The Catholic World.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIV, Issue 23, 2 October 1896, Page 6

The Catholic World.

(From contemporaries.) AMERICA. — The New Apostolic-Delegate U.S.A. and Ireland. — Monsignor MartinellL — or Most Rev. Dr. M irtin^lli — for 'he will now be raised to the archiepiscopate — was for over sixteen years a member of the Irish Augustinian community at. Santa Maria in Posterula. Nearly all the younger Augustinian Fathers in Ireland and Australia, where they are in charge of many missions, studied theology under him. Moreover, he visited Dublin in 1S!)1 to preside over the Chapter of the Province, which was held in that year in the Church of SS. Augustine and John. On bhafc occasion the new Archbishop made a visitation of the Irish Province, so that he is well acquainted with Ireland and her aifairs. The experience will be of much value to his Grace in his new career, in view of the essentially Irish spirit and character of the Catholics of America — bishops, priests and people. It is fair to suppose that his Irish associations have developed in the new Archbishop a sympathy with the country and peopla that gave birth to the Church where now his

lot is cast ; and that as his influence in the Church increases it will be the influence of a prelate who knows Ireland and Irish Americp, Number of Converts in the Year.— it is estimated by a writer in the New York Press that in the past year there have been something like one hundred thousand converts to the Catholic Church in the United States. These figures were obtained from tl c Paulist Fathers, whose missionary work among Protestants has already borne such a wonderful fruit.

Archbishop Martinelli — Apostolic-Delegate— remaiu s Prior-General of the Augustinians— lt is intended for the moment (says the Roman correspondent of the Catholic 'f ivies, August 14) that Very Rev Father Martinelli should combine his old function of Prior-General of the Augustinian Order with the new one of Apostolic-Delegate to the United States. The ProcuratorGeneral of the Order, Rev. Father Rodriguez, has accordingly been named his representative in Rome. Later on, if experience shows this combination does not work well, a change will be made and a new Superior-General elected. Father Martinelli's deceased brother, the Cardinal — a dignity to which he is now well on the road himself — was likewise a member of the Order of St. Augustine.

An important American synod. — We learn from a contemporary that the priests of the St Louis diocese, U.S.A . were to assemble in syn'id at Kenrick Seminary on September Bth, and it «as expected that several important rules would be promulgated. One law already framed for approval provides that marriages must be performed at Nuptial Mass, except by special leave of the archbishop. Another ruling provides that " a school must be built in any parish iwhere a school does not at present exist, within two years from the promulgation of these, decrees, unless the bishop, for grave reasons, judges that it should not be erected. The priest who for that period delays the erection and maintenance of a school, or does not heed repeated warnings of the bishop, will merit removal from his church."

AUSTRALIA— CardinaI Moran's Birthday.—Wednesday, the 16th inst., was the 66th anniversary of the Cardinal's birthday. His Eminence celebrated his usual Mass in the cathedral, and during the day received many congratulations. Marquess Jennings was one of the first to call at St. Mary's. In the afternoon his Eminence presided at a meeting held at Kogarah in connection with St. Mary's Cathedral Fair. This was the 24th fair meeting at which his Eminence had taken the chair since the inauguration of the fair movement.

Ordination Ceremonies at St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. — There was an exceedingly large cougregation at the half -past eight o'clock Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral on Sunday morning September 13th, when a number of the ecclesiastical students from St. Patrick's College, Manly, were ordained deacons and sub-deacons by the Cardinal- Archbishop. Mass was celebrated by his Eminence, and the following ecclesiastics, were ordained : — Sub-deacons : Messrs Frederick Ad .mson (Adelaide) Henry, Bakker (Melbourne), Michael Masterton (Brisbane), Joseph King (Melbourne), and Peter M.ihoney (S indhur&t, Victoria) ;* deacons : The Rpvs. .Matthew Brodie (Auckland). Michael Flemming (Sydney), Peter Murphy ( Liverpool}, John Kellv (Syihiev), and Francis Burton (Brisbane). The Very Revs. Dr. Murphy (President of St. Patrick's College, M.mly) and Dr O'Haran (Administrator of St. Mary's Ca'hedml) assisted at the ceremonies. At the 1 1 o'clock Mass the Revs. M. Flemming and P. Murphy exercised, for the first time, their sacred functions as deacon and subdi-ncon respectively at the H gh Mass, which was celebrated by the Rev. Father Whyte. The music was ■Beihoven's >l Mass in C."

