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AUGUST 30, 1924. THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA 7 The Ursuliue Nuns Order Founded Four and Half Centuries Ago By St. Angela Merici—Nuns Came to Labor in the Diocese of Charleston Over Ninety Years Ago. By JOSEPH J. DORNEY The Ursuliue Order was founded by St. Angela Merici, who was born in 1474 at Desenzano, Northern Italy. This high-minded woman joined to an eminent spirit of prayers and penace an extraordinary zeal for the salvation of souls, and, therefore, devoted her life to all works of charity. She became a mother to the poor and helpless. She particularly endeavored to in struct the poor and neglected chil dren in the truths of our Holy Faith. In her later years Brecia became the center of her erasable activities. Attracted by her example, zealous young women gathered around her, resolved to imitate her life of self- sacrifice. It was at Brescia, Novem ber 25, 1535, that Angela founded, with twelve companions, her Order to which she gave the name of Company of St. Ursula. Angela and her first companions did not lead a monastic life in the strict meaning of the word. They remained with their families; came together at fixed times for their de votions and spiritual conferences, and observed the rule prescribed by Angela, who also regulated their works of charity. Angela’s rule was approved by Cardinal Francis Cor- naro of Brescia, and later, in 1544 by Pope Paul III who on that oc casion, said to St. Ignatius of Loyola: “Today I have given sisters to you.” And, indeed, the similarity between the Jesuits and Ursulines have been pointed out by writers of the latter Order. r St. Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, having heard of the suc cessful work of the Ursulines at Brescia, asked for and obtained from the Bishop of Brescia twelve Ursulines for his own Archdiocese in 1568. It is his merit to have in troduced the community life iti the Institute of St. Angela. Since that time the Ursulines have made the three religious vows. A new appro bation by Pope Gregory XIII in 1572 sanctioned this change. Now the Order spread quickly in Northern Italy and in 1594 the first Ursuline convent was founded in France. While Angela and her companions practised all the different works of charity, the Order soon regarded the education of girls as its special field. Until that time this great task had, in general, been left en tirely to the mothers. The Ursuline Order is the first that established schools and boarding houses in order to give girls an education and instruction adequate to the needs and exigencies of practical life. It is not surprising that the principal cities of France vied with one an other in securing a convent of Ursu lines and the number of communi ties increased with every year. They followed the rules and customs of their mother houses. hut each house became independent. In accordance with the decrees of the Council of Trent, the houses of St. Ursula were changed into clois tered monasteries, Paris leading in the transformation in 1612. Soon the need of changing the rules be came obvious. The constitutions of Paris and Bordeaux, France, became best known and were most widely adopted by the other houses. Both are based upon the rule of St. Au gustine, the prescriptions of St. Angela and the Constitutions of St. Ignatius. They differ only slightly. Meanwhile the Order spread to Belgium, England. Germany, Austria and Ireland. America, too, was to share the blessings of the Institute of St. Angela, through the Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation, one of the greatest glories of the Order and often called the St. Theresa of the New World. From the Ursuline convent of Tours, France, Mother Mary led several Nuns to Quebec, Canada, in 1639, whepe they devoted themselves'to the education of chil dren of the Indians as well as those of the French colonists. Later from Quebec Ursulines went to Cuba and Mexico. In the past century French Ursulines established houses in Ohio and Michigan, while Nuns from Hungary and Bavaria founded the convent at St. Louis and that of East Morrisania, near New York. In the course of time the little seed planted by St. Angela had de veloped into a mighty tree, spread ing its branches far and wide. One of these branches is the Congrega tion of Calvarienberg near Ahr- weiler. It traces its descent from Liege, Belgium, a monastery affili ated with Bordeaux, France. From Calvarienberg in 1900, came Ursu lines to the Diocese of Bismarck, in North Dakota, where they were placed in charge of the parochial schools at St. Anthony. N. D., and Strasbourg, N. D. In 1912 the Sis ters opened St. Agnes School, Ken- mare, Ward County, N. D., which also is their novitiate. There are numerous Ursuline con vents throughout the country, some of them affiliated with European mother house and some independent, practically all of them conducting schools and academies of their own or teaching in parish schools. Among the better known of the Ursuline convents and novitiates are the fol lowing: Ursuline Convent, Brown County Ohio; Ursuline Convent and Academy. 2112 South 12th Street, St. Louis, Mo. Convent of the Im maculate Conception, 3115 -Cherokee Drive, Louisville, Ky.; St. Joseph's Ky.; Ursuline Convent, 2413 Col- lingswood Avenue, Toledo, O : St. Ursula Convent. 