BULLETIN SPRING No.1 BRITISH PROVINCE OF CARMELITES OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION

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1 BULLETIN SPRING 2014 BRITISH PROVINCE OF CARMELITES OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION 48 No.1

2 for his life and ministry amongst us. The scriptures offer us hope, they remind us that all is a gift from God, that we have to take that gift and return it worn out. My first memory of Alphie will stay with me always - a man of great humility who would talk to anyone. I was visiting the community in Hendon, thinking of joining the Carmelite Friars. I had gone out for a walk and returned to the house where [ met Alphie out for a cigarette at the door step. He offered me a cup of tea and a cigarette, had a chat and turned to go back into the house. Only then did he realise that I was not a man of the road looking for a cup of tea, but a potential novice. That a man who had recently returned from being assistant general of the Order was willing to share his time - and indeed his cigarettes - with me told me all I needed to know about the Carmelites. It's to the work of God, mediated in the gentle friendship of Alphie, that [ believe lowe my Carmelite vocation. [ thank God for that gentle presence amongst us and pray that he will enter into the eternal reward prepared for him. May he hear those words of Christ: come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world... for I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. Kevin Melody The First Carmelite Priest in Australia: The Sad Story of Samuel Coote I am velj grauiful once again to Richard Copsey who has generous~v agreed to share the fruits ifsome if his current research. As Bulletin readers will already know, Richard's principal period ifresearch covers 'everything Carmelite'.Fom the foundation ifthe Prorince up to its dissolution. The present article is something if a departure, therifore, with Richard exploring an interesting but sad story ifan ear~v nineteenth centuljfriar... SAMUEL COOTE was born in Kilkenny city, Ireland, around 1780, the son of Richard Coote. He was brought up as a Presbyterian and worked for some time as a tailor. After becoming a Catholic, he joined the Carmelites in Moate where he completed his novitiate and made his profession. Then he was sent to study in Maynooth as an extern student and was ordained there by Dr Daniel Murray, coadjutor archbishop of Dublin, on 16 May 20

3 J8 J8. After his ordination, Coote was appointed to the community in French Street, Dublin where Fr Thomas Coleman was the prior. A list of friars in each community composed by the later provincial Dr John Spratt and included in his aces places Coote in the French Street community in Dublin and gives his age as 40 years. Fr O'Dwyer estimates that this list was composed c 1820 which would suggest that Coote was born c1780 although Spratt's estimates of the ages of each friar are not always accurate. At the provincial chapter held in 1822, Fr Thomas Coleman was appointed provincial in the place of Fr Thomas Finny with a mandate from the prior general to introduce reforms in the province. Finny, though, refused to accept Coleman's appointment and defied the prior general's decrees especially those relating to community property. He was suspended by the new provincial but continued to say mass and hear confessions. Finally, the prior general, Fr Aloysius Faro, was forced to write to the archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Troy, for his help in this situation. In his defence, Finny made accusations about Coleman's behaviour whilst prior in Dublin and the ensuing dispute led to some violent behaviour, with doors being broken down, locks changed and some friars being ejected from the Dublin house. Coote was involved in one of these episodes: "Others suffer also, poor Kenny who attended here for 8 years has been forcibly dispossessed by Kinsella, Coote and O'Neal who broke open his door and took his bed, and tossed his little articles out, put his bedstead into a place in the premises which delicacy forbids me to mention." Coote was suspended for a period and Coleman appealed on his behalf to the archbishop Dr Troy. Around this time, Coote learned about the work being done by Fr Philip Conolly among the Catholics in Van Diemen's Land (i.e. Tasmania), As Fr Conolly later recounted, Coote told him that he had found out about the mission there through "a lady in Dublin, an acquaintance of mine, whose name he forgot, (who) informed him that I was tired of this mission and would soon come home," In fact, the situation was somewhat different, It is true that Fr Philip Conolly was the only Catholic priest in Tasmania, having arrived in Hobart in March 182 J and that soon after his arrival, he had written to the Vicar Apostolic in London, Dr Poynter asking if he could procure a few priests to assist in Tasmania and Australia. He stated 21

