Vol. 51/ 4 (1988)

BOOK REVIEWS John Ireland and the American Catholic Church. villains," O'Connell opts for a ""more plausible" hypothesis; By Marvin R. O'Connell. ""That the Italian curialists had no real understanding of the (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1988. American scene and that consequently they arrived at their 610 p. $34.95.) decisions through ignorance or prejudice." John Ireland was well endowed by nature with great en IN THE FOLKLORE of Minnesota the name of John Ire ergy, a quick mind, courage, driving ambition, and supreme land, first archbishop of St. Paul, has been warmly admired self-confidence. His acquired skills gave him fluency in three by ardent de\'otees and scorned with equal passion by critics languages (English, French, Italian), the habit of command, who found ""The Patriarch of the West" a fundamentally and extravagant trust in his own ability to "bet on the come" flawed leader. Father Marvin O'Connell's new life of Ireland as his natural enthusiasm and optimism led him into ventures does a masterful job of balancing and documenting with of church and state involving ever higher stakes and greater specificity the abundant reasons for these contradictory views risks. of the Irish immigrant who became a principal voice in the On the downside, his genuine admiration for all things American Catholic church and then saw his burning hope for Catholic led him to undervalue, not to say denigrate, all the red hat of a cardinal fade away as his various critics, one things Protestant. His supreme confidence in the future ex by one, joined forces to oppose him in his declining years. pansion of the American economy led him to speculate un Ireland is fortunate in having a biographer of the caliber of wisely in real estate and, in the Panic of 1893, forced him to O'Connell, a meticulous historian who digs deeply and lets plead ignominiously for financial help from James J Hill. his sources speak for themselves. He does so in a lean and His urgent and frequent pleas to the Empire Budder led Hill's felicitous prose that is all too rare among scholars who write. close associates to adopt a curious code name for Ireland— O'Connell, like Ireland, has a deep love for the Catholic ""Asperity Ipswich.'' church and for the sacred priesthood. These admirable quali The three causes that drove John Ireland throughout his ties illuminate his text, even when he is describing the hu adult life were his advocacy of total abstinence from alcohol, man, weak, spiteful, or self-serving machinations of small- his conviction that German Catholics in this country were minded ecclesiastics in the Vatican or in the United States. not becoming Americanized fast enough, and his belief that Born in Ireland in 1838, John Ireland migrated to America the role of religious orders in the Catholic church ought to be with his family in 1849 and to the frontier village of St. Paul controlled more strictly by local bishops. in 1852. A year later Bishop Joseph Cretin sent him off to Ireland's myopic view of German Catholics was probably France to study for the priesthood at the petit seminaire in his greatest single administrative error. Like most English- Meximieux where Cretin himself had prepared for ordina speaking emigrants from Ireland, he had an inordinate admi tion. Ordained in St. Paul in 1861, consecrated a bishop in ration for the United States and simply could not compre 1875 (at age 37), and named archbishop of St. Paul in 1888 hend the legitimate desire of German emigres to continue in (at age 50), Ireland quickly acquired an international reputa their devotion to their native language and culture. tion as an eloquent advocate for his favorite thesis: that the In this book O'Connell has deliberately chosen to examine American republic and the Catholic church are complemen the public life of John Ireland, whose episcopal career was tary institutions, which, working together, offer to the world ""played out to a large extent in the corridors of the Vatican." "the brightest hopes [for] the [future of the] human race." Relatively little is said here about Ireland's relations with his In time, Ireland's unabashed and frequently repeated own priests and people, his administration of his own dio praise for the freedom of America provoked the Vatican to cese, or his private spirituality. Fair enough. We can hope warn him that he was flirting with the (never defined) heresy that Father O'Connell might do another book on the private of "Americanism." Summoned to Rome to be interrogated persona of John Ireland. But, that is a separate topic. about his "Americanist" views, Ireland was actually asked by Two tragic flaws in the character of this gifted bishop were one impudent Roman inquisitor whether he believed in the his lack of prudent judgment and his ""glaring weakness for divinity