Diocesan News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 50, 16 December 1925, Page 30

Diocesan News

-Archdiocese of Wellington (From our own Correspondent.) . December 11. The presentation to Mr. P. D. Hoskins from the Catholic community takes place in 'St. Francis's Hall on the evening 0 Thursday, December 17. One need not state that a large attendance is both desired and anticipated. Mr. Hoskins has served people who have never seen him. He has been the friend of the whole church in this country.

The friends of Mr. R. A. Patterson, of the 1 horn don parish, will be delighted to hear of his promotion to the position of assistant to the Government architect. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson are well-known members of the Basilica congregation, and have received many congratulations on the appointment. . A very succesful jumble sale was held by the Buckle Street ladies in, aid of Christmas.

.gift to -the Marist .Brothers, Tasman "Street. They certainly have, the art of jumble sales, and jumble sales are .not the easiest things. . Very Rev. : Dean Connolly r held a successful garden party recently. ... And .on Sunday last Kilbirnie parish had its Forty Hours. The sermons were preached to large congregations by Rev. Fathers Heffernan, S.M., of the missions staff, and Kaveney. Rev. Father Gregory gave his blessing in the evening to the people. Father Gregory has only recently been ordained. Everyone enjoyed greatly the play presented by the boys at St. Patrick's College , break-up last evening. Sheridan's play "The .Rivals" is a difficult thing to present ,and the acting was exceedingly good. It bespoke great things for the work behind the scenes when mere lads could play so well the parts of Mrs. Malaprop, Sir Anthony Absolute, Lucy, Bob Acres (a .most difficult part), and Sir-Lucius O'Trigger. The whole cast was excellent. The principal roles were capably sustained by E. Locke, McCarthy, Doherty, Power, Hughes, and Malfroy. The assembly hall was packed for the occasion and it rang with mirth. One sees less finished acting on the. real- boards. The Sisters of the Missions who went Homo to attend the Chapter of their Order returned home this week,. Rev. Fathers Walshe and Hanigan, C.SS.R., both well known here at St. Gerard's on the Hill, have come over for the period of ■Retreats. Retreats always bridge the Tasman and give old friends a chance of re-meeting. Napier (From our own correspondent.) November 30. On Sunday last the young communicants from the Catholic schools of Napier received their First Holy Communion at eight o'clock Mass. Prior to receiving, Father Seymour preached an inspiring little sermon to the children, emphasising the responsibilities that they were about to he' laden with, and expressed his assurance that they, as the younger foundation of the church, would always look upon this." their First Communion day, as the happiest, day of their lives. Father Seymour presided over the sumptuous Communion breakfast that followed the ceremony. . ' ' ; .''--'-' •.' ■'•' '-'"

We have with us again our esteemed friend, Mr. Frank O’Shannassy, who is looking exceedingly fit after his trip across the water, and is already hard at it with our choir getting them in good voice for the Christmas festival.

After many seasons of waiting, the youthful tennis aspirants of the parish have come into their own. The movement for the formation of a Catholic tennis club for this parish has been commenced, and, what is more, is cm the verge of completion. It only leaves a week or two for the tennis “fans” to break themselves in for the opening of this club; and it is to be hoped that, after the labor spent on this scheme that it will meet with the appropriate number of requisitions for membership. . I am pleased to see, Mr, Kevin (PHalloran’s name figuring on the committee fpr. ; this club, for he is an “old hand” at the

-racquet game/.and -his -tuitionto a large 3 number of the younger.enthusiasts will, lend ■•- great impetus to tho standard of play.that, this club hopes ,to set. ; ... ... s ''_

