Virgil Horace Barber
Encyclopedia
Virgil Horace Barber was an American Jesuit.
; like his father, Virgil was a Catholic convert. He himself said that the first step leading to his conversion was the reading of "A Novena to St. Francis Xavier", a book belonging to an Irish servant girl, while he was principal of the Episcopalian Academy
at Fairfield, New York
. This raised doubts concerning his Protestant faith, which his bishop, Dr. Hobart, and other Episcopalian ministers could not solve for him.
During a visit to New York City, in 1816, he called on Father Benedict J. Fenwick, S.J., with the result that he resigned his Episcopalian charge at Fairfield, and went to New York, where he and his wife Jerusha (b. New Town, Connecticut, 20 July 1789) were received into the Roman Catholic Church with their five children, Mary (b. 1810); Abigail (b. 1811); Susan (b. 1813); Samuel (b. 1814); and Josephine (b. 1816). At first he opened a school in New York, but this lasted only seven months. Both he and his wife determined to enter religious life, he in the Society of Jesus
, and she in the Visitation Order. Under the direction of Fenwick, in June 1817 they set out for Georgetown, D. C., where Barber and his son Samuel went to the college of the Jesuit Fathers, and his wife and the three oldest girls were received into the Visitation convent. The youngest child, Josephine, then ten months old, was taken care of by Father Fenwick's mother.
The superior at Georgetown, Father John Grassi, S.J., shortly after sailed for Rome and took Barber with him as a novice. Barber remained there a year and then returned to Georgetown, where he continued his studies until December, 1822, when he was ordained a priest at Boston
. After his ordination he was sent to his old home, Claremont, New Hampshire, where he built a church and laboured for two years. He then spent some time on the Indian missions in Maine
, and was after recalled to Georgetown College
, where he passed the remainder of his days.
Nearly three years after their separation, 23 February 1820, husband and wife met in the chapel of Georgetown convent to make their vows in religion. She first went through the formula of the profession of a Visitation nun, and he the vows of a member of the Society of Jesus. Their five children, the eldest being ten and the youngest three and a half years old, were present. Mrs. Barber had been admitted into the Visitation convent on the twenty-sixth of July, 1817, taking the name of Sister Mary Augustine. Her novitiate was one of severe trials, as well on account of her affection for her husband as on account of her children, who were a burden to the community then in a state of poverty. She served in the convents of Georgetown, Kaskaskia
, St. Louis, and Mobile, where she died 1 January 1860.
Mary, the eldest daughter, entered the Ursuline
convent, Mt. Benedict, near Charlestown, Massachusetts
, as Sister Mary Benedicta, 15 August 1826, and died in the convent of the order in Quebec, 9 May 1844. Abigail, Susan, and Josephine also became Ursulines. The first died in Quebec
, 8 December 1879, and Susan in the convent at Three Rivers, Canada, 24 January 1837. Samuel, the son, graduated at Georgetown College in 1831 and immediately entered the Society of Jesus. After his novitiate he was sent to Rome, where he was ordained. He returned to Georgetown in 1840, and died, aged fifty years, at St. Thomas's Manor, Maryland, 23 February 1864.
Life
His father was Daniel BarberDaniel Barber
Daniel Barber was an American Episcopalian minister and prominent Roman Catholic convert.-Life:...
; like his father, Virgil was a Catholic convert. He himself said that the first step leading to his conversion was the reading of "A Novena to St. Francis Xavier", a book belonging to an Irish servant girl, while he was principal of the Episcopalian Academy
Fairfield Academy
Fairfield Academy was an academy that existed for nearly one hundred years in the Town of Fairfield, Herkimer County, New York.-Founding:It was organized as an academy for men in 1802, when the community was an active local manufacturing center...
at Fairfield, New York
Fairfield, New York
Fairfield is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 1,607 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Fairfield, Connecticut.The Town of Fairfield is north of the Village of Herkimer and east of Utica...
. This raised doubts concerning his Protestant faith, which his bishop, Dr. Hobart, and other Episcopalian ministers could not solve for him.
During a visit to New York City, in 1816, he called on Father Benedict J. Fenwick, S.J., with the result that he resigned his Episcopalian charge at Fairfield, and went to New York, where he and his wife Jerusha (b. New Town, Connecticut, 20 July 1789) were received into the Roman Catholic Church with their five children, Mary (b. 1810); Abigail (b. 1811); Susan (b. 1813); Samuel (b. 1814); and Josephine (b. 1816). At first he opened a school in New York, but this lasted only seven months. Both he and his wife determined to enter religious life, he in the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, and she in the Visitation Order. Under the direction of Fenwick, in June 1817 they set out for Georgetown, D. C., where Barber and his son Samuel went to the college of the Jesuit Fathers, and his wife and the three oldest girls were received into the Visitation convent. The youngest child, Josephine, then ten months old, was taken care of by Father Fenwick's mother.
The superior at Georgetown, Father John Grassi, S.J., shortly after sailed for Rome and took Barber with him as a novice. Barber remained there a year and then returned to Georgetown, where he continued his studies until December, 1822, when he was ordained a priest at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. After his ordination he was sent to his old home, Claremont, New Hampshire, where he built a church and laboured for two years. He then spent some time on the Indian missions in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, and was after recalled to Georgetown College
Georgetown College (Georgetown University)
Georgetown College, infrequently Georgetown College of Arts and Sciences, is the oldest school within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The College is the largest undergraduate school at Georgetown, and until the founding of the Medical School in 1850, was the only higher education division...
, where he passed the remainder of his days.
Nearly three years after their separation, 23 February 1820, husband and wife met in the chapel of Georgetown convent to make their vows in religion. She first went through the formula of the profession of a Visitation nun, and he the vows of a member of the Society of Jesus. Their five children, the eldest being ten and the youngest three and a half years old, were present. Mrs. Barber had been admitted into the Visitation convent on the twenty-sixth of July, 1817, taking the name of Sister Mary Augustine. Her novitiate was one of severe trials, as well on account of her affection for her husband as on account of her children, who were a burden to the community then in a state of poverty. She served in the convents of Georgetown, Kaskaskia
Kaskaskia
The Kaskaskia were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation or Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in the Great Lakes region...
, St. Louis, and Mobile, where she died 1 January 1860.
Mary, the eldest daughter, entered the Ursuline
Ursulines
The Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...
convent, Mt. Benedict, near Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is located on a peninsula north of downtown Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate town and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it became a city in 1847 and was annexed by Boston on January 5, 1874...
, as Sister Mary Benedicta, 15 August 1826, and died in the convent of the order in Quebec, 9 May 1844. Abigail, Susan, and Josephine also became Ursulines. The first died in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, 8 December 1879, and Susan in the convent at Three Rivers, Canada, 24 January 1837. Samuel, the son, graduated at Georgetown College in 1831 and immediately entered the Society of Jesus. After his novitiate he was sent to Rome, where he was ordained. He returned to Georgetown in 1840, and died, aged fifty years, at St. Thomas's Manor, Maryland, 23 February 1864.