DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVII, Issue 18, 30 March 1899, Page 19

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH.

(From our own correspondent.) March 27. A LAROE number of the boys and girls of the Pro-Cathedral pai ish schools made their First Communion on the toast of St. Joseph, ami were afterwards provided with breakfast in St. Aloysius' Hall. His Lordship the Bishop and several priests were present, as were also Sisters of the Mission and Marist lirothers who. together with some of the parishioners, furnished the necessaries and aided in thendistribution,.

At the half-past nine o'clock Mass on Sunday the Rev. Father ? ( fVw 8 !'? gOf the a PP«»°hinjr Holy Week and exhorting the faithful to numerously attend the various devotions, strongly deprecated the iacreasing tendency of making Good Friday i day of public enjoyment. He denounced as unchristian the action ot many who had no other regard for the day on which thnst had died for their sins than to occupy it in sports and pastimes. In connection with this it might be remarked that several months ago the IW. Mr. Bean, of Addington, wrote to th* promoters of a bicycle race m-eting, who had fixed upon Good 1-riday as the day of their projected gathering, asking them out of (reference to the teolin^ of their Catholic brethren to fix upon some other day. He pointed out that although many dissentm* oodles did not attach mnrh "ignfficanee to Good Friday from a religious point of view, yet many of the Anglican community did, and that the Roman Catholic Church observed the day as the most *olenri in the year. This well-intentioned action of the rev "-entleman met with the response that no action should be taken in the matter. The Rev. Father Oallais, S.M., arrived from the West Coast on 1 nday, and is now assistant 10 the Rev. Father Marnane S M at St. Mary s Manchester street. The Rev. Father King has returned to the Pro-Cathedral. A week or so prior to the meeting held in the Pro-Cathedral recently for inaugurating the work of collecting locally for the projected new Cathedral, a sort of advisory committee, composed of representative laymen, together with the clergy of the surrounding districts, discussed various matters in connection with the undertaking. A meeting of this committee is convened for Tuesday e X* u ? m S'. at which its appointment will be confirmed and other atlairs of detail arranged, so that the oporafon of raising funds may go on uninterruptedly. On Sunday last (Palm Sunday) the blessing- and distribution of palms took place as usual at the High Mass. His Lordship the light Rev. Dr. (J rimes blessed the palms, and was assisted in the liturgical ceremony by the Rev. Fathers King and Crotty, whilst on their subsequent distribution the Very Rev. Vicar-General assisted At St. Mary s. Manchester street, palms were also blessed and distributed at the 11 o'clock Mass.