Obituary Notice
This obituary notice has been digitally processed from a scanned archival document. Some words may be imperfectly rendered.
BEN py Shes “tai oe Whe eos. “i omni GQ f ayy ¥ : aa a , oy - ais A. at " al rR OEEA ! 1 on the .moment of theiy reeeption until his death he never eeesed to pray died peecefully and happily en the morning of the 14th February. a Fr. Colman Noonan (1860-1906) | i |{ || _Obituary Notice of the _ ! Rev, Fr.Colmen of the Holy Cross, a After en illness of 20 devs the Rev. Fr.Colmen cf the Holy Cross, of Sti Joseph's Retreat, Highgete , died a holy end edifying deeth at the Catholie Hospital, Grove Fnd Roed, Londons By the advice of the _doetor, who eonsidered that he needed special professionel nursing, he was removed from 8t. Joseph's Rétreat to’thet hospitel, whieh is _ under the caretot the Sisters of Merey, on Sunday the llth Feoruaery, when 411 his Brethren and friends hoped he might scon recover his health under hospitel treetment, However in the designs of Providence that was not to be. His time had eome, and Fr.Colmen knew it, and prepared himself for death with ell the feith end eernestness of e gocd religious end e devout priest. On Tuesday the 13th February he asked For and received the last Secraments of the Chureh, end from and offer up pious espivetions to God, aspirations end eects of Fervent faith, hope and love. Fven when he had become very weak he would recite from. memory the Rosery of the Five Wounds, end repeat contin- ually his favourite ejeeculation! “Wey Jesus mercy", which eecording to the testimony of his Confésser who remeined with him during the last fifteen hours of his life, were the last words he uttered. He - The eause of his death wes blood4+poisoning, The doetor for some days after he hed shown symptoms of the diseese expected the . * 4 patient, who wes physically ea strong man, to surmount its evil effeets © but by degrees it affectséd vital orgens end ceused death. The news n 4
of his death eceasioned deep and wide-spread sorrow, Especially to his religious eompanions, and. to the Highgate people, to whora he had endeared himself by his kind pastorel labours end hie cheriteble solieitude for many yeerss Fr, Colman died comperatively eS an early ege. He wes born in Shandrum, Co,sCork, Treland, on the 25th December 1860, His parents were Miehsel end Mary Nunan, and he himgelf received in Baptiem the neme of John, After hig elementary schooling, he wes sent to. the aiocesen semninery et Fermoy, where he studied his clessies in prepa- ration for the ecclesiastical state, At the ape of 20 he wes admitted into our Congreration, and made his novitiate et St.Saviour's Retreat, Broadway, Worcestershire, where he was professed on the 12th Oelober 1882. He went through hie ecclesiastical studies et St,Joseph's Retreat, Highgate, and wes ordained priest by the Right Rev.W. Weathers Bishop of Amyela, in June 1886. For 2 short time efter his ordination he remained et the same Retreat, end in the year 1883 he wes selected ~ by his Superiors to eccompeny the Rev. Fre Alphonsus, Pattick end ~Mareellus on the Australian Mission for the purpose of esteblishing our Congregation in thet country. One who wes his companion end eolleague on the Australien mission thus writes of himi "By the death of. Father Colman the Church loses a most zeelous priest, I i shall never forget his lebours in Austrelie for the establishment of his Order, which hes now threé flourishing houses there. Broad-minded, menerous, and self-saerifieing, he won the hearts of ell with whom he came in contact, and gave en example to e1]1 by his zeel end lebours, He was an earnest and effeetive preacher, and seve missions end vetreets in all perts of Austrelia, New Zeelend and Tasmania, winning
many souls'to Christ", After ea period of eleven yeers of herd missionery life in Australia, FriColman returned to FEnglend, end vas onee more stetioned at St.Joseph' s Retreat, Highgate, For the pest six yeers he hes hed the charge of e district of the perish, end hes been ectinge es perish priest, The seme zeal and energy which cherecterised his priestly labours in Austrelie continued to the end of Kis life. Any one acquainted with the manner of life of 8 missionery priest in London, will know how mtich is required of him He ig celled upon to ettend not only to the spirituel wants of the people, but is expected to provide else for the corpore] necessities, to visit especielly the poor, end to help eontinuelly to feed ene clethe them Por the poor and suffering he elweys hae the ereatest sympathy, era deemed “na trouble toa great if-he could in eny wey essist them, He wes the friend of elf end his friendship was true end lesting.s As e Bessionist he had elweys at heart the pond of the Congreretion, end possessed in e high degree its spirit of char ty end kindness, After his own senctifieation his next and greatest coneern wes for the selvetion of others, end so fer es his numerous pestorel duties ellowed he wes observant of rules end constitutians, Jt wes no wonder, therefore, that he wes beloved end esteemed by his religieus Brethren end by the whole congrepetion, and thet he is now so sedly meurned by ell. His Solemn Requiem end funeral were attended by meny of the neighbceuring priests, secular end. religious, and by a congreration which filled our large churehs The love end devotion of the pecple were shown not only by imerous floral tributes for his eorFin, but by more worthy and profitable offerings, Besides the Masses which the priestsof the Ny Fit ag
