LYING IN STATE.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 292, 10 December 1929, Page 8

LYING IN STATE.

» i LATE BISHOP CLEARY FUNERAL ON THURSDAY. SOUTHERN PRELATES ARRIVING. CHILDREN'S MASS TO-MORROW. A solemn procession entered St Patrick's Cathedral at two o'clock tlii afternoon, when the body of the lat< Bishop Geary was lifted from the hearsi and borne into the church, for the lyin< in state. Fully rote'd in the Eucharisth vestments proper to the office of i bishop, the body lies in the cliancel, wit! the mitre and crozier, emblems of th< episcopate. A continuous watch will b< kept by the faithful till the body is carried out of the cathedral for tin funeral. Most elaborate arrangements an being made for the Solemn High Mass of Requiem, which will be sung at 1( a.m. on Thursday, and also for the funeral procession, which will leave foi the cemetery adjoining St. Patrick's Church, Panmure, at 11.45. The marshalling of motor cars will be in tht control ot the City Traffic Department It is anticipated that the funeral will be one of the largest seen in Auckland. Mass for the Children. In order that all the Catholic children of Auckland and suburbs may attend. Solemn Mass for the repose of the sou] of the late Dr. Geary will be sung at 10 a.m. to-morrow. The celebrant will be the Right Rev. Dr. Brodie, Bishop of Christchurch. Thus service has been arranged for the children of the schools and orphanages, and it is anticipated that there will be no accommodation for adults. Tliis evening prayers for the dead will be recited in the cathedral at 7.30. A short sermon will be delivered by the Rev. Father O'Connor, C. SS. R., of Wellington, who was a pupil at St. Peter's College, Wexford, when the late Bishop Cleary was professor of modern languages, Father O'Connor's brother, Sir James O'Connor, afterwards Attorney-General of Ireland, and still later, Lord Chief Justice, was also a pupil at that time. Father O'Connor was master of ceremonies at the consecration of the late Bishop Geary on August 21, 1910, at St. Aidan's Cathedral, Enniscorthy. It is expected that the well known Redemptorist father, who is a fluent speaker, will refer to some of the incidents in the early life of the distinguished prelate during the sermon this evening. Perpetual Night Watch. Men of the Holy Name Society "'and other sodalities will keep watch in the cathedral to-night, and also to-morrow night. At 7.30 p.m. to-morrow the solemn office of the dead will be said by bishops and clergy at the high altar. The Solemn Requiem High Mass on Thursday morning will be attended by religious and civic dignitaries. All who attend in a representative capacity are invited by advertisement in this issue to present their visiting cards at the door the cathedral. Those who desire accommodation in motor cars for the funeral procession are asked to communicate with the Administrator of St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Rev. Dr. Buxton, not later than noon to-morrow. The celebrant of the Mass will be his Lordship Bishop L iston, and his Grace Archbishop Redwood, will preside. Others in the sanctuary will be Archbishop O'Shea, coadjutor archbishop, the Right Rev. Dr. Brodie, Bishop of Christchurch, and the Right Reverend Dr. Whyte, Bishop of Dunedin. The panegyric will be preached by Bishop Brodie, who was born in the Auckland diocese, and worked as a priest in the city and rural parishes for many years. About 80 Catholic clergy, including the superiors of various religious orders, will be in attendance, together with a great assemblage of brothers and nuns, representative of the several orders working in New Zealand. A choir of clergy will sing the choral portions of the Mass. By special request of the late Bishop Geary there will be no flowers in evidence at his obsequies. Before he died the late bishop asked that his body be laid to rest in the little cemetery at Panmure, alongside the graves of several well-known priests who worked with apostolic zeal in the diocese of Auckland. The funeral will leave the Cathedral before noon, the route to be followed being via Hobson Street into Customs Street, up Queen Street to Karangahape Road, thence along Upper Symonds Street into Khyber Pass Road, Broadway and the Great South Road to Panmure! Men of the various Catholic societies will assemble in Lower Hobson Street, near the power station, in the regalia of their respective sodalities, and will march in procession to Grafton Bridge, where they will disperse. It is anticipated that about 100 clergy, brothers of religious orders, and sisters representing the various convents, will ride in the procession to the graveside, where the- burial service will be solemnly chanted. The Lying in State. The public will be admitted to the Cathedral at all hours up till 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, except during the children's Mass to-morrow morning. The Cathedral will be closed half an hour before the commencement of the Mass on Thursday morning, so that seats may be reserved for religious orders and representatives of the Government, local organisations, public bodies and prominent citizens wishing to pay their last respects. Prelates and priests will say numerous Masses for the repose of the soul of the late Bishop Geary from an 2arly hour to-morrow, and on Thursday morning. This afternoon St. Patrick's Cathedral was visited by scores of people, who jeered prayers, and. viewed the body of ihe distinguished prelate lying in state. Among the visitors were many nonCatholics desirous of respecting the nemory of a great Christian'gentleman tvho broke through and swept aside all religious prejudice and misunderstanding, in the love of his fellow man and Sod's .poor. >;..: i _____