Intermountain Catholic | 1900-01-27 | Page 3 | A Non-Catholic Service

A NON-CATHOLIC SERVICE. New York, Jan. 22. In the Roman Catholic church of St. Paul the Apostle, at Columbus avenue and Fifty-ninth street, last evening, crowds gathered at the service announced for non-Catholics. All of the pews on the middle aisle were set apart for the accommodation accommo-dation of non-Catholics, and all were niieu. mis was tne nrst meeting in a concerted movement on the part of the Catholic church, in this country, to bring- the unchurched masses within its fold. The work at the church of St. Paul the Apostle is in charge of Father : Doyie and Father Handley, the latter ; being a convert to the Catholic faith. Father Doyle, in explaining the object of the mission, said last -evening, prior I to the service, at which he preached j the .sermon, that numerous and repeat- I ed complaints had been made on the part of the Protestant churches of all denominations that they were losing their hold on the masses. It had been stated only a few days i ago tat the Protestant church num- j bored on its rolls only 7. per cent of the population of Greater New York, so ! that 9.1 per cent are either Catholics or out of the church altogether. It was . to reach this unchurched mass that this I movement was commenced.