Notes and Comments

Anniversary Celebration

Beginning on September 13, 2009, and continuing until December 2010, the 1100th anniversary of the founding of the abbey of Cluny in 909 by William I of Aquitaine will be celebrated by a series of religious events and symposia on the spirituality, learning, art, and architecture of the abbey.

Exhibitions

From September 26 to October 27, 2009, the Holy See sponsored the photographic exhibition "Customs and Grave Goods of Rome in the Late Antiquity: Christian, Pagan, and Jewish Tombs Compared" at the San Callisto Catacombs on the Via Appia Antica in Rome. The exhibition was part of the Holy See's participation in the annual European Heritage Days, with the theme this year of "European Heritage for Intercultural Dialogue."

From October 11, 2009, to January 3, 2010, the Indianapolis Museum of Art is sponsoring "Sacred Spain: Art and Belief in the Hispanic World," an exhibition of seventeenth-century Spanish religious art. On display are seventy works, including paintings, polychrome sculptures, metalwork, and books that document the intersection between belief and creative imagination.

From October 16, 2009, to January 16, 2010, the Vatican Museum is sponsoring the exhibition "Astrum 2009" that coincides with the International Year of Astronomy. Some 130 objects (astronomical instruments such as telescopes and a sixteenth-century astrolabe, maps, manuscripts, astronomical models, paintings, photographs, codices, and books) will show how scholars of the past observed heavenly bodies, measured their properties, acquired data, and verified hypotheses.

Archives

The Archival Center of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has announced the acquisition of a collection of printed historical pamphlets, postcards (mostly from Europe), and related ephemera of Monsignor Robert E. Brennan (1908–80). Among the items are his diaries from 1925 to 1959.

Causes of Saints

On July 3, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI recognized the healing from a debilitating spinal condition of Deacon John Sullivan of Marshfield, Massachusetts, as a miracle obtained through the intercession of Cardinal John Henry Newman, an important step in his beatification.

At the canonization ceremony of Jozef Damien de Veuster on October 11, Pope Benedict XVI gave to Bishop Clarence Silva of Honolulu a relic of the saint to be deposited for veneration in the cathedral of Honolulu. St. Damien's body was buried in 1889 in Kalaupapa near the leper colony where he worked and died of Hansen's disease, but was exhumed and moved to his birthplace in Belgium in 1936. In 1995 a relic was reinterred in his original grave. Now a second relic will be placed in the cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu where St. Damien was ordained in 1864.

On November 22, 2009, in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Israel, Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas was beatified. Born Soultaneh Maria in 1843, she entered at fourteen the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, taking the name Alfonsina. In 1880 she cofounded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem and became known as Mother Ghattas.

Conferences and Lectures

On September 14–17, 2009, the Società Italiana di Storia delle Religioni, the European Association for the Study of Religions, and the International Association for the History of Religions sponsored the Ninth EASR Annual Conference/IAHR Special Conference at the University of Messina on the theme "Religion in the History of European Culture."Among the talks given were Armin W. Geertz, "Religion, Cognition, and Culture: A European Idea?"; Enrico Montanari, "Comparative Method and Historico-Religious 'Commitment': The Concept of 'Secular Faith' in Raffaele Pettazzoni"; Jörg Rüpke, "Hellenistic and Roman Empires and Euro-Mediterranean Religion"; Giovanni Filoramo, "Dangerous Liaisons: Roman Catholic Church and Jewish Communities in the History of Religious Europe"; and Kari Elisabeth Børresen, "The Formation and Significance of Christian Gender Models in European Culture."Among the talks examining the work of scholars dedicated to the study of Christianity were Natale Spineto, "Luigi Salvatorelli e la scienza delle religioni"; Giuseppe Giarrizzo, "Giorgio La Piana"; Mario Mazza, "Attualismo, storicismo, modernismo: Adolfo Omodeo e la Storia delle origini cristiane"; Paolo Siniscalco, "Baldassare Labanca"; and Alessandro Saggioro, "Pietro Tacchi Venturi." Among the panels offered were "Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Europe: Traditions and Transformations," led by A. Hvithamar and I. Kh. Maksutov, and "Religio-historical Historiography in Italy between the End of the Nineteenth Century and World War II," led by M. Mazza, G. Casadio, and N. Spineto.

On September 20, 2009, the Fondazione per le scienze religiose Giovanni XXIII sponsored a conference on Bologna, a city that produces and consumes culture. Among the talks given were Giuseppe Ruggieri, "1949 Scomunica: La chiesa condanna i comunisti"; and Alberto Melloni, "1959 Concilio: L'annuncio del Vaticano."

