Consecration of Archbishop Redwood

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 9, 28 February 1924, Page 55

Consecration of Archbishop Redwood

[Reprinted -from the London Weekly Register , March 21, • 1874.] . . - . " „ On Tuesday, the 17th inst., the Feast of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, the consecration of a Catholic Bishop took place in the Church- of St. Anne, Spitalfields. The consecrating prelate was his Grace the Archbishop of Westminster, assisted by the Right Revv. the Bishops of Southwark and Amycla (i.p.i.); the Rev. Father Brady and the Rev. Father Selle were respectively deacon and subdeacon of the Mass, the deacons ,of the throne . being the Rev. Fathers Fitch and Grimes; Father Kirk acted as assistant priest. The novitiate of the Marist Fathers, Dundalk, Ireland, was represented by the Rev. Father Yarden,’ and the scholasticate of Dublin by the Rev. Dr. Pestre. After the ceremony the Marist Fathers provided a recherche dejeuner in St'. Anne’s Hall, at which his Grace the Archbishop of Westminster presided. He was supported by the newly-consecrated Bishop, and their Lordships the Bishops of Southwark and Amycla. The following clergymen were also present; —Canons: the Very Rev. Dr. Gilbert, V.G.; Very Rev. W. G. .Todd, D.D. ; and the. Right Rev. Mgr. Patterson. Amongst other clergymen

were the Rev. Father Wilfrid Dallow, Our Lady’s Church, Birkenhead — Dallow is cousin to the Bishop of Wellington, Also present the Rev. Fathers Akers, Keating, Crook, Toomey, M. Smith, Guiron, and Collins. The Religious Orders of the Redemptorists, Capuchins, Servites, Franciscans, Oblates of St. Charles, Passionists, Augustinians, were largely represented. Amongst the laity were Sir Charles Clifford, the Hon. Mr. Langdale; Messrs. Leseller, of Brentwood and London; also A. Purcell, N. Purcell, E. Zuccani, N. Zuccani, J. Merritt, T. Ashby, F. Laurence, N. Michell, N. Adolph, Stuart Knill, C. Singers, N. Dutrulle, F. Dromel, N. Mears, F. Connery, and T. Conriel, Esqrs. ; Dr. Mahoney, Dr. Hewitt, Dr. Mank; and reporters from Times,' Telegraph, and Catholic papers. TOASTS HONORED. When justice had been done to the good things, and grace said, the Archbishop rose to propose the first toast, “The Health of the Holy Father, Pope Pius IX. In proposing the health of the Sovereign Pontiff, remarked his Grace', it is unnecessary for me to say a word except one of confidence. I am happy to be able to announce that direct information assures me that his Holiness is in perfect health. (Loud applause.) It is not out of season to make this statement, as he is periodically slain by some people (laughter) and whenever we meet together there is no harm in communicating better news. It appears that-

