BELOVED PRELATE
AFFECTION OF YOUTH
THE FINAL FUNCTION
JUBILEE: OCCASION
No more fitting and pleasing conclusion to the episcopal diamond jubilee celebrations of his Grace Archbishop Redwood could have been arranged than the gathering of' Catholic school children at the Town Hall yesterday afternoon in honour of- the aged prelate! .His Grace has done more than any other man in building up the Catholic educational .system in New Zealand, and yesterday's demonstration of affection and. loyalty must have seemed to him not the least of his rewards for that, great service. Thousands of children from every Catholic school, convent, and college in the Wellington district with their many distinguishing colours,, presented an animated'scene in the Town Hall. A number of adults were also present, and a large crowd remained outside, unable to gain admittance. .As was the case at the public reception on Tuesday night, the audience was-a,t a high pitch of enthusiasm, and the remarks of every speaker were punctuated with hearty applause: The clapping and cheering reached its maximum as the jubilavian left the: hall after the ceremony. The procession to and from the stage was headed by the guest of honour, and then came the Bey. Father J. Higgins, S.M. (general secretary, of the Jubilee Committee), the Et. Bey. Dr. Brodie (Bishop of Christchurch), the Rt. Rev. Dr. Glceson, C.SS.B. (Bishop of Maitland), and the Rt. Bey. Dr. Whyte (Bishop of Dunedin). '.With them on the stage were Archbishop o'Shca, S.M., who presided, the Et. Rev. Dr. Nicholas (Bishop of Fiji), and many of the clergy. .' . "This magnificent spectacle of children, assembled from all the schools of the city and suburbs gives a fair idea o2 the magnificent Catholic school system that exists .iii the Dominion today,"was how.Archbishop O'Shea began his introductory remarks. Ho spoke of the effoivts. of the ' Catholic community to establish their own systenwof religious education,- in which work his Grace Archbishop Redwood had played a very important part. The speaker related his personal experiences of being educated in a little village Catholic school and later, when the impulse of Archbishop Redwood had caused a rapid progress in the system, in a school staffed by the devoted Marist Brothers. "A GREAT TREE." "I can remember the beginning of the Catholic school system, and I have seen how it has grown into the great tree it is today," continued Archbishop O'Shea. Now they had most up-to-date schools and equipment, and what was better, great teachers. As a result, tho system, in regard to all the secular subjects of the syllabus, provided schools just as good as any others in the land. In addition they taught those doctrines of religion which were very much more important than all the other learning in the world, teaching the children how to be good citizens of this world and future citizens of Heaven. Tjho speaker said he mentioned those things to show what an immense debt of gratitude the children owed to the venerable jubilarian. -He hoped- tho children- would never forgot how privileged they - had been, that they would never forget -in their prayers his Grace Archbishop Redwood, and that above all they would endeavour in after-life. to be . worthy of the efforts the Archbishop had made on their behalf. If they lived as good Catholics they would pay a j tribute to him and a tribute to the Church over which he liad; presided with such great success and dignity. (Applause.) :-. ■: COMPLIMENTARY ADDRESS. -On behalf of the children of the Catholic schools of the ATellington Archdiocese, Noel Doohan, head prefect of -St. Patrick's College/ Wellington, read and presented to Archbishop Redwood ,the following address:—'; ,We, the children of. tho Archdiocese, offer to you on this day,,of days: our praises for tho years that are past and our good wishes for the years that are to come. y Very, very few children have the ' happiness of greeting their Archbishop: on the: occasion of his diamond jubilee, and we have offered up to God our prayers of thanksgiv-. ing for this blessing. Young members of the Catholic Church, we greet yo\i in your record of so many years in crar Holy Faith.' Through you, our Archbishop, we have come ardently to love the faith that, you have first planted; and then nourished in us. Also,;; your Grace, we young New Zealanders know how much you love our country, for here you'spent your childhood and boyhood, and here you have been for sixty years bishop of our capital city. In you are united most strongly love of faith and of country. One of New Zealand's earliest colonists, you arc the' first vocation to, the priesthood of this land; and we Catholic children of the soil greet you today. as ono who' has brought us honour and given us noble example. The love that we havo for our holy religion goes out to your Grace because in God and His Church we are your children. Because we love our country we salute and honour your Grace, who has been to us a , daily lesson of a life well lived for New Zealand. Our grateful prayer to God is that He will spare your long life to oven greater length of days, and-we beseech the Mother of God that she will keep you and guard you. The address was signed by representatives of St. Patrick's College Wellington; St. Patrick's College, Silverstream; the Marist Brothers' School fasman Street; St. Mary's College, the Sacred Heart Convent, the Guildford Terrace School, St. Joseph's Parochial
School, the Lower Hutt Convent, and St. Joseph's Orphanage. THE JUBILARIAN'S REPLY. "We have been celebrating lately all kinds of records, and now you have given me a record spectacle," said Archbishop Redwood to the children. "When I entered the hall I felt inspired. I have not seen so impressive a sight for a long time." His Grace very sincerely thanked the children and everyone else present for their record gathering in his honour. The children should be happy, continued his Grace, because they were trained not only in the knowledge I necessary for this world but also in I the grace that was so necessary for the higher world. The very high standard of the Catholic schools was not surpassed by any others in New Zealand or Australia, and his Grace congratulated the people and the clergy on their success in keeping the schools going. ■ . - . j His Grace impressed upon the children that in their Catholic faith they had a great gift and that they owed a debt of gratitude to their teachers, who, thoroughly trained intellectually and morally, were doing-their work for the love of God and were therefore beyond competition. No one could equal them. In conclusion, the Archbishop exhorted the children. ■to remember their Catholic education and to be "the light of the world and the salt of the earth." Before he left the. platform his Grace granted a day's holiday to all the schools in the district. CHILDREN'S CHOIR. With his children's choir of 500 voices, Mr. Prank J. Oakes repeated the success he achieved the night before with the Jubilee Choir. Under the capable conduetorship of Mr: Oakes, the children's voices, with all their pleasant freshness, gave meritorious renderings of the following numbers:— "Good Defend New Zealand. (Woods); "Land of Hope and Glory" (Elgar); "In Derry Vale" (Shaw); "The Angel" (Rubinstein); "Faith of Our Fathers"; and the National Anthem. Mr. Maxwell Fernie was the organist.
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 51, 1 March 1934, Page 7
Word Count
1,240BELOVED PRELATE Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 51, 1 March 1934, Page 7
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