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Show BISHOP BRONDEL VISITS LOU-VAIN. LOU-VAIN. Bishop Brondel of Helena, Mont., recently re-cently paid an interesting visit to Lou-vain, Lou-vain, Belgium, and a student, writing to the Portland (Ore.) Catholic Sentinel, Senti-nel, says: I am convinced that there are many patrons of the Sentinel who will be glad to read a little news about the Louvain American college and that many more will be delighted to read about the distinguished dis-tinguished prelate who left his far western diocese some months ago, for his visit ad limina, and who is just now a guest at the above named institutionthe insti-tutionthe Rt. Rev. J. B. Brondel, bishop of Helena, Mont. It is owing to this double conviction, Mr. Editor, that m old time friend of your paper presumes pre-sumes to address you these lines. ! Since it was learned at the college, through the colums of the Sentinel, that Bishop Brondel had gone to Rome, both professors and students looked forward with pleasurable anticipations to his visit to them; for his love for tho institution where he spent several : years of his youth in preparation for the holy priesthood is well known. Though his visit was. therefore, looked forward to as a matter of course, his lordship had not announced it; so that he took everybody quite by surprise last Friday evening. He was still thought to be in Rome when, lo and behold, we aru told that he has arrived at the college. Though we know of the rapidity with which the modern steam engine carries its patrons from place td place, we quite forget to realize it sometimes, and are astounded when we j meet some one whom we knew a few I weeks before to be thousands of miles away. Moreover, our surroundings influence in-fluence our feelings, and in this little kingdom of Belgium, which is not larger than a good-sized western county, coun-ty, people for the most part limit t:v travels to within the confines of jpty country. When they stand before someone who, but ten or twelve days ago, was 7,000 or 8,000 miles away, they regard him with something of the awe with which, as children, we used to look upon a professional pro-fessional sleight-of-hand performer. Living here, far away from the country of magnificent distances and of fast time "overland flyers," we get to think and feel a little like the people with whom we live. It is a tradition in the college to take advantage of the visit of every American Ameri-can Bishop to have an ordination: for its young candidates for Holy Orders, as prospective American missionaries, have at all times considered it a privi- j lege to be ordained at the hands of a I prelate from the grand countrv where their future lots will be cast. The students, stu-dents, not being prepared for an ordination ordi-nation this time, it looked as if the tradition tra-dition would have to be broken with; but it was not, for, if not general, partial par-tial ordinations could take place, and so they did Sunday morning, Feb. 4, in the spacious chapel of the college. Those whom the Very Reverend Rector. Rec-tor. Canon de Becker, selected for the honor of receiving orders at the hands of Bishop Brondel were Messrs. W. De-Hasoue De-Hasoue of the Vicariate Apostolic of Indian Territory; C. Koegel of the Diocese Dio-cese of Winona and F. Van Hulse of the Vicariate of Indian Territory. The former for-mer was ordained sub-deacon and the two latter received minor orders. One I of these young levites, Mr. Van Hulse, has alreadv two brothers missionary priests in the Vicariate of Indian Territory; Ter-ritory; in less than a year he himself expects, God willing, to be laboring in . that not very inviting field. After the ordinations, later in the forenoon, the Bishop gratified the sti dents with an address. He commenced, by talking in French, but after the first words he said, laughingly, in English: ! "Well, I have for the last few weeks, j out of necessity,' been talking French, and here I catch myself talking French when. there is no need and in an American Amer-ican college at that and to American students i that .will not do." Of course, the remainder of the half hour's delightful de-lightful talk was in English. To say that the students enjoyed that half hour ' is to say very little for they were actually delighted, and more than delighted, especially the twenty or more American boys; for, to lisen to an American Bishop so far awav from tteir beloved American homes is the next best thing to being in America: inded, it make's them forget, for-get, for awhile at least, that they are not there. Among other things, His Lordship eaid that he was delighted to see around him evidences of the Ameri- ; can spirit, which is one of progress, in the grand new chapel and in the state- ! ly buildings which did not exist at the time of his studentship in the college. These evidences of progress were also evidences of the services the Louvain i American College was rendering to the ; American missions and a pledge that these services would be continued for years to come. The