The Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2, 14 January 1909, Page 71

The Catholic World

CHINA— The Work of the Jesuits Five miles from Shanghai, China, is a famous observatory in charge of the Jesuits. The priests there are doing ».- magnificent work among the natives. - The technical schools, where the boys are taught printing, carpentry,- and othe<", useful trades, are; conducted on practical 'lines,' and are"' a tribute to the ■ self -sacrifice and earnest zeal of the Jesuits. The time- of the Empire., is regulated by the-ob-servatory. The influence exerted over , "the outside poulation by this institution" is commonly known. ENGLAND— An Uncommon Occurrence V' - -The very- uncommon spectacle (says the Catholic Weekly) of a Catholic priest discoursing to , an attentive/ and appreciative audience composed ,of Protestant clergy- - men, in a Protestant hall,, upon subjects; of Catholic teach- ' ing,, might have been witnessed recently, when Father Charles Coupe, S.J., delivered a course of lectures on the ' Infallibility of the Pope ' to a body of Anglican clergy, constituting the ' Popular Deanery Society for Sacred Study,' at the Christchurch House, Poplar. The lectures were delivered by Father Coupe at the special invitation of his hearers. , - ' ROME— Papal Honor In company with Father Crotty and Father Treacy, of the diocese of Ossory, Mr. Thomas Loughlin, of Victoria, is on a visit 'to the Eternal City (writes a Rome correspondent). Few Catholics in Ireland or the United King- •- dom desorve better of the Church than this . gentleman, who has given the sum of £40,000 towards erecting a church for his native parish of Kilkenny, and intends to expend £7000 in addition for the building of a suitable spire. Mr. Loughlin, who is the guest of S. t^lemente's, has been honored by Pius X. with the Knighthood of S. Gregory the Great, as a tribute to his princely generosity. The Pope. and the French Pilgrims The Holy Father on November 18, -addressing French pilgrims who visited Rome for the jubilee, said:," ' If I have said the "Miserere" for the troubles of the Church in France, I have felt that I ought also to intone the '"^Ee Deura " for the consolation afforded me by ihe spirit in which the French Catholics have made sacrifices for the . faith.' An address 'to his Holiness, av as read by the Arch- - bishop of RheimsC'i'. The Holy Father's Jubilee The Rome correspondent of the Catholic Times, writ ing with reference to the celebrations in connection Avith the Holy Father's jubilee, says: — Tlie illuminations of the cupolas of the different churches at night presented a magnificent spectacle. Thousands of many-colored electric lights covered the cupolas, and thus afforded a scene of great beauty to the people, who were to found in knots admiring it from every point of vantage. Many private houses were content with hanging out the old-fashioned Chinese lanterns; while in some of the smaller churches the still more old - fashioned method of illuminating by tow and grease ignited in earthern saucers was resorted to — another example of the tenacity , with which Italians cling to their ancient customs. A spirit of jubilation seems to have filled the city, but there was one spot out of harmony with the rest. That is the apartment where the ' Giordano Bruno Society ' holds its gatherings. There a black flag was hung at half-mast. This was intended as an- insult to the Holy Father, • but it was really only a sign that, those wh.o ■ raised it are of bhe same temper as the enemies who persecuted Our Lord when He was on earth." On account of • the incessant rain, St. Peter's Dome could not be illuminated on iYionday evening) November 16, as was intended. Tho illumination was accordingly deferred until the following Thursday. During the day three hundred men swarmed over the gigantic dome,, preparing for an illumination such as had not been witnessed- in- Rome for over thirty-eight years. It is reckoned that at 6.30 p.m. fully 80,000 people -w,ere standing on the great Piazza di S.""" Pietro awaiting the display. Half an hour later the illumination was at its height. The effect was magnificent. • The Sanpietrini crawling over the roof of tho dome to attend to the wires presented a weird appearance. Admirable arrangements were made by the civil authorities to prevent accidents. All traffic of trams and cabs was suspended in the vicinity of the Piazza, while forces of military and gendarmes were present to keep, order. The Holy Father One has heard (says Rome) of the Pope's old watch which he will not change for another because it was a

