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charitable works under (he care of religious. Some
of these have deservedly gained a national reputation
for the standard of excellence reached — for example,
St. Vincent's Industrial School for boys; Dartford
(under the Presentation Brothers); the Home for
the Aged Poor; Nazareth House, Hammersmith
(under Sisters of Nazareth); and the Blind .\sylum,
^lerrion, Dubhn (under the Irisli Sisters of Charity),
to mention only a few. The religious communities,
whose work is not directly charitable, nevertheless,
are, like the clergy, regularly called upon to act the
part of almoners. The number of religious houses
of women, including branch houses, in the three
countries must exceed 1000, but this number does
not afford any criterion of the extent of the work ac-
complished by them. A good example, admittedly
well above the average, taken from one of the largest
towns, will sers'e as an illustration. Situated in a
very poor district, with twenty sisters in the com-
munity, a Convent of Mercy, besides supplying nine
sisters as teachers in two elementary schools, has
charge of a night refuge for nearly 300 men, women,
and children, a servants' home, a home for young
working women, and a soup kitchen, and its reli-
gious regularly visit the sick in a large hospital and
the Catholic poor in the district.
The principal charitable voluntary organization for Catholic men is the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which flourished both in Great Britain and Ire- land: in England and Wales, it has 274 local con- ferences with 3.523 active members; in Scotland, 9.5 conferences with 1316 active members; in Ireland, 200 conferences with 3134 active members. By per- sonal service amongst the Catholic poor, the society unostentatiously carries on a considerable amount of charitable work. It practises many forms of assistance, including feeding the hungry, visiting the sick in their homes and in the public infirmaries and hospitals, visiting the imprisoned, attending the children's courts to watch Catholic cases, finding employment for those out of work, acting as cate- chists for poor boys in Sunday schools and bringing them to iSIass and the sacraments, assisting in the formation and management of boys' clubs and brigades, and the like. The local conferences are grouped into councils which hold quarterly meetings of all members to discuss topics of general interest. No general society for Catholic women correspond- ing to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul flourishes throughout the three coimtries, but kindred or- ganizations, whose objects are similar in scope, thrive in different parts, such as St. Elizabeth's Society, the Ladies of Charity, and Ladies' Settlements. All these resemble the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in aiming primarily at the personal edification of the worker, as well as at the spiritual and temporal benefit of those assisted. These organizations, how- ever, do not confine their efforts to women and girls, but take a large part in work amongst boys. A ladies' settlement in London, for example, includes in its scheme of work visiting the sick and poor, instruction for the sacraments, mothers' meetings, a men's club, a girls' club, a clothing club, a sewing class, the provision of free meals for children, evening classes etc.
One of the most striking developments of Catholic work amongst the poor in recent years, especially in England, has been the organization of rescue societies to safeguard the faith of Catholic children in dan- ger. Mixed marriages, poverty, misfortune, neglect, evil living, are amongst i\w many causes which, par- ticularly in the larger towns, contribute toward.s placing in jeopardy the faith of little ones. The children of a mixed marriage, in which the father is a non-Catholic, who seek admi.ssion to a poor law in- stitution, are held at law to be of the same religion as the father. The rescue societies save such children
by placing them in Catholic voluntary homes.
Children of Catholic parents are sometimes by mis-
take entered in non-Catholic poor law schools. The
rescue societies watch carefully all such cases, recti-
fying any mistakes made. The cMldren of neglectful
Catholic parents are not infrequently brought to the
notice of non-Catholic organizations, which are
willing to assist them, if Cathohc societies fail to do
so; in such cases the rescue societies are always too
ready to proffer their aid. In Great Britain, eight
dioceses have organized rescue societies, which deal
with many hundreds of children each year, but every
diocese has its poor law school, or its industrial
school, in which Catholic children can be received.
As an outcome of the work of the rescue societies,
a Catholic Emigration Association has been in exis-
tence in England for some years past, which arranges
for the emigration of Catholic children to Canada
after leaving the rescue institutions in order to re-
move them completely from any danger of falling
back into their early evil surroundings. This as-
sociation has a receiving home in Ottawa, whence the
young emigrants are placed out with Catholic farmers,
and their progress is watched until they come of
age.
Certain other Catholic societies, which flourish in some form or other in the three countries, carry on very useful social work: the Catholic Prisoners' Aid Society (with branches in London, Dublin, Glasgow, and other large towns, not necessarily con- nected, but working on similar lines), which assists Catholic prisoners on leainng prison, and endeavours to start them in hfe again; the Catholic Needlework Guild, whose members bind themselves each year to provide a certain number of useful garments for the poor; and the Catholic Boys' Brigade, whose aim is to unite Catholic boys as they leave the elementary schools, to keep them in touch with the Church, and to provide in various ways for their spiritual, physical, and social well-being.
The great drawback to all Catholic social efforts is, undoubtedly, the lack of intercommunication between Catholic workers in different parts. Two organizations have, however, recently been started, which as they spread will probablj- tend to remove this defect: the Catholic Women's League, which has already in London established a social information bureau, and has succeeded in bringing together Catholic women workers from all parts of the coun- try; and the Catholic Social Guild, for Catholic social study, which many hope will eventually develop into a Catholic Institute of Social Service for Great Britain and Ireland, upon lines which have already proved so useful in other countries.
Handbook of Catholic Charitable and Social Works (London, 1910): Catholic Directory (London, 1910): Irish Catholic Direc- tory (Dublin, 1910); Catholic Social Year Book (London, 1910). John W. Gilbert.
IV. In the United States. — This description is confined to methods followed in serving the poor outside of institutions strictly so called, and does not include institutional works conducted by religious communities, which are described elsewhere under appropriate headings, nor relief given by individuals to individuals, as the .spirit and method in Catholic charity come to best expression through organiza- tion. Furthermore, the need of organization and the approval of it become daily more and more pro- nounced. Individuals contribute with increasing generosity to organizations, and refer to them the applications for relief which they meet. X sense of resijonsibility toward the poor will be found in the parisli, I he city as .such, the diocese, and the religious community whether of men or of women, and each accordingly engage in relief work. In our greater cities a tendency is found to establish centraloffices through which all Catholic charities may be co-
