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 SfTH^^^'' 't^i^?^' ^C^fp^-^ 
 
 •?>-« <-">.. 
 
 
 PASTORAL LETTER 
 
 7 
 
 •v 
 
 
 or 
 
 THE IIBST BISHOP OF LONDON, O.W., 
 
 AKNOTTNCING THE ERECTION OF, AND HIS APPOINTMENT TO, THE SEE 
 
 OF LONDON. 
 
 IRmmt S)%. 3owpi^, lEbmtml, tst^ fffaq;, tsse. 
 
 ;'f^ 
 
 MONTREAL: 
 
 ilUNTED BY JOHN tOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STBSIT. 
 
 1866. 
 
/ 
 
 PASTORAL LETTER 
 
 or TBI 
 
 FIRST BISHOP OF LONDON, C. W. 
 
 PETER AUOLPHE PINSONEAULT, BY THE GRACE OP GOD, AND THE APPOINTMENT 
 OF THE HOLY SEE, FIRST BISHOP OP LONDON. 
 
 To the Clergy and Laity of our Diocese, health and hlessing. 
 
 Dearly Beloved in Christf- 
 
 I. 
 
 It has pleased His Holiness Pope Pius IX., by his Apostolic 
 Letters of the 21st of February last, to separate from 
 the See of Toronto the most western portion of Upper 
 Canada, and to erect it into a new Bishopric. 
 
 Our common and most beloved Father, the Supreme 
 Pastor of the CathoHc world, considering the vast extent of 
 territory heretofore placed under the jurisdiction of our 
 venerable brother the Rt. Rev. Dr. de Charbonnel, has 
 graciously vouchsafed to grant the request of the late 
 Council of Quebec, by erecting the new See op London, 
 and appointing us First Bishop of the Diocese of London, 
 and SuJBPragan of the Metropolitan See of Quebec. 
 
A sense of propriety forbids us from alluding to our own 
 urgent expostulations, previously made, that the choice 
 mio-ht be made to fall upon one better qualified to bear the 
 responsibility, and to fulfil the heavy duties of that awful 
 charge ; but we may venture to tell you candidly that when 
 the Apostolic Letters, bearing the will of the Head of the 
 Church, were delivered into our hands, we retired to kneel 
 in prayer and to relieve our feelings, and pressing them with 
 deep reverence to our lips, in proof of submission to the 
 Supreme Pastor, bowed our head to receive the yoke of the 
 Lord, saying, with our holy Patron St. Peter,—" At thy 
 word I will let down the net."^^^ 
 
 Eor though saddened, and aU but disheartened, at our 
 physical and moral deficiencies, and fully conscious of our 
 unworthiness for this high dignity, yet are we much con- 
 soled and upheld by our obedience to and our faith in the 
 following words of the Bull of our Canonical Institution : 
 " Therefore^ having assumed, tcith prompt devotedness, the 
 yoke of the Lord imposed upon your shoulders, endeavor to 
 govern and administer with such fidelity and prudence, that 
 
 the Church may rejoice, and that you may deserve 
 
 to receive more abundantly the favor and benediction of the 
 ApostaUc See and ours."^^^ Bearing also in mind the 
 words of the Apostle,—" The fooUsh things of the world 
 hath God chosen, that He may confound the wise; and 
 the weak that he may confound the strong,— that no flesh 
 should glory in his sight.''^^^ 
 
 (1 ) In verbo autem tuo laxabo rete. (Luc. t.) 
 
 (2) Jueum igitup Domini, tuis impoBitum humerii, promptA derotione suscipiens. curam 
 •t adminUtrationem pradictas ita studeas fideliter prudenterque exereere, ut Eceles.a ipsa 
 
 g^udeat ac Tu Nostrum quoque et ApostoliciB Sedis ubeniis exmdi^ consequi 
 
 merearis benedictionem et gratiam. (Bulla lastitut.) 
 
