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Rt. Rev. John Baptist Brondel

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1904
8TATB PUBLISHING COMPANY
Printers, Statiouen, Binders,
HBLENA, MONTiiHX.

NOTE.
This little volume is dedicated to the memory of our
dead Bishop. On December 20 of last year, there was held,
in St. Aloysius' Hall, a memorial meeting of the mem
bers of the Cathedral parish in token of the people's af
fection for their deceased Pastor. At that meeting it was
resolved that the eulogies there spoken should be pre
served, and these are contained in the following pages.
In addition there are herein reproduced a biographical
sketch, an account of the obsequies, tributes from the
public press, resolutions of Catholic societies, sentiments of
the clergy and of religious communities, and other kind
expressions of respect and appreciation which came from
various sources on the mournful occasion of the decease
of the distinguished prelate.
Besides being expressive of the existing grief of the dio
cese for the great loss of its pioneer Bishop, these pages
may be of use to the future historian who will essay to
write an adequate history of the life and the life-work of
John B. Brondel, first Bishop of Helena.

H Btograpbical Slietcb
John Baptist Brondel was born sixty-two years ago in
Bruges the quaint old Flemish city of which Longfellow
sang. The date of his birth was February 23, 1842, and his
parents were Charles Joseph and Isabella Becquet Brondel.
His father, who followed the business of chair-manufacturer
in his native Bruges, died in 1868; his mother died in 1875.
Both father and mother possessed the same intensely re
ligious nature which was so characteristic of their son. Of
seven children, five of whom were boys, John Baptist was
the sixth child and the fifth boy.
HIS STUDENT DAYS.
He received his primary instruction at the institute of
the Xaverian Brothers which had been recently established
in his native city. At the age of ten he entered the col
lege of St. Louis in the same city where he devoted ten
years to the prosecution of his classical course. Already
when a child it had been his desire to become a missionary
to the Indians. An older brother, on his return one day
from the college, brought with him a book containing
the letters of Eev. Father De Smet, the pioneer of mis
sionaries to the Northwest. These letters, which were
read by the paternal fireside, aroused all the religious en
thusiasm of the young lad, and fired his soul with a holy
zeal for the conversion of the Indians. Accordingly upon
graduating from St. Louis College he announced his de
cision to pass to the American College of Lou vain to
prepare himself for the missions of the Northwest. It was
in his twentieth year, viz., in the fall of 1861, that John
Baptist Brondel entered the American College of Louvain,
which was just then opening its fifth scholastic term.
There are still preserved in the archives of the American

6 A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
College two letters written by the Superior of the St. Louis
CoUege to Father De Neve, Eector of the American Col
lege, which heralded the coming of young Brondel.
These letters are from the first line to the last in com
mendation of the youthful missionary candidate whom his
late superior took pleasure in introducing to his future
one. One of the letters ended with the words: "J'aime a
croire, Monsieur le Superieur, que vous trouverez en mon
sieur Brondel une riche matiere pour en faire un fervent
apotre." The good superior mistook not the worth of his
pupil; and the hope of seeing him become a real apostle
failed not of realization, as thirty-eight years of mission
ary zeal in the Far West, first as a priest and then as
'Bishop, amply testify. To Father De Neve, who was a
prince in the art of judging men, the warmly recommended
Brugeite became a pupil of predilection. Three years
after his entrance, Dec. 17, 1864, he was allowed to go up
for ordination; but he remained two years longer in the
institution, in order to fit himself more perfectly for the
apostolic career that formed the goal of his youthful as
pirations. For the advantages he secured through this
longer stay, he ever showed himself duly thankful to his
beloved rector; for in a letter he penned from America,
after several years of active ministry, he wrote: "The
longer I am on the mission, the more thankful I feel to
you for the innumerable favors you conferred on me.
Among these favors, I would cite the one of five years'
seminary, and that of your insistence of my learning the
English language." AS A PRIEST.
The month of September, 1866, saw Father Brondel's
departure for the far-away diocese of Nesqually, to which
he had been admitted by the Rt. Rev. Bishop A. M. A.
Blanchet. After a long and tedious journey, by way of
England and the Isthmus of Panama, he landed at Fort
Vancouver, his bishop's residence, on All Hallow's Eve.
Here he spent the next ten months in the double capacity
of teacher at the Holy Angels' College and of assistant
at the Cathedral. As he had gone to the West with the

A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 7
cherished hope of being chosen by his superior to work
among the Indian tribes who at that time still lorded it
over the greater part of that section of the American com
monwealth, he improved his every opportunity at Fort
Vancouver to master the Chinook tongue — a jargon of
Indian dialects, French, and English, understood by all the
Indians of the Pacific Coast. When accordingly, agree
able to his desires, he was named, on the feast of St.
Augustine, 1867, for the mission of Steilacoom, on the
Puget Sound, he was equipped all around for the task that
awaited him there with the Indians of three neighboring
reservations, and with the white farmers and the lumber-
mill hands who were quietly but surely invading the coun
try. That worldly prospects in the sphere allotted to him
were not of the brightest may be gathered from the fol
lowing description of it sent to Father De Neve in 1868:
"Ten miles north of Steilacoom, at the mouth of the
Puyallup, and ten miles to the south, on the banks of the
Nesqually, are the Indian reserves bearing these names.
There are scattered about, throughout the coimtry, sixty
families of white farmers. Twenty of these — ^the nearest
living five miles from my residence — are Catholics. By
dint of hard labor they eke out a poor but honest living.
At Steilacoom itself but three families, of the forty mak
ing up the population, are of the Faith. A mile and a
half from the town I have a few church members among
the soldiers of the United States Fort established there.
My church looms up in the middle of the woods. Con
nected with it there is no presbytery; but I rejoice in hav
ing a convent near by. Its community of three Sisters
takes care of a few orphans and teaches the children of
the town and of the surrounding country. On the first
Sunday following my arrival, after three ringings of the
church-bell, I celebrated Mass for a congregation — fUling
one half of the seats — of fifty people. Accustomed as I
had been to seeing crowded churches, I said to myself:
'Was it worth my while to leave all that was dearest to
me on earth, to bury myself in these solitudes, to expose
myself to all sorts of dangers, for the sake of a handful
of God's adorers who call for my ministrations?' When

8 A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
later on, I was brought face to face, not only with the in-
diEEerence of many, but also with the scorn and hatred
of not a few; when I came to apprehend the want of even
the necessaries of life, I mused: 'What good is there in
staying here, since, with the exception of three Sisters and
a few children under their care, scarcely any one ap
proaches the Sacraments?' But I immediately answered
my own question: 'I will do my work here, as God wills
it; and, if it pleases Him, He will not fail to give the in-
crementum. Every day I will ofier up the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass. And what can there be more agreeable to
the Heavenly Father than that daily oblation of Heaven's
own Victim? I will recite my office; so that one voice at
least, on this remote corner of the globe, will join in the
never ceasing concert of the Universal Church. Then
there are these good Religious and their innocent charges!
Their example, their prayers, their sacrifices, must bring
forth fruit in God's own good time. And, after aU, there
are a few who attend the services — some even riding a dis
tance of seventeen miles to do so. At least they and their
children will be kept within the true fold. They will be
just that many souls gained for Heaven. My conclusion,
¦therefore, was soon reached, and my resolution taken:
'Here it is that I must work, oportet esse operarium; I
will do what I can, and then I shall have the satisfaction
of knowing that God at least is pleased with my efforts and
good will. In Him I will put my trust, and as He feeds
the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field, He
tvill not forsake His missionary. I will bear wrongs pa
tiently; I will take insults for praise; and, like the hus
bandman, I will sow, though it be without immediate pros
pect of reaping.' "
The zealous missionary, considering the inestimable
price the Son of God paid for the ransom of immortal souls,
thought himself well repaid for his long rides, by day and
by night, through burning forests, across swollen mountain
streams, over banks of quicksand; for the hours spent in
teaching a few children the rudiments of the faith, or in
preparing to preach God's word to his scant congregation;
for the long days of loneliness, of separation from his own

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John Baptist Brondel
At the age of 19
1861
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 9
dear people at home, of privation from the companionship
of those of his kind; yes, he thought himself well repaid
for all that, because, at the end of three years, he could
report forty-five baptisms of children and three of adults,
one hundred and sixty Easter communions, three marriages,
twenty-eight first Communions, six Christian burials. Yea,
he was duly thankful to God for having given him within
this lapse of three years the means to build a two^himdred-
dollar presbytery, and to pay sixteen dollars monthly for
the meals that were brought him three times a day from
the Convent. In 1870, he wrote to Father De Neve: "In
view of these material and spirtual results, gaudeo in Dom
ino." And, indeed, well could he rejoice; for it is the
servant who is faithful in a few things whom our Lord
praised and to whom He promised a place over many. In
that same year he built, at the cost of $420, the first church
at Olympia, then the capital of the Territory of Wash
ington, as it is now that of the State. Five families formed
the Catholic church membership of the town at the time.
To hold services for these few the good Father had a
twenty-five mile ride to cover on horseback. The year
after, the first Catholic church edifice was erected under
his supervision at Tacoma; and he was subsequently in
strumental in the building of churches for the Puyallup and
Nesqually Indians. BISHOP OP VANCOUVER.
After eleven years of unremitting toil on the Sound,
and one year between these spent in Eastern Wash
ington, at Walla Walla and Frenchtown, the modest
missionary saw himself called to take the place of his
classmate and friend, Bishop Chas. Seghers, as chief pas
tor of the Vancouver Diocese. It was at his friend's own
hands that he received the episcopal consecration, Dec. 14,
1879, in what was to be his episcopal church for the next
three years. His jurisdiction over Vancouver and adjoin
ing islands, as well as over frozen Alaska, entailed mis
sionary journeys even more difficult and dangerous than
those undertaken on the Sound. At least we know that

10 A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Monsignor Brondel often thought it to have been less
risky to wade through the Nesqually on stilts, as he had
frequently done, with portable altar and belongings on
his back, and to cross the turbulent White River or the
Puyallip astride a horse than to confide himself in an open
canoe rowed by Indians to the treacherous waters of the
miscalled Pacific Ocean.
The year after his consecration. Bishop Brondel had the
privilege of dedicating to America's first Saint Alaska's
first Catholic church, built at Fort Wrangle by Father J.
Althoff, the first priest, and for years the only one, in
the Polar country.
In 1882, the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Vancouver Island made
his first visit ad limina, profiting of the opportunity to col
lect, in his native country, pecuniary means, and to enlist
priestly vocations for the missions under his pastoral charge.
iHe took to Rome at the same time the prayer of the
Bishops of the Oregon Province for the erection of Mon
tana into a separate diocese. This first part of the sketch is
reprinted from The American College Bulletin of Louvain.
BISHOP OF HELENA.
On April 21, 1883, the bearer of the request was himself
appointed administrator of Montana, though he stiH re
tained the title of Bishop of Vancouver. Obedient to the
voice of the supreme pastor of souls, he repaired with great
haste to the mountainous country, where he arrived in the
fore summer of the same year.
Upon the field he found the fathers and brothers of the
Society of Jesus, who, since 1841, long before the coming
of the miner and the settler, had cast their lot with the
Indians of the Rocky Mountains. The work of their Chris-
tianization was well in hand, especially among the Plat-
heads. Four secular priests were ministering to the spirit
ual wants of the whites in different parts of the territory.
Their dean, Rev. R. Deryckere of Deer Lodge, a former
schoolmate of the Bishop, had been at his post since 1866.
Two communities of Sisters were already at work; the Sis
ters of the Providence of Montreal, since 1864; the Sis
ters of Charity of Leavenworth, since 1869. The Bishop

