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THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
APRIL, 1865.
MEMOIRS OF MY MINISTRY.
BY CARDINAL CONSALVI.
In the lonely hours of his exile at Rheims, whither he had been banished
by Napoleon for having refused to assist at the imperial marriage
with Maria Louisa, Cardinal Consalvi found employment in tracing from
memory an outline of the great affairs which had occupied him during his
ministry as Secretary of State. It was no self-love nor mean desire of
praise that induced the man of action thus to become the historian of
his own deeds. To the same zeal which had nerved him in his conflicts
for the cause of the Church, do we owe the truthful record he has left
us of the fortunes of these conflicts in which the Holy See was so
audaciously attacked and so successfully defended. The thought that,
perhaps, one day his words might be of advantage to the interests of
religion, or might supply weapons for its defence, was a motive strong
enough to influence him to undertake the task under circumstances
the most unfavourable that can well be imagined. "I have drawn up
these memoirs", he writes, "at most critical moments; how critical,
may well be imagined when I mention, that as soon as I have finished
a page I must hide it at once in a safe place, so as to secure it from
the unforeseen perquisitions to which at all times we are exposed....
I am without notes either to guide or to confirm my reminiscences.
I have not the leisure, nor the tranquillity, nor the security, nor
the liberty which I require, if I would enrich my narrative with comments
and becoming ornaments.... If God grant me life and better days, I hope
to give to my work all that perfection of form and style which is at
present beyond my power".
But, whatever the narrative may lack in perfection of form and style,
is abundantly compensated by the interest attaching to the events
it describes. It sets before us a picture of the movement of European
society during the stirring period of the Cardinal's administration. The
intrigues, and schemes, and falsehoods of diplomacy; the art of masking
ambitious designs under generous language, and laying snares for a
rival's unwary feet; the dishonourable selfishness, the detestable
hypocrisy--in a word, all that goes to make up the strategy of modern
statecraft, is laid bare in its pages by a master hand. And what lends
fresh interest to the subject is the contrast it offers between the
baseness of courts and the loyal rectitude of the Holy See, between
the plotting which on the world's side exhibits nought but the cunning
of the serpent, and the honourable prudence on the part of the Church
which tells also of the simplicity of the dove. On the one hand we have
a web of intrigue, each thread of which is meant to secure some perhaps
undue advantage; on the other, a straightforward policy placing religion
above everything, and worthy of the Pontiff who is vicar on earth of
that Lord who loves souls. That the voice of such a policy should be
heard at all, is due under Providence to the temporal sovereignty of the
Holy See. The folly of those who would wish, for the sake of religion,
to see the Pope a subject rather than a sovereign, cannot be better shown
than by the history of the relations between the Holy See and the courts
of Europe during Consalvi's administration. During that period Naples,
Spain, Portugal, Austria, Russia, Malta, and France had each of them
separate negociations to conduct with the Holy See on matters affecting
the liberty of the Church and the interests of religion. It was a time
when the interests of different states crossed each other in a thousand
ways, and if the Pope had been the subject of any one of these kingdoms,
it would have been simply impossible, humanly speaking, to carry on
the government of the Church. Statesmen would have at their hand the
ready pretext that the decisions of the Holy Father were coloured by
undue national prejudices, and this pretext would serve to excuse
their own encroachments upon the liberties of the Church in their
own territories. Besides, that jealousy of the Church which has ever
impelled statesmen to fetter its action, would certainly influence the
sovereign who might claim the Pope as his subject to interfere with the
liberty of so formidable a rival. The success which followed Cardinal
Consalvi's management of affairs was due, no doubt, in great part, to his
surpassing abilities; but these abilities required, as the condition of
their exercise, the vantage ground of independence. Speaking from the
steps of a throne, with all the liberty which that position secured to
him, the Cardinal Secretary had an influence which could never belong
to the mere ecclesiastic raising a suppliant voice at the footstool of
some haughty sovereign.
The relations of France with the Holy See in the beginning of this
century were such as to demand the unceasing attention of the Papal
minister. We have already given the history of the negotiations
concerning the Concordat with the First Consul; we are sure that the
Cardinal's narrative of other transactions between Napoleon and the
Pope will prove not less interesting to our readers.
It is not a little singular that the earliest negotiation between Pius
VII. and France was precisely similar to the latest, and that the name
of England held a prominent place in both. It is not at all singular,
however, that the Pope followed in the latest the self-same principles
of conduct which he professed in the earliest, even though this faithful
adherence to his duty cost him his throne, and his liberty. Soon after
his arrival in Rome, from Venice, there was some reason to fear lest
the French army might proclaim once more the Roman Republic, and thus
deprive the Holy Father of his dominions. All anxiety was soon dispelled
by the proclamation issued by Murat to his troops, then about to march
upon Naples through the Pontifical territory. In this proclamation he
commanded his soldiers to observe strict discipline in passing through
the friendly territory of the Holy See. This recognition of the papal
sovereignty was a joyful surprise to all those who heard of it. But among
those who did not hear of it was a Mgr. Caleppi, just named as Nuncio
to the Brazils, who had become acquainted with Murat at Florence. Filled
with zeal for the Pope, Mgr. Caleppi, without having received any orders
from Rome, hurried after the general and overtook him at Florence. He
there induced Murat to agree to a treaty, securing the integrity of
the Papal territory on certain conditions, which he promised would
be at once carried to Rome and gladly accepted by his Holiness. The
treaty was short, but contained one article which plunged the Holy
Father into a most embarrassing position. This article declared that
the Pope would close his ports against the English and all other enemies
of France. Nothing could be more opposed than this to the view the Pope
took of the duties of his position as common Father of the faithful and
minister of peace. He had resolved to maintain a strict neutrality in
the great struggle that was going on, hoping by this conduct to preserve
the free exercise of his spiritual sovereignty, even in the countries
against whose sovereigns France was waging war. The indiscreet zeal of
Mgr. Caleppi placed him in the alternative of either breaking through
his fixed rule of conduct, or of making a declaration of neutrality at
a time when such a declaration was sure to be attended with the most
disastrous consequences. He resolved not to ratify the treaty. In a
short time Murat came to Rome, and by his frank and loyal character,
won for himself the esteem of Consalvi. When they came to treat of the
convention, and when the Cardinal disavowed the proceedings of Mgr.
