SCOTTISH MEMORIES IN CONTINENTAL LANDS

New Zealand Tablet, 16 January 1913, Page 43

SCOTTISH MEMORIES IN CONTINENTAL LANDS

Canon Mclntosh, of Buckie, who was one of the representatives from Scotland at the Eucharistic Congress in Vienna, has favored the- Glasgow Observer with some jottings of his journey. I travelled (fie writes) to the Continent via Aberdeen, Hull, and Rotterdam, a route which I can recommend. From Rotterdam to Amsterdam, thence to Dusseldorf and Rageusburg, then down the Danube to Vienna, returning via Prague, Dresden, and Berlin. No one need to be afraid to travel on the Continent, particularly in Germany or Austria, the cost of railway travelling and hotel accommodation being very moderate compared to tfie equivalent in our own bourne Scotland.’ White in Holland I was surprised by the absence of any exterior signs of Catholic churches. This is particularly marked in the larger cities, where the stranger has a real difficulty in finding a Catholic church. This does not mean that churches are few in number, but that they are built more or less in the background, and often with the exterior appearance of ordinary houses. The reason for this dates back to times of religious persecution in Holland, when Catholics had to conceal their places of worship.- At that time they attended Mass in private houses or in halls at the back of these houses, and since the times of persecution these halls have gradually developed into the churches of the present —outwardly much as they were in olden times, but inwardly very beautiful. While in Amsterdam I inquired whether the number of Catholics was increasing. I was told that ‘ converts ’ were few in number, but that

The Quality of the Dutch Catholic was Much Improved. I had an illustration of this from the number of people (some three or four hundred) I saw receiving Holy Communion on an ordinary week day morning in one of the churches in Amsterdam. The proprietor of the hotel at which I was staying, who, by the way, was a Protestant, informed me that on Sunday Amsterdam

had the appearance of a Catholic city, the Catholic churches being the only ones at all well attended. The birth-rate of Amsterdam is highest among the Catholic community, so that the increase in the number of Catholics is only a question of time. On leaving Amsterdam I journeyed to Dusseldorf, and stayed at Gorresheira, near by. While there I had the privilege of celebrating Mass in an ancient Romanesque church, dating from the eighth or ninth century. It was the children’s Mass, and the church was filled with the children and their teachers. During Mass the children sang, and their singing was certainly the. most beautiful I ever heard.

While staying at Gorresheim I made some inquiries of my host as to how it was that the ‘ Centrum ’ party,, that is the Catholic political party, had lost its hold on Dusseldorf and Cologne, these places being now represented by the Democratic Socialist party. He informed me that it was due to lack of proper organisation among the Catholics, but that that matter had now been put right. A particularly strong feature of the Catholic organisaion is the Women’s League, which is strong in numbers and splendidly worked. The League procures the services of the best lecturers in the country, so that its members are kept well informed in all matters relating to politics, both from the religious and social point of view. I may add that the wife of my host, Mrs. Maercker, is president of the Women’s League in Gorresheim. It speaks well for the interest taken by Catholics in municipal and political affairs when the circulation of the local Catholic paper in Dusseldorf, edited by Dr. Muller, has been doubted during the past two years. The next stopping-place was Regensburg, a very quaint and ancient city, and one particularly interesting to Scottish Catholics on account of its old Scott'sh associations. In Regensburg stands

The Last of the Old Scottish Monasteries, which is now used as an Ecclesiastical Seminary for German students. Previously it was under the control of the Scottish Benedictines, and the last Benedictine

monk to stay there was Father Anselm Robertson, who died at Fochabers about twelve years ago. The last of the Scottish students at Regensburg is Monsignor Wilson, of Elgin. The late Sir Robert Gordon, of Letterfouries, was at one time a postulant in this monastery, and when an old man his mind often went back to his early associations with St. James’, Regensburg. It was his affection for the old monastery which caused him in his old age to build St. James’, Buckie, as a memento of the large St. James’, of Regensburg.

On leaving Regensburg, I went to Passan, where I stayed a few hours. While reading a German paper at Dusseldorf I had been interested in the manner in which the people of Vienna sent out a universal invitation to the Eucharistic Congress. It ran something like this: —‘Come to Vienna, come by Prague, come by Innsbruck, come by Trieste or from Belgrade, but enter Vienna by the lordly Danube.’ I took the advice of the paper, and took steamer from Passan to Vienna. While on board the steamer, for several hours I had the honor of the company of his Eminence Cardinal Logue, Primate of All Ireland. I found him a most interesting and congenial companion. He has a wealth of witty anecdote, and as i:e walked up and down the deck wearing a tweed cap, he seemed to have laid aside the cares of his high office and given himself up to the full enjoyment of Ihe moment. The scenery on the shores of the Danube, especially between Passan and Linz, is magnificent. Majestic timber-clad mountains rise up in every direction, and Cardinal Logue remarked that the greatlypraised scenery of the Hudson was nothing compared to that which we were then beholding on the Danube.

The Cardinal was thoroughly enjoying himself, and although at the present time the patriots of Ulster have consigned him and the Pope to a warmer climate, Austria seemed quite good enough for him. Indeed, he seemed like a schoolboy out for a holiday, and some German priest asked me afterwards if he really was a Cardinal. They were accustomed to the Princes of the Church on the Continent travelling in state, but it is just possible that the homeliness of our British clergy, be they Cardinal, Bishop, or priest, goes farther towards winning the hearts of the people than any amount of outward show would do. ...

Vienna. It would be impossible to find a city more suitable for a Eucharistic procession than Vienna. The central position of the city and the construction of it make it eminently so. Its population is over 2,000,000, and exactly in the centre of the city stands ‘ Stephenskirche,’ the Cathedral. Ffom the Cathedral many streets diverge leading towards the suburbs. Some sixty years ago the inner part of Vienna was surrounded by fortifications. These have since been levelled, and on the site of the fortifications there is now a magnificent boulevard, with an average width of about 140 feet. Here are to be seen the principal buildings of Vienna, both municipal and imperial. This boulevard is called ‘ The Ring,’ and this great street was the principal route of the great procession. Religion has always played an important part in the history of Vienna. It was in 1683 that the city was besieged by 300,000 Turkish infidels, when the Polish hero, John Soubiesky, marched with an' army from Poland to its relief. Mass was then celebrated on the heights outside Vienna, at which the soldiers of Soubiesky attended, and afterwards a complete victory was gained over the Turkish army.