The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-11-22


he stepped across the
street, opened the store door and
saluted John Fong, Laundryman.
The Chinaman actually beamed as
he recognized the priest, and before
the latter could utter sentence, he
found himself seated at a little table
behind a partition that divided the
old pool-room into two compartments.
John was standing over him, pouring
tea into dainty cup that had never
rice, chest of tea, two chairs, the
table with some cups and saucers-
these were the visible furnishings of
the room. Anything else there might
be was hidden by a screen that stood
in one corner. AS Father Ryan
glanced about rather anxiously, he
suddenly fixed his eyes with keen in
terest on two objects that hung on
the waH-a crucifix and a highly col
ored, glossy print of Our Lady and
the Infant Christ.
John Fong was not less keen, and
as Father Ryan turned inquiringly,
the Chinaman made the sign of the
cross and said, "You Catholic too,
yes?" 1t did not take long for Father
Ryan to assure his host on this point,
whereupon John produced an album
of photographs and postcards and
spread it before him.
Most of the prints were of Canton
and nearby villages in the province
of Kwang-tung The first page was
adorned with picture of the Bishop,
John Mary Merel, an alumnus of the
Paris Seminary, and one of the Cathe-
dral, splendid type of Gothic archi-
lecture and quite spacious. Aston
ished, Father Ryan turned the page.
There he found view of the interior
of the church, filled with devout wor-
shippers, all Chinese, to whom a
priest, evidently Chinese also, was
speaking. In another place there
were photographs of Mrs. Fong, and
one of little family group surround
ing a table On which was standing
a statue of the Blessed Virgin.
These were followed by snapshots of
shrines and chapels, and of some Sis
tiers with their orphan charges. While
Father Ryan was buried in such revel-
ations, John went behind the screen
and returned with six books. They
were all printed in Chinese charac-
tiers but they bore the Latin imprima-
tur of a Catholic Bishop and the adj
vertisement of a Catholic printing
press in Hong-Kong.
The priest did not say much, but
smiled, wished his neighbor good
luck, and with drew with the remark
that they would see each other often.
And they did, with a quite unexpected
result for Father Ryan.
John Fong was at Communion the
next Sunday and people began to ask
questions. Was that Chinaman hap
tized here or in China? How many
Catholics were there in China? Were
they getting more numerous? Had
they any priests of their own? What
were teaching them? Had
we any American priests over there
Did the Chinese make good Catholics
Good Father Ryan could not an
swer. He was, as we have already
full of zeal for his own
work Shortly after entering on his
duties as assistant to the former pas
tor, an invalid, he had been appointed
administrator. There was much to
be done and the young priest had set
himself to the task so earnestly that
he rarely left the town, except once a
month to visit his family in Newark,
and occasionally to make some pur-
chases in New York.
While the old pastor lived, Father
Ryan had been careful not to offend
him by radical changes, but gradually
he had put new life into the people.
In the matter of arousing them to any
wider than that of the parish,
however, he had, without giving it
much thought, followed the example
of his superior.
Word came regularly from the chan
Gerry office of collections for certain
diocesan needs, for Indian and Negro
Missions and the Propagation of the
Faith, for the Catholic University, or
the Holy Land. All these notices re-
ceived respectful attention, were
transcribed into the announcement
book and read to the people, but there
was rarely substantial increase in
the result. And after the pastors
death, though changes in other lines
were more frequent, the tradition in
regard to outside collections remain
ed. AS nuns look to the Shanghai
alike-so exterior needs had appeared
to Father Ryan.
But now that John Fong had come
upon the scene, a new outlook opened
up before him. The foreign mission
news that had escaped attention in
his weekly perusal of the Monitor
caught and held his eye. He even
subscribed to a paper devoted exclu-
sively to the foreign missions and
wrote to the editor for some Itera-
ture which would provide him with
material for a series of mission talks
to his Sodality, to the Holy Name
Society and to the Sunday School.
He was no less attentive to his par
ish life than before, but he now made
time to consider many outside chart
ties, and when the occasion offered,
he pleaded earnestly for each good
cause as it presented itself And he
noticed that the wider his interest in