Blessed Edmund Rice

Transcription

1 Edmund Rice Founder of the Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers Blessed Edmund Rice

2 Blessed Edmund Rice

3 Introduction This life of Edmund Rice is based on the work of Brother John M. Wright from South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. I thank him for his efforts and hope that I have done him justice in continuing those efforts. This booklet is not intended to be a definitive historical account of the life of Edmund, but rather one that is easily read and that encourages the reader to discover more about the man and the Congregation that he founded. I admit that I have taken some liberty in picking and choosing versions of events that others think less reliable, but all have a basis in previously published works. Special thanks to Michael K. Reidy for his generous support which made production of this publication possible. I thank those who have helped me in an editorial capacity both in terms of content and form. There are many Brothers more familiar than I with Edmund's life, and using more than one set of eyes finds what a spell-checker cannot. The images are from a number of sources and I thank all of them for their use here. A special thank you to the Christian Brothers Foundation for overseeing the publication of this booklet. Brother Gregory Timothy Smyth, CFC Promoter of the Founder s Cause for North America The Year of Edmund

4 There had always been bad feeling between the English and the Irish. The matter came to a head in 1690 when, after a squabble in England, the deposed King James tried to regain his throne by enlisting the help of the Catholic Irish. In a momentous battle - The Battle of the Boyne - James and his Irish helpers lost. The victorious English King William was determined to take vengeance on all those who had opposed him, especially the Irish, whom he never liked! Oppressive laws, called Penal Laws, were imposed by the British Protestants against the whole Irish nation. One English historian had said this about their laws: The object of these laws was to make them [the Irish] poor and to keep them poor. To degrade and grind down the people and make them servants. To forbid them to own land; to forbid them to enter Parliament; to prevent them from going to school; to exclude them from being doctors, lawyers, engineers, or any other university career. In 1759, the English Parliament, which ruled Ireland at the time, declared The Law does not assume an Irish Catholic to exist except for the purpose of punishment. Westcourt, the birthplace of Edmund Rice I was born in I was the fourth son of a family of seven boys and two girls. My father's name was Robert Rice, my mother's had been Margaret Tierney. My name is Edmund. My father could not own land because of the Penal Laws but he leased land -3-

5 The from Life of the Blessed English Edmund Lord Rice Desart, who had been given all the Irish in our area, Callan. My father leased 160 acres. This was an enormous amount considering that most tenant farmers were allowed to lease only one or two acres. To me this indicated something about my father and his relationship with others, even those who would appear to be enemies. My father never let the injustice of paying rent to another person for land that really belonged to us make him bitter. He worked hard and even employed a number of poor people to work on our farm. I am proud of my father. I remember him as a good man, a good farmer, a good organizer. I also remember his sense of humor. My mother was very kind and she never tired of helping other families. She was always caring for the needy traveler or sending us to some poor family's house with a basket of food for them to eat. Prayer was always part of our daily life. This is the grace that our family would say before every meal: Bless, O Lord, this food we are about to eat. May it benefit us body and soul. Should there be any poor person going past our house at this moment who is hungry, send him in to us so that we may share our food with him as with you. God share your blessings with us. Every evening after supper, we would have family prayers. It was usually the rosary. On some nights, especially if there had been a lot of laughter and fun during the meal, there would be a lot of giggling and digs in the ribs at the start, but gradually we would become peaceful and settle into the rhythm of the prayer. My mother and father took this prayer very seriously. I could sense the importance that they felt in this family ritual. I loved summer time. Our farm, Westcourt, was beside the King River. The river had lovely green banks and deep silent currents. I would fish, lying on my stomach, looking down at the water, two dogs beside me, waiting for the fish to strike. My favorite game was hurling. My brothers and I played it all the time. I loved picking the ball up with my stick, giving it a little toss into the air, and then giving it a hearty thwack. The nearest town to our farm was Callan. It had a good hurling team and we all supported them. They had a reputation for being very tough. -4-