On September 26, 2009, the Texas Catholic Historical Society sponsored a conference at the University of St. Thomas in Houston at which the following talks were given: Gilbert Hinojosa, "Latinos, Faith, and the Church"; Robert Wright, O.M.I., "The Church and Mexican Americans in Houston: Reflections on Roberto R. Treviño's The Church in the Barrio"; and Thomas W. Jodziewicz, "American Catholics and Slavery."

On September 29, 2009, at the Universität Salzburg, the Gesellschaft zur Herausgabe des Corpus Catholicorum sponsored a lecture by France Dolinar on "Politische Rekatholisierung und katholische Reform in den innerösterreichischen Ländern am Beispiel des Laibacher Bischofs Tomaž Hren (1599–1630)."

On October 22, 2009, the Southwell Lecture Series of Fordham University presented "A Liturgical Reading of Michelangelo's Last Judgment" by Lee Palmer Wandel.

On November 11, 2009, the Campion Institute of Fordham University commemorated the 500th anniversary of the accession of Henry VIII to the throne of England by presenting the lecture "Prince to Tyrant: What Changed Henry VIII" by Suzannah Lipscomb.

On November 26–28, 2009, the Accademia Ambrosiana, Classe di Studi Borromaici presented the conference "La cultura della rappresentazione nella Milano del settecento: Discontinuità e permanenze." Among the papers given were Paola Vismara, "Il sistema della religione cittadina dei milanesi del Settecento e S. Maria presso S. Celso"; Emanuele Colombo, "Tra sogno e ragione:Tommaso Ceva (1648–1737) gesuita Milanese"; Angelo Bianchi, "La virtù rappresentata: Imprese di 'principes academiae' del Collegio gesuitico di Santa Maria degli Angeli di Monza (1738–1773)"; Filippo Lovison, "I Barnabiti a Milano: il caso Branda a Sant'Alessandro in Zebedia"; Marzia Giuliani, "Giovan Battista Castiglioni e i Sentimenti di San Carlo intorno agli specttacoli: nuove ricerche sull'autore e la sua cultura"; Maria Grazia Albertini Ottolenghi, "La scultura nei grandi cantieri lombardi settecenteschi: i casi del Duomo e della Certosa di Pavia"; Alessandro Rovetta, "Il completamento del Duomo: la questione della facciata, terminale scenografico della città"; Eugenia Bianchi and Alessandra Saquizzato, "Il collezionismo settecentesco a Milano fra ambienti religiosi, aristocratici e dei ceti emergenti"; Simonetta Coppa, "Un ciclo sconosciuto di quadri per la canonizzazione di Andrea Avellino del 1713"; Claudio Bernardi and Carla Bino, "Ragionevoli culti: La fine delle follie carnevalesche e delle devozioni drammatiche a Milano nel Settecento"; and Robert Kendrick and Christopher Riedo, "Liturgy and Music in XVIII Century Milan."

On November 27, 2009, the Università Europea di Roma and the University Comenius of Bratislava sponsored a conference dedicated to two themes: "Santa Sede e potere politico nell'Europa Centro-Orientale tra le due guerre mondiali (1918–1939)" and "La questione dei cattolici nella repubblica Cecoslovacca e nel regno di Jugoslavia." Among the papers given were Roberto Morozzo, "Santa Sede e l'Europa Centro-Orientale tra le due guerre mondiali"; Emilia Hrabovec, "La Santa Sede, il governo Cecoslovacco e la questione degli slovacchi"; L'uboslav Hromjak, "Il Kulturkampf in Cecoslovacchia durante il pontificato di Pio XI"; Jure Krišto, "Prospettive della Chiesa cattolica nell'area croata del regno di Jugoslavia"; Katrin Boeckh, "Belgrade and the Vatican: Church Policy in Yugoslavia 1918–1939"; Massimiliano Valente, "I rapporti diplomatici tra la Santa Sede e il regno di Jugoslavia durante il pontificato di Pio XI"; and Marko Trogrlić, "Il 'cattolicesimo politico' nel pensiero dei principali intellettuali cattolici croati."

On December 2, 2009, the Center for Early Modern History of the University of Minnesota presented the talk "Reading Revelations: Reception Histories for Julian of Norwich" by Elissa Hansen.

On April 7–10, 2010, the Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera in Valencia and the Consejo Superior Investigaciones Científicas of Spain will sponsor an international congress on "Francisco de Borja y su tiempo (1510–1572): Política, religión y cultura en la edad moderna." It will seek to present new data and perspectives based on archival materials that will fill a vacuum in English-language scholarship on the spirituality of Spain in the sixteenth century.

