The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 9 July 1908, Page 31

The Catholic World

ENGLAND— The Eucharistic -Congress

Though the list of Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops, who have already signified their intention of being present at the Eucharistic Congress, is a large one (says the ' Gatholic Times '), many more will have to be added before the day on which the congress will open. There is scarcely a country in Europe or in the English-speaking world that will not be represented. ' If,' says St. Ligouri, ' men always had recourse to the Blessed Sacrament to cure the evils under which they suffer, there would certainly be fewer victims, for in this Sacrament Christ offers a remedy for every misfortune.' Who knows but that in the Divine economy this congress in the largest and most central city in the world may give a stimulus to religion throughout the globe and help to counteract the work of the enemies of "Christianity. In furthering that work they are at present remarkably energetic. In one place they are openly and bitterly aggrl?Ss"ive towards Catholics ; in another they are secretly hostile ; in yet another they adopt practices and opinions calculated to foster religious indifference. Everywhere they are either fighting vehemently or sapping and mining dexterously. The leaders of religious thought who will come together in London will in the interchange of views carefully consider plans for obviating this aggression, and it may be they will be able to devise measures for effectively checking it. FRANCE— A Venerable Priest Canon Gadenne, of Raches, the oldest priest in France, celebrated his 102 nd birthday on May 19. ' He is in perfect health, and attends personally to all his parochial duties. A Surprise for the Government We are being persistently assured by the leaders of French anti-clericalism that the Church in France is in a ' dying condition ' (remarks the ' Catholic Weekly '), although one does not understand why, in the same breath, they should need to summon all their forces for the supreme effort of pulling the pillow from under the aged pauper's head. Clearly they are right, from their point of view, in calling for strenuous anticlerical action, but wrong in their pretended estimate of the Church's vitality; for, the recent municipal elections in France have, in various ways, shown that ' clericalism ' is still very much alive, and gives solid hopes of further signs of vigorous life to come. In the municipal elections for Coudray Monceaux (Seine et Oise) the cure of Saint Pierre de Caillot, Paris, has been elected a Municipal Councillor, under the very noses of the Cle'menceaux, Briands, and Vivianis. M. Loutil is a young and able priest, best known by his norn de plume Pierre I'Ermite. He is a talented writer, and possessed of refined artistic taste. The most consoling feature of his election is that he obtained his electoral victory over a Socialist candidate. Joan of Arc Fetes The old City of Orleans has once more celebrated its traditional fe"tes in honor of Joan of Arc as the deliverer of France and as a saint. Last year the ceremonial was rudely broken by the intrusion of the Freemasons, but this year the city returned to the programme which has the double sanction of ancient tradition and appropriateness. That programme includes three functions, the presentation of the standard of the Maid by the Mayor to the Bishop, the panegyric in the Cathedral, and the procession through the town. ITALY—A Great Botanist On May 13 there passed away at Riva", in the North" of Italy, a simple priest, Antonio Carestia, one of the greatest botanists of our time, who, living a life of poverty and solitude, was yet on terms of intimate friendship' with "some of the leading figures of political, social, and scientific circles, and was honorary member of many of' the most eminent scientific a&so*" nations of Europe. Born at Riva on February 2, 1825/ at the completion of his ecclesiastical course he returned to his native town, where for the rest of his days he filled the office of a humble chaplain. ROME— Ceremony of Beatification In St. Peter's, Rome, on Sunday, May 17, took place the Beatification of the Venerable Sister Mary Magdalen Postel founder of the Institute of the. Sisters of th 6 Christian Schools of Mercy. All the Cardinals of the Congregation of Rites were

