Fr. John Baptist Baudinelli, C.P.
Newsprint Gospel: The Passionists and the New York Times 1855-1886
By Fr. Rob Carbonneau, C.P.
Founded in 1851, the New York Times quickly covered New York City and international news. Having been fortunate to reside five different times in the greater New York metro area since 1973, I gained a discerning appreciation of the Times coverage of religion, especially the Catholic Church.
Building on this point, this introductory essay—with others to follow in time—examines New York Times (NYT) coverage of the Passionists. Based on a Proquest search of the word "Passionist," the found articles make interesting reading. I encourage general readers—historians and archivists in particular—to mull over the story details. Foremost is the dominant presence of the Passionists in West Hoboken, New Jersey, known today as Union City. Living at St. Michael's Monastery (since the 1860s, the public has used the term "the monastery" interchangeably so as to represent the same site yet distinct ministries of the Parish Church and the monastery), their rhythms of contemplative prayer, solitude, common religious life and ministry are covered in the NYT with respect and distant awe like that of an outsider. At the same time, news coverage of the West Hoboken monastery as a local devotional and Passionist preaching site throughout greater New York City reaffirms these representatives of Italian founder St. Paul of the Cross were participants in the vibrant and divergent pulse of late nineteenth century United States, especially in their efforts to then English, Italian and German speaking urban Catholic immigrants. Taken together, the facts show the slow and steady growth in the number of Passionist monasteries in the United States to seven from 1852 to 1886.
However, the following narrative invites questions for further study. How was the Passionist image in the NYT different from that of diocesan priests or, for that matter, other religious orders of men or women? What, also, does the news suggest about Passionist-lay relations in the later part of the nineteenth century? From another perspective, NYT articles show the international face of the Passionists. We find news of them in London, Rome, Paris, Mexico, and Argentina. Furthermore, it is clear that popular Passionist preachers, such as the Baudinelli brothers, made good press whenever they left the prayer and solitude of their monastery to preach a parish mission. In conclusion, Passionist coverage in the NYT is another way to create the historical narrative and serves as a reminder of power of the press and public relations to create a kind of newsprint Gospel.
Three years after their 1852 establishment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Passionist Father and present-day designated Servant of God Ignatius Spencer of England became the first mention of Passionists in the NYT on January 22, 1855. Spencer's favorable point of view offered on the Vatican I dogma of the Immaculate Conception to Dr. John Cumming, a naysayer, was included in a republished letter by the latter to the NYT and serves as a reminder of Passionist participation in the then hot theological debates in Europe, especially in conjunction with the life of John Henry Newman in England. Recall Newman was welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church on October 9, 1845 in Littlemore, England by then Passionist priest and now Blessed Dominic Barberi.
From the 1860s through the 1880s, readers got news about the Passionists as they established themselves at St. Michael's Monastery on the Palisades in then West Hoboken, New Jersey. The August 10, 1863 NYT carried the announcement: "Interesting Religious Ceremony - Laying of Corner-Stone - 'the Order, its Character and Peculiarities.'" The ceremonial procession started from St. Mary's Catholic Church in West Hoboken. A year after this cornerstone ceremony for St. Michael's Monastery, the September 26, 1864 NYT carried news of the monastery dedication. By the early 1870s, pilgrims had made the Passionist monastery built by architect Patrick C. Keely into an important devotional site in New Jersey and just a ferry ride away from Manhattan.
People coming to the monastery symbolized Catholicism taking root. For instance, the January 12, 1871 NYT told of brass bands playing during the Feast of Corpus Christi Procession. Progress continued. The January 16, 1873 NYT stated: "New Church of the Passionist Fathers at West Hoboken" was completed "with the exception of the towers." Building of the Church also helped the local economy. The edifice trimmings were made of "Newark brown stone." At that time, two-thirds of the then total cost of $150,000 had been paid. Interior decorations to the monastery church included several paintings—one of the Twelve Apostles and another of the Four Evangelists were expected to cost more than $100,000. Devotional healing at the West Hoboken site must have been the talk of the town because a May 4, 1877 piece and a follow up article on May 12, 1877 told of the attention being paid to the holy relics of "Saint Benedict's Bones." The September 14, 1879 NYT announced "A Timely Miracle" and went on to describe how Louise Lateau was healed after being blessed by Passionist Father Victor Carunchio. The paper declared, "West Hoboken should become a shrine as famous as Lourdes itself."
Sometimes, Passionists of the late nineteenth century faced interlopers who tried to exploit the brick and mortar era of Catholicism and raise money in their name. The April 30, 1880 NYT reported that John Sinnott and James McDermott had been charged with collecting money under false pretenses and representing the Passionists in West Hoboken. As a result, they were convicted in a Brooklyn, New York Court and sent to prison for three years and one year, respectively.
Feed