RECEPTION OF THE MOST REV. DR. REDWOOD AT WELLINGTON.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 85, 12 December 1874, Page 8

RECEPTION OF THE MOST REV. DR. REDWOOD AT WELLINGTON.

+4 (From our own Correspondent.) A visitob to St. Mary's Cathedral during the last few days would Bee that there was something more than usual about to take place in the dear old Church. Father Forrest had/received intimation by the previous mail from his Lordship Dr Redwood that he would arrive by the Nov. mail steamer, via Suez, so that we were not taken by surprise. On Sunday, the 22nd, it was announced in two churches that a procession was to be formed when it was expected the steamer would arrive and his Lordship land. Father Forrest received a telegram from the Bluff from Bis Lordship on Saturday evening stating he had arrived there and expected to be in Wellington on Wednesday, bat it was afterwards found the steamer would not be here before Thursday morning about 7 a.m. Father Forrest, V.G., Fathers Petit Jean, McCoy, Sauzean, Moreau, Tressallet, and Garin, went to the steamer to meet his Lordship, who was accompanied by Father Kearney, and the members of the congregation repaired to the Cathedral to arrange for the procession.- About half -past nine a.m. the acolytes and clergy proceeded down Hill-street, then came *7o of the Convent children dressed in white, with three in front bearing a beautiful banner of the Blessed Virgin. Next followed the other children plainly dressed. After these came the members of the Living Rosary, bearing also a banner of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the appropriate words " Holy Mary, pray for us who have recourse to thee." The boys followed to the number of 100, preceded by one of their number carrying a banner emblematic" of Christ's Charge to Peter. Lastly came the members of the Young Men's Society. This procession, made up as I have stated, reached from the Cathedral to the end of Hill-street. On his Lordship leaving the carriage, W. W. Johnston, Esq. read the following address from the Laity : — To the Right Reverend Francis Redwood, D.D.,;Bishop of Wellington. T^e Catholics resident in Wellington and the neighborhood desire- to offer to your Lordship the warmest expressions of welcome upon your arrival in the diocese. They feel deep thankfulness to God for bringing you safely through the perils of the sea, and allowing you on this familiar shore to receive the congratulations of your spiritual children. The appointment of a holy and learned man so intimately connected with the colony, and identified with its interests, to the diocesan charge so long vacant by the death of our late beloved Bishop, Dr Viard, has given the greatest satisfaction to the whole ■ Catholic community, and we have every confidence you will find that to the very utmost of our power we shall be willing, one and all, to aid in the good works it will be your duty to carry on and initiate. We desire to take this opportunity of assuring your Lordship of our devotion to the Holy See, and to express our sympathy with the trials of the Vicar of Christ, -whose personal character has secured for him the admiration of the civilised world, and we are glad to think that one of your Lordship's public acts before leaving Europe was to visit the Eternal City, and solicit and obtain his blessing upon the diocese. "We feel confident that, with the blessing of God, the ministration of your Lordship will prove of immediate and lasting benefit to the cause of religion, and. we pray that there may be vouchsafed to you a long career of usefulness in the service of your Master, and that your labors may be lightened by the consciousness that you possess the affections of your people. N. Reid 0. E. Hatohton S. Cemino John O'Meara Alex. McDonald '.James O'Shea J. G. Dees. His Lordship expressed his gratification at the kind welcome accorded him, and he would; have pleasure in replying to the address in the Cathedral. Mr Vincent, as Secretary of the Young Men's Society, presented the following address from that body : — "May it please Your Lordship, — We, the members of the Catholic Young Men's Society, Wellington, New Zealand, beg most respectfully to welcome your Lordship as the pastor sent to us by the representative of Jesus Christ, Pope Pius IX. "We offer oxir thanks to Almighty God for your Lordship's safe arrival in this diocese, so long in a state of bereavement and widowhood, through the demise of out late lamented prelate, Bishop Viard. . . "As a Catholic association we cannot but rejoice, in common with the whole Catholic body in this country, at the choice of the B'oly See having fallen upon one so eminent and so fit to extend our holy faith in this distant land, where the harvest is so plentiful aud the laborers so few. '• We feel we are the echo of all those who have the privilege ol 1 personal acquaintance with your Lordship in expressing our hope that you will be allowed, by Divine Providence, many years to work successfully in this new sphere of your apostolic labors. "In conclusion, we desire to recommend our society to your Lordship's spiritual guidance, trusting that, our aim and objects bring the promotion of the glory of God, in consonance with the teachings of our holy Mother the Church, we may ever, by our filial devotion, merit your Lordship's approbation.— We are, &c, B. H. Vincent, on behalf of C.V.M. Society. Jbbbmiah T3.vKUBY,pro VJ\"

His Lordship thanked the society for their Mad expressions, to which he would also reply at the Cathedral.

