ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2647, 1 November 1909, Page 3

ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH.

VISITATION OF BISHOP LENIHAN Special services were held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church yesterday, oil the occasion of. the triennial episcopal visitation of His Lordship Bishop Lenihaii. The services were all exceedingly well attended, and were most interesting. A great number attended early mass at 6.45 a.m., and over 120 persons partook of Holy Communion. Again at the 7.30 a.m. service, there was a large congregation, and at 10 a.m., .when the formal reception of the Bishop took , place, the church was crowded to the doors. His Lordship was received at the door by the priest, and conducted through the church to the sanctuary, the choir singing the hymn “Behold a High Priest.” Mass was sung by the Rev. Father Tigar, 0.P., alid the choir rendered portions of Weaver’s M ass in G. After the mass ivas over, the visitation began, the Bishop reminding the people of his coming as ! overseer of the dioceso to see how the I parish is being administered. Having expressed his complete satisfaction at the state of affairs existing in the parish, lie notified the people of Iris hopes for their assistance in helping to pay off the debt on the Auckland Cathedral, ' the mother church of the diocese. This, lie said, was a right a bishop had, to ask of every parish in the diocese, but although there would be no special collection, ho_trusted the parishioners of Gisborne would rejoice with him in the .’completion of the cathedral, and help to clear off the remaining debt. The Bishop also spoke at length regarding the of an endowment fund in connection with a system of Catholic education throughout the diocese, hoping, he stated, in due course of time to have all schools free. Ho would like each parish to join with him in the formation of a committee to look after the interests of the endowment scheme, and on some day to ho appointed a special collection would he made in aid of the scheme. At the conclusion of his address, the Bishop administered the sacrament or confirmation. There wore ninety-six candidates presented, including a number of adults, but the majority were children. After speaking at length on tlie nature of the ceremonial, and catechising the children to see if they were well trained. His Lordship concluded the service with the benediction of the blessed sacrament. In the evening the church was again filled to overflowing, the congregation including many persons of other denominations. Quite a number of people were unable to gain admission the building, and were obliged to remain outside in the church grounds. Vespers were sung by the Rev;. Father Tigar, 0.P., and the following items of' special musrn were rendered by r.'t augmented choir: “Ave Maris Stella” (Melville); “Salve Regina’’ (Hammcral; “0 Salutaris” (Terris); “Litany” (Turner); “Tantuin Ergo” (Rossi). THE BISHOP’S ADDRESS. His Lordship the Bishop said that lie had been specially requested to relate to the (people his experiences while attending the Eucharistic Congress in London, to give an account of the marvellous ceremonials at Borne on the occasion of the jubilee of His Holiness the Pope, and also to toll them of the results of the late congress in Sydney, New South Wales. He would necessarily have to he brief, but trusted that his talk would, be of some interest and l>enefit to them, as what ho had seen and heard had opened his mind to the glory and grandeur of their Mother Church. Every ten years, explained His Lordship, a bishop is bound to go to Rome to report'on'the state of bis> diocese. He has a list of 64 questions to answer, all referring to the diocese, its progress, its numb-.' of parishes, the schools, the Orders , of men and women engaged in teaching and religious work, etc. The order of the visitation is that the bishop presents his to the Cardinal (Prefect of the Propaganda, and is dulyj notified of • Inis private audience with the Pope, who receives the information from his secretary, and is thus able to converse on the various points with all the details at his disposal:-‘ In November last- he went to Romo, and after presenting his credentials was received in audience by the Pope, who was most gracious in his dealings with the Bishop, and sent a blessing to all his parishioners. Soon afterwards be was proud to receive a warm enlogium from the Cardinal Prefect of Propaganda, on the very satisfactory progress that had taken place in (he diocese in the last ten years. He was not due in Borne until next year, but on account of the Eucharistic Congress, the jubilee, and the FrancoBritish Exhibition, he had chosen this year as an opportune time to make his Visit. On his way across the United States'he stopped at Baltimore, for the consecration of a bishop, thirty bishops assisting in- the' ceremonial. A. week i a ter. he was in Now York,, where ho found the whole city greatly interested in a procession of 60,000 men that had taken place just prior to his arrival. This was on the occasion of the celebration of the Catholic Church jubilee,and the great crowd of men had determined to march in procession to show what they were, and to point out the faith that was in them. It was a glorious procession, under the care and guidance of one of the principal officers of the United States Army. While in New York he had the privilege of addressing, on a Sunday afternoon, a meeting of 400 men. members of the Society of the Holy Name, an organisation founded by the Dominican Fathers and numbering no less than. 20,000 men, who were bound to utter no blasphemy nor to lot any wrong enter their business. After crossing to England, and prior to the Eucharistic Congress, he had time to go over Ireland, where he visited the principal colleges, and at All Hallowes ordained 22 deacons to the priesthood. Later he entered'on a pleasant excursion throughout the island, travelling over 1000 mli.es by motor, accompanied by Mr Joseph Devlin, M.P., anch a party of friends. At the Eucharistic Congress in London, six cardinals and nearly one hundred bishops wore present; as well as an innumerable army of priests. For a week the great city appeared to he given over to the Catholics, who were there from all parts of the Continent in great numbers. The Congress lasted four days, and the work was most fascinating. When all were gathered together it was a glorious sight. Cardinal Vanntelli, the Papal delegate, was present, and was presented with an address of welcome. He replied in so nor us Latin, expressing his appreciation of the honor done to -him . by His Holiness Pope Pins X., and prayed that peace and prosperity might always attend tho British Empire. There was a crowded audience in tho Albert Hall on the Saturday night, and it was bore that : it was first made known, to the horror arid amazement of the vast gathering, that the .proposed Eucharistic procession had been publicly prohibited. “It was an awful, thing,” continued His Lordship, ,“to stand in that hall arid hear the groans of anger and dismay from those present when they learned that the procession had been

