DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 50, 13 December 1900, Page 5

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH.

(From our own correspondent.) December 10. The Rev. Father Marnane, after a brief visit to the North Island, returned on Saturday last to St. Mary's, Manchester street. Sergeant John O'Donovan, head of the police training depot at Wellington, is at present in Christchurch engaged on exhibition duty, an exacting position where efficiency is of primary importance. Mr. T. Campbell (son of Mr. Felix Campbell, of Greymouth), who has been a student at Canterbury College during the past year taking his University course, left for hia home during the week for the vacation. At the Pro-Cathedral on Sunday evening at Veepers his Lordfehip the Bishop read a Pastoral letter on the Jubilee of Canterbury. The Bishop afterward?, assisted by the Very Rev. Vicar-General, received a number of aspirants into the confraternity of the Children of Mary. The Rev. Father Leen, a young prieet ordained a few months ago, arrived on Thursday last. He is destined for the Chriatchurch diocese, and is from Killarney, County Kerry. Father Leen celebrated the half-past nine o'clock Macs on Sunday and preached, and again occupied the pulpit at the High Mass. The Very Rev. Father Le Menant des Chesnais has been engaged during the week preaching the annual retreat for the Sisters of the Good Shepherd at Mount Magdala. The Vicar-General devoted part of the time also to conducting a retreat for the children of St. Agnes's Church, Halswell, preparatory to their First Communion, which took place on Sunday. Constable T. Mayne. a zealous and popular police officer, has been promoted from city duty to the charge of the Lincoln district. He was entertained by his comrades at a ' send off ' social last week and presented by them with a pair of spurs and handsome riding whip suitably inscribed. Constable Mayne is well known in the southern towns, and his numerous friends will be pleased to learn of his well merited advancement in the service. Jubilee Pastoral. The following Pastoral by the Right Rev. Dr. Grimes was read in all the Catholic churches of the diocese on last Sunday :—: —

In a few days we shall have entered upon the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of Canterbury, whioh, taking in the West Coast, once comprised nearly the whole of the Catholic diocese of Christchurch. Praiseworthy efforts are being made for the fittinjr celebration of this, the Golden Jubilee of the province. Shall we not gladly unite with our fellow-colonists in their legitimate rejoicings on this auspicious occasion ? Who amongst us could withhold a feeling of admiration, gratitude, and delight ac he lookß back upon the beginnings, and compares the rapid progress and present prosperity of this fair and fertile portion of the ' Britain of the South.' Who could retuse to admire the heroic enterprise, the indomitable courage and perseverance of the noble pioneers who, 50 years ago, left home and friends and fatherland to oome and settle down in a far-away isle, then little known, save as one of the most uncivilised parts of the globe ? Well may we imagine their feelings when, landing at Lyttelton, they crossed the Port Hills and gazed upon a sight dreary in the extreme. For miles and miles they beheld one unbroken series of plains, covered with brown tussock, with here and there a few clumps of native fiax and a species of wild palm-lilies, or oordyline, familiari to us now aa the cabbage-tree. The monotony of the scene was unrelieved by neither fruits nor flowers nor shrubs, and not even the least undulation. Such an outlook would have filled men of less character and determination with utter disappointment or despair, but the • Canterbury Pilgrims ' had come resolved, with God's help, to overcome every obstacle, and to be daunted by no difficulties, no matter how formidable. And today it is given us to witness the results of their bold but peaceful oonquests — results which have surpassed even their most sanguine expectations. With feelings of admiration, the sight of these marvellous results must call forth those of fjiatitude, and following the footsteps of their fathers, the children of the founders of Canterbury made strenuous and successful efforts to build up an ideal home for themselves and their offspring. And lo ! a wondrous change now unfolds itself to our view. Instead of the dreary plains and swamps of 50 years ago, today we behold magnificent parks, with their stately trees, which the stranger would suppose the growth of centuries ; richly cultivated fields, smiling meadows, lofty buildings, splendid churches, commodious schools and colleges, numerous factories teeming with home industries, and, as the centre and outlook of all, Christchurch, so well known as the ' City of the Plains.' Here are to be found, not only all the conveniences, but even the luxuriea of the moat civilised life. For us, dearly beloved brethren, and children in Christ, there is another and higher motive for heartfelt gratitude and delight. For 10 years after the foundation of Canterbury, we had neither church nor school, and only two devoted missionaries to minister to the wants of our people scattered over the whole of the South Island ; whilst the Catholic population of Canterbury, even in 1851, amounted to no more than i:>o souls all told. And now this jubilee year reveals to us the fact that in our diocese alone we have 50 chuiche*, 17 convents, 35 prieets, 13 brothers, and 160 nuns engaged in the sublime work of imparting Christian education to our dear children : six boarding or high schools, 30 primary schools, tha admirable institute of ths Sisters of the Good Shepherd at Mount Magdala, doing such noble work for all classes in the whole Colony, whilst our Catholic population numbers over two and twenty thousand. Is it not then right well and meet that we offer up fervent prayers to the Throne of the Most High, in thanksgiving for the manifold blessings we have received during this half -century of years ? Should we not earnestly beseech the Father of all mercies to continue to shower down His choicest gifts upon ourselves and our fellow-citizena in Canterbury and all New Zealand, for many the land of their birth, and for most of us the beloved home of our adoption ? At the same time, should we not strive to eive some tangible proof of this gratitude and delight ? Appeals have been made to all sections of the community to erect a Jubilee Memorial in our midst, and it is to be hoped that these appeals will meet with a cordial response. Besides this, we have a great work in hand which must strongly appeal to the whole of the diocese. During one of our audiences with our Holy Father the Pope, on the occasion of our last visit to Rome, he expressed his surpris3 that we had only a wooden ProCathedral in the beautiful oity of Christchurch. He urged us to do our utmost, with the co-operation of our priests and people, to erect a temple more worthy the abiding presence of our dear Lord in the marvellous Sacrament of His love. When we ventured to speak of the difficulties in the way, he paused for a while, then, looking from heaven to us, • Intende yrospere vroeede et regna, my dear Lord,' he answered, with a look of inspiration-- 1 Set out, proceed; prosperously and reign ' (Ps. xliv., 5). ' Fear not, you are sure to succeed ' — with other words that we dare not repeat. He lovingly imparted and still imparts a special blessing to all who in way contribute to this noble work. Not only this, but he gave us a generous donation in behalf of this our Cathedral Fund. Since our return to New Zealand our beloved priests and people have heartily entered into the spirit of the vast undertaking, many having already given or promised most handsome contributions, whioh up to the present have reached the truly noble sum of £18,000 I Not a few are holding back till they bear that we are ready to lay the foundation stone of our future Cathedral. We are glad to be able to announce to you that his Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney hats graciously promised to come and perform this ceremony the second Sunday in February. Several other distinguished Prelates h»T« intimated their willingness to be present on that memorable occasion. May we not now appeal to you, dearly beloved brethren and children in Christ, to do your part. We are oonfldent that those on whom a merciful Providence haa bountifully bestowed the goods of this world will consider themselves as no more than stewards thereof. Will they not emulate the noble oonduot of our saintly

