The Rumshop of the Holy Brewers
“The Rumshop of the Holy Brewers.”—This is what Martin I. J. Griffin, editor of Griffin’s Index (Catholic), calls, in the Catholic Citizen of April 16, 1898, St. Vincent’s Brewery, run by Catholic monks, near Latrobe, Pa. He says: “I can openly protest against a clerical scandal in my native state. I know it will be effective some time in closing up the rumshop of the Holy Brewers at Beatty [St. Vincent’s]. We Catholics are so overawed about our clergy that I wish the New York Voice would expose this Holy Brewery as it has the Protestant Colleges.” The Voice has done this. Here is its first paragraph:— “A mile and a half to the west of this place is the famous St. Vincent’s arch-abbey, college, monastery, theological seminary, cathedral, grist-mill, and brewery, an unholy combination that has scandalized the Catholic Church for upward of half a century. Three hundred and ten students are here, 50 of whom are students of theology, preparing for the priesthood; more than 30 professors, nearly all of whom are doctors of divinity; and 75 monks, including an extensive collection of abbots, friars, priors, chaplains, and priests. Everything is the property of the abbey: 600 acres of land drained by the Loyalhanna Creek, with mills, stables, brickyard, and the famous brewery. The brewery is owned by the monks, the beer is made by the monks, it is sold by the monks, and much of it is drunk by the monks of holy Vincent. If you want to make arrangements to have your boy educated for the priesthood, you address a letter to ‘The Reverend Director.’ If you wish a carload of beer, you write to the same official. The yearly output of priests and beer is extensive. More than 500 American Catholic priests have been trained here for their work. The annual crop of beer is not so large. Until recently, the output has been upward of 3,000 barrels per year. Since the work of building the new $250,000 cathedral was begun some years ago, this has been increased so as to provide beer for the big church pow-wows which are held for the benefit of the construction fund.” It was about fifty years ago the Bavarian monks built the brewery, under Father Boniface Wimmer. The Voice says:— “Father Boniface had been very materially assisted in securing the property by Bishop O’Connor, the first bishop of the diocese of Pittsburg, who had no idea that he was thereby assisting in establishing a brewery. He felt that beer and grace were a bad mixture. Accordingly he protested long and loudly. But just as stubbornly did the monks fight for their beer. The matter was finally laid before Pope Pius IX., and Father Boniface, with his famous red nose, journeyed all the way to Rome to protect his brewery. He brought most powerful influence to bear before the Holy See. The claim was made that the monastery finances were such that they were unable to continue the education of priests unless they made beer. Even King Ludwig of Bavaria, a patron of Father Boniface, interceded with the pope in behalf of the brewery. The result was that Pius IX. not only told Father Boniface to go on making his beer, but raised the brewery monastery to the dignity of an abbey and made Father Boniface an abbot. A few years later, Pope Pius gave the brewery another boost by making it an arch-abbey, and Boniface became an arch-abbot. As the arch-abbot is abbas nullius, the bishop of the diocese has no jurisdiction over him, and none can interfere ecclesiastically but the pope. Bishop O’Connor was therefore completely routed.” Further steps in the history of the thing were the utterances of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (1885) on the temperance question, and of Leo XIII., in a letter to Archbishop Ireland, dated March 27, 1887. Based on these a petition was sent to Satolli against the Benedictine monks, but the brewing of beer still continues. Here is another paragraph:— “For nearly half a century this brewery has debauched the Catholic life of this diocese and scandalized the church abroad. In former days, services at the church were invariably followed by an adjournment to the brewery, where old Brother Englebert was kept busy raking in the nickles and dimes and pouring out the beer. Catholic picnics were the scenes of drunken fights and disgraceful carousals of all sorts. I have it on the authority of a devout Catholic, who has lived here all his life, that he has witnessed with his own eyes from 100 to 150 people drunk on ‘holy beer’ at one time at these picnics, besides from ‘10 to 15 fights during the day.’ While the practice of adjourning from mass to the brewery has somewhat subsided, the practise of drunken carousals at church picnics is in no wise abated.” There is much more in reference to carousals and picnics, to “the great annual drunk carouse” on July 4, at Idlewild, not far away, and to other means to promote beer-drinking and the augmentation of the cathedral construction fund. This cathedral is a magnificent one, costing $250,000, with an altar 150 feet long, granite pillars imported from Scotland, an auditorium with ceiling 100 feet high, and spires and towers without number. Surely this is not the church of Christ which indulges or permits these things.