenced; a residence is provided for the sexton; everything is neat; the arrangements are unequaled, and several handsome marble monuments mark the resting-places of the pious dead.
The building of St. Joseph's Academy for young ladies, and the installation therein of the sisters of St. Joseph, was the next notable event in Father Hourigan's busy career. This building has since been enlarged to twice its original size, the increase of his congregation and the influx of foreign pupils rendering such enlargement imperative. This institution has rapidly become famous; its reputation may be said to be a national one, and young ladies from all parts of the country, irrespective of creed, attend St. Joseph's Academy, and benefit by the highly moral instruction that is there imparted by the good sisters.
But the dominant event in Father Hourigan's eventful career, the brightest gem in the crown of his glory, is embraced in the conception, projection and completion, and the dedication to the living God, of that magnificent temple, St. Patrick's church. The accomplishment of this great object was a worthy culmination to this ardent apostle's laborious life. Now he may look with satisfaction upon his labor crowned, and with heart overflowing with thanksgiving to his divine master, voice his "Nunc dimittis" in accents of praise and benediction.
St. Patrick's church stands to-day, a monument of pious zeal and indomitable energy. Work was commenced on this building in 1867, from plans conceived in the genius of Isaac G. Perry, the famous architect and present State capitol commissioner. It was completed in 1873, at a total cost of about $170,000. The day of dedication was a memorable one, and the ceremonies were highly impressive. Many bishops and priests participated, and the immense concourse that had gathered to witness the fete, as it might be termed, will never forget the solemnity of the occasion. A description of this sacred edifice would seem not inappropriate in this context, but limited space forbids. Let it suffice to say that the genius of mechanism has been invoked in its structure and decoration. The highest conceptions of the artist have been utilized in its interior adornment; and we make no hesitation in saying, that amongst provincial churches, it stands, an architectural colossus, a monument to him in whose religious ardor it was conceived, and in whose unflagging energy it was happily consummated.
It would seem highly proper that this venerable priest, full of years and sanctity, and rich in the accomplishment of his sacred labors, might now rest from care and toil, and secure in the realization of his youthful hopes, enjoy the blessings of his useful life in peaceful and happy retirement. But such was not the case. The limit of his endurance had not yet been reached; and it may not be amiss to remark, en passant, that when the grizzly charger confronts this faithful warrior, he will be found with his face to the foe, panoplied in his sacred armor, and militant to the end, in the cause of his religion and his God. Ably seconded by his accomplished nephew and co-worker, Rev. Father Quinn, whose eloquence and zeal have established him in the hearts of his congregation, and whose magnificent voice, as heard in the intoning of the divine service, imparts and additional solemnity to the sacred office, Father Hourigan's term of usefulness bids fair to achieve exceptional prolongation. His latest work, though not, we sincerely hope and believe, his last, was the founding of St. Mary's Catholic Orphanage, and the placing it on a substantial basis, that will lend, in an admirable degree, to its usefulness and perpetuity. The modest and incommodious building formerly used as St. James' Parochial School, and which was moved before the new church was commenced to its present site on Leroy street, was originally utilized for this laudable enterprise, but Father Hourigan was not long in discovering that its limits were too circumscribed for the dissemination of a widespread charity, and the old Water Cure, on Mt. Prospect, was rented for that purpose. This building, as regarded its capacity, the beauty of its surroundings, and the healthfulness of its location, was, in every way, desirable; but it was a wooden structure, and was situated at a distance too remote from the church, for the convenience of the good sisters and their orphan charges. These circumstances led to the negotiation and subsequent purchase of the present orphanage, -- a beautiful edifice of brick, situated on an eminence in the western suburbs of the city, commanding an extensive view, surrounded by expansive and well-appointed grounds, and within a convenient distance from St. Patrick's Church. It was originally used as a Protestant Theological Seminary, and was latterly known as Dean College -- after the Vassar order, -- and devoted exclusively to the education and culture of society young ladies. The orphanage is in charge of a faithful and efficient corps of sisters of the order of St. Joseph. It is a corporate institution, qualified for State emolument, and has met with the same success that has invariably crowned its noble founder's simplest efforts.
The old church, that was removed to Oak street, was reconstructed after it had fulfilled its mission as a sanctuary of God, and now contains the various departments of St. James' Parochial School. The best of teachers preside; the female department being under the immediate supervision of the sisters. Christian education is thus fostered under Father Hourigan's pastoral eye, and every impetus given to it that his zeal can prompt.
The veteran of a continuous warfare stands to-day unscarred. Secure in the fulfillment of his divine mission; safely sheltered in the love of his thousands of parishioners; and throned in the respect of the people, the venerable pastor of St. Patrick's has left behind him a record of usefulness, kindness, and self-abnegation, that challenges the admiration of even the most virulent enemies of his creed. And as the fleeting years go by, and the dust has gathered on our municipal archives; when the walls of time shall no longer echo our voices, and the notable of to-day shall have ceased to be even a memory, St. Patrick's Church will stand, a sacred monument of religious zeal; and the pious school boy, whose intellect is fostered under the shadow of its cross-tipped spire, will pause in play to lisp the name of Father Hourigan.
Email me: Tim
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