The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-17 00:00:00

TAKING THE VEII_,-(.7ATHOLIC-

ISM IN SCOTLAND.

(From the Scottish Standard.)

On Monday forenoon, an event which has no parallel
in the history of Scotland since the Reformation, and
which affords a striking indication of the rapid progress
that Romanism has of late made in our laud, occurred
in the chapel of the Nunnery dedicated to St. Margaret
at Morningside—five votaries of that faith having then
and there subscribed the vow, and joined the holy sis-
terhood.

It is now more than three hundred years since the
many monastic institutions in this country began to
" totter to their fall," and during that long lapse of
time, we believe there is no record of any attempt to re-
establish an Abbey in any part of Scotland, save that of
the Nunnery at Morningside, which was accomplished

a very few years ago, principally through the untiring
exertions of the present Roman Catholic Bishop of
Lirayra (Gillis), the coadjutor of the Vicar Apostolic
of the Eastern District of Scotland.

The ceremony commenced with their anthem of
" Gloria in Excelsis," some of the nuns accompanying
the organ with their voices, the music of which was ex-
tremely beautiful as its solemn peals swelled through the
little Saxon chapel. Nine young ladies, boarders in the
Nunnery (one of whom took no part in the service),
first entered from a private door, followed by the nuns
and three novices, who bad no sooner seated themselves
than the main doors of the chapel were thrown open,

and the procession of the Bishop entered. It was
headed by a sub-deacon, bearing a massive gold cross ;
he was followed by two acolytes, dressed in white sur-
plices and red sashes, bearing large candles ; next came
four boys, dressed as those who had gone before, each
carrying a small lighted taper ; they were followed by
two priests, in splendid cloth of gold vestments ; next
came a boy, bearing the " Gospel Book who was fol-
lowed by the Bishop, accoutred in gorgeous pontifical
robes: His under garment, of rich crimson brocade. had
a long train, which was borne by a little boy ; above
this he had a gown of rich white lace ; and over all he
wore a dress similar to that of the two priests who pre-
ceded him, but much more costly and magnificent ; on
his head he had a glittering mitre ; and in his left hand
(a mark of superior dignity) he oarried an exquisitely
wrought gold crozier.
Having reached the altar, and every thing being ar-
ranged, the Bishop turned to the nuns and addressed a
few words to them, principally referring to the havoc
the Reformation had made in 'such religious houses ;
but when he alluded to himself, as having been the first
to re-establish those places after a lapse of three hun-
dred years, he cast his eye upon the kneeling forms be-
fore him, and his countenance seemed lighted up with
a glow of secret triumph.
When he had finished his address, one of the no-
vices, who was distinguishable from her more advanced
sisters by her white veil, advanced to the foot of the
altar, made a low bow, and sunk on her knees at the
Bishop's feet, who then commenced his interrogatories
respecting the motives that induced her to become an
inmate of the cloister, to which she, of course, an-
swered in the form prescribed by the Fathers of that
Church. Having answered his inquiries, the Bishop
confessed himself satisfied, and placed on her head a
chaplet of white roses, as an emblem of the purity of
her intentions, and also conceding to her other five
years as a further probationary course, ere she could
take the irrevocable vow. She then bowed her head
to the ground, in token of her humiliation, and re-
tired. Next came four sisters, habited in the full cos.
tunic of the nuns—they having already served the five
allotted years, besides their noviciate, as a preparatory
term ere they could take the last vow—a vow of .. vo-
luntary poverty, perpetual chastity, and entire obedi-
ence to their superior"—an expression which is, we
believe, peculiar to the nuns of that order. They ad-
vanced to the steps of the altar, each bearing a lighted
taper, and crouched in the same manner as the pre-
vious suppliant at the Bishop's feet. Questions simi-
lar in import to those which had been addressed to
the novice were then put to them, the only difference
being that they were urged individually, three distinct
times, to ponder well on the sacrifice they were about
to make—if they had any, desire of again mixing in
worldly turmoil, of again returning to their borne and
kindred (two of them were French ladies, and they
were addressed in their own vernacular), there was
yet time ; but if the oath was once accepted, no-
thing on earth could afterwards absolve them. They
all answered in a firm and unfaultering voice, that it
was by their own voluntary and free will that they had
embraced the austerities of that solemn ritual. The
Bishop then placed upon each of them a crown of
thorns, and gave them a missal and a crucifix. The
holy cucharist was next administered in the usual form
of the Romish Church, after which the nuns retired to
the nave of the chapel, bowed themselves prostrate on
the ground, and were covered with a large black pall,
having a white figure of the cross upon it, and supported
at the corners by four of the superior nuns. They
remained in this posture until the Bishop gave them
his benediction, after which they arose to do homage to
their superior, and were welcomed by the sister nuns
and novices with an affectionate kiss of recognition.
Thus ended the solemn and imposing ceremony of
initiation. A collection was afterwards made for the
benefit of the school conducted by the Sisters of Cha-
rity, at Milton House, in the Canongate, which realised
a considerable sum. The assemblage, which was a very
numerous one, then left the chapel.