the great forces of the world which have hitherto mingled together are now separated, and are marshalled against the Church. The great conflict of the material and moral powers is rapidly preparing for a final solution, and we know what the result will be. The present tone of exaltation and confidence with which those who are the fools of the world are perpetually defeaning our ears is a sign that the material power—might without righthas attained its • highest ascendancy. '’But it is also a sign that the words of the prophet will be fulfilledthat “the land of the giants shall be pulled down in ruins,” and his great material power is now nearest to its fall. (Applause.) ' The life of the Sovereign Pontiff has been wonderfully prolongednot without a purpose, and you may rest assured that he will not pass away until he sees at least the beginning of the downfall of the powers arrayed against him. (Loud applause.) » The toast was drunk with .the most loving and devoted enthusiasm, and the hymn “God Save the Pope” was sung. His Grace next proposed the “Health of Queen Victoria.” Her Majesty, said his Grace, was a just Queen; she has reigned over a people greatly divided by various principles, beliefs, and antagonisms, and. yet during this good Queen’s reign, for the first time in 300 years there is a perfect equality in the toleration of religious belief, and a peace founded on that equality is gained by Catholics. (Hear, hear.) There are some few, I am sorry to say, who, if it were in their power, would set fire to the four corners of Great Britain, in order to burn down the Catholic Church. They are the fire-brands and madmen who are to be found in all sections of civilisation. We bear them ■no ill-will; we wish them a- better mind, and we are not afraid of them. (Applause.) I believe that in giving the “Health of her Majesty and the rest of the Royal Family” I shall be giving you an opportunity of expressing that affection and loyalty which is contained in all your hearts. (Loud applause.) With the most loyal and affectionate enthusiasm the toast was honored, all present joining in the National Anthem. ; Sir Charles Clifford (formerly Speaker of the New Zealand House of Assembly) rose amidst applause to propose the health of the newly-consecrated Bishop of Wellington. He said: This is one of the greatest pleasures I have ever experienced. Outside of my own family there are none whom I have loved and respected more than the family of the Redwoods. The Bishop of Wellington and myself went out to New Zealand together in the same vessel, and, though we resided in different provinces on our arrival, we kept up a pleasant communication with each other. The family of the Redwoods had done wonders in New Zealand, and to that family the spread of the faith was much owing. It may surprise you to hear that I lay claim to be the first pastor of the diocese of Wellington. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) In the year 1842, when I landed in New Zealand, there was no priest there. Well, the Catholics were very numerous, and they agreed to assemble at my house on Sundays and other holidays, in order as “much as possible to sanctify those days. So, through this, I claim to have been the first priest of the congregation of the Bishop of Wellington. (Hear, hear.) Shortly after there came out some zealous missionaries from Ireland, and to them succeeded the good Marist Fathers, who had been most zealous in the duties of their sacred ministry, and succeeded in spreading the faith rapidly.' (Applause.) Sir Charles Clifford then proceeded to give a most interesting and entertaining account of the progress of the faith in the New Zealand Colonies. He said that that>feeling known as the “No-Popery feeling” was scotched and killed in the early days of his Colonial experiences. In electing members for the House of Assembly the Colonial Government chose to raise the cry of “No Popery,” and to protest against such a cry he (Sir Charles Clifford) was elected a member for Wellington at the head of the poll. They would not stand any bigotry; and to show their great toleration they elected a Catholic to the House of Assembly at the head of the poll. At one time the Colonial Government were . at a loss to know whether they would say prayers, and of what sort, at the opening of the discussions of the Assembly At last, after . much discussion as to the sort of prayers to

say, and what clergyman would say them, he (Sir C. Clifford) was nominated one of a committee to compose a prayer-slaughter, and hear, hear)—and they made a very devotional one, which was repeated by every member of the Assembly. Again, it was proposed to give a Protectant Bishop £6OO a year, and the wisdom of the payment was much approved of, but when the same demand was made for clergymen of other denominations, Catholic included, it was not found to work so well. In course of time all these matters were satisfactorily managed, and now he was happy to state that in no country under the laws of Great Britain can Catholics exercise their religion with more freedom (Loud applause.) In conclusion, Sir Charles Clifford dwelt on the great satisfaction which the con deration of the Right Rev. Dr. Redwood would afford to the inhabitants of the Colony. . Mr. Thompson (the only member present of the new Bishop of Wellington's congregation) said that, on the part of the Catholics of New Zealand, he desired to tender to their new Bishop hearty congratulations and glad allegiance. The Catholics of New Zealand claimed Dr. Redwood as one of their own. He (Mr. Thompson) came from the grave of the late Bishop of Wellington, Dr. Viard,' and it. was therefore, not unfitting that he should welcome as his successor the newly-consecrated Bishop. He had great pleasure m seconding the toast proposed by Sir Charles Clifford (Loud applause.) The Bishop of Wellington rose amidst the most cordial demonstrations of welcome. He said: It is difficult for me to find words to express the feelings of gratitude which I owe Sir Charles Clifford for the very kind words he has said with regard to my family and myself. " I could not desire a greater happiness than to see Sir Charles here to-day. My parents-at least my mother-and friends who reside in New Zealand, when they learn all the circumstances their delight will be unbounded. It is impossible to describe the feeling which my family owe to the Cliffords -it brings back thoughts of former days, and pleasing intercommunion, in old England. I sincerely thank Sir Charles for all the kind things he has said; and let me say that Sir Charles Clifford and his family were instruments in the hands of Providence to help my predecessor in overcoming the difficulties of his New Zealand Mission (Loud applause.) It is a great honor and gratification to me to have my health proposed by his Grace the Archbishop. I could not*have coveted a greater favor and happiness than to receive consecration and the fulness of priesthood from so illustrious a! prelate, who is, I make bold to say—for lam but the echo of the general voicethe light and pride of England, who has spread his celebrity and influence through the length and breadth of Christen, dom, and who may be justly called one of the brightest luminaries of the whole Catholic world. (Applause)- As an Englishman, I am sincerely proud of such a privilege and distinction; and I look upon it as a great encouragement to face manfully the difficulties of my extensive and arduous mission, and as an earnest of future usefulness in the Holy Church of God. Still more proud of it am I, as a Catholic Bishop; for the distinctive virtue, the mark and character of a Catholic Bishop, is a hearty devotion to the See of Rome, to the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth And I behold, in his Grace, the unwearied champion of Jeter s cause, one who is ever in the breach to defend the Popedom, whose eloquent voice and pen before and at the Vatican Council will never be forgotten, and who, so lately, m that.most truly and powerful essay which some of you have had the privilege of hearing, has magnificently vindicated the cause of the Catholics of Germany, and dealt a heavy blow, nay, given the deathstroke, to Bismarckian Caesarism in the public opinion of this realm (Loud applause.) Again, as a friend to Ireland, I am particularly sensible to the favor of this day, for I see in his Grace a well-known and well-tried friend of Ireland To Ireland, indeed, I am deeply indebted. I might say as much, and even more, for France; but let that be for another occasion— there I received Holy Orders, priesthood included, from Irish prelates; there I spent some of the best years of my life; there I met with a kindness and indulgence which I shall ever gratefully remember-