 (8)QuffiBtulta8i«itmundi elegit Dera, ut confundat sapientes; et infirma mundi elegit 
 Beu», ut confundat fortia,-ut non glorietur omnis caro in eonspectu ejus. (Cor. i.) 
 
 
5 
 
 And yet, dearly beloved brethren, so deeply did we feel 
 our inability, that up to the moment of our receiving the 
 Apostolic Letters, fear and trembling, anxiety and doubt, 
 with many other conflicting thoughts, well nigh over- 
 powered us ; indeed, we had no rest but in pouring out our 
 heart before the Almighty, and ^'praying to our Father in 
 secret''^^^ How many times, in our dismay, did we not 
 cry to the Lord God, — " Behold I I cannot speaks for I 
 am a child. My heart is troubled within me. Fear and 
 trembling are come upon me^^^^ 
 
 II. 
 
 Whence, therefore, our sudden change ? Whence our 
 present resignation — nay, our firm confidence, our fond 
 hope ? Is it that we do not form a just estimate of our 
 new situation ? Can it be that we are blind to our many 
 deficiencies ? or that we purposely overlook them, as well 
 as the trying difficulties we shall have ere long to grapple 
 with ? Not so, beloved brethren ; we need not be reminded 
 that the Diocese gf London is but in its very infancy, whilst 
 we, its first Bishop, — besides being utterly destitute of all 
 worldly means, and deficient in many other ways, — labour 
 moreover under the disadvantage of being entirely unknown 
 to you all ; our very name — for aught we know — telling 
 against us. 
 
 Again, we are deeply sensible of the difficulties we shall 
 encounter even at the very outset; and we anticipate a 
 thousand others yet unknown, against which we must be 
 prepared to struggle in the administration of our high office. 
 Nay, we clearly foresee that difficulties of all kinds will 
 
 (1) Ora Patrem tuum in abscondito. (Math, vi.) 
 
 (2) Ecce nescio loqui, quia puer ego buqi. (Jerem. vi.) Cor [meum oonturbatum est ia 
 me — timor et tremor venerunt super rae. (Ps. liv.) 
 
6 
 
 »oon thicken around us ;• that we shall be trouhlecl with 
 doubts, thwarted in our undertakings by the " enemy T yea 
 even by ** fake brethren "^^^ — involved in cares, bowed 
 down with unceasing anxieties, and finally pressed on all 
 sides and hemmed in, as it were, with most painful trials. 
 In a word, we see surging up from afar the threatening tide 
 of many and various tribulations, — " combats without, fears 
 mthin" (2)— which shall possibly try both our mind and 
 heart to the very utmost. 
 
 No wonder if we should quail before this sad prospect, 
 which, we apprehend, is not overdrawn ; and yet, beloved 
 brethren, we dare contemplate it even without a shudder, 
 and — unheeding this gloomy fji6;iture — we remain undis- 
 turbed in our confidence, unmoved in our hope. 
 
 God forbid we should be presumptuous, and ever forget 
 our own weakness ! — ''far from me be this sin." ^^^ How 
 then, can we be so sanguine, and whence the secret of this 
 our present fortitude ? 
 
 Behold 1 our most beloved Father Pius IX. stands before 
 us, his hallowed face beaming with a heavenly benevolence ; 
 with that bright and sweet countenancer— upon which we 
 gazed with rapture some years ago — he looks down upon 
 us ; and methinks — whilst his hand, which holds the keys 
 of Peter, is uplifted to bless the new Diocese of London 
 and its first Bishop — thrilling words fall from his lips which 
 bid us be of good cheer, and impress upon us the noble 
 duty of generously corresponding to his sacred call, and if 
 need be, of sacrificing our very life for the Church and the 
 salvation of souls ; — and lo ! all the gloomy shadowings of 
 our future prospects fade away as the morning mist before 
 the rising sun. 
 