A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 11
has since then secured the services of the Ursuline Sisters
in 1884, as also those of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
in 1889, and iuially the Daughters of Jesus — exiles from
France just two months before his death.
After spending a month in visiting the western part of
the then territory, he crossed the main divide of the
Rockies in August. A careful inspection of the country
convinced him of the fitness of Helena to be the see of
the diocese. By bull of March 7, 1884, Leo XIII erected
the vicariate into a diocese with Helena as the episcopal
see. A bull of the same date appointed the subject of our
biographical sketch the first Bishop of the new diocese. The
growth of the diocese during the administration of Bishop
Brondel will be gathered from the following statistics :
1884. 1903.
Diocesan priests  4 38
Regular priests  13 15
Churches  16 65
Hospitals  4 8
Academies  2 7
Parochial schools  2 9
Orphans' home  . . 1
House of Good Shepherd  . . 1
Eeclestiastical students  1 13
Indian schools  2 10
Catholic population  15,000 50,000
At the time of the withdrawal of the government ap
propriations 1,000 school children boarded at the Catholic
Indian schools.
These statistics give but an inadequate idea of the pro
gress of the church in Montana since the bishop's advent.
Besides the erection of numerous new structures, the
buildings prior to 1884 have, in almost every case, been en
larged, remodeled or rebuilt. The work required to bring
about this remarkable growth will appear more strikingly
from a consideration of the extent and nature of the terri
tory. The diocese of Helena is co-extensive with the state of
Montana, which covers an area of 146,080 square miles.

12 A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Generally speaking, it is a sparsely settled country. To
visit its Catholic population, the bishop had to travel not
less than an average of 3,000 miles a year; sometimes, it is
true, in Pullman cars, but more often in primitive stage
coaches over rough and not less primitive and dangerous
mountain roads. Besides the extensive journeyings in his
own diocese, long and arduous trips were undertaken out
side the state for the welfare of his flock. In 1884 he at
tended the third plenary council at Baltimore. Provincial
matters have repeatedly called him to Portland, a distance
of 1,000 miles. The interests of the Indians of his diocese,
which the bishop has always had at heart, induced him
to undertake collecting tours in the East. The proceeds
of the first tour in 1885, amounting to $5,000, enabled him
to establish a mission in the midst of the most warlike
of his children, his beloved Cheyennes.
Speak to the Cheyennes of their Mache Majone Wio —
Great White Man from Above — and they will recount with
gratitude his successful efforts in obtaining from the Great
Father at Washington recognition of their wishes to retain,
as a reservation, their old Tongue river home. Nor do they
forget how in 1885 he enlisted the good services of Govern
or Hauser in obtaining from the government the sum of
$11,000 to rescue them from starvation.
At the request of the bureau of Catholic missions. Bishop
Brondel in 1899 spoke in all of the larger churches in Phi
ladelphia, Boston and New York in behalf of the Catholic
Indian schools of the United States. On this occasion he
collected about $10,000.
In accordance with the prescriptions of Canon law, he
has, since his appointment to Helena, made two visits to
the Holy Father, one in 1889 and the other in 1899. While
in Europe in 1890 he joined the annual Catholic English
pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
The Rt. Rev. Bishop John B. Brondel lived to see a
realization of the words of the Rt. Rev. James O'Connor of
Omaha written in 1879. "The day is not distant when
Montana will become one of the most fruitful and flourish
ing, as well as the most beautiful portions of God's vine
yard."

A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 18
I
But there was one great desire of his life which was not
to be gratified. We reproduce herewith an interview which
appeared in the "Helena Herald" under date of April 12,
1901. 'If you had $100,000 to spend, what would you do with
the money?" Bishop John B. Brondel was asked in the
course of a conversation with a friend to-day.
It didn't take the bishop a moment to answer.
"I'd build a mighty cathedral in place of the church we
now have," he said without a moment's hesitation.
It is the dream of the bishop's life to build a cathedral
worthy of the name on Catholic hill in Helena. For nearly
a quarter of a century Bishop Brondel has had authority as
a bishop of the Catholic church, and in all that time he has
hoped some day to build a great church. He has seen his
diocese grow until now it is far from being the weakest in
America, as it once was. Next June Bishop Brondel will
celebrate the 18th anniversary as bishop of Helena. When
he was appointed bishop of the diocese there were only 16
Catholic churches in Montana; now there are 63. Then
there were only 15,000 communicants of the Catholic faith
in the state ; now there are 50,000.
And yet with all the advancements of the Catholic church
in Montana, Bishop Brondel has been unable to realize his
ambition in respect to a new cathedral. There has always
been such a pressing demand for funds to carry on the work
of the church throughout the state that he has been unable
to make any headway with a fund for a cathedral.
"We should have a better cathedral than this little build
ing over here," he said as he waved his hand toward the
brick church 100 feet away. "It is the church of the living
God, and should be more commodious, more imposing. Ah !
I can almost see in imagination a great stone church with
lofty spires and a bell tower — a church with a great audi
torium capable of seating all the members of the congrega
tion at one time together with all the strangers who visit it."
Bishop Brondel paused a moment, and then added:
"But I suppose I will never see such a church here. It
will come in time, but not in my time, I am afraid.
"There are now about 3,000 communicants of the Cath-

U A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
olic faith in Helena with another 1,000 in East Helena and
the immediate vicinity of the city," continued the bishop,
"and here we have a church which will seat only 400 or 500
person?;." "I am not complaining at all. There is a good work be
ing done in this state, and work, particularly a new country
like this, cannot be prosecuted without money. The money
raised in the diocese is being put to good use, and the time
will come, I believe, when we may go ahead — ^when some one
may go ahead — with the building of a cathedral worthy of
the diocese and of the church."
HIS LAST ILLNESS.
The first announcement of the bishop's illness was made
at the masses or Sunday, November 1, when the prayers of
the faithful were asked for his recovery. The ominous an
no ancemerit came as a terrible shock to the Catholic con-
gregfitions of the city. Up to a few days before the bishop
had bpen seen frequently on the streets and seemed in per
fect health. During the summer months he had made his
u&ual tour of the diocese during which he administered Con
firmation in twenty-four churches.
Immediately after these visitations he had gone to Van
couver, his former see, to assist, on October 4, at the cere
monies incident to the conferring of the pallium on Arch
bishop Orth; on this occasion he himself preached the ser
mon. On October 14 he participated in an important meet
ing of the Bishops in Portland. On his way home he stop
ped at Anaconda, where, on October 18, he gave Confirma
tion and dedicated a new altar in St. Peter's Church. From
Anaconda be went to Butte, where, on the following day,
October 19, he attended the funeral of the late John Caplice
between whom and the bishop there existed an acquaintance
of long standing; — it was Mr. Caplice who had driven the
bishop from Missoula to Butte on the bishop's first visit to
Montana in 1883.
When the bishop arrived at Helena on October 20, he
was apparently in good health; in fact not a few congrat
ulated him on his appearance. He was suffering, however,
from chronic bronchitis — which had troubled him in past

A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 16
years and which had now been brought on anew through a
cold caught on the train during his homeward journey. He
also experienced an unusually great difficulty in breathing,
and complained of feeling very tired. When one of his
priests advised him to take absolute rest for a few days, he
replied that he feared it would take all winter to recover
from his fatigue. At the time it was thought that this
tiredness was but a temporary effect of the Bishop's long
journeyings; for he had travelled thousands of miles during
the summer. No one dreamed that it was a premonition of
approaching death.
On Friday, October 23, the Bishop issued a brief circular
to the clergy. In this circular — destined to be his last —
he makes mention of the year's visitations, and closes with
these words: "Everywhere we have witnessed the devo
tion of the clergy, the piety of the people, and the progress
of our holy religion. We have, therefore, reason to thank
God, and to congratulate our beloved co-laborers wishing
them all Godspeed in the great work of buUding up the
holy Catholic church in our diocese."
On Wednesday evening, October 28, the Bishop went to
the depot to meet Prince Henry de Croy of Brussels, who
had come all the way from St. Paul solely to pay his respects
to his illustrious countryman. It was on the following day,
Thursday, that the Bishop offered the holy sacrifice for the
last time. He refrained reluctantly from saying mass on
Friday on the solicitation of friends who had become some
what alarmed at symptoms of an abnormal condition of the
blood, scattered about the face.
However, up to Saturday evening he continued his cus
tomary activity in the management of the affairs of the
diocese. On Friday he presided over a meeting of the dio-
sesan consultors which lasted several hours. On the fol
lowing day, acting on the advice of his physician, Dr. Wm.
Treacy, the Bishop went to St. John's Hospital, where he
at once took to his bed. He did not feel especially ill
and at 9:30 p. m. he held a conference with the Rev.
Father Day to whom he committed letters dealing with mat
ters of importance to be transmitted to the Bishops of the
Province and to Cardinal Gotti, Prefect of the Propaganda.

16 A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Later in the evening he expressed regret that he would not
be able to officiate, in his Cathedral, at the services to be
held on the next two days, — the Feast of All Saints, and All
Soul's Day.
During that night he became very HI, and at 7 :30 o'clock
the following morning it was feared that the end was near.
The Sacrament of Extreme Unction was administered by
the Rev. Father Day just before mass Sunday morning. At
that time the Bishop was only partially conscious and Holy
Communion was not administered. Later he rallied slightly
and in the evening at 9 o'clock he received Communion. He
was then perfectly conscious and followed the prayers at
tentively and devoutly. Then the last blessing was given
after he had invoked the name of Jesus and offered his life
to God. Later in the night he again became delirious, but
the morning showed a slight improvement in his condition.
At noon on Monday, November 2, four physicians, Drs. Wm.
Treacy, Napoleon Salvail, Rudolph Horsky, and George W.
King held a consultation at the bedside of the distinguished
patient. They could only confirm the previous diagnosis
of Dr. Treacy — that he was suffering from fatty degenera
tion of the heart with oedema of the lungs and brain.
The physicians held out no hope for his recovery. Dur
ing the afternoon he grew worse. Throughout the after
noon and the early part of the night he hovered between
life and death, at times rallying and regaining conscious
ness for a few minutes. During these brief moments his
old mental activity was again in evidence and he recog
nized and spoke to a number of the priests and sisters who
visited him. It would be but for a few moments, however,
and after each recovery he would be weaker; and as he
lapsed back into a state of unconsciousness his difficult
breathing and almost imperceptible heart action indicated
that he was approaching nearer and nearer to the brink of
eternity. At about 9 o'clock he was again conscious for a
few moments and showed that he recognized those about
him. Later he relapsed into unconsciousness from which
he never revived. At ten minutes past three, Tuesday
morning, November 3 the great change came without a
struggle, and the Bishop closed his eyes in death.

