Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-03-26

au4s 4AAE MkAS 44&autAC, FA6SA
Above the figure of the Blessed Moth
er are the Greek letters n. II tn Y.
| signifying Mother of Cod
The child Jesus is represented as q
| grown child. One of the sandals IS
! REPRESENTED as falling of while He
| clasps His Mothers arm IN fright, as
il he wished to seek refuge IN ner
| bosom from the instruments OF His
passion which the angels are present
ing to Him. Above the head Of the
| Divine Child are painted the Greek
letters &c. XC., the initials for Jesus
| Christ On the right of the Virgin
| Mother is the figure OF the Archangel
I Michael. The faces of both the Mother
| and Child are most amiable, though
expressive of great sorrow. The eyes
in both paintings are most realistic, SO
much so. indeed. that IN. contempiat
ing it one is impressed as II the
painted figure was about to address the
ibeholder.
The picture that will henceforth be
| enthroned in St Johns church IN Bel
laire is an exact duplicate IN every
particular of the miraculous one pre-
served in the Eternal City The
| painting is in oil and made on 4nlaid
| cedar wood. The painting is reported
in Rome to be one of the most faith
full, in tact the reverend fathers at the
church OF st. Alphomsus say That W IS
| the most faithful reproduction OF the
original that has ever been known 70
to made, and they had put it away In
order ito preserve 1t, when fatner
| Wehrle induced them to part with 1t
and allow him to bring it to America
! and enthrone it in his parish churcn.
| The fathers parted with it on the rep
reservations of the pastor as TO the
great devotion that was manifested by
his people for the Blessed Mother, I'M
| Ger that title OF Our Lady OF Perpet-
ual Help.
The picture that raj then delivered
to Father Wehrle was especially
blessed by Pope Leo, who also accord
ed to the Shrine Of Our Lady OF Fer
petual Help the briefs erecting the
shrine economically and making the
altar a "Privileged-Altar." The
shrine in st. Johns church stands at
the gospel side of the church, n was
until the present moment occupied by
an altar that had been placed there IN
honor of the Mother of God. The
place will undoubtedly henceforth be-
come noted and if the past is to be q
criterion of the future Our Lady OF
Perpetual Help in Bellaire Will DE
most propitious in her intercession Tor
her devout clients.
Already on the day previous to the
erection of the shrine the people OF
Bellaire prepared themselves for the
celebration of the great event.
All Sunday afternoon the church
hall at st. Johns was crowded
by people preparing themselves to re-
ceive the sacrament OF penance.
Father Wehrle was assisted in hear
ing confessions by the Rev. Father
Augustine of the ST. Alphonsus church
in Wheeling and by the Rev. Father
Weigand of Bridgeport. 1t was
nearly eleven O'Clock at night When
the reverend fathers left the confess
sional. Even at five o'clock the next
morning the reverend pastor On the
conversation was found in church
distributing the Holy Communlon; at
intervals of half hours great numbers
Of people received this Holy Sacra-
ment. At eight o'clock the Rev.
Father Augustine celebrated a low
mass for the poor souls in purgatory
and this mass was attended by a great
number of people.
At ten O'Clock there was a solemn
high mass celebrated by the reverend
rector of the parish n the cnurch
was crowded. Father Charles Null
hearn. of Martins Ferry, acted as dea-
con OF the mass, and the Rev. Father
| Weigand, of Bridgeport, as sub-dea-
con. The Rev. Father Augustine, OF
the Capuchin fathers in Wheeling,
acted as master of ceremonies. Dur
| ing the afternoon at the hour OF three
o'clock the reverend pastor consecrat-
ed in a special the little
children of the congregation to the
| Blessed Mother of God. Another
very edifying feature of the erection
of the shrine and illustrative OF the
great confidence that the people have
in the e~fficacious intercession or the
Blessed Mother of God is the very
| great number of petitions that have
been made in writing and placed as an
! Offering at the Shrine of Our Dear
Lady, and these petitions were also
offered during the Holy Sacrifice OF
the Holy Mass during the morning.
The evening ceremonies were grand
III Iues 6AlIcluS. AC 10 " NHS
ceremonies began with the Rt. Rev.
| Bishop Moeller officiating at the Yes
pers. These were sans after the ru-
| brics of the Roman Pontitical. The Of
fcials of the Vespers are those indicat-
ed a little farther on in this account
of the grand ceremony. Immediately
after the Vespers the procession was
| formed in honor of Our Lady Of Perpe-
tual Help. The order of the procession
! was the following: First came the lit
tie school boys who were followed by
the little girls wearing wells. These
children sang the Litany Of the Bless
| ed Virgin in a most edifying manner.
The method of singing this Litany is
the same as that pursued in the Roman
churches, and it's effect is most en-
trancing. What added still greater eff
feet 70 the singing was the fact that
| the voices of the children were those of
innocent little ones. Following the
girls in the procession came the gem
tlemen of the different committees in
the church, and these were bearing
burning wax tapers as also the priests
who followed them.
Next came the sacred picture of Our
Lady of Perpetual Help superbly
! framed and born aloft by the vice
! president of the finance committee. Mr..