PASTORAL LETTER

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 9, 5 March 1908, Page 11

PASTORAL LETTER

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

Tihe following Pastoral Letter has been issued by the Right Rev. Dr. Grimes, Bishop of Christchurch :— Dearly Beloved Brethren and Children in Jesus Christ— i

Since we last addressed you in our Pastoral of • 1906, we have fulfilled the duty imposed upon us by our office in paying the prescribed visit to the Apos- , tolic See.

In giving an account of our stewardship to the Sovereign Pontiff, we offered him, the united homlage of ' the - priests, religious communities, and faithful flock of our diocese of Uhristchurch.

During our second audience with his Holiness, we presented him the Diocesan Address -in a richly-bound album, most artistically illuminated by one of our devoted nuns. Poring over the pages containing various views of our magnificent Cathedral, more than once he exclaimed with evident admiration : — ' It is superb •! 'It is a marvellously beautiful, really .magnificent structure. How ever was it erected in the very antipodes in so wonderfully short a time ? ' ' Most Holy Father,' we answered, ' often have we been asked the same question, .and our reply has become well nigh stereotyped. It is the work of a people's faith.. Our priests and religious and loyal laity, even the very children, vied with each other in following promptings ol faith. Faith led them to be generous — generous even to the making of great and many sacrifices. Out of the hard earnings of' a lifetime, one of our flock gave £1000, another 1000 guineas. One family gave £500 at first, and several hundred more since ; another £250 ; others £200, more £100 each. Children gave up their pocket-money. Many a widow's mite has gone to the rearing of that noble pile. Poor working women insisted on contributing, the savings of long years. His beautiful eyes showed signs of evident emotion, when he said' : ' Well may you be proud ol your flock. Tell them that lam proud of them too.' We begged him 1 to send a special blessing to you, and to all who "have helped in the great work. ' Most willingly,' he replied. ' I must, too, give you my own contribution towards this glorious work; but I will do more tEan this, I will write you a letter in which I will thank and congratulate you, your priests and people, and all who have aided you in the construction of so noble a pile of beauty.' Turning again to the beautiful album, and pointing to the picture of our Cathedral, 'It is truly wonderful,' he exclaimed ; ' and as you inform one, the work of the faith and generosity of a people not, as a rule, richly endowed with the goods of this world ; well may you be proud of them.' Then, taking a large and beautiful, photograph of himself, he stretched it out before him, and wrote in a bold, clear hand, the following " words :— ' As an earnest of heavenly gifts, and as a special pledge ofgratitude and goodwill, we most heartily , grant the' Apostolic Blessing .to our Venerable Brother, the - Bi- ' shop of Christchurch, and to all the faithful of the diocese, especially to all those who have in any way-con-tributed, or who will hereafter contribute, to -the erection and completion of the magnificent Cathedral Church of Christchurch. ' Granted from) our Palace of the Vatican, the 4th day of December, 1906.' ........ - PIUS X., ;'...- . Sovereign Pontiff. Opening a large book on a shelf beside him, he looked for -the , Latin name of our diocese. € Christ-

