Ordo Praedicatorum

Below is a reprint of an article which appeared in 1908 edition of The Dominican Yearbook. It is a description of what was then the newly built Priory of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The pictures are original to the article. 

THE DOMINICAN HOUSE OF STUDIES
AT WASHINGTON

From The Dominican Yearbook, 1908

The first harvest which the husband-man gathers from a new soil is the re­sult of much hard and unremitting labor. He has struggled with enemies which had held undisputed possession for centuries, and now that they are con­quered, and the fields lie open to the hand of the sower, he rejoices and longs to extend the work into the very heart of the forest. New pioneers come to aid him; greater facilities present themselves, and an orderly division of labor increases the producing capacity of the group. Such a social process is the beginning of powerful nations, the crea­tion of a complete civilization.

Similar to this growth of social or­ganization is the development of God’s kingdom upon earth. Valiant sons of the Church push forward into the wilderness, where darkness has reigned for ages, to prepare a new soil for the seed of the Gospel. They lift the forest veil, and soon the warmth and light of the Saviour’s love brings forth a welcome harvest of souls. Not content with their own labors, they had early called upon their distant brethren; who, obey­ing with joy the heaven-sent summons, came

“Like torrent bursting from a lofty vein,
And dashing ‘gainst the shocks of heresy,
Smote fiercest where resistance was most stout.”

Thus it was that the religious Orders first led the way to world-wide fields of apostolic activity; thus it was that the Dominicans came to lend their aid in the early hardships of the Church in the United States, and through the grace of that heroic charity founded a perma­nent base in this country for the exer­cise of their mission. In the notable influence of Catholicity which marked the hierarchical organization of the Church the Dominicans were important factors, and since zeal and disinterested­ness were their most manifest traits, it is not surprising, that, while striving to supply the pressing needs of missionary life, and devoting all their best energies to that end, they grew to neglect their own material welfare, until they found themselves without suitable accommo­dations and facilities for the successful continuance of their work.

Movements looking towards the erec­tion of a more commodious House of Studies than that at Somerset, Ohio, were begun as time went on. No de­cisive steps were taken in the matter, however, until the election of the. Very Rev. L. F. Kearney, O. P., S. T. M., as Provincial, and it is to his activity and enthusiasm that the credit is due for the organized effort which brought the undertaking to a successful issue. The claims of several university cities as sites for the proposed college were carefully considered, with the result that Washington was selected, owing, in great measure, to the presence there of the great Catholic University of Amer­ica. The selection expressed the con­fidence of the Fathers in the future of the University, which must some day be one of our greatest national educa­tional institutions.

The original plans drawn up by the distinguished Belgian art critic, Pere Bioley, O. P., were found to be ill-adapted in some particulars to condi­tions in this country. They were modi­fied under the direction of the Rev. R. J^. Meaney, O. P., who had been appointed general superintendent of the undertaking.

The turning of the first sod, April 23, 1903, was made an occasion of marked distinction by the presence of His Eminence Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop Ryan, Archbishop Farley, Mgr. Nugent, Mgr. O’Connell, Rector of the Catholic University ; Father Proctor, Provincial of the ‘English Dominicans and many distinguished priests and members of the laity. An incident of the day was the witty reply of His Grace of Philadelphia to His_, Eminence. The Cardinal having turned the first sod, Archbishop Ryan took the spade and, instead of turning a new one, was content to further turn that of the Cardinal. His Eminence remarking this, His Grace set the matter right by replying: “Ah, Your Eminence, I love the ^`Old Sod’ best.

From that day the work of laying the foundations proceeded rapidly until, on the 16th of August, 1903, the corner stone of the proposed building was placed by His Excellency, the Mt. Rev. Diomede Falconio, Apostolic Delegate. The present Mt. Rev. Metropolitan of Boston, Archbishop O’Connell, then Bishop of Portland, Me., preached the dedicatory sermon. It was a most scholarly presentation of the work of the religious Orders in the cause of Christian education. A few passages f^rom the eloquent tribute will be of interest:

“We are assembled here upon a memorable occasion—the wedding of the old with the new. The old Order of St. Dominic comes to enrich the new University with its centuries of learning and experience, with its holy and glorious traditions. It is a union of strength and wisdom, of high hope and solid achievement. It is a typical occasion. Thus does the Catholic Church pursue her unfaltering course through the centuries; thus does she renew herself from age to age, bringing forth from the treasures of her divine tradition and her history those principles of wise administration which exert their mild yet indomitable sway upon generation after generation and which transform the world. * * The religious life itself, the complete and exact observance of the Gospel counsels, has never failed to exist in the Church from its foundation^.; it is a part of the essential note of sanctity of the Church. No saint, however holy, can claim to be its founder, since the religious life, like the Church, has but one founder — Our Lord Jesus Christ. * * This is the work of the children of St. Dominic here—to show forth in this new land all the fiery zeal and solid piety of their Order; to illustrate to all men that the Western World, strong in all that is new, is yet a fruitful field of labor for the old and eternally true Church of Christ; to preach in this land with all the zeal and holy eloquence of St. Dominic; to show forth their love of poverty and that detachment which has ever been one of the characteristics of the Friars Preachers; and to bring to this University the spirit of sacred learning and holiness that shines forth in the example of the great Dominican, St. Thomas Aquinas.

