Archbishop Lynch.

VII. Archbishop Lynch.

Not the least of Lucan’s glories is that here the future Archbishop of Toronto said his first prayers, learned his first lessons, received his first aspirations to his exalted calling. His father was the village schoolmaster. Many Lucanites still recall with pride how young Lynch catechised them, taught them spelling and reading, and, above all, was, in religious duty, their model and pattern. The “old schoolhouse,” as it is now called, is perfectly preserved, but divided into three neat tenement cottages. The small window of his bedroom, looking out on the Adamstown-road, is reverently pointed out, and with pardonable pride it is often said: “There is the bedroom of Archbishop Lynch.”

John Joseph Lynch was born on the 6th February, 1816, near Clones, Co. Monaghan. He was brought to Lucan on the appointment of his father to the district school. During his younger years he was remarkable for his spirit of prayer. Often, in the beautiful shrubbery, the little boy, rosary in hand, was seen kneeling in the dawn of morning. His sister assured the writer that she had frequently to rouse him from his absorption in deep contemplation. In his 19th year he entered Castleknock College; in his 21st he was a postulant in the College of St. Lazare, Paris, where, after his theological course, he finished his novitiate. On his return to Castleknock he continued his studies till June, 1843, when he was ordained priest by Dr. Murray, Archbishop of Dublin, in Maynooth College.”

For three years Father Lynch, as a Lazarist, made his name as a fervid and eloquent preacher. In 1846 one of his auditors was Bishop Odin, the Vicar-Apostolic of Texas. Father Lynch was then preaching in Blackrock, County Dublin. So impressed was this dignitary with the true* *missionary spirit that permeated every idea, word, and action of the preacher that, at the close of the sermon, he said to Father Lynch “Come with me to Texas.” It was the “Veni sequere Me” of the Master. The disciple obeyed.

On the 29th of June this year he arrived, in company with Father Fitzgerald, at New Orleans, La. Bishop Odin received him in Galveston, and appointed him to Houston, Texas. Here he was in his element. The field was wide, but not wider than his boundless enthusiasm and zeal for souls. Hundreds of miles over that vast area he travelled on horseback. At night his roof was the canopy of heaven, his only pillow his saddle-bags. Cold, hunger, rain that mercilessly deluged him, without a sound save the artillery of heaven, or the barking of coyotes, or the howling of wolves, this truly apostolic son of the Lucan schoolmaster sought the souls of men in the lonely forests and savannahs, as well as in the busy towns and cities. Whether in hotels, courthouses, private dwellings, or in the open air, it was all the same to him. The Governor of Austen assigned him the legislative portion of the Capitol, and even promised to build a church, if he would undertake the tuition of his sons. The whole population, of every creed, poured out to hear him, and seemed spellbound by his thrilling eloquence. And having “fought the good fight,” “finished his course,” having penetrated to the North as far as the Indian Territory, and every spot between the Brazos, Trinity, and Colorado rivers, he went back to Houston. Here he became dangerously ill. He went to New Orleans in a convalescent state. Here the wounded and sick soldiers of the Mexican War were under hospital treatment. From bed to bed was seen, day after day, night after night, this self-forgetful priest pouring the oil of spiritual love on the wounds of suffering members of Christ’s Mystical Body. Worn and played out in body, he was transferred to the College of St. Mary of the Barrens, in Perry County, Missouri, where the activity and vigour of his powerful mind had full scope. This was in March, 1848. For seven years, as president, he laboured with signal success* *in the cause of education. In 1849 he went to Paris and Rome, and on his return flung himself with fresh energy into his collegiate duties. At the invitation of Bishop Timon he founded a seminary in the Diocese of Buffalo, which was temporarily opened on the 21st November, 1856. It was a fruitful vineyard of the Lord, for from its halls went forth, in 20 years, 300 priests to help in the propagation of the faith among the American people.

The saintly Bishop of Toronto, de Charbonnel, weighed down with the onerous duties of his episcopal office, and wishing to end his days in the Capuchin Monastery in Lyons, was eagerly looking out for one to whom he could with satisfaction confide the ministrations of his diocese, fixed his attention on Father Lynch, the fame of whose zeal, sanctity, and energy he learned But he wished to know from himself the worth of the man. At his invitation Father Lynch, in the year 1858, conducted, firstly, a retreat, secondly, a mission in the city. So superabundant were the blessings that resulted from the retreat and the mission, so convinced was he that in Father Lynch “Digitus Dei est hic,” that he made up his mind at once. Soon after his return to the seminary, in the September of the following year, Father Lynch, to his great bewilderment, received the Papal Bulls appointing him Bishop of Echenias, with the right of succession to the See of Toronto. On the 20th November, 1859, he was consecrated in the Cathedral of Toronto. In April, 1860, Bishop de Charbonnel resigned, and *ipso facto *Dr. Lynch became Bishop of Toronto.

Bishop Lynch visited Rome and Ireland in 1862 and 1869. He was present, in the former year, at the canonization of the Japanese martyrs. He also visited Lucan, and with Archbishop Hughes was present at a national meeting in the Rotunda. In the latter year he was present in the Vatican Council, in which he delivered forcible arguments in favour of the dogma of the Infallibility of the Pope. There he met five of his Castleknock school-fellows, all bishops - Dr. M’Cabe, of Ardagh; Dr. Fennelly, Vicar-Apostolic of Madras; Dr. Grimley, Cape of Good Hope; Dr. Moran, of Dunedin; and Dr. Feehan, of Nashville, Tenn. Here, too, his diocese was made a metropolitan see, and he became the first Archbishop of Toronto.

In 1879 he again visited Ireland and Rome. Great was the joy of the old inhabitants of Lucan. His Grace held a reception in the Parochial House, and warmly conversed with his old friends, poor and rich alike. He strenuously pleaded the cause of Home Rule with the Lord Lieutenant and Sir Stafford Northcote. While passing through London, Sir A. T. Galt invited him to a Court Levee. His strong democratic nature prompted him to refuse; but, after a consultation with Cardinal Manning, he accepted the invitation, in the hope of promoting the interests of the Catholic religion. He had the unique distinction of being the first Catholic bishop at an English Court since the reign of James II. On this occasion he was presented to the Prince of Wales, now Edward VII., King of England.

For the remainder of his episcopate he worked “in season and out of season.” Schools, colleges, institutions embracing every form of charity, churches, sprang up around him in every direction. He died on the 12th May, 1888, at the age of seventy-two, and in the 45th year of his sacred ministry.

In the old Cemetery of Lucan, erected in the centre, is a large Celtic cross, on which is the following inscription

Of Your Charity Pray for the Souls

Of JAMES and ANNE LYNCH.

And for the soul of their Son,

Rev. JAMES LYNCH, C.C.,

Arklow.

O Jesus, have mercy on them.

O Mary Immaculate, pray for them.

This monument was erected to their memory

as a tribute of filial and fraternal affection

by Most

Revd. John JOSEPH LYNCH, Bishop of Toronto, Canada.

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.”

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