The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5, 4 February 1909, Page 191

The Catholic World

CANADA— Practical Evidence of Friendliness Lord Stratlicona is a non-Catholic, but a littlo time, ago he made a donation of £1250 to the Catholic": High i School of Montreal. In a lotter to Hon. Justice Curran, ; enclosing a cheque, he wrote : - ' Whilst I am personally ; more immediately connected with the Protestant Church ' and institutions of the country, not the less have I a - warm feeling for my follow-citizons of other denominations, , including the. Catholics, both English and French-speak-ing, and I would gladly, as far as possible, aid them in •; their efforts ior higher education.' This is not: Lord i Strathcona's first practical - evidence of friendliness .to o. Catholic purposes. Some ' years ago he made a.- donation < of £250 to the Shamrock Amateur - Athletic Society, a ~ leading Catholic organisation for young men in the Do- ; minion. ENGLAND— The Education of Children Preaching at St. Patrick's Church, Soho, on Sunday morning, December 13, the Archbishop of Westminster said a part of the work of the Catholic Church was the education of her children, and it had recently been made clear by the unexampled generosity 'of Catholics, " and by their great sacrifices that they were determined to safeguard the best interests of the children, so that they could take their place in the world as good Catholics and good citizens. Ordained Priest at the Age of Seventy-four A little over a year ago (says the Catholic Times) Prince Lowenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort, a great German noble whose eldest son is married to a cousin of King Edward VII., and who was one of the founders and leaders of the Centre Party in the* Reichstag, renounced his estates, position, and dignities, and at the age of 73 became a novice in the Dominican Order. On December 18 he was ordained priest by Cardinal Fischer, Archbishop - of Cologne, and is now at St. Dominic's Priory, Haverstock Hill, N.W., on his- way to the Isle of Wight, to -visithis sister and daughter,, , who are both nuns in the Benedictine Convent at Ryder" His daughter is one of three who have all entered -religious Orders, and his sister is the widow of Dom Miguel, King of Portugal, 1828-1834. The Prince, whose name has been intimately bound up for half a century with the struggle for the rights of .the - German Church and Catholic religion, is now known as Father Raymund. The ceremony of -his reception into the Dominican Order in the Conventual Church of Venloo was very striking. An immense crowd, which included many of the distinguished relatives? was present to assist at the Pontifical High Mass. The Prince, supported by his eldest sonpwore his robes of state with the Collar of , the Golden Fleece, the Grand Cross of the Order of Malta, and that of the Order of Christ. These glittering badges of his knighthood and worldly rank .he .lajki upon the altar, receiving in exchange the white tunic and black mantle of a Dominican. The event created a considerable sensation in Germany at the time, and the career of tho venerable prince-priest is still watched with sympathetic interest. FRANCE— Joan of Arc to be Beatified The promoter of tho Cause of Joan of Arc (writes the Rome correspondent of the Catholic Times) road on Sunday, December 13, in presenco of the Holy. Father, a document expressing approval" by the Sacred Congregation of two miracles wrought by Almighty God at tho intercession., of the Maid of Orleans. A large number of French residents and many who had come specially from France for the occasion were present, and manifested intense enthusiasm at the success of the process. It may be said that the Beatification of Joan of Arc is now almost an accomplished fact, and will probably take place in May. To Monsignor A. S. Touchet, Bishop of Orleans, whoso efforts to promote the cause which French Catholics have so much at heart have been ceaseless, Pius X. expressed pleasure at the progress of the process, and he congratulated the Bishop on the possession of another patron for Orleans. His Holiness said : ' T,he example of the Maid of Orleans' heroism should encourage all French Catholics to-day. In her virtues she gave them a model. „ She was pure as an angel, strong as a lion in battle, and amidst troubles, simple, as a child, and ever fervent in religion. She vperformed for her country a task that was considered impossible. What is impossible in the eyes of men is possible to God. The French people should love their country, their God, their Faith, and their Church as she did.' One of the three miracles approved of by the Congregation of Rites took place at Orleans in 1900, when Sister Teresa,

