The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1889-12-21
THE CATHOLIC CENTENNIAL.
"reminiscences of the Great Meetings in
the City Of Baltimore in the
Years 1889 and 1889.
THE PROGRESS OF CATHOLICl1Y,

One of the Most Interesting and Mar
yellous Events Of the Nineteenth
Century.
The following "reminiscences Of the
late Catholic Centennial which Was
held in Baltimore, is furnished The
IRISH STANDARD bY Mr.. VIM. +.
Markoe. one Of the delegates represent
ing the State of Mtunes0ta,. aud this
city in particular, aud is we'll worthy OF
careful perusal by our readers:
AS a delegate representing Minnesota
in general aud Minneapolis in particular
at the first Catholic Congress ever held
In America, consider that [ have Gu
loved the exalted honor Of partlci pating
In tho most beautiful, the most mar
Yel!ous, the most important aud the
most significant event Of the nineteenth
Century. Though "nuaratively silent
witness to the pr, 90 l.ngs, having little
else to do than 20 CASTE my vote III favor
OF the ringing resolutions unanimously
adopted by lhs Congress, vet Can as
sure you my mind Was not iGle, aud l
have brought back 4 mas OF remlnl5-
cences. impressions aud convictions
which Will endeavor to unravel and
lay before you, hopiug that they will
prove both Interesting and edlfying.
said it was the most beautiful event
of the nineteenth century. Let me
enter little more into detail.
There ia the city Of Baltimore, the
cradle Of the Catholic Church in the
United States. and the birth place OF
religious liberty, in the noble cathedral
of ST. Mary. tho patrlarc:sai church IT
America. on the spot where the illus
trious Bishop Carroll, the mead OF the
American hierarchy, pronounced his
inaugural. / Witnessed spectacle
which for splendor aud rnagniticsuce'
has never been equalled III tie Western
Hemisphere before. AS stood on the
porticO steps Of the beautiful cathedral
I saw amid dense mass Of humanity
q picturesque procession vending it's
WAy slowly along. First came Lhe mag
nihcvnt jeweiled cross flashing in the
sunlight, then long line Of surpllced
seminarlans walking two and two, then
hundreds of priests from every part OF
the country, then the monsignOri in
their purple robes, next some seventy
bishops and a dozen arcnbiShODS III
poutiiicial robes, each followed Dy a
little page carrying his train; and be-
lieye me each was a study as he passed.
The expansive brows. the ascetic faces,
. the noble Carriage, proclaimed them the
flower OF the religious intellect OF
America, Canada, the Unlted States
and sM,xico were all represented by the
distinguished ecclesiasllcS in that long
procession. Lastly there Came, pre-
ceded by a military guard Of honor,
Archbishop Satulil> the PApal Lexate
and representative Of His Holiness, and
Cardinal Taschereau, of Canada, anu
Cardinal Gibbons, the Primate of the
United States.
Within the church Pontiicial High
Mass was celebrated with all the pOmp
aud magn,fcence Of the Catholic ritual.
The high altar was mass OF flowers
and a pyramid Of lights. The music
was superb. The Gregorian chants
were exqulsitively rendered IN the
sanctuary by a male CHOIR Of 40 trained
voices. aud the figured music was ad-
mirably given by d picked choir Of sixty
mixed voices with full orchestra aud
organ accompaniment. Iu the morning
the typical Catholic pulpit orator, Arch
bishop ltyan, of Philadelphia, related
with moving eloquence the struggles
and glorles Of tie Church in the past
century; and in the evening at vespers
Archbishop Ireland pointed out with =
master hand the duties, responsibilities
and possible glories Of the Church in
the coming century. Many declared
his sermon the event of the week. For
myself, believe it was the effort of his.
life. For an hour and a half he held
his vast audience spellbound. Every
sentence was logical sledge hammer.
ana every word was a sentence. HIS
earnest aud impassioned eloquence soon
communicated to his entire audience
the burning zeal and enthusiasm with
which he himself was. devoured, He
stamped himself as pre- eminentlY the.
man for the times and showed his
thorough knowledge Of the spirit of the
I age. is5.f52 S5s
The services were. concluded by Bene
h ddiction of the Blessed .Sacraln ont, after
which = agniicent baritone voice rang
out upon the eathless silence chant
ISln9 the ''t atis. pro- Ponti ice nostrog
IeDle.'' Let llB pray fforsss.D ,pntlff
I.eol md prylates priests and people
Joined ~ the Tsslaon 81 NAY the Lord