The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1868-02-09
MORNING STAR AND CATHOLIC xEssENaER.
NEW ORLEANS SUNDAY. FEBRUARY .. $685.
Our Latest Charity.

Louisiana, the Charity Hospital which
opens wide it's portals to afflicted humanity
/ without distinction of creed or country.
We can point also to our homes for the aged
and infl1n, to our retreats for the repentant
and for those afflicted with-thez loss of that
highest of Gods gifts to man, the intellect,
and we have long had those magnificent in
= situations, the male and female orphan
-asylnms. Indeed;n seemed to most Of our
citizens that the providence Of God had pro-
vided for every form of suffering, want, and
destitutiOn in our city. -
- But still those who We're called upon to
take charge of the education of our youths
discovered one very Important and interest
ing class of our destitute population who
were overlooked and unprovidcd for by any
of our charitable institutions.
: The ravages of epidelnics and other.causes
>Lave unfortunately always left in New Or
leIns more widows and half orphans than
lerhalIs>n any other-city IN America. The
most of these fatherless children are left to
roam about the Streets whilst their mothers
are e.rning u precarious living by doing
days work. ..?e>~
These children receive NO education but
what is vicious, they grow up>in habits of
idleness, and very soon learn to- commit
petty thefts, and at last are sent to prison,
and are lost to religion and seeiety --=>~
fhe same evil, but in less degree, has
been found to exist in other great cities in
England, Ireland, and America, but the
wealth and charity of those cities have en-
abled the ecclesiastical authorities iii con
junction with influential laymen to found
societies and erect reformatories and pro
tectorates for this class of children.
In New York two hundred thousand dol
lars have been expended on grounds and
buildings and the proceeds of u Ladies'
Fair last summer, in aid of the society for the
protection Of destitute Catholic childrei,
amounted to-over one hundred thousand
dollars.
y In this city the evil of having so many of
this class of children growing ap to manhood
without any of|the restraints of religion, or
of useful training, was lopg felt but in con-
sequence of the ravages OF war and the des-
titution of a large portion of the communi-
-t, which unfortunately i..-------.-
no means co,tid be found to provide Tor these
children, until about two years ago, when
some few zealous members of the Society OF.
ST. Vincent de Paul, resolved, with the ap1
probation and encouragement of our Nest
Rev. Archbishop, to found H9nse DIN
si,,stry for destitute Catholic boys.
When they began the good work. five
hundred dollars was the total amount they
had to devote to the undertaking, but trust
ingss Almighty God, and to the prayers OF
their Patron Saint, they went to work earn
estly.
The Society adopted the protection OF
destitute Catholic boys as one of their spe-
cial or general works, but being composed
mostly of poor, Woodworking men, nave
not been able to appropriate much money
to the support OF the institution. They
began iii August, 1866, by-purchasing
property on Bienviile street,and SO fal
they have only been able to pay about one
third of the purchase money
A board of directors was appointed by
the Society, and in December, 1866, they
had the happiness of being present at th'
blessing of the Home by the Most Rev. Arch
bishop, and on the anniversary nf the I'm
,maculate Conception of our Blessed Lad.
the Home was opened for the reception
the first boy.
There are now i'll the institution sixty 81
boys, and the applications are SO numefon
and pressing that if the directors had fund
to enlarge the accommodations they woui
require room for at least two hundred boy
The whole amount of money that has bee
received by the directors up to this tim
! does not exceed eight thousand dollars, b'
sides an appropriation literally made b
the Legislature which the directors have NJ
=. vet been able to use. Out of this sum the
have improved the grounds, furnished IL