Caleppi, Murat gave a signal proof of his affection for Pius VII. It was
in his power to insist on the ratification of the treaty, and to inform
Bonaparte of the Pope's refusal; but he preferred to lose the credit
he could have won for himself by such an act, and after employing many
arguments to shake the Pope's resolution, he at length exclaimed: "Well,
then, since this treaty is a source of so much trouble to the Holy Father
and to you, let us throw it into the fire, and say no more about it".
Soon after this occurrence Consalvi went to Paris to negociate the
Concordat. After the ratification of the French Concordat came the
discussion of the Italian Concordat for the kingdom of Italy. What the
organic laws were to the French Concordat, the decrees of the President
Melzi became to the Italian one. The Emperor's decrees--which, while they
appeared to revoke those of Melzi in deference to the Pope's opposition,
in reality confirmed them--completely frustrated the good effects of
the Concordat. The difficulties of these two negociations were hardly
over when the marriage of the Emperor's brother Jerome was a source
of fresh trouble to the Holy See. Napoleon urged the Pope to declare
null the marriage his brother had contracted in America without the
consent of his mother or his brother. Cardinal Fesch, the Emperor's
uncle, was charged with the management of this affair, and spared no
importunities to extort from the Pope the desired decision. The whole
question hinged on this: could the Emperor prove that the decrees of the
Council of Trent had been published at Baltimore, where the marriage
was contracted? If proof of this were forthcoming, the Pope would at
once declare the marriage null and void; but if it could not be proved,
then the marriage was perfectly valid, seeing that the defect of the
consent of the parents was not an _impedimentum dirimens_, but only a
civil disability in the eyes of the French law. The Cardinal relates
that in the many letters written by the Emperor to the Pope during the
course of this affair, he frequently insisted, and with extreme energy,
on the fact that his brother's spouse was a Protestant, and he censured
in the most abusive language the Pontiff, who, as he said, was desirous
of maintaining a heretic in a family every member of which was destined
to mount a throne. The Pope's reply was, that although this difference
of religion rendered the marriage unlawful, yet it did not make it
invalid. After these letters, who could believe that as soon as the
ecclesiastical authorities at Paris had declared the American marriage
null and void, the Emperor would make Jerome marry another Protestant,
the daughter of the King of Wurtemberg, and afterwards Queen of
Westphalia?
Next came the great event of the journey of Pius VII. to Paris, to
officiate at the coronation of the Emperor. One day a letter came to
Rome from the Cardinal Caprera, then legate at Paris, containing an
announcement as unexpected as it was important. The Legate stated that
the Emperor had summoned him to an audience, and had represented to
him that all orders of the state, and the best friends of the Church,
believed it likely to be of service to religion that he should be crowned
by the Pope under his new title of Emperor of the French; that this was
also his own opinion; that the state of France made it impossible for
him to co to Rome to receive the diadem there, and that consequently
the ceremony could not be performed unless the Pontiff should consent
to come to Paris for the purpose, as some of his predecessors had done;
that, by reason of the advantages which would accrue from it to religion,
the Pope would remain satisfied with his journey beyond all his hopes;
that the matter should be laid at once before the Holy Father; and in
case he consented, that the government would forward a formal invitation
with all the solemnity and pomp befitting such a guest and such a host.
The imperial representations were backed by the Cardinal Legate's
own remarks. He added that he was in a position to declare that
great benefits would follow the Pope's compliance, whilst the worst
consequences might be speedily expected from a refusal; that a refusal
would be felt very much, and would never be forgiven; that excuses based
on the health or the advanced age of the Pope, on the inconveniences of
the journey, etc., would be looked upon as mere pretexts; that a tardy
reply would be equivalent to a refusal; and that it was idle to raise
objections on the etiquette of the reception and sojourn at Paris,
for the writer knew, on the best authority, that the reception of the
Holy Father would equal, and even surpass, in magnificence all former
occasions; but the Emperor was not willing to undergo the humiliation
of binding himself by a formal treaty to do that to which his own heart
naturally inclined him.
This proposal was of a nature to require the most careful consideration.