On April 9–10, 2010, the Thirty-Seventh Annual Sewanee Medieval Colloquium will be dedicated to the theme "Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages." Proposals for papers, together with an abstract and curriculum vitae, were to have been submitted by October 23, 2009, to sraulsto@sewanee.edu. For more information on the conference, visit http://www.sewanee.edu/medieval/main.html.

On July 25, 2010, the Second Conference of Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church, to be held at the Centro Santa Chiara (via S. Croce, 67) and nearby Archdiocesan Seminary in Trent, Italy, will dedicate that day to the study of the history of Catholic ethics. For more information, visit http://www.zipviaggi.eu/event2010; inquiries should be sent to event@zipviaggi.eu. Proposals for papers and applications for financial assistance to young scholars should be sent to the chair of the Trent Planning Committee, Father James F. Keenan, S.J., at James.keenan.2@bc.edu or frkeenaj@bc.edu.

On October 7–10, 2010, the American Cusanus Society will sponsor the Twelfth Biennial Conference of the International Seminar on Pre-Reformation Theology at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in Pennsylvania on "The Bible at the End of the Middle Ages: The Exegesis of Reform and Dissent." For more information, contact Zach Flanagin at dflanagi@stmarys-ca.edu.

Publications

A dozen articles on the theme "Le relazioni tra pagani e cristiani: nuove prospettive su un antico tema" make up the issue of Cristianesimo nella storia for May, 2009 (vol. XXX, no. 2). The editor for this special number is Rita Lizzi Testa, who has also contributed a long introduction (pp. 255–75). The authors and their titles are the following: Peter Brown, "Back to the Future: Pagans and Christians at The Warburg Institute in 1958" (pp. 277–85); Hervé Inglebert, "L'historiographie au IV^e siècle entre païens et chrétiens: faux dialogue et vrai débat" (pp. 287–303); Maijastina Kahlos, "The Importance of Being Pagan" (pp. 305–10); Gianfranco Agosti, "Cristianizzazione della poesia greca e dialogo interculturale" (pp. 313–35); Sergio Knipe, "Recycling the Refuse-Heap of Magic: Scholarly Approaches to Theurgy since 1963" (pp. 337–45); Francisco Marshall, "The Late Antique Hero" (pp. 347–61); Lellia Cracco Ruggini, "Pontifices: un caso di osmosi linguistica" (pp. 363–83); Rita Lizzi Testa, "Legislazione imperiale e reazione pagana. I limiti del conflitto" (pp. 385–409); Paolo Liverani, "I vescovi nell'edilizia pubblica" (pp. 411–21); Claude Lepelley, "De la réaction païenne à la sécularisation: le témoignage d'inscriptions municipales romano-africaines tardives" (pp. 423–39); Wolf Liebeschuetz, "The view from Antioch: from Libanius via John Chrysostom to John Malalas and beyond" (pp. 441–70); and P. Chuvin, "Homère christianisé. Esthétique profane et symbolique chrétienne dans l'oeuvre de Paul le Silentiaire" (pp. 471–81).

The theme of the third number (vol. 66) for 2009 of the Mélanges de Science Religieuse is "Voyageurs et pèlerins de l'Antiquité à nos jours." Among the half-dozen articles here published are "L'évêque carolingien en voyage" by Thomas Ledru (pp. 41–58); "Pèlerins et pèlerinage dans la Rus' de Kiev" by Jean-Pierre Arrignon (pp. 59–67); and "Les faux pèlerins à l'automne du Moyen Age" by Denis Clauzel (pp. 69–88).

The eighth centenary of the papal approval of the primitive rule of the Franciscan Order is commemorated in the issue for January–June, 2009, of Verdad y Vida (vol. LXVII, no. 254). The historical articles are "La 'Prehistoria' de la Regla Franciscana, "by Fernando Uribe, O.F.M. (pp. 35–63); "La Palabra de Dios en la vida y en la misión de Francisco de Asís, "by Dino Dozzi, O.F.M.Cap. (pp. 65–81); and "La idea fundacional en la Orden Franciscana," by Leonhard Lehmann, O.F.M.Cap. (pp. 83–109).

Concordia Publishing House has announced the plan to expand the present fifty-five-volume collection of Martin Luther's works in English translation by twenty additional volumes. Under the editorship of Christopher Boyd Brown, the new volumes, to be published at the rate of one per year, will be dedicated to Luther' sermons (showing his pastoral application of the Word) and his disputations (putting his theology in a systematic context). For more information, visit http://www.cph.org/luthersworks or call 1-800/325-3040.

