Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 35, 16 September 1925, Page 55

Catholic World

x a Cathedral DEDICATED to "the i ■: LITTLE FLOWER." [.:"" The Osservatore Bomano stales that Mon- %'■ signor McGinley, Bishop of Monterey and I Fresno, in California, who was present in ■ Rome at the Canonisation of St. Teresa of Lisieux, has declared her the special patroness of his -diocese, and announced that % the new cathedral at Fresno will be dedicated to her. Further, he is about to found 'a Carmelite convent in her honor at Mon- - \ terey. His diocese is closely associated with the history of the Californian missions, and * among his people are some thousands of the "Mission Indians," the descendants of 'O, those converted by the Franciscan pioneers -.' of California. At a still earlier date Carmelite missionaries visited the lands that now '--'- form the State of California, and the first Mass ever said on California ground'was offered upon an altar erected in 1602 by the first Carntelite missionary, Father Joan de la Ascension. The place was on the present 1':: site of -Monterey, and in his narrative Father |>o : Juan tells how he and his companions :-;' , camped on a hill to which they gave the name | ; - of "Mount Carmel." It is believed that this - . hill is the same as the rising ground on which • the new convent dedicated to the Little V Flower of Carmel is to be erected. THE SANTA BARBARA DISASTER: HEROIC RELIGIOUS. - Catholic Churches and institutions suffered severely in the earthquake at Santa Barbara towards the end of June. ~~"">J Many heroic deeds performed by priests 2. and nuns are reported in the American files. "Perhaps the heaviest loss —because irreparable in some respects— was the damage done to the historic Santa Barbara Mission, the only one of that chain of Missions along j T the great Camino Real, in which Catholic religious services have been conducted without interruption since the days of the Spanish Conquest. -~: This is the second time Santa Barbara .;,- Mission has suffered from earthquake disturbances. In 1812 it was seriously damaged, ;0- but the damage was repaired. Most of the injury to the Mission in the latest shocks centred around the famous bell towers, which were entirely destroyed. Other parts of the ,; .. mission buildings were badly damaged. The older wing of Saint Anthony's Col- / , lege, also in charge of the Franciscans, was .•;X badly damaged and tho walls of the College Chapel collapsed. Father Augustine "and Father Zephyrin Engelhardt, aged historian of the Old Missions, had narrow escapes from death amid the falling debris. - When the first shock was felt Father Aug- . ustine rushed to the second floor room where Father Zephyrin was confined. to his bed. ; a Carrying _ the invalid priest, Father Augustine was on his fray to the stairway when fVjJhe second shock came and both priests were | -jShurled through a hole in the "floor and fell \ amid-a -mass of falling debris. Neither was " injured. v ~ ■".; ■ . ■■* '•', ■■:

In the Mission Chapel the congregation was attending an early morning Mass when one of the tremors occurred. Two images were shaken from the altar and fell, narrowly missing the priest. , ; The celebrant, undisturbed, turned and admonished the worshippers to remain at prayer. The fact that they heeded him saved the lives of many, for a few moments later the two towers and a. section of the front of the building fell to the ground. The congregation then walked out over the ruins in safety. The new Saint Francis Hospital, in charge of the Franciscan Sisters of" the Sacred Heart, just completed at a cost of 300,000 dollars, was so badly damaged that it will have to be rebuilt. The Sisters worked heroically, carrying patients from this building, while the walls trembled from the recurrent shocks. Saint Vincent's Orphanage, a 500,000 dollar structure- recently completed, and conducted by the Daughters of Charity of SaintVincent de Paul, was seriously damaged, but all of the children escaped in safety. PROTESTANT SCANDINAVIANS ' JOIN PILGRIMAGE TO ROME. The Rome correspondent of El Debate (Madrid) has sent to his paper an interesting account of his interview with members of the Scandinavian pilgrimage to Rome. The writer had been struck by the fact that about one-third of the members of this pilgrimage were Protestants and that this was the first time in 400 years that Lutherans had been received in pilgrimage at the Vatican. In greeting them the Holy Father, referring'to the visit of Cardinal van Rossum to the Scandinavian countries last year, said: "I sent a Cardinal to invite you, the peoples of the North, before all others, to come to Rome for the Holy Year." Interviewed by the correspondent of FA Debate as to the reasons which had led fliem to join a Catholic pilgrimage, the Protestant Scandinavians said: "We did not undertake the journey out of idle curiosity but. because we wished to attend some of the ceremonies and see the Supreme Pontiff." - They added that the.movement of thinking minds toward the Catholic Church in their country is so great that before the end of the year new pilgrimages to Rome will be organised. , - - v ■■ COSTA RICA DECREES RELIGIOUS TEACHING. ; _, The .Costa Rican Government, overruling sectarian measures of previous administrations, recently issued an. important decree on 1 the subject of .religious instruction in the schools. This decree, which went into effect on the first of the current month, is as follows : ' £' "• > 1. Whereas, the great majority of the peo- [ ple of the Republic manifest - great -interest i in the religious instruction of children, and 2. Whereas, the Constitution, while es-

tablishing freedom of conscience, recognises ) | the fact that the majority of Costa Ricans profess the Roman Catholic faith and sub- *; ; sidise this faith with Government appropria- ; tions; and 1 ">> "*' 5,- _• s 3. Whereas, although religious instruction M is the duly of the Church and forms one of 1 ii the most important' obligations of the clergy,> the Church of Costa Rica to-day has neither the personnel nor efficient means to impart {isuch instruction in accordance with the as-fr-t pirations of the people who request it, and : 4. Whereas, in order to conciliate these interests and principles with those who con- \- stitute the true liberty of a democratically ' governed country, religious ' instruction | should be permitted and even assisted. Therefore, the President of the Republic decrees as follows : • 1. The children of the primary schools and schools annexed to the colleges are to be exempted from the compulsory subjects pre- . scribed by the rule on Saturdays „between* 11 in the morning and 2 o'clock in the afternoon in order to receive religious instruction during these hours. *'".■' > 2. The Bishop of the Diocese is to be encouraged to regulate this instruction and appoint the teachers who are to take charge of it, paying them the necessary remuneration and making use of the school buildings and facilities with the agreement of the"' school boards. 3. From the appropriations of the Ministry of Public Worship there is to be paid to the " order of the Bishop, as the work is organised, a sum not exceeding one thousand pesos per - month. 4. This decree will become effective on July 1, next. > '•" ~ - i ; ■,