Culture

A page from Bishop Fenwick's journal recounting the Barber family's visit to him in New York. Pilot photo/courtesy Archdiocesan Archives

From the Archdiocesan Archives

The life and conversion of Father Virgil Barber

Friday, June 12, 2026Culture

Submit a Letter to the Editor

Within three months, between December 1816 and February 1817, baby Josephine was baptized by Father Fenwick, Virgil and Jerusha made their first Communion, and the parents had expressed to Father Fenwick their wish to enter religious life.

On June 19, 1823, the cornerstone was laid for what would become St. Mary's Church in Claremont, New Hampshire, the first Catholic Church in the state. Erected by Father Virgil Barber, SJ, the church still stands as a testament to the enduring faith of this priest and the early Catholics of New Hampshire.
Though he became an eminent figure in what was then the Diocese of Boston, the life of Father Barber began under very different circumstances. Born in 1782 to an Episcopal priest, Daniel Barber, who had himself converted from Congregationalism, Virgil would follow in his father's footsteps and became an Episcopal minister in 1807. In their "History of the Archdiocese of Boston," Lord, Harrington, and Sexton characterize the Episcopal Rev. Virgil Barber as "an earnest pastor" and "a talented teacher," who "exhibited an unusual interest in theological questions." Sister M. Josephine, cited in an article about Virgil Barber and his wife, Jerusha (Booth) Barber, published in The Sacred Heart Review on Sept. 7, 1912, said that "night after night my parents used to sit up together, discussing points of doctrine and reading works of controversy."

Rev. Barber was, in this chapter of his life, a family man. Sister Josephine was the youngest of his five children with Jerusha, following elder daughters Mary, Abigail, Susan, and son Samuel. Sister Josephine is further quoted in The Sacred Heart Review, describing how Rev. Barber was "so perfectly devoted to (Jerusha) and his children that he found no happiness out of his family." But change was in the air for these parents, who were otherwise "quite untouched by any doubts as to their religion," according to Lord et al.
Virgil seems to have preceded Jerusha on the journey towards Catholicism, thanks to books lent to him by his father, Daniel, which had in turn been lent to him by Bishop Cheverus of Boston. Daniel Barber, too, would convert to Catholicism later in his life. Virgil also read a "Novena to St. Francis Xavier," which inspired such a passion that he originally wanted to name his son Samuel, born in 1814, after the saint. Jerusha dissented, per Lord et al., asserting "no Popish names in our family."
Around this time, despite his leanings towards Catholicism and doubts of his Protestant faith, Virgil moved the family from Waterbury, Connecticut, to become head of an Episcopal academy and parish outside Utica, New York. While this position afforded the Barbers a level of comfort and security, Virgil was still discerning the Catholic faith, and he worried that his conversion would jeopardize his family's future. Nevertheless, in 1816, he met with Father Benedict Fenwick, future Bishop of Boston, and his conversion began in earnest.
Following Father Barber's departure from his Episcopal community in Utica, the family traveled to New York to stay with Father Fenwick. Fenwick, recounting Father Barber's life later in his journal, describes how he "received them with open arms," taking care to see that their affairs were in order. Writing of himself in the third person, Fenwick characterized it "as one of the happiest days of his life in which he had received and entertained these Martyrs of the Faith." Within three months, between December 1816 and February 1817, baby Josephine was baptized by Father Fenwick, Virgil and Jerusha made their first Communion, and the parents had expressed to Father Fenwick their wish to enter religious life.
Thus began the next chapter for the Barber family. When Father Fenwick was called to serve as president of Georgetown College, he made arrangements for the Barbers there. Virgil was admitted as a novice in the Society of Jesus, and Samuel "as a pupil (in) the College to remain there until completely educated," Fenwick recounted in his journal. Jerusha similarly became a novice in the Convent of the Visitation, and Mary, Abigail, and Susan became boarding students there. The baby, Josephine, was cared for by Father Fenwick's mother, and soon, Virgil began his novitiate in Rome. Though these were all considered decisions, and willingly made, it was not an easy time for the parents. The Sacred Heart Review recounted that Virgil was "overwhelmed with grief" en route to Rome, and Jerusha abruptly left the convent, worried about her young children.
But they persevered. Jerusha returned to the convent and the children remained safe. The Sacred Heart Review cited this declaration of faith to her children: "I felt the confidence that Almighty God would take care of you all; not because you were mine, but because you were not mine or any human being's, but His."
This faith guided all five Barbers forward. Jerusha took the veil in the Visitation Convent and Virgil was ordained in 1822 by Bishop Cheverus on, fittingly, the feast of St. Francis Xavier. Father Barber soon returned to Claremont, where he began evangelizing local Protestants and fundraising for a new church and school. In the bishop's journal, Father Fenwick reflected that "the faith has taken deep root (in Claremont), and it is now a growing congregation" of "almost entirely converts," like their pastor.
The three older daughters, Mary, Abigail, and Susan, would go on to become Ursuline sisters: Mary in Charlestown at Mt. Benedict, and Abigail and Susan in Canada. Samuel, after finishing his studies at Georgetown, became a Jesuit priest like his father, and Josephine eventually joined the Order of the Visitation like her mother. The Sacred Heart Review quotes a letter from Father Barber to his daughter Abigail as evidence of "the undying love that existed in this strangely separated family." The family continued to exchange gifts and letters and visited each other when possible. Father Barber wrote, "To see my dear family . . . Possess the grace to despise the world and the vanities of time, and live only for eternity, leaves me without a wish this side of the grave."
As we venture on vacation this summer to New England locales, let us remember the work of those who pioneered the faith in the early days of the Diocese of Boston. If your summer travel plans involve New Hampshire, perhaps they include a trip to Claremont to the unique brick church, on Old Church Road, that embodies the faith of Father Barber, his family, and his flock.

REBECCA MAITLAND IS AN ARCHIVIST OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON.