THE "TRAPPIST" WHO GOT MARRIED

New Zealand Tablet, 7 April 1921, Page 13

THE "TRAPPIST" WHO GOT MARRIED

MODERN EDITION OF MARIA MONK. s *' ■ «■■ .$ . ,> ■ «; ~ One of the leading - South African dailies, a few weeks ago (says the Southern Cross, . of Capetown), reproduced with great gusto, ( as did the Dunedin'arid other New' ■ Zealand papers, the following report from v a section of the London press: ; ; ‘'. .. ..... f “A former Trappist monk, Father Alberic, how known to the world as Mr. James Cornell Biddle, .a - member , of. one of Philadelphia’s oldest and richest' families, is* the chief figure in a romance which culminated yesterefay in i his marriage to Miss Mary Lena Gaines, of‘Warrenton, Virginia. • ~., “The couple are bound for “Paradise,” the fine old •Virginian estate belonging to the'bride,, where they will make their permanent home. “For thirty years the bridegroom lived a life of perpetual silence in seclusion, penitence,- and prayer at the Trappist monastery* situated at 'Broad Knoll, Gethsemane, 48 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky. Daily there he performed . certain ...manual tasks and contemplated the graves made ready for each monk, dedicating the remainder of . -his time to studying the early Christian ... writers. A year ’ ago he renounced his vows, having reached the conclusion that the Protestant or Evangelical form of Church government was the primitive form.’ “-‘ I. was influenced,’-/he; said, ‘ by the writings of St. Paul, s and f became convinced that celibacy was not obligatory for the clergy.’ - - i '■ >f- v “Mr. Biddle, d after,, the marriage ceremony, received reporters,; to whom he repeated'over and over again that his?.was not a Garden of Allah romance. In the Garden of Allah,[ he , observed, ,‘ the monk took .his step against his conscience. In my case I am absolutely at peace with my conscience.’ The bridegroom gave his age as 52 and the bride as 48.” ; v -■'--V . ■ ■ THE TRUTH. W e have 4 now received, a copy, of, the English weekly, Plain * English, which completely exposes this “latest example of American fiction.” , , ' It is true (says Plain English') that the “bridegroom, belongs to a “rich and old family His parents are leading stockholders in one of the ' largest jewellery firms in the world, namely, Messrs. Bailey, Banks, and Biddle. Some years ago his relations, who are Protestants, - had him certified ,in ,-the. usual . way. as a lunatic. In one of his lucid moments he was admitted to ?a retreat house, conducted by "Catholics, where he could harm no one, and where it was hoped prayer and study might improve his condition. But he was never anything but a hopeless , humbug. His relations withheld his money from him, ’.with the understanding that on emerging from his retreat as a Protestant he could- have it. - I He was apparently under the delusion that he was a Trappist sworn to silence, y and several- priests, « who onserved his conduct and his refusal to speak, considered that |he_ was. as mad as ever. Annoyed at their attitude,; he left the retreat house dor the woman whom he afterwards [•married. | The “Paradise” fine old Virginian estate belonging to the bride is -simply a brick house of the Colonial period surrounded by , a; few cornfields in the - midst of a negro settlement. As the property is mortgaged for, two-thirds of ’ its value, the charming bride seems to have trapped ■her “Trappist” with considerable advantage to herself. I But c in the meantime grave scandal has /been caused by the suggestion that the bridegroom was . a Trappist monk. The general public may be unaware that the Cistercian Order, commonly called the Trappists, frequently undertakes the care of victims of drugging or intemperance. But, to say the least, it is unfortunate that the good monks should have scandal brought upon their Order because a „ semi-lunatic believes ' himself -to have been a monk. In so doing, Mr. Biddle has copied the notorious Maria Monk, who, as an inmate in a, rescue home, supposed herself to be a nun, after shnf)‘escaped” and resumed her immoral life. “ * ' '■/' ■5