The Catholic World.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 46, 15 November 1900, Page 24

The Catholic World.

ENGLAND.— Death of a London Priest— The Church in London has lost a prominent priest by the death of the Rev. J. W Reeks, who passed away suddenly at Woolwich He, was a musician of considerable repute, and had on more than one occasion conducted orchestras. The author of the well-known hymn to St. George, he also compiled a Catholic hymn-book. For many years he wan attached to St. George's Cathtdral, and established large elementary schools in Walworth, and effected many improvements v. the Catholic Church at Woolwich. ]n the town he was universally respected, and on the occasion recently of the silver jubilee of his priesthood he was the recipient of a large sum of money subscribed by the inhabitauta of all creeds and classes.

Proposed Memorial to a Priest.— The proposal to erect a memorial of the late Rev. Father Francis Bulger, who wa« connected with St. Benet>. Monkwearmoutb, has now ttken definite form. A committee of the congregation has been appointed to carry out the project.

A Valuable Gift to a Church.— The Church of St Wilfrid, Longridge, has been enriched by the addition of a very elaborate high altar, constructed of Caen stone, Italian and French marble, Belgian granite, and Derbyshire alabaster, and richly ornamented. It was executed at Rotterdam, and has cost over £.")00. The cost of decorating the sanctuary has been borne by the rector, the Rev Father Wissink.

GERMANY.— GeneraI Catholic Congress.— The German Catholics held their 47th general Congress at Bonn from Sunday. September 2, to Thursday, September 6. There was a large attendance of visitors in the well known city on the banks of the Rhine. Fully 6000 people were present at the meeting, which was held at Feat Halle in the evening to greet the visitors. The president of the local committee, Dr. Rugen berg, who occupied the chair, welcomed the delegates in a hearty address, which bigan, as all the speeches at these gatherings, with the words : ' Praised be Jesus Christ.'

INDlA.— Eucharistic Conference— At Bombay in Deoember next an Eucharit-tic Congress of all the bishops composing the Indian hierarchy will be presided over by the 1 atriarch and Primate of the East, Monni^nor Valettc. Both the Governor and the Patriarch are doing all in their power to make the occasion a.s grand as possible, and orders have been issued to the Public Works Department to put in first-rate order the Convent of St. Francis of Assiai for the better accommodation of the large number of biahops and their secretaries who will be arriving early in December next.

JAPAN-— A Catholic Publication-— The announcement that Buhop Anzer is about to establish a Chinese Catholic newspaper in his diocese recalls the fact that the Japanese have long supported a first-rate Catholic publication, lenchijm. It is said to he one of the most influential periodicals in Japan and is often quoted by its pagan exchanges.

POLAND —Destructive Fire —The correspondent of the Morning Lcad>r Fends a graphic d«-crption of the great fire which took place on August 14 at the Monastery and Chinch of Our Lady in Czenstouchau, in Poland. This n a famous pi.,, eof pilgrimage, and during each year is vi-ited by fully ami li n pilgumi. On the 14th. the L've of the As h uuiption, lO.UO'I p lgrims were encamped on the plain beneath the hill on whn h the church and cK-hut are built. Band* accompanying the pilgrims won playing hymns in honor of the Ricked Virgin, and at 10 o'clock a display of fireworks began. The church and the tower. 2i;oft high, had been renovated and were still «urr<mnded by the scaffolding. Towards half-past 10 thi« oiujtM fir» qnd Hie t,m-erw, y «nnn in (i lil'i7«. The damage done to the church was estimated at £:i() (KJO.

SCOTLAND.— CIericaI Changes in Glasgow.— The leoeni numerous clerical changes in Glasgow archdiocese have brought about a number of presentations to clergymen who have been transferred. Father Muller, late of Burnbank, and now of Langloan, has received numerous gifts from the Catholics of Burnbank. Rer. Dr. O'Connor, of Busby, received a testimonial from his friends in Maryhill, where he was last stationed.

