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{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox artwork
| image_file = Corby Statue.jpg
| painting_alignment = Right
| image_size = 300 px
| title = Chaplain Corby of Gettysburg
| artist = [[Samuel Murray (sculptor)|Samuel Murray]]
| year = 1911
| type = [[Bronze]]
| height_imperial = 110
| width_imperial = 53
| length_imperial = 53
| dimensions =
| imperial_unit = in
| city = [[University of Notre Dame]],<br>[[Notre Dame, Indiana]], United States
| museum =
| coordinates = {{coord|41.702246|-86.240749|region:US-IN_type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| owner =
}}

'''''Chaplain Corby of Gettysburg''''' is an [[outdoor sculpture]] by American artist [[Samuel Murray (sculptor)|Samuel Murray]] (1869–1941). It is located on the [[University of Notre Dame]] campus, and is owned by the University. The sculpture, made of [[bronze]] and [[limestone]], depicts [[William Corby|Father William Corby]] giving [[absolution]] to soldiers at the [[Battle of Gettysburg]].

==Description==
''Chaplain Corby of Gettysburg'' is an outdoor sculpture in front of Corby Hall on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.<ref>{{Cite web |title=When Father Corby Gave General Absolution to 530 Men at Gettysburg |url=https://www.ncregister.com/blog/when-fr-corby-gave-general-absolution-to-530-men-at-gettysburg |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=NCR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-02 |title=William Corby, the Fighting Irish priest of Notre Dame |url=https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/william-corby-fighting-irish-priest-notre-dame |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=IrishCentral.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Notre Dame’s “Fair Catch Corby” |url=https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Article/Notre-Dames-Fair-Catch-Corby-137616/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=IrishIllustrated.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The sculpture depicts Father Corby giving general absolution to the soldiers of the [[Union Army]]'s [[Irish Brigade (U.S.)|Irish Brigade]] on July 2, 1863.<ref name="GAR">{{cite web | author=Notre Dame Scholastic| year=1907 | title= "Notre Dame G. A. R. Post No. 569." | work=Notre Dame Scholastic | url=http://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0041/VOL_0041_ISSUE_0014.pdf | access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref> The sculpture is a replica of Samuel Murray's ''Father William Corby'' on [[Cemetery Ridge]] on the [[Gettysburg Battlefield]]. The bronze figure of Father Corby stands atop a limestone boulder brought to Notre Dame from the Gettysburg National Battlefield. The work was dedicated on May 30, 1911 as a part of a Notre Dame [[Memorial Day|Decoration Day]] celebration.<ref name="Students">{{cite web | author=Notre Dame Scholastic| year=1911 | title= "The Students' Share in the Corby Statue." | work=Notre Dame Scholastic | url=http://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0044/VOL_0044_ISSUE_0034.pdf | access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref>

==Historical Information==
[[File:Father-Corby.jpg|thumb|left|''Father William Corby'' (1910), by Samuel Murray, [[Gettysburg Battlefield]]. The statue stands atop the same boulder on which Father Corby stood while granting absolution to troops on the second day of the battle.]]
===Father Corby at Gettysburg===
During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Father William Corby was chaplain of the [[88th New York Infantry]], one of the five original regiments in the Union Army's [[Irish Brigade (Union Army)|Irish Brigade]]. On July 2, 1863, the [[Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day|second day of the Battle of Gettysburg]], the Irish Brigade was preparing to enter battle when Father Corby stood on a boulder and began giving the soldiers general absolution.<ref name="Soldier">{{cite web | author=John F. O'Hara| year=1910 | title= "The Soldier Priest at Gettysburg." | work=Notre Dame Scholastic | url=http://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0044/VOL_0044_ISSUE_0008.pdf | access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref> As Father Corby recounted in his memoir, ''Memoirs of Chaplain Life'': "That general absolution was intended for all – in quantum possum – not only for our brigade, but for all, North or South, who were susceptible of it and who were about to appear before their Judge."<ref name="Corby">{{cite book | last =Corby | first =William | title =Memoirs of Chaplain Life: Three Years with the Irish Brigade in the Army of the Potomac | publisher =La Monte, O'Donnell, & Co., Printers | year =1893 | location =Chicago | pages =[https://archive.org/details/memoirschaplain00corbuoft/page/n197 184] | url =https://archive.org/details/memoirschaplain00corbuoft}}</ref>

