RT. REV. WILLIAM A. HICKEY, D. D., born Worcester, Ma. May 13, 1869 of William and Margaret (Troy) Hickey

Most RT. REV. WILLIAM AUGUSTINE HICKEY, D. D., 3RD Bishop of the of the Diocese of Providence for 12 years.
Born: Worcester, Ma. May 13, 1869 of William and Margaret (Troy) Hickey
Died: 4 Oct 1933 age: 64 years, of a heart attack, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A.

Events

DateAgeEventTitle
13 May 1869 Born Worcester, MA. son of William and Margaret (Troy) Hickey
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22 Dec 1893 Ordained PriestPriest of Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
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16 Jan 1919 AppointedCoadjutor Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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16 Jan 1919 AppointedTitular Bishop of Claudiopolis in Isauria
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10 Apr 1919 Ordained BishopTitular Bishop of Claudiopolis in Isauria
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25 May 1921 SucceededBishop of Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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4 Oct 1933 DiedBishop of Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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a priest for 39.8 years
a bishop for 14.5 years
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1919 January 16, 1919, Bishop William A. Hickey received notification from Rome that Pope Benedict had appointed him coadjutor-bishop with right of succession to Bishop Harkins, of the Diocese of Providence. His consecration as bishop took place on Thursday, April 10, 1919, in Sts. Peter and Paul's Cathedral, Providence, with Rt. Rev. Thomas D. Beaven, D. D., Bishop of Springfield, Mass., officiating, assisted by Rt. Rev. Louis S. Walsh, D. D., Bishop of Portland, Me., and Rt. Rev. Daniel F. Feehan, D. D., Bishop of Fall River, Mass., assisting.
1921
May 23: Bishop Harkins dies. Bishop William A. Hickey, D.D., becomes the third Bishop of Providence.
25 May 1921 Bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, USA
In 1922, buoyed by the success of LaSalle Academy and with a deep conviction for the value of Catholic education, Bishop William Hickey commenced a campaign to raise funds for the expansion of LaSalle as well as the construction of two new Catholic high schools, one in Pawtucket and the other in Newport.
In January, 1923, the same month that Bishop Hickey announced his intention of conducting the million dollar high school drive to his priests, a group of French-Canadians headed by Elphege Daignault, a Woonsocket lawyer, sent a letter to the Sacred Congregation of the Council in Rome pointing out that in the Diocese of Providence there were 96 parishes but only 46 of them had schools. The signers of the letter asked the Holy Father to intervene to halt the drive in view of the fact that there had already been two drives within the last few years to raise large sums for Providence College. They described the new, even larger drive, as an "exorbitant tax that the faithful cannot pay without putting in danger their churches, their schools and all the Catholic works they look after."
By 1924, Bishop Hickey had raised the required funds and worked with the De La Salle Christian Brothers to open the two new secondary schools. . ...
On September 10, 1924, the new Catholic high school on Walcott Street, Pawtucket opened with 59 students, three faculty members, and an athletic director. The new students adjusted well to the new school, excelling in academics and athletics
On December 12, 1924, 17 pastors, representing the parishes that had students enrolled at the new school, met with Bishop Hickey and agreed that the name of the new institution should be Saint Raphael Academy.
In 1924, Elphege Daignault and his supporters began publishing La Sentinelle, a French-language newspaper, that was to serve as a vehicle for their views and to give its name to their movement, The Sentinellists. The paper reported and repeated the various grievances of the ultranationalists and threats the wider community felt to their language and their customs.
In 1925, after having consulted canon lawyers in Quebec and hiring an Italian lawyer familiar with the procedures of the Roman Curia, Daignault submitted a formal petition to the Sacred Congregation of the Council asking the Congregation to halt what they continued to describe as an illegal assessment of parish funds on Bishop Hickey's part. In the course of giving instructions to his pastors as to the manner in which they should submit the funds they collected in the high school drive to the diocese, Bishop Hickey had authorized them to take from parish funds whatever they needed to make up the difference between their parish goals and the amount they had collected up to the deadline for reporting the results of the drive. When Bishop Hickey assured the Congregation that his instructions were meant to facilitate the collection of funds in a timely manner and were not to be regard as an assessment, the Congregation dismissed Daignault's petition as being without grounds.

