The energetic and pious Capuchin, Father Theodosius of Chur, in Switzerland, a powerful man of immense stature, will close this array of the champions of charity. He has made many attempts to solve the social question from a Christian point of view, and has displayed incomparable ingenuity in alleviating the miseries of his fellow-men. He has founded congregations, built convents, for them, and established seminaries and colleges which are model institutions; but, above all, he has brought the blessing of God on the Swiss factories, and has introduced contentment and happiness among the working classes. His success in prevailing upon the Swiss capitalists to conduct their factories upon Catholic principles is certainly one of the sublimest triumphs of Christian charity.
The congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, founded by Father Theodosius about twelve years ago in Chur-Ingenbohl, numbers already 112 houses, spread over Switzerland, Bohemia, Austria, Sigmaringen, and Baden.
Among the most prominent Catholics of Switzerland are Sigwart Müller, of Uri, the venerable Councillor Haudt, of Lucerne, Charles von Schmid, of Bödstein, the leader of the Catholics in Aargau, Von Moos, of Lucerne, Engineer Müller, of Altorf, Dean Schlumpf, of Zug, Canon Fiala, of Solothurn, an excellent archaeologist, Canons Winkler and Tanner, of Lucerne, both eminent theologians, P, Segesser, of Lucerne, Canon Keller, of St. Gall, James Baumgartner, the [{526}] ablest Swiss statesman, F. Gallus-Morel, of Einsiedeln, the journalists Schleineger in Aargau, Reding and Eberle in Schwyz, the historian Kopp, of Lucerne, Muelinen, and Burgener, the learned Dr. Schmeitzl, pastor in Glarus, Director Greith, of St. Gall, the painter Deschwander, and the publisher Benzigcr. Count Theodore von Scheerer is the leading spirit of the Catholic societies in Switzerland, and admirably fitted to be the president of the general conventions of the Swiss "Piusverein." 'Mermillod, of Geneva, who for the past eighteen years has incessantly toiled in the vineyard of the Lord, has lately been appointed bishop by Pope Pius IX. Bishop Marilley, of Lausanne, is a modern confessor of the Church, whilst Bishop Greith, of St. Gall, is an eminent scholar.
CHAPTER V.
CONCLUSION.
Not all the doings of the Catholic conventions deserve our approbation, nor is all that is said there worthy of praise. At the sixteen general conventions held since 1848, many absurd and trifling measures have been proposed. Silence is a virtue unknown to many delegates, and conciseness is a quality not to be found in the remarks of many a speaker. These gentlemen should remember the wise old saw, "Ne quid nimis," especially when about to address an assembly. Braggadocio should be mercilessly put down. Some persons there are who every year regale the convention with the self-same concretions; others speak when there is no occasion whatever for opening their mouths; whilst others again are unacquainted with parliamentary rules, and cannot clothe their ideas in suitable language. Many a speaker has been carried away by his enthusiasm, and exposed himself to ridicule; others were mercilessly hooted from the tribune; whilst not a few delivered productions which bore a strange resemblance to an ignis fatuus or an over-done beefsteak. At Malines many words were wasted in mutual compliments, and there was a tendency in several of the orators to court applause by piquant and exaggerated expressions. We must expect that among several thousand delegates there will be many insignificant men, whose chief merit consists in opening now and then the floodgates of their trashy eloquence. Were I to permit myself to indulge in malicious remarks, I might enumerate a long list of singular characters, who were living examples of the faults in question.
For these and other reasons the duties of the presiding officer at the general conventions are by no means easy, still, thus far there has been no want of able presidents, and many of them were chosen from among the nobility. The following gentlemen were honored with this office: Chevalier von Buss; Count Joseph von Stolberg; Baron von Andlaff, who presided both at Linz and at Munich; Baron Wilderich von Ketteler, who was chosen chairman at Münster and at Frankfort; Maurice Lieber, who was elected president at Breslau and at Salzburg; Chevalier von Hartmann presided at Mayence; Count O'Donnell, of Vienna, at Linz and at Prague; Count Brandis, at Aix-la-Chapelle and Freiburg; Councillor Zell at Vienna; A. Reichensperger at Cologne; and Baron von Moy at Würzburg. Germany may justly be proud of these men—men of agreeable manners, distinguished not only by their social position but also by their literary taste and nobility of character, each of whom can boast of an honorable career.
It may not be inappropriate to mention in this place some of the noblemen who graced by their presence the Catholic conventions. Prominent among these were Don Miguel, duke of Braganza, and the young prince, Don Miguel, Prince Charles of Loewenstein-Werthheim, and Prince Charles of [{527}] Isenburg; Count von Hompesch, of Rurich, Count Augustus von Spee, of Heltorf, Count Schaesberg, Baron Felix von Leë, of Missen, Count Hoensbroich, and Baron von Halberg-Broich, of Aix-la-Chapelle, represented the Rhenish nobility; whilst Westphalia was represented by Count von Vischering, the Counts Max and Ferdinand von Galen, the Barons von Schorlemer, the Count von Stolberg, Baron von Twickel, Baron von Ketteler, Baron von Hereman, Baron von Oer, Baron von Drüffel, and others.