and there I have friends and benefactors. And as we are attached to persons and places, not so much on . account of favors received as of services rendered and labors undergone for their welfare, so I shall leave a part of my heart in Ireland with the youth I have helped to educate for several very obscure and toilsome years. To not a few, also, 1 was employed to teach theology, and some of them will share my mission in New Zealand, while others, I trust, will preserve the fountain’s head and keep up the stream of apostles which has set in towards that hopeful field. Speaking of education— greatest of all the battlefields of our day—l cannot forget that in nothing has my illustrious consecrator done more to deserve the blessings of heaven, the congratulations and rewards of the Church, and the gratitude of mankind, than in his unflagging exertions in promoting Catholic education, and in preserving thousands of dear Catholic children from schools of perdition. Here a bright example is set me in my future career; for the very same struggle against mixed education exists in New Zealand and Australia, and, I am sorry to say, with far less chance of victory for Catholics. As a fellowsoldier in • this battle-field of religious education, I find matter for self-congratulation this day. I am also grateful as the Bishop of the capital of New Zealand, or, I might, perhaps, rather say, as a New Zealander, for I went there so young* and spent there so much of my childhood and youth, that I may well nigh claim to be a native of that distant land. As a New Zealander, then, I congratulate myself, since his Grace, as an Englishman, feels a deep interest in so hopeful an English colony, and, as a Catholic Prelate, feels immeasurably more interested in the spread of our Holy Faith throughout the wide British Empire. One dayl love to —when far beyond the broad seas,, when appalled perhaps at my solitariness and isolation, it will be grateful and consoling indeed to look back in thought to these days and this old land, and to remember the close ties which I have this day initiated with one whose example and counsels may be a great support to my inexperience and weakness. This morning, as your Grace knows, we entered into a spiritual relationship which is everlasting you of paternity, I of sonship. May the son — venture to hopebe worthy of the father. (He concluded amidst loud applause.) The Archbishop said that the words of his friend, the Bishop of Wellington, had so far surpassed all he could expect that he had difficulty in replying. His generous and affectionate heart had made him say that which he thought, but much that was far from the reality. Thus far he had told the strict truth, when he said that he (the Archbishop) had the happiness —he might say the grace —to be permitted to do, to lend his hand, to put his finger, to two works: the one to promote the Definition of the supreme and infallible authority of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, in all matters of faith and morals; and the second, to labor and-to fight for the maintenance, whole, inviolate, and entire, of the unbroken authority that directs a Christian and Catholic education. (Applause.) All this was perfectly true he would invite everybody who heard him, priest or layman, to concentrate the whole of their energies on these two points; and if, through any. cause, they depart from these two great lines of their progress, they will waste a great deal of their strength. (Hear, hear.) The infallible authority of the Vicar of Jesus Christ means thisnothing less, and nothing more —that Jesus Christ Himself speaks on earth at this hour by an organ of his own consecration. (Applause.) And this divine authorship pervaded the faith and the motive for which the faith was believed. He was ashamed to say that there were some within the Church who at one period thought it inopportune to, define that which was essentially fundamental in Catholic doctrine. It was in the plenitude of their own self-confidence that they thought so; they were led away by the fumes of intellectual inflation of the nineteenth century. But he was glad to say that nothing of the sort exists now within the unity of the Churchthat evil and erratic spirit was now confined amongst those who were called the “old Catholics” of Germany. He wished those so-called “old Catholics” well;

