CARDINAL MORAN AT ROTORUA

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 9, 5 March 1908, Page 13

CARDINAL MORAN AT ROTORUA

AN ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION

(From our own correspondent.)

When it was first announced that his Eminence Cardinal Moran intended to include this part of the Dominion in h.s visit, very great interest was evinced by both Europeans and Maoris. Committees were formed, addresses prepared, and all arrangements made to accord his Eminence a welcome worthy of so exalted a trmce of the Church. At last the great day arrived, when the Latholics of this parish were given an opportunity to display their loyalty and lave for his Eminence. Long before the hour of arrival of the Auckland express, crowds thronged the station, and it is computed tnat fully 2000 people were present. Through the couitesy of the Tourist and Railway Departments, the railway station was gaily decorated with hunting. The Town Band was present. Great excitement was evident, when the engine sounded its near approach, and when the train dashed into the station,, with the Town Band playing and the cheers of the crowd, it really was. a time ne^er to be forgotten by those assembled. His Eminence, who was accompanied by Aichbishop Redwcod (Wellington), Bishop O'Connor (Armidale), Bishop Gallagher (G-oulbuirn), Monsignor O H'aran, Monsignor O'Redlly, and several priests, was met at the station by the Very Rev. Dean Lightheart and heartily welcomed to Rotorua. His Eminence was escorted to bis carriage, where cheers greeted his arrival, and a party of Natives danoed an inspiring war dance, in costume. Cheers greeted the distinguished visitors us they drove t 0 the Grand Hotel, headtd by the Town J3a;id, a number of N a ttve Chiefs acting, as a body-guard, with the Irish flag on the one side and the Union '.Jack on Ihe other. The great crowd followed! in procession, and on arrival at the hotel further cheers were given. ilia Eminence, through Dean Lightheart, expressed a hope to be a^le to address them on the morrow, tor the remainder of Tuesday evening his Eminence was left in quietude, for it was expected that he would have a big day ou Wesnesday, whiuh eventually proved to be the case.

At Ohinernutu the Maoris were given am opportunity of displaying their loyalty, which they did with great enthusiasm. The Caidinal's party received an enthusiastic welcome from the tribes of Ohinemutu and WhaUarewarewa combined. For fully an hour before the arrival cl his Eminence fully 1000 peo)4e had congregated outside of the big meeting house in the pah. Shortly after 9 o clock his Eminence and party put in an appearance, their carriage being escorted by some fifty Maori warriors, all in native costume. Following in the rear were the carriages containing tiie clergy and a large number of people on foot. His Eminence was greeted by anoiher party c* about 100 Natives, waving palms and everArecns, and performing a dance of welcome. This concluded the distinguished party -were treated to a fine war dance, ab the) conclusion of which Ms Eminence bowed his acknowledgment, anh adjourned to the interJ.°* ° lf Tama * c Kapua. The building was soon filled by 600 people, wdmle as gre a t a number were outside. Evnn y S f f \ n ? in readiness, Mr. John Fitzgerald, on .behalf of the European Catholics of the parish, read the following address to his Eminence :— ' May it please IZi m Tp7 Wie ' the mem bers of St. Michael's* congiegation of Rotoura, are most gratified at the opporX^f. welcoming you to this p a -rt of New Zealand, SioS ivi atU^ haS lavished s °*ne of her greatest Prodigies . Wh'.n the news reached us that your Eminence ha d deeded to include this wonderful spT in £ur iov hnnnS UHU H B?™B ?™\ nlol] > °iL r f eeling S of expectation and I7d S i l! hln U !- Re aHsing, as we do, the care and -vigilance wherewith your paternal foresight nas waters nf^ii gU 4 de l the Barque of Peter though 'the Tcmnr^ + Southern Hemisphere, we are proud und tiETi ° Ur .. d tt ce ™ tiOT *& loyalty to the Holy See In° <imately umted as your Emtamce is to the Vicar' od that m this remote corner of the world the Mthful arc heM together by the same bonds of affection and lov alty as you must have witnessed in the Etern£ cfty"

