dom. But, where was this love of religious freedom when the Catholic Cantons of Switzerland were despoiled of their rights by an impious and radical government; when their colleges and schools were abolished, their convents pillaged, and their pastors imprisoned or banished the country? Where was this love of religious freedom when the British government passed the ecclesiastical titles bill? Facts like these, and many others that might be adduced, prove that the professions of zeal for religious liberty so often put forth by Protestant agitators, mean simply that the object of their aspirations is liberty for Protestants: they wish Protestant propagandists to have every facility for robbing a Catholic people of what is dearer to them than any earthly possession; but they care not a straw for the religious liberty of Catholics. Let a Catholic people be persecuted for the faith; let Catholics be denied the freedom of worship, as is the case more or less under every Protestant government in Europe; let our convents and churches be burned; let the noble confessor, for publishing the truth against a shameless apostate, become the victim of crying injustice; all this excites no sympathy in behalf of the sufferers, nor does it call forth a meeting to vindicate the cause of religious freedom. A resolution was recently passed by both houses of the legislature of New Hampshire, to the effect that the provision in the Constitution of that State, termed the "religious test," is "unjust, anti-republican and contrary to the spirit of the age."

ARCH-DIOCESS OF BALTIMORE.-Religious Reception.-On the 6th instant, at the Convent of the Visitation, in this city, Miss Bettie M. Combs, (Sister Mary Paula,) of St. Mary's county, Maryland, and Miss Teresa McAtee, (Sister Mary Innocent,) of Harford county, Maryland, were admitted to the religious habit. The Very Rev. Mr. Coskery, V. G., assisted by the Rev. Mr. Flaut, performed the ceremony and preached on the occasion.-Cath. Mir.

ARCH-DIOCESS OF CINCINNATI. From a report of the Female Orphan Asylum in Cincinnati, in the Catholic Telegraph, we learn that the receipts for the year 1852 were $3,248 08; expenses $3,350. Five of the small children died during the year. The average number of orphans in the house was 145-150. At a recent fair, held for the benefit of the institution, the proceeds amounted to $3,613 64. Expenses of the Diocesan Theological Seminary for 1852, including board, tuition, &c., of eighteen students abroad, $5,508 50; receipts from various sources, $2,500 70. There are at present 18 students in the institution and 21 in other seminaries.

The following information is curious and useful:-Marriages, Baptisms and Deaths in the Roman Catholic Congregations of Cincinnati, during the year 1852.

These statistics are divided between English and German Churches as follows:

These statistics exhibit a result very different from what had been expected. The increase in the number of American and Irish Catholics is extraordinary, and affords a most gratifying assurance of the progress of the faith. Though the German Catholic congregations have not increased in an equal ratio, yet it must be remembered that great numbers have left the city, and large Catholic settlements have been formed in the adjacent counties of Ohio. The taxes and school-laws have banished many of the German Catholics from the city.-Cath. Tel.

Dedication.-The new church of St. Joseph, at Egypt, four miles from Minster, Auglaize county, was blessed on the 12th December, by Rev. Adam Kunkler. It is a handsome frame, 35 by 55 feet.-Ibid.

6

VOL. I.-No. 1

DIOCESS OF PITTSBURG.-Ordinations.-Rev. Amandus Wimmer, O. S. B., was ordained Priest, on Tuesday, the 20th of November, and Rev. P A. Wirth, O. S. B., was also ordained Priest, on Monday the 6th of December.-Pitts. Cath.

Religious Profession.-Miss Eugenia Bowen (Sister Philip Neri) received the White Veil, in the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, on Wednesday, the Feast of the Concep→ tion.-Ibid.

Church Burned.-The Catholic church at Vogelbacher's, Clarion county, was accidentally destroyed by fire on the 8th of December.

