The Remarkable Life of Bishop Bonaventure Broderick Exile, Redemption, and a Gas Station - James K. Hanna

The Remarkable Life of Bishop Bonaventure Broderick: 

Exile, Redemption, and a Gas Station

James K. Hanna

Serif Press

ISBN 9781735440439

ASIN B0D238JVRT

This book had been on my radar for a while. But I was awaiting the release of the eBook before picking it up. I have a dual form of dyslexia and greatly prefer eBooks. I kept checking for the eBook and picked it up the day it released. Wow what an incredible story. I read this volume, and then started almost immediately and read it a second time.

Description of this book is:

“A Catholic bishop running a gas station? Well, that was the story they told in Millbrook, New York. And it turned out to be true. But the gas station is hardly the most interesting thing about this fascinating character. His is a story of catacombs in Rome, a failed bomb-building business in Connecticut and a sewer system in Cuba. It is a story of allegations, from the serious to the sensational to the that he shared in a million-dollar commission to sell Church property in Havana; that he was living with “a nun he stole from a convent in St. Louis;” that he was “running a hot dog stand” in upstate New York. It is a story of a millionaire Congregationalist and his Catholic wife, an impeached governor of New York, quarreling siblings and quibbling Church hierarchy. It is a tale of popes and politicians, business partners who throw inkwells at each other, and a lawyer who probes into a private papal conversation on behalf of a cardinal of the Church. Strange, moving, funny, mysterious, exciting - this is a story that has fascinated Catholics for years. This is the first book that sifts through the evidence, digs into the mysteries, sorts the true from the false, and tells the whole story of the gas-station bishop from Millbrook.”

The chapters in this volume are:

Preface and Acknowledgements

Major Characters

Introduction

1 Early Life and Education, 1868 - 1898

2 Fast Start and First Troubles in Connecticut, 1898 - 1900

3 The War with Spain

4 Cuba and the Road to the Episcopacy, 1900 - 1903

5 Rumors and the Grave Misunderstanding, 1903 - 1905

6 Early Years of Exile, 1905 - 1912

7 More Turmoil: Gossip and Legal Drama, 1912 - 1915

8 Quiet Times, 1915 - 1926

9 A Phantom Hot Dog Stand and the Fabled Gas Station, 1926 - 1939

10 End of Exile, 1939

11 Reconciled Years, 1940 - 1943

Notes

Bibliography

This is an incredible story. The story of a rising star within the church and episcopate. A man with great faith, learning, passion, skills in managing church personalities and political personalities. And then because of the pettiness of two men, his whole life and career were put on ice. And for decades he was a bishop without a seat. And A man set adrift from the church. And yet he kept his faith, did mass in private. And worked various jobs. Supported ministries and social programs. He was an apartment building owner. He owned a large property, which yes did have a gas and service station at the front. He wrote columns, gave lectures. But was ignored by the higher ups in the church for ages.

And just as quickly as his favour was lost, so it was returned, this time by the voicing of the injustice by one man and the investigation and remediation of that wrong by another.

I could hardly put this book down. And as mentioned I even read it a second time. The letter he wrote to Archbishop Francis Spellman, after his first visit nearly moved me to tears. And all because Donato Sbarretti, mentioned to Spellman the injustice on the night of his elevation to the chair himself. This book leaves you wanting more and Hanna has already answered that call, He has edited and released a second volume: The Wit and Wisdom of Bishop Bonaventure Broderick: His Millbrook Round Table Columns, which I eagerly await an eBook edition of. 

This was a deeply moving read. The events take place all over the globe. But it is the story of man from the states, who studied in Rome, was at the top of the field in archaeology. Became an auxiliary bishop, and then was set aside. But his faith remained and when the call came he was willing to step up and serve again. A story of faith, good friends, and fortunes won, lost and then finally re-established. A fascinating read as History and history of the Church. I can easily recommend it.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2024 Catholic Reading Plan! 

Books by James Hanna:

The Remarkable Life of Bishop Bonaventure Broderick

The Wit and Wisdom of Bishop Bonaventure Broderick

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