The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 1924. A CATHOLIC PAGEANT

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 10, 6 March 1924, Page 29

The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 1924. A CATHOLIC PAGEANT

E will be pardoned if we linger over the §^l^)l^ W>" memories left by the glorious celebrations which Wellington was privileged to witness >W«f, during the days of the week that lias just -*an ended, for never before, and it may be not for long years to come will such a magnifiysgL. cent Catholic demonstration be staged in the Dominion of New Zealand. Our Metropolitan was the central figure of the wonderful events of these golden days, but all bis Catholic people had a share in his joy and a taste of his triumph, united to him as they all are by bonds of reverence and affection, partaking of his glory even as members of one great family upon whom happiness and sorrow descend as upon one individual. In him we were all honored, and, around his feet, we all sat jn the sunshine that illumined the memorable days of his Golden Episcopal Jubilee. * Recollections of the Solemn Pontifical Mass in the Basilica, with which the celebrations began ; of the dignity and the impressiveness of the long procession through the streets lined by respectful and admiring citizens of other creeds; of the adoring thousands who bent to-receive the benediction of the Lord whom we bless as our Redeemer and our future Judge, will abide in the hearts of everyone of us while life lasts. The amenities of the social functions had. a harmony and a suaveness such as attend reunions of children and of those who still retain the hearts of children, and the after-dinner speeches and other impromptu effects had all the notes of joyousness and friendship which one expects among those who are thoroughly pleased and free from care. When we assembled in the Town Hail on the Tuesday evening the wave of enthusiasm lifted each one among us to its crest, and the audience in the thronged seats listened with delight as wreath after wreath of homage was laid at the feet of the venerable Jubilarian. Our. own New Zealand bishops were the first to pay their tribute to his Grace; Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and Dunedin prelates ascending the platform to join in the congratulations and good wishes voiced in the address read , by Dr. Cleary. They retired to be followed by the Archbishops of Australia, a stately company, in their purple and white robes, come hither over the seas to make public profession before all New Zealand of theTionor and esteem in which they held the patriarch of the Church beneath the Southern Cross. Then his Grace's own clergy, repre

sen ted by its senior members who had borne the heat of the day and followed with credit where their Archbishop had led for many a long year in the warfare for souls in these —through the ringing tones of Monsignor McKenna proclaimed their undying devotion to their threat Archbishop. Speaking for the faithful and zealous Society of Mary, on which bis Grace has shed such lustre, Father O'Reilly, the present worthy Provincial, read a little address which must have touched the heart of Dr. Redwood and awaked tender vibrations among the golden strings of his memory. The addresses of the Catholic laity, of the ever-faithful Hibernians, of the Early Settlers, succeeded one another like chords that went to build a perfect melody. The Mayor -of Nelson, no longer young, spoke of old times "and old scenes, in. a manner that made it evident to us all with what pleasure he seized on the opportunity of honoring himself by honoring a great New Zealander upon whom Nelson has special claims. But, in picturesqueness and poetry, the event of the evening was the reading of the beautiful Maori address, which Father Venning earned our gratitude by translating in a clear voice that brought the wonderful imagery of the original home to us all. And the final seal was set on a truly unique function when the Jubilarian rose to reply, amid demonstrations of welcome and blessing that showed how deep were the roots of affection for him in the hearts of the people. His voice, now and then shaken by emotion, carried to every corner of the building; and, listening to the sentences that flowed from his lips in perfect taste and order, some of us could realise and recall from the past his historic pulpit utterances which won for him the right to be styled the Chrysostom of the South. The methodical procession of the ideas, the artistic choice of simple words such as one might find in the of the Book that is for all time the preacher's and'the orator's model, the piercing pathos of the presentation of the speaker's abiding consciousness that his eighty-five years of stewardship must be accounted lor before the Jud<r o of all mankind, the humble protestationof his total dependence on the grace of God, the acknowledgment of all the wonderful marks of reverence and love with which In. was surrounded, and the visible signs of paternal affection ror us all, were the weft and woof of an allocution which must rank among the.greatest he ever delivered. Above the waves of song and the tones of the (•haunting o,, 1;lll winch remain in the memory of that evening, soar "the accents of the .Archbishop's voice as ho uttered that eloquent and moving reply to all who had honored him on this unique occasion. * All created things must pass, and the only thing constant on -earth is the law of change. So, too, the end of the Jubilee days came, and in little groups the visitors reluctantly moved from the scene. One such departure deserves to be chronicled among the incidents of the week The Catholic people gathered in thousands on the wharf before the hour at which the Australian visitors were duo to sad. On the deck above stood the bishops and priests whose visit had been an honor to all New Zealand and now and then there arose from the crowds below a chorus of song inspired by the love of Faith and Fatherland The grand war song of our Church, commemorating the steadfastness of our ancestors, in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword, made the welkin ring. And, if, on the waterside there were many who regretted that they had not heard Dr. xAlannix, they now gave him an opportunity of hearing them, for it was with no faltering tones that they sang the Soldiers' Song that is forever drenched in sorrow and tears for the noble dead; His Grace was there also/to wave farewell to his friends and to wish them Godspeed to then- own country into which they would bear in' their hearts pleasant recollections of the Golden Jubilee to which their presence had added such lustre. And so, the gold and white and green streamers were broken at last and the Maheno moved away down the harbor and out between the Heads where fifty years ago Francis Mary PMwood sailed in to take up the apostolic work to the wonderful success of which these grand Catholic demonstrations are but fitting tributes.