Edward Sorin

Edouard Frédéric Sorin was born on February 6, 1814, in Ahuillé, near Laval, France, to Julian Sorin de la Gaulterie and Marie Anne Louise Gresland de la Margalerie. He was the seventh of nine children, and he was born into a well-off middle-class family and grew up in a three-story manor home (the château de la Roche) with seven acres of land. His family was religious and had sheltered two non-juring priests during the persecutions of the French Revolution. He received an early education at home, in the local village school, and by the local parish priest. He then enrolled in the School of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Laval, but after one year he decided to become a priest and with his family's backing enrolled at the diocesan seminary in Precigné. Here he completed his humanities course and then enrolled at the major seminary in Le Mans for theology. Among his fellow students were the future cardinals Benoît-Marie Langénieux and Guillame Meignan. Here he made the acquaintance of Basil Moreau, who was vice rector and professor of scripture. He also became interested in missionary work after listening to the pleads of Simon Bruté, bishop of Vicennes in Indiana, who had returned to France to recruit missionaries. He remained in this position for about fourteen months, but then desired to join Basil Moreau's novel organization, the Congregation of Holy Cross (born out of the merger of Moreau's auxiliary priests and Jacques-Francois Dujarié's Brothers of Saint Joseph). With the bishop's permission, he joined the group and underwent a brief novitiate. On August 15, 1840, Sorin - together with Basil Moreau and three other priests - were the first members of the Congregation of Holy Cross to take solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Missionary enterprise in foreign lands, including distant lands such as China, Japan or America, motivated French clergy and inspired numerous vocations. Sorin was accompanied by six brothers of the Congregation: Brothers Vincent (born John Pieau), Joachim (William Michael André), Lawrence (John Menage), Francis Xavier (René Patois), Anselm (Pierre Caillot), and Gratian (Urban Mosimer). == Founding of the University of Notre Dame ==