The impetuous character of Napoleon made it easy to foresee what
disastrous consequences might spring from a refusal; and on the other
hand, the state of European feeling towards the Emperor was such as
to convince any one that to accept the invitation was to provoke the
indignation both of governments and of individuals. What was the Holy
Father to do in such a crisis? He did what the Popes have ever done;
calling to mind that human wisdom is weak at its best--_cogitationes
mortalium timidae et incertae_, as he expressed it in his allocution--he
implored from God light and help to the end that he might discover which
of the two courses would better promote the honour and the interests
of religion. He set aside all earthly influences, and refused to take
counsel from human motives. He convoked the Sacred College, and laid
before it the letters of the Cardinal Legate and of Cardinal Fesch, who,
as French Ambassador at Rome, had been charged by his government with
the negotiation. The Cardinals gave their opinion in writing, and by a
majority declared that the invitation should be accepted. The Emperor
had formally pledged his word that the journey would be productive of
much good to religion, and it was thought the Pope could not refuse an
invitation so expressed. A refusal would throw all the blame of the
consequences on the Holy See, and it was of the last importance that
no pretext for these calumnies should be afforded to the enemies of
that See. Besides, all the Catholic powers of Europe, and many besides,
had already recognized the new empire. In addition to these general
reasons, there were two to which special weight was attached. The
organic laws, and the installation of constitutional bishops, who had
not retracted their errors, were two outrages upon religion in France,
which caused perpetual grief to the Holy Father. The formal promises of
Napoleon, coupled with the advantage of the Pope's presence in Paris,
gave good grounds to hope that these two evils could be remedied if the
Emperor's invitation were accepted. It was not thought prudent, however,
to accept the invitation in the dark, as it were, nor did the Emperor's
verbal promises to the Legate, nor Cardinal Fesch's vague generalities
on the good of religion, inspire confidence enough. Before the Pope
would give his final consent, he determined to reduce to something
tangible and obligatory these vague indefinite promises of the French
government. Cardinal Fesch advised that the Pope should exact, as
a condition of his consent, the restitution of the three Legations
which France had torn from the States of the Church. But the pure soul
of Pius VII. revolted against the idea of admitting any thought of
temporal advantages; not only did he reject the Cardinal's well-meant
suggestion, but positively forbade him ever again to make mention of it.
He refused to give his consent unless the French government would promise
to withdraw the organic laws, and to abandon those of the constitutional
bishops who should refuse to make a public and sincere retractation. It
took four or five months of negotiation to extort these promises from
Napoleon. During that period Consalvi had daily conferences with Cardinal
Fesch, whose warm temper frequently led to lively debates. At length
M. de Talleyrand addressed an official note to the Cardinal Legate, in
which it was expressly declared that as to the organic laws the Emperor
would treat directly with the Holy Father, whose representations should
be attended to in such a way as to give his Holiness the most complete
satisfaction. The Emperor was ready to do even more than the Pope had
asked; and it was insinuated that he would be happy to listen with
favour to any requests the Pope should make concerning his temporal
interests. Touching the intruded bishops, M. de Talleyrand made large
promises, but their tenor was so vague that the Holy Father did not
remain satisfied until he held in his hand a written promise that the
constitutional bishops should make their retractation in the Pope's hands
in the form prescribed by him, and that any who might refuse to do so
should be forced to resign their sees. This point having been arranged,
it was thought that the due regard for the majesty of the pontifical
dignity demanded some other precautions. The Holy Father felt that he
ought not to expose his high office to insult or irreverence, and this
consideration urged him to request some information as to the manner in
which he was to be received at Paris by the Emperor. In his reply to the
inquiries made on this point Talleyrand employed these remarkable words:
"Between Pius the Seventh's journey to France, his reception there,
his treatment, and the results which are to spring from it, and Pius the
Sixth's journey to Vienna, there shall be as much difference as there is
between Napoleon I. and Joseph II.". Another precaution judged necessary
by Consalvi regarded the coronation itself. The later notes of Cardinal
Fesch were remarkable for a strange variety of expressions. Instead of the
word _coronation_ (_incoronazione_), employed in the original invitation
presented by the Cardinal Legate in the Emperor's name, the Cardinal Fesch
had commenced to use the word _consecration_ (_consecrazione_). Consalvi
at once demanded the reason of this change, and Cardinal Fesch replied:
"Beyond all doubt, the Pope is to crown the Emperor, but I believe there
is to be a double coronation, one in the Church by the Pope, the other in
the Champ de Mars by the Senate". The Pope at once sent a despatch to the
Legate at Paris commanding him to signify to the Emperor that the Holy
Father could not allow his Majesty to be crowned by other hands after
he had been crowned by the Pope; that a second coronation would be an
insult to the dignity of the Head of the Church; and that, consequently,
if it were intended that the Emperor should be twice crowned, the Holy
Father would not go to Paris at all. Talleyrand replied in an official
note that the Emperor set too high a value on his coronation by the
Pope to wish to receive a second diadem from the hands of others.
The choice of those who were to form the suite of the Pontiff next came
under discussion. The French government was anxious that the Pope should
take with him twelve cardinals and a corresponding number of prelates and
of Roman nobles. The Holy Father resolved to bring only four cardinals
and four bishops, besides the prelates attached to his immediate service,
such as his _maggiordomo_ and his _maestro di camera_. The two Roman
princes who commanded the noble guard were to follow him. However, in
deference to Cardinal Fesch's requests, he added to this little court
the two cardinal deacons, Braschi and de Bayane. The other four cardinals
were Antonelli, de Pietro, Borgia, and Caselli.
