DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 32, 6 August 1903, Page 5

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

(From our own correspondent.) August 3. Mr. King, musical director, conducted the first operatic rehearsal in connection with the ( Polyorama,' last Tuesday evening, with very satisfactory results. There is to be a weekly practice for the present. His Lordship Bishop Grimes has received the following letter from the Right Rev. Dr. Julius, Anglican Bishop of Christchurch •— ' My dear Bishop 01 nines— Will you allow me to express my profound sense at the loss sustained by Christendom in the death of the great and saintly Pope We join with you in reverence for his memory, and in prayer that God will raise up a man of like spuit to take his place. I desire also to say how sorry I am that our Cathedral bells were rung this evening. Tuesday is the usual practice night, but I was not aware that the bells were ringing until my attention was called to it, and I at once requested the ringers to stop.' Tuesday last, on the occasion of the Solemn Requiem Mass for the repose of the soul of his holiness the late Pope Leo XIII., the Pro-Cathedral was crowded to its utmost capacity. The ceremonies were deeply impressive, and the church was draped in mourning, as prc r \iously described. The Very Rev Father Le Menant des Chesnais, Vicar-General, celebiated Mass. The Very Rev. Father O'Donnell (Ashburton) was deacon, the Very Rev. Father Tubman (Timaru) was sub-deacon, and Very Rev Dean Bowers (Geialdine) was master of ceremonies. The Gregorian music was admirably chanted by the clergy, the cantors being Fathers Richards (Lincoln) and O'Connell (the Bishop's commissary). The following clergy were present in the sanctuary —Fathers Hyland (Rongiora), Dr. Kennedy (Akaroa), Cooney (Lyttelton), Aherne (Darfield), Kerley (Temuka), Aubry (Waimate), Ginaty, Lighthcart (Maori mission, King Country), and Huault (Heanee Seminary, Hawke's Bay) A very large number of members of the Hibernian Society were present in regalia, also the scholars attending the Marist Brothers' and convent schools. The preacher selected was the Rev Father McDonnell, of the Pro-Cathedral,

who based his sermon on the text : ' Thou are Peter, and upon this rock I shall build My Church.' He said that two weeks previously the cable had brought the news that the Holy Father Pope Leo XIII., was in danger of death. All hearts had immediately turned towards Rome, and there, in spirit, the Catholic world had waited day by day, watching over the frail frame of the dying Pontiff. Hope and fear struggled for the mastery. All earnestly hoped that, after 93 years of devotion to the Church Pope Leo would be permitted to continue his Pontificate to his hundredth year ; but 93 years ot toil and strain had left their mark upon the body never very strong, and the Catholics were that day praying for the repose of the soul of one whom they loved so well. The reason for their love and reverence for the late Pope was not far to seek. It could not be merely because he had displayed great wisdom and sanctity, because other men possessed similar qualities. The reason was that he had been the successor of Peter, the head of Christ's Church upon earth. After Peter, 46 Popes in succession occupied the Papal Chair, and cheerfully bore much persecution for their faith. When the Roman Empire, drunk with the blood of Christians, had toppled to its fall, and brought down with it the whole of the western civilisation, one great figure towered above the ruin. The Pope alone remained unscathed. When the Huns, under Attila, had swept over Europe, a Pope, unarmed and practiclly alone, turned them back from Italy. Not only in spiritual, but also in temporal matters, the Popes had exercised a great power for good, and their authority had been recognised by kings and nations. The speaker briefly sketched the life of the late Pope up to the time when he succeeded Pius IX. to the Papal Chair. His views had always been heard on political, social, and industrial questions of the day, and had been received with respect all o\er the world. To-day he was looked upon as one of the greatest Pontiffs. When his life could be viewed with the perspective of time, it would be seen that his occupancy of the Papal Chair had marked an epoch Catholics knew that when a Pope spoke on religious matters he was infallible. If a Pope taught false doctrine, he would ha\e fed the sheep on poisonous herbs, and Christ would have been to blame for appointing the shepherd. As a man, however, the Pope might have had small weaknesses, and all Catholics should, therefore, pray God to pardon him. It anything had needed purifying in the flames of purgatory, they asked God to have mercy on the soul of Pope Leo.

St. Joseph's Church, Lyttelion, has been draped in mourning; on account of the death of Pope Leo, and on last Sunday week a very fine portrait of the late Pontiff was placed at the entrance The Rev. Father Cooney spoke of the deceased prelate at all the sen ices, and at 11 o'clock Mass, delnered a panegyric oiv his Holiness, reviewing his life and depicting the principal features of his character, his sagacity as a statesman, his wide humantarian sympathy, his profound erudition, and his sainthness. Reference was made to the chief incidents of his Pontificate, especially his conflict with Bismarck, his encyclical on behalf of labor, and his action against the slave trade. Mr. W. Radcliffe, the Mayor of Lyttelton, was present during the address, and was thanked by Father Cooney for his attendance The Dead March in ' Saul ' was played at the close of the seiMces.

St Mary's Manchester street, was also suitably draped. The musical arrangements on last Sunday week were in keeping with the solemn occasion A Gregorian Mass was rendered by the choir, as also the De Profundis.