Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-01
Large Crowds Attend.

Enough people attended the services
to have packed an ordinarily large
church building. The floor space OF
the new structure however is so very
large that there was space to spare A
bright sun poured in through the many
windows. suffusing the altar with bril-
liant light.
Following the dedication of the build
ing, the ceremony of consecrating the
altar was begun. Cardinal Gibbons per-
Formed this ceremony. assisted by Mgr.
Lee and various members OF the clergy
These services lasted until almost IL.
o'clock, and then the prelates and clergy
men left the church for few minutes.
Under the direction of Mgr. Bonzanu
the apostolic delegate, solemn pontifical
high mass was begun at IL o'clock. The
procession, which entered the church from
the rectory. Included long line of prom
inent prelates and priests and monks of
the Dominican and Franciscan orders
Archbishop Keane Speaks.
Archbishop Keane of Dubuque. Iowa.
preached the sermon. He spoke of the
/ long and honorable history of st. Mat
| thew's. and predicted long future of
good deeds for it. In the new building,
| he said. its work can be begun anew,
and with increased activity and promise
| of success.
| Archbishop keane said that some men
say that faith in God is dying out On
the contrary. it was never stronger than
| it is today, he declared. 1t is a difficult
age for supernatural things, he said but
the truth continues to prevail.
Men must have faith, he said No man
needs faith more than the man who Digs
deep into the mysteries of nature. He
! declared that this is an age of specialize
ton, and that all men are pursuing a
| particular line of work or thought and
are not taking all knowledge for their
| province.
Facts and Religion.
Continuing. he said that religion is not
afraid of facts. and that facts do not hurt
religion The argument that the exact
sciences undermine religion is a mistake.
he declared. Religion welcomes in
vestigation into facts. and will never be
harmed by the discovery of new facts.
| The new church was beautifully deco
rated with greens for the ceremonies
Much of the interior decorating work is
still incomplete. and it will be some time
before ii is finished. Only few OF thu
| pews have been delivered and put Ia
| place. Chairs We're used today.
Concluding Services Tonight.
The ceremonies will be ended tonight
at 745 o'clock. when Archbishop O'Con-
nell of Richmond will celebrate vespers
! During the vespersi, there will be a SER
mon by Bishop Donohue of Wheeling.
/ w Va
! The ceremonies today were attended by
many of the most distinguished Catholic
prelates in the country. In addition To
! Cardinal Gibbons there were Mgr. Bon
zano. the apostolic delegate; Archbishop
Keane of Dubuque Iowa; Archbishop
+ OConnell, Bishop Donohue. Bishop Macs
of Covington. Ky: Bishop Kelley of Sa-
| vannah, Mgr Shahan. Mgr. Russell, Mgr
Starr of Baltimore. Mgr Lavelle of New
York. Mgr. Mackin and a number OF
others.
! St Matthews Church has been pow
/ err in Washington church circles for
| many years The church formerly stood
at the corner of 18th and II streets north
west. the site now occupied by the
! Southern building. The old structure was
! begun in 1898 and used continuously
| until few years ago. 1t was finally de-
( cided to move because OF the encroach-
ments of the business section.
/ Cardinal Laid Corner Stone.
! The corner stone of the present edifce
was laid Thanksgiving day, 1892, by Car
dinal Gibbons. Work on the structure
mas been halted several times because of
lack of funds. Mgr. Lee has not been
| discouraged, but has continued his eff
! forts TO have the church completed.
! The church is a magnificent structure,
| with a towering dome. The exterior is
of brick Particular pains have been
| taken to make the interior an imposing
work of architecture. The altar, which
| is situated in the northern end of the
| church. is considered one of the most
beautiful and complete in the country.
The church is connected by covered
! passageway with the rectory. next door.
! -$-
OMAHA TO BE BEAUTIFUL.