Thomas Frederick Price
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Frederick Price, MM (August 19, 1860 - September 12, 1919) was the American co-founder of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, better known as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.


Youth and education

Thomas Frederick Price was born in Wilmington,
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, the eighth of ten children of Alfred and Clarissa Bond Price. His parents were converts to the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
faith, and he was raised as a devout Catholic amid Southern apathy toward Catholicism. His older sisters, Margaret and Mary, left to become
Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...
.Johnson, Philip G., "An Introduction to Father Thomas Frederick Price: The "Tar Heel Apostle", ''NC Catholic'', February 27, 2013
/ref> As a youth, Price was deeply influenced by his parish priests (St. Thomas, Wilmington, North Carolina). One cleric who figured prominently in his early life was
James Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 unti ...
, newly appointed the first
Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
of
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
. Gibbons established his headquarters at St. Thomas Church; Price often served Mass for Gibbons and accompanied him on official trips throughout the Vicariate."Father Thomas F. Price", Maryknoll Mission Archives
/ref> With his religious background (especially the deep devotion of his mother to the
Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
), Price soon felt an attraction to the priesthood. He confided his interest to the parish priest, Mark Gross, and arrangements were made for him to enter St. Charles College at
Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...
, in August 1876. En route to the seminary by ship, Price escaped death in the shipwreck of the ''Rebecca Clyde''. Price attributed his survival to the Blessed Virgin Mary's intercession. After the accident, he returned home until January 1877. Price attended St. Charles College from January 1877 until his commencement on June 28, 1881. In September 1881, he entered St. Mary's Seminary in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 20, 1886, by Gibbon's successor, Henry P. Northrop, at the pro-cathedral in Wilmington, North Carolina. (Both of Price's parents had died before his ordination.) Price was the first native North Carolinian to be ordained to the priesthood, and he was assigned to missionary work in the eastern section of his home state.


Early priesthood

Within the first year of his ordination, Price was appointed pastor of the few Catholics in Asheville and New Bern. He later obtained permission from Leo Haid, the current Vicar Apostolic, to begin a statewide evangelization program. His methods were influenced by Walter Elliott, a famous
Paulist The Paulist Fathers, officially named the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle (), abbreviated CSP, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men founded in New York City in 1858 by Isaac Hecker in collaboration wi ...
preacher. Based out of
New Bern New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...
, Price traveled by buggy a "circuit" comprising seventeen missions. He was pastor at New Bern for nine years. From there he was transferred to Sacred Heart Church in
Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
. Two churches built by Price remain in North Carolina. St. Mary's Church in Goldsboro c.1889 is today served by the
Society of Saint Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX; ("Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X"), FSSPX) is a canonically irregular traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Lefebvre was a leading traditionalis ...
. The other surviving church is the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Halifax, North Carolina) c.1889, which belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. One of Price's tools for evangelization was the publication of the magazine ''Truth'', which he began to edit and publish in April 1897. In 1912, the magazine passed into the hands of the International Catholic Truth Society, with the guarantee that the Truth Society would enable the publication to reach its full potential. Fr. Price's active role in the Foreign Mission Seminary by this time made his continued involvement in the publication impossible. In 1899, Price, along with his sister, Sister Mary Agnes of the Sisters of Mercy, founded a Catholic Orphanage on a large tract of land which he purchased in Nazareth, North Carolina. Price's plan was first to help the underprivileged of an area and thereby win the general population's favor, who would then be more inclined to listen to the missioner's message. (The location later became the site of the first Cardinal Gibbons Memorial High School and is now the site of Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral.) Following the success of the Nazareth Orphanage, Price organized summer catechizing teams of seminarians. Finally, in 1902, Price opened a missionary training house at Nazareth. It was a preparatory seminary whose sole purpose was the education and formation of missioners for the home missions. It was called Regina Apostolorum. Price directed the Regina Apostolorum and acted as its primary teacher and spiritual director.


