Jeremiah Williams Cummings
Jeremiah Williams Cummings (April 1814, in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. – January 4, 1866 at New York) was an American
Life
Cummings was born in Washington, D.C., where his oldest sister entered the
In 1848 Bishop John Hughes selected him to found St. Stephen's parish, New York, and to erect a church.[3] Under the administration of Dr. Cummings St. Stephen's, which he had completed in March, 1854, became a fashionable and frequented church in New York, its sermons and music making it a local attraction. On occasion well-known singers from the Metropolitan Opera House would sing with the choir. He continued as its pastor till his death.
Controversy
Cummings was the intimate friend and disciple of
Cummings was one of the leaders in a group of priests and laymen, who were opposed to what they called the "Europeanizing" of the Catholic church in the United States by the foreign-born teachers, to the system of teaching in vogue in the Catholic colleges and seminaries, and who were in favour of conciliating those outside the Catholic church by the use of milder polemics. In an article on "Vocations to the Priesthood" that Cummings contributed to Brownson's Review of October, 1860, he severely criticized the management and mode of instruction in Catholic colleges and seminaries which he styled "cheap priest-factories". This aroused a bitter controversy, and brought out one of the noted essays by Archbishop Hughes, his "Reflections on the Catholic Press".
Works
Cummings wrote Songs for Catholic Schools and Aids to Memory for the Catechism (1862).[5][6] His hymn "Hail Virgin of Virgins" was later published under a variety of melodies.
He was also a contributor to Appleton's Encyclopedia and published in New York:
- Italian Legends (1859);
- Spiritual Progress (1865);
- The Silver Stole.
References
- ISBN 9788876520822
- ^ a b Meehan, Thomas. "Jeremiah Williams Cummings." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Lafort, Remigius. The Catholic Church in the United States of America, New York, The Catholic Editing Company, 1914, p. 374
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 9789004340299
- ^ Henry, H. T., "A Forgotten American Hymnodist", The Catholic Historical Review, vol. 1, no. 2, 1915, pp. 139–47. JSTOR
- ^ Cummings, Jeremiah William. Songs for Catholic Schools and Aids to Memory for the Catechism, New York, P. O'Shea, 1860
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Jeremiah Williams Cummings". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
Works by or about Jeremiah Cummings at Wikisource