MATHEW, THEOBALD. - Capuchin, social reformer, b. in Ireland at Thomastown Castle (Cashel) on 10 Oct. 1790, d. at Queenstown, on 8 Dec. 1856. He entered the Capuchins in Dublin in 1808, and, ordained a priest (9 Apr. 1814), he made Cork the center of his activity as a missionary and social reformer.
There he established the first religious association after the persecution (Josephian Society), for the instruction of poor children and the care of the sick, and he founded a flourishing vocational school for girls. He distinguished himself during the cholera epidemic of 1832, especially in the poorest and most afflicted quarters. In 1838, at the request of W. Martin, a fervent Quaker who had founded in Cork, without much success, a Temperance Society, M. put himself at the head of that movement, which in a short time spread widely. The Irish who bound themselves to abstain from every alcoholic drink numbered more than 5,000,000. M. won the adherence of Catholics and Protestants of every class. In a year and a half (1843-44) he gathered more than 600,000 adherents in England. He obtained equal success in the United States, where he visited more than 300 cities, and where the national Congress in Washington honored him as a guest of honor (18 Dec. 1849). During the famine of the years 1845-47, M. became the organizer of the relief generously sent to Ireland from the United States. A persuasive and moving orator, M. contributed more than anyone else in his time to the moral and social awakening of the Irish people.
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Fredegando Callacy