Journey to America and time in St Peter's Accompanied by the six brothers, Sorin left Le Mans on August 5, 1841, and left Le Havre on board the ship Iowa. They arrived in New York City on September 13, and one of Sorin's first acts upon arrival to America was to kneel down and kiss the ground, as a sign of adoption of his new country. They spent three days in the city hosted by Samuel Byerley, a rich trader and convert to Catholicism, and met with New York's bishop John Dubois. On September 16 they went up the Hudson River by paddleboat to Albany and then reached Buffalo via the Erie Canal, with a short detour to view Niagara falls. They crossed Lake Erie on steamboat and reached Toledo, from where they went down to Maumee river to Maumee, then Napoleon, Defiance, Fort Wayne, Lafayette, Terre Haute, and following the Wabash river they finally reached Vincennes on October 10. Here they were welcomed by Alexis Coquillard (who bishop Hailandière had put them in contact with) and then undertook the two-mile trip to visit the property before spending the night guests of Coquillard. The next day they visited the site with day-light, and took formal possession of the property. Sorin described his arrival on campus in a letter to Basil Moreau:At the time, the property only had three buildings: a log cabin built by Stephen Badin (the original burned down in 1856 but a replica was built in 1906), a small two-story clapboard building that was the home of the Potawatomi interpreter Charon, and a small shed. Of the 524 acres, only 10 were cleared and ready for cultivation, but Sorin stated that the soil was suitable for raising wheat and corn. While the land had two small lakes, the snow and marshy area might have given to Sorin the appearance of a single larger lake, hence why named the fledgling mission "Notre Dame du Lac" (Our Lady of the Lake). When Marsile finally arrived in August, Sorin proceeded to erect the first Main Building (at the location of the third and present Main Building). The building, completed in 1844 and enlarged in 1853, constituted the entire college until the construction of the second and larger Main Building in 1865. Following Moreau's example, Sorin sent out priests and brothers to found other schools and parishes throughout the United States and Canada. On January 15, 1844, the Indiana legislature officially chartered the University of Notre Dame. From the French seminary system, Sorin was by temperament more of an administrator than an academic or intellectual. He ran Notre Dame on the model of a French boarding school, which included elementary (the "minims"), preparatory, and collegiate programs, as well as a manual training school. Over the years, he accepted the recommendations of others, including John A. Zahm, to strengthen Notre Dame's academic curriculum. In 1850 Sorin asked the federal government to establish a post office at Notre Dame. His request was granted, and in 1851 First Assistant Postmaster General Fitz Henry Warren notified congressman Graham N. Fitch of the establishment of the Notre Dame post office and the appointment of Edward Sorin as its postmaster. While the income from the post office was negligible, its major advantage was to increase the visibility of Notre Dame and incentivize better roads and communications to the campus. In 1865 he became the first American Provincial Superior of the Congregation and was succeeded as president by Patrick Dillon. As provincial superior, he was still actively involved with the running of the university and resided on campus. Provincial Superior of the Congregation Far from Indiana to India, the flourishing mission in Eastern Bengal, headed by the Congregation of Holy Cross, owes much of its success to Father Sorin's active co-operation and zeal. He sent its former bishop and other priests together with a band of sisters, described as a worthy group. The founding of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in the United States is regarded as one of Sorin's most important services to religion. Under his administration and care, this community grew from small to possessing flourishing establishments in a dozen states. During the American Civil War, under Sorin's forethought, this sisterhood was able to furnish nearly eighty nurses for sick and wounded soldiers on transports and in hospitals. A number of priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross, among them William Corby, served as chaplains at the front. Sorin also established Ave Maria Press in 1865. Following the pledge made by the university's president, William Corby, C.S.C., Notre Dame reopened for the fall term. Sorin also willed Notre Dame to rebuild and continue its growth. As recounted in Notre Dame: 100 Years (1942):"The sixty-five year old man walked around the ruins, and those who followed him were confounded by his attitude. Instead of bending, he stiffened. There was on his face a look of grim determination. He signaled all of them to go into the church with him." Timothy Edward Howard provided a first-person account of what Sorin said inside Sacred Heart Church: "I was then present when Father Sorin, after looking over the destruction of his life-work, stood at the altar steps of the only building left and spoke to the community what I have always felt to be the most sublime words I ever listened to. There was absolute faith, confidence, resolution in his very look and pose. 'If it were ALL gone, I should not give up!' were his words in closing. The effect was electric. It was the crowning moment of his life. A sad company had gone into the church that day. They were all simple Christian heroes as they came out. There was never more a shadow of a doubt as to the future of Notre Dame." This version seems apocryphal as it was not included in any contemporaneous accounts of the event or in Sorin's own writings. Sorin believed a divine hand was involved in the fire's origins, but ascribed it directly to God, whom Sorin suspected of being angry over "infidelity" and "neglect," not the dimensions of the building. Sorin had an ambitious goal for the new Administration Building, constructed over the summer of 1879. He wanted it to be nothing less than a "monument to Catholicism." Having stood for some 135 years, the Administration Building with its Golden Dome served as a monument. Catholicism generally and millions of working-class first- and second-generation American Catholics were inspired to see their sons (and eventually daughters) pursue higher education. It allowed them to gain entry into the mainstream of American social, economic, and political life. == Superior General ==

Sorin was elected superior-general of his order in 1868, and held this office for the rest of his life. During his tenure as Superior General, Sorin made around 50 voyages across the Atlantic to deal with the affairs of the Congregation in France and Rome. In order to ease the debt of the Congregation and put on more solid financial footing, he oversaw the sale of the church of Notre Dame de Sainte Croix, its boarding school, and the rest of the Congregation property in Le Mans, which until then had served as the order's headquarters. Hence the headquarters was moved to Notre Dame, Indiana. Sorin was invited to attend the Provincial Council of Cincinnati of 1882 and the Plenary Council of American Bishops at Baltimore in 1884. St. Edward's University flourished under the presidency of Peter Joseph Hurth, who later became bishop of Dhaka in East Bengal. == Personal life ==

While Sorin was attached to his French roots, he had a deep desire to be an American and his attachment to his new country manifested in several ways. In recognition of his work in education, the French Government conferred upon him the insignia of Officer of Public Instruction in 1888. ==Final years==

