Nicholas Russo | |
|---|---|
 Russoc. 1888 | |
| 7th President of Boston College | |
| In office 1887–1888 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas H. Stack |
| Succeeded by | Robert J. Fulton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1845-04-24)April 24, 1845 |
| Died | April 1, 1902(1902-04-01) (aged 56) New York City, US |
| Alma mater | Woodstock College |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1877 |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| School | |
Nicholas RussoSJ (April 24, 1845 – April 1, 1902) was an ItalianCatholic priest,Jesuit, philosopher, andmissionary. Born in Italy, he ran away from his family and joined theSociety of Jesus in France in 1862, where he was educated and began teaching. In 1875, Russo was sent to the United States to study atWoodstock College. For ten years, he was a professor and thechair of philosophy atBoston College and became its first faculty member to publish a book. Specializing inThomism, he was regarded as a successful professor. He served aspresident of the college from 1887 to 1888.
In the 1890s, Russo left a successful career in academia to minister for more than ten years to theItalian immigrants in New York City'sLower East Side, who faced poverty anddiscrimination by local priests. He founded the Church of Our Lady of Loreto in 1891, which grew to 3,000 weekly parishioners, as well as schools for boys and girls and parochial clubs andsodalities.
Nicholas Russo was born on April 24, 1845, inAscoli Piceno in theUnited Provinces of Central Italy, today located in theMarche region of central Italy.[a] His mother died when Russo was a young child. His father was a prominent physician in the town. Russo excelled in school, especially inLatin andAncient Greek. When he reached the age of six, Russo expressed an interest in enteringreligious life and, with one of his sisters, madepilgrimages toshrines and observed theCatholic feasts and days ofabstinence. Intending Nicholas to also become a physician, Russo's father had Nicholas attend surgeries with him, and a nurse assisted Nicholas and his sister keep their religious practices secret from Russo's father.[3]
Russo desired to enter theSociety of Jesus but feared that his father would not permit him to do so.[4] Thus, on August 8, 1862, telling no one but his sister, Russo ran away from home. With two friends, he traveled on foot to France, begging for food and shelter along the way, and ultimately entering the Jesuitnovitiate inPau on September 7, 1862.[1] They were accepted on probationary status and Russo was instructed to obtain the consent of his family. Russo never saw his family again, but received a letter from his father, who was on his deathbed, approving of Russo's decision to enter the Jesuits,[3] and the superiors permitted him to continue hisJesuit formation.[4] Russo's father died shortly thereafter.[3]
After professing hisvows, Russo went toSaint-Acheul for two years to complete hisjuniorate. He then proceeded toVals for his philosophical studies. Afterwards, he spent five years as a grammar teacher and theprefect at the Jesuit college inSaint-Affrique.[5]
In 1875, the Jesuit province ofNaples sent Russo to the United States for histheological studies, and he proceeded toWoodstock College inMaryland. He excelled during his time as a student. Russo wasordained apriest in 1877, and in September of that year, he was sent toMassachusetts to teach logic andmetaphysics atBoston College. He remained in this position for nearly ten years,[5][4][6] becoming thechair of philosophy,[7] and taking a reprieve only for the academic year of 1872 to 1873, to complete histertianship inFrederick, Maryland.[5][4] Russo was also the collegelibrarian, and, during the physical enlargement of the library in 1876, he and another Jesuit instituted an accuratecard catalogue.[8]
During his time at Boston College, Russo published his first book,Summa Philosophica, comprising philosophy lectures he had delivered to students.[5] With this, he became the first member of the Boston College faculty to publish a book while associated with the institution.[4] As a teacher, he lectured in Latin,[9] and was known as stern but effective.[10][7] He also lectured onCatholicism and published his second book on the subject.[5] Russo was well versed in thescholastic tradition,[11] as well asThomistic philosophy and theology. GivenPope Leo XIII's mandate that the Thomism should be taught atCatholic universities, Russo became a prominent teacher. One of his students was the futurecardinal andarchbishop of Boston,William Henry O'Connell, who wrote in an 1880 letter:[9]
Certainly Father Russo is a stern teacher. He never speaks a word to a soul except as he speaks to all in class. He sits at the rostrum looking like some greatmedieval scholar — great black eyes, a lean sallow face, and a look which turns you into stone if you don't happen to know your lesson.[9]
Russo professed hisfourth vow on August 15, 1884.[1]
Thepresident of Boston College,Thomas H. Stack, died suddenly on August 30, 1887, after just 17 days. There was not enough time to formally select a new rector, a lengthy process, before the start of classes in autumn. Therefore, Russo was appointed the vice-rector and seventh president to temporarily administer the institution.[12][13] During his presidency, Russo was also thepastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in theSouth End ofBoston.[14] His tenure was uneventful,[13] and after less than one year, Russo was succeeded byRobert J. Fulton on July 4, 1888.[15]
