The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume 11, Issue 10, 11 March 1909, Page 391

The Catholic World

ENGLAND— A Mother in Israel In its notice of the death of the Mother-General of I the Sisters of Nazareth, the London Tablet said : ' For " many years she (Mother Mary of the Nativity) had borne, sufferings which could neither restrict her boundless activities nor defeat her fortitude, . and it, seemed as if only after uncovenanted hesitations .and delays "wer,e they allowed to fulfil their law and she to lay down her life. On Tuesday, though very ill, she seemed' to take a .turn for the better-. The doctor spoke encouragingly,- and the Archbishop of Westminster, who visited her, left the sick-room reassured. In the night, however, there was a change for the worse; and in the presence of the Bishop of Amycla and of members of her community, she breathed her -last. Thus passes away Margaret Mary Owen, a Mother in "Israel, a woman among women, of whom we can confidently say that no woman of her time has exercised a greater beneficence. The Order which she ruled for thirty-one years will mourn for her even while its members know that, being dead, she yet speaketh ; and not only the poor will send up their lamentations; for among all classes alike she carried forward her apostolate of pity and of love. There is a destitution of the heart as well as of the purse, and to the one" and the other the personality and the resources of Mother Mary of the Nativity brought succor. The Poor Sisters of Nazareth date only from 1851, and the part taken in the foundation of their Order by Cardinal Wiseman began that connexion between Nazareth House and the Archbishop of Westminster which future events drew closer. Cardinal Manning used to say that had he been a woman he would have been a Sister of Nazareth ; and Cardinal Vauglian's biography will tell the story of the unfailing help he had from the Community of Hammersmith and its head. The Hammersmith Mother-house was built in 1857, and has been since enlarged. To-day the branch houses in Great Britain and Ireland, in Australia, South Africa, and Now Zealand number over thirty. Those who know the enormous scale of the charities achieved at the Hammersmith House alone will not need to be told what, when thus multiplied, the aggregate of such beneficence must be. And hers was the constructing mind, the directing hand. Thus it is that no dearer name in religion has beon known among us for many years than that of Mary of the Nativity. It will be spoken henceforth only in prayer, mingled with praise and thanksgiving for the gift ;to earth of such a soul. No mother of families gathered round domestic hearths this Christmas, however dear to children and grandchildren, will ever be followed to "the grave with so much affection, gratitude, and grief as she.' FRANCE — An Important Judgment An important judgment affecting the rights of Catholics to hold their churches has been given by the tribunal of Brive, in France. The Municipal Coxmcil formed a cultural association, and intruded an Old Catholic parish priest named Fatomc. The Abbe Dumas, who was appointed by the Bishop of Tulle, claimed the church, and the tribunal has decided that his claim is good, on the ground that as between two "distinct religions the preference is to be given to that which was formerly in occupation. ITALY— A Cherished Decoration Numberless instances of heroism on tlic part of the priests, Brothers, and nuns of Calabria and Sicily (says a Rome correspondent) are daily rocorded in tbo press. A touching incident occurred a few days ago in a caravan of thirty wounded who were being conveyed to Catania. Among the number "was a nun, who only awaited death to end her sufferings. Sho had made .her Way among the ruins for the purpose of interring corpses when a tottering wall fell tipon her and fractured her sktill. Grave though her condition was, as sho was conveyed to Catania she 'preserved perfect lucidity of mind, and when a doctor had dressed her wounds her only cause of sorrow was that* she could not make any return for his attendance. Amid effusive thanks the dying nun insisted upon his acceptance of all she possessed — an aluminium medal! With tears in his eyes the old doctor showed the medal to his comrades. 'Itis my most cherished decoration,' he said. 'So much faith, such self-sacrifice and resignation on the part of the poor Sister, who believed- she had not even done her duty, will surely recall me to the Faith 1' The Clergy and the Sufferers Our readers (remarks the Catholic Times) are aware of the spirit in which the clergy of Sicily, Calabria, and indeed the whole of Italy, acted during the trying time "immediately following the earthquake. -The ' reports sent to