 (1) Inimicus homo hoc fecit. (Math, xiii.) In fiilsis fratribus. (2 Cor. xi.) 
 (3) Foris pugnse, intds timorea. (2 Cor. vii.) 
 (3) Absit k me hoo peccatum. (1 Reg. zii.) 
 
Such is the bright vision conjured up in our mind by 
 the Letters of the Holy Father, such the soul-inspiring 
 instruction we derive from them. 
 
 Indeed in perusing them with deep reverence, a new 
 light shines at once into our mind ; the sphere of our ideas 
 is enlarged ; new and higher thoughts spring up and drive 
 away the overwhelming anxiety which was preying upon 
 oar mind ; our soul, soaring in the highest regions of faith, 
 is filled with heavenly fortitude : and now, with a deep but 
 calm earnestness, we stand prepared to confront the stem 
 realities of our awful charge, and cheerfully enter into the 
 feeling which prompted the Apostle to exclaim, — " I fear 
 none of these tilings^ neither do I count my life more 'pre' 
 cioua than myself so that I may consummate my course^ 
 and the ministry of the word which I have received from 
 the Lord Jesus."^^^ 
 
 And for this we claim no credit ; we are simply doing 
 our duty towards the Church, in whose service we have 
 enlisted. "We have heard the voice of Peter — as it comes 
 dov. n by a long and unbroken succession through our illus- 
 trious Pius IX. — calling upon us to go and labour in that 
 remote part of the vineyard of the Lord ; and that suf&ces 
 us, for our sense of duty to the Supreme Pastor forbids us 
 aU further hesitation. In this matter, as well as in all 
 others appertaining to his spiritual supremacy, we submit 
 at once and with deep reverence, regardless of all other 
 considerations ; for our motto is the one proclaimed of old 
 by the great Bishop of Hippo, — " Borne has spoken, there 
 is an end of the matter ."^^^ 
 
 Hence it is that we do not allow despondency to steal 
 upon our heart ; we know that " unless the Lord build the 
 
 (1) Nihil horum vereor, nee faoio animam menm pretiosorcm qukrn me, dummodo con- 
 ■ummem cursum meum et ministerium yerbi quod accepi i, Domino Jesu. (Acta, xx.) 
 
 (2) Roma locuta est, causa finita est (St. Aug.) 
 
8 
 
 house, he who attempts to raise it labours in vain."^^ 
 Our trust, therefore, is not in our own strength and wisdom, 
 but solely in the promises of God and in the blessin^js which 
 must needs flow from our obedience to the Supreme Pastor. 
 Yes, beloved brethren, our faith in the sacred mission with 
 which the Sovereign Pontiff has thought proper to invest 
 us is the holy source from which springs this our strong hope ; 
 against this hope the waves of tribulation may, indeed, dash 
 again and again, but it can never sink, for its anchor rests 
 
 safely on the unshaken rock of Peter — " that we may 
 
 have the strongest comfort who have fied for refnge, to hold 
 fast the ho^e set before us, which we have as an anchor of 
 the soul, sure andjirm"^^^ 
 
 \ I 
 
 I 
 
 III. 
 
 Since, therefore, the present Head of the Church, — to 
 whom it appertains, by the special dispensation of Jesus 
 Christ, to settle the affairs of the Church, as of old did a 
 St. Clement, a St. Leo, a St. Gregory, his glorious prede- 
 cessors on the See of Peter, — has so ordained it, let us aU 
 bow with the utmost reverence before that divine authority ; 
 let us all render our tribute of homage to his final decision, 
 opening docile ears and yielding willing hearts to the 
 entreaties of our common Father ; let us all become as so 
 many witnesses to the perfect understanding which there is 
 between the Supreme Pontiff and the faitliful, who profess 
 their behef in these words of Jesus Christ to the Papacy, in 
 the person of the Prince of the Apostles, — " Confirm thy 
 brethrenr^'-'^ 
 
 (1) Nisi Dominua aedificaverit domum, in vanum laborayerunt qui sedificant earn. (Pa. cxxvi.) 
 (2)Ut.... fortissimum solatium habeamus, qui confugimus ad tenendam propositam 
 ■pern, quam siciit anchoram babemus animae tutam ac firmam. (Hcb. vi.) 
 (3) Confinna fratrea tuos. (Luc. xzii.) 
 
