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Show ! i ' i Bishop Brondkfs " : Return fiomti l : ; BY BESSIE M. LAWLOR. I (Correspondence Intennountain Catholic.) Helena. May 9 The Ilisht Rev. John SP. Htvindol, IMshop of Helena, arrived lioni'- Mt noon May 28, from Home and other Kuropean points, whither he had Kono six ni'inth.s ago to pay his episcopal episco-pal visit ;id limina to our'iloly Father, J "ope Leo XIII. This is the third visit of this nature our dear Bishop has mad'- in compliance with ecclesiastical law, which requires a P.ishop to visit Koine and the Sovereign Pontiff every ten j ears. The r,i.hop was mot at the depot by a duly appointed committee representing represent-ing the' peveral Catholic organizations, and escorted by private conveyance to his house. The clergy were also at the depot to meet his Lordship. Immediately Immediate-ly upon his arrival lunch was served to the committee, the Bishop, Secretary of Siute Thos. S. liogan and other invited guests. The committee was composed of Col. Thomas Cruse. ex-County Attorney Attor-ney 11. It. I'urcell and Chas. J. l'rry. In the evening- Ft. Aloysius' hall was filed to its entire capacity by the congregation, con-gregation, visiting" clergy and friends of Bishop Brondel, to extend to him a public reception and to welcome him home again. Immediately after S o'clock His Lord--ship was escorted to the hall from his residence by six members each of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Catholic Cath-olic Knights of America and St. Joseph's Jo-seph's verein and Catholic o:-dor of l.',,r(sters. They preceded the Bishop's entrance and formed in line on each side of the aisle until he reached his seat directly in front of the stage. On either side of him were seated the visiting vis-iting clergy and Rev. Fathers of Helena. Hele-na. The visiting clergy were: Father Allaeys, who represented Great Falls and Northern Montana; llev. Father Caliahan; llev. Father Blaere and llev. Fa! her English of Butte; Father Coop-man Coop-man of Anaconda; Father O'Brien of Livingston; Father Cassidy, Walker-ville; Walker-ville; Father McCourt, Phillinsburg; Iand Father Arts, St. Teter's Indian Mission. Mr. Charles G. Curl is. chairman of the committee, assisted by llev. Father Fath-er A ken .seated the eongregation and announced His Lordship's entrance. The whole1 'assembly rose and greeted him with enthusiasm. The decorations in chaixe of Mrs. Chas. Dahler, who was assisted by Miss Mny Curtis, Miss Katie i)'I.nnell, Mrs. V. YV. Karnest and others,' showed line artistic and decorative talent. The grouping: together to-gether ,,f potted plants and evergreens '.vhorh formed the background with a life-sized picture of the Bishop hung in the center, draped, with the Papal and national colors, made ayery pretty piece of decoration. On the light hand side of the stage', hung- from the top nd completely enveloping the whole side, w as "Old Glory," adding color and bli'ze and patriotism to the scene. The programme opened with a chorus by the Cathedral -choir, "Praise Ye the Father" (Gounod.) St. Vincent's orchestra rendered a beautiful overt tire. "Home Sweet Home." which was expressively executed. execut-ed. Their young hearts seemed to respond re-spond to the chords of the many-stringed instruments, especially noticeable among the instruments being the beau-1 beau-1 if'ul harp.' th? gift of Senator YV. A. Clark to Sr. Vincent's academy and its sweet music proves quite an addition to the on hestra. Then followed Rev. Father Day's address ad-dress of welcome on behalf of the clergy. His address was delivered with much earnestness and sincerity, in words us follows: FATHKIl DAY'S ADDUFSS. Rt. Rev. ami Dear Bishop: When a j& months ago you suddenly left for Rome yon look even your priests by surprise, and deprived them of the pleasure of receiving- your parting-blessing. parting-blessing. I'pon jour return from the Kternal City it may be a surprise to Your Lordship to lind so many of us gathered around you from all parts of the diocese, but surprise or not. we hope it is as gratifying to you to be welcomed by us as it is pleasing- to us to see you back in yoor episcopal see. We knew that, as St. Paul of yore in-lermit'--d his apostolic labors in order to see Peter, you a successor of St. Paul in the upostolate gave up for . short lime the personal ami immediate care of your ;! k to go and offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the tomb of St. PetT to visit his illustrious successor. succes-sor. Pope Leu XIII.. gloriously reigning, to pay to him the homage of, your sub-miion sub-miion and obedience, to be enlightened enlighten-ed ly his sup timinan wisdom and encouraged en-couraged by his sympathetic words and heroic example. We were well aware nf all the good that was to accrue to the diocese from this visit made in imitation of the apo.5-tojjc apo.5-tojjc precedent and in accordance with the prescription of Divine and ecclesiastical ecclesi-astical law. , . .Still, during- your absence we missed the learned counsel, the experienced guide and loving father whom we possess pos-sess in the person of our Rt. Rev. and Dear Bishop. Therefore upon your return your priets rejoiced and from all parts of the diocese hastened to your episcopal see to welcome you