present, besides members' of the Papal Court and of the-aris-tocracy, the whole presenting a scene of great brilliancy. In the afternoon the Pontiff descended to St. Peter's for the ceretriony of venerating the relics of the beatified. He was received by Cardinal Rampolla, Archpriest of the Basilica, the other Cardirials, and many Vatican notabilities. Monument to Palestrina A committee has been formed in Rome for the erection of a monument to the great composer of Church music, Pierluigi da Palestrina. SPAIN— The King's Birthday The officials of the Spanish Senate and Chamber, deputations of the various administrative bodies and all the authorities, and many officers of the army and navy, called at the Palace on Sunday, May 17, to congratulate King Alfonso on the occasion of his Majesty's birthday. The Presidents of the Senate and • Chamber delivered speeches. ' Thd King, in reply, expressed his thanks in most cordial terms. His Majesty received numerous telegrams of congratulation, among them being messages from King Edward, the King of Italy, the German Emperor," the> Emperor Francis Joseph, the Grand Duke Boris of Russia, Prince Bulow, the German Chancellor, and Prince Henry of Prussia on behalf of the German Navy. UNITED STATES— The President's Congratulations A letter, dated May 1, was received on May 2 from . President Roosevelt by Archbishop Farley, of New York. The letter read,,:. ' My dear Archbishop, — Now that the celebration of the anniversary is over, I want, in the first place, to congratulate yo.v» on its great success. In the next place, I want to congratulate; all our people on the impulse tp higher patriotism given by. ,|hc way in which the celebration was conducted, and finally, in what is much the least important, I want to thank you personally: for your very kind and courteous allusion to myself on -last.. Tuesday.' For Aged Priests Mrs. Thomas F. Ryan, New York, has purchased for ;£6oob the beautiful home in Roanoke, Va., known as Green way Court, to be used as a home for aged Catholic pircsts. It is one of the most beautiful residences in the city. Non-Catholic Felicitations Amongst non-Catholic citizens who felicitated the Archdiocese of New York on its hundred years' work were the following: President Roosevelt, the Right Rev. David H. Greer, D.D., Bishop-Coadjutor, Protestant Episcopal Church of New York; the Rev. Dr. Joseph Silverman, Rabbi of Temple Eman-cl ; the Rev. W. R. Richards, D.D., Pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church ; the Rev. J. W. Johnston, of Old John Street Methodist Episcopal Church; the Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, D.D., Pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church, Brooklyn; the Rev." Morgan Dix, D.D., Rector of Trinity, the mother of Protestant Episcopal Churches in New York ; and others, whose opinions are respected^.. Church Extension , -The annual meeting of the Board of Governors- of the' Catholic Church Extension Society of the United States, which " was held in Chicago, formulated plans for raising an endowment" fund of ,£200,000 to carry on the work of the society. Archdiocese of New York Catholic laymen in New York, in connection with the centenary celebration of that archdiocese have decided to mark the event by liquidating the debt on the .Cathedral, This debt amounts to about £80,000. The original- cost 0* the Cathedral was about £800,000, but, recent alterations, and addition^, incl^in^tl^^ew,j(jkapel., of -Our Lady, will-. bring the total cost of the great edifice up to £1,000,000. GENERAL "A Famous Observatory ;r; r .. The writer of .an, admiring article in the ' Pall Mall Gazette ' claims for the Observatory/attached to the Jesuit-College atßeien, Havana, that it is superior to the Washington" Signal services,' of which there is also a station in Havana, citing in prbof of such priority the warnings there registered of the great h&ricahe which devastated the town of Galveston in 1900. FatheV Gah* goitti, S.] X , who conduces it, sent out cable warnings that the cyclone would pass over Texas ; and, as he predicted; the hurricane struck Galveston, entirely destroying a large section- of the town. Afterwards the exact course of the storm: was compared with the charted. forecast- of" the Belen Observatory,, and there was not found the least divergence.

New Catholic University for Japan

The Eev. James Roekliffe, S.J., of Canisius College, Buffalo," formerly of Cleveland, has been sent to Tokio, the capital of Japan, in order to take up the work of preparing the foundation of the proposed Japanese Catholic University. With him will be associated the Eev. Joseph Dahlmann, S.J., of Luxemburg, who is widely known as a linguistic scholar and the compiler of several philosophical works. A French Father, who is also a linguist, will likewise assist in the preparatory work.