The times., 1898-12-18
NOTED REI1a1Eusn coM1Ne'
Mother General of the Order of the
Sacred Heart to Tour A,ueric,

-1oseE "eherui OF tue Order of the
sacred Heart to Tour America.
Mother Aabsi- 4igby Is mother general
of all the religieuseso fthe Order OF tbe sa-
cred Heart throughput the civilized world
Her history furnishes q beautiful examnIa
of rshat can be done and suffered when
life's forces are early directed to tho ar
compllshment of one purpose. Mother
Digby was not born of Catholic parents
but, like Mother Seton. the founder OF the
Sisters of Charity, Cardinal Newman, Car
dinal Wiseman and many other of the
brightest intellects that the church has
ever had. she is a convert.
The Digbys of England, where Mother
Dlgby was born, have long been noted In
social and literary matters. Kenelm Dig
by, an English writer whose works can
truly be said to be both brilliant and pro-
found, the rarest combination in the world
among writer's. and whose most ce,ebrat-
ed work is ''Mores catholici.r is a relative
of Mother Digby.
With every inducement TO enter upon a
worldly career and win renown as a wou,-
an OF learning and social standing. with
all the family connections and wealth
requisite to the accomplishment of any
reasonable wish. so strong was the reIi-
gious feeling Of this young girl that at
II years of age she was received into ths
Catholic Church, and, although she did
not at that time confess her intention of
becoming religieuse, there is no doubt
tnat the VOW was already taken in her
heart, for shortly after this she began 10
serve her time as postulate, and she
took sher final vow when she was only
q. Her talents for the Efe she had chosen
were soon discovered by her slIperiors
Her rise to positions OF influence was
wonderfully rapid and was due to nothing
| other than that she filed every position
assigned her with grace and to the per-
| feet satisfaction OF the heads of her order.
Her first important position was that OF
superiors at Tours. Six or seven years
later she became superior OF the Vicariate
Of England. She has been superior gen.
/ eral of the religious Order of the Sacred
Heart since the spring of 1885. She is the
fifth mother general of the order, and the
first one that has ever visited America.
Il is eminently proper that Mother Digby
should come to the United States. as the
English language is her mother tongue.
Mother Digby sailed from France on
the 1th of August. Her itinerary after
reaching the shores Of North America be-
gan at Montreal, Canada; and from there
she was to journey on and inspect and
confer with all the ladies of the Sacred
| Heart who have charge of educational
| institutions, academies and parochial
schools in Canada, then down into the
| United States and to the Pacific coast:
from there to Mexico; then back again
into the United States. Among the acad-
emies of the Sacred Heart that We may
now consider our own are two in Cuba,
and one in Porto Rico: 5hese viii also
be honored by the, visit from The mother
general
But all this will he done quietly; she IS
not q celebrity on pleasure trip nor yet
one seeking notoriety She Is simply a
mother, visiting her large family Of
daughters, pleased and happy also 10
know their children, the children OF Ma
ry, this last being the name which the
alumnae of the academies of the Sacred
Heart are known. Into every city that
Mother Digby goes she will De accorded
q most hearty welcome by the religieuse,
and receptions in her honor will be given
by the sisters and their graduates. the
Children of Mary, but to these receptions
no outsider. not even Catholics, VIII be
admitted. The world is dead to nUn,
and there IS nothing they dislike more
than to be liOnized. 1t is seldom that one
of them can be induced to have her pict-
ure taken. To this absolute devotion to
their religion and abandonment of the
world is due the fact that the ladies OF
the Sacred Heart have no likeness of
Mother Barat, the founder Of their c.der.