One Miracle Away…A Holy Cross Hero

One Miracle Away…A Holy Cross Hero

By K.P. Palmer

Father Basil Moreau was born in 1799, a time in which it was dangerous to be Catholic. The storming of the Bastille occurred a mere ten years earlier, and there was still much turmoil and disorder in the country. Leaders of the Reign of Terror were interested in overthrowing the two most prominent institutions of French culture and government: the monarchy and the Church. Many priests and bishops were killed or exiled, and those who were not were forced to give up their allegiance to Rome and swear loyalty to the state. Those who refused went into hiding in the countryside, doing their best to continue spreading the Word of the Lord. During this time, they were assisted by brave Catholics who put their lives at risk.

Fr. Moreau’s parents were two such Catholics. They made sure that all fourteen of their children had a thorough understanding and love of Catholicism. By the time he was old enough for school, the education system in France was in shambles. Most of the schools before the revolution were Catholic and shut down. The new government provided no schools at all, creating an entire generation of illiterate, uneducated children in France. However, Moreau, a very bright child, was noticed by a local priest who took it upon himself to find the means to educate the young Basil.

Though his education was often interrupted, Moreau was an eager student. It has been said that he was a natural leader in and out of the classroom. After he was ordained, he was sent to graduate school and just two years later became a seminary professor, and he remained one for thirteen years, teaching his students with great energy and zeal. It was during this time that Moreau became close friends with another priest, Father Jacque Dujarie.

Father Dujarie had started to organize a society of brothers and sisters to open schools. However, by the time his organization started to flourish, Father Dujarie was 53 years old and dying. Knowing he needed a young, strong, and extremely intelligent priest to help him and eventually take over, he found these qualities in Father Moreau.

From early on in his career, Moreau wanted to start a society of priests for missionary work. He wanted a group of priests, brothers, and laymen to open schools for boys and girls all across France, Europe, and across the ocean. When asked to replace Father Dujarie as the superior of the Brothers of St. Joseph, Moreau eagerly accepted. He then added priests to the society and renamed it the Congregation of Holy Cross.

He moved his society to a village just outside of Le Mans called Notre Dame. With their newfound independence, Moreau and his priests began developing missions in surrounding villages.

Bringing Catholic education back to France was not Moreau’s only goal. He was set on developing his schools all the way to the university level where students would not only be taught Catholic values, but all subjects needed to make the students productive citizens. It was during this time that he stated the philosophy he is now known for, “the mind must not be cultivated at the expense of the heart.” He began to write textbooks and encouraged his top teachers to write them as well. He also wrote a teaching manual that to this day is seen as a model for progressive educational techniques.

Another of Moreau’s long-term ambitions was to be a missionary. Moreau had been receiving requests for brothers and priests from dioceses in Indiana, Montreal, Algeria, and East Bengal. Slowly but surely, Moreau began to send groups to these untamed places that were literally at the edge of the known world. He sent a small group to Indiana, where the bishop assigned him to the outpost settlement of South Bend. Included in this group was Father Edward Sorin.

When Sorin proved to be impulsive and careless with the congregation’s limited finances, Moreau’s patience was tried time and time again. Despite all this, the Holy Cross Mission in Indiana began to take root and then flourish.

In the end, Moreau was essentially abandoned by the congregation he had put his heart and soul into. As the priests in the most important positions, particularly Father Sorin, gained power, they rallied to have Moreau demoted as superior, claiming he was too tight with the finances. It is prudent to note that he was frugal only because the missions had driven the congregation deeply into debt. Moreau stepped down from leadership and died under the care of the Marianite Sisters.

Br. John Tryon, English professor and director of the Writing Lab at Holy Cross College, who recently presented a public lecture on Moreau, explained, “in his unflagging effort to embrace the wholeness of humanity, he achieved holiness. He was a man who, on the heels of the Reign of Terror, envisioned the Reign of God; he was a man who, in the midst of trial and calumny, had the courage to carry out his mission to the ends of the earth.”

For the amazing accomplishments of his life and the miracles attributed to him in death, Father Basil Moreau was beatified on September 15th, 2007. Brother John, fears that the beatification will “sanitize” Father Moreau’s legacy, that he will be known to future generations as an almost “ethereal being.” Instead, he wants the world to know that Blessed Basil was a man and a brave leader: “I share this human side of Blessed Basil not to minimize him; indeed, it is my purpose to lionize him. He was merely a human who led a heroic life, whole-heartedly serving God by selflessly serving the people of God.”

We need only look around us here in Notre Dame, Indiana to see the miracles his bravery and leadership created for all of us.