4 in his letter that it would be helpful if these priests were Irish and could speak Gaelic as many of the Catholics there were from Ireland. However, there was no mention of Conolly wishing to return home. Coote appears to have been attracted by the idea of taking over the mission in Tasmania and he seems to have convinced his superiors to grant him permission to go there. On 28 July 1823, Coote wrote to Dr Poynter from Dublin: "Allow me the liberty to ask your Lordship have you any commis sion to send missionaries to lew Holland and have you any funds for that purpose, as it must be attended with much expense? And if so will your Lordship take the trouble to procure for me liberty from government to go there in case I send you Doctor Murray's signature of approbation?" Coote appears to have received a favourable response from Dr Poynter and, after obtaining a letter of recommendation from the archbishop of Dublin Dr Murray, he travelled to London. He had arrived there some time before 18 August for, on that day, Dr Poynter recommended him to the Colonial Secretary Lord Bathurst: "The Rev. Mr. Coote has a very satisfactory recommendation from Dr Murray of Dublin and from my own personal observations I have no hesitation in recommending him to your Lordship's favour." On 28 August, Coote received a letter of recommendation from the Colonial Office to the Governor of Tasmania which read: "The Rev. Mr Coote, a Catholic Clergyman, will have the honour of presenting this letter to you. This Gentleman's object in proceeding to Van Diemen's Land is to undertake the Spiritual care of such of His Majesty's Roman Catho lic Subjects as reside in that Colony. He has been strongly recommended by Dr Murray of Dublin to Dr Poynter, the Vicar Apostolic of the London District, and by the latter to Earl Bathurst, and I am directed by His Lordship to recommend him accordingly to your protection." This letter was signed by Wilmot Horton, the Under Secretary. A that time, Australia and Tasmania were under the Episcopal jurisdiction of the Vicar Apostolic in Mauritius, Dr Slater. Dr Poynter wrote a letter to him 22

5 recommending Coote but as Mauritius was so far from Australia, Coote asked for a copy of this letter to take with him: "I think it necessary before I leave Town to have your letter to Dr Slater lest his letter should not reach Van Diemen's Land before my arrival. Or that Mr Conolly should have instructions from him to give faculties to any clergyman recommended by your Lordship." Dr Poynter gave Coote a letter of recommendation for himself to take with him which repeated what he had written to Dr Slater. Soon after, Coote returned to Dublin and prepared for his voyage to Tasmania. He was fortunate to make contact with a wealthy Irish Protestant Roderick O'Connor, who was planning to travel with his family to Tasmania where they proposed to settle. O'Connor had charted a ship, the Ardent, and he and his family evidently agreed to allow Coote to travel with them. The party set sail from Dublin in November and finally docked in Hobart Town on 7 May 1824 where Coote met with Fr Conolly. The relationship between Coote and Conolly did not get off to a good start. The first difficulty was that no letter had arrived from bishop Slater in Mauritius granting priestly faculties to Coote and although Conolly could have granted temporary faculties himself on the basis of the letter from Dr Poynter which Coote brought, there were various factors which caused him to hesitate. The major problem was that Coote assumed that his letter from the Colonial Office was a formal appointment to take charge of the mission in Tasmania. As can be seen from the text of the letter above, Coote was only being permitted "to undertake the Spiritual care" of the Catholics in the colony. There was no mention of a formal appointment. In addition, Conolly was unhappy about Coote's conduct as a priest and he had heard disturbing reports of his behaviour during the voyage. These led him to direct a long letter to Dr Slater in Mauritius and a similar one to Dr Poynter in London. These letters were dispatched on the GUildford, the first mail boat leaving for England. In the letter to Poynter, Conolly claims that Coote is "not calculated to be useful here" and that he was an illiterate man whose behaviour had been quite scandalous. In the letter, he writes that Coote was: 23

