Foreign Relations of the United States, 1902, United States vs. Mexico, In the matter of the case of the Pious Fund of the Californias, Appendix II

[Untitled]

Rome, the 31st December; 1884.

Most Reverend Father Joseph Alemany,
Archbishop of San Francisco. Sacred Congregation
of Propaganda Seeretariship. N. 3169–Object.

Most Illustrious and Rev. Sir: The humble petition of your lordship by which you asked of His Holiness Leo XIII to be exonerated from the weighty burthen of governing your archdiocese was laid before His Holiness on the 21st day of December of the present year. And His Holiness, having maturely considered the weighty reasons which have induced your lordship to send this supplication, has favorably considered your petition and has vouchsafed to accept your resignation. Your lordship has indeed managed with signal care the religious affairs in your archdiocese for a long space of time, and has endeavored to cultivate the vineyard of the Lord with unwearied labor and to make it prosperous. Therefore, I regret that the archdiocese should be deprived of so worthy a pastor; but, on the other hand, it appears just that after having endured so many and such great labors you should be permitted to spend the remainder of your life free from all solicitude, in peace and tranquillity. For the rest, I trust that your coadjutor, under your direction, has acquired sufficient knowledge and experience in the administration of the archdiocese, so that he may direct and govern the church in a proper manner.

But as after the acceptance of the renunciation you no longer have the title of that archdiocese, I will endeavor to provide you with some new titular archiepiscopal see.

Finally, it being altogether just that you should receive the means of an honest sustenance from the church over which you exercise the apostolic ministry, a congruous and sufficient pension shall be assigned you, on the amount of which you may agree amicably with the new Archbishop Riordan. Meanwhile, I pray God long to preserve you.

Your lordship’s most devoted brother,

John Cardinal Simeoni, Prefect.

P. S.—I request your lordship to notify your coadjutor, who succeeds to the see made vacant by your resignation, that I have communicated to him, with power of substitution, all faculties, both ordinary and extraordinary, a printed copy of which shall soon be sent.

+D. Archiep. Tyren, Secrius.

Congregazione di Propaganda.

Segretaria.

N. 3169—Oggetto.

Roma li 31 Decembre, 1884.

Iltme ac Rme Domine.

Die 21 Decembris, currentis anni S. Smo. D. N. Leoni XIII relatus est supplex libellus R. T. que expostulabas ut te gravi pondere istius Archidioceseos regdenae exonerare placeret.

Sanctites vero sua mature perpensis non levis momenti rationibus, quae A. T. ad hanc supplicationem porrigendum impulerunt, benigne preces Tuas exipere, ac renuntiationem acceptare dignate est. Certe A. T. per longum temporis spatium magna cura negotia religionis in ista Archidiocesi gessit, ac vineam Domini tibi commissam indefesso iabore colere, ac secundare studuit.

Quapropter aegre fero Archidiocesim tarn digno viduari past ore, attamen ex altera parte aequum esse perspicio, ut post tot tantosque exautlates labores reliquam vitam expertem ab omni sollicitudine impare, et tranquillitate transigere possis.

De caetero confido Coadjutorem tuum sub tua directione Archidiocesanae administrationes sufficientem scientiem experientiem acquisiyisse ita ut aequa par est ratione, istam Ecclesiam regere ac gubernare valeat.

Cum autem post acceptatam renunciationem non amplius titulum istius Archidioeeseos habeas te de nova aliqua sede titulari Archiepiscopali providere curabo.

R. P. D. Josepho Alemany,
Archiepo. S. Francisci.

Demum cum aequitati omnino consonet ut, in quo Aplcum. ministerium exercuisti, inde honestate substentationes media capias, hinc de aerario archidiocesano tibi congrua ac sufficiens pensio dignanda erit; de cujus quantitates de terminatione cum nov. Archiepo Riordan convenire poteris.

Interea Deum precor ut te diutissime sospitet, A. T.

Uti Frater addictissimus,

Johannes Card. Simeoni, Prsæfectus.

P, 8. Rogo A. T. ut coadjutorem tuum, qui sedi per renuntiationem a te missam vacanti succedere debet, eertiorem facias. Ipsi communicavi et quidem cum protestate sub delegandi omnes facultates tarn ordinarias, quam extraordinarias, quarum exemplar typis impressum brevi mittetur.

+D. Archiep. Tyren, Secrius.

State of California,
City and County of San Francisco, ss:

Patrick William Riordan, being duly sworn, deposes as follows:

I am the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco, and the present incumbent and the successor of the Most Reverend Joseph S. Alemany; the original bull accepting the resignation of the said Joseph S. Alemany as archbishop of San Francisco, as aforesaid, is written in the Latin language, and is now among the archives of the archiepiscopal see of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of San Francisco, and is in my custody as such archbishop. I am competent to translate Latin into English, and I hereby certify and declare, on oath, that I have carefully compared the foregoing instrument, written in the Latin language, with the original bull, aforesaid, and the same is a full, true, and correct copy of said bull; I further certify and declare, on oath, that the foregoing instrument, written in the English language, is a true and correct translation from Latin into English of the said bull.

Patrick William Riordan.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 24th day of March, A. D. 1885.

[notarial seal.]

John E. Hamill,
Notary Public.