The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1922-08-05
OF CORNERSTONE AT
VILLA URSULA, INDIAN SCHOOL,
ST. iGNATiUs MISSION, SUNDAY,
JULY 16-NEW BUILDING TO
TAKE PLACE OF BURNED
STRucTURE-BlsHoP CARROLL
oFFIciATES AND DELIVERS
TOUCHING ADDRESS.

The laying of the cornerstone of the
new Ursuline convent at St. Ignatius
Mission, st. Ignatius, Mont, proved to
be touching and impressive cere-
mony. More than three hundred PEG.
pie from all parts of the reservation
were present. The Right Rev. John
P. Carroll, d. D., Bishop of Helena, &C.
companied by the Right Rev. Mgr.
Willging and many priests, officiated
at the solemn function. At four
O'Clock, the Right Reverend Bishop,
preceded by surpliced altar boys and
members of the clergy, made his way
to the church, where he put on his
pontifical robes, whilst the choir rem
dered the "Ecce Sacerdos Magnus" in
a brilliant fashion. Then the process
sion, made up of altar boys and many
friends of the nuns, the Sisters of
Charity of Providence, other visiting
Sisters, the Ursulines, and lastly the
Bishop, accompanied by his clergy,
started out of the church.
The procession first stopped at the
site of the chapel of the new convent,
where the Bishop blessed cross
erected for the occasion. A beautiful
canopy of green branches had been
arranged above the stone and there
the Bishop officiated. After calling
the blessing of God on the new build
ing, the Bishop took the trowel and
with it made the Sign of the Cross
over the cornerstone, which he then
blessed and sprinkled with holy wa.
ter, whilst one of the clergy inserted
out for that purpose, a leaden box in
which were placed medals, signatures
of benefactors, a copy of the local pa.
per and relics of the old building de-
stroyed by fire. The masons then put
the cornerstone in place whilst the
litanies of the Saints were chanted by
the clergy and the Ursuline choir.
Then the procession wound it's way all
around the building, during which time
the clergy recited the psalm, "Mis-
erere," and the Bishop sprinkled each
part of the new building with holy
water. Having reached the canopy
again, the Right Reverend Bishop, mi
tired and holding the crozier in his
left hand, gave this touching and in
spring address,:
The Bishops Address.
"The night of February 10 to 20 last,
brought great sorrow to st. Ignatius
Mission. That night the Ursuline
Boarding School for Indian Girls was
burned to the ground, the tragedy of
horrors having reached it's height
when it was discovered that good Sis
ter St. John had persisted in the
flames. Three years before, the In
dian School of the Sisters of Charity
of Providence was totally destroyed
by fire. That school has not since
been rebuilt. This fact, coupled with
the thought that perhaps the Ursuline
school, too, could not be replaced, add
ed to the sorrow of that eventful night
and plunged st. Ignatius in gloom.
But the cloud of depression has
lifted, and today, as we lay the cor
nerstone of the splendid building pro-
jected by the Sisters of st. Ursula,
our sorrow is turned into joy. Thanks
to the prayers and generosity of the
friends of the Indian children all over
the United States, new era in the
history of our beloved Indian Mission
has opened, and we look forward with
hope and confidence and pride to the
successful completion Of the work in
augurated here today. 1t would take
too long to make special mention of
all those who contributed to this noble
cause. In the name of the good Sis
tiers and of the Fathers of st. Ignatius
Mission, as well as in my own name,
l wish to thank all our donors, great
and small. May God bless them and
may generations of Indian children,
yet unborn, rise up and call them
blessed.