6 "...not fit to maintain the dignity of his profession among such people as inhabit these Colonies. A very short acquaintance with him convinced me of his utter unfitness for this mission... along with being very illiterate, he is a man of no manners; it is thoroughly shocking to hear him blundering through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. His conduct on the voyage out has been such as to show he has very little prudence." Apparently Conolly had heard stories about Coote's behaviour during the voyage out. When the Ardent had docked in Rio de Janeiro, Coote had meddled with the servants of some of the passengers, openly claiming that their indentures were not binding. As a result one of the female servants ran off with a sailor and was left behind when the ship sailed. An English gentleman, Captain Glover, was disgusted at Coote's behaviour and told him openly on the deck "that he would positively thrash him if he did not desist" from interfering with his female servants. An Irish Protestant gentleman, possibly the Roderick O'Connor who had chartered the vessel, warned Fr Conolly after the party had arrived in Hobart, that if he wanted his profession to be disgraced, he had only to keep Coote. Conolly was urged "by all means to ship him off as soon as possible". The difficulties between Coote and Conolly were not all the fault of Coote. In the letter just quoted, Conolly reveals his prejudice against priests in religious order. In his opinion, it is only those who cannot obtain ordination as a diocesan priest who join religious orders. Hence he judges that the religious orders are "ill-supplied with young men of talents and learning compared to the Secular [clergy]..." Coote himself wrote a letter to Dr Poynter which went by tlle same ship as Conolly's letter. In it, he said nothing about Conolly but wrote that Lieutenant Governor Sorell was very surprised "... why they did not provide for me like the otiler clergymen from the Police fund." Fr Conolly himself received a salary of 100 per year from the Government. Initially, Conolly thought of sending Coote to serve in tile interior of New South Wales in Australia but he judged him unsuited for that mission. So, while b'ying to arrange a passage for him to Mauritius, Conolly gave Coote 24

7 partial faculties to say mass and to catechise and sent him to minister in the districts of Sorell and Richmond, some 16 miles from Hobart Town, where he celebrated Mass on Sundays and taught the children their catechism. However, Conolly was very critical of Coote's performance of his duties and, in his letter to Slater on 12 August 1824, he claimed that when Coote reached Mauritius, Slater would see for himself that not only was Coote was "very illiterate" but "a man of no manners" and that it was "really shocking to hear him blundering through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass." Soon after, when Coote announced that he had no intention of going to Mauritius, Conolly withdrew his faculties completely but Coote continued to say Mass regardless. On 30 August 1824, Coote was becoming increasing unhappy with his situation and he wrote again to Dr Poynter. In the letter, Coote repeated many of the points he made in the previous communication but he added some negative comments on Conolly's attitude and achievement: "He has no chapel except an unfinished part of his building"; "He objected to any missionary without provision from Government"; and "... instead of being a Townsman of mine as I had erroneously heard appears by his accent north of Ireland." (In fact, Conolly came from County Monaghan and as he himself stated to Captain John Montagu:...there is at least a distance of two Counties between the place of my Nativity and his"). In his letter to Poynter, Coote described his own circumstances: "To mention want of means or the suspicion attached to a clergyman living at a farmer's house without facultys is a minor consideration; but to consider these vast Colonys without instruction afflicts and disturbs me without rest... Hobart Town had no Mass since new year's day. Launceston at the other end of this Island by far more Catholic, populous and extensive never had a clergyman two visits from Mr Conolly excepted." In his Ph.D. thesis on Ullathorne, Fr Collins points out that Conolly regularly visited Launceston, normally four times a year. Coote's letter is long and rambling and there are parts of where he resorts to appeals for any solution to his circumstances. In one place, he requests Poynter to "get me jurisdiction from Rome unless you have heard from Dr Slater which you will have the goodness to communicate to me as soon as you can." Then he writes that, if it is not too much trouble, "have me ap 25

