Fifty years in the Church of Rome

WHEN alone, on my knees, in the presence of God, on the
1st of January, 1855, I took the resolution of opposing the
acts of simony and tyranny of Bishop O'Regan, I was far from
understanding the logical consequences of my struggle with that
high dignitary. My only object was to force him to be honest,
just and Christian towards my people. That people, with me,
had left their country and had bid an eternal adieu to all that
was dear to them in Canada, in order to live in peace in Illinois,
under what we, then, considered the holy authority of the
Church of Christ. But we were absolutely unwllling to be
slaves of any man, in the land of Liberty.

If any one, at that hour, could have shown me that this struggle
would lead me to a complete separation from the Church of
Rome, I would have shrank from the task. My only ambition
was to purify my church from the abuses which, one after the
other, had crept everywhere about her, as noxious weeds. I felt
that those abuses were destroying the precious truths which
Jesus Christ and his apostles have revealed to us. It seemed to
me that was a duty imposed upon every priest to do all in his power
to blot from the face of our church the scandals which were the
fruits of the iniquities and tyranny of the bishops. I had most
sincerely offered myself to God for this work.

737

From the beginning, however, I had a presentiment that the
power of the bishops would be too much for me, and that,
sooner or later, they would crush me. But my hope was that
when I should have fallen, others would take my place and fight
the battles of the Lord, till a final victory would bring the
church back to the blessed days when she was the spotless spouse
of the Lamb.

The great and providential victory I had gained at Urbana,
had strengthened my conviction that God was on my side, and
that he would protect me, so long as my only motives were in
the interest of truth and righteousness. It seemed, in a word,
that I could not fail so long as I should fight against the official
lies, tyrannies, superstitions and deceits which the bishops had
everywhere in the United States and Canada, substituted in the
place of the Gospel, the primitive laws of the church, and the
teachings of the holy fathers.

In the autumn of 1856, our struggle against the Bishop of
Chicago had taken proportions which could not have been anticipated
either by me or by the Roman Catholic hierarchy of
America. The whole press of the United States and Canada,
both political and religious, were discussing the causes and the
probable results of the contest.

At first, the bishops were indignant at the conduct of my lord
O'Regan. They had seen with pleasure, that a priest from his
own diocese would probably force him to be more cautious and
less scandalous in his public and private dealings with the clergy
and the people. But, they also hoped that I should be paralyzed
by the sentence of excommunication, and that the people,
frightened by these fulminations, would withdraw the support
they had, at first, given me. They were assured by Spink, that
I would lose my suit, at Urbana, and should, when lodged in
the penitentiary, become powerless to do any mischief in the
church.

But their confidence was soon changed into dismay when
they saw that the people laughed at the excommunication; that
I had gained my suit, and that I was triumphing on that very
battle-field from which no priest, since Luther and Knox, had

738

come out unscathed. Everywhere, the sound of alarm was heard,
and I was denounced as a rebel and schismatic. The whole body
of the bishops prepared to hurl their most terrible fulminations
at my devoted head. But before taking their last measure to
crush me, a supreme effort was made to show us what they considered
our errors. The Rev. Messrs. Brassard, curate of Longueuil,
and Rev. Isaac Desaulnier, President of St. Hyacinthe
college, were sent by the people and bishops of Canada to show
me what they called the scandal of my proceedings, and press
me to submit to the will of the bishop, by respecting the so-called
sentence of excommunication.

The choice of those two priests was very wise. They
were certainly the most influential that could be sent. Mr. Brassard
had not only been my teacher at the college of Nicolet, but
my benefactor, as I have already said. When the want of means,
in 1825, had forced me to leave the college and bid adieu to my
mother and my young brothers, in order to go to a very distant
land, in search of a position; he stopped me on the road of exile
and brought me back to the college: and along with the Rev.
Mr. Leprohon, he paid all my expenses to the end of my studies.
He had loved me since, as his own child, and I cherished and respected
him as my own father. The other, Mons. I. Desaulnier,
had been my class-mate in the college, from 1822 to 1829, and
we had been united during the whole of that period, as well as
since, by the bonds of the sincerest esteem and friendship! They
arrived at St. Anne on November 24th, 1856.

