The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 9, 4 March 1909, Page 351

The Catholic World

ENGLAND— The Sisters of Nazareth Referring to the demise of the Mother-General of the Sisters of 'Nazareth, the Condon Daily Telegraph, in an appreciative notice, says the many thousands of the hopelessly poor are to-day mourning the" death of a gentle lady who devoted a strenuous. life to the amelioration of -theirs. Full of sympathy for tlfe ,poor, a fine' judge of character, possessing , tact and an infinite amount of courage, Mother Mary not only interested herself in cases of distress brought before her, but' sought out persons in difficulties, and by her advice and. assistance many 1 a woman has been" able to redeem -a position which seemed ..hopeless: - _ ,. ■ ' A Staunch Catholic Mr. Bernard Augustin Dronigoole, J.P., founder and former editor of St. Helejis Newspaper and Advertiser, died at St. Helens recently,' aged 93. He'was'a prominent Liberal and a staunch supporter of the Catholic Chtirch. He leaves a widow, twelve sons, and three daughters. An Appointment The Right Rev. Mgr. Butt left for Rome on December 28 to take up his duties as Vice-Rector of the "Collegio Beda. His departure is greatly regretted by his late colleagues at Archbishop's House, Westminster, who will miss his genial presence very much. Father Vaughan as a Preacher Father Bernard Vaughan delivered an address on a - recent Sunday in Bradford in aid of the local hospital."Never before had the visit of any lecturer created such interest in the Yorkshire town. The leading Yorkshire paper in its notice of his discourse had the following appreciative sketch of the well-known Jesuit : ' One realises, in listening to the famous preacher, how much of an orator's success is due to his physical endowments. Father Vaughan has a presence that commands and holds tlie attention of his hearers. Tlie portrait which appeared iii our Saturday's issue is an admirable one, but no portrait could do full justice to the expression of austere benignity which is the dominant characteristic of the face. It is not a mobile face ; the outline of the .features has an ascetic hardness; the play of expression, even in the lightest passages, softens but never quite eradicates the note of austerity, - as of a deeper something reserved, and unexpressed. The voice is high-pitched, clear, - penetrating, musical ;" but there is an occasional break in the higher -tones, perhaps the effect of overstrain, and the falling cadences are sometimes lost. . Comparing his manner with that of some famous preachers of the past, one is struck by the absence of any marked peculiarity. He is as full as Spurgeon was of simple illustration, of ■ the homely wit that has a universal appeal ; but he has not the easy, conversational air of the Baptist leader of last generation. He makes much more use of the art of the orator.- The pause before' the pregnant word, that makes expectation double the effect; the skilful adaptation of tone to matter — these are used but not abused, and the art is riot apparent, nor the effect histrionic. There is, however, a kinship to Spurgeon in matter as well as manner. Father Vaughan makes little appeal to intellect, still less to violent emotion. His is a Gospel of common sense, a prudent balancing of the facts of life, a wise regulation of it in accordance with, them.' The Progress of the Church The Catholic clergy of Great • Britain now "numbpr 4166, an increase of 91 during the past year. - The" actual increase (says an. exchange) is made up of 46 regulars and 45 seculars — a disproportion accounted for by the continued, immigration of exiled French religious to.our shores. We/ note the largest gain in clergy, belongs- to the diocese of ' Birmingham, which has 21 more priests than it had a - year ago. The total number of churches, chapels, "and stations in Great Britain has risen by 16 during the year. Mr. Hope's reappearance in the Directory ' list brings the Catholic representatives of English constituencies in Parliament to a record total of nine. The Irish members are stationary with a formidable 73. Lord Queensberry's name comes second on the list of peers, which has a further addition in -Lord MacDonnell, of Swinford. A tHird name may now be added — that of Lord Skerrington, a Scotch Lord of Session. The list of baronets, through the loss of Gordon of Letter fourie, by extinction, stands at 51 instead of at 52, as in 1908. The knights are augmented by such names as Sir Heffernan Considine, Sir Alessandro Chapelle, Sir Henry T. Taschereati (who follows his kinsman, Sir Henry E. Taschereau), Sir Charles Euan Smith, and Sir William Patrick Manning.

UNITED STATES—A Talented Religious An engineers 3 license has been granted to Sister Gregory, of the Little Sisters of the Poor of Boston. Sister Gregory -has been attending the engine and heating plant in the main building of the Home for- the Aged for sixteen years. She received her instructions for oporating the engine and boilers from the engineers, who equipped the -building. She passed her examinations for an engineer's license with a high percentage. The See of Sail Francisco Bishop O'Comiell, Bishop of Sebaste and Rector of the Catholic University of Washington, has boeir -'appointed Auxiliary to the Archbishop of Sail Francisco. ' ~-. A Catholic Chaplain Justifiably elated were the Catholics of California, and -particularly of San Francisco, when (says the San Francisco Monitor), on January 4, 1909, Very Rev. Henry H. Wyman was chosen" Chaplain of the State Senate. The selection was made after an eloquent speech of nomination by Senator Edward I. Wolfe. This" is the first, time in the history of the Senate of the State of California that a Catholic priest has been chosen as chaplain. Early Missionaries „ . Very Rev. Dean -Harris,- who is engaged in -writing an early history- of Catholic Missions, and 'Missionaries in Utah, finds from ancient documents 'preserved. in the Washington library that missionaries visited ' there jsii' early as 1776. - • " - ■ -. .;■' ' An Old Printing: Establishment „/ „.',--- .Years rpreviotis to the English settlement' of Vyirginia and New England, "and ,;the -DutclTTcolonisation -of New York, .Father Fiancisco 0.P.,".6f> illustrioiisVinemory, set up. the "printing press-in. Manilla, as early., as- 1602 printing a volume in Tagalog ~oh~ l our -Lctdy^of- the- Rosary — the first book printed in the Philippine capital. From this establishment, continuously in existence for upwards of three centuries, and known as ' The, University Press,' there has just begun to issue a weekly paper, printed in English and entitled The Philippine Catholic.