of Jesus Christ. Rejecting the temptation ""to judge notoriety and headlines." (By 1910 he was subscribing to a John Ireland's controversial career in terms of heroes and clipping service.) Over a span of two decades, his headstrong Winter 1988 157 style and lack of diplomacy progressively alienated several Jaques and Grace Lee Nute. These were the lyrical and picto powerful members of the American hierarchy (who, argua rial; the Arrowhead guide was the factual handbook. Carroll bly, could have been his allies), successively lost him the also draws an evolutionary line to later works extolling the friendship of Presidents William McKinley, Theodore resources of the north country and points out some changes Roosevelt, and William H. Taft, and injured beyond repair since 1941: the boom and decline of iron mining, the develop the personal trust Pope Leo XIII had shown him early on. ment of state and national parks and the Boundary Waters In his final, and very lonely, years Ireland must have Canoe Area (BWCA), and the new economic dependence drawn considerable consolation from the growth and the upon tourism. vigor of Catholic life in his own diocese. The College of St. The guide is arranged into five major parts. The first of Thomas (""the apple of his eye"), the St. Paul Seminary (a gift these, ""The General Background," includes a broad historical from James J. HiU), the splendid Cathedral of St. Paul, and sketch of the region. Beginning with geological formation, the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis are enduring monu the history outlines subsequent human occupation and use of ments to his Christian faith, his ardent hope, his abundant the area's resources, such as the fur trade, lumbering, and energ\', and his great vision. His memory is well served by one iron mining. Commercial fishing is described as a productive of his own diocesan priests whose even-handed biography industry along the north shore, a sad reminder now of fish goes a long way to set the record straight on the facts about abundance before the onslaught of the sea lamprey in the the public life of the first Archbishop of St. Paul. 1940s and 1950s. For church watchers and John Ireland devotees like this Part II is a portrayal of the Chippewa and Superior na reviewer, this book is a fascinating and richly rewarding tional forests. Detailed descriptions of forest campgrounds study. But it is also a troubling story that will leave many are included, now somewhat out of date. Fifteen canoe readers saddened. I once publicly defended the proposition routes are carefully described, including access by airplane, that John Ireland was the greatest churchman the Catholic largely through what is now the BWCA. (Caution: air travel church had ever produced in this country—greater even than into the boundary waters is now not allowed, and entry per James Cardinal Gibbons. I can no longer defend that propo mits are required.) sition. God rest him now. Ireland was indeed one of the ""Gi "Cities, Towns and Villages" is the largest of the five sec ants in the earth," but also in many ways (in words from tions. From Aitkin to Walker, Part III describes 47 communi another context) ""a self-made man who revealed the defects ties, their population, name derivation, industry, schools, of his creator." etc. The tone is boosterish, but the detaded information is profuse. Reviewed by JAMES P. SHANNON, recently retired executive Part IV consists of four suggested circle tours by auto, tours director oj the General Mills Foundation and author oj Cath that are still possible today, although objectives may be dif olic Colonization on the Western Frontier (1957). ferent—for example, tours to see iron mines. Much historical information is given along the way. Part V comprises appendixes with tables of industrial, ag ricultural, and shipping data of 1940 vintage; a glossary of terms; a well-researched chronology that begins with Etienne The WPA Guide to the Minnesota Arrowhead Country Brule's supposed visit to Lake Superior in 1623; a bibliogra Compiled by Workers of the Writers' Program of phy (113 entries); and a good index. the Work Projects Administration. Introduction by Because of its age, this book will not serve today as a com Francis M. Carroll. plete guide. Missing are the many excellent Minnesota state (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1988. parks along the north shore; Voyageurs National Park; the 235 p. Paper, $9.95.) BWCA; Grand Portage National Monument; summer hiking and winter trails. Sport tishing, a mainstay of the tourist THIS BOREALIS book is a reprint edition of the original industry today, is mentioned almost not at all. published in 1941, a product of the 1930s depression and the A valuable addition in this reprint is a new bibliography.

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