linking together of the Church and her members who have re- Enough has been achieved that some interest in the Catholic Church has been aroused in the Orthodox world. Catholic institutions are being made the subject of closer study, and the Church is no longer regarded with so much prejudice as formerly. It rests with God to decide what fruits will come from this. We must expect everything from His Grace. What we may contribute is an effective organization for enlightenment, an organization that should be, so far as possible, united under the leadership of one hand. We are indebted to the Catholic Register, of Toronto, for the following interesting report of the Oblate centenary: A hundred years ago on February 17, 1826, Pope Leo XII. formally approved the Oblates of Mary Immaculate as a religious Congregation. It was Leo XII. who gave them the name by which they are now known, their first name having been "Missionaries of Provence," from their having been founded as a society at Aix in Provence, by Father Eugène de Mazenod, in 1816. The Oblates first came to America in 1841 and settled in Montreal, Canada. From Montreal their missionaries went out to every part of the Dominion and they are still laboring there. In 1848 they founded the University of Ottawa. Texas was the scene of the first Oblate activities within the limits of the United States. They founded missions there in 1849 and a few years later began work in Oregon and Washington. Many of the Catholic Indian tribes in those regions owe their faith to the Oblates. Houses were established later at Buffalo, N. Y., Lowell, Mass.; Plattsburgh, N. Y.; McCook, Neb.; Barleys Harbor, Wis., and Seattle, Wash. There are four provinces of the Oblates in the United States. The Northern or first American Province, has its headquarters at Lowell, Mass., which is also the headquarters for the Province of St. John the Baptist (French). The other provinces have their headquarters at San Antonio, Tex., and Rogers, Miss. There are Oblate missions on every continent of the globe. Many eminent divines have been members of their Congregation in Canada, among them Bishop Durieu, apostle to the Indians; Bishop D'Herbormez, Bishop Grandin, and Archbishops Taché, Langevin and Dontenwill. The last was the choice of his brethren for the supreme control of this great world-society some thirteen years ago, a choice which obliged him to leave the field of his long labors in British Columbia to reside in Rome, whence he administers the destinies of the Oblates with zeal and success. At Ottawa University, from February 12 to February 17, and in the Scholasticate of the Northern Province of the United States at the Catholic University of America, Washington, on the same days, the centenary of the founding of the Oblates was observed by triduums of prayer and appro priate celebrations. At Ottawa some 600 priests attended the celebration. The Apostolic Delegate to Canada, His Excellency Most Rev. Pietro Di Maria presided, and the Hon. Ernest Lapointe, Minister of Justice for the Dominion, paid an eloquent tribute to the labors of the Congregation in Canada. For more than three-quarters of a century, he declared, the Oblates have been pioneers and apostles in Canada, the Western Provinces having been evangelized and largely transformed by their efforts. Until recently these Provinces were entirely in their hands, and the record of their work for God there is one of the great chapters of missionary sacrifice. The fascinating pages of Mid Snow and Ice, a history of the struggles of the early missionaries in the wild and primitive Northwest, tell the story of the heroic pioneer work done by these soldiers of the Cross. After expressing his sense of the high honor of having been invited to address the great audience, Mr. Lapointe said that all Canada should feel the obligation of sharing in the celebration of that glorious anniversary, and that he came gladly and eagerly to render the homage of the Canadian Government and to lay a wreath on the monumental work commemorated in that day's festivities. For aside from the mystic religious life in the intimacy of which, under the guidance of God, the Oblate Congregation has grown in sanctity, it has had another life, militant, public and full of glory, on which particularly he wished to dwell. "For three-quarters of a century," went on Mr. Lapointe, "the Oblates have been apostles and pioneers of this country. Apostles they have been in every fibre of their hearts, in every thought of their souls, in every undertaking that has been inspired by their faith and their love of country. Your history, Reverend Fathers, is one with and inextricable from that of our wonderful national development. There is no territory so distant, no mountain apparently so inaccessible, no district so savage that your missionaries have not planted there the banner of Christ side by side with the flag of our country. Of the great projects they have so often inspired they have themselves very often been the courageous executors. The Canadian West has been transformed by them. They have sown there the seed of a mighty civilization, after having brought to it the blessings of Christianity. This work they have accomplished at the cost of grievous and multiplied sacrifices, having too often for their reward only pain and suffering. "Your Excellency represents here with dignity and honor the great Head of the Catholic Church, the Vicar of Christ on earth. Permit me to express the happiness I feel in being able in your presence to pay this tribute of public esteem and admiration to the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. If this Canada of ours is great, it is to them that we largely owe her greatness. "I speak not only of great Bishops, illustrious members of the Order whose names are uttered with respect by every hearthstone in Canada. I pay homage equally to that hidden devotion, those unheralded sacrifices, that daily martyrdom of great religious zeal whose burning charity has at critical moments so well known how to conciliate understanding, allay suspicion and prejudice and introduce everywhere the fire of faith and civilization, enkindling with it those principles of honor, of truth, of justice and of liberty, without which no nation can rear a solid and enduring structure. Whatever charity, love of neighbour and self-sacrifice can accomplish, these men have accomplished, giving themselves, their heart, intelligence and life all in a pure spirit of duty and service. "There is no need for me to mention other fields of action wherein they have labored with energy. These are evident on every hand, doing good in various ways. "The beautiful institution whose hospitality we enjoy bears striking testimony