Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-13
THEIR CHIEF STONE.
Over 1000 People of Wilkinsburg's
Vicinity at St. James Church
TO WITNESS YESTERDAYS SERVICE
The Bishop and Large Number Of the
Clergy as Participants.
MEMS MISSION CATHEDRAL CONVERTS

The residents of the beautiful and thriv
ing borough of Williamsburg turned out il
LARGE numbers yesterday afternoon to wit
ness the laving of the cornerstone of thu
new ST, James Catholic Church, which edi
fee was totally destroyed by fire Decembel
% last The ceremonies were witnessed BY
over 900 people, who came from the sur
rounding country.
The weather could not have been NOR
favorable for the event. The sun shont
with brilliant splendor upon the vari-col
ored vestments of the bishop and the as
sistant clergy. To use the expression of one
of them, it was ''scorching hot;" but the
several thousand people stood with uncov.
cred heads while viewing the ceremonies Of
depositing the historical box in the corner
stone and listening to the sermon OF the
learned minister.
The ceremonies were conducted by Rt.
Rev. Bishop Phelan, assisted by these
clergymen:
MANY PARTICIPANTS.
Rev. Fathers E. A. McKeever. of Datrobe,
who was master of ceremonies; Thomas Devlin,
of the Holy Cross Church, Southside deacon;
James Kenoy, of Grafton, sub-deacon; Hickey,
of Braddock; Murphy and Phelan, of the Holy
Ghost College; Leander, of ST. Mary's; Vim
cent, of St Vincent's College; Cunningham, of
Turtle Creek; Nolan, of McKeesport; Joseph
Suhr, of ST. Peter and Paul's; Neeson. of st.
John the Baptist; Purman, Of Greensburg:
Tobin, of the Holy Ghost College, and Francis
Keane, of the Sacred Heart Church, East End.
The sermon was delivered by Father
Keane, who spoke fuently and very enter
tainingly of the object of the ceremonies
and the purposes of building. He lkened
the church to the temple of Jerusalem,
where the chosen people of God worshiped.
One floor of the building, he said, would be
devoted to Christian education. There the
youth will be taught their duties to God
as well as to their fellow man, their country
and themselves. The young minds will be
trained to think and know OF things pure
and to hate iniquity. He said that every
fellow citizen of the locality worthy of the
name of citizen, should feel proud of the
general good to be done them by the insti-
tuition. Their children would be taught
not only the law of God, but the law of the
land; the rights of person, their character
and property.
WHAT WAS IN THE BOX.
The box contained history of the church,
a copy of The DISPATCH of yesterday and
one containing the account of the burning
of the last building, and other documents,
was then deposited.
The new church will be a two-story brick,
and will seat $50 persons. 1t will be 95 feet
long and 81 feet wide, and will cost $12, 500.
The first floor, which will be used for school
purposes, will have four rooms
The burned building was erected to re-
place the one built in the autumn of 1869,
and dedicated on November 29 of that year
by the Very Rev. John Hickey, admins
traitor of the diocese of Pittsburg during the
absence of the Bishop, Right. Rev. Michael
, Dopenec, d. D., who was at the Vatican
Council. 1t was enlarged in 1888, and dedi-
Gated September 9. The Building Commit
tee is composed of Messrs Joseph Kountz,
Arthur Cregan, August Simmer, james A.
Doran, Cornelius Madden and John c.
Geary.
There was a small street demonstration,
kparticipated in by the various Catholic
Societies of East Liberty, before. the cere-
monies. The CHEZ Marsfaf was Arthur
Cregan; aids, Edward Splane and Robert
Mccall. Company c, Hibernian Rifles, of
East Liberty, had out about 60 men
under the command of Captain
Thomas j. Lyons, First Lieutenant
P. Quinn and Second Lieutenant Michael
Reynolds. They were escorted by the
Elliott Mccall cornet band. Division No.
s, A. o. H, and st. Joseph's Society, under
the command of Robert Mccall, were the
other organizations. A long line of car
riages followed the mRrchers.
Work on the new building will be begun
immediatelv