Plans for a foreign mission seminary

As time went on, Price began to emphasize more and more often, in the pages of ''Truth'', the need for a seminary to train young American men for foreign missions. At the same time,
James Anthony Walsh James Anthony Walsh (February 24, 1867 – April 14, 1936) was the co-founder of Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. Background The son of James and Hanna Shea Walsh, James Anthony was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His brother, Timothy ...
, of Boston, was developing the same idea in the pages of ''The Field Afar''. At the Eucharistic Congress in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
in 1910, the two priests began to formulate plans for the establishment of a seminary for foreign missioners. With the American hierarchy's approval, the two priests traveled to Rome in June 1911 to receive final approval from
Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
for their project. After meeting with the Pope, Price traveled to Lourdes for the first time. During his stay at Lourdes, Price had a spiritual experience that he refers to in his diary: he maintained a special devotion to
Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...
and to
Bernadette Soubirous Bernadette Soubirous, Sisters of Charity of Nevers, SCN (; ; ; 7 January 184416 April 1879), also known as Bernadette of Lourdes (religious name, in religion Sister Marie-Bernarde), was a miller's daughter from Lourdes ( in Occitan), in the Dep ...
until his death. Returning to the United States, Price and Walsh began establishing the new seminary and the foreign mission society. After a brief stay at
Hawthorne, New York Hawthorne is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. Its population was 4,586 at the 2010 census. History The ...
, the property was purchased at Ossining, New York, for the site of the new foundation, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (popularly known as Maryknoll).


Foreign missions begin

Price made a countrywide tour of America to gain support for the new endeavor. By 1918, three young priests ( James Edward Walsh, Francis Xavier Ford, and Bernard F. Meyer) were ready for the foreign missions in China. On September 7, Price went with them as superior to the new mission. From the time of Maryknoll's foundation, Price had understood that Walsh was capable of administering and directing the seminary itself. Price himself had always hoped to be chosen as one of Maryknoll's first missioners, and his dream was realized. This group of the first four American missioners in China arrived in Hong Kong in October 1918. They then settled down in Yeungkong (now called Yangjiang) on the South China Coast. Because of his age and its complexity, Price had great difficulty learning the
Chinese language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...
Price also suffered from physical ailments. Towards the latter part of 1919, Price became seriously ill. As there were no adequate medical facilities in that area, he was brought to Hong Kong for hospitalization. After a trying trip, Price arrived in the British Colony and was immediately taken to St. Paul's Hospital in Causeway Bay, an institution conducted by the Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres. The long and arduous journey from Yeungkong to Hong Kong by primitive means of travel aggravated Price's advanced and serious case of appendicitis. He entered the hospital on 19 August 1919 and was operated on 8 September 1919. However, it was too late, and on 12 September, the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, he died due to a burst appendix at five minutes past ten o'clock. His dear friend Father Tour had been with him at his side, as they recited the prayers for the commendation of Fr. Price's soul. His body was buried in the priests’ plot in St. Michael's Cemetery in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. The date of his death was rather significant, as he had a great devotion to Our Lady. He was only 59. A solemn requiem Mass was celebrated on 18 September 1919 at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral for his priestly soul's happy repose. At this ceremony, Bishop of the
Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong The Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church. The diocese takes its name from the see city, the metropolitan area where the bishop resides. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong is a ''de ...
, Pozzoni, gave the last absolution, and a large concourse of priests and Sisters attended In 1923, a French missioner returned to France with Price's heart and gave it to St. Bernadette's religious order, the
Sisters of Charity of Nevers The Sisters of Charity of Nevers ( French: ''Congrégation des Sœurs de la Charité de Nevers''), also known as Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction, is a Catholic convent founded in 1680 in Nevers, Nièvre department, France, at the ins ...
. It was placed in a niche in the wall near the saint's body in the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Nevers. It was Price's request, for he had a very great devotion to Sister Bernadette. Price's body was exhumed in 1936 and transferred to Maryknoll Cemetery in Ossining, New York. In 1955, his remains, together with James A. Walsh's, were finally interred in the crypt below the Maryknoll Seminary Chapel. In March 2012, the
Diocese of Raleigh The Diocese of Raleigh () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church that covers eastern North Carolina in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archbis ...
formerly opened a formal Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of Father Thomas Price."Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of Father Thomas Price", ''NC Catholic''
/ref>


Writings

* ''
Bernadette of Lourdes Bernadette Soubirous, Sisters of Charity of Nevers, SCN (; ; ; 7 January 184416 April 1879), also known as Bernadette of Lourdes (religious name, in religion Sister Marie-Bernarde), was a miller's daughter from Lourdes ( in Occitan), in the Dep ...
'' (1914) * ''The Lily of Mary'' (1918)


References


Bibliography

* John T. Sedden, ''When Saints Are Lovers. The Spirituality of Maryknoll Founder Thomas F. Price'', Liturgical Press (1997), 184 pages


External links

*
Maryknoll priests visit grave of Fr. Price in Hong Kong, China, 1923. from USC digital library Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Thomas Frederick Founders of Catholic religious communities 1860 births 1919 deaths American Roman Catholic missionaries American Roman Catholic priests Maryknoll Fathers People from Wilmington, North Carolina American Servants of God Deaths from appendicitis Catholics from North Carolina St. Charles College (Maryland) alumni