I heard of their coming only a few minutes before their arrival;
and nothing can express the joy I felt at the news. The
confidence I had in their honesty and friendship, gave me, at
once, the hope that they would soon see the justice and holiness
of our cause, and they would bravely take our side against our
aggressor. But they had very different sentiments. Sincerely
believing that I was an unmanageable schismatic, who was creating
an awful scandal in the church, they had not only been
forbidden by the bishops to sleep in my house, but also have any
friendly and Christian communication with me. With no hatred
against me, they were yet filled with horror at the thought that

739

I should be so scandalous a priest, and so daring, as to trouble
the peace and destroy the unity of the church.

On their way from Canada to St. Anne, they had often been
told that I was not the same man as they knew me formerly to be,
and that I had become sour and gloomy, abusive, insolent
and haughty; that also, I would insult them, and perhaps advise
the people to turn them away from my premises, as men who
had no business to meddle in our affairs. They were pleasantly
disappointed, however, when they saw me running to meet
them, as far as I could see them, to press them to my heart, with
the most sincere marks of affection and joy. I told them that
all the treasures of California brought to my house, would
not make me half so happy as I was made by their presence.

I, at once, expressed my hope that they were the messengers,
sent by God, to bring us peace and put an end to the deplorable
state of things which was the cause of their long journey. Remarking
that they were covered with mud, I invited them to go
to their sleeping rooms, to wash and refresh themselves.

"Sleeping rooms! sleeping rooms!!" said Mr. Desaulnier,
"but our written instructions from the bishops who sent us, forbid
us to sleep here, on account of your excommunication."

Mr. Brassard answered: "I must tell you, my dear Mr.
Desaulnier, a thing which I have kept secret till now. After
reading that prohibition of sleeping here, I said to the bishop
that if he would put such a restraint upon me, he might choose
another one to come here. I requested him to let us both act
according to our conscience and common sense, when we should
be with Chiniquy.

"And, to-day, my conscience and common sense tells me that
we cannot begin our mission of peace by insulting a man who
gives us such a friendly and Christian reception. The people
of Canada have chosen us as their deputies, because we
are the most sincere friends of Chiniquy. It is by keeping
that character that we will best fulfill our sacred and solemn
duties. I accept with pleasure, the sleeping room offered
me."

740

Mr. Desaulnier rejoined: "I accept it also, for I did not
come here to insult my best friend, but to save him."

These kind words of my guests added to the joy I experienced
at their coming. I told them:

"If you are here to obey the voice of your conscience and
the dictates of your common sense, there is a glorious task before
you. You will soon find that the people and priest of St. Anne,
have also done nothing, but listened to the voice of their honest
conscience, and followed the laws of common sense in their conduct
towards the bishop. But," I added, "this is not the time to
explain my position, but the time to wash your dusty faces and
refresh yourselves. Here are your rooms, make yourselves at
home."

After supper, which had been spent in the most pleasant way,
and without any allusion to our troubles, they handed me the
letters addressed to me by the bishops of Montreal, London and
Toronto, to induce me to submit to my superior, and offer me
the assurance of their most sincere friendship and devotedness, if
I would obey.

Mr. Desaulnier then said: "Now, my dear Chiniquy, we
have been sent here by the people and bishops of Canada to
take you away from the bottomless abyss into which you have
fallen with your people. We have only one day and two nights to
spend here, we must lose no time, but begin at once, to fulfill our
solemn mission."

I answered: "If I have fallen into a bottomless abyss as
you say, and that you will draw me out of it, not only God
and men will bless you; but I will also forever bless you for
your charity. The first thing, however, you have to do here, is
to see if I am really fallen, with my people, into that bottomless
abyss of which you speak."

"But are you not excommunicated," quickly rejoined Mr.
Desaulnier, "and, notwithstanding that excommunication, have
you not continued to say your mass, preach and hear the confessions
of your people? Are you not then fallen into that state of
irregularity and schism which separate you entirely from the
church, and to which the Pope alone can restore you?"

