Belgian Government Plans Great Welcome for Father Damien The Belgian training ship Mercator—a sailing vessel —left Panama at the end of F ebruary to begin its long journey across the Atlantic with the body of Father Damien. It will not stop at any port till it reaches Antwerp on May 3.
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A religious service marked the transference of the priest's body from the army transport Republic. It was attended by civil and military authorities.
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C ARDINAL VAN ROEY,
In the Records of U.S. Congress.
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A n account of the removal of the body of Father Damien was read into the "Congressional Record"—where it will be enshrined in the annals of the United States—by Representative L ouis C. Rabaut, of Michigan.
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EMBERS of the Belgian Government, including the Premier, representati\ es of both Houses of Parliament, of the Law, and of the be will American Embassy. among those who vill await the arrival of the remains of Father Damien on May 3.
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A fter the lan4ling of the coflin, the body will be solemnly blessed by Cardinal Van Roey, and a procession will escort the body from the quayside to the Cathedral. No signs of mourning will be :-nown, as the occasion is to be regarded as one for rejoicing only.
His speech gave a brief outline .f the life of the priest and concluded: '•And thus, although the people of Hawaii have said farewell to their beloved hero, he will long be remembered as the selfsacrificing exiled martyr of the forgotten and neglected lepers at Molokai. No \yonder, Mr. Speaker, that the invocation for the sermon over his remains proceeded with 4
The procession will consist of detachments of the Belgian Army, religious and patriotic Members and civic societies. t•pf the Belgian and American Governments will march immediately behind the coffin. The Government and diplomatic representatives will leave the Cathedral after the panegyric by - Cardinal Van Roey, and the proceedings thenceforth will be purely religious. A fter the ceremony a procession will he formed to accompany the body to the city gates. where it will he placed on a motor-car and conveyed to Louvain.
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CITY EDITION
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FATHER DAMIEN.
the words: 'Greater love bath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his. friends.' " R epresentative Rabaut is the first man of Belgian origin to enter the American Congress. 200,000 People View Coffin in San Francisco. It is estimated that 200,000 people viewed the.cofiin of Father fttinien as it lay, during five kiays, in St. Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco. A guard of 'honour, composed of two soldiers, two policemen, and two firemen, stood beside the casket every day from morning until night. Six lighted candles flanked the bier. past which, in never-ending succession, filed men, women and children. Mothers with babes in then arms paused as they touched their infants' hands against the draped flag. Cripples and those suffering from infirmities pressed diseased and mangled limb, against it. From Scores of pulpits and over the radio the deeds of the heroic Belgian priest were recounted by priests and laymen. while, in auditorium and classroom, nuns and teachers explained to their children the character of his sacrifice and the pitiful plights of the outcasts to whom he devoted his life.