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 I 
 
 
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 So mucli for tlic profound respect, love and submission, 
 wc all owe to thai Holy Sec of reicr, to which alone were 
 made the ncvcr-failini,' promises of the lledeenier. We 
 would fain dilate more upon that vital point, the main-spring 
 of our Catholic I'aith, but wc must check ourself, lest we 
 go beyond the limits of a Pastoral. 
 
 We cannot, however, resist quoting the sound and thril- 
 ling thoughts suggested on that subject to one of the two 
 hundred Bishops who had just witnessed the magnificent 
 spectacle of the great festival of the Immaculate Concep- 
 tion : (^) 
 
 " It is Je<(iw Christ, in Peter, whogovernii the'Church ; it is Jesus Christ, in Peter, -who 
 perpetuiitcs the true worship of Ood; it is JosusChrix:, in Peter, who teaches holy morality ." 
 
 " Jesus Ciirist launohcs ou the oecan of aji[cs a vt-ssel which bears his elect to their eternal 
 home. With a mighty nnd invincible arm he directs it OTer the waves swollen by passion 
 and error. That mm is tlio arm of Peter, nnd that vessel shall never be wrecked. 
 
 " JosuB Christ builds to his Father's glory, on the ruins of the idolatrous world, a temple 
 cemcnti'd by his blood, whose summit must reach to heaven, that the voices of men may 
 min;,'le with the harmony of angels. Thin sacred edifice needs nn immovable foundation : that 
 foundation Jesus Christ has declared to be the faith of Peter, and against it shall all the 
 powers of hell be broken. 
 
 " Jesus Christ raines in the sight of all mankind a chair whence he will speak to all 
 generations, until the end of time, to perpetuate him»<elf the teaching of his Gospel. But 
 men have need of a sensible language to preserve them from illusion. Jesus Christ will 
 •peak by the mouth of Peter, and the chair of Peter shall be the indefectible and infallible 
 chair of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " To Jesus Christ, in Peter, belongs the primacy of the Priesthood ; to Jesus Christ, in 
 Peter, appertains the dominion of souls. 
 
 " To Peter belongs the supreme judgment, because supremo judgment belongs to Jesui 
 Christ. Peter absolves, it is Jesus Christ who absolves. Peter opens or shuts heaven, it is 
 Jesus Christ who opens or shuts. Peter anathematises errors, the anathema is pronounced 
 by Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ stays the incursions of hell, it is by the ministry of Peter- 
 If Jesus Christ extends the limits of his empire, it is by the missionaries of Peter. Jesus 
 Christ gives mission to whomsoever it is given by Peter. Peter can never misgovern th« 
 Church, because Jesus Christ is the eternal wisdom. Peter can never tench error, because 
 Jesus Christ is the eternal truth. Peter can never be overcome, because Jesus Christ is the 
 strength of the Most High. 
 
 " Jesus Christ ever conquers in Peter, ever reigns with him, ever commands by him. 
 When Peter seems weakest, then he is strongest. Emperors and philosophers, kings and 
 politicians, all the oppressors of truth, all the public corruptors of morals, may combine 
 against the Lord's Christ, they may rags against him in the person of Peter, they may drag 
 him into exile, they may calumniate him, they may insult him, they may spit in his face, they 
 may crown him with thorns, they may kill him ; but at the very moment when the madmen 
 are publishing their triumph they shall be vanquished. When they shall cry out to the 
 
 (1) Rt. Rev. D. Sibour, Archbishop of Paris. 
 
