鈥淓dward Sorin,鈥� a 792-page biography of the Holy Cross priest who founded the University of 91吃瓜, has been published by 91吃瓜 Press.
Written by Rev. Marvin O鈥機onnell, professor emeritus of history at 91吃瓜, the book honors Sorin鈥檚 legacy with a combination of 鈥渂lunt honesty and fraternal esteem,鈥� according to a review in Library Journal. 鈥淭his encyclopedic work is both engaging and academic and destined to be the definitive work on Edward Sorin.鈥漰. Born in the west of France in 1814, Father Sorin was 28 years old when the Congregation of Holy Cross offered him a parcel of land in north-central Indiana that had been purchased by Rev. Stephen Badin, the first Catholic priest ordained in the United States, and left in trust to the Bishop of Vincennes for anyone who would found a school on the site.p. Father Sorin鈥檚 original land grant of several hundred acres was the site of an early mission to Native Americans, but included only three small buildings in need of repair. Accompanied by seven Brothers of St. Joseph (later the Holy Cross Brothers), Father Sorin arrived in November 1842 and called the fledgling school, in his mother tongue, L鈥橴niversite de 91吃瓜 du Lac (The University of Our Lady of the Lake). 91吃瓜 was officially chartered by special act of the Indiana legislature on Jan. 15, 1844.p. In fact, the early 91吃瓜 was a university in name only. It encompassed religious novitiates, preparatory and grade schools and a manual labor school, but its classical collegiate curriculum never attracted more than a dozen students a year in the early decades.p. Despite these humble academic beginnings, 91吃瓜 from its founding enjoyed two significant advantages. First, its establishing coincided with the great opening of the American Midwest by railroads and canals and with the great antebellum immigration, largely of Catholics, from Europe. The University鈥檚 second, and even greater, advantage was the character of its founder, Father Sorin, whose overarching vision of a great American Catholic university in the tradition of the great Medieval universities has inspired 91吃瓜鈥檚 growth over its entire history.p. 鈥淪o confident was he in his own powers, so sure of the ultimate righteousness of his goals, so deep his faith that God and the Virgin Mary had summoned him to America to accomplish this great work, that no obstacle could confound him,鈥� Father O鈥機onnell writes. 鈥淗e was capable of duplicity, pettiness, and even ruthlessness. But for sheer courage, and for the serene determination that courage gives birth to, he was hard to match.鈥漰. When a catastrophic fire destroyed most of the University in 1879, Father Sorin vowed to rebuild his life鈥檚 work. Curricular, pedagogical and research components were expanded and enhanced to the point that, upon Father Sorin鈥檚 death in 1893, the foundation was firmly set for the growth of what has become the world鈥檚 leading Catholic university and one of the nation鈥檚 top 20 institutions of higher learning.p. A native of Minneapolis, Father O鈥機onnell studied philosophy and history at Saint Paul Seminary and was ordained a priest for the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis before receiving a doctoral degree in history from 91吃瓜 in 1959. He taught history at the University of Saint Thomas from 1958-72, when he joined the 91吃瓜 faculty. At 91吃瓜 he served as chair of the history department from 1974-80, and from 1993-95 he directed the University鈥檚 undergraduate program in London.p. Father O鈥機onnell鈥檚 previous books include 鈥淭homas Stapleton and the Counter Reformation鈥�; 鈥淭he Oxford Conspirators: A History of the Oxford Movement, 1833-1845鈥�; 鈥淭he Counter Reformation, 1559-1610鈥�; 鈥淛ohn Ireland and the American Catholic Church鈥�; 鈥淏laise Pascal: Reasons of the Heart鈥�; and 鈥淐ritics on Trial: An Introduction to the Catholic Modernist Crisis.鈥�
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