The Catholic World.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 14, 5 April 1900, Page 24

The Catholic World.

BELGIUM —Death of a Painter of Religious Subjects—The death is reported of M. Franz Sodar, a Belgian artist of repute, who passed away at As-usi, Italy. The deceased, who was born at Dinan, showed a special gift for portrait painting and historical pictures, in which he achieved no mean success. Some dozen years ago he resolved on quitting Belgium and devoting himself exclusively to religious subjects. After having visited Italy he spent some time in the Holy Land, and at Jerusalem formed a friendship with the Franciscan Fathers, the custodians of the Sacred Places. During his stay in that city he executed a magnificent set of the Stations of the Cross which, in reduced form, have been widely reproduced by the aid of chromo-lithography. Returning from the East he settled down at Assisi, and in the retirement of the famous Franci-ean sanctuary his latter years were peacefully passed. A series of pictures representing borne of the more notable scenes connected with the history of the Passion, which he painted in his retreat for the Franciscan Fathers, gained for him the congratulations of Leo XIII. and the gold medal which his Holiness awards, to Christian artists of distinction.

A Progressive Kingdom- — Belgium is an essentiatly Catholic country, but that does not interfere, as is often alleged by shallow-pated writers and speakers, with its commercial prosperity. The dimensions of her internal aud external trade, as shown by the returns just published by the Minister of Finance, during the past year, attest ber increasing prosperity. Whilst in 1896 the gross value of her exports — not including merchandise, which passed through the country in tran«it — was estimated at £.">7.'J01,320, and the imports at £70.ir>0 KSO. The domestic exports during 1899 amounted to £70,5 ( .)."),85n, and the imports to £81,314,000, or a difference in the total \olnme of trade between the two years of more than £27,000.000.

ENGLAND.— A Statue of the Divine Redeemer for Westminster Cathedral-— With the approval of his Eminence Cardinal Vaughan, a circular letter has been addressed to the Catholic children of England and the British Empire, asking contributions of a penny, or more, to buy a statue of the Divine Redeemer at Rome, which, after having been blessed by the Holy Father, will be sent over to England and be erected in front of the new Cathedral at Westminster, or in its interior, as a memorial of the Catholic children to commemorate the closing of the present century and the opening of the next, and, above all, as a permanent token of their faith, love, and allegiance to Jesus Christ, and His Vicar on earth, Leo. XI If. The statue is to be of a special design for the occasion, and has been approved of by the Sacred Congregation of Rites. The subscription list will be closed by the end of May.

Death Of Miss de Traffbrd— The death is announced of Miss Belinda de Trafford, of Redclyffe House, Barton, sister of the late Sir Humphrey de Trafford, and aunt of the present baronet.

PRANCE-— An Ecclesiastical Congress at Bourges.— The Semaine Rcltgintse, of Bourges, announces that the Holy Father has graciously approved of the holding of an Ecclesiastical Congress at Bourges in the present year 1900. The congress will

have for its object tne application to practical life, by way of 6tudy and comment, of the memorable Encyclical Letter of his Holiness to the archbishops, bishops, and clergy of France, of September 8, 1899.

ROME— Where the Peter's Pence go— The Holy Father has been showing what is done with the superfluous Petei's Pence money. After giving 500,000 lire to the Coptic Patriarchate, Epis•copate, and Seminary, he has handed over the same sum to Cardinal Vincenzo Vannutelli, Administrator of Propaganda, for the benefit of the missionary seminary for all India at Kandy, Ceylon.

The Congregation of the Index-— Father Esser, 0.P., who was formerly a professor in the Colleere of St. Patrick's, Maynooth, has been appointed secretary of the Congregation of Index. Father Esaer was brought from Vienna to Maynooth to lecture on philosophy to the students of that College. After some years he was transferred to Rome by his superiors, and was soon after named consultor to one of the congregations. Dr. Mivart dreams that the Roman Congregations are musty with age and out of point with the times. Strange, if this is so, that they should summon to their aid the best and brightest intellects to be found in the Catholic Church. The consullors have come from the British Isles from America, from France, Germany, and Australia.

