The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-21 00:00:00

New Roman Catholic Church at Hoxton.

Yesterday afternoon the ceremony of laying the founda-
tion stone of the new Church of St. Monica was performed
in the presence of a vast concourse of spectators. In con-
nexion with the site of the intended building we may men-
tion that the house No. 12, Hoxton-square, now standing
there, is at present occupied by the Augustinian Fathers,
with Mr Crane at their head, but in the time of Charles 11.,
it is said was the resort of that monarch for somewhat ques •
tionable purposes in a moral point of view, and there are in
relation to the old red brick building various tales cf the
famous Nell G wynne. In the course of the necessary exca-
vations in the grounds attached to the house traces were
found of a subterranean passage—in some parts quite com-
plete, with brick walls and arched roof—leading, it is ima-
gined, to York House, a place not far distant at that period,
and another of his Majesty's oft frequented spots. This is
the first Augustinian Church in London since the time of
Henry VIII. Austinfriars German Church is its predecessor
—but it is not now used for'Roman Catholic purposes.
The new edifice is to be 124 feet in length by 40 in breadth.
The following is an architectural description. The structure
is a parallelogram, and is divided into nave and aisles by
pitch-pine columns, which support the main principals of
the roof. The nave is separated from the chancel by an
arch ornamented with marble shafts. The chancel is lighted
by nine windows—eight lateral lancets and one rose window
of great beauty. Beneath the window the chancel opens
upon the side chapels by an arcading of eight arches sup-
ported on small stone columns. The roof of the chancel
will be waggon-headed, and divided into panels by wooden
ribs. The root of the nave is open, and exhibits a well
conceived piece of construction enriched with ornamental
metal work. The nave is entirelylighted from a clerestory
worked in Bath stone. Behind the sanctuary is a sacristy
40ft. long by 12 in width. The height of the building is
51ft., and will cost, when completed, about £3,300. Mr
Oxborn, of Clapton, is the contractor ; the architect is Mr
Welby Pugin, of London and Liverpool.
The Rev. Dr. MANNING delivered an address on the con-
clusion of the customary ceremonies. The act of that day,
he said, would leave its mark on the church history of Lon-
d Dn. The Catholic Church had inscribed its name upon the
corners of the streets of this city. Tho ancient sanctuaries
of the Black Friars, the White Friars, the Grey Friars, and
the Austin Friars, were well known to all ; but the deluge
came, and swept them away. But the Church of G.,cl had
refounded them once more, and to-day Austin Friars was
created afr. sh. St. Augustine entered once more, and had
a mission to perform, and a great ose too, and that with a
singular fitness, for between St. Augustine and England
theire was a strong connecting link. He bore a great and
special message to the English people. It was, that intel-
lect without faith led to an immense gulph—a fathomless

abyss—to the very depths of immorality. "The world by
its wisdom knew not God," and the intellect of man, tainted
by the entrance of sin, became ignorant of its Maker. The
more his intellect was cultivated by pride and vain glory,
the more he fell, In Holy Writ there was the example of
Solomon. Ho had a clear knowledge of all the sciences,
physical, natural, and moral, in proportion as they were
then known, and of which men are now so proud, and with
which they became so inflated. His end was a terrible fall
because he forsook his God. St. Augustine was bout of a
Christian mother ; but he was not baptised, and had not
been taught his faith. He became learned in the extreme,
and, physically, in stature was head and shoulders above
the men of his age ; but for the lack of faith he plunged
into immorality. Until the ago of 30 years he lived a life
of scandal reproach ; and in this was found the cause
of his many " confessions." In this there was a lesson
for England. There was no country whose men were so
proud and so vain of intellectual cultivation ; and none
whose men were so unbelieving in everything almost
save their favourite applied sciences. Upon these
they imagined they could build a tower reaching to
heaven, There was no country having so many gifts and
so many advantages and yet so blind. This was because
intellect was made the measure of truth ; and also because
the grace of God bestowed in holy baptism was not dispensed,
too often through the carelessness of parents themselves.
Was not this selfeevident ? How many were there who
could conscientiously say that the " one thing necessary,',
as they considered it for their children, was not intellectual
cultivation in order to enable them to get on in the world.
He spoke to Catholic fathers and mothers, whose desire was
so great in this respect as to lead them to send their offspring
to schools not under the pastors of their own Church. St.
Augustine brought them this message, that intellect, though
cultivated, without faith, would only lead men into every
description of moral aberration. There were stains en Eng-
lish society—broad blots, red as scarlet, which came entirely
from this species of intellectual pride and the habit of
turning the back on faith, There had been men in England
—proud, heady, and highminded—who set themselves up
as teachers, and who promised that their disciples should
know everything. Christ himself, however, said that those
who believed should understand, and save in this way there
could be no knowledge of salvation, redemption, or grace.
Were these matters not mysterious, it could not be a great
revelation. If a finite mind could comprehend the matter,
a finite mind might have invented it, The marks of
Divinity were the mysterious, character, the surprising
depth, the inscrutable and impenetrable ideas suggested.
The first step to understanding was belief, All eternity
hinolipcar"
Church was
wAausgufestairnfeullliyvepderisneacuctoeudribtryy
awhseercet
would be spent in contemplating that which they only now
kthileewCa‘t‘
known as the Donatists. They were so numerous, so
dominant, that their bishops alone outnumbered the priests
of the Catholic Church. So far was the persecution carried
that the very bread makers were forbidden to manufacture
that article for the use of Catholics. St. Augustine, under
these circumstances, used only one weapon. He told them
that they wero the Church of that part of Africa ; but how
about the Church throughout the world ? Were they united
to the Church of the Humans, the Germans, the Spaniards,
the Austrians—in fact, with those who worshipped God
from the West to the far East ? He asked what participa-
tion they had in the universality of the church en earth—in
fact, what interest they had in that Church which ex-
tended " from the rising of the sun to the going down
of the same," But there was in this a personal applica-
tion to England. There was a national Church which
held communion with no other Church under the sun It
sprang up three centuries ago, and undoubtedly, in wealth,
social influence, and power, and it was far beyond what the
handful of Catholics in this country could boast of, But
with all its lordliness it was isolated. There was lie thing
common in its doctrines, its sacrifices, or its faith in any
particular. The bishops of the English Church were not
recognised in France or in Spain, or in many other Conti-
nental nations, or, in fact, amongst the countries of the
world. This was what St. Augustine said then, and that
was what ho said to the fathers engaged in this mission
now. The channel through which all truth flowed was the
channel of the one Church—the Church which was origi.
nated on the day of Pentecost, and since then had spread
throughout the world ; it rested on that universal basis,
and from that it had never been removed. It had knit all
nations in one family. There was one other message from
St. Augustine—without faith, which was the gift of God,
they could do nothing. This was a salutary lesson for all
concerned to learn, especially considering that in the pre-
sent day, they lived amongst a people conscious of their
natural, material, and intellectual strength, ig addition to