Diocesan News

New Zealand Tablet, 29 January 1914, Page 36

Diocesan News

ARCHDIOCESE OF WELLINGTON

(From our own correspondent.) January 24. Most of the Catholic primary schools will re-open during the first week in February. The St. Patrick's Day committee has secured the ser.vices of Mr. J. McGrath, the well-known Dunedin baritone, for the next St. Patrick's Night concert. The retreat of the clergy of the archdiocese takes place next week at St. Patrick's College, and will bo conducted by the Very Rev. Father Roche, C.SS.R. The Very Rev. Dean Rcghault, S.M., has returned to Wellington, after'visiting various districts in the South Island in his official capacity as Provincial. The Rev. Father Kimbcll S.M., of Greenmeadows, celebrated the 9 and 10.30 o'clock Masses last Sunday at St. Anne's, Wellington South, and also preached. Basil H. Howard, a student of St. Patrick's College, besides being successful in the National Scholarship examination, has also passed the Matriculation, the Solicitor's General Knowledge, and Medical Preliminary examinations. The parishioners of St. Joseph's have formed an energetic committee, under the able guidance of the Rev. Father Hurley, S.M., to organise a monster bazaar in aid of the St. Joseph's Church renovation fund. The Skating Rink has been secured for the function, which will open on September 30. ■"■■■- "Most of the Wellington branches will have direct representation at the half-yearly district meeting of the H.A.C.B. Society, which will be held in Auckland on February 25. St. Patrick's (City) will have Bro. J. J. L. Burke, P.P.; St. Aloysius' (Newtown), an, James Stratford, P.P. ; Sacred" Heart (Thorndon) Bro. G. J. Sellars, P.D.P. : SS. Peter and Paul's (Lower Hutt), Bro. C. J. O'Brien, P.P. At the invitation of the Ven. Archdeacon Devoy, S.M., the parishioners of St. Anne's assembled in St. Anne's Hall last Sunday evening, when the very satisfactory balance sheet and report on the finances of the parish were presented. . The method in vogue for the extinction of the parish debt is'a card system. A person taking one of these cards promises to pay an amount which he or she can afford in twenty monthly instalments. This system»enables the poorest to assist in the necessary work of financing parish affairs. A .big effort will be made by the committee this year to enrol more subscribers, and make the period a record one. Mr. Charles Monaghan, a very old Wellington settler, passed away last night at the age of 73 years. Mr. Monaghan was a native of Ireland, and came to New Zealand with his father, the late Captain Monaghan, who was in charge of a ship taking convicts to Hobart, and who subsequently settled with his wife and family at Wellington. He secured a grant of land in the Karori district, with which his name has been ever since intimately associated. Deceased was a compositor by trade, and joined the Government Printing Office staff when it was removed to Wellington from Auckland, in 1865. With the exception of a few years during which he engaged in business, he had been connected with the Printing Office until he retired on superannuation. He leaves a grown-up family; his wife predeceased him some years ago. He was a man of pleasant, cheerful, and charitable disposition, a wellknown figure on the Thorndon bowling green, where his genial presence will be greatly missed, and generally an '-excellent 1 example of the old colonial. The' interment r took i place on Wednesday, the Rev. Father Hurley, S.M., officiating,—R.l.P.. -:;v J misso

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH (From our own correspondent.) mi t, Januarv 26. The Rev. Father O'Boyle left on last Thursday to replace the Rev. Father Murphy,, 8.A., as assistant priest at Ahaura, the latter returning to the Cathedral. Mr. Paul Dufault, the eminent French-Canadian tenor, now touring the Dominion with a concert company sang at the 11 o'clock Mass in the Cathedral on Sunday last. . Speaking in the Cathedral, on Sunday with reference to the expected arrival this week of the Nursing Sisters of the Little Company of Mary, the Very Rev Chancellor Price, Adm., invited ladies of the congregation to meet the Sisters, accord them a welcome, and aid in their successful initiation of a work in the diocese, that must develop into one of far-reaching importance. It is interesting to note that at present touring the Dominion with a first-class concert company, the principal of which is also a Catholic,' is Miss Pauline Bindley, the Bendigo soprano, who is a member of Paul Dufault's company. Miss Bindley would seem to be a most fortunate young woman, for, in addition to being blessed with a wonderful voice, she possesses the charm of a most winning personality. Miss Bindley recently won the prize of a trip round the world, offered by the Bendigo Independent for the most popular young lady in Bendigo. On Christmas morning, just prior to her departure on the Paul Dufault tour, Miss Bindley was presented with an 'aquamarine necklet from the members of the Catholic Cathedral choir, of which she has been the leading soprano for many years. The adjourned annual meeting of St. Patrick's branch of the H.A.C.B. Society was held in the Hibernian Hall on last Monday evening, Bro. H. A. Sloan, 8.P., presiding. The following officers were elected for the ensuing term: —President, Bro. H. A. Sloan; vice-president, Bro. J. Griffin ; secretary, Bro. M. Grimes; treasurer, Bro. G. Dobbs; assistant secretary, Bro. W. P. Daly; warden, Bro. F. Smith; guardian, Bro. J. M. Foley; sick visitors, Bros. J. McCormick and R. O'Brien ; delegate to the halfyearly district meeting, Bros. F. J. Doolan, E. L. McKeon, and R. O'Brien; delegates to the U.F.S. dispensary board, Bros. G. Dobbs and R. O'Brien; delegates to the U.F.S. Benevolent Association, Bros. J. McCormick and M. J. O'Connor; delegates to the U.F.S. interchange medical benefits, Bro. M. Grimes; auditors, Bros. E. P. Wall and W. Garty ; medical attendants, Drs, Inglis, Morkane, Sandstein, and Temple. The officers were installed by Bro. R. O'Brien, P.P. Each officer afterwards returned thanks for his election. A vote of thanks was passed to the retiring officers. ~- ~ Christchurch North Very Rev. Dean Regnault, S.M. (Provincial), left for Wellington on Tuesday evening. The members of St. Mary's Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society will approach the Holy Table in a body on next Sunday. The sodality of the Children of Mary is steadily increasing in numbers, and much interest is taken in the annual meeting, which is to be held next Sunday. The Vicar-General, the Very Rev. Dean Hills, S.M., took the opportunity during the vacation to improve the grounds of the parish school, and also to renovate and paint the school. The grading of the playing grounds should prove a decided improvement in wet weather. ' r - Since the erection of the church, New Brighton has gained in popularity as a sea-side resort for Catholics, and this is evidenced by the very large congregations which assist at Mass every Sunday. '.Great interest is taken in the church by Catholics, and at a meeting, presided over by the Rev. Father Hoare, S.M., . which was held after the 10 o'clock Mass on Sunday last, it was arranged to form a choir. \"J. - :£x:..if: :: :jf 'rr;i, t"