ENGLISH CATHOLICS AND THE JUBILEE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXV, Issue 10, 20 August 1897, Page 18

ENGLISH CATHOLICS AND THE JUBILEE.

THE POPE'S ENVOY AND THE QUEEN. THE THANKSGIVING AT BROMPTOX ORATORY. Mge. Cesare Sambttcetti, Envoy Extraordinary from the Floly See to Queen Victoria, arrived at Dover on Saturday afternoon (says the London Tahiti, June 20), and was met by the Bishop of Southwark and a number of clergy. Travelling- up to town m a special saloon, he was met by the Duke of Norfolk at Charing Cross. Entering- one of the royal carriages he drove to Norfolk House, where he is entertained by the Duke for the Queen. Mgr. Sambucetti is a tall man with a commanding presence, and is well used to the ways of diplomacy. This is the seventh time that he has visited England. and he speaks the language fluently. On Sunday the Envoy Extraordinary attended the thanksgiving- service at the Oratory. In the afternoon he was received at the Foreign Office by Lord Salisbury and presented his credentials. In the evening he was present at the solemn "Te Deuin "at the Oratory. When he left, his appearance in the streets was the signal for <i great popular demonstration of respect for the Holy See. On Monday he lunched at Buckingham Palace, and afterwards was received in audience by the Queen. On this occasion he presented to her Majesty a personal letter from Leo XIII., in which his Holiness congratulated her on the glories and achievements of her reign, and expressed fervent good wishes for her welfare. The Pope also warmly thanked the Queen and her Government for the liberty enjoyed by Catholics in every part of the British Empire. The Queen acknowledged the letter very graciously, and inquired anxiously after the health of the Holy Father. After leaving the palace, Mgr. Sambucetti was present at a crowded reception held in his honour at Archbishop's House. In the evening he was the Queen's guest at the State dinner at Buckingham Palace. On Tuesday Mgr. Sambucetti, as tlvj representative oi' Leo XIII. , took part iv the great procession — driving in the same

camag-e as the Ambassador-Extraordinary of Belgium, the Netherlands Minister and the representative of the E uperor of China. All along the route the Papal -Envoy was receiv* d with marked oordialiiy by the crowds that lined the streets, and in some places ho was the object of a little demonstration. Both the Pall Mall gazette and the BaUy Telrg ra,p\ mention the reception given to the representative of the Pope as among the features of the day. Of the kindnesses and courtesy with which he had been surrounded from the first moment of his landing Mgr. Sambucetti spoke in the warmest possible terms. Everything that thoughtfulness could suggest to make Ms stay a pleasant one had been done, both by those connected with the Court and by his immediate host at Norfolk House. On Wednesday evening the Envoy attended another reception, held by Cardinal Vaughan, at which many of the leading Catholics of the country were presented to him. AT THE BROT.IPTON ORATORY. The Catholic thanksgiving service for the Queen's long reign (says the Catholic Times, June 25) took place on Sunday at the Oratory, Brompton. Originally it had been intended that the special Papal Envoy, Mont-ignor Sambucetti, Archbishop of Corinth, should, with the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, take part in the thanksgiving function at the Pro- Cathedral, Kensington. On Thursday, however, the Prince of Wales intimated to Cardinal Vaughan that it would be desirable that the Catholic Ambassadors and Ministers accredited to the Court of St. James's, as well ss the special Envoys from Catholic Powers or Republics, should be assembled at the one religious ceremonial, and suggested that the splendid edifice at Brompton would be the appropriate place for the unique function. The Duke of Norfolk was requested to issue the invitations to the diplomatic body and the special Envoys, and although only two days had been allowed for the preparations everything was quite in readiness for the impressive celebration of Sunday. The Papal Envoy Extraordinary was requested to officiate at the High Mass, and the hour fixed for the thanksgiving service was half -past