Volume 22 (2008) of Studia Borromaica, the journal of the Accademia Ambrosiana, Classe di Studi Borromaici, in Milan, contains the papers presented at the study days on November 23–24, 2007, on the theme "L'Architettura Milanese e Federico Borromeo: Dall'investitura arcivescovile all'apertura della Biblioteca Ambrosiana (1595–1609)" and edited by Francesco Repishti and Alessandro Rovetta. Following a preface by Marco Navoni are a dozen articles: Aurora Scotti, "Architettura e territorio nella Lombardia spagnola ai tempi dell'episcopato di Federico Borromeo" (pp. 29–48); Alessandro Rovetta, "L'architettura Milanese e Federico Borromeo tra il 1595 e il 1609. Questioni storico-critiche" (pp. 49–62); Francesco Repishti, "Federico Borromeo e gli architetti milanesi. La «scarseggia che hoggidì si trova di simili [valenti] suggetti»"(pp. 63–79); Stefano Della Torre," Gli apparati trionfali del 1598" (pp. 81–99); Tommaso Tagliabue, "Il monastero di San Paolo Converso e la canonizzazione di Carlo Borromeo" (pp. 101–21); Luigi C. Schiavi, "L'ideazione della casa madre degli Oblati di S. Ambrogio. Federico Borromeo, Aurelio Trezzi, Fabio Mangone" (pp. 123–66); Isabella Balestreri, "Federico Borromeo, la Biblioteca Ambrosiana e la trattatistica sull'architettura" (pp. 167–88); Cristina Fumarco, "La cappella di San Teodoro in Santo Stefano in Brolo. La committenza della famiglia Trivulzio, il progetto di Giuseppe Meda e le vicende della fabbrica" (pp. 189–244); Cristina Farina, "Aurelio Trezzi e il cantiere di San Babila" (pp. 245–70); Davide Tolomelli, "Il Santuario di Rho" (pp. 271–82); Andrea Spiriti, "La fabbrica milanese di Sant'Antonio Abate: novità e proposte" (pp. 283–301); and Richard Schofield, "Papirio Bartoli e San Pietro. L'inizio di una ricerca" (pp. 303–16).

Thirteen scholars have contributed articles to the issue of the Revue de l'histoire des religions for July–September, 2009, devoted to "La culture gallicane: Références et modèles (droit, ecclésiologie, histoire)." Originally presented as papers at a colloquium held at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and at the Institut Protestante de Théologie in May, 2006, the articles are divided into two sections: (1) "Mémoires et fondations" Tyler Lange, "Gallicanisme et Réforme: le constitutionnalisme de Cosme Guymier (1486)" (pp. 293–313); Jotham Parsons, "Papauté, histoire et mémoire gallicane au XVI^e siècle" (pp. 315–28); Marco Penzi, "Tours contre Rome au début du règne d'Henri IV" (pp. 329–47); Frédéric Gabriel, "L'usage gallican (1552–1771) de l'Afrique chrétienne tardo-antique: les modalités de l'unité ecclésiale" (pp. 349–74); Olivier Poncet, "La Gallia Christiana (1656) des frères de Sainte-Marthe: une enterprise gallicane?" (pp. 375–97); Marie-Hélène Blanchet, "Louis Ellies Du Pin (1657–1719), historien de Byzance" (pp. 399–412); Anne Régent-Susini, "Dionysisme et gallicanisme: la figure de l'évêque selon Bossuet" (pp. 413–28); (2) "Figures gallicanes": Grégoire Holtz, "Nicolas Bergeron (+1584/1588) et la construction de la culture gallicane" (pp. 429–43); Thierry Amalou, "Jacques Leschassier, Senlis et les libertés de l'Église gallicane (1607)" (pp. 445–66); Sylvio De Franceschi, "Simon Vigor face aux catholiques zélés: le gallicanisme radical au début du XVII^e siècle" (pp. 467–83); Robert Descimon, "Jacques Auguste de Thou (1553–1617): une rupture intellectuelle, politique et sociale" (pp. 485–95); Alexandre Tarrête, "Un gallican sous la Ligue: Guillaume Du Vair (1556–1621)" (pp. 497–516); and Jacques Grès-Gayer, "L'électron libre du gallicanisme: Jean de Launoy (1601–1678)" (pp. 517–42).

To commemorate the fourth centenary of the publication of the Introduction to the Devout Life (1609), the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales sponsored the symposium "Encountering Anew the Familiar: The Introduction to the Devout Life at 400 Years," which took place on July 27–28, 2009, in Annecy, France. The program was organized by Father Joseph F. Chorpenning, O.S.F.S., chairman of the International Commission for Salesian Studies (ICSS). Father Aldino Jose Kiesel, O.S.F.S., Superior General, presided.

