Life of the Cardinal de Cheverus, archbishop of Bordeaux

Preface

In presenting this volume to the public, the translator would flatter himself with the belief that he is conferring" upon them no inconsiderable benefit. " What is the most useful study ]" was the question once asked of a sage — " The life of a good man," he replied: — "What is the next]" — The life of a bad man." This is the life of a good man in the purest and loftiest sense of the word — in whom the sterner and nobler qualities which dignify our nature, were blended in the most exquisite harmony with the gentler virtues, as you may have seen the glow of setting day commingling with the delicate light of the newly risen moon, giving and taking beauty — the one deepened and strengthened, the other softened and refined in its hue. To " see how a Christian can die," is indeed a beautiful spectacle, and an admirable lesson ; but the spectacle presented by this book, the lesson inculcated on its every page, are of still greater beauty and moment. " See how a Christian should live," is its sublime sermon. The Christian death may be exhibited by one whose life has been a scandal and a reproach. The thief on the cross breathed his spirit into paradise ; but it was the immaculate life of the Man-God expiring near him, that taught the path which leads to eternal bliss. It is in presenting religion with such an aspect as she wears in the character and career of a Cheverus, that her attractiveness and real influence are perceived.

In a man whose views were bounded by the horizon of this world, whose deeds were all performed to win honours and applause from his fellow worms, the high qualities displayed by M. de Cheverus in his unobtrusive career, would have commanded the epithet of great; for where shall we find the warrior who exerted more vigour, and courage, and fortitude, than he possessed; the statesman who evinced more power of selfcontroul, more skill in gaining the affections of others, and directing their actions, and even their thoughts] But it is the poor slave, who, for the gratification of the passions by which he is swayed, obtains a certain mastery over his fellows, and not the being who has the grandeur of soul to employ equal or superior faculties for the loftiest and most durable ends, despising all

X PREFACE.

" the feculence and froth of things terrestrial/ ' whom the world salutes with the title of great. Thus, while a Richelieu or a Cromwell will go down the stream of time in a gilded, flaunting bark, the little vessel which carries the reputation of a Cheverus, will be scarce an object of notice save to the few who can " see into the life of things." No one, however, can read this volume without being convinced that although the memory of those the world calls great may be the most emblazoned, there is something in the actual presence of virtue, which exerts a more powerful influence upon those within its sphere than any supremacy which is of the earth, earthy. Peruse the account of the departure of M. de Cheverus from Boston — of his reception in France, and say whether the history of any " hero," can furnish a parallel to either. Louder huzzas, more thunders of artillery may have welcomed the successful warrior, but what mere victor was ever detained for hours on the steps of his triumphal car, while multitudes were thronging around him to snatch a kiss of heart-felt love and veneration from his hands'? There is a pathos and sublimity combined in some of the scenes recorded in the following pages, which must cause every sensi* tive breast to swell with emotions, such as few other biogra* phies are fitted to excite.

It is delightful to contemplate an exception like that afforded by the career of M. de Cheverus, to the truth wrung from the lips of bitter experience, and confirmed by universal assent, that " slow rises worth by poverty depress'd ;" that virtue, to command the homage of the world, must be plated with gold, or emblazoned by the lustre of rank. It inspires the cheering conviction that there is still a redeeming power in human nature, which must sooner or later obtain the predominance, and render honesty not only the best policy in its ultimate results, but the sole means of securing the admiration of men. Compare the manner in which the Cardinal Archbishop of Bordeaux was elevated from the humblest station in the priesthood, by the mere force of worth, to the loftiest dignities and influence, with the career, for instance, of a Cardinal de Retz. What a life, in the one case, of tumultuous effort, of mind and body wasting toil, to earn but disappointment, ignominy, and an unhonoured grave! In the other, how easy, constant the ascent, impeded only by the unwillingness of the individual to rise ! How serene and beautiful its termination at the highest point ! How glori-

PREFACE. XI

ous the mausoleum erected on the pinnacle, from which the stainless spirit was exhaled to heaven ! Never, indeed, could it have heen said of any one more truly, that "goodness and he fill up one moment ;" that " orphans' tears have wept a tomb upon him !" It is after contemplating such an exemplar, that we can appreciate the full force of Milton's exquisite homily —

Love Virtue, she alone is free ; She can teach ye how to climb Higher than the sphery chime : Or, if Virtue feeble were, Heav'n itself would stoop to her.