The scene of the absolution is represented in Paul Wood's 1891 painting, ''Absolution Under Fire'', which is on display at Notre Dame's [[Snite Museum of Art]]. The painting helped shape historical understanding of the absolution as a dramatic, heroic, and sacred event.<ref name="Wood">{{cite web | author=Andrew Mach| year=2015 | title= "Paul Wood's Absolution Under Fire: A Case Study in Religious Memory and Sacred Imagery." | work=Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism | url=http://usreligion.blogspot.com/2015/06/paul-woods-absolution-under-fire-case.html | access-date=December 8, 2016}}</ref>

===Gettysburg Sculpture===
[[St. Clair Augustine Mulholland|General St. Clair Mulholland]], president of the Gettysburg Memorial Commission and a member of the Irish Brigade, began the movement for the installation of a tribute to Corby at Gettysburg as early as the 1890s. He did not manage to raise much money through his initial efforts. In January 1909, The Catholic Alumni Sodality of Philadelphia proposed the creation of a monument to Father Corby on the Gettysburg National Battlefield. The [[archbishop]]s of New York City, [[Philadelphia]], and [[Baltimore]] also supported the proposal.<ref name="Kohl_p398"/> They sought contributions from Notre Dame alumni and veterans of the battle to pay for the work, with the cost estimated at $7,000.<ref name="McMahon">{{cite web | author=J.B. McMahon| year=1909 | title= "Monument to Father Corby." | work=Notre Dame Scholastic | url=http://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0042/VOL_0042_ISSUE_0019.pdf | access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref>

These groups commissioned Samuel Murray, a sculptor from Philadelphia, to complete the project.<ref name="Soldier">{{cite web | author=John F. O'Hara| year=1910 | title= "The Soldier Priest at Gettysburg." | work=Notre Dame Scholastic | url=http://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0044/VOL_0044_ISSUE_0008.pdf | access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref> After the death of Mulholland in February 1910, Henry A. Daily of the Catholic Sodality of Philadelphia took control of the project. Murray completed a first model of the project on March 3, 1910, but the committee denied the model, as Murray depicted Father Corby in military officer's attire, rather than chaplain's attire. The final sculpture, ''Father William Corby'', was dedicated on October 29, 1910.<ref name="Kohl">{{cite book | last =Kohl | first =Lawrence Frederick | title = Memoirs of Chaplain Life: Three Years with the Irish Brigade in the Army of the Potomac | publisher =Fordham University Press | year =1992 | location =New York | pages =[https://archive.org/details/memoirsofchaplai00lawr/page/399 399] | url =https://archive.org/details/memoirsofchaplai00lawr| url-access =registration | isbn =0823213870 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=FOSMOE |first=MARGARET |title=Father Corby’s blessing |url=https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/news/local/2013/07/01/father-corbys-blessing/45750707/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=South Bend Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

On the 25th, 50th, 100th, and 150th anniversary of the absolution, priests from Notre Dame, including Father [[Theodore Hesburgh]] and Father [[John I. Jenkins|John Jenkins]], celebrated the [[Mass (Catholic Church)|Catholic Mass]] at Gettysburg. The Notre Dame Club of [[Gettysburg, Pennsylvania|Gettysburg]] organized the 150th anniversary Mass at the statue.<ref name="Mass">{{cite web | author=Michael Garvey| year=2013 | title= "Notre Dame commemorates Gettysburg anniversary with Mass." | work=University of Notre Dame News | url=http://news.nd.edu/news/40925-gettysburg/ | access-date=December 6, 2016}}</ref>