with all the enthusiasm enthu-siasm of lit in 1 and priestly devotion. "o thank the Lord that you have come hack to us hale and hearty, able to shoulder with rem-wed strength the heavy burden of this your extensive diocese, and hope and pray that you may be spared for many years to come for the honor of God and the salvation of souls in the young but vigorous diocese dio-cese of Helena. "Home Again from a Foreign Shore," . by the junior choir. Father Allaeys then assured Bishop 3onlel on behalf of the people of Great Falls and Xorthern Montana of their hearty welcome home to him, and trusted before a very- great time elapses they will have the pleasure of a personal visit from his Lordship and hear from him many interesting incidents inci-dents of the Internal City and be able to r-t vt him personally. The next number on the programme .was the address of welcome In behalf of the congregation by Secretary of Slate Thomas S. liogan. Mr. .Hogan ably delivered his address, and made a titling representative of such u devoted de-voted congregation. SECRKT.XRY OF STATE THOMAS S. IIOGAN'S ADDRESS. 1 On behalf of the congregation of this diocese, it becomes my pleasant duty to extend to your Lordship a hearty welcome on your safe return from vour visit to the Eternal City. Jt is my regret that I cannot find words to properly express, the sentiment senti-ment 3 of respectful consideration and tender solicitude with which the members mem-bers of this congregation have kept you in mind during your absence. - They realize the fact that your Lordship's Lord-ship's woi:k, whether at home or abroad; .whether in the commonplace routine of 3ii? a.mong us, or in the varied va-ried scenes and circumstances of travel I all devoted to the spiritual welfare f - - , t ' ' of the diocese and its people. Know-i Know-i ing this, and appreciating the work i which vou have done for them, they have taken this occasion to manifest. 1 in a slight degree, their sentiments of L gratitude toward you. We are not unmindful of the fact that when you were first assigned to ' this field of labor, in the prime of your ; early manhood, you found it a district i devoid of many of the comforts and 1 conveniences of civilized life and lacking lack-ing in the equipments and -accoutre-' ments of a great diocese. Largely through vour untiring labors a church now adorns every community and the opportunities of spiritual development and spiritual consolation are within the reach of ali our people. Nothing is more natural than that (through all these years there has grown up between the pastor and his people the strong bonds of Christian friendship, and we trust and believe I that the respect and esteem of the con- gn gat ion is rewarded by a strong sen-! sen-! timent of paternal solicitude and. love If-uch'as a true shepherd has for his i t'-ni. i And so, your friends, but a small i number of whom are here tonight, have ! nlanned (o make your home coming I the occasion to demonstrate to you that j the work, of a faithful pastor finds an appreciative response rn the hearts of i his people. It is our hope that. we may make it one of the pleasant memories of your life, and that in the ' future years, to -which Oorr-may spare "J'ou, you can look back upon it as an humble hum-ble evidence of a life work well done. It is a far cry from , the sculptural anticiuity of the Vatican to the modern simplicity of the Cathedral of the Sacred Sa-cred Heart; from the historic Tiber to i the Prickley Pear; from - the Seven Hills of Rome tolhe Rocky mountains; I from the religious atmosphere of the home of Peter's successor to the ready I recklessness of the far West, but we doubt not that amid those ancient and inspiring scenes that impulse general to the human race oft stirred your heart with thoughts of home. And, now, that; the customary joys of homecoming home-coming which the rigorous requirements require-ments of your spiritual calling denies you, may. be offset by the cordiality. of our welcome, we are gathered here. In place of family, brothers, sisters, friends, the church greets you as her spouse, the clergy as their brother, the congregation and the little ones as their spiritual father, and all join in greeting you as their friend. We houe and trust that you have returned to your "labor- with renewed physical strength, w ith intellect nourished nour-ished from the ancient and exhaustless fount of the- masters, and with -spirit inspired by communication with the foremost prelates of the world, and by contemplation of the Christianity of those who lived amid those same hills and streams, and w hose privilege it was to learn the faith direct from the Son of God. And. as through Him we learn the great doctrine of brotherly love and righteousness called Christianity, so through you 'may we be inspired to imitate imi-tate the nobility of His life in our humble way. Permit me to express a wish which I know is harbored by all your friend? that when a decade hence the call to Rome is made you may be spared to answer it, and we to welcome wel-come you on your return. In conclusion. !nt me assure your Lordship that if anything Is lacking in the. heartiness of your , welcome home tonight.it is in the expression, not the lack of sentiment. And if my friends in this audience feel that I have not