8 pointed jointly with Mr Terry (Fr. Thierry) to Sidney and its dependencies which would give me opportunity to do more good." Finally he ends with a passage of unashamed flattery: "May God grant you and my Lord Bramston (Colonial Secretary Lord Bathurst) longevity to change these Colonys into Islands of saints, and as the sun appears in its greatest beauty going down, so the sun of charity which now enlightens you will illuminate you toward the end of your career, & on your death bed will shed its resplendent rays with tenfold lustre and beauty, having spent the latter part of your lives in the conversion of these Colonys". Then he adds that, as their "affectionate child", he only expected to see their faces in heaven. Relations between Conolly and Coote had, by now broken down completely. The underlying reason being that Coote persisted in believing that he had been sent to Tasmania to replace Conolly but this claim was accentuated by the antipathy between the two priests. On 7 August, Conolly was asked by the Captain Montagu, the Governor's Secretary, to give his views on Coote's status and suitability. Conolly replied on 11 August that it was necessary for every priest to have faculties from bishop of a diocese before he could officiate there. Coote did not have any faculties from Bishop Slater so Conolly had granted him permission to celebrate Mass pro tempore in the districts of Sorell and Richmond. However, having received some complaints from respectable gentlemen, Conolly had come to the opinion that Coote's services would not be beneficial and that he should not be allowed to minister any more in the Australian Colonies. So the Lieutenant Governor wrote to the Colonial Office: "Mr. Conolly considers the low habits and proceedings of Mr. Coote so much beneath the dignity of his office that he refuses all communion with him." Still, Coote was determined to see himself appointed in place of Fr Conolly and he continued sending letters to Captain Montagu, secretary to the new Lieutenant Governor Sir George Arthur. Coote claimed that his letter from the Colonial Office formally appointed him to take spiritual charge of the Catholics in Tasmania and asked for this appointment to be recognised and for him to be granted a salary. After the Governor had received Connolly's letter of the 11 th October 1824, Captain Montagu wrote to Coote on the same day informing him of Conolly'S objections. 26

9 EVidently Coote replied requesting the Governor to publicly announce his appointment as Captain Montague wrote to him again on 1" November stating that the Governor was unwilling to announce such an appointment and adding that Coote's letter from the Colonial Office made no mention of any appointment but merely that Coote intended to proceed to Tasmania. On 3,d February 1825, Coote wrote a long letter to the Lieutenant Governor which began: "Sir, [ should consider myself deficient in respect to the high Authority by which [ am appointed resident Roman Catholic Chaplain in Van Diemen's Land, and to the distinguished Personages of my own persuasion who procured the appointment, were [ passively to submit to the manifest injustice rendered to me by the Rev. Mr. Connolly who, in a note to Your Honor in answer to a communication of my official appointment by Earl Bathurst, evasively asserted that '[ should bring faculties from a Roman Catholic Bishop'..." Coote went on the argue that he must had had "Faculties" before Lord Bathurst could appoint him to the mission in Tasmania and these were implicit in the recommendation of the Bishop of London who overseas all the foreign missions exercised by Roman Catholics lin British territories]. Coote also argued that his service in Pittswater and Coal River [i.e. Sorell and RichmondI which he claimed justified Lord Bathurst's appointment and "supersedes the unofficial Certificate of the Roman Catholic Bishop". Coote also complained that a "Service of Communion Plate" which he had brought from Ireland with him as a present for the Roman Catholic Chapel in Tasmania had been taken by Fr Conolly without his permission. This "Service of Communion Plate" would seem to have comprised of vessels for use during Mass, e.g. a chalice, paten, lavabo set, etc., vestments for the celebrant and the altar, and a set of six gilt candlesticks. The candlesticks still survive and are on an altar in St Mary's Cathedral, Hobart. They bear an inscription: "Humbly presented to the Catholic chapel of Hobart Town by General James Edward Devereux of Carrignienan in Co. Wexford, Ireland, 1823". In his letter, Coote goes on to point out that the addressing of this gift to him demonstrates that his appointment is recognised 27