ENGLAND.— Prior Vaughan better.— The London Uuicentr, August ].">, says: — '• On inquiry at Archbishop's House,

estminster, our representative was informed that the Litest news of the Very R ;v. Prior Vaughnn is reassuring. His illness at fir.-st caused some alarm, but during the past few days he has been steadily improving. We uuder&tanl that the Prior is at present in Chicago."

PRANCE.— Ecclesiastic Knights.— in the list of those decorated with the Legion of Honour on the occasion of the French national festival appears the name of one priest. Mgr. Augouard, Bishop of Sineta and Vicar-Apostolic of Übangi, who for nineteen years has exercised his ministry on the Gaboon and the Congo. The roll of the Legion of Honour contains but five treasured knights, viz.. Mgr. Caspard, Bishop of Hue in Annam ; Mgr. Van Camelbeke, whose labours in Cochin China have extended over three-and-thirty years : Mgr. Potron. Bishop of Jericho : Father Schmitt, resident in Siam since IS(>3. whose knowledge of the country and the language proved very useful to the Delimitation Commission on the Upper Mekong : and Father Dupny..of Antananarivo, without whom the French Resident would have foun.l it difficult to escape from the Malagasy capital on the outbreak of hostilities.

Parish Priests of Vallon-sur-Gee live longy^-Vallon-sur Gee, in the department of the Surrhe, can boast that it has" had but two parish priext-* in 111 years. The Abbe Pineau held-offioe there from 1785 to 1»42, .nd his successor, the Abbe Paris, still performs all the duties with efficiency.

A French Hun honoured. — For years Kosa Bonheur has enjoyed the glory of baiug the only woman on whom has been bet.towt'd the Cros.-. of the Legion of Honour. Now, however, fjket niuM; share the honour with another of her sex, who, though mot known hy her pjilette and brush, has nevertheless the r. verence ami homage of the French nation. It has just been announced that Sister Mine Chantal. a French nun, who has been Superior of the Hospice-General of Tours since 18(58, has bi e n made chevalier in the Legion of Honour. She accompanied the French troops through the disastrous war of 1870-71 and rendered incalculably great services on the battlefield. Though her own life was constantly in

danger, she directed with Christian intrepidity the ambulance brigades and was untiring in her attentions to the wounded. It was stated at the close of the war by one of the generals, who accorded her such eulogistic praise as seldom befalls to mortals while in the flesh, that she saved more lives than did half the medical men in the army. And for her bravery under trying circumstances and her aid, this sweet-faced, black-robed bride of the Church has been decorated with a medal for which a Frenchman would lay down his life or go though untold suffering. For the last twenty-eight years her services 'have been ' mainly directed towards ministering to the patients of the military hospitals. MANITOBA.— The School Question —Mr T. c. Down, in the Nineteenth Century for July, tells the story of the Manitoba school question. He tells us "The history of the last six years of Protestant domination in Manitoba affords such a display of tyranny and oppression as would seem at the present time to be incredible. The treatment of the Roman Catholics, by which they are wholly deprived of the enjoyment of the rights in the education of their children secured to them by the constitution, comes as near to persecution as can well be conceived in these days of boasted toleration and enlightenment." ITALY.— A Labour Paper with Priest Editor.— The Rev. Professor Pastori, one of the editors of the Osnercutoir Cattol'iet\ of Milan, has taken the editorship of the Laeorabore ltnliano, a Catholic journal in the interests of labour published simultaneously at Vienna, Milan, and Zurich. ROME.— The new Secretary of the Inquisition.— The secretaryship of the Inquisition, vacant through the death of Cardinal Monaco La Valetta, has been entrusted to Cardinal Parocchi, Vicar-General of his Holiness. It was first offered to Cardinal Ledochowski, but his Eminence begged to be allowed to decline it. SAXONY.— The Pope and Prince Maximilian of Saxony. —To more than one member of royalty his Holiness has of late been sending complimentary presents. Prince Maximilian of Saxony, who celebrated his first Mass on the 2nd August, has, through the intermediary of Mgr. Wahl, been the recipient of a handsome gold medal. On one side of the medal is the figure of the Pope, and on the reverse side the device : " Fiat unum ovile et \inus pastor "—" — "Let there be one fold and one pastor"' — the thought uppermost in Leo XIII.'s mind.