NEW YORK, ARCHDIOCESE OF. - City and archdiocese in the State of N. Y. The founding of the diocese of N. Y. coincides with the multiplication of dioceses in the United States, when the diocese of Baltimore became, on April 8, 1808, an ecclesiastical province with the following suffragan sees: N. Y., Philadelphia, Boston and Bardstown (today Louisville). At the time of its creation, the see of N. Y. comprised the territories of the dioceses of Albany, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Ogdensburg, Rochester, Syracuse, Newark, Trenton; that is, the whole State of N. Y. and also a part of New Jersey.
Catholic life in the archdiocese is ancient, since it goes back to the explorers Verrazano and Gomez who visited the banks of the Hudson River at the beginning of the 16th century. The Dutch Calvinists then obtained the founding of Hudson in order to establish a new colony there. To give proof of their loyalty toward the state church, the Calvinists established that the Christian reformed religion should dominate according to the doctrines of the Synod of Dordrecht. The Catholic rite was therefore not tolerated, but the Dutch governor William Kieft and the inhabitants of New Amsterdam were very generous toward the Jesuit b. Isaac Jogues, the first priest who exercised the sacred ministry in the State of N. Y., and also toward his confreres Giuseppe Bressani and Simone Le Moyne. The first chapel in which Holy Mass was celebrated was begun on Nov. 18, 1655 by the Jesuits Claude Dablom and Pietro Chaumonot under the title of St. Mary. The Church was established at Manhattan only in 1664 when the duke of York claimed the territory as an English colony. Twenty years later the Catholic governor Thomas Dongan favored religion and instituted religious freedom in N. Y.; the first Mass was celebrated on the Island on Oct. 30, 1683.
After the fall of James II and the succession of William of Orange, the Catholic colony of N. Y. suffered persecution; Catholics were excluded from offices and, in 1686, Lord Bellomont obtained the death penalty against Catholic priests. In 1690 all the hopes of the Church in the English colonies seemed to have vanished. The American Revolution, which was anti-Catholic, further aggravated the situation. But through the work of the French consul H. Saint-Jean de Crèvecoeur an act of "incorporation" was obtained for the Catholic Church on June 10, 1785 and on October 5 of the same year the church of St. Peter was begun, the first permanent construction. The church was inaugurated on Nov. 4, 1786 and the first parochial school in 1801. On April 8, 1808, with the pontifical bulls Muneris and Ex debito pastoralis officii, Pius VII divided the diocese of Baltimore to form those of N. Y., Philadelphia, Boston and Bardstown. In a letter dated Nov. 8, 1808, Fr. Anthony Kohlmann, S. J., vicar general of the bishop of Baltimore, asserted that the Catholic population was composed especially of Irish, of a few hundred French and of many Germans with a total population of ca. 14,000 souls.
When Msgr. John Carroll (v.), bishop of Baltimore, learned that the Holy See wished to multiply the dioceses in the United States, he proposed that N. Y. be placed under the jurisdiction of Boston until such time as a candidate could be found for the see. On the presentation of Msgr. Troy, archbishop of Dublin, the Pope appointed the Irish Dominican Richard Luke Concanen, prior of St. Clement's and librarian of the Minerva (Rome), noted for his learning, as first bishop of N. Y. Consecrated in Rome on April 24, 1808, Msgr. Concanen died on Febr. 19, 1810, before he could reach the see; he had already proposed to the Pope that he appoint the rev. Ambrose Maréchal as his coadjutor. However, Msgr. Troy subsequently proposed to the Pope the Dominican John Connoly who was consecrated in Rome on Nov. 6, 1814 and reached N. Y. on Nov. 24 of the following year. Everything had to be created; there were only 4 priests and in 1822 there were in the diocese 2 churches in N. Y., 1 in Albany, 1 in Utica, 1 in Carthage, 1 in Auburn, and 8 priests.