the Holy Father and the Cardinal-Secretary of State by Bishops and priests, the letters they -addresfeed^to friends, the interviews, they' gave to newspaper -correspondents all eloquently attest how eager they were to help- others in the hour of danger. As soon as the aged Archbishop of Messina was released from the wreckage of his palace, his first thought was for his seminarists whose lives were in jeopardy. When he had brought relief to them he sought out , the wounded and had them brought into a part of the palace which remained standing Similar courage arid -self-sacrifice were displayed by ' the Vicar Capitular of Reggio di .Calabria.^— As for the ordinary clergy. both in Messina azid Reggio, most of them were killed; yet those of them who survived and were not severely injured, remained amidst the ruins, affording spiritual succor to the afflicted people. Many other priests, including Cardinals Lualdi and Nava, came to "their assistance from Palermo, Catania, Acireale, Syracuse — from every part of Italy and Sicily — and spent days and nights in this work of mercy. ■ What wonder that the Catholics are fiercely indignant at the slanderous utterance of the Italian Minister of Marine, Admiral Mirabello, to the effect that the priests were wanting in devotion to their flocks. The clergy were, the first to render aid, and ever since they have remained, -at the ' posb of duty — beside the suffering and the sorrowing. The Holy Father and the Orphans ' . " One of tho saddest features of the disaster in Calabria and Messina is tho number of young children who; have been left without father, mother, or relative.." • -It is a splendid proof of the untiring labor and tender solicitudo ' with which the investigations amongst the^ ruins have been conducted that the lives of such n large number- of children who. were in deadly peril "have been-"" saved.- 1111 11" 1 Tho Holy Father has shown an eager interest ~ih -the fate" of the orphans. At his request many of them have beon taken into private houses and orphanages in Rome, and , according to a report which a.ppears in the Corriere d' ltalia, he has blessed and promised to aid a scheme which Bishop Morabito has formed for the establishment of a great orphanage in Calabria. No undertaking in the stricken region is more deserving of generous support. SCOTLAND— Death of a leading Catholic Our Home exchanges record the death of a leading Scottish Catholic in the person of Mr. James Brand, K.C.S.G. Born some' seventy-seven years ago in _Montrose, he came of a family hailing from Kincardine. He served an apprenticeship as a civil engineer, and afterwards joined his father in business, first as assistant and later as partner in the firm. He carried out many of the most important undertakings of the Great North of Scotland Railway, his skDl as an engineer aird his ability as a contractor surmounting many difficulties. In many of his recent contracts millions of pounds were involved, Lho firm of Messrs. Charles Brand and Son being one of the foremost in Great Britain. Mr. Brand, while still a young man, became a Catholic. The step was an heroic one, but deceased was a man of. firm conviction, and he held principles sacred. ~ He was one of the first chairmen of tho Glasgow Parish Council, and the first Catholic to fill the honored post. To the Catholic Church in Scotland -Mr. Brand gave ungrudgingly of his time. He founded tho Caledonian Catholic Association — now one of the most vigorous Catholic institutions in Scotland, and he followed with interest, and assisted in, the work of the Catholic Truth Society. Foi; the great services he rendered to the Faith in Scotland he roceived from the Pope the Knighthood of St. Gregory. His piirse Avas always at the sorvice of -tho Church, / one of his- latest - gifts being £1000 for the erection of a hall in' GarnethilL ■ . -' ~_ UNITED STATES— An Appreciation ' ,The GovornQr-Geiieral -of the" Philippine Islands has sent" a communication ; to ..Archbishop HarEy". of Manila, thanking him for the services he' rendered "yin" y in .enlisting tho aid of tho clergy to stamp out. the, cholera. A Protector of Life and Property . . 'I Commenting on the procession of -40,000 Catholic men through the streets of*" Boston on November 1/ which' was one of the features of~ the centenary celebration of that diocese, Mr. George T. Angell, editor of Our Vuvib Animals — a man internationally famous_as a humanitarian, and who is a non-Catholic, says : ' And as we looked down on this great procession two thoughts came to vs — First, that saying nothing of theological opinions there can be t.o doubt that, innumerable millions of the human races have on the whole lived bettor -lives and died happier because of the teachings and* ministrations of the Catholic Church, and, second, that the American Catholic Church is a great protection of property and life, and if anarchist mobs should ever attempt to raise their bloody hands and flags in Boston, these forty -thousand men would crush them as quickly as" Napoleon did the mobs of Paris.'