There is only one portion of this most beautiful "drama of life," at which a feeling of regret may perhaps be awakened — the catastrophe. It might be wished that this had not been so sudden — that a death-bed scene, in harmony with the existence which it terminated, had been granted to the eye of pious veneration and love — that the setting of the sun had not been so instantaneous, but accompanied by all the mellow effulgence which loves to linger about his couch at the close of an unsullied day. The last words and thoughts of such a man when he beheld himself on the confines of eternity, would have been a treasure of great price; — and what felicity, triumphing over all bodily pain, would then have been his as he cast his eyes back upon a life filled with endeavours to give glory to God on high and peace on earth to men ! How inspiringly would the retrospect have enkindled that celestial light which illumes " the dread unknown, the chaos of the tomb," — how truly then would his mind have been a " mansion for all lovely forms, his memory a dwelling-place for all sweet sounds and harmonies." But whatever might have been the manner of his death, well may we all, whether Catholic or Protestant, make it our daily prayer, that we may be prepared as he was, to meet our fate — that our last moments may be like unto his.

The writer of the biography states that he had the most ample and authentic materials for its preparation. " From every mouth," he says, " at Mayenne, I learnt all that appertained to the early youth of M. de Cheverus; and concerning the rest of his life, I was furnished with the most precious and abundant details from Bordeaux, besides being supplied with various letters and public prints both of that city and of Montauban and Boston, and having all the papers of his Eminence placed in my

XU PREFACE.

hands." It was the wish of the translator to increase the value of the work by copious additions relating to the sojourn of the sainted Bishop in this country, particularly such as were fitted to show forth

" That best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremember'd acts Of kindness and of love,"

but he was disappointed in his efforts to obtain them. He has thought it well, however, to append various documents and extracts from journals which seemed calculated to interest the reader, and confirm the narrative. It has been his endeavour also to modify somewhat the style of the original, which is too much that of an unqualified panegyric, although it would be difficult to write about such a being as M. de Cheverus without a constant glow of enthusiasm ; and he has taken the liberty at times of making curtailments where redundancy and repetition were indulged in to excess. " Perhaps some readers, says the author, " may find the style too strongly tinged with a religious hue, not in harmony with their usual studies ; but I pray them to consider that every subject has a style appropriate to it. It is one thing to write the life of a warrior or a statesman, and another to write the life of a Bishop. The latter demands a style essentially grave and religious. The biographer must exhibit in the Prelate the man of God and of religion, preparing himself by study and piety, for the most sublime of ministries ; doing, when he has attained to it, all the good in his power, under the inspiration of faith, and charity, and zeal ; prosecuting, with a holy fervor, labours which may appear little to the eyes of the world, but which are great, noble, and celestial in those of religion ; otherwise, the biographer would be faithless to his character, placing the glory of a Bishop there where it does not exist, and preventing his merits from being seen where they are really to be found. To accomplish his task, he must invest his language with a colour that is completely ecclesiastical ; religion herself must hold the pen, and trace the history of her hero." It only remains for the translator to tender his best thanks to the Right Rev. Dr. Fenwick, Catholic Bishop of Boston, the Rev. Dr. Harris, and William Sullivan, Esq., of that city, for their kindness in furnishing him with the various articles which compose the additions.

LIFE

OF THE

CARDINAL DE CHEVERUS,

ARCHBISHOP OF BORDEAUX.

Book I. From The Birth Of The Cardinal In 1768, To His

departure from france in 1792.

John, Louis, Anne, Magdalen, Lefebvre de Cheverus was born at Mayenne, the capital of the ancient province of Lower Maine, on the 28th of January, 1768. His family was one possessing universal esteem and confidence, and for a long period had enjoyed the honours of the magistracy. At the time of his birth it consisted of three brothers, who united in themselves all the powers of the city of Mayenne. One, Louis Rene de Cheverus, wielded the spiritual authority as curate of the principal parish; another, M. de Champorain, the civil authority as mayor; and the third, John Vincent Marie J^efebvre de Cheverus, father of the cardinal, the judicial power, under the title of judge general and lieutenant of police of the city and dutchy of Mayenne. The mother of the cardinal, Anne Lemarchand des Noyers, was one of those rare women who thoroughly understood the education of children. She had no confidence in the employment of a particular system; the best, in her opinion, being the simplest and most Christian. Sedulous in inspiring her offspring by example as well as by precept with the fear of God, the habit of prayer, the love of their neighbours, the practice of charity, and the admiration of all that is good, and generous, and virtuous, she equally well knew how to make herself feared and beloved. She never indulged in those severe reprimands which sour the disposition instead of correcting it; still less in those corporeal chastisements which compel outward obedience without changing the heart. What was well worthy of a Christian mother, she had taught her children to dread as the greatest of punishments, an exclusion from the family prayers, which, according to the patriarchal custom, were said every evening — the culprit being condemned to pray alone, as unworthy of uniting in the prayer of the family; and this fear preserved them all in the path of duty. M. de Cheverus, the father, joined his paternal care to the solicitude of his virtuous spouse, and like her, contributed by word and deed to the right education of their children.

