After 160 performances of his walking tour titled Fleming,
playwright and actor Paul Rowe, looks back with great satisfaction
on his achievement.
“ I nailed it. It was good. The piece I wrote has stood the test of
time.”
Paul fondly recalls how it all came about.
“Pat Thompson, chair of the Basilica Heritage Foundation,
approached me about writing a play wrapped around Bishop Fleming
and the construction, completion and consecration of the Basilica
Cathedral over 165 years ago. The play was to be presented as a
walking tour.”
It was a natural thing for Paul to do. The politics of pre -
confederation Newfoundland always fascinated him. That interest
led him to several writing and acting opportunities. He had written a
play for Rising Tide Theatre on Sir William Coaker, the founder of
the Fisherman’s Protective Union in the early 1900’s. Soon
afterwards he was commissioned to write a play for the historic
Town of Placentia, the unofficial French capital of Newfoundland.
“Pat Thompson is a businessman.” continued Paul. “He is also a man
who sees the power of the arts. He saw that a play like this would
be a great opportunity for fundraising and bring awareness to the
heritage of the Basilica.”
So, Paul Rowe dug in and did his research.
Bishop Fleming left behind a great collection of letters. That,
combined with the dramatic and turbulent history of the time, gave
him a lot of interesting stories to work with. In the early to mid
1800s the makeup of Newfoundland was changing. Slowly but surely,
it was shedding its migratory fishing mantle for one of a more
permanent nature.
The more research Paul did the more he came across riveting and
colourful stories. Like the one about how Bishop Fleming obtained
the land on which the Basilica now stands. The property was owned
by the British Military and any attempts to buy or barter were
always met with strong opposition. Formal requests were simply
passed over by the Government, a Government which clearly showed
its anti - Catholic bias. So Bishop Fleming decided to go to the top.
That meant sailing to England to try and meet with the new English
monarch, Queen Victoria. One notable trait of Bishop Fleming was
that he was unorthodox. That amply showed in how he planned to
approach the Queen. He was told that she often passed by the
Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park, London. On a cold, wet, rainy day he
went there and waited. When her carriage came by, he stood out.
Surprisingly she stopped and let him in her carriage. He explained
the vision he had for his church and the need to acquire the land on
which it was to be built. After they parted, Queen Victoria cut
through the red tape and arranged to have the land passed over to
Bishop Fleming and the Catholic community of St. John’s.
She also gave him her shawl to keep him from getting more soaked
than he already was.
That story also reveals his determination along with his natural
ability to get people to buy into his many plans for the ever
expanding Catholic population of Newfoundland.
Paul observed, “He had a tremendous personality but the thing that
struck me most about him was his capacity to inspire people to do
tremendous amounts of work. Notably, Bishop Fleming ignored the
opposition. He had many things laid against him but it was like he
didn’t even see those things. He just forged ahead.”
This was also a time in Newfoundland’s history when there was a
deep divide between Protestants and Catholics. This also applied to
the legislature where so many seats were set aside for each sect
with the Catholic members having way less representation. It was
this built in prejudice that set him up as a frequent target for anti
– Catholic attacks.
Criticism of Bishop Fleming was often fierce and sometimes violent.
Like the true story of Henry Winton, editor of the local Public
Ledger newspaper who often was a constant detractor of Bishop
Fleming. He saw the Bishop as the enemy and at every opportunity
set out to antagonize him. As a result, Winton was greatly hated in
the Catholic community. One day, in broad daylight, he was attacked
by a group of masked men who cut off his ears. It was a horrific act
which showed how strong feelings could get between the two
Christian factions. It also showed what Bishop Fleming was up
against.
Despite the antagonism that often existed between Catholics and
Protestants, somehow Bishop Fleming was able to rally people from
both sides to help him realize his dream. A good example is how he
personally oversaw the extraction and delivery of granite from the
quarry on Kelly’s Island in nearby Conception Bay. To get the stone
from there to the waterfront in St. John’s, he talked many non-
Catholic schooner Captains in the area to deliver the granite cargo
for free. He also persuaded many members of various organizations
such as the Stonemasons, Labourers and Carpenter Societies to
give one day a week to help move the stone from the wharves up to
the site where the Basilica now stands. Even members of a women’s
organization put aside one day a week to help bring stone up the
long, steep hills of St.John’s.
Of course, there was always need for money. In May, 1841 when the
cornerstone was laid, an estimated crowd of 20,000 people showed
up for the ceremony. Once the stone was put in place, a well to do
businessman by the name of Lawrence O’Brien came forward and
placed 250 pounds on the corner stone. That prompted others to
come forward with donations. By the end of the day the enormous
sum of 2,300 pounds was collected.
This particular event not only highlighted the magnetism of Bishop
Fleming and his vision but it also underpinned the dream he held in
his heart and mind. He had plans for orphanages, convents and
schools, all of which were in great need at the time.
To make his future, wide reaching plans more of a reality he
returned to his native Ireland. There he persuaded the superiors of
two great teaching orders to come to Newfoundland. The
Presentation Sisters and The Sisters of Mercy came to this young
evolving country of Newfoundland and contributed greatly to the
education and moral upbringing of its residents. While Bishop
Fleming was the driving force behind all of these ventures, his
crowning glory was the construction of the Basilica of St. John the
Baptist.
“In some respects, Bishop Fleming reflected the times in
Newfoundland,” stated playwright Paul Rowe. “The penal laws were
lifted in 1829. The face of Newfoundland was changing. A merchant
class grew alongside a group of people known as planters. These new,
evolving classes of society were thriving in many of the coves
around Newfoundland. In the capital a growing segment of
professionals was developing – teachers, lawyers, journalists,
doctors, blacksmiths and the like. Many of these people never
caught a codfish in their life.”
No doubt Bishop Fleming was a visionary. But there’s one thing to
envision a project, putting it into action is quite another. When the
granite cornerstone was laid it represented a cornerstone of
cooperation between two Christian sects that most often didn’t see
eye to eye. When it was finally completed with the help from both
Catholics and Protestants, it was the largest Cathedral in all of
North America. It was said to inspire the visiting Archbishop of
New York to return to his city and begin planning for the now
famous New York landmark, St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
And of course it was a strong matter of pride for all
Newfoundlanders, Catholic and Protestant alike.
The final words in Paul Rowe’s play are those of Bishop Fleming, who
spoke as the structure neared completion.
“My friends, a Cathedral such as this might be said to represent
many things. It is more than anything, a monument to the piety, the
strength and the vigour of the people of Newfoundland. Yet for all
its awesome splendour, it is a simple thing too. It is a message, like
a message in a bottle, cast upon the eternal seas of time, saying to
the people of a future day that we who built this place were here,
we lived, loved and served each other and our God in this place as
best we could.”
Fleming the man and Fleming the play.
Quite a legacy. And quite a tour.