Rev. John Baptist Brondel
First Photo in America
1866

a;be ©beequies
With solemn ceremony the remains of the Right Rever
end Bishop were carried from St. John's Hospital, at 8
o'clock Wednesday morning, to the Cathedral of the Sacred
Hearts. The casket containing the body was borne by the
Rev. Victor Day of Helena, the Rev. Cyril Pauwelyn of
Great Palls, the Rev. A. R. Coopman of Anaconda, the Rev.
Francis O'Farrell of Townsend, and the Rev. S. J. Sullivan
of Helena. Requiem mass was sung by the Rev.J. B. Pir-
nat of Anaconda before a congregation that filled the
church. After the service the people were given an opportunity
to view the body which, clothed in pontifical robes, lay in
state on a lofty catafalque in the main aisle of the church.
Throughout the day a continuous stream of people poured
into the Cathedral to look for the last time on the face of
the dead prelate. Those who called to pay their respect's
embraced the people of the city generally. During his res
idence of twenty years in Helena Bishop Brondel made
warm friend among all classes of people, and many non-
Catholics mourned his death as sincerely as did those of his
own church. The Cathedral had been tastefully draped in
black and purple, and during the day and throughout the
night a guard of honor, representing the various Catholic
societies, was in constant watch and prayer around the body
until it was laid in its final resting place on Friday morning.
CHILDRBNS' MASS.
More than 500 children attended the services Thursday
at 9 a. m. when the Rev. Father Day celebrated solemn re
quiem mass exclusively for the little ones who had gathered
to honor the memory of their loving spiritual father.
Father Day was assisted in conducting the services by

18 THE OBSEQUIES
Father Pauwelyn, assistant priest, of Great Falls; Father
Coopman, deacon, of Anaconda; Father Gallagher, sub-dea
con, of Fort Benton and Father O'Farrell of Townsend,
who acted as master of ceremonies.
Father Pauwelyn preached the funeral sermon to the
children. The exemplary life of Bishop Brondel was re
viewed by Father Pauwelyn, but the point brought out in
the sermon was the dead Bishop's love for little children.
Father Pauwelyn said that the Bishop had been so simple in
his manner with children that they regarded him with the
same affection that they felt for their own fathers.
It was recalled that Bishop Brondel enjoyed nothing so
much as an opportunity to address a crowd of children,
and that he always had in store a collection of happy stories
that were told on such occasions — stories the Helena child
ren loved to hear and repeat. Bishop Brondel, so Father
Pauwelyn declared, had done much for the education of
children, and was deeply interested in the work at the Or
phans' Home.
The priest referred to Saint Leo, the child martyr, whose
relic the Bishop had brought from Rome, and placed under
the altar of the Blessed Virgin, in the Cathedral of Sacred
Hearts. In conclusion Father Pauwelyn emphasized the fact that
Bishop Brondel had often been heard to remark that he
wanted the children of the church to pray for him after his
death. Bishop Brondel did not want the little ones to have
an exalted idea of him, but on the other hand begged that
they be taught to believe his soul needed their prayers to
assist it on the heavenly journey.
In the evening the Office of the Dead was chanted. It
was a most impressive service in which two archbishops,
two bishops and upwards of thirty priests participated. The
Cathedral not being able to hold the large number who
flocked to the church, the doors were thrown open and
many stood on the outside while they listened to the solemn
service and prayed fervently for the repose of the soul of
their dead pastor.

THE OBSEQUIES 19
PONTIFICAL REQUIEM MASS.
Shortly before noon on Friday all that was mortal of
the Right Reverend John B. Brondel was laid to rest in
a vault beneath the cathedral of the Sacred Hearts. The
last sad service over the remains of the late Bishop were
attended by the largest crowd that ever assembled at a
Helena funeral. The Cathedral would scarcely hold half
of those assembled to pay a last tribute to the departed
Bishop, and the top of the Catholic hill, surrounding the
Cathedral, was blaek with humanity.
During the morning between 6:30 and 8:30, masses were
said in the Cathedral, and were largely attended. At 9
o'clock the Cathedral was more than half filled with people,
who had come early in the expectation of securing good seats
for the services, which were not to begin until 10 o'clock.
It had been determined, however, to admit no one into the
Cathedral until after the procession, consisting of the clergy,
pallbearers and members of the Catholic societies, had en
tered, and accordingly it was found necessary to clear the
Cathedral and lock the doors.
At 9 o'clock the procession was fonned. The procession
moved in the following order: Crossbearer and candle-
bearers; banner of St. Aloysius Sodality; banner of Child
ren of Mary; banner of St. Joseph's Verein; banner of St.
Cyril and Method society, of East Helena; banner of Cath
olic Knights of America; pallbearers; priests; Bishop O'
Reilly; Bishop O'Dea; Bishop Shanly; Archbishop Orth;
Archbishop Christie; Catholic societies, including members
of the societies represented at the head of the column by
banners, the Cyril and Method society of East Helena in
full uniform and the Butte Knights of Columbus.
The active pallbearers were : Rev. Father Crimont, S. J.
President of the Gonzaga college at Spokane; the Rev.
Father Victor Day, of Helena ; the Rev. Father A. E. Coop
man ,of Anaconda; the Rev. Father Kauten, of Seattle; the
Rev. Father Pudenz, of Dillon; the Rev. Father Phelan, of
Deer Lodge and the Rev. Father Stack, of Red Lodge.
The honorary pallbearers were: Thomas Cruse, T. C.
Power, T. H. Carter, T. J. Walsh, Dr. William Treacy, Jas.

20 THE OBSEQUIES
A. Walsh, Dr. N. Salvail, C. L. Dahler, Major Martin Ma-
ginniss, C. T. Perry, T. L. Martin and R. R. Purcell, all of
Helena; Prince Henry de Croy, of Brussels, Belgium; Wil
liam Scallon, P. J. Brophy, William McMahon, Ed Hickey,
Thomas Driscoll, Dr. John Sullivan Butte; Dr. J. F. Spel-
man and Col. O'Leary, of Anaconda; P. J. Nolan, Peter
Kirscher, Livingston; Arthur Gratton, John Kelly, South
Butte; William Porestell, William Pepworth, Bozeman;
Paul McCormick, John McCormick, Billings; D. J.
Donahue, John Lucy Missoula; John Hines Townsend;
Michael Driscoll, Canton; John Quigley, Blackfoot; John
Mulcahy, Deer Lodge ; Joseph Bertrand, John Keame, Lewis-
town; J. W. Tattan, Jerry Sullivan, Joseph SulKvan, Fort
Benton; Dr. Adams, T. E. Brady, Great Falls; Ed. Ryan,
William Eodgers, Boulder; Thomas Gavin, Michael McHale,
Anaconda; F. C. Byrne, E. J. McLean, Red Lodge; John
MacDonald, Joseph Henneberry, WalkervUle; Ed. O'Neill,
Glendive; James Coleman, Miles City.
The members of the society of the Children of Mary and
the Aloysius Sodality were formed west of the episcopal
residence, near St. John's hospital, while the members of
the other societies stood on either side of a narrow aisle
through the mass of humanity blocked between the Bishop's
residence and the Cathedral. These men formed two solid
lines between the residence and the Cathedral, this arrange
ment being necessary in order to secure the procession a
passage way to the Cathedral. At the appointed time, the
cross and candlebearers moved out of the Bishop's residence.
The bannerbearers stationed outside, fell in line with them.
They were followed by the pallbearers, the priests and
bishops, who in turn, were followed by the members of the
Children of Mary and the St. Aloysius Sodality, these so
cieties falling in line directly behind the priests and march
ing through the aisle protected hv the members of the other
societies. As the last member of these two societies passed into the
aisle, the members of the societies which had protected the
narrow aisle, fell into line, those nearest the Bishop's res
idence breaking first, and the entire column doubling back
and marching into the Cathedral two abreast, while the

THE OBSEQUIES 21
surging sea of humanity rapidly filled the aisle made vacant.
The procession moved without the slightest disorder and
with the regularity of soldiers.
Inside the Cathedral the members of the procession se
cured the pews which had been reserved for them, after
which the doors of the Cathedral were thrown open, and the
large building was filled to overflowing. The doors were
kept open, and around them the people stood, anxious to
catch a word of the impressive service.
At 10 o'clock Archbishop Christie began the celebration
of the pontifical requiem high mass. The Rev. L. P. Palla-
dino, S. J., was the assistant priest. The deacon of the
mass was the Rev. P. Desiere, and the sub-deaeon the Rev.
Jeremiah Callaghan. The Rev. S. J. Sullivan was the master
of ceremonies. At this time there were present in the
sanctuary Archbishop Orth and Bishops Shanley and
O'Reilly. Music was rendered by the full choir, reinforced
by the Rev. Fathers Batons, Van Clarenbeek and Van Aken.
At the conclusion of the mass. Bishop O'Dea began the
funeral sermon, which was a touching tribute to the memory
of the departed Bishop.