6 Because of them there is a local saying: Walk through Ireland, but run through Callan. I was not directly touched by the troubles but I remember some things about them. When I was very young (about five or six), young Irish men would go in groups to the farms of the English land owners (the ones who demanded too much rent), and burn down a shed or a hay stack. They would have a white night shirt over their clothes and put flour on their faces. They were commonly referred to as The White Boys. The English soldiers hunted them mercilessly and dealt with them very harshly, if caught. A parish priest spoke out publicly, not for what the White Boys were doing, but against the oppression that was forcing them to be so desperate. That was at Clonmel, twenty miles from Westcourt. The priest was Father Nicholas Sheehy. He was arrested, tried and hanged for treason. At the time of the hanging, my father gathered all the family together with the workers on the farm and we said the rosary. We were not allowed to have churches in our community, because of the Penal Laws. The big churches had been taken over by the Protestants, and the Catholics could only worship in places which were out of the public eye, often cottages down an alley or somewhere else off the main roads. When I was twelve, the people who attended our Mass-chapel in Callan purchased a large bell which my father and other parishioners placed in a tower outside the chapel. The English authorities forbade us to ring the bell, saying that they would cancel permission to have Mass if we did. So every Sunday we would go to Mass and pass our silent bell. Many people were angry, but not my father. He would look at the bell and wink at me. He and I understood each other - one day we would ring that bell. Why get sour in ourselves because of the sour things that others had done to us? One day my brother John and I were hitting a hurley ball to each other. Along the road that passes our house came a man on horseback with a squad of English foot soldiers. It was the notorious Mr. Wise from Tullamarine, a town close to Callan. He collected the hated church tithe (the tax the Irish had to pay for -5-

7 the upkeep of the English Protestant minister and his church). People who did not pay would have their houses knocked down if they were stone, or burned if they were wood. That day a local house was burned. My mother taught me to read and write so that I understood two languages, English and Gaelic (Irish). I was a good student; I liked to study. When my mother had taught me all she knew, I was sent to school each day with my elder brothers. It wasn t really a school because schools were illegal for Catholics. It was the back room of a house and our teacher was Mr. Humphrey O Sullivan. The fees he charged for each quarter-year varied. Spelling, reading and writing were the least expensive; arithmetic was a bit more expensive; and bookkeeping and algebra were the most expensive. We didn t have any books so we wrote on a slate tile with a piece of chalk that we erased when it was filled. I did very well at school, especially in bookkeeping, which was good for me for two reasons: first, it was valuable; and second, since I had three older brothers, there wouldn't be enough room on the farm and I would need to seek employment away from home when I grew up. When the time came to continue my education, I went to school in Kilkenny, about ten miles to the north. The inheritor of the castle there was a Catholic and allowed a Catholic school in the area. My teacher there had a profound influence on me, both in education and in religious beliefs. I finished my formal education when I was seventeen. Because I was a Catholic, the law declared that I could not be a lawyer, doctor or engineer, or get elected to Parliament. I was limited to being a farmer on leased property or I could buy and sell farm products such as cattle or cloth made on the farm. In other words, I could be a merchant. I had an uncle, Michael Rice, who was a merchant in the town of Waterford, about thirty miles south of Callan. Large ships would sail into Waterford, up the deep River Suire from the sea, to stock up with supplies for crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the New World of the Americas or the English Channel to the -6-

8 Continent. Often they would stop for provisions for the British Army. There had always been a market for Irish goods in Europe, and now there were growing markets in the American Colonies. As time went by, the demand continued to increase in both directions. Waterford, Ireland I convinced my uncle that we should go into supplying ships directly. This was made easier when the British removed restrictions on Irish trade in We began supplying all kinds of ships just as the port of Waterford began growing. On any given day there could be one hundred ships tied up at the naturally protected Waterford quays. It became our business to supply the bulk of them. I would do most of the buying: cattle and sheep to become salted meat; flour to make sea biscuits; pitch for the cracks in the ship's planks; canvas and rope for sails; even ballast for ships that were empty. Our business prospered. By the time I was twentyfive, I was an equal partner with my uncle. True to my family upbringing, I would daily attend Mass in the Mass-chapel near our shop, St. Patrick's. I would also take out my beads and say the rosary on the way to or from cattle sales. I did this because my parents had always been followers of Jesus. I was too. I had much to be thankful for, not the least being my friends, who were not afraid to talk honestly with me. I was doing very well in business and I had started to dress expensively and in the -7-