Bet. 25 May 1925-1927 Bsp. Hickey goes to Marie Rose Ferron's home and asks her if she would be willing to suffer for the 56 Sentinellists, the Diocese of Providence & for him for what he was about to do (being forced to excommunicate them). Without hestitation, Rose said yes, but Bsp. Hickey told her to think about it and when he came back a short while later, she again said yes. Rose offered up to her Jesus, her stigmata and all sufferings for all of them and the goings on. Bsp. Hickey would get his prayers answered, as all 56 returned to the Church! Rose would continue to suffer after this to offer her sufferings for all souls and for the continuation of her beloved Church! Rose felt he would become a Saint one day.
in 1927 After the civil courts had decided the case, Bishop Hickey announced the penalty of excommunication that canon law imposed on Daignault and the 55 others who had signed the papers supporting the petition Daignault submitted to the courts, because they did so without permission. In addition to the decrees of excommunication, Bishop Hickey also announced that Rome had placed La Sentinelle on the Index. When news of the ban on La Sentinelle was published by several Canadian bishops, who the Sentinellists felt had supported them in the past, the position of Daignault's group was severely weakened. After a second trip to Rome to personally plead his case failed to secure even an appointment with Roman officials, and with the deadline for the imposition of the church penalties approaching, Daignault complied with the conditions laid down by Bishop Hickey for absolution.
Hickey also initiated an annual drive to support the diocesan newspaper, the Providence Visitor, which in these years, claimed to have the largest circulation of any Catholic newspaper in the United States. Ultranationalists among the French Canadians in the diocese, however, regarded these endeavors as threats to the continuation of their distinct Catholic and Canadian traditions. The Sentinellists contested Bishop Hickey's fund raising procedures before both church and civil courts to the point where in 1927 fifty-six men prominent in the movement were excommunicated for causing public scandal and the French-language newspaper, La Sentinelle, was placed on the Index. Within two years all sixty-five were reconciled to the Church, but the scars of the dispute remained for many years.

**08 APRIL 1928- EXCOMMUNICATION- ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT went to ROME TWICE to PLEAD his CASE and while there, the EXCOMMUNICATIONS of EVERYONE (58-62) WHO JOINED IN LAWSUIT WERE ANNOUNCED- The ROMAN CHURCH RULED THEY HAVE 1 YEAR TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE AUTHORITY OF THE BISHOP, SUBMIT THEMSELVES & REPENT or BE DECLARED HERETICS. (APRIL 1928-APRIL 1929) But excommunication ended it. Sorrell said the Sentinellists wanted to change the way their church was run, not to leave it. When the diocese transformed the controversy from one over accounting procedures to one of the fate of a person's soul.
Vow1: 08 Dec 1928 Foundress of Sisters of Reperation of Sacred Wounds of Jesus, Bishop William A. Hickey approved & chapel approved.

January 1, 1929, the "new Saint Raphael Academy" was opened, (expanded from the original one of 1924).

23 FEBRUARY 1929, SUN., ALL BUT 4 RETURNED/SUBMITTED/REPENTED TO BSP. By Feb. 1929 all but 4 had repented. But ON THIS DAY, at Masses in their own churches-Included at St. Anne’s was Elphege Daignault. The 4th- Phydime J. Hemond, was the last to repent holding out til 17 May 1929.

week before 25 feb 1929: Elphege Daignault comes back to the Church!

***APRIL 17, 1929- Hemond's father PHYDIME J. HEMOND, whom Sorrell said, had torn the excommunication order up in front of the PRIEST who DELIVERED IT _ held out until May 1929, but in the end he too came back to the fold.

***MAY 17, 1929- PHYDIME J. HEMOND, of St. Annes last to repent even got a month's extension to decide and finally relented on 17 May 1929 but the scars of the dispute remained for many years.


