Bishop Torreggiani and the early Capuchins in the Diocese of Armidale.

Between 1879 and 1904 Elzear Torreggiani, a Capuchin friar, ministered to the Diocese of Armidale, New South Wales, as its bishop. His story and that of a band of Capuchin friars that he attracted to the diocese is a fascinating chapter in the history of the Australian Church. As we look back over more than a century since their arrival in Sydney on board the Avoca under stormy skies on the evening of 8 November 1879 a number of questions present themselves. Who were these individuals and what was the common bond that motivated them to come to Australia? How was Bishop Torreggiani chosen to fill the See of Armidale? What contribution did he and the Capuchin friars make to the growing Diocese of Armidale?

In his first report to the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith the Bishop described their canonical status.

   We have four Capuchin priests and two lay brothers working as
   missionaries. One of the Capuchin priests is Irish, another Dutch
   and the others are all Italian. These Capuchin missionaries are
   all under the direct obedience of the Diocesan Bishop. Thus they
   work in their missions within the limits set by the same Bishop. (1)

The Capuchin friars referred to in this report were Father Cherubim Mazzini, (frequently known as Cherubini in the Freeman's Journal and other documents), Brother Lawrence Mazzini and Father John Paul Pederzoli, all of whom came from the Italian Capuchin Province of Bologna, Brother Francis Gatti, who came from the Italian Capuchin Province of the Marches, as did the Bishop himself, and Father Norbert Schevenels of Sint-Truiden in Belgium.

In his report Bishop Torreggiani also set out their way of life in detail. They lived at the mission site or parish where they worked, as no friaries had yet been established in which they could live in community. When at home they wore the habit and when out in public they dressed as did other clergy. They lived oft" alms, as did the rest of the clergy and the Bishop himself, and received no financial support from their home Provinces. (2) At the time they did not receive candidates for the Order. By the time of the Armidale Diocesan Synod in 1888 eight out of a total of fifteen clergy in attendance were Capuchins.

In addition to the original six, other Capuchin friars who ministered in Armidale included Father Joachim van den Heuvel, from Holland, Father Albert Mitchell, from Dublin, Father Benedict Mary McCabe, from Cork, Father Dominic Richard Clarke , from Cork, Father Thomas Shechy, from Listowel, Father Bernardine Kavanagh, from Blackburg and Father Lawrence Borg, from Malta. In some documents Father Marianus Bambini is also referred to as a Capuchin, but Bishop Torreggiani called him an ex-Capuchin. They came to Australia from various European Capuchin provinces by personal choice to work as missionaries assisting a Capuchin Bishop. They were not sent by the Capuchin Order as such nor did they make any attempt to establish a Province of the Order in Australia. Though some arc buried in the Diocese others left Australia following various periods of service with only Father John Paul Pederzoli taking out Australian citizenship. (3) However, they did make a significant contribution to the establishment of the young Diocese.

The characters of these friars were as varied as their places of origin. The Bishop was a saintly and kind man who was generous to a fault. Father Bernardine Kavanagh was remembered for his 'intensely red beard and no less fiery temper'. (4) Father Norbert was a restless man who never settled anywhere for a long time and, who after a short stay on the coast and inland, came to St Benedict's Parish at Broadway in Sydney for a few months before returning to Europe. Father John Paul Pederzoli was the dedicated pastor of Quirindi and also served as the town's dentist. In 1886 he espoused the cause of a group of Italian farmers from Venice who became refugees in the Richmond River area upon the failure of the Marquis de Rays' utopian venture of 'La Nouvelle France' on the Pacific Islands of New Britain and New Ireland) Brother Francis Gatti laid out the gardens m Central Park in Armidale, as well as attending to the Cathedral garden and the Catholic Cemetery. Indeed each of these friars not only embraced the work of the church but was heavily committed to assisting the people and developing the society in which he lived.

The Common Bond

One might well ask what was the common bond that brought such different characters together in distant Australia'? What all of these friars had in common was that they had worked in England, Ireland or Wales before coming to Australia. Capuchin friars from both the Low Countries and the Italian Capuchin provinces of Bologna and the Marches worked in England and above all among the predominantly Irish miners in the south of Wales. Many of the local recruits to the Capuchins from Ireland and England made their Novitiate in Belgium before Capuchin provinces were set up in England or Ireland.