BISHOP O'DEA'S SERMON.
"I need not proclaim to you, beloved brethren of the
clergy and esteemed members of the laity, the object for
which we are assembled here this morning. Everything
about me, the sad expression on your faces, the gathering
tear in your eyes bespeak that sorrow felt in your hearts.
These altars, this sanctuary, the solemn chant of the re
quiem all remind us of the sad purpose of this gathering.
"We are in fact face to face with death. Is its victim
some distinguished member of this congregation? Is it
the soul of some devoted and zealous priest who has passed
to his reward? No. He whose death we mourn, and who
will shortly be interred among the dead, is none other than
the chief pastor of this diocese, the pious, the zealous, the
devoted, the good Bishop Brondel.
'He is dead. This Cathedral church has donned the gar-

22 THE OBSEQUIES
ments of her widow-hood. You will never again see him
minister at this altar, nor hear him teach from this sanct
uary. This diocese and its numerous parishes and institu
tions will never again welcome him, and you, his beloved
priests and people, his joy and his crown> will never again
gaze upon his cheerful countenance. He has passed from
earth, and has gone into the home of his eternity. He
is dead."
Bishop O'Dea here briefly reviewed the active life of the
departed prelate, telling how he had worked as a missionary
among the Indians^ how he had travelled throughout the
west spreading the doctrine of Christianity, and lastly how
he had been named as the Bishop of a new diocese, which
stood as the vanguard of Christian civilization, and how he
had carefully stood guard over his flock, and how he had
watched his diocese grow and prosper.
"But though his body is dead," continued the bishop, "his
soul liveth. All that was great and noble and good in Bi
shop Brondel, still lives and will live for all eternity. Why,
then, should we mourn as if we had no hope?
"An event like this should recall to our minds the pre
carious nature of our condition here, and inspire us with
serious resolutions to live in a constant state of preparation
to meet a similar fate. It is one from which no one can
hope to escape; it is a scene through which, sooner or later,
we must all pass, and but a short time will have elapsed
when it shall be said of you and me, as it is said of him: He
or she is dead.
"Perhaps you will say that there can be no necessity for
embittering our lives with these gloomy reflections, because
death may be still remote and we may have time enough to
prepare for its approach. That may be true, but I speak
to you to-day as he would and ask you not to live for an
instant in a condition of uncertainty, and do not be de
ceived by the thought that your beloved Bishop has already
r)assed to his reward and consequently does not stand in
need of prayers. Such a delusion would be fatal to the in-
tersts of his immortal soul, and would be deplored by his
best friendfs. Pray for him that his soul may find favor in
the sight of the Almighty; and never lose sight of the fact

THE OBSEQUIES 28
that this scene will open up for you. Let us live prepared
to meet God at any time. Live as if this day were to be
your last on earth."

THE INTERMENT .
After the sermon took place the five absolutions which
are performed over the remains of a Pope, a Cardinal a
Metropolitan, or a Bishop of a diocese. Archbishop Christie
took off his chasuble and put on a black cope, while the
four assisting bishops retired to the sacristy, and came back
dressed in black copes and white mitres. Archbishop
Christie took hij place at the feet of the remains, each of
the other bishops taking positions at the corners of the
coffin. Each in turn sang an absolution, during which oc
curred prayers, incensing of the remains and sprinkling with
holy water. Archbishop Christie said the last absolution,
after which the centre aisle was cleared, the candles were
removed from the coffin and the procession was formed and
the remains of the late Bishop were carried to their final
resting place. After the usual prayers of interment had
been read by Archbishop Christie the body was deposited
in the vault beside the remains of Father Imoda S. J. and
Father Rappagliosi S. J., two pioneer priests, who died years
ago and whose bodies were placed in the vault beneath the
Cathedral. It is not customary at Catholic fimerals to open the
casket, but this was done for the benefit of Bishop Glorieux,
who, having just arrived, was permitted to take a last look
at the peaceful face of the departed prelate just before the
coffin was sealed and placed within the vaidt.

{tributc0 from tbe dlcxQ^

It would be impossible to give here all the expressions of
condolence and messages of affection which the death of
Bishop Brondel called forth from within and without the
diocese and the country. Among the many telegrams re
ceived were the following:
Accept my condolence on your great loss by Bishop's
death. CARDINAL GIBBONS.

I deeply regret the death of your apostolic bishop.
ARCHBISHOP RYAN.

Receive my tribute of sincere sympathy. Regret cannot
attend funeral. JOHN IRELAND.

I sincerely regret the death of the good Bishop. It will
not be possible for me to go to Helena for the funeral.
ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN.

Profound sympathy for death of Dear Bishop Brondel.
Engagements render it impossible to attend funeral.
JOHN J. KEANE.

I express my great grief at the loss of your good bishop.
BISHOP FINK.

Benedictine fathers send heartfelt condolences. Prior
absent from home. F. DOMINIC, 0. S. B.

TRIBUTES FROM THE CLERGY 26
Deepest sympathy to priests and people on the death of
good Bishop Brondel. Can't understand why buried today
as per your dispatch but could not attend in any case, as I
do not feel well.
L. SCANLAN.

From Bishop Montgomery the Very Rev. Administrator
received this letter:
I thank you for your kind enclosure of memorial cards of
my good friend Bishop Brondel. I became acquainted with
him through his old schoolfellow, his Grace, my Archbishop,
and learned to love him very much.
Yours truly,
GEO. MONTGOMERY.

When the following words of anxious inquiry from the
President of Gonzaga College, Spokane, were received in
Helena the Bishop was already dead.
"We learned by the papers that Bishop Brondel's illness is
quite serious and that the last sacraments were administered
to him. If the report is true, we tender you our sympathy,
and we give expression to our feelings toward his Lordship.
We join our prayers with yours to obtain that our Lord
may preserve the life and health of the head of the Helena
Diocese. The Bishop has warm friends here who are anx
ious to know what is the truth about his condition, and
what the hopes and possibilities of his recovery."
Yours sincerely,
R. J. CRIMONT. S. J.

PROM THE DIOCESAN CLERGY.
John Baptist Brondel is dead. But his memory shall
long be green in Montana. Not the least of many reasons
is his personality gentle and tender as a child's. Nobody
felt far from him and acquaintance brought one nearer
still. Charming in manner, interesting in conversation,
anxious about the little things, having a veneration for an
tiquity, a fondness for anecdote, ever listening or counsel-

26 TRIBUTES FROM THE CLERGY
ling, or sympathizing or helping, and accounting all to the
will of God. We too must say, after him, "Thy will be
done." The first Shepherd of the flocks among the mountains,
they will miss him. He knew them all, and loved them.
His words jarred not, nor did his staff hurt, and he cheered
them ever in his visits by the strange and seasonable fodder
he had with him. But the welcome figure has departed,
there is no grasp upon the staff, and the voice of the kindly
pastor is hushed for ever.
Epicopus in state, and our superior he was the friend and
father of his priests. Even a brother-Presbyter he could
not be more truly than he was : Interested in every move,
there in every field; our ranks have lost a faithful soldier.
He died bewailed by all but most by us his priests, his
children, his own. Fruitless is prayer to bring him back,
though hallowed by the lips of angels. But useful is prayer
in the land to come to court the mercy of the Master.
Bereft of our beloved Bishop, let us ask the Giver of all
gifts to send us another Shepherd, another Friend, another
Father.
J. J. CALLAGHAN,
A. R. COOPMAN,
JOHN ENGLISH,
M. O'D. BARRY, Committee.

FATHER PALLADINO'S TRIBUTE.
In the close and familiar intercourse, extending over a
number of years, vrith our lamented Bishop, what impressed
me most, and what I always admired in him, was his high
conception of the office and dignity of a Bishop, coupled
with an equal disregard of the man in his own pereon.
Thus, whilst remarkably sensitive to the least thing touch
ing his exalted position, he would cheerfully put up with
almost anything concerning himself — a combination of traits
both rare and precious, possessed by few, and by many not
always understood, or appreciated.
L. B. PALLADINO, S. J.
Missoula, Mont., Feb. 6, 1904.

TRIBUTES FROM THE CLERGY 27
LETTER OP THE RT. EEV. G. J. WAFFELAERT,
BISHOP OF BRUGES, BELGIUM.
Reverende Domine: —
Litteras tuas de die 13 Novembris n. e., quibus obitum
nuntiabas Eevmi Dni Joannis Baptistae Brondel, Episcopi
Helenensis, maerens aceepit Revmus Praesul noster. Nove
rat ipse dUeetissimum Antistitem in Domino obiisse, sed de
ejus morte et exsequiis nihil hactenus audiverat.
Quae de exsequiis istis refers luculenter demonstrantquanti
facerent Revmum Dnum Brondel ipsius in episcopali mune-
re collegae, quantoque amore ac reverentia eum prosequer-
entur clerus et populus. Nee mirum : Cujus enim lugemus
obitum, Pontifex erat secundum cor Dei. Per annos trigin-
ta et amplius, regno Christi dilatando indefessam navavit
operam, dioeceses sibi commisos zelo ac prudentia pari gu-
bernavit, omnesque Pastoris optimi partes ad amussim im-
plevit. Laboribus fraetus, meritis refertus ac coelo matu-
rus obiit, aeternum apud omnes relinquens sui desiderium.
Sane confidere licet virum hunc meritissimum jam coeles-
tibus frue guadiis, sed, quum investigabiles sint viae Domini,
dileetiessimae ipsius animae in precibus sui memor esse non
intermittet Revmus Praesul noster.
Tibi, alumno quondam suo, fausta quaevis apprecatur
Revmus Dnus paternamque impertitur benedictionem.
Veneranter signo,
E. REMBRY, VIC. GEN.
Revo. Dno Victori Day, Helenam.

THE AMERICAN COLLEGE BULLETIN OP LOUVAIN.
John B. Brondel was the third of our alumni — the mar
tyred Seghers having been the first, and the Rt. Rev. Or
dinary of Peoria, the secoond — to take rank among the
Episcopate of the American Catholic Church. If there was
a trait of his character that shone forth pre-eminently
among all others, it was his sterling child-like piety. This
virtue he evinced not only in the regular, careful, even
punctilious discharge of his daily spiritual exercises, in the
minute observance of the liturgical prescriptions at all pub-

28 TRIBUTES FROM THE CLERGY
lie church functions, in his love for the adornment of God's
house, in the attention he paid himself and wished his priests
to pay to the beauty and cleanliness of the sacred vestments
and the altar furniture, but also in his ordinary every day
conversation, which was never so animated as when it
turned on devotional subjects. It was quite natural there
fore that he should have been known among his fellow priests
as "Holy John" — for so they banteringly called him and
spoke of him, when he was still a priest on the Washington
mission. All through life he remained very simple in his
ways, always ready to help and to assist, where help and
assistance were needed. Though highly esteemed for his
religious zeal in all that concerned the spiritual welfare of
the people, he was at times, as one who knew him well said,
"hard to understand and somewhat blunt of manner". This
was probably due to his straighforwardness, which is a vir
tue neither acceptable to the worldly prudent nor to the
guilty. No doubt, in common with all men, Bishop Brondel
had his faults, which as a true Christian he was the first to
acknowledge and to regret; but they were far outweighed by
his good qualities. His great disinterestedness and his un
divided ardor to procure God's glory and to advance the in
terests of the church are well known to all. To the service
of God's Church he consecrated himself without reserve in
the early days of his youth, and to the end of his compara
tively long career, he remained true to his ideal, giving
himself , his faculties, his energies, — his all to God. He
never spared himself; and we may say that he laid down his
life, standing at the helm; for he was stricken down on a
Saturday, and he died on the following Tuesday. When
his last will was filed for probate in the District Court, it
was made public that his estate consisted of twenty-five
dollars in cash and of property valued at five hundred dol
lars, — a proof, if other proof were wanting, that the good
Bishop sought not on earth earth's passing guerdons but
rather the eternal rewards that are in Heaven.

