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Correspondence.
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bene oolnmne, bnt we cusot hold onruelvee reepon
sibUi for the eptniona herein expresMd.
11l commnnlcathjne of an editorial character should
he addreaeed to the editor*, who cannot undertake to
return rejected manuscripts.
No anonymous letters can be inserted unless the
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•netoesd.
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH.
tit. Patrick’s Cburrb.
At Vespers in this Church, on Sunday
evening last, Rev. S. Donelly, a youthful
priest from Boston, Mass., preached a
very interesting and instructive sermon
on the life and character of St. Joseph,
the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
and Foster Father of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.
Anew magnificent marble Altar for
the new Cathedral has arrived from
Baltimore. Mr. Mullen, of the firm of
Mullen & Son, is putting it up. This
beautiful piece of workmanship is of
pure Italian marble; it will be twenty
six feet in height, and it will form one of
the principal attractions of the grand
now Church.
The doors, pews, communion railing
and the episcopal throne will arrive in a
few days. From this, it appears that
the interior finish of the Cathedral is
rapidly approaching completion.
From Augusta and other places ap
plications have already been sent in for
seats for the occasion of the consecra
tion of the Cathedral.
Visitors to the new Cathedral will not
be admitted any more until its opening
for divine worship, except on business
or by special permission.
Receiving (lie Habit at the Isle of Hope.
On Sunday last, feast of St. Joseph,
the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Savannah, ac
companied by Rov. A. Lechner, went to
the Isle of Hope to give the habit to a
postulant of tbe Ord?r of St. Benedict.
Before High MasSjfthe Rt. Rev. Bishop
addressed a few ''appropriate remarks
4s.the audience, iLad Rev. Dorn. Bergier,
of St Benedi<st>fsresented the postulant,
Mr. D. Enright, fro m Limerick, (Ire-1
lMd.-)h..jSliofet‘Rev. B&hop gave him
the habit and the name of Dom. Greg
ory. After the first Benedictine Pope;
High Mass was sung by the Rev. Dom.
Bergier. After the Communion the
Novice was invested with the scapular
of the Order.
During High Mass, the Rt. Rev.
Bishop delivered an impressive sermon
on the Pope, wherein His Lordship
proved that without a head the Church
could not exist. Many of our Protest
ant friends were moved by the eloquence
of our Rt Rev. Bishop.
At 4 o’clock p. m., Vespers were sung,
and the large audience was gratified by
another senuon by His Lordship, on Pur
gatory. After the sermon, Benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament was given by
Father Lechner, and all returned to the
city, pleased with their excursion to wit
ness the imposing ceremony. We wish
the good Benedictine Father’s many
Novices for their ancient Order of St
Benedict, which has done so much for
religion and civilization.
On Tuesday last, Feast of St. Bene
dict, Rev. Dom. Bergier, sung High
Mass, in the Chapel of the Monastery.
St. Patrick s Day In Savannah.
The Irish in Savannah contributed
their full share of honor and rever
ence to tho great Apostle to whom they
owe their faith. Though centuries have
roiled by, kingdoms and empires have
tottered and fallen, rulers and warriors,
whose voices made the earth tremble,
and whose smiles were valued as king
doms, have passed away, and no mention
of their existence can be found, save
same worm-eaten folio of history, though
ail this has fallen victim to the merciless
destroyer of the “prowdest works of
man” Bince the great Apostle of Ireland
was laid to sleep in the bosom of Erin,
his memory is still as green in the breasts
of her sons and daughters as the hills
of Ireland, pure and living as the
limpid waters of .her streams, fertilizing
to the faith as the overflow of her rivers
to her banks and green meadows. The
ish heart is too full of gratitude, the
jpreciation of that peerless gem of
nth too just to forget the one who
handoned country and friends, made
many sacrifices, endured so many
joOt and suffered so many hardships to
adorn with that pearl, the brow of Erin.