of the Order of St. Augustine, after having invoked the • aid of Joan of Arc, was cured instantaneously qf an 'ulcer; another at Faverolles in 1893, .when Sister : Authier was cured of the same disease in the same way ; and the third at Fruges in 1891, when Sistor Jeanne Marie San-,. gier, after having invoked the assistance of the Maid, was - instantly cured of chronic tuberculosis. ROME— Papal Jubilee Gifts An. interesting episode in the Papal Jubilee celebrations occurred on Satiirday morning, December 12, when tho Holy Father received the" Knights of the "Holy. Sepulchre, who presented his Holiness with a gift of a numbor of portable altars, each containing a complete set of sacred -.vessels. Sir Thomas Esmonde, M.P., represented the : -Irish Knights. Count Fani, * the Italian representative, the address to his Holiness. The Pope in reply described 'the gift as most useful and appropriate, and warmly thanked the. members of the .Order, which his Holiness remarked was- the oldest of the Papal Orders. At the same time ho expressed his desire for its increase and prosperity. In conclusion the Pope bestowed the Apostolic Benediction upon all tlie Knights and- their families. Forthcoming Consistory . : The Rome correspondent. of the London. Times says it is more than' likely that a Consistory ivill be, held early in the .present ,, year, and; that -.some Cardinals;. will be created, among the Patriarch ,of Lisbon, and, very probably, Archbishop Bourne, of Westminster." - Restoration .Work at St. Peter's ,'. : .. One of the most characteristic signs of. the present Pope's zeal in 'connection with church services, is his- wish to see everything, connected with the House of- God plain, clean, and substantial (writes a Rome correspondent). On no account will he tolerate any dilapidation or shabbiness in a sacred edifice, no matter how poor may be the building itself, for all things in it can at least be kept clean and in good repair. One of the first undertakings -of Plus X. after his election to the Throne of Peter was the restoration of the floor of the Apostolic Basilica, but the work had to cease for some time owing to want of funds. Now, however, the sum of 100,000 lire has been deposited by Pius X. with Cardinal Rampolla, Archpriest .of St. Peter's, to overhaul thoroughly the marble pavement, the beauty of which centuries have done so much to disfigure. UNITED STATES— A Gold Medal for the Holy Fathe r His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Glonnon, Archbishop of St. Louis, U.S.A., had a private audience on December 9, in connection with his official visit. ' The presented the Pope with a gold medal which iihe r committee of the St. .Louis Exposition of two years ago tondered for the acceptance of the Holy Father, as a sign of their gratitude to Pius X. for having sent several artistic objects of great value to the Exposition. Civil Authorities must be Respected In a recent address in Baltimore, Cardinal Gibbons said : ' The Church teaches that the civil authorities must be respected no mattpr what the nationality or religion of tho incumbent in office: I recently received a letter from man asking me whether he ought to respect Mr. Tafb, the President-elect, because he was informed that Mr. Tuft was not a believer in Our Lord. I was amazed, and can scarcely believe that" the man was a .true Catholic. You must- have no loss respect for .those at the "head of your Grovernmont' than- you have .- fo]^_the,.,.Pope. ..in his department. There is .a great evil in' 'wiis> land 'that forb'odes revolution or a partial- upheaval of society. The ; only, way to avoid a catastrophe is to teach our young men ,to respoct the authorities placed over them.' Resignation of Bishop Spaldirig The Right Rev. Dr. Spalding,. Bishop _of ~Peoria, has issued a farewell letter to the clergy of the diocese announcing, officially that his . rcsiguatiion as Bishop of Pcoria had" been' accepted by tho Holy. Father, and that the. Rev. H. J. O'.Rpilly, formerly 'Auxiliary to the Bishop of Pooria, had boon appointed diocesan administrator ponding tho selection of a new bishop. An Energetic Pastor In the Catholic Herald of Sacramento, California, we find an account of the blessing and opening of a new Catholic church which has been erected under many difficulties by the energetic and zealous 'pastor, Rev. Father Tubman/ brother of the highly esteemed Rector of Timaru, Rev. J. Tubman, S.M. Whilst Father Tubman was on a visit to Ireland the old church was destroyed by fire; he hastened back to his parish^ bought a new site in the centre of the town of Reno, on which was a fine residence, now iised as a presbytery. Objection was taken to a change of site, but Father Tubman persevered notwith-

standing strong opposition, and succeeded in "collecting upwards of £14,000 for the building of the church, which the local newspaper describes as a magnificent building. Now all' are agreed that Father Tubman was wise in selecting so prominent a site, which has a frontage to one of the principal streets. The splendid structure (says the Catholic Herald) consecrated to" the "^service ■ af the Almighty stan4s_ as a monument to the zeal and energy and taste of -Father Tubman and the faith and loyalty of his devoted people. Both are richly deserving of the eloquent tributes of admiration and esteem which "the completion of their labor of love evoked from the visiting prelates, and clergy and xne distinguished citizens who took part in the fetes incident to Sunday's dedicatory. . The dedication ceremony was performed by Bishop Grace, of Sacramento. In the course of an address, Bishop Grace said: { I congratulate you and Father Tubman "dii^-the completion of this beautiful church. If I did jnqfc'Svitness the result of this work I would be inclined to say it was beyond -the means and the power of this congregation, but by the blessing of God and through the business., capacity and zeal of Father Tubman, it has been finished, and will confer a benefit on religion as a whole for generations -to come. I congratulate him and you on the achievement. The Church will long be an object of admiration and inspiration to the stranger and a monument to the zeal of those who built it. The altar particularly is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I have consecrated many marble altars of costly a,nd elaborate workmanship, but in its appearance none has produced so beautiful an effect.' GENERAL The Church in Hawaii In Hawaii there are. 35,000 Catholics out of a total population of 155,000. There has not been a groat increase from the native population, despite the many charities conducted by Catholics, the principal one of which is the homo for the lepers established by the saintly Damicn.