To conduct these negotiations to a happy issue was a task of immense
difficulty. The Cardinal writes that while they were proceeding he
had to bear what was almost intolerable, and what only his zeal for
the interests of the Holy See could have made him brook. At length the
decisive _yes_ was spoken, at first confidentially, because no formal
invitation was to be delivered until such time as all arrangements were
completed. The French government at once announced the Pope's intended
visit, in order that the publicity thus given to his promise might make
any change of purpose impossible or very difficult. Having thus made
himself sure of the presence of the Roman Pontiff at his coronation,
Napoleon all at once changed his tone, and made the Pope feel how
little respect be really had for the Head of the Church. Indeed, it
was Cardinal Consalvi's deliberate opinion--and after events show that
he was correct in his judgment--that the French government was fully
determined never to carry out the promises which the Pope's minister
had extorted from it. The formal invitation was couched in language
that fell far short of the ancient formula used on similar occasions,
and which the government had promised to employ. Then, instead of
deputing ecclesiastics or great dignitaries to present the Emperor's
letter to Pius VII., Napoleon sent through Brigadier-General Caffarelli
a note so mean in every respect that the Holy Father was inclined to
refuse to accept it. But as he had undertaken the journey for the good
of the Church, he resolved to bear with calmness and patience whatever
slights might be put upon him. He soon found abundant occasions for the
exercise of these virtues. In the first place, he was forced to set out
on his journey with a precipitate speed that was equally unbecoming his
dignity and injurious to his health. He left Rome on 2nd November, 1802,
in order to arrive at Paris on the 27th or 28th; and during this long
journey he was allowed to rest only twice--once at Florence for a day
or two, and again a day at Turin--a few hours of repose being with
difficulty permitted him at other places on the road. Besides, he was
not even consulted about the day to be fixed for the ceremony, although
common politeness should have suggested this mark of deference. "I will
say nothing", says Consalvi, "of all the Pope had to suffer from the
disrespect shown him in the capital; I will not speak of the manner
in which Napoleon made his first appearance before his Holiness at
Fontainebleau, in the midst of a pack of fifty hounds, as if going to
or returning from the chase; I will not tell how the Pope was made to
enter Paris by night and in silence, in order that no eye might see
the Emperor at the Pontiff's left, for being in his own carriage he was
forced to yield the right to his guest. I will be silent as to how and
why, on the day of the consecration, Napoleon made his Holiness wait
a full hour and a half seated on the throne near the altar, and how
all the arrangements which had been agreed on for the ceremony were
set aside; I will not tell how the Emperor himself placed the crown
on his own head, having rudely snatched it from the altar before the
Pope stretched out his hand to take it up; I will not tell how at the
imperial banquet on that day the Pontiff was made to sit in the third
place at the table where sat the Emperor, the Empress, and the Prince
Elector of Ratisbon; nor will I say a word of the second coronation
which, contrary to solemn pledges, took place in the Champ de Mars,
nor of the way in which Napoleon, although as it were in his own house,
took the right of his Holiness on all occasions when they made their
appearance together in public, nor of the little respect he showed
him. He never paid him those marks of veneration which so many great
kings and emperors have been proud to pay to the Sovereign Pontiffs.
Finally, I will be silent about the humiliations which Pius VII. was made
to undergo during the whole period of his sojourn. I have but enumerated
these sufferings, to the end that all may understand how much virtue,
moderation, and goodness the Pope had need of to follow the magnificent
examples of self-abasement which the God whose vicar he was here below,
has bequeathed to the world. I have wished, likewise, to expose conduct
on which I will not allow myself to pass judgment, for I could not do
so with becoming coolness and self-respect".
These insults would have been more sweet to the Holy Father if he had
been able to realise all the good he had promised himself to achieve
for religion at the price of his condescension. But here, too, he
was disappointed. After many memorials on the subject to the Emperor,
and after many interviews, he was forced to surrender all hopes of
seeing the organic laws abolished. Napoleon was simply false to his
solemn promises. Nor would the government fulfil its engagement to
force the constitutional bishops to a retractation. But what the power
of the state would not do, the force of the Pope's gentle virtues
happily effected. He called the bishops several times to an audience;
and his affectionate manners, his kind language, and the charm of his
goodness, made such an impression on their minds, that they avowed their
schism, and made a solemn retractation in the form prescribed by the
Holy See. Nor did any one of them ever afterwards, by word or deed,
give sign of their ancient errors. The Pope thus had the unspeakable
delight of having, by his journey, extinguished that dangerous schism,
to effect the destruction of which he had before agreed to the Concordat.
