The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-12-07

FNtN~ -sS
DER A RECEPTION TO JAMES j.
HILL WHOSE MUNIFIcENT GIFT
MADE THE SEMINARY POSSIBLE.
Distinguished Guests at Dinner and
Entertainments Address by
the Most Reverend Archbishop-Ad-
dress Presented to Mr.. HiII-Musical
Program-Essay on the Catholic
Seminary-Mr. HilI's Address.
On Wednesday evening, November
q, the faculty and students of St.
Paul Seminary rendered reception to
Mr.. James J. Hill, the founder of the
institution, whose munificent gift of
half million dollars made possible
the erection of it's building and the
endowment of it's PROFESSIONAL chairs.
Among the invited guests who as
sembled to honor Mr.. Hill on this oc-
casion were the Most Reverend Arch
bishop, Bishop Lawler, and number
of priests and prominent laymen of
St. Paul. Dinner was served at half
past six o'clock, and two hours later
all repaired to the Aula Maxima
where a musical and literary program
was rendered. In the meantime Mrs.
Hill, accompanied by Mr.. and Mrs.
Walter Hill, arrived and were present
during the entertainment
The Most Reverend Archbishop, in
the course of brief address, voiced
the sentiment of gratitude that ami
mated the members of the faculty and
the students of the Seminary towards
it's founder On their behalf he
thanked Mr. Hill for his generosity
and pointed out that the princely gift
which made possible the Seminary of
ST. Paul had imposed debt of graft
tude, not merely upon the institution
itself, but upon the Diocese of ST..
Paul, and the Catholic population of
the Northwest Indeed, it could be
said with truth that all the people,
irrespective of religious affiliations,
were the beneficiaries of Mr.. Hill by
ISdSOA VI IAS lcLCG IuoL LhC 0CA4AhoAJ
could not fail to exercise wholesome
influence over the whole Northwest. He
spoke of the work which had been ac-
complished by the Seminary during
the seventeen years of it's existence,
and referred to the number of priests
sent forth into different dioceses to
carry on the work of religion. The
training they received in the Seminary
was impaired by priests, each of whom
had been specially trained for the
work entrusted to him. He paid a
tribute to Mrs. Hill, whose noble ex-
ample as Catholic wife and mother
had prompted her distinguished hus-
band to devote portion of his wealth
to the founding of Seminary for the
education of Catholic priests.
The Catholic Seminary.
After the overture played by Mr..
Kaudy, Mr.. Matthias M. Hoffman read
an address to Mr.. Hill, in which he
summed up the achievements of the
honored guest during the past half CEN
tury and pointed out the value of the
great work he had accomplished in
founding the Seminary of st. Paul.
Elsewhere we publish this address in
full Two choruses were sung by the
Seminary Choir under the direction of
Father Missia, and an essay on ''The
Catholic Seminary" was read by Mr..
Michael P. Bourke, who, after summar-
izing the objections urged against
such an institution by those who do
not realize it's purpose or who fail to
understand it's mission, dwelt upon the
exalted mission of the Catholic Sem
mary.
The Catholic Seminary is the un-
compromising guardian of the purity
of the religious and moral life of the
nation, the training school of the flu
ture heralds of the Gospel whose duty
it is to preach to the people the neces-
sity of serving God and loving one an
other. With a purpose so exalted, it
can vindicate its right to existence
even in those days, and it's claim to
be the most far-reaching and beneficial
social force in the modern world.
Though it is inseparably linked to the
past as the preserver and defender OF
the most precious of all our inherit.
ances, namely, the doctrines of Chris
tian revelation, nevertheless it lives in
sympathy with the present to whose
merits and beauties it is not blind, any
more than it is unconscious of the
evils and dangers of the modern world
which it strives to preserve from loss
of faith in the supernatural.
In conclusion he said: "Such, then
is the Catholic Seminary. Such, in
part, is the high ideal the Seminary
which owes to you, Honorable Sir, its
existence, confidently sets before its
students. Let now the impartial de
eide whether the young and restless
peoples of the new world need the
lessons that a seminary can impart
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