Bishop Torreggiani was one of the friars who worked in England and Wales. Born on 28 March 1830 to Vincent Anthony Torreggiani, a share farmer, and Margaret Francesca Osimani in the town of Borgo di Porto Recanati in the province of the Marches on the central east coast of Italy, the future Bishop was baptized Aloysius. (6) Loss of employment forced the family to move into town where the parish priest, Father Leopold Vellute, taught Aloysius to serve Mass. At the age of eleven he entered the Minor Seminary at Loreto and, on the advice of his confessor, joined the Capuchins at Camerino, in preference to the Jesuits. There he became a novice on 20 October 1846, taking the name of Elzear. Having completed his religious formation and his studies for the priesthood, Elzear Torreggiani was ordained on 23 May 1853 at Ancona by Archbishop Benedetto Antonucci. Originally destined for India, he was sent to England where he arrived on 7 February 1856 at the age of twenty-six. Father Elzear spent a month at Peckham, near London, before being sent to Wales, where he would work among Irish miners in Pantasaph, Mold, Flint and, most significantly, Pontypool. He was transferred back to Peckham in 1876 and while working there was called to be Bishop of Armidale.

At Pontypool Father Elzear struck up a friendship with the Vaughan family. In fact when a new chapel was dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels at Cwmbran on 1 January 1867 the preacher was none other than Very Rev. R. B. Vaughan, the Prior of the Benedictine Monastery at Belmont, near Hereford, who later became Archbishop of Sydney, and the main celebrant of the Eucharist was the Capuchin, Father Joachim van der Heuvel, who later turned up in Armidale as Bishop's Torreggiani's secretary. (7)

How did Bishop Torreggiani become the Bishop of Armidale?

This being the case, what brought Bishop Torreggiani and his band of fellow Capuchins to Australia'? Once again the answer lies in a connection with Wales, the home of the Vaughan family. One of the first concerns of Roger Bede Vaughan upon taking up the office of Archbishop of Sydney was finding a Bishop to fill the vacant See of Armidale. He began to attend to this situation as early as October 1877 by obtaining nominations from his suffragan bishops even before receiving the pallium.

From the outset it was evident that there was no strong candidate to fill the vacancy at Armidale. The suffragan bishops, William Lanigan (Goulburn), Matthew Quinn (Bathurst), James Quinn (Brisbane) and James Murray (Maitland) changed their minds frequently. They met for the first time to discuss the matter formally at St John's College, on 14 January 1887 during their visit to Sydney to attend the ceremony of the reception of the pallium by Archbishop Vaughan. They sent three names to Propaganda, Father Thomas English, Father Cani and Father Burkridge, with not even a mention of Elzear Torreggiani. (8) About three months later, on 11 April 1878, Archbishop Vaughan received a letter from Cardinal Simeoni, the Prefect of Propaganda, stating that the nominations were not complete because no biographies were attached and so another meeting and submission was required. (9)

Considering the date of this letter it is interesting that even before the final nominations of the Bishops living in the Colony of New South Wales had been received, Propaganda has begun to enquire about the character of Elzear Torreggiani. Father Egidio of Cortona sent information to Propaganda on behalf of the Capuchins on 13 April 1878, Father Lorenzo Scarfoni Parish Priest of Porto Recanati where Elzear was born, supplied information to Father Gesualdo da Polverigi, the Capuchin Guardian at Loreto, and Father Lodovico of Ancona, a member of the Capuchin General Definitory in Rome, who had also taught Elzear, corresponded with the Capuchin Minister Provincial of the Marches on 10 April 1878. (10) Archbishop Vaughan and his suffragan bishops met for a second time at St John's College on 31 July 1878 and at the end of their discussions nominated Joseph Patrick Byrne and Thomas English.

History shows that the person appointed was Elzear Torreggiani, a Capuchin, the only person nominating him being Archbishop Vaughan. Clearly the Archbishop considered the pastoral ability he had observed in Father Torreggiani's work among poor Irish miners in Wales to be sufficient recommendation for what was required in Armidale. He may also have desired to address the tension between the Irish secular clergy and the English religious clergy in the Colony. If these were his reasons Archbishop Vaughan's choice was a very happy one. From the outset Bishop Torreggiani cultivated the Irish. Before setting out on his first visitation of the diocese he attended a meeting to raise funds for the poor Irish people back home in Ireland and he was a regular part of St Patrick's Day celebrations.

