Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 16, 6 May 1925, Page 55

Catholic World

; THE CATHOLIC REVIVAL IN MEXICO. The Osservatore Bomano, in two long communications from its special correspondent in : Central America, gives a detailed account of v the recent Eucharistic Congress, the National • Mexican Eucharistic Congress held in the city of Mexico. The mere fact that such a celebration was possible shows that the whole position of the Church in Mexico has had an almost unhoped-for change for the better, and its brilliant success proves that the Catholics have made remarkable progress - in the reorganisation of the Church in that country after the terrible storm of persecution that at one time seemed to menace Catholicity in Mexico almost with extinction to a while. Only six years ago a re- . volutionary and atheistical Government enacted laws that closed churches and schools, and decreed that even, in great cities the , Catholics should have only one church and " one priest, who was to be approved and no- , minated by the Government. In the civil ; war that preceded the temporary triumph of the persecutors there had been scenes of sacrilege too horrible to describe. Churches sacked and plundered and tabernacles forced ri open J ere incidents in this orgy of outrage. lhe Congress- in the Mexican capital gave proof of the vigorous revival that has followed the storm. There was a pledge of -; \_ hope for the future in the sight of thousands of boys and girls from Catholic schools mar- . shalled for the general Communion of the children. At the public meetings laymen took a leading part. At the church services the cathedral and parish churches were overcrowded, and the procession of the Blessed Sacrament was a public triumph of the faith and a great act of reparation for the/horrors of a few. years ago. ; - NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE TO ROME . -The National Holy Year Pligrimage to ■-., Rome, which starts out from London early in May, will be the most important Catholic .. event of the year in England. (Says Cathoy lic Service, for March 2.) The Catholic Association is organising the * pilgrimage, which 'on account. of numbers and prestige will be very imposing. Many other pilgrimages are being organised, some v by the tourist companies; but the May pilgrimage is the only one that can be described .. as national. Cardinal Bourne will be at the .head, and according to present arrangements .the whole English Hierarchy will be with His Eminence. r Almost inspiring as the arrivel of the pilgrimage in Rome, will be the solemn service held in Westminister Cathedral on the eve of the pilgrimage, when the solemn office for the blessing and departure of pilgrims v ;vml be held. K M:& social event of more than usual interest, - *hich comes off before the pilgrimage,' takes place at the Mansion House in London, when the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs give an official banquet in honor of the Cardinal Archbishop ■and the English Catholic Hierarchy—with '■ whom will be the Welsh! Metropolitan, Arch- ::;,: bishop Mostyn of Cardiff. -' '■* '■*■ K -

This is to be a purely ' social function, . but it is an unparalled one for all that, and possibly the first of'; its kind in centuries—indeed, the first of its kind at all. For when the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, in the old days, were Catholics, their spiritual chief in this country was the Archbishop of Canterbury. But this present year is the first time in history that the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs tff London are found to-be the spiritual subjects of the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. ' . _ BENEDICTINE BISHOP IS CONSECRATED. Dr. Pearson, first Bishop of the newlycreated See of Lancaster, received episcopal consecration at the hands of the Archbishop of Liverpool on St. Mathias day, in the church of St. Peter at-Lancaster, now raised to the rank of a cathedral. A great deal of dignity was added to the occasion by the fact that, although the; creation is entirely new, a Dean and Chapter had already been constituted. The co-consecrators were Bishops; Butt and Dobson; the Abbot of Downside preached the sermon; while the city showed its appreciation of this new dignity conferred on it by Rome, by sending its Mayor and the municipal heads to represent it at the ceremony. The cathedral church, although a very fine building, is not over large. But more than a thousand persons managed,, on a working day, to attend the ceremony, and later in the day many more thousands thronged the publio hall, where a civic reception was accorded to the new bishop. ■ ■ : After the ceremony in the cathedral there was a luncheon, at which the Archbishop, of Liverpool summed up, in a few phrases,' the whole proud history of this part of England. ..-■ The diocese of Lancaster—said Archbishop Keating—was a place of spiritual fertility in the highest degree. It was the diocese of the English Martyrs, the diocese of good old English Catholic stock, that came down through the Ages of the Faith; a place where the Faith was kept alive by the Catho- ■■ lie yeomen and by the people who still represented those who had gone before, as their names showed. The names of Walmsley of Swarbrick, and many more familiar to them all, showed that they came down from the days of the English Martyrs. CATHOLIC EVIDENCE IN WALES. Something like the success achieved in : London, s meeting the work of the Catholic Evidence Guild in Wales. The guild is concentrating in Cardiff/ which-as the metropolitan city of Welsh Catholicism, is rapidly becoming one of the most important Catholic .centres in the kingdom. "•'. - : *,\. 7 In comparatively recent times there has been a fairly large Irish influx into Cardiff , and other large centres in South Wales. And although the Irish loom largely, they are not - the whole of Welsh Catholicism, though their ? spontaneous generosity cannot be challenged. But the Catholic Evidence Guild, whose ; mission is not to those who are already Oath-

olics, has launched t out on an active street corner campaign in .Cardiff, and the trained ; speakers of the guild are listened; to Dy quite large and attentive audiences. There is little opposition 'or interference. Welsh Protestantism is as gloomy and dour as ever it was; but on the whole obstructive tactics of the Kensit type are not very much in evidence. Also there is a good deal more risk in upsetting a Catholic meeting and insulting the Catholic religion than there used to be. ,•• -j- iV >,'-,.- ... ;\ ' , And, too, non-Catholic Cardiff sees a. side of Catholic life that is liable to dispel a great deal of inborn prejudice. The city recently had a Catholic Lord Mayor, whilst both priests and laymen take a very active part-in public affairs; so that the Catholics are always more or less in the public eye, and they are known for the good citizens that they are. NOTES FROM ROME. j The great rush of Jubilee pilgrims begins this month (says Catholic News Service, London, for March 9), according to the Holy Year committee, which has given out the information that quite 100,000 pilgrims are expected before the -end of March. '. Italy, Germany, France, the United States, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland are the countries sending the, March contingents. Germany is sending four pilgrimages during the month three come from France; Cardinal O'Connell is to come at the head of a pilgrimage from Boston a pilgrimage of students and professors is expected from Oxford and Cambridge, and there is also a pilgrimage of English ladies from Budapesth. The old spirit of the Roman pilgrimage was very finely expressed by one of the German pilgrimages a few days ago, when the pilgrims v entered the Eternal City I to' the chanting of the Te Beum. As to lodging and feeding arrangements for the pilgrims, there is no need for any anxiety about this. The Holy Year organisations have seen to that and everything possible has been done to make conditions easy, both in the way of fulfilling the necessary religious observances, and in the more material concerns of board and lodging. And ■so all this talk about Rome not being able to cope with the number of pilgrims falls flat. '. i. . " . ; * "The Australian lads, a party of the Young Australia League, though not on pilgrimage, had the great good fortune to be received in audience by the Pope during their visit to Rome; The lads were presented to his!' Holiness by the First Secretary of the British Legation to the Holy See. The Holy Father passed Amongst the lads, presenting his hand to be kissed; and then made a short; speech congratulating them on their smart % appearance, after which he dismissed them with the Apostolic Benediction. " Before the audience" the Australian lads had explored some of the public portions of the Vatican. Then, lining up in the courtyard;i of San Damaso, they were conducted through the Clementine Hall and then into the Consistorial Hall, -where his Holiness ad-dressed-them from the Throne. The audience was : semi-formal, and the Holy Father was accompanied by part of y the Papal Court.