THE LATE CARDINAL MORAN

New Zealand Tablet, 7 September 1911, Page 1739

THE LATE CARDINAL MORAN

SOLEMN OBSEQUIES AND FUNERAL The remains of the late Cardinal Moran were taken from the Palace, Manly, to St. Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday afternoon. The sunlight had lost its brightness and merged into the dusk of the evening as the cortege approached the Cathedral. The Hibernian and Irish National Foresters formed a guard of honor from the footpath to the Cathedral. The coffin was met at the College street entrance of the Cathedral by their Lordships the Bishops of Goulburn and Armidale and about 200 priests and the students from St. Patrick’s College. His Grace Archbishop Kelly, Right Rev. Mgr. O Haran, and the President and Professors of St. Patrick s College accompanied the remains from Manly. When the coffin was placed on the catafalque the Vespers for the Dead were chanted. At 8 o’clock the lid of the coffin was removed, and the beloved features of the Cardinal were exposed. A steady stream of the son owing faithful filed before the catafalque for several hours, at the rate of 1500 an hour. The members of the Hibernian and St. Vincent de Paul Societies kept vigil during the night. On Friday morning there were Masses every half hour from halfpast 5 to noon. On Friday night the members of the A.H.C. Guild and the Irish National Foresters kept watch. On Saturday morning a Pontifical Requiem High Mass was celebrated. Immense as are its structural proportions, and colossal as are its dimensions (says the Freeman’ s Journal) the Cathedral was far too small to accommodate the sorrowing hearts anxious to offer prayers and to have a last look at the mortal; remains of their beloved Archbishop. % Ere the dawn of Saturday heralded another day of sorrow, hundreds of figures emerged out of the mis# that enveloped Hyde Park. They joined streams of humanity from St. Mary’s road and other streets,, and entered the Cathedral at 5 o’clock to assist at the first Mass. The majority of them remained through the hours till 9 o clock, when the Cathedral was cleared and the great doors were closed. At first it was thought desirable that the remains of the Cardinal should be interred on Saturday, after the Pontifical Requiem Mass, and the Acting-Premier issued an extraordinary ’ Gazette proclamation on that information. In view, however, of the widely-expressed desire, it was later decided, with the unanimous consent of the Bishops, that there would be a procession on the following day (Sunday) from the Cathedral at 3 o’clock along King street, Elizabeth street, Liverpool street, down College street to St. Mary’s Cathedral, where the interment would take place. Further, there was no funeral panegyric on Sunday, it having been decided to postpone that until the Month’s Mind,

Pontifical Requiem High Mass. An impressive procession entered the sanctuary shortly before 10 a.m. (the hour appointed for the commencement of the Solemn Dirge), the organist meanwhile playing the Dead March from ' Saul.' His Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne, their Lordships the Bishops of Sandhurst, Sale, and Ballarat, and the Very Rev. Dean Phelan, V.G., did not arrive in time for the Office. They entered the sanctuary at the commencement of the Requiem Mass. The Bishops of the Province of Sydney present were:—Right Rev. Dr. Gallagher, Bishop of Goulburn • Right Rev. Dr. Dwyer, Bishop of Maitland; Right Rev. Dr. Dunne, Bishop of Bathurst; Right Rev. Dr. O'Connor, Bishop of Armidale.. The members of the religious Orders were conspicuous by their religious habits— Redemptorists, Franciscans, Vincentians, Jesuits, Passionists, Marists, Sacred Heart, etc. The students of St. Patrick's College took part in the chanting. The Office for the Dead having concluded, the celebrant of the Pontificial High Mass, his Grace the'Archbishop of Sydney (Most Rev. Dr. Kelly), with .his Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne, the Bishop of Sandhurst, the Bishop of Sale, the Bishop of Ballarat. entered the sanctuary. The music for the Mass was impressively chanted by the priests, -choir, and * the students from St. Patrick's College, Manly,

Some of Those Present.

