Charles Constantine Pise

Priest, poet, and prose writer, b. at Annapolis, Maryland, 22 Nov., 1801; d. at Brooklyn, New York, 26 May, 1866. He was educated at Georgetown College, and was for some time a member of the Society of Jesus. He taught rhetoric at Mount St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Md., where John Hughes, afterwards Archbishop of New York, was among his pupils. In 1825 he was ordained to the priesthood and officiated for some time at the cathedral in Baltimore. He afterwards served at St. Patrick’s Church, Washington, as assistant pastor, and while there was elected (11 Dec., 1832) chaplain to the United States Senate — the only Catholic priest hitherto appointed to that office. He was a personal friend of President Tyler. In 1848 he became a pastor of St. Peter’s church, New York; he had previously been assistant pastor in the same church under the vicar-general, Dr. Powers. In 1849 he was appointed pastor of St. Charles Borromeo’s, Brooklyn where he officiated until his death. Dr. Pise wrote several works in prose and verse, among them being: “A History of the Catholic Church (5 vols., 1829); “Father Rowland” (1829); “Alethia, or Letters on the Truth of Catholic Doctrines” (1845); “St. Ignatius and His First Companions” (1845); “Christianity and the Church” (1850). His “Clara”, a poem of the fifteenth century, and “Montezuma”, a drama, were never published. He contributed to the magazine literature of the day, was a distinguished lecturer and preacher, and a writer of Latin verse.