A Remarkable Nun

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 19, 7 May 1903, Page 6

A Remarkable Nun

■—+ MOTHER M. XAVIER WARDE.

™i?^ i a . n . d .? OI ?PB.ny (Boston, U.S.A.) have recently published a highly interesting biography of. that remarkable Irishwoman, Rev. Mother Mary Xavier Warde, whS Jh!? T w f ?"" dr ? ss °' tho flourishing Order of Mercy in the United States. The work is written by the Sisters Zi^ CY> MM o™l^0 ™ 1^- Mary's, Manchester, N.H.. United States and is well illustrated. it tells the life story of the noted Irish nun, her birth at Mountrath, her early training, her work among the cholera gatients during the fearful visitation of that epidemic in 1832, and, eleven years later of her departure, with seven other Sisters of Mercy, to found the first house of the Order in the United States, in Pittsburg. Schools were established by Mother Warde in quick succession in Pittstfurg, Chicago I rmidence Rochester, Hartford, Newhaven, Manchester bSokToM SE£ o p / aces - A stirrin * chapter <■> tbi

The ' Know-Nothing ' Attack

on their house in Providence on March 22, 1855 These no-Popery fanatics had planned "the attack on a great scale and made no secret of their movements. ' Some days before the mob appeared,' the authors w« ,' « i £ M, ayor °i the Clty> Mr - Knowles called on Rev ci end Mother and requested her to depart with her religious from the city, as ten thousand •' Know-Noth-ings from different parts of New England were to arrive on a certain evening to demolish the convent Reverend Mother, with a quiet air and gentle ease made answer to this astounding: threat : " Your honor we have disregarded no duty, nor responsibility of good citizenship. As a body of religious women we are laboring here in our own sphere. Have we given any provocation for this interference ? Will Christian men constitute _a. mob against unoffending women ? Are our rights as citizens not" to be protected ? " ' The Mayor replied that he could not control the upr iM "X« antl the onl y means of safety for the Sister* lay in flight

Mother Warde turned graciously to the perplexed official, and, in dignified tones (with, perhaps, just the slightest flavor of gentle sarcasm), replied, " If I were Chief Executive of municipal affairs, 1 would know how to control the populace " With her strength of charactor, and calm, honest purpose, she certainly could have niled n kingdom, and did not understand the vacillating attitude of the Mayor shirking the unpleasant performance of his duty. His Honor still urged the departure of the Sisters from Providence ; but Reverend Mother gently affirmed, "We will remain in our house, and if needs be. die rather than fly from the field of duty wherein God has placed us "

' During the crisis of affairs, she seemed more calm and peaceful in her whole manner than ever before ; so certain it is that " true virtue shows its mettle amid trials and contradictions." She spent long hours before the Blessed Sacrament, and from the King of kings she asked and received help in tho day of trouble. ' On an eventful evening, shortly after the Mayor's interview, the mob surrounded the convent. As tho rioters made their way 'up the street, the Catholic men of Providence, well armed, took up their places, rank and file, m the Sisters' garden Perfect quiet reigned within the convent The novices knew nothing of what was going on without. They enjoyed their evening recreation as usual, said their night prayers, and retired. Tho older Sisters remained on guard before the Blessed Sacrament. A few assisted Roy. Mother, who, with the fitmost self-control, quietly made her way through tho ranks of men within the convent enclosure, and exacted from each a promise that no fire-arm should be raised nor offence given, unless they were called on to do so in self-defence

' The rioters noted the calm dignity and self-con^ro-surc of the Reverend Mother as they drew up in line before the convent ; and one was overheard remarking to his colleagues on either side, " We made our plans without reckoning the odds we will have to contend with in (ho strong controlling force the presence of that mm commands The only honorable course for us to follow is to retrofit from this ill-concoived fray. I, for one, will not lift a hand to harm these ladies " But the mob hissed and hooted at those words, and threatened tho Sisters with death if ihev rtjd not leave their convent At this juncture tho Bishop and Mr Stead, tho former owner of the convent, appeared on the front en<trauce Mr. Stead, with the courage of a Spartan and the sorcnity of a saint, addressed the mob in the followincr words • " The first shot fired at this house will go thiough my body. Lot me tell you there is a strong force of bravo Irishmen, well armed, within the enclosure of the garden walls. If vmi dare attack the convent of tho religious, they will defend them with their hearts' blood "

' The Bishop then came forward, and said, in grave, clear tones, "My dear friends, in God's name, let not

this city, nor the free institutions of this Republic be tarnished by any dastardly uplifting of your arms against those who have wrought you no harm, but whose blameless lives are their sure defence before God and man. Depart in peace to your homes, and sully not your honor in act so vile."

' As the Bishop finished speaking, the mob withdrew in peaceful detachments, and thus ended this uprising of bigotry in that fair city which can boast to-day of some of the finest Catholic institutions in the country.'

The story of the astounding labor of Mother M. Xayier Warde in the cause of lehgion foims "very interesting and edifying reading for religious institutions and the family circle, and is a very useful addition to the list of prize-foook^ for our Catholic schools.