eleven. Outside the Oratory the way was lined by thousands of fashionably-dressed people waiting to witness the arrival of the dignitaries and diplomatists. Inside the edifice all the marble colonnades were draped in crimson, and the effect was richly picturesque. The sanctuary, or chancel was richly decorated in g-old, and the space outside the altar rails reserved for the princes and ambassadors was carpeted in crimson. Chairs upholstered in cloth of gold were provided for the special envoys. The large and beautiful church was crowded. In the section of the edifice reserved for distinguished personages there was a brilliant display of uniforms of the most varied character. The Foreign Envoys, Ambassadors and Ministers came in military dress or court costumes, attended by their suites similarly attired ; and the peers, members of the House of Commons, judges and other notable guests also wore diverse uniforms, civil and military. Shortly after 11 o'clock Mgr. Sambucetti, wearing- the massive robes of an Archbishop, attended by his suite, entered the church by the main door, followed after a short interval by Cardinal Vaughan in his scarlet robes, attended by the Chapter of the archdiocese of Westminster, and both proceeded to the High Altar amid the strains of " Ecce Sacerdos " frdn the organ. High Mass was then sung by Monsignor Sambucetti, whose magnificent -voice filled the sacred edifice. Cardinal Vaughan occupied his throne. TOKEIGX PRINCES AXD REPUJCSKXTATXVES. Amongst those present (says the Tablet) were : — Mgr. Granite, Prince of Belmonte ; Mgr. Comte de Vay, Marchese Muccioli (Noble Guard), and Hon. Henry Stonor, who formed the suite of the Papal Envoy ; H.R. and I.H. Archduke Francis of Austria, attended by his Ex ellency Count Otto Traun, Captain Baron de Bronn, Lieutenant Count Marlath, the Earl of Denbigh, and Colonel Wardrop ; H.R.H. Prince Rupert of Bavaria, attended by Lieutenant-Colonel von Lebert-Micourt, Captain von Stettin, General Sir L. Gardiner, X.C.V.0., C.S., and Major Fairholme ; H.R.H. Prince Frederick, Duke of Saxony, attended by Freiherr von Reitizenstein, First Lieutenant von Aletysb, Baron von Oppell and Colonel F. Howard, A.D.C. ; H.R.H. the Duke of Oporto, attended by Colonel Duval Telles, Major d' Albuquerque. Captain Morlira de Sa and Major Hon. H. C. Legge ; H.R.H. Duke Albert of Wurtemberg, attended by Lieut.-General von Biliinger, A.D.C, First Lieut. Count von Degen-feld-Schonburg and Colonel C. Swaine ; his Excellency Count Deym, Austrian Ambassador, Countess Deym and Countess It-abella Deym, attended by Count Clary and Countess Clary, Counters Kinsley, Count Albert Monsdorff (First Secretary), Count Hadik (Attache), Major-General his Serene Highness Prince Luis Esterhazy, Captain von Szbranyavszky (Nay. Attache), Consul Chevalier de Princig and Madame de Princig ; his Excellency Baron de Courcel, French Ambassador. Other representatives present were : The Austrian Ambassador, the French Ambassador-Extraordinary (General Davout, Due d'Auerstadt), the French Ambassador, the Italian Ambassador, the Spanish Special Ambassador (Duke of Sotomayor), the Spanish Ambassador, the Belgian Envoy (Prince Charles de Ligne), the Belgian Minister, the Portuguese Minister, and the Ministers representing the Argentine Republic, Guatemala, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Central America, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Peru and Chili. The Hon. Richard Moreton, H.M. Marshal of Ceremonies at Buckingham Palace, conducted the Corps Diplomatique to their seats, assisted by Messrs. Tyrell and Gaisf ord, of the Foreign Office, Gervase Cary Elwes, James Hope and Leonard Lindsay. CATHOLIC NOBILITY. The Catholic nobility were represented by the Duke of Norfolk, E.M., K.G., aud Lady Mary Howard, Marquis of Ripon, K.G., and Marchioness of Ripon, Earl of Denbigh, Earl and Countess of Abingdon and Lady Clementine Bertie. Earl and Countess of Ashburnham and Lady Mary Ashburnhain, Earl and Countess of Kenmare, Earl of Granard, Countess of Granard and Lady Eva Forbes, Countess of Loudoun and Lady Margaret Stuart, Earl of Dumfries, Lord Ninian Stuart, Lord Colum Stuart, Earl of Westmeath, Countess of Bantry, Countess of Cotteuham and Lady

