The Sea Coast Echo

BISHOP GUNN GIVEN WARM OVATION IN Bay St. Louis Last Sunday On the Occasion of His First Visit to Bay Saint Louis--Public Reception Given at St. Stanislaus College Pavilion -Addresses of Welcome Delivered by Mayor and Other Citizens.

Sunday, October 22, was an eventful day for the Catholics of Bay St. Louis. It was the occasion of the first visit of the new bishop of the Catholic diocese of Natchez. His Lordship came on the morning train and was welcomed by the pastor and a delegation from the different societies of the town and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. He was then taken to the church in Judge Fisher's automobile, where he said the seven o'clock mass, at which he preached. He also preached at the ten o'clock mass. In his talk he told the congregation how happy he was to be with them and of his determination to work for their welfare. A well-trained choir, composed of boys from the senior division of the college, sang "Ecce sacerdos magnus" to an air composed for the occasion by Father Sorin.

The church was most beautifully decorated with papal and American flags and bunting of bishop's colors. This artistic work was done by Sister Agnes, assisted by the ladies of the Altar Society, chief among whom were Mrs. A. Gragnon, assisted by her daughters, Mrs. Lucas, Miss Melanie and Miss Lulu Gragnon.

During the day the right reverend bishop was the guest of Father Prendergast, and he received many callers in the evening.

The public reception tendered the bishop at 7:30 p. m. at the college pavilion was one of the most brilliant ever witnessed here. The auditorium was elaborately decorated with palms, ferns and streamers in purple, white and gold, and flags and pennants of papal and American colors. This was the work of Bro. Arsenius. The fine audience of school children, 600 strong, which banked one of the sides of the pavilion, with the cheering and waving of flags, and the many happy faces, presented such an enchanting picture to the bishop that he was forced to stop and admire the animated scene. The music, under the direction of Prof. Carl Hemmersbach, was artistically rendered and was a pleasant feature of the evening.

On the stage, which was decorated in papal, American and Irish colors, were, besides the Bishop and Father J. M. Prendergast, Fathers Irwin, of the Bay, Alphonse Littles and Finley, of Biloxi, and Father Bernard O'Reilly, of Scranton, the Mayor and his council, the trustees of the church, and Brother Provincial Isidore, and Bro. Stanislaus, president of the college.

The program was ushered in by a grand chorus of 600 children, who sang "Hail to Our Chief!" Mayor Robert W. Toulme then welcomed the reverend bishop in the name of the city.

Mr. E. H. Hoffmann delivered the address of welcome in behalf of the congregation. His address was a stirring apostrophe to the American flag, and he captured his audience by his enthusiastic reference to the harmony existing in the relations between church and state.

Mr. Jos. O. Mauffray represented Pere Le Duc Council of the Knights of Columbus, and he referred with pride to the fact that the new bishop was a member of the order. Mr. A. J. Flynn, class 1912, voiced the sentiments of his college mates. It was the hit of the evening, and young Flynn received many congratulations upon his manly delivery and the appropriateness of the sentiments.

We produce the speech in full:

Right Reverend and Very Dear Bishop:

A supreme honor falls to me this evening in thus addressing you. It is an honor that I appreciate more than I can tell, and, in thus being chosen to represent my college mates in bidding you welcome, I feel a sense of elation mingled with humility. My sense of elation comes from the fact that I represent one of the finest bodies of students in your diocese, and my humiliation springs from the knowledge that my feeble efforts can ill repay the flattering trust confided in me. But, as great deeds are often accomplished by feeble instruments, let my good will and see in my halting speech but a compensate for my poor endeavor shadow of that fullness of heart, that depth of welcome, that whole-hearted acclaim which you can note in the open, honest faces of my class-mates.

Then, in the name of my class-mates, let me tell you that your presence among us here tonight is an honor and a joy. You come among us for the first time, but we wish to make you feel that you already possess our hearts.