10 
 
 irorld : ' H« ie dead 1 ' Peter, like Christ, shall arise from the tomb, overthrowing his enemies 
 in the dust, and they shall pass away in their ■haine,they and their might and their systems; 
 but Pster shall remain till the consummationof ages, greater and more glorious until the end. 
 He ■hall behold, BUCcessiTcly, empires decay, power into whatever form phik«cphy may 
 mould it crumble to dust ; the fragments of thrones and republics float upon the tide of 
 'evolutious, while safe amid all these wrecks, tranquilly seated on the vessel of the Church, 
 with his firm hand upon her helm, ho shall offev the one only hope of safety for expiring 
 human ^Hociety. Then shall the nations ory as they grasp his sacred vestment: 'TIiou bast 
 the deposit of eternal truth ; teach us the way< of the Lord, Supreme Pontiff of his Church, 
 and let thy hand uphold our ruins. ' 
 
 " Rome 1 home of our souls, immovable pillar, centre of the Catholic universe, where 
 JesuN Chriiit lives and reigns in the person of Peter and his successors, we cleave to thee with 
 at! the powers of our being, with the deepest and most intense energy of our heart I " 
 
 Thanks be to God, you have kept it faithfully, — ye sons 
 of Mart}T3, — that old Catholic Faith for which, rather than 
 giving it up, your noble forefathers preferred to die man- 
 fully. May you also transmit it to your children — as their 
 most precious inheritance — as whole and entire as you have 
 received it ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 Thus, dearly beloved brethren, we shall be placed in the 
 midst of you, unworthy as we are, yet vested with Apostolic 
 power, which we have received from the Saviour through 
 his Vicar on earth. 
 
 Hence it is that we address you, for the first time, as our 
 dearest children in Jesus Glu*ist, — ""for God is my witness^ 
 how I long after you all in the hoivels of Jesus Christ "^^^ 
 From this day forward, our mission will be to feed you with 
 the bread of Hfe, — to teach you the Holy and Apostolic 
 doctrine of the Catholic Church, — to labour incessantly for 
 your eternal welfare, — to further all your interests, — to 
 promote and secure the faith of your children by a safe and 
 sound education, — to share in your son-ows as well as in 
 your joys, — to adhere to you " through good and evil 
 report,'' ^^^ — ^to stand by you in the day of trial, — and 
 
 (1) Testis est enim Deus, quomodo cupiam vos in visceribus Christi. (Philip, i.) 
 
 (2) Per ignominiam et Iwnam famam. (2 Cor. vi.) 
 
11 
 
 finally, to spend our very life in unceasing solicitude for 
 the salvation of those souls now committed to our fostering 
 care. ^ 
 
 Such are our feelings towards you, beloved brethren, "/o?^ 
 the charity of Christ presseth us, — otcr mouth is open to 
 you, — our heart is enlarged, — be you also enlarged.'^^^^ 
 
 Alas ! we are but too sensible of our utter inability to 
 make amends for the heavy loss you are sustaining by your 
 severance from the See of Toronto. We feel', perhaps but 
 too deeply, how unfit we are to replaee that most zealous 
 and able Prelate whose substitute we now are amongst you I 
 And here, why should we withhold the expression of our 
 mutual grief? Well may you lament your separation from 
 one who has exhibited towards you the love and virtues of 
 the good Shepherd ; but, beloved brethren, if your loss is 
 great, ours is not less so, — if your grief is keen, ours is 
 keener still. For, waiving all mention of our separation 
 from our family and our much esteemed friends, both of the 
 Clergy and Laity, how many other deeply-rooted ties shall 
 we not be compelled to break asunder in obedience to that 
 command of the Lord, — " Go forth out of thy country and 
 from thy kindred, and out of thy father^ s house, and come 
 into the land which I shall show thee^^^^ Ah I the last 
 adieu to that most honored and endeared Bishop ! — the 
 bare mention of his name would cause the tear to start and 
 the lip to quiver. But we forbear, and beg your indulgence 
 for this weakness, if weakness there be. 
 