Palmerston North ._r (From bur own correspondent.) —i (From our own correspondent.) j December 11. Have you ever noticed how the postman's whistle, talks'? At the present time it is chirping merrily: "Christmas is coming; it will soon be here." As these notes will be the last from Palmerston North before that holy time arrives, I take this opportunity to wish all Tablet people a very happy Christmas and New Year. This is a bit of "held over" news: At our small sale of work, which was held early in November, we made £IOOO profit—amazing! We set out to have a monster bazaar " (familiar sound about that word, eh?), but it was postponed at the last minute,, and the sale of work was held instead. No one knows exactly from whence that £IOOO came; but come it did; welcome it was; and go it will. How to make money is a big problem; but how to keep money is a bigger one still. The war memorial has been erected, and one of these days we'll have an unveiling ceremony and much speech-making.;. When the site was being prepared, one of the workmen unearthed the peg that had been placed there to mark the geometrical centre of the town when it was first surveyed. Quite a fuss was made about that peg— long paragraph in the newspaper. Said a wag: "How wonderful! a peg was driven into the ground, and, after many years had passed away, a> man came along and dug it up. Now. "we are going to erect a monument to mark the place where a peg that was never lost, was found!" * During the Forty Hours' Adoration, a beautiful new cloth-of-gold cope—the gift of the Children of Mary—was used for the first time. For some months the parish has boasted a cloth-of-gold canopy; and on. Exposition days a veil of the same material hangs at the back of the monstrance. The gold of the cope, and the green carpet of the sanctuary make a very pretty picture. Then there's another new possession—thanks to a generous parishionerlinoleum for the altar hoys' and sacristans' sacristy. The priests' sacristy has had- as lino, right from. the start, but the other one did not fare so well. Recently one of our people took pity on its nakedness and covered it with a costly lino. Diocese of Auckland (From our own Correspondent.) December 9. Next Sunday, at the Church of "Our Lady i of the "Sacred Heart, will be a day of special importance in the lives of the little ones be- i longing to the parish. 'lt will be ai day when 1 the children of the district will receive their | first Holy Communion, and it will be the J first time in the history of this beautiful little edifice that such an event has been cel<]jp brated. Great preparations are being made by the good Sisters and parents of the children io..make, the day the happiest in j the lives of the first communicants. '

•: :;, - Th« Qumo Carnival,,giten by the children of Devonport to raise funds to pay off the v debt on the two towers of the local church £•£ was a very- successful and picturesque entertainment. The five competitors for queen, honors were Miss Fredatovich, Miss P. Patterson, Miss J. Beatson, Miss K. Franklin, y and Miss K. O'Malley. Miss Fredatovich was \ duly elected queen, having secured the greatest number of votes. The Rev. Father Furlong presented the queen with a gold wristlet watch on behalf of the church committee and himself. He also thanked the children for the splendid way they had worked, and told them that the . names of the chief workers were to be inscribed on a bronze tablet attached to the church. It is anticipated that over £4OO will result from the function when the whole, of the returns have been received. Mrs. Niven's "at home" at her residence in Great South Road in aid of the Remuera Church was a highly successful evening, the function being well patronised by parishioners and friends. The sum of £l6 was realised. A "card evening" and dance, which took place at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital on Wednesday last, was well attended, and proved a very enjoyable function. Miss Bastings and Mrs. O'Neill were responsible for the excellent arrangements which contributed so much to the pleasure of the guests. The grounds attached to the "Mater" were beautifully illuminated which greatly enhanced the evening's entertainment. The Sisters have purchased Mr. Dignan's residence next to the "Mater" which is to be opened as a training home for young woman who desire to qualify as nurses. Funds are now being raised to help to liquidate the indebtedness, and the garden party on Saturday should be ~\ one of the biggest functions held in Auckland. His many friends will regret to learn that owing to his continued ill-health the Rev. Father Doyle, who is in charge of the Remuera parish, has been compelled to relinquish active work for sometime to come. The Rev. Father Fahey leaves' the "Mater" very shortly to take up active parochial work, having been restored to good health. Under the will of the late Mr. W. J. Napier, the Sisters of Mercy will benefit to the extent of £SO, and a bequest has also been made to the building fund of All Souls' Church, Devonport, amounting to £SO. The annual examinations of the schools are now in progress. The Sacred Heart College presented a good number of pupils for the various tests including six candidates for the University scholarship. Waikato Notes (From our own correspondent.) Hamilton, December 10. The "All Nations" bazaar, in aid of the Frankton Junction parish funds, yielded a profit of about £3OO. The £SO tug-of-war championship resulted in a popular win for Reynolds' team, members of which have always been amongst the loyalest supporters of functions in aid of either Hamilton or Frankton parishes. The pupils of the Hamilton and Frankton Junction Convent schools held a combined picnic at Ngaruawahi&on Monday, when they

