The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-05-19
A Lay Apostle.

| A Lay Apostle.
When, after the establishment Of the
S Hierarchy in England by Plus TX.
assembled at Oscott, in July, 1853, in order
to hold the FIRST Provincial Synod, the fret
since the days Henry VIII, there reigned
IN This solemn gathering of dignataries
ana priests the most intense delight. Dr..
Newman delivered before the Synod, his
Second Spring. "What, my Fathers, my
broehers," exclaimed he, "what do we be-
hold at work here in England at this mo-
menu Something remarkable is taking
place In our country. 1t manifests itself
oy the astonishment, the universal feeling
come back; the dead lives again. Thrones.
are overturned and are built up no more
States flourish and decay, and belong then
only to history. Babylon was once great
and Tyre, and Egypt, and Nineveh. They
were, and not once again forever shall they
and the Church in England was no more,
and the Church in England is yet once
more. 1t is. the awakening of a second
spring"
Cardinal Wiseman, the president of the
synod, wept for joy; the Bishops and
priests were all, as DR.. Ullathorne relates,
IN tears and as DR.. Newman, after the
sermon, came amongst them, they all en-
oraced him. 1t was an indescribable
scene, SO overpowering for the humble
preacher that DR.. Manning was forced to
take Kim out of the Synod into his own
quiet chamber.
The " Second Spring" of the Church in
England, with its flowers of beauty and
promise, has become so familiar to us, that
we almost forget the long, bitter winter of
three hundred years by which it was
+ We wish to call the attentian of our
readers to noble hero, who has just gone
when there was scarce a ray of the SUM-,
shine of hope, stood firm and battled man.
fully, patiently awaiting the coming Of
Gods spring time. For Charles Walker
the Catholics of London, but, above all,
the poor, the widows and orphans, the
in him they have lost their dearest friend.
Belonging to one of those old English Ca
tholic families of Yorkshire, in which CEN
turies'of persecution have failed to quench
the sacred fire of faith, lie inherited, to-
gether with his fathers wealth, his love for
spending but little for his own wants, he
made it the business of long life, I'M
known and unnoticed, day by day, to per-
form the noble works of Christian charity.
He had but one passion to which he chung
with unfaltering devotion, and that was to
build Catholic churches, Catholic schools
and charitable institutions in all the poor
quarters Of London. His deeds are more
eloquent than words. The London missions
are nearly all monuments to the zeal of this
lay Apostle. He either built or bought or
completed the following London churches:
st. Peter and st. Paul, St. Bridget, the
Holy Family, Notre Dame de France, st.
Charles, The Sacred Heart, st. Monica,
The Church of the English Martyrs, and
the Church of the Guardian Angels. In
! buying or building these churches, Charles
Walker spent not less than $250,OOO. In
wandering about on some mission of chart:
ty, he once lost his way in the labyrinth of
narrow, crooked streets, in the East-end of
London. Suddenly he came upon Pro
testant church to which was affixed the no.
tice, "for SALE" AS there was no Catholic
church ins the neighborhood, he at once,
without further ado, bought this and at
the same time bought house for the
priest and an open lot on which to build
school house. This church, since known as
| that of the Guardian Angels, marks the
spot where Charles Walker was lost in Or
der to found new missionary church.
In this spirit he lived to the end of his
life, dying at the ripe age of seventy two
years. The disease of which he died, the
l.smau pox, he contracted In nursing the
sick and abandoned poor. He was one of
those innumerable Christian heroes whom
the world knows not because it cares not to
know them, but in whom after all is found
the noblest type of perfect manhood.
Truly, only the Catholic Church can de-
velop the highest self-devotion and the
truest anthropy.-Louisuiue Catholic
Advocate.
A letter from Paris says the report of NJ.
1 Al ~f&l