THE APOSTOLIC DELEGATE

New Zealand Tablet, 6 May 1915, Page 24

THE APOSTOLIC DELEGATE

ENTHUSIASTIC WELCOME IN MELBOURNE. In another part of this issue appears a brief account of the visit on Saturday, April 17, of his Excellency the Apostolic Delegate to Melbourne. After the account referred to went to press, the Melbourne papers containing a full report of the reception came to hand, and from them we take the following further particulars : At 4,30 p.m. his Excellency the Apostolic Delegate, the hierarchy, and the clergy .vent in processional order from the palace to the Cathedral, where addresses were presented by the Archbishops and the Bishops of the Province of Melbourne, the clergy, and the laity. ADDRESS EROM THE HIERARCHY. The following address on behalf of the Archbishops and Bishops was read by his Grace the Archbishop , May it please your Excellency, We, the Archbishop of Melbourne, the Coadjutor-Archbishop of Melbourne, and the Suffragan Bishops of the Province of Melbourne, extend to your Excellency a loyal and cordial welcome to our Cathedral City. In the establishment of the Apostolic Delegation to Australasia and ■in the selection of your Excellency as the first Apostolic Delegate, we recognise a further proof of the affectionate interest and fatherly care which the Holy See has never failed to bestow upon this new and fair province of God’s Kingdom upon earth. Your Excellency comes to us with the blessing and commendation of two Pontiffs, Pius X. of holy and venerated memory, and Benedict XV., to whom already, in these days of strife among the nations, the whole world, distracted and longing for peace* looks for words of wise counsel and of dispassionate guidance. Young in years, but ripe in experience, your Excellency will, we trust and pray, be enabled to make good amongst us the promise of a

career already notable by marked achievement in other lands. With pride and joy we assure your Excellency that, in the discharge of the duties of your exalted office, you can rely upon the whole-souled co-operation of a zealous and devoted priesthood and of a 10-m! faithful, and generous people. Nowhere within the wide domain of God’s Church could you find priests and people more devotedly attached to the Holy See or more zealous, for the interests of religion. In our churches, in our religious and charitable institutions, and above all, in our Catholic schools, you will find evidence of generosity and self-sacrifice, ' which have brought God blessing upon our people and which, under God in large measure, account for the marvellous progress and stability of the Church in this southern land. The noble Cathedral in which we are privileged to welcome your Excellency is at once the product and the symbol of a faith that is deep and strong. To your Excellency, as the personal representative of the Holy Father, we tender a dutiful and loyal greeting ; to yourself, we offer a warm and affectionate welcome ; and we pray the Divine blessing upon every work that you undertake for the well-being and extension of God’s Kingdom in this fair southern land.’ The address from the clergy was read by the Rev. J. H. O’Connell, and that from the laity by'Dr. A. L. Kenny. THE APOSTOLIC DELEGATE’S REPLY. His Excellency, in replying to the addresses, said: My Lords Archbishops and Bishops, Very Rev. and Rev. Clergy, and esteemed members of the laity, Even before my arrival in Australia as Apostolic Delegate I had ardently desired to visit your famed city, which rivals in many respects the greatest cities of the old and new world. As soon as I set foot in these new southern lands my long-felt wish became a pleasant duty, for the venerated Archbishop of Melbourne, with exquisite courtesy, went to the trouble of meeting me on my arrival in Sydney, and I at once promised to return his visit in Melbourne at the earliest opportunity. And now it is my happy lot to greet the beloved Archbishop in his metropolitan see. Faithful to the traditions of this city and of this ecclesiastical province, the Catholic hierarchy, clergy, and laity have united in according to me a brilliant reception, which I greatly appreciate, and which the Holy Father will even more highly appreciate as soon as the news of it shall reach him. I, in the meantime, thank you with all my heart in his name. In a very special way I thank you for the sentiments of fidelity and attachment to the Holy See which have found expression in your address — sentiments which have ever been the pride of the Australian episcopate. I thank you, furthermore, for the loyal co-operation which you promise me. Your help, your counsel will be most precious to me, and I shall ever treasure them. There is no need for me to point to the great development of the Catholic religion in this city, and in this ecclesiastical province of Melbourne. It is well known, not alone in Australia, but also in the other parts of the world, and especially in ,Rome, I will merely say this, that this Cathedral in which I now stand, dedicated to Ireland’s glorious Apostle, is a poem of the faith and the generosity of the sons and daughters of Erin. Here the children of Ireland have, in a brief space, completed, in conditions not always favorable, what in other countries and times would have taken ages. If by the past we can judge of the future even more wonderful will be the monuments of zeal and activity of the Catholic hierarchy, clergy, and people of this State. Permit me, therefore, to express my heartiest congratulations, and to pray that God’s choicest blessings may reward your labors. And from this Cathedral, the noble monument which adorns your city, permit me to present my compliments to the civil authorities, and to convey to them my deep appreciation of the courtesy and consideration they have shown me. It is now my pleasant duty to thank - the clergy, secular and regular, and the laity of this ecclesiastical province for the part they have taken in this reception, .and for their of fidelity and loyalty to the Holy See, or its representative, and to