9 latest style from the Continent. One Sunday after Mass when I had returned to Callan for the day, a boyhood friend of mine spoke to me in Gaelic. He told me not only that I dressed too expensively, but also that I had purposely sat where people could see me. I was angry at first, then I knew what he said was true. It was a good lesson for me. As a young man, I certainly knew how to enjoy life. I was a skilled horseman and I had a great love for other outdoor activities, especially rowing and sailing. I was also keen on dancing and singing. All my friends knew that I was interested in Irish music, especially old Irish airs, and that I was a frequent visitor at the Yellow House Inn on Lacken Road which was renowned for its music and open air dances. When I was twenty-two, I met the girl of my dreams, Mary Elliott from Annestown, near Tramore. We were married a year later and set up our home in Ballybricken on Barrack Street, just outside the Waterford city walls. She joined me in my social life and in my outdoor activities. We were seen everywhere Edmund and Mary Rice together, both dressed in the finest clothes. Four years later, Mary was dead. It was January 17, We were horseback riding. Mary sustained severe injuries when she fell from her horse and lacked the strength to fight off a fever that followed. Since she was pregnant at the time, she gave birth prematurely to our daughter, Mary. I buried my wife in the ancient cemetery of St. Catharine s Priory. My grief was intense and a custom of the time saved me. The custom was that the bereaved was to observe a prolonged period of mourning by keeping away from all social activities. This was a blessing in disguise as I was no longer attracted to the social life I once led. The shock of -8-

10 Mary s death led me to weigh and measure my life more and more from a supernatural point of view. I turned to prayer more than ever before. My former dreams and worldly ambitions were in tatters. Gradually I learned to come to terms with being a true Christian through the mysteries of death and sorrow. Through my prayer, God gave me the grace to accept sorrow and suffering so that I was able to say quite humbly and simply: The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be his name for ever and ever. (Job 1:21) Slowly I began to take up a renewed life. I knew I would never marry again. I moved from my home in Ballybricken into an apartment in the city on Arundel Place. My stepsister Joan Murphy came to be my housekeeper and to care for young Mary. As Mary grew older, we discovered that she was not developing properly. She was an invalid. The doctors had told me that Mary would have a shortened life span. Although she died at the age of seventy, her mental age never exceeded two or three. My great dream, of being a kind and loving father to a lovely daughter who would know and love me, was never to be. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be his name for ever and ever. Sorrow and grief changed my whole outlook. It gave me the strength to open my whole heart to Christ, whom I began to know as present and appealing to me in the poor. I had always known that, behind the facade of my great commercial prosperity and my full social life, there was another Waterford: the Waterford of the poor, the Waterford of narrow streets and dark alleys where miserable hovels were crowded together. In 1787 the Protestant Attorney General Fitzgibbon had described the poor as being, in the state of oppression, abject poverty, sloth, dirt and misery, not equaled in any other part of the world. As I was outwardly resuming my commercial activities with ever-growing success, I was inwardly becoming more and more pre-occupied with religion and charity. I found that I was developing a deeper interest in people and their problems of poverty, illness or lack of faith. I began to become more concerned about our business and how wealthy I was. It all seemed too easy for -9-

11 me. It seemed in grave contrast to all the squalor around me. In 1790 I read in the newspaper about a new edition of the Bible about to be printed, so I subscribed to it. This proved to be one of the best investments I ever made. I studied the Holy Scriptures deeply and profitably. I never relaxed in the daily reading of this favorite book, the Bible. When I was getting old and was asked to sit for a portrait, I sat with my hand resting on the Bible that I had purchased. I did this to indicate its significance in my renewed life. Through the reading of that Bible I became more in tune with specific needs of those around me. I started going again to St. Patrick's, the Mass-chapel near my home and business. I found the atmosphere of that small chapel to be very prayerful for me. I found myself spending many long and happy hours praying there in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. I began to read spiritual books. I purchased The Spiritual Combat by Lorenzo Scupoli, dedicated to those who seek true piety themselves and contribute to promote it in others. Other books I purchased were The Imitation of Christ, Butler's Lives of the Saints and The Feasts, Fasts and Other Observances of the Catholic Church. All of these resources helped me develop my growing spirituality. I began to gather with other young businessmen for mutual spiritual development. We went to Mass daily with frequent Confession and Communion. Our mutual good example made it easier to keep our resolutions of fidelity. Each evening we would gather at St. Patrick's to recite the Rosary and to perform works of charity. Devotion to Mary was always an important part of my life. I remember Captain Joseph Condon, the master of a merchant vessel. It was our custom to deal in my office in Royal Oak Lane. There he bought his sail-cloth, pitch, ropes, sea biscuits and other provisions. He frequently proclaimed to the world at large that the best salted beef in Waterford was kept by Mr. Edmund Rice. Each time Joseph Condon finished his purchases and the two of us had our 'dish of tea' or glass of wine together in the room behind the shop, I would encourage him and say, Now we will say the -10-