DIOCESS OF NEW YORK.-A fair was lately held at Newark, for the Orphan Asylums, which realized $1,600. A new church at Springfield, New Jersey, was dedicated to the service of Almighty God, under the patronage of St. Rose of Lima, December 26th, by Very Rev. John Loughlin.-Freem. Journ. One hundred and thirty persons were confirmed by the Most Rev. Archbishop Hughes, in St. Charles Borromeo's church, Brooklyn, on the 7th of December. A new church was recently dedicated by the same prelate, at Fort Hamilton, New York.

Education.-Application was lately made to the Common Council of Jersey City, for the proportion of the school fund, to which St. Peter's Catholic School is entitled, under the school law of that State. This, it appears, the Council refused, upon the ground that "schools subject to Church discipline," are not such as come within the meaning of the law.-Cell.

DIOCESS OF GALVESTON.—Ordination.—On the 18th December, Bishop Odin, of Galveston, conferred Sacred Orders on the following:-Priesthood on M. Claudius Dumas; Deaconship on MM. Adolphus Desarnault, Bartholomew Deeperray, Nicolas Feltin and Louis M. Planchet; Sub-deaconship on Messrs. John Claudius Neras and George Metz.-Cath. Misc.

DIOCESS OF PHILADELPHIA.-Ordination.—On Saturday, December 18th, the Right Rev. Bishop Neumann, celebrated Pontifical Mass in St. Peter's Church, and ordained Priest the Rev. Mr. Muller, C. M., one of the Professors in St. Charles' Seminary; Mr. Cobbin, a student of the Seminary, was on the same occasion ordained deacon.-Cath Instructor.

Confirmation.-We learn from the same source that the Rt. Rev. Bishop Neumann confirmed 160 persons in St. Philip's Church, Philadelphia, on the 26th of December. DIOCESS OF HARTFORD.-Religious Reception.-On Wednesday, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Miss Margaret Reynolds was admitted to the White Veil and Religious Habit, in the Convent of Mercy, at Providence, Rhode Island. Her name in religion is Sister Mary Martina. On Tuesday, the Feast of St. Thomas, Ap., the White Veil and Religious Habit were, in the same institution, conferred on Miss Jane Josephine Fitzgerald, who took the name of Sister Mary Angela.-Cath. Mir.

CONVERSIONS.-Two distinguished Germans, Baron Rochus von Rochow and Pfiel von Diersdorf, abjured Protestantism on the 10th of December, in the Cathedral of Breslau. Lord Charles T. Thynne made his first communion at Clifton, England, December 12th. This convert was a Canon of Canterbury, and held a valuable living in Wiltshire, both of which, of course, he sacrifices to his religious convictions. Lord Charles is the son-in-law of the Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Bath and Wells in England, and the uncle of Lord Bath, both of whom may follow Lord Charles' example.-Rom. Guardian. On the Feast of the Epiphany, at Catskill, New York, Mr. Norman C. Stoughton, who had previously renounced the Episcopalian ministry, was received into the Catholic Church, with Mrs. Stoughton and three small children.Freem. Journ. The Right Rev. Dr. Ives, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of North Carolina, adjured the errors of the sect, and made a public declaration of the Catholic faith at Rome, Italy, on the 26th of December. It is stated that Prince Huckler Maskau, the distinguished traveller, has embraced the Catholic faith. Mr. Francis R. Wegg Prosser, late member of parliament from Herefordshire, was received into the Church lately, by the Right Rev. Dr. Grant, Bishop of Southwark, England. Mr. Hasert, a Lutheran minister at Bunzlau, Germany, recently renounced the errors of Protes

tantism. The Princess Caroline Wasa, of Germany, was received into the true Church on the 4th of December.

