Cathedral Feis, Auckland

New Zealand Tablet, 11 April 1912, Page 25

Cathedral Feis, Auckland

- ; By telegraph from our own correspondent;) . • ■.. ]u ! - ‘ y 77 '£i77 77777777 ■ 7.7 .- April. 8. •; ■ - - • . The Cathedral Feis, organised to extinguish the debt on the parish ,was opened with great ’ eciat last Satur- . day nigbt by , his Excellency Lord-;-Islington>- At 5 o’clock in the morning the committee ( commenced’ the erection. and ornamentation ■ of ; stalls. • After working all , day everything was in ireadiness • for ; thel opening at 7 o’clock in the.evening. • ifiit ; .;^7-; v '>.777 , His Lordship the Bishop, in introducing i; the Governor, said it ‘ was ; superfluous . to introduce his Excel- - lency, as that was the second occasion on which he had honored them by performing an opening ceremony. • , His Excellency,- prefaced- his 'remarks by giving a message conveying, the good wishes of Lady Islington, who was unfortunately prevented from being present owing to a slight indisposition. 1 As most of his hearers ■ were aware, the object of the fete was to -wipe off the debt attaching to the‘extension of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The cost of the work had been about £7OOO, and there still remained some £4OOO to clear off. Re felt sure it must be the wish of every good Catholic in Auckland to see the Cathedral church standing in their midst free of every penny ■.= of debt—(applause)— from what he had heard of the energy and enthusiasm put into the - festival there was .evidently a very keen desire on* the part of a very considerable portion of the Catholic community .to see- that worthy"object realised within the next few days. Father Holbrook, who was one of the principals in the organising of the Feis, had been successful in securing much that should attract all classes and creeds within the Town Hall during the coming week. He wished God-speed to the Feis in all its branches, and congratulated-all those who had come forward to ensure the .success he felt sure it would be.— (Applause.) - / The Hon, A. M. Myers, M.P., Minister of Finance, next spoke. He said that there was one thing at least all churches possessed, and that was a debt. The amount the Feis aimed at was a large one, but from his experience of the zeal and enthusiasm of the Catholics he was confident they ..would, with the help of those of other creeds, not only realise: their aspirations, but would have a surplus. (Applause.) v 77 • Rev. Father Holbrook, in proposing a V vote- of thanks to his Excellency the Governor, said, they were indebted to him not only for opening the fete, but for 'his kindly encouragement. Speaking of ) the big task ‘ they had set themselves, Father Holbrook . said they wanted their Bishop to feel that he , had with him not only the Catholic people of Auckland, hut every rightthinking person as ; well, and that his :7 hopes . for , the extinction of the debt would be realised. (Applause.) It was quite unnecessary to thank Mr Myers, because he had been so closely identified with' their work for a. very long time. /.I - 7". " 77 7,77 7777;777' 7777 7 -77:;; 7' ”■ .. Mr. P. J. Nerheny, in seconding . .the, vote, said Lord Islington was one of. the greatest democratic .Goernors that had ever come to New Zealand, and he , had always taken the keenest interest in i everything that made for the uplifting of .humanity —•( Applause.) 7 The scene in the hall is a particularly brilliant one. Around the sides are ranged numerous stalls, laden with all sorts ■ of articles, which are so attractive that they , almost sell themselves without the additional persuasion "exerted by 1 the fair ‘stall-holders, 7 who are all out after the record takings for the fortnight!7 There are about 300 charming children and young ladies in picturesque , costumes, under the skilful training of Signor Borzoni, who has a genius for this sort of thing! They have _ become ; astonishingly ; adept' : at 7‘ marching and dancing to music, and, with the aid -.-of sunshades, • flowers, or festoons, at’ posing into ; dozens of different groups, which - are singularly : effective :’ both , from ' the blending of the colors ■ of : the costumes and the gracefulness of the dancers. Signor Borzoni calls his spec-' tacle ‘A New Zealand Summer; Night.’ It is divided into ten scenes, and finishes up with a spectacular march consisting of the full strength of the company., The whole thing is really well imagined, and the execu- !

tion is excellent, especially when we remember that the •young people are all amateurs. V ■ It would take too long -to'give, the "details of the many' stalls, but the principal ones are St. . Patrick’s (Miss Mcllhone and 39 assistants), Sacred . .Heart (Misses M, Ormond. Courteny, McGuire, A. Gray don, and 29 assistants), St. Benedict’s (Mrs; Fernandez, Miss A. Lorrigan, and 40 assistants), Men’s 1 : Club and refreshments (Mrs. Y. Little, Mrs. J. Fitzgerald, and 4 41 assistants) v- The Auckland - Star, commenting •on the Feis, said: ‘ The splendid organisation that marks anything the r Catholics take in hand has enabled them to grapple with the problem of' extinguishing the ' debt ‘ on their Cathedral church in a manner that might have, reasonably daunted any other religious body.’ ;