PILGRIMAGES TO ROME

New Zealand Tablet, 17 December 1908, Page 10

PILGRIMAGES TO ROME

The English National Pilgrimage, conducted by. the a Catholic Association (writes the Borne correspondent of "..the Catholic Weekly), was received-in audience by the.. Holy ' Father 'at midday on October -.26., The pilgrimage was intrpduced by the Archbishop of Westminster. .The pilgrims "assembled first in the Court of San Damaso, carrying. their " banner with \x^.e English, Scotch, Irish, and Welsh arms, and from there proceeded 4o the Sala Regia, where , the ' Masters of Ceremonies and. the Papal Private Chamberlains assigned them their places. - His Holiness appeared * shortly after, accompanied by Mgr.~ Bisleti; Archbishop ". Stonor ;- the" Bishops of Birmingham, Northampton, Auckland, Salford,* and Portsmouth ;■ the_ Auxiliary Bishop of Portsmouth ; Mgrs. Giles, Tynan, Brown, Courtenay, Gandy and Hilll The Pope was .followed ;by his Domestic Pre-, - lates, and "\vas • escorted by the Noble Guards, while the , Swiss Guards rendered military honors. His Holiness was greeted wifK the heartiest warmth .on his entrance, and at sight of many of the -pilgrims wept tears of emotion. The pilgrims, who had carried with them many, religious objects to be blessed, knelt, forming a line along which the

Pope passed, smiling benevolently, giving to each his Land to kiss. ' - - * . The Archbishop of "Westminster then read an address, which was signed by himself and all the other members of the -English' Episcopacy. . "/.,*- leather Dunford next presented the HoJy Father ; an offering for £121 from the pilgrims. His Holiness had previously, received £6000 as the- jubilee offering of ~tho Bishops, priests, and laity of England. - ,_. r In his reply, the Holy Father, who spoke in Italian, thanked the pilgrims most warmly for their greetings and offerings, and expressing "appreciation of the loyalty _ of the faithful of Great Britain. . His Holiness .dealt length with the recent EucharistiC' Congress,, with which he again, expressed his satisfaction and said : . '■ Far - from you in body, I was in your midst in spirit, happy, in the thought that the Eucharist- should' kindle in you the spirit which for ten centuries made of England a land of. saints, arid gave that title, still preserved, ' Defender of the Faith, 5 a title given "by Pope Leo the 1 Tenth to Henry - the Eighth, who, in his -rebellion, did not reacht the point of denying the real Presence .of the august mystery .of Transubstantiation in the Eucharist.' In conclusion, the Pope trusted that the recent Eucharistic Festival, together with the continuous conversions, of. so many souls, -would hasten Great Britain's happy return to the Church, arid would re-establish, by the Grace of God, its full and perfect submission to the See of St. Peter. His Holiness then imparted the Apostolic Benediction to the pilgrims and their families. «r The pilgrims and their friends numbered 1000. THE IRISH PILGRIMAGE. The Irish pilgrims, who with" their friends numbered 300, were received in the Hall of the Consistory on the following day (October 27). They were introduced by the Right Rev. Dr. Sheehan, Bishop of Water ford, -and. were accompanied by Monsignor O'Riordan and the students of the Irish College. They were ranged along the sides of the long^hall, and the Holy Father passed along, giving liis hand to each to kiss. At the end he seated himself on the throne — the beautiful throne of which so much has been hoard recently, as the jubilee gift of his old flock at Venice. The Bishop of Waterford read the address in Latin, and Father Mac Donald, Adm. Westport, read it in Irish. Acknowledging the address, the Holy Father, after a few cordial words of thanks, said": 'On seeing here to-day Our beloved Irish children^ and remembering having seen here yesterday the sons of England, We are reminded of the Gospel parable in which is told the story of a father who had two. sons, and two good sons, but one day the younger, losing sight of the love due to his father, came before him to tell him that he desired to have the portion of the inheritance that was to be his, and to set out for a distant country. Nor could his father's tears and prayers prevail on him to stay. The misguided young man went on his- way. Ere very long he squandered all his substance, so much so that lie was brought so low as to become a mere swineherd. It was precisely while in this unhappy condition that he- was touched by the grace of the Lord. Then the -.poor young man turned with penitent thoughts to the happy life spent in his father's house, to the abundance therein enjoyed* by even the very- slaves, and resolved to return to the father he had so ungratefully abandoned. ' There is little need, -dear children of Ireland, for- Us to point out the application of this parable. England and Ireland are two daughters of tHe one Mother, the Church — two daughters who received with joy the words of Eternal Life preached to them by their two apostles, Augustine the Monk, and Patrick the Bishop. The two daughters cherished the x<aith, so much so, indeed, as to deserve to be known and called by two , glorious titles— the one the land of Saints, and the other the Island of Saints. But one sorrowful day the younger daughter said to 1 the poor mother: ' I will no longer recognise you , as my mother. Give me the portion that is mine.^ And thus did she cut ,j herself off from the bosom of the Church, and "set at nought the tears and prayers of the mother, who,- begged her to spare her such heartrending sorrow., . And thus^, did the > straying nation of England lead -away, with it from the right path the great part of ..its people/- The other daughter, however, remained ever faithful, and gave a most noble example to her erring sister by her sacrifices, ' by her • constancy in suffering, by her. tears, by the blood she shed >• in-the terrible persecutions she had to bear in remaining - loyal*. to her Mother, arid in this way. incessantly t called „ down the^mercy of God on her sister '.b. behalf 7° so much so. as to give TJs a hope, confirmed by the, solemn JEucharistic Congress held recently in London, that she will return one day to the caresses of the Mother she ungratefully abandoned, and console her sorrow-stricken heart by the tenderest of joys.