present to him from his mother, and because ' it ticked off her last moments on earth,' -but he. has another still more precious present from her, recalling • those , distant days when he was parish priest of Salzano. -It -is -a little pocket edition of the Imitation of Christ, which is his inseparable companion — a little volume, old and worn, and bearing "many marks of long service. His private secretary, Mgr. Bressan, observing it open one day on the Pope's, desk, and making some remark about the poor binding, Pius X. said with a smile : ' The Imitation, like The Little Flowers of iSt? Francis and tlie Confessions of St. Augustine, seem to me out, of place in rich bindings; humble alid pious books like them look better in modest' press.' Pius X. does not read many books, but he never takes up a book without finishing it, and not frequently -he makes the latest volume he has read the topic of conversation with his secretaries. We know how he glances ' every day over all the Catholic papers published in France and Italy, but the Difesa of Venice is always set aside for a more careful perusal. When he was- Patriarch of Venice he declared more than once that he -would sell his ring and pectoral cross if necessary for the support of this paper — now, when in- the Vatican, ,he reads the whole of it, even, or rather especially, the Birth, deaths* and .marriages. ' Have you seen,' he will say to Mgr. -Bressan, ' poor is dead ?' and he will , recall some of the good points or some characteristic trait of the deceased. jOn such occasions Pius X. invariably uses the' soft "Venetian .dialect, which your true Venetian, from prince to peasant, employs in his intimate conversation. ~ ~ ■-', ' ." •:-"'.' . ' ' • SCOTLAND— A Golden Jubilee T This year his Lordship Bishop' Clrisholm, of Aberdeen celebrates the' golden jubilee of his priesthood, having-bcen ordained .priest"i n Rome ' on tho 15 th "May, 1859.' The Canon's of" the Cathedral' Chapter have had' voider consideration an appropriate mode of celebrating his Lordship's Jubilee, and the Provost and Canons have formed themsolves into a committee, with Mgr. Wilson of Elgin, VicarGeneral of the dioceso, as secretary. A circular has been ■ issued soliciting the co-operation of tho clergy and laity of the various missions of the diocese for the promotion of the celebration, and it is pointed oxit that" many of the Bishop's friends, who arc not members of his flock, will, it is believed, avail themselves of the opportunity of showing their esteem for him by joining in the celebration. UNITED STATES— The Passing of the Puritans The diocese of Boston has just celebrated its centenary. The period upon, which Archbishop O'Conuell and his people have been looking back (says the Catholic Times) was a time of wonderful growth for tlie Catholic Church. Fittingly, therefore, was the celebration, which was marked by many demonstrations of religious, social, and patriotic feeling, closed Avith a great civic parade in Avhich forty , thousand men took part, and Avhich was Avitnessed by three hundred thousand people. ' The Puritan,' said the Archbishop, in his eloquent and powerful centennial address, 'has passed from New England; "the Catholic remains.' It is a marvellous change. As his Grace remarked, the Catholic on his • advent met ' Avith a double antipathy. In. New York the Dutch ■ and the Irish soon understood each . other. In . Maryland the English- Catholic welcomed his English Protestant kinsman. But in New England, be- , sides religious prejudice, the French and the Irish Catholic encountered the ,add£d>. enmity of race. The Puritan has failed, and the members, of that Church, which knows no race, distinctions, survive. , . .To-day three million Catholics occupy the limits. Avith'ih which one hundred years ago the Catholics Avejre few ' and Avithout resources. The diocese of Boston has been blest in 'the x>ast; and, as the * Holy Father says in" a, letter Ho the Arclibisliop, it is also blest "now. in having at its "heacHa, prelate who 'fulfils the duties of his spiritual charge with such splendid success. The Catholic University .The annual church collection in tlie United States for the Catholic University of America, with a. small' balance from the previous collection, amounted this year, to 96,905 dollars. Cardinal Gibbons \vrites: — 'While the financial condition is very encouraging, Aye must" all admit that the University will not be on a proper financial footing, until its endowment of 2,000,000 dollars is completed.' The Position of the Catholic Church Archbishop Quigley, of Chicago, in a letter of welcome to the Catholic Missionary Congress, Avhich Avas opened in/Chicago on Sunday, 15, Avrote: — , ' The Holy Father has taken tlie Church in America from its position of dependency and given it its full canonical - rights. In doing this, he recognised the fact that ; it is fullyi able to take care of its own interests and to aid in the work of the Church at large.'

Braye Nuns Surrounded on all sides >by forest fires, 150 Franciscan jnuns at the Mount Alvernia Convent, near Millvale, a suburb of Pittsburgh Pa., fought on October 22, to prevent the flames from destroying the convent. ' The -drought of several months had made the woods surrounding the convent dry as tinder, and a spark from a locomotive ignited the dry leaves. Almost all the afternoon" the Sisters fought the fire, some of them frequently being compelled to retire, fainting under the pain of the blisters on hands and face: Finally the Millvale fire brigade arrived, and the fire was' extinguished.