DEATHS.-At the Convent of the Visitation, Frederick, Maryland, on the 5th January, Sister Mary Catherine. She was the youngest daughter of John Plunkett, Esq., of Longford, Ireland, and only sister of the Rev. Pastor of Martinsburg, Va.-Cath. Mirror. At the Convent of the Visitation, in Wheeling, Virginia, on the 6th January, Sister Clare Agnes Jenkins, daughter of the late Felix Jenkins, of Baltimore, in the 29th year of her age.-Ib. From the New Orleans Propagateur Catholique we learn the death of Brother Victor, (Mr. Thomas Walsh,) a professed member of the congregation of the Brothers of St. Joseph, and Director of the Orphan Asylum. The deceased was in his forty-second year, a native of Drogheda in Ireland, and distinguished for many virtues, but especially his deep humility, which made him abandon an honorable position in the world, and bury his talents and virtues in the shades of a religious life. Cath. Miscellany. At Mt. Hope, Baltimore, December 17th, Sister Thrasilla Cassilly, of the society of Sisters of Charity. At St. Louis, Missouri, Sister Mary Rose, (Feehan,) of the same society. At Cincinnati, January 4th, Mrs. Juliana Williamson, late of Baltimore, Maryland, aged 82 years. Count Walsh, the last survivor of the Irish Brigade in the service of France, died at Paris on the 10th of December. The Right Rev. Wm. O'Higgins, D. D., Bishop of Ardagh, Ireland, died on the 3d January, at his residence at Ballymahon.

IRELAND.—The Catholic press in England and Ireland is out upon Messrs. Keogh, Sadleir and O'Flaherty, for having accepted office under the new coalition ministry, which is supposed to be not much, if anything, more favorable to the true interests of Ireland and the Church than its predecessor. The Aberdeen Cabinet is one of which the Catholic party, as is stated elsewhere, have just reason to be suspicious, and therefore they have need of all the force they can command, to urge their rights, and resist an illiberal opposition in parliament. So far, the Irish brigade has nobly sustained itself, and Messrs. Lucas and Shee particularly have acquired an honorable prominence by their effective speeches on tenant-right. The loss of a few members from its ranks will only serve to excite the rest to greater vigilance and unanimity. From the correspondence of the Catholic Mirror, we learn the following statistics of the Church in Ireland: 4 archbishoprics, 24 bishoprics, 2,227 churches, 2,714 priests; which show an increase in the number of churches and clergy, as compared with preceding years. The Rev. Mr. Gillick has succeeded Dr. Dixon in the chair of Scripture at Maynooth. The Earl of St. Germain's, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, arrived at Dublin on the 6th January.

ENGLAND.—The following is the composition of the Aberdeen Ministry :—Earl of Aberdeen, First Lord of the Treasury; Lord Cranworth, Lord Chancellor; Earl Grenville, President of the Council; Duke of Argyle, Lord Privy Seal; Viscount Palmerston, Home Department; Lord John Russell, Foreign Department; Duke of Newcastle, Colonial Department; Mr. Gladstone, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Sir James Graham, First Lord of the Admiralty; Sir Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control; Sir William Molesworth, Office of Works, &c.; Mr. Sidney Herbert, Secretary-at-War; Marquis of Lansdowne, without office; Viscount Canning, Postmaster General: Mr. Cardwell, President of the Board of Trade; Mr. Bernal Osborne, Secretary to the Admiralty; The Hon. H. Fitzroy, Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department; Mr. F. Peel, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies; Lord Wodehouse, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Mr. Grenville Berkeley, Secretary to the Poor Law Board; Sir A. Cockburn, Attorney-General; Lord St. Germain's, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland; The Right Hon. M. Brady, Lord Chancellor of Ireland ; Mr. Brewster, Attorney-General for Ireland; Mr. Keogh, Q. C., Solicitor-General for Ireland; Mr. John Sadleir, Lord of the Treasury; Vice-Chancellor Sir George Turner has been appointed one of the Lords Justices of Appeal, in the room of Lord Cranworth; Sir W. Page Wood succeeds Sir George Turner as Vice-Chancellor; Junior Lord of the Treasury (besides Mr. Sadleir,) Mr. Bouverie; Joint Secretaries to the Treasury, The Right Hon. G, Hayter and Mr. Wilson; Solicitor-General, Mr. Bethell;

