St. Paul daily globe., 1886-06-01
Mass for the Dend.

The service at st. Paul's cathedral yes
terday morning was the first of the kind
ever held in this city on Decoration day. 1t
was planned by the Crusaders and will I'M
doubtedly be the beginning of the regular
annual celebration by the Catholics of the
city of solemn high mass of requiem for the
souls of soldiers who lost their lives in de-
Tending their country. The Catholic So
ceties which were to take part in the cere-
mony began to assemble on st. Peter street
opposite the cathedral as early as 9:45
o'clock and continued getting into place
under the direction of I. ID. O'Bren and
j. f. CaTere. the latter being the general
manager of the whole arrangement. until
the time set for the mass, 1880 o'clock ap-
preached. Six Crusaders, j. Conroy, Henry
Lacy, j. j. Armstrong. c. Rowe, j. F.
Hughes and Robert Powers acted as uShers
and kept the whole body of the cathedral
unoccupied until the societies were seated.
Shortly after 10 o'clock the procession
formed and marched directly to
the cathedral, entering and taking
their seats in the following order: Dele
cations from Acker, Garfield. Winthrop,
Bircher and Ord posts, G. A. r., to the
number of about 200, who were given seats
forward. These were followed by the
Catholic sOcieties-St. Peters, ST. Glenn
ems, st. Francis de Sales, Union Franchise,
st. John the Baptist, Knights Of st. George,
st. WeneslauS, st. John, Knights of st.
John of Burnsville, and the Crusaders. in
all about 400 men. These filled the whole
body of the church except the pews nearest
the door, which, with the galleries, were
quickly occupied, even standing room being
occupied to some extent. The pewS re-
served in front for city and county officials
were unoccupied.
The altar was draped in black, on the
front being a maltese cross of white putfed
silk in the center Of the black cloth. In
front of the steps to the sanctuary was
placed catafalque appropriately draped.
on either side of which were three candles
on pedestals draped in black. At 10:30
O'Clock the candles We're lighted and the
procession of priests and acolyteS entered
from behind the altar. the celebrant, Rev.
Father O'Brien and his two assistants,
Rev. Father 4. Oster of Clontarf, deacon,
and Rev. Father Gibbons, subdeacon.
took their places at the altar. with
Rev. Father Byrne as master of ceremon-
les at the right and the mass began. The
celebrant, deacon and subdeacOn wore the
vestments of black and white. Other
members OF the clergy were: Fathers Ma
jer, Stanley and Plat, the latter of Shak-
opee. The music of the mass was Spoth'S
arrangement of the Gregorian Requiem in
full. The Cathedral choir was assisted by
MessrS a. Dufrene, L.. Courteau OF ST..
Louis church choir, L. Kerker OF ST. Fran
els church choir and j. Heck of Assump-
tion church choir, and the music was un-
der the direction of Prof. William Maen-
ner. The music and ceremonies OF the
mass were very sad and impressive.
FATHER BYRNE's ADDRESS.
Father Byrne read the gospel from the
twelfth chapter of MaccabeeS. on the sub
ject of offering prayers for the dead. His
discourse is summarized as follows:
Agreeably to lesson just read and resolu-
tion of the Catholic societies, we are as
sembled here to pray for our fallen soldiers.
Although this is the first time their praises
are sang in this sacred editce, yet we
hope 1t will call down the mercy OF God.
Every one who actively contributed to the
preservation of this country is u principal in
| the glory achieved. War is a hideouS thing.
1t means death TO everything living, even
| to the blade of grass. But IL God has
allowed such monster to be let loose, ne
| has also raised up creature to conquer 1t.
I mean the patriot. Scarcely quarter OF 6
| century ago this country was on the brink OF
| destruction and ruin. Departure for the
| seat of toll meant destruction to ell the
| patriot possessed; it meant hardship and wan
| to the widow and children. With wha
tenderness and love must we look back OF
| these heroes, now dead, as they marched
| away from their needy dwellings, With ten
| derneSS must we think of them dreaming a
night of their Western homes, of the wan
and the wild beasts at the doors of thei
cabins, and the terrors Threatening thei
loved ones behind were greater than tn
danger ahead. With what gratitude must w
contemplate them marching to the front. Blu
we must consider this day from
Catholic standpoint. The malevolenc
of quarter of q century ago ha
long since been limited to the ground, and th
church marches on with queenly steps. Tn
speaker reviewed the part taken in the wa
by Catholics and to the good feeling toward
the church which had arisen from rnls ser1