Of the Austrian nobles I shall mention Count von Migazzi, Baron von Mayerhofer, a field-marshal of the empire, Count Adolphus Lewis von Barth-Barthenheim, Count Maurice von Fries, Count Henry von Hoyos-Sprenzenstein. Count Henry von O'Donnell, Chevalier von Hartmann, Baron von Stillfried, of Salzburg, a very zealous and energetic man, and Count Frederick von Thun. Count von Thun was chosen vice-president at Würzburg, and delivered a speech. Tall and of a commanding figure, a thorough-bred nobleman, a diplomat well acquainted with the ways of the world, a man of refined manners, a Catholic distinguished by his living faith and his ardent love for the Church, as well as by his intimate knowledge of every shade of religious life, Count Thun appeared as the representative of the Austrian nobility, which, for the most part, is still animated by truly Catholic sentiments, and of the mighty empire, as a delegate from imperial Vienna, where Catholicity is daily acquiring new vigor, and as the bearer of an illustrious name, which reminds every Catholic of the concordat between Francis Joseph and the Pope, which has been so beneficial to the Church in its results. Among the German Church dignitaries Dr. Baudri, coadjutor-bishop of Cologne, is especially distinguished by his zeal for the success of the conventions, many of which he has opened by a glowing discourse. Archbishop Gregory and Bishop Ignatius, of Regensburg, spoke at Munich, and Bishop Wedekind, of Hildestein, at Aix-la-Chapelle. The apostolic words of Bishop von Stahl will always ring in the memory of his hearers. The Bishop of Limburg, Peter Joseph Blum, was represented at Frankfort by his vicar-general, Dr. Klein. Dr. Götz, dean of the cathedral at Würzburg, deserves great praise for his efficient arrangements at the last general convention. I may still notice Buchegger, vicar-general at Freiburg, Canon Broix, of Cologne, Krabbe, dean of the cathedral at Münster, Dean Schiedemayr, of Linz, Canon Wiery, of Salzburg, Canon Freund, of Passau, Schmitt, vicar-general at Bamberg, Abbot Mislin, of Groswardein, Provost Pelldram, of Berlin, Canon Henry Szajbely, of Gran, Abbot Michael von Fogarasy, of Grosswardein, Canon Michael Kubinsky, of Kalocza, Canon Dr. Molitor, of Spires, Canon Dr. Malkmus, of Fulda, Provost Nübel, of Soest, Dr. Stadler, dean of the Augsburg cathedral, Provost Kalliski, of Gnesen, Canon Büchinger, of Gratz, Strehle, of Freiburg, Dr. Häusle, of Vienna, and Müller, of Munich. The general conventions were also attended by Bishop Mermillot, of Geneva, one of the best pulpit orators in Europe, and by the Roman prelate, Monsignore Nardi, who is able to speak in four languages. The Catholic congresses were marked by several grand and imposing scenes. It was a glorious sight to behold 5,000 men, from every part of the known world, walk in procession to the cathedral of St. Rombau at Malines, but it was no less edifying to see hundreds of delegates making a pilgrimage from Salzburg to Maria Plain, and paying their devotions to the Mother of God. We can never forget the dedication of the column erected in honor of the Blessed Virgin, which took place at Cologne on the 8th of September, 1858, in presence of the whole congress. The enthusiastic welcome extended to the Bishop of Orleans at Malines defies all description, but the reception of the Hungarian prelates by the Viennese convention (Sept. 21, 22, 1853) was still more solemn. By [{528}] his speech delivered on the evening of Sept 2, 1864, Father Felix produced a profound impression. Döllinger, too, at the Munich convention in 1861, called forth a storm of applause by his well-known declarations. Unique in its kind was the scene in the Kaiser-saal at Aix-la-Chapelle already described. When, after the discourse of Father Felix on Sept 2, 1864, the Redemptorist father Dechamps, and the Carmelite, F. Hermann, weeping tears of joy, thankfully embraced the Jesuit, and a Belgian bishop, joining the group, shook hands with the three religious, no heart remained unmoved. At Würzburg, also, on the 14th Sept., 1864, a solemn, touching scene took place, which joined in bonds of the sincerest friendship the Catholic Hungarians and Germans. Von Majer, a Hungarian lawyer and land-owner, had charmed all of us; his manly and chivalrous appearance, the romantic costume of his country, and his able speech, did not fail to produce an overpowering effect; Vice-President Adams expressed the opinion of the assembly, and then followed cheer upon cheer for the noble Hungarian.
Now and then there appears a speaker who possesses the talent of a demagogue, and causes a great though transient sensation. A Tyrolese, Greuter, now a member of the Austrian "Reichsrath," is an orator whom I delight to hear; he spoke at Salzburg and Aix-la-Chapelle. At Würzburg, likewise, a speaker of the same class, Brummel, a lawyer of Baden, addressed the assembly. I transcribe an account of his speech, which I wrote at the time. "After F. Modeste had left the tribune, amid thundering applause, a tall, stately figure, betraying at once the military career of the speaker, took the floor. The hero who now confronts us fought at the side of Pimodan and La Moricière for the Holy Father; distinguished himself at Castelfidardo; took part in the defence of Ancona; and for six months was held a captive by the Piedmontese. It is Brummel, of Baden. His voice sounds like the clarion's shrill tones summoning an army to battle. His speech is a violent attack on the shameful abuses existing in Baden. He combines force of expression with warmth of feeling, unflinching bravery, and a burning hatred of everything base, with a childlike love for the Church and the truth. He was the Tancred in the crusade against the self-styled saviors of the people of Baden, and nobly did battle for the venerable and much persecuted Archbishop of Freiburg, Hermann von Vicari."
Having thus concluded these unpretending sketches, those of my readers who have been disappointed will indulgently consider that it was written to assist a Catholic congregation to build a church. But thus to extend the divine worship is more pleasing to the Almighty than to write a good book.