The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-08-03
MARIAN CONGRESS
Sixth International Gathering Will
Convene at Treves Next Sunday.

Convene at Treves Next Sunday.
The sixth International Marian Con-
gress will be held at Treves, Germany,
commencing next Sunday, August 4,
and continuing for three days.
These congresses, says America"
have for number of years taken
place biennially in different countries.
Like the Eucharistic congresses,
which originally were confined to GER
| tain territories and countries, the
Marian congresses were gatherings of
the inhabitants of single diocese in
| honor of the Blessed Virgin. The
first was held at Livorno, Italy, Au-
gust 1921, 1895, and was followed by
the congresses of Milan and Turin in
| 1897 and 1898.
In 1900 a similar congress was held
at Lyons, France, when for the first
time the idea of an International
| Marian Congress was preached. A
permanent committee was appointed,
and it was especially through the eff
forts of it's chairman, the Very Rev.
Mgr. j. Kleiser, P. A., canon of the
j., Church of Our Lady, at Fribourg,
Switzerland, that in 1902 the first In
ternational Marian Congress was held
in that city on the occasion of the
seven hundredth anniversary of the
erection of the Church of Our Lady.
Together with the learned Dom Re
naudin, o. S. B., he worked out a pro-
gram and, with the approval of Bishop
Deruaz, of Lausanne-Geneva, sent it
to all the Bishops of the world. The
letter that accompanied the program
enlarges upon the history and bless
ings of such international congresses,
and gives two reasons for the selec-
ton of Fribourg as the first place
where it was to be held; first, because
it had the oldest church erected in
honor of the Immaculate Conception
and, second, because it held as prec-
ious relic the remains of Blessed Peter
Canisius, the second apostle of Ger
many, who was such a staunch de-
fender of the Blessed Virgin against
Luther and his followers and the So
called Reformers of the sixteenth CEN
fury.
First International Congress at
Fribourg.
Leo XIII, by special brief of June
10, 1902, blessed and commended the
congress, and more than 200 Car
dinals, Archbishops and Bishops sent
letters of approval; twelve Bishops
headed the solemn procession in which
$4,000 members of the congress took
part. An International Marian expo
sition had been arranged in conjunc-
ton with the congress to which no less
than $4,000 objects had been sent
from various parts of the world. The
idea of Worlds Marian Congress
had been realized. To perpetuate it
the Holy Father was asked to appoint
a Cardinal Protector who should be
the honorary president. Fribourg was
to be the headquarters, and the
Bishop of Lausanne-Geneva, honorary
vice president. The committee to be
appointed was to meet there at least
once every year to arrange the bien-
NAL gatherings; to decide upon the
place and time of the congress; to
work out program of study, to be ap-
proved by the Holy Father, and to
look after every other matter con-
nected with the congress.
From 1902 congress was held
every second year. Each succeeding
gathering surpassed the preceding one
in Importance, number and solemnity.
In 1904 the congress was held in
Rome. It's numerous resolutions and
other practical suggestions for the
worship of the Blessed Virgin for
Italy in particular were proof of the
growing interest in the undertaking.
Space does not permit a fuller &C
count of the conventions at Einsie-
deln, Switzerland, in 1906, at Sara
gossa, Spain, in 1908, and at Salzburg,
Austria, in 1910 At the latter meet
ing the transactions and discussions
were held in seven different lang
uages. At the general communion in
the Cathedral there were $500 par
Elephants, and the pilgrimage to Maria
Plain was attended by $4,000 persons,
among them 300 priests and "a
/ Bishops.
Sixth Congress Meets at Treves, in
Germany.
At Salzburg it had been decided that
the next congress should take place
at Rheims, France, but owing to the
present sad condition of the Church in
France the international committee
decided to select another place, and
thus the venerable city of Treves was
chosen. No happier choice could have
been made.
Located on the charming banks of
the Moselle, surrounded by wooded
heights and picturesque rocks, it is
not only the most ancient, but also one