“May the blessing of God rest upon this new manifestation of the vigor of the old religious life which for ages has been the glory of Holy Mother Church. Today, Rome’s highest rep­resentative, by_, a blessed coincidence a noble son of the great St. Francis, blesses the foundations of this house of St. Dominic. This is an augury of assured success—a solid promise of future triumph, of new victories for the old brigade of the Church’s army. May the old and the new, this day_, wedded here, grow and prosper in the harmony of the House of God, in which there is plenty of room for all—and in the unity of the kingdom of God on earth, in which there is work enough and glory enough for all. May the new here learn to love and revere the old—to remember that the long-trodden ways are the safest ways—that the new world may profit by the experience of the old; and may the old Order of St. Dominic here renew its youthful vigor and its pristine zeal. And may the only sentiment that enters here between these espoused “nova” and “vetera” be the blessed rivalry and em­ulation of kindling more fires of the charity of Christ; of spreading farther and wider the holy faith; of welding closer still the union of the new America with the ancient See of Peter, and thus saving more souls for Christ, the eternal Householder of the House of God.”

On August 20, 1905, Cardinal Gibbons blessed the College. Some days before the faculty and all the students from Somerset, Ohio, had arrived and were present to witness the ceremony. This was the centenary celebration of the establishment of St. Joseph’s Prov­ince of the Friars Preachers. Simplicity characterized the occasion. His Emi­nence Cardinal Gibbons was the only invited guest. The final dedication was reserved until February 4, 1907, when, with solemn rite, His Excellency Archbishop Falconio, dedicated the choir chapel to the service of God. Solemn High Mass was sung by the V. Rev. Father Bede, Guardian of the near-by Franciscan monastery, assisted by mem­bers of his Order. The deacons of honor to His Excellency were Very Rev. Dr. Burns, C. S. C., and Very Rev. Dr. Sollier, S. M. Rev. Father Sebastian, O. F. M., acted as Master of Cere­monies, with seven scholastics from the Holy Cross College assisting in the sanctuary. A choir of thirty Domin­ican novices sang the beautiful Grego­rian chants throughout with artistic effect. Seated in the oaken stalls were the distinguished guests: Mgr. Ceretti, Rev. Drs. Shahan, Grannan, Hyvernat, Pace, Aiken, and Poels of the Catholic University; Rev. Dr. Dyer; Rev. Father Judge, S. J., and V. Rev. Father Elliott, C. S. P.; Drs. Robinson, Shea, and Dunn of the Catholic University.

Father L. F. Kearney, Provincial of the Dominicans in this country, read a letter from His Holiness imparting his blessing, which was at once intoned by His Excellency. Father Kearney preached in part as follows:

“All places are, in a sense, sanctified ^,by God. The universe is the temple of God as truly sanctified by His presence as is the empyrean heaven. Moreover, where God is, He has a right to the homage of men, and His eyes are open and His ears attentive to every earnest prayer which is uttered. But by God’s express will certain places are made sa­cred to His image in a special sense; they are consecrated exclusively to His worship; places in which only acts of piety are performed, from which He ex­pects no other sounds than songs of praise and prayer. In the days of old, He commanded King Solomon to build a temple, and Solomon built of cedar, and silver and gold an edifice of glitter­ing splendor, and the children of Israel fell down with faces on the ground and adored and praised the Lord. Now, the Old Testament, in the words of St. Paul, was `but a shadow of things to come.’ The same God Whom Solomon wor­shiped established a new religion, of which the old was but a figure. This new religion has temples, and these are sanctified by God’s presence in a new way. God incarnate lives in our tem­ples, and the same divinely infused idea which animated Solomon when he built the Temple, has clotted the earth with Christian temples in which God is hon­ored by forms of worship “infinitely higher than the old. And if all Christians have temples consecrated and sanctified, in which they draw closer to God; it is most fitting that these chil­dren of His who have been called to His priesthood should have a temple in which He shall dwell.

“Here the sons of Dominic will be trained in piety and learning, walking in the spirit of their vocation going forth to meet the needs of the Church in Amer­ica as priestly scholars, as faithful reli­gious, as zealous missionaries” * * *

“In conclusion let me state that this chapel to-day dedicated and this build­ing raised for the honor and glory of God, is the monument of the poor, whom we have served long, silently and faithfully. Insinuations and public cal­ummes have been spread broadcast that help from our brethren in distant lands has been employed to raise this edifice. I wish to state publicly on this occasion that not a cent from any source has been received or used beyond the con­tributions given in a generous spirit and out of gratitude by those whom our brethren have served here in the United States.”

