The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1875-09-19
Addresses Of the Archbishop Of View Orleans as
the Congress Of Poitasrs-


at the Congress of Catholics held in Poitiers
Courier de Ia TienHe:
At the solicitation of the Bishop of Poitiers,
Mgr. Perche rose in his turn, and, in a familiar
inpromptu, bot charming in sentiment and
tone, paid q new tribute-and IL was none the
less just-to the work of the Catholic Union.
Oh this work the venerable prelate had con-
ceiyed the idea in the very audience accorded
him by the Holy Father in 1871, an audience in
which Plus TX. had said TO him: Until now
there has been Union Of Faith among Catholics;
il is necessary that henceforth there should be
among them q IR0n Of Action. Thirty or forty
years ago were Catholics each for himself
no one understood the necessity of proPa-
gazing his opinions according 10 the strength
that be had received, and Of establishing a
kind of solidarity betwe al those who up
held them.
The international, said Mgr. Prrche, has
Taught what was the strength of this
solidarity. Our age which will be called in
history the age of P:us lG ought TO be that
Of the triumph Of the Church throogh the union
of all Cath oiics. And when will this uoioR be
more easily eff c:ed than DAY, hen II C An
be accomplished under a Pope uniting TO the
authority of a Supreme Poutif personal
prestige snch as no other name in history has
possessed
II united more than a hundred thousand
persons in my diocese" exclaimed the veper
sbl- ureate, 80 celebrate the Twenty-ffth
E.u;.i. ersary OF tie Poutincate OF Plus lA, and
=
testimony ot their admiration
Among Catholics the idea OF this Iaion
a-kvd tor by tie Pope germ mated eyeryw here,
aud while a Catholic Committee was being or
gaC 9d in New Orleans, !: was spTirGipS up
~ New YORK, il France, N al parts OF the
word.
"Esauce: Let me-" conc med the Missionary
preIate, n au ouIburst full OF feeling and
freedom. let me say 10 you IL her gard part
log VOID. l have been separated f;om her for
thirry-elzbt years, but l am none the less
Ftenchnlan. l have in my diocese. which is
as large as half Of your ountry, 800 600 Cath
oi;cs, and OF this number 100000 are of
French oigiu and have preserved for the land
of their ancestors all that affection with which
their fathers were amin Ated for French Louisi-
ana Well, over yonder while We do some
good, il IS for US oDsolatlon TO say TO our
selves that walk in the tracks of the
mother country. OVer yonder, as everyw here,
linked with those of the Church, that the lat
ter suffers because the fermer is depressed, and
that the triumph of the one will be the eigual
for the triumph of the other"
Ii in the midst OF repeated salvos of
applause that these last wcrls of the vene-a
be Archbishop were spoken. Tne Bishop of
PoitIeTs had but responded 10 unanimous
desire in enforcing the promise made by Mgr.
PercLe Who had truly reu.aiued so complete
ly French both in heart and N tongue" of
again entertaining the COcgrees with the
Affairs OF his d!ocesans OF New Orleans.
Invited at the close OF the session of the
20th of August, 10 make known 20 tie Con
gress the situation of the Catholics of Louis.
ana, Mgr Percbe very kindly responded in the
mos, complete manner to the respectful invi-
tatien. Tie Courier reports him follows:
Leaving Arjou, twenty nine years ago
ALREADY OLD Curate" according 20 his ex
preston, the missionary prelate has devoted
himself since then. in America, TO the work of
Catholic action Q~urre dGction Catholique)
q 4 = very a n I he
Congress of PoitlerS.
This work, commenced by twelve practical
men, who had irst of all TO sustain many trials,
without excepting regular siege, in which
they defended the first pastor against a band
If assassus, produced magnificent results.
Not only has it made possible an advan'a-
geous csnrrs5 Sainst the attacks of formicaDl
adTeIsarlesr aus the emauca pAfion OF Catno-
lIc minority i'll country of a Protestant ma
jorlty, but 1t nas given bItl 20 iustrutious OF
every kind AID pr. duced the ost V ,Iled fruits.
IuQs New .. leans, whIch lad only four
parishes twenty FIVE years ago. now has tw=uty-
nlne. Each OF the CHURCHES j. provided with
p8roch!ai schools f,r the two sexes. R=lIg gious
comuuuIJies are established IN large uun nbeis.
There are TO be found twtnty-nil clapris,
twelve charitable lnstIfutions. twelve Cnnfrr.
e.ces of the Society of s.. Vincent de Pa II,
established IN as many parishes, aud sustain
ing, through committees from each Conference.
a lumber of special works-ihe work OF rue
prisons. of the catechism, of assistance TO the
hidden poor, etc.
To TINS powerful organization corresponds a
devotion essentially Catholic in its man fiesta
lions and French IN its origin. Mgr. Perche
obtained from the Holy F4rner pernIs ion to
establish in his Diocese two pilgrmages, that
OF LouIdes and that of PAray-le- Morial, secu-
ring the same iudul -ences as those accorded to
the pilgrimages in France. From thirty to
thirty i've thousand of tie faithful followed
each other during nine successive days in the
churches designated by the Arch bishop for
these pilgrimsges. His diocese is consecr4ted
10 our Lady of LouTdes, his Province to the
Sacred Heart.
Cofortunateiy, the resozrces which were
furnished him in other times by his diocesans
II sucn great abundance TO enable him TO
speLl enormous sums for works of all kinds,
10 longer offered TO him. The civil W ar
ruined LoClsIsua-the emancipation of the
blacks CAUSED the loss Of ii thousand millions TO
their o.G owners ] he lauc are not cultivated.
Business !, Z a condition of stagnatiou, which
seems !:TemediaOle. In families which pos
sessed II DID times fortunes of two or three
millions. toe women are reduced TO the neCes-
si'y of earning their bread by the labor of
ll-.r hands
Profoundly touched by a coudition of affairs
which peTll= The future cf Catholic works in
L1uisiana, Mgr. Perchr has come TO knock at