It is -then Our pleasant duty,, beloved children of Ireland, ta Tejoice with you "in that -in spite of trial and suffering you have remained" ever - faithful: -to the Faith preached to- you by your holy. Apostle, St. Patrick. The Church -has ever prayed "for you, and has everr admired the constancy, the firmness, -and the courage with which you have defended the Faith received from your forefathers. •May this Faith be yours all your life. Prefer, this treasure to all earthly goods; * You may be poor, but t through this poverty, which is so dear to ; Jesus Christ, for Whose sake you have despised the riches of- the earth, you have laid up treasures of eternal blessings- in the -. Kingdom of the Blessed: You may have had to- suffer, yet because cf this tribulation you will securely tread the path of -salvation. Nor can you ever lose tne .peace of your souls, and may the blessing of the Lord never fail, you, and- may it never fail your dear ' country, your families, and. all those who the teaching "of the Catholic Churchi and find therein their sweetest consolation -and -most -precious comfort. - . „ .- , „.- , 'Returning, then, to, your- jl atherland, you will tell your fellow-countrymen that > the. Pope" bears them all <?lose *to his heart, that he- wishes '"every^ good gift- to them, 0 and especially to" those who prove" themselves -to be .truly Catholic by the faithful observanceriof the law of God. And jiow, may the Divine Benediction descend^ upon the whole Irish Hierarchy, beginning with his Eminence the Cardinal Primate; on the clergy, Ho whom -Thave- already,- given the Greeting of Peace and Lave y on the- parents, -, "that they may bring nip 1 " their children in the f ear . and. love : of God; on the children, -that they may ever show Tespect'and reverence to those. who have. given- them birth; on both rich and poor, thai? they may tenderly love and cherish- one another; '~oh the whole Irish, people, so. that all, with" the assistance of Divine Mercy, may one day find themselveig united in the enjoyment of that rewatd which. the Lord-has prepared .for the souls He -lias, redeemed^' ... i - .- ■ As. his- Holiness finished, the pilgrims" started Dr. Murray's famous ?', Song for the Pope,' and sang it with much feeling.- , .., \ The. pilgrimage -was organised by the Catholic Younjy Men's Society, Dublin, and the address was signed by Canon Flicker, Chevalier Sheeran, Mr. John Rochford, K.S.G., Father F. O.'Ldughlin, and Mr. P. "S. 'Walsh.