REV. FATHER PIDGEON, C.SS.R.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 13, 2 April 1908, Page 19

REV. FATHER PIDGEON, C.SS.R.

(From our Wellington correspondent.)

The many friends of the Redemptorist Fathers will learn with muoh regret of the death of one of the most esteemed members of the Older in the person- ot. the Rev. Father Pidgeon. Th' 3 death of Father Pidgeon occurred on Thursday evening at- the Monastery, Mount St. Gerard. His peaceful end was . just such a One as he and his,, confreres expected ever since .a- declara-. t.ion. hy the doctors some three years , ago, that Father pidgeon was suffering from the worst form of liearft disease. Up to within an hour of his death the -'de--ceased was a'iout his usual duties, and , appeared in has wonted bright and cheerful spirits. On Friday the bo:ly was ta^en to the Ohuioh at Buckle street, and en Saturday morning a,'-' Requiem Mass -was celebrated in iho presence of a lara;e congregation/. The Very Rev. Father Clune, C.SS.R., wns celebrant, Rev. Father Finnerty, deacon, Rev. < Father Bowden, sub-deacon, and Rev. Father Hurley, master of ceremonies. Among those present were Ms Grace the Archbttshop, Very Rev. Dean Regnault, S.M., Provincial, Yen. Archdeacon Devoy, S.M., Very Rev. Father O'Shea, S f M., V.G., and about 20 other priests. The music of the Mass was simp; I>y a; choir of pri!ests. The interment took 1 place

at the cemetery, Karori, -where his Grace the Archbishop officiated I .' • >... Father Pidgeon was bom in Dublin on May 2, 1848. He was a member of a most pious .family, ' and is survived by three sisters, _who> have" all .entered religious Orders. F<>r some considerable period deceased took a very active part as a lay member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Dublin, and in this capacity 'did much to counteract thte pros^^-iing efforts of various Protestant agents 'among the poor and neglected in the Irish capital. Hi's heart was, however, set <>n becoming s. member of the Redemptiorist Order, and on September 8, 1884, he was professed a religious. About five years later, on October "28, 1889, he was orda4wed piiest'. Shortly after his ordination he came to Australia and there '"earned the esteem of all by the - zeal and" ability that characterised his mission work. in February, 1905, ■ho came to New Zealand with Fathers Clune and McDermott. Heart trouble rendered it neaesr sary that Father Pidgeon' s active mission work should cease, and ( so the 1 indly and saintly priest remained at the Monastery, undertaking- most " of the business work of the Order, and endearing himself by- his noble qualities to the faithful that loved, to worship in the little oratory that overlooks the harbor. ■ His chief characteri'stcs as "a layman were his great . zeal and deeply. ~neli»ious fervor. As. , a priest ' he was known for Ms ' strict observance of the rules of his' Owbr, v as a jbri&ht and • genial confrere, as a. most sacrificing servant of God, patiently awaiting an -end that for years was hourly; expected. His memory ''will long lb c in the hearts of those that" knew him as a most, elotjiuen'b missionary ;* it will be cherished by the confreres who felt -the greatness u of his kindly nature '' It will Te remembered" all by the many pious sq'ls, w ho ' during; , the past three, years were, wont to \isit the Monastery, where the kindly Father ministered 1o their spiritual needs.— R.l.P.