The New Church at Makikihi.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 266, 7 October 1902, Page 3

The New Church at Makikihi.

0 LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE. The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the Roman Catholic Church at Makikihi took place on Sunday. The stone was swung over the east corner of the building and held a little above a cavity in the concrete, in which reposed a bottle containing a copy each of the Tablet,the \Vaimate Times and the Waimate Advertiser, an inscription on parchment and a series of coins of the realm. The building, of which the foundations are laid, will measure 40 feet x 24 feet in the body, the sanctuary will be 15 feet x feet, the sacristy 10 feet x 91 feet, and the porch 7 feet x 6 feet. It will be built in brick, the material being supplied to Mr C. Foden, of Tiraaru, who contracted for the labour. The plans and specifications were prepared, free of charge, by Mr O’Connell (Christchurch), the father of the Rev. Father O’Connell, late of Waimate. The total cost of the building is estimated at between £7OO and £BOO. THE’PARTSHIONERS’ ADDRESS. Mr J. Meehan, on behalf of the parishioners of Makikihi, read the following address TO THE RIGHT REV J. J. GRIMES, S.M.D.D., BISHOF OF CHRISTCHURCH. May it please your Lordship, it is with sentiments of profound respect and gratitude, we the Catholic people of this district of Makikihi, beg leave to address you on this auspicious occasion, viz., the blessing and laying of the foundation stone of a new church, and bid your Lordship “a ceul mille failtho.” It -.must be a service of joy to your LorcDhip, our chief pastor, to sea the visible evidence of progress in religion as marked by this memorable event. To our zealous pastor and his assistant we are indebted for this inestimable blessing. To the generosity of our fellow townsman, Mr Nicl obuj Quinn, we wish to bear testimony and lender to him, publicly, the expression of our heartfelt thanks, who so ganerously donated, together with the munificent sum of £2OO, the splendid site upon which this sacred edifice will be erected. The only shadow cast over ’he glorious ceremony of this day is the absence through illness of our generoui benefactor. We pray our merciful Lord may deign to prolong his life and that of his amiable consort, that ‘hey may continue the works of charity and religion which they have always fostered. My Lord, we wish also to express to you our deep sense of holy admiration for the continued zeal you have evinced in carrying on the work ot the building of the Cathedral in Christchurch. Ttie collecting of fund* for its erection has entailed very severe labour ; but it is pleasant news to hear that your visit to every parish is rewarded by generous subscriptions. We, together with the rest of your dioscesans, shall endeavour to render you our help and sympathy to the end, till it shall be your happiness to see the cross planted upon the turn i it of the great dome, as God grant you may be spared to soon see, a sufficient compensation for all the trial and labour ycu now endure. This Cathedral will serve as a monument of your untiring zeal, a pledge of the generosity and faith of your loving spiritual children, an heirloom of religious worship to generations hereafter. It will be the great artistic work of this century in the province of Canterbury, Ren Zealand. May God enable you to see it soon completed and consecrated, to the worship and honour of true religion, is the fervent and earnest prayer ot your loyal, devoted children in Christ. Signed on behalf of the Catholics of Makikihi, Nicholas Quinn, William Quinn, James Meehan, Patrick Quinn. THE CEREMONY. The ceremony of laying the first stone of a new church is an impressive one, and copies were distributed for the guidance of those present. It was conducted by His Lordship, Bishop Grimes, who was assisted by the Revs. Dean Foley and Fathers Le Petit, Tubman, Regnault and Aubrey. The altar boys of St. Patrick’s Church were in attendance. His Lordship, who was wearing the amice, alb, girdle, stole, white cope and plain mitre, held his pastoral staff in his hand, and standing near the stone, blessed salt and water, which were afterwards sprinkled at the site of the altar, where a cross had been erected, psalm 83 being repeated meanwhile. After appropriate prayers the Bishop took a knife and engraved the sign of the cross on each face of the foundation stone. Then the Litanies are said to the end. After this the Bishop, laying aside his mitre, offers up a prayer and then, resuming the mitre, he intones an Antiphon, after which the choir continue Psalm 126, “Unless the Lord build the house they labour in vain that build it.” Then His Lordship touched the stone and placed it in its foundation. After the mason had set the stone with mortar the Bishop sprinkled it with holy water. After psalm 50 the Bishop sprinkled with holy water the entire foundations. Psalm 86 is followed by a sprinkling of one-third the foundations, and after a prayer he blesses the church, asking that “ eternal peace come to this house from Him who is eternal.” Then he sprinkles onethird more of the foundations, and after psalm 121 completed the remaining third, and returned to the spot where he laid the stone. After prayers and the intonation of a hymn he blessed the building and the ceremony was concluded. His Lordship then delivered a reply to the address. He said that

1 through the zeal of their pastor I and the generosity of the parishi ioners, they had been enabled to | ctjll him to give the prescribed blessing on a temple erected to God in the district, Before commencing a work of this kind the site, dimensions, and other particulars about a proposed building had to be sent to the Bishop for approval, and the day before, possession of the site had been solemnly taken by erecting the cross they saw at the end of the site. Then the Bishop, attired in robes which (feebly, it was true), according to the Church, were intended to represent God in His glory, and surrounded by as many priests as possible, wont through the beautiful service. It began with the sprinkling of holy water to keep away unclean spirits and to appeal to God to hearken to the voice of the faithful who would worship in the church. It would be out of place to dwell further on the ceremony, but he could not but think that an occasion like this must give rise to the thought of what the Holy Catholic Church professed and why. Men marvelled at the extraordinary efforts of priests and people to erect temples to the Most High, but this was part of the Divine plan of the Church founded by Christ Himself. His Lordship proceeded on to sketch the origin of the Church and its doctrines. Tie then went on to refer again to the generosity of those who were giving such a beautiful church to the parish, and expressed his regret that Mr Nicholas Quinn, who had given a site of five acres of land and £2OO (one-third of the contract price) was too ill to be present, hut they hoped his life would be prolonged to see the completion of the work in which he had taken so great a part. They were right in saying the speaker rejoiced with them. It was a pleasure to him to come and lay the foundation stone. He was anxious for the cathedral fund, but he did not want to stop necessary works such as the one in hand. It was a proof of the faith and generous piety of the people in the Makikihi district. At the close of the address a collection was taken up, £IBO in cash and promises being secured. The total amount now available is £414. The Waimate Brass Band was in attendance, and played several pieces (luring the afternoon, among them being the neat little selection “The Silver Cloud,” the rendering of which showed the band to be coming to the front again rapidly. The various crescendos, diminuendos, and alternate changes from pianissimo to double forte in this piece appeared to be well attended to by the players. The conductor is, evidently working hard, and the band bids favourably to soon again become an important institution. After the ceremonies the band was taken to Mr Meehan’s, where a sumptuous repast awaited them in his spacious dining-room. It is needless to say that full justice was done to the dainties provided, when one knows the healthy appetite playing a brass instrument pro- ' duees. On leaving, Mr Meehan thanked the band on behalf of the church for their kindness in coming out to play. Mr Goldstone replied, stating that it was only a pleasure to come, and gave the band a good prace. Three cheers were then called for and heartily given for Mr and Mrs Meehan, after which the band left for home.