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Looking Back

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The Year is…1877

The Archbishop Who Was Buried in Emmitsburg

by James Rada, Jr.

To those who knew Archbishop of Baltimore James Roosevelt Bayley, it didn’t come as a great surprise when he died on October 3. He had been in ill health for months. It was said he died from liver and kidney problems.

What was a surprise is where the current Archbishop of Baltimore and former Archbishop of Newark, Del., chose to be buried. 

“By request of his Grace, the most Rev. Archbishop of Baltimore, James Roosevelt Bayley, the Sisters of Charity of St. Josephs convent had prepared in the vault in the memorial Chapel erected over the remains of Mother Seton (sic) the Foundress of the order in the United States, a final resting place for all that was mortal of the distinguished divine,” the Catoctin Clarion reported.

Bayley wanted to be buried with Elizabeth Ann Seton because she was his aunt. His father, Dr. Richard Bayley, was Seton’s brother.

Bayley had originally been ordained a minister in the Episcopal Church and preached in Harlem and Hagerstown. However, like his aunt, Bayley converted to Catholicism. He was baptized in Rome and trained for the priesthood in Paris before being ordained in New York on March 2, 1842. Upon doing so, he gave up his family fortune because his maternal grandfather removed him from his will.

He taught at St. John’s College in Fordham, New Jersey, and served as the college president from 1845-1846. From 1846-1853, he worked as a secretary for Archbishop John Hughes, who had ordained him a priest.

On October 30, 1853, he became the first bishop of Newark, New Jersey, which “under his administration became one of the most prosperous in the United States,” according to the Richmond Daily Dispatch. The diocese comprised all of New Jersey. He had more than 40,000 Catholics, mainly of Irish and German extraction, with only 25 priests to minister to them. He founded Seton Hall College in Madison, New Jersey, as well as other schools, convents, and churches.

He became the Archbishop of Baltimore on July 31, 1872.

After a funeral Mass in Baltimore on October 9, Bayley’s casket was loaded onto a Western Maryland Railroad train at 2:00 p.m., and then onto the Emmitsburg Railroad train in Rocky Ridge. It arrived at the station in front of St. Joseph’s College at 4:20 p.m.

“Outside the depot building on the broad avenue leading to the institution, the Sisters of Charity and pupils of the school formed in line, on the south pavement. Opposite on the north pavement were the Professors and students of Mt. St. Mary’s,” the Clarion reported.

A seminarian with the cross and censer led the funeral procession from the train, which included friends, family, and Cardinal John McCloskey.

“The scene was one never to be forgotten, the Revs., Clergy in vestments of their several orders, the Seminarians with black cassocks and white surplices, with Sisters of Charity in their flowing white cornets, the pupils of St. Joseph’s in long white veils, the beautiful cemetery of the Sisters radient (sic) with the bloom of autumn flowers, the soft misty haze of an October sunset combined to make a picture rarely to be seen,” according to the Clarion.

They entered the cemetery and proceeded to the chapel behind the old White House, where Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton had lived more than a half century ago. The chapel was in a grove surrounded by oak trees.

“As you enter the chapel to the right of the altar, a Tablet with the proper inscription indicates the spot where all that is mortal life of the venerated Foundress. To the left, another table to mark the spot of her illustrious nephew,” the newspaper reported.

Cardinal McCloskey pronounced the last absolution, and the coffin was lowered into the ground.

Afterward, the crowd moved to the St. Joseph’s exhibition hall for a reception until the train whistle blew at 6:00 p.m. The group from Baltimore then headed back to the station to be aboard the train by the time it left for Baltimore at 6:30 p.m. Archbishop of Baltimore James Roosevelt Bayley

Timothy Trainor Appointed 26th President of Mount St. Mary’s University

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The Board of Trustees of Mount St. Mary’s University announced the permanent appointment of Timothy Trainor, Ph.D., as president of the university. Trainor, who has been serving in an interim capacity over the past year, was the unanimous selection of both the Board of Trustees and the cross-campus Selection Committee.

“Since his appointment last summer, Tim and his wife, Donna, have become true members of our Mount family,” said Board Chair Mary D. Kane, C’84, in announcing the appointment at this weekend’s Alumni Reunion. “Tim has harnessed the energy of all of those who love the Mount to build remarkable forward momentum for the university. He has helped to improve trust, build community, and enhance communication across the campus. On behalf of the board, I’m thrilled to make Tim’s appointment permanent and pledge that he will have the board’s continued support as we work together to chart a course for the Mount.”

“The permanent appointment of President Trainor is great news for Mount St. Mary’s and builds upon the momentum that began with his arrival last year,” said Archbishop William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, who is also a university board member and chancellor of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. “In his time serving in an interim capacity, President Trainor’s leadership has brought a renewed energy and collaboration within the entire Mount community that has positioned the university on a course for growth and success.”

“From the moment we first visited campus, Donna and I could feel the warmth and strength of this community,” said Trainor. “The Mount is a special place and having had the opportunity to work closely with colleagues over the last year, I know the university’s future is bright. Together, we’ve tackled challenges and worked hard to have the kind of community, rich in Catholic values, that enables our students to develop into the next leaders of our society. It’s an honor to receive this vote of confidence from the university and the board, and to know that our work together will continue.”

During Trainor’s tenure as interim president, he has focused the community on keeping students at the center of everything the Mount does and on a list of shared priorities, while developing a new strategic plan. He has also overseen improvements in enrollment, which are poised to be among the largest in Mount history, with the incoming freshman class expected to top 500 students (a 24 percent increase over last year). In addition, the freshman-to-sophomore retention rate is likely to be the highest in years at greater than 80 percent. Trainor has also launched a capital campaign, Forward! Together As One, with a goal to raise $30 million.

Academic achievements this past year include three new academic programs, new academic leadership, an articulation agreement with Frederick Community College, the three student Fulbright award winners, and securing a $1 million donation to create the Palmieri Center for Entrepreneurship and hiring its new director. Outside the classroom, Trainor approved efforts to elevate the women’s rugby program to a varsity-level sport, the return of varsity men’s soccer, and expansion of rosters for several existing Division I teams.

Prior to joining the Mount in August 2016, Trainor served a thirty-three-year-career in the Army, retiring as a Brigadier General, with his final six years as dean of the Academic Board at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. In this role, he was the chief academic officer, leading more than 800 faculty and staff across 13 departments and 23 centers that provide a core curriculum and 40 different majors in engineering, basic sciences, math, humanities and social sciences to 4,400 students. U.S. News & World Report ranks West Point as one of the top 25 National Liberal Arts Colleges in the nation.

As chief academic officer, he was also responsible for governance and planning in regard to faculty, curriculum, accreditation, master planning, athletics, and class committees. He has published extensively on innovative leadership, systems engineering, operations research, and decision-making. He also has broad experience in strategic planning, outreach to alumni, and involvement with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education as an evaluation team chair. He also played a role in supporting the recent successful West Point capital campaign.

Prior to his appointment as dean of the Academic Board, Trainor spent four years a professor and head of the Department of Systems Engineering and three years as director of the Engineering Management Program, both at West Point.

Trainor earned his doctorate in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University, an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a B.S. from the United States Military Academy. He and his wife, Colonel (Retired) Donna Brazil, are the parents of three children: Cory, Daniel, and Zachary.