Newspaper Page Text
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Diocebe of Savannah.
The Right Rev. Bishop of the Diocese
reached Thomson on Ms missionary
jonrney, on Saturday, the 9th October,
in the afternoon, and preached at night
to a large and highly respectable congre
gation, of whom the majority was mamly
composed of Protestant ladies and gen
tlemen. On Sunday morning, the 10th,
a numerous excursion party arrived from
Augusta. High Mass was celebrated by
the Rev. Father Joseph, S. 1., of Augusta.
The crowd which had assembled *to wit
ness the solemn ceremonies of the
Church and to listen to the earnest and
eloquent address of the Bishop. So
large and so dense was the crowd, that
the inevitable newspaper reporter, wo
hear, could not make an entrance into
the Court House, where the services
were held. The same evening’s crowd
anxiously awaited for the Bishop’s even
ing sermon.
On Monday night, 11th, a violent
storm and heavy rain threatened to pre
vent the assembling of the people. Not
withstanding the inclemency of the
weather, the Bishop was waited upon
and requested to preach; and to Ms
great, astonishment and delight, he met
a : large audience, some of whom had
come as far as from fourteen miles of the
Surrounding country. Arrangements
were made to build a Catholic Church in
Thomson, towards which SSOO have been
already subscribed. (See extract from
the McDuffie. Weekly Journal below.
On the 12th the Bishop visited Sparta, I
Hancock county, where he lectured.
Left Sparta on the-13th for Station No.
6, on the Central Road, where he arrived
at 3 o’clock in the morning, in company
with Father Prendergast, of Augusta.
Hence he went by carriage to States
boro, Bullock county, where he preached
to a large congregation, administered the
Holy Sacrament of Baptism to a young
lady of seventeen years, and confirmed
six persons. After which, lie travelled
to a house M the country ten miles dis
tant, preached the same evening to a
large crowd of Catholics and Protestants.
Oct. 15th.—The, Bishop went to Sta
tion No. 7, Central Road, and thence
travelled to a settlement of Germans,
ten miles off which he reached at 4 p. m.,
preached and heard confessions. These
Soor Germans had never seen a Priest in
leir settlement. Imagine, therefore,
their joy to see their Bishop amongst
them, and to hear him address them in
the language of “Fatherland.’’ • r On the
10th, the Bishop administered the Holy
Sacrament of Confirmation in the settle
ment, and left for Sylvania, Screven
county, where a large and anxious crowd
awaited him. He preached to them in
the afternoon.
On Sunday, the 17th, the Bishop at
Sylvania preached at 11 o’clock in the
morning, to a large congregation, and to
the afternoon’s sermon the concurrence
of the people was so great that the
Bishop was obliged to preach from a
balcony, the audience being seated on
the ground. The same evening he con
firmed five persons.
Everywhere the Bishop was treated
with the greatest respect and hospitality.
He has not sown seed on barren ground.
binhop <;kus*.
This learned Catholic Divine introduced
himself to our citizens on Saturday night
last in an eloquent and most excellent
sermon from the text—“ What shall it
profit a man if he gain the entire world
and yet suffer the loss of his own soul.”
He handled this subject in a dear,
consistent and forcible manner that con
vinced every one present that the geMus
of this wonderful orator had not been
over-estimated, and wdien it was announc
ed that he would, on Sunday morning,
explain the peculiar views entertained by
the Catholic Church in regard to the Vir
gin Mary, every one present expressed
a desire to hear him on that most inter
esting subject.
On Sunday an immense crowd, con
sisting mostly of members of the Catholic
Church in Augusta visited Thomson, but
as the Court-house was too small to hold
one-fourth of those who desired to hear
the Bishop, many of the visitors gener
ously gave way in order that our citizens
might hear a true version of this most
beautiful theme. At eleven o’clock there
was not standing room left unoccupied,
and the Bishop stepped forward and for
one hour and a half held the vast au
dience enthralled by his magical voice.
