PREFACE. THE 'HE BALTIMORE PUBLISHING COMPANY, in presenting this volume to the public, trust that its typographical appearance and the careful manner with which its matter has been prepared will be appreciated. It is a work which every Catholic family should possess. The sermons of the bishops during the council form, of course, one of the chief features of the work. In their crude form, as reported by stenographers, they have been extensively published, both at home and abroad; thus showing the worldwide interest taken in the acts of the council. The dignified Pastoral Letter which follows them has also received no small share of public attention, and its patriotic tone and wise counsels have commended it even to citizens of other creeds. With regard to the preliminary matter, it is only necessary for us to say that it has been prepared with the greatest care. The first article consists of the Prize Essay on "The Catholic Church in the United States," and will be found a good condensed summary of our Church's origin and growth in this country. Then come a chronicle of the preceding Councils of Baltimore, based on the Latin records; a history of the Third Plenary Council's public acts; an account of the grand reception tendered by the citizens of Baltimore to the members of the Council; the congratulations to the Most Rev. Apostolic Delegate; the acclamations; a list of the members of the Council; a list of the deceased members of the Second Plenary Council; outline sketches of the lives of the American prelates; and the Pastoral of the Most Rev. Archbishop of Baltimore to the clergy and laity of his archdiocese. The facts in the sketches of the prelates' lives are authentic. The whole work is embellished by portraits of the prelates and other illustrations. Lives of the Present American Prelates-Outline Sketches, "The Church in Her Councils." By Most Rev. Patrick John Ryan, D.D., Archbishop of Philadelphia, "The Catholic Church Equally Opposed to Anarchy and to Despotism, the Guardian of Society, the Defender of True "De Mortuis-Our Deceased Prelates." By the Most Rev. M. A. Corrigan, D.D., Coadjutor Archbishop of New York, |