12 Rosary together for the success of your voyage. I do not know what the captain thought about my suggestion, but I was not content to conclude my business dealings with merely accepting money. It came as natural to me to share the Rosary as to sell my goods. I became politically active as much as a Catholic was allowed. In 1792 I was a signatory on the Petition of Protest to Parliament organized by the Catholic Committee of Waterford against the offensive Oath of Allegiance. The English Parliament had demanded our signatures to the oath in 1778, but we refused because it was a declaration against the Pope and Catholic doctrine. Again, in 1793, I refused to sign a petition which suggested that all Catholics support an Act of Union with Britain. The British proposed this Relief Act in 1793 as an attempt to win over Catholics to their way of thinking and in support of the King. These were indeed dark days in our land. The Waterford Advertiser (June, 1791) had said in an editorial: These times are dark and gloomy, full of turmoil and confusion, of outrage and bloodshed. Sunday Mass was the most disturbing hour of my week. The People of God all gathered to worship a common Father, but the huge gulf between the better class Catholics seated in the balcony and the various grades of the poor crowded below, was all too obvious. I was afraid. My heart went out to the poor. I knew that Jesus was among them and that He was calling me. I redoubled my acts of charity. I used my position of influence. In the evenings I invited some of the poorest boys to my apartment in Arundel Place. Although most of them laughed at my invitation, I eventually won them over by my persistence. I fed them and instructed them in religion and some secular subjects like reading, writing and arithmetic. Although I worked alone, I knew there were many in Waterford who appreciated and admired my efforts. As my works of charity became more widely known, I was selected trustee or administrator of a number of good causes. I also worked unofficially at restoring poor people, who had been -11-

13 imprisoned for debt, back to their families. Because I was known to the British soldiers whose ships I outfitted, I was able to visit jails and accompany condemned prisoners to their place of execution. There were many similar situations due to the harsh laws of the times. Real lawyers were unwilling to work for these people, especially since the people could not afford their fees. On a very significant day, in 1793, in the course of my business, I fell into traveling with a Friar. We stopped at the same inn and shared a room for the night. The Friar, thinking I was asleep, arose and seemed to spend the whole night in prayer. This example had a profound effect on me. I resolved to untangle myself from business and lead a monk's life of retirement and prayer. I thought that I could move to Rome and join the Augustinians as my brother, John, had done just a year earlier. I thought it would be appropriate to put my talents to use as a lay-brother in that Order. That was easier said than done. I had certainly been an active person in Waterford, contributing large amounts of money to charity and working tirelessly for those in need. If I changed my lifestyle, what would become of them? Who would help those who were hungry, alone, in debt, in prison? My desires to help those in need and to continue to develop my spirituality seemed to be pulling me in two different directions. I had a matronly woman as a confidant in Waterford whom I always consulted on important matters. When I proposed to her that I might leave for Rome and join the Augustinians, she remarked, Well, Mister Rice, while you go and bury yourself in a monastery, what will happen to these poor boys? Can t you do something for them? Perhaps something similar to what Nano Nagle s Presentation Sisters have done in Cork? Her words went right to my heart and the clouds of uncertainty melted away. I saw that I was called to be a man to help youth in their ignorance and in their poverty. Having heard of the Presentation Sisters, I had become interested in their approach to education and the terminology that their foundress, Nano Nagle, -12-

14 had used in describing them: Religious of Charitable Instruction. I reflected on how her Sisters seemed to divide their lives between an active life rescuing the poor from their plight, and a contemplative life ever-deepening their own love of God. Throughout 1793 I spent considerable time with the possibilities. The Presentation Sisters seemed to offer a resolve to my dilemma. Thus, doing the same educational work with young boys that the Sisters were doing with girls, I could live the life of a vowed religious. Upon the advice of Father John Power, I proceeded to have an interview with Bishop Lanigan of Ossory (the Diocese in which Callan is located). I was surprised by his willingness to see my plan proceed. He had been considering the formation of a diocesan institute for the education of the Catholic poor. I seemed to be an answer to his own prayers. Thus he assured me that my intentions were surely from God and encouraged me not to sell all my possessions, but to put sufficient resources in place to secure my endeavor. He also encouraged me to submit my plan to Pope Pius VI for his approval. Upon receiving an encouraging reply and a special blessing from His Holiness, I began to seek the opportunities to make my plans become reality. As a businessman I was used to patience in long-term planning and decision-making. Some aspects of this plan led to confusion, though. Was I truly able to teach? Would I be granted a teacher's license? Where could I establish a school? Would I be allowed to establish a school? The Presentation Sisters had received less resistance than expected because they were women educating girls. The political climate was in a continual state of change. The French Revolution in 1793 changed the climate of relationships between the Irish Catholics and the British Protestants in power. Members of the Established Church had power because they served as the agency that granted privileged positions, such as certificates for teaching. The need for the British to enlist the support of the Irish against their enemies on the Continent encouraged the relaxation of the Penal Laws, at least in part. The Act of Emancipation -13-