Honoring a Prießt.— Rev. Father Charlea Webb, late pastor of St. Athana«ius" minion, Ca-luke, and now of Carfin. Motherwell, was recently in the Carluke Town Hall presented with an illuminated address and a handsome gold watch by the faithful of the district in in ognition of the excellent work he achieved in their midst as their beloved pastor during the seven years he was stationed at C irluke. The chair was occupied by the present priest in charge, Father M'Connaoh'e, late of Paisley, and amongst tho^e who were pre-ent on the platform and delivered eulogistic addrc s-es in praise of Father W'tbb's worth as a good priest, an able townsman, scholar, and musician were Father Van Hecke, Dr. Barr, and Messrs. T. Grosbart and J. M'Don.Ud, as representing the local School Board. Ordination of a Priest— On Sunday. September 23, the Rev. Mr. James Donlevy, 5..1 , of St. Beuno's College, North Wales, was raised by his Eminence Cardinal Vaughan to the sacred priesthood in the Church of the Guardian Angels, Mile End, London, of which the youn-r ecclesiastic's brother. Father William Crawford Donlevy, is rector. Both rev. gentlemen are relatives of the Donlevy family in Edinburgh.

SOUTH AMERICA -Nuns in a Leper Hospital.-The XorthwiDtt m Chrutian Advoratt , an American non-Catholic paper, prints an account of the leper hospital at Quito, Ecuador, written by the wife of the United States Minister to that country, Mrs. A. J.Sampson. In it she says .—' Among these different classes of unfortunates are 12 resident Sisters of Charity wno are here, there, and e/ery where. Clothed in white, with kind, placid faces, they minister to the suffering a*id s^ak cheerful words to each. The Mother Superior, who told us she h.i 1 b •< n in charge 12 years, had a face only m a tbow-uid. sinner and re-i hi'H with a light upon it that spoke, for the Spmt within. We a-kMI her how she could endure to spend her lite am mg such f-ueneß. We were about leaving and. without a word, -he took My hand m hers and led me to a tiny clriptd huiv m \> hit" '1 h» altar was strewn with flowers . on one <-ide hunsr :i picture nf Our Mother of Sorrows, and near it hung one of the t.oul "•hepheru. to which she pointed, and our question wa- au-weru3. \\\- .stood by her side a moment, looking into the fn^< or the U. od Sin pherd,"and the contrast with all we had seen and felt during the two hours before was such that a hush fell upon us nnn m thought, we were transported beyond the clouds. A minima lattr the unat doors banged behind us, we passed into the fresh air ami i-un-hme in silence and with thankful hearts for the blessings w uk h crowned our own lives, while eaoh felt that within was the great < -r sistfrt sraticn of misery we had ever s» en, which was reiinvtd only by the stlt-denidl and patient enduranieof a handful of women who had consecrated their lives to a willing servic-j for oth» rs and who never turn back, but go calmly on in their chosen work until from age or weakness they are lor.cd to give it into other hand*.

UNITED STATES.-Wiping out a Parish Debt— When Rev. Thomas Me^wtem-y. of u.iklan.i. California, celebrated the Miver julnlee. of his ordination, he announced to the congregation and the clergymen present that he ha i received a cheque for £3000 from Mr. Henry A. Butters which would wipe out the debt of the parish.

Bequests to Catholic Charities.— The Springfield (Mass ) Jiipubltr of recent date gives the following news item: 'Michael Carr, who had for halt a c< ntury kept a. small grocery in Philadelphia, ditd lately, leaving a irugal fortune of £25,000. He divided £!)<>oo among his relatives and left £10,000 among 23 Catholic institutions in the city, among them some churches, in sums \arying from -t'JuO to £2000. The humble grocer gave more than many a millionaire.'

The Church in California —The celebration by California of the fiftieth anniversary of statehood gives occasion to the Monitor to s.iy : ' Fifty years uf atati hood is an anniversary worthy of special commemoration, particularly when, m in the case of California, the record of the halt century constitutes an unbroken chapter of substantial growth and development iv every direction. The history of Catholicity in California lung antedates the state's admission to the Sisterhood of American commonwealths. Nearly a century before the M.irs and Stripes were unfurled within the present boundanen of the state, the cross had b< en -ecurely planted in her soil by the intrepid Serro and his Franciscan associates. During the past 50 yearn, truly gigantic as- have been the strides of the Golden hta,te in material and social advancement, the Church has kept fully abreast of it, and the story of her progress forma an integral part of the wonderful record. Catholics of right, therefore, may claim a foremost place in the celebration of the golden jubilee of California's statehood.'

