The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-04

church. The other day a celebrated bishop
who had been dead for don't know how
long was honored with new monument in
the Cathedral of Santiago, and this was
made the occasion of a great celebration.
I went in company With the American min
lister, and found that nearly all of the for
eign diplomats were crescent. The President,
the general of the army and the admiral
of the navy were there in their official
dress. and during the ceremonies all
kneeled again and again in unison with the
priests and other church digntaries. / am
told however, that within recent years
other religions have been more tolerated
by Chile than almost any other South
American country. There are two large
American school here in Santiago, one sup
ported by the Methodist and the other by
the Presbyterian churches of the United
States and there are other missionary col
leges and churches in different parts of the
country. These are tolerated however, on
the grounds of modern progress rather
than from any desire of the Chileans to
change their religion. They are. I believe,
satisfied with Catholicism, though the edu-
Gated Chilean man does not like the way
in which the church NEEDLES with political
matters. He does not go to church except
on Sundays and feast days, and. like many
other men outside of South America, he
leaves most of the church exercises to his
wife and daughters. The women of Chile
are one of the strongest elements in up
holding Catholicism and its influence They
are very devout. You see them in the
churches week day and Sunday kneeling
on the stone floors and saying their pray
ers. You meet them on the streets going
prayer rug in one hand and prayer book
in the other, and if you will enter the
churches you may, perhaps, see pretty
devotee who will look at you out of the tail
Of her eye as she mumbles her prayers with
a cross old duenna in the background. AS
in Peru and Bolivia, the women in Chile
wear solid black when they go to church.
They cover their heads with black mantss,
and a church congregation makes you
think of a nunnery with all of the nuns
clad in black. Indeed, to wear white at
such times is sign of grief and shame
rather than of purity and joy. 1t is the
custom for women who have done wrong to
put on white clothes and shroud their
heads in white shawls to show that they
are penitent and are resolved to be good
for the future / have seen several very
pretty girls so dressed, and as they passed
have thought of Hawthorne's story Of the
Scarlet Letter. and wondered if in some
cases there should not be priest walking
beside them.
WORTH $100, 100000.
The Catholic Church here is enormously
wealthy. / have heard it said that it's prop
erty in Santiago alone is worth more than
an hundred million gold dollars. 1t has
some of the best business blocks of the city.
The whole of one side of the Plaza which
is the very center of the most valuable of
Santiago business property. is taken up by
the palace of the archbishop and by the
cathedral, and there is other property all
about this belonging to, the church. 1t has
acres of stores, thousands of rented houses
and vast haciendas upon which wine and
other things are made for sale. Nearly all
of this is controlled by the archbishop, al
though much of the church property is held
by its different organizations. The Carmel
lite nuns of this city are the richest body OF
women in South America, if not in the
world. They have whole streets of rented
houses near their nunnery and own also
large farms. which bring them in a steady
income These nuns never allow their faces
to be seen by men, and If for any reason
men must be employed in the nunpery for
shroud their forms and heads in thick black
cloth when passing by them. OF course no
| one is admitted to the convent proper but
through a friend who has some influence
| with them 1 was admitted to the beautiful
! chapel which they have established for the
use of their employees and outsiders In get
| ting the permission we talked with the nuns.
| though we did not see them. Our speaking
| tube was a dumb waiter and the voice that
| came down was singularly sweet, and as
| heard it utter the soft musical Spanish it
seemed to me shame that it should, as is
| the rule of the establishment, be confined to
| a whisper.
The Dominican friars also own millions
of dollars worth of property in Santiago.
! l walked for blocks past houses every one of
| which l was told belong to them and paid
| them rent monthly. They dress in black
| hats and gowns, with soft white flannel I'M
dergowns. and they look quite imposing as
| they fling themselves along the streets.
| Their church is perhaps the finest In San
| tago. 1t is almost a cathedral in size and
! appearance and its altar is one of the most
| beautiful on this hemisphere. When the
! altar was ordered from Europe the size of
| the church was not considered, and when it
| arrived it was found that it was too big
for the church. The good friars did not
know what to do for a time but, as the
| altar had cost thousands of dollars, they
! concluded to build new church. Here,
! however, another mistake was made. 1t was
/ found that the church had been enlarged roo
much, and that the space left for the altar
was now as much too big as it had formerly
been too little. They filed in the space.
however, with other material, so that to-
| day the costly altar looks rather patchy,
| after ALL FRANK G. CARPENTER.