EARLY SUMMER 1930- INVESTIGATION): BSP. WILLIAM AUGUSTINE HICKEY had requested & appointed in EARLY SUMMER 1930, REV. FA. J. B. DUTIL, M.S., "EXPERT ON JUDGING MYSTICS", who was at that time stationed in Enfield, N.H. giving missions in the parishes of New England, (Later he was "SUPERIOR GENERAL of the LA SALETTE ORDER fathers of Montreal, P.Q., Canada"), thru REV. FA. ADRIEN GAUTHIER, Pastor in 1930 in Fall River Diocese, (once was ASS. PASTOR of St. Roch Parish, Fall River, Mass. & Later PASTOR of ? of New Bedford, Ma.), to INVESTIGATE the case on Marie Rose Ferron and to report their findings back to him. Father Dutil met with Fa. Gauthier & together they put Rose through extreme tests- mental, physical and spiritual, and after repeated demeaning her and putting her through a multitude of various extreme tests, he deems her a Saint and in 1930 REPORTED HIS FINDINGS, but DOCUMENT DISAPPEARED FROM FILES OF DIOCESE. He RETESTIFIES- 18 MAY1983 (former superior-general now) to book investigator (these findings are in book). (Ref: p. 116-19 & p.121sm) (Findings: Positive Results)
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St. Sr. Marie Roselma Ferron
Born: 24 May 1902 Feeding Time of Animals, in Stable across the Street from house, Mom hemorridges suddenly while Dad farms, at intersection of Rue Ferron & ?, St. Germain-de-Grantham, P.Q., Canada
Baptised: 25 May 1902 St. Germain Parish, St. Germain-De-Grantham, P.Q., Canada
1904- Boundry Changes for Fall River, Ma./Providence, R.I., U.S.A.: 1904-Present boundaries of Diocese set when Diocese of Fall River was created from Massachusetts counties and towns formerly located in the Diocese of Providence.
Rose is a mystic: 1905 visits from St. Anthony, etc..
Birth of Family Member: Corinne Ferron 20 July 1905
Immigrate/Move to 175 Tremont Street, Fall River, Bristol Co., Massachusetts, U.S.A. : reportedly 1905 or October 1906?
Birth of Family Member: Eglantine Ferron 23? August 1908
Jesus Gives Supplication of Sinners: 1909 ca. age- 7yrs. before School Play-Angel.
Birth of Family Member: Wilbrod "Bill" Joseph Ferron 20? August 1910
1st Communion: 1912 ca. age-10yrs.
Family Portrait: 1912 summer ca.
Deaths of Family members: bet. after 1912 Family portrait & before vows taken 1928, sisters: Eglantine, Laura, ?
03 FEBRUARY 1914- St. Anne’s Parish would suffer painful divisions due to the fact that three prominent leaders of the 1924-1929 Sentinelle Movement were of the parish. They were Elphege J. Daignault, Phydime J. Hemond, and Dr. J. Gaspard Boucher, MD. The climax came in 1927 when twelve French-Canadian Parishes sued the Bishop in the Civil Courts over his right to seize parish funds. The Superior Court ruled that the parishes had a right to an accounting, but that the Bishop had the right to disperse parochial funds. ON 3 FEB. 1914- A harbinger of the storms of LA SURVIVANCE to come at ST. ANNE'S PARISH began on the very day of FATHER NARCISSE LECLERC’s BURIAL on February 3, 1914. (LECLERC, NARCISSE (REV.) 1861 - 1914 WO006), Known as the MARIST CRISIS, it was a SEVEN WEEK long CRUSADE to PREVENT a French speaking BELGIAN MARIST ORDER from assuming direction of the parish, as decided by BISHOP Matthew A. Harkins † (Bishop: 11 Feb 1887 to 25 May 1921). A 23 MEMBER VIGILANCE COMMITTEE, led by ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT, aka; DAIGNEAULT), a local WOONSOCKET LAWYER, was FORMED. OPPOSITION to the MARISTS was DUE to their VIEWS on ASSIMILATION. The COMMITTEE OPPOSED AMERICANIZATION, going so far as to surround the parish property with pickets to prevent FIVE MARIST PRIESTS, LED BY FATHER RAYMOND PLASMANS, S.M., from entering. Tactics of LOBBYING FOR a FRENCH-CANADIAN PASTOR included USE of 500 PARISHONERS watching the Rectory from both sides of Cumberland Street, newspaper articles, a pew rent strike, and visits to the Bishop.
Finally, on MARCH 21, 1914, the REVEREND CAMILLE VILLIARD was NAMED as PASTOR to SUCCEED REVEREND LECLERC. A native of YAMASKA, P.Q. CANADA, he had come to MANVILLE, RI. in 1895 at age 19. After graduating from Marieville College in Quebec, he studied theology at St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, MA and was ORDAINED on 29 JUNE 1904 in Providence, Rhode Island. FATHER RAYMOND PLASMANS, S.M., was NAMED to REPLACE FATHER CAMILLE VILLIARD as PASTOR of ST. CHARLES BORROMEO in PROVIDENCE, RI. The news was greeted by crowds in the Social District, who shouted themselves hoarse. Their courage and convictions against assimilation had united the entire parish.