opolis,' he said. ♦ Christchurch ! What a beautiful title ! ' . • • The priest who accompanied us as secretary knelt down to hold the corner of the 'photograph on which the Pope was writing. The latter,_with a merry twinkle in his. eye, said to him, ' Could you not hold it as well sitting down as kneeling? ' When your Bishop stood up to keep one side of the photo picture on the table, the Pope said, touching him. on the arm, ' No, no !' jYou must not stand, sib down ! ' Having finished the writing, he took sand from a glass and poured it on -as a blotter, covering the whole of the precious writing. We wished to remove it to_sip:are tiis Holiness the trouble. ' No, no !' he said- with a smile, ' I can do that too.' He shook off the sand most carefully, and added, ' There, now, I thinki that will do for the present.' We expressed our deep, thanks for this great favor. 'It is the least I could do,' was his gracious reply. ' I will do more than this, I will send you the letter 1 promised.* We. ventured to ask for a special favor for our CathedraK 'Certainly, certainly,' •he answered, writing out the favor, ' you"' deserve this, and far more.' Asking about the debt on the great work, he volunteered " a most .generous * donation,, expressing the-* hope -that it would soon be clear of all debt. What a happy day for you, he suggested, when it is free. ' I am confident. that your -generously devoted . people: .will rally r around you, and before very long make that debt a thing of the past.' . , ' During . the course of our farewell audience, the Holy Father spoke of the immense power of the Press for good or for evil. We -assured hirm that our local papers were all that : we could desire, and generally fair towards us. , . . . - lie rejoiced to hear of the great good done in our midst by the excellent journal, the • New Zealand-. Tablet;' and its distinguished editor. He inquired, whether ou/r Government helped us in our work^. To our answer that the Government gave us no material help ; that we rely solely -on the generosity of our people, who give in a way that elicits the admiraifion of those who are not of our faith. ' Ah, well !' he replied, *if your Government does not help, it does not thwart you. That is more than can be said of "some other Gove*nr ments,' when he adroitly turned aside the conversation. Before leaving his august presence, so touched were we at the thought of all that he had said and done, that we threw ourselves on our knees before the Vicar of Christ, and besought Rim once more to bless us and our rcdnistry, our priests, religious communities, our people, young and old," the noble institutes that give us so much consolation— Mount Magdala, NazarethHome, and all our schools. With eyes uplifted „ to Heaven, and hands raised on hi&h,^he besought the Almighty to continue to bless the Bishop of Christchurch, his priests and religious, all his diocesans, men, women, and the dear little children. f May he -grant you ~- increased health and strength, many long and. fruitful years to work successfully 'in your far-away diocese. May He bless and prosper all your undertakings', bring them to a happy issue.'. With that he placed his, "vemi&ratoe hand on- our head, and "the priest ' wlio ;! was present afterwards declared that he- never- -witnessed . a more impressive scene. . He assured us that- he . saw. a tear in the Pontiff's eye, as he stood in all the" •majesty of his holy office, the very personficatibn 'of the Patriarchs and Prophets of old. Never can we forget the touching audiences granted us by the supreme pastor of Christendom. Not long after our return to our diocese, we received from the Sovereign Pontiff a richly worked' reliquary with a precious relic of St. Anthony Zaccharia, the founder of the Order of St. Paul, known as, . the Barnabites. This gift was preceded by the following autograph letter" from .the Holy. Father :— To our Venerable Brother, John" Joseph,* Bishqn of Christch.ur.oh. . V ..•>■«, PIUS X., SOVEREIGN. PONTIFF. \- • „ Venerable Brother,— When, at the close, of lasi; year, you came to Romeio pay your visit ad Limlna Apostolorum, we received with gratitude- and delight tine rich album of beautifully executed /photographic pictures showing various exterior and interior views of : the' Cathedral Church recently erected in the city of Christchurch. The choice gift which we received from your hands was to us a twofold source of oonsolation. The rearing: of this sacred edifice, which you have seen rise from its very foundation, is a • striking proof of the great zeal wherewith you labor, for the Divine glory, and the everlasting welfare of your flock ; it is, moreover an abiding monument of the pre-eminent charity whereof the citizens of Christchurch, and ihe whole of- your diocesans -who rejoice in, the fact that their city and

