Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-04-25
sUmNERaCOUNTY.


The 23d of April, the second Sunday
sitter Easter, will long be remembered by
the citizens of Nashville and Gallatin, as
the day on which the new church at Calm.
tin was dedicated to the service Of Al
mighty God under the patronage of the
blessed Joseph, Patron of the Universal
Church. D!
There are persons now in Nashville,
bale and hearty, who lived here when Ten.
nessee was q missionary country--when
Nashville was visited By good Priest from
Kentucky once in six, or nine, or twelve
monfhe, as time and numerous ardnous
duties would permit; when Priest rarely,
if ever, visited Chattanooga, Knoxville, or
any Of the smaller towns, and when the
name Catholic was almost unknown In the
Eastern part Of the State. Now Tennes-
see is separate diocese, having its Bishop
and Vicar General, and about twenty
Priests, administering to the spiritual
wants of thousands of Catholic residents
in our State. fEsil5is val .s5l-5 52l
Many of our citizens renlember when
the first Catholic Church in Tennessee was
built. Now we have two in Nashville,
-four or FIVE magnificent edifces in Mem
phis; one in Edgefeld, and the corner stone
Of another laid, and one each in almost all
the principal cities and towns of the State.
Besides the churches, there are in the
State, owned and under the direction of
the Catholics, four Academies, and numer-
GUS schools, together with two Orphan
Asylums, in which are reared and educated
about one hundred and seventy children.
Butstii thework goes on. Only two weeks
Il Al
thelcorner stone of q magnificent ediice in
Edgefeld, under the patronage of st. Co
lumba, and to-day we chronicle the dedi-
cation of the new Church of st. Joseph,
in Gallstin. The Rev. P. Ryan, to whose
energy and zeal the Catholics Of old Sum-
ner are indebted for this spiritual blessing,
extended an invitation to the Catholic So
cieties here to participate in the ceremo-
MES, and made arrangements with Maj.
Bransford to have q special train leave
Nashville at 10 A. N. The societies accept
ed the invitation, and at $50 o'clock the
Hibetnian Society and the st. Joseph's
Total Abstinence Society, preceded by
the Post Band, marched In procession TO
the Louisville depot, the sidewalks along
the line being literally crowded with la
dies and gentlemen, vending their way to
the same destination.
Arriving at the depot we found double
row Of cars literally crammed with people,
only four of them having been reserved
for the Bishop, Clergy and attendants, the
choir, the societies and the band. The
large number Of people caused delay of
nearly an hour, 30 that it was about IL
o'clock before the train moved, and lacked
but ten minutes Of one when the process
sion reached the church, which is situated
on continuation of Water Street, about
a quarter of mile north from the Public
Square, Gallatin.
While preparations are being made for
the services, we take a survey of the
grounds attached-about five acres, be-
queathed by Mr.. Samuel Fisher, of Gala
tin, together with the family residence
and outbuildiDgs The church is small
frame building, capable of seating, proba-
bly,, three hundred and fifty persons, and
is very plain and neat, both in its exterior
and interior. The walls are of purest
white, and the altar white and gold, the
sanctuary being neatly carpeted A small
gallery is erected over the entrance for the
choir, t. . WA.
With such limited accommodations in
the interior, we scarcely need say that
nearly Thousand persons were obliged to
remain outside, after every inch of stand
ing room was occupied. In few minutes
the Right Rev. P. A. Feehan, Very Rev.
J. T. Jarboe, and Rev. P. Ryan, with the
attendant acolytes, entered the sanctuary,
and passed through the msin aisle, the
choir singing the anthem, "Regina cei,
letare." Returning to the sanctuary, they
reeited prayers prescribed for such occas-
ions, and then, sprinkling holy water
through and to the right and left of the
sanctuary, the Priests, acolytes, and Bish-
op, passed down the south side and up
the north, to the sanctuary, sprinkling
holy water and reading the prescribed
form of prayers. -t" 10y ~v4T
The holy sacrifice of the Mass was then
commenced, Rev. Father Ryan being cele-
brant. After the Gospel was read, the
Bishop assembled the steps of the sanctuary,
and read from the 2Sth chapter of the
Gospel according to st. Matthew:
''And Jesus coming, spoke to them, say
ing: All power is given to me in heaven
aid in earth.
tions; baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost; H. I'm.
Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever have commanded you; and,
behold, am with you all days, even to the
contamination of the world"
From this text the Bishop preached one
of the most thoroughly convincing SER
mons we have ever heard in defense of the
divine origin of the Catholic Church. The
above, the concluding verses of st. Mat
thew's Gospel, is the commission given by
Jesus to his apostles, and through them to
their lawful successors, through all time,
to the end of the world. The commission
was positive-no nation, no country, no
class, was excepted. The ministers of
Christ must teach all nations, and they
must teach all he has commanded them.
The Bishop pictured to the con-
gregation the vast society of Christians
known as Catholics, numbering some two
hundred millions of people, speaking every
language, living in every part of the world,
and all believing precisely the same doc
trine-neither more nor less. The prince
and the peasant, the learned and the sim-
ple-minded, the rich and the poor, ali kneel
before the same altar, all profess the same
faith, and all are bound together in the
same charity.
The Bishop dwelt long and earnestly
upon the unity of Catholic faith, showing
its divine origin, and insisting upon its
being essential He then spoke OF the
catholioity or universally of the Church.
It taught al truth, and nothing but the
truth, to all nations, at al times; and be
argued that its unity and catholicity were
Of themselves convincing proofs of its d.
vine origin. He went far back in history,
to the time of Alexander of Macedon, who
conceived the idea of universal empire.
He was a great man, and powerful, and
conquered nations, but he was finite, ard
SO were his plans. Then the Bishop al
luded to the power of pagan Rome; of
Julian, called the Apostate; and finally of
NapoleOn-his career Of glory, his down
fall, the closing scenes of his life ct St.
Helena, and his death. -1 aEsL o,
You may distribute the Bible through
out the world, SO that every individual
may possess a copy of the sacred volume,
and each and every individual in the world
may read and study it carefully; yet that
weuld not constitute a universal church;
it would be found wanting in the very fist
principles unity of faith, and organization
This has been tried for centuries; but the
greater the efforts, the more signal the
failure to produce unity. And why2
Because these are inventions of man
they are not of divine origin.
Universal empire is impossible; Cathode
Il