fIDemorial Hbbre&ees
In order that the parishioners of the Cathedral might
have an opportunity of giving public testimony of their
love and esteem for the deceased prelate who had been at
once their bishop and their pastor, a meeting was called on
December 20, at St. Aloysius Hall. The speeches made
thereat are here recorded. The meeting was opened by
Mr. T. J. Walsh, who had been selected as presiding officer.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This meeting is assembled for the purpose of commem
orating the life, services and virtues of the late Bishop
John B. Brondel, to whose soul may the Lord grant peace.
In reproof of Queen Catherine for harsh words spoken
of the dead Cardinal Wolsey, her faithful servitor Griffith
said, "Madam, men's evU manners live in brass; their vir
tues we write in water." For the good deeds of Bishop
Brondel, for his saintly life, for his concern for our tem
poral welfare and his deep, abiding passion for our eternal
salvation, we shall hold him in grateful remembrance, and,
reversing the maxim of the poet, write his faults in water.
What a chaste ambition it is to so live that, dying, those
within the sphere of our influence may point the youth of
the time to our lives as worthy of emulation and imitation!
Not a mere negative goodness, springing from a selfish de
sire to save our own souls, with little concern about others,
but to lead a life of action, of virtue, and of charity.
The priestly office is one which must at all times evoke
the reverence and respect of every right-thinking man, —
to labor in season and out of season to uplift humanity,
to call the thoughts of men from constant contemplation of
getting and keeping the treasures and the pleasures of this
life to a higher sense of duty to their fellow-men, and their
dependence upon and accountability to their Creator; "to

30 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
point the path to heaven and lead the way;" — what calling
can compare with it in dignity or in honor? Yea, what
calling can vie with it in the incentive it holds out to tire
less and untiring energy?
The high conception which the dead prelate held of his
holy office led him to prepare himself while still at his
studies for a life of toil and sacrifice in what must have
seemed to him and to his friends a wilderness aU but in
terminable and irredeemable. Zealous to save souls, and
taking for his motto, as an ever-present reminder of his
duty, the words of his Lord and Master, "other sheep have
I that are not of this fold," he expatriated himself, made his
home with the savage, led the van-guard of civilization into
this great region of the northwest, and laid down his hfe
in the work of its redemption. To the hardships endured
in his missionary labors may be traced directly the infirm
ities that led to his death at an age not at aU advanced, so
he may truly be said to have died a sacrifice, as he would
have wished.
To my mind, the trait that most endears him to us who
knew him so well, was his childlike simplicity of character, a
trait the Savior praised when he said, "Except ye become as
little children ye cannot enter the kingdom of heaven."
His love for little children was great. He shared with them
the joy of receiving confirmation at his hands, and the
greatest pleasure he ever enjoyed on earth was, I believe,
to bring to his cathedral church the remains of the child-
martyr, to be forever an incentive to the little ones to love
God and to practice virtue in the days of their youth, even
as Leo did who died rather then deny Christ who said,
"Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them
not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
May the all-wise Ruler send to us a worthy successor.

MAJOR MARTIN MAGINNIS.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am very glad of this opportunity to join in the general
expressions of sorrow and sympathy for the loss of the
pioneer bishop of this diocese. A pioneer indeed, not only

MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 81
in the christianization, but the civilization, the very crea
tion of this new state, among the founders of which he is
enrolled and with whose history his name will be forever
identified. His labors here; the works of religion that he did, the
lessons of morality and righteousness that he taught, the
principles of piety and patriotism that he delighted to ex
pound are parts of this commonwealth and will permeate
it, grow with it and expand with it for all coming time.
No state can flourish whose roots are not planted in the
virtue, morality and honesty of its people. No matter how
great its resources, how rich its mines, how pure its air, how
clear its waters and how rapid and great its development,
without this sustaining soil the blight of corruption will
blast it and it will hasten to its decay. How fortunate
then to have so pure and wise and good a man as our late
bishop to assist at its outsetting and to direct its growth.
Born beyond the sea, he followed the first call of his
manhood, and crossed the ocean, and all the difficult roads
over the continent, till he reached its western coast and be
came a pioneer missionary to its Pacific shores, and all the
mountain ranges and valleys of the west.
As a young priest, on foot and on horseback he traveled
all the forest paths, and in the canoes of his Indian converts
skirted all the shores of the inland sea called Puget Sound.
From settlement to settlement, from camp to camp —
preaching, baptizing, confirming, and confessing the In
dians who were native to those shores and the struggling
settlers who came to build their primitive homes, and lay
the foundations for maritime empire on the great ocean
whose other bounds were China and the Indies.
All along these shores and on the banks of tributary
streams you can even now hear his name. Hear of the
masses that he celebrated, the churches he built, the men
and women that he married, the children that he baptized.
The trails were lonely, the paths difficult through those
primeval forests. The Count de Montalambert eloquently
tells of the clearing and settlement of Europe, by the Monks
of the West, Chateaubriand was impressed with the gloomy
woods through which he first listened with awe to the roar

82 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
of Niagara, the Belgic tribes were lost in the pines of the
North Sea, and dense were the jungles in which Herman
concealed his hosts from Varus, but all these were as shrub
bery compared to the titanic trees and the exuberant under
growth that covered the shores and mountains of Puget
Sound. The early missionaries who first carried the light through
primitive Europe had open country compared to the dense
growths, and dark and damp recesses, through which he
joyfully carried the cross of his faith. So well and so zeal
ously did he do this that he was chosen to be the Director
of the new diocese of Montana. Here he found more devel
opment, and a greater field. Here also he was the bishop
of the Indians and the Whites. How well he did his work
you all know. The great changes that have come in his
time, but the beginnings of greater ones to come you are
familiar with. His memory will be linked with the begin
ning of it all.
He was a learned as well as a holy man. To the Greek
and the Latin of his scholastic days his industry had added
many tongues. He spoke the German, and the French
and the English, and the dialects of the Indian tribes. Pa
tience and toil furnished him all these instruments for his
labor. His was indeed a strenuous life. His piety has per
meated all his congregations. His charity was so boundless
that there was nothing left' when he was gone. There was
little use for a will — ^where his own good will had given
all to charity. His life was all given to humanity. He
devoted himself to his generation. He followed in the foot
steps of his master. His works will be his monuments;
his memory a continual benediction.

MR. JAMES A. WALSH.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:
We meet this evening, not as sympathizers, but as mourn
ers. I believe that I express the sentiment of all those
present when I say that, in the death of Bishop Brondel,
we each feel a sense of personal loss. We not only mourn
the death of a good and worthy Bishop, but a kind, genial,

Rt. Rev. John Baptist Brondel
Bishop of Vancouver
1879

MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 88
generous and warm-hearted friend. Those who knew him
best loved him most. He had the happy faculty of winning
the confidence of the people and gaining friends. His
friends were not confined to any class or creed. Many of
his warm, personal friends were not members of the church
of which he was a worthy shepherd. Outside of the church,
his association with people of all classes was so pleasant,
and his manner so unassuming and cordial, that we were
prone to forget the Bishop and love and admire only the
man. He loved his feUowman. His name is worthy to be
written in the great Book of Life, high above that of Abou
Ben Adam, because he not only loved his fellowmen, but
also loved and faithfully served his Divine Master.
The children loved him. In him they had a kind and
sympathetic friend. For them he always had pleasant
words of greeting and kind words of encouragement.
A review of the life of Bishop Brondel would be in sharp
contrast with that of the successful man of today, as judged
by the world's standard. The usual epitome of life of the
successful man is that he was bom of poor parents, suffered
hardships in his youth, worked his way through school, em
barked in business and amassed a fortime.
Bishop Brondel was born of well to do parents, was given
the advantages of the best schools and colleges, and acquired
an education that qualified him to gain distinction in al
most any walk of life. But he renounced all personal and
worldly ambition, and consecrated his life and talents to the
service of his God and the uplifting of his fellowman. He
worked zealously in his chosen field during forty eventful
years, and died a poor man, poor in this world's goods, but
rich in everything else that makes life noble and worth liv
ing. In his vigorous yoimg manhood, he bade adieu to his
parents, friends and native land, and journeyed toward the
setting sun, to become a mi=sionary, in a land then chiefly
inhabited by Indians. For those Indians he had the love
and tenderness of a kind father. For their civilization,
conversion and uplifting he labored earnestly and zealously.
His life and labors as a missionary Priest, and as a Bishop

34 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
are a part of the history of the Northwest. The results of
his labors are apparent in Alaska, Washington, and par
ticularly in Montana. During his laborious and eventful
career, he suffered untold hardships, of which he seldom
spoke, and never complained. Yet who would change the
life and career of a pioneer for any other? The hardships
are many, but the rewards are great. To witness the trans
formation of a country from a wilderness to a high state of
civilization, and to take part in the events leading to that
transformation, is a high privilege.
Bishop Brondel went to the Paciflc Coast in 1866. Where
the City of Tacoma now stands was then a primeval
forest. Where the metropolis of the Northwest — Seattle —
now stands, was a forest, with a small fishing settlement on
the shore of the Sound. When he came to Montana, there
were few churches and few Priests. Most of his parishes
could be reached only by stage coach or private conveyance.
Although he did not live the allotted three score and
ten years, he witnessed marvelous changes in the country,
part of which he first beheld as a wilderness.
Beautiful Puget Sound that he formerly navigated in a
skiff, when traveling as a missionary Priest, he saw white
with the sails of the world's commerce, and with thriving
and prosperous cities on its shores.
In his own beloved Montana, he saw the Pullman car take
the place of the stage coach, cities built, homes established,
and the resources of the country wonderfully developed.
In all that tended to develop the country and its re
sources, and to advance the interests of the people, he took
an active part.
He welcomed with open arms, the worthy young Priests,
who followed in his footsteps to the Great Northwest, in
obedience to the command of the Master to, "Go forth and
teach all Nations."
But what he prized, and what gratified and pleased him
most of all, he saw throughout the Northwest established,
built, and equipped churches, schools, academies, colleges,
hospitals and orphan asylums. For many of these great
changes and improvements he laid the foundation, and his
wafs the master mind that guided, planned and directed. He

MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 85
had plans and improvements outlined for the advancement
and benefit of his Diocese and his people, and was working
earnestly to carry them forward to completion, when the
Divine Master bade him cease his labors, and called him
home to receive his reward. Like a weary child, he sank
gently to rest. He sleeps in peace amid the scenes he loved.
The mountain winds roam 'round his narrow tomb. With
tear-dimmed eye, we bow our heads in grief.
We mourn him as dead, but his spirit lives in the realms
of the Blest.
We mourn him as dead; but his works and the influence
of his life will live and endure.
While the bell of the Catholic Church resounds through
out this mountain State, and the Pacific Northwest, calling
the people to Divine Worship, the works, influence and mem
ory of John Baptist Brondel will live.

