Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-20

The Corner Stone of the New Building
Laid with Impressive Ceremonies.
P0I;1ao~a lC1,

06N
Under all the favorable auspices of fair
skies and genial sunshine, of crowds OF
happy faces, of music and bright uni.
forms, and of solemn ceremonies. the cor.
ner stone of the new PassiOnist Monastery
on the Frederick road, was laid Sunday
afternoon. The exercises began after
three O'Clock, but by two O'clock the lawn
in front of the building and aside the
church was packed. The societies. under
command Of Mr.. August Hengemihle
formed at Stiefels, a short distance from
the monastery, and marched thither.
A little after 8 O'Clock the speakers.
Bishop VIM. II. Gross, of Savannah, and
Bishop Martin Marty, of Dakota Terri
tory, preceded by other clergy. stepDed
from a side door Of the church. and pass
ing through the files of knights. who
saluted them with their swords, ascended
the platform. A brief prayer was said.
most OF the audience kneeling, while the
men uncovered their heads and kent their
hats off during the entire service. Then
Bishop Gross stepped forward, his long
robes of purple silk trailing after him, and
after making the customary sign of the
cross addressed the people. Alter refer
ring to his frequent presence at the I'M
yelling OF soldiers monuments, and that
the present occasion was far nObler in
being the beginning of an institution
NnOoC ObJCNb 10 " tcdCu the QOCIflnGS OF
the holy church, both theoretically and
practically, he continued: 'eThis age is
remarkable for its infidelity, both theOret-
ical and practical, and see what it has ac-
complished in Europe. In a state of pro-
found peace there are millions of men
under arms, and yet the people are on the
brink of revolution. The government
must be prOpped up with ~bayOnets, and
bayOnets are ugly things to sit down on.
EUnn a nor fnrrfhIa a-s1O,24 90 l-,A-
tent than this is the wonderful torrent of
emigration.
"All forms of European government are
now thoroughly pagan in tone; the ruler
is the pOntifeX maXimus, is the religious
head of his subjects. The State has en-
tirely supplanted the church. Almost at
It's entrance in the world the child is met
by the police officer registering it's birth;
next, the State hurries the child to its
school, whence every vestige of religious
doctrine is scrupulOusly b~anished. And
from the school to the barracks, torn from
the sacred influence of the mother and
consigned to the tender mercies of the
drill sergeant, and the time that should
be spent in learning a trade is wasted in
the barracks.
The Bishop then described how differ
emily the church trains the child; how it
sanctiies and throws every guard around
VIZ AANAAA e. NA(a AlA0 AO <
and her children try to bear with each
others weaknesses, and to bear the
cross that u accompany every state Of
life. The cross in this life is the crown
in the next. Remember, she says to the
poor and the afflicted, Christ suffered on
the cross. Your bed is hard, but His was
harder; you have around you in the hour
need holy cOmfOrters; He had naught but
hooking blasphemers. And to the tOiling
labOrer she shows that labor is noble;
Christ chose poverty and worked as a
carpenter, enrolling poverty and sancti-
tying labor. He concluded by recurring
to the PassiOnist Society and its noble
work in preaching and unfolding Chris
tianity, thus saving this country from any
such woes as those of infideI Europe.
The Archbishop went over to the cor
ner-stOne, sprinkled the holy water OVer
it, and then passed the trOwel over the
top and the edges, the Rev. Messrs. Jo-
seph NJ. SOrg and A. Didier assisting. All
were clad in magnificent robes. Then he
returned and knelt at the velvet cOlored
desk and repeated the Litany of Saints;
the others, grouped picturesquely around
him, responded. Then he again sprinkled
the stone with holy water, and then, fol-
lowed by the clergy, he walked on the
holy water everywhere. Mean
while Bryan Hanrahan, the con-
tractor for the building, and
al assistant had placed the stone in posi-
ton at the northwest corner of the east
wing. On his return, Archbishop Ryan
again sprinkled holy water on the stone.
A prayer followed, then all sang "Veni
Creator" and the ceremonies closed with
the benedictiOn by Archbishop Ryan.
The priests sang the ~"Laudamus," the
band accompanying, and then all returned
TO the church.