===Acquisition of Sculpture at Notre Dame===
On March 10, 1911, the residents of Corby Hall submitted a proposal to the University administration to obtain a replica of ''Father William Corby'' in Gettysburg to "call attention to the historic merits of a great alumnus and official of the University." The proposal stated that the residents would collect the necessary $1,500 from members of the student body. The residents of Corby Hall would also oversee the sculpture's installation and unveiling. University president Father [[John W. Cavanaugh]], who attended the dedication of the sculpture in Gettysburg, endorsed the effort.<ref name="Statue">{{cite web | author=Notre Dame Scholastic| year=1911 | title= "Statue to Father Corby." | work=Notre Dame Scholastic | url=http://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0044/VOL_0044_ISSUE_0023.pdf | access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref> The student newspaper, [[Scholastic (Notre Dame publication)|''Notre Dame Scholastic'']] published weekly fundraising updates with the names of each donor for the following three months. By June 1911, the Corby Monument Fund raised $848 with 132 donations from students, alumni, and others. The University funded the remaining sum.<ref name="Fund">{{cite web | author=Notre Dame Scholastic| year=1911 | title= "Corby Monument Fund." | work=Notre Dame Scholastic | url=http://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0044/VOL_0044_ISSUE_0036.pdf | access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

The University held a Decoration Day unveiling event on May 30, 1911 with addresses from General [[John C. Black]], former Commander-in-Chief of the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] and Father John P. Chadwick.<ref name="Program">{{cite web | author=Notre Dame Scholastic| year=1911 | title= "Memorial-Day Program." | work=Notre Dame Scholastic | url=http://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0044/VOL_0044_ISSUE_0031.pdf | access-date=November 23, 2016}}</ref>

==Artist==
{{Main article|Samuel Murray (sculptor)}}
The Catholic Alumni Sodality of Philadelphia chose Samuel Murray, a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] and son of Irish immigrants, to sculpt the piece. Murray had been the student of [[Thomas Eakins]] and was one of the preeminent sculptors in Philadelphia at the time.<ref name="Kohl_p398"/>

==Condition==
The area surrounding the sculpture is annually decorated with flowers and flags on July 2 to commemorate the anniversary of Father Corby's absolution.<ref name="Anny">{{cite web | year=2013 | title= "Father Corby statue marks Gettysburg anniversary." | work=University of Notre Dame News | url=http://news.nd.edu/news/40997-remembering-gettysburg-at-father-corby-statue/ | access-date=December 6, 2016}}</ref> The sculpture is popularly known as "Fair Catch Corby."<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Daniel |title=Notre Dame Football: You Might Be a Fighting Irish Fan If... |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1731509-notre-dame-football-you-might-be-a-fighting-irish-fan-if |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=Bleacher Report |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of public art in St. Joseph County, Indiana]]
* [[President of the University of Notre Dame|List of presidents of the University of Notre Dame]]
* [[Samuel Murray (sculptor)|Samuel Murray]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|refs=
<ref name="Kohl_p398">{{cite book | last =Kohl | first =Lawrence Frederick | title = Memoirs of Chaplain Life: Three Years with the Irish Brigade in the Army of the Potomac | publisher =Fordham University Press | year =1992 | location =New York | pages =[https://archive.org/details/memoirsofchaplai00lawr/page/398 398] | url =https://archive.org/details/memoirsofchaplai00lawr| url-access =registration | isbn =0823213870 }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* [http://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/ Notre Dame Scholastic Archives]
* [https://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm Gettysburg National Military Park]
* [http://sniteartmuseum.nd.edu/ Snite Museum of Art]
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/150022078@N08/31383495771/ Chaplain Corby of Gettysburg Image]

{{University of Notre Dame}}

[[Category:1911 sculptures]]
[[Category:Outdoor sculptures in Notre Dame]]
[[Category:University of Notre Dame Public Art Collection]]

Chaplain Corby of Gettysburg - Revision history

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