Mary Peps, Dowager-Countess of Albemarle and Ladies Keppel. Viscount Llandaff and Miss de la Chere, Lord and Lady Mowbray and Sourton, Lord and Lady Camoys, Lord North, Lord Petrie, Lord and Lady Clifford, Lord and Lady Herries and the Hon. Mrs. C. Maxwell, Lady Lovat and the Hon. Ethel Fraser, Lord and Lady Trimleston, Lord Bellew, Lady Howard of Glossop, Lord Emly, Lprd Gerard, Lord and Lady Morris, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Lady Russell, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and Lady O'Brien, Lady Milford and Mr. Eyre, Lady Hylton, Lady Ellenborough, Viscount Southwell and the Hon. Frances Southwell, Lady Sherborne, Lady Saltoun, Lord Edmund Talbot, M.P., and Lady Edmund Talhot and Miss Tulbot, Sir John Austin, M.P., and Lady Austin, Mr. Justice and Lady Mathew, Mr. Justice and Lady Hawkins, the Hon. Wilfrid Laurier, Premier of Canada, and suite, Vice-Admiral Lord Walter Kerr, K.C.S.G-., Mr. Hartwell G-rissell, Lord and Lady Bra.ye, Lord Bagshawe. Judge fckonor. Among others in the reserved seats were the Hon. Nicholas . Fitzgerald, K.S.G., M LC, (Melbourne, Australia), the Hon. T. J. Byrnes (Attorney-General of Queensland), and Mrs. Kingston (wife of the Premier of South Australia), A WONDEEPUL SPECTACLE. The London Daily Tdegrajrfi contains a long account of the ceremony, written by Mr. Clement Scott, the distinguished journalist and critic (a convert to Catholicity), from which we quote the following- : — "It was difficult to believe that I was in England at all. Shut one's eyes, listen to the organ and voices in the choir, hear the clank of the scabbards and the jingle of the spurs passing over the marble floors of the grand London church of St. Philip Neri and I might be in Italy, not in England. It surely was an Easter day in Rome, not a thanksgiving day in England. Was this, indeed, the great church in the Brompton road, that has risen and risen and grown with offerings and dedications until it has become virtually the Catholic Cathedral in London, waiting the time when the great Cathedral in Westminster is finished and perfected ? Imagination tx>k one to Santa Maria Maggioie, or San Paolo extra Muros, one of tie finest modern decorated churches in the world, or one of the enormous chapels of St. Peter's on a feast day at Easter-time. It is a novelty, indeed, in England to see diplomatic representatives from the Foreign Office in their official uniforms showing Princes a id sons of Kings and Ambassadors and members of great foreign 1 igations in a London Catholic church, the Papal Nuncio conveyed ia one of the Queen's carriages, and to view with pride, ■worshipping at the same altar, the Catholics of England, the representatives of all the Catholic States in the world, and, for the first time, perhaps, since the Reformation, t le official and Government pronouncement that liberty of religion i< one of the greatest and most glorious achievements in the mighty Victorian era. ... In April, 184 ( J, John Henry Newman founded the first London Oratory in King William street, Strand, on the site recently occupied by Toole's Theatre, once the Polygraphic Hall of W. S. Woodin, Father Faber, the idol of the Oratorians, tle sweet singer and hymn writer, was the first rector. So it could n>t have been altogether by accident that the Church of St. Philip Neri in London, and the assistance of the Brothers of the Oratory were sought to do honour to one of the mo 4 imposing Catholio c remonials of the Victorian era. Originally the princes ami Ile1 le ambassadors and the retinues now in London, were to have been invited to the Pro-Cathedral. But the Duke of Norfolk, who is ettertaining his Excellency Mgr. Sambucetti, Archbishop of Corinth, E ivoy-Extraordinary of his Holiness Pope Leo XIII., pleaded for the Oratory to which he h-is be3n so much attached from boyhood, and if the result of the Oratorian system, its manliness', its fairplay, its intimate knowledge of the English nature was to be considered, certainly the Oratory deserved to be the one church in London up to which should drive in the carriages of her Majesty the Queen of England, with their scarlet liveries and white waistcoats, the Envoy -Extraordinary of his Holiness Popu Leo XI If., the guest, it is true, of the