15 of 1791 allowed Catholics to teach if granted an appropriate license, but did not allow them to establish schools. Penal Laws had been modified in 1782 so that Catholics were able to purchase land. I took advantage of that and began buying property with my profits. Some things were going in my favor. When my uncle died in 1794 the business became entirely mine. The war across the Channel increased demand for our goods and profits continued to increase. This was an increasingly confusing time for me. There were four great influences bearing upon me: my profitable business, the changing political climate, my desire for a deepening spirituality and the demands of the charitable works that I wished to continue. How was I to reconcile my talents and desires with the Will of God? How was I being called to use my resources to serve my people, especially the most poor? Especially the young? The Catholics of the city tried to improve the social conditions of the time by founding hostels for the deserving poor. These good works could only help a few. The vast majority of the poor were without assistance of any kind. In 1794 I helped establish a new charity, a society for visiting distressed room-keepers. These were unfortunate people who lived alone, forgotten even by their neighbors. In the pursuit of this work, I often visited the awful slums of the city. In my youth I had accepted the injustices and inequalities I saw as part of the existing social system. Now I sat reading my Bible in the comfort of my own home, with my little daughter sleeping securely in her warm bed. As I read the words of the prophet, children fainting for hunger at the top of the street, I knew that these words were no longer from some ancient time or distant land, but a reality of the present just outside my door. If physical needs were so evident, what of these children's spiritual needs? I could perceive that in many instances irreligion proceeded from the ignorance of the poor. My conscience was stirred to its depths! I was troubled by a growing consciousness of the ever-widening gap between the way of life of prosperous educated Catholics like myself and that of the poor, sunk in deprivation, without hope of self-advancement. -14-

16 I continued seeking advice from various sources. I resolved to get some additional advice from my parish priest, Father John Power. I called on him one evening. He informed me of the efforts that he had been making in establishing a school for the Catholic girls of Waterford. For this purpose he had inquired of the Presentation Sisters from Cork. Since they were not able to provide Sisters at this time, he was able to enlist the help of two of his relatives, Ellen and Margaret Power. They traveled to Cork to be trained as Presentation Sisters. Father John set me up as the overseer of the construction of the school and convent to be prepared for the Sisters. I quickly managed to procure the appropriate properties just outside the city s walls. Near the end of the project, as the funds were running short, I made up the difference from my own resources so that the work of the Sisters would not be delayed. Eventually Ellen and Margaret returned, the school was established and I proudly became an honorary member of the Sisters' community and was present at the dedication Mass in their new facility. The founding Mass in the Sisters chapel, on the Feast of St. Joseph in 1801, spurred me forward in my decision. In 1797, Bishop Hussey, who had been recently appointed Bishop of Waterford, delivered a stirring Pastoral Letter to the clergy of the diocese. In this pastoral letter he urged his priests to be more conscious of the poor who had stood by them through the worst times. He also urged them to continue to instruct the families of children against the Protestants who tried to lure them into their free Charter Schools where strong efforts were made to convert them. Indeed, the Charter Schools had been established in 1731 specifically for "the conversion of the lower orders of the inhabitants of Ireland from the errors of Popery." For many Protestants, religion and politics were tightly intertwined and allegiance to the Crown was paramount. They viewed Catholicism the same, the Pope as more a political than a religious leader. The pastoral contributed to a rebellion in the following year. Bishop Hussey fled to France and British troops took over Waterford with martial law. John Rice, the husband of my step -15-

17 sister, Jane, had taken part in this rebellion against the English. His house was burned down by the English soldiers, but he escaped and made his way to Waterford. He spent a number of days hidden in my attic. Eventually I was able to smuggle him onto a ship bound for Newfoundland, Canada, right under the watchful eyes of the soldiers searching all the out-going vessels. It was tense at the time, but all went well. Eventually Jane was able to join him in Newfoundland. By late 1801 hostilities between France and England were subsiding and the political scene began to settle once again. It was now my time for action. I was nearly forty years old and very prosperous. My personal holdings included a large ship's supplying business in Waterford, ten houses in Waterford, 64 acres in the Callan district, and a horse stable in New Street, Waterford. I had not come by all this by acting rashly or unfairly. I had always been very methodical in my dealings. I had continued in my business dealings, even in my renewed and deepening spiritual life. Now, however it was time to act. I sold my business to Mr. Thomas Quan and began managing my assets toward the establishment of a school and with a view of possibly establishing a religious congregation. New Street School -16-