forefathers, who have left to an admiring posterity grand architectural monuments of their z?al and piety by erecting churches and cathedrals which adorn the principal cities of Europe? — cathedrals which, thanks to the unstinted wealth lavished upon them, still rear their lofty heads to the sky even after the lapse of centuries and centuries. How many of our Catholic people die intestate through a morbid dread of making a will, thus leaving the earnings of a lifetime to the State ? How many bequeath what it has taken long and laborious years to amass, to those who, perhaps, will squander it away without the faintest thought of praying for the deceased donors ? How much wiser and more profitable for their souls to have bequeathed a portion to the great God to whom they are indebted fur all thai Ihty Lad. What more opportune moment to erect this cathedral than during the year of the Gulden Jubilee of Lkis fuir piovinob of ours ? Not only will it be a memorial for the Jubilee year of tho province, it will be something more. The present eventful century ih drawing to a close, and we are standing on the threshold of a new era. Have we not reason to be grateful for favors, both spiritual and temporal, received by ourselves or our fathers during the century now near its end .' Will not the erection of a cathedral be a most appropriate way to mark our indebtedness and our gratitude to the Almighty .' Will it not be a standing memorial whereby to testify our gratitude and delight ? We know you too well, dearly beloved brethren and children in Christ, to insist further in urging the discharge of a duty which we are confident you will love to fulfil. We feel sure you will do all in your power to make it as worthy a thank-offering as you can for the countless graces you and yours have received during the century now drawing to its close. As patriotic citizen*-!, too, you will be eager to make this cathedral an ornament to the City of the Plains. We have no doubt that in this point of view aloue not-^jjpew of our dear separated brethren will help us to do the same,. . Gladly do we avail ourselves of this opportunity to thank nur devoted priests and their faithful flocks for the great kindntss they Bhowtd us and the zealous missionaries who labored with us during our recent visitation of the diocese. The generosity of priests and people in the noble work we undertook will ever be among the cherished recollections of the past. May we not at the same time urge those who so kindly promised donations towards the Cathedral, to be as prompt as they can in redeeming those sacred promises .' Let each of us take up the words of the inspired penman and make them his own, saying, 'I purpose to build a temple to the name of the Lord my God ' (3 Kings v. .")), and this, with the help of the Mot High. I am resolved to accomplish We hereby direct— (l) That on the occasion of the Jubilee of the province, that is to sny, Sunday, December lt>, or the first Sunday after the reception of this Pastoral, a si'einii Te D-urn will be sung in all the churches or chap >Ls of the diocese. Together with the Te Deum. the versieles and prayers ' Pro Gratiarum Actione' will be recited or sung in thanksgiving for the many blessings we ha\e received during the Jubilee of the province (2) On the .list of the month, the last day of the present ye.ir. wherever it can be safely and conveniently done, a column Midnight Mass may be sung in all the principal churches of the diocese, to thank the Almighty for the blessings of the oxpiring century and to invoke the blessings of the Most high on the new one, the dawn whereof you will bd glad thus to sanctify. In conclusion, let us exhort you to hearken to the words of the Gentiles, words so appropriate to the occasion — ' We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethr n. as it is meet, fur your faith increaseth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you aboundeth '(2 Tim. i.. 'A ) Again, ' I desire first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men ; for kings and for all in high places' ( I. Tim. ii., 1). ' Let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts, wherein also you are called in one body, and be ye thankful. Be ye filled with the Holy Ghost ; speaking to yourselves in p-alms and hymns and spiritual canticles, and making melody in your he-irts to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things in the house of our Lord Jesus Christ to God and the Father" (Lph. v. ( 18-20),