Across the valley, upon a similar hill, is another cathedral, also
dedicated to the glory of God and St. Patrick, and behind it, in a much
more modest mansion, is the residence of Cardinal Logue, Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of Ireland and a member of the sacred
college of Rome. Thus in the same little town we have two cathedrals of
St. Patrick, two archbishops of Armagh, and two primates of the Holy
Catholic church, both claiming ecclesiastical authority inherited from
St. Patrick, founder of the Christian church in Ireland, and first
archbishop of Armagh, through one hundred and fourteen generations of
archbishops who have lived and prayed and reigned in this picturesque
little place.
In several cities there are two archbishops or bishops, one Roman
Catholic and one of the Church of Ireland, and the duplication is often
the cause of embarrassment and confusion. If you are seeking or even
mentioning one of them it is necessary to make yourself clear by giving
the name of the church or the name of the man as well as the title. I
once addressed a letter to "His Grace, the Archbishop of Dublin," and it
was returned to me from the post office for more definite address. The
post-office authorities would not take the risk of delivering it to the
wrong man.
Archbishop Alexander and Cardinal Logue are the best of friends and see
each other frequently, co-operating in works of charity and movements of
public interest with cordiality and mutual esteem. When I was in Armagh
Cardinal Logue had recently returned from a visit to America, where he
went to assist in the celebration of the anniversary of the founding of
the diocese of New York. He was enthusiastic about his reception and
what he saw and did in the United States. He is a man of great dignity,
ability, and usefulness, but with all has a keen sense of humor and a
jolly disposition.
The town of Armagh is surrounded by scenes of transcendent historic and
ecclesiastical interest. On a lovely hillside is a holy spring where St.
Patrick baptized his first converts. A little farther away is a large
artificial mound, about eleven acres in extent, covered with aged
hawthorn trees, where stood the royal palace of Ulster, and it was
occupied for a century after the arrival of St. Patrick. Within the
grounds of the Protestant archbishop are the remains of a Franciscan
monastery and a well beside which St. Bridget lived for several years.
Eastward of the town, upon the hills, was located the ancient Catholic
University of Armagh founded by St. Patrick in the year 455, where as
many as seven thousand students gathered for instruction in literature,
the arts, and theology, and until the Reformation it was one of the
greatest schools of Europe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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