ST. MARY'S CONVENT, PONSONBY

New Zealand Tablet, 29 March 1917, Page 29

ST. MARY'S CONVENT, PONSONBY

(From our Auckland correspondent.)

The ceremonial opening recently took place of the new wing at St. Mary's Convent, Ponsonby, which consists of a large and excellently equipped laboratory, art class room, model kitchen, dormitory, dressing and other rooms. His Grace Archbisliop Redwood performed the opening ceremony in the presence of a number of the clergy and laity of the diocese. In the unavoidable absence of the Right Rev. Monsignor Mahoney, V.G. (Diocesan Administrator), the Right Rev. Monsignor Gillan presided. His Grace, on being introduced by the Rev. Father Carran, pastor of Ponsonby, said he was very pleased to officiate at such i pleasing ceremony as the opening of the new science rooms, and he was also glad to have the opportunity of congratulating the Sisters of Mercy on their having advanced a step further on the great educational highway, lie was sure that the establishment of a sound science course must prove beneficial, and would result in the spreading of a love of true scientific knowledge. There was no need for him to say aught in praise of the work of the Sisters of Mercy, but he would refer to their one glory which was unique—that of being the pioneer religious teachers in the Dominion. As far back as 1850 —the year in which he had made his First Communion,—-their Order had faced all the perils of establishing schools in a land that was yet dark with paganism. Of that record of trials and suffering few of those present had any idea, for most of those who with them had borne the burden of the day and fought the great fight lay with them in peaceful graves awaiting the Resurrection. In spite of these hardships the Order had had the magnificent courage to detach a band to found another house in Wellington, and Wellington owes them a great debt, for, thanks to their heroic initiative, they had to-day their greal schools, both primary and secondary, with unrivalled reputations for the excellence of the education they imparted. In course of time foundations were made from other centres in the other dioceses, so that to the Order of Mercy we owe a great debt . as indeed we do to all the members of that great army of the Church —the teaching Orders. To them it is due that we ate to-day in the proud position of being able to fight, and win, the battle of education. But for them our Hag might be in the dust, whereas now it can float proudly over each educational house in the Dominion, and we can offer to our Catholic children an education superior to that of the children in our pampered godless schools. Superior, because it is they alone who can offer that complete education on every side of all the faculties. In these days we hear much of educational progress, and at the end of it all we find ourselves echoing the query of St. Philip Neri, ' and then?" In our secular schools cognisance is taken of secular aims alone, and the Catholic view of life as a pilgrimage and a mere preparation for the next is, at best, considered a noneconomic view. This view is entirely ignored by the secular system, and as a result we have a host of errors and ultimate failure because the true end of man is lost sight of. Making this perishable world their end, forgetful of Divine Revelation, making no mention of Christ, they end in the negation of Christianity. Thus are their children brought up in complete ignorance of the supernatural, denied their heritage of faith, and exposed to countless evils. Not so is it with us, and that it is not so is in large measure due under God to these Sisters of Mercy, who have for nearly a century fought against this evil in modern education. Therefore every new departure in the Order elicits our loudest praise, and we hope that their new undertaking will be crowned with such success as to be a glory to their city, to the Catholics of Auckland, and to the whole Dominion.

Right Rev. Mgr. Gillan said he was also very pleased to compliment the Sisters of Mercy on their work, and on the fine spirit in which it was carried on, Every demand of modern educational progress

was met by them in the same fine spirit in which their work was commenced so many years ago. Referring to Sir George Grey's tribute to the work of the Order in the early days, he read his despatch to Earl Grey in 1851, in which he says: 'The R.C. schools in this country are extremely well conducted and reflect great credit on those responsible. It gives them great claim to any consideration to be shown.' Proving that it was the intention of the Home Government to subsidise those schools at this very early date. The Sisters were then the only Christian teachers approved by those in high authority. As evidence also of their practical method of asserting their belief in Christian education the Catholics of that time, though numbering only three or four hundred souls in a city of three or four thousand, they had exerted themselves to provide an educational system, whereas for the rest of the children of Auckland there was little care shown for the growing children. Like every Bishop, Dr. Pompallier sought for a religious Order to fulfil this duty, and was fortunate in being able to procure Sisters of Mercy, who, regardless of aught but the salvation of souls, faced all the perils of the long sea voyage and the terrors of the unknown in a far-off land. We know how they have labored and with what success their labors have been crowned. Later on came other systems of education, and in 1874 the present secular system was established for the rest of the community, As a system, though far from being an unqualified success, it yet set an example to the non-Catholic nations in all that concerned secular instruction, and our politicians are often heard quoting its excellencies. Certainly as a secular system it has high aims and a devoted band of teachers, but we as Catholics know that its failures are due solely to the fact that it is only a secular system, and any system which ignores so completely the spiritual welfare of the child fails to reach the goal of all true education. The Catholic Church, ever vigilant on the point, leaves nothing undone to secure for Her children a complete education, and though for financial reasons the work is often done under great difficulties, yet, as Monsignor Mahoney had stated at the conference of Federationists, we had the consolation of knowing that besides having a sound knowledge of Christian doctrine imparted to our children, we also had the satisfaction of knowing that the educational experts appointed by the Government were always satisfied with the secular department. Their suggestions and help were gladly availed of, and this in spite of all their pecuniary embarrassments, whilst the public schools had every comfort lavished on them. It was due to our Sisters that this was the case, and when we see their progress through the years, we appreciate fully all their endeavours to give our Catholic children their place in the world. The history of education in New Zealand is the history of the Order of Mercy which so valiantly began the work. Later on reinforcements from other Orders came to take their share in the ever-growing work of the mission. It would be well if the New Zealand system could be re-adjusted so that some share of the heavy taxation levied for educational purposes should be allotted to those who had borne such a noble part in the work, and in the opinion of exj)ert economists, it was very poor prudence on the part of the Government to apportion the sum of £l7 9s 9d per head for the secondary education of every child whether fitted for the work by nature or not. In fact the Year Book, for 1915 expressly states that only 18 per cent, of those for whom these lavish grants are set aside do avail themselves of it, whilst our Catholics are debarred from any participation in its benefits by their adherence to principle. Yet in their schools they were studying vocational aptitudes so as to preclude wastage on the unfit. Since the year 413 the Church had followed this policy. Opportunity was given to all, irrespective of class, and so in history we see the triumph of democracy in peasant Popes and in the realms of art, literature, and science the poor man's son could always find a patron. St. Gregory worked at his carpenter's bench, and poor scholars travelling Europe in search of learning found,