Activity in Church Buildings. - Barely has there been an autumn when so much money was going into builriinga designed for religious purposes as it the case at present (nays an American exchange) in all the borough* of New York city. Archbishop Corrigan reported to the Holy Fnther on his r«cent vi-dt the completion of 264 new buildings during the ten years just passed. On the first year of his new decade the Archbish >p starts at even a faster rate of progress. The new Catholic Orphan Asylum on Foniham Heights will cost £120.000. Recently his Grace laid the cornerstone of the new church of St. John Chryeostom, which is to cost £16,000, for the pariah recently formed next to Hunt's Point. At Mcl roue a nevv Catholic church i" to b« preoted costiner £12.000. Recently a large tract east of the Home for Incurables at Fordham has beeu purchased, and an outlay of at teasfc £40 000 is contemplated in building a church, parish house, school and olergy house. Not far from there in Tremont there has just been completed a new St. Joseph's Catholic Church at Washington avenue, to take the place of the old structure. The cost was £30,000. A Polish parish in Manhattan has near completion a new church that is to coat £16,000. Plans for the new Lady Chapel of St. Patrick's Cathedral call for an expenditure of £50,000.

The Spiritual Condition of the Indians — The famous Indian chief Two-Strike, who, even in his old age, waged war against the whites, haß been converted, and a short time ago Bishop O'G-orman, of Sioux Falls, S.D.. administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to him. He is now 81 years old. Bishop O'Gorman says in bis report of his recent tour of the Indian reservations to the west of the Missouri : ' On the Rosebud reservation are 5000 Indians, and 2500 of these are Catholics. The Indians support three fine churches, and a fourth one is to be built. For about 15 years we have been educating Indian children at St. Francis' school, which is now a most important institution. Tbe school is conducted by 17 Sisters and eight Jesuit Brothers. The boys are taught different trades, such as blaoksmithing, carppnter work, and farming. This ■ohool has done much for the Indians.'

A Gift to the Catholic University.— A Washington exchange of September 10 says : — Thirteen parcels of land situated at various points about the city and valued at about £20,000 were convened to the Catholic University of America last week by Mgr. James MoMihon. In the instrument of conveyance, which bears date September 5, the University is represented as paying a consideration of £2 but the revenue stamps affixed indicate a total value as given above. Father MoMahon gave £100,000 to the University a few years ago to build a hall of philosophy. Mgr. McMahon was appointed pastor of the Church of St. Mary Star of the S ;a, in New York, in 1843 In 1850 he was made pastor of the Church of St. John the Evangelist, in New York, in which position he remained for 25 years. During this time he laid the foundation of the large fortune which he afterwards acquired, and the greater part of which he has devoted to charitable and educational purposes. In 187."> he was appointed pastor of the Church of St. Andrew, one of the principal Catholic churches of New York city, which was at that time under an immense burden of debt. This the pastor soon liquidated, and afterward, when the Church was destroyed by fire on two occasions he rebuilt it at his own expense. In 1890 Father McMahon went to Washington to spend the last years of his life in quiet at the Catholic University, and he has since been a resident there.

Catholic Temperance Union. — At the annual convention of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of Amprica, in Philadelphia, Rev. A. P. Doyle, national secretary presented hia annual report, showing a net increase of 773 members and 54 societies. His report showed the total membership of the union to be 81,121. Philadelphia has the largest membership, 20,000; Scranton, 8070; Connecticut, fi23o ; Wisconsin has a membership of only 1711. Rev. D. F. M-Gillicuddy, of Worcester, Mass., waß elected president in place of Biehop Tierney, of Hartford.

GENERAL.

Creed Distinctions in the British Army.— The following appeared in a recent issue of London Truth : — ' It is a very extraordinary fact that every single Roman Catholic Army schoolmaster who has joined the Service in the last 30 years has been passed over when he has become eligible for appointment as an Inspector of Army Schools. There are nine Army schoolmasters to whom this remark applies. Six of them, all bearing exemplary characters, were superseded without any reason assigned. The remaining three have been the subject of unfavorable reports shortly before the time of their promotion, and in one instance this may have been justified, as the master has since been dismissed the Service ; but in the other two cases the faults found were trivial, if not transparently unjust, the characters of the men having been previously

exemplary. Two out of the nine (including one of those unfavor« ably reported upon) were subsequently employed in the highly responsible position of masters at the Royal Hibernian School. There are 24 Inspectors of Army Schools, and in view of the above facts, it is altogether too thin to suggest that no Roman Oatholio has ever been properly qualified for the appointment.'