Presentations focused on several of the Introduction's most familiar themes with a view to uncovering an overlooked or neglected aspect, as well as providing fresh insights: "The Introduction to the Devout Life as a Spiritual Classic," by Wendy M. Wright (Creighton University); "The Introduction to the Devout Life, Spiritual Direction, and Oblate Formation," by Father Lewis S. Fiorelli, O.S.F.S. (General Formation Coordinator and former Superior General); "'In Our Image and Likeness' (Genesis 1:26): Image-Making and Spiritual Formation in the Introduction to the Devout Life," by Father Chorpenning; "Chains of Love: The Eternity of Spiritual Friendship in the Introduction to the Devout Life," by Brother Daniel P. Wisniewski, O.S.F.S. (Bryn Mawr College); and "Modern Adaptations of the Introduction to the Devout Life," by Father Michel Tournade, O.S.F.S. (Provincial, French Province). Discussion groups and a roundtable with the presenters complemented the presentations.

The ICSS will publish a collected volume of revised versions of the papers presented in Annecy, together with an essay by Viviane Mellinghoff-Bourgerie (Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany) on the Introduction's various editions as indicative of how this spiritual classic was received and interpreted throughout its publication history. This volume is intended to serve as a permanent record of the Oblates' observance of this historic anniversary, as well as to give the symposium a broader reach and life beyond the actual event.

The Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l'Ouest in its issue for September, 2009 (vol. 116, no. 3), presents a dossier on "Vocations religieuses et laïques" containing the following articles:Amélie Vantard, "Les vocations missionnaires chez les Jésuites français aux XVII^e–XVIII^e siècles" (pp. 9–21); Évelyne Hiet-Guihur, "Les réseaux «asiatiques» et les missionnaires vannetais de la Société des Missions Étrangères de Paris au XVIII^e siècle" (pp. 23–41); Pierre Foucault and Brigitte Waché, "Enseignements tires de récits de vocations au XIX^e siècle. L'exemple du Maine" (pp. 43–61); Gérard Lefeuvre, "Un débat sur la vocation sacerdotale. La querelle Lahitton-Branchereau (1909–1912)" (pp. 63–77); Thomas Hervouët, "La vocation de Jean-Jacques: quelques remarques sur la secularisation d'un concept chrétien" (pp. 79–93); Christian Chevandier, "Vocation professionnelle: un concept efficient pour le XX^e siècle?" (pp. 95–108); Hervé Guillemain, "Devenir médecin au XIX^e siècle. Vocation et sacerdoce au sein d'une profession laïque" (pp. 109–22); and Sabine Rousseau, "La vocation religieuse feminine dans les années 1960–1970: crise collective, itinéraires singuliers" (pp. 125–37).

The first fascicle for 2009 of Spicilegium Historicum Congregationis SSmi Redemptoris (vol. LVII) is devoted to St. Clement Mary Hofbauer (1751–1820) on the centenary of his canonization. It contains the following articles: Otto Weiss, "Begegnungen mit Klemens Maria Hofbauer" (pp. 3–93); Martin Leitgöb, C.Ss.R., "Vom silbernen zum goldenen Strahlenschein. Eine Rückblende auf die Heiligsprechung von Klemens Maria Hofbauer im Jahre 1909" (pp. 95–115); Marian Brudzisz, C.Ss.R., "Les projets missionnaires de Clément Hofbauer en Europe de l'Est" (pp. 117-160); Maciej Sadowski, C.Ss.R., "«Faithful to the Legacy of St. Clement—while open to the Signs of the Times». The Origin and Beginnings of the Polish Redemptorist Province (1883–1090)" (pp. 161–82); and Adam Owczarski, C.Ss.R. (ed.), "Resoconto dei membri della delegazione dell'Arciconfraternita Letteraria dell'Immacolata Concezione della Beata Vergine Maria, presso la Chiesa di San Giovanni a Varsavia e loro partecipazione all'udienza del Santo Padre Pio X e alla canonizzazione di San Clemente Maria a Roma nel 1909" (pp. 183–204).

"Polish American Catholics" are the subject of five articles in the issue of U.S. Catholic Historian for summer, 2009 (vol. 27, no. 3): James S. Pula, "Polish American Catholics: A Case Study in Cultural Determinism" (pp. 1–19); John Radzilowski, "A Social History of Polish American Catholicism" (pp. 21–43); Dorota Prasza/lowicz, "Polish American Sisterhood: The Americanization Process" (pp. 45–57); Stanis/law Hajikowski, "Father Justyn and the Rosary Hour" (pp. 59–82); and Thaddeus C. Radzilowski, "Father Jozef Dąbrowski, the Orchard Lake Schools and the Shaping of Polish American Catholicism" (pp. 83–107).