10 by the Catholic Laity in England and Ireland. Finally, Coote claims that his behaviour in the Colony had been exemplary and that this would be supported by a Memorial which the local Roman Catholics meant to submit. EVidently, as Conolly claimed in one of his letters, Coote had been travelling all over the Colony collecting signatures for a petition to remove Conolly from his chaplaincy and for Coote himself to be appointed in his place. There must have been a personal meeting between Coote and the Governor at some time for, when the Governor replied to the previous letter on 7 11, February, he stated that he regretted the "continued misunderstanding between Mr Conolly and yourself, and which I had hoped might have been at rest from my personal explanation to you, with which you appeared quite satisfied." The Governor went on in his letter to point out that he could not appoint Coote without superseding Fr Conolly about whom he had received no complaints and stating firmly that, in Lord Bathurst's instructions, "There is not one syllable respecting an appointment for you..." On 11 March 1825, Captain Montague acknowledged the receipt of a memorial from 169 free Catholic settlers expressing their appreciation of Coote's work among them and their children: "This reverend gentleman has officiated in several districts and the conciliatory and pious manner in which he has invariably conducted himself since his arrival in this colony, his unremitting endeavours in instruction in this confined sphere of action, and his disinterested behaviour have secured for him the highest esteem." The settlers also complained that Fr Conolly had failed to complete the building of a chapel in Hobart despite funds being provided for that purpose. In his letter, Captain Montague assured the signatories of the memorial that the case of Fr Coote had been' referred by the Lieutenant Governor to the Colonial Secretary Lord Bathurst, and that the signatories would be informed as soon as any communication was received from Lord Bathurst. It appears that during the summer of 1825, Conolly wrote to Dr Slater in Mauritius outlining his deteriorating relationship with Coote and informing him that he had withdrawn the limited faculties to say mass which he had granted to Coote. It seems likely that Coote himself had also written 28

11 around the same time, complaining to Dr Slater about Conolly's action. At the same time, the Lieutenant Governor Sir George Arthur had written to Slater about Coote and the approach which the he had taken. However, Slater's replies to these letters took some time to arrive. On 9 th September 1825, Conolly had also written a long letter to Dr Poynter in London describing his problems in Tasmania. After some critical remarks about his parishioners in Hobart, Conolly spelt out his problems with Fr Coote: "1 gave him, in the meantime, permission to celebrate Mass but no authority to baptise or administer any other sacrament. I directed him to a house in the country, where he could live without expense and where I thought he might do something towards reforming an old stubborn sinner who inhabited it and had grown rich here, after having served his term of transportation. He soon distinguished himself by associating with the lower class of convicts, drinking with them at public and private houses, singing for them and conducting himself so much like themselves as to please them. He began to range over the island celebrating Mass wherever he was not discountenanced by the Magistrates. He has, however, as might be expected, fallen into great disrepute - latterly he did not attempt often to celebrate in public. His principal occupation of late was collecting wheat. The way some of this wheat has been obtained occasioned examination to be taken before the Police Magistrate at Launceston, where he is almost openly accused of receiving wheat, knowing it to be stolen by assigned servants (convicts) from their masters." Meanwhile, Coote seems to have realised that he needed to look for support from elsewhere. On 15 October 1825, he instructed a Notary Public in Hobart Town to certify a set of copies of the official letters of recommendation, etc. which he had in his possession. Then Coote enclosed these copies in a rambling letter dated 29 October which he sent to Fr Therry in New South Wales. In the letter, Coote told Therry of his problems with Conolly and "the unaccountable and improper usage I have received since my arrival in Van Diemen's Land", and then continued: "I am, Rev. Sir, most peculiarly situated - obstacles of every de 29