Ten years of harmony ensued as the parish worked on fund-raising to build and finish a cathedral-like church, which would cost $150,000.
24 MAY 1914- (On MARIE ROSE FERRON'S 12th BIRTHDAY), some 15,000 attended the LAYing of the CORNERSTONE of ST. ANNE'S Church, (The Parish where 3 future, head Sentinellists would belong to) followed by a two division parade with 2,000 marchers made up of church and French fraternal orders. The flags of Quebec could be seen everywhere, along with American and Canadian flags. The actual DEDICATION was by MSGR. THOMAS A. DORAN, VICAR-GENERAL of the DIOCESE, ACTING FOR BISHOP HAWKINS.
Work as nursemaid 1yr. to lawyers children: 24 MAY 1914- 24 MAY 1915 age-12 yr.-13 yr.
*28 July 1914: Austria declared war on Serbia. (WWI is brewing...) (How interesting 28 July is start of Rose's persecution)
*1 August 1914: Germany declared war on Russsia.
*3 August 1914: Germany declared WAR on France. WWI had BEGUN. "THE COST OF AMERICANIZATION"-"One World Order- Universal Begins with WWI..."
*4 August 1914: Britain declares war on Germany.
ILL: SpringTime Winter Thaw- Schooltime, BEFORE 24 MAY 1915 age: 12 or 13 right hand, left foot paralyzed.
Stigmatic Reported: 17 March 1916: For an account of the case of Rose Ferron see the New York Herald Tribune, March 25, 1928. According to this story, Rose Ferron, aged 25, of 86 Asylum Street, Woonsocket, R.i., had, since March 17, 1916, been a stigmatic, wounds appearing upon her hands, feet, and forehead.
Death of Family Member: Fedora "Dora" Ferron (sister) January 1916
Death of family Member: Anatole Ferron (brother) 28 August 1916?
Move: 1916 to 131 Merchant St., Apt.#?, Floor #3, Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
1st Miracle St. Gerard Magella: Sunday after Mass, age-15 yr. 1917 ca.
*11 November 1918: WWI ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. (how interesting Rose died on 11th)
"Pressures for assimilation from both church and civil leaders grew after WW I (World War I Ended With the Treaty of Versailles June 28, 1919 World War I (June1914-armistice took effect at 11:00 hours on 11 Nov 1918) was finally over). In Rhode Island the 1922 Peck Education Bill required all elementary school courses, including religion, be taught in English. It was later repealed. Bishop Hickey followed suit to English-language education by announcing a $1 Million Campaign for funds to construct diocesan high schools, with every parish assessed a quota. The Sentinelle Crisis resulted."
Death of Bishop: May 23, 1921: Bishop MATTHEW HARKINS, D. D., dies.
Appointed Bishop: 23 May 1921: Bishop WILLIAM A. HICKEY, D.D., becomes the third Bishop of Providence.
1922 in Rhode Island: Peck Education Bill required all elementary school courses, including religion, be taught in English. It was later repealed.
ANNOUNCE DRIVE: January, 1923, the same month that Bishop Hickey announced his intention of conducting the million dollar high school drive to his priests, a group of French-Canadians, militant advocates of MDULIA survivance led by ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT, a Woonsocket lawyer and former City Solicitor, began organizing against Diocesan fund drives, and sent a letter of protest to the Sacred Congregation of the Council in Rome pointing out that in the Diocese of Providence there were 96 parishes but only 46 of them had schools. The signers of the letter asked the Holy Father to intervene to halt the drive in view of the fact that there had already been two drives within the last few years to raise large sums for Providence College. They described the new, even larger drive, as an "exorbitant tax that the faithful cannot pay without putting in danger their churches, their schools and all the Catholic works they look after."
JANUARY 1923- BISHOP WILLIAM A. HICKEY followed suit to ENGLISH language (UNIVERSAL- Language) education by announcing a $1 MILLION CAMPAIGN for funds to construct diocesan high schools, with every parish assessed a quota to his priests.
1924-ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT FOUNDED & PUBLISHED- LA SENTINELLE, 'THE SENTINEL,' a newspaper, that would print the future protests and events that would take place.

