NEWS OF 150 YEARS AGO
May/June 1860
From The Missouri Democrat, Tuesday, May 1, 1860.
Rumored Removal of the Holy See to St. Louis.
A New York letter to the Washington Constitution, says that Archbishop Hughes is to be made a Cardinal next October, and adds, “He will be the first American Cardinal. Had Bishop England, of South Carolina, lived, he would have been a Cardinal.”
The same writer then goes on to speak of Cardinal Hughes, as the future Pope—not of Rome—but of the Romish Church. He says: “In making Archbishop Hughes a Cardinal the Pope is actuated by motives that lie deep in his bosom. It is seriously whispered that if he is deprived of political power in Rome, he will wipe from his sandals the dust of that city, and remove the Holy See to some place in the West-say, St. Louis, Missouri—where his agents are said to have secured immense quantities of land. The Pope may not live to carry out his plan, hence he wishes a successor who had energy, genius, will and knowledge of the new Continent. That successor he has determined shall be Archbishop Hughes. To become Pope he must first become Cardinal, and this will be accomplished this year.
New York Archbishop John Joseph Hughes never was named cardinal and died in 1864. His successor, Archbishop John McCloskey, was named the first American cardinal in 1875. The Holy See never moved to St. Louis.
