The need and importance of such a study will be obvious on slight consideration. It will show how thoroughly practical the work of the Church has been, and it will afford an admirable illustration of how the Church responds to the needs of each locality brought under her influence. Each diocese in the United States has developed these local works of charity. At present the material available for this kind of study concerning the Church in this country is not abundant, but by following some plan and by means of organized effort the Catholic charities of each diocese could be ascertained, together with a collection of valuable accessory data. At the first conference, Thursday, August 5th, papers were read by Mr. Thomas M. Mulry, of New York; Mr. James Dougherty, of New York, on the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, Father Drumgoole's great work; Father Kinkead, of Peekskill, N. Y.; Father Howard; Hon. J. T. McDonough; Mr. George Robinson, of the New York Protectory. Mr. George Robinson presided at the second conference. Miss Elizabeth A. Cronyn explained the Italian charities of Buffalo; Mr. M. J. Lindon, of Mt. Vernon, N. Y., spoke on "The Society of St. Vincent de Paul;" Father Howard, Mr. Robinson, Father Kinkead, Father Hickey, of Rochester, Mr. David McClure, of New York, made brief addresses. Mr. George G. Gillespie read, among other letters, one from Mr. Thomas F. Ring, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Boston. A committee of five with Mr. Thomas M Mulry, chairman, was appointed to confer with the Trustees of the Summer School as to permanent organization. A paper was presented by Mr. John Gorman, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Ottawa. The papers read at these conferences will be published in the REVIEW. INCIDENTS OF THE THIRD WEEK. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS. ORGANIZATION OF A NEW COUNCIL AT PLATTSBURG, N. Y. The Plattsburg, N. Y., Council was instituted on Sunday, August 8. Four hundred and ten delegates arived by a special train from all over New York State, and others came from Vermont and other states in New England. The minor ceremonies were held on the grounds of the Catholic Summer School. Warren E. Mosher, secretary of the School, presented every member of the order an official Summer School badge. Glens Falls Council received the neophytes with these officers: C. W. Minahan, G. K.; Addison Bosnet, D. G. K.; H. F. Lee, W. and William Kiley, C. In the evening Masonic Hall, Plattsburg, was the scene of action, the third degree being worked by Hon. John J. Delaney, P. S. D., of New York. Michael Hogan, of Cohoes, was warden, and E. F. Barnes, of Rochester, C. of G. Dr. T. J. McManus, of New York, national physician, the Rev. D. J. Croyon of Albany, and the Rev. F. E. Healey, of New York, were present, besides a score of priests from all over the state. Hon. John B. Riley was chosen grand knight of the Plattsburg Council, which will comprise over seventy charter members. The idea of organizing the Plattsburg Council was suggested by J. T. Ryan, of New York, in March last, at Buffalo. The success in bringing such a large and distinguished gathering of Knights to the installation was mainly due to William J. McMahon, of Albany. The visiting Knights were charmed with the Summer School and surroundings, and many expressed their intention to be frequent visitors to this delightful, social and intellectual resort. There were many ladies in the party. The social attractions had their place as usual, this week, consisting of a reception at the Club House by the Boston contingency, a lawn party at "The Washington," and a recitation and musical entertainment at "The New York." Sunday, August 8. FIFTH WEEK. SERMON BY RT. REV. BISHOP MCQUAID. On Sunday there was a large attendance at the Solemn High Mass in St. John's Church, Plattsburg. Archbishop Corrigan occupied the throne. The celebrant of the Mass was the Very Rev. Dr. Walsh, V. G.; deacon, the Rev. J. F. Mullany, LL. D.; subdeacon, the Rev. J. P. Kiernan, rector of the Rochester Cathedral; master of ceremonies, the Rev. J. T. Connolly, secretary to Archbishop Corrigan. Father Hickey, of Rochester, and the Rev. Dr. Cotter, of Plattsburg, were deacons of honor to the Archbishop. The Rt. Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid, D. D., Bishop of Rochester, preached on the Gospel of the day, where St. Luke describes Christ's grief at the impending fate of Jerusalem, "And seeing the city, He wept over it." The Bishop said that in the history of Christianity there had been many Jerusalems which grieved the heart of Our Lord in heaven, because, like the Jerusalem of old, they had not known the things that were for their peace, but had rejected the truth of God. He reviewed the heresies which afflicted the Church in the early ages; then the great revolt of the sixteenth century in Germany and England. We must have pity, he said, on the poor people who were robbed of their faith, but not on the unworthy bishops and priests who were responsible for this spoliation of the flock of Christ. The people were often ignorant; hence when neglected by their spiritual leaders or assailed by false prophets, they were an easy prey to error. The Bishop also spoke of the French