ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY, WELLINGTON

New Zealand Tablet, 2 January 1913, Page 47

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY, WELLINGTON

LADIES’ AUXILIARIES (From an occasional correspondent.) The usual quarterly general meeting of the Ladies’ Auxiliaries of the St. Vincent de Paul Society was held on December 11 at the Te Aro presbytery. The December meeting (coming as it does within the octave of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception) is looked forward to as a time of special graces and blessings; but this year’s meeting was saddened by the recent tragic death of our beloved founder and spiritual director, Rev. Father Venning, S.M. Sadness reigned in the hearts of all, as it was realised that they would never again hear his words of encouragement. Yet this sorrow was not of the weak, enervating kind; on the contrary, the meeting was marked by singular enthusiasm and earnestness, and was a record one in every respect. There were 34 members present, all the conferences and sewing guilds being well represented. Rev. Father Hurley, S.M. (now spiritual director of the association)"and Rev. Father Herring, S.M., of St. Anne’s, Newtown, were present, and a welcome visitor, in the person of Mrs. Maher, president of one of the Perth suburban auxiliaries. Mrs. Sullivan, late president of the Particular Council, having been obliged to resign through ill health, Mrs. L. T. Reichel (only recently returned from a lengthy absence abroad) was elected president. The reports from the different conferences (read by the secretary, Mrs. Chalmers) gave a record of the fine practical results of the work of the different guilds during the past three months. Three hundred and eighty-six visits were paid to the poor and sick in their homes, 17 children were baptised, 5 women were rescued and sent to Mt. Magdala; board was provided for some destitute persons, 4 children were prepared for First Communion, besides which regularvisits were made to the gaol, Hospital, Alexandra and Ohiro Homes. St. Mary’s (Te Aro) visiting guild is very active. Magdala rescue work is increasing,. and benefactors are earnestly requested to continue their donations. Special enthusiasm was shown by the sewing guilds, and congratulations were exchanged between members of the different districts. St. Mary’s (Te Aro) is of course the centre of sewing activities. The reports showed very much work has been done at the weekly meetings. The Sacred Heart Conference (Thorndon) and St. Anne’s (Newtown) are to be warmly commended on their progress and perseverance. Exclusive of St. Mary’s, these two guilds made and distributed 79 garments. After hearing the reports, the president (Mrs. Reichel) addressed the meeting, and gave some interesting details of the various phases of Catholic charitable and social work which came under her notice during her sojourn in the great cities of America and Europe. She visited Ellis Island (New York), where the immigrants are landed ; the Catholic settlements, where the little Italian, Polish, and other Catholic immigrant children are taken care of; the girls’ hostels and clubs (founded by Archbishop Bruchesi), Montreal, through the medium of which so much good is being done for the Catholic girls of Eastern Canada; and other fields of women’s charitable activities. In summing up her experiences abroad, the president remarked upon the tragedy of the lives led by the average 1 modern ’ woman in those large cities; the falling off of Christian marriage ideals; the restless propaganda of the suffragettes and other reformers so-called. , Referring to a suffragette parade which she witnessed in the streets of New York City, she said: It was a sad sight to see so many young girls in their early teens boldly marching in such a procession. At that tenderage these _ girls are being taught to rebel against women’s highest and noblest duties, to despise the sweet an d holy charm of honorable motherhood and wifely duties. One shudders to think how and where will be the end, if our Catholic women, by the purity of their lives and their devotion to duty, do not labor to stem this tide of evil, and above all save our young girls

from being submerged therein. That is why our late revered Father Venning was so deeply interested in the growth of the Ladies’ Auxiliaries, in New Zealand. He saw far into the future, and wished the Auxiliaries to develop into a grand woman’s apostolate, whose members would endeavor, by the grace of God, to perpetuate the Catholic ideal of womanhood, and to protect our young girls from the degrading curse of modernism.’ Concluding, the president dwelt touchingly upon the loss which the Auxiliaries had sustained by the death of their zealous founder and director. ‘We feel ’ (she said) ‘ as though' some bright light, towards which Ave were accustomed to turn for guidance, had suddenly gone out, leaving us to grope in darkness. But the fiuits of his tragic end, his last great sacrifice, are in our hearts to-day. His mantle of zeal and charity has fallen upon his beloved associates, who cannot fail to look upon the societies, which he labored so earnestly to establish and direct, as a sacred trust, a holy legacy to which they must be faithful. Had Father Venning died after a long illness, his death would not have made such an impression on our hearts. As it was, we feel that he had so much to say to us, and died with the words upon his lips.. How pathetic was that glimmer of consciousness which crossed his mind during his last moments; if he could have spoken, what farewell messages, what earnest requests would he not have sent to all.’ ” At the conclusion of the president’s address, Father Hurley spoke a few words to the meeting, urging upon toe members the necessity of personal' sanctification which, he said, was the primary object of the association. •.•> ' - ■ ••

Father Herring addressed a few words of kindly sympathy and encouragement, reminding the . members that as God had raised up Father (Yenning to ’commence the work, He also would assist them to carry-it on. J

Votes of sympathy were then passed to the retiring president, Mrs. Sullivan, and to Mrs. Wells (a former ardent member of St. Mary’s visiting guild), both ladies laving been obliged to take a temporary retirement through ill-health. A vote of sympathy was also passed to Mrs. I. G. Macarthy, on the death of her husband. A vote of thanks was warmly accorded all three 1 ladies for their past services and benefactions. ■ A - cordial welcome was extended to the visitor, Mrs.- Maher