We must pass over the other indignities which the Pope had to endure
before he could effect his departure from Paris. It was while the Pope
was his guest that the Emperor changed the Italian republic into the
kingdom of Italy, taking formal possession of the three Legations, and
adding the pontifical keys to his coat of arms. He was also disrespectful
enough to neglect his duties as host, by setting out for Italy before
the Pope left his palace. He even compelled his Holiness to follow him,
and wait at every post for the use of the horses which had been employed
to draw the imperial carriages. He was too jealous to allow the Pope to
officiate in public at any religious ceremony, even on Christmas Day,
on which festival the Sovereign Pontiff had to go to the parish church
to say a low Mass. Even the presents which he gave in return for the
magnificent gifts which Pius VII. had brought from Rome, where Canova
had selected them, were disgracefully mean, with the exception of a
costly tiara, of which, however, the most precious jewel was a diamond
taken from the pontifical tiaras under Pius VI., to pay the exactions
of Tolentino. The newspapers were filled with the description of a
wonderful altar, two rich carriages, and other splendid presents; but
these objects never found their way to the Pope.
On his way home Pius VII. had the consolation of receiving back into the
Church the famous Mgr. Ricci, whose name is so well known in connection
with the Synod of Pistoia. This prelate made before the Pope a full
and sincere retractation of all his errors. At length the Holy Father
arrived at Rome amidst the enthusiasm of his subjects, who so soon
were to be torn from him by the very man to do honour to whom he had
undertaken and suffered so much.
THE UNITED DIOCESES OF CORK AND CLOYNE.
As early as the year 1326, Pope John XXII. gave his sanction to the
contemplated union of the Dioceses of Cork and Cloyne. The Pontifical
letter conveying this sanction bears date the 2nd of August, tenth
year of his pontificate. The motive alleged by King Edward III. when
soliciting this union, was the poverty of both sees. Cork is described
as having a revenue of only sixty pounds per annum, and it is added
that both sees "adeo in facultatibus et redditibus suis tenues et
exiles sunt, quod earum praesules singulariter singuli ex eis nequeunt
juxta episcopalis status decentiam commode sustentari". Nevertheless,
this contemplated union was not carried into effect, and for more than
one hundred years we find a distinct and regular succession of bishops
in each see. It was only in 1430, when both sees happened to be vacant
at the same time, that Jordan, chancellor of Limerick, was appointed by
Pope Martin V., first bishop of the united dioceses of Cork and Cloyne.
Thirty years later intelligence was conveyed to Pope Pius II. that this
bishop, weighed down by the burden of eighty years, was no longer able
to exercise his episcopal functions, the more so as he was subject to
frequent infirmities, and suffered from an excessive weakness of sight.
Hence, on 27th of May, 1461, we find William Roche (_alias De Rupe_)
appointed auxiliary bishop of Dr. Jordan, with right of succession to
the united sees. In the brief of appointment he is styled "Archdeacon
of Cloyne, of noble lineage, distinguished by his zeal, prudence, and
learning": "aliarumque virtutum donis quibus eum Altissimus insignivit"
(_Monument. Vatic._, pag. 430). This prelate, however, was not pleasing
to the aged bishop, whilst he was specially distasteful to the English
monarch: and to restore peace to our southern see, Rome found it
necessary, in the following year, to relieve Dr. Roche of the duties
of auxiliary bishop.
On the 31st of January, 1462-3, Gerald Fitzgerald was appointed by the
Sovereign Pontiff bishop of the united sees, vacant by the resignation
of the aged Bishop Jordan. Many efforts were subsequently made to set
aside this appointment; however, it was irrevocably recognized by Rome.
The chief difficulty arose from the former coadjutor, Dr. Roche, who,
finding the see now vacant by the resignation of Bishop Jordan, claimed
it as belonging to him by that "right of succession" which had originally
been accorded to him. It was only in December, 1471, that this controversy
was finally closed, when a letter was addressed by Pope Paul II. to the
Archbishop of Cashel, commanding him to put Gerald Fitzgerald in full
possession of all the temporalities of the united sees. Peace being
thus restored, Dr. Fitzgerald remained in undisturbed possession till
his death in 1479. William Roche, by his submission to the former
decisions of the Holy See, merited to be appointed his successor;
thus all rival claims were happily adjusted, and Dr. Roche for eleven
years continued to administer this see. When at length he resigned the
arduous charge, Thady Mechar or Maher was appointed the next bishop in
1490. Most of the temporalities of the see, however, were seized on by
the Fitzmaurices and other southern chieftains; so much so that Pope
Innocent VIII. was obliged to issue a brief on the 18th of July, 1492,
commanding these parties under the usual penalties to desist from their
iniquitous usurpation. The Pontiff's letter thus begins:--
"Dudum Corkagensi et Clonensi Ecclesiis invicem canonice unitis,
tunc certis modis vacantibus, nos illis de persona Ven. fratris
nostri Thadei Episcopi Corkagensis et Clonensis, nobis et fratribus
nostris, ob suorum exigentiam meritorum, accepta, de fratrum eorumdem
consilio apostolica duximus auctoritate providendum.... Cum autem,
sicut non absque gravi animi displicentia accepimus, nonnulli
iniquitatis filii videlicet Mauritius comes de Simonie, ac Willelmus
Barri, ac Edmundus Mauritii de Gerardinis et communitas civitatis
Corkagiae necnon universitas civitatis Yoghilliae Clonensis Dioecesis
ipsorumque comitis et Willelmi ac Edmundi fratres eorumque ac
civitatis et universitatis praedictorum subditi, necnon Philippus
O'Ronayn, clericus Corkagensis Dioecesis, nescitur quo spiritu
ducti, ipsum Thadeum Episcopum, quominus possessionem regiminis et
administrationis ac bonorum dictarum Ecclesiarum assequi potuerit
atque possit, multipliciter molestare et perturbare, Dei timore
postposito non cessaverint", etc. (_Mon. Vatic._, pag. 506).
