ADDRESS OF MOST REV. D. FALCONIO, D. D., APOSTOLIC DELEGATE His Excellency, Most Rev. Diomede Falconio, D. D., Apostolic Delegate, addressed the members as follows: I am very much pleased with the resolution you have passed in which you thank our Holy Father for his goodness and for the interest which he has taken in your Association, and I am glad to witness your obedience and your veneration for him. The Holy Father, Pius X, is most worthy of your obedience and veneration. Not only does he deserve our love and our respect on account of the high position that he holds, as the Supreme Pontiff, and as the Vicar of Christ on earth, but also because, considering the condition of the times, we may say that his election to the pontificate was truly providential. Indeed, the election of our Holy Father, the present Pope, marks one of the greatest events in the history of the Catholic Church. A great Pope, Leo XIII, had passed away to his eternal repose, and had passed away amid the greatest expressions of sympathy the world had ever seen. His great learning, his love of everything that is beautiful and grand, his impressive personality, his devotion and inspiration had gained for him the love and respect not only of all Catholics throughout the world, but even of those who do not belong to the Catholic Church. We must take into consideration the fact that at the time of the election of Pius X, society was distracted by a spirit of evil, and an unwholesome desire for false liberty; that a spirit of irreligious relaxation of morals had penetrated into the sanctuary of many families. There were difficult problems to be solved without hesitation; and the Holy Church therefore had need of a Pope imbued with the spirit and the courage of the apostles. There was need of a man full of energy and of courage, in order to sustain the Church in its purity, a man according to the spirit of God, who, by his life and by his conduct, might be an example to others and able to bring them back to the observance of law. God in His Divine Providence gave us such a man in the person of Pius X. In the election of the Holy Father it would seem that God had in view the repetition of the wonders which He had worked through the agency of the first Pope, through His first vicar here, St. Peter. Hence he selected Pius X from the ranks of the people, as He had elected the poor fisherman from Galilee. To him He entrusted the care of His Church, and it was through him He desired that those who have gone astray from the fold of the Church, away from the doctrines which He Himself had preached when on earth, should be brought back to the fold, to the observance of the lessons of the holy Gospel. The Holy Father has corresponded truly to the desire of our Divine Lord. As soon as he ascended the throne of Peter, his first thought was to proclaim to the universal Church the line of action which would be carried out in the administration of the Church. "Since it has pleased God," he said, "to raise Us out of nothingness to such a high position, We proclaim to the world that We have nothing else in view than to restore everything in Christ." And he has fulfilled this promise by the work which he has done. He has instructed the faithful throughout the whole world. He has sent letters on the reformation of Church music, on the proper vocation of the clergy, on the reformation of morals, and his efforts to the end that our children should receive a solid education have been especially earnest. All this proves that our Holy Father, the Pope, is really a providential pastor of the Church. I am, therefore, most pleased to see that you cherish in your heart veneration and respect towards your Supreme Pastor, the Vicar of Jesus Christ. I am glad to see how you look to him as the guide of the Church, especially in this important matter of education. I am glad to see that our Holy Father has already approved the work which you are doing, and that by his word he' is encouraging you more and more in this movement of Catholic education. We need to see that the young are properly trained. We need to see that children are properly instructed in the principles of our holy religion. I am glad that I shall have oc casion, in writing to our Holy Father, to express to him how great is your zeal in the cause of education. I beg to offer you my own sincerest congratulations. Your work has gone on very successfully up to the present, and I hope that it will go on even better in the future. I hope that your zeal will increase more and more, and that your Association will in reality be a blessing to the Church here in the United States, and also to this great Nation; because if you will give me a good child, well educated in religion, and obedient to the laws of God, I shall give you the best citizen and the most loyal subject of the Republic. (Applause.) The papal blessing was then given by the Apostolic Delegate. THE PRESIDENT GENERAL: We now bring to a close the seventh meeting of the Catholic Educational Association. It is indeed a very important meeting, in the great number of members who have attended, in the institutions and organizations represented, in the number and importance of the papers read, and in the discussions to which they have been subjected. Moreover, in this meeting we have made a considerable step in advance. Besides that, we have ourselves undergone a serious education of the mind and heart by contact with these great problems, by looking into one another's faces, by discussions and conversations with one another. You will all now return to your homes, and I am certain that the good work of this annual meeting will remain with us, and the memory of the work done here will continue to inspire and uplift us and encourage us until, in the providence of God, we shall prepare to meet in the next or eighth annual meeting. As there is no more business before the Association, I now declare this seventh annual meeting adjourned. The hymn, "Holy God We Praise Thy Name," was then sung by the audience, and the meeting came to a close. PUBLIC MEETING A public meeting was held in the Light Guard Armory on Thursday, July 7, at 8 p. m. Rev. E. D. Kelly was chairman of the meeting. The following program was given: I. Overture "Poet and Peasant". Finzel's Orchestra. 2. Song-Hymn to the Pope.. Chorus of Children. 3. Address-"The Home and the School". .Suppe His Grace, Most Rev. John J. Glennon, D. D., Arch- 4. Song "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean".. 5. Chorus of Children. Address "Catholic Education in Canada in Its Relation to the Civil Authority". The Honorable Justice Frank A. Anglin, of the Supreme Court of Canada. 6. Song-Huntsman's Chorus-"Der Freischutz" 7. Song "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name". Chorus of Children. 8. Finale "Daughters of American Revolution... Finzel's Orchestra. Lampe Chorus of one thousand children of the parish schools, directed by Prof. A. A. Langlois. FRANCIS W. HOWARD, Secretary General. MESSAGE FROM THE HOLY FATHER A cablegram was sent to the Holy Father at the opening of the convention, and the following reply was received on the last day of the meeting: "The Holy Father is pleased with the filial and devoted homage expressed by the Catholic Educational Association on the occasion of the annual meeting in Detroit, and he again affectionately bestows on all the apostolic blessing. "CARDINAL MERRY DEL VAL." PAPERS READ AT THE GENERAL MEETINGS THE PASTOR AND EDUCATION RT. REV. MGR. THOMAS J. SHAHAN, D. D., RECTOR OF THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA, WASHINGTON, D. C. Among the objects set forth in the constitution of this Association is that of encouraging the spirit of cooperation and mutual helpfulness among Catholic educators. This, indeed, may well be regarded as the essential aim which gives direction and energy to all our efforts. So far as this is secured, we may count our endeavors successful; and so far as any element is still lacking which thorough cooperation demands, there lies before us a task to be completed, a source of strength to be supplied, a new bond of union to be drawn more closely and more effectually. The process of unifying our educational forces has been carried on in large measure by the same instinctive impulse which initiated the movement-I mean, the desire of furthering the interests of religion by making the work of our schools as perfect as possible. This desire, spontaneous in the heart of the Catholic teacher, has naturally led to an inquiry, more or less explicitly formulated, as to the various factors that enter into our educational system. To determine precisely the value of each factor and its relations to the work as a whole, to adjust these relations in view of our common purpose, and through this adjustment to effect the needed solidarity-these have been the most serious undertakings proposed to our Association. Quite naturally also our attention has largely been given to the institutions that educate-the seminary, the college, the parochial school-to their curricula and methods, to the teaching of special subjects, to the instruction of particular classes of pupils. The discussion of these various topics has been fruitful in suggestion |