A dozen articles in the winter–spring, 2009, issue of the Josephinum Journal of Theology deal with aspects of "Catholicism in America, "following an introduction by the editor William F. Murphy, Jr. (pp. 2–5): Kathleen S. Cummings, "Rewriting 'His' Story: Vocations, Teaching Sisters, and American Catholics in the Progressive Era" (pp. 6–23); William L. Portier, "Paul Hanley Furfey: Catholic Extremist and Supernatural Sociologist, 1935–1941" (pp. 24–37); Steven M. Avella, "The Beginnings of Sunbelt Catholicism: Postwar Phoenix and Las Vegas" (pp. 38–49); Robert E. Carbonneau, C.P., "The 1965 Intersession Travel of Passionist Barnabas Ahern, Peritus at Vatican II" (pp. 50–71); James M. O'Toole, "Reinventing the Sacrament: American Catholics and Extreme Unction" (pp. 72–85); Joseph P. Chinnici, O.F.M., "From Sectarian Suffering to Compassionate Solidarity: American Catholic Languages of Suffering, 1930–1996" (pp. 86–107); Perry J. Cahall, "Catholic No More: Lessons from Webster University" (pp. 108–24); Francis J. Beckwith, "Evangelical and Catholic" (pp. 125–38); Timothy Matovina, "Latinos and the Remapping of U.S. Catholic History" (pp. 139–60); Christopher Ruddy, "Unabashedly Liberal, Distinctively Catholic: Andrew Greeley on Post-Conciliar American Catholicism" (pp. 161–82); Patrick W. Carey, "Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., and the Signs of the Times" (pp.183–208); and David J. O'Brien, "The Future as (Catholic) History: American Catholicism in Historical Perspective" (pp. 209–21).

Obituary Notice

Canon Roger Aubert (1914–2009)

Canon Roger Aubert, professor emeritus of ecclesiastical history at the Catholic University of Louvain, died on September 2, 2009, at Schaerbeek, Belgium, while celebrating daily Mass. One of the most prolific and respected church historians of the past half-century, Aubert was a corresponding fellow of the American Catholic Historical Association since 1985.

He was born in Ixelles, Belgium, on January 16, 1914. By the age of twenty-eight, he had earned not only a licentiate's degree from the prestigious Institut supérieur de philosophie de Louvain but also two doctorates from Louvain, one in philosophy and letters (history) and the other in theology. Three years later, in 1945, he received the coveted title of maître en théologie from his alma mater with the publication of his monumental thèse de maîtrise, Le problème de l'acte de foi: données traditionelles et résultats des controverses récentes, which went through four editions, the last in 1969.

Aubert was not only a distinguished academic but also a devout and dedicated priest who exemplified the finest traditions of the learned Belgian diocesan clergy. Ordained in June 1938, he taught church history, patrology, and fundamental theology at the grand séminaire of Mechelen from 1944 until 1952 when he was appointed to the faculty of Louvain. In 1951 he was named an honorary canon of the cathedral of Mechelen. Even after his mandatory retirement from teaching at the university in 1983, Aubert continued to teach at the seminary well into his nineties because of his concern for the education of the future clergy. A grateful Cardinal Godfried Danneels, the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, described the poignant scene of the aged canon walking from the railroad station to the seminary with his breviary in one hand and a copy of Le Monde in the other hand.

At Louvain, where Aubert succeeded Canon Albert de Meyer as professor of the history of the church and contemporary history in 1952, his self-discipline and capacity for hard work led to a legendary record of teaching and publishing. He directed some fifty doctoral dissertations and several hundred licentiates' theses while publishing 600 major works, including books, book chapters, and articles. He also wrote 4000 encyclopedia articles, and 6500 book reviews and notices. In addition, he edited the Revue d'Histoire Ecclésiastique from 1952 to 1983, the Bibliothèque de la Revue d'Histoire Ecclésiastique from 1952 to 2005, and the Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie Ecclésiastiques from 1955 to 2006.

He remained active to the end. As Monsignor Robert Trisco noted in the October 2009 issue of the CHR (XCV, 924), the last two fascicules of the DHGE contained no fewer than 413 articles by Aubert. Reference to his numerous encyclopedia articles can be misleading. While many are brief, his article on the Lateran Councils in the DHGE runs to 40 columns, and his article on Bishop Felix-Antoine-Philibert Dupanloup runs to 103 columns and is in fact a monograph, the best publication ever written on the nineteenth-century bishop of Orléans.