Mississippians, Alabamians, Louisianians are we. But we are all Mississippians in our welcome to you. In this college, on the Gulf's balmy shore, you will find in this favored spot of nature a favored portion of your vineyard.

You come to us for the first time, but you do not come a stranger. Already your achievements in other fields, and have we heard the glowing reports of we know you will do greater things in this vast territory to which kind Providence has assigned you. In our daily lessons we have learned to honor men who do things, and we have come to admire you for the wonderful success with which God has blessed all your undertakings.

Because your work was good and your fame had spread, you have been raised to the Chief Pastorate of Mississippi, and let me assure you that you will find my college-mates. You will find that they are bred in an atmosphere of loyalty to their religion and its ministers.

You will find among them that sterling Christian manhood which is proud to bow to ecclesiastical authority and most willing to obey all the behests of our Holy Mother Church. And this I say without fear of contradiction, that you will find among them that healthy piety and those fervent religious practices which make our Catholic colleges the honor of religion and the pride of our country.

But, your Lordship, your presence among us tonight gives us college boys a peculiar pleasure, and we look upon you as a kind father, for we have heard that a good part of your life has been spent as a college professor.

You have seen the college boy's success, and you know how to sympathize with his weakness. You can appreciate his difficulties and can admire his character. You know every phase of his daily life and are conversant with his temptations and his trials.

All this makes you dearer to our hearts, and we draw closer to you by these same bonds.

Now, beloved Bishop, if you cast a glance over this fine audience you will see in those healthy faces that honesty of purpose and steadfast determination to be such men as our education has fitted us. As you know us better, you will find that the boys of St. Stanislaus College are all that your fatherly heart can desire; that under the wise guidance of those devoted men whose every effort is for our moral and spiritual advancement we are being trained in principles of religion and patriotism. You will find that nearly all the young men to whom St. Stanislaus has given recognition are a credit to their alma mater, an honor to their community, and a mainstay of their church.

With these few words, beloved Bishop, I must close. But let me express a fond hope that we may often see you among us and that the acquaintance thus auspiciously begun may ripen into a friendship redounding to our spiritual advantage.

Welcome to the college!

For the convent Miss Alma Weston, one of the brightest pupils of the class 1912, delivered in a very pleasing manner the following address:

Rt. Rev. Bishop:

With profound veneration for your Lordship, as the representative of the Sovereign Pontiff St. Joseph's children extend to you a sincere and cordial greeting.

Welcome! thrice welcome! Shepherd of our souls! To you, as to a tender father, we confide our dearest interests, knowing they will be safe in your keeping.

The early Christians, speaking of the Great Apostle, said: "Paul is the heart of Christ". From what we have heard of you, dear Bishop, we feel that we may say, in like manner, that the new Pontiff, sent us by Heaven, is after the heart of Jesus.

May the success which attended your labors in other fields await you in your new diocese, dear Bishop, and may Heaven spare you long to the affection of your people!

We hope also that the bond of love and loyalty which unites us to you this evening may strengthen with time; and, in later years, when no longer pupils of dear St. Joseph's, we shall have taken our places in life, may we still be submissive and docile to your paternal guidance-true children of Holy Church.

Please accept and bless these heartfelt wishes of your children of the Bay, whose hearts went out to you the moment they learned of your appointment to succeed our lamented Bishop Heslin.

We feel deeply sensible, dear Rt. Rev. Father, of the honor your presence confers upon us this evening. We thank you for your condescension in coming so far to see us and make us happy.

Our thanks are also due to our beloved Pastor, who has left nothing undone that could contribute in any way to the success of this celebration in your honor, and to make your first visit to our parish a memorable event in the history of Bay St. Louis.

In conclusion, allow us, dear Rt. Rev. Bishop, to repeat our expressions of welcome, in terms equally dear and familiar to every Celtic heart: "Cead mille a failthe!" Long live our chief, "Soggarth Aroon!"

The boys' free school was represented by Alphonse Favre, and the girls' free school by Miss Inez Blaize.