done justice to them as the spokesman of their greeting. I plead as my defense ! that Friedshin's welcome, like every I other sentimenr of the heart, suffers from the poverty of words jn its translation trans-lation into sneeech. Again, your Lordship, in behalf of the congregation and all your friends. I bid you a hearty welcome home. (Prolonged (Prolong-ed applause.) instrumental selection by St. Vincent's Vin-cent's orchestra was followed by Miss I A. Delorimer, a graduate of the class of 3 SMi. who represented St. Y'incent's academy on behalf of the Sisters and pupils. Miss Delorimer's greeting was ably rendered and reflects great credit on her superb training and elocutionary elocution-ary powers. MISS DELORIMER'S ADDRESS. Beloved Bishop Welcome; Welcome home! At times we may not put in words the feelings of the heart, so I feel that my words tonight will far from express how much we rejoice that you are once more in our midst. A few months ago you had our good wishes for a pleasant and prosperous voyage", but "tonight we experience greater deliht in assuring you how heartily we welcome you home. We were always glad to hear from the good Fathers ;my tidings of you, and we anticipate that a few hours of the precious time which remain of our scholastic year will be enriched by your stories of travel and adventure. We doubt nottthat you feel that interesting inter-esting :'s the cities of old historic renown, re-nown, beautiful as are the scenes of sunny Italy,, there- is no - place like "Home, Sweet Home." Xo people like the. good-hearted, whole-souled people of Montana, and no friends like the home friends. " " Once more iti behalf of the Sisters and pupils Of; St. Vincent's academy I bid you welcome", thrice welcome home! "Home Chorus." by Junior choir. Father Callahan -was kindly invited to say a few words of welcome.. He responded to the chairman's invitation with an impromptu address. His usual eloquence any? ready wit never fails him, but ' sustained him on this occasion. occa-sion. The substance of his remarks are as follows: . Right llev, and dear "Bishop: I bd,j .you a hear.ty jand most cordial welcome in the name of one of Hie largest, grandest, best and most loyal congregations congrega-tions in jour diocese, or in the. west St. Patrick's, Bufte City. It has seemed like a dream to us that you have been gone fuljy six months, ,but the dream is past, and we. are awake to reahze that you are in our midst again, safe and sound, and we are orphans no longer. We have all missed you in many ways, especially youn-most kind and learned counsel, but were content in your absence to have the ; supervision super-vision of Father Day as a stepfather, but stepfathers at best are stepfathers. stepfath-ers. Father Callahan further said: "If the grass in Butte was not quite so green, nor the beautiful - sunshine half so bright, they had the privilege of beholding the vast and impenetrable clouds of smoke disappear on the mountain brow, -and sould witness the glorious sun set, then people had as large and warm hearts as anywhere in thjs golden west, and once more, in the name of the people of Butte, I bid you a hearty and most cordial welcome." wel-come." Father Callahan made many pleasing pleas-ing remarks on the scene that fully impressed him, and said it was one of the deepest impressions he had received and one that would remain with him through life to hear so many beautiful words of welcome comjng from So many different' sources, end to see the love and friendship that existed between be-tween the clergy and the Bishop and the people. Bishop and clergy, and to look out on such an admiring and enthusiastic en-thusiastic assembly. At the; conclusion of Father Catkv lian's remarks the following telegram was read from Marysville by Mr. John P. Schmidt of that place: i "Please extend to his' Lordship; Right Rev. Bishop Brondel, our sincerest congratulationupon his safe arrival home and express to him our earnest wishes for a long and happy future. We will ever pray for his welfare. (Signed) "GEORGE BALKEXHOL, ; "FRANK TRUDEL. "JOHN MICHAELS." Uncle Dunn and all the other Catholics of Marysville. National airs medley "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean," "Star Spangled Banner." "Yankee .Doodle Dandy." by St. Y'incent's orchestra, was followed by the address on behalf of St. Alovsius school, given by Master War-renDahler. War-renDahler. Mr. Dahler's address was short but was fully appreciated for its masterly rendition and promises much for the future of such boys as he. His address is as follows: "Love wreathes her fairest flowers today, .Tov King's her sweetest song. Bidding the charm of music swell The bosom of the throng." . It is with mingled feelings of joy and gratitude that in the name of the Sisters and pupils of St. Aloysius school I arise to bid you welcome home: joy because we have the pleasure pleas-ure of once more beholding you in our midst, and gratitude, because God has preserved you from the dangers of your long and perilous journey. Words prove inadequate to express feelings on such an occasion as this, so permit me. dear Bishop, to wish you once more welcome, thrice welcome home. Another musical selection by St. Y'incent's orchestra closed the formal programme. BISHOP BROXDEL'S ADDRESS. ' His