Several other speeches were made, of which we have no
verbal report. Mr. T. J. Laws paid a high tribute to the
Bishop's unassuming personality and kindly nature. Mr.
John P. Schmidt voiced the sentiments of the German
Catholics of the city and expressed their appreciation of
the Bishop's efforts in their behalf. Mr. Wm. Stuewe most
appropriately chose for his theme the keen and touching
interest which the late prelate ever took in the orphans and
in their Home. General C. D. Curtis spoke of the manifold
work accomplished throughout the state by the Religious
Communities of women under the wise guidance of Bishop
Brondel. Mr. L. P. LaCroix and R. E. Purcell, who had been invited
to speak but were unable to appear, sent the following let
ters: If my health had permitted, it would have been a pleasure
to devote hours to the preparation of a paper that would
have given expression to my appreciation of good Bishop
Brondel. Still in spite of an indisposition of several weeks
standing, which incapacitates me from attending to my usual
duties, it is not in my heart to omit even a passing tribute
to the memory of the noble Bishop that your assemblage

36 MEMORIAL ADDRESSES
have chosen to honor. It is but a little more than twenty
years ago that the bell on Catholic HUl summoned the con
gregation to meet his Lordship who had just arrived in
Helena. To us it seems but a short time ago, yet it is
twenty years ago. Montana was then a territory. Its prin
cipal towns were then only mining camps. To thoroughly
understand what this period of twenty years means we
have only to compare the present position of the Catholic
church in Montana with what it was when Bishop Brondel
assumed charge of this diocese. Instead of the few Jesuit
priests that served the Catholics of the State as best they
could, now there is not a community of any size that has
not the benefit of its own pastor. Now our Fathers seldom
receive summons to ride a hundred and fifty miles on sick
calls. Hospitals, Orphanages, Sisters' Academies abound
all over our State. The progress of the church has kept
pace with the advancement of the State. Everywhere is
now to be seen the church that dispenses Divine grace, and
crowned by the sign of Eedemption. Almost as by magic
have these evidences of Catholic progress struck the be
holder. They testify to the energy, the perseverance, the
zeal of Bishop Brondel. These are the monuments, more
enduring than steel or marble, that attest his untiring zeal
in the cause of his Heavenly Master. When he laid down
his burden and passed to the great beyond, they were the
credentials that obtained his welcome at St. Peter's gate.
Very Respectfully Yours, L. P. LA CROIX.

I deeply regret my inability to attend the meeting this
evening in St. Aloysius Hall, and to say a few words in
memory of our departed friend and benefactor, Rt. Rev.
Bishop John B. Brondel, but will avail myself of this oppor
tunity to pay my humble tribute to his noble life and char
acter. I have no words to measure the great sorrow I feel for
the death of Bishop Brondel; I knew him long and well.
He was an honorable and just man and a loveable gentleman,
devoted to his religion and the uplifting of humanity in

MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 87
general. What was nearest to Catholicity and its teachings
was always uppermost in his mind and heart. His whole
life was devoted to the work assigned him in his calling,
and surely it was well done.
He was honored and respected by all who knew him and
the many churches and other buildings erected by his
efforts throughout Montana are monuments to his memory.
Men may pass away but their works and noble efforts
endure, and the good work of our late Bishop Brondel will
in time make one of the brightest pages of Montana's his
tory. Respectfully Yours,
E. E. PUECELL.

When all the speeches on the program had been delivered
the chairman called on the Very Eev. Administrator, Father
Day, who spoke as follows:
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I came to this meeting to listen, not to speak. I came to
listen to the tributes of the members of the congregation to
the memory of our late Bishop, Rt. Rev. John B. Brondel.
While I listened my heart became filled, well nigh to
overflowing, with mingled feelings of joy and sorrow, feel
ings of sorrow at the thought of the good bishop we had
lost, sentiments of joy because his varied mental attain
ments, his sincere piety, his devotion to duty, his singleness
of purpose, his affability, goodnaturedness and kindly man
ner received due recognition at the hands of those who knew
him best. I shall not try to add to, much less to improve
upon what has been said so well. This portrayal of the life
and labors of the Eight Reverend John B. Brondel will go
down to history and give to posterity a true conception of
the apostolic character of the flrst Bishop of Helena.

Zbc flDourntna of IReliatoue Communlttee

THE SISTERS OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL.
Of our dear departed Bishop, what can we say, but that he
died as he lived, at peace with man and God, with the full
assurance of a blessed immortality. It is not necessary in
speaking of him to conjure up an imaginary picture of per
fection and benevolence, and then apply it to his character.
No, his eidogy would be written by the mere mention of the
one hundredth part of what he accomplished during his
twenty years of arduous labor in Montana.
The precepts taught and the example given us by our
saintly Bishop are living teachers wielding over us a greater
influence than we know. He is gone, but the lessons of his
life remain, appealing to us to emulate his virtue and be
steadfast in his favorite works, instructing the young and
ministering to the needs of the poor and orphans.
It has well been said that "The great man is he who does
not lose his child's heart." Never was the heart of child
hood lost to the plain, candid, friendly, sympathetic and un
assuming friend whose loss we have reason to mourn.
This kindly simplicity of character appealed not only to his
clergy and religious, who were his chief delight, but to per
sons in all ranks of life, from the Chief Magistrate of our
Great Eepublic to the poor and lowly.
The great and noted point in his character was his deep
religious nature; he had an intense love for the Catholic
church and all its practices. During all his priestly life he
never omitted the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass when he was
able to perform it.
"Who that has heard his mass — who that has knelt
In the sacred temple and hearkened to his voice
Pleading God's cause so sweetly — but has felt
A secret thrill which made his heart rejoice?
And going forth, has breathed a sunnier air.
As though our Lord Himself had spoken there!"
We have dwelt, perhaps, too fondly on these details, but

THE MOURNING OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES 39
the recollection of our dear Bishop calls up associations
endearing by their holiness, the remembrance of which we
shall always love and cherish.
Farewell — beloved Bishop, our true spiritual guide and
counselor — faithful friend and benefactor. We loved you
in life, we shall love you now that you are gone. We shall
love you even more for we know you better since your loss
is so keenly felt. Although we have reason to hope that
you have received the reward of your great virtues, we will
continue to offer, for your intentions, our prayers and good
works ; it is but just that we pay this tribute of gratitude to
your memory. May Jesus, Mary and Joseph whom you so
loved and served upon earth meet your soul at the foot of
the Great White Throne and assign it a place of eternal rest
and joy in Paradise.

THE SISTEES OP THE GOOD SHEPHEED.
In the death of their beloved Bishop, the Sisters of the
Good Shepherd located in the City of Helena, lose a much
regretted spiritual adviser and benevolent friend.
To his indefatigable efforts is due the founding of our
institution in this Diocese, and the success of our Mission
is in a large measure the result of our late Bishop's unwav
ering zeal for the abandoned of "God's Creatures." He, in
his charitable christian judgment, made not distinction
of caste or class, and many of our unfortunate girls, owe
their reformation in life, and restoration to the Divine
Clemency, to the comforting words and timely succor of
Our Revered Shepherd in whose demise, we unceasingly
mourn the separation from a kind indulgent Father, and
benefactor.

CONGREGATION OF THE DAUGHTEES OF JESUS.
When threatened with exile from France, Mother Mary
de St. Blandine, Superior general of the Daughters of Jesus
had offered the services of her sisters to the diocese of
Helena, Eight Eeverend J. B. Brondel, our lamented Bishop,
accepted her appeal with great joy, and bade to her daught-

40 THE MOURNING OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES
ers, so cruelly persecuted by the enemies of the church in
France, a most hearty welcome.
Our first colony arrived in Helena, August 2lBt, 1903,
when we were most cordially received by His Lordship, and,
from there strenghtened by his blessing and his encouraging
words, we hastened to Lewistown, Fergus Co., Montana; this
first field of labor he kindly assigned to us. On September
26th, 1903, our community received the following letter of
His Lordship, which gave glad tidings of his love for his
new community: Helena, Montana, September 24th, 1903.
"To whom it may concern:"
This is to let the people of Lewistown and Fergus County,
Montana, know that we called the sisters (named. Daughters
of Jesus) from Brittany, France, who were exiled from their
homes, to come to Lewistown, and establish a school and
also a hospital to satisfy the needs of the people.
We are heart and soul in wishing them success and we
are sure that with the cooperation of the Eeverend J. M.
Vermaat, rector of St. Leo's Church, they will succeed in
their great work. We deed to them the half of the church
property, at Lewistown, to begin their work.
J. B. BEONDEL,
Bishop of Helena.
In October 31st His Lordship deigned to give us another
mark of his paternal goodness in a most encouraging letter
in which he again expressed his pleasure in having the
Daughters of Jesus at work in Montana and his anxiety to
bless our new home and undertakings. In fact he promised
to be with us in the first part of November. But alas ! the
Divine Master had decided otherwise, and on November the
3d, the sad news reached us of the death of him who was
for the Daughters of Jesus, a benefactor, more than that,
a tender father.
Never will the Daughters of Jesus forget their dearly be
loved Bishop, J. B. Brondel, but will try to be worthy of the
expectations His Lordship had in bidding us welcome to
Montana.

THE MOURNING OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES 41
May eternal happiness be his reward, is the sincere prayer
of Sister MAEY PHILOMENA, Supr.
Sister MARY ST. OSMANE,
Sister MARY ST. ZENAIDE,
Sister MARY ST. ZELIC,
Sister CAMILUS MARY,
Sister MARY NICHOLAS.