Revolution, and the havoc no less great wrought since in France through the poison of atheism working in literature. But what of the Church in Americashall it ever add one more to the Jerusalems over which Christ weeps? Here, at least, the people are educated, cultivated, free; here there is no fear that bishops and priests will ever lead their flocks astray. What American Catholics need to realize is their individual responsibility. "I do not counsel," said the Bishop, "aggressive religious tactics, which often do more harm than good." The humblest woman in a little farming village can be an apostle among the people about her, if she will but live up to the teachings of her religion. As we rise in the social scale, our responsibil ities become greater. The Catholic who ac tively shares in the government of his state or city, the professional man, the social leader, all can do great things for their faith. The Bishop spoke severely of the Catholic in political life who betrays the cause of religion by his disloyalty to the principles of his Faith. He also reminded his hearers of our numbers in America. If every one of our ten millions worthily represented the Church, what an influence for good we would be upon the time and country. The Bishop spoke of the Catholic Summer School with hearty approval, as an institution sure to help us all towards a strong and influential Catholicity. Let no one criticise a movement so right-minded and promising as this. "Fifty-six years ago," said the Bishop in conclusion, "I sojourned in this little town on the lake, and I well remember the humble little church in which we attended Mass. I little dreamed of the day when, as a Bishop of the Church, I should stand in this beautiful temple, and address such an audience as is gathered here. God bless them and their work for the Church in America!" Bishop McQuaid's discourse, very slightly outlined above, was in his happiest vein, and delighted his audience, to whom he has long been known as one of the strongest forces in American Catholic intellectual progress. LECTURES OF THE WEEK. The dates left vacant by the Rev. E. A. Pace, D. D., of the Catholic University of America, whose delicate health obliged the cancelling of his eagerly anticipated course on "Mental Development," were filled by Augustus S. Downing, A. M., Assistant Superintendent of Schools for the State of New York, and Supervisor of the Teachers' Classes; the Rev. M. G. Flannery, of Brooklyn, and Dr. W. T. Harris, United States Commissioner of Education. EDUCATION AND THE PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS. Monday, August 9, 10 a. m. BY AUGUSTUS S. DOWNING, A. M., Supervisor of Teachers' Institutes and Training Classes, New York State Department of Public Instruction. Mr. Downing gave much valuable information on the public school system of New York, the work of the Board of Regents, the training of teachers, etc. He spoke of the pleasant relations existing between the Catholic schools and the State school authorities, and the promptness of the former in conforming with every requirement of the law. Indeed, so zealous are the Catholic school authorities for the greater thoroughness of the whole educational system that they shrink from no test of efficiency. Mr. Downing spoke of his personal indebtedness to Brother Justin, Provincial of the Christian Brothers, and named, among other institutions which the State had found with a model equipment, Manhattan College, New York, and Nazareth Academy, Rochester. Massachusetts at least may fairly claim preeminence over New York in the matter of Normal Schools; but New York sets an example to the country in the generosity of its recognition of the work which the Catholic Church is doing for the training of the young. STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN ART. Three Lectures, August 10, 11, 12, at 10 a. m. BY THE REV. M. G. FLANNERY, Director of the Fenelon Reading Circle, Brooklyn, N Y. The Rev. M. G. Flannery gave three very instructive lectures on Christian Art, considering the ritual of the Church as a fount of artistic inspiration; tracing the beginnings of Art in the Catacombs; describing the various styles of Church architecture, and citing the most famous examples of each; treating of mural paintings, vestments, etc. Following is a synopsis of the course: Tuesday, August 10. WHAT IS MEANT BY CHRISTIAN ART? Ritual in Religion. Necessity of ritual in the Christian Church. Sacramentality. Art in ritualism. Necessities of ritual and their expression, hence symbolism. Symbolizing spirit of Catholic antiquity. Emblems and art of the Catacombs. Progress of Christian Art during the "Minor Peace" of the Church under Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. Arresting of its development by new persecutions and subsequent awakening of activity at the "Final Peace" under Constantine. The early Christian basilicas, their form and decoration. The influence of Oriental taste on Christian art, following the removal of the seat of empire to the Bosphorus. Byzantine art. Mosaic work. Troubles of the Iconoclasts. Decline of Sculpture. Enamel. Ivory carving. Work in precious metals. St. Sophia of Constantinople. The birth of Christian art among the Teutonic races. Churches and decorations of the