CATHOLIC LONDON IN THE PENAL DAYS

New Zealand Tablet, Volume 40, Issue 40, 1 October 1903, Page 27

CATHOLIC LONDON IN THE PENAL DAYS

The London correspondent of the Melbourne ' Advocate,' m noticing a new book by Miss Johajina Hartang, entitled, ' Catholic London Missions from the Reformation to the >ear ]bso,' gives the following account of the difficulties endured and the dangers undergone by Caihoiir pnosts in the penal times, and also of some of the chinches and chapels in use during those troublous times 'The bygone Catholic life of London is a strange and romantic tale. And this state of things continued ioi 11112,11 on two centuries. The hundreds of secular priests, the scores of Benedictines and Jesuits, the Fnais black and grey and white, who found their way to London, were for the most part a wandering race, of no li\ed abode, frequently changing their lodgings, pas■>mu as students, artists, merchants ; anything but what they v.cic so as to deceive, if possible, their neighbors, and so be better able to carry on their work unhindered. Then.' were zealous and holy men among the scattered and hUn-shiiking body of priests, learned scholars, too; and many an heroic soul who now enjoys the martyr's ciown and the public \eneration of Catholic Christendom Tneie were ascetics and mystics like Father \umistinc Bakei , wnters like Gother, Challoner, and \lhan Butler , men of reserve in every department of ecclesiastical scholarship whom outwardly none could distinguish irom their fellow-citizens around. And their won, was good and lasting. It held its own till the fn^t stn lines of the second spring, till the French reiuu,(t cleigy came o\er to help us, till the Oxford movement bcaan to put new- wine into our old bottles, till the lninutuatioii ot thousands of faithful Irish in the ioi lies— movements which each in turn profoundly modified Hie conditions of London Catholic life.

1 I mlci international law the residence of an ambass.uiiu i-> technically a pait of the country he represent-, and so the ambassadors of European Catholic Poueis liwng m London were enabled to maintain chai«eis as pail oi their establishments without Governmental ii.tfi leunce dining penal times. These foreign Linluissv chapels v\ ere the principal resource of the soich-t i ied London Catholics, and largely helped to keep (lie i.ii tb alnc during the long dark night of the penal pei kkl Two ol them aic still standing— the old Sardinian chapel m Lincoln's Inn Fields, and the Bavatian chapel, in Warwick sticet, Golden Square. The Saidmian chapel is the oldest post - Reformation ( hiirch in London, dating from the year K)l') What is now the presbytery was originally thr icsidence of the Countess of Bath, from whose hands it passed into the possession of the Sardinian Ambassador, who erected a little oratory or chapel at the tear Fiom this gem the pretty church of today was gradually e\olved.

Lincoln's Tnn Fields Stuck to the Old Faith IhMlci than most paits of London, and there are still standing on t he western .side of that great square close Id IK e Kaidiman chapel some fine old mansions, now used as law \ cis offices, that weic originally erected by Catholi( pecis who wished to be near a spot that afforded the l.csi opjjoi tunily of seeing a priest and hearing Mass. I'\''lki Han on, a Jesuit , Father Corcke, a Benedictine, Katlici liobcil Moiton, and various other priests were handed foi celebrating Mass in this neighborhood. It was ,11 ound Lincoln's Inn riclds, too, that Bishop Challonci nassed Ins long and energetic missionary career, in .'.ddition to wilting the numerous historical, controM'lsial, and de\ ot lonal works that have made his name familial to English-speaking Catholics all over the world. \t the noith-west corner of Lincoln's Inn Fields there is still standing a quaint old tavern called the " Ship," one of the oldest m London— where Dr. Challoner was wont to pi each regularly on Sunday evenings, seated at the head ot a long table and dressed as a farmer. Tobaico pipes, pots of beer, and packs of cards were placed on the table, so that if a priest hunter were suddenly to