The following address was read by Miss Vivian Tomasich:

Rt. Rev. and Dear Bishop:

Voicing the sentiments of the little girls of St. Joseph's Parochial School, I now repeat all the welcomes and greetings expressed everywhere you have visited your people.

We have prayed for you, and we will make it a duty of love to ask every day that God bless you and bless your work.

We have been told that once a general was sent by his king to a country whose people had rebelled against him. He went. In due time the general came back home. In three words he told his king what he had done. He went because he had been sent. You, also, Rt. Rev. and dear Bishop, have been sent to us by God; in you we see God's representative.

The general saw what was to be done; he did it. Rt. Rev. Bishop, we know your fatherly eye will see our needs; we know you also will fight to bring this little flock under the yoke of Him who sent you.

Our last wish is this: May you, Rt. Rev. and dear Bishop, like that general of old, be soon able to say to the good God, our heavenly King: "All hearts in the diocese of Natchez are conquered and faithful."

Hon. Joseph O. Mauffray extended on behalf of the Knights of Columbus to His Lordship a warm welcome, as follows:

Right Reverend and Dear Bishop:

Upon your humble servant devolves the pleasant duty of bidding your Lordship welcome in the name of the Knights of Columbus, of which order we enjoy the distinctive honor of claiming you as a member. And, by the way, upon the like of whom do we look up to for the continued safe guidance of that great ship Columbianism into its glorious and final mooring?

It is a fact that you stand in our midst this evening a total stranger. Yes, your Lordship, a stranger in person, but as the sweet fragrance of the emblematic magnolia permeates the air far from its source, so is the atmosphere of this fair southland redolent of all due praises of your noble character and deeds. These have preceded your Lordship throughout the breadth of this vast diocese of Natchez.

And to this particular spot, dear old Bay St. Louis, it being part and parcel thereof, your Lordship comes not as a stranger, but as one whom we know well and one we have already learned to love and venerate. Yet, in the midst of our joy, we foresee the likelihood of our self-gratifications being shattered.

For it is quasi-traditional for the bishop of the See of Natchez to be advanced to broader fields of greater labor. And, considering that your Lordship is generously endowed with the right metal and superior qualifications, it is but reasonable to predict that our Holy Father will be called upon to again exercise his unerring judgment.

Meanwhile, in the name of Pere Le Duc Council, Knights of Columbus, and children of Mother Church, we pledge your Lordship unswerving loyalty and obedience.
Father Prendergast, who was master of ceremonies, voiced the sentiment of the celebration in introducing the colored portion of the congregation. He showed that the church was no respecter of persons, dispensing its favors alike to rich and poor, white and black. Miss Labat represented the St. Rose Colored School in a neat little speech, and Henry Piernas did the honors for the Knights of St. Peter Claver. At the conclusion of the address the choir sang "Holy God".

Then the bishop rose to reply to all the addresses of the evening. As he approached the footlights he was cheered by the lusty voices of 200 college boys and the 400 other children present. That the bishop was delighted with his reception was shown in the happy remarks he made in the course of his talk. He said that never before had he been praised as he was this evening. He looked around him at the happy and monstrous gathering in one of the finest auditoriums he had ever seen, and the good will and ready appreciation of the audience brought out that rich fund of Irish wit which he has inherited in rich measure from his native green isle.

The children, particularly, called forth his enthusiasm, and he assured the boys and girls that he was with them in their games and studies.

After the reception the faculty of St. Stanislaus College tendered the bishop a smoker.

On Monday His Lordship visited the different schools, giving appropriate advice and ending with a much appreciated gift-a holiday.

In his sojourn among us the bishop has impressed us with his simple democratic manner. His free, easy and genial disposition has endeared him to all who have had the pleasure of meeting him, and his native Irish wit, which sparkles on all occasions, makes one feel at ease in his company and endears him to all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. The Echo extends to His Lordship the wish of a long life and happiness in our midst.