The temporalities of Cork and Cloyne were in great part gifts and
grants from the various branches of the Geraldine family, and hence it
was that these southern chieftains were now unwilling to see them pass
into the hands of a stranger. The death of Bishop Thady put an end to
the controversy. He himself had been in Rome when the decree of Pope
Innocent was made: and on his journey homeward he was seized with a
mortal distemper, which, in a few days, hurried him to his grave in
the month of October, 1492, in the town of Eporedia, now Ivrea, in
Piedmont, where his mortal remains were deposited in the chapel of
St. Eusebius. As great miracles were performed by his intercession,
he is venerated at Ivrea as Blessed.
His successor's name was Gerald, but we only know of him that he was
implicated in the rebellion of Perkin Warbeck, for which he received
a pardon from the crown in 1496. He resigned his bishopric in 1499,
and John FitzEdmund was next appointed to these sees, by brief of 26th
June the same year. During twenty-one eventful years he continued to
administer the united dioceses, and on his death we find the following
letter addressed from Dublin by the Earl of Surrey, lord deputy, to
Cardinal Wolsey, who was at this time at the zenith of his power in
the court of King Henry:--
"Pleaseth your Grace to understand that the Bishop of Cork is
dead; and great suit is made to me to write for men of this country.
Some say it is worth two hundred marks per annum, some say more.
My poor advice would be that it should be bestowed on some Englishman.
The Bishop of Leighlin, your servant, having both, methinks
he might do good service here. I beseech your Grace let none of
this country have it, nor none other but such as will dwell thereon,
and such as are able and willing to speak and ruffle when need shall
be". (_State Papers_, vol. ii. page 43).
This letter is dated Dublin, 27th August, 1520, and whatever may have
been the cause, another recommendation was transmitted in the following
month by the same lord deputy in favour of Walter Wellesley. Both
these recommendations, however, were without success, and we meet with
a Bishop _Patrick_, whose name sufficiently indicates the land of his
birth, holding these sees in the year 1521. His episcopate was short:
as Cotton remarks, "he probably sat only for a year or two". In the
State Papers Cork is again described as vacant on the 25th of April,
1522: and before the close of that year John Bennett was appointed by
the Holy See, successor of Saint Finbarr. He chose for his place of
residence the collegiate establishment of Youghal, which had originally
been founded by his family, and at his death he too endowed it with
a great part of his own paternal property. Brady in his _Records_ has
registered several interesting memorials connected with this ancient
Collegiate Church of Youghal. The catalogue of its books, drawn up
in the year 1490, especially deserves attention, as it reveals to us
what was the literary store treasured up in an humble religious house
in a country town of our island at a supposed period of ignorance and
barbarism. Besides several books of devotion and tracts on the decretals
and canon law, there were eight Missals, five of which are described
as "missalia pulchra pergameni". There was also the Life of Christ,
by Ludolf of Saxony, now so rare, the Letters of St. Jerome, the Works
of St. Gregory the Great, the Summa of St. Thomas, and a number of
treatises by St. Bonaventure, the Master of Sentences, St. Antoninus,
and others. The Sacred Scriptures had a specially prominent place;
there were five psalters for the use of the choir, and twelve other
copies of the Bible. One of these is entitled "Una Biblia Tripartita,
et alia parvae quantitatis": another was the Old and New Testament,
with the gloss of Nicholas de Lyra, "in five volumes"; and then there
are "quatuor Evangelistae, glossati, in quatuor voluminibus", and "unum
volumen in quo continentur parabolae Salomonis, libri Sapientiae,
Canticorum, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus", etc. Some of the works of this
little library, if now preserved, would be invaluable for illustrating
the antiquities of our island. There was one "antiquum martirologium";
also a volume called "Petrus de Aurora, artis versificatoriae", is
described as "mire exauratum": again, "Apparatus Magistri Johannis
de Anthon super constitutiones Ottoboni": whilst another small volume
was enriched, amongst other things, "cum quibusdam historiis provinciae
Hiberniae". An addition was made to this library in 1523, consisting,
probably, of the Books of Dr. Bennett. It will suffice to mention two
of these works, viz., "Liber meditationum sancti Bonaventurae cum aliis
meditationibus et chronicis Geraldinorum", and "Biblia de impressione,
in rotunda forma, in manu Joannis Cornelii" (_Records_, etc., London,
1864, vol. 3, pag. 319, seqq.).