Her children scattered over the uni
verse, from North to South, from. East to
West, might gather round the green flag
to pay a tribute to the memory of many
a generous-hearted patriot, to many a
brave soldier, to commemorate great
feats of valor or some hard fought bat
tles of her sons; they might fill the air
with, and bid the breezess waft to the
ends of the earth, the praises of a
Boroihme or an O’Neill, a Sarsfield or an
OConneU, and entertain a just pride
that Irish blood flows in their veins; but
no, the saint before the soldier, the cross
before the sword, for the Irish heart.
That faith has cost them too dearly to
give it only a second place in their
breasts. The Irish in America know too
well with what jealousy their forefathers
strove for its preservation that it might
be transmitted to their children unblem
ished and as fresh as St. Patrick him
self had given it.
To do honor to the great Saint, on
his feast, the different societies turned
out in large numbers, vieing with each
other as to who should present the
grandest appearance. Such indeed
was.their success, that Patrick’s Day never
beheld in Savannah so many stalwart
men assembled for its celebration. One
might spend the day in some of the larger
cities of the North or West, even in
New York, and be struck with the
colossal dimensions of its procession,
but he would fail to perceive that order
and compactness which characterized
the procession here, and of which its
participants might feel proud.
At eight o’clock in the morning the
several societies assembled on South
Broad street, and under the command of
Grand Marshal James G. Reynolds
marched to the residence of the Bishop
of Savannah, for the purpose of escort
ing him and the Rev. Clergy to St.
Patrick’s Church. The procession was
there formed in the following prder:
1. Savannah Volunteer Guards’ Band.
2. Irish Jasper Greens.
3. Carriages with the Bishop and
Clergy.
4. St. Vincent de Paul Society.
5. Father Mathew’s T. A. B. Society.
6. St. John the Baptist T. A. B. So
ciety.
7. St. Patrick’s T. A. B. Society.
8. The Sodalities of the Cathedral
and St. Patrick’s parishes.
Upon the arrival of the procession
at St. Patrick’s’ the Church was found
to be filled to overflowing with ladies
and gentlemen anxious to witness the
grand and solemn ceremonies of the
day. Room, however, was quickly made
for the several societies.
The Jasper Greons, numbering sixty
one, were drawn up in line in front of
the Sanctuary, and added not a little to
the eclat as well as the solemnity of the
ceremonies, under the command of the
following officers: Captain, John Flan
nery; Ist Lieutenant, Peter Reilly;
‘2nd Lieutenant, James McGrath;
2nd Lieutenant, Jr., E. J. Kennedy.
After the large congregation was
Beated, as far as possible, and perfect
order prevailed, the solemn and impres
sive ceremonies of the occasion com
menced, the Rt. Rev. Bishop assisting
PontificaUy, in cope and mitre, with
Verry Rev. M. Culhnan and Rev. F. J.
Miller, assisting deacons; Rev. L. Bazin,
celebrant; Rev. J. A. Kelley deacon;
Rev. H. J. McNallj, sub-deacon; and
Rev. A. Leckner, master of ceremonies.
The mass selected for the occasion
was von la Hache’s Missa pro pace, to
which the choir did full justice, and in
which Miss Brooks took the principal
part. St. Patrick seemed to have infus
ed anew spirit into the organ through
the finger’s of Mrs. Brooks, the com
petent organist.
After the Gospel, the Rt. Rev. Bishop
delivered a panegyric of St. Patrick in
his usual eloquent and impressive style.
He commenced by making the remark
that he supposed all his hearers were
familar with the life of St. Patrick, and
therefore he should only make allusions
to it: He said that no doubt, if,
when Si Patrick was a poor boy and a
slave in a strange land, an angel had
appeared to him, and told him of his
glorious triumphs as a missionary of
the cross, and of the honors that awaited
him for generations to come, he would
have supposed him to be a lying
spirit in disguise.
He then went on to describe the trials
and tribulations, as well as the glorious
THE SO mtEBN CROSS.
and triumphant success of St Patrick
as a missionary.
While a poor boy and a slave he
learned to love and admire the noble
generosity of the hearts of the Irish
people, although they were then envel
oped in the Egyptian darkness of idol
atry, and no sooner had he escaped
from slavery, than he determined to
prepare himself for the priesthood, and
to spend his life as a missionary among
the Irish people. After years of patient
study and training, he was consecrated
Bishop,and authorized by the Holy Father
to proceed to Ireland, and endeavor to
induce that noble and generous people
to abandon their idols and embrace the
Christian religion. He went there with
his life in hia hand, with a firm purpose
of sacrificing it, if necessary, in the cause
of his Divine Master; but he converted
the whole nation without the shedding
of a single drop of human blood. What
a noble tribute to the intelligence and
native generosity of the Irish people!