prohibited by Mr. Asquith and the party in charge.” Proceeding, Bishop Lenihan referred to the iact that ■ the Salvation Army are at all times allowed to parade the street, and the unemployed with their banners arc permitted to go into* procession, and nothing was said, but when the Catholics proposed to walk through the streets to do honor, to their Lord and Master, it was too much, anil they were prohibited from doing so by. what is termed the Liberal party in Parliament 1 From all over the country people flocked to London to take part in, .and witness, the procession, only to bo doomed to disappointment, although ‘most excellent arrangements had been made for the conduct of the procession by the Commissioner ;of Police, who had arranged a forco of 800 policemen. ■However, a procession did take place, although the Blessed Sacrament was not carried. It was witnessed by between 120,000 and 150,000 people, and the utmost good order prevailed. They marched to tlm cathedral, where they received the blessing of Cardinal Vanutelli. In October, 700 persons, in a pilgrimage, moved on to Rome—an interesting journey. They were all. received in audience by the Pope, and tip. Archbishop of Westminster presented him with, an address on behalf of tho English Pilgrims, and a donation of £7OOO from England. They remained in Rome for a month, waiting for tho Pope’s jubilee ceremonials. Tho ceremonial at Baltimore had been gran u; that in London had been nobler; but at Saint Peter’s, in Rome, it was absolutely magnificent. Here were gathered 50 cardinals and ,250 archbishops and bishops, and a crowd of between 40,000 and 50,000 Catholics. The-. Pope was carried in’Jiis chair .of stato to the cathedral, where ho said Jubilee Mass. The way to the church was barricaded off, and on arrival at St. Peter’s tho silver trumpets gave a magnificent rendering of tho hymn tliev had had at that morning’s sendee. It was a truly magnificent sight, and one never to ho forgotten. He had witnessed pageants at Dover and at Chatham and other places, but never saw anything to compare in snlendonr and magnificence to the ceremonial at St. Peter’s. One oi tlie saddest phases of his experience was the day he was leaving England. Driving to the "railway station to entrain to catch the boat for Paris and Genoa, on route for home, he saw a pitiful sight. It was on December 31st, and in bitterly cokl weather with heavy snow on tho ground, and there waiting in the cold in the-early morning were 200 able-bodied men, waiting outside a House of Refuge for something to eat. They were homeless and workless, and it was truly a pathetic sight. Continuing. His Lordship narrated how ho arrived back.in Auckland in, February. He found an enormous amount of work waiting to be done on account of tho progress the diocese had made in his absence, under the care of his : able coadjutor, Consignor Gillan, aided by the cordial co-opera-tion of the clergy. In September he visited Sydney for the congress there, which is held every five years in some 'centre' of tlie Australasian States. 'ln the congress there were four sessions daily, and papers on a great, diversity of subjects were read. He also_went to Springwood for the opening ceremony of the new college, a -preparatory college for* the institution at Manly, and Which has been erected in white stone at a cost of £IO,OOO. On tne-'Tast day of the congress Cardinal Moran replied xo the papers, which had been of such a nature as to interest Catholics in their social, as well as tlieir church life. There w r as also the ceremony' of laying the foundation stone of the new portion of the cathedral in Sydney, on which £250.000 had already been spent, and on which it was proposed to expend another £IOO,OOO. The congress in Sydney had filled them with strength and a Tasting enthusiasm to fight with the problems of life and bring them to a successful issue. The spirit of Christ had hovered over all their meetings to guide and direct them, and as they were to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth they took for their maxim, “I live, hut not I, but Christ in me.” It was also a lesson to tlie laity in the direction of preserving the purity oi the home, as au awful disaster was creeping over the national life, and. as long as people, continue,to neglect their duty in married life there must be an awful curse coming on them from God. They had heard of the awful curse of divorce and the advance of socialism with its dread upheavals. They had heard of the awful trials of the early settlers who had been compelled to submit their very liberty to the intolerance of those over them. They had also heard of what the church had done in the way. of fostering the arts and sciences. The results of the congress had been to show to the world how to join issue with the church in developing the best interests of men. It had pointed out tho great injustice done to Catholic youth in regard, to education. The church would over clamor until they got their riglas,,, and although tliev might not get the help they deserved from Government, yet in time the injustice would be seen and the State would realise that the- had ,a right to their conscience clause, and that they did not want to teach the children anything but what was right. Another result was that they had been further taught to believe in God, to adore and serve Him, and advance His kingdom upon earth in the hope of an eternal reward in the Concluding, His Lordship said that he had always held tlie kindliest memories of the goodness of tlie folks of Gisbornu, and although lie could not visit them often, they might vest assured that they wore always in liis mind. He realised that they were united to their priest in mutual appreciation, and prayed that sucha union would always last, to bo an example and an edification to their ) brethren outside the Church. His Lordship the Bishop will visit Ormond this evening. The Sacrament of Confirmation will be administered at 7 p.m., and will be followed by the Benediction. An address of welcome from the Ormond parishioners will be presented after the ceremony. To-morrow night, at- 5 o’clock, in St. Mary’s Bishop will be formally welcomed- at a conversazione, anu an address of welcome will bo presented on behalf of the citizens ol Gisborne. His .Worship the Mayor has consented to preside, and a number oi influential citizens have signified their intention of being .present to do. honor to the visiting Bishop:-." During the evening an attractive programme or vocal and instrumental items and recitations will be given.