Some idea of Torreggiani's own reaction to his appointment may be gained from one of his letters written in February 1879.

   I add now that on the twelfth of this month the Holy Father Pope Leo
   XIII deigned to nominate me Bishop of Armidale in Australia. How
   that came about I really do not know. Following my transfer from
   Pontypool I felt that the world had crumbled. I had come to know
   bitterness and misunderstanding. I than the Lord that they did not
   diminish my faith, my hope and my ability to renew my belief in the
   Rule of our Father Francis. I do not know what I shall do to carry
   out such a difficult commitment, in a place so far away, so
   unfamiliar, so new. But may God's will be done. (11)

Bishop Elzear Torreggiani was consecrated on the feast of the Annunciation, 25 March 1879, in the Capuchin Church of Our Lady of Seven Dolours at Peckham by Dr Danell with Dr Weathers and Dr Hedley assisting. (12) Before leaving for Australia the new Bishop toured Ireland and Wales, called at Rome to have an audience with the Pope and visited Loreto near his birthplace.

His Capuchin companions

Also working in Wales at the same time as Elzear Torregiani were some of the Capuchins who followed him to Australia.

Father Cherubim (Vincent Mazzini) of Castel San Pietro Terme was born on 22 January 1831, entered the Noviciate of the Capuchin Province of Bologna at Cesena on 8 September 1847, was professed the following year and ordained at Imola on 12 January 1854. Seven years later he was sent to Ireland to assist in reestablishing the Irish Province. Alter a period back in Italy Father Cherubim was appointed the first Major Superior of England when that country was established as a General Commissariate of the Capuchin order in 1873. Although ill health had forced him to return to his home province after completing his term in England, he joined Bishop Torreggiani when he was appointed to Armidale, becoming Vicar General of the diocese and working there for twelve years.

With Father Cherubim on the journey to Australia was his brother, Brother Lawrence Mazzini. Born on 4 April 1835, Brother Lawrence entered the Capuchins at Cesena on 30 October 1854 and was professed the following year. He was sent to England in 1861 where he worked almost continuously until 1878. Brother Lawrence worked beside his brother in Glen Innes and accompanied his ailing brother back to Italy in 1891. However, after being there for eighteen months and hearing of the death of Brother Francis Gatti, Brother Lawrence returned to assist Bishop Torreggiani. He died on 11 September 1912, the last of the early Capuchins to die in Australia. He is buried in the Armidale Catholic Cemetery. (13)

John Paul Pederzoli was born in Brisighella on 22 June 1838, entered the Capuchins at Cesena in the Capuchin Province of Bologna in 1855 and was ordained at Ferrara on 25 February 1861. After obtaining a doctorate at the University of Bologna he worked in England from 1867 to 1878. He sailed to Australia with Bishop Torreggiani the following year.

Brother Francis Gatti was born to Francesco Gatti and Annunziata Magnini on 19 December 1833 and entered the Capuchins at Fossombrone in the Marches of Ancona, the home Province of Bishop Torreggiani, on 5 March 1856. He was sent to England in February 1867 and lived in Crawley and Pontypool, where Father Torreggiani was his superior. He accompanied Bishop Torreggiani to Australia and became famous in Armidale for his work in the Cathedral garden, Central Park and the Catholic cemetery. He fell victim to the flu epidemic in Armidale on 6 November 1891 and lies not far from the Mortuary Chapel erected in his honour in the Armidale Cemetery.

Father Norbert Schevenels of Sint-Truiden in Belgium appears to have been a difficult character. He was born on 8 June 1839 and entered the Capuchin Noviciate on 25 May 1858, being professed the following year. He was ordained a priest on 30 May 1863. There is ample evidence that he had difficulties with his provincial, who accused Bishop Torreggiani of recruiting Norbert for Australia against his better judgement. After coming to Australia Father Norbert took up appointments around the Clarence River, in Lismore and at the Tweed River, but did not settle down and eventually returned to Europe in September 1882.

