CT. JOSEPH’S CONVENT.

Otaki Mail, 14 February 1923, Page 4

CT. JOSEPH’S CONVENT.

N'E\V BUILDING OPENED AT EE VIA'. ADDRESS BY ARCHBISHOP O’SHEA. 'Sunday was a red-letter day in the calendar of the Levin Cathulic continually, lor it marked the consummation ui their efforts to provide a worthy home lor the Sisters of St. joi -ph, who have been ministering to the ir needs in Levin lor some years, ami have been greatly handicapped by the circumscribed quarters at their disposal. Bright sunshine favoured the event, and at three o’clock there wti.-i a large gathering ul local Catholic families, as well us a number of town.speuijle ol other doiioiniiuitioiis, ,u the now Convent in Weraroa Hoad. The Coadjutor Archbishop of W ellington, the Most Lev. Dr. O’Shea, performed the official opening.

The proceedings opened, with the I blessing ol tile Convent by the Arch-j hisiiyp, assisted by the parish priest, j Uev. Father Fitzgibbou, a brief hut | solemn service taking place within ? the building in the presence ol tlie | yislcrs whose home it will hcticeionli \ I it), Subsequently the assemblage was j tuldressed from the portico by the J clergy and the Mayor, who, with the.; .Mayoress, were present at the iuvif.t- | lion ul tlie committee. | Thu ilev. Father FiUgibbuli said J the day marked an epoch in the hie ) 01. tlie Catholic community of Levin, j It saw brought to fruition their wishes in regard to the comfort of their dear sisters labouring amongst them with no little success. This was a new palish, three years old only, hut already they iiad built a parish school and creeled ,ii tree of debt. Their next objective had been the provision ul u suitable residence lor tlie sisters, ■mil they had now achieved ill at desire. ’The convent, as it now stood, 1 v. uaid stand until those present had passed from tilts vale of tears, and it would bo tiie joy and happiness ol t the children of to-day to know hi i years to come that their lathers and ! mothers, sisters and brothers elected i ibis beautiful edifice. Father Fit/.gib- j bon disclaimed any personal credit for the work. it was the result ol lie 00-uperation of their workers, and who saw to-day the fruition oi their ] miseilibh labours for tlie comfort of j ilie sisters. lie wisiied to mention tlie church Building Committee, wiio gate him practically a tree hand. Their heartfelt thanks were due to a gentleffian, who, when funds did nut .warrant starting the erection, gave him every confidence and hope to proceed with the building, and assuiod him tliai he need not worry on account of its completion if there \va.- a debit balance then. .Mr Peters, the builder, had given entire satislac tion, and carried out the instructions .;f the architect- in such a way that 1 1 10 building reflected great credit on him. lie also acknowledged the m> ol tlie Borough Council in giving a concession in installation oi tlie gas sen ice. The building had cost fclß6o, - and LI 1 00 of the! had been received, leaving a debit of CAGO. ■in the not far distant, future- they hoped to' luive on the same site a church and presbytery, and then they would have a group of buildings unique in Australasia and worthy of tlie town at Levin. 'Hie Con veil i was, those present would agree with him, an addition and asset to the many fine i buildings of the town. Arclibi.-iiop O’Shea said he desired ■ to express the great, pleasure if gave him to come there and open such a line and substantial convent, li was a sign not only of the advancement made by the Catholic community, but of llje, progress also of 1 tic town and di-iriel, and a welcome addition to the arehiteeiui'e of this fine and prosperous. town, li would contribute to the welfare of tlie place and as -such tmuld fie welcomed by all members ui the community. Protestant and Calliolic alike. The Sisters had been working in Levin for some time, and (heir new and more comfortable quarters would enable them to carry on llicir ministrations more easily and efficiently. The average man and woman outside the Church had hazy notions about convent life. A convent was really a home in which a number of women gathered of their own free will to live together and work, first for their own sanctification and salvation by practising the Christian virtues of poverty, chastity and obedience, and secondly, to devote themselves more completely to the service of their fellow creatures. If

we looked back through the centuries that have elapsed since the Christian era, we would find that the greatest benefits the world enjoyed had been due to the religious orders. After hie great Roman civilisation was destroyed and the barbarians overran Europe and set out to destroy everything that had' been built up by that civilisation, it. was the religious orders who went out into the barren places and made them habitable, teaching the peasants tiie arts of husbandry, cultivation,, irrigation, the raising of crops, and methods of mining and built foundries. It was the monasteries also that preserved the learning of the world. When the Roman Empire went down, before the age of printins? it, was the monks who copied out iho works'of antiquity and especially it,,- Hoi,- .Scriptures, and beautifully f-mUdlhhed ami illuminated them. Hut. for them the. great treasures of m..quay would have been lost, to-the no/iern world. All the great, univer- ■ iF’-s that Pad existed any length of time owed their foundation to the monks, and in those days they were made far more use ot by the ordinary people than they are to-day. The religious orders also established the ir.-- faculties of medicine. The Archbishop mentioned the medical school of Salerno, where for many year? mine of the methods attributed to the IN, eyeries of modern science havh -. i known and practiced, such as Up iiraiment of disease by rays of igld. Corning to the modern activities of the religious ordeiis, His Grace said