URSULINE SISTERS OF MONTANA.
Who has not stood among some grief-stricken people from
whom a high-souled chief has been taken away? Who has
not sought to give consolation to the afflicted, the sorrow
ing? There is sympathy in thousands of hearts all over
this mighty country, wherever our beloveldl Bishop was
known. In him, the church has lost a great ruler, and Montana, a
great man. He was a missionary in God's great idea of
that word; resourceful, tireless, valiant; a Marquette in his
gentle humility; a Breboeuf in his heroic intrepidity; and
a Xavier in his consuming zeal. His charming personality
influencing those with whom he came in contact, won the
hearts of all whether savage or refined. He was a great
magnet pointing ever to God and duty; and seeking ever
the enduring, the never-ending, the immortal; never hold
ing back, but doing, and urging others to do much, to build
solidly and strongly in the vast West, the Faith of Rome.
What stem devotion to principle, what noble disinterested
ness, what lofty uprightness of soul are manifested through
out the whole life of this truly great apostle!
He was an ideal conversationalist. His interest in what
ever surrounded him, and in all the great out-lying world,
afforded him a fund of anecdote; while his retentive mem
ory of his travels, and his good-natured humor made him
an entertainer in any circle. He took genuine delight in
children, and with the simplicity of the truly great, had
ever a word for them; here, a story, simple, pleasing, and
elevating; there, a puzzle, giving impulse to thought, and
leading to truth. His purity of heart was a key to the

42 THE MOURNING OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES
innocence of childhood. His presence in our academies
and mission schools was always a delight. A new gladness
danced in the sunshine of our pupils' hearts, when our ven
erable Bishop, with benignity upon his face and encourage
ment upon his lips, gathered, like the Messiah, the little
ones around him, saying, "Of such is the kingdom of
heaven." And then did they gather as peculiarly precious
every ennobling thought, that, emanating from his Lordship's
mind, impressed them with the mind and will of God, and sur
rounded them with His light. These are memories, but they
are hallowed memories, whose sweet music may be carried
through life and to whose spirit nothing is alien but vice and
ignorance. Whether exercising the high duties of his sac
erdotal calling or humbly stooping to the least of these little
ones, he was ever serving God, ever great in heart and sub
lime in faith.
In this age of electric energy, and huge activity, in the
breathless rush after wealth and power, is there much time
given to thought of the dead? How soon are the dead
forgotten! But there are some divinely gifted men whose
names never die; whose memory will live in reverence
throughout remotest time. Bishop Brondel's name will
ever remain identified with the West, and surrounded by a
halo of merited benedictions.
Blessed is Montana in her first Bishop! Blessed is our
state in these early days, when churches are few and still
fewer the priests, in having a valiant laborer in holiest of
causes, a true missionary bishop. He has faithfully accom
plished the work appointed him by the Great Master, and
has gone from us in the glory of renown. He died, as Car
dinal Manning says bishops and priests are proud to die,
"Leaving no money and no debts." None need be troubled
about his will, for he had no wealth. What an eloquent
record is this! Yes; blessed is this diocese in having, for
nearly twenty years, an apostle like Bishop Brondel! and
blessed are we in having the example of an heroic leader
who looked to God in all things, and who remained faithful
to the end. We do not dare to think upon our loss, but
bowing in loving submission to the will of God, thank Him
for so true, so noble, so holy a Chief as our revered John
Baptist Brondel, first Bishop of Helena.

IResolutions

CATHOLIC KNIGHTS OP AMERICA.
At a special meeting of the members of Rocky Mountain
Branch No. 298, Catholic Knights of America, held Wednes
day evening, Nov. 4th, a committee, consisting of Charles
D. Curtis, WUliam Stuewe, John T. Laws, James D. Coul-
ton and John J. Clark, was appointed to draft suitable reso
lutions on the death of Bishop Brondel. This committee
reported as follows:
"Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God to call to his
eternal reward our beloved brother and venerable bishop;
and "Whereas, John Baptist Brondel administered the affairs
of the diocese of Helena in a spirit of broad Christian char
ity; and
"Whereas, In his life, whether as an intrepid missionary,
priest or pioneer bishop, benevolence, wisdom, simplicity
and piety were distinguishing traits in his character; and
"Whereas, In the death of the Right Reverend John Bap
tist Brondel, the holy Roman Catholic Church in Montana
has lost a prelate of sterling worth, untiring zeal and execu
tive ability; the reverend clergy an unerring counselor and
safe spiritual guide; his flock of fifty thousand Catholics a
faithful, patient and watchful shepherd; the orphans and
the poor a compassionate and generous benefactor; the
Indians, whom he made his especial protegees, a protector
and a friend 'in deed and in truth;' this branch of the
Catholic Knights of America, an honored and esteemed
brother member; the United States of America, a dignified
and patriotic citizen; the state of Montana, a steadfast sup
porter, and the city of Helena, a loving and loyal son; be it
therefore "Resolved, That, as a mark of respect to the memory of
our deceased brother, the charter of our branch be draped

44 RESOLUTION
in purple and black for a period of sixty days, also, that a
solemn requiem mass be offered up for the repose of his
soul; and, be it further
"Eesolved, That these resolutions be entered in the rec
ords of this branch and an engrossed copy officially signed
by the president and secretary be transmitted to the rela
tives of our deceased brother member and right reverend
bishop."

CATHOLIC OEDEE OP FOEESTBES,
St. Leo's Court No. 1137.
At the regular meeting of the Catholic Order Foresters,
a committee, consisting of John Abel, John Laux, Joseph
Bertrand, Timothy Crowley, was appointed to draw suitable
resolutions on the death of the Eight Eev. Bishop Brondel.
Whereas, It has pleased God Almighty to call to his
eternal reward our beloved and venerable bishop,
Whereas, In his life, as the head of the Catholic Church
in Montana, he was always ready to do good and never
spared himself to do so.
Whereas, In the death of Eight Eev. Bishop Brondel, the
Catholic Church of Montana has lost a prelate of untiring
zeal and unbounded benevolence, and the Catholic Order
Foresters an esteemed benefactor; be it, therefore,
Eesolved,, That as a mark of respect to the memory of
our lamented bishop the charter of our branch be draped
in purple and black for a period of sixty days, also that a
solemn requiem mass be offered up for the repose of his
soul ; and be it further
Eesolved, That these resolutions be entered in the records
of our court and a copy officially signed by the Chief Eanger
and Eecording Secretary, be transmitted to the Administra
tor of the Diocese «nd published in the Argus and Democrat.
J. W. KEAENEY, Chief Eanger.
JOHN F. ABEL, Eec. Secy.
Lewistown, Montana, Nov. 15, 1903.

RESOLUTIONS 46
HALLE DES ST. JOSEPH D. E. K. UNTEESTUETZ-
UNGS VEEEIN.
Helena, Mont., den 5ten Nov. '03.
Hochw. Vater Day:
Unterstehender Antrag wurde heute Abend von unserem
Verein angenommen und ieh be-eile mich meinem Auftrag
nachzukommen. Achtungsvollst, JOHN P. SCHMIT, Praesident.
ANTEAG.
"Indem wir darauf bedacht sind, dass es pfficht der Kinder
unserer HI. Kirche ist unseren Vorgesetzten solche Ehre zu
erweisen wie Ihnen gebuehrt, und indem wir es als pfiicht
erkennen die Begraebniss-Unkosten unseres hoehwuerdig-
sten Bischofs decken zu helfen,
Deshalb sei es von dem St. Joseph D. E. K. Unterstuetz-
ungs- Verein, jetzt in regelmaesiger Versammlung, beschlos-
sen, dem hochw. Vater Day fuer diesen Zweck $50.00 anzu-
bieten, mit der Bitte er soUe selbige gebrauchen wo er es am
passensten findet,
Und sei es ferner beschlossen, dass wir die Ausfuehrung
obigen Besehlusses unserem Praesidenten anvertrauen."
Angenommen.

ANCIENT OEDEE OF HIBEENIANS.
Whereas, The will of God has removed from our midst
our spiritual leader Eight Eeverend Bishop J. B. Brondel,
D. D.
Whereas, We submit to the Act of Providence in calling
to his reward our Bishop who was loved by his followers,
admired by his friends and honored by citizens.
Whereas, The unlimited good he has done for the faith
of his followers, the energy spent, the suffering endured, the
sacrifice offered, the patient efforts under trying adversity
in the execution of his duty, causes us to manifest our es-

46 RESOLUTIONS
teem of him who was faithful to the dignity of his calling;
Therefore, be it
Eesolved, That this Division No. 1 of the Ancient Order
of Hibernians of Cascade County, Montana, proclaims our
respect of the man of God who was the head, in this Diocese,
of the faith we cherish and believe as Irish Catholics.
Eesolved, That each year of his life as our Bishop — was
characterized by a constant increase of the powers and in
fluence of the Catholic Church.
Eesolved, That his great piety gave spiritual life and con
solation to the members of his flock in cities, in urban set
tlements and mountain huts. His great learning and schol
arly attainments hushed the utterings of the prejudiced
and antagonists and illumined with the word of truth the
dark pit of ignorance and superstitions. His character lived
where words perish and was an example which brought
those living in dissension to reconciliation; in enmity to
friendship ; in waywardness to righteousness. His combined
excellences made him a model for his clergy and flock.
Eesolved; That these resolutions be spread on our min
utes and a copy sent to Eev. Father Day, the Administrator
of the Diocese, and to our esteemed State President, D. J.
Hennessy, and that our Charter be draped for thirty days.
M. W. GANNON,
THOMAS CUEEY,
CHAELES EEGAN.

(Tbe IDotce of tbe |pre00

"The Weekly Missoulian."
BISHOP BEONDEL.
John B. Brondel, who died in Helena yesterday, was a re
markable man in many respects. He was a strong man,
fuU of the milk of human kindness, yet brave, energetic and
progressive. At the head of the Catholic church in Mon
tana, his rule was firm yet kindly. He endeared himself to
all classes, all religions and beliefs because of his upright
ness and fairmindedness. He was the only incumbent of
the diocese of Helena since it was organized. * * *
His character is well described in these few words. John
B. Brondel was a man dear to Montana, because Montana
was dear to him. He loved the state and loved its people.

"The Anaconda Standard."
THE BISHOP OP HELENA.
As was said in the Standard yesterday morning the death
of Et. Eev. John B. Brondel, bishop of Helena, was a visita
tion that had not been anticipated by the public or even
by the Catholic clergy in the diocese of which he was the
head. A native of Belgium, Bishop Brondel was a pioneer worker
in this country's then undeveloped Northwest when he was
a young priest. He was one of the few, comparatively, who
remained permanently in this field from the time when he
was first assigned to it.
The diocese of Montana was organized in 1883; Bishop
Brondel was the pioneer bishop in it; during these twenty
years he has been the central figure and the directing hand

48 THE VOICE OF THE PRESS
in all the movements that have kept the growth of church
work abreast of the rapid advances of Montana in every sec
ular field.
As an organizer, or as the aggressive manager of affairs,
the late bishop was not especially distinguished. But he
was a conservative overseer, a man of prudence, a leader of
good, practical sense, and a spiritual chief whose daily life
and walk were praiseworthy. He was a man of modesty
and of piety; always during his career as bishop he main
tained a position, throughout the state, as a man of influence
and prominence.

