DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2, 12 January 1905, Page 4

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

(From our own correspondent.) January 9. During the Christmas and New Year weeks a bazaar was open at Lyttelton, tihe proceeds of which are inten-i ded to pay off a liability of £300 on the Catholic presbytery. The stalls, tour in number, were well stocked and tastefully decorated, and managed by the following ladies :— No. 1 stall, Mesdames Murray, Joyce, and Knight ; No. 2, Mesdames. Burns, Loader, and Hetary ; No. 3, Mesdames Gellatly and iFitzgerald, and Miss Mahar ; No. 4, Mesdames Parker, King, and Purcell. The refreshment stall was managed ny Misses Delany, Quelch, Ryan, and Williams. A bran tub was in charge of Miss M. Gellatly. Mr. J. Mahar controlled a shooting gallery, and Messrs. A. Haydon and J. Gardner managed the entertainments given each evening. The various stall-holders were assisted each evening by a number of young ladies, 'ihe bazaar, after a most successful season, was closed on last Tuesday evening, when, notwithstanding the hjoisterous weather on the day previous necessitating the abandonment of the annual regatta, the gross receipts totalled £325. The Rev. Father Cooney cordially thanked all who had assisted, and the public generally' for their generous patronage. The Rev. Mother de Pazzi, Superior of the Sisters of Nazareth (five in number), who arrived last week to found the hrst Na7areth House in New Zealand, was for eleven years attached to various houses of the Order in South Africa. She spent three years at Johannesburg and was there during the course of the war. The Sisters Irom this centre spent their whole time nursing in the hospitals. At Kimberley their own house was converted into a hospital. For meritorious services rendered the Sisters (including Mother de Paz7i) were awarded 'silver medals by the military authorities. From South Atnca Mother de Pazzi returned to Ehgland and was connected with the Nazareth House at Cardiff, where the Sisters shelter 300 inmates. There she remained three years, until selected tio take charge of the new foundation in Christehuroh. On arriving at Plymouth on the voyag-e out they were informed by telegraph that the Holy Father had bestowed on them his special blessing. On arrival at Hobart every preparation had been made by the Very Key. Dean iioyne ..o show hospitality on shore, a carriage even being in readiness to take the Sisters for a drive in the city. Owing to the outbreak of measles on board no communication with the passengers was allowed. Not to be outdone, Dhe Dean sent them a plentiful supply of fruit, and was himself permitted to converse with them from the top of the gangway, a privilege allowed to <no other persion. The Sisters helped In every way possible in attending the measles patients in the various quarters of the vessel. They speak gratefully of the exceptioaal kindsness of his Lordship the Bisthop, and appreciation of the excellent arrangements made by the ladies for their accommodation.