18 In January of 1802 I set up my first school in the New Street stable that I had acquired through my wife's estate. It was roomy enough to provide space for three classrooms and had a loft for living quarters. I hired two men to help me teach the boys that I encouraged in from the streets. The boys were understandably rough and turbulent. After a short time, the hired teachers made known to me their decision to leave. I pleaded with them and offered to double their wages. Their reply was, Not for all the money that you have, Mister Rice, would we try to teach such boys. I felt alone now. I was middle-aged, untrained, and hardly experienced in the art of teaching. My students were wild and difficult. I did have the help of a few of them, however, whom I had worked with when I lived in Arundel Place. But they would not be enough to bring about the success that I had envisioned. The residents of New Street understandably resented the crowds of unruly youth in their respectable neighborhood. They formed an action group to get me out of their street. I prayed and prayed because I realized that my success no longer depended on my business talents. The days turned into weeks. At last an answer came. Two young men from my home town of Callan, Thomas Grosvenor and Patrick Finn, offered to join me. They had interests similar to mine, to travel off to Rome and join the Augustinians, but my brother, John, now working in Callan, persuaded them to spend some time with me first. They wanted to try working and living with me, accepting no fee or other reward. My brother, John, had told them of my desire to begin a group of teaching religious men. The three of us developed a daily horarium for prayer and followed a routine based on the Presentation Sisters'. That was why Bishop Hussey initially referred to us as the Society of the Presentation. After a day of classes we would walk the streets of Waterford, talking to our students in their surroundings and even enlisting them to encourage others to come to our school. We concluded our day in prayer together. -17-

19 School was conducted First floor plan-new Street school in the manner with which I was familiar as a business man - with practi- Main Road cality. Considering the condition of the boys, however, a considerable amount of compassion had to be included also. We separated the students by newness and degree of improvement, rather than by age. Some of the older and more improved boys served as monitors, especially for copying and reading. I found that a number of the more improved boys showed interest in my personal library. I allowed them to take a book home with them so that they could read on their own. I found out later that a number of these boys used these books to read to their parents. In addition to the educational aspects of our school, we considered the spiritual lives of the boys. At the chime of the hourly bell we all stopped our class work and recited a prayer. Every school day included a half hour of catechetical instruction. The complaints from our New Street neighbors quickly subsided as our organization of classes and the behavior of our boys improved. Our early success prompted the construction of a more complete facility just outside the walls of the city, near the Presentation Sisters and where the old Faha Chapel had been. We began construction in June of 1802 for this, our first permanent facility. It was named Mount Sion by Bishop Hussey when the monastery was finished a year later. During the month that followed, Bishop Hussey wrote to Rome for official recognition of our small group, which now included John Mulcahy of Kilmacthomas. Shortly thereafter the Bishop died and Father John Power was named Bishop of Waterford. New Street -18-

20 This appointment truly seemed a blessing for us since Father Power had been my adviser during my earliest days of decision. On April 25, 1804, Father Power consecrated our completed Mount Sion facility. It provided space for the school, our quarters, a bake shop and tailor shop as well. It seemed we were having such a remarkable effect on the youth of Waterford that a group of prominent local Protestants passed a resolution to lift the restrictions of the Penal Laws from all Catholics. This resolution soon spread to other locales such as Kilkenny, Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. This was very helpful for me in consideration of the religious institute I was considering but was legally barred from starting. In 1806 we established our second establishment at Carrick, School in Carrick about five miles up the river Suire. John Mulcahy headed the group that now included Thomas Brien, who had financially contributed to this foundation, and William Hogan from Clerihan. As in New Street, the students were initially very unruly and very difficult to manage, but with prayer and persistence, success was achieved. In 1807 Bishop Power was granted a large sum of money with a provision that some of it be used for the establishment of a school for the poor in Dungarvan, about eight miles southwest of Waterford. John Mulcahy was at first reluctant to again assume the difficult role of being the first to attempt educating the uneducated poor. He was considerably heartened, however, when James, his older brother, agreed to join him. As it turned out, the young boys of the area did not prove as difficult to deal with as the financial shortcomings. -19-

