DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND

New Zealand Tablet, 2 September 1909, Page 22

DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND

(By Telegraph from our own correspondent.) August 30. St Benedict's bazaar and fote are progressing apace. Signor Borzoni has- arrived, and is engaged marshalling his forces for his grand display. Last Friday was the twenty-seventh anniversary of the ordination to the priesthood of the Right Rev. Bishop Lenihan, who was the recipient of numbers of congratulatory messages and good wishes on the occasion. At the feacred Heart College an address and purse of sovereigns were pre-

sented on behalf of the college by Masters John Scott and Henry Quinn respectively. Brother Clement (Superior) tendered his congratulations. His Lordship heartily thanked ' the .Brothers and students for their kind thoughtfulhess in' recollecting the anniversary of the great day of his ordination. He also took the opportunity of -welcoming -to Auckland. Brother Clement, and he knew his stay here- would • be fraught with the best results for the students of the college. There were also present Rev. Fathers Edge, Holbrodk, Wright, O'Brien, and Ormond. " Three • hearty cheers were given for the Bishop, who bowed his acknowledgments, and a most pleasant gathering was then brought 'to a close. The Bishop, in his motor-car, afterwards visited the Mater Misericordiae Hospital and the nuns of the Sacred Heart Convent. • An edifying profession of faith was witnessed at the Sacred Heart Church, Ponsonby, on Sunday last, when the members of the Marist Brothers' Old Boys J Association made their quarterly Communion. Despite boisterous* weather, there was a gpod muster of members, no fewer than fifty approaching the Holy Table in a body. Had the weather been fine, the number would have been more than doubled. Besides the Old Boys, some sixty students from the Sacred Heart College also made their Communion, a fact which lent much to the impressiveness of the occasion. The Rev. Father Edge congratulated the association on the splendid example its members had set to the rest of the Catholic community, for although many of them belonged to distant parishes, they had brayed the elements and attended their quarterly Communion in large numbers. In the' course of a spirited address he exhorted the young men to remember that, whatever their temptations, they had the force of their grace-aided manhood behind them, and to successfully combat all evil inclinations they had but to fight determinedly, and they would win. After Mass the members adjourned to the schoolroom, where breakfast was prepared by lady friends. The chaplain, Rev. Father Holbrook, Rev. Father Edge, Brothers Vincent and George were also present. It was a happy gathering, and general appreciation of the occasion was voiced by the speakers, who stated that, though in numbers it had been exceeded, no other quarterly Communion had been more encouraging. The chaplain stated that arrangements were now being made' for the formation at an early date of a society for boys just about to leave school, and which would be a recruiting ground for the association. It would be called the Children of Mary's Society, and boys from the age of thirteen to eighteen would be enrolled. He proposed placing the Cathedral at the disposal of the society one night every week, Avhen the boys would be given instructions. He knew full well that when the time came the Old Boys would be ready to give a helping hand to the scheme. — (Applause.) Another important announcement, which was received with demonstrations of approval, was made by Brother George, who stated that the further enlargement of the Sacred Heart College was in contemplation. There were now some sixty permanent boarders at the college, and the time had arrived when the question of increased accommodation had to be considered. Rev. Father Edge referred to a question that has been given much prominence by the clergy of late-^namely, the mixed-marriage question. He said that the legal status of Catholics in the British Empire was that of idolators, and how, he asked, could a union of a Catholic and a Protestant under these circumstances be happy? Nor was it desirable that they should seek the conversion of Protestants with a view to marriage. It was much betterto select a Catholic girl, who in all probability would be able to teach her husband something about' his religion, rather than that he should teach her.