Aubert's original interest and first publications were in medieval and seventeenth-century European history. At the request of his archbishop, Cardinal Ernest-Joseph van Roey, he shifted his research and writing to nineteenth-century and later twentieth-century church history, bringing new standards of professionalism and scholarly rigor to a field that was largely the preserve of ecclesiastical journalists and hagiographers. Aubert possessed a remarkable gift for synthesis, combining both accuracy and clarity in his writings by incorporating subtle nuances into his analysis of the most complicated issues while avoiding jargon-ridden generalizations. He encouraged his students to explore new approaches to history such as sampling public opinion through quantitative analysis of the press while steadfastly defending the perennial value of such time-proven staples as good biography. His thorough grounding in Catholic theology enabled him to treat heated theological controversies with effortless objectivity.

Aubert said that, of all his publications, the book that he valued the most was Le Pontificat de Pie IX (Paris, 1952) because it was "ahead of its time." Although written by necessity without access to the Vatican archives, it has proven to be a remarkably perceptive analysis of that stormy pontificate. It broke new ground by placing the papacy within the context of the universal Church and eschewing the customary hagiographical approach, much to the distress of some clerical bureaucrats in the Holy Office.

Aubert's scholarship brought him widespread international recognition. He was a member of the Royal Academy of Belgium, the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences, the British Academy, the Portuguese Academy of History, and the Scientific Council of the Istituto Paolo VI at Brescia. He received honorary degrees from the universities of Nijmegen, Graz, Sacred Heart (Milan), Sherbrooke, and Tübingen. Despite his fame and widespread intellectual activities, however, his students remembered him as a wise and kindly mentor who was always generous with his time, advice, and encouragement.

Aubert's work is most familiar in the English-speaking world through the chapters that he contributed to volumes VII, VIII, and IX of the History of the Church edited by Hubert Jedin (New York, 1981–91), and through volume V of the series Christian Centuries, The Church in a Secularized Society (New York, 1978), which he edited and for which he wrote the chapters on European history. He also wrote a lengthy essay, "Cardinal Mercier's Visit to America in the Autumn of 1919," for Studies in Church History: Essays in Honor of John Tracy Ellis, edited by Robert B. Eno, S.S., Nelson H. Minnich, and Robert F. Trisco (Wilmington, DE, 1985). Aubert had a lifelong admiration for Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier (1851–1926), the intrepid primate of Belgium during World War I. He revered Mercier as a churchman, scholar, and patriot, three characteristics for which he himself will also long be remembered.

Bibliographies of Aubert's works appeared in three Festschriften edited by his former students: Le Cardinal Mercier (1851–1926): Un prélat d'avant-garde (Louvain-la-Neuve, 1994), pp. 39–75; Ecrire l'histoire du catholicisme des 19^e et 20^e siècles (Louvain-la Neuve, 2002), pp. 167–73; and La papauté contemporaine (XIX^e–XX^e Siècles)/il papato contemporaneo (Secoli XIX– XX) (Louvain-la-Neuve and Città del Vaticano, 2009), pp. 25–27. His former students and colleagues presented the last volume to him at a ceremony at the university on June 27, 2009. His funeral Mass was celebrated at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi at Louvain-la-Neuve on September 9, 2009. A memorial service was held at the university on October 16, 2009, preceded by a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Danneels. Requiescat in pace.

Thomas J. Shelley
Fordham University

Letter to the Editor

We appreciate David O'Connell's description (ante, XCV, 880–81) of our biography of Father Abram Ryan (Poet of the Lost Cause, Knoxville, 2008) as "an informative, even an important book. "We found O'Connell's biography of the priest (Macon, GA, 2006) useful in our work, and our research did indeed benefit, as he indicates, from newly released digital compilations that became available between his own research and ours.

We fear, however, that O'Connell has misread our account of the battle of Fredericksburg. We do not state that Father Ryan was present. Instead, we express our considerable skepticism (p. 67): "The priest's itinerary in Peoria makes it difficult to understand how he could have reached the battle-site for even the day of the 14th and return. . . ." We do point out that Rable's definitive study of this battle, Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg! (Chapel Hill, 2002) reveals actions among Longstreet's troops that strikingly resemble the Ryan legend. And we document that Father Ryan participated more fully in postwar commemorations at Fredericksburg than previously known.