Faring much better was Father Joachim van der Heuvel, originally from Boxmeer in Holland. Born on 2 February 1830 he entered the Capuchins in 1851 and was ordained on 17 May 1856. He went to Wales where he served at Mold, Saltney, Pontypool, Blaenavon and Cumbran. As already mentioned he was main celebrant of the Eucharist at the dedication of St Mary of the Angels Church, Cumbran, on New Year's Day 1876, while Father Torreggiani was the sub-deacon and Prior R. B. Vaughan the preacher. (14) Father Joachim served with distinction in the Diocese of Armidale from 1881, being remembered particularly for his work as the Bishop's secretary, until ill health forced him to return to Holland in 1889. He died at Tilburg a few months later, on 30 November 1889, aged sixty-seven.

Father Albert Mitchell, born in Dublin on 13 September 1831, joined the Capuchins there and made his novitiate in Belgium. He remained 'a real Irishman' who was deeply disturbed by what was happening to the Irish people. After serving a term as Major Superior in Ireland he came to Australia, where he served as Parish Priest of Palmer's Island (1883), Glen Innes (1885), which at that time included Emmaville. However, he is best known for his long service at Inverell as Rural Dean and, following the Armidale Diocesan Synod of 1888, as Censor for the Diocese. He died in St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, on 29 October 1893 and is buried in the Armidale Catholic Cemetery. Another Irish Capuchin, Father Benedict Mary McCabe, came to Australia in 1881 and became particularly famous for his work at Casino. Later he went to the United States and worked as a chaplain to an Irish unit in the Army. Finally, Father Bernardine Kavanagh originally joined the Capuchins in England, but transferred to the Irish Custody on 30 October 1875. He accomplished great work in Armidale, Emmaville (Vegetable Creek) and Palmer's Island (1884), Tenterfield (1885), Bingara (1885-1887), Gunnedah (1888). Tamworth (1889) and Narrabri (1890).

Father Dominic Clarke, also an Irish Capuchin, was accepted by Bishop Torreggiani about 1887, even though he had been described by a Capuchin visitator to the Irish Province in 1886 as being unwise and worldly. Alter working in Quirindi and Gunnedah he joined the Anglican Church and worked at Ballarat and in South Australia before returning to England to work in Yorkshire. The story of Father Thomas Sheehy had a different ending. Born in England on 31 September 1839 he joined the Order on 20 October 1859. After working in England he came to Australia and became a saintly hero to the priests and people of Moree, where he died at the age of seventy on 27 December 1906.

These Capuchins had all served in England or Wales, no matter whether they came from Continental Europe or were recruited locally in England or Ireland. Coming from different Capuchin Provinces it is also clear that they made their decision to come to Australia as individuals. Once in Australia these friars received no financial support from their home Provinces, as is evident from the circumstances of Father Benedict McCabe and Father John Paul Pederzoli.

Father McCabe's cry for financial support after leaving the diocese is another indication of how these Capuchin missionaries had to look after themselves in a manner that would not apply in established Capuchin provinces. Because of ill health he had left for America where he took up duties as chaplain to an Irish unit in the American Army, but there he needed money to support himself. Disputes arose concerning debts he incurred on projects carried out during his time at Casino and he was accused by Bishop Doyle of Grafton of failing to keep accurate accounts and of claiming money which was not his due. Correspondence flowed between McCabe, Torreggiani, Doyle and Cardinal Moran, and McCabe never received any reimbursement. However, recently his account books have been found in the Sydney Archdiocesan Archives among documents pertaining to Cardinal Moran, and Father McCabe's side of the story has been vindicated. (15)

We have similar evidence in the case of Father John Paul who died a Capuchin in good standing with his Order and yet left a will in which he bequeathed his personal property to Bishop Torreggiani or his successor, with the following exceptions: two-thirds of the rents of three houses to his sister Lucy and the remaining third to Dominic Pederzoli, the son of his nephew. In the final reckoning the net value on which duty was charged amounted to 1629 [pounds sterling]/10/8. (16) Obviously these missionaries had to support themselves and the Capuchin Order as such had no interest in Australia.

