CENTENARY, 1938.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 108, 8 May 1937, Page 7

CENTENARY, 1938.

CATHOLICS' PLANS. CHURCH'S CELEBRATION i VISITORS FOR AUCKLAND. A foretaste of the centenary of the Dominion will be experienced in Auckland in February, 1938. In that month Catholics from all over the Dominion and from overseas will be assembled in Auckland, and with the pageantry that is usually associated with Eucharistic Congresses will commemorate the centenary of the Church in New Zealand. Actually it was in January, 1838, that the first Mass was said in the Dominion, by Bishop Pompallier.

At a meeting on Thursday evening, attended by a large and influential gathering, presided over first by Bishop Liston and then by the Rev. Dr. Buxton, who has been appointed organiser, a tentative programme was decided upon. It covers the period from February 20 to March 9, 1938, and envisages the co-operation of many thousands of people. For a fortnight the Western Springs Stadium w to be hired, and there the great outdoor demonstrations will take place. It was estimated last evening by Dr. Buxton that the commemoration would cost at least £5000. Prominent Visitors. He announced that there would be at least 200 visiting prelates and priests in the city, including several prominent clergymen from abroad, and arrangements were being made to attract many Catholics from Australia and other overseas countries to New Zealand for the period. Two of the most prominent visitors would be the Rev. Dr. Ryan, the "most brilliant cleric" he had ever met, one of the leading thinkers and speakers in Ireland, and the Rev. Father

Owen Dudley, one of the outstanding figures of the Church in England. They would be the speakers at the big public meetings to be held in the Town Hall. An executive has already been working in Auckland for some months under the leadership of Bishop Liston, and arrangements are well forward. Organisation is also proceeding in the South under the direction of the Rev. Dr. McRae (Wellington), and the Rev. Dr. Kennedy (Christchurch). The commemoration was described on Thursday evening by Bishop Lieton as "the most important event in the history of the Catholic Church in New Zealand since 1838." Programme Arranged, The programme as tentatively adopted by the meeting will open on Sunday, February 20, with a general Communion and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in all Churches. ! throughout New Zealand. On the following Saturday, February 26, a play, which is being specially written, will be performed by the Catholic Repertory Society in one of the city theatres.

Congress proceedings will actually begin on Sunday, February 27, with Solemn Pontifical High Mass in the Cathedral. In the afternoon there will be a conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of New Zealand in the Town Hall, and in the evening devotions and a special sermon. From then on the programme is as follows: —Monday, February 28: Solemn Requiem Mass, civic welcome to the Apostolic Delegate and visitors at the Town Hall, Hibernians' conference and Catholics' welcome, both in the Town Tall. Tuesday: Visit to Sacred Heart College, mothers' service in Cathedral, Children of Mary gathering at Cathedral and reception at the Catholic Women's League rooms. Wednesday: Mass for religious orders in the Cathedral, garden party at Sacred Heart Convent, Victoria Avenue, and public address in the Town Hall. Thursday: Boy Scouts' Mass in the Cathedral, excursion Fy visiting prelates and clergy to Thomas Poynton's 2Tave, St. Peter's College, and Waiwera. conference of Catholic women's associations at the Catholic Women's League and reception to visiting Catholic women delegates. Spectacular Events. Thursday evening will see the beginning of the big outdoor meetings which will be of a most spectacular nature.

That night there will be a men's outdoor meeting at the Stadium. The following day, March 4, there will be the children's outdoor Mass, a meeting of priests, and in the evening a public address in the Town Hall. On Saturday will be the women's Mass in the Stadium, a reception at St. Mary's Convent, Ponsonby, and in the evening a pageant play in the Stadium. For this event a pigeant, "The Credo," written by a Belgian priest, will be performed by between 500 and 600 young people. Sunday, March 6, will be another day of pageantry, with its opening in a High Mass for Maoris in the Cathedral, and in the afternoon a Eucharistic procession, in which all Catholics will join. This procession is expected to be one of the most impressive of the centenary. On Monday evening there will be a big concert, given by the children of the Catholic schools in one of the city theatres; and on Wednesday, the concluding event of the conference, the Mass at the original altar used by Bishop Pompallier, and the Maori celebration, at Itotara Point, near Hokianga.

In preparation for these events, most of which are intended to be free, financial arrangements are being made. Bishop Liston announced on Thursday evening that a collection would be taken lup in all Catholic churches on the first j Sunday in July.