Regarding O'Connell's dismissal of Father Ryan's possible presence at the battle of Lookout Mountain, our book parts company with his theory that a 1907 account placing Father Ryan at this battle was a hoax by early archivist-researcher Father Joseph McKey. Instead, we present evidence that the story was written by a reputable Chicago journalist and newspaper editor. While we believe the story to have been at least partially fictionalized, we argue that this new understanding of its authorship merits an objective re-examination of the narrative and its possible archival source(s). Archival discoveries since our book's publication (a) confirm our theory of authorship, and (b) strengthen the case for Ryan's presence at Lookout Mountain, although not to the degree of absolute certainty. Space does not permit us to detail these discoveries here, but we might include Father Ryan's lengthy personal eulogy of the exiled Irish revolutionary John Mitchel (whom Ryan reportedly met at Lookout Mountain) and an account putting Ryan at Longstreet's temporary headquarters in East Tennessee following Bragg's retreat from Lookout Mountain. O'Connell suspects that Ryan did not arrive in Nashville until May 1864 because he was in Kentucky searching for his brother's grave. This actually exemplifies the sort of romanticized speculation unsupported by evidence that O'Connell himself criticizes. Instead, we believe it is no coincidence that Ryan's appearance in the Diocese of Nashville followed on the heels of the departure of Longstreet's army from Tennessee—provable historical facts now associated by a credible account putting Father Ryan in proximity to that army prior to its departure.

In summary, we are grateful for O'Connell's favorable view of our work. Yet we would urge that it would be irresponsible for a biographer to arbitrarily ignore or discount the handful of period accounts linking Father Ryan to Tennessee prior to his "official" arrival, imperfect though they may be, given that Father Ryan provably spent the first part of the war in the North and the last part of the war in Tennessee. In this we follow the example of respected historian Thomas Stritch, who states in The Catholic Church in Tennessee (Nashville, 1987) that Father Ryan began making appearances in Tennessee a full year before the battle of Lookout Mountain.

Donald Robert Beagle
Belmont Abbey College

Bryan Albin Giemza
Randolph-Macon College

• David O'Connell replies:
• David O'Connell

In reply to Professor Beagle's letter, I find his reference to "newly released digital compilations that became available between his own research and ours" to be somewhat bizarre and have no knowledge of these sources. Ironically, however, when it came to allowing me access to the "Ryan Archive" at Belmont Abbey while I was researching my book, Beagle failed to respect even the minimum standards of professional honesty and integrity. During the several trips that I made to Belmont Abbey, Beagle was never available, nor did he ever answer questions that I submitted to him. I was permitted to deal only with his staff member [Susan Mayes]. She, however, was never able to answer even one question about the very basics of these "archives." In fact, said "archives"were nothing more than yellowed file folders that had been tossed every which way into several old boxes. There was no cross-referencing in the files, nor was any information provided about the provenance of the collection. In other words, the documents to which Beagle gave me access hardly constituted an "archive' in the modern understanding of that term within the context of twenty-first-century research libraries. His assistant's [Mayes] standard reply to my many questions was simple and repetitive: "I really don't know anything about it."

As for Ryan's presence at the Battle of Lookout Mountain, I stand by my position that he was not there. The accounts to which Beagle refers all date to the years while the Second Klan was growing in importance in the early years of the twentieth century. At that time, Catholics were consistently targeted in Klan propaganda as foreigners whose principal allegiance was to Rome. Well-meaning Catholics in the South could point to Father Ryan as a true Southern patriot who had also been a Catholic. In fact, the Catholic high school founded in Nashville in the 1920s was named after Ryan for that very reason. He had been a Catholic and a Southern patriot during the Civil War.

With regard to Beagle's claim that I accuse the Reverend Joseph McKey of having perpetrated a "hoax" by stating that Ryan had been at the Battle of Lookout Mountain, I take strong exception to Beagle's putting that word in my mouth. In fact, the word hoax does not appear in my book. Rather, we should see McKey's claim in the first decade of the twentieth century that Ryan had been at the Battle of Lookout Mountain as a well-intentioned attempt to protect Ryan's reputation. For if he was there, he could not have been patronizing a house of ill repute in Chicago at roughly the same time, as the powerful pro-Lincoln Chicago Tribune had alleged in November 1863. The same reasoning applies to Beagle's "reputable Chicago journalist and newspaper editor" who wrote the same thing in defense of Ryan a few years later. These early years of the twentieth century were hard times for Catholics, and they had to close ranks. Priestly reputations had to be protected, especially given the fact that the Klan was merely the tip of the iceberg of the hard-core anti-Catholic bigotry that pervaded U.S. society from 1900 to 1930. To me, the illusory, but no doubt well-intentioned, nature of these imagined "sightings" of Ryan is revealed in the recurrence of a telltale cliché found in all of them. Depending upon the individual who, in the 1920s, suddenly had access to "eyewitness" information about Ryan from a half-century earlier, the language of the cliché always included the statement that Ryan had "ministered to people from North and South, whether Catholic, Protestant or Jew, and without regard to race or religion." In other words, Ryan had been a good American, not a hyphenated one. The story met the needs of certain Catholics in the 1920s, but had little if anything to do with the historical reality of the 1860s.