DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7, 20 February 1908, Page 14

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH.

(From our own correspondent.) _ - February 17. Sunday, the third anniversary of the dedication and opening of the Cathedral, was marked with impressive ceremoTi-ies. Prior to -the Soleirn High Mass, a beautiful statue of the Sacred Heart, the gift of a. devoted client, which surmounts the rich marble and alabaster altar in the chapel of the Sacred Heart, was blessed by his Lordship the Bishop. At eleven o'clock there

was Solemn High Mass, the Rev. Father O'Connell, S.M., being celebrant, the Rev. Father Peoples, S.M., deacon; and the Rev. Father O'Hare subdeacon. His Lordship the Bishop was attended at the throne by the Very Rev. Dean Ginaty, S.M., V.G., and the Rev." Dr. Kennedy a-s. deacons of honor. His Lordship prea,ched on the day's Gospel, arid with special reference to the day's celebration. The high altar, sanctuary, and altar of the Sacred Heart were very tastefully adorned, and throughout the afternoon and evening the many precious relics, with which the Cathedral is so richly endowed, were exposed to the veneration of the faithful. In the evening there were solemn Pontifical Vespers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, at which his Lords-hip the Bishop officiated, attended by the clergy as in the morning. The occasional preacher was the Rev. Dr. Kennedy, who dwelt on the architectural perfection of the noble fane, the place the Cathedral occupies in the diocese, the unique privileges enjoyed by the people, of the Cathedral parish, and the manifest duties incumbent upon them. In impressive terms he alluded to the immense sacrifices our' devoted Bishop had made and is still making in regard to "the Cathedral, the erection of which was not undertaken before it was absolutely needed, and not until every parish in the diocese was properly equipped with churches, schools, and presbyteries— a task which alone occupied nearly twenty years of arduous episcopal tAme and thought. In conclusion he prayed and trusted the time was not far distant, when the burden of debt would be entirely lifted, and the magnificent edifice consecrated to the Most High. "