Lawrence McMahon consecrated as Bishop of Hartford

1. Only people who had tickets to the ceremony were let into the cathedral.
2. There were special “excursion trains” bringing people into Hartford for the event:

• 17 cars from Waterbury on the New York & New England Railroad
• 8 cars from Willimantic on the New York & New England Railroad
• 8 cars from New Haven on the New York, New England & Hartford Railroad
• 11 cars from Springfield on the New York, New England & Hartford Railroad
• 6 cars on the Connecticut Western Railroad
• 6 cars on the Valley Railroad
• 13 cars on the Connecticut Central Railroad
• A group of people also arrived in Hartford by boat at the river landing

3. Most of the priests left Hartford by train in the afternoon following the consecration.
4. Clergy who participated in the ceremony, and their roles:

• Celebrant: John J. Williams
• Assistant bishops: John Loughlin and Patrick T. O’Reilly
• Deacon of the mass: Moran
• Sub-deacon: William Daly
• Deacons of honor: McCabe
• Assistant priest: Thomas Walsh
• Master of ceremonies: Michael Tierney
• Second master: F. Kelley
• Notary: James Hughes
• 11 priests served as chanters
• Mitre bearer: James Cooney
• Crozier bearer: Mulholland
• Censer bearer: Rogers
• Bougie bearer: T. MacMahon
• 2 priests served as acolytes
• 1 priest served as book bearer
• 2 priests served as assistants at the faldstool

5. Music for the ceremony:

• Selected under the direction of the Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph’s Convent.
• The cathedral choir sang Hayden’s second mass
• Led by Bridget Cahill, soprano, and James Ahern, basso. John Farley, T. J. Sullivan, Louis Gundlach, and Mrs. Frank Craig assisted the choir.
• Organ played by N. H. Allen
• Adkins & Severns’ full orchestra, a 14-piece orchestra conducted by T. G. Adkins, also performed.

1. The Courant published a preview of the consecration on August 9, 1879 and then an account of the event on August 11, 1879. There are some discrepancies between the two articles, and while I could smooth out some of them, they all should be noted:

• “The spacious cathedral was crowded full, and many were unable to get within the walls." Yesterday, the Courant reported that only people who had tickets were allowed into the cathedral, and presumably, when the Courant reported that the event had begun at 10:00, the ceremony at 10:45, the reporter intended to say that the doors of the cathedral had been opened to the public at 10:00.
• Louis De Goesbriand, Bishop of Burlington, VT, was scheduled to serve as assistant bishop, but he did not participate and apparently did not attend the ceremony.
• Philip Grace was scheduled to serve as deacon of honor with M. McCabe. He didn’t apparently participate in the ceremony, and M. McCabe was listed as the only deacon of honor at the mass (although, notably, the Courant did list McCabe as “deacons of honor”).
• T. McMahon was scheduled to serve as censer bearer, but today he served as bougie bearer. The Courant reported that J. Rogers served as censer bearer.
• Annie Kennedy was scheduled to perform as soprano during the ceremony. The Courant reported that Bridge Cahill performed as soprano today.

2. There is some confusion as to what took place at 10:45: at the beginning of the article, the reporter noted that the procession entered the church, while later in the article the reporter said that James Hughes read the apostolic mandate at this time.
3. The Courant refers to both the bishop’s “mitre” and “miter.” I go with “mitre,” even the Microsoft Word protests that I have misspelled it.

Thomas Galberry died on October 10, 1878.

Lawrence McMahon would lead vesper services this evening in the convent chapel.

1. The master of ceremonies as the consecration mass was Michael Tierney. At this point he was pastor of Saint Peter’s Catholic Church in Hartford, but in 1894 he will succeed Lawrence McMahon as the next Bishop of Hartford. 
2. Michael J. McGivney, in line for canonization by the Catholic Church, was in attendance, but he did not represent his parish, Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in New Haven, at the ceremony. That honor went to a “Father Lawler.”

1. “The day was as bright and beautiful as could be desired and the air was deliciously cool.”
2. “A very large collection was taken, which up to last evening had not been counted.”

1. John J. Williams was Archbishop of Boston.
2. James A. Healy was Bishop of Portland, ME. Although the Courant usually got his name right, it also fairly consistently spelled his name as “Healey.”
3. John Loughlin was the Bishop of Brooklyn. The Courant reported his name as “O’Laughlin” and “McLoughin.”
4. Patrick T. O’Reilly was the Bishop of Springfield. MA. The Courant frequently misspells his name as “O’Reilley.”
5. John W. Shanahan was the Bishop of Harrisburg, PA. The Courant typically spelled his name with an “nn.”
6. Thomas F. Hendricken was the Bishop of Providence.
7. Francis Silas Chatard was the Bishop of Vincennes, IN. Some sources list him as “Silas Francis.”
8. A “bougie” is a wax candle.

Unattributed.  “Bishop McMahon consecrated,” Hartford Daily Courant, August 11, 1879, page 2.

Unattributed.  “The Catholic consecration,” Hartford Daily Courant, August 9, 1879, page 2.