The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-04-13

At the beginning of the tenth cen
tury, King Olaf Tryggrason, of Nor
way, sent Left, son of Eric the Red,
to spread the Gospel in Greenland.
Christianity having been introduced
into Greenland about the year 1000,
the Catholic priest and Left sought
to Christianize the Inhabitants; but
though these men and their successors
worked with much eagerness, it re-
quired almost a century to bring them
under the care of the Catholic
Church. The first Missionary Bishop
was Eric, 1112 A. D., and in the
year 1121 the people of Greenland per-
titioned King Suguard of Norway for
a permanent bishop. The King sug-
gested Arnald, one of his priests, who
was eonsecrated by Archbishop Asker
of Lund, and thus Bishop Arnald be-
came the first bishop of Greenland.
He has been followed by a long list
of venerable men, who, to win souls
to Christ, battled against the cold and
storms of the North.
When Columbus discovered the
New World, the Catholic priest was
with him. As soon as the different
explorers began to arrive they too
brought the priest, and these priests
became explorers, and often alone,
they penetrated into the wilds of the
unknown country, carrying the ban
ner of Christ and civilization. They
suffered untold hardships and many
of them gave their blood for Christ.
The heroic story of the Jesuit, Isaac
Jogues, and his sufferings while
among the Mohawks, stands as a shin
ing example of what any Catholic
priest would do for God. While being
held a prisoner he suffered torture
of mind and body, his fingers were
eaten off and his hands mutiIated !;
yet with all this agony he prayed
| for conversions, and carved the name
of Jesus on trees, cOnSecrating the
virgin forest to it's Creator After
J several attempts to purchase his free
dom had failed, he escaped and in
due course of time arrived at a Jesuit
house in England. His hands being
so mutilated, a special dispensatior
was obtained from Pope Urban VIII
! to allow him to ce1ebrataa Mass. Al
| though knowing the agoIkS he had en-
dured, he willingly returned to his In
dians, trusting in God to lead this
warlike and savage nation to his
Divine Master, but the Indians a
length fell upon him, and he wor
| the crown of a martyr in 1916.
Canada and Mexico.
The Catholic priest penetrated int
the unknown parts of Canada AM
the wilds of the Southern Hemisphere
In the South he brought the sayag'
| to high state of civilization, Upde
the guidance of the Catholic priest
i culture assumed high standard
i These humble priests taught th
i savage of the true God, morality wa
clothed in the garment of virtue, tn
uneducated savage was taught the art
Il of reading and writing. In 1886
Il fund was given for the education o
Mestizo children, now called Creoles
In 1851 the University of Lima wa
chartered. aThe University of Mexic
II was organized in 1858. Thus wa
| education in the South America
Countries in a f1ourishing condition a
most hundred years before any un
versity in the North, and countin
its students by the thousand and th
annual graduates by the hundred
| (Dr Walsh).
When reading the history of Cal
fornia, standing out beyond any othe
Il event is the fortitude of the Catholi
I priests and the great work they a
! complished in the missions of th