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Our Catliolic Heritage in Texas
interest of which will be used for the benefit of the home missions; (7) to accept annuities from the clergy and laity on which the Extension Society guarantees to pay six per cent yearly, with the understanding that when the Annuitant dies the principal reverts to the Society for the benefit of the home missions." 36 Keeping books for such an organization requires an expert accountant, as Father Kelley learned the very first year, when only Sr,934 were collected. Father Kelley called in an accountant to straighten out his books in order to make an accurate report to the Board of Governors. Bishop Kelley, years later said in referring to the matter, "It may be a fine art to get money, but it is a finer art, and sometimes an even more difficult one, to keep track of it." Since that first year, the books of the organization and of Extension Magazine have been audited quarterly by certified public accountants and annually by an auditing committee of the Board of Governors, both of which report directly to the Board of Governors. The treasurer is the president of one of the largest banks in the country and countersigns even the smallest outgoing checks. 37 Pontifical af>Proval. The growth of the Catholic Church Extension Society was phenomenal, for the response to the idea of Father Kelley was both immediate and enthusiastic on a national scale. Archbishop Quigley, whose sponsorship had made possible the organization, took advantage of his next ad limina visit to Rome to acquaint His Holiness with the origin and work of the Society. Monsignor Bonzano, at that time Rector of the College of the Propagation in Rome and later Apostolic Delegate to the United States, became so interested in the Society founded, through the efforts of the Archbishop of Chicago, that he consented to draw up a petition for Papal approval. Not long after Archbishop Quigley returned to Chicago, he received a letter from Pope Pius X bestowing extraordinary spiritual benefits on all benefactors of the new Society. Significantly, the letter from Rome was dated June 7, 1907, "the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus." The Holy Father declared the work undertaken to be most worthy and most conducive to the promotion of divine glory. "The time [for such a Society] was opportune," he declared, "in a country where, owing to the multitude of immigrants of various nationalities, a great and expanding field lay open for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God." His Holiness 16 /bid,., It. s 7 Kelley, The Story of Extension, 66-67; O'Brien, "Catholic Church Exten!lion Society,'' Catholic Builders of t/1e Nation, V, 129.
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