Many Protestants, like ourselves,
glanced at each other with looks of
mute inquiry and wonder as this wonder
ful man portrayed, not in the fanciful
colors of sophistry or metaphor, but in
the earnest language of simplicity and
truth described the purity and sublimity
of character that was pecMiar only to
the Mother of J esus. In his own peculiar
manner he described her character in
language that gave her a
“Luminous beauty as tender and faint,
As the halo of love that encircles a saint.”
not as divine, but as a child of Adam 1
and Eve as blessed among women. In
the most glowing colors he pictured her,
not as a divine, but as a human being,
the especial object of God’s love and fa
vor, and who for her sacred love for
Christ and His church had suffered the
most refined martyrdom. Step by step
did he unfold new beauties in the life of
this sainted woman—of her sufferings
in the manger at Bethlehem —of her ex
ile through Egypt, and of the trials, and
privations of the thirty years of her life
while with Christ on earth, and of the
agony that she, for his sake, endured—
spoke of her sublime suffering and of
her final triumph at the cr: ss. In a few
most sensible and practical remarks ho
endeavored to show that if it is right to
adore and reverence the Son it is but
natural that we should respect and
honor the memory of his blessed mother.
Ho then briefly alluded to the prejudice
that many honest persons have who im
agine that the Virgin Mary, or even her
image is worsMpped by Catholics, and
in the most clear and forcible manner
explained the falsity of such charges
against th ech ui cli. His sermon through
out was so clear and consistent that very
many of his Protestant hearers wondered
greatly that they had never had such
beautiful truths explained to them be
fore, and were fully convinced that the
position of the Catholic Church, in this
one particular at least, was the correct
one.
On Sunday, evening the Bishop again
spoke on the doctrine of Confession.
He first stated that no true Priest was
ever paid for confession or absolution of
sins, but when the penitent has wronged
another he must, in all case#, make a
full restitution for such injury. That it
was the doctrine of honesty. That God
himself exacted confessions and pardon
ed penitents. He said the custom was
established under the Jewish dispensa
tion, when our Saviour, as man, claimed
the power to forgive sin, and was ob
jected to only by the Scribes and Phari
sees, but that the commission given to
the Apostles and to the church to hear
confessions and to pardon sins had al
ways existed—that Christ pardoned all
who, in the true spirit, asked pardon—
that Ms Disciples did the same, and had
left with the church the same power,
which would continue to exist as long as
the church stands—that a successor in
any office, moral, legal or Divine, if wor
thy, inherits all of the power held by his
predecessor. That the custom of con
fession had never been questioned until
the 16th century, and then only by dis
senters from the new church. He spoke
of the great moral and restraining influ
ence of the confessional and of the sa
cred fidelity with which all secrets were
kept. Ho convinced all of his hearers
that the while it could do
no possible harm was, in very many in
stances, capable of doing great good.—
McDuffie Journal.
[Correspondence of the N. Y. Observer.]
JESUIT* AND THEIR WORK.
Bishop Gross is getting on with his
college. Our Alaeon folks will*yet be “as
fou as they are fond of Popery,” if we
may use a Scotticism. A little baby
tiger from the jungles of Bengal may
be a nice pet about the house; but wait
till the little animal gets its teeth and
only tastes blood, and then the tigrine
nature will show itself. Popery is a
very nice thing in Georgia at present,
and Bishop Gross is trying to popularize
it by public lectures and the mtroduc
tion of the Jesuits. Are your readers
not astonished to hear of a Protestant—
a man of wealth and intelligence too —
asking the question, Who are these Je
suits? The men who have shed seas of
the blood of thousands of Protestant
heretics in Europe, and woMd, if they
dare, murder every Protestant in Geor
gia; nay, their oath of office bmds them,
as well as the ordinary priesthood of
the Romish Church, to “oppose and
persecute all heretics from the holy
mother Church.” Oh! for another Kir
wan in Georgia!! Spain, where their
founder, Ignatius Loyola, commenced
his operations; France, where they
spread with great rapidity; Italy, where
they were alternately commended and
condemned by infallible Popes; Austria
itself, and now Prussia, have all got
| wearied of the Jesuits. Germany has
driven them out as political pests. Bri
! tain, and even Burmali and Japan, have
ino use for the Jesuits. Now we find
them seeldii, and finding a foothold in
j Georgia. Withrn four months they
have erected a church in Augusta, one
of our leading commercial cities. It is
reported that they intend foundmg an
educational institute in Augusta.
Bishop Gross was charmed with the
people of Augusta, a s a great number of
Protestant heretics went to hear his
little silly address in the theatre; and the
man, of course, supposed that that city
was a friendly field for a Jesuit mission.
A few years of the JesMts will satisfy
the people of Augusta that such a body
of ecclesiastics is no acqMsition to any
commumty.