12 scription thrown in my way, my finances reduced, exertions unjustly used to injure me, - Roman Catholics my determined friends... every Roman Catholic is my advocate, In short I have twice travelled to Port Dalrymple - on foot a distance of one hundred and seventy miles, at the invitation of the inhabitants particularly the sick, and there obstacles from illiberal magistrates have, daily presented themselves to the discharge of my duty... and other plans formed to injure me in the general and government estimation - but thanks be to God that their efforts have been fruitless - and have recoiled on the originals." Fr Therry reacted sympathetically to Coote's letter and wrote to Slater as follows: "The Rev. Mr Conolly having lately transmitted me a copy of your letter to Rev. Mr Coote, I have been induced to advise the latter to avail himself of the first opportunity to wait on your Lordship in order to remove if possible the impression(s) which have been created on your mind by the exaggerated statements, for so I consider them of Mr Conolly. Mr. Coote's services would in my opinion under a mild and impartial direction be of the greatest value in lew South Wales." It was early in December 1825, that Bishop Slater's reply to the Lieutenant Governor, dated 2 August, finally arrived and, in it, Slater expressed his agreement with the Governor's actions and for the way in which he had supported Fr Conolly. Slater stated unequivocally that Coote "had unauthorizedly exercised in the Colony the functions of a Roman Catholic Priest." In a separate letter to Coote, Slater wrote: "I hope you have received the letter I addressed to you two months ago by way of the Calcutta and that you have ceased to trouble the peace of the little Church in Van Diemen' s Land. You must, Revd Sir, be aware that subordination is necessary in all societies. Mr Conolly is my Vicar charged with the superintendence of the Mission in New Holland and Van Diemen's Land, and you can exercise no ministerial functions there but with his approbation. As however you have judged right to dispute the authority of that respectable gentleman - without reference to other reports which have reached me from different quarters, I confine myself for the pre 30

13 sent to repeating what I had formerly written - that you are to consider yourself as not being received in the District entrusted to my jurisdiction - and that from the receipt hereof - if you have not already ceased - you do cease to exercise any Sacerdotal functions whatever in the Colonies of New Holland, Van Diemen's Land or the Cape of Good Hope." On receiving Slater's letter early in December, Coote realised that there was no future for him in Tasmania and, four days after receiving the letter, he obtained a berth on a ship bound for Sidney. Conolly himself received a similar letter from Slater in which he assured Conolly that "his mission shall not be disturbed again by any other troublesome fellows". Then, when Conolly passed on Slater's letter to the Governor, Sir Arthur "very politely told me he would issue an order to the Magistrates not to allow [Coote] to discharge any ministerial duties in any of the settlements." By this time, Coote had already left the colony and, as Conolly was concerned that Coote would "become as troublesome at New South Wales as he has been here.", Conolly wrote to Governor Darling about Coote and sent him a copy of Slater's letter. Also Conolly recounted all these happenings to Bishop Poynter. The dispute over Coote's position in Tasmania is a sad episode. Some of the fault must lie with Bishop Slater in Mauritius who knew Coote was coming but appears to have made no attempt to provide faculties for him. When Coote arrived in Hobart, Fr Conolly, the only Catholic priest on the island, was confronted by a dilemma. He was desperately in need of help but he was a diocesan priest of the old school, careful that everything was done correctly and, it must be admitted, rather prejudiced against priests belonging to religious orders. Coote seems to have come from a lower social background than Conolly and his familiarity with the ordinary working people appeared inappropriate to Conolly who stressed the dignity and the status of the priesthood. Coote's behaviour, though, was not simply a matter of class and some of his actions, his challenging of authority and his taking matters into his own hands would have given warning of a disturbed personality. Coote was clearly unsuited for missionary work and, as is shown by his later career, for the priestly role in general. Sadly, Conolly's own behaviour came under criticism some years later 31

14 and, on 25 May 1836, he himself had his faculties withdrawn and he was suspended from office by Bishop Polding, the first bishop in Australia. The charges against Conolly were of financial mismanagement, alcoholism and cruelty to two of his relatives. It was an unhappy end to 16 years of service in Tasmania. Coote remained in Sydney for only a short time and, following the advice of Fr Therry, he left quickly for Mauritius where he arrived early in February Coote was evidently keen to obtain ecclesiastical approval from Bishop Slater and be granted full priestly faculties so that he could then return to New South Wales where Fr Therry was eager to have his services. However, the Governor of Mauritius, Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, was conscious of the need for priests in Mauritius, a much more Catholic country, and in particular for a parish priest in Moka, five miles south of Port Louis. Hence, on 15 February, Bishop Slater wrote to the Governor of Mauritius: "... the arrival of Rev. Mr. Coote will enable me to meet your Excellency's wishes. - Mr. Coote being subject to my jurisdiction, I can for a short time, though with some inconvenience to the mission in New Holland, retain him in this Colony." A month later, on 8 March, Slater wrote again to the Governor: "Mr Coote being new in the ministry has been exercising himself in functions, to which it is necessary to become habituated, previous to their performance in public." One difficulty for Coote in Mauritius would have been the need to learn French but all church ceremonies were in Latin at that time. Slater's letter seems to imply that he was not satisfied with the way Coote celebrated mass and the other sacraments, which is surprising considering that, by this time, Coote had been a priest for eight years! In May, Coote was installed as the parish priest in Moka and he was officially added to the Ecclesiastical Establishment and to the payroll." Unfortunately, within a couple of years, Coote's behaviour had deteriorated and, on 2 August 1828, the new Governor, Sir Charles Colville, wrote to the Colonial Office: "[Coote's] conduct has been discreditable to his profession, and I have informed the Vicar Apostolic that he should be removed from his present situation with the least possible delay; for I conceive 32

