St Vincent Seminary - Symposium Yearbook (Latrobe, PA)

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fi la Fl ls : x. ,Q whlch IS to be the richest of all churches in symbolism, represents in a striking way the veneration that the people of our country have always shown towards our Heavenly Queen. It seems fitting that the shrine representing the gratitude of Catholic America for the many favors received through the intercession of Our Blessed Lady should be incorporated in a book composed and published under her patronage. Mary Immaculate is in a special manner the Patroness of the seminarian. He who must lead a life of virtue in a world where temptation and sin are all too common, can find no better assis- tance in his ministry than the guidance of her who was entirely immune from the stain of sin. We feel, then, that we are express- ing the wish of the Seminary, in producing Volume Xl in honor of the Immaculate Conception. ' The Catholic Book Club OR many years, the proponents of Catholic letters have been making a valiant effort to obtain a fitting place on the stage of American thought. They have been encouraged by the realization of the great influence that English, Irish, and other European Catholics have exerted upon the intellectual activity of their respective countries. But there have been great, and until recently almost insurmountable obstacles which have prevented the attainment of such a goal. It was, for example, difficult to decide just what books were not only Catholic in thought but worthwhile from a literary point of view. Then, too there arose the need of having some method for selecting works possessing these indispensable qualities, from the vast mass of literature now being published, and making known these selections to the World and especially the Catholic world. An- other problem was that of finding a market for literature that would be of a h1gh order and acceptable from the Catholic point of view , The book-of-the-month-club idea which has been used so widely w1th1n the past few years, presents itself as the long sought solution for the above-mentioned difficulties, and, for this reason has been chosen by the newly organized Catholic Book Club Its board of distinguished Catholics, including Kath- leen Norr1s M1chaelWill1ams, Dr. James J. Walsh and Father Wilfrid Parsons S J 1S well qualified to search the field of liter- ature f or books that represent the ultimate in Catholic thought and f'X i ll78ll ' ' + 55552 I Ill IIIIIL . 7 7 1 . . 7 . . . 1 . . . . . Y . . . . . v . . . ! ' 'r 5 Ellllllllllllg . mlf x l ul u , I ' ' E E 'U' Elllllli - - : I E E 5 , , .. .. Blllllllllllll' gg Illlllllllllllli

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illllllllllllu El--E : Q illllllllglg 'Illia :umm -..!ll. P imposing church structures in the world, will when completed Bllllllllllllg : , KT V . .ni ,' 'g ,E ' X 1' . Nd f Ns..ff cities and other parts of the country, the rousing send-off from Cleveland, the tumultuous reception given him at Scranton and the many tributes bestowed by the secular press on the occasion of his elevation to the espiscopate, show clearly that Scranton Cleveland and the country in general, regard Bishop O'Reilly as a man of great ability. ' We but echo the desire of his many admirers when we beg that God may bless his efforts in the episcopacy and spare him to his Hock for many fruitful years. M ary Immaculate OLUME XI of the Seminarists Symposium has been edited under the patronage of Mary Immaculate. Before beginning its production, the members of the Staff placed themselves under the protection of her who was conceived with- out the stain of original sin. Thus every effort has been expended with a feeling of trust and confidence in Our Immaculate Mother It was not inappropriate therefore, that we should have selected the Immaculate Conception as the art theme for the present volume Since we had placed ourselves under the guidance of the Patroness of our country, we deemed it most fitting to com- memorate Mary conceived without sin, throughout the pages of our book We beg to call to your attention a few of the methods used to honor Our Blessed Lady under her title of the Immacu- late Conception The cover design is featured by a representation of the Semin- arians Grotto of the Immaculate Conception. The same repre- sentation may be found on the pages which contain the pictures of the Ordinandl In addition to this the Ex Libris and the border design throughout the book are symbolic of the various virtues attributed to Our Immaculate Mother. In accord with our intention of expressing our love for our Patroness, we have com- memorated by means of a drawing opposite the Title Page the great memorial being built in Washington to honor Mary conceived without sin This memorial The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, has, since 1920, been in process of construction on the grounds of the Catholic University of America This beautiful basilica, which is to be one of the most give to the United States the distinction of having the world's most magnificent memorial to Mary Immaculate. This shrine C'-A - r ll 77 ll uniuminiu Ill! l 9 4' 'Ji ' ii E- lar ,Ill E II QQ -1 Q I illll ll ll l ' 1 7 i .A I A rg it I 35 ' if 'L Y FY: ji' il V 1 l l i s y , I Y Y 7 ! 2 I 5

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genius. The club is easily able to make its selection known to a wide circle. And of very great advantage to Catholic letters is the favor which the Catholic Book Club has given to Catholic thought in providing a market for the work of Catholic authors. The benefits accruing from the success of the project are in- calculable. It means that books embodying the Catholic view on vital and far-reaching subjects will no longer be hidden away in the maze 'of books that crowd the shelves of bookshops. It means, too, that the Catholic attitude on matters of prime im- portance to the moral and economic well-being of the nation cannot any longer be denied a hearing. Evidence of these benefits can be seen in the fact that books already chosen by the Catholic Book Club have received high praise from the secular book-of- the-month associations. In addition, under Catholic auspices, it gives to the Catholics of the country ready access to the best books published. Another notable result is the incentive given to Catholic authors for devoting their talents to the creation of worthwhile literature. The knowledge that there will be a large sale of their books, provided that their work reaches the high standard required by the Book Club, may be expected to have a weighty influence on the work of our Catholic writers. The secular book-of-the-month associations have been responsible for stimulating the sale of meritorious books, and there is every reason to expect that the work of the Catholic Book Club will have a similar effect in the Catholic field. In view of the profound infiuence that the Catholic Book Club will be able to exert upon the world of letters, Catholic and otherwise, we cannot refrain from expressing our sincere desire that the success that has so far attended their efforts may con- tinue to accompany the projects of the leaders and supporters of this progressive Catholic movement. The Solution of the Roman Question , HE whole world, and more especially the Catholic world, cannot but rejoice with the Holy See and the Italian government upon the occasion of the settlement of the Roman question. The benefits bound to result from the removal of this point of conflict, make it an event of unusual importance in the history of the world. Too much credit cannot be given to those who effected the agreement-the Pope and his Secretary of State for the Church, and Signor Mussolini for Italy. It was ll79ll