FIRE-RAISING MYSTERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18324, 14 February 1923, Page 11

FIRE-RAISING MYSTERY.

ROMAN CATHOLIC PROPERTY. DESTRUCTION IN CANADA. QUEBEC BASILICA BURNED. [from our OWN correspondent.] ' TORONTO. Dec. 30. Destruction by fire of the world-famous Roman Catholic Church at Quelle known as the Basilica, is the culmination of a long and mysterious series of similar disasters that have befallen Catholic 1 institutions in Canada during the last year. The miracle-working shrine of Ste. Anno de Beaupre was among the first victims of the fire fiend. Amid picturesque surroundings some' 20 miles from Quebec, the Shrine of Ste. Anne was for generations the Mecca of devout and healthseeking pilgrims from all over the world. Every year tens of thousands of Americans and Canadians journeyed to the sacred relic of the good Ste. Anne, many merely as curious tourists whose amazement was divided between the huge crses filled with crutches and all sorts of similar appliances discarded on the spot by re juvenated pilgrims, and the hif:h broad stone staircase which supplicants climbed slowly and laboriously on bended knees. No religious shrine on the Continent was more widely known. Following the destruction of Ste. Anne came other fires, at widely separated points. In many cases the losses,, as at Ste. Anne, have had a national significance. Destruction of St.- Boniface Residence College at Winnipeg was attended with the loss of half a score-i of liyes. Twice the Catholic University of ■Montreal has been visited by destructive fires. The* Trappist Church at Oka was another victim. Oka is a. little religious communitv in the backwoods of Quebec that is world fnmoui) among those who are familiar with the curious and unique. It is the home of an order of monks who, amid primitive surroundings, pursue a life of sacrifice and asceticism, which most minds associate only with the Middle Ages. Oka cheese, produced by these devout recluses for the dilettantes of cities, is an interesting by-product of the community.

Whole Village Destroyed. In recent weeks calamity has been following calamity with increased frequency. Churches, colleges, monasteries, have suffered indiscriminately. In one case a whole village, that of Terrebonne,, near Quebec, was wiped out and 2000 persons were rendered homeless. At Three Rivers a large centre m dway between Quebec and Montreal, a famous church was destroyed. In Montreal,' in addition to the university fires, three important churches were consumed. In smaller centres there have been a score, of lesser, losses. The fire at the Congregation of Notre Dame Convent, Point© Aux Trembles, represented a large loss in itself. Churches destroyed had a , value of several million dollars, and the losses in , other institutions represent ■■ a similar amount. In many instances, as at the Basilica in Quebec, the monetary loss, though heavy, is a bagatelle compared with the loss of records and associations. Too Many to be Accidental. To say that the nation is mystified by this succession of misfortunes is to put it mildly. If the authorities,. either church or civil, have any clue or any adequate explanation they are keeping it to themselves. Possible explanations indicating accidental origin have been put forward to account for some of the fires. Thus in the case •of the Basilica it is said that escaping gas might have been ignited by lighted candles. But that a score of famous institutions could bo similarly destroyed in such a .short space of time, each by accidental means, would be a coincidence, that would tax all credulity. The Ku Klux Klan has been accused. But so far as is known there is no Ku Klux Klan in Canada, and Mr. William J. Simmons, " Imperial Wizard " of' the white-robed knights, has issued a ; statement categorically denying that his organisation has had anything to do with the misfortunes in Canada of the Roman - Catholic Church. "We do not stoop to incendiarism, treachery or masked vio lence," wrote the K.K.K.'s high potentate. ' Accepting this disclaimer, as the Church and other authorities are disposed to do, the explanation of many warning letters received by Mayors of cities and other diernitaries, sometimes just prior to a fresh distaster, and, signed K.K.K., is that some conspirators are trying to cloak their identity behind the name of the mysterious white-robed horsemen. : That some deep-seated conspiracy is afoot seems to be the only theory that can explain the facts. ■ That ' it ib based on dementia seems also to be certain. : For while the Roman • Catholic Church , . has many vigorous opponents in Canada and public ; controversy •on issues in which the. Church is involved often runs high, there has never been anything to suggest a bitterness of feeling such as might be expected to resort to incendiarism and violence. '.£?' .History of Three Centuries. Burning of the Basilica at Quebec is an attack on the origins pf Christianity in America. The Basilica is described as the richest religious relic of the French regime in Canada." It dates back' to 1647. The first Mass in it was said on Christmas Day, 1650, more than 100 years ago, before the conquest of Canada by the British. The cathedral had its real origin in a vow bv Champlain, made between 1629 and 1632. to build a church bearing the name of Notre Dame cle la Recouvrance\ The first building, of wood, was erected in 1633 and the Jesuits said Mass there in, that year. When Champlain died, in 1635, he left Notre Dame his private fortune. In .1640 the church was burned to the ground, and in 1647 its successor was begun almost exactly, on the same spot. Officially the Basilica was founded by Bishop Laval, first Catholic Bishop of North France, whose diocese extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the St. Lawrence and the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Near by the bronze figure of Laval now stands, bent over as; if in benediction for 'the people 1 of d the same vast territorv. in which there are now no less than 60 dioceses. ? MT*--i ; The Basilica was formally opened in 1657. and since then, it is said, it has not closed its doors except for the making of repairs after the siege of 1759, when the city was captured by the forces of Wolfe. Though old and dingy in its exterior, the Easihca was bright with white and gold in itsi interior ,'"""''', • '.

Priceless Masterpieces The walls were relieved by the presence of many paintings of priceless value, priceless because they cannot be replaced. Many of' thorn found their way to Quebec after the Reign of Terror in France in 1792, being, brought ant by priests for safe keeping. Among them \yere " The Crucifixion," by Van Dyck; "The Conception," after Le Brun; "Ste. Anne and the Tomb., of the Saviour,'.' by Plamondon. The chancel or ""sanctuary ' was a copy of St. Peter's, at Rome. The whole edifice was 216 ft. long and 108 ft wide, and seated 4000. persons, being thus much smaller • than . Notre Dame at Montreal, which seats 14.000. • The main charm of the building lay. in its. association : with ; the religious life of French Canada from the days of LeJeune and de Jogues, Madam de la Peltrie and Marie de I'lncarnation: Within its walls many an agonised vow and prayer had gone up from the early martyrs and heroes of the Canadian mission for the conversion of the Huron and Iroquois, and for safety from the murderous attack of their savage foes. Here rose many Te Deums from a grateful colony in the joy of some signal deliverance or decisive victory. . Church authorities announce that the Basilica will be rebuilt at once. The original plans of the edifice < destroyed, prepared by De Lery, a French, architect, in 1744, are still available.