2019-03 GRHS Grand River Times 40-06

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Volume 40, number 6

March 2019

Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society Inside this issue: Cover Story: March program Letter from our President page 2

Faith of the Fathers—The Courage, Humor, and Dedication of Catholic Civil War Chaplains PRESENTED BY: Rev. Robert J. Miller

Women’s History Month Events page 4

Thursday, March 14, 2019, 7:00 p.m. at the Grand Rapids Public Library

Meet the Trustees page 5 Happening in History page 6 Photo Sleuth page 7

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Grand Rapids Historical Society

Next program: After the March program, the Grand Rapids Historical Society’s next program will be on Thursday, April 11, 2019, at the Grand Rapids Public Library. Fred Davison will be speaking about: From Pig Farm to Thriving Neighborhood.

There was nothing boring or “usual” about the 100+ Catholic priest-chaplains of the Civil War. These priests & bishops were a unique group of “priest pioneers”: adventuresome, courageous, outspoken Catholic apologists working in “foreign land”. This article (and presentation to come) will focus the role of Catholic chaplains in the Civil War - their numbers and impact, as well as some stories of truly colorful “characters” among them! By 1865, over seventy “official” Catholic chaplains had served in both armies (15 were more or less “full-time”), with hundreds of others playing part-time or “unofficial” roles to assist soldiers in the practice of their faith. Among them were Jesuits from New York & Southern missions, Holy Cross priests from Notre Dame, Redemptorists from New Orleans, and secular priests from a score of dioceses. Some priests (like the St. Louis priest John Bannon, 1st MO CSA Infantry), never even sought formal permission from his bishop to be a chaplain - knowing he’d never receive it. Other attempted to balance parish responsibilities with “informal” chaplain duties—Oscar Sears (CSA) in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Innocent Bergrath (CSA) in Eastern Tennessee are examples. But even being an ante-bellum Catholic, and serving as chaplain in the first place, was not an easy task. First, the mid-19th century was a time of booming immigration, particularly Irish - the great majority of whom were Catholic. Understaffed even in peacetime, already stressed with divergent ethnic needs, it was difficult for the American Catholic Church to spare priests for chaplaincy. Continued on page 3

Grand River Times

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