Lord Advocate of Scotland, Mr. Moncrieff; President of the Poor Law Board, Right Hon. M. T. Baines; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Right Hon. E. Strutt'; Chief-Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Sir J. Young; Lord of the Admiralty, Hon. W. F. Cowper; Judge-Advocate-General, Mr. C. P. Villiers; Joint Secretaries to the Board of Control, R. Lowe, Esq., and A. H. Layard, Esq.; ViceChamberlain of Her Majesty's Household, Lord E. Bruce; Treasurer of Her Majesty's Household, The Earl of Mulgrave.

How this Cabinet is viewed by the Catholic party, may be gathered from the Tablet: "So far as I can ascertain the opinion of independent Catholics, lay or clerical (and I have conversed with many,) is very much in accordance with that which has been already expressed in your columns-that it is well for Catholics to regard the new administration, if not with suspicion, at all events without any very ardent or unhesitating devotion. I find great stress laid on the simple fact, that the majority of the members of the cabinet supported the Titles Bill. And though it is quite true that Aberdeen and Graham opposed it, the latter intimated that if he had been in office he should have found it necessary to introduce some measure: and as to the Premier, he is by no means the most influential or powerful member of the cabinet, of which he is the nominal head; and to talk of 'controlling' such men as Russell and Palmerston, is pure nonsense, And as to Gladstone and the rest of the Peel party, I find no faith is placed in them. By far the most important features of the new administration are, their promulgation of a new parliamentary reform, and the presence of Molesworth in the cabinet. Any extension of the representation would certainly favor really Liberal principles, and this is a better security to all classes of the community than the composition of a coalition administration. This reminds me to revert to what I write, principally to express the opinions entertained by independent Catholics of the new government. I say independent, for I need hardly state that those who are connected with the ministry, or are connected with those who are, speak in terms extremely eulogistic and congratulatory, and say a 'better government could not be formed,' and 'that to oppose it would be faction,' Independent Catholics, however, adopt a very different tone. They say it is impossible to tell what principles the members of such a coalition mean to act upon; and probably they hardly can know very clearly themselves. That the natural course of things is for the most powerful members of the cabinet to carry it, who are the authors of the Titles Bill; and that others, like Graham and Gladstone, are not to be relied upon, and would go with the strongest. That this being so, the introduction of a few Catholics into minor offices, without any influence in the cabinet, cannot in the least affect the course of policy adopted by the government; and in the event of its proving hostile to Catholicism, would be a sad snare to the individual Catholics themselves, and tend to sow disunion and dissension among the Catholic party, and deprive them of their main strength. The universal opinion among independent Catholics is, I can venture to affirm, that it is best to stand aloof' from the new government, and that it would be very bad policy for the Catholic party to commit themselves to any party support of it, but that they ought simply to vote according to their measures. And even as it is, I have heard it questioned on all sides whether these measures are not likely to be less favorable than they otherwise might have been, upon this very account, that the Catholic party may be supposed to be weakened and divided by some of its leading members being in the ministry."

FRANCE.-Napoleon III continues to commend himself to the respect of the French nation. On New Year's Day, previous to the official receptions, he received the respects of his civil and military household, as is usual on the morning of the new year. He afterwards heard Mass in the chapel of the Tuilleries, received the visits of the members of his family, and then commenced, at half-past eleven o'clock, the official receptions, which were conducted with considerable pomp. The proceedings took place in the Salle de Trône, the Emperor being surrounded by all his household, military and civil. These receptions would have commenced with the French Cardinals, had they not been detained in their respective diocesses by the solemnities of Christmas. The Pope's