The history of the world does not fur
nish another instanoe of the conversion
of a whole people without the sacrifice
of the lives of numerous missionaries of
the cross.
The Bishop then described with great
clearness and force the results of the
teachings of St. Patrick, the enemies of
Christianity might rob the Irishman of
his money, of his property, burn his
house, and drive himself and his family
into exile, and even rob him of his life;
but they could never rob him of the holy
faith instilled into the minds and hearts
of his ancestors. Another of the results
of the teachings of St. Patrick is the
proverbial purity of the Irish women,
recognized in every civilized communi
ty throughout the world.
As to the honors which have been
accorded to the name of St. Patrick, the
Bishop referred to the fact that more
than thirteen hundred years after his
death, there is scarcely a city or town of
any importance in the civilized world, in
which there is not a Catholic Church,
bearing his name, and that in the city
of New York, at the present time, there
is in process of destruction, and rapidly
approaching ceppletidu, ft Cathedral
named St. Patriot, which will far exceed
in magnitude and architectural beauty,
any Church edifice on the continent of
America, and that the erection of all these
these Temples for the worshipof Almighty
God, is chiefly due to the liberality
of Irish men and Irish women.
The above is only an imperfect out
line of the address of the Bishop, which
could only be justly appreciated by those
who had the pleasure of hearing it.
Shortly after the conclusion of the
services in the Church, the civic proces
sion was formed under the direction
of Grand Marshal John A. Feuger and
his aid, John W. Reilly, in the following
order:
1. Hibernian Brass Band.
2. Irish Jasper Greens.
3. Hibernian Society.
4. Irish Union Socitey.
5. Benevolent Asso
ciation.
(j. Carriages containing clergy.
7. Savannah Volunteer Guards’ Band.
8. St. Patrick’s T. A. B. Society.
9. Father Mathew’s T. A. B. Society.
10. St. Vincent de Paul L. and B. So
ciety.
11. St. John the Baptist T. A. B. So-
ciety.
The procession thus formed passed
down South Broad street to East
Broad street, thence to Bay street, pas
sing in review at the Exchange before
the Mayor and Aldermen of the city,
where an immense crowd of people were
assembled to witness the proceedings.
After passing through the several
principal streets the procession came
to a halt at Chippewa square, where
the Jasper Greens fired a salute in a
manner which would have done credit
to the most thoroughly drilled regular
troops in this or any other country, after
which the procession was dismissed.
In the opinion of numerous old citi
zens the procession was the most
numerous and imposing which has ever
occurred on St Patrick’s Day in Savan
nah.
Rous, Ga., March 20th, 1876.
Editor Southern Cross :
Last Friday night a most solemn and
impressive oeremony was witnessed at
St Joseph’s Church, Dalton. The pas
tor, Rev. Joseph F. Colbert, erected the
“Stations of the Cross.” The atten
dance was very large, notwithstanding
the imclemency of the weather. The
Stabet Mater, which was on this occasion
heard for the first time in North Geor
gia, was nicely rendered.
I trust that Father Colbert will soon
perform the same ceremony in Rome,
for our Church foundation is already
completed, and when the work begins I
trust funds will not be wanting to the
carrying out of his grand and glorious
designs. Spectator.
St. Patrick’s Day in Atlanta.
Atlanta, Ga., March 21st, 1876.
Editor Southern Cross:
Dear Sir —Believing that a few items
about the manner in which the Irishmen
and Catholics celebrated the anniversary
of St. Patrick would be acceptable to
your readers, I concluded to write you a
brief account of it The different organiz
ations assembled at the corner of Broad
and Marietta streets at 9 o’clock A. M.
and proceeded to the church in the fol
lowing order: Cleburne Rifles, Capt R.