741

"No, my dear Desaulnier," I answered, "I am nor more excommunicated
than you are. For the simple reason that an act
of excommunication which is not signed and certified, is a public
nullity, unworthy of any attention. Here is the act of the so-called
excommunication, which makes so much noise in the
world! Examine it yourself; look if it is signed by the
bishop, or any one else you know; consider with attention
if it is certified by anybody." And I handed him the document.

After he had examined it, and turned it every way, for more
than half an hour, with Mr. Brassard, without saying a word,
he at last broke the silence, and said:

"If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I could never have
believed that a bishop can play such a sacrilegious comedy in the
face of the world. You have, several times, published it in the
press, but I confess that your best friends, and I among the rest,
did not believe you. It could not enter our minds that a bishop
should be so devoid, I do not say of every principle of religion,
but of the most common honesty, as to have proclaimed before
the whole world that you were excommunicated, when he had
to offer us only that ridiculous piece of rag, to support his assertion.
But, in the name of common sense, why is it that he has
not signed his sentence of excommunication, or got it signed and
countersigned by some authorized people, when it is so evident
that he wanted to excommunicate you?"

"His reason for not putting his name, nor the name of any
known person at the bottom of that so-called excommunication
is very clear," I answered: "though our bishop is one of the
most accomplished rogues of Illinois, he is still more a coward
than a rogue. I had threatened to bring him before the civil
court of the country, if he dared to destroy my character by a
sentence of indirect or excommunication; and he found that the
only way to save himself, in the same time that he was outraging
me, was not to sign that paper; he thereby took away from me
the power of prosecuting him. For, the first thing I would
have to do in a prosecution, in that case, would be to prove the
signature of the bishop. Where could I find a witness who

742

would swear that this is his signature? Would you swear it
yourself, my dear Desaulnier?"

"Oh! no, for surely, it is not his signature, nor that of his
grand vicar or secretary. But without going any further," added
he, "we must confess to you that we have talked to the bishop
when passing through Chicago, asking him if he had made any
public or private inquest against you, and if he had found you
guilty of any crime. As he felt embarrassed by our questions,
we told him that it was in our public character as deputies of the
bishops and people of Canada towards you, that we were
putting to him those questions. That it was necessary for us to
know all about your public and private character, when we
were coming to press you to reconcile yourself to your
bishop.

"He answered that he had never made any inquest about
you, though you had requested him, several times, to do it, for
the simple reason that he was persuaded that you were one of
his best priests. Your only defect, he said, was a spirit of stubbornness,
and want of respect and obedience to your superior,
and your meddling with the dealings of his diocesans, with
which you had no business. He told us also that you refused
to go to Kahokia. But his face became so red and his tongue
was so strangely lisping when he said that, that I suspected that
it was a falsehood; and we have now, before our eyes, that document,
signed by four unimpeachable witnesses, that it was more
than a falsehood—it was a lie. He proffered another lie, also,
we see it now, when he said that he had signed himself, the act
of excommunication.

"For, surely, this is not his handwriting. Such conduct
from a bishop is very strange. If you would appeal to the Pope,
and go to Rome with such documents in hand against that
bishop, you would have an easy victory over him. For the
canons of the church are clear and unanimous on that subject.
A bishop who pronounces such a grave sentence against a priest,
and makes use of false signatures to certify his sentences, is himself
suspended and excommunicated, ipso facto, for a whole
year."

743

Mr. Brassard added: "Cannot we confess to Chiniquy that
the opinion of the bishops of Canada is, that Bishop O'Regan is
a perfect rogue, and that if he (Chiniquy) would submit, at
once, under protest, to those unjust sentences, and appeal to the
Pope, he would gain his cause, and soon be reinstated by a public
decree of his holiness."

Our discussion about the troubles I had had; and the best
way to put an end to them, having kept us up till three o'clock
in the morning without being able to come to any satisfactory
issue, we adjourned to the next day, and went to take some rest,
after a short prayer.

The 25th of November, at 10 A. M., after breakfast and a
short walk in our public square, to breathe the pure air and enjoy
the fine scenery of our beautiful hill of St. Anne, we shut ourselves
up in my study, and resumed the discussion of the best
plans of putting an end to the existing difficulties.