their' Archbishops and Bishops. To the zeal and sacrifice of the Bishops " and priests, and to the generosity and cordial co-operation of the laity is due the fact that we can to-day/admire the numberless institutions of education and charity which make this one of the bestprovided provinces in: the new countries. But that which has most of all contributed to produce this splendid result in s 6 short a.time has been, as you yourselves have declared, the close union that has existed between the Bishops and clergy and between the pastors and people. That sacred union of hearts, based on -'.the charity of Christ, and strengthened by the abiding spirit of discipline, has ever been, and ever will be, the principal strength of the Catholic Church. Let me exhort you then to be always united to your Bishops and united among yourselves, in the bonds of charity. In your address you state that you ‘ enjoy the privileges of living under a flag which promises full religious liberty, and that you are loyal to your country ’; for these reasons I am convinced that the time must come when the justice of your claims in the matter of education will be recognised. I cannot conclude my remarks without expressing publicly my deep indebtedness to your venerated Archbishop, Dr. Carr, for his kindness to me as the representative of the Holy See, since my arrival in Australia. No -words at my. disposal can. adequately convey my feelings of gratitude towards him. It is my earnest wish that he may continue to enjoy for many years to come the affection and confidence of his own people, and the esteem and good will of all classes of the community; The proceedings were brought to a close by Archbishop Cerretti imparting the Apostolic Blessing. On Sunday morning at eleven o’clock Pontifical High Mass was celebrated in St. Patrick’s Cathedral by his Grace Archbishop Mannix in the presence of his Excellency the Apostolic Delegate, his Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne,, and their Lordships the Bishops of Sandhurst, Ballarat, and Sale. In the evening an address was presented to his Excellency by the Newman Society, to which he replied. In the afternoon he attended the quarterly meeting of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. In the course of the afternoon a visit was also paid to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where an address, on behalf of the Sisters of Charity and the'medical staff, was read by Dr..E. Ryan. THE CIVIC RECEPTION. At noon on Monday his Excellency was accorded a civic reception at the Town Hall by the Lord Mayor (Sir David Hennessy). Among those present were the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Public Works, Mr. Grey (representing the Premier), his Grace the Archbishop, his Grace the CoadjutorArchbishop, and their Lordships the Bishops of Sand-

hurst, Ballarat, Sale, and Auckland. There was present a large and representative gathering of clerical, and lay gentlemen of all shades of religious and political opinion. . ’ 1 After the toast of ‘ The King ’ had been honored, the Lord Mayor proposed the health of his Excellency the Apostolic Delegate, and on behalf of the city of Melbourne tendered him a hearty welcome. lie said he, felt that the Commonwealth had been honored* by being recognised as sufficiently important to warrant an Apostolic Delegate being sent here. Archbishop Cerrett! would find the Catholics in Australia as loyal to their Church as those of any other place in the world, lie would find the people here one and undivided in upholding that British liberty and freedom of all 1 classes which allowed all subjects of the Empire to worship God in their own way. He hoped Archbishop Cerretti s sojourn in Australia would be one of happiness and peacefulness. ’ , The Prime Minister expressed appreciation of the honor done to Australia by the presence of an Apostolic Delegate. He hoped that all parts of Australia would have the opportunity of welcoming his Excellency, and he could assure him that when he visited the other States he. would find his reception everywhere hearty and s cordial. The Commonwealth would give him all the assistance that lay in his power to carry out his duties, and, speaking personally, he would give him all the assistance he could in the development of the moral character of the country. He wished Archbishop Cerretti health and happiness during his term amongst them. . ° Speeches were also delivered by Mr. Hazelthorn and Senator Pearce. HIS EXCELLENCY'S REPLY. Archbishop Cerretti, in response, said that he regarded the high honor which the Lord Mayor and other leading representatives of the great city of Melbourne had been good enough to accord him, as a great compliment. The honor was enhanced by the fact that he was surrounded by the chosen representatives of the city as well as by the most distinguished men of the Commonwealth and State. He accepted the greeting as a mark of respect for the high office he held, and he was deeply grateful for the feelings which inspired it. It was, indeed, gratifying to see such friendly relations between all sections of the community. Such a community could, he felt sure, look forward confidently and with great hope to the future. He had had some opportunity of seeing the city of Melbourne, and he had been greatly impressed with its beauty and extent. In many respects it reminded him of New York. He readily recognised that its greatness was due in no small measure to the progressive spirit of the men associated

with its public life. He could assure those present that he was most sincere when he congratulated the Lord Mayor and the citizens on the possession of such a beautiful city .as Melbourne. It, was his earnest wish that it would progress in a,■ manner most in accord with the welfare of the citizens. It was his earnest wish also that Australia,, this great, flourishing continent, might march rapidly along the way of progress and importance, following the highest examples of the other nations of the old world.