Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 7.djvu/658

 HYDATIUS

592

HYDERABAD-DECCAN

which not even the almost miraculous saving of her life at the age of seventeen could change; neither was her frivolity checked by her education at the Convent of St. Bernardine at Viterbo, where an older sister had taken the veil. At the age of twenty she set her heart upon marriage with the Marquess Cassizucchi, but was passed by in favour of a younger sister. She was sadly disappointed, became morose, and at last joined the community at St. Bernardine, receiving the name Hyacintha. But, as she told her father, she did this only to hide her chagrin and not to give up the luxuries of the world ; and she asked him to fur- nish her apartments with every comfort. She kept her owTi kitchen, wore a habit of the finest material, received and paid visits at pleasure.

For ten years she continued this kind of life, so contrary to the spirit of her vows and such a source of scandal to the community. By the special protection of God, she retained a lively faith, was regular in her devotions, remained pure, always showed a great respect for the mysteries of religion, and had a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin. At length she was touched by God's grace, and the earnest exhortations of her confessor at the time of serious illness made her see the folly of the past and brought about a complete change in her life. She made a public confe.ssion of her faults in the refectory, discarded her costly gar- ments, wore an old habit, went barefoot, frequently fasted on bread and water, chastised her body by vigils and severe scourging, and practised mortifica- tions to such an extent that the decree of canoniza- tion considers the preservation of her life a continued miracle. She increased her devotion to the Mother of God, to the Holy Infant Jesus, to the Blessed Eu- charist, and to the sufferings of Christ. She worked numerous miracles, had the gifts of prophecy and of discerning the secret thoughts of others. She was also favoured by heavenly ecstasies and raptures. During an epidemic that raged in Viterbo she showed heroic charity in nursing the sick. She established two con- fraternities, whose members were called Oblates of Mary or Sacconi. One of these, similar to our So- ciety of St. Vincent de Paul, gathered alms for the con- valescent, for the poor who were ashamed to beg, and for the care of prisoners; the other procured homes for the aged. Though now leading a life so pure and holy, Hyacintha always conceived the greatest con- tempt for herself. At her death great sorrow was felt at Viterbo and crowds flocked to her funeral. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726, and canonized 14 May, 1807, by Pius VII.

Leon de Clary, Lives of the Saints and Blessed of the Three Orders o/ S^ i^rancis (Taunton, 18S5) ; Dunbar. A Dictionary of Saintly Women (London, 19(D4); Hcgues in Kirchenlex., s. v.

Fr.vncis Mershman.

Hydatius (or Id.\tius) of Lemica (more correctly Limica), a chronicler and bishop, b. at the end of the fourth century at Lemica in Galicia (now Ginzo de Limia in Spain) ; d. shortly after 468. On a journey which he took to Jerusalem while still a child, he be- came acquainted with St. Jerome. About the year 417 he entered the ecclesiastical state, and in 427 was consecrated bishop probably of Aqua; Flaviae, now Chaves in Portugal. Subsequently he exerci-sed con- siderable political influence, as is proved by his mission to Aetius in Gaul to ask for help against the Suevi (431). His "Chronicle ", a continuation of that of St. Jerome, runs from the year 379 to 468. While in its first part (379-427) he derives his information from the testimony of others, he narrates the events from 427 onward as a contemporary witness. It is doubt- ful whether Hydatius is also the author of the "Fasti con.sulares" for the years 24.5-46S, appended to the "Chronicle" in the only almost complete manuscript in our posse.'ssion. The Chronicle is printed in Migne, P. L., LI, 873-890, and LXXIV, 701-750; also in

"Mon. Ger. Hist.: Auct. Antiq.", XI (ed. Mommsen), 13-36. The "Fasti Consulares" are found in P. L., LI, 891-914, and in " Mon. Germ. Hist. : Auct. Antiq.". IX, 205-247.

(Jams, Kirchengcsch. Span., II. i, 465-71; Ward id Did Christ. Biog.. Ill, 206-208: Bardenhewer-Shahan, Patrology (Freiburg. 1908), 614: Molinier, Sources de Vhistoire de France, I (Paris, 1901), 169 aDd nos. 613, 621.

N. A. Weber.

Hyderabad-Deccan, Dioce.se of. — Hyderabad, also called Bhagnagar, and Fakhunda Bunyad, capital of the Nizam's dominions, was founded in 1589, by Mohammed Kuli, King of Golconda. The mission of Hyderabad-Deccan was cut off from the Vicariate Apostohc of Madras by Pius IX, 20 May, 1851, and became a diocese in 1886. It is bounded on the east by the Bay of Bengal, on the north by the Godavari, on the west by the frontier dividing the Nizam's do- minions from the Presidency of Bombay, and on the south by the Tungabudra and Kistna. The diocese lies partly in the native kingdom of the Nizam, and partly in Briti-sh territory. Little is known of the early history of this region. Certain documents re- late that in the reign of Ibrahim .-^dil Shah I (1535- 1557) there were Christians in Moodgul, a town in the south-west of the district. It is likely that the earli- est conversions were made by the Franciscans, who arrived in 1502. Soon after this we read of Christians in Raichur and Chitapur, who were visited by the priests from Goa. L'rban VIII in 1637 sent the Theatines to Bijapur, near Moodgul and Raichur. He also established then the Vicariate Apostolic of the Great Mogul. The first vicar was the Oratorian, Father Mateo de Castro, who in 1637 had been named Vicar Apostolic of the Deccan and Bijapur. In 1645 the Kingdom of Golconda and Pegu was added.

Ta vernier, who visited Golconda and Hyderabad in 1645 and 1652, tells us that there were Portuguese and Armenian Catholics in those two towns. Father de Ca.stro was succeeded by Don Custodius de Pino, 30 April, 1669; the third vicar was Don Bisconti, 1696, but he died suddenly. After 1696 the vicars were all Discalced Carmelites. In 1720 the island of Bombay was included in the vicariate, which gradually ac- quired the name Vicariate of Bombay. It is said that some of the Carmelites expelled from Goa in 1707, for not swearing fidelity to the King of Portugal, evange- lized Moodgul. In 1784 the Christian community was harassed by the infidels: but the government of Hyder- abad ordered the Zemindars and local functionaries to prevent any injury to the Christians. Moodgul was supplied with Jesuit missionaries for the next fifty years. About the end of the eighteenth centurj', we find one named Velada at Raichur, another named Paradisi in Moodgul, and a third in Chitapur, named Lichetta. In 1784 Delhi and the northern portion of India was given to the prefect Apostolic of Thibet ; and the jurisdiction of the ^'icar Apostolic of the Great Mogul restricted to Carwar, Golconda, and the Deccan. In 1797 Don Pedro d'Alcantara di San Antonio, four- teenth vicar Apo.stolic, nominated in 1794, sent Father Joa.s Louis to Bijapur and Golconda. The Theatine Fathers were at Jamaon and Mesulipatam in 1834; many of them were native priests of the Brahmin caste from Malabar. From 1550 till 1832 the Diocese of Hyderabad had no regularly appointed missions, except tho.se of Moodgul, Masulipatam, and one other. Missionaries visited the countrj- from time to time, but never stayed long.

The first Vicar Apostolic of Madras (the vicariate was established 25 .\pril, 18.32) was Rev. Daniel O'Connor, O.S..\., who took pos.session in August. 1835. Moodgul, Raichur. Chitapur, Hyderabad, etc., belonged to his vicariate. In 1840 he resigned and was succeeded by Bishop Patrick Joseph Carew. afterwards transferred to the Vicariate of Calcutta. On 21 April, 1841, Dr. John Fennelly succeeded him.