C. Young; Hibernian Benevolent Society,
President, John H. Flynn; St. Patrick’s
T. A. B. Society, President, Joseph
Gatins, and the Catholic Benevolent,
President, Dr. Spaulding. Mass was
celebrated by the Rev. Father O’Reilly,
after which he delivered a beautiful
panegyric on the life of the saint The
procession then reformed and marched
through the principal streets of the city.
It was the largest procession ever seen
in this city upon St Patrick’s Day. This
was the first appearance in public of the
Cleburne Rifles since procuring their
new uniforms, which is considered by
military men the finest in the State. It
was also the first parade of the Catholic
Benevolent Society. This society de
serves especial mention. It has dis
pensed its charity with a liberal hand
during this winter. I have never heard
of a single needy Catholic applying to
them for relief but have received it. The
Hibernian Benevolent Society was or
ganized in 1866. This society is the
wealthiest in the city. The St. Patrick’s
T. A. B. Society was organized in No
vember, 1874. They made a fine appear
ance with their new regalia and beauti
ful banner.
There was no oration delivered this
year, owing to the illness of Mr. M. P.
Carroll, of Augusta, who had consented
to deliver it After the adjournment of
the parade, the St Patrick’s Total Ab
stinence and Benevolent Society pro
ceeded to their hall for the purpose
of electing officers to serve during the
ensuing year. The following are the officers
chosen: Joseph Gatins, President; W. H.
Fifer, Vice-President; M. N. Blount,
Secretary; P. F. Clarke, Financial Secre
tary; William Gleason, Treasurer; Hugh
Lynch, Marshal ;John Farley, Sergeant-at-
Arms; James O’Donohou, Banner Bearer;
Thomas Nunan, John J. Callaghan and
P. D. Whelan Board of Directors. The
Society is in a prosperous condition,
many new membershaving been admitted
during the past year, and everything
promises well for its future prosperity.
‘•Novus Home.”
St. Patrick’s Day in Charleston.
Emblematical of the glorious light of
Faith the great Apostle brought to the
once dark land of the ‘Emerald Isle,’ the
bright light of day broke out on tt e
17tli, and shed its warm and welcome
influence ever the sons and daughters of
St. Patrick in Charleston.
Early in the morning the happy smile j
and cheerful word greeted you on every |
side. The streets were soon glittering
with the flash of the regalia and the
sweet shamrock, shining on the sons of
Ireland like that sweet green Isle on the
bosom of the waters.
It was a lovely day—a day to make
an old man young again—and the bright
sun and the blue sky and the glittering
flags and all seemed to say “Cead mille
failthe” “a hundred thousand welcomea”
The Cathedrae.— At half past ten a. m.,
the Cathedral Chapel was thronged with
the various companies and societies
which were to take part in the procession.
A large number of the faithful were
present; but many, owing to the vast
concourse assembled within, were obliged
to stand without
The service commenced soon after
ten o’clock. Rev. Father Quigley was
celebrant; Father Gore, of St. Peter’s,
deacon, and Father Twigg, sub-deacon.
Father H. Northrop was Master of
Ceremonies, and the Rev. Father J. H.
Turner, Vicar-General of the Diocese of
Brooklyn, and Father Croghan, assistants.
The oration was delivered by the Rev.
Claudian Northrop, Pastor of St Mary’s.
He chose his text from the 44th Chapter
of Ecclesiastics, from the Ist to the 15th
verse, and had he searched the whole
Bible, he would not have found one more
opposite for the eulogy of the great
Apostle, “to the man of renown—the
man of mercy, whose posterity is a holy
inheritance, whose children remain for
ever, who ruled over the people, and by
the strength of wisdom instructed the
people in most holy words.”
The orator gave a succinct but very
beautiful outline of the Saint’s life, from
his captivity fro his glorious death: “pre
cious in the sight of God."
March ajtk, 1876.
He spoke in terms eloquent enough to
captivate the heart of iron, of the read
iness with which the Irish nation, almost
as one man, bowed their intellects and
warm hearts to the Faith of St Patrick.
That Faith had never died out of the
Irish nation, but had seemed to have
grown brighter and stronger by the very
things which have, in the case of other
nations, tended to put it out or to render
it feeble.
