The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-12-17

Under the marble altar in the new
Immaculate Conception cathedral will
repoSe the remains of Bishop Jo-
seph p AIachebeuf and Father John
Baptist Raverdy, the pioneer apostles
of Catholicism in the Rocky Mountain
region. A movement was started on
last Sunday and announced at the
late Masses in Logan Avenue chapel
by which the pioneers of the cathedral
parish viii erect an altar which will
be lasting monument to the zeal Of
the two men whose graves in Mount
OliVet cemetery were practically un-
marked. only wooden slabs tell the
names of the holy men whose bones
lie there.
II was in d thoroughly unique man
ner that the movement was inaUgur-
ated on Sunday Father Hugh L. Nc
Menamin, rector of the cathedral.
preached a sermon on the spread Of
religion and introduced incidentally
the story Of how it was brought across
the mountain Vastnesses Of Colorado.
He spoke of what Boniface did fol
Germany. Francis Xavier did for In
ola. Patrick for Ireland and gradually
came To the men of a generation or
so ago and their work in the new
world He gave a graphic description
of the journey over the Santa Fe trail
TO the new country in the early six
ties ana carried his auditors with the
sainted Bishop Machebeuf through
the mountain passes and across the
barren plains Of pioneer days. He
told Of the tiresome journeys in the
times that antedated railroad trans
portation in Colorado and OF how the
bishop travelled hundreds Of miles to
minister to the dying. to baptize the
new babies and to minister in dozen
different ways to the newcomers
whose religion might suffer because of
the dearth OF churches and ministers
OF the gospel
Bishop Machebeuf and Father Raw
erdy both died in Denver in 1889. They
came together in 1861. Both were
buried under the little chapel at the
old St Mary'S academy on California
street, but their caskets were removed
from there when Mount 0livet ceme-
terry was opened.
Church Records
The old records of the cathedral
parish show that many who are now
connected with the church were bene-
fitted by the ministrations of the two
pioneer churchmen. These people ana
their descendants viii erect the
marble altar under which the remains
of the two viii lie HermeuicaIls
sealed caszets viii be used and they
viii be placed in the solid masonry of
the altar to remain as long as the
church itself remains.
Breaking the Trail.
Bishop Machebeuf was sent up from
Santa Fe 10 minister to the handful
Of Catholics who had come with the
gold-seekeTs. With him came Father
Raverdy, who became ViCar-general
when the diocese was established with
Bishop Machebeuf at its head Bishop
Machebeuf was COnsecrated in 1868,
after he had worked in the new field
FOR seven years
His work bore lasting fruit and the
splendid new cathedral to which all
Denver points with pride is an evil
dence of the growth of the church
here. Able men have taken UP the
work where the pioneers left off and
they are inspiring the laymen who
lived and tOiled in the days of Mache-
beuf and Raverdy to contribute to-
ward a fund TO give them suitable
monument. an altar upon which day
after day the sacrifice of the Mass
Will Ice offered