Lordship was then escorted to the platform by Rev. Fathers Day and Callahan and they remained on each side during a response on the part of the Bishop to the many addresses and expressions of good will tendered him. Several times his Lordship tried to make himself audible, but the hearty apjdause drowned' his voice And he had to smilingly wait for several minutes before he could be distinct ily heard. He expressed much delight at being home again and, was greatly pleased ith the heartiness and gratitude with which he was Warmly welcomed. "After all," he said, "there is no place like home." and .Montana' He undertook to give a brief outline of his visit with the Pope, but so many things ciowded in on his memory, and then, being so completely overpowered by the cordiality of his people and having so many numerous things to tell them, his description was not in full. He said, the first thing he done on entering the great presence was to kneel before the Pope in great humility, after which Pope Leo, received him and invited, him to be seated, "The first thing I did," he said, "was to present His Holiness with a donation from a prominent member of the Church in Helena, and also a personal gift which he received with cuch pleasure. "I am very thankful for your gifts." he said, "as they have taken away all my earthly possessions and I have to live on the donations and alms of the j faithful." Bishop Brondel said the Pope inquired in-quired about the progress of the Church in Montana; about his Priests, and asked if they were good Priests. When given a full report of the doings of the Catholic Church and the way 1 it has increased in numbers, the Holy j Father thought Bishop Brondel surely had good faithful assistants or he j could not do such extensive work with-! with-! out such aid as they alone could give. I The Bishop also handed the Pope a j map of Montana, showing him the vast j space his Catholics are settled over and j where Churches, etc. have been erected. The Pope also asked if there were any j religious orders here, and was informed we had the Order of Jesuits, the Sisters -of Charity, the Sisters of the j Good Shephard, the Sisters of the Holy I Cross and Ursuline Order. The Bishop ! could not refrain from expressing sur-i sur-i prise at the wonderful memory of the j Pope and thinks de does not seem one ' day older than . when he visited him rn iS90. His beautiful countenance would light up and his face beam with joy as the Bishop related many things in connection con-nection with the Diocese of Helena. He told in expressive tones how the Pope received Father Desiere of Butte, when told of the noble work accomplished under his direction in Butte City; how the debt of $40,000 was raised off the school there inside of three months by Father Desiere's untiring efforts and his beloved congregation. In concluding his remarks, the Bishop Bish-op wished to express himself in regard to the able manner in which Father Day administered to the diocese while he was-absent, and turning to him, said: "I wish to take this occasion to thank Father Day, who was adminis-terator adminis-terator of my diocese. The Father has done well. I was sorry to hear when the burden was heavy upon your shoulders shoul-ders you fell .sick and was near death's door. 1 hope the time will soon come when you will be able to visit your people. Right here and now 1 will say-that say-that you shall visit your old home across the sea." The Bishop added that he had seen Father Day's mother in Belgium, and she was anxiously looking forward to the time when her son would visit her. Bishop Brondel alluded to the telegram tel-egram from Marysville, and said they should soon have a good priest stationed sta-tioned there permanently. In conclusion, ihe whole assembly knelt to receive the Pontifical Blessing Bless-ing extended through Bishop Brondel from ihe Pope, to which a plenary indulgence in-dulgence is attached. YVhen the Bishop Bish-op concluded, he received each member mem-ber personally, and was once more individually in-dividually assured of their -welcome jiome.to him. Fathers Day and Aken took turns in introducing each member mem-ber of the congregation. Everything was so well arranged and the programme so well carried out there was not a mar in" the whole prcf-ceedings. prcf-ceedings. Nothing but the grandest order of harmony existed on all sides, and the truly enthusiastic spirit of both the clergy and the congregation of the diocese of Helena will always remind us that all' that seems necessary is just to have the opportunity to display their love, veneration and esteem on such occasions as this one afforded. His Lordship's health is very much improved, and he returns to his people imbued with new thoughts, drunk at the great fountain head of truth, and knowledge. The years to come 'will bear witness to the scattering of such seeds which will blossom and bear fruit for ages to come, not only within the boundaries of our great state, which is also the boundary of this diocese, dio-cese, but. will go down the ages ; for time immemorial. ' . In further letters from this diocese your correspondent will try and secure some interesting information regarding regard-ing the various places of interest-vis- j ited by his Lordship while abroad. BESSIE M. LAWLOR. |