to them. The University of Ottawa, your University, has flourished against discouraging obstacles and furnishes a proof of vitality. "She has trained many generations of useful citizens, men of action who have generously contributed to the progress and growth of the City of Ottawa and of the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec. As a matter of fact the University of Ottawa stands as a symbol of union between Quebec and Ontario, which God knows we have need of. "That it may live, a people should not limit its vision to material progress. A people needs enthusiasm, ideals, faith. It needs sentiments which ennoble, restraints which govern, truths which light the way and virtues which inspire action and sacrifice. May the brave and devoted Oblates continue to hold up these ideals to the people of Canada, to illustrate these aspirations, truths and virtues, enlightening the natural conscience and dissipating every cloud of prejudice. May they continue to develop our beautiful Canada, inspiring great creative projects, silently making amends for the faults of others and preaching to all the religion of Christ and faith in the providential destiny of our beloved country." From data recently made public by the Swiss Federal Office for Statistics we learn that the total number of Catholics in Switzerland is 1,585,311, as compared with 2,750,622 Protestants. In the Cantons of Valais, Tessin, Uri, Freiburg, Lucerne, Solothurn, and St. Gallen there are Catholic majorities while the Protestants predominate in the Cantons of Berne, Basel-Stadt, Aargau, Neufchatel, Thurgovia, Wat, and Zurich. Out of every thousand persons in Switzerland, 575 are Protestants, 409 are Catholics, five are Jews, and eleven are members of other denominations. Although Switzerland is a small nation it has members of thirty-one denominations within its borders. The position of the Swiss Catholics has been steadily improving in recent years and almost all vestiges of intolerant legislation have been wiped out. Occasionally there is a flare-up of intolerance, such as the recent attempt to discredit the Papal Nuncio at Berne by the circulation of rumors that the French Government had objected to a proposal to transfer him to France. It has now been established that there was never any such proposal made and consequently the rumors were entirely false. As a result of the incident the Nuncio's position here has been strengthened. BOOK REVIEWS Pio XI (Achille Ratti), 1887-1922. By A. Novelli. Milano: Casa Editrice "Pro Familia." Pp. 314. The personality of the reigning pontiff is always of great interest not only pro domo sua but to almost all the world. This is to be expected for the man selected by the Holy Ghost to be the living representative of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The Vicar of Christ is the center of the age in which he lives as Christ is the center of time and of eternity. However, neither the biography of the reigning pope nor its review can conform entirely to the usual mould, with the result that both publication and review are necessarily more subjective than is customary. The difference does not lie in method of investigation, in historicalness, nor in juridical estimate but in the conclusion achieved. The reason for the difference is caused principally by the intention with which such a work is written. The pope is an historical figure by his very position, but his place in history, that is his personal and direct influence upon the development of the world in which he rules, cannot be determined during his lifetime. The story of his life written while he is still in office therefore, is intended simply to tell who he is and what his preparation has been in life for the august place which he holds. Achille Ratti, His Holiness Pope Pius XI, man of books though he is, has had little written in books about him. Indeed practically nothing outside of newswriting and thumbnail sketches has appeared in the English language although he is one of the very few popes to be familiar with that tongue. It is to the Italian publications, few as even they are, that one must turn if he would know about the Pope's life. Especially must dependance be placed upon this book under review. Not only is it new and timely, it is also sympathetic, almost affectionate, respectful, reverential even, vital, enthusiastic, interesting, but more than all else it is carefully, thoroughly, and well done. Published at Milan about an illustrious and beloved son, this book gives an intimate portrait. The profuse illustrations by themselves tell a connected story. Dr. Angelo Novelli, the author, discloses his journalistic talent as editor of Italia by the ease and interest with which he tells the narrative, but he also displays his scientific clerical training in his synthesis and in the logical arrangement of his collected material. The biography is distributed among seven chapters. One deals with the vocation,-birth and parentage, early teachers, clerical tendencies, study at Rome and ordination, of the Holy Father. The second tells of the work of the priest-scholar, in the Ambrosian Library, as an historiographer, as an Alpinist, and at the Vatican Library. A bibliography of his writings appears on pp. 50-52 inclusive. The following chapter treats of his ministry for God, at the "Cenacolo," under Cardinal Ferrari, his care of souls, his love for his mother, his passion for mountain climbing. Apropos of the latter trait, the following paragraph which occurs on page 107 is interesting. L'uomo di scienza che sa il valore del metodo non si mentiva anche in questo. L'alpinismo non è già cosa da scavezza-collisi legge in un suo scritto cui sarà accennato più sotto distesamentema al contraris è tutto e solo questione dí prudenza e di un poco di coraggio, di forza, di costanza, di sentimente della natura e delle sue più riposte bellezze, talora tremende, allora appunto più sublimi e più feconde per lo spirito. Il coraggio e la forza nell' eseguire tenevan dietro alla prudenza della preparazione. The natural result of the scholarship, courage and devotion of the Milanese priest was the recognition of his ability by his appointment to the diplomatic post in Poland. The fourth chapter describes in detail the conditions in that country and the success of Monsignor Ratti's mission there. His reward, if the responsibilities of an ordinary can be so described, came with his appointment to the archiepiscopal see of Milan as the successor of St. Ambrose and St. Charles Borromeo. The account of his stewardship, of his elevation to the Sacred College, and of his pilgrimage to Lourdes occupies chapter five. Chapter six tells of the death of Pope Benedict XV, of happy memory, of the con |