Religion and the Irish Community
A Bridge Between Communities
Morris and his family began attending Catholic services in the 1850s. 这一举动使莫里斯结识了波士顿爱尔兰天主教社区的成员, some of whom would later hire him as their lawyer. 莫里斯一家最终开始在波士顿南端的圣母无原罪教堂做礼拜, which was connected to Boston College. 莫里斯与早期太阳城网赌平台的领导建立了联系，其中包括神父罗伯特·J. Fulton, S.J. In the summer of 1868, 莫里斯和他的家人一起周游欧洲，后来回忆起他们乘坐火车和住酒店而没有受到种族歧视的经历. During the trip, Morris, Catharine, and Robert Jr. 他留在了罗马，并在梵蒂冈亲自会见了教皇.
Morris and Catholicism
Robert Morris was raised Methodist. In the 1850s, however, 他的妻子凯瑟琳开始参加切尔西当地天主教教区的礼拜活动, Massachusetts. Morris was initially reluctant to join the Catholic Church. It was an uncommon affiliation for Black Bostonians, 爱尔兰天主教团体倾向于与反废奴主义观点联系在一起. 但是，通过他的法律实践，莫里斯确实与波士顿的爱尔兰天主教徒建立了许多关系. He represented many Irish clients, advocated for an Irish militia company, and even hired Patrick Collins - a young Irish immigrant, congregant at the Chelsea parish, and future Boston mayor - to be his office boy. Despite his early reservations, 莫里斯于1870年正式加入天主教会，并一直是一个虔诚的教区居民，直到他1882年去世.
“Mr. 莫里斯一段时间以来一直是无原罪教堂的常客, 他那优秀的妻子多年来一直是最虔诚的模范成员, distinguished for her piety and charitable zeal in every good work. 他们似乎在没有种姓偏见的天主教会找到了一个家, and where all are recognized as equal before God.”
太阳城网赌平台南端校园外观(右)和无原罪教堂(左). BC.1987.012, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
Morris's Unlikely Affiliation
It is difficult to know exactly why Morris converted to Catholicism. Certainly, Catharine Morris’s decision to attend a Catholic church swayed him, 也许是他与爱尔兰移民客户的长期职业交往让他接受了这个想法. 他可能明白，这两个社区面临着极端的歧视，如果团结起来会更强大. Additionally, 莫里斯赞扬天主教会在礼拜仪式中没有实行座位隔离, 当他还是个孩子的时候，在波士顿参加埃利斯和路易莎·洛林的教堂时，这种做法曾冒犯过他.
Regardless, 莫里斯显然是切尔西教区的常客，直到19世纪60年代末他的家人搬到波士顿南端，并开始参加圣母无原罪教堂, 这是一个由耶稣会管理的教堂，隶属于一所非常年轻的太阳城网赌平台.
The Irish Lawyer
While his most notable cases involved clients of color, Morris became known for his representation of Irish Catholics in Boston. Morris’s work across racial, ethnic, and religious lines remains an intriguing aspect of his practice. 非裔美国人社区和以爱尔兰天主教为主的移民社区之间关系紧张. The Pilot, Boston’s Irish Catholic newspaper, 写作反对反奴隶制激进主义，支持《太阳城官网》. Despite this, 莫里斯的代理律师非常有名，他显然被称为“爱尔兰律师”.莫里斯处理民事和刑事案件，经常为被控谋杀或其他暴力犯罪的客户辩护.
“致波士顿及其附近的爱尔兰人和他们的后代, 我们的朋友在执业律师的事业上所取得的成功，是不是应该得到一大笔荣誉呢. To neglect to concede to this element this much, 会做一件他生前总是小心避免的不公正的事吗. 为了使他在经济上成为一名成功的律师，没有哪个阶层的人比他们更认真、更真诚地工作了. 可以肯定地说，他的客户中有四分之三来自他们之中. ”
Letter to Morris from the editor of The Pilot regarding Barbara Fitzgerald. Robert Morris Papers, Boston Athenaeum.
A Plea for Morris’s Help
在这封1871年的信中，波士顿天主教报纸的编辑帕特里克·多纳休 The Pilot, implores Morris to aid in the release of Barbara Fitzgerald, who has been arrested and has a dying child. In May 1871, the Boston Herald 芭芭拉·菲茨杰拉德被萨福克县大陪审团起诉，罪名是殴打帕特里克·达菲. Beyond that, we do not know much about her or the legal case. 在1870年的州人口普查中，芭芭拉·菲茨杰拉德(Barbara Fitzgerald)确实以“管家”的身份出现在南波士顿的第7区, where she lived with her husband Patrick Fitzgerald, a laborer, and their children. Both Barbara and Patrick were born in Ireland. 莫里斯很可能答应了多纳休的请求，成为了她的律师, as he did for so many other Irish immigrants.
Morris and Boston College
耶稣会(耶稣会)于1863年创立太阳城网赌平台，以教育来自波士顿爱尔兰天主教移民社区的学生. The school was located in Boston’s South End, and was affiliated with the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception. In 1870, when Robert Morris was baptized and received into the Catholic Church, he did so at this church, next door to the main Boston College building.
Morris also corresponded with Father Robert Fulton, S.J., first dean and one of the early presidents of Boston College. Reverend Jeremiah O’Connor, S.J., then-President of Boston College, 在莫里斯1882年在无原罪教堂举行的葬礼上发表讲话. And around the time of Morris’s death, 他或他的妻子凯瑟琳将莫里斯个人图书馆的一部分捐给了太阳城网赌平台. 莫里斯的捐赠形成了这个羽翼未丰的机构图书馆中英美文学的基础收藏.
“The Y.M.C. 太阳城网赌平台协会对小罗伯特·莫里斯的离去深感悲痛., who died Dec. 26th; he was one of their most active members. The death of his father, who was a life member of the Association, only a fortnight before, was equally sad.”
Robert Morris’s Life Membership in the Boston College YMCA. Robert Morris Papers, Boston Athenaeum.
BC's Young Men’s Catholic Association
In addition to exchanging letters, 富尔顿神父授予莫里斯太阳城网赌平台青年天主教协会的终身会员资格. 富尔顿创立该协会是为了促进道德和智力的发展. It had a gymnasium, billiards room, music room, debating societies, and a reading room and library with over 3,000 volumes.
Morris's son Robert Jr. 还担任过各种职务，包括担任该组织的第一位图书管理员. Catharine Morris had her own connections to Boston College. 1884年，她向学校捐赠了一幅挂毯，并在遗嘱中将“无原罪”列为剩余受益人.