The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-15
BISHOP IS
NEAR DEATH
His Robes and Mitre
Are Sent to
niIo.

When the steamer Maui departed for
Hilo on Saturday afternoon the miter
and ceremonial robes of the Right Rev.
Gulstan F. Ropert, Bishop of Panopolis,
were sent there in charge of Father
Valentin. In the forenoon a wireless
dispatch was received at the Catholic
Mission by Father yalentin saying:
Bishop is worse; wants Father Valen-
tin to come; bring inter- etc; steamer
Maui leaves Saturday p. M In re-
sponse to this urgent message, full of
brothers at the Mission, Father Valen
tin hastily prepared for his sad jour
ney, the inter and robes being care
fully and even tenderly placed in a
travelling box. Realizing that his end
was near the Bishop probably made
known his request that his robes of Of
flee be sent so that they might be used
in burial. No message was received
yesterday from Hilo regarding his con-
dition
That Bishop Gulstans life is all but
spent is confirmed by Father Matthias
who returned Saturday in the Kinau
from the prelate's bedside. When he
left him on Friday morning the Bishop
was weak and exhausted. Father Mat
thias was not greatly surprised, but
was affected, when the dispatch came
that the Bishop was worse. In COM
menting upon the Bishops illness
/ Father Matthias says:
sfWsnen / reached Hilo I found the
Bishop at the Mission. He was very
Ill and seemed to realize it. told him
that we had known for three or four
years that his ill-health was due to
something more than a weak stomach,
and he seemed surprised that we be-
lieved all along he was afflicted with a
| cancer. On Thursday morning / con-
versed with him as to his coming to
| Honolulu. He decided on this course
and We secured hack and were max
! ing all preparations to convey him to
/ the wharf. 1 went into his room and
found him lying on his side. L asked
if he still thought of going to Honolulu
and for answer he shook his head in a
negative way. He was then quite ex-
hausted. Six Fathers were there dur
ing the DAY. In the evening we gath
cred on the veranda to smoke, as we
did not want to worry him. He sent for
me and said, Where are the Fathers?
Let them come inside and chat So we
came in to his room. together with the
four Brothers from the school The
Bishop was propped up in bed, and we
smoked and chatted, and he smiled and
nodded, although he was unable TO join
in the conversation. 1t was a beauti-
full incident and one that I shall always
remember The only thing which stood
j il the way of his coming back to Ho-
nolulu was the jolting he would have
received from the Hilo Mission to the
wharf. He never, gets seasick as he
! was once a sailor"
/ The Bishop of Panopolis gained his
title in 1891. He was born in France in
1889, professed the faith in 1861, came
to the Hawaiian Islands in 1867, and
was stationed on Hawaii and Maui for
! long periods. His predecessor was the
Bishop of Alba. There is an interest
ing story in connection with the Bish-
cprics of Alba and Panapolis. Early in
/, the third century when the Roman
church was flourishing, Asia Minor,
Palestine, Egypt and the northern
part of Africa were important fields of
work for the wandering fathers. Near
ly three hundred large and fiourishing
dioceses We're organized, each under it's
own Bishop. Then came the dismem-
berment of the Roman Empire. Goths
Gauls, and Visigoths, Saracens and
Persians. swept over portions of the
Empire and the dioceses became barren
wastes, but the titles remained upon
the records Of the Church In more re-
cent times when a new mission was es-
tablished with vicar apostolic incum-
bent in charge, as in Hawaii, the titular
appointment to one of the old dioceses
was conferred upon him. The appointee
was referred to as Right Rev. --,
Bishop of Panopolis, I. P. L" The
initials stand for the words, I'm PARTS
Intidelum,' which translated mean, In
the country of the infidels." The do
oese of Alba, in Asia Minor, and that of
Panopolts, in the north of Egypt, both
/ of which fiourished seventeen centuries
ago, are in the land Of inf1dels from the
Roman standpoint. Should such dio-
cese become again invested with the
authority of the church, a Bishop hold
ing the title would be required to go in
to that diocese and direct its affairs. In
China innumerable officers of the
church bear titles of dioceses that for
centuries and centuries have been only
memories of once great fields of Roman
/ Catholic work.
| Should the present Bishop of Panopo-
! lis die his title would in all probability
crn baolS to fha records fo remain for an
indefinite period of time, perhaps for
centuries. and his successor here would
I be given a title Of some other defunct
diocese.