Casual Clippings

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIX, Issue 41, 19 October 1922, Page 37

Casual Clippings

A PROMINENT CONVERT. Mrs. Magee, wife of the prominent Anglican High Church clergyman, who is the son of , the late Anglican Archbishop Magee, of York, has been received into the Catholic Church together with her daughter IN HONOR OF BLESSED OLIVER PLUNKET. Wide interest: was taken throughout Ireland this year in the observance of Blessed Oliver Plunket’s Day. The Day, so fertile in inspiration for Catholic Irish people, was impressively celebrated in all parts of the country, especially, perhaps, in the North. Of special interest among the many celebrations of the day was that at Ballybarrack, which is rich in associations with the martyr. The town possesses a little wayside shrine which is a centre of interest in connection with the Blessed Oliver, and this was visited by thousands of persons during the day. MT. EVEREST CLIMBERS’ GIFT TO THE POPE. The members of the Mount Everest expedition have sent to Pope Pius a fragment of rock from the highest point reached. The fragment is mounted on an ebony stand, decorated with silver, with an engraved inscription. The Pope, himself an Alpinist, greatly appreciates the gift and has sent to Brig. Gen. Bruce, leader of the expedition, the gold medal of his pontificate with an autograph letter of thanks, recalling that when he was elected, the expedition sent him congratulations addressed to “The Alpinist Pope.” NEW COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE FOR FRENCH UNIVERSITY, The rector of the Catholic University of Angers has blessed the corner stone of a new Agricultural College which is to form part of the university. ’ The Catholic University has long had a school of agriculture and one of commerce, but the former has been so successful that its old quarters have become far too small to accommodate the large number of students enrolled. The Bishop of Angers, with the assistance of a large agricultural union, has purchased a large piece of ground on which the new college is to bo erected. CANON BARRY’S PARISH COMPLETES CENTURY. Exactly one hundred years ago the Catholic mission at Leamington, in the English Midlands, was founded, Leamington itself is famed for its mineral springs, and the spas are frequented by invalids from all parts of Great Britain, as well as the Continent of Europe. But one of the most interesting buildings in this interesting town is the fine Catholic church dedicated to St. Peter, and now in the care of Canon Barry, a distinguished scholar. AN IRISH SISTERS’ FACTORY CLOSED. One of the most successful industrial enterprises in the west of Ireland, the Foxford Woollen Mills, in Co. Mayo, started 25 years ago by the Sisters of Charity, has been closed down owing to the disturbances and the closing of communications. The products of this factory obtained , wide fame, winning prizes at many exhibitions. The factory gave employment to hundreds of persons. Farmers in the counties of Mayo and Sligo, found it an accessible and profitable market for, their wool. The closing of this factory means a serious loss to the people of the town and country. The Sisters intend to reopen when conditions become normal. ;,V' ' , A PAULIST FATHER’S RECORD. The Rev, Bertrand L. Conway, C.S.P., a Paulist Missionary, has recently made a report to Pope Pius XI. on the number of converts he has made since he took up missionary endeavors. It has been asserted that Father Coni' way has mad© more converts to the Catholic faith than any other living missionary priest. The report, which was said to have been highly pleasing to the Holy Father, was presented in a private audience granted to Father Conway. " The progress of the Catholic Unity League, founded by Father Conway, also was included in the report.

'• ' - .'FIRST MASS IN ONTARIO. 'V:' ; The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered for the first time in what is now the Province of Ontario 307 years ' ago August 12, and a monument commemorating that ©vent has been unveiled recently upon the sit© of this early manifestation of Catholic life in America. Pore le Caron, a companion of Champlain, celebrated this first Mass at Caraghouha, August 12, 1615. A .monument in the form of a great granite cross. was unveiled at Caraghouha, August 7, by Archbishop Neil McNeil, of Toronto. The Archbishop celebrated Mass in commemoratoin of the first'* time the Holy Sacrifice was offered up in Ontario. POLISH CLERGY’S FIRST SYNOD IN OYER A CENTURY. The first Catholic Synod to be held in Poland for over one hundred years has just taken plcae in Warsaw, attended by bishops and priests from all parts of the Republic. With the exception of a diocesan congress held in Przemysl in 1908 (then under the rule of Catholic Austria) no such gathering has been seen in Poland since the country was partitioned in the 18th century, all national conferences of this nature being forbidden by the subjugating powers. The Warsaw Synod, presided over by Cardinal Kakowski, devoted itself particularly to a study of the last revision of the Canon Law made by Pope Benedict XV. and the codification of same in relation to the constitution and laws of the new Polish Republic. OBLATE PRIEST WINS FRENCH PRIZE FOR BOOK. The Rev. Pierre Duchaussois, 0.M.1., who is well-known in New Orleans, where he conducted a mission in the Cathedral two years ago, has been awarded the de Montyon prize by the French Academy for his work Aux Glaces Poplaires, a volume recording the work of the Oblate missions of northern Canada. The award carried with' it a sum of several thousand dollars and was provided by Baron de Montyon, an 18th century philanthropist of ranee, for the year’s best literary work of a prescribed character. Father Duchaussois travelled for more than a year among the Canadian missions, and his work is regarded not only as a valuable contribution to the story of the missions, but contains' a wealth of information concerning the tribes of the north and the fauna and flora of'the polar regions. WWWLITTLE COMPANY OF MARY: NEW FOUNDATION. The acquisition of a new convent near the episcopal city of Nottingham by the Little Company of Mary brings into prominence once more this wonderful community that was founded by the late Archbishop Bagshawe, at -a time when he was Bishop of Nottingham. ■ Archbishop Bagshawe founded his community some 45 years ago at Hyson Green, in the county of Nottingham. The community was first housed in half a dozen cottages, which are still the mother house of the Order. Yet from this humble beginning the community has so increased that at the present time it has houses in Rome, Malta, Ireland, South Africa, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand. In Florence the Sisters have two houses, where they minister-to the sick. ❖WWW VOTES OF WOMEN HOPE OF EUROPE. Monsignor Geissweip, chairman of the Hungarian' Peace Society and a member of the Hungarian Parliament, has been attending the Interriatioal Peace Congress and during his visit was entertained at a banquet given in his honor by the Catholic Women’s Suffrage Society. One of the Monsignor’s heroes is the late Archbishop Ireland, from whom the Monsignor quoted a telling passage in which Catholic America’s great orator spoke of the value of the women’s vote in the promotion of morality. Monsignor " Geisswein maintained that the great disasters of the past have been entirely due to the fact that women have been shut off from the vote, and in the fact that women now have their place in the parliaments he saw the hope of the future —for Europe at all ©vents, . ~ i