Nuncio entered the presence-chamber at the head of the Diplomatic corps, and addressed his congratulations to the Emperor. Napoleon, on returning thanks, said: "I trust, under the Divine protection, to be able to develop the prosperity of France, and to secure the peace of Europe." The Senate followed, and then came the Archbishop of Paris and his Clergy; the members of the Legislative corps; the Council of State; the Judges of the Court of Cassation and of the other law courts; the Institute; the Prefect of the Seine; the Prefect of Police; the Mayors of Paris, &c., &c. All the persons composing these bodies passed most rapidly before the Emperor; as their reception only occupied half an hour. Next came the chamber of notaries; the syndics of the agens-de-change; the members of the Beaux-Arts; the professors of the Polytechnic School; the College of France, &c., the reception of whom took up another half-hour. Then at one o'clock came the officers of the National Guard of Paris and of the Banlieue; and lastly, at half-past one, the most brilliant and most numerous body of all, namely, the general and field officers of every branch, with the professors of the various military schools, and other special bodies connected with the army; and last of all, the old officers of the empire. The receptions had concluded at a little before three o'clock. The Emperor then left the Tuilleries, and proceeded to pay a visit to his uncle, King Jerome, who had been confined to his bed for several days past with an attack of influenza, which is so prevalent during the present season. The Imperial Household.—By a decree, dated the 31st December, 1852, the Emperor has named the Bishop of Nancy, Chief Almoner of his Household; Marshal Count Vaillant, Senator, Grand Marshal of the Palace; Colonel Baron de Beville, First Prefect of the Palace; the Duke de Bassano, Senator, Grand Chamberlain; the Count Bacciocchi, First Chamberlain; Marshal de Saint Arnaud, Senator, Minister of War, Grand Equerry; Colonel Fleury, First Equerry; Marshal Magnan, Senator, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Paris, Master of the Hounds; Colonel Edgar Ney, First Aide of the Master of the Hounds; the Duke de Cambacères, Senator, Grand Master of the Ceremonies.

The inauguration of the Church of St. Genevieve, (late the Pantheon,) took place with extraordinary pomp, on Monday, January 3d, the Feast of St. Genevieve. The previous day, the relics of St. Genevieve were exposed in the metropolitan church of Notre Dame, at the entrance of the choir, during the first Vespers of the Festival. In the evening of the same day, one of the Archdeacons of the diocess went to the new church, to reconcile it canonically. At nine o'clock on Monday morning the ceremony commenced with the translation of the relics from the church of Notre Dame to that of St. Genevieve. The procession, consisting of the Chapter of Notre Dame, and representatives from many parishes within and without Paris, issued from the Cathedral, preceded by the cross. The reliquary was borne by Deacons, clothed in dalmatics of cloth and gold; they were followed by the body of the Clergy in surplice and stole, the students of St. Sulpice, and the Canons of Notre Dame, arrayed in vestments rich in gold and embroidery. After Mass the Archbishop, arrayed in cope of cloth of gold, and mitre of the richest material, his crosier borne by his Assistant, ascended the pulpit, and delivered a discourse, in which he gave an historical sketch of the church, now again reopened for Catholic worship. The "Te Deum" was then chanted, and the effect was powerful when the first burst of the organ swept through those noble aisles. The Archbishop then pronounced a solemn benediction and retired.

ROME.-The Sacred Congregation of the Index has condemned the following works, in a decree of December 14th: La Filosofia delle Scuole Italiane, by A. Franchi; Theologia Dogm. et Moralis of Bailly, (until it be corrected;) Philosophie du Mariage, by A. Debay; La Bibblia, Canti di G. Regaldi; Maria la Spagnuola, by V. Ayguals.-Mgr. Malteucei has been appointed Director-General of Police.-It is stated in the Cologne Gazete, that the Court of Rome has addressed a circular to all the European powers, inviting them to take a warm interest in the Herzegovine and Bosnia, where the Christians are much exposed to the persecutions of the Turks.-Mgr. Pallegoix, Bishop of Malos, V. A. of Siam, lately passed a few days at Rome. He was accompanied by two young