 How, indeed, can we repress our feelings, when our heart 
 is overflowing with the sweet memories of that kindness, 
 that intimate confidence, that honored friendship, which 
 
 (1) Charitas Christ! urget nos,— og nostrum patet ad tos,— cor nostrum dilatatum est, dil»- 
 tamini et vos. (2 Cor. v. , vi.) 
 
 (2) Egredere de teri& tu& et de coguailone tuft et dedomo patris tui, et Teni iu terramquam 
 monitrarero tibi. (Gen. xii.) 
 
for many a year we have been so favored as to enjoy ? 
 "Would that we had profited by the innumerable examples 
 of self-devotion, of piety, of zeal, and of unrivalled charity, 
 ■which have made that most venerable Bishop an object of 
 admiration, of love — I would fain add of worship — to the 
 Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of Montreal I May this 
 outpouring of our feelings be acceptable to him, and to all 
 our friends, — for it is a message of deep and tender affec- 
 tion, and a last parting farewell I 
 
 V. 
 
 And now, beloved brethren, having mingled our common 
 grief and sacrifices, we shall henceforth be the more united 
 in the holy bonds of charity and mutual good will, and the 
 better enabled to fulfil om* respective duties towards God 
 and his Church, for our mutual salvation. 
 
 As for us, we cannot but say with the Apostle, — " For- 
 getting the things that are behind, and stretching forth my- 
 self to those that are before, I pursue towards the marhfor 
 the prize of the supernatural vocation of God in Christ 
 Jesusr^') 
 
 And inasmuch as our only aim is the saving of souls, 
 we shall endeavour to discharge our various and arduous 
 duties with fidehty and zeal, leaving the success in the hands 
 of God, whilst we confidently and humbly expect his bles- 
 sing upon our exertions. 
 
 But, beloved brethren, we most earnestly entreat your 
 co-operation ; for it depends upon you to lighten the heavy 
 burden of om' responsibility. Hence, whenever we point 
 out to you the path of duty, we conjure you to walk faith- 
 fully therein. "What we have already learned of your past 
 
 (1) Qu(B qoidem retro sunt obliviscene, ad ea qu83 sunt priora extendenB meipsum, ad 
 d«8tinatum persequor, ad bravium supernaj voeationis Dei in Christo Jesu. (Philip, iii.) 
 
18 
 
 conduct, and of your Christian dispositions, has filled our 
 heart with joy, and leads us to cherish the hope that you 
 will listen to our voice as becomes dutiful children, for " / 
 rejoice that in all things I have confidence in you"'<^^ 
 
 Belying on those sound dispositions of your Catholic 
 hearts towards the new Bishop whom the Holy Father sends 
 you, we address you with all confidence and simplicity — less 
 to command than to implore, — and we entreat you, above 
 all, to adhere firmly to the teaching of your holy Church- 
 to frequent the Sacraments, asthe only channels of grace and 
 of true happiness,— to discharge all your duties toAvards 
 God, His Church, and Society, as it behooves true disciples 
 of our Bedeemer. 
 
 Let the virtues of temperance, justice, benevolence, 
 charity, piety, order and peace, be paramount amongst you ; 
 keep aloof from all the allurements and snares of the evil 
 one, who " as a roaring lion goeth about seeking whom he 
 may devourr^^^ 
 
 Finally, beloved brethren, using the words of the Apostle, 
 
 « / heseech you through our Lord Jesus Christ, and hy 
 
 the charity of the Holy Ghost, that you help me in your 
 prayers for me, that I may come to you with joy, hy the will 
 of God, atid he refreshed with you."^^ 
 
 VI. 
 
 1 
 
 / 
 
 And you, our venerable co-operators in the holy ministry, 
 who are bearing " the burden of the day and heats,'*^'^^ — 
 you need not our exhortations to encourage your devoted- 
 
 (1) Gaudeo quod in omnibus aonfido in vobis. (2 Cor. vii.) 
 
 (2) TanquAm leo rugiens circuit, quserens quem devoret. (1 Pet. v.) 
 