1925-1925, after having consulted QUEBEC CANON LAWYERS and HIRING- an ITALIAN LAWYER familiar with the procedures of the ROMAN CURIA, Daignault SUBMITTED A FORMAL PETITION to the SACRED CONGREGATION OF THE COUNCIL asking the Congregation to halt what they continued to describe as an illegal assessment of parish funds on Bishop Hickey's part. In the course of giving instructions to his pastors as to the manner in which they should submit the funds they collected in the high school drive to the diocese, Bishop Hickey had authorized them to take from parish funds whatever they needed to make up the difference between their parish goals and the amount they had collected up to the deadline for reporting the results of the drive. When Bishop Hickey assured the Congregation that his instructions were meant to facilitate the collection of funds in a timely manner and were not to be regard as an assessment, the CONGREGATION DISMISSED DAIGNAULT'S PETITION AS BEING WITHOUT GROUNDS.
DATE UNKNOWN- Other funds came from his two chief but silent clerical supports, FATHER JOSEPH BELAND and FATHER ACHILLE PRINCE. Previous to the civil court verdict, Bishop Hickey had removed Father Prince as pastor of St. Louis, Woonsocket, and placed an administrator in charge of Father Beland's parish, Notre Dame, Central Falls. Father Prince's removal prompted another pew rent strike in Woonsocket in which a substantial number of French-Canadians joined. After the civil courts had decided the case, Bishop Hickey announced the penalty of excommunication that canon law imposed on Daignault and the 55 others who had signed the papers supporting the petition Daignault submitted to the courts, because they did so without permission. In addition to the decrees of excommunication, Bishop Hickey also announced that Rome had placed La Sentinelle on the Index. When news of the ban on La Sentinelle was published by several Canadian bishops, who the Sentinellists felt had supported them in the past, the position of Daignault's group was severely weakened.
MOVE: 25 MAY 1925- MARIE ROSE FERRON, MOVES INTO 157 West St., ?#floor, WOONSOCKET, Providence County, Rhode Island. (Rose, would become a flower- a rose in the MIDST of passions brewing and her outcome of her investigations of her cause for Jesus would sadly be lost in the midst of all the turmoil, confusion, passion, and conflict.)
NOVEMBER 1925- ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT, took over DIRECT EDITOR CONTROL of the LA SENTINELLE, "THE SENTINEL'.
EARLY 1927- (ABT.? FEB. 12, 1927??)- 1) ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT, 2) PHYDIME J. HEMOND, and 3) DR. J. GASPARD BOUCHER, MD. and 58 SUPPORTERS of 12 FRENCH CANADIAN PARISHES, FILED a LAWSUIT AGAINST (V.) the BISHOP, PROVIDENCE DIOCESE, in CIVIL COURT (LATER IN SUPERIOR COURT) CHALLENGING THE AUTHORITY OF THE DIOCESE OF PROVIDENCE to take money from individual parishes.