1339 East McMillan Street, Cincinnati, 0., and Ursuline Convent, 198tli Street and Marion Avenue Bedford Park, New York City. The Ursuline Nuns conduct the Ursuline Convent and Academy of the Immaculate Conception in Co lumbia. S C. and the Ursuline Acad emy of the Sacred Heart in Green ville, S. C. The Ursuline Nuns came to South Carolina ninety years ago. in the days of Bishop John England, the first Bishop of Charleston. The oldest educational institution in the United States still existing was founded by the Ursu line Nuns in New Orleans. u The World” and Evolution The Brooklyn Tablet Comments on New York Paper’s Criticism of Action of Georgia State Legislature. Evolution Not an “Undisputed Fact.” What’s in a Name? From the Baltimore Cath olic Review. “What’s in a name?” That is what the poet once asked. There is much in a name if one is to judge from a perusal of the list of members of the American hierarchy. The announcement of the appoint ment of Monsignor Francis C. Kelley to the episcopal see of Okla homa City led us to read over the list of archbishops and bishops in this country. We found that: His Eminence, William Cardinal O’Connell is archbishop of Boston; the Right Rev. Denis J. O’Connell is bishop of Richmond. The Most Rev. Michael J. Curley is archbishop ' of Baltimore; the Right Rev. D. J. Curley is bishop of Syracuse. The Right Rev. William A. Hickey, is bishop of Providence and the Right Rev. Thomas F. Hickey is bishop of Rochester. The Right Rev. M. J. Hoban is bishop of Scranton; the Right Rev. Edward F. Hoban, auxiliary bishop of Chicago. The Right Rev. Rev. Edmund M. Dunne is bishop of Peoria, 111., and the Right Rev. John J. Dunn, auxil iary bishop of New York. The Right Rev. Francis W. Howard is bishop of Covington, Ivy.; the Right Rev. Edward W. Howard, bishop of Davenport. The Right Rev. Edward D. Kelly is bishop of Grand Rapids; the Right Rev. F’rancis C. Kelley, bishop- elect of Oklahoma City. There were, until recently, two bishops in this country by the name of Walsh—the Right Rev. Louis S. Walsh of Portland, Maine, and the Right Rev. Thomas J. Walsh, bishop of Trenton. Bishop Louis Walsh died a few weeks ago. The Right Rev. Edmund F. Gib bons, bishop of Albany, was con secrated bishop of that see two years before the death of Cardinal Gibbons. The Position of Catholics Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia Correct Pub lished Misstatements About Catholics Made by Georgia Non-Catholic Minister in Sermon. The Moultrie Observer, the Americus Times Recorder and the Macon Telegraph published in their columns late in July an account of a sermon by a Moultrie, Ga., minister in which there were several misstatements about Catholics and their beliefs. The Catholic Lay men’s Association of Georgia sent the following letter to the editors, and they did Catholics the justice of printing it in these columns: Liturgical Melodies Syrian and Chaldean The pending action of the Georgia Legislature in excluding from State support any school espousing the doctrine of evolution aroused the ire of the New York “World.”_StiH holding to its pleasing !it«-ary style it takes a most untenable posi tion. For the “World” it is incred ible that “any body of mature citi zens of the United States could seri- ‘‘ously dispute the scientific explana tion of the origin of species.” For any student who has studied the arguments for, and against evolution it' is laughable that such a matter should be adjudged the concern of “mature citizens.” If anything, it is strictly a scholar’s problem w.ich the average citizen must take on faith as to its solution. We have not taken it upon our selves to justify the course of Georgia in legislating on a matter which other States have passed over in silence. We do join other men and women ot Christian educa tion and views who show amazement at the statement of a big metropol itan daily that the question of evolu tion is beyond dispute. It certainly js within the limit of serious and pronounced dispute from our ac counts of present day education. The shortest acquaintance in the . lecture room with the professors who teach evolution would convince the open-minded that these leaders of “university thought” are framing their concept of the world and its parts in a skeleton that dethrones God from consideration. It is just one of the vital points that have led the Catholic Church to insist on our women and men receiving their philosophy of 1 fe in a Catholic aud Christian surrounding, where it is not forgotten that God exists and has parts in every explanation of the universe that is sound. “The World” might have told its widening reading public that while Christian thinkers are'one in oppo sition to that form of evolution which knows not God they _are di vided among themselves whether the rich variety of species ;r. the reah-n of plant- animal and human life has come to pass through a process of. direct creation or through a gradual unfolding from one or a few' orig inal forms. Since the arguments, marshalled for either side, are grave and worthy of men and women of talent, the matter cannot be sounu- Iy held to have reached the posi tion of “scientific explanation.” It is the safer and the truer view of the question to consider it still in the stage of a theory that evolution explains the variety of spei 's that might be seen through afi cU’erva- tion of life in this world. It. would be* well