THE CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND MEMOIRS OF THE EARLY DAYS

New Zealand Tablet, 10 September 1908, Page 10

THE CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND MEMOIRS OF THE EARLY DAYS

(Contributed.) .

OTAGO (continued).

The Right Rev. Mgr. Coleman, who was for many 'years Vicar-General of the diocese, having been made a domestic prelate" " in 1889, shared with his beloved Bishop, in. the early years "of his episcopate, a strenuous part in the establishment and 'building.up of the diocese v of Dunedin. Monsignor Coleman was born " in County Waterford, Ireland, and made his studies for the- priest- ' „ho£d at Maynooth College, where he became highly distinguished " ,as a student. - He was- ordained 1 for the -diocese of Cloyne, and" exercised his sacred ministry for many years in County Cork. * On learning in- 1870. that the Right Rev. Dr. Moran' had been ■■■ appointed Bishop of Dunedin, and was in want of a -priest "to' accompany him to his distant diocese; Father Coleman deter-

mined on abandoning his home and friends, that he might devote himself, as he believed, more usefully to the service of - God, in a . strange land: He was summoned to his reward on ■ January 15, 1890. The Tablet, in an appreciative review of -his life work, stated :-.' His. labors here have been before our eyes, and we all must recognise how true and genuine were the motives by - which they were prompted. We have also seethe results produced by them, and we must "feel the debt of gratitude -owed by the Catholics of the diocese to the memory of the venerable departed. There is no member of the Catho"lic - community whom, he has not left his debtor in a very considerable degree. He .was from the first his Bishop's stay and faithful counsellor in many hours of trial and difficulty, and it was largely duo. to his efforts that Catholicism became firmly established and made such progress in Dunedin during the earlier years of his Lordship's episcopate. All the* members of the mission, both priests and nuns, owed to him much of the preparations that made it possible for them to take up their several duties in the diocese, with the prospect of success. The devotion that had distinguished his relations towards Dunedin and the diocese generally, so long as he was especially connected with them, became concentrated on his particular charge when some years ago he was appointed by the Bishop parish priest of Oamaru, and owing to his efforts the mission in that town has been established on a thoroughly sound basis. Father Coleman was appointed Archdeacon by the Bishop on his Lordship's return from Europe irr 1882, and after the return of Dr. Moran from his second visit to Rome he announced that the Hoi/ Father had recognised the merits of the Archdeacon by conferring on him the dignity of a Roman Prelate of the first class — a distinction that the Catholics of the diocese hailed with pleasure and acknowledged as well deseived.' The Dominican Nuns. .By the kindness of the Rev. Mother Prioress, and with thi valuable aid of a memorial booklet issued in connection witii " the inauguration of the Dominican Priory schools in Dunedin, I am enabled to give some very interesting particulars regarding the advent of the Dominican Order to the diocese of Dunedin, its subsequent successful pioneering efforts, and the remarkable spread of the community in a comparatively short space of time. On October 5, 1870, Bishop Moran left Dublin with a band of eight professed choir nuns and two lay sisters, bound for the distant diocese of Dunedin. His Lordship had known rugged missionary work in the Vicariate-Apostolic of Grahamstown, South Africa, and had tested the worth of the Dominican Nuns in his diocese as auxiliaries in establishing civilising influences among his flock. It must have been no small trial to the Bishop to leave a field of labor which, during a fifteen-years' administration, had fructified most consolingly, to begin life anew in this far-off land. Did his heart fail him on his arrival in Dunedin to find that he had, indeed, to begin at the beginning anl organise a hitherto non-existent diocese? Did the nuns quail before the difficulties that crowded in on them, as difficulties will crowd in when there is a question of a new mission? As they packed themselves into a little presbytery, did they call to mind that stately convent where, in the fervor of their youth, they had made their vows to God? Did they think of those parents and friends, with whom they had severed the last tie? Did they pine for ' La Patria,' whose poverty and political desolation would have afforded them an ample field for all the disinterestedness and zeal of which they were capable. No ; they had put their hand to the plough, they and their Bishop and his faithful true-hearted priest — the compassionate and zealous sharer of the trials of these early days, good Father Coleman, whose loss is so deplored — they had" put their hand to the plough and they would not look back. Twenty years of patient, persevering toil, and of unlimited trust in Divine Providence, now tell their tale in stone. The first primary school; under the care of the nuns, opened

on February 20, 1871, .with about a score of pupils, and the _. High School on the 27th of the same month with three pupils. Since then several thousand girls have passed through the hands of the nuns, and a great majority of them already fill useful and honorable positions; in society. Two years after the foundation in Dunedin, the little ■ demesne known as ' The Slopes,' Wakari, was purchased with a view to carrying on a boarding school, and establish a novitiate in the. retirement of the-.country. The staff of workers was not equal to a division, so the- late Monsignor Coleman proceeded to Europe in 1874 to procure reinforcements of both priests and- nuns. His efforts were crowned with success,- and he and the new missionaries arrived in Dunedin on January 3, 1875. The work at ' Tho Slopes ' now pro-

gressed with fresh vigor, but at the" end of the year, the nuns gave up the country house for financial reasons, and on account of the inconvenience of its situation. In 1876 the foundations of the Dominican Priory •in the city were laid, "and the conventual portion being happily completed, the nuns took possession on Rosary Sunday, 1887. The accommodation necessary for the establishment of a novitiate was at hand, and aspirants to the religious state were not wanting. ' Several young ladies, who had been under special training" in the schools,' were admitted in due time, having passed through the preparatory' stages, and made their profession, and have since proved that colonial ladies

make excellent religious. In 1881. the Bishop made his customary visit to Rome, and returned from Europe with a band of priests and nuns, whose labors have been blessed with much fruit. The novitiate increased .rapidly in numbers, and, meantime, the demand for the establishment of the nuns in other portions of the diocese had become imperative. Accordingly the firstfoundation from the Dominican Priory was made in Invercargill on January 13, 1882." Here a convent and schools were in course of time built, and the people showed their affection for the gentle, unselfish Sisters by laboring earnestly to provide the requisite funds. On September 7of the same year th 6 second - branch house was opened at Oamaru, where the nuns wjere enthusiastically received by the kind and devoted people of -this pretty seaside town. In the same year also a flourishing primary school was opened in South Dunedin. The third foundation was sent to Queenstown on February 8, 1883. In 1889. the Bishop again visited Europe, and returned with another contingent of promising aspirants. The novitiate being now well reinforced, and in a highly flourishing condition, the community turned their attention to the erection of suitable buildings for - the boarding and day schools. These are completed in a style at once solid and elegant, and form a Beautiful and conspicuous addition to the notable architectural features of the southern city(To be continued.) "