spent a most enjoyable tima in and around the delta township-.-- —-..—.„,. ....,„ , To mark the conclusion of their weekly .meetings for the season; the Hamilton Oatholio Men's Club held a pleasant 1 little social last week when the customary toast list, interspersed with musical items, was duly honored. During the summer months the club will confine its activities principally to tennis, picnics, and other outdoor amusements. . • The sixth standard pupils of the Hamilton Marist Brothers' School, all of whom gained their proficiences, were entertained to a banquet in their honor last week by Mrs. T. Grace. A sale of work and garden fete is to be held at the week-end in aid of the Hamilton parish funds. - - Diocese of Christchurch (From our own Correspondent.) December 12. Rev. Father Glover, C.SS.R., conducted the annual Retreat for the Children of Mary of the Cathedral parish. The exercises were well attended and concluded on Sunday morning by a general Communion: At Woolston on Sunday last a number of the parish children received their First Holy Communion. The congregation was exceptionally large as was also the number of adult communicants. Special hymns were sung by the newly formed children's choir, Miss E. Grennell presiding at the organ. The devotion of the Forty Hours' Adoration at the Cathedral was brought to a close on Tuesday night; Rev. Father O'Meeghan preaching the closing discourse. The Rev. Fathers Glover and McLoughlin, of the Redemptorist Order were the preachers on Sunday and Monday evenings respectively. His Lordship Dr. Brodie administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to about 20 children at New Brighton on Sunday last. The church was filled, and the Bishop delivered an appropriate address. Father O'Meeghan addressed words of welcome to the Bishop and thanked him for the great personal interest he had displayed in the parish. St. Patrick's branch of the H.A.C.B. Society held its fortnightly meeting on Monday evening last, in the Hibernian Hall. There was a good attendance, presided over by Bro. S. Doherty, B.P. Sick allowance amounting to £2O 12s 6d, was passed for payment. In this respect the sick visitors (Bros. P. Ryan and H. Nevin) are to be commended for their kind attention and devotion to duty during a prolonged winter when the list of ailing brothers had been perhaps more consistently large than at any period in the history of the branch. P.P. Bro. R. O'Brien reported on the work of the TJ.F.S. Benevolent Association as submitted at its last meeting, and entered into useful detail regarding special cases calling for relief. The members of the Association alone know the good work being done, and the various lodges affiliated may feel justly proud (he said) of the spirit of Christian charity they are fostering. The quarterly report of the U.F.S. Dispensary Board was read by the secretary (Bro. Grimes), who afterwards enlarged on

the various matters contained therein. 2 The . late manager (Mr. Ironside) having resigned the Board has appointed Mr. T. V.Grotty, . M.P.S ; ; F.S.M.C., in his stead, and a further lease for 10 years of the present premises in High-Street, has been secured. This is : con- r sidered good business and members are urged to support their own institution. The number of lodge prescriptions dispensed during the quarter was 13,088. The Hospital Bed scheme is manifesting its usefulness more r i clearly day by day, and for its purposes 9178 members and. their dependants are being catered for. The school medals donated by| the branch annually were approved of—one each to Marist Brothers, St. Joseph's (Convent), St. Mary's, Addington, Woolston, and Halswell. Accounts amounting to £lB 8s 6d were passed for payment. Timaru (From our own Correspondent.) December 10. The following passes in the practical examinations, conducted by the Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, at Tiamru, on November 30 and December 1, are announced* Lower Division (pianoforte)—Miss Madge Mclnerny (teacher, Miss D. Mason, L.A.8.). Elementary (pianoforte)—Miss N. Collonna (Mrs. G. Readie), Miss Mary Evan s (Miss D. Mason). Primary (pinaoforte)—Miss Margaret Niall (Miss R, Leeming). OBITUARY MRS. MARGARET JACKSON, DUNEDIN. Mrs. Jackson, of Leith Street, Dunedin, died at the Chalet Hospital, on Friday, December 11, after a protracted illness. Deceased, who was about sixty-three years of age at her death, was well known in Dunedin as a lady of truly apostolic zeal, and charity. The only limits to her activities for the poor and needy were her strength and resources. If ever woman spent herself in the cause of church and charity Mrs. Jackson 'did. Her charity was universal; her example was an inspiration; her life a sermon. At the Solemn Requiem— fitting mark of the respect in which she was held by the whole Catholic community— St. Joseph's Cathedral was full to the doors. The celebrant was Rev. W. Monaghan; deacon, Rev. T. Hally; subdeacon, Rev. F. McMahon; M.C., Rev. C. Evans. -. In the choir were Revs. E. Rooney and R. Marlow. m

Many non-Catholics were present at the Requiem and the funeral. Wreaths were sent by the following: Hospital Board, Social ; Workers, Salvation Army, Lady Ferguson, St, John Ambulance, Woman’s Exhibition Committee, Women’s Protection League, etc., etc. Mrs. Jackson was an indefatigable member of St. Vincent de Paul Society for over thirty years, and over a ; lengthy period, as president of St. Joseph’s Ladies’ Club, labored with extraordinary zeal and enthusiasm in the interests of Catholic girls, always manifesting a loving concern for those who, through filling occupations in the city, had to live away from their own homes.—— R.I.P. ' ' , r