Note 365 — Chapter XXIV

The words of M. Olier on this subject are worthy of quotation: “The true and only superior of the seminary is the bishop, who, containing in himself the plenitude of that grace and spirit which is to be shed over the diocese, can alone impart to it its spirit and its life. What the head is to the natural body, the bishop must be in the mystical body of his clergy, and we should labour in vain did we try any other means of sanctifying the ecclesiastical colleges. However excellent may be the sanctity possessed by those eminent and virtuous personages who are to be found scattered through the dioceses, not having that peculiar and essential grace, that spirit of headship (cet esprit de chef), which is attached to the sacred character of the episcopate, they cannot attain the fulness of spirit and of life which is capable of filling and vivifying the whole body of the clergy: for, according to St. Paul, this must flow from the head to the members by means of those joints, veins, and nerves intended for the distribution and communication of life. And these channels communicating with the Fountain Head are nothing else than the priests united to their bishop, according to the primitive ordinance of Jesus Christ.”—Vie de M. Olier, t. 2. p. 354.