between:1925-08 April 1928 BISHOP WILLIAM A. HICKEY meets Little MARIE ROSE FERRON, is impressed with her and asks her if she would be willing to "suffer and offer up her sufferings to Our Lord, for the sake of his beloved Diocese, and his flock which included the 56-61 Sentinellists he was may have to excommunicate and for the sake of him." Without hestitation, Rose, obediently, faithfully and very lovingly agreed with full-heart and did so! She would become 1 out 150 known Stigmatics, and 1 out of 30 known to have all 5 of Christ's precious wounds, and the #'s decrease even more when you consider that she suffered more! Her sufferings and 24/7 prayers didn't go unanswered as the 56-61 excommunicated Sentinellists did return to their beloved Church- the last being on 17 May 1929! Bishop Hickey would also see another miracle- Huge funds were raised despite the economy and the times and the schools would be built!
Move: ca. 1926? to 86 Asylum St., Right Side, Woonsocket, Providence, R.I.
JULY1927- At HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, (Marie Rose Ferron's beloved Parish), the DIOCESE WAS PROVOKED INTO RESPONDING. One Sunday during a PEW RENT STRIKE, the priests stopped people and asked for their contributions before a Mass began. After the HOLY FAMILY CHURCH incident and WHEN A PRIEST (FA. ACHILLE PRINCE), PERCEIVED AS FAVORING the SENTINELLES WAS REMOVED from ST. LOUIS CHURCH, WOONSOCKET, RI., the Sentinelles drove home their CLAIM OF OPPRESSION by the diocesan leadership.

SEPTEMBER 1927- Sorrell calls the high-water mark of the movement. Estimates are that a September 1927 RALLY at ST. LOUIS FIELD may have drawn 10,000 people.

**OCTOBER 1927- RI. SUPERIOR COURT DISMMISSED the SENTINELLE SUIT and its SIGNERS WERE WARNED OF POSSIBLE EXCOMMUNICATION. When the Rhode Island courts took up the case both the superior court judge, who initially heard the case, and the Supreme Court justices, to whom Daignault appealed the verdict rendered against him by the superior court, also upheld the bishop's position.

