The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-03-23
THE cATHoLIc BULLETIN, MARCH g. 1918

feast, the principal one being st.
Peters Day, June 20, it is kept with
full solemnity in st. Peters, and of
late years the Sodality of st. Peter,
First Pope, one of the biggest and
most venerable of Roman sodalities,
has been promoting devotion to this
feast of the Chair of st. Peter. This
commentaries a vital event in
Church history, the coming of st.
Peter to Rome and his establishing
| there of the see which for all time
was to mark in his successors the
first dignity in the episcopate. A
iridium preceding the feast was cele-
brated in the church of the martyred
Pope, st. Marcellus, which is the cen
| ter of so much popular devotion in
Rome. The feast was solemnly kept
| there on the morning, and in the af-
ternoon a pilgrimage was organized
to the Chair of st. Peter preserved in
the apse of the great Basilica.
The Vatican Bureau.-So great is
| the pressure of work in the Bureau
which the Holy Father established
| over three years ago for the purpose
of locating prisoners of war through
| out Europe and putting them in touch
with their families, that it has been
! found necessary to employ almost
double the number of workers. The
| letters that now reach the Office daily
a T~n Il ~
thousand. All classes, Catholic, Lib
eral, Socialist, etc, seek the aid of the
beneficent institution. The director
| of the Bureau is an American Fran
ciscan. All the applications sent to
the Vatican, all replies to enquiries
regarding those sought for, and every
| document pertaining to the work of
| the institution are carefully pre-
served.
Catholicism in Greece.-Tn Greece,
| where the word of the Gospel sound
ed at such an early date, the extent
of the adherents to the true faith is
actually very meagre. There are in
| Greece three archdioceses: Athens,
re-established in 1875, comprising all
Attica, but having only IA parishes
| of about 100000 Catholics; Corfu, with
Z parishes and 5000 Catholics in a
population of $4,000 inhabitants;
Naxos, in the archipelago, with $50
Catholics, the population of a very
modest parish. The suffragans of this
| last named archdiocese are the do
cese of Chic, 1900 Catholics; San,
TORN, 600; Tinos-Andros, 1920, and
SYRIA, 1000. The number of Catho.
lies in Greece is estimated at about
$4,000 in population of over $500,
600. There is work therefore in this
country for many imitators of St
Paul.
Catholic Paper InstaIls Wireless
One of Hollands many Catholic dali
ies-"De Maasbode" of Rotterdam
enjoys the distinction of being the
first newspaper in that country to in
stall a wireless" of it's own. Time
was-not very many years ago-wheI
the Catholic press Of Holland, in its
initial struggle to gain hearing, haC
to face undisguiscd scorn and dis
dain on the part of the general read
ing public. Particularly in business
circles, Catholic papers used to BIZ
laughed at for their supposed lack o.
enterprise and general backwardness
Today this has completely changed
Dailies like De Maasbode of Rotter
dam, De Tyd of Amsterdam, and sew
eral others are getting in demand
among the professional and business
classes by whom heretofore they haC
been completely ignored. Theil
pages as well as those of the secular
dailies are now being scanned il
quest of financial, commercial anC
general news from every part of the
globe.
: The Spanish misunderstanding tt
the welcome accorded in Catholic cir
cles to the Marquis De Villasinda
Ambassador of Spain and Minister
Plenipotentiary to the Holy See, the
presentation of his credentials to the
Holy Father has been regarded will
a good deal of interest. His Excel
lency on arriving at the Vatican, &C
companied by the officials of the En-
bassy, was escorted by the Swiss
Guard of Honor to the Sala degli Ar
azzi, where the dignitaries of the Pa
pal Court awaited him. introduced
into the Sala del Trono, his Excellency
found his Holiness Benedict the Fiji
teenth, wearing the mozzetta and ricf
stole customary on such occasions
seated on the throne amid the Noble
Guards. The Ambassador then ad
vanced to the steps of the throne
where, after kissing the hand of the