The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-06-10
.HONOR|NG 4 WORTHY
MINNESOTA PRELATE
RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CIV
Ic FUNCTIONS IN ROCHESTER.
Monsignor Riordan, Pioneer Mission
ary, Church Builder and Oriental
Scholar, Receives the Insignia
of Domestic PreIate
From Bishop Heffron
of Winona.

| OF Wlnona.
| Wednesday, May 81, was a memor-
able day in Rochester, MINI. The city
was in holiday attire; and throngs of
visitors from the neighboring towns
and surrounding districts came to par
ticipate with it's citizens, irrespective
of class or creed, in the celebration
incident to the comforting of the pur-
| pie robes of a Domestic Prelate Of
| the Papal Household on Right Rev.
erend Monsignor William Riordan,
Pastor of the Church of st. John.
The official gazetting of this we'll
merited honor was made at Rome on
January %. AS soon as the news was
made public through the columns of
The Catholic Bulletin the citizens of
Rochester, Catholics and non-Catho-
| lies, We'd with one another in making
preparations to signalize in becom-
| ing manner the investiture of their
beloved pastor and friend with the
insignia of his new office.
The religious celebration, as is GUS
tomary on such occasions, came first.
! The Church of St. John, of which
Mgr. Riordan has been pastor for
more than a third of a century, was
taxed to it's utmost capacity before
the impressive services began. The
official Papal Letter announcing the
elevation of Mgr. Riordan to the dig
nifty of Domestic Prelate was read
| in Latin and in English by Rev. John
II. Peschges, of Easton, Mimi; after
which the Right Reverend P. R. Hef-
from, D. D., Bishop of Winona, con-
ferred upon Mgr. Riordan the insignia
of his new dignity as a member of the
Papal Household-the purple robes
which distinguish a Domestic Prelate
from his confreres in the priesthood.
The Solemn High Mass was celebrated
by the Rev. William F. Coleman, Of
West Albany, assisted by his brother,
Rev. Daniel Coleman, of st. Mary's,
Waseca County, as deacon, and Rev.
d. e. Walsh, of Spring Valley, ILL.,, as
subdeacon, all of whom are natives of
the Parish of Rochester, and received
their religious training from Mgr.
| Riordan. The Rev. John A. Cummis-
key, assistant pastor of the Parish of
ST. John, was master of ceremonies.
The sermon was preached by the
Right Reverend Thomas O'Gorman, D.
| D., Bishop of Sioux Falls, S. D., and
| former pastor of the Church of st.
John, whose labors in Rochester and
the surrounding districts are still held
in grateful remembrance by the peo-
| pie to whom he ministered. His SER
mon was splendid tribute to the
zeal and devotion of Mgr. Riordan as
evidenced by the good work he has
| done during the years of his pastorate.
About forty priests from the Diocese
of Winona and neighboring Dioceses
were present during the Mass, as well
as the Right Reverend Monsignors E.
Fl. Devlin, v. G., of Austin, and M.
Wurst, of Wabasha, in addition to the
Prelates already named.
The Civic Celebration.
At the conclusion of the religious
ceremony banquet was rendered to
the Reverend Clergy and Right Rev
erend Prelates by the ladies of the
congregation in the church hall of st.
Johns Parish. And during the after
noon a reception for Mgr. Riordan was
held in the parochial residence.
The civic celebration took place in
the evening in the Metropolitan
Theatre, where Mgr. Riordan re-
ceived the congratulations of the
citizens of Rochester, irrespective of
religious affiliations. On behalf of
the congregation of st. Johns Church
he was presented with purse of $500
in gold. The citizens in general tes-
titled their appreciation of him by the
gift of costly loving cup, suitably
engraved to commemorate the occa-
| sion, presented by DIR. Charles Mayo.
Many complimentary addresses were
delivered, all of which bore testimony
to the worth of Mgr. Riordan as
clergyman and citizen, and testified
to the high place which he occupies
| in the estimation of his fellow-men in
| Southern Minnesota.
Biographical Sketch.
The Right Reverend Mgr. Riordan
was born in March, 1888, at Temple
g1entine, County Limerick, Ireland.
He made his classical studies at
Charleville, County Cork, and his
philosophical and theological courses
at All Hallows College, Dublin He
was ordained to the Holy Priesthood
on June "a, 1869, for the Diocese of
St. Paul In the following September
he arrived in Minnesota via Prairie
du Chen, landing on the west side OF
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