Following his presidency, Russo became theprocurator atSt. Francis Xavier Church in New York City. He also was appointed "moderator of the cases of conscience" for theArchdiocese of New York, a position he held for the rest of his life. In 1889, Russo became a professor of philosophy atGeorgetown University in Washington, D.C. It was there in 1889 that he published his third book, on ethics, completing his Jesuit philosophical education.[5]
Russo returned to New York City, serving asoperarius[b] at theChurch of St. Lawrence O'Toole (later known as theChurch of St. Ignatius Loyola).[5] He alsowrote speeches and papers for the archbishop of New York,Michael Corrigan.[17] On February 19, 1891, Russo presided over a conference atSt. Patrick's Cathedral of all priests of the archdiocese, which discussedcanon law,dogmatic theology, andmoral theology.[18]
As hundreds of thousands of Italian immigrants arrived in New York City, many settled inLittle Italy inLower Manhattan.[19] TheJesuit Superior General urged Archbishop Corrigan to tend to their spiritual needs,[20] and Corrigan enlisted the aid of variousreligious orders to establish churches for Italians throughout Manhattan. For theLower East Side, he selected the Jesuits,[19] and the Jesuitprovincial superior,Thomas J. Campbell, selected Russo to lead the effort.[2]
With that, Russo gave up a successful career in academia and spent the rest of his life ministering to poorItalian immigrants in New York City,[11] who, he wrote, "worked like slaves" forsubsistence wages.[21] As one biographer noted, "It must have been, humanly speaking, no small sacrifice...for he had held high positions in Boston and New York and his work had lain almost entirely among the better instructed and wealthy."[19][22]
When Russo arrived in New York, tensions between Italian immigrants and the city's predominantlyIrish clergy had been building for some time,[19] and Italians faceddiscrimination from local pastors.[23] AtSt. Patrick's Old Cathedral, the pastor, John F. Kearney, created an Italian sub-congregation in 1882 that was almost entirelysegregated from the rest of theparish. Italians were relegated to the basement to celebrateMass and othersacraments, and Kearney eventually expelled the Italians from the church entirely.[24] Russo first visited St. Patrick's in 1889, and Kearney refused to permit him to celebrate Mass in the main church for "reasons which a priest should feel ashamed to give," according to Russo.[17] While Russo initially believed that the primary obstacle to the Italians' spiritual wellbeing was their own "indifference" to religion, after five years ministering to them, he concluded that neglect by clergy charged with theirpastoral care was the foremost problem.[17] As a result,Protestants actively worked toconvert Italian immigrants.[20]
Russo and another Italian Jesuit, Aloysius Romano, physically converted a rentedbarroom onElizabeth Street it into achapel holding about 150 people. They built analtar and twoconfessionals, cleaned the walls, painted, and named the chapelMissione Italiana della Madonna di Loreto. The first Mass was held in the chapel on August 16, 1891, the Feast ofSan Rocco, with Russo delivering thesermon in Italian and the provincial superior being the maincelebrant.[25] Tensions persisted, with Russo writing to Archbishop Corrigan about Kearney's continued hostility.[26] With his congregation shrinking, Kearney reopened St. Patrick's to Italians, who became the majority of parishioners, depleting funds from Russo's indebted church.[27]
Russo's parish soon outgrew its makeshift chapel, and in 1892, he purchased twotenement buildings across the street.[28] After renovations, the new church was dedicated by Corrigan on September 27 under the name Our Lady of Loretto.[29] The church, located at 303 and 305 Elizabeth Street, contained three altars.[30] It accommodated 500 people seated and an additional 200 people standing.[31]
Russo divided the basement of the church into classrooms, opening a school for 200 children. Due to poor conditions in the basement, after two months, he purchased two houses adjoining the church for $35,000[32] (equivalent to approximately $1.14 million in 2024),[33] and renovated them for another $8,000. A newparochial school for girls opened in October 1895 and one for boys opened in 1898. By 1895, the schools enrolled 700 students.[22] Russo also started two weekend clubs for younger and older boys and asodality devoted to theSacred Heart.[34] Eventually, a third Jesuit fromSicily became acurate at the church.[35]
On Easter in 1902, Russo's health deteriorated and he was taken toSt. Vincent's Hospital, where it was found he hadpneumonia with complications.[36] He died on April 1, 1902, by which time the church drew 3,000 parishioners each Sunday.[37] While it was intended that a Neapolitan Jesuit working in theRocky Mountains replace Russo at Our Lady of Loreto, he was succeeded by William H. Walsh.[27] Russo'sfuneral was held at Our Lady of Loreto, with the Mass celebrated by the provincial superior and theabsolution of the dead prayed by Archbishop Corrigan.[36]
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| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 7thPresident of Boston College 1887–1888 | Succeeded by |
| Catholic Church titles | ||
| Preceded by | 8th Pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception 1887–1888 | Succeeded by |
| New office | 1st Pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Loreto 1891–1902 | Succeeded by William H. Walsh |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