Biehop recalled also with evident feelings of pleasure hie own student days, spoke of the spirit that reigned then in the col- lege, which was essentially a epirit of i charity and took occasion of that ' souvenir, to urge upon his hearers the I practice of that virtue which inspires all sacrifices. As they intend to become be-come priests they must seek perfection in charity above all other perfection; for priests must be men of sacrifice; they muft be men ever keeping before their eyes the cross, symbol of the grandeet of sacrifices that waa ever, made, "The prest who never loses sight of the cross is the man who accomplishes ac-complishes great things for the glory of God and of the Church. I have known many such etudi-nts of the American College, I have een them at work in the west, even as far west as Alaska, they were a credit to the institution that sent them ;:orth to the American missions." Amoig the Apostolic men of his present dice6e,.the Bishop mentioned men-tioned Father I. Desiere, the pastor of Butte City, vho, after establishing the parish of Aiaconda, was called tc Butte under peciliarly difficult circumstances. circum-stances. A deh of J45.000, increasing at the rate of 9 per cent per annum, hung over the parish, and there wae little or no diepeition on the part of the people to do anything towards the payment of tha; debt; yet Father Desiere accepted the situation in a spirit of sacrifice He prayed, worked, and suffered until the sentiments of the people veerec around; then in two months time lv raised the whole amount and cancelled the heavy burden bur-den that weighei down upon the congregation con-gregation "eince that time," said the Bifihop, "the old church has been enlarged, en-larged, and on tie first. Friday of last November he vas in the Mother Church, St. PatrLk, and saw 1,400 people peo-ple recaive Holy'ommunion. When I had ny audience with the Pope, one of th6 attendants requested : me not to ask the Holy Father for permission per-mission to bring into the audience chamber the prit that was with me; for, as .is quite Natural, they want to spare Leo XIII. as much as they can. Well. I didn't asl; but the Holy Father asked me if I .lid not have a prieat with me. I told'iim I had and told him also what that:riest, who was Father Desiere, had accomplished in Butte. Then at once the Pope rang a bell and told the attendant who responded to bring in the priest that waited outyide for his Bishop. Father Desiere came in, and the P;pe said, pointing to him, 'Is that he?'-Yes, Holy Father 'To encourage the people to go to confession confes-sion and communion that is the means by which to establish and 'maintain Catholicity!' 'May I tell this to my people, Holy Father?' said Father Desiere. Des-iere. 'Yes,' answered the Pope; 'tell them that.' Then he lifted his hand in blessing towards the Father, saying, 'Benedico te,' I Hess thee; but I said; 'I, too, Holy Fatter?' i Upon which he corrected himself, saying, 'Benedico vos.' I bless you. The students vould have willingly listened much lonjer to the Bishop, but ; at this point the bell rang and His Lordship, who rer.embered that regularity regu-larity was alwayj one of the virtues Inculcated at the college, 6topped short, saying that Bishops must obey rules like other people. i To honor the distinguished visitor, Very Rev. Canon De Becker had invited in-vited to dinner the only two surviving University professors of the Bishop, Monsignor Lamy, for more than forty years professor of Holy Scripture, and Monaignor Moulart; also the seven professors pro-fessors of the faculty attended by today's to-day's students of the American college and your correspondent. In answering to the toast that was brought him by the Rector, Bishop Brondel said that he was grateful for the delicate courtesy shown him in being given the pleasure of dining with the veteran and learned teachers of his student days and the distinguished professors of the present faculty. He had heard on his way through Belgium from competent judges that the American Amer-ican College had at its head a man whose ability and science were guarantees guar-antees for the continued success of the Institution which, during the well-nigh ha!f-a-century of its existence, had done so much for the American missions, mis-sions, had given it eleven Archbishops and Bishops and hundreds of priests, who contributed greatly by their faithful faith-ful labors to the material and spiritual upbuilding of the Church of Christ In America. He also assured "Father Rector," as the President of the Col-! Col-! lege has always been familiarly called, i that on his proposed visit to America he would be given a heartfelt welcome to Montana, where there are many of his old"atu3ents who gratefully remember remem-ber the pious and learned professor of Canon Law, now also the beloved Rec-; Rec-; tor of their old Alma Mater. This morning, Feb. 5, Bishop Brondel took his leave of the college to visit his people in Flanders, promising, however, to pay it another visit before his return to America. IDAHOAN. |