The Capuchin contribution to the diocese

The challenges that faced Bishop Torreggiani upon his arrival in Armidale were indeed substantial. The see of Armidale had been vacant for two years following the departure of Bishop O'Mahoney under a cloud of accusations which divided the clergy and the people. (17) The diocese still included a large section of the coast which became the Diocese of Grafton in 1887. The whole district was developing from a pioneering chain of properties into a commercial community with growing towns servicing farmers in exporting their produce to market and bringing in supplies, provisioning miners, accommodating railway workers and providing educational facilities for a growing population of children. The question of Catholic schools was exercising the minds of all the bishops of the colony as new parishes replaced what had previously been missions and an independent education system sprang up alongside what the Government provided. Particularly in the early part of his episcopate Bishop Torreggiani would not have been able to meet these challenges as well as he did without the assistance of his fellow Capuchins who served in many districts.

In some places the contribution of the Capuchins continued for a considerable time. At Inverell, for example, Father Cherubim took up his appointment in March 1880, just a few months after his arrival in the diocese, and together with his brother, Lawrence, who was a Capuchin lay-brother, built a church, presbytery and school and welcomed the Sisters of St Joseph to the parish. In 1886 he moved on to Glen Innes and was Vicar General of the diocese at the Synod of 1888. Indeed Dean Cherubim, as he became known, was so popular at Glen Innes that when it was suggested he should relinquish his post because of ill health a a deputation approached the Bishop to appeal against such a move. (18) As related earlier, the two brothers returned to Bologna in 1891, but Lawrence soon came back to assist Bishop Torreggiani and remained in the diocese until his death in 1912.

Father John Paul Pederzoli served at St Brigid's Qurinidi from 1893 until his death in 1901. He completed the third brick church to be built in Quirindi, which Bishop Torreggiani opened on 1897. When he first arrived in Australia Father John Paul had been assigned to Inverell to assist Father Cherubim and while serving Stanifer and Tingha built a small church at Tingha and purchased land there for a residence for the priest. Father John Paul also worked at Bingara.

Father Benedict Mary McCabe was another Capuchin who put outstanding work into the diocese, especially at Casino, which subsequently became part of the Grafton Diocese, and where he was Parish Priest from 1883 to 1885, and built the convent and school as well as a presbytery.

Although Bishop Torreggiani undoubtedly contributed to the material development of his diocese his greatest contribution was to its spiritual life. All of his Pastoral Letters reflect a deep, orthodox spirituality. He claimed that Pope Leo himself had urged him, when in Rome on his way to Australia, to establish the Third Order of St Francis among his new flock. He carried this out not only by a special Pastoral Letter but by establishing, through the work of Father Albert Mitchell, a Capuchin, thriving Third Order fraternities in Inverell and Glen Innes. (19) In fact at Inverell in 1887 he dedicated a chapel to Our Lady of the Angels, which became the site of celebrations for the traditional Franciscan feast of the Portiuncula. (20)

Conclusion

The Capuchin friars who came to Armidale to assist Bishop Torreggiani came as individual missionaries and worked under the Bishop. They were not sent by the Capuchin Order as such, although Bishop Torreggiani sent copies of his reports to the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fidei and to the Capuchin General Curia in Rome, where they can still be seen today. Although money was offered to build a friary it was never accepted either by the Capuchins or Bishop Torreggiani. Nor did the Capuchin Order replace any of its members, as no established Capuchin Province ever accepted responsibility for the friars living in Armidale. The friars did not live in community nor did they accept recruits. No documentary evidence has been found in the Archives of Capuchin General Curia regarding a request that Bishop Torreggiani's successor be a Capuchin, although some sources say that Cardinal Moran became aware of a request in Rome and had it pushed aside because he wanted Patrick O'Connor to succeed Bishop Torreggiani. The Capuchin friars simply gathered to assist a Capuchin bishop carry out his ministry. Some became well known, while others, like Father Lawrence Borg from Malta who died on 6 July 1891 and lies buried at Tingha, left scant record of their contribution to the Diocese.

As we have seen they came from a variety of nations and all their work, except for a request on behalf of an Italian refugee group on the coast and collections for the Irish poor at home, was directed to the Catholics of the diocese. Coincidentally, these Capuchins came to Australia in the same year that the Franciscans came to Waverley. However, where the Franciscan established their Order in Australia, the Capuchins did not.