 (8) Obsecro ego tos, fratres, per Dominum Nostrum Jesum Christum, et per caritatem 
 Sancti Spiiitiis, ut aiijuvetis me in orationibus vestris ad Deum, — ut veniamad vosin gaudio 
 per voluntatem Dei, et refrigerer vobisoum. (Bom. xv.) 
 
 (4) PonduB diei et i£stu3. (Math, xx.) 
 
14 
 
 ness to your dear flocks. Continue then, in union with 
 your Bishop, and consequently with the Supreme Pastor, 
 to instruct your congregations with sound and practical dis- 
 courses, according to the direction of the holy Council of 
 Trent,^') — to catechise the children and to preserve them 
 from all contamination in faith and in morals, — to protect 
 the widows and orphans of your respective missions, — to 
 visit the sick with assiduity, teaching them to bear all their 
 sufferings in union with Him who died on the cross for our 
 redemption, comforting them with the Sacraments of the 
 Church, and preparing their departing souls for a happy 
 passage into eternity. 
 
 "We look with a fuU confidence to your perseverance in 
 this holy course, which wiU secure the prosperity of religion, 
 and maintain the dignity of your character as Ministers of 
 Jesus Christ. In a word, " Be an example to the faithful 
 in word^ in conversation^ in charity^ i)i chastity^— for in 
 doing ao^ you shall both save yourselves and those that hear 
 your^) 
 
 We shall not detain you longer, dearly beloved brethren, 
 although there are several other topics upon which we would 
 fain address you ; but we forbear at present, leaving them 
 for some future cypportunity. For, though it would not be 
 amiss to call your attention to them, since they concern the 
 welfare of your new Diocese, yet perhaps it might be pre- 
 mature, and consequently without any practical benefit. 
 We trust that ere long we shall have occasion to lay them 
 before you more in detail, and meanwhile do most earnestly 
 entreat you to pray fervently and frequently for our own 
 particular wants, and those of the Diocese of London. 
 
 (1) De Reforoi. — Sess. 5, cap. 2 ; Sess. 28. cap. 1 ; Sese. 24, cap. 6, to. Necnon et Acta 
 et Decreta 2di Coneilii Prdv. Quebecensis, a S. Sede revisa et recognita. 
 
 (2) P^xemplum esto fidelium in verbo, in converBatione et caritate, in fide, iucastitate, — 
 hoc enim faciens, et teipsutn salvum faciea et eos qui te audiuat. (1 Tim. iv.) 
 

 ^f 
 
 15 
 
 VII. 
 
 But we cannot close tliis Letter, beloved brethren, without 
 adverting, at least for a moment, to that most solemn defi- 
 nition which still vibrates throughout the world, and causes 
 the heart of the faithful to tln-ob with ineffable joy. 
 
 Over two hundred Bishops gathered from every quarter 
 of the globe, and assembled around the rock of the Vatican 
 — the fixed and immutable centre of Catholic unity^with 
 one heart, one faith, one enthusiastic acclamation, having 
 entreated the Supreme Pastor to declare the old and uni- 
 versal belief of the Immaculate Conception of the ever 
 blessed Virgin Mary, as an Article of the Catholic Eaith. 
 On the 8th of December in the year of Grace 1854, the 
 Sovereign Pontiff Pius IX. — beneath the stupendous dome 
 of St. Peter's Basilica, filled with the countless multitude of 
 the faithful, — proclaimed the Dogma of the Immaculate 
 Conception, a Dogma so long and so unanimously yearned 
 for by the children of the Church, and which they will 
 evermore cherish and steadfastly preserve with one heart, 
 one faith, 'and one hope. 
 