itself. We beg, therefore, of your Eminence to accept this small tiibute of our filial affection, and .esteem.' Owing to the short notice, it was found impossible to have an address illuminated in time, so it was decided to accompany tho. address with a framed panel of a bud s-eye view of Rotorua township, surrounded by smaller photographs. The Maori portion of the ceremony was now proceeded with. Three noted Chiefs addressed his Eminence in loyal and affectionate terms, one referring. •to him as the 1 Eye of the PopeJ Monsignor O'Reilly (Thames).,, acted as interpreter. At the cowcluaioni of the speeches, FaulTer Bowen read the European version of the Native addresses as follows •— ' To his Eminence Patrick Cardinal Moraa. Welcome, welcome, welcome, illustrious visitor. Welcome, great High Priest to New Zealand, and to famous Rotorua of Kahiu of old, with -its hill of Pukeroa,- thrown up and moulded by Rongomatane divine. Pu^eroa, more illustrious still as the cradle of she Catholic Church. Welcome to* the shores of the Lake styled by our forefathers, Rotorua. Welcome noble guest for whom our hearts have yearned. We have seen tl;e offsprings of the .kings of this world, we have seen Governors and Bishops, and this very hill is the place on which they rested. Here have stood the Princes of our people in the . days of yore, and here now stands a Mighty Prince of: Mother Church, and though her Head and Ruler te not here to bless us, in you indeed we behold his representative. Welcome, your Eminence, our true "'spiritual Father;. Behold your Maori children, whose home is in New Zealand, a land so distant from the well-spring of the Faith. Follow in the weary foot.steps of our Blessed Father, Pompallier. He it was who shed light into our darkness ; he it was, who snapped the ch a m which bound your Maori children to the cruel fiend 1 , who strove to draw them into the black night of gruesome superstition. Welcome, Father. Were we blessed with all the knowledge ct this earth, were. we orators most polished, speaking in divers tongues, swil should we utterly fail to express our ioy_ and appreciation of thus being honored by your presence amongst us. Herein we recognise that you are no respedter-^of persons. We behold in you a faithful follower of the Good Shepherd, ever mindful of His sheep, be they docile, or be they w a yward. We have longed to see you face to face, to h©a*r the welcome sound of your voice, tor much have' we heard of the zeal and diligence wherewith you have guided the Barque of Peter . through the tempestuous billows of the" Southern Seas. Welcome, Father, once more. May your love for us be staunch, and may we on our part cleave devotedly to our great Father, the Pope of Rome. Welcome, also, you Bishops of doughty nations. 'Carry over., to us in 1 the palms of your hands our well-beloved iFrelate. Welcome to New Zealand, to the land whifther our ancestors were led' iby the star of their Destiny. ( Dean Lightiheart then read the addresses in the Maori language. . Surrounding the addresses were photographs of Tama-te-Kapua, and the six Maori chiefs, who took part in the reception, Maori carvings,, etc. His Eminence,' on rising to reply, was' greeted with prolonged applause, and in a 'voice full of emotion, yet. remarkably well preserved for one of his great age, he heartily thanked! all, and' especially his Maori people who had made him so welcome, and who had expressed such devotion and loyalty to Holy Church. On a visit - to • Rome a great many years ago, he had heard through their gre.iti father, Bishop Pompalliei, of the. great strife an:l anxiety of the Maori race during those troublous days, but he was glad to now see them "living in peace and progressing. \n> devotion and piety. His prayer was, and always would be, that his Maori children would ever be preserved ; that, with the aid of the true faith, tl:ey would increase in .virtue and piety.- He had a great respect and love for the Maori race ; the natural" gifts of their land were marvellous and varied, and he prayed they would be endowed with spiritual gifts to compare with the natural beauties of their country. In conclusion he devotedly prayed for the happiness and prosperity of the people of Rotorua, both European and Maori. His Grace Archbishop Redwood . also addressed the Natiives. He said he liked to see all these functions carried out with some high principle in view. The high principle in, this' case was that as our Holy Father the Pope, as vicie-gerenti of Christ, could not visit all his children, he . sent one of his Cardinals, . who were . his councillors, and/nearest* to' him in all things. His Eminence was there as the representative of the Pope, and their welcome W3S accorded to his Eminence, just ""as though ' the Pope himself were present. . He was e;lart, as the head of the Church in New_ Zealand, to see his Eminence receive so magnificent a reception. He also trusted and prayed 1 fhat the Maori race .would thrive and