A more' distinguished and representative congregation had not been seen in St. Mary's Cathedral. His Excellency the Governor-General (Lord Denman) was Represented by his private secretary, Captain Vernon, who, with the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir William Cullen, attended by Captain Verney, was accommodated with a seat in the sanctuary, as was also the Lord Mayor (Sir Allen Taylor), in his robes of office. Amongst others were the Acting Premier (Mr. W. A. Holman), Minister for Lands (Mr. F. Flowers), Minister for Agriculture (Mr. Trefle), Acting Treasurer (Mr. Carmichael), Mr. Justice O'Connor, Mr. Justice Higgins, Mr. Justice Street, Mr. Justice Gordon, Mr. Acting Justice Ferguson, Mr. Acting Justice Rich, Rev. Saumarez Smith (representing the Primate), Judge Heydon, Judge Edmunds, Brigadier-General Gordon, the President of the Legislative Council (Sir Francis Suttor), Dr. Nash, M.L.C. ; Dr. A. L. Kenny, K.C.S.G.; Messrs. John Hughes, K.C.S.G., M.L.C; P. J. Minahan, M.L.A., J. R. Dacey, M.L.A., W. A. Redmond, M.P., representing the Irish Parliamentary Party; Mr. Hugh Mahon, M.P.; the Consul for Spain, Mr. Dalton, K.CS.G.; Mr. John Meagher, K.C.S.G., M.L.C.; Sir W. P. Manning. .

The Archbishop's Discourse.

At the end of the Mass his Grace the Archbishop of Sydney, addressing the crowded congregation from the sanctuary steps, spoke in part as follows: Your Excellency, Honorable Ministers, my Lord Mayor, and honorable members of the laity, it becomes my duty to come before you to utter a few words, suggested, if not dictated, by this solemn occasion. These words are, Our Father, Who art, in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.' We all join in this prayer,- deprecating the least sentiment of a jarring nature. ©Catholic and nonCatholic by nature, most of us, by Christianity, look up to the same source of our being—' Our Father, Who art in Heaven " —and we recognise in what is before us here, the will of God. It is appointed to . all men once to die. It is the will of God. We are stricken by it, and we say, ' Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' We welcome to-day, and gratefully, his Excellency our State Governor, the representatives of other Governors, the Ministers of our State Government and of our Municipal Government, and many representatives of our Legislatures. We welcome the messages of condolence received from the absent— all the organisations, religious organisations, economic organisations, literary and other organisations. We welcome them all; we are grateful for them all; but Ido say in a special way we are thankful indeed to God's providence for having so disposed the hearts of our municipality as to accord us the privilege that the remains of our lost Cardinal should be interred within the precincts of this Cathedral, that was so dear to him, and is so dear to us all. Yes, to all, without exception, St. Mary's in Sydney is an object of affection and glory. If I abbreviate this expression of thanks, I do so, asking to be exonerated from any mistake, either by omission, misplacement, or otherwise. The Consular bodies, representing various nationalities, deserve all recognition at our hands. Thank God, that the goodwill of all concerned follows the remains of our lost Cardinal to

their last resting place, and for this, they, from our hearts, receive our sincere thanks. This day week his Eminence was with us. Last Wednesday week we were gathered around him in Synod. Last Tuesday, the great Feast of the Assumption, which was to be signalised as the occasion for the First Communion of the children, his Eminence was, so to speak, in the height of his exultation; it was the exultation of the spirit. When he was a boy he was a delicate student. Through life he was not very robust. Careful attention, combined with simplicity of living, in diet, in dress, and otherwise, prolonged his years; but his frame was.vulnerable. Why he died suddenly was that the heart at last became overpowered. There was no violence about the death of his Eminence; there was no breaking of doors. I speak as an eye-witness. He saw the light of Wednesday morning. He was rising—had risen-—and was preparing to put on his day attire, when

