TE AROHA

New Zealand Tablet, 1 June 1911, Page 1019

TE AROHA

VISIT OF THE BISHOP OF AUCKLAND His Lordship Bishop Cleary arrived in Te Aroha on Saturday afternoon, May 20, and was met at the railway station by Ins Lordship Bishop Verdon, the Mayor (Mr R. L. Somers), Rev.,Father McGuinness, a number of the loading parishioners, and many prominent townsmen of other, denominations, all of whom were formally introduced. 'The Mayor spoke a few words of welcome, and the whole party were then conveyed in carriages to the new presbytery (says the local . Mail). In ' the spacious dining-room the lormal proceedings took place. Amongst those present were Ins Lordship the Bishop of Dunedin, Messrs. T. Gavin, J. McSweeney, P. Baine, M. O’Grady, D. McDonald, M. 0 Donoghue, C. O’Driscoll, J. Brady, J. Shine, and J. hitzgerald (members of the congregation),, and Messrs. R. L. Somers (Mayor), P. Gilchrist, W. Brodie, D. McL. Wallace, S. E. Greville-Smith, R. S. Hanna, and Dr. Kenny. Mr. Gavin, on behalf of the laity, offered a loyal and cordial welcome to the Bishop. His Lordship was no stranger to them, though they had never met before, because he was familiar to them through his writings. He felt sure that he spoke not only for his fellow Catholics, but for the people of all denominations, when he offered the Bishop a cordial welcome and wished him all the blessings of life.

The Mayor extended a cordial welcome on behalf of the burgesses. • Bishop Cleary, addressing the members of the congregation and the representatives of the town jointly, said he had derived unbounded pleasure from the cordiality with which he had beeen received that day. He already'looked forward to many future visits and the occasions they would afford for renewing the pleasant friendships formed and making' new ones. > He was glad to sec that the Catholics had been working heartily for thp old faith, that was so dear to _ them, as well as for the prosperous and rising district in which their lot was so happily cast. He hoped that they would continue in the good-work, and he felt sure that under the wise and skilful guidance of their present Mayor the town would go ahead by leaps and bounds. He was specially gratified by the, presence of prominent residents of other faiths, and he thanked them for the honor done to him. It was a pleasing sign, and augured well for the future, that the members of the different faiths lived and worked together in amity. Rev. Father McGuinness celebrated the 11 o'clock Mass in St. Joseph’s Church on Sunday, when there were present in the sanctuary the Right Rev. Dr. Verdon and the Right Rev. Dr. Cleary. There was a crowded congregation, many coming from the remotest part of the parish. Rev. Father McGuinness announced that a special collection would be taken up in aid of the- presbytery building fund, and mentioned, with expressions of , gratitude, that the bishops had each presented him with a cheoue for £5 ss. * The Bishop’s Address* At the conclusion of the Mass, his Lordship Bishop Cleary said he could not let the occasion pass by without making reference to the . gracious reception tendered to him, the previous evening, on the occasion of his first official visit to Te Aroha. He thanked the many Catholics—of whom had come from a considerable distance—who had assembled to meet and greet him. In a very special manner he desired to express his deep sense of the goodwill manifested to him by the Mayor and a number of other prominent and representative citizens : of other faiths, who had done him the honor of extending to him a cordial welcome on his arrival in their rising and progressive town. He valued this, not merely on personal grounds, but still more because of the eloquent testimony which it bore to the good feeling which existed here among people of various forms of religious belief, and he fervently hoped that this union of hearts would endure for evermore. He rejoiced that the old faith to which they belonged kept pace with the march of material progress of the town and district; and, referring to the group of Catholic ecclesiastical buildings round about them, he expressed the conviction that they were equal to anything of the kind to be found in a town of its size and Catholic population under the Southern Cross. He complimented the people on the new presbytery which was thoroughly well done from floor to ridging, and furnished with good taste. The total cost of the building, apart from the expenses of the ground and fencing, was just oyer £SOO. Of this amount they “had £320 in hand, and this, together with the generous reponse which he hoped for on that day, would leave a very small and manageable debt to be paid off. He thanked them, and the friends of other faiths whose great hearts had moved them to aid them in that good work. His Lordship made a graceful reference to the presence of his old friend the Bishop of Dunedin. At the conclusion of the Mass Bishop Cleary, accompainied by Bishop Verdon and Father McGuinness and the altar boys, went in .procession to the presbytery, and Dr. Cleary blessed the building. A Social Gathering. The proceedings in connection with the visit of Bishop Cleary to Te Aroha came to a fitting termination on Mon-

day evening, when a social was held in the large schoolroom of the Convent. In addition to his Lordship, there were present Very Rev. v Dean Hackett, ,of Paeroa, Very Rev. Father Brodie (Wailii), Rev. Fathers Tigar (Thames), Murphy (Cambridge), and McGuiimess. The room was filled with people of all denominations, and the entertainment provided by the pupils of the Convent was greatly appreciated. '-.1.-, ; . T ■':-'. /; .V,;; :.■;;;; During an interval in the programme, Mr. P. Baine read, the following address from the laity of the parish: ' May it please your Lordship. On this the occasion of your first official visit to the parish of Te Aroha, .we, the parishioners, extend to your lordship a very hearty, welcome. We welcome you because we recognise in you one of the successors of the Apostles, who were divinely commissioned to teach and to rule the Church of . God. We welcome you also, because you have not come a stranger amongst us, for by your writings "we have known, esteemed, and admired you for many years, and, in union with the rest of the diocese, we rejoiced exceedingly when the Holy See confirmed the election of the priests, and appointed ..you Bishop of Auckland. In this age of secular education your capable and noble advocacy of the cause of religious education is a warning beacon to all fair minds, and tends to stem the destructive materialism which is its natural consequent. Your varied and extensive works in the cause of your native land endeared you to all lovers' of freedom, and touched in-the hearts of all Irishmen a deep, sympathetic chord. May that hope, so dear and long deferred, be soon realised. Your profound erudition and gentle courtesy, ; a combination as excellent as it is rare, ;. : show; ■"/forth the lustre of your genius, and bestow on you -a? fame that extends beyond the limits of Australasia, and is known wherever the English language is spoken. My lord, we know that arduous labors await you,, but we know too that when the shadows of evening begin to fall you will be able to say, as did your great Master, "I have finished the work that Thou gavest me to do." We have the honor to subscribe ourselves; Your Lordship's faithful people.' Miss O'Donnell read an address from the pupils of the Convent high school. • :v ~;t His Lordship, in replying, said that the entertainment' given that evening had been excellent and varied, and had earned his deep gratitude. In his younger days ho had travelled a great deal 011 the Continent of Europe, and wherever he went, from the sunny south to the colder regions of Scandinavia, he found it was the custom of playgoers to praise -openly, not only the actors, but the.pjav writers, the managers,, and even the scene painters. It would be well to do the same in the present instance. The real authors of that evening's entertainment were the good Sisters, those devoted women who had given up father, mother, home, and the world to consecrate their lives to the education of the young, and in their hands the plastic material was moulded into noble men and women, thus following in the footsteps of Him Who loved the children. Referring to the laity's address, the Bishop related the old Eastern fable about the earth, iron, fire, water, and wind, and that which is more powerful than allthe heart of a rrood man. The address presented to him that evening, bearing as it did all the marks of simplicity and sincerity, was a noble one. It showed that there was confidence between, them and their pastor, their chief pastor, and that greater pastor in Rome who ruled over the hearts of 250,000,000 people. The Catholic Church had done without church buildings, and could do without them again, but it could not dispense with the schools, in whbh piety and godliness were formed.