Here and There

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 28, 2 July 1924, Page 37

Here and There

Royal Appointment for Sir Edward Elgar. Edward Elgar, the famous Catholic composer, has been, appointed Master of the King’s Musick by King The duties of the post are nominal, if there are any duties at all beyond the leadership of a mythical royal orchestra. But in origin the post goes back to the old Catholic days, and that a Catholic has been appointed to this very honorable office has given great satisfaction to the Catholics at all events, as well as to the musical world in general. But if there are no particularly arduous duties, the post confers on its holder a musical laureateship ; "which in this instance is particularly fitting, since this Catholic composer is the greatest living British musician. Beginning his musical career as a Catholic organist, Sir Edward Elgar proclaimed his genius when he gave to the world his masterpiece, a sacred -oratorio founded on and named after Cardinal Newman’s great dramatic poem “The Dream of Gerontins,” This great work was first heard in London at West-,! minster Cathedral, after it had been rendered at Birmingham, Diisseldorf, and in America. In recognition of his musical genius the degree of knighthood was conferred on Sir Edward Elgar in 1904, and in 1911 he received the rarely bestowed decoration of the Order ,of Merit, whose .membership is strictly limited. * * '# Cardinal Bourne at Oxford. Catholic graduates and students at Oxford entertained Cardinal Bourne at the v annual reunion of the Newman Society, when his Eminence .had the Spanish and Austrian Ministers among his fellow guests. In a very able speech the Cardinal made a plea for the revival of Latin as a universal diplomatic language, in which he was backed up by the Vice-Chancellor ' of Oxford, a non-Catholic. The day of French, as a diplomatic language—said the Cardinal—is over; and he declared that some of the difficulties over the- Reparation clauses of the Versailles Treaty might possibly have been avoided had that document been a Latin one, and not, a bi-lingual French and English confection. As to the retort that Latin is not suitable for colloquial expression, Cardinal Bourne disposed of that by showing that Hebrew, which is much more archaic, has been made a common language by the Zionists in Palestine. There was, therefore, a much better case to be made out for Latin, parti-, cularly if it is pronounced as the Latin nations pronounce it.

Mgr, Gibier’s Work at Versailles. —When Mgr. Gibier was promoted from his parish of Saint-Paterne, at Orleans to the bishopric of Versailles by Pius X., at about the time of the passing of the Separation Laws by the French Government, he found himself promoted to a diocese that is singular in France. Versailles has become associated with palaces and peace treaties; but there is another, side to it, at least as a diocese.- The diocesan territory circles around Paris, and it is mostly occupied by a working class population, which although more or less employed in the capital, is domiciled in the outer suburbs. Conditions have always been somewhat difficult; but under the episcopate of Mgr. Gibier a remarkable revolution has been brought about. This is due to the personal action and apostolic zeal of the Bishop, who has now' brought to perfection a system that has not only renewed the religious faith in his diocese, but has brought into’ operation a number of excellent social and other works that branch out in all directions. On the purely diocesan side Versailles now has more seminarians studying for the sacred ministry than in the days-before the war; to such an extent have, candidates for the priesthood increased, that two new preparatory seminaries have had to be opened. Social study is a subject very much taken up in the diocese, and there are in existence something like 90 study circles,-whose 1500 members meet periodically , for discussing really important matters of sociaL reform. Nor are more strenuous exercises forgotten. In the regional area of . the diocese there are some 70 athletic clubs, and these are formed into an athletic federation that is perhaps one of the'most progressive and prosperous

in France. Besides these societies, th» Bishop has inaugurated associations for children and lads who have left school;, guilds and societies for both men and women, as well as societies fer laborers and artisans. ,-/ : . ■■■ -/■: ■■■;'?} /.■ *v : * * ft V. A Bishop’s Will. —The will »f the late Dr. truss, Bisk*p of Natchez; U.S., which was read' at his, funeral service, stated: “In- life and in death I am proud of three things: My Irish birth, my Catholic faith, and my American citizenship. I tried to translate my love for all three into service and sacrifice. I desire a plain pine casket, covered with black or purple cloth, and no trimmings save the simplest and most necessary. Bury me anywhere on the Priests’ Plot. Do not permit a monument of any kind. Put a marker with the following inscription: 1 Right Rev. John Edward Gunn, Sixth Bishop of" Natchez. Born Co. Tyrone, Ireland, March 15th, 1863. Died . Consecrated Atlanta, Ga., August 29th, 1911. R.1.P.”

Heroic Priests. The American newspapers pay high tribute to the heroism displayed by Catholic priests who were summoned to administer the last rites to the injured at a conflagration in which seven Catholic firemen lost their lives. Similar eulogies have been bestowed upon a religious who by her presence of mind helped to avert a panic during a hospital fire. The fire, which broke out in a Chicago avenue, caused great damage. Seven Catholic firemen - together . with another fireman and 1 a civilian, met death as a great wall toppled over, crushing' the giant steel fire ladder like a reed, and burying them under tons of hot bricks, stone and concrete. According to the press reports Father E. A. Jones, of Holy Family Church, was on the scene early. Before the buried men were reached he worked with the sledge hammer brigade fighting their way into the pit. But as soon as the first of the injured was exposed, the priest secured a. fireman’s helmet and rubber coat and let himself down int» "inferno. There he administered the last rites 'Of the Church to the dying, and encouraged the less badly injured until they could be rescued. Father William Gorman hurried to the scene. He stumbled his way over the smoking •debris until he came to where the injured were lying. There he knelt in prayer, offering religious consolation to the men beneath.

Nun’s Heroism.—The calm heroism of a nun, inspiring an entire hospital corps, probably saved two hundred patients from death or injury during a fire at St. Mary’s Hospital, Brooklyn, U.S. A patient gave the alarm ~to Sister Dorothea who quietly summoned the nurses, next door, and other of the hospital staff assembled from other parts of the building. Under her direction, seventy-five patients were evacuated in . a few moments. Hospital, attendants, police officials and firemen were unanimous in their praise of Sister Dorothea’s courage and good judgment in the crisis.

Cross 100 Feet High.—Funds to provide for the erection of a cross 100 feet high on Mount Royal, Montreal,' to be lighted at night and visible to steamers 30 miles away, are being collected by members of the St. Jean Baptiste Society, which has the erection of the cross in hand. The cross is intended to commemorate the landing of Jacques Cartier on Canadian soil in 1584, and also the vow made by Maisonneuve, the founder pf Montreal, in 1643, when he carried a wooden cross to the mountain top on his shoulders. The new cross will be placed in such a position that it will, be visible to-the larger part of the city as well as to travellers on the great St, Lawrence river.,

There are men who to-day appear’to us to members of the devil, who one day shall be; members of Christ.— St. Francis : of‘Assisi. ;; >: .-V' 1