illness came upon him, and he sank to the floor close beside his bed. Without pain, without ache, without a struggle his soul departed. We missed him, and after two hours we sougnt him in earnest, and we found him lying as ' one resting—the body in a natural position, the face natural, the limbs limp. He had not been dead for more than two hours. • Who- denies the fidelity of Cardinal Moran Who 'does not feel his loss? It is as the extinguishing of a bright light. In Church matters, in the salvation of souls and the external welfare of the people, his zeal had no bounds. We know well that his heart beat warmly for Ireland, his motherland for Australia, his adopted land; and that in loving Ireland and Australia he loved every single citizen at home and here; and/if possible, he had a more tender sentiment of regard and interest for those outside the fold than those within: It has been said, 'Woe to you when men bless you!'mere men, acting on human motives, on political motives, on selfish motives. Woe to the priest who is blessed by mere men ! We cannot serve God and Mammon. In serving God, we are serving our people. In leading our people to the observance of God's law we are promoting their best interests even on earth. There is no better patriot, because there is no better benefactor to his kind, than the man who fulfils his duty first to God, according to his conscience. . . We have had a model pastor; Australia has had a model prelate; and we, members of the Catholic Hierarchy of Australia, members of the Catholic clergy of Australia, members of that laity of Australiawe, in the midst of our sore trial,, must say, as Our Lord in Gethsemane, ' Father, Thy will be done.' May his spirit remain with us, and may he secure for us those blessings sought by him, worked for by him—the blessings of true enlightenment, the blessings of religion, and the blessings of sound self-control, which is the essence of Christian morality. We may never hope—we who were intimate with himwe may never hope to stand in that degree of humility in which he stood and worked. From his youth he was learned in Oriental matters as well as in Western matters. In his missionary life his works might be divided by ten, and yet surpass the ordinary works of the ordinary worker. He often said—he said it to us at the Synodthat we are only God's instruments, and that if there be fruits or results from our works, it is God Who gives the increase. Let him be our model in that respect. There was not an opportunity of administering the last Sacraments to him, but from that pulpit two years ago he called on his Master to come to him and take him away. You remember the words, ' Veni Domine' Jesu ' (' Come, Lord Jesus '), and he said: ' When God will have called me, let your prayers follow me, that He may waft my spirit into the realms of bliss.' His will was not accomplished until last Wednesday morning. Then his Master said, 'Come, faithful and prudent servant; come, laborer from. the work-field. You have been faithful over a few things; I will set thee over many. Enter into the joy of the Lord.' Eternal rest grant to his soul, and let perpetual light shine upon him.. The Last Absolutions then closed the impressive solemnities. The prelates and clergy re-formed their ranks and proceeded to the . sacristy, after a ceremony lasting three hours. Throughout the afternoon and evening tens of thousands visited the Cathedral to view the remains. As a check it was found that at one given period the people passed the catafalque at the rate of 6000 an hour. Even these figures were exceeded by 2000 later on in the evening. During Friday it was estimated that 100,000 viewed the body of the Cardinal. Many stayed on, deep in prayer. It was 2 o'clock on Sunday morning ere the last of the public left the Cathedral and the tired wardens had the opportunity to rest after their arduous and sorrowful duties. This fourth day of mourning passed into the ages that had gone before

The Funeral Procession. > Two hundred and fifty thousand persons was a police estimate of the enormous crowd that witnessed the remarkable procession which preceded the final scene of the interment of the Cardinal's remains on ™A' Pv au o rities B ave figures extending to 300,000. Anyhow, Sydney never held such an aggregate