 We cannot, at present, dwell on this subject, beloved 
 brethren, but we doubt not that you thoroughly understand 
 how fitting it was that the Blessed Mother of our Saviour, 
 " blessed amongst all women — in whom He who is omnipo- 
 tent wrought great thi^igSy — ^who was full of gracCy*^^"* 
 should have been preserved from the malediction of Adam, 
 and how reasonable is that old Catholic doctrine which has 
 been proclaimed so solemnly as an Article of our holy faith. 
 Not that it is a new doctrine —since it ever was in the 
 sacred deposit of revealed trutnf^ committed to the Church 
 in its very beginning, — ^but the decree of Christ's Vicar has 
 
 (1) Gratia plena— ben edicta tu ia mulieribuB— fecit mihi magna qui potens est (Luc. i.) , 
 
16 
 
 put the final seal to that belief as old as the Church itself, 
 just as fourteen hundred years before the Decree of the 
 Council of Ephesus put the final seal to the beUef of the 
 Divine Maternity of Mary. 
 
 Let us, therefore, beloved brethren, venerate more and 
 more, and cherish our holy Church, which, guided by the 
 infallible spirit, so carefully preserves the integrity of its 
 faith tlu-ough all ages, — and proclaims that faith in the most 
 glorious and becoming manner according to the wants of 
 the times. 
 
 As for the taunts and sneers of those who do not recog- 
 nise the glories and privileges of the ever Immaculate 
 Mother of God, we tell you with Jesus Christ himself, — 
 " Let them alone — thei/ are blind and leaders of the 
 blind."^^^ Alas ! they need all your Christian sympathies 
 and prayers. Let us hope that this glorious proclamation 
 of the Immaculate Conception wiU bring them light from 
 above, as it will most certainly become the fruitful source 
 of many a blessing to the faithful children of that Church 
 which has never ceased to fulfil the prophetic words of the 
 Blessed Virgin, — " Behold ! from henceforth all genera- 
 tions shall call me Uessed.''^^ 
 
 ■ 
 
 f 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Wherefore, in the Holy Name of God, we have decided 
 ,upon the following Eegulations, which will stand good until 
 a new order to the contrary : — 
 
 1. In compliance with the Apostolical Decree of His 
 Holiness Pope Pius IX., under the date of the 2l8t of Peb- 
 ruary, 1856, the Diocese of London comprises the following 
 
 (1) Sinita illoa — weci sunt, et duces cascoium. (Math, xv.) 
 
 (2) Ecce enim, ex hoc beatant ne dioent omnes generationes. (Luo. i.) 
 
17 
 
 territoiy, viz : — the Counties of Mtddlesea)^ M^in, Norfolk, 
 Oxford^ Perth, HuroUy Lamhton, Kent, and Essex. 
 
 2. We make clioice of the ever Blessed Virgin Mary — 
 in the miraculous privilege of Her Immaculate Conception 
 — as First Patron of our Diocese, and of St. Patrick as 
 the second; also of St. Peter as Pirst Titulary of our 
 Cathedral, and of St. Lawrence as the second. 
 
 3. We maintain all the Ecclesiastical Ordinances and 
 Eegulations actually in force in the Diocese. 
 
 4. We renew and confirm all the faculties given — in 
 writing and not recalled — by the Ecclesiastical authorities, 
 within and without the Diocese. 
 
 5. Every Sunday, the officiating Priest and his congrega- 
 tion shall recite together one Pater and Ave with the Invo- 
 cation, — " Begina, sine labe concepta, ora pro nobis" — for 
 our special wants, and those of the new Diocese. 
 
 {Until th( Anniversary qf our Consecration.) 
 
 g^~ Sacerdotes, in missis t&m Bolemaibua qu^m priratis, quotidid dioent oratiooem "pro 
 Episcopo," juxU rubricas. 
 
 6. This our Pastoral Letter shall be read at Mass, in all 
 the Churches, Chapels and Stations, as soon as possible. 
 
 Given under our hand and seal, on the day of our Epis 
 copal Consecration, being the Festival of Holy Trinity. (?5 
 
 fADOLPHE, 
 
 Bishop qf London. 
 
 ISmmt SA, Sostpft, IHontital, VSHj lElBg, 1658.