Dr. Bennett died in the year 1535/6, and at his death enriched the
chantry of St. Mary's with some ancestral lands in Youghal and its
neighbourhood (_Ulster Journal of Arch._, April, 1854). Henry VIII.
appointed Dominick Tirrey to the vacant see, but the reigning Pontiff
refused to recognize this nomination, and chose a Franciscan named
Lewis MacNamara as successor to Dr. Bennett. The brief of his appointment
to Cork and Cloyne is dated 24th September, 1540. This prelate, however,
soon after his consecration was summoned to a better world, and on the
5th of November, the same year, another brief was expedited appointing
John Hoyeden, (which name is probably a corruption for _O'h-Eidhin,
i.e. O'Heyne_; see O'Donovan, _Book of Rights_, pag. 109), a canon of
Elphin, bishop of the united dioceses. From the consistorial acts we
learn that he was impeded by the crown nominee from taking possession
of the temporalities of his see, and hence on the 25th February, 1545,
he received the administration of his native diocese. The following is
the consistorial record:
Die 20^o Feb., 1545. "S. Sanctitas providit Ecclesiae Elphinensi
de persona Joannis Episcopi Corcagiensis et Clunensis (sic) qui
regiminis et administrationis Corcagensis et Clunensis Ecclesiarum
invicem unitarum possessionem eo quod a schismaticis et iis qui a
Catholica fide defecerunt occupatae detinentur assequi non potuit,
nec de proximo assequi speret: ita quod, propter hoc, eisdem
Corcagensi et Clunensi Ecclesiis praesse non desinat sed tam
Elphinensi quam Corcagensi et Clunensi Ecclesiis hujusmodi ad sex
menses a die habitae per eum pacificae possessionis seu quasi
regiminis", etc. (sic).
It was probably impossible for Dr. O'Heyne to obtain possession of the
temporalities of his see till the accession of Queen Mary. Even then
he must have held them only for a little while, as the royal letter
granting these temporalities to Roger Skiddy is dated 18th of September,
1557. A curious record of the period gives us an accurate idea of the
possessions of the religious houses in the vicinity of Cork: it is
a pardon granted to William Bourman for alienating the property of
the house of the Friars Preachers, situated in the suburbs of Cork,
and the property thus alienated is described as "the site, circuit,
and precinct of the monastery, the church, belfry, closes (perhaps this
is for _clausura_), halls and dormitories, castles, messuages, lands,
buildings, gardens, mills, and other hereditaments thereunto belonging,
an orchard, three gardens, a water-mill, a parcel of meadows containing
half a stang, a fishing pool, a salmon weir, three acres called the half
_scaghbeg_, ten acres in Rathminy, and twenty acres in Galliveyston"
(_Morrin_, i. 374).
The next Bishop appointed to the united sees of Cork and Cloyne was Roger
Skiddy, who for some time had held the dignity of Dean of Limerick. Queen
Mary's letter ordering the restitution of the temporalities to him, is
dated the 18th of September, 1557, and it adds that her Majesty "had
addressed letters commendatory to his Holiness the Pope a good while
since in his favour, and it was hoped he should shortly receive his
Bull and expedition from his Holiness" (_Ib._, i. 377). Letters patent
granting the temporalities to him were issued on 2nd November the same
year (_Ib._, i. 373, and _Brady_, _Records_, iii. 46), and it is probable
that the Bulls from the Holy See were expedited during the interval; for,
in an original memorandum preserved in the State Paper Office, London,
the remark is made that "the Queen's letters were sent to the Bishop of
Rome, and the Bulls were returned thence for the bishoprick of Cork"
(_Shirley_, pag. 115). Nevertheless, this Bishop was not consecrated,
neither did he receive possession of the temporalities during the
life-time of Queen Mary, although her death did not take place till
the 17th of November, 1558. For some time after the accession of Queen
Elizabeth, no mention was made of the See of Cork and Cloyne, till on
31st of July, 1562, her Majesty wrote to the Earl of Sussex and the Lord
Chancellor, "directing the admission of Roger Skiddy to the bishopricks
of Cork and Cloyne, to which he had been previously elected" (_Ibid._,
472); accordingly, on the 29th of October, 1562, this dignitary was
admitted to possession of the temporalities, and a mandate was issued
for his consecration, bearing the same date. In his writ of restitution
to the temporalities was inserted a retrospective clause, that he should
have possession of them from the time of his first advancement by Queen
Mary. Whether Dr. Skiddy was actually consecrated or not, no record has
been preserved to us, and his consecration in virtue of such a royal
mandate would be wholly uncanonical and schismatical. No doubt, however,
seems to be entertained of his orthodoxy and devotedness to the Catholic
faith: and in 1567, unwilling to lend his name to the religious novelties
which the government of the day wished to propagate in the kingdom,
he resigned the bishoprick and retired to Youghal, where for several
years he devoted his undivided attention to prepare for a happy eternity.
Nicholas Landes was appointed bishop of this see in consistory of 27th
of February, 1568/9. The consistorial entry is curious, as it omits all
mention of Dr. Skiddy, and describes the see as vacant by the death of
Dr. John O'Heyne.
"Die 27^o Februarii, 1568: referente Revmo. Cardinali Alciato
S. Sanctitas providit Ecclesiae Corcagiensi et Cloinensi invicem
unitis, per obitum bonae memoriae Joannis Jadican, ultimi Episcopi
vacanti, de persona Rev. D. Nicolai Landes, Hiberni et litteris
Episcoporum Catholicorum ejusdem Provinciae atque etiam testimonio
Reverendi Patris Wolf S. I. commendati cum retentione rectoriae
cum cura donec possessionem Episcopatus adeptus fuerit".
A suggestion has been made that the name _Landes_ is a corruption for
some other original name. Such errors in names are certainly very
frequent in the consistorial entries of our Irish Bishops: still, two
distinct copies of the consistorial acts (viz., the _Corsinian_ and the
_Vallicellian_) retain the present name without variation; and what is
still more important, the Brief appointing his successor, Dr. Tanner,
in 1574, describes the see as then vacant _per obitum Nicolai Landes_.