The three hundred years in which
Irishmen were fighting the Dane had no
demoralizing effect on the grand religious
heart of St. Patrick’s children; and, to
day, after years of cruel oppression,
tyrannical laws, exile, poverty and a
thousand other evils inflicted by a con
quering nation, they are as still strong
in their Faith as their forefathers were
on the field of Clontarf.
He spoke of the virtue of hope that
had buoyed up the unflinching and brave
souls that could, even with despair open
ing lijje an abyss before them, hope on,
and see the fair star of victory shining
in the future.
He spoke in glowing language of De
land’s charity, visible in its love for its
neighbors, in its well-known hospitality
to the stranger, in its willingness to as
sist and befriend the suffering and op
pressed.
He eulogized the wondrous and beau
tiful purity of Ireland’s daughters—-a
purity taught then by the virginal bps of
St. Patrick fifteen hundred years ago.
He brought this beautiful and eloquent
oration to a close by counseling his
audience never to stain the Irish name,
but to be true to God, themselves, and
the noble country that had opened its
broad arms to receive and welcome them.
The discourse was listened to with
great attention; and though it was long,
no one manifested any desire for the
orator to conclude, —a sign that his
words went home to the hearts of all his
hearers.
After the Mass the procession was
formed, consisting of the Irish Rifle
Club, commanded by Lieut. J. F. Walsh;
Irish Volunteer Rifle Club, commanded
by Capt. Phil Fogarty; Irish Volunteers,
commanded by Lieut. James Cosgrove;
The Montgomery Guards, commanded
by Captain A. G. Magrath.
The procession marched through the
principal streets of the city, and made
a very fine and imposing display.
The “Day of days” was concluded
by a grand supper at the Hibernian
Hah, Meeting street, at which appropriate
toasts were uroposed and responded to
by some of the leading gentlemen of
Charleston.
Thus ended St. Patrick’s Day in this
“City by the Sea;” a day which we trust,
by its brightness and its beauty and its
thousand nameless things, has served to
knit and bind together in a closer bond
the children of the “far-off green Isle
of the Ocean,” and of the Saint that
once trod upon its sands and taught
them the glories of the Catholic Faith.
Charleston.
The Irish Element in the States.
The Hon. William E. Robinson, of
Brooklyn, lectured last week on, ‘The
Irish Element in the United States,’ in
Peekskill, N. Y. for the benefit of the
House of the Good Shepherd. He claim
ed a very high position for the Irish in
this country, showing that the leading
generals, statesmen, merchants etc., who
supported Washington were Irishmen
and their sons, among them Barry,
Butler, Carroll, Dunlop, Finley, Hand,
Irving, Knox, Lyncfi, Livingston,
McKean, Meade, Moore, Noylan Mont
gomery, Nixon, O’Brien, PoUock, Read,
Ramsey, Rutledge, Sullivan. Stark,
Stewart, Thompson, Taylor, Thornton
and Wayne. He showed, what is now
generally known, that the family of Liv
ingston, perhaps the most distinguished
Revolutionary American family, were
all descended from an Irish Presbyterian
minister, who built a ship, called the
Eagle’s Wing, at Groomsport, in Belfast
Lough, and sailed for this country" with
144 colonists for New England. Though
driven back, most of them afterwards
emigrated to this country, and his son
Robert was the founder of the family
here. He showed that the original
Plymouth colony came to America in
one ship, whilst the first Irish colony of
Londonderry came in five ships, and
he showed that several of these early
Irish settlers in New England, whose
names and families he gave, had each
about one hundred descendants among
the American people. He claimed that
at the time of the Declaration of In
dependence at least one half of the
American people were of Irish birth or
blood, and that the proportion is now
much larger. —American Gael.
The Report Courteous. —A shop
keeper purchased of an Irish woman a
quantity of butter, the lumps of which,
intended for pounds, he weighed in a
balance and found wanting. “Sure it’s
your own fault if they’ relight,” said
Biddy, in reply to the complaints of the
buyer, “it’s your own fault, sir; for wasn’t
it with a pound of your own soap I
bought here myself that I weighed
them ?” The store-keeper had nothing
mote to say on that subject