ENGLAND

New Zealand Tablet, 24 July 1913, Page 55

ENGLAND

THE OZANAM CENTENARY. • Striking-success marked the whole of the ceremonies in connection with the national observance of the centenary of Frederic Ozanam, chief founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which took place in Manchester during the last week in May (says the Universe). Each of the public assemblies held in connection with the observance was remarkably well attended. ■ On the Saturday afternoon, when the first meeting was held, St. Patrick's Hall, Livesey street, accommodated about 1000 men, while on Sunday afternoon about 4000 people attended the mass meeting in the Free Trade Hall. The previous evening some 1200 guests attended a civic reception in the Manchester Town Hall, and at the concluding function, a dinner in the Midland Hotel, on Sunday evening, some-750 guests were present. It is doubtful if ever before more Catholics had assembled together at dinner. Certainly his Eminence said that neither he nor any of his predecessors had attended a Catholic dinner at which there were so many guests. But it-was not in point of numbers alone that the centenary celebration was a successthe work of Ozanam was brought home to thousands in a way which they had never known before, while the various speeches and sermons must have filled the members of the society with the true spirit of their great founder and acted as a stimulus to them to go on with their work with renewed energy. His Eminence Cardinal Bourne presided over all the meetings, and among those who took part in the proceedings were his Grace the Archbishop of Liverpool, the Bishop of Salford, the Bishop of Sebastopolis and Bishops Singleton, Hanlon, Butt, and Mclntyre. Members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society were present from all parts of the country, and a large number of clergy also took part in the proceedings.

HONORED BY THE HOLY FATHER. The Holy Father has been pleased to create Mr. Paul E. J. Hemelryk, J.P., 0.R.5., a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory. Mr. Hemelryk has long been one of the most prominent Catholics in the religious and civic activities of Liverpool. Born at Leyden in 1840, he is a member of an old Dutch family which preserved the faith. As a young man he came to Liverpool in 1862, where he settled, starting in business as a cotton broker. In 1867 he became a naturalised British subject. He is the senior Catholic magistrate in the city, having been made a Justice of the Peace in 1890. In Catholic matters Mr. Hemelryk has ever been to the front. In times when feeling ran high, he did not hesitate to resign his position as chairman of a Conservative club as a protest against Colonel Sandys' Orange scurrilities. Fearlessness and thoroughness have been the two dominant notes of his character. He has supported every public Catholic movement. More particularly has he been associated with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, of which he is a vice-president of the Superior Council of England, and president of the Liverpool Central Council. It is largely in recognition of his work for the society that the distinction has been accorded by his Holiness.