M- Brunetiere lectures on Bossuet.— M. Brunetiere, the editor of the Revue den Deux Mondesi of Paris, haß been lecturing in Rome on Bossuet. Quite a number of the Cardinals assembled to hear the lecture which was delivered in the Cancelleria Palace. Bossuet's contribution to the great work of the reunion of Churches waß eloquently described and evoked much enthusiasm. It is rumoured that M. Brunetiere is about to join the Church. From his written and spoken words it is at all events apparent that he is fully convinced of the great truths upon which the Church is based. The lecturer was received in audience by the Pope on the day following that of the lecture and was invested by his Holiness with the Cross of Commander of the Order of St. Gregory

Another Priest-CompOSer-— Don Perosi has a rival as a musical composer in Father Hartmann, a Franciscan, whose oratorio | St. Peter ' has elicited unqualified admiration. Father Hartmann is described as being most humble, without ambition or pretension — the invariable accompaniments of true virtue, genius, and merit — and a native of Salurno, in the Tyrol. Born in 1863, he entered the Franciscan Order in 1879, and was ordained a priest in 188(5. In 1893 he acted as director of the Philharmonic Society of St. Saviour, Jerusalem, and subsequently organist in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Transferred to Rome in ]H'X>, he was numed organist in the Church of Ara Cueli, where the congregation listened with intense pleasure to his enchanting chords. He is an Ah-sociate of the Academy of St Cecilia. He passionately cultivated the musical art, and studied its various branches under the ablest masters in Bolzano, Sahsburg, Leipsic, and Innsbruck. He had already written various sacred compositions, but the oratorio, ' St. Peter,' haa placed him in the front rank of composers of sacred music.

SCOTLAND— PoIish Catholics-— Father Warnagarin, who has been attending to the spiritual interests of the Polish community in Lanarkshire for some years, has been appointed parish priest of a mission in Brooklyn, New York. Ihe rev. gentleman will remain there for about two years, after which he will spend a year in the Transvaal, then proceeding to hia native country. There is the prospect of another Polibh priest being got to look after the interests of the Poles, who now number in the Archdiocese of Glasgow about 3000, and are coming over at the rate of 15 to 20 per week.

UNITED STATES-Baltimore's Popular Prelate.Cardinal Gibbons held his annual reception at his residence, Baltimore, on Sunday, January 7th. A large number of persons, as usual, non-Catholica as well as Catholics, called to pay their respects to Baltimore's popular prelate.

The Christian Brothers and the Teaching of Classics-— Some time ago the Christian Brothers in the United States had, by the direction of the head of the Order in France, been prevented from teaching classics. Several of the American Prelates petitioned the Holy See that the Brothers should be allowed to teach classics although it was contrary to the spirit of their rule. The application has been refused.

Heroic Sisters-— A short time ago a virulent attack of smallpox made its appearance in Salt Lake City, Utah, and many persons fell victims to it. It was well nigh impossible to secure the services of competent immune nurses to wait upon female small-pox patients, but in the hour of greatest necessity Biehop Scanlan found a remedy. Knowing that Health Commissioner Keogh had almost given up hope of securing nurses for either hire or humanity's sake, Bishop Scanlan called for volunteers. Every bister at the Holy Cross hospital promptly tendered her services in response to the appeal— a noble call and a noble answer. But only two were wanted, and the lot of caring for the femile victims of virulent small-pox at the pest house, fell to Sister Felippe and Sister Guadeleine.

A Touching Scene in a New York Street —in the centre of a large crowd, some kneeling reverently, others gazing morbidly (says a New York paper of February 12), two priests late yesterday afternoon ministered to a man who had fallen near the bottom of the stairs of the uptown station of the Second avenue elevated railroad. How the man came there is uncertain, but the most probable explanation was that given hurriedly to a policeman by a citizen who was going up the stairs to board a train. He said he noticed when about four rods distant from the stairs of the station something rolling down the steps like a large bundle. It started at the top and rolled down, bumping over the three landings to the

bottom. When he got close enough he saw it was a man, a laborer evidently, for he wore overalls and a jumper. He bled from ears and mouth and nostrils. A policeman sent to Bellevue Hospital, and Dr. Graham Rogers responded in a hurry. While awaiting the ambulance the crowd gathered. The two priests had just come from the Greenpond ferry. Seeing the crowd, and seeming to grasp the situation, they hurried forward and to the injured man's side. They glanced at him ior a second. Then one of the priests caught sight of a little brown ribbon which came just over the edge of the niau's shirt. ' He's a Catholic, father,' he said to his companion. ' See, he wears a scapular.' Instantly the priests knelt beside the unconscious man. The crowd fell back reverentially, the Catholics uncovering and joining silently in prayer. It was a strange scene. Overhead the elevated trains rattled. Electric cars went clanging by. Out of half a hundred tenement windows men and women looked down on the picture. The priests quietly declined to give their names and hurried on their way through Twenty-third street.

A General ordained priest —General W. A. Olmatead, a veteran of the Civil War, was recently ordained priest at Notre Dame, Indiana. The ordaining prelate was the Right Rev. Thomas O'Gorman, bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. General Olmstead was mustered out of the army at the close of the civil war with the rank of brevet brigadier-general. He had entered the service as captain in the Second New York infantry and rose to the rank of Colonel of the Fifty-ninth New York volunteers. As brigadiergeneral he commanded the First brigade, Third Division of the Second Army Corps.