of human beings on any particular occasion. Early in the morning every possible point of vantage was taken possession of by eager spectators. From noon a steady stream of men, women, and children from the four points of the compass converged at Hyde Park. ; The ordinary Masses were celebrated on Sunday in the Cathedral. The worshippers were allowed to pass before the catafalque and take a last look at their lost Cardinal. The Cathedral doors were closed after the last Mass. At noon his Grace the Archbishop, accompanied by his Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne, their Lordships Bishops Gallagher and O'Connor, Monsignor O'Haran, and Rev. Fathers Nulty and Darby entered the Cathedral. The coffin was screwed down. The mitre and crozier of the dead prelate were placed on the coffin, and Brothers Molloy and McNamara, of the H.A.B.C. Society, entered on the last watch. At 3 o'clock the head of the procession marched off, headed by six mounted and four foot police. At College street it halted. In the meantime the members of the religious Orders had taken their places in the Cathedral. Representative public men followed* Twelve specially-selected pall-bearers marched on to the sanctuary. The candles surrounding the catafalque were lighted. The blaze of light threw a glow over the gathering. Presently the muffled tolls of the bells commenced. The strains of the Dead March from ' Saul' then came, ever so softly from the great organ, as the head of the religious procession made its appearance from the sacristy. Preceded by cross-bearer and acolytes were the students from St. Patrick's College, followed by black-sashed altar boys.. In order came the brown-robed Franciscans, the sombre gown of the Passionist, the Jesuits, the Marounites, Marists, Vincentians, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, the Redemptorists, and the Fathers of the Divine Word. The secular priests were next. In all, fully 250 priests marched in the procession. The purple-robed Monsignori were followed by the Bishops of the Province and from Victoria, and lastly the Archbishops of Melbourne and Sydney. Twelve stalwart men raised the coffin and slowly and solemnly carried it to the waiting hearse. Sadly the muffled tolls from the Cathedral tower were repeated. The thousands who waited outside then knew that the remains of the Prince of the Church had begun their last earthly journey. In an hour the processionists, six abreast, moved out of the presbytery grounds in the following order: —Foresters, Hibernians, guilds, parish societies, pupils of schools, municipal representatives, consuls, naval and military representatives, State and Commonwealth parliamentarians, judges, Papal knights, clergy, and prelates. The sublimity of'the spectacle afforded during the procession was remarkable. It was an outpouring of public reverence, not only to the head of the Catholic Church, but to the personality of one of the grandest figures that has ever figured in Australian and Irish history. Through the dense mass of humanity the figures of the procession gradually moved onwards. Lost to sight from the Cathedral, as it passed by St. James', eye 3 instinctively turned towards Oxford street. At this point the crowd had blotted out every semblance of the road, and opinion was expressed that difficulty would be experienced when the head of the procession made its turn toward the Cathedral. Fears on that score were removed as the mounted police turned the corner of College street. The crowd rose to the occasion, and pressed back, flooding the footpaths and Hyde Park with humanity. Reaching the Cathedral the friendly society men fell back to the footpath, and thereby assisted the police in keeping the crowd back. Detachments from the warships marched ahead into the Cathedral and then formed into line. The Children of : Mary turned to the right into the school grounds, and later the students, priests/ and prelates marched to the vault now waiting to receive the body. The official representatives were taken to the reserved seats.

The Last Sad Rites.

Candles on the sanctuary had burned low in their sockets as the last of the procession entered the Cathedral. Above the heads of the people could be seen

the glistened crosses which preceded the coffin. Slowly the' pall-bearers moved down the main aisle past the sanctuary, to the new altar dedicated to the Irish Saints, and erected by Mr. T. Dalton, as a memorial of his father. The solemn strains of Chopin's ' y Marche Funebre,' played on the organ, filled the Cathedral. Slowly sinking in the west, the sun had lost its bright-; ness. The closing of the evening cast a gloom within the Cathedral as the Archbishops, the Bishops, Monsignori, Diocesan Consultors, grouped round the vault. Therein could be seen the coffins of Archbishop Folding, Archdeacon McEncroe, Fathers Therry and Power. The remains of Archbishop Polding were originally interred in the Petersham cemetery, and those of the three priests in the old Devonshire street cemetery. They were removed and placed in the vault of St. Mary's Cathedral in the presence of an enormous gathering. A memorial to the pioneer Archbishop and' the priests was erected at the corner of College street and St. Mary's road. It bears the following inscription 'The venerable remains of Archbishop Polding, together with those of the three priests here commemorated, were translated to St. Mary's Cathedral vault, March 17, 1901. Very Eev. Daniel Power, Catholic chaplain, died March 14, 1830. Venerable John McEncroe, Archdeacon, died August 22, 1866, aged 73 years; Venerable John Therry, Archpriest, died May 25, 1863, aged 74. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.'

Suddenly lights penetrated the gloom as ready hands touched the electric button. The pall-bearers gently handled the coffin. Sobs were heard as they rested it on the casket containing the remains of the Venerable Archdeacon McEncroe, under which was the remains of the gentle and loving Archbishop Polding. The priests chanted the ' Benedictus ' and the Pater Noster,' and his Grace the Archbishop concluded the ceremonies with a prayer.