prosper, would benefit* by a notble and higher civilisation, and above all, that they would continue staunch to the Holy Faith. Bishops- O'Connor and Gallagher also spoke in felicitous terms, ,amd thanked! the Natives for the reception accorded his Eminence and themselves. The proceedings were brought to a close by the dancing of a graceful poi by a dozen girls of the" Ngatiwhakani tribe, at . the conclusion of which his Eminence heartily thanked the girls, stating that, although he had witnessed the dancing of a great number of native tribes tnroughout the world, he had no hesitation in sayu;; that the poi dance far surpassed anything he had ever seen. At the close of the reception the distinguished guests drove away, amidst the cheers and ' Haeri ra's ' of the vast assemblage,, to St. Joseph's Convent School. On arrival at the school the children sang a song cf welcome, after which Master Dwyer read an address to his Eminence. - His Eminence thanlced the children who, he said, formed a very important) part of the; town ; they would be its future men and women. He exhorted the little Omes to be faithlul to their Church ; it would be a . source of great comfort to them in after years, and ■ advised them to obey and respect their good teachers — , the Sisters of St. Joseph, which Order was one of the noblest, and whose charity knew no bounds. ' Faith of our Fathers ' being sung by the children, his Eminence gave his blessing, after which, by permission of Dean, Lightheart, the children were granted a, respite from work for the remainder of the day. The Cardinal on his own behalf extended a further whole -holiday on the following day, which greatly pleased the little ones. This concluded the ceremonies, and) a large number of people waited outside the buildings to meet his Eminence and the visiting prelates. In the afternoon his Eminence and party were the guests of the Carnival Committee, and took part in the opening jSceremony and also the procession. On Thursday the Cardin a l and party were driven to Whaliarewarewa, where they were met by a large number of Natives. A poi dance was performed under the leadership of Guides Maggie and Bella. Hira welcomed his Eminence in a speech interpreted by Dr. Buck. They were very glad to be able to welcome the representative of the Pope- to their Kain?a. The Maori Catholics were strong in their faith, and derived their strength from theii pastor who guided them. Mita' Taupopo 1 i also welcomed his Eminence, the Bishops, and visiting priests. It was good 1 for them (the visitors) to come andi see the wonderful country handed down to the Maori people by their ancestors. He wished them God speed on their 1 return journey. The " petition of his people was that their present pastor, who was dearly beloved by them, should be allowed to remain with them to continue his good work. % His Eminence thanked the Natives for their heartywelcome, and was greatly pleased with their beautihil dancing. He was delighted to hear that the Maoris of Whakarewiarewa were so satisfied with their priest, and held him in such high esteem. If they followed the teachings of their beloved pastor it would leadtbiem to paradise. The party were then escorted, round the wonderful sights of this village by Guides Maggie and Bella, and were accompanied by Mr. T. E. Donne and Count Morner. The visitors were greatly struck with the thermal wonders. « After viewing the sights the party repaired to the Geyser Hotel, where they were entertained at lunch by Count Morner and Guide Maggie-. Various toasts were honored, Count Morner speaking in Latin, welcomed bis Eminence and expressed his pleasure in meeting an old friend in Rotorua. His Eminence, replying in the same tongue, thanked Count Morner for his kindness, and complimented him antemakijnjgjasfpietechin Latin. He (had not heard Latin used for twenty years for social , purposes. The function was brought to .a close by Monsignor O Reilly responding to the toast of Maggie's health,' who, he said, made a charming hostess. *. Z. he -toy.owing address was presented to his Eminence by the Natives of WJiakarewarewa : A greeting to a distinguished visitor, to Patrick, Cardinal Moran. Welcome ! welcome.! O distinguished visitor. It was l o ve th«it brought thee from beyond the sky, drawing thee hitherward. Come and see your Maori people dwelling at Rotorua and other parts which God has ordained that and the : r children should infra-bit, Aotearoa. This is the presentinar of our greetings to you wiho art a strancer to us m body, but who art old in the travels which brought thee from distant lands, from TawMti-nui Ta. whiti-roa., Tawhiift-pamamao and the Hono-i-Wadrua in your voyage across the Great Ocean of-Kiwa stretchinc before you. It was the same ocean track over which

.our ancestors paddled their canoes from Hawaii when they crossed to this land: Welcome, O Father,- the source of the good wotif through which has come light whereby- the mountains shall be levelled and the rough places made smooth. These are our greetings. May you long be spared beneath the sheltering care of our heavenly Father „ Who has brought thee in safety to see thy children in the Mother Church and the tribe of Tuhourangi, Te Rangi Puawhe and the Tuhourangi tribe as a whole. "The Catholic clergy were well represented at the reception at Tama-te-kapua on Wednesday. A number of leading townspeople and others were also present, incl.."d)inig Mr. Birks (ei^inieer-in-charge-of-Rotorua>) Count Morner, Hon. T. Thompson, M.Lj.C, and Inspector Keily. On Friday morning his- Eminence departed for Auc&- ] and by the express. Those who witnessed the welcome -Jbp- Auckland of his Eminence, among whom were the Bishops, state that the reception at Rotorua excelled that of the larger centre in enthusiasm and whole-heart-eilness, although there were some 15,000 persons present at Auckland. 4.1, Th J f ? reat event win lin S er long in the memories o f tiiose fortunate enough to have been- present, and will do . much -to enlfttndle the fire of faith in the hearts of both Europeans and Mao His in this town.