JANUARY 1928, BISHOP HICKEY ANNOUNCE THOSE WHO WERE'NT CONTRIBUTING as they could were in a STATE OF MORTAL SIN.

19 FEBRUARY 1928- BISHOP WILLIAM A. HICKEY WARNS IN LETTER: SOME MOVEMENT LEADERS were REFUSED COMMUNION

25 March 1928: News: For an account of the case of Rose Ferron see the New York Herald Tribune, March 25, 1928. According to this story, Rose Ferron, aged 25, of 86 Asylum Street, Woonsocket, R.i., had, since March 17, 1916, been a stigmatic, wounds appearing upon her hands, feet, and forehead.

**08 APRIL 1928- EXCOMMUNICATION- ELPHEGE J. DAIGNAULT went to ROME TWICE to PLEAD his CASE and while there, the EXCOMMUNICATIONS of EVERYONE (58-62) WHO JOINED IN LAWSUIT WERE ANNOUNCED- The ROMAN CHURCH RULED THEY HAVE 1 YEAR TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE AUTHORITY OF THE BISHOP, SUBMIT THEMSELVES & REPENT or BE DECLARED HERETICS. (APRIL 1928-APRIL 1929) But excommunication ended it. Sorrell said the Sentinellists wanted to change the way their church was run, not to leave it. When the diocese transformed the controversy from one over accounting procedures to one of the fate of a person's soul.
Vow1: 08 Dec 1928 Foundress of Sisters of Reperation of Sacred Wounds of Jesus, Bishop William A. Hickey approved & chapel approved.
23 FEBRUARY 1929, SUN., ALL BUT 4 RETURNED/SUBMITTED/REPENTED TO BSP. By Feb. 1929 all but 4 had repented. But ON THIS DAY, at Masses in their own churches-Included at St. Anne’s was Elphege Daignault. The 4th- Phydime J. Hemond, was the last to repent holding out til 17 May 1929.
***APRIL 17, 1929- Hemond's father PHYDIME J. HEMOND, whom Sorrell said, had torn the excommunication order up in front of the PRIEST who DELIVERED IT _ held out until May 1929, but in the end he too came back to the fold.
***MAY 17, 1929- PHYDIME J. HEMOND, of St. Annes last to repent even got a month's extension to decide and finally relented on 17 May 1929.
Vow2: 28 May 1929 Sr. Marie Rose Ferron, 3rd Order of St. Francis
Outward Stigmata stop: 01 August 1929? or 1930?
EARLY SUMMER 1930- INVESTIGATION): BSP. WILLIAM AUGUSTINE HICKEY had requested & appointed in EARLY SUMMER 1930, REV. FA. J. B. DUTIL, M.S., "EXPERT ON JUDGING MYSTICS", who was at that time stationed in Enfield, N.H. giving missions in the parishes of New England, (Later he was "SUPERIOR GENERAL of the LA SALETTE ORDER fathers of Montreal, P.Q., Canada"), thru REV. FA. ADRIEN GAUTHIER, Pastor in 1930 in Fall River Diocese, (once was ASS. PASTOR of St. Roch Parish, Fall River, Mass. & Later PASTOR of ? of New Bedford, Ma.), to INVESTIGATE the case on Marie Rose Ferron and to report their findings back to him. Father Dutil met with Fa. Gauthier & together they put Rose through extreme tests- mental, physical and spiritual, and after repeated demeaning her and putting her through a multitude of various extreme tests, he deems her a Saint and in 1930 REPORTED HIS FINDINGS, but DOCUMENT DISAPPEARED FROM FILES OF DIOCESE. He RETESTIFIES- 18 MAY1983 (former superior-general now) to book investigator (these findings are in book). (Ref: p. 116-19 & p.121sm) (Findings: Positive Results)
Betrayed, Abandoned, Persecution begins by Trio: April 1933 ALICE D. (TROTTIER) GUERIN, & Joining her was: FLORITA (ROYER) LAFLEUR, & REV. FA. ?
Death of Bishop: Bishop WILLIAM A. HICKEY suffered a heart attack on October 4, 1933 and died. He was 64. (note this is anniversary that Andre-Rose-Dina reveal they are cousins in 2004 or 2005!
Appointed Administrator: 04 October 1933- 12 February 1934, Msgr. Dr. PETER E. BLESSING,
Appointed Bishop: 12 February 1934- Bishop FRANCIS P. KEOUGH, D.D., consecrated as the fourth Bishop of Providence.
Move: 26 December 1935? Rose moves to 271 Providence St., Woonsocket, Providence Co., R.I.
Died: 11 May 1936 11:00 A.M. 271 Providence St., Woonsocket, Providence County, R.I., U.S.A., age: 33yrs.
Mass: 11-15 May 1936 at their house.
Mass: 15 May 1936 Holy Family Church, Main St., Woonsocket, Providence Co., R.I.
Bur: 15 May 1936 in A.M. in "Boyer Family Plot", Precious Blood Cemetary, Corner of Rathbun St. & Diamond Hill Rd., Woonsocket, Providence Co., R.I.
Death of Family Member: 31 January 1946 or 47, Dad- Jean Baptiste Ferron
Burial of Family Member: 01 February 1946 or 47, Dad- Jean Baptiste Ferron
Exhumme: 01 Feb 1946 or 1947
ReBuried: 01 Feb 1946 or 1947
Exhumme: 11 July 1946
ReBuried: 11 July 1946
Exhumme: 12 July 1946
Autopsy: 12 July 1946
Mud fall off her face: 14 Jul 1946
ReBuried: 15 Jul 1946
Appointed Archbishop of Baltimore: December, 1947, Bishop FRANCIS P. KEOUGH was appointed Archbishop of Baltimore. Appointed Administrator: Dec. 1947 ca.- 14 July 1948: Msgr. PETER E. BLESSING again served as administrator of the diocese until it was announced in June that Father Russell J. McVinney, a native Rhode Islander and the priest whom Bishop Keough had appointed as rector of Our Lady of Providence Seminary, had been chosen to be the fifth Bishop of Providence.
Appointed Bishop: July 14, 1948: Bishop RUSSELL J. MCVINNEY, D.D., consecrated the fifth Bishop of Providence. (born in Warren, Nov. 25, 1898, baptized in St. Mary of the Bay in December. He died 10 August 1971)
Document Discard: 14 July 1948 by Bishop RUSSELL J. MCVINNEY told to Father ?
1948-, 12 yrs. aft. Rose died, 7 yrs. aft. Ordination, J.B. Palm meets Anna Marshall in N.Y. who gives a rosary from private chapel of Litte Rose which emanated sweet fragrances and he so moved decides to leave to Woonsocket to learn of her. Before he leave, he convinced of 2 things- 1) he would be 1st one to offer Mass on Little Rose's altar since her death, (miraculous events allowed him to do 3) & 2) he'd sleep all night on her bed of boards (he did aft. lunch but couldn't walk after so wasn't aloud to sleep all night on it- a 2 day visit but he have to leave to return to San Francisco, California en route for Shanghai 2 weeks after a visit with his family in Baltimore, Md. He had a 4 hour train via Providence, New York smelled roses & heard Rose say you must return (for crucifix she was going to give him tho she deceased via her mom). He visit his family in Md then return to Woonsocket again for 2nd time!). (pg. 17sm) Mrs. Ferron found crucifix & a month later- Fa. Palm had come back. (Fa. Palm testimony 3 years ago when he come for Rose's Ann. Mass. His 3rd visit to Rose's, was when Ma Ferron died in 1956. "La Petit Pere Palm", she call him.