To show them my sincere desire of stopping those noisy and
scandalous struggles without compromising the sacred principles
which had guided me from the beginning of our troubles, I consented
to sacrifice my position as pastor of St. Anne, provided
Mr. Brassard would be installed in my place. It was decided,
however, that I should remain with him, as his vicar, and help in
the management of the spiritual and temporal affairs of the colony.
The promise was given me that on that condition, the
bishop would withdraw his so-called sentence, give back to the
French-Canadians of Chicago the church he had taken away
from them, put a French-speaking priest at the head of the congregation,
and forget and forgive what he might consider our
irregular conduct towards him, after we should have signed the
following document:

To his Lordship O'Regan, Bishop of Chicago.

My Lord:—As my writings and actions in opposition to your orders
have, since a few months, given some scandals, and caused some people to
think that I would rather prefer to be separated from our holy church, than
to submit to your authority, I hasten to express the regret I feel for such
acts and writings. And to show to the world, and to you, my bishop, my
firm desire to live and die a Catholic, I hasten to write to your lordship that
I submit to your sentence, and that I promise, hereafter, to exercise the

744

holy ministry only with your permission. In consequence, I respectfully
request your lordship to withdraw the censures and interdicts you have pronounced
against me and those who have had any spiritual communication
with me. I am, my lord, your devoted son in Christ.

C. CHINIQUY.

It was eleven o'clock at night, when I consented to sign this
document, which was to be handed to the bishop and have any
value, only on the above conditions. The two deputies were
besides themselves with joy, at the success of their mission, and
at my readiness to sacrifice myself for the sake of peace. Mons.
Desaulnier said:

"Now we see, evidently, that Chiniquy has been right with
his people from the beginning, that he never meant to create a
schism and to put himself at the head of a rebellious party, to
defy the authority of the church. If the bishop does not want to
live in peace with the people and pastor of St. Anne, after such
a sacrifice, we will tell him that it is not Chiniquy, but Bishop
O'Regan, who wants a schism—we will appeal to the Pope—I
will go with Chiniquy, and we will easily get, there, the removal
of that Bishop from the diocese of Chicago."

Mr. Brassard confirmed that sentence, and added that he,
also, would accompany me to Rome to be the witness of my innocence
and the bad conduct of the bishop. He added that it
would not take him a week to raise twice the amount of money
in Montreal, we would require to go to Rome.

After thanking them for what they had done and said, I
asked Mr. Desaulnier if he would be brave enough to repeat
before my whole people what he had just said before me and
Mr. Brassard, in the presence of God.

"Surely, I would be most happy to repeat berore your
whole people, that it is impossible to find fault with you in what
you have done till now. But you know very well, I will never
have such an opportunity, for it is now 11 o'clock at night,
your people are soundly sleeping, and I must start to-morrow
morning, at six o'clock, to take the Chicago train at Kankakee
at 8 A. M.

I answered: "All right!"

745

We knelt together to make a short prayer, and I led them
to their rooms, wishing them refreshing sleep, after the hard
work of the day.

Ten minutes later I was in the village, knocking at the doors
of six of my most respectable parishioners, and telling them

"Please do not lose a moment, go with your fastest horse to
such and such a part of the colony; knock at every door and tell
the people to be at the church at 5 o'clock in the morning to hear
with their own ears what the deputies from Canada have to say
about past struggles with the Bishop of Chicago. Tell them to
be punctual at 5 o'clock in their pews, where the deputies will
address them words which they must hear at any cost."

A little before five, the next morning, Mr. Desaulnier, full
of surprise and anxiety, knocked at my door, and said:

"Chiniquy, do you not hear the strange noise of buggies
and carriages, which seem to be coming from every quarter of
the globe? What does it mean? Has your people become
crazy, to come to church at this dark hour, so long before the
dawn of day?"

"What! what!" I answered, "I was sleeping so soundly
that I have heard nothing yet. What do you mean by this
noise of carriages and buggies around the chapel? Are you
dreaming?"