"The Montana Daily Eecord."
BISHOP BRONDEL.
Rt. Rev. John B. Brondel, who at this writing is reported
as seriously ill, perhaps dying, is one of the men of the
church who is peculiarly identifled with our Western life.
His best years have been spent on the frontier. Thirty-seven
years ago, when he was comparatively a young man, he came
to the Paciflc coast. He made his headquarters for a time
at Vancouver, Wash., then a famous center of civilization in
the midst of a wilderness. He was sent thence to Steila
coom, Wash., where for ten years he was parish priest. We
who do not fully realize the changes that have taken place
in a quarter of a century, will be reminded of them when
we know that Steilacoom, now hardly thought of, was then
a central point. Seattle, today big with boastful industrial
conquest, was then a dot on the map. There were only
three Catholic families in the fishing village of that day.
It was years before the foundation of a Catholic church was
laid. Twenty-five years ago he was made a bishop. He was still
assigned to difficult duties on the frontier. His first diocese
composed all of Vancouver island and all of Alaska. It was
a wide field. By far the greater proportion of its popula-
lation was composed of Indians. His distinguished services
brought him new responsibilities — ^but not a less arduous
task. He came to Montana, organized the work, was made

Rt. Rev. John Baptist Brondel
His Last Photograph
1903

THE VOICE OF THE PRESS 49
bishop as the natural result of his great toil, and has ever
since then presided over this diocese. Now there are more
than 50,000 Catholics in this state.
News that he is dangerously ill comes suddenly. Only
yesterday, it seems, he enjoyed good health. But his work
has combined heavy physical labors with such mental zeal
and such constant demand upon conscience as to make it
almost wonderful that the good bishop has been sustained
so long. In life he will have the prayers of all good religion
ists for his continued well being; in death he will receive
the reward that is justly and fully his due.

"The Helena Independent."
THE DEATH OP BISHOP BRONDEL.
Wherever the Right Reverend John B. Brondel was known,
and his acquaintance went far beyond the confines of this
state, his death will be mourned.
As the head of the largest religious sect in Montana he
occupied a most prominent position, and wielded a very
powerful influence.
The eminent place he held in the Roman Catholic church
naturally made him a conspicuous figure, and one to whom
respect would have been shown by virtue of his high office,
even though he had no other claim to the regard of the
masses of the people outside the great church that he rep
resented. Thus it can be said of him that as an influential dignitary
of the Catholic church, respect was his due, but during his
years of residence in Montana he gained more than the re
spect of the people of this commonwealth, for at the time
that he fell into his last sleep and gently passed from this
world to that other one, he had in his possession a large
part of the affectionate esteem of every worthy citizen of
the state.
The respect he obtained was due to the sentiment the
public holds for the church to which he belonged, the affec
tionate regard felt for him was the tribute of the people
to the personality of a great and good man.

60 THE VOICE OF THE PRESS
The sketch of Bishop Brondel's life, published in The
Independent yesterday, though brief, tells a story of self-
sacrifice and a life devoted to the cause of God and humanity.
Born in a far distant European country, this man, at an
early age, became inspired with a desire to uplift his fellow
men and in his youth came across the ocean to bring the
painted savages the message which Christ left to the world.
A soldier of Christianity, Bishop Brondel, armed solely
with that sacred emblem of his holy calling, triumphed over
the forces of ignorance and superstition and brought light
and love to human minds that hitherto had been controlled
by darkness and hatred.
The world is so constituted that it is apt to dwell too much
upon the feats of those who win victories by the sword and
think too little of those who have secured bloodless conquests
with the cross.
The mother church finds a place for all her sons and notic
ing his sturdy qualities and steadfastness of purpose, she
determined that Bishop Brondel in his youth should be a
Christian pioneer, and right worthily has he fulfilled the
task assigned him.
Twenty years ago his lot took him into pleasanter fields,
bringing him to Montana as bishop of Helena.
Since that time he had seen with a father's pride and
watchfulness his church grow, prosper and gain great in
fluence in this commonwealth.
Next to his attachment for his church he loved Montana,
and Helena has had no more loyal citizen, and none that
took a greater interest in its welfare.
It was a cherished hope of his that he would live to see
the day when the church would have a stately cathedral
here that would be not only the pride of Catholics, but of
all the people.
There were other growing and new communities that
needed places of worship, and until these wants were sup
plied, and they are not entirely filled yet, he never urged
upon his people to undertake the building of that edifice,
which would have brought so much gratification to his own
generous and kindly heart.
Many of those who had been watching the progress of

THE VOICE OF THE PRESS 61
events and who could not forsee that this man of God was
to be called so soon, had hoped that he would be spared to
see the ambition which he had for his church fulfilled before
his fiLnal summons came.
The grief over the death of Bishop Brondel falls the sever
est upon the members of the same faith who looked upon
him as a spiritual father, but the sorrow does not end there,
for those who have no such close claim to stand beside his
bier and mourn, nevertheless feel their hearts weighed down
by sadness, as they are called upon to part with a true
friend, a good neighbor and an ideal citizen.

"The Bozeman Chronicle, Nov. 11."
From that time on (the date of the appointment of John
B. Brondel as first bishop of Helena) the biography of
Bishop Brondel is the history of Catholicism in Montana.
Bishop Brondel was greatly beloved, not only by the entire
membership of the church over which he presided, but by
every citizen of Montana who had the pleasure of his ac
quaintance. He was not only an earnest and faithful mis
sionary of the cross, but he was a clever, cheerful and cour
teous gentleman in all his relations of life — deservedly re
vered and respected by all who knew him.

"The Great Falls Daily Leader, Nov. 4."
The death of Bishop John B. Brondel removes from the
scene of life one who was esteemed by all who knew him,
regardless of their religion or faith. Bishop Brondel, while
a strict Catholic, was a tolerant man, and in all his relations
with the people of Montana such toleration earned for him
an enviable reputation.
His work in the United States and in Montana was such
as to commend him not only to the heads of the Church,
but to all men who are interested in the progress of civiliza
tion. Going to the northern coast of the Pacific at an early
day, he was one of the pioneers of civilization in that por-

62 THE VOICE OF THE PRESS
tion of the country, and the influence of his work is still
felt in that region. In Montana his work has been of equal
benefit to all the people. He denied his ministrations to no
portion of his wide field, his visitations being made with
regularity and his zeal being unfiagging.
Bishop Brondel was always a diligent and patient student
and stood forth among his fellows as a man of high intel
lectual attainments. He was a deep thinker, a ready speaker
and a writer of eloquence and force. He was distinctly in
dividual and had a marked force of character in connection
with his dignity and personality.
As a man and as a Christian Bishop he was respected,
admired, revered by all citizens of Montana, and not only
have the Catholics of the State lost their leader and their
friend, but all the people of the State have lost a good citi
zen and a firm friend.

"The Great Falls Daily Tribune, Nov. 4."
Among those who class themselves as friends of Bishop
Brondel are people of every class and every creed. A devout
Catholic, with whom religion was not a sentiment, but an
unalterable reality, he, like all men who have attained great
ness, was liberal minded to a degree, and could appreciate
a Christian Spirit even though it was not clothed in the
religion to which he had devoted his life. To his countless
non-Catholic friends he often expressed the sentiment that,
while he wanted to see the Catholic religion embrace all
mankind, he had no quarrel with a believer in God and a
follower of Jesus Christ and a man who did good to his
fellowmen, no matter in what name he cloaked his Chris
tianity, adding that it was the devil and his followers he was
after. A prince of the Church, Bishop Brondel was demo
cratic in spirit, and during his long service, no man, woman
or child was too lowly to receive a kind word of advice or
sympathy from the good bishop, and while Catholics loved
him for his great work in behalf of the Church, the non-
Catholic world admired him for his depth of character and
his true Christian spirit.

THE VOICE OF THE PRESS 68
"The Butte Miner."
BISHOP BRONDEL.
Yesterday morning the Miner contained the said an
nouncement of the death of Bishop Brondel, of Helena, the
head of the Catholic church in this state, together with a
biographical sketch and portrait of that eminent divine.
The death of the prelate, while not wholly unexpected
by his immediate friends, came as a shock to the public that
was unprepared for the decree of Providence that removed
this noble man from the field of religious activity on earth
to a justly earned reward in the bosom of the Father above.
Bishop Brondel was a man of great intellectuality and
splendid attainments, and his qualities of head and heart
endeared him not only to the church over which he presided
with such marked ability but to all our citizens, regardless
of their religious affiliations.
He was in every sense of the word a broad-minded citizen,
concerned in the welfare and best interests of the state, as
well as an earnest and devout ecclesiast ever watchful over
the interests of the great religious organization which he
loved so weU.
Identified with the history of Montana for many years,
he enjoyed the respect and confidence of every citizen of
the state, as a man who had the interests of his fellowmen
at heart and whose counsels were ever helpful to those whom
he so faithfully and sincerely served.
Montana owes much to the memory of Bishop Brondel,
not only as the head of a great religious society that has
grown and prospered under his ministrations and advice,
but as a citizen and a man whose voice and pen were ever
devoted to the advancement of the commonwealth along
material lines.
He will be greatly missed both by the membership of the
church, over which he so lovingly presided for many years,
and by those who had learned to admire his ability and up
rightness of purpose in the secular walks of life.

64 THE VOICE OF THE PRESS
"The Butte Inter-Mountain."
BISHOP BRONDEL.
There is a peculiar pathos in the fact that the last ap
pearance of Bishop Brondel in public was in Butte recendy
when he took part in the impressive funeral services over the
remains of the late John Caplice, honored pioneer, high-
minded citizen and noble and generous business man. The
two had much in common. Both aided materially in the
making of the commonwealth, both were powers for good in
the state, both were pioneers of Montana, both led lives
that were examples and models for the younger generations.
The one a layman and the other a prelate, each played well
his part in the drama of life. Such men are none too many.
The state has suffered in their death.
Simple in taste, democratic in manner and unaffected
and profoundly sincere in his religion. Bishop Brondel was
the type of clergyman whose presence in any community
makes for good. There was no bigotry or intolerance in
his makeup. Broad and liberal in views, though his faith
to him was his very life, he honored and respected those of
other creeds who yet sought in their own ways to follow
in the footsteps of the Master. Anything that was for good,
for Christianity and for charity, had his hearty support and
commendation. Nearly all the days of his manhood were
engaged in the church's work in the Far Northwest, suffering
untold hardships in the earlier periods, enduring the priva
tions and cheerfully making the sacrifices that the life of a
missionary entail. He was a man the church did well to
honor by elevating to the rank which he held so long and the
duties of which he discharged so well. A faithful, earnest,
obedient priest, he became an ideal bishop and administrator.
All Montana, all the Pacific Northwest knew him well.
His benign face, his cheerful, though dignified, manner, his
words of consolation and hope and kindness made his pres
ence in the home or on the altar an event to be cherished
in memory. It is recorded of him that during his 20 years'
service as bishop in Montana he confirmed in the Catholic
faith fully 10,000 persons. But his deeds of individual
charity and Christ-like love, equally as important in the
true worship of the Father, outnumbered this many tin\es.
He was a noble man, a true Christian, a splendid prelate.

At the Crow Agency
Photo by the Indian Missionary, Father Prando, S. J.

3 9002 08866 0726

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