DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND

New Zealand Tablet, 5 June 1919, Page 21

DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND

(From our special correspondent.) k % ■ May 24. His Lordship the Bishop, whose health was a cause of anxiety to his friends for the past week, is at present much stronger, and it is to be hoped that he is on the high road to recovery after his severe illness. A movement is in train to form a -Catholic Club ■ in Aukland. A preliminary meeting has been held, and it was arranged that a further meeting should be called next week in order to give the delegates from •. the parochial clubs already in being an opportunity . for discussion. The club shall be called the AucklandCatholic Club. A central building is to be selected, and it is proposed that a capital of £IOOO be subscribed by debentures of not less than £5 each. The subscrip-, tion for town members will be £1 Is, and for country members 10s 6d ; the club to be open to all Catholic men. The final meeting of the St. Patrick’s Day Committee for 1919 is to be held on Monday night. The proceeds are to be given to the Marist Brothers, Vermont Street. During a visit to Auckland recently I had an opportunity of seeing St. Mary’s Orphanage, “The Pah,” Onehunga, which is flourishing under the able management of Sister Mary Liguori. The building is one of the finest around Auckland, and the view of Manakau Harbor is unsurpassed. At present over 170 children are under the care of the nuns. When the Star of the Sea Orphanage was burned the present building was procured as a temporary orphanage, and in the future it will become the Mother House of the Sisters of Mercy. Preliminary meetings have been* held with a view to organising a monster bazaar for the purpose of liquidating the debt on the Cathedral. Under the management of Father Forde, success is assured. One of the saddest results of the recent epidemic is that many orphan children have been- left destitute. Great sympathy is felt for the unfortunate little ones, and the fact that the Government relief can only be obtained through the Industrial Schools Act is arousing great indignation, as it is felt that assistance obtained in this way leaves a life-long stigma on the children. Even in the case of those children who have lost one parent the relief can only be had through the Charitabe Aid Board. The arrangements on the whole do not add to the prestige of the moribund National GovernmentMay 28. • The Bishop has almost completely recovered from his severe illness, and hopes to be able to celebrate Holy Mass on next Sunday. / Father Carran, Adm. Pousonby, is at present in the Mater Hospital. He is progressing favorably. On Tuesday I visited Devonport and had an opportunity of seeing the new church, which is,drawing near completion. Father Furlong hopes to be able to hold the opening ceremony in about two months. The new building, which will accommodate about 600 people, will be a very beautiful church and a source of legitimate pride to the pastor and people of the North Shore. The cost is estimated at £SOOO. Messrs. Mahoney and Son are the architects.

The net proceeds of the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, which amounted to £2OO, were given to the Vermont Street Brothers on Monday evening. Appreciative references wore made to the excellent work of the secretary, Mr, Jr Bird, in connection yith the celebrations,

The annual meeting and reunion of. the ,Sacred Heart College Old Boys’ Union was held at the college on Monday evening, May 26, A large number of members attended, Mr. J. Donovan, who presided, welcomed, the returned men as guests to the reunion.> The election of officers resulted as follows:President, Mr. J. ; Donovan; vice-presidents, Rev. G. M. Colgan and Brother Beniguus; treasurer, Mr. A. Tobin; secretary,' Mr. M. Flynn; committee, Messrs. G. Ricketts, B. Cahill, E. Buckler, E. Burns, B. Goldwater, and J. Molloy. The remainder of the evening was devoted to a smoke concert, at which several toasts were honored. Musical items were contributed by the college orchestra and Messrs.. T. Harris, Ford, Forte, H. Manning, A. McElwaiu, Beresford, Finer, Rae, and F. Poore. MA Ormond A mission, to be conducted by Fathers Ainsworth and McCarthy (Marist Missioners), will open in the parish on Sunday, June 8. On Easter Monday, the Patutahi division of the parish organised a fete and . sports in the Domain, which proved most successful, realising XII2 towards the ■ parish fund, exclusive of expenses. The race and sports section was ably supervised •by Messrs.' Atkins, Wilmqtt, and Downey. The stalls ■* were in .-.’charge'. of Mesdames Atkins, Angland, Ellis, Gallaher, Moloney, and Walls, and Misses Angland, Gallagher, McLoughlin, Tuohy, and Walls. Much credit is due to the capable secretary (Mrs. C. Atkins), and to Mrs. and Miss-Walls for their valuable assistance in procuring prizes and trophies. Sincere thanks are duo to nonCatholic ••friends who gave such timely aid in making the undertaking so marked a success. - ; On May 15 the Ormond Catholic Ladies’ Guild held a very successful sale of work in the local hall, kindly lent by Mr. Clements for the occasion. The president, Mrs. T. Quirk, assisted by the other members and willing workers, showed by the display of work on the stalls to have spared neither scissors nor thread: upon their various fabrics, producing in a few weeks such a fine assortment of articles suitable for the requirements of young and old. Mr. and Miss Griffin, of Makauri, and Catholic ladies of Kaitaratahi, also rendered valuable assistance. The proceeds of the sale of. work amounted to XB3.

. The churches at Makauri and Patutahi, and the presbytery, axe undergoing repairs and renovation.