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Show fj Followers of the Faith in Norway. t; i ' Christlania, Norway, Sept. 20, 1901. e Probably little is known in the N-h N-h World of the notable progress made by '1 the Catholic church in Norway in re-y re-y j cent times. The northern lands, swept ; by the torrent of the Reformation, are J not wholly lost to the true Church, and . : it must be a source of gratification to . ; the 10,000.000 Catholics in the United s States to learn that the ancient faith r still has many devoted followers in r Norway. I The beautiful Catholic cathedral of I St. Olaf in Christiania was built from t the contributions of Catholics in Aus-, Aus-, tria. . Prominent among the contribu-" contribu-" tors was the king's mother. A strik-. strik-. ing idea of the decay of religious rancor ran-cor in these northern strongholds of " Protestantism is the fact that Protest-, Protest-, ants are found kneeling devoutly at i J the side of Catholics in this beautiful church on Sundays and holy days. I Even outside of the service hours many ; J non-Catholics may be seen in adora- j tion before the tabernacle. 3 To the rear of St. Olafs church is " the Episcopal "palace." This little 1 structure is the home of the bishop, his 1 secretary and his assistants. However, r devoid of dignity and comfort, it has to 1 serve also as the abode of many more clergymen who make the locality their headquarters for the study of the lan- r guage and manners of their adopted ; - country before venturing among .the i people. They work, take their meals. - study and keep their devotions as i members of one, family. The bishop is " the father of all. t Now let us take a glance at that l magnificent building in the distance . beyond the pastoral residence. That is f the Catholic hospital, grown up of its t own strength and effort from the con-. con-. dition of a log cabin to its present di- mensions. It is in charge of the Sisters Sis-ters of St. Joseph. Here the first phy-. phy-. sicians of the land treat the sick from . every walk of life. Catholic and Pro-. Pro-. testant, and the city never tires in Its , praises of those devoted women. . Between the statue of St. Olaf and the church another building rises. This serves principally as a novitiate for the Norwegian Sisters. A portion of it is set apart as a day school for Catholic and non-Catholic children. It ' has, moreover, boarding accommoda- tions for the children of many parents ; living out in the distant mission. Adjacent Ad-jacent to the novitiate is another ' building, the printing cabin and head-' head-' quarters of the weekly journal, the St. 1 Olaf. It is supplied with a large quantity quan-tity of missionary works in the form of books and pamphlets, copies of which have a remarkable circulation through the whole country. This institution insti-tution serves also for meeting purposes for the active Catholic organizations which do much toward maintaining the good fellowship among the Cath olics and the other denominations. Devotions De-votions are held, entertainments and amusements given, the feasts of the congregation are celebrated, even the Christmas tree finds a pltfe in it. There is another parish in Christiana St. Halvard's. St. Olaf could no longer lon-ger accommodate the converts; even the class rooms of the school were insufficient in-sufficient for them. The little church of St. Halvard is very pretty and is built upon the premises of the pastorate, pastor-ate, the congregation being unable to buy a new site. A portion of the priest's house serves as a home for the good Gray Sisters (Grauen Schwestern von Neisse), who are very uncomfort-j uncomfort-j ably crowded into the small quarters. I These Sisters have no hospital, but nurse the sick from door to door. They I are very much esteemed, but are so poor that up to now they have not been I able to found a house of their own. They have succeeded in securing a piece I of ground, and in time they hope to build. Three hours' distant from Chris-i Chris-i tiania is Frederickstad, a town noted j for its industries. This town contains ja flourishing little Catholic church. An-t An-t other hour by train brings us to the next mission, in the picturesque town I of Fredrickshald, close by the Swedish border. This town is enriched with a substantial church, a pastorate and a school of solid stone a rarity in stone . abounding in Norway. Here, too. Sis- I ters of St. Joseph have just completed j a large hospital in the place of the lit- tie structure that had previously served under that name. An hour-and-a-half journey from here brings us to the large seaport town of Drammen. Here the Catholics are numerous. nu-merous. Further inland close by the lake Ransfjord many glass manufacturers manufac-turers have settled; they are mostly Bohemians of every denomination. Last fall marked the advent of Catholicity into Drammen. This little town nov boasts of a Catholic church, a priest, and a few Sisters. Nine hours more by rail brings the tourist to the next station sta-tion Porsgrund. Porsgrund is inhabited inhab-ited by many Germans and Austrians; mostly porcelain manufacturers. On their account the Bishop established a mission. Now there is promise of a parish being established among them. Twelve hours by ship brings the traveler trav-eler to the next mission Christiansand. The church had hardly been planted in this Protestant Episcopal city when a fierce conflagration laid everything in ashes. But : Providence and many friends came to the rescue, and now all is prosperous. Eighteen hours more by steamer and the tourist lands in the episcopal town of Stanvanger, where still survives the Grand Cathedral, mourning its ancient glory; for it is in the hands of the Protestants. Prot-estants. It Is to be regretted that only in recent years has anything been accomplished ac-complished in this famous seaport. The town is now enriched with a Catholic church and hospital. |