Catholicism nevertheless developed rapidly. Under Msgr. John Dubois, third bishop (1826-42), Catholics rose to 150,000 among a Protestant population of 3,000,000. The bishop founded a Catholic newspaper, The New York Weekly Register and Catholic Diary, printed for the first time on Oct. 5, 1833. He also wished to build a major seminary, but could not carry the work to completion. His successor Msgr. John Hughes, coadjutor (1838) then Apostolic Administrator (from 1839), became first archbishop of N. Y. on July 19, 1850. He took up again the plan of founding a seminary and for this purpose chose the site of Rose Hill, Fordham; in 1842 there were 30 seminarians. Msgr. Hughes also convoked the first diocesan Synod (Aug. 28, 1842). In 1858 the cathedral of St. Patrick was begun in Gothic style. The works lasted until May 1879, because they were interrupted during the civil war. This Cathedral, which measures 398 feet in length and 174 in width, has two bell towers 300 feet in height. The total expense was 4,000,000 dollars. It is the eleventh Basilica in the world for its length. Given the ever-growing importance of the see of N. Y., the second archbishop Msgr. John McCloskey, consecrated coadjutor on March 10, 1844, became cardinal with the title of St. Mary above Minerva on March 15, 1875 (d. in 1885). He was succeeded by Msgr. M. A. Corrigan (1885-1902); card. J. Farley (1902-18); card. P. Hayes (1919-38); at present it is governed by card. Francis Spellman from Apr. 15, 1939.
The archdiocese comprises a territory of 4717 square miles with a total population (1951) of 4,000,000 inhabitants of whom 1,288,469 are Catholics. Besides the cardinal archbishop it counts 4 auxiliary bishops, 2205 priests (of whom 1068 religious belonging to 20 different congregations), 387 parishes, of which not a few are Italian, 484 chapels, 80 missions, 993 brothers, 96 female congregations (with 8047 sisters), 2 diocesan seminaries, 20 religious seminaries or scholasticates, 11 colleges and universities (among which the celebrated Fordham University directed by the Jesuits) with 19,860 students, 11 orphanages, 15 general hospitals and 6 specialized ones, and 10 homes for the aged. In 1949 there were 3874 conversions.
The ecclesiastical province is composed of N. Y., Albany (1847), Brooklyn (1853), Buffalo (1847), Ogdensburg (1872), Rochester (1868), Syracuse (1886).
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FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1841 near Fordham Road, N.Y., under the name of St. John's College, by Msgr. John Hughes, then auxiliary bishop of N.Y. and later first archbishop of the same. The College had as its first president the Rev. G. McCloskey, later second archbishop of N.Y. and first cardinal of the United States. For the first five years the College was under the direction of the diocesan clergy, but from 1846 it was entrusted to the Jesuits, who came from Kentucky, invited by Msgr. Hughes. In those early years, the diocesan Seminary was joined to St. John's College, but in 1862 the Seminary was transferred elsewhere.
In 1906 the faculties of law and of medicine were added to the Faculty of arts and sciences, and in that year the College began to be called Fordham University. The Faculty of medicine was suspended in 1921, but subsequently others were added: pharmacy and commerce, as well as various schools: of education, of social service, of higher studies (called Graduate). More recently, in 1950, an institute of contemporary Russian studies was begun. Religious sisters of various congregations, who come to Fordham from every part of the United States, live in a separate house, "St. Mary's Hall." Special courses and lectures are given to certain students chosen for their intellectual and moral ability, who, enrolled in the so-called "Honors Program," study for a year at the Institut Catholique and at the Sorbonne, in Paris. Thus it is hoped to form a superior type of Catholic "leader."
Fordham University, from its humble beginning in 1841, with only six students, to today, when it numbers about 13,000, including also women students, who are admitted to some Faculties, has become a considerable force in the American university world. Among its 31,000 alumni it counts two cardinal-archbishops of N.Y., the Eminences Farley and Spellman, more than twelve bishops, hundreds of priests and religious, politicians, generals, judges, diplomats, etc. According to the custom of American universities, Fordham has also granted honorary degrees to various illustrious personages, among them His Holiness Pius XII, who on his visit to Fordham as cardinal secretary of State, in 1936, was awarded a degree in law there; also worthy of mention are Cardinals Tisserant and Griffin, Dr. Salazar of Portugal, President Truman, the Hon. De Gasperi, etc.
As for publications, in addition to the university newspaper and various literary and cultural reviews published by the students, the professors of the University exercise a healthy influence in philosophical and cultural circles by means of the quarterly Thought, and in the field of law by means of the Fordham Law Review. The history section was recently charged with overseeing the reprint of The Catholic Encyclopedia.