21 On August 15, 1808, on the Feast of the Assumption, in a most solemn manner, I was joined by Patrick Finn, Thomas Grosvenor, John and James Mulcahy, William Hogan, Michael Power and Edmund Dunphy for a formal pronouncement of the three vows of religious life and became members of the Congregation of Religious Men of the Presentation of Our Blessed Lady. In response to Bishop Power s letter to Rome requesting a Papal Brief, we received encouragement and praise from the Sacred Congregation. We were also encouraged to proceed with drafting our own constitutions and submitting them for approval as the Sisters had done. Bishop Power accepted this response as sufficient grounds for us to make perpetual vows. This we did on August 15, 1809, and I became Brother Edmund Ignatius Rice. Perpetual Vows August 15, 1809 Bishop Moylan, of Cork, had visited us in Waterford during He had been instrumental in assisting Nano Nagle in the foundation of the Presentation Sisters in his diocese. He requested that we send Brothers to Cork for a school there. I assured him that I would, if I had the Brothers to spare. In response he sent -20-

22 two men from Cork, Jerome O Connor and John Leonard to us for Novitiate. They spend a year with us then returned to Cork in November of This small community was soon joined by four additional aspirants and it seemed that the growth of our small institute was underway. About the same time, Archbishop Daniel Murray of Dublin requested the establishment of a school in that city. I knew that the Archbishop would be an invaluable ally and strongly desired to accede to his request. With God's grace, three additional members came to us around that same time. With our numbers sufficient to the task, and with Bishop Power's approval, two Brothers extended our work to Dublin in During 1815 we received two men from Thurles. As we had done with the two from Cork, we trained them as novices and then returned them to their home, thus expanding our work and ranks. Similarly, Brothers were sent to Limerick and Cappoquin. With this rapid expansion came the renewed interest in establishing ourselves as a distinct entity in the Church of Rome. In 1817 the Superiors of the eight communities of our growing institute came together to consider drafting the required Constitutions that would incorporate our unique character. The De LaSalle Brief was consulted but seemed quite culturally different from our experiences. Consideration was also made as to our relationships with our local Bishops, especially on the requirement of their approval for transfers from one community, and diocese, to another. I had always envisioned the institute reaching further and further from our beginnings in Waterford, and realized from experience that there would be a need to move Brothers freely from location to location. If a Brother could be selected as the overall leader of the Institute, rather than relying on the desires of the different local Bishops, the appropriate distribution of human resources would be more easily achieved. When we concluded our deliberations the Superiors carried the results of our work to each of their communities. Over the next two years, community meetings and additional meetings of -21-

23 superiors produced Constitutions which were strongly supported by Archbishop Troy of Dublin and sent on to Rome in On September 5, 1820, Pope Pius VII signed the Papal Brief which gave approval to our Institute's first Constitutions, still largely based on that of the Presentation Sisters, however. In January of 1821 we received the Papal Brief through the hands of Father Peter Kenney, S.J. Now it was up to us, the Brothers of the Institute, to accept the Brief and the Constitutions that it represented. We gathered at Thurles because of its central location. Unfortunately, no Brothers were present who represented the community in Cork. They, in sympathy with Bishop Murphy, did not desire to be beyond the Bishop's authority. It was disappointing and took a while but, the following year, on January 20, Brothers of the Institute formally gathered at Mount Sion and accepted the Brief. In the first General Chapter that followed, my Brothers elected me as the first Superior General of our Papal Congregation. As time went by and I was able to regularly visit each of the communities, I realized that our Brothers were going to require additional funding, primarily for their own upkeep. Considering the varied conditions throughout our country and the two-fold nature of our schools, practical as well as religious education, there was a need for Catholic schools among those who were not as poor as those to whom we had been ministering. It seemed to me that it would be appropriate to establish schools in which students were asked to pay for their education. Since this was in direct opposition with one of the clauses of our Papal Brief, we needed approval from Rome to make the adjustment. We made petition in 1823 and again in 1824 and received no reply. The decision was tabled until we met as a General Chapter in Although the Brothers did not accept the revision of our Constitutions to include pay schools, we did agree that two of our Dublin schools would accept pay from the students who attended there. -22-