So much affection was not thrown away. Without speaking of the admirable and eminent virtues which were its fruit,* the gratitude and love of their offspring were a delightful recompense to the parents. The remembrance of so good a mother in particular, remained fresh in the hearts of her excellent children as that of virtue itself. To the latest years of his life the cardinal spoke of her with veneration and tenderness; and when from the pulpit he

* Two sisters of the cardinal, Madame George and Madame Le Jarriel, who died before him, left memories that will be long precious in the sight of men, and will be ever so in that of God, from the perfect holiness of their lives.

explained the duties of mothers towards their children, it was the example and the conduct of his own mother that he loved to cite. Whenever pronouncing the panegyric of St. Louis, he related the exemplary education which Queen Blanche gave to her son, and repeated those beautiful words she was in the habit of saying to him, " My son, God is my witness how much I love you; but rather would I see you dead before me than that you should commit a single mortal sin:" — he would bless heaven for having bestowed upon him a similar mother; his filial heart would overflow with tenderness and gratitude, and one was involuntarily prompted to exclaim, Happy the mother, whose name is so cherished by such a son! Well, also, might one have cried, Happy the son, whose first steps in life were directed by such a mother !

Attentive to his lessons, the young de Cheverus exhibited from his earliest years that sweetness of temper and amenity of character by which he was subsequently distinguished. At the same period he was remarked for that abstinence from all frivolity, that love of study, that devotion to his duties, that penetration of mind and all those happy qualities which seemed to presage what he was to become in the church. His mother, who knew that the innocence of a child is like a tender flower, which too soon transplanted into a strange soil withers and dies, wished to keep him under her own eyes during his primary studies, and in consequence, it was decided that he should remain under the paternal roof, and go every day to the college of the city for instruction in the elements of knowledge. The young student devoted himself with ardor to his books, and this application, joined to his natural quickness, obtained for him from the outset the most brilliant success. Amongst his companions, he encountered but one rival, the young De Chapedelaine, who often disputed the first place with him, and was oftener vanquished, because, though equally gifted, he was less industrious. This superiority did not render him vain. Modest and unpretending, he was the friend of all, as well as an excellent companion, fond of playing with every one and at every thing. On beholding him during the moments of recreation, one would have taken him for the merriest lad at school, in the same way as in the hour of study he would have been considered the most assiduous.

At the age of eleven he was judged worthy to make his first communion, for which his parents had long been preparing him, impressing it upon his mind as the height of happiness, the end of all his efforts, the most powerful motive of doing all things well. Accordingly, the reception of the sacrament produced the deepest impression upon his soul. Influenced by the love of God, he rerjounced all the hopes of the world; all his inclinations were directed towards a life of charity and of prayer; all his desire was for the ecclesiastical state. He opened his heart to his mother, from whom he concealed nothing, and she joyfully encouraged his holy dispositions. The following year, he received the tonsure at Mayenne, in the Church of Calvary, from the hands of Monseigneur de Herce, Bishop of Dol, together with the friend of his childhood and the rival of his studies, young De Chapedelaine, who promised to be one day an honor and a glory to the priesthood, but whom death a few years afterwards snatched from the church, whilst he was finishing his theological studies' in the Seminary of Saint Sulpice at Paris.

The new ecclesiastic did honor to the habit with which he had been invested. Old inhabitants of Mayenne still remember with what devotion he assisted at the offices of the church, with what propriety and exactness he went through all the ceremonies confided to him. His piety, far from injuring his studies, only accelerated their progress, by inspiring his soul with greater ardor to do well, and giving his mind more consistency and strength for seizing and mastering the mysteries of knowledge. Monseigneur de Gonsans, Bishop of Mans, having visited Mayenne about this time, the young Abbe was presented to him by his father. The Bishop examined him with care and interest, and was so delighted with his piety, amiability, frankness, and talents, that he offered his father for him one of the scholarships of the college of Louis le Grand at Paris, of which the diocese of Mans had the disposal. M. de Cheverus, who was anxious that his son should pursue studies of a severer character than those of the College at Mayenne, and more adapted to his distinguished faculties, accepted the offer with gratitude, and promised to send him to Paris at the opening of the next session.