In his efforts to popularize Popery in
Georgia, Bishop Gross has made some
changes in the priesthood. For exam
ple, he has removed Father Hamilton
from Augusta and filled the place by a
Father Prendergast, who has instituted
an evening service—vespers, with a ser
mon. TMs sermon is announced each
Sunday morning in the two city papers,
both of which are under Roman Catho
lic management. This priest has been
preachmg, or readrng extracts fir in
books, and mummefing these extracts \ |
such an inaudible maimer that he J
THE SO U THERX CROSS.
ad wel be reading in an unknown
tongue He has announced such topics
as—“ The Immaculate Conception” of
Mary; “Prayers to the Saints;” “Purga
tory;” “The Confessional;” “The Catho
lic Cht rch never has persecuted for con
science sake— e. : g., Galileo, Bio idy
Mary, Massacre of St. Bartholomew;”
&c., &\, &c. These and cognate sub
jects have drawn a few young men and
young, women to the Romish Church as
a matter of curiosity, who have listened
and left it in disgust. Such bareface
and shameless falsifications or misrep
resentaj.ions of the truth prove that
BishojjGross and his man are disposed
to dra\f very freely on the ignorance and
credulity of the people of Augusta. I
predict lie will get cured of this delusion
before ft great while.
We hjave given above, the extract from
the New* York Observer, headed “JesMts
and their work,” to exMbit to our read
ers the charity observed by Protestant
ism towards the Catholic Church, and
the ribaldry with which it is sometimes
expressed by low adherents, who dis
gust co-religionists as well
as others with attempts at wit unknown
to courtesy. In this and in preceding
numbers, we have published the minis
trations-of Bishop Gross M his Diocese,
and the uniform kindness and respect
with which he has been everywhere re
ceived by the ladies and gentlemen of
the State, and their appreciation of his
sermons and addresses in the cause of
Christianity. All unprejudiced Chris
tians, of whatever denomination, should
value the rmtiring zeal and energy which
the Bishop displays in the cause of reli
gion, ev,if.pt, of course, such mmisters
of the Gospel whose churches by their
diminished congregations, show the el
ects of the Bishops appeals. If being
“wise unto salvation ’ is being fou the
j Macon folks can smile as we do, at the
harmless wit of the would be wag of the j
Ne v York Observer: and as for “the
young tiger” amongst them, he need
not be concerned about the safety of the
Maconites, as the worst this tiger could
do, would be to break through the jun
gles of prejudice, and frighten them for
conscience sake, into the Catholic fold—
iljot of the JesMts or Bish
op Gross, who seem according to our
wag, to he the v keepers of the tiger, but
through fear of God, or dread of the
devil.
“Popery” has always been a fine thing
in Georgia, as everywhere else, and we
hope indeed and pray fervently, that
Bishop Gross and the JesMts may not
only succeed to make it popular
amongst our people, but also, loved
by all, and embraced by all, who love
the Loijd Jesus Christ and the Salvation
of their, own soMs. We are not surprised
that out “wag” should be astonished
that a “Protestant, a man of wealth, and
intelligence too, slioMd ask who are these
Jesuits.” If the gentleman desired a
sensible answer, our wiseacre was un
doubtedly not the man to be appealed
to; for to judge from what he says about
the Jesuits, the question must have in
deed confounded him; as from all he
says of them he proclaims his own pro
found ignorance of the JesMts, their
office and their oath. Verily, he needs
the tiger and an old and tough one too,
to broak through the jungles of his
brain, for of course though ribald, we
suppose him to be honest, and the Jesuits
will excuse him for his “invincible
ignorance,” as they express it. Is it not
rather assinine in this eMightened age of
ours, for somebody, following Luther or
Calvin, to prattle abont seas of blood
shed by the Jesuits ? Any school boy
grounded in the rudiments of history,
would be mortified to betray his iguor
anceby such talk. Where have Jesuits
ever shed the blood of Protestants; or
where is to be found the oath by which
theyiknd the ordinary priesthood of the
Roman Catholic Church are bound “to
oppose and persecute all heretics ?”
Perhaps it may be found M the jungles,
covered by the clown’s cap of the New
York Observer’s Georgia Kirwan. If
he is not too foolish to comprehend a
distinction, we will admit that the Catho
lic priesthood, are decidedly opposed to
all errors in matters of faith, because
with Georgia Kirwan’s kind permission,
they have a mission to preach and de
'frmi the truth, and consequently they
mV t oppose heresy, and if by doing
thaWhey cause the death of all Protest
ai &in Georgia, no jury in the country
find a verdict of wilful murder
against them.