24 In the intervening years our Institute continued to grow. In 1825 we established our first school outside of Ireland, in Preston, England. This was quickly followed by an opening in London, 1826, and eventually in Liverpool, Two Brothers set off for Gibraltar in 1835, and, although we had been invited to New South Wales, Australia, in 1832, Brothers were not sent there until Starting in December of 1831 and into 1832, ten years after we had officially begun as a Papal Congregation, we met in General Chapter to review and reconstruct our Constitutions. We had lived our lives as teaching Brothers and had taken on a distinct character. It was time to incorporate that in writing. The first chapter of our Rules and Constitutions, entitled Of the End of this Institute was written to state: The end of this Institute is, that all its members labor, in the first place, for their own perfection; and in the second, for that of their neighbor, by a serious application to the instruction of male children, especially the poor, in the principles of religion and christian piety. In the second chapter, Of the Spirit of the Institute, we wrote: That which is of the utmost consequence in a Religious Society, and to which, in every community, the greatest regard should be had, is, that all who compose the body be animated by its peculiar spirit... The spirit of this Institute is that spirit of faith, which inspires its members to view nothing but with the eyes of faith, to do nothing but with a view to God, and to ascribe all to God... Finally, the spirit of this Institute is an ardent zeal for the instruction of children; for rearing them up in the fear and love of God. In 1838, as Superior General, I called a special General Chapter to announce my resignation. My age and health were preventing me from properly performing my duties. At the assembly my resignation was respectfully accepted and Brother Michael Paul Riordan from Cork was elected in my place. In some respects this was disappointing since Brother Paul had originally opposed both my ideas of pay-schools. I felt that his vision and mine were not the same. I would rather have seen Brother Austin Dunphy succeed me. Fortunately, the Chapter dealt with the notion of -23-

25 pay-schools as I have mentioned earlier. By the end of 1841 I had become quite ill and confined to bed. In the following year I was having some mental difficulty and slipped in and out of a state of semi-coma. In August of 1844 I was failing rapidly and on the 29th of that month I was able to say a few thanks and good-byes to those attending me before slipping into my final rest. Epilogue His Holiness John Paul II beatified Edmund Ignatius Rice on October 6, 1996, in St. Peter's Square. Blessed Edmund Rice was beatified after the Church investigated and recognized a medical miracle that was the result of people praying to Edmund Rice for his intercession with God First permanent mission of the Brothers in North America (St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada) The first permanent community of Brothers in the United States (New York City). Today The Congregation of Christian Brothers serves God through educational ministries on six continents. -24-

26 PRAYER FOR CANONIZATION Oh God, who in your love for the souls of innocent children, chose Blessed Edmund Rice to establish new religious families in your Church for their instruction, look favorably we beseech you, on his virtues and good works, and if it be for your glory and the sanctification of souls, mercifully hear our prayer that he may be raised to the altars of your holy Church. Amen. BLESSED EDMUND RICE PRAYER Oh God, we thank you for the life of Blessed Edmund Rice. He opened his heart to Christ present in those oppressed by poverty and injustice. May we follow his example of faith and generosity. Grant us the courage and compassion of Blessed Edmund as we seek to live lives of love and service. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. PRAYER FOR A FAVOR Oh God, you inspired Blessed Edmund Rice to follow your Son in a life of consecrated service of the poor and of all in need of a truly Christian education. Grant through his intercession the petition I now make.. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. -25-

27 Additional Information Some books on Blessed Edmund Rice A Man for Our Time. A Short Life of Edmund Rice Blake, Donal; Veritas, 1996 A Tree is Planted. The Life and Times of Edmund Rice Normoyle, M.C.; Private Circulation, nd Edmund Rice, Keogh, Daire; Four Courts Press, 1996 Edmund Rice - The Man And His Times Rushe, Desmond; Gill & Macmillan, 1981 Educating Street Kids: A Ministry to Young People in the Charism of Edmund Rice Wilson, Paul; Staten Island: Alba House, 1993 Overcoming Evil With Good: The Edmund Rice Story Houlihan, James A.; TSY Graphics & Printing,

28 On The Web Website of the Congregation Leadership Team (CLT) of the Christian Brothers For information about becoming a Brother Edmund Rice Online Blessed Edmund Rice Shrines Blessed Edmund s Birthplace Edmund Rice House Westcourt Callan, Co. Kilkenny Ireland Tel: (353) Foundation Community Mount Sion Christian Brothers Waterford, Ireland Tel: (353) O Connell Schools Christian Brothers Edmund Rice House North Richmond Street Dublin 1, Ireland Tel: (353) Presentation Brothers Edmund Rice Heritage & Study Centre Mardyke House Mardyke Cork, Ireland Tel: (353)

29 For more information on the Founder s Cause, please contact: Brother G. Timothy Smyth brtimcfc@yahoo.com Christian Brothers Foundation 145 Huguenot Street, Suite 402 New Rochelle, New York (fax) Brothers@cbfoundation.org -28-

30 Christian Brothers Foundation 145 Huguenot Street, Suite 402 New Rochelle, New York phone: fax: