her Gregorio, definitor, Carmelite, and
Father Druelle, of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, and each gave
a favorable answer."

Father Hecker often said that he was fully determined to forego the
entire matter, go back to the Redemptorists, or drift whithersoever
Providence might will, if a single one of the men whom he thus
consulted had failed to approve him, or had so much as expressed a
doubt. He had inquired who were the most spiritually enlightened men
in Rome, and had been guided to the three religious whom he had
associated with Cardinal Barnabo and Archbishop Bedini to assist him
in coming to a decision.

The end came at last, and is announced in a letter of March 9, 1858:

"The Pope has spoken, and the American Fathers, including myself,
are dispensed from their vows. The decree is not in my hands, but
Cardinal Barnabo read it to me last evening. The General is not
mentioned in it, and no attention whatever is paid to his action in
my regard. The other Fathers are dispensed in view of the petition
they made, as the demand for separation as Redemptorists would
destroy the unity of the Congregation, and in the dispensation I am
associated with them. The Cardinal [Barnabo] is wholly content; says
that I must ask immediately for an audience to thank the Pope. . . .
Now let us thank God for our success."

On March 11: "We are left in entire liberty to act in the future as
God and our intelligence shall point the way. Let us be thankful to
God, humble towards each other and every one else, and more than ever
in earnest to do the work God demands at our hands. . . . The Pope
had before him all the documents, yours and mine and the General's,
and the letters from the Archbishops and Bishops of the United
States. Archbishop Bizarri (Secretary of the Congregation of Bishops
and Regulars) gave him a verbal report of their contents and read
some of the letters. Subsequently the Pope himself examined them and
came to the conclusion to grant us dispensation. But there was I in
the way, who had not petitioned for a dispensation. And why not?
Simply because Cardinal Barnabo would have been offended at me if I
had done so. . . . I could not go against the wishes of the cardinal.
A few days after he had given me his views, and with such warmth that
I could not act against them, he saw the Pope, who informed him of
his intention to give us dispensation and to set aside the decree of
my expulsion. On seeing the cardinal a