* But joking apart, if our Kirwan de-
Lired to el wate Protestantism and belit
tle Catholicism, why did he not write
with the learmng of a scholar and the
courtesy of a gentleman ? Why de
grade Mmself by characterizing a gentle
man of acknowledged ability and unu
sual eloquence, as is Bishop Gross, as
delivering “a little silly address m the
theatre;” and why so unnecessarily as
sail the intelligence of the Protestants j
of Augusta, who, by his own admission |
went In great numbers to hear the Bish
op. It seems he had not the courage to i
say such things in Augusta, and there- j
fore fires them off in New York.
As to Father PrAdergast,whom our wag
also bespatters, we admire his zeal, and
would recommend the Observer’s corres
pondent to go and hear his lectur ?s and
not to miss a single one of them; in that
case he might learn some truths about
Gallileo,and the massacre of St. Bar thole
mews,of which he is no doubt as ignorant,
as he shows himself to be about Jesuits.
Born and reared in Savannah, the Rev
Air. Prendergast is too well known and
respected there and throughout Georgia
to be injuriously, affected by the petty
malice of a newspaper scribbler. Both
Bishop Gross and Father Prendergast
are laboring in the cause of truth, and
not strivmg for mere little triumphs at
the cost of their souls.
Does our Georgia Kirwan’s education
embrace Latin? If so he may at his
leasure translate.
“Si tacuisses Philosophies, mansisses,”
so far he has only shown that the lion’s
skin he has sought to wear does not cover
the asses ears.
The Rt. Ilev. Bishop Verot, of the Dio
cese of St. Augustine, Florida, arrived in
| this city on the 19th inst., on his horne
i ward journey from Rome. He is full of
; interestmg news from “The Eternal
I City,” and says —which we regret to
! hear, though it is not unexpected—that
j his Holiness, the Pope, exhibits signs of
old age. This venerable Prelate looks
hearty and hale in spite of his seventy
years. He will spend several days in
this city, his former residence, and we
hope will gratify the Catholics of Savan
nah by preaching next Sunday in the
Cathedral.
HEM? FUR THE JVOII jt
The festival held last night by the La
i dies of the Society of our Lady of Perpet
ual Help proved a success, we are glad
to say, so much so, that it will be con
tinued to night at Metropolitan Hall.
It is a good work, and commends itself to
the charity of every one.
Air. Alallette contributed the music of
his fine voice, and the re-union was in
every way a pleasant one.
Home Catholic News
The Cause of Total Abstinence,
which is earnestly advocated and
worked up by the Catholics of the whole
world, is gradually and surely gaining
numerous adherents, and receiving un
told blessings from Almighty God, year
after year.
Societies are organized, having for
their object the total abstinence of spiritu
ous liquors on the part of their mem
bers. Each State has its own union of
societies and their State Unions are in
turn under the direction of the National
Union. As in organization there is
strength against all dangers, so in this
powerful organization, we find strength
to combat no>v one of the deadliest ene
mies of our people, King Alcohol. The
National Convention, which assembled
on the stli inst., at Cincinnati, has
shown by its deliberations, that each
year for the past five years, the period of
the National Union’s existence, it has
been instrumental M accomplishing a
deal of good. This, the fifth Annual
Convention, was opened by a grand pro
cession, composed of about one thou
sand persons, forming the principal local
societies. Notwithstanding the un
pleasant weather, the procession marched
through the principal streets to the
Cathedral, where a solemn High
Alass was sung by Rev. J. F. Callaghan,
assisted by Rev. Thos. Conwav as Dea
con. The Alost, Rev. Archbishop Pur
cell preached the sermon, M which he
took occasion to extend his heartiest
congratulations, and to express Ms es
teem f r the uMon. He dwelt at some
length on the great crime of intemper
ance now takrng hold of all kinds of so
ciety. He spoke also of the good results
to be obtained through the union, and
closed by expressing the hope that their
members woMd continue to increase
without limit. Alass being over the pro
cession agarn formed and marched to
Alozart Hall, where the delegates assem
bled to attend to business. Rev. Pat
rick Byrne, the President, took the Chair,
and Mr. James M. O’Brien acted as Sec
retary. Addresses were made by the
Alost Rev. Archbishop, and Bishop To
ebbe, of Covington.
The Temperance Societies of St. Lou
celebrated the eighty-fourth anniversar
of the birth of Father Alathew, on last
Sunday, by a grand parade through the
principal streets of the city. The day
was fine, and thousands fined the streets
on wMch the parade was to pass, long
before the procession moved.— Western
Watchman.