Moreover, the name _Landey_ was no novelty in the ecclesiastical records
of Ireland in the sixteenth century, an Abbot _Landey_ having held the
monastery of St. Mary's, Dublin, during Henry VIII.'s reign, as we learn
from the first volume of Morrin's _Records_.
Dr. Edmund Tanner was next appointed to Cork and Cloyne by brief of 5th
November, 1574. There are some peculiar passages in this brief, which
merit our attention. Thus it describes Dr. Tanner as "in Theologia
Magistrum, de legitimo matrimonio procreatum, in quinquagesimo aetatis
anno et presbyteratus ordine constitutum, que fidem Catholicam juxta
articulos dudum a Sede Apostolica emanatos professus fuit, cuique de
vitae munditia, honestate morum, spiritualium providentia et temporalium
circumspectione, aliisque multiplicum virtutum donis fide digna testimonia
perhibentur". Subsequently, addressing the clergy and faithful of the
united sees, the brief continues:
"Dilectis filiis capitulis et vassallis dictarum Ecclesiarum et
populo Corkagen. et Clonen. civitatum et Diocesium, per Apostolica
scripta mandamus, quatenus capitula tibi tamquam patri et pastori
animarum suarum humiliter intendentes exhibeant tibi obedientiam
et reverentiam debitas et devotas: ac clerus te pro nostra et
sedis Apostolicae reverentia benigne recipientes et honorifice
pertractantes, tua salubria monita et mandata suscipiant humiliter
et efficaciter adimplere procurent: populus vero te tamquam
patrem et pastorem animarum suarum devote suscipientes et debita
honorificentia prosequentes, tuis monitis et mandatis salubribus
humiliter intendant. Itaque tu in eis devotionis filios, et ipsi
in te per consequens patrem benevolum invenisse gaudeatis".
Moreover, this is the first occasion on which I have found the following
clause inserted in the Bull of appointment to the Irish Sees:
"Volumus autem, ut occasio et materia tibi auferatur vagandi,
quad extra Corkagen. et Clonen. civitates illarumque Dioeceses
etiam de licentia Episcoporum locorum ordinariorum Pontificalia
officia exercere nequeas, decernentes irritum et inane quidquid
secus per te actum et gestum fuerit" (_Ex Secret. Brevium Romae_).
Dr. Tanner was consecrated bishop in Rome, and subsequently tarried
during the winter months in the Eternal City, laying up spiritual
treasures for his future mission. On the 10th of April, 1575, special
faculties were granted to him, and he was, moreover, empowered to
exercise them not only in his own united Dioceses of Cork and Cloyne,
but also "throughout the whole Province of Dublin, of which he was a
native (_universae provinciae Dublinensis ex qua exoriundus_), as well
as throughout the whole province of Munster, so long as the various
Archbishops and Bishops were obliged by the fury of the persecution
to be absent from their respective sees (Ex. _Sec. Brev._). About the
middle of May the same year, he set out from the Seven Hills to assume
the charge assigned to him, and the great Pontiff Gregory XIII. wished
to accompany him with the following commendatory letter, dated 12th of
May, 1575:--
"Universis et singulis Episcopis atque aliis Praelatis ad quos hae
nostrae litterae pervenerint, salutem et Apostolicam benedictionem.
"Ut Nos commendatissimos habemus viros eos quos pietate atque
integritate praestare intelligimus, sic cupimus eos nostris
in Christo fratribus ac filiis esse summopere commendatos,
huncque animum cum omnibus pietate et virtute praeditis tum
vero venerabilibus fratribus Episcopis ut ordine ipso sic
charitate Nobis conjunctissimis Nos debere cognoscimus. In his
est venerabilis frater Edmundus Episcopus Corcagiensis qui a Nobis
discedit ut in patriam revertatur. Erit igitur Nobis gratissimum,
si eum in hac peregrinatione quam commendatissimum habebitis,
vestroque ubi opus esse intelligetis favore complectemini: Datum
Romae apud S. Petrum sub annulo Piscatoris die 12 Maii 1575,
Pontif. Nostri an. tertio". (_Theiner_, _Annals_, ii. 133).
This worthy bishop, during four years, endured the toils and sufferings
of his perilous ministry. The Vatican list of 1579 represents the see
"Corchagiensis et Clonensis" as still presided over by a canonically
appointed bishop; and another list of the clergy who were then engaged
in the exercise of their sacred ministry in Ireland presents first
of all the name "Reverendissimus Edmundus Epus. Corchagiensis, pulsus
tamen Episcopatu". In this last named list we also find commemorated:
"Thomas Moreanus Decanus Corchagiensis": and again, "P. Carolus Lens et
P. Robertus Rishfordus, ambo Societatis Jesu, qui in variis locis docent
litteras sub cura et mandato Reverendissimi Corchagiensis". Soon after,
however, on the 4th of June, 1579, Dr. Tanner was summoned to receive
the reward of his zeal and labours.
His successor was _Dermitius Graith_, who was proposed for the first
time in the consistory of 7th October, 1580, and whose election was
definitely confirmed on the 11th of the same month. The following is
the consistorial entry: