The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-10-16
Hosur Remount Depot,
Mattigiri, (India),
28th August. 1915.

loJu august, 1910
Dear Rev. Father:
presume the readers of 'The Cath
olic Bulletin" will be glad to have a
little mission news from fields afar as
a pleasant distraction to woeful It'd
ings of dreadful and unhappy war.
AS several of our French priests left
for the front, the Bishop was COM
PEELED to make several changes in the
Diocese. Consequently | was sent in
charge of the Mattigiri district which
includes five chapels and about twenty
Christian villages not counting the
hundred and one others totally pagan.
Since February l have been on my
tour of administration and have not
finished yet. We stay about a month
or so at each of the principal villages.
The first village and chapel visited
was that of Dasarahally. Here the
reception given me was far from en-
couraging. For a full fortnight the
Christians would hardly approach me
whilst children took to their heels as
soon as they spied me at the door of
the Presbytery. This lasted for full
fortnight and nearly sent me mad.
But our dear Lady came to my rescue.
There was a great and immediate
change. The children we're prepared
for their First Communion which they
received with exemplary devotion.
They became frequent communicates
of their own account, a result which
surprised me very much. For an an
nual average of 200 COmmunions
could record $50; but Of SS who had
not made their Easter duties (some
for couple of years. just three were
left over To the best of my knowl-
edge there have been no conversions
in this village for years together, but
this year our dear Lady brought us
two pagans of caste, one a gowda
(headman) and the other his brother.
Through these we hope eventually to
capture a number of families of the
same caste or clan Our darling Mother
has so warmed their hearts that now
even children walk ten miles to at
tend Sunday Mass, held in another
village. Latterly even the pagans
took kindly to me and sent me milk
fruit, etc., which made my Lenten
fast less trying and troublesome.
had no meat during the whole of Lent;
in fact, / have that luxury but seldom
in a month.
My next shift was to Mechanically.
Here / had my troubles as well since
the Catholics are rude and illiterate;
not one of them knows how to read
or write, But in spite of all had fair
progress. For a decade the annual
total number of Communions never
went over 200, this year it reached
1,10S. Whilst l was in this village
a poor Catholic widow came to meet
me. For thirteen years she had seen
neither church nor priest. Though
she was the only solitary Catholic In
a bigoted pagan village yet she pre-
served her faith and, what is more 70
her honor, she taught faithfully
prayers and catechism to her children.
Her sons, now sturdy young men, nave
made their First Communion and late
ly blessed their marriage. In TINS
village had again the consolation OF
baptizing two more pagans.
After Ascension l left for third
village, called Madugondapally or
Moothookondapally, as it is oficially
put down in the Postal Guide. The
Catholics of this place are regular
savages. They have earned a mo-
toriety for themselves and have been
the cause of incessant trouble and
sorrow to each and everyone of my
predecessors. But the prayers OF my
kind benefactors have had their effect.
I was hardly a week in their midst