Mr C. E. Haughton, as President of the Hibernian Society, welcomed his Lordship to Wellington. He pointed out that the society had been but recently formed, and their regalia not having arrived from Melbourne precluded them from appearing in procession, but that their sentiments were expressed in the other addresses presented to his Lordship. His Lordship expressed himself pleased with Mr Haughton's remarks.

The procession next turned round towards the Cathedral, the children bowing reverentially before his Lordship, "but the clergy remained last, in front of his Lordship, until they arrived in front of the Cathedral when the following address was presented from the Clergy : —

" At the moment your Lordship reaches the threshold of your Cathedral, it behoves your clergy to express to God their heartfelt thanks for having-* ended the bereavement of a diocese, plunged into widowhood by the premature death of your lamented predecessor, Dr. Viard.

" The administration of the distinguished Bishop of Dunedin being of a, temporary character, we solicited from God one who would be to us a pastor and a father for life. We were graciously heard. The 20th of January, the day of your Lordship's election to the See of Wellington j the 25th of the same month, when the choice of the Propaganda was confirmed by His Holiness Pope Pius IX. ; and the 17th of March, the festival day of glorious St. Patrick, when your Lordship was consecrated by the eminent Archbishop Manning, will be duly for treasured in our memory. " Blessed be our Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ, and His Immaculate Mother — our perpetual advocate — for the nomination of a pastor such as the Bishop whom we now salute and welcome with profound reverence, and, if your Lordship will permit us to say it, with the most cordial affection.

"In your Lordship's call to this diocese, we recognise the wonderful ways of Divine Providence, directing the various steps through life, to the distant end, that you should return to New Zealand to preside over this important portion of Christ's Church. The fact of your Lordship being a Englishman by birth, a New Zealander from childhood, a Frenchman by education, and an Irishman by residence and sympathy — apart from personal virtues, to which your Lordship's presence forbids us to allude — must excite a peculiar interest, and tend to make your Lordship's arrival agreeable to all. The peace and harmony that happily prevails among the people of 'Wellington, cause us to hope thafc our separated brethren will share in our joy, and in our confidence that all will find in your Lordship a real and constant friend.

"We cannot disguise from ourselves that what endears your person to us, is the spiritual mission that has come to your Lordship directly from the august successor of St. Peter, our glorious but sadly tried Sovereign Pontiff. Alas ! his reign of twenty-eight years, astounding by its duration, has been a continued period of persecutions and robberies, in an age of so-called liberalism. The accounts of those calamaties have continually rung in our ears, and your Lordship has not only heard of, but witnessed the noble fortitude with which those misfortunes have been borne. More than once yon have contemplated the afflicted but serene countenance of Pope Pius IX., yes, a new Jacob, the "Venerable Pontiff has lavished his tenderness and blessing upon your Lordship, another Benjamin (so to speak) among your brother Bishops. Ah ! my Lord, in our present jubilation it would be impossible not to dwell upon the name of our most beloved and sorrowful father, and we feel inclined to repeat with impassioned expression the words of the Israelites of old in their captivity 'If I forget thee, O! Jerusalem, let my light hand be forgotton !'

"Trusting in our aspirations and prayers in union with all Catholic hearts, we hope the Almighty will be pleased to abridge evils that are, alas, so fatal to the salvation of many. We will implore the Sacred Heart of Jesus to have pity on souls redeemed by His precious blood, to restore liberty to the Church, and to procure for her a speedy and fruitful triumph. "Finally, yotir Lordship, we beg that you will accept the assurances of our unbounded respect and lasting obedience."