for Catholics to insist that the truth demands this position and to rid the newspaper, magazine and even schoolroom sphere of the am bitious claim that evolution, even »Christain evolution is now acknowl edged as a fact by all persons of advanced education. The author of the above titled work (in the French Language), Dom J. Jeannin, O.S.B., visited the Orient many times with the inten tion of recording by notation the Syrian and Chaldean melodies which up to that time, were transmitted by oral tradition. Besides the two volumes which will contain about 1500 liturgical pieces offered to the public, the work will include a third volume in the form of an Intro duction- wherein may be studied Syrian music alone as well as by means of comparison with the Oc cidental music, Gregorian and mod ern. This erudite contribution to lit urgical literature is edited by E. Laroux, 28, Rue Bonaparte, Paris and is to be priced at 60 francs the volume, first volume to be issued about September. Among the problems examined and to which the author brings forth a new solution, let us cite that of the origin of the modern major and minor. Heretofore, we saw this origin through the Gregorian art in the Greek-Latin art. D. Jeannin, on the contrary, proves that this origin must be found in the autoch thon oriental traditions. Another problem of greater im portance and of more serious and more lengthy study is that of Gre gorian rhythm. After having proved that trom its origin the liturgical melody of the Orient knew a true measure, the author, basing him self on the manuscripts of the best epoch as well as on the texts of the mediaeval musicologists, con cludes without the least hesitation that Gregorian measure existed but as a measure differing greatly from that put forth by' various mensural systems up to this time. We may ask: How could the School o‘f Solesmes, whose influence is so wide-spread in the entire world, par ticularly' in • America, have made false routes in the interpretation of the paleographic decouments pub lished? The answer may be given m a few words. This school has considered most frequently the signs of elongation of the manuscripts as simple variations of value, while Dom Jeannin proves the significa tion of this lengthening. ' This leads us to this conclusion: The Gregorian rhythm i£ essentiallv based on an alternacy of long and short notes. From this short statement one can easily* infer the great interest liturgical students may find in Dom Jeannin’s work. It is highly signi ficant to state that the subscrip tions for the publishing of this monumental work are head'ed by the following: The Sovereign Pontiff, 15,000 lires. Government of France, 3,500 francs. Oriental Institute. 3500 francs. Mr. John Stoddard (America), 8900. Every large library should be the proud possessor of this valuable and learned effort. DOM W1LARD BOURILLIERS, . O.S.B., M.A., L.M. Organist, Belmont Abbey Cathe dral, Belmont, N. C. To the Editor: Two statements in the sermon of Rev. Dr. Binns published in your columns July 25, bearing on the at titude of Catholics toward Ameri can institutions, should be correct ed. While the reverend speakers state ments regarding the belief of Ca tholics in respect to forgiveness of sin, mediation, infallibility and such doctrines are both inadequate an in accurate, they may be passed over; if Catholics are satisfied with their beliefs in these matters. non-Cath- olics should be satisfied without them. The two statements which call for corrections affect the relations of Catholics toward their fellow-citi zens who are not Catholics. They are as follows: “The Catholics believe in union of church and state where the pope shall exercise authority over civil matters . . . The Catholics believe that the public school sys tem should be abolished.” Neither of these statements is true. As to the first, the true posi tion of Catholics is based on the Constitution of Christian States as follows. “Almighty God has appointed the charge of the human race between two powers, the ecclesiastcal and the evil, the one being set over divine and the other over human things. Each one has fixed limits within which it is contained and each in its sphere a supreme. Whatever is of of a sacred character, whatever be longs either of its own nature or by reason of the end to which it is referred, to the salvation of souls or to the worship of God, is subject to the power and judgment of the church. Whatever is to he ranged under the civil and political order is rightfully subject to the civil authority.” As to the second, there is no more warrant in saying that Catholics op pose the public schools than there is for saying that the denomination of Rev. Dr. Binns, the Baptist, op poses them, as these statements from The Western Recorder, one of the oldest and best known Baptist weeklies in the country, in its ed ucational number of 916, must show: “Secularism is a failure. It has been tried in the balance and found wanting . . . God never spoke more urgently to the Israelites than He is speaking to us today to go forward in the matter of denomina tional educaton.” “It is a shame to let our children grow up and come out of educa tional institutions without a con science. The education that fits only for this world must dies, and bring ruin upon the world tself in the end.” “Do I want my boy to go out in to the world nothing but