Catholic Duke oi! Norfolk, but equally the accepted and honoured guest of the Protestant Queen of England. The Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal of England, in his scarlet uniform, most princely and generous of English Catholics, makes an admirable Master of Ceremonies, and on this occasion he was assisted by the well-known Fathers of the Oratory, one of them once a popular officer in the Guards, one of them in years gone by a v«ry distinguished English diplomat. Cardinal Vaugkan, with his splendidly-imposing figure, his sweet, yet commanding countenance, was appointed to come in capjia mar/ua, which implies a gorgeous robe of rose-pink, with a train composed of some dozen yards of the same rich silk, a rose-pink biretta. which, when removed, is replaced by the jewelled mitre, and assisted by the pastoral staff, makes an imposing sight indeed, Once more the Fathers of the Oratory, the Canons and the Monsignori, preceded by a golden cross-bearer, go down from the Sanctuary to the great W^at door. Once more the organ and the choir pealed out " E jco Sacerdoo Magnus." Once more the procession advances straight up the centre aisle of this noble church, and the red-robed Cardinal, a magnificent and imposing presence, blesses the assembled pet pie. I have never seen such a sight in lany English church. At the altar are the Papal Envoy and his sacerdotal attendants, including — Italian fashion — a valet in Hack Court attire, who assists the priests to vest and unvest the Archbishop, attending to his shoes and bringing water to wash his hands. The English Cardinal's throne is on the left side of the altar, the Envoy's throne on the rij;ht. . . . After the Mass was at an end, Mg-r. Canon Johnson, D.D., escorted by the Brothers, proceeded to the pulpit, and there read Cardinal Vaughan's pastoral on the Diamond Jubilee of the Quei-n. It is the etory of the triumph of liberty and religion. lam old enough to remember the days of Catholic Emancipation and the discord created by this liberal act. I have never forgotten the Punch cartoon representing Lord John Russell as the naughty boy who chalked 'No Popery ' on the door of Cardinal Wiseman and then ran away,

and to-day we have this grand ceremony corain, Cardinal/, in the Brompton Oratory dedicated to St. Philip Neri. All with, whom I was connected in early childhood were bound up with the Oxford movement. The details of Tract 90 rang in my ears before my school days. The Mozleys, the Wilberforces, the Maskells, the Barrauds, and Allies were arguing Anglicanism versus Catholicism in the house in which I was born long before Wiseman and Newman and Manning and others settled it all down ; but it seemed a strange thing to me yesterday that I, the descendant of that papt generation, should have been appointed to chronicle a Christian ceremony, for the success of which many of these ' Tractarians ' and Puseyites would have laid down their lives, As an ardent Puseyite and Anglican I went down Sunday after Sunday to St. George's-in-the-East to defend Bryan King in the fifties against insult and ig-norniny. The church was a bear garden. When Bryan Kingcommenced the service they yelled at him. Every word of the Litany was turned into ridicule. We were pelted with stones and rotten eggs down Thames street as our young budyguard went to defend the Anglican priest. And yesterlay I was sitting in a tribune of the London Oratory seeing- a service and an assemblage that were not dreamt of in the philosophy of 18.j.">. But, at any rate, I heard the ' Te Deum ' that concluded this remarkable ceremony ; a 'Te Deum ' asking Christian men and women of every degree and of every view to ' thank God and take courage' ,- a 'le Deum ' sung and chanted in a Catholic church in honour of the sixty years' reign of her Majesty the Queen ; a 'Te Deum ' which fairly ends the religious controversy of the same sixty years. The ceremony ended when the Cardinal pronounced the blessing, the congregation rose and crossed themselves, and the Brompton road was full of Queen's carriages, and scarlet liveries ; and decorated ambassadors and uniforms, and Catholic dukes and peers, and titled ladies, and the day gave many a reflection, serious and earnest, for many days to follow."