15 that it would be better that the church [in Moka] should be shut up than so unworthy a clergyman should continue to perform the divine service therein." The Governor wrote to the Colonial Office again on 12 October 1828 about Coote: ",.. the conduct of the Abbe Coote has latterly become so improper that I have been compelled to direct his removal from the Ecclesiastical Establishment." The exact details of Coote's behaviour are scarce but a recent history of Mauritius claims: "Very soon he started to fight with the people and his folly went to such extent that the police had to carry him off to the port for deporting him." Coote was finally deported from Mauritius on 24 June On his arrival in England, Coote settled into lodgings in Marylebone, London. However, his behaviour quickly deteriorated and, on 12 November 1831, he was admitted to the 1" Middlesex County Asylum at Hanwell (also known as the Hanwell Insane Asylum), near Norwood, London. This asylum had opened just a few months before, on 16 May, and was the first purpose built asylum in England and \/Vales. In the admissions book, Coote (patient no. 122) was described as a Catholic priest, single and residing in the parish of St Mary Ie Bowe. His age was given as 38 years (but a 50 is written underneath - which is the age written on his death certificate). The register states that he had been suffering from intermittent maniacal episodes during the previous six months. Soon afterwards, at the Middlesex Sessions of the Peace, an account was made of the "property belonging to Samuel Coote, lunatic, of St Marylebone". Coote died from consumption on 18 Sept 1837 and his age was given as 50 years on his death certificate but this figure of the death certificate is probably only a estimate. Coote was probably around 57 years of age judging from Dr Spratt's list quoted at the beginning of this article. Coote's funeral took place probably in the chapel at the Asylum and he would have been buried in the cemetery there. The funeral book for the chapel was kept in the museum there but, following the closure of the museum, it has since disappeared. Richard Copsey 33

16 Acknowledgements: My thanks are due to Fr Paul Chandler (Australian Province), who first brought the story of Samuel Coote to my attention and to the late Fr Peter O'Dwyer (Irish Province), for many of the details of Coote's early life. For this article, though, I am heavily indebted to the researches of Fr Paul Collins in his article, "Mystery Priest or Maverick?", Foocprints: Journal 1 che Melbourne Hiscorical Commission, 5:12 (1986) pp. 2J-26 (which was kindly sent to me by Ms Rachel 1 aughton, Archivist of the Melbourne Historical Commission) and to Fr W. T. Southerwood for the account of Coote's relationship with Fr Conolly in his book, Lonely Shepherd in Van Diemen's Isle (Facher Philip Conollj', Ausualia's First Vicar-General), (Tasmania, 1988) pp A number of the letters quoted above can be found in Brian Condon's "Letters and Documents in 19 th Century Australian History" which have been published on the internet site of the University of South Australia: < CatholicLetters/ > In his final message at World Youth Day (2013), Pope Francis called upon the young to follow three steps: 1) To go and make fellow disciplesenkindling others through that enthusiasm and creativity which comes from the Spirit; 2) to be not altaid, for the believer is never truly alone but always in God's presence; and 3) to serve, by identifying with the thoughts, words, and deeds of Jesus. The message, in many respects, sums up the Pope's preaching ministry over the course of his first year in office- Simple, direct, and always aware of the obstacles to the life of faith. 34