hospitality everywhere Here was no 80 per cent, failure to take advantage of opportunity. This uneven taxation, or rather uneven distribution of taxation funds, was a crying injustice that ho hoped would soon be remedied. If the foundations upon which the Church based her educational system were built upon we should see man reaching his highest ideal in education. The Church in her ritual for the dedication of schools emphasised this in her repetition of the words of the Psalmist, ' If the Lord build not the house then is the labor in vain.' In the numbers of people assembled here to-day I witness the true appreciation of all these educational principles and appreciation also of those whose labor of love it has been to put them into practice. Surely has the Lord built this house, and surely has His care sustained it during these seventy odd years of patient labor. Hundreds have passed through it in these years. Hundreds more will yet come as did their parents, and our best prayer is that they, too, will labor not in vain to build the house of the Lord.

Very Bev. Chancellor Holbrook said he echoed the congratulatory tones of all that his Grace and Monsignor Gillan had said, and congratulated the Sisters on their great achievement during the years since they had come from Carlow with such saintly traditions. He could do no better than read to them the noble words of appreciation given to the Sisters by (he late Cardinal Moran, who in hi? monumental work writes: ' These Sisters have proved true apostles—-through long years of hardship, consecpient on poverty, debts, and difficulties that St. Mary's has encountered, this convent has ever proved a true fortress of the faith." These words might fitly be inscribed over the convent portals to prove an inspiration to newer generations of teachers and children, and a reminder to clergv and people of the deep obligations under which they lay to the Sisters of Mercy—an obligation that could only formally be acknowledged by any financial assistance that would liquidate every penny of debt on their convent.

The Very Bev. Dean Power, as a visitor from 'he Metropolitan diocese, congratulated the Sisters on arriving at another great landmark in the history of education, and was much gratified at the inclusion of domestic science in their new scientific curriculum. Our convents had hitherto had the reputation of being second to none in equipping their girls with such accomplishments in art and music as would enable them to grace any social station, but now that home life was in danger of extinction, our mother, the Church, with her usual foresight, rallied domestic science to her aid in making the home again the centre of civilisation. Reading an old volume recently, he came upon an odd passage bearing most aptly on modern life to the effect that the writer would allow no girl to sit by any (ire she had not lighted, partake of any foods she had not cooked, nor wear any garb she had not spun and fashioned. Very few modern maidens could fulfil all these requirements: yet our grandmothers, mere ordinary folk of a century back, did all three, and lacked no social grace either. Thus educated, any girl might sit by the fire and dream dreams of rare delight. She might also make a meditation, Chesterton-fashion, on a poker. The great G. K. C. had said that the unused poker spoke volumes to him, and the State in New Zealand was analogous to the man who would sit fireless rather than spoil an elegant poker. The bent poker spoke of tended fires. The inclusion of the Catholic schools into the State system might dislocate their poker. Continuing the allegory, the Dean, in a very witty vein, drew a vivid picture of the maidens of New Zealand, who, under the new regime, would know better than to face the hymeneal altar without a full idea of what being a spinster meant. If domestic science did all this for girls, we had every reason to feel grateful to the good Sisters for their generous provision of such grand opportunities for securing a complete education. Mr. Eugene Casey spoke in eulogistic terms of the Sisters of Mercy of Ponsonby in rega?:d to modern education, and vocational training. Their aim was to trafo

girls who would not only be devoted to domestic arts and the perfecting of home life; but also to afford opportunities to those who wished to fit themselves for a professional career. He congratulated the Sisters on keeping abreast of the times and on recognising and catering for the economic needs of the Dominion in the present crisis. He concluded by an appeal to those who had means to found some bursaries for the Catholic schools. The garden party in the convent grounds, conducted by Mrs. Victor Casey, was highly successful, proceeds of which were devoted to the St. Mary's building fund.