! the system of education the Catholic i Church hacl in tills country was the ] admiration of those who, while sepai rated from them, still believed that 1 Christian teaching should form a part of the education of their children. This work would be impossible were it not for the heroism, (he generosity and the self-denial of the religious, the nuns who, .like the Sisters of St Joseph, devoted themselves to the teaching of the children. Then there . were hospitals, homes and - orphanages staffed by the nuus, where the poor and orphans could seek a woman’s tender care and a mother's lo’ve. And generally tlie Sisters were to be found helping to make conditions more tolerable and lives mure

pleasant. .Nowhere else woiitu nicy g find such complete expression of the | Scriptural injunction to “love the 1 I Lord tliy God with all thy heart, and ■ jj thy neighbour as thyself.'' His Grace compared the conditions | to-day with those under tlie Human | Empire—rottenness and iniquity in the I world, devotion, sanctity and sett- f sacrifice in tlie religious institutions. _ Referring to tlie modern longing for the secret ot perpetual youth, he said , the Sisters in convents leu happy and j contented lives, and happiness and , & contentment tended to make them, at- ® ways bright and youthful. g Concluding, lie said all must ieei g pleased at the addition ot the convent <5 to the arcliitectuie ol this pretty loan, g and be had to congratulate one ami ad on the work they were crowning g that day. lie congratulated the pas- g tor on his zeal and ehtrgy, ami also , | the architect, builder and workmen ] g on the result oi their labours. i' c would lie a more comfortable home € lor the good Sisters and would tend J | In make their work even more elli- j g cieiu than it had been. After re ter- f ling to tlie smallness ot the deb; "it j • tlie building, the Archbishop declared j £ the new Convent open. ? the Mayor, Mr D. \Y. Matlieson, ( I thanked Father Fitzgihbou for ids J kind invitation to himself and them Mayoress to be present, and congratu- | ( Mated the Catholic community on the j progressive spirit they were showing, j ( I lie commended their policy of endea-j ( | vouring to open their institutions as , I I tree of debt as possible. One felt ai-j ] I most surprised to hear that on a I iiuildiiig ol the present dimensions , I there was such a small amount ow-j j mg. fie thanked Father Fitzgihbou. for his kind reference to the Borough I Council. Tlie Borough Council knew no sect or creed —(Hear, hear)—how- ! ever, and what concession had been given to tiie Convent was given to all-1 church organisations. They knew t -that this was not going to l>e the only building on the present site. “.We appreciate the progress that lias’ been i made,” said die Mayor, "and know ' that it is going to be for the benefit; ul die town in general." His Wor- j slop concluded by wishing the Catlio- ■ lie community every success in their j

building scheme. NEW BUILDING DESCRIBED. The speeches over, the public were • invited to inspect the Convent, and j many comments were passed upon j tiie excellence ui die interior arrange- - meiß and finish. Tlie building is planned with a large, airy seven-cu-Uicicil dormitory; inhanury, music-:, room, parlour, coinnuuiUy room, re- j rectory, and kitchen quarters lilted | wi.ii uli conveniences lor mod storage, piepai utmn. and service. A chapel occupies tiie norili-eaat wing or tiie building, ana is tastefully panelled and furnished with altar and pews ui rhua. L'eau-iigiiis have been made a feature of tiie windows and doors ui the cliapel. '] he building is constructed of locally-made hollow concrete blocks i and roofed with New Zealand-made ! eai tlieuwaro tiles. Tlie wails are peri ieetly damp-proof, the interior sur- > lutes plastered and treated to make aj sanitary finish, and distempered in leposeiui colours. The construction ' ha.: i estilted in a building that will reduce maintenance to a minimum. The completed cost oi the concrete construction lias been no more than the tendered prices lor the .building if, erected with timber construction. The ; design is of simple character and , carried out with conveniences and arrangements on the very latest pririjHes which make for economical working oi the Convent. The building was designed and supervised by Mr . Robin Hood, oi Palmerston, and the contractors were Messrs Peters and j Co., of Levin. AFTERNOON TEA. After the Convent had been inspected, those present were entertained at afternoon tea in the adjacent schoolroom, the ladies of the parish (under tiie -supervision of Mesdarnes Johnston and Gordon) having provided this pleasant finale to a ceremony that was followed with keen interest by all present, and gave many the opportunity of congratulating the local Catholic community upon the tangible result of their efforts.