Item 1 - Letter from Fr. Sylvester Mulligan

4 pp; manuscript

Letter from Fr. Sylvester Mulligan OFM Cap., Provincial Minister, to Fr. Thomas Dowling OFM Cap. expressing his shock about the decision made by General Definitory requesting that the Irish friars hand over Abbottstown house to the Provincial Minister of the Pennsylvania Capuchins. He suggests that the ‘decision will hit our [Irish] Province very hard’. Father Sylvester highlights the deep bonds formed with their ‘American brethren’ and the success of their work. He notes that the friars had been working zealously and were on friendly terms with the local community. Reference is also made to the difficulty of building missions among diverse populations, specifically mentioning Italians, Portuguese, and Mexicans in California.