Memorial engraving in the Abbey Church

The Abbey’s Church of St. Gregory the Great contains, engraved into the bases of two of its side altars, distinctive dedications to two men. Most prominent, the Altar of Our Lady in the sanctuary requests prayers for “William V. Griffin + 1958.” In the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, located clockwise to its left, on the other side of the south entrance, one finds an altar base bearing the name “Charles T. Fisher, Jr. + 1958,” similarly requesting prayer. For the Lenten articles of our “Archives” series, we will take these requests to heart, remembering our Lenten interest in returning to sincere and persevering prayer. In that spirit, we also hope to provide greater insight into who these two men were, reminding ourselves of their importance to us, of their own witness of faith, and of our enduring gratitude for that witness. In this issue, we will first turn to Mr. Griffin, returning in a later issue to Mr. Fisher.

Coincidentally, around the time of the church’s dedication, a beloved teacher named William Griffin Kelly died, his name being attached to one of the awards given by the School, and the casual observer may assume the Marian altar dedication refers to him. The name, however, contains the middle initial “V.” and omits the family name Kelly. This dedication is for someone else. And what in prior years we could have learned through the living memory of the community, we now must discover in other ways: through friends and alumni, through coincidental revelations or connections, or through archival research. Who was this “William V. Griffin”? How did he come to be related to Portsmouth, particularly to the extent that he would be so centrally commemorated in the construction of the new church at the end of the 1950’s? He is mentioned in the monastery newsletter’s necrology in the year of his death, but little mention of him appears elsewhere. This brief exploration, relying on internet search engines and monastery archives (and hunches), points to a remarkable individual, both in his accomplishments as well as in his dedication to the Church. While this may be speculation, the records also seem to suggest a man of humility, familiar with hard work undertaken behind the scenes, craving neither recognition nor reputation. Online images of him are scarce, and his life story does not immediately present itself, yet once one scratches slightly below the surface, one discovers a vein of influence, a consistent presence in leadership roles in counsel, direction, and patronage.
Griffin in his officeThe History for the Class of 1912, Yale College provides succinct early biographical information on William Vincent Griffin. Known to all as “Bill”, he was born January 1, 1886, in Middletown, Connecticut. His father, John Henry Griffin, also hailed from Middletown, graduated from Fordham, and developed in Middletown the firm J.H. Griffin & Co. After attending Middletown High School, the younger Griffin graduated from Yale Law School, interestingly, in 1908, four years before graduating from Yale College. The History lists his prolific activities: “He was chairman of the News, chairman of the Senior Council, chairman of the Freshman Reception Committee, chairman of the Omega Lambda Chi Committee, a member of the Junior Prom, and Class Day committees, editor of the Banner Pot Pourri, vice-president of Yale Dining Club, president of the School and Sectional Clubs, and a member of the City Government and Cosmopolitan Clubs. Delta Kappa Epsilon. Scroll and Key.” Additionally, we cannot overlook that in the various “class votes” listed, he faired remarkably well: second in “most to be admired”; second in “hardest worker”; second in “done most for Yale”; first in “most likely to succeed.” Several other items stand out in his biographical information, beyond the prominence of his prominence. The dates tell a sad story of loss: of his mother, Katherine Stack, in 1900 when he was fourteen years old, followed seven years later, when in 1907 at the age of twenty-one he lost his father. This may explain his age, being relatively old for the class of 1912, who were typically born 1889-91, while Griffin in 1886 – it may be that family obligations delayed his matriculation.
William Griffin in Yale 1912 HistoryThe obituary for his wife, Mrs. Isabel Carden Griffin, who predeceased her husband by four years, mentions no children, which would explain the absence of School alumni connected to this history. But this brief research into their lives immediately suggests for the Griffins a three-fold link to this monastery. The first can be noted in Griffin receiving the honor of being named a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, a position indicative of an individual who has been particularly significant in the support of Catholic institutions. Isabel Griffin, meanwhile, had served as a director of the St. Paul's Guild in New York, a group assisting clergy in need, particularly Protestant converts to Catholicism. She had also received from Francis Cardinal Spellman, archbishop of New York, the Lady Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, an award for prominent Catholic lay persons.
