No person in Paterson has done harder and more energetic work in the cause of Catholicism than the reverend pastor of St. John's congregation, Father William McNulty. His pluck, untiring zeal, kind disposition and many other laudable characteristics have endeared him to all. Never was this more plainly shown than at the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination. On this occasion, August 6th and 7th, 1882, the clergy, of whom there were nearly half a hundred present presented Father McNulty with an address giving a short sketch of his life and paying him tributes which he had so richly deserved. As this address faithfully depicts the character of the worthy priest and tells of some of the many worthy and more prominent actions it is here reproduced in full:
"We are met here to-day to congratulate you on this auspicious occasion, the twenty-fifth anniversary of your elevation to the sacred priesthood. Not to many is it given to see your years in the holy ministry, though years constitute no merit; but to few indeed is it granted to accomplish works such as you have achieved, for you are fuller of works than of days.
"Imbued with the missionary spirit of your countrymen, you early left your native land, 'the island of Saints and Apostles,' bidding 'adieu to Ballyshannon and the winding banks of Erne.' Arriving in New York in 1850, you entered the celebrated halls of the Jesuits at Fordham, where you drank deep of classical and philosophical lore; and graduated with distinction. Thence you repaired to that illustrious seat of learning, so justly styled 'the nursery of priests and bishops'—Mt. St. Mary's College, Emmettsburgh, Md., where for four years, guided by the spirit of the saintly Dubois, and the indomitable Brute; under the tutorship of the learned McCaffrey and the gentle Elder 'you were nourished up in the words of faith and good doctrine.' There, under the peaceful shadow of 'the old mountain,' you were taught the chief characteristics of a true minister of Christ; who, according to the Apostle, should be 'of blameless life, sober, prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, modest, not quarrelsome, not greedy of filthy lucre, holding the mysteries of the faith in a pure conscience, an example of the faithful in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith.'
"Thus prepared, and having received ordination at the hands of the late lamented Archbishop Bayley, you went forth five and twenty years ago to-day, 'to labor as a good soldier of Christ' in the Diocese of Newark.
"You were first selected to assist as Vice-President the present distinguished Bishop of Rochester in conducting at Madison the college of Seton Hall which has since developed into the far-famed institution at South Orange, much of whose success may be traced back to the fact that you reproduced at Madison the zeal which you had seen exercised, and the discipline which you had seen enforced at your mountain 'Alma Mater.'
"You were afterwards placed over the missions of Morris county, including Mendham, Basking Ridge and other neighboring stations, where you erected churches and attended to the spiritual wants of that extensive district, at the same time discharging the office of chaplain to the infant community of the Sisters of Charity at Madison, and assisting them very materially in the management of their temporal affairs.
"In 1863 the church of St. John the Baptist, Paterson, was without a pastor. The Right Rev. Bishop, knowing the importance of this growing city, which has since become one of the most successful manufacturing centres of the country, and thoroughly appreciating its religious wants, cast his eyes over his clergy, to find one capable of holding the reins of its destiny with a vigorous hand. He knew that in large manufacturing cities, there were numerous dangers to souls, and none more to be dreaded than those arising from intemperance. With that correctness of judgment which always marked his appointments, he fixed his eyes on the Vice-President of Seton Hall, and commissioned him to enter on a new sphere of labor on the banks of the Passaic. Here, indeed, you found a field not wholly uncultivated, for zealous priests had preceded you. That veteran missionary and church-builder, Father Senez, now the highly esteemed pastor of St. Mary's, Jersey City, had labored some years on this mission with distinguished success. The lamented Fathers O'Reilly, Quinn and Callan had left the impress of their zeal and piety on the Catholic population of Paterson. Here you found a spacious church, and a large congregation of generous and devoted Catholics. Nevertheless your penetrating mind soon perceived that the wants of your growing flock were not sufficiently provided for, and that the church was too small to accommodate the crowds which presented themselves Sunday after Sunday for divine worship. In 1865, therefore, having purchased a most suitable location, you laid the corner stone of this magnificent temple, one of the noblest monuments of religion in the United States. After five years of ceaseless toil, at night collecting from your generous flock the necessary funds, by day laboring even with your own hands in the quarry, measuring the stone, mounting the walls, and giving directions to the builders, with untiring zeal and unremitting effort, after an expenditure of $200,000, you at length beheld your church ready for dedication to God. The Archbishop of Philadelphia in the absence of your own ordinary, did you the honor to come from his archiepiscopal city to consecrate this magnificent edifice to the worship of the Most High. This was indeed a proud day not merely for yourself and your devoted people, but also for the entire population of Paterson, all rejoicing that they had in their midst a pastor capable of conceiving and executing so grand a work.
"Had you rested here you had done enough to enshrine your name and perpetuate your memory in the grateful hearts of the people of Paterson. But happily this was only the first of your great achievements in their behalf. Having completed the new church of St. John, you next turned your attention to the wants of the orphan, and the need of a suitable cemetery for the burial of the Catholic dead. In 1868, you purchased the beautiful site two miles from the city on the banks of the swift flowing Passaic. Here you erected St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, and laid out the cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre. In that asylum, under the direction of the Sisters of Charity, ever ready to care for the fatherless, you have every year maintained nearly a hundred orphans, while the cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre, so charmingly situated, and so elegantly laid out bids fair to become one of the most admired repositories of the dead in this State. Finding in 1870, that notwithstanding the immense proportions of St. John's Church, the entire Catholic population could not be accommodated within its spacious precincts, you purchased a very desirable property on Broadway, whereon you erected St. Joseph's Church, which you attended for seven years, and which when ready to be erected into a regular parish, you found to have a value of $30,000. The good work which you began there was successfully carried on by the lamented Father Molloy, and is now being continued with no less success by the present distinguished pastor, the zealous and learned Dr. Smith.
"A few years afterwards, perceiving that the Catholic population on the left bank of the Passaic had increased very considerably, you purchased a suitable plot of ground at Totowa, and erected thereon a commodious brick edifice, making the lower story answer for religious, and the upper for educational purposes. At the same time you introduced, and provided a residence for the Sisters of St. Dominic, to take charge of the schools there. Three years ago, after accumulating a property of $20,000, for the new foundation, you recommended the Right Rev. Bishop to erect this second daughter of St. John's into a regular parish church, and had the satisfaction of seeing appointed to its first rectorship Rev. Father Curran, the courageous founder and indefatigable editor of the 'Paterson Times.'