Project Canterbury

Three Sermons by Dr. Barry

REVEREND JOSEPH G. H. BARRY, D.D., who has been Rector of the Parish of St. Mary the Virgin for nearly twenty years, resigned at the December meeting of the Board of Trustees. The Board, in accepting his resignation, passed a minute for its records, a copy of which is printed herewith.

December 8, 1928, was the Sixtieth Anniversary of the organization of the Parish and Dr. BARRY preached the dedicatory sermon. The next day Dr. BARRY preached what may be called a Farewell Sermon, although only the slightest reference was made to his resignation. Then Dr. BARRY remained over for the following Sunday and preached his last sermon as Rector. We are sure that many friends of the Parish will be interested in reading these sermons as well as the resolution by the Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees of the Parish of St. Mary the Virgin, in accepting with great reluctance and greatest regret the insistent resignation of its Rector, the Reverend JOSEPH G. H. BARRY, D.D., as Rector of the Parish and President of the Corporation, places on record this minute:

Dr. BARRY has been Rector for nearly twenty years and this period has been marked along several lines in extraordinary ways. The interior of the edifice has become what might almost be called a museum of mural decorations, carving and stained glass, until now it is thought by many to be the handsomest Church interior in the country. To give a partial enumeration: Four new altars, an increase of three, have been erected, one of them a movable altar for use at Children's Mass, and all of them very beautiful; Delia Robbia bas-reliefs of the Blessed Virgin are placed back of two of the Altars. The Lady Chapel has been enlarged by taking in the former Mortuary Chapel, a splendid carved oak ceiling was put in, with a hanging tablet holding a bas-relief of the Blessed Virgin, the elaborate oak carved paneling made by CUYPERS of Holland has been extended along the walls of the addition and a very beautiful window added at the end of the extension showing the marriage of the Virgin, and the wall of the addition has been covered by a very large and exquisitely beautiful picture of the Assumption. An extremely beautiful Requiem Chapel has been made in the space formerly occupied by St. Elizabeth's Chapel. St. Joseph's Chapel is new and of great beauty, in the Italian style in contrast with the Gothic architecture of the rest of the Church. Nine new stained glass windows have been placed in the Church. Seventeen large statues, three of them in marble, the rest carved out of solid oak, have been erected, and several small oaken ones. The most eminent sculptors in America have done the work, the oaken by KIRCHMAYER, of Boston, and two of the marble statues by LAWRIE. The font cover is several feet in height, enriched by hundreds of small carved figures, all in oak, done by KIRCHMAYER. Various walls of the Church have been covered by very large and beautiful mural paintings, eight in number. The High Altar has been remodeled by the erection of an exquisite spire and the whole Altar has been richly decorated in colour and the whole Chancel beautifully painted. A replica of the reredos at All Saints Cathedral, Milwaukee, in bas-relief work, beautifully colored, hangs on the wall of the Nave near the Sanctuary; it depicts a Calvary with attendant figures. The exterior west wall of the Church has been enriched with a large Calvary and the tympanum of the front door filled with statuary; and a statue of St. Cecelia has been placed on the exterior outside the choir room in the Parish House. A well appointed Gymnasium has been built in the Parish House. The finest Rood in the country, of carved oak, has been placed in the Chancel Arch, with a Calvary, statues of St. Mary, St. John and attendant angels. A magnificent pulpit, in commemoration of Dr. BARRY'S rectorship, was erected after his service of fifteen years, which probably for the exquisite details of its carving, including many statues of Saints, has no equal anywhere in the country. The character of the music, always fine, has been greatly improved and now sung Mass with full orchestra is rendered every Sunday in the year. The Endowment Fund has been increased $46,000.

The Rector has deliberately refrained from entering into the social life of the city and has devoted all his time and energy to the parish and to theological literary work; his preaching has been of extraordinary power and eloquence; he has refrained from sentimental sermons and from discussions of the popular topics of the day-his sermons have been expositions of the Christian religion and have aimed at developing spiritual life, corporate and individual. Meanwhile there have been issued from the pen of Dr. BARRY thirteen books of Theology and Devotion and Meditation, which have had a wide circulation and attracted attention on both sides of the water.

Nearly all of the improvements and decorations mentioned have been at the initiative of Dr. BARRY, who has collected the money for them and who has himself personally contributed to several.

The matters mentioned in this enumeration of the works of twenty years have maintained the parish in the very forefront of Catholic progress in the Anglican Communion.

As Pastor and Confessor, Dr. BARRY has been most faithful, without sentimentality, but with deep sympathy and kindness. He has been greatly beloved. His rectorship has been epochal in the history of the parish.

The Trustees wish Dr. BARRY every happiness in his retirement and have every hope that the Church at large will continue to be benefited by his literary output.

Project Canterbury