an educat ed fool, a blatant unbeliever, a fool ish agnostic? Or with the simple Christian faith he learned in the home, rounded out and developed into stalwart Christain integrity? Whejj will we ask the question on bended knees before God, and learn that the positive inevitable answer is, we must do more than we have ever done for our denominational schools? ’ “The moral or spiritual sense, ne glected or perverted, is no longer a reflecton of the divine mind and the education guilty of this sin is the wickedest functioning agency in the world.” “The heathen never contemplated education apart from religion . . . and the most startling trend of reli gion and political liberty in modern times, is to break from God in ed ucation and this religion out of this great department of life.” “In all education, whether in the home or school, the religious ele ment ought to pre-dominate. The obligation to educate religiously is upon us. TO do ths denominational schools have to be planted.” More recently, on July 20, 1922, we find the following in The West ern Recorder: “Let these words sink Into the hearts of our people. This alone justifies separate denominational schools—they generate a spiritual atmosphere. Public schools never have and never will—in the nature of the case they cannot—generate such an atmosphere. Baptist parents may ignore this distinction think ing it fanciful, but they will pay the penalty for their lack of dis cernment in the frozen hearts of their sons and daughters. Contrary to common belief, the public school is too narrow in its scholastic pol icy. It neglects the most important part of the student. To develop a physical and mental giant with a dwarfish soul is to turn loose upon society a human monstrosity.” Very truly yours, RICHARD REID, Publicity Director Catholic Laymen s Association of Georgia. Augusta, Ga., August 5, 1924. Catholic Symbols and Customs The Episcopal Vestments By Rt. Rev. Msgr. H.T. Henry, Litt.D. The vesting of a bishop for the to have their feet “shod with the celebration of solemn Mass is a. lengthy and, to the eyes of an ordi nary congregation, a complicated ceremony. It is not the purpose of this paper to describe the ceremony but merely to mention the vest ments employed and to comment briefly on the symbolism sometimes conferred upon them. Some of the vestments, like the buskins, sandals, gloves, are quite obviously things having a discernibly utilitarian char acter, while others, such as the tunic and dalmatic, represent, in their present form and ornamentation, many centuries of liturgical evolu tion. Durandus Bishop of Mende in Languedoc in the Thirteenfh Cen tury, summarizes well the general intent of such distinctive vestments, for the bishop who is to celebrate Mass puts off his everyday clothes and puts on garments “pure and holy,” blessed and specifically dedi cated to holy functions. Six vestments are common to priest and bishop. These are: amice, all), cincture, maniple, stole, and chasuble. The tunic is the dis tinctive outer garment of the sub deacon, and the dalmatic is the distinctive outer garment of the deacon. All the sacred orders find their representation in the vest ments of the bishop in one or other of his functions. The six priestly garments have been al ready described in a previous paper, and we shall concern ourselves here only with the others. Stockings Never Black The Buskins or Stockings, of silk and sometimes ornamented, follow the color of the feast or season, but are never black—although buskins founds in the tomb of Pope Boni face VIII were black. The Sandals recall the warning of St. Paul to the Ephesians (6:15) preparation of the Gospel of peace.” Durandus thinks the feet typify the affections, which must be kept free from the stains of this world and checked (as by sandals) from pur suit of forbidden things; and as the right hand represents prosperity and the left adversity, the right sandal is put on first to show that one must run with alacrity to with stand the greater danger of pros perity. The Tunic is worn under the dal matic. Its symbolism is perceived in the words used by the bishop when investing^the subdeacon: “May the Lord clothe thpe with the tunic of joy and the garment of re joicing.” The Dalmatic finds its symbolism similarly expressed at the investing of the deacon at ordination: “May the Lord clothe thee with the gar ment of salvation and with the vesture of praise, and may He cover thee with the dalmatic of righteous ness forever.” It follows the color of the-chasuble. Durandus finds it symbolic of piety and self-mortifica tion. Gloves Only For Dignitaries The Gloves were at one time com- • mon to both priests and bishops. They are now appropriated to bishops and cardinals and can be worn also but only with a special papal privilege, by abbots and some other ecclesiastical dignitaries. The gloves are to have the same color as the chasuble. Sometimes they are highly ornamented. -Durandus finds in them a reminder that the left hand is not to know what the right hand doeth (Matt. 6:3): and in the occasional removal of the gloves (for example at the washing of the hands at Mass), an intima tion that good works are to be hidden at times in order to avoid vanity and are to be manifested at times for neighborly edification. The Mitre is of sufficient general interest to merit a special bri*#^ paper devoted to it exclusively.