The College of the Immaculate Con­ception is completed. The massive Gothic pile, a quadrangle inclosing an open court, stands facing the front campus of the Catholic University. The solidity and simplicity of its light-grey sandstone, reaching up in many pinnacled buttresses, is relieved by the carved and crocketed finials, the ar­cades and arcatures repeating the famil­iar trefoil-headed panel, and the mullioned windows with dripstones termi­nating in foliated corbels. High above the main entrance and within the facade is a niche containing a pure white statue of the Immaculate Conception

On entering the College the softly-tinted rays from a beautiful stained-glass window, representing Our Lord as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, bidding His Apostles go forth and teach the nations, lights up the visitor^‘s hall leading to the chapel, which is, of course, the only richly ornamented part of the entire building. It is one hun­dred and fifteen feet long and thirty feet wide, and contains five altars, a pipe-organ of remarkable tone, and choir-stalls for the chanting of the Divine Office. Finished throughout in oak and chestnut, with walls of russet and ceil­ing of blue and gold [N.B. Since this time, the walls have been painted white and the ceiling tiles removed.], it is in many respects an exact replica of the Cambridge Chapter Hall.

Consistent with the best ideas of ecclesiastical architecture, the main altar is a triumph of artis­tic skill. It is done in un­varnished Flemish oak [N.B. At some point in the past the altar was varnished, leaving the wood darker in appearance.], its wonderful hand-carved figures representing the fifteen mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Just above the tabernacle and be­neath the sorrowful scene of the crucifixion, St. Dominic is pictured as receiving the Rosary from the hands of Jesus and Mary. The front of the altar-table shows the figure of Christ, as the Alpha and Omega of all things, while on each side stand two Evangel­ists, each with his proper symbol. This altar is un­doubtedly one of the fin­est specimens of hand carving the country, bringing back the purest days of art, the days of Cimabue, Massaica, Giotto, and Fra Angelico.

Below the chancel are arranged the carved choir stalls, thirty-two on either side of the chapel [N.B. Since the chapel was built a new row of choir stalls was added, making approximately 60 choir stalls on either side], where the Friars Preachers chant the canonical hours: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline. [N.B. With the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the office of Prime was suppressed and the only one of the minor hours of Terce, Sext and None was made obligatory.] Back of the stalls and over the paneling is an arcade employing the gable form and decorated with finials. The console-table bearing the brass organ-pipes is supported by two, large intricately carved corbels. The organ is an ex­ceptionally fine instrument built by the Moller Organ Co., of Hagerstown, Md.  [N.B., A new organ was built in the chapel in the 1980s.] It is the gift of one whose charities are many and wide-reaching, but whose no­ble generosity is known only to God. An unique, addition to the already distinctive ornamentation of the chapel has recently been made by the erection of an artistically carved clock. The design is in perfect Harmony, be­ing pure Gothic and executed in English black walnut, polished ebony and glittering mother-of-pearl. Grouped about the dial are figures repre­senting the sorrowful mysteries of the Holy Rosary, the Immaculate Conception, St. Dominic, and St. Catharine of Si­ena. An ebony crucifix, with _.a corpus of hail-carved maple, occupies a central niche. The clock in its entirety is the work of one of the brothers of the Order. Long, patient hours, which ran into months, did Bro. Hyacinth, O. P., spend carv­ing and uniting the intri­cate and artistic work which is the admiration of all who see it. The chapel is to be further beautified by paintings, stained-glass windows, a rood-screen, and two lecterns of bur­nished brass.  [N.B.  At some point in the past the Chapel Clock was lost, and its current whereabouts are unknown.]

The College of the Immaculate Conception stands a monument to the zealous initiative of Father Kearney and the bountiful generosity of the friends of the Dominican Order in the United States. Its walls rise up the most conspicuous of the many fine buildings which cluster about the main halls of the University, and its Gothic pinnacles stand like sentinels upon the defense fortifications of some ancient city; yet, higher and more important than this structural grandeur are the hopes which take root and grow to a fruitful realization within its sanctified precincts. The course of studies en-joined by the statutes of the Dominican Order being exceptionally rigorous, the scholarship obtained by the students in philosophical and theological learning places them among the ablest defenders of the faith. The Prior of the Convent, the Very Rev. D. J. Kennedy, O. P., S. T. M., is now engaged in giving theological lectures at the Catholic Uni­versity, holds high rank_, as a Thomistic theologian and was at one time Professor of Philosophy at the University of Fribourg. In his own college, Father Kennedy presides as Regent over a faculty all the members of which have en­joyed the advantages of European training.

With such facilities and incentives, the future of the Dominican House of Studies is bright with the radiance of victories won for God and His Holy Church. The sons of St. Dominic shall not forget the spirit which filled them there; and going out into the fields, they shall rejoice to serve faithfully as the humble instruments of God that the barns of the Husbandman may overflow in abundant measure with the blessed harvest of the Word of God.

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