"No, I am not dreaming," he answered, "not only do I hear
the noise of a great many carriages, wagons and buggies; but
though it is pretty dark, I see several hundred of them around
the chapel. I hear the voices of a great multitude of men,
women, and even children, putting questions to each other, and
giving answers which I cannot understand. They make such
a noise by their laughing and jokes! Can you tell me what
this means? I have never been so puzzled in my life."

I answered him: "Do you not see that you are dreaming.
Let me dress myself that I may go and see something of that
strange and awful dream!"

Mr. Brassard, though a little more calm than Desaulnier.
was not, himself, without some anxiety at the strange noise of
that multitude of carriages, horses and people around my house

746

and chapel, at such an hour. Knocking at my door, he said,
"Please, Chiniquy, explain that strange mystery. Do that people
come to play us some bad trick, and punish us for intruding
in their affairs?"

"Be quiet," I answered, "my dear friends. You have nothing
to fear from that good and intelligent people. Do you not remember
that, last night, a few minutes before 11 o'clock, Desaulnier
said that he would be honest and brave enough to repeat
before my whole people what he had said before you and me,
and in the presence of God. I suppose that some of the angels
of heaven have heard those words, and have carried them, this
night, to every family, inviting them to be here at the chapel,
that they might hear from your own lips, what you think of the
grand and glorious battle they are fighting in this distant land,
for the principles of truth and justice, as the gospel secures them
to every disciple of Christ."

"Well! well!" said Desaulnier, "there is only one Chiniquy
in the world to take me in such a trap, and there is only one
people under heaven to do what this people is doing here. I
would never have given you that answer, had I not been morally
sure that I would never have had an opportunity to fulfill
it. Who would think you would play me such a trick? But,"
he added, "though I know that this will terribly compromise
me before certain parties, it is too late to retract, and I will fulfill
my promise."

It is impossible to express my own joy and the joy of that
noble people when they heard, from the very lips of those deputies
that, after spending a whole day and two nights in examining
all that had been done by their pastor and by them in that
solemn and fearful contest, they declared that they had not broken
any law of God; nor of his holy church; and that they had kept
themselves in the very way prescribed by the canons.

Tears of joy were rolling down every cheek when they
heard Mr. Desaulnier telling them, which Mr. Brassard confirmed
after, that the bishop had no possible right to interdict their
pastor, since he had told them that he was one of his best
priests; and that they had done well not to pay any attention to

747

an act of excommunication which was a sham and a sacrilegious
comedy, not having been signed nor certified by any known
person. Both deputies said:

"Mr. Brassard will be your pastor, and Mr. Chiniquy, as his
vicar, will remain in your midst. He has signed an act of submission,
which we have found sufficient, on the condition that
the bishop will let you live in peace, and withdraw the sentence
he says he has fulminated against you. If he does not accept
those conditions, we will tell him, it is not Mr. Chiniquy, but
you, who wants a schism, and we will go with Mr. Chiniquy to
Rome, to plead his cause and prove his innocence before his
holiness."

After this, we all knelt to thank and bless God; and never
people went back to their homes with more cheerful hearts than
the people of St. Anne, on that morning of the 25th of November,
1856.

At six o'clock A. M., Mr. Desaulnier was on his way back to
Chicago, to present my conditional act of submission to the
bishop, and press him, in the name of the Bishop of Canada, and
in the name of all the most sacred interests of the church, to accept
the sacrifice and the submission of the people of St. Anne,
and to give them the peace they wanted and were purchasing at
such a price. The Rev. Mr. Brassard had remained with me,
waiting for a letter from the bishop to accompany me and put
the last seal to our reconciliation.

The next day he received the following note from Mr.
Desaulnier:

Bishopric of Chicago, Nov. 26th, 1856.

The Rev. Mr. Brassard, Monsieur:—

It is advisable and indispensable that you should come here, with Mr.
Chiniquy, as soon as possible. In consequence, I expect you both day after
to-morrow, in order ro settle that matter definitely.

Respectfully yours.

ISAAC DESAULNIER.

