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Om· Catleolic Heritage in Texas
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Reverend Joseph Roche, of Lincoln, Nebraska; the Reverend B. X. O'Reilly, of St. Louis, Missouri; the Reverend F. A. O'Brien, of Kala- mazoo, Michigan; the Reverend Edward Kelley, of Chicago; the Reverend F. ]. Van Antwerp, of Detroit; Messieurs A. A. Hirst, of Philadelphia; C. A. Plamondon, of Chicago; M. A. Fanning, of Cleveland; A. V. D. Waterson, of Pittsburgh; Simon A. Baldus, of Cincinnati, Ohio, editor of Jlfen and Women; R. J. Cuddihy, of New York; and William P. Breen, of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Archbishop Quigley presided. The need of a society to aid the home missions was recognized by all. Several names were proposed, but "The Catholic Church Extension Society" was finally chosen at the most appropriate. The scope of the projected society was the subject of much discussion. Archbishop Bourgade argued strongly against restricting it to aid for church buildings to the exclusion of all other purposes. His point of view prevailed, fortunately, and the broader purposes were left to be defined in the constitution and bylaws, which were to be drawn up by a committee headed by Father Francis C. Kelley. The ·members present constituted themselves the first Board of Governors of the Cath- olic Church Extension Society; Father Kelley was unanimously elected to serve temporarily as the first President, Father Roche was chosen Vice President, Father E. P. Graham, General Secretary, and Mr. Wil- liam P. Breen, Treasurer. It was decided to call a meeting of these tem- porary officers and Board as soon as the Constitution and the Act of Incorporation were ready. The foundation for the Catholic Church Extension Society of the United States of America had been laid. Its guiding genius and pro- tecting angel was Archbishop Quigley, who from the first, envisioned, as had the founders of the French Society for the Propagation of the Faith, a society universal in scope. He realized, however, that Catholics in America were not yet ready to accept this broader point of view. "It takes time to get us out of the idea that we are still a missionary country to be helped by others and make us realize that our duty is to be a helper," he said to Father Kelley after the meeting. "We cannot go as far as we plan to go, but others are sure to do it, for their shall be a wider vision. All we can do is to fix matters so that the future advance is certain to take place." The organizational meeting of the Extension Society-destined to do so much for all Catholic missions in the United States and particularly for the Spanish-speaking of the entire Southwest-was held in the home
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