Carlovingian Epoch. Mosaics and mural painting. Ivory carving. Wednesday, August 11. THE ROMANIC EPOCH. Existing types of Romanic architecture and decorative details. Influence of Byzantine art in Europe. St. Mark's, Venice. St. Appollinaris and St. Vitalis, Ravenna. The Cathedral of Monreale in Sicily. Painting of the Romanic Epoch. Art in monasteries. Mural paintings. Painting on wood panels. Glass painting. Church tapestries and embroideries, vestments, etc. Sculpture during Romanic Epoch. Stone sculpture. Bronze work, gates, screens, fonts. Goldsmiths' work. The Transition Period. Christian architecture, commonly called pointed or Gothic. Character of the innovation. Primitive Gothic style. Early English, Decorated Gothic. Style of XIII. century. The efflorescence of purely Christian art in the XIII. and XIV. centuries. Notre Dame of Paris. Amiens. Cologne. Westminster. The Perpendicular style. The Flamboyant. The debasement of Gothic architecture. Preponderance of glass painting and illuminating during the Gothic period. Neglect of panel painting. The art of illuminating. Thursday, August 12. MURAL PAINTING IN CHURCHES. Cimabue, Giotto, Guido of Siena, Fra Angelico. Art in church vestments, exam ples. Work in precious metals, chalices, rel- The Pagan Revival, commonly called the Renaissance. Sudden check in the develop ment in Christain art caused by the Pagan Revival. The consequent rejection of things medieval as barbarous. The essential earthiness of Pagan art. The effort to harmonize Christian thought and Pagan expression. The expressive power of so-called classic art limited to the blithesome, unmystical character of the early Greeks, such art having attained its perfection before mysticism troubled the souls of men. Failure of Pagan art to express "that passionate stress of spirit" which Christianity introduced into the world. Contrasts, St. Peter's, Rome, and Cologne Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's, London, Notre Dame and the Madeleine, Paris. The decline of painting. The debasement of early Renaissance styles. The Rococo style. The Churrigeresque style. Low condition of art in the eighteenth century. Over-ornamental, bizarre effects. Uncertainty of aim and execution. Influence of the writings of Sir Walter Scott and the Oxford movement in England, and the Romantic Movements in France and Germany on the revival of purely Christian art. Classic and romantic art. Classic art of necessity romantic in its origin. All classic art once romantic, becomes classic by surviving and through long establishment. The Preraphaelite movement in England. Influence of Pugin, Blake, Ruskin, Rosetti, William Morris, Burne Jones. The Munich School. Revival of Christian art under Overleck and his companions. The movement in France. Viollet-le-Duc, Ary Scheffer, Hippolyte Flandrin, Pére Besson, Puvis de Chavannes. Prospects to-day. The outlook in America. THE EDUCATIONAL BUREAU AT WASHINGTON. Friday, August 13, at 10 a. m. BY THE HON. W. T. HARRIS, A. M., LL. D., The Catholic Summer School, like many extent for the interest manifested in it by the secular school authorities. At every session since the outset, some representatives of the Regents have visited the School, and members of the faculty of the State Normal School, principals and teachers of public schools have cordially co-operated with the clergy and the religious teachers towards the success of the enterprise. This year the School had the honor of a visit from the Hon. W. T. Harris, A. M., LL. D., who explained the methods of the National Educational Bureau at Washington. Major John Byrne, of New York, in introducing Commissioner Harris, said that the Bureau of Education at Washington had maintained relations with all foreign countries and with all States of the Union, and that Commissioner Harris, in addition to the large amount of official work to which he must give his attention, had found time to render valuable service as a writer of edu cational literature. Commissioner Harris expressed his thanks for the invitation to come to the Summer School, and stated that he would make his address in the nature of a familiar vacation talk. He said that the Bureau of Education at Washington was not authorized to require the sending of reports, but was obliged to depend on the good will of educators. According to the law established for his department, the initiation in the gathering of educational statistics is dependent on individual and local effort. Every institution could learn points of advantage from the experience of others. This is the incentive for making the official reports as complete as possible. It is the desire of the Government to make the Bureau of Education a storehouse of information for Members of Congress and for the citizens of the whole United States. The statistics gathered are not to be hurled together, but are to be put together systematically, interesting and reliable information to be compiled from them, and all to be bound and circulated in book form. It is the object of the bureau to divide the work among specialists, giving to each work especially adapted to himself. He is then to go forth and take the initiative. Hence there is no sensationalism or denominationalism in the bureau. Dr. Harris then gave some statistics. He |