The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1930-08-20
IS THRILLEDBY DRAMA
OF 0BERAMMERGAU'S
FAMED PASSION PLAY
Father Stag Returns Home After
Seeing Eucharistic Congress
and German Actors

and German Actors
Unless a person sees the Passion
Play at Oberammergau he can have
no appreciation Of the dramatic quail
tiles of the production or the nan
ner in which it grips the onlooker,
Rev. Father John A. H. Stag, rector
of st. Mary's P~rocathedral, said to-
, day in discussing his four-month trip
abroad.
Father Stag sailed from New York
April. % and went directly to La
Goulette, Tunisia, on the North
African shore, to attend the world
eucharistic congress, held at the site
of ancient Carthage. The ship on
which he sailed, he said, was charter
ed by the Catholic Extension Society
of America and made one-day stops
at Gibraltar and Algiers.
Following the congress, Father Stag
went to Naples and Rome and thence
to Oberammergau to see the Passion
Play. Following his visit to the ia
nous Bavarian village he toured
Europe extensively before sailing for
home on the Europa, holder OF the
Atlantic crossing record for steam
ships. The journey from Cherbourg
to New York required only five days,
he said.
Has Audience With Pope
While in Holland, Father Stag visit
ed his parents. He said he found
them both in good health and ex-
pressed the hope that he will get back
to Europe again while they still live.
While in Rome, Father Stag said he
had a delightful audience with Pope
Plus XI.
The Passion Play, Father Stag said,
is indescribable.
Emphasizing the fact that the play
is presented decennially in fulfill
ment of a vow made by the piouS
peasants of the village in the 18th
century when the black plague was
ravaging Europe, the peasants vowed
to produce the passion play every 10
years If the people of the village were
spared, Father Stag said. The plague
was not felt at Oberammergau and
the people have faithfully kept their
promise.
While the primary object Of the
actors is not theatrical presentation,
the drama of Christ's passion and
death as presented by the humble
peasants is the most gripping per-
Torrance he could imagine, Father
Stag said. At many of the more i'm
portant scenes, he said, there was not
a dry eye in the huge auditorium
which seats 5000 persons. Protest.
ants and Catholics alike, he said. were
moved to tears at the presentation.
Preceded by Tableau
The history of the play, he said, Is
brought out in a prologue given by
Anton Lang, a former Christus of the
play and a wonderful actor. Every
important scene Is preceded by a
tableau from the old testament which
wmbolizes the event in the new testa-
nent Immediately to follow. For in
tance, the scene of the crucifixon
vas preceded by a tableau showing
Abraham ready to sacrifice his son at
Gods command as related in the old
testament.
At each presentation. Father Stag
said, there were 5000 spectators, most
Of them Americans.
To see the play, he said. 1t Is neces-
sary to stay a week in Oberammergau
because of the rules laid down by the
villagers. It is required that visitors
be present on Saturday night preced-
ing the week in which they see the
play. Room and lodging are fur
nished with the tickets. The cost to
the average tourist for everything, in
Guiding the purchase of minor curios
and i~ncidentals, Is only about $40 for
the week and the accommodations are
first class, Father Stag said.
The play, given three times a week,
lasts about eight hours and is present.
ed on an open air stage, although the
auditorium in which spectators sit, is
rooted. Approximately SOC. 900 persons
will see the Passion Play this year,
Father Stag said.
On Historic Ground
Approximately 100 900 persons at
tended the eucharistic congress at
Carthage from May z to II, Father
Stag said. On the opening day there
was a solemn reception for Cardinal
Lepicier, the Papal legate. The con-
gress sessions were held in the Pro-
cathedral of st. Louis on top of the
historical hill of Byrsa, made famous
by Virgil in his Aeneid. Other ses-
sions were held in the amphitheater,
the place where thousands of early
Christians were martyred for their
faith.
Father lie Lattre, q member OF the
White Fathers, a religious order, has
excavated much Of the amphitheater
and has found the ruins of the an
Gent city, Father Stag said.
One Of the important ceremonies
was the procession with palms In
which 5000 children participated, all
clad in crusaders uniforms. They
placed palms OF the graves of the
martyrs. chief among whom where
Saints Felicitas and Perpetua.
Another colorful procession marked
the close Of the congress. Cardinal
Lepicier, preceded by cardinals, bish-
ops, priests and laymen to the num-
Der OF 100000, carried the Sacred Host
from the Cathedral of st. Louis to
the amphitheater and back again.
The procession lasted about three
hours and Father Stag estimated that
about 800 Americans took part.
The general theme of the congress,
Father Stag said, revolved about the
Holy Eucharist and st. Augustine,
Bishop of Hippo, since the congress
marked the 18th centennial anniver-
saTy Of his death.