A short time afterwards Mayenne was visited by the famous advocate Gerbier, a member of the Council of Monsieur, subsequently Louis XVIII., who, struck with the character of the young Abbe, and eager to please a family so respectable and so worthy of the favor of its princes, promised M. de Cheverus to obtain for his son one of the benefices in the nomination of his royal highness. He kept his word, and the young Abbe was named by the Prince Prior of Torbechet, with the title of his almoner extraordinary. This priory, situated at some leagues from Mayenne, was of small importance, and not worth more than 800 livres of revenue ; nevertheless it gave rise to a suit which was protracted for several years. The Abbe, then, as always, a friend of peace, and opposed to every species of contention, suffered much from this difference, and wished to arrange it in any way; but his lawyer feeling confident of success, warmly resisted all idea of a compromise, and triumphed beforehand in the honor of victory. Wearied, however, with the delay, the young Prior deprived him of that pleasure, by a voluntary sacrifice of his rights at the moment almost when the affair seemed on the point of termination. To an inquiry why he had not prosecuted a cause which he was so sure of gaining, he made this beautiful answer — " Because, in winning it, I should have ruined the adverse party. " This reply was far from satisfying his lawyer, who was so much incensed at his proceeding that he scarcely forgot it after the lapse of forty years. The Cardinal used to relate with great glee the fresh reproaches which the old advocate bestowed upon him at his return from America to his native land.

However insignificant was the priory of Torbechet, it was sufficient for the moderation of the Abbe's desires, as well as for his support during the whole period of his studies; and he was ever faithful in the performance of the particular obligation attached to it, which consisted in reciting every day the office of the Blessed Virgin — a duty that he regarded as a sort of preparation for the grand ministry of public prayer, with which he was one day to be entrusted.

He finished his studies in the month of August, 1781, and as usual carried off a number of prizes. After some weeks of repose and recreation, his father set out with him for Paris to place him at the College of Louis le Grand, a theatre more worthy of his talents. They passed through Mans, where he was again presented to its bishop, who saw him with renewed pleasure, conceived a still stronger interest for him and still more gratifying hopes for the church, repeated the promise he had made him many months before of a scholarship, and added that of going to see him at the college whenever his affairs called him to Paris. On reaching that city, one of the first steps of M. de Cheverus was to thank the advocate Gerbier, who had procured for his son the priory of Torbechet; and who now presented the Abbe to Monsieur as his almoner extraordinary. This dignity in the person of a child of thirteen years, who from his size did not appear more than ten, seemed to amuse the prince a good deal; but the lively and intelligent looks of the boy, joined to his frankness and sweetness of manner, pleased him more, and he dismissed him with various testimonials of interest.

Having entered the College of Louis le Grand, the Abbe de Cheverus was from the outset subjected to the most difficult trial that can be encountered by a young man who for the first time has left the paternal mansion. This college, once the school of so many virtues and the resort of so much talent, was no longer what it had been. Its directors, imbued with all the new ideas which were a few years afterwards to heap upon France such a load of crime.

20 life or

and misery, and ruin, wished to make the youthful collegians participate in that wide liberty of thought, of speech, and of action which was every where rife; and in consequence they suppressed the rule of silence, and cut off many exercises of piety as useless in the education of men of the world, however good for the formation of monks. These innovations were not long in producing their fruits, and the reformers were thus speedily enabled to enjoy the result of their works. Without the restraint of silence, the students soon became heedless and idle; from inattention they easily passed to more serious irregularities, and the exercises of piety no longer recurring at stated moments of the day to call back the wandering heart to duty, the college ceased to be that well ordered institution which had furnished so many good citizens to the state, and so many good Christians to the church.

In this delicate position young de Cheverus succeeded in guarding against the contagion of example, and remaining what he had always been before, and what he always continued to be — pious, modest, regular, studious — zealous, in a word, in the performance of all his duties. He approached the communion table every week, was ever devout in his prayers, and preserved in all religious exercises a deportment at once modest without constraint, and serious without affectation, which was strongly contrasted with the levity and distraction of his companions; but this conduct was accompanied with so much amenity and kindness towards them, with such distinguished talent and success, that he extorted the esteem, the friendship, the admiration of all. As amiable and indulgent towards others as he was severe to himself, he won all hearts, and made every one his friend. His innocence and candor were especially striking. The purity of his morals were such that he had scarcely a suspicion of evil, and could not comprehend the cause of the strict watch which was practised in the dormitories during the night.

