Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, 24 November 1921, Page 39

Catholic World

CAUSE FOR THE WELSH MARTYRS.

Among the ? 253 Venerabili for whom Beatification is. being sought in Rome, there are eight martyrs of W ales who suffered for the Catholic religion under the Penal Laws, and a committee has been appointed by -Archbishop of Cardiff to draw up the biographical- documents required for the Apostolic Process in the Roman Curia. Of the eight Welsh martyrs, now styled Venerable,'-two of them, Fathers Philip Evans arid John Lloyd, were; put to death in Cardiff. The ; first of the Catholic martyrs in Wales was Mr. Richard White of ' Gwynn, who was ,put to death at Wrexham, now the episcopal city of the bishops of -Merievia. - : - ■ -Av*’/'

Among the other Welsh 'confessors was Father John.; Kemble, members of whose, family in later years; were * fatuous as actors. • This priest .was executed at Hereford. Father Roger Cadwallor suffered at Leominster; Father. David' Lewis at Usk; and Father William Davis at Beaumaris. Father Charles Mahoney, who is numbered among the Welsh martyrs, was a member of the. Fransican Order and an Irishman. He was shipwrecked on the English coast, and whilst returning to Ireland was taken at Denbigh and executed in the town of Ruthin.

These are the Catholic martyrs who are known to have suffered death--by public execution in Wales. But there are 18 more of Welsh descent who died for religion. Between the years 1576 and 1679 there were imprisoned in Cardiff 245 Catholic recusants apprehended in Glamorganshire alone, most of them from county or yeoman families. Of these at least 50 died in the dungeons at Cardiff, meeting their death in a loathsome prison for conscience sake.

TERTIARIES HOLD WORLD CONGRESS. • The "World Congress of members of the Third Order of St. Francis, to commemorate the Vllth centenary of its foundation, opened in the vast church of the Ara Coeli when: Cardinal Giorgi presided. Padre Gemelli delivered the inaugural address, in which he said that the practical mission of the Third Order was to prepare the. world for the Christian reconstruction of society. The opening ceremony was terminated by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, which was given by Cardinal Billot.

* There was a scene of stirring enthusiasm when, in the ( Court of San Darnaso the Pope received the. five thousand , delegates, among them a .number of American, Irish and ;;; British Tertiaries. , The heads of the Franciscan Order were present and many Franciscan bishops. Taking as his theme f St. Frari6isls'l6ye of peace and concord, the Holy Father t- said that, only the spirit of St. Francis could heal the ills \ of present. day society, which was deeply infected with ! civil disedrd. ThP. roots of this discord' the Pope found

5 in excessive egbisrn, the' refusal to acknowledge the in- ; evitable differences in social classes, and the idea among many people that material good was the only thing to be yriiriied at. ‘Growing ■ out of all this discord, and these fundamental causes, Pope Benedict said, was the fact, that although the nations had signed treaties of peace, there ' were fellow-men who continued to engage in , bloody conwflicts.

~':•:.„ ; : ■•'■••■ ! - ■■•■•■'■■■-■ "'*" CATHOLIC ORDERS AT OXFORD. , ; 1 ;/'. The beginning of the academic year at Oxford coincides with the addition of one more of the religious Orders to the Catholic halls affiliated with the University. The foundations of the new Dominican priory and house of. studies have, been laid, and the work of building is pro-: ceeding. But until the house is completed,"" the Black Friars are in residence in Saint 'Giles in their House of : Studies,."Blackfriars , '.'. and their connection, with the Uni- ; versity will not be delayed until their imposing buildings are ready for occupation. : • , ;- The Catholic Labor College, winch is being started .under the auspices the Catholic Social Guild, while not affiliated with the University, is an additional sign of Cath-

olic participation in the ' advantages which 'Oxford has to' offer. The Labor College will have as its first principal Father Leo O’Hea, S.J., ; whose headquarters for the present will be Campion Hall, the hall of studies which the English Jesuits maintain in Oxford. ; '

. B i V Monsignor Barries, the Catholic Chaplain in the University, reports an accession of Catholic undergraduates. The purchase arid restoration of the Old Palace of Bishop King in Saint Aldate’s, and the restoration of its' chapel, provides a. permanent and well appointed centre for work among the undergraduate body of the Catholic faith.

: : In the not far distant future priests from India, Ceylon, and Burma are expected to make their appearance in the, University, under the scheme by which members •of;: the Indian clergy will read for the Oxford degree in the .House of. Studies for "secular priests, which was founded by the late Archbishop of Birmingham.: ' • ' " I . > , <!^^S<^^<> : • ; :-'^ l X: " '" ;|H PERU AND THE HOLY FATHER. . FfOfti far-off Peru (writes theßoman correspondent of the/London Catholic, .Times), comes the pleasing news of the puldic homage paid by the Parliament .of that country to the Holy Father. ; At the close of the centenary feasts, the Chamber of Deputies at ; a session in honor of foreign ambassadors, passed the following resolution relative to the participation of the Pope in these celebrations: "The Chamber of Deputies, of Peru, deeply grateful for the thoughtful goodness of -his Holiness Benedict XV. .. who associated himself in our celebrations of the centenary by sending a special embassy that he might be represented therein, gives assurance of its profound gratitude to the Holy Father."

• This act of courtesy towards the Holy See is much appreciated in Vatican circles. It is interesting to note that the Pontifical Nuncio at Lima has been changed. Mgr. Lanri, so well known to students of Propaganda University, -who professed Dogmatic Theology there, was the Nuncio. Mgr. Lanri is at present in Rome and will soon start for Warsaw.

IRISH PILGRIMS AT LOURDES. The recent Irish pilgrimage to Lourdes took place under the auspices of the. C.Y.M.S. of Harrington : Street, Dublin, was participated in by about one hundred and sixty people, and it occupied nine or ten days, of which five days were spent at Lourdes. All privileged to join in the pilgrimage returning through London agree that it was a great success, equally from the spiritual and the social points of view. Lourdes was reached via Newhaven, Dieppe, and Bordeaux. The pilgrimage was-under the direction of Mr. P. Daniels, the secretary of the C.Y.M.S., and there was a large number of clergy in the party. The Rosary was recited in Irish several times at Lourdes. On one occasion the Irish pilgrims were given the' place of honor in the- procession; which twice each evening walks from the Grotto through the extensive grounds in: connection with the Shrine to the Church. The Blessed Sacrament was carried by an ' Irish priest, while the canopy under which he walked was borne by Irish pilgrims, and the remainder of the represen- ; tatives of Ireland were in: the front of ' the 'procession. A large flag combining the Irish colors, green, white, and yellow, was at all times in evidence amongst the Irish pilgrims. It was inscribed "Priez pour Irlande," and it: was often to be seen flying from one of the hotels accommodatring the Irish pilgrims...; The badges worn by the Irish pilgrims attracted a great deal of attention amongst the other pilgrims from various lands at Lourdes;'-'■'• ■'■'; vi •"••'<- --4 : "■■■''■:. -•" '■•;•'

Keep nothing for yourselves, that He may . receive you without reserve, who has given Himself to you without reserve. —-St. Francis of Assisi. ' y'-, ".'■ '■'■ ,/■:' -'.