buTst in, the congregation could be immediately.., transformed into a convivial gathering. A sturdy Irishman was stationed at the door, and would admit nobody without the watchword that proved him a true and trustworthy Catholic. To the ordinary frequenters of the tavern the Sunday evening gatherings were only meetings of some sort of club. Many of Dr. Challoner's " meditations," which are still read in numerous English, American, and Australian Catholic churches, were originally composed for the benefit of his little congregations at t/iie Ship Tavern. It is recorded that when the no-Popery rioters, under the leadership of the rinsane Lord George Gordon, were ' trying to burn down the Sardinian chapel, a Mrs. Roberts took the sacred vessels from the sanctuary, and carried them to a priest, who was hiding in the Ship Tavern, and, as he was fasting, he said Mass in thanksgiving for the preservation of the Blessed Sacrament in a room on the first floor, upon an altar stone laid on a table, with two candles and a cross, and a small Missal which the priest took out of his pocket, and Mrs. Roberts served the Mass.' A Curious Incident Occurred on this Occasion. A Jesuit priest, the Rev. Sir George Mannock, Baronet, and a friend of his, a Church of England clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Warren, happened to encounter a body of the rioters. They, in blind rage, mistook .the parson for one of the priests who had escaped from the Sardinian chapel, and, yelling " A Popish Priest," made an angry rush at him. The Jesuit, who was dressed like an ordinary English gentleman, stepped forward, addressed the infuriated mob, and assured them upon his word of honor that they had made a mistake, and that he knew Mr. Warren to be a Protestant clergyman. As the Jesuit baronet was a man of commanding presence, the mob was impressed and believed him, and thus a member of the Society of Jesus successfully rescued a Protestant parson from a bloodthirsty no-Popery rabble. Af ter 4J)aniel O'Comiell had carried Catholic Emancipation, the Sardinian chapel became the chief centre of Catholic London. It was here that Cardinal Wiseman delivered his- " Lectures on the Doctrines and Practices of the Catholic Church,' which made many converts, and produced a profound impression upon Newman. • The Bavarian chapel was completely wrecked by the Gordon rioters. It is now known as the Church of the Assumption. Its rector for many years was the Hon. and Right Rev. Monsignor Talbot, a brother of the 18th Earl of Shrewsbury, and a convert to the Catholic faith. He spent large sums of money upon its interior decoration. The old church of the Spanish Embassy in Spanish Place, Manchester Square, had a special interest for me, as it was there 1 heard my first Mass in London. Indeed, this chapel, although receiving a -generous annual subsidy from, the Spanish Government, appears to have been nearly always served by Irish priests. Father Frank Mahony, better known under his literary name .of " Father Prout," officiated there, and so did Dr. Hussey, afterwards President of Maynooth and Bishop of Waterford. Dr. Hussey was a preacher of extraordinary emotional power. Charles Butler, describing a sermon of his in the Spanish chapel, says : " During the whole of this apostrophe the audience was agonised. At the ultimate interiogation there was a general shriek, and some even fell to the floor. It was The (ireatest Burst of Eloquence I ever experienced." The old Spanish Place chapel was demolished, but me splendid new church of St. James, the patron saint of Spain, that has taken its place, is certainly more in harmony with present-day conditions and Catholic progress in London. The Hibernian traditions of the place are still preserved, for the present rector, the Rev. Dr. Gildea, is an Irishman. So was his predecessor, the late Monsignor Barry. ' The chapels of the Neapolitan Embassy, in Bond street, the Portuguese Embassy in South street, the Venetian the Virginian, and other Catholic refuges in the penal times, have long since vanished from the map of London. The site of the old Belgian chapel is now occupied by the South London Music Hall, but its traditions and records are preserved close by in St. George's Cathedral, which is a Royal Belgian chapel when the King of the Belgians is in London. He always goes to Mass theie when visiting his English Royal relatives. In Miss Harting's book there is a reference to Mr. W. W. Wardell, the architect of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, and St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, winch will be the two finest ecclesiastical edifices in the Southern Hemisphere when completed. In the year 1762 the Portuguese authorities established a church and hospital in Virginia street, near the London Docks, for the benefit of their Catholic sailors. In 1819 this church had become too small for its greatly-increased congregation, and Mr. Wardell, then a young architect pursuing his profession in Parliament street, London, was commissioned to prepare plans for a larger edifice. Of the

church erected from the design of Mr. Wardell, a leading London journal of the period remarked : " It is not too much to say that it has elicited the warmest admiration from all who have beheld it." Mr. Wardell was a pupil of the famous Pugin, the great reviver of Gothic architecture, and both in England and Australia he has left worthy monuments of his master's characteristic style and genius.'