1 - Canonical Visitation Report for 1941

1

Canonical Visitation Report for 1941

12 pp; typescript

Canoncial visitation report compiled by Fr. Stephen Murtagh OFM Cap. for the Irish Capuchin custody in the United States. The report includes extensive commentary on the spiritual, physical and financial condition of various churches and friaries in Oregon, California, and Delaware. Father Murtagh details the severe operational difficulties gripping the custody due to World War II and internal personnel shortages. The ongoing war halted any clerical reinforcement from Ireland, while the custody simultaneously faced the death of two friars, the incapacitation of two others through illness, and the disciplinary struggles of two additional members. These issues severely impacted their mission work, reducing the active missionary preaching staff to just four members and straining the finances of their missionary house. Furthermore, the report highlights an ongoing shortage of active priests in Oregon, noting that during the visitation, the Archbishop of Portland recognized these hardships while emphasizing an urgent need for at least one more priest to support the parish at Roseburg.

ISAD(G) 2nd edition