The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-01-10
TELLS STORY OF
 THE CHRIST BIRTH
TEN-YEAR-OLD BOY, CARRIED AS LITTLE SHEPHERD, BREACHES SERMON AT FATHER WALSH'S CATHOLIC MISSION.

SEhMON AT FATHER WALSH>S
 CATHOLIC MISSION.
 New York, Jan. 10.-The children of the Mission of Our Lady of ~Loretto finished their Christmas celebration last night. The service was their own, suns by themselves, and conducted by themselves. The sermon was preached by a lad of 10 so small he had to be lifted in and out of the pulpit, and for the occasion the other boys donned the dress of the shepherds the Angel of the Epiphany, and the Wise Men of the East to bring home to themselves and the parishioners of the mission the reality of the Christmas story.
 For some years Father Walsh has worked in the heart of the tenement district on Roman Catholic lines and believes much in music, in training the little Italians who come to him. The singing of his boy choir is we'll known in the city, and he tells with pride how he has helped some of them to take up music as a profession.
 Thus one of his people, who started as his organist, eked out for time the scanty mission pay by dishwashing at a restaurant. Now he has his stu dio in Carnegie Hall and makes $5,000 10 S6,000 a year. Last Thursday the service was held for the parishioners; last night it was for the friends who support the mission work in Eliza beth street and its Summer fresh air home with subscriptions.
 The ceremony began with a process sion bringing in the efigy of the in fant Christ Headed by three boys in lace surplices, carrying a cross and two great candlesticks, forty girls dressed in white came two and two. | With wreaths of lilies of the valley on their heads, with white gloved hands demurely clasped and with eyes cast down, they slowly passed down i the aisle, singing as they went the carol See Amid the Winter Snow Behind them came a little John the Baptist. He seemed barely 4 years old, and clad in the traditional white l sheepskin, clasping in his hands a pilgrims cross, he led the band of shepherds. They were the lads of the l mission, the first hardly bigger than John the Baptist and ranging in size up to boys of 15 or 16 They wore | tunics of blue, pink, green and other
 colors. Their feet were shod with san I dals and across each chest was slung
 on a leather thong a horn. A leather
 scrip hung at their side and a few of
 them carried tall shepherds crooks. l When they had passed by there came
 the group of the Epiphany. The Star in
 the East was represented by a tall
 youth, garbed as an angel, with white wings and golden curls contrasting
 strongly with the swarthy little shep- herds who preceded him. He bore in
 his hands star on a wand, and with | it led onward the Three Wise Men
 cense and myrrh. They were dressed I in the flowing robes of Oriental Kings Last of all marched three acolytes
 in their lace surplices bearing on a
 cushion the effigy of the Christ Babe
 in the manager. The girls as they completed their march around the
 church took their places in the front
 benches and the boy shepherds march
 ed up to the sanctuary. They ranged 1 themselves on the steps, the Angel of I the Epiphany taking the centre, with l the little John the Baptist just in front
 of him. The Wise Men took seats in
 front of a side altar, which represent led the Bethlehem stable and the image
 of the Babe was reverently placed on another side altar.
 | Then the boys accompanied by the organ and a string quartet, sang one familiar Christmas carol after anoth-
 CT. Holy Night was the first and
 was followed by ssGod Rest Ye Merry 1 Gentlemen The First Noel'' came
 later and with clear, sweet voices the simple melodies rang true through the ! church. There was something of the
 old miracle play about it all and the group of children with their dark
 faces and shepherds dress brought i back to memory the pictures always ! associated with thoughts of the Christ 1 mas season.
 Then pulpit was rolled to the front
 of the nave The little shepherds sal
 down on the seats of ithe altar. The
 Angel of the Epiphany half hid him
 self behind balsam tree by the altal
 and an acolyte came forward. He stopped down and lifted up a little boy of 10, who seemed almost lost ir the pulpit. Taking as his text: Be.
 hold! I Bring You Glad Tidings o1 Great Joy,'' he preached a straightfor- | ward sermon on the Christmas story Of course it was written for him an6 of course his gestures seemed a little istiff, but it was a simple, talk of a boy to boys and it's lessons were jus ISuch as the real congregation could understand. He concluded in the prop. CT form with the invocation to the l Trinity and was lifted down.
 The pulpit was rolled away and the
 shepherds took their places before the | altar again. With the assistance ot
 four men soloists they gave Harker's l cantata: ''The Star of Bethlehem They sang it by heart without words music or conductor. It was rathel long and at last poor little John the Baptist subsided on his step, but they rendered the music to the end.
 | The ceremony closed with the regu- lar service of the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, which was suns by the Rev. John J. Wynne. But ever in this the Christmas character of the l service was kept up by grouping or the steps of the altar the larger o1 the shepherd boys, each carrying or his crook a lighted clorode lamp
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