Matisse-designed Chasuble donated to MoMA
in memory of Isabel Carden Griffin (1955)But how did this dedicated and generous Catholic couple become linked to this particular Catholic institution? While this question remains unanswered explicitly, we quickly notice vivid evidence of two further likely connections. First, and perhaps primary, there is Yale University, which had been the alma mater of several members of the monastic community, including Dom Damian Kearney and Dom Leo van Winkle. Mr. Griffin, class of 1912, had been early on the head of fundraising for the creation of a Catholic Student Center at Yale. Secondly, and related, we can suggest the Manhattan Catholic community, within which Portsmouth Priory sustained a significant reputation, a relation strengthened by its proximity to Newport with its longstanding New York summer symbiosis. Also important here is the monastery’s engaged interest in the world of art and culture, with the presence of Doms Wilfred Bayne, Hilary Martin, and Peter Sidler. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin had long been supporters of art, connected to the group creating the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. Archival research reveals, for example, correspondence between the Griffins and Alfred H. Barr, Jr., founding director of the MoMA, around the time of Mrs. Griffin’s death in 1954 (also the year of Matisse’s death). Mr. Griffin, in 1955, donated to the museum in her memory a chasuble designed by Henri Matisse. They are also listed as donors, as early as 1920, of the “Brady Memorial Window: Christ Sending Forth the Apostles” at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Bernardsville, New Jersey, near their home in Peapack (they also maintained an apartment on East 79th Street in Manhattan). The construction of Portsmouth’s new church, drawing in the likes of Belluschi, Lippold, and Nakashima, would certainly have made it onto the radar of Mr. Griffin in the late 1950’s.
William V. Griffin addressing
the English-Speaking Union William V. Griffin’s business career would seem to confirm his Yale classmates’ sense that he would likely succeed. TIME Magazine, in its “Milestones” for January 27, 1958, mentioned his passing, providing a concise and understated list of accomplishments in his curriculum vitae: “William Vincent Griffin, 72, longtime vice chairman of the board of directors of TIME, INC.; of a heart attack; in Manhattan. After Yale, where he took an LL.B. (’08) and a B.A. (’12), wise, devoted Bill Griffin started a business career without any sign of a silver spoon, became a trustee of the estate of James C. Brady and chairman of the board of the Brady Security & Realty Corp.; invested in Chrysler in the ‘20s, was soon a member of the board of directors of the Bank of Manhattan, Continental Oil Co. and more than a dozen other large industrial and financial corporations. Wartime (“dollar-a-year”) special assistant to the administrator of the lend-lease program, later director of its British Empire branch, prominent Roman Catholic Layman Griffin was longtime (1947-57) president of the English-Speaking Union and co-chairman of the American Fund for Westminster Abbey, was cited by the Vatican (Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great), once headed the Yale University Catholic Center and Chapel fund-raising committee. In 1947 President Truman awarded him the President’s Certificate of Merit, and in 1952 Queen Elizabeth II made him honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire.”
Greenacres in Peapack, New Jersey, home of William and Isabel GriffinThe further one digs into the life of Bill Griffin, the more one discovers honors and charitable giving. As this article goes to print, several additional citations have appeared to supplement this inadequately researched account. After his wife’s passing in 1954, he donated in her memory a manor house with 30 acres near Alton, England (1956). He also created a long enduring scholarship for the English-Speaking Union in her name (1955). Reaching further back, there was also an earlier honor bestowed by the Vatican, in 1929, as “Chamberlain of the Cape and Sword.” For us at Portsmouth, his name prominently placed in our own church speaks volumes of his importance to the construction of that beautiful edifice. We discover in William Vincent Griffin, it seems, one who has set a very high bar toward which all of us might strive. Indeed, with this remarkable set of awards and accomplishments and this history of faith, we might conclude by wondering who needs to pray for whom. But we might also suggest that we encounter in him one who could not be more pleased than to find his name engraved at the base of Our Lady’s altar, constantly reminding us of the need of prayer.

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