An Irish Centenary

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 8, 21 February 1924, Page 17

An Irish Centenary

Very shortly (says Catholic News Service, London, for December 29) there will be observed a centenary that is of unique interest to Irish Catholics, both bn Ireland and throughout the world. , This is of the restoration of the Irish College in Dome. After the first victories of Napoleon in Italy he quarrelled with the Church, and in 1798 the Revolution troops of France carried off the Pope as a prisoner, so that Romo was at the mercy of the Republicans. The Irish College in Rome was abolished, and its 'last student, Dr.. Blake, was deported to Marseilles and the college buildings turned into a- barracks. But it was Dr. Blake who restored this great foundation, starting it on a new era of glory. ' v_ . _ This great effort really dates from 1824,. although 1827 is given as the date of the reconstitution of the Irish College. Dr. Blake in the meantime had been made parish priest of SS. Michael and John in Dublin. But Dr. Yore was persuaded to take over the active charge of the parish, and Dr. Blake set off for Rome. Early in 1924 it will be exactly a century that Dr. Blake arrived in Rome, bearing with him the united blessing of the Irish Hierarchy, and with special commendatory . letters from the four archbishops to the Pope, to the Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred College, and to the Secretary of Propaganda, Mgr. Caprano. With Dr. Blake there travelled a young man, who was to be the first student of the reconstituted Irish College, as events showed. This was Nicholas Callan, who was afterwards an eminent scientist and a Professor at Maynooth. The Pope of that day received Dr. Blake most graciously. He was encouraged by the Cardinal Prefect; but the Secretary of Propaganda was not quite open to conviction. though he was eventually won over to the project. Dr. Blake was ultimately successful, and a Bull authorising the re-establishment of the Irish College was granted by Leo XII. From the funds that had been rescued from the older establishment the Pope assigned a yearly income of 600 scudi to the new college. The Archbishop of Armagh offered a gift of £SOO, and in Dublin itself Dr. Blake collected no less a sum than £3OOO. Thus the famous establishment that had been originally founded in 1628, entered upon an era of yet greater glory and lustre. ftAA 1