The herald., 1894-09-03
THE FEAST OF ST. v|B|ANA
A High Church Function at
the Cathedral.
Attendance ut the Churches Again on
the Increase.
The Work Done by the Y. W, o. A. in
Their Efforts to Do Good-Gen-
eraI News of the City's Places
of Worship.

The feast OF st. Vibiana, virgin and
martyr, was celebrated yesterday at the
cathedral with great pomp and solemn
ity. Pontiical high MACS was conduct
ed at 10 80 by Ri. Rev. Bishop George
Montgomery as celebrant. who was
robed in his elegant bishopric robes.
Deacon, Rev. Father Dye; sub-descon.
Rev. Father McAuliffe; grand master
of ceremonies, Rev. Father Gotta; assist
ant grand master, Rev. Father Adams
of Brooklyn, N. Y. Rev. Father Adam
OF the cathedral was first assistant to his
lordship, the bishop.
Ri. Rev. Bishop Mora lent his pres
ence to the solemnity Of the scene.
which was very impressive, with the
acclytes dressed in white, together with
the priestly robes of red--this color be-
ing only used when the feast OF q martyr
is being celebrated-together with the
innumerable candles and tapers, with
the altar trimmed in flowers, palms, etc.
It was indeed an impressive scene.
The musical programme was one u
the finest ever rendered by this ele-
CANT choir, which is being brought up
to standard not to be sur
passed in the state. The choir was d.
rected by Prof. A. G, Gardner, who also
presided at the organ. The magnificent
mass composed by I. Won LaLache.
MESA Pro Pace. comprising the Kyrie.
Gloria, Credo, Sanctus Benedictus and
Sancius. Several solos in the abe We, to-
gether with the trio voices in the Offer
tory Eece Pants, were rendered in suberb
style and admiration. The solists were
the following: Soprano, Mise Cecilia
Gardner; alto, Mrs. B. Gardner; tenor.
W. A. Werner; / $50. F. w. Wallace.
According to the rtiole OF the SAtur-
days HERALD it WAS hoped that the
church would be filed to its. utmost ca
pacity. and go IL was, over 1000 persons
being present. After singing the goe-
pei by the deacon, Very Rev. Joaquin
Adams, vicar general Of the diocese,
Rscended to the pulpit and delivered an
eloquent sermon, of which the following
is a short synopsis:
The preacher took for his text, st.
Matthew, chapter %, verse 80. In the
Resurrection They Shall Be al the An
gels of God in Heaven. He said that
when the Lord was approached by the
Sadducees and asked concerning the
state of some married people in the other
world, our Savior answered, "You are
not knowing the scriptures, nor the
power of God, for in the resurrection
they shall neither marry nor be given in
marriage, but shall be ss the angels Of
God in heaven"
If married people that died in the
Lord are as the angels in heaven, how
much more are entitled to that name,
those who, as the saint whose relics are
kaI hA;r xys~ -snsk A.
God. We lament that we have no par
ticulars concerning the life of st. Vibi-
ana, but the inscription on her tomb is
praise enough: ITO the innocent and
pure soul of Vibiana." From this in
scription, written by the fret Christian,
the orator tried to prove that st. Vibi-
ana was an angel of innocence, an angel
of purity.
lie distinguished two kinds of limo.
cence-original and baptismal. The
first we lost in Adam, the latter is given
in baptism and retained by those who
never commit single mortal sin. He
said of children that died before the
use OF reason, we are certain they died
in their baptismal innocence. OF adults
we can never be certain, unless God will
reveal that fact to US.
He asked how did tbs first Christian
know that st. Vibiana preserved her
baptismal innocance, and answered
they could only surmise 1t from her
pure life. He said the title of pure in
the Latin inscription means more thaa
an ordinary purity. 1t means such
chastity, such modesty, that would blush
at any word less becoming.
According to him st. Vibiana must
have consecrated her virginity to God,
as other holy msidens did-Ste. Lucy
and st. Agnes-and a day must have
come when some noble Roman asked
her hand and she refused. Then she
must have been accused by him, that
Vibiana was Christian. She must
have been dragged to the tribunal
and forced through torture to deny
Christ and break her virginia. vows, bat
the saint must have resisted till the
shedding of her blood, as is indicated by
the vial full Of it found hanging before
her tomb. Her struggle to keep herself
pure and chaste must have been so great
that the Christians admiring such virtue
wrote on her tomb: ITO the innocent
and pure soul of Vibisna. Rested in
peace on the 31st OF October"
The preacher concluded exhortin1 the
congregation to initiate the virtues of
their pstroness, and to procure to them.
selves FROM the intercession of the saint
every temporal and spiritual blessing.
He asserted that the relics Of some mar
tyrs have sometimes moved our Lord to
deliver cities from fire, pestilence and
destruction, and though he would not
dare to say that the city of Los Angeles
owes in part its prosperity to the inter
cession of st. Vibiana, still it is fact
that when the relics were brought here
in 1854 the place where the cathedral
stands now was a vacant lot, and few
houses could be seen in the neighbour
hood, now is almost in the center OF the
city. He augured for this city thousands
of blessings through the powerful inter-