The Catholic World, Vol. 16, October 1872-March 1873Various
Religion
The Catholic World, Vol. 16, October 1872-March 1873
Various
Catholic Church -- Periodicals
After six weeks thus spent, Father Jogues, accompanied by the minister,
Dominie Megapolensis, took the first boat for New Amsterdam, as the city
of New York was then called. The voyage lasted six weeks, during which
Father Jogues became a great favorite with all on board. As they passed a
little island in their route, the crew named it in honor of Father Jogues
amid the discharge of cannon, and the Calvinist minister honored the
Jesuit by contributing a bottle of wine to the festivities of the
occasion. After an agreeable voyage, they arrived at New Amsterdam. The
germ of the present monster city consisted then of a little fort
garrisoned with sixty men, a governor’s house, a church, and the houses of
four or five hundred men scattered over and around the entire Island of
Manhattan. There were many different sects and nations represented there.
The director‐general told Father Jogues that there were eighteen different
languages spoken on the island. The Jesuit was enthusiastically received
at New Amsterdam, for the people turned out in crowds to greet him. One of
them, a Polish Lutheran, when he saw the mangled hands of Father Jogues,
ran and threw himself at his feet to kiss his wounded hands, exclaiming,
“O martyr of Christ! O martyr!” So practical, however, were the notions of
the old Dutch inhabitants of the city about such matters, that they asked
the missionary how much the company of New France would pay him for all he
had suffered! Father Jogues made a vigilant search in New Amsterdam for
Catholics. He found two: one, a Portuguese woman, with whom he could not
converse, showed that she still clung to her faith by the pious pictures
which were hanging round her room; the other, an Irishman, trading from
Virginia, who availed himself of the father’s presence to go to his
confession. It was from the latter that he learned that the English
Jesuits had been driven from Maryland by the Puritan rulers of that
colony, and had taken refuge in Virginia.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account