he wished them the grace of penance; he wished them a thorough and solid conversion. With regard to,the,other question— of educationhe thought it was one on which public opinion should be brought to bear as much as possible, in order to ensure just legislation in a matter of such vital Education was the formation of human nature from the" first moment of its existence; it was the sharpening of the intellect of man and how could any person separate the knowledge of God and His faith from education? (Applause.) How could education -be surrendered to legislators, princes, or statesmen? Yes, his friend and brother, the Bishop of Wellington, was right in what he said of education, (Applause.) He (the Archbishop) desired the prosperity of the Australian and New Zealand colonies more than many were aware of. His own father was intimately united with our great West Indian colonies, and from the earliest period of. his life he remembered hearing the whole subject of their colonial relationship as a family topic. It might divert them to hear a circumstance of a most elaboratea most portentous nature, which connected him with the colonies. He (the Archbishop) was charged with being the deadly enemy of the colonial relations of the British Empire.- (Laughter.) He was not aware of entering into any conspiracy. He was not conscious of desiring the disintegration of the British Empire, on the contrary, it was always his opinion that the more intimate and solid was the Union between Great Britain and her colonies, the more firm was the basis of her strength(loud applause)—the more firmly based were its industries, its commerce, its maritime prosperity, and its power of ruling the, seas, for which England is preeminently remarkable. (Hear, hear.) On that day New Zealand was united closer to this country by the act which conferred the plenitude of the priesthood on Dr. Redwood. In conclusion, after alluding to the immovability of the Rock of Peter, and the everlasting basis on which the Church stood, his Grace proposed the “Health of the Clergy and Laity of New Zealand and Australia.” The Bishop of Wellington returned thanks. He said that the deepest feelings of gratitude would animate the New Zealand and Australian Catholics when they heard all his. Grace the Archbishop of Westminster had said and done for them. He (the Bishop) desired to convey in general terms the thanks of the people from these several countries. Before sitting down he would do himself the honor, as well as pleasure, of proposing the “Health of the Assistant Bishops of the Consecration,” coupling with their names the “Clergy and Laity of Great Britain and Ireland.” (Applause.) The Right Rev. Dr. Danell, Bishop of Southwark, returned thanks. The founder of the Marist Order was also toasted, and the health was replied to by the Rev. Father Chaurain, and another French priest, whose name escaped our reporter. Father Chaurain alluded to the great progress of the faith in the East end of London within the last twenty years, and greater success in future. For the benefit of the uninitiated, his Grace the Archbishop delivered, in English, the words of the French priest, who also alluded to the good deeds done by the Marist Order. We are indebted to the Rev. Father Chaurain for the following interesting description of the Marists; “The Society of Mary was founded early in the present century, and its venerable founder is still living. Its constitutions were finally approved of by his Holiness Pope Pius IX. Its object is chiefly— the education of youth and the training of young men from the priesthood; 2nd, missions in Europe and in foreign parts. The Marists possess a number of colleges and seminaries in France. They also possess several educational and missionary establishments" in Great Britain, Ireland, and America. The Order also has more than 100 missionaries in the South Sea Islands, New Zealand, and Australia, Since its foundation it has had eight bishops, four of whom are still living. Some of its members have been put to death by the savage tribes which they were evangelising, and have thus earned the palm of martyrdom.”