11 JANUARY 1949 INVESTIGATING LETTER: And yet, DOM ANSELMO TAPPI CESARINI, O. S. B., BASILICA OF ST. PAUL, ROME, to whose judgement all the material and testimonies concerning Marie-Rose Ferron were submitted, wrote on 11 JANUARY 1949: "I have examined and had my lawyer examine all publications and the Biography by Father Boyer relating to the life of Marie-Rose Ferron. THERE IS MATERIAL THERE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT FOR THE CAUSE. ALL THAT IS MISSING IS THE APPROBATION OF THE BISHOP OF PROVIDENCE."
Easter Sunday 1950- Letter from Father Henri Plamondon, S.J., after 20 yrs. as a Missionary of China, he writes to his mother testimony of Protection thanks to Rose against the communists & is only mission who can go out freely thanks to Rose. Relic he has thanks to Father Palm. (p.11sm), (p.12sm- "Today, Father J. B. Palm, S.J., tells us: "Sad to say, Bishop McVinney's report to my Mission Superior that Rose Ferron is a fake, a fraud, stopped the distribution of these relics and books and novena leaflets. The Providence of God allowed the Bishop of Providence to do this, just as he allowed the Communists to take over China. But would you wish to bear his responsibility before God?" (p. 12sm)
3rd True Investigation:- tape recorded testimonies: FA. JEAN BAPTISTE PALM- 1952?, HAD BEEN DONE & FINDINGS WERE POSITIVE):
Investigation- abt. 1953- "1ST INVESTIGATOR-REV. MSGR. ARTHUR T. GEHOGHEGAN, " appointed by BSP. MCVINNEY (Previous investigations in EARLY SUMMER 1930 were ordered & done by Bsp. Hickey that had been reported with positive Findings)- to conduct 1st supposed "Inquiry" on case of Little Marie Rose Ferron 5-6 years prior to designation of FA. MCKITCHEN, tho previous investigations & test had been done well-documented by FA. DUTIL "EXPERT ON MYSTICSM" in EARLY SUMMER OF 1930! (p121sm) (His findings- reportedly negative)
4th True Investigation: called FIRST 1953 Ca. INVESTIGATOR OF ROSE'S CASE APPOINTED BY BSP MCVINNEY-FINDING NEGATIVE tho PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS (including by FA. Adrien Gauthier- starting point til her death & thereafter, 2) Fa. Onesime Boyer from May 1925 til her death & thereafter, 3) 1930 Fa. J. B. Dutil? Expert, ordered by Bsp. Hickey to do with Fa. Adrien Gauthier, her 1st Spiritual director. 4) FA. J. B. Palm- 1952?, HAD BEEN DONE & FINDINGS WERE POSITIVE):
5th True Investigation called SECOND 1958-1959? INVESTIGATION; Ordered by Bsp McVinney appointing Fa. McKitchen (findings reportedly negative)
Degree by Bsp McVinney p123: 19?? (His successor: Bsp Lous Gelineau).
1956- Rose Delima (Mathieu) Ferron dies
1959-1961- Fa. JEAN-BAPTISTE PALM sent to the states (told by Fa. Mark Fang, S.J. in 1984), to collect funds for the Arca Seminary, for 2 1/2 years, gives lectures, sermons around country in parishes, In spare time, he met all acquainted with Rose & investigates- recording cassette testimonies from their own words not chosen words interpreted meanings by a second party.. He writes to his mother after: "These recorded testimonies are the result of a careful research guided by the Holy Spirit, taking me here and there to people who had known Little Rose. Even the Ferron family, who has been deeply hurt and troubled by false friends have mistrusted me and keep on asking "Why are you so devoted to this cause?" Yes, Rose has helped me and I am forever grateful to her. I hate injustice: injustice towards a poor invalid tied to a board and unable to defend herself; injustice coming from people who know better and who should be ashamed of their behavior; injustice to the small and to the great..". (p.13sm).
JANUARY 1964- Archbishop Vagnozzi addressed an OFFICIAL ORDER to his Provincial stating that a "DECREE" had reached them, pronounced by BISHOP MCVINNEY of PROVIDENCE, DECLARING that "AFTER A THOROUGH EXAMINATION, THERE WAS NO HOPE POSSIBLE FOR THE CAUSE OF LITTLE ROSE to be INTRODUCED TO ROME.' And yet, DOM ANSELMO TAPPI CESARINI, O. S. B., BASILICA OF ST. PAUL, ROME, to whose judgement all the material and testimonies concerning Marie-Rose Ferron were submitted, wrote on 11 JANUARY 1949: "I have examined and had my lawyer examine all publications and the Biography by Father Boyer relating to the life of Marie-Rose Ferron. THERE IS MATERIAL THERE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT FOR THE CAUSE. ALL THAT IS MISSING IS THE APPROBATION OF THE BISHOP OF PROVIDENCE." And so, after the most regrettable decree of 1964, Father Palm had to interrupt all documentary research. He was ordered to "abandon his work concerning the tape-recorded testimonies and to concentrate on his parochial duties and on the study of the Taiwanese language." He obeyed, & aft. several months & much insistence, his Superior gave him permission to transcribe his recordings & to obtain help for the translation of testimonies from French to English. (Bishop Peter P.Z. Tou writes a "Recommendation" letter to Fa. Palm's credibility as well as others are on same page- (p. 23sm).
DEATH OF BISHOP: August 10, 1971: Bishop RUSSEL J. MCVINNEY dies.
APPOINTED 6TH BISHOP: January 26, 1972: Bishop Louis E. Gelineau, D.D., consecrated the sixth Bishop of Providence.
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