What was Phylax?

Wimmer Wednesday. If this were a trivia game involving Saint Vincent, that would be a good question. Since it is Wimmer Wednesday, the answer might be something related to Boniface Wimmer or Saint Vincent. To be more specific, it is the name of his dog, taken from the Greek meaning watcher, guard or sentinel.

At one point he describes the growth of Saint Vincent in the early 1850s, less than a decade after his arrival, and the description includes mention of the dog, which he had as a student in Bavaria:

As for St. Vincent, there would be few people even in its immediate vicinity who, if asked, would know where it is, for it is neither a town nor a settlement, neither a village nor a castle. Rather, it is a fairly large hill upon which sits a nice church, which, however, unfortunately is not built very solidly. To the left of the church, in the direction of the nearby railroad, is a brick building, 130 feet long and 40 ft wide, 3 stories high. To the right there is a smaller house, also of brick, which is designated as a schoolhouse. Opposite the church, about 400 steps away, is a barn which is 126 feet long and 40 feet wide, and, according to American fashion, is 3 stories high on one side, and two on the other. It, too, is built of brick. Close by is a small log cabin, which was the residence of the first missionaries, and at the same time, the first church.

In the big, long house there reside 5 priests, an aged Irish missionary, and 16 clerical novices (of whom 3 will be ordained to the priesthood before the end of this month, after they make their profession). Then there are also 50 lay brothers, who work in the fields and meadows in spring, summer, and fall; and in winter they are busy with needle or awl, hammer or plane, etc., at different places in or around the house, except when the bell rings and they all quickly gather together. Additionally, there are 34 boys, some of whom are already sprouting beards, even though it has not been too long since they have started to decline mensa and conjugate amo. At other times there is singing and playing of various musical instruments, so that it gets rather noisy at times, and even our loyal Phylax, who does not have a lot of musical talent, runs off howling, with his tail between his legs. However, when the more practiced and more talented ones get together, they can already execute some rather beautiful music pieces for church.

—From Boniface Wimmer: Abbot of Saint Vincent in Pennsylvania