After a brief thanksgiving, His Lordship ascended the pulpit and replied to the addresses. . He offered his sincere thanks for the expressive addresses of -welcome which had just been presented to him. He would first thank the clergy for the admirable sentiments expressed in their address regarding the Holy Father the Pope, and concerning the persecutions which now assail the Church. A ray of hope was, however, visible in the horizon, which indicated a speedy triumph by tie Church over her enemies. He would also thank the clergy for the hearty expressions of affection which they had exhibited towards him. He next thanked the laity for the hearty welcome they had accorded him, and for wbom he already felt affection He knew the support that he would hereafter receive from them would Tae as hearty as was their welcome. However unworthy he might be of the office he held, he was nevertheless a successor of the Apostles, and went forth, as Christ had instructed the Apostles to do, to teach nations, and to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He trusted they would all work together, and harmony. He then thanked the young men who composed bhe CathoL.c Young Men's Society . for the ' sentiments expressed by them in their address. To him the society represented hope, and he likened it to a beautiful tree in blossom, and he looked forward to the time -when the blossoms would become fruit. He hoped the society -would meet with every success, and reap the fruit of the blossoms which were now apparent- He wished them a return fCead Mille beannacht) of that greeting over the door, (Cead Mille TaiWie) in that ojd tongue no doubt familiar to most of them.

Lastly, lie would recommend himself to the prayers of his flock. There was much, work before Mm, many difficulties to overcome and perils to go through, but he felt that -were the prayers of his people with him all would go well. He hoped, when all their labors had ceased, to share the eternal crown of glory with them. He then gave them, his blessing, and prayed that the angels who preside around the Throne would watch over them all, and that Jesus Christ would bless and preserve them. He impressed upon his hearers the necessity of frequent prayer and attendance at the Holy Sacrament, and exhorted them in nowise to be afraid to confess their creed. He trusted they would ever- remain good Catholics, and always endeavor to carry their creed further, aye, even unto the end of the earth. He then invoked the blessing of Heaven upon them. The benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was then given. All the ai-rangements for the reception of the Bishop were most perfect. The girls occupied the right side of the Cathedral, the boys the left, the centre being allotted to the other members of the congregation and visitors, most of whom, however, were ladies. There were ten Catholic clergymen who welcomed his Lordship, one of whom was Father Garin, from Nelson, and another a rev. gentleman from Wanganui. His Lordship appeared.to be enjoying robust health. He was met at the steamer and accompanied to the Cathedral by Messers. Redwood and Ward, his brother and uncle. Father Kearney arrived from Europe -with his Lordship. The museum house, recently occupied by Dr Hector, has been, secured as a residence for his Lordship. ] His Lordship and the clergymen visited the Convent on Friday. On Sunday the Church was crowded to excess at last Mass and Tespers to hear him preach. At the last Mass he merely directed the'attention of his flock to the holy season of advent, and urged them to pray fervently to Q-od in return for the many temporal and spiritual, blessings they had received from God during the last year. They had received from Him an answer to their prayers for a pastor ; they had been spared by God, — and perhaps at times when theii 1 very sins had "been calling to God for vengeance. In conclusion he granted each who was penitent a forty days' indulgence in. virtue of the authority vested in him by the Holy See. In the evening his Lordship dwelt more impressively upon prayer and on the persecution of our Holy Father and the Catholic Church, particularly in Germany where every effort was made to stamp out Catholicity. It aimed at the very root of. Catholicity by taking Christian education from their children"; obstructing the education of their clergy, imprsoning those who would not bow to the tyrant. They had also imprisoned the bishops, saying, "I will strike the shepherd and the flock will be dispersed." For the speedy triumph' of the Catholic^Church he;implored their prayers, and said that God had reckoned on a certain measure of prayer for its liberation, and although theirs may be only a drop, still drops made an ocean, and they knew the ocean was irresistible, so would the ocean of prayer be irresistible before God. The Holy Father was morally a prisoner, but not in the same sense as Peter was. His present Holiness had more to claim from earth and heaven than any of his predecessors. He it is that has placed the last diadem on the crown of the Blessed Virgin, by defining the Immaculate Conception. He urged them again to prayer in this holy season, and concluded by giving his blessing.