Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1905-11-23
BLESSING Of the POPE
TO All Gathered at the Noun
tain Church Centennial.
Cardinal Gibbons Speaks.

niversary Of"Fhe Old Church on the Moun-
tain" ut Mount St. Marys, which was OBJ
served Sunday last in its successor. st. An
thongs, WAS made all the more impI essiye
by cablegram from Pope Plus x, which
was as follows:
"Our Holy Father united with the faith
full of Mount st. Mary's, who are going to
celebrate the centenary of their parish, bless
cs from his heart the clergy and people as
sembled to give thanks to our Lord.
CARDINAL MERRY DEL VAL"
The English translation of the cabegram
was read ly Cardinal Gibbons, who grnced
the occasion with his presence and who i'm
parted the blessing in solemn manner.
Cardinal Gibbons Address.
Il cannot deny myselftbe pleasure, to add
a few words to the very appropriate remarks
of Dr.. McSwecncY. congratulate you a!l
on this interesting event On an occasion
of this kind It behooves you to honor and
reverence both your fathers in the faith and
your fathers In the flesh for that venerable
old church. When we consider their limit
ed resources We can justly say they were 81
ants-mcn who were remarkable among re-
markabe men. How much we should ven
crate that old church and those who made it
possible! Many Of you were baptized and
confirmed there, and there you part' ok of
the other sacramcnts aud there you laid to
rest your forefathers.
ooh, you ought to remember those days
and cherish the legacy of their taithl Nor in
speaking OF these great men WHO minis'cred
hereof Dubois, of Brute, tfa F!aut and
the others, should we forget to mention good
Mother S,ton aud her band of noble com.
panions. These men and women have sane
tilted this place and the mountains by their
presence, and Can say with truth that you
are indebted to the good fathers al Mount
St. Mary's College for many blessings.
These mountains have, so to speak, been a
pillar of cloud by day, and the college pill.
lar of fle by night, guiding you in the way
you should go.
"All of these memories would have faded
if they were not kept alye by The great col.
lcge of Mount st. Msry's and ST. J2seph's
Academy-those twin Institutions which
have kept alive the faith in this community.
You are, iDdee1, the & DRY of Jerusalem, the
joy of Israel and the honor of the people"
Impressive Service.
Bishop Allen. OF Mobile former president
Of Mount st. Mary's; aud therefore pastor
of the old church, pontifcated at 1890 a. m.
The church was profusely decorated for the
occasion and was crowed to its utmost limits
by members of the parish and by m,ny visit
ors from the surrounding country and dis.
tant points. While the celebration was held
under the auspices Of st, Anthony's parish,
of which Rev. George II Tragesscr is pastor,
Mount St. Mary's College, which up to the
building of the new church had charge of the
old parish, was represented by the president,
Very Rev. DR.. D. J. Flynn; by the vic
preaiden,, Rev. B. J. Bradley, and by Rev.
Dr. E +. " insolvency. who delivered the
sermon.
Pontiical vespcrs were sung in the even
ing by Bishop Allen, AMI Rev. M. f. Foley
of Baltimore preached the sermon.
DR.. McSwceney's Sermon.
DR.. McSwceney preached from the text
"The glory Of children are their fathers
(Proverbs, XVII, g.. III part, he sad:
"When the enemies of religious liberty re.
pealed the generous act of liberation by
which our Catholic foreiaihers had opened
tubs land of the sanctuary to all Chrlsliane,
the Catholics gradually moved into the In
terror Of the country. Thus il was that in
1923 William Elder, an ancestor Of your be-
loved Archbishop Elder, struck for the west
and for freedom. He stopped on this side of
the Blue Ridge, however, and butt his log
house on the lovely site where the Zcn,z
homestead now stands aud where according
to tradition, mass was first said in this neigh
borhood. In 1741 Conewago WAS founded
and successive Jcsuits from there aud from
Frederick, then the largest town between
Baltimore and St.. Louis, visited our part of
Frederick county until Father Dubais re.
ceived this mission. He was one Of those
noble French missionaries sent BY God to be
the founders and fathers Of the church in so
many parts Of America. They were magni-
ficcnt specimens of the race, and the story of
their zeal, their tolls, their perseverance
would take an archangers pen fifty to re.
count The cminent nCn- Catnolic historian
Bancroft and Parkman, took up this theme
and their pages are warm with admiration
for the deeds Of those heroes, while many q
Catholic cl,ronicler, such as Shea, Spauldipg,
Webb, A,erdipg and Day!ty, have striven to
preserve for p"steritY their likeness shown
in their apostolic lives.
".'ather Dubois came from France in 1901
with letters from Lafayette to James Mon
roe, to the Randnlphs, Lees, Beverleys and
other V rglnia families He landed at Nor,
folk and at once conquered the respect and
affection oflhose cavaliers who recognized
and welcomed The polished Partisan gentle.
man and scholar, So much so that even in
the bigoted dominion, which had 80 rigidy
excluded the children of The church, lie was
allowed to say mass in the Capitol at Rich
mond ITSELF Patrick Henry gave him les.
soma in English and Father Dubois SUPPORT
cd himself BY teaching French. After doing
mission work in various parts of Virginia
and Maryland he came in 1904 to Frederick.
IN that year there were but 20 priests and
but bishop in the territory Of the United
States with its 10000 Catholics.