Preparations have been commenced
for a grand parade of the Catholic Total
Abstmence UMon at Philadelphia next
year.
Cardinal AlcCloskey left Rome for
Paris on the 12 th inst. He will visit
Cardinal Maiming at London and Cardi
nal Cullen at Dublin. He has ordered
the handsome marble altar in Rome for
the Cathedral at New York.
Rev. Bartholomew Ghisolfi died Wed
nesday, Sept. 22nd, of yellow fever, at
East PascagoMa, Miss.
Rev. James A. Hennessy, founder and
pastor of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic
Church M Detroit, died in that city on
the 11th inst. He was a resident of
Detroit for twenty-five years and was
greatly respected by all classes.
Father Sekurz, of Kansas* intends to
erect three churches during the present
year.
Bishop Foley laid the corner-stone 4-
St. James new church, Chicago, His., on
Sunday last.
Rt. Rev. F. X. Krautbaucr, D. D.,
Bishop of Green Bay, will build the
foundation of his new' Cathedral this
fall.
A new' church has just been erected
at Gonzales, Texas.
A Catholic Church is to be built at
High Bridge; Hunterdon county, AIo.,
the corner-stone of which was brought
from Ireland.
A Chapel for the Franciscan Sisters
is being erected at Peekskill, N. Y.,
through the liberality of a Protestant
gentleman.
The Sisters of the Holy Cross have
lately established a Catholic school in
Salt Lake City. Brigham Young has
kindly offered to assist them.
The Sisters of Charity of Kansas City,
AIo., held a festival on the 16th Septem
ber raise funds to build their new
hospital. Jefferson Davis, being invited,
honored the occasion with his presence.
The Little Sisters of the Poor Hospi
tal, at Detroit, Alichigan, is under cover,
and the work of fiMshing the Mterior is
progressing finely.
A Mission to be conducted by the
Passionist Fathers, will open in St
LawrOTce OH’oolen Church, in-St. LouisJi
the 23d inst.
The Catholic Mission for Colored
People, recently held at Upper Atari
boro, near Baltimore, has proved a great
success in the numbers that attended
and the interest manifested.
A pilgrimage to the new church, Our
Lady of the Sacred Heart, at Notre
Dame, Indiana, took place last Sunday.
The pilgrims came on foot from the
Mishawaka, about five miles distant, and
made their devotions M this favored
place.
Rev. Fathers Theiss, Ebel and Hersch,
three exiled priests from Germany, have
just arrived in Baltimore.
There are now six German monaste
ries of the Franciscan order M the West,
at Teutupolis, St. Louis, Cleveland,
Memphis, Herman and Quincy.
A statue is being erected in Belgium
to Father De Smet, the devoted Ameri
can Indian missionary'.
The number of Catholic Indians M
the United States, is as follows: In the
State of Alaine there are 1,400 Catholic
Indians; in New York, 900; in Alichigan
4,000; in Wisconsin, 1,480; in Alinne
sota, 10,800; in Dakotali, 2,000; in Kan
sas, 2,800; in Montana, 7,829; in the
Indian Territory, nearly 100,000 are Cath
olic, excepting about 900 Protestants;
Arizona, 1,500; in Idaho, 700; in Wash*
ington Territory, more than 10,000; in
Oregon, 1,600; in California, more than
6,000. The Portland “Catholic Sentinel”
thinks the figures for Oregon, Washing
j ton and Idaho are not correct.
Browmson’s Quarterly Review has
been discontinued, owing to the precariv
ous health of the learned doctor. '
Foreign Catholic News.
Dr. Chatard, the esteemed Rector of
the North American College at Rome,
was appointed to be one of the Privy
Chamberlains to his Holiness.
Senor Bnenavider, the Spanish Minis
ter to the Vatican, has handed to the
Pope, the insignia of the Order of the
Golden Fleece for Cardinal Antonelli.
The Council of Toronto. — On the 30th
of September, the first Catholic Provin
cial Council of Toronto, sitting in St
Michael’s Cathedral, held its second
public session, when the following de
crees were read for the third time, in
presence of the Bishops, theologians
and the people, and passed, to be sent
to Rome: First—Adopting and pro
mulgating the Decrees of the Vatican
Council and Apostolical Constitutions.
Second—Duties and privileges of Arch
bishops. Third—On helping poor mis
sions. Fourth—Creating and distribut
ing funds for infirm priests. Fifth—On
education of clerical students. Sixth-