The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-10-01


indeed il Is known to be fact-tnat the
ouairt and pleasant little village OF Newry,
in our neighboring comfy OF Blair, has never
extended 4 kindly welcome and an abundant
and generous hospitality to so many people
a the same time As Il did on Thursday iaSt.
Thp occasion which brought together such an
Immense concOurSe Of humanity, and which
made tie day memorable in the annals o. the
Catholic Church and peculiarly noteworthy
i'm tine history OF the ancient village IN QueS-
finr was fbe celebration Of the fiftieth ami
yerSary Of the ordination OF Rev. rather Jas.
Bradley, who for half a century has perform
ed the sacred duties of priest all but two
wears of which he has spent on the very spot
and among many of the people where and
bv whom this grand ovation was gotten up
and so successfully carried through. HaF-
ing been very kindly remembered by the com
mittee of invitation, and having beel! one OF
Father BTadley's boys from the time he first
settled in NeWry, although we were then
mere infant. up until the completion of the
present English Catholic church in Holidays
burg il would have i'll become Us to remain
away from Il celebration so fraught with IN
tereSt and so commemorative OF the love and
esteem entertained for this venerable and
faithful priest by his always devoted and ever
Obedient children in the faith. Having been
there, then, the pleasant duty devOYeS upon
lis of describing as accurately and cOnclSely
as possible the scenes and incidents of that
memorable ''feaSt of reason and How OF soul
which forms an epoch in religious progress
that has seldom had u counterpart in this or
any other country, simply because 1t IS an
exceedingly rare occurrence for either priest
or minister to attain to so venerable an age
or to labor 50 long and so earnestly for the
spiritual welfare Of his people as has been
the case in this instance We have said that
the duty deyOlveS upon us of relating what
we saw, heard and experienced in the gOOdly
town Of NeWry on Thursday last. and in do
ing 50 we only regret that we have been dis
appointed in receiving the names, as we had
Hu~~faf.
an active part in getting up this grand Ova-
ton, and especially CT the ladies who labor
ed so zealouSly and untiringly, and VINO drew
50 unsparingly upon the resources OF both
city and country, to IurDlSh feast which all
who sat down to were constrained to admit,
and they did it with an enthusiasm express
i've of sincere admiration and delightful en-
IOyment, that such an abundance OF good
things so bountifully provided and So admi-
rdblV prepared had neYeT-well, SCarCelycVer
greeted the visions or Satiated the appetiteS
of a host of hungry mortalS. We can say,
however, that of all who took part IN making
the celebration so complete and successful,
none there were who rendered more einclent
and valuable aid to the Jealous and beloved
curate of the congregation, Rev John Ward,
eldest son of Mr.. Martin Ward, of this place,
without whose indOmitablC perseverance and
untiring energy Father Bradlcy'S golden Ju-
bilee would probably have passed without ap-
prOpriate cOmmemOration, than did MeSSrs.
4. j. Anderson, Henry and Frank Mcintosh,
Adam Hoover, Michael Murphy and the re-
Spective wives of said gentlemen-all good
friends and true of the FREEMAN and Its
editor.
Before entering into further details let us
saw something of the venerable and beloved
priest whose semi-centennial was thus so fit
tingly and so wOrthily commemOrated. Rev.
Jas. Bradley, we learn from brief sketch
OF his long and eventful life furnished to the
Altoona Tribune was born in Lisbane, par
iSh Of Upper BadOney, in the county Tyrone,
Ireland, ia the year 1904. lie pursued his
studies mt Bishops College, in Londonderry,
where he prepared himself for the priesthood.
Leaving said college he came to this country
in October 1925, ana continued his theOlOg-
ical studies at Mt. st. MaTy's College. En-
mittsburg, Md. then as now. one of the most
renowned institutions Of learning in the nj
ted States. Among those who were students
at Mt. St. MaTy'S during the years Mr.. Brad
ley was there, were the present Cardinal Nc
ClOSkey, of New NOTk, Father John NIcCaf-
frey, President Emeritus Of the College, and
many others who rose to high places in the
Church. The famous Bishop Brute (prO-
nOunccd Bruta) was professor iH the col
lege and Father Bradley's Instructor whie
there. On September y, 1880, Father Brad 4
ley and several other candidates Tor holy or
derS were ordained in the Jesuit church at
C0Hcwagu, Pa, by the reyeTed Bishop Ken
rick, then Of Philadelphia, but afterwards
Archbishop of Baltimore, that being the first
ordination ceremony performed by the Bi5h-
Op. Father Bradley was then sent TO this
place (EbenSOuTg), making his way through
what was at that time vast and almost i'm
penetrabic wilderness. On reaching NewTy
while EN- route to his destination, the then
young priest, in November. 1880. ce lebratpd
his first Mass in the Old stone church at that
place, to which at that early day and for sew
eral years after tie then comparatively few
Catholics living within reaching distance were
wont to flock on Sundays and holy DAYS of
obligation for devotional purposes. Reach
ing this place in due time, Father Bradley OF
ganiZed 4 congregation and became the first
pastor of the first Catholic church i'm Ebcns-
burg-the small brick edifce ia which the
congregation continued to worship until the
completion OF the present large and hand
some structure. lie remained here two years
and was then transferred to Newry, where he
took charge on the fiIst Sunday its Advent
1872 and where he has continued to reside
ever since, embracing period of forty-eight
years.
Such is a brief resume of the leading Incl
dents III the religious career of the aged ana
Jealous priest to commemorate whose golden
wedding 20 the spouse of Christ there assem-
bled in Ncwry or Thursday last not only the
TT. Rev. Bishop and some nineteen priests of
the dioceses, but huudredS-ayc, thousands
of old and young people from far and near.
With a determination to have nothing hut
the best of everything necessary to the pro-
per celebration of an event SO important the
COMMITTEES of Arrangements secured the ser
vices Of the Altoona City Band for the out-
door display and of st. Johns choir, of the
same city, for the more sacred ceremonies in
side the church. These two musical organi-
ZdtiOns, it is but faint praise to say, are in
their distinct and difficult roles without supp-
riors outside the larger cities if even there any
can be found to excel them. The organiza.
tiOn first named is called silver cornet band
but as they win golden opinions wherever
they 90, the silver part applied to anything
but their instruments would seem to be n mis-
nOmer. BY the way, the good ladies of New
~ presented the band with iargc and eie-
CANT cake, and as the ladies aforesaid NAV De
in knowing what became OF their
handsome gift we take pleasure in inform
ing them that by q unanimous vote OF the re
cipienss, who always count us in rs one of
them wherever they find us, the cake was do
mated to the writer hereof, who promised to
put il where it would do the most good and
IN fulfliment of that promise turned it over
to Mrs. Josiah ChrSty, of GallitZin for the
benefit of the Catholic fair now being held
In that place. OF course we are aware that
we have given the boys away in making these
disclosures, but as that is exactly what they
did with the luscious gift when they got it.
and what we did when it was presented to
us, there Is no denying that the hoGOrs are
easy between us all--cake, cornet and com
parry.
But enough OF this, ami now let us return
to the more serious part of the program. The
first business in hand was the presentation of
q magnificent gOid-clOth veStment and gold
chaice, costing S125, to the venerable pastor
INe presentation took place inside the sane
tuaTy rails of the church, the assistant priest
Rev. Father Ward delivering most touch
ing and eloquent address on behalf of the
congregation, to whom belong the credit of
having purchased the beautiful articles and
was responded to by Father Bradley in an
address as clear and distinct as it was fun of
pathOS and heartfelt gratitude to the kind
and consderate donors. What followed we
cannot better descri6e than in the language
g. g. 4