“A Pastoral Letter.” from the March 26, 1885 Door County Advocate
A Pastoral Letter.
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The Rev. Engelbert Blume Salutes his Old Friends in Sturgeon Bay and Vicinity.
To the Editor of The Advocate:
MORRISON, Wis., March 21.—Having been a resident of your little city and county for upward of eight years, it is of course very natural that we should feel a deep interest in all that concerns the welfare and prosperity of your city, so beautifully situated along the shores of the bay, and being, especially during the summer months, such a delightful resort for tourists and pleasure-seekers from various parts of the country. No wonder, then, that we were agreeably surprised to find, in a recent number of the Catholic Citizen, of Milwaukee, the following correspondence:
“A correspondent (a member of St. Joseph’s church) writes us as follows from Sturgeon Bay: To show how our pastor, Rev. G. J. Pellegrin, is esteemed here, his people, joined by many non-catholics, lately presented him with a fine gold watch and chain, a set of silver-ware, a large armchair, and several other articles. Since he assumed charge of the mission divine service is well attended. He has established a ladies’ rosary society, and a young ladies’ sodality of the blessed virgin. The choir is progressing finely, and the altar boys, four in number, are well trained. Father Pellegrin speaks English, French and German fluently, and his sermons are well delivered and listened to with pleasure. He has the respect of all classes.”
So far the report Whoever wrote it wrote it well. Honor to whom honor is due. We had a “notion” of returning, but begin to see there is no chance for us, as we cannot please all classes of people, a fact which you, Mr. Editor, have learned as well as others.
Now we feel as though we ought to rebuke you a little, Mr. Editor, for an item in the last issue of your paper we have received and which reads as follows:
“Our democratic friends celebrated the inauguration of the ‘man of destiny’ as president by bringing out Tom Smith’s cannon last Wednesday afternoon and firing a salute over the, to them, happy event,” etc.
All we have to remark is this: It matters not what one’s opinion may have been of Cleveland as a candidate for the presidency. He is now the elected ruler of the people of the United States, and he deserves all the honor and service due to that high office. This is the American doctrine. Still better, it is the catholic doctrine, and has the sanction of religion, which by its fourth commandment obliges us to honor the rulers of the people as well as those of the household. It is gratifying, in performing this duty, to be able to say that president Cleveland acquitted himself admirably at the opening of his term. This is the concurrent opinion of all shades of political belief.
To talk about the weather, now, Mr. Editor: We need not tell you that it is steady, as, for instance, in Dakota and Manitoba, where it remains at thirty degrees below zero right along. Here we wake up one morning to find it ten degrees below, and on the next we find it ten degrees above zero. Let us remember the old saying, Varietas delectat.
That we kept St. Patrick’s day in the good old style we will only mention en passant, but we must inform you that our Irish people wondered how a German could know all about Ireland and the Irish. Our address was of a politico-religious nature,—more we cannot say in general without going into details, for which, at present, we have no time.
The scribbler of this communication, Mr. Editor, expects to set out upon a trip to the old country the first week in July, and to return from Europe the last week in September. He has not seen his relations and friends on the other side of the “big pond” for eighteen years, or since the 13th day of March, 1867. We feel, therefore, as though we should soon be privileged to sing:
“Home again! home again! from a foreign shore!
And oh, it fills my soul with joy to meet my friends once more.”
If possible we shall visit our old home in Sturgeon Bay before embarking for Europe, to bid all our friends (if there are any left,) good-by, au revoir, and also to assist, as we promised, at various ceremonies, exempli gratia, the blessing of the select catholic convent school in your city, the dedication of SS. Peter and Paul church, which was to be built at the corner of Hocks and Jackson streets, Sevastopol, and the grand celebration of his first mass, at St. Joseph’s church, by Mr. Kilian Beyer, a son of the well known chairman of one of your suburbs. Should those buildings not be up yet, get them ready by the fifteenth of June, 1885.
In conclusion, we take pride to invite all our friends in Door county to an English sermon we are to preach at the cathedral, in Green Bay, on good Friday evening, April 3d, 1885, at the special request of the Rt. Rev. bishop of the diocese.
Very respectfully yours,
E. BLUME,
Rector St. John’s church.
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
[“Varietas delectat” means “variety delights”, “en passant” means “in passing”, “au revoir” means “goodbye”, and “exempli gratia” means “for example”.
Lyrics to “Home Again”: https://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Home_again_(Marshall_Spring_Pike) ]
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