The Irish standard., 1900-09-08
THE PROCESSION ON ST. Marks DAY
The Old St. Johns Cathedral in
the City Of Lyons.
ARCHBISHOP IRELAND'S ALMA MATER
Facts Of Interest to Catholics
of the Northwest.

took run the other day down
TO the city of Lyons, where l lived for
six months in 1868, says William f.
Markoe in his Paris correspondence to
the st. Paul Pioneer Press. met a
nephew of the late Mgr. Caillet of st.
Paul, who insisted upon making me
his guest while in the city. Naturally
Lyons, which is the second largest
city in France, with 4G6,O00 inhabi
tants, as we'll as one Of the oldest
cities, possesses many objects of inter-
est to the traveller, but 1 will mention
only two. The first is the famous pill
grimage ofFourviere,an ancient chapel
situated at the summit of high hill,
with steeple surmounted by gilt
bronze statue of the Blessed Virgin,
which is visible for many miles in all
directions. An ascent of two hundred
steps brings the visitor just under the
feet of the statue. from which mag
nificent view is obtained, including the
ruins OF the ancient Roman aqueduct,
some fity-two miles long. The inter-
for walls of the chapel of Fourviere
are literally covered with ''ex-votos"
In the shape of paintings, inscriptions,
medals, crutches and miniature ships,
left in testimony of gratitude for fa-
yors and wonderful cures believed to
have been obtained through the in.
1euession of the virgin mother Of
Christ. Recently magnificent BASIL
fca Of imposing proportions has been
erected alongside of the old chapel to
testify still further to the gratitude
Of heavens benefcences.
The other prominent feature of in
ferest is st. Johns cathedral, very
ancient structure and masterpiece
OF Gothic architecture. 1t contains
a remarkable clock, constructed by
Guilfelmus Nourpission Of Lyons in
the year 1893. This wonderful piece
of mechanism indicates not only the
seconds, minutes and hours, but the
days Of the week and the month, all
the feasts and fasts of the ecclesias-
tical year, the Dominica letter, the
Golden number, and there is one dial
and hand said to move only once in a
hundred years. it's sole object being to
mark the passage of the centuries.
was not little surprised to notice
in the chapter room not far from this
relic of antiquity an American stove
with the trade mark of a Philadelphia
manufacturer. 1t was in this ancient
cathedral that Mgr. Charbonnel, the
first bishop of Toronto, after his re-
tirement from missionary life, acted
as coadjutor to the cardinal arch
bishop of Lyons.
I could not return to Paris without
paying visit to the little town Of
Montluel, where I lived for eighteen
months in '6S and 80. Montluel, from
the Latin words "Mons Lupi' (wolf
,nountain), is situated in beautiful
plain at the foot of q range of high
hills, about fifteen miles east of Lyons.
1t is a typical French village and Of
great antiquity, tracing it's history
back to the Roman era. Portions of
the walls and towers of the Roman
Notifications are still visible. Prof.
Macolx of the faculty of sciences in
Lyons recently discovered in this
neighborhood the teeth Of an elephant
of the glacier age. The river Serein,
usually placid stream, but occasion
ally a roaring torrent, restrained only
by the high stone walls that inclose
1t, flows through the village. A mag
nificent avenue of grand old linden
trees runs nearly the whole length Of
the town. At the end of this avenue
stands the house we occupied. It
had just been vacated, and on enter
ing it I found everything exactly as
we had left it thirty years ago. A
local photographer took q very good
picture of it for me.
1t was here that DR.. Markoe of st.
Paul, when about ten years old, be-
came the hero of the town by riding
into the village on the back Of a
camel with circus parade and hang
Ing by his knees on the top of a high
iron gate in front of the mayors resi-
dence. In fancy I heard again the
shouts Of the astonished villagers ex-