The Catholics of St. Pierre.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 26, 26 June 1902, Page 6

The Catholics of St. Pierre.

The horror which has fallen upon the civilised world (saya the Sacred Heart lieriew) in faoe of the dread calamity which has as it were, blotted the 30,000 souls of St. Pierre, our neighboring oommunity in tbe French Went IndiaD pofseesion?, from the face of the f arth under terrifying vnlcanlc eruption?, the knowledge comes with peculiar pathos to Ctitholi' e, because so many of these victims were in a religious sense of our own household. The following extractH from an account of the city written by a recent visitor are of marked interest. Says the writ> r: — ' St. Pierre contains several churches, onea venerable oathpdral. They are all Catholic. Ytsterday we rra<ie a pilgrimage to Morne Rouge, a mountain village about six miles distant, noted for its devotional character. ... At the top of the mountain a short distance from Morne Rouge is a large crucifix with life-size figure of our Lord. Wayside shrines and crosses are plenty in Martinique. The church at Morne R >uge is plain and unpretentious, without • but inside exceedingly beautiful, with one high altar and two side altars, dedicated respectively to the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph. I believe devout pilgrimages are made here, and there ia certainly an air of sanctity ami devotion about tbe pace well calculated to inpp.ro devotion in the mind prepared for religious impressions. The frtscoing of the ceiling ia remarkably fine, and on the walls hanjr valuable painting*, .of Hueh excelletce as to excite surprise that thny are to be round in thin out-of-the-way little hamlet. , . . The church ponw-es in appearance all the attributes of a veritable sanctuary. Harmonious with the devotional quiet and repose win the {re ence ot two white- veiled nuns who knelt before the high altar, wr,«ppe«i in meditation. A few persons were scatten d along tbe aisles saying their prayers ; among them, several negro boys, one of whom was just übout to enter the confessional. The spirituality of th'H d. vout temple could not fail to impre'-seven thot-e^who are not belie\ers iuiiscre«d. As we emerged from the peaceful premuclh, we me', a cheerful, grey-haired prieatin cassock and white ban <i ( who (,-rteted ua with an urbane smile ana courteous ineiinatio'i of the hea i. He was n refined, intellectual-looking tnan, who filled the idea of a typical abbe, one who combines religious knowledge with the culture and accomplishments of the great world.'