diocese is so called by the name Christ, have given' proofs of their faitli and confidence in God, their piety having prompted each and every one of them to contribute •with monetary offerings- to the erection of that magnificent temple. Wherefore we pray that this great -work which, through the gracious help of the Almighty, you have brought to so happy an issue, may be for you a source of every true comfort and consolation. ,W>e pray that it may be for your people an incentive of further - good works, and a very bulwark for the protection of your episcopal city. ! May the Lord God of Israel hearken to the supplication of His servants and of His people, whatsoever they shall pray for in this place. May .all the people of the earth learn to fear the name of God as do the people of Israel, -and prove that His name is called upon in this house.' That this may be the continual and blissful result of the good work, and as a pled&e of our exceeding good will, we most affectionately impart the Apostolic blessing to you, to your clergy and faithful flock. Gtfven at St. Peter's, in Rome, this fifteenth day ' of March, -the year of grace, 1907, the fourth year of our Pontificate. PIUS X., SOVEREIGN PONTIFF. In communicating this precious letter to us, his Eminence Cardinal Merry del Val wrote as follows :— ' The Holy Father, who always cherishes a lively recollection of the most interesting account which, when your Lordship was in Rome, you personally gave him of the construction of your Cathedral, made the more striking by the sight of the beautiful views so artistically executed, is graciously pleased to send you the enclosed autograph letter expressive of his joy at tne completion of the Cathedral, and as a further -proof of his good will, his Holiness hopes, later on, to be able to send you some other gift worthy of the Cathedral.' Must not these words and deeds of the illustrious Pontiff cheer and encourage and stimulate us to renewed efforts in behalf of our grand Cathedral, wherein we all take a lawful pride ? Should not we strain every nerve to try and make the debt, as the Holy Father puts it, ' very soon a thing of the past ? ' Referring to the works of the diocese, and more especially' to that of our glorious Cathedral, we deem it our duty to put before you a few further considerations. More than once we haye been led to remark that in nearly every parish there are some whose contributions consist mainly in criticism, and that of an adverse kind. Not a few have ventured, in the presence of priests and people, to find fault with the management of the Cathedral funds. Under ordinary circumstances we would treat with the contempt it deserves such unfair, not to s%. • impertinent, criticism, but, as we have been informed that such criticism, has proved prejudicial to the interests of the Cathedral, we will ask -you to bear with us whilst we dwell a little on the painful subject. ' What a pity,' our critics have said, ' that the furnishing of the interior, ' and especially of the many side chapels, had not been left to a later date, when the heavy debt would have been paid off.' To this we would repeat what we thought it right to put before our Synod a few weeks ago. Since the memorable day of the solemn opening, not a penny of the Cathedral Fund has 'been used to fit up either the altars or side chapels. Our richest vestments and costly altar furniture are the gifts of devoted friends and communities who have also contributed —and handsomely contributed— to the erection of the Cathedral. The Children of Mary offered to furnish the Lady Chapel. They have already redeemed part of their spontaneous promise. The altar and chapel of the dead are the gift of a lover of the Holy Souls, who wislhes to remain unknown, but who has already given as much as any one to the Cathedral fund. Another lover of the Holy Souls has recently given, unasked, whereVith to complete the furnishing of. that beautiful chapel. The rich alabaster altar of St. Joseph is the offering of Mrs. A. J. White, whose daughters have given the magnificent altar and statue of the Sacred Heart, whilst they have also wholly fitted up ' the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, the patron of our diocese. The Chapel of the Holy Face, with the rich collection of relics, are due to the devotion of a generous benefactor who wishes to remain unknown to men. The altar and Chapel of St. Patrick are the gift of Mr. T. Cahill, and a few others, who would thereby perpetuate the memory of a true friend of the Cathedral the late Dean Foley. The lifelike statue of St. Anthony of Padua was presented by the Superior-General of the Sisters of Nazareth, Hammersmith ; whilst the Roman altar in the chapel of that popular saint is the offering of Mr. M. Nolan. The Maristf Fathers in the archdiocese of Wellington" and the diocese of Ohristr church wished to erect an altarin the Chapel of the

Blessed J^ouis Mary Chanel, the Proto-Martyr of Oceanica. These same Fathers have most liberally contributed towards the building fund. Our beautiful Cathedral — ' the architectural gem of New Zealand '—stands in all its grandeur the perpetual monument of your faith, your piety, and your generosity. No wonder you are proud of your work, 'ihe Holy Father declares that you may justly be proud thereof. But he knows with us how painful the thought that there is still a crushing debt hanging over that glorious edifice. What makes; that thought more painful is the fact of the heavy annual interest that must be met. Will you not enter into the wishes of the Sovereign Pontiff and help us by all means in your power, not only to meet the interest as it falls due, but to liquidate, as soon as possible, the capital ? Among the many plans that have been proposed for this purpose, we have already suggested that if every man and woman in the diocese gave £1 each, in addition to what their generosity has already prompted them to give, the whole amount would be paid off within a period of one or two years at most. If our dear Lord has deigned to promise an everlasting reward to a cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple, what reward will He not bestow upon those who will hasten to relieve from the burden ' of debt the temple and tabernacle which He hath chosen for the horc c and centre of His Sacramental presence in our midst ?

(To be concluded next week.)