After reading that letter with Mr. Brassard, I said:

"Do you not feel that these cold words mean nothing good!
I regret that you have not gone with Desaulnier to the bishop.
You know the levity and weakness of his character, always

748

bold with his words, but soft as wax at the least pressure which
he feels. My fear is that the bulldog tenacity of my lord
O'Regan has frightened him, and all his courage and bravados
have melted away before the fierce temper of the Bishop of
Chicago. But let us go. Be sure, however, my dear Mr.
Brassard, that if the Bishop does not accept you to remain at
the head of this colony, to protect and guide it, no consideration
whatever will induce me to betray my people and let them
become the prey of the wolves which want to devour
them."

We arrived at the Illinois Central depot of Chicago, the 28th,
at about 10 A. M. Mr. Desaulnier was there waiting for us.
He was as pale as a dead man. The marks of Cain and Judas
were on his face. Having taken him at a short distance from
the crowd, I asked him:

"What news?"

He answered: "The news is, that you and Mr. Brassard
have nothing to do but to take your bags and go away from St.
Anne, to Canada. The bishop is unwilling to make any arrangements
with you. He wants me to be the pastor of St.
Anne, pro tempore, and he wants you with Mr. Brassard, to go
quietly back to Canada, and tell the bishops to mind their own
business."

"And what has become of the promise you have given me
and to my people, to go with me and Mr. Brassard to Rome, if
the bishop refused the proposed arrangements you had fixed
yourselves?"

"Tat! tat! tat!" answered he, "the bishop does not care a
straw about your going or not going to Rome. He has put me
as his grand vicar at the head of the colony of St. Anne, from
which you must go in the shortest time possible."

"Now, Desaulnier," I answered, "you are a traitor, and a
Judas, and if you want to have the pay of Judas, I advise you
to go to St. Anne. There you will receive what you deserve.
The beauty and importance of that great colony has tempted
you, and you have sold me to the bishop, in order to become a
grand vicar and eat the fruits of the vine I have planted there,

749

But you will soon see your mistake. If you have any pity for
yourself, I advise you never to put your feet into that place any
more."

Desaulnier answered: "The bishop will not make any arrangements
with you unless you retract publicly what you have
written against him on account of his taking possession of the
church of the French-Canadians of Chicago, and you must publish,
in the press, that he was right and honest in what he did in
that circumstance."

"My dear Mr. Brassard," I said, "can I make such a declaration
conscientiously and honorably?" That venerable man
answered me:

"You cannot consent to such a thing.

"Desaulnier," I said, "do you hear? Mr. Brassard and your
conscience, if you have any, tell you the same thing. If you
take sides against me with a man whom you have yourself declared,
yesterday, to be a sacrilegious thief, you are not better
than he is. Go and work with him.

"As for me, I go back into the midst of my dear and noble
people of St. Anne."

"What will you do there," answered Mr. Desaulnier, "when
the bishop has forbidden you to remain?"

"What will I do?" I answered, "I will teach those true disciples
of Jesus Christ to shun and despise the tyrants and the
traitors, even though wearing a mitre or a square bonnet (un
bonnet quarre). Go, traitor! and finish your Judas work!
Adieu!"

I then threw myself into the arms of Mr. Brassard, who was
almost speechless, suffocated in his sobs and tears. I pressed
him to my heart, and said:

"Adieu! my dear Mr. Brassard. Go back to Canada and tell
my friends how the cowardice and ambition of that traitor has
ruined the hopes we had of putting an end to this deplorable
state of affairs. I go back among my brethren of St. Anne,
with more determination than ever to protect them against the
tyranny and impiety of our despotic rulers. It will be more easy
than ever to show them that the Son of God has not redeemed

750

us on the cross, that we might be the slaves of those heartless
traders in souls.

"I will more earnestly than ever, teach my people to shun
the modern gospel of the bishops, in order to follow the old
Gospel of Jesus Christ, as the only hope and life of our poor
fallen humanity."

Mr. Brassard wanted to say something; but his voice was
suffocated by his sobs. The only words he could utter, when
pressing me to his heart, were: "Adieu, dear friend, Adieu!"

University of Virginia Library

Chapter LXII.