Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-07-03


ors which have been showered upon me
this day ought to be more than sufhclen, 70
wipe out these lines, and to restore THESE
whiteued hairs. | will not say tnese
expressions of loyalty and Of affection on
the part of my good people Will nave e.e
effect OF reiuvinatng me-of making nio
young again-because do not acknowieose
that am an old man yet, even II 90 "ea.
specs laughter Spcctacles are nos
altogether sign of old age Laugnter.I
"rwenty-five years in the proSpec've
seems TO DE long distance OF. Iweley
Eve years gone into the past, are out
short span. When look oaon
to July 2, 1866. when ! was
ordained priest, IL seems to me 9eo
yesterday. Alb, little did my well-wlshers
Of that day imagine that ] would nVe "
celebrate my silver jubilee. | was 'ssn
considered to be victim of that lel us
ease, consumption, and already II was sup
posed to have fastened itself upon me, ou'
although have done my full snare OF ,aia
ing during the twenty-five years Whlen
have followed that time, my lungs na'T
not quite given out yet Laughter
have no doubt ] owe it TO tue OK
ercise forced upon me IN the nut %,
years OF my pastordec
Harper's Ferry, that my voice Is stronger
and my health better than wnenl was o sor
dained priest / make this statement ioi
the benefit of the young clergy, IKE
Father Fitzpatrick, daughter VINO uaso
TO spend so much time in the saauiT, !.
summers heat and winters storm iua1
field OF labor suffered much from lus
bitterness of the civil war. All aroupe
were TO be seen evidences OF that long anu
fratricidsl strife. Churches, ike tnat q.
Winchester and st Berkeley Springs, hau
To DE rebuilt; others, rs that at Harper
Ferry, were sadly in need or repairs. ine
poor, scattered sheep OF my mock "ere elJ
ing to get over the ruin OF tnat cou.eS',
and / do not deny that the niue
years of that life entailed upon me much OF
hardship but il was not without its COM
.2ensations Whenever found an oppor,
tunity offered the truths Of the gospel, ana
they were accepted, and whenever couio
get knot of people together. IN Coure
House. or under the forest trees, 1t was my
delight to expcund the teachings CT our
holy faith They were a people poor ~
this worlds goods, but they were rlch 10
faith, and / was loath TO part with tnein'
and viii always keep them in gratetui re-
membrance.
THE sixteen years of my sacerdotai ana
episcopal life among you, my frienCs, Is al,
open book, from the pages OF which neeo
not on this occasion, read. Your modesty
should, perhaps. check the expires
sion I am going TO make. am satls,
fed with you, although do scolG
you sometimes-directly sometimes, ana
Indirectly at others-and L ln1er from
what has been said today, that you are
satisfied with me- This is not one OF the
popular dioceses, and yet, when look
back over the ground, and see what mas
been accomplished during those sixteen
years | am astonished at the results.
Within that time thirty churches nave
been built. One Of my first efforts was
directed toward the reconstruction OF
ST Mary's church, which was burned dur
ing the vace ncy in the See. St. Alphonsus'
has been demolished, and a nooler pile
now occupies its place. 1t Is so at Weston,
so at Huntington, so at the German set
tlemen in Preston, at the German settle
ment in Marshall, at Leading Greek,
in Lewis, in Doddridge county,
and in many other places,
and so far as / can judge, the spiritual
wants of the flock have also been provided
for as satisfactorily as possible.
| There is much need Tor me 10 thank Goa
for giving me priests so Jealous and faith
ful and so devoted 10 the Church and
its pastor There are, indeed,
more inviting fields, perhaps, than
the mountains and valleys OF West Vir-
| ginia, at least in the eyes OF some they are
more attractive, but truer hearts-hearts
more loyal TO God and their country-are
nowhere to be found than among the Cath
ollcs of the diocese OF Wheeling. APP
plause
Il trust, then, my dear, good friends, it
NAV ne permitted me TO spend the re-
mainder of my days among you, and
was not little pleased at table to-day,
inhh 0rnnDQ0
hint that might go 10 other fields OF labor,
and saw the disapproyal manifested oy
! The clergy | am satisfied TO remain here
the remainder OF my Life, and / hope that
the PRAYERS which have gone up To-Day
from many hearts, and which i know have
been heard and answered, that God may
give me the opportunity OF celebrating
my Golden jubilee among you, may be
fulfilled. Applause
"rhis has been 10 me "A day Of jubilation
"a day of pleasure and Of deepest Joy. /
have been reminded OF it, even by the little
ones OF my flock, and / could see in their
Deamine countenances that their little
hearts were aglow with the spirit OF con-
| graduation TO their Bishop, and there is
none Of whom ! am more proud. have
received the congratulations OF my clergy,
| and YOUR CONGRATULATIONS and the presence
| here of this immense mass OF my fellow
citizens, mainly Catholics, suppose, but
mingled with them are many non-Catho-
! lies as well, and this is all a sufficient in
| dication Of your feelings. j have also been
the recipient, and prize it highly,
of a cablegram from Rome, con-
veying to me the congratulations OF the
chief representative OF Christ's flock. And
what is more fitting TO crown this day than
TO invoke upon myself, the clergy, congre-
CATION and citizens the benediction of the
! great invisible Shepherd OF Souls. May
the good God bless you, bless you IN your
homes, in your enterprises, and in all your
Actions"
At the end of the address, which was
loudly applauded, the members of the con-
gregation OF ST. Alphonsus intoned the Tie
/ Deum in German, aud, accompanied by
brass band, a grand chorus rang OUT In
which hundreds joined. The song ended,
the Rt Rev. Bishop invoked a
beuediction upon the multitude, hundreds
! kneeling as lie spoke the solemn and
impressive words, and then, the great
assembage began 10 mount the steps and
march past the RI Rev. Bishops and clergy,
salutine them as they did so, while lire
works blazed and sputtered on all sides.
In a short time procession was
again formed, and the column
again marched through the principal
streets. the line being illuminated with
MANY red fire torches, and roman candles,
| and other fire works were set OF continu-
ally. 1t was a fitting close TO most inter-
esting day, and sufficiently attests the
great love and admiration felt for the OBJ
jest of it all-Rt. Rev. John Joseph Kain. .