A Golden Jubilee in 1888 marked the fiftieth anniversary of Sorin's priestly ordination, which had taken place in 1838. One first celebration occurred during the school year, with the students present, on the actual anniversary of the ordination. On May 26 all campus building were decorated with flags and banners. The entertainment consisted in a reception with students, faculty, and administration, followed by speeches, poems, recitals, and musical performances. After dinner, Sorin and the faculty members gathered on the Main Building porch and watched the Notre Dame Band perform in the quad and the student military units give their gun salutes. The student, faculty and alumni gifted Sorin with a barouche drawn by two black horses. The night was marked by fireworks, paper lanterns, and further celebrations. On May 27, the anniversary of the ordination, Sorin celebrated a Solemn High Mass with William Corby delivering the sermon. Afterwards, Sorin blessed the cornerstone of a new residence hall, which Sorin discovered was to be named Sorin Hall in his honor. This was followed by further celebrations, while baseball games and boat races were deferred to the next day due to rain. While this first celebration was reserved for the campus community, second one, of a more official and public nature, was held a few month later on August 15, 1888. General invitations in newspapers across the country via the Associated Press. Thousands of people came to Notre Dame for the event, and many more sent their congratulation to Sorin by letters and telegrams. The most high-profile attendee was Cardinal James Gibbons, then the most significant prelate in the American Catholic Church. A huge crowd gathered at the train station in South Bend to witness his arrival on August 14. William Corby took Gibbons in Sorin's barouche from the station to Notre Dame, and their procession was greeted with bands of music, the toil of the bells of Notre Dame, and plenty decorations and illuminations. The local chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians acted as escort. The jubilee was also attended by other high-profile members of the church, such as two archbishops (William H. Elder of Cincinnati and John Ireland of St. Paul) and twelve bishops (Richard Gilmour of Cleveland, Joseph Dwenger of Fort Wayne, John Watterson of Columbus, Richard Phelan of Pittsburgh, James Ryan of Alton, John Janssen of Belleville, John Keane of Washington, D.C., Maurice Burke of Cheyenne, John Lancaster Spalding of Peoria, Stephen V. Ryan of Buffalo, and Henry J. Richter of Grand Rapids). Soon after the celebration of his golden jubilee, Sorin entered into a long period of mental and physical suffering. He was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery, as is tradition for all members of the Congregation. == Legacy ==

Several memorials have been dedicated to Sorin on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. A statue of Edward F. Sorin, on the intersection of the main and south quads, is one of the main landmarks on the Notre Dame Campus. Sorin Hall was dedicated to Sorin in 1888, with Sorin himself present. Sorin Court, a street behind Main Building, and ''Sorin's'', the restaurant inside the Morris Inn, are also named after him. Several other programs on campus, such as the Sorin Fellows and the Sorin Scholars, are named in his honor. The city of South Bend has dedicated Sorin Street and Sorin Park in his honor, and Sorin Street in Austin is also named after him. Sorinsville was an Irish immigrant neighborhood in South Bend that developed in the 19th and 20th centuries. On the campus of St. Edward's University, Sorin Hall and the Sorin Oak, the largest oak tree in Austin, are named after him. At the Notre Dame, Founder's Day started being celebrated almost immediately in the early 1840s. By Sorin's own request, the celebrations took place on October 13, feast of his patron saint St. Edward, instead of Sorin's birthday. Students from both Notre Dame and Saint Mary's celebrated with theatrical and musical performances, fireworks, athletic events, a feast in the dining halls, and by sending cards and well wishes to Sorin. Over the years, the magnitude of the festivity waned, and by the 1960s a wreath was lay at the bottom of Sorin's statue, and in recent times it is commemorated simply with a special Mass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. In 2014, Notre Dame launched a year-long celebration to commemorate the Bicentennial of the birth of Sorin. The celebration was kicked-off with a Mass while the dining hall served a special French cuisine feast. During the year, the University Archives launched a major effort to digitize Sorin's papers, the Hesburgh library hosted a Sorin Exhibit in the main concourse, and several lectures about Sorin were held. == Works ==

• Sorin, Edward (1882). The minims of Notre Dame: a serio-comic drama. Notre Dame, Ind.: . • Sorin, Edward (1883). The angel of the schools: a manual of devotion for the use of Catholic youth. New York: Sadlier. . • Sorin, Edward (1879). Bells at Notre Dame. Notre Dame, Ind.: . • Sorin, Edward (1885). Circular letters of the Very Rev. Edward Sorin, Superior general of the Congregation of the Holy Cross and founder of Notre Dame. Notre Dame, Ind. . • Sorin, Edward (2001). Chronicles of Notre Dame du Lac. James T. Connelly, John M. Toohey. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press. . . ==References==