‘ Congregation have to offer for its deceased members, numerous friends heve had Masses offered for the seul of this good Feather, Several Masses heve been offered for nim every day since his deeth, end inten tions for more Messes ere being rec dived every dey, for the repose of his sottl, This I think, more then enything else, is e proof of the menuine Catholic spirit which animetes our people, end menifests the Plaecé which Fr, Colmen holds in their memories end affections, FriGoiman's remains. were deposited in the mausoleum in the " grounds, with the bodies of the other Pessionists who heve died et Highgate. So long es.the present reneration of Highgaté Cetholics and their children remein he will be kept in loving remembrence, end prevers and Messes will be offered for his soul, May he rest in peeces
19 : his Memory was very retentive, and his under- . standing both clear and penetrating. Upon the completion of his course as a stu- ‘dent, he was at first appointed to teach for a while; but perhaps on account of his truly angelic life, he was chosen Vice-Master of the Novices, in. which office he remained for about two years, at the same time revealing rare abilities as a preacher, and without doubt he would have ‘signalized himself as a missionary had health and length of days been accorded him. It is not éasy to understand why such a concourse of persons gathered round his holy body when it was. laid out for burial, and why they were so deeply and unusually affected, so as to be loth to leave him, accompanying the corpse to its distant grave outside of the city; especially when we remember that Father Peter was but slightly known outside of the Retreat; unless we allow that this outburst of regard and veneration had its origin in a heavenly impulse, to reward even here on earth so blameless a life. His remains are-interred in a grand chapel called Our Lady of Servants which was offered to our religious by one of our devout and generous benefactors. 7. Hather Colman of the Holy Cross. Died in London, February 14, Province of St. Joseph. Father Colman was sick only seventeen days
20 with blood poison, and was ordered as a last re- sort to be brought to the hospital of the Sisters of Mercy by the doctor, in the meagre hope of saving so valuable a life; but be survived only three days, when he passed from this world by a holy death. Perceiving that his end was at hand, he prepared for it as became a good re- ligious and a priest. The day before it took place, he asked for the last Sacraments, and spent his remaining time in most fervent acts of faith, hope and charity, repeating devout aspirations of every kind, and most frequently this one: My Jesus, mercy! These were the last words he uttered. Let us hope that Our Savior was truly mereiful to him, for Father Colman was specially noted all his priestly life long, for his charity towards his neighbor, assisting the needy as far as he could both in soul and body. - He was born. on Christmas Day, 1860, in Shandrum, County Cork, Ireland, of Michael and Mary Noonan. At an early age he gave signs of an ecclesiastical vocation, and was sent by his good parents to the diocesan seminary at Fer- moy. But God had selected him to be a Passion- ist, and Jobn (as he was called in the world), obeyed the divine inspiration, receiving the holy habit in 1881, and on the 12th of October, of the year following, he consecrated his whole life to the service of Christ Crucified. He pursued his clerical studies in our London retreat and was
21 - ordained priest in due time. Shortly after this, in-1888, he was appointed, together with Fathers Alphonsus, Patrick and Marcellus, for the new foundation of our Congregation in Australia. There he had to endure a great deal, and his companions speak of his fortitude in the highest terms. He had a good head, but what was better, he had a good heart; aud these qualities made him ap apostle of souls, enabling him by means of retreats and missions in a period of eleven years to reap a goodly harvest for Jesus Christ throughout the whole of Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania, , After this he returned to England, and was stationed in our retreat at London, where for the last six years of his life, he was parish-priest. What he-had been in the Antipodes, he continued at St. Joseph’s. He looked after the souls con- fidéd ‘to him with exquisite care, never consult- ing his own ease, but rather, solicitous for those who were ransomed with the life-blood of a God. He concerned ‘himself not only with their spirit- ual.welfate, but likewise did his utmost to furth- er their temporal interests. He thus secured the esteem and love of all. This was very evident at his death; his loss was universally lamented. When he was buried, our London church, tho’ very capacions, was literally packed with people; his catafalque was covered with memorial wreaths and bunches of flowers, and more note- worthy ‘still, a good many priests hastened to
22 say Mass for one whom they respected and loved. Since then too, Masses continue to be ordered by priests and people, for the repose of their friend. By reason of his continual labors, both as missionary and as pastor, good Father Col- man could not follow our day and night observ- auces; yet, he never forgot that he was a son of St. Pan! of the Cross; and if our sainted Founder saw, in spirit his dear children laboring in Eng- land, and knew them one by one, he would gladly have recognized Father Colman as a true son of the Congregation, one who preached Jesus Cruci- fied by his words, and by a lifetime of works that harmonized well with them. f. Hather Camillus of the Jmmac. Conception. Died on February 25,In the Retreat of Our Lady of Cornlano Addolorata Province, We are assured from the days of our first Fathers, that if one lives like a good Passionist, he will die like one. This was verified in the case of our dear Father Camillus: regular and fervent his whole life was: edifying and consoling was his death, strengthened as he was with the last Sacraments and blessings of Holy Church. He was born at Itri, of Caserta, April 4, 1841, and in baptism received the name of Dami- an. His parents were Francis. Ruggieri and Archangela Solis. When he was 16 years of
Source: Obituary Notices, Provincial Archive, St Joseph's Province. Passionist Congregation.