Nevertheless this virtuous young man felt that in the new position in which he was placed, he had need of a safe and enlightened guide to whom he could unreservedly open his heart, and from whom he might receive the lessons which would supply his want of experience, the counsels which would sustain his weakness, the encouragements which would enliven his zeal. Accordingly he made choice of the Abbe Auge, (still director of the Stanislaus College at Paris,) in whose wisdom, example, and affectionate piety, he found all that he sought. To the benefits of a sage director he resolved to join the assistance of a virtuous friend, by whose course and example he might be upheld in the slippery path in which he was to walk, and he turned his eyes upon a young student whom every one already admired and loved, the Abbe Legris Duval, whose name recals so much sweetness and devotion, and who was, subsequently, during a long series of years, in the heart of the capital, the very soul as it were, of every good work. At the first interview these two excellent persons understood, esteemed, and loved one another.* Two

* In 1824, M. de Cheverus when preaching at Paris, in behalf of the missions of France, in the institution of which the Abbe Legris-Duval was one of the founders, thus alluded to his ancient relations with his excellent friend : " He honoured me with all his friendship, and deigned in his youth to associate me with him in his labours of zeal and of piety. Sainted friend, could I be your natures so similar were soon linked in the strongest bonds of a friendship, which, however, had nothing exclusive in its character, founded as it was, upon virtue, or rather formed by virtue itself. Whilst loving one another for their mutual encouragement, they endeavoured to secure the regard of their fellow students; and as if to prove to them how amiable is true virtue, how ingenious in causing the happiness of all around her, they engaged in all their games and modes of amusement, and were often even the soul of them;* so that there was no one in the college who was not attached to them, and with a friendship so strong and so genuine, that every occasion of giving proofs of it was always, after the lapse even of many years, seized upon with eagerness. When in 1793, at the height of the revolutionary tempest, the Abbe Legris Duval asked of the sanguinary judges of all that was good and virtuous, permission to offer his ministry to Louis XVI., at the time under sentence of death, he was enabled to escape the consequences of his temerity, which would have been fatal to another, because the judges were old pupils of Louis le Grand, and could not divest themselves of the attachment and veneration which

echo at this moment, all hearts would be touched, and your work would be perpetuated."

* Cardinal de Cheverus was fond of relating, even in the last years of his life, how he had contributed with his friend to the amusements of the college. Amongst other anecdotes he used to tell the following :— Upon Ash-Wednesday of one year, the Abbe Legris pronounced a funeral discourse upon the carnival, taking for his text the line of Horace, " Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit: He is dead, and lamented by many good men." A wag turning towards one of his comrades who was renowned for his appetite, immediately added the continuation of the passage : " Nulli Jlebilior quam tibi: By none more lamented than by thee."

his virtues had inspired; and when in 1823, M. de Cheverus returned to France, he was welcomed with transport by his old college companions, who pressed around him to testify their affection, so deep was the feeling he had engraven upon their hearts.

Attractive as the Abbe de Cheverus rendered virtue by his amiable deportment, he did equal honour to her by the talents of which each of his classes, so to speak, revealed the evidence. Gifted with a prodigious memory, he was always perfect in his lessons, forgetting nothing that he had learnt. An acuteness of intellect not less remarkable enabled him to seize the point of a difficulty, unravel the true sense of an obscure passage, and find the right thought and the proper word to express it; whilst an exquisite delicacy of taste taught him to appreciate literary beauties, to transfer them when required to his own compositions, and fix them permanently in his recollection. These qualities, seconded by unflagging application, secured for him the highest places in his classes, and at the end of each year the most honorable rewards. The Principal of the College deemed himself happy in having such a pupil, openly declared that he was the best scholar in the establishment, and thought no one worthy of comparison with him except the Abbe Legris Duval, who was perhaps his equal in talent as well as in virtue. This was the testimony he uniformly rendered to all who spoke to him concerning the Abbe de Cheverus, and particularly to the Bishop of Mans, when, faithful to his promise, that dignitary came to see the young collegian. Delighted with this eulogium, the good Bishop carried it to Mans, and expressed to those about him, of whom several are still living, his gratification and his hopes. "My little Abbe de Cheverus," he was wont to say, " will one day be the first subject of my diocese."

Thus passed all the period of study which the Abbe spent at the College of Louis le Grand — unvaried in virtue and literary success, except that every year he seemed to give increased satisfaction to his masters. Having reached the class of philosophy, he distinguished himself in it no less than in belles lettres, and exhibited a solidity of judgment equal to the graces of his intellect. When the Professor was prevented by other occupations or by sickness from giving his lessons, it was young de Cheverus who supplied his place, and acquitted himself so well that the pupil seemed little inferior to the master.