“Every Sunday, the warm-hearted and generous Irish go to their church to hear the voice of their priest, in their English language. The intelligent Germans have their pastors to address them in their mother tongue.
“The French people are the only ones now who have no priest and no church. They are the only ones whose beautiful language is prohibited, and which is not heard from any pulpit in Chicago. And is it from lack of zeal and liberality? Ah! no, we take the whole city of Chicago as a witness of what we have done. There was not in Chicago a better-looking little church than the French Canadian Church called St. Louis. But, alas! we have been turned out of it by our very bishop. As he is now publishing many stories to contradict that fact, we owe to ourselves and to our children to raise from the tomb, where Bishop O’Regan has buried us, a voice to tell the truth.
“As soon as Bishop O’Regan came to Chicago, he was told that the French priest was too popular, that his church was attended not only by his French Canadian people, but that many Irish and Germans were going daily to him, for their religious duties. It was whispered in the ears of his Rt. Reverence, that on account of this, many dollars and cents were going to the French priest, which would be better stored in his Rt. Reverence’s purse.
“Till that time, the bishop was not, in appearance, taking much trouble about us. But as soon as he saw that there were dollars and cents at stake, we had the honor to occupy his thoughts day and night. Here are the facts, the undeniable public facts. He (the bishop) began by sending for our priest, and telling him that he had to prepare himself to be removed from Chicago to some other place. As soon as we knew that determination, a deputation was sent to his Rt. Reverence, to get the promise that we would get another French priest, and we received from him the assurance that our just request would be granted. But the next Sunday, an Irish priest, having been sent to officiate, instead of a French one, we sent a deputation to ask him where the French priest was that he had promised us? He answered: ‘That we ought to take any priest we could get, and be satisfied.’ This short and sharp answer raised our French blood, and we began speaking more boldly to his Reverence, who got up and walked through the room, in a rage, saying some half dozen times: ‘You insult me!’ But seeing that we were a fearless people, and determined to have no other priest but one whom we could understand, he, at last promised us again, a French priest, if we were ready to pay the debt of our church and priest-house. We said we would pay them, but, our verbal promise was nothing to his Reverence. He immediately wrote an agreement, though it was Sunday, and we signed it. But to attain, sooner or later, his object, he imposed upon that unfortunate priest, a condition that he knew no Christian could obey.
“This condition was that he should not receive, in his church, any one but the French. This was utterly impossible, as many Irish, Germans and American Catholics had been in the habit, for years past, of coming to our church; it was impossible to turn them out at once.
“We did everything in our power to help our priest in the matter, by taking all the seats in the church against the will of the respectable people of the different nations who had occupied them for years. Finding themselves turned out of the church, and unable to conceive the reason of so gross an insult from a fellow-Christian people, they said to us: ‘Have we not paid for our seats in your church till this day? Double the rent if you like; we are ready to pay for it; but, for God’s sake permit us to come and pray with you at the foot of the same altars.’
“We explained to them the tyrannical orders of the bishop, and they, too, commenced cursing the bishop and the ship that brought him over.
“They continued, however, to come to our church, though they had no seat. They attended divine service in the aisles of the church, and we did not like to disturb them; but our feelings were too Christian for the bishop. He kept a watch over our priest, and, of course found out that he was receiving many who were forbidden, by him, to attend our religious meetings.
“The bishop, then, thought once more of his dear French priest; so he came in person to his house, and asked him if he had kept his orders. The priest answered, that it was quite impossible to obey such orders, and remain a Christian. He acknowledged that, in many instances, he had been obliged, by the laws of charity, to give religious help to some who were not French people.
“‘Well then,’ answered the bishop, ‘from this very moment; I silence you, and I forbid you the functions of priest in my diocese.’