As to the Bishop himself, it is clear that he contributed to the stability and growth of the Diocese not only by his continuous pastoral visits and spiritual messages but also by introducing the Ursuline Nuns, the Sisters of St Joseph, the Mercy Sisters, the Presentation Sisters and the Patrician Brothers to schools throughout the area. Many of these religious congregations still speak of Bishop Torreggiani with admiration and gratitude for the support he gave to their formation programmes and his availability to conduct retreats.

Bishop Torreggiani died on 28 January 1904 while the priests of the diocese were gathered in Armidale for their retreat. In his last days he was attended by Nurse McGuire. (21) A little more than a month before his death Bishop O'Connor wrote to Mother M. Aloysius O'Driscoll at Gunnedah, 'Our old chief is in a bad way. He has abandoned the idea of bed and rests day and night in his arm chair. I fear this is the beginning of the end.' (22) Bishop Torreggiani lies buried m the Catholic section of the Armidale Cemetery surrounded by fellow Capuchins and Armidale clergy and the pioneer Ursuline Nuns. (21)

(1) Relazione della Diocese di Armidale in Australia per L'Anno 1882, Sydney, Cunningham (Report) 1882 p. 12nn. 36 & 37.

(2) Report 1882 p. 12 nn. 38-45.

(3) Certificate of Naturalization 13 February 1885 signed by the governor of NSW Augustus Loftus.

(4) In his recently published article on Bishop O'Connor, T. W. Campbell refers to these notes as History of the Diocese of Armidale, an unpublished, incomplete manuscript notebook of matters relevant to the history of the diocese, compiled by Father Michael Foley, dated 27 July 1926. See Thomas W. Campbell, 'Patrick Joseph O'Connor (1848-1932) Bishop and Builder', in Armidale and District Historical Society Journal and Proceedings, Number 47, April 2004, pp. 37-48.

(5) Anne-Gabrielle Thompson, Turmoil-Tragedy to Triumph: The Story of New Italy, International Colour Productions, Stanthorpe, 1980. Floriano Volpato, New Italy: La saga dell'immigrazione italiana in Australia, II Globo--La Fiamma, Melbourne and Sydney, 2003.

(6) R. R. Lupi Missionari Cappuccini Piceni, Ancona, Archivio Provinciale Cappuccini, 2003 pp. 250-254.

(7) The Pontypool Free Press, Saturday 7 June 1879.

(8) For details of the election and relevant correspondence see P. Colbourne, Bishop Elzear Torreggiani: An Instrument of Peace, Nelen Yubu Missiological Unit, Sydney, 2004 pp 21-25.

(9) Sydney Archdiocesan Archives (SAA) U1521-3,3.

(10) F. Foschi, Vite Sconosciute, L. U. Japadre, L'Aquila, 1980 pp. 166-8.

(11) See Foschi 1980 p. 169.

(12) For an account of the ceremony and homily see Colbourne (2004) pp. 25-8.

(13) I Frati Minori Cappuccini della Provincia di Bologna, Necrologio II p. 1214.

(14) Colbourne (2004) p. 12.

(15) SAA, U1120 20. 13.

(16) Last Will and Testament of John Paul Pederzoli 19 July 1901 and the Inventory attached to the Affidavit for obtaining Probate. I wish to express my thanks to Rod Paul, grand-nephew of Father John Paul Pederzoli for allowing access to these family documents.

(17) Bishop O'Mahoney was subsequently vindicated and died as Bishop of Toronto with a reputation for sanctity.

(18) Colbourne (2004) p. 200.

(19) Colbourne (2004) pp. 161,172 and 175.

(20) Colbourne (2004) pp. 179-179, 187 and 193.

(21) Ita Carolan, Bartlet Family History, 1970, p. 7. I wish to thank Clare Carolan, great granddaughter of Nurse McGuire, for making family records available to me.

(22) Letter dated 5 December 1903. I wish to express my gratitude to Sr Judith Carney for access to this letter in the Archives of the Gunnedah Congregation of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy.

Patrick Colbourne ofm cap. is the author of Bishop Elzear Torreggiani: An Instrument of Peace, a biography recently published and commemorating the centenary of the death of the second Bishop of Armidale. He was the founding editor of Greyfriars Review, an international journal of Franciscan History and Spirituality.