Newspaper Page Text
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'E ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE PARISH
OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST,
SAVANNAH, GA.
(Continued from page 6.)
funds were raised to erect a house for the priest, who
had before this lived on Broughton Street.
The War of 1812
About this time political disagreements with Great
Britain were becoming more and more serious, and war
at last seemed imminent. Great apprehension was felt
in Savannah owing to the dreadful memories of the
Revolutionary days many of the people who had been
through that trying ordeal in Savannah being still
alive. It was feared that the British would very likely
make a special effort to capture Savannah again, and
wreak vengeance for their final defeat in the War of
Independence. As in every crisis that the country has
faced, the Catholics of Savannah readily offered their
services in the defense of American liberty.
On Thursday, January 28, 1812, the following no
tice appeared in the Savannah “Republican:”
“Thursday next will be a day of humiliation and
prayer in the Roman Catholick Church in this city to
beseech the Father of Mercies to avert from this nation
the calamities which threaten it. Service at ten o’clock
in the morning.”
This was the first public meeting called in Savannah
to discuss the impending war. War was finally declar
ed on June 18th; and the French members of the con
gregation issued the following notice, originally in the
French language:
“Notice to Frenchmen in Savannah: The gentlemen
who have volunteered to form a company are hereby
notified that the committee has taken the necessary
steps with the authorities, and consequently the nom
ination of officers to command the company will take
place next Monday, the 29th, inst., at ten A. M., at
the Court House, in the presence of two justices of the
peace, etc., conformably to the laws regarding the or
ganization. The gentlemen who have not as yet been
enrolled and who wish to join the company are re
quested to present themselves at M. Sommiere’s, where
the roll call is deposited, and to assemble next Monday
for the nomination of officers. Savannah, June 27th,
1812.”
The War passed, however, without Savannah be
ing molested, and victory again rested with the Am
erican arms. But conditions in France were constant
ly changing, and the years just passed had witnessed
the end of the Reign of Terror and the rise of Na
poleon to power.
The French refugees in Savannah, however, being
staunch supporters of the Bourbons, refused to go
kf C L tC> rec ^ a ^ m their properties until the final defeat
of the Emperor and the Restoration of the King. From
1815 onward there is a gradual diminution of French
names on the records and a corresponding increase of
Irish. The French were gradually leaving America
while the Irish were taking their places. The congre
gation in Savannah now numbered about 500, but the
people were too poor to build another church and the
little chapel was growing old and badly in need of
repairs.
On Nov. 29, 1817, the following newspaper notice
appeared:
“The sale of pews of the Roman Catholic Church
will take plac e> on Monday, the first of December
next at eleven o’clock in the forenoon.”
This custom of renting pews only for one year, and
having a regular meeting day the first of each fiscal
year, continued in force for many years.
The New Lots in Brown Ward
In January, 1918, the Trustees of the Church, find-
ing themselves unable to keep up the house, leased it
to the Abbe Carles for a small sum, as long as he
should remain in charge of the congregation with the
right to purchase or sell vested in themselves. How
ever, this lease was transferred by him on December
1st, 1819, and the last record appearing over his sig
nature is dated December 4, 1819. We will reserve
for another article the full story of this good and
faithful priest.
On February 22, 1819, Lots Nos. 33 and 34 in
Brown Ward were granted to the Roman Catholic
Church. On April 5th, 1819, permission was given
to the vestry to sell the Elbert Ward lots; and on April
25th, permission was given to sell the lot on Liberty
Square where the little chapel stood. This was with
the understanding that the money received from the
sale should be used for the building of a new and
larger Church on the two lots in Brown Ward. The
old lots continued, however, to be the property of the
Church for many years afterwards, as a suitable pur
chaser could not be obtained at the time. It was not
until the 2 7th day of June, 1822, that the Brown Ward
lots were vested in the Church, and many years went
by before a Church was erected there, owing to the
inability of the people to raise the necessary funds
with which to build.
WHY A GEORGIA METHODIST MINISTER
ENTERED THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
AND THE SOCIETY OF JESUS
(Continued from page 4.)
felt that they should do so; they had given me plenty
of time for reflection. It was certainly a hard blow
for me. I felt the utter loneliness of my position, and
all who knew of the step 1 was about to take deplored
it to the utmost, and did not hesitate to tell me that I
had embraced the most pernicious errors and was even
on the broad road to perdition. It was one of those
supreme crises which comes to the soul at times when
friends, loved ones, and all human help fail, and one
is left in the Garden to pray and struggle alone. I
threw myself at the feet of Him whom I love more than
life, and I implored Him to sustain and strengthen me,
for He knew that I was seeking only His will and glory,
and longed only to know the truth. He did, indeed,
comfort and strengthen me as He had done so many
times in the past.
Soon after my severance with the Mission Board
I sent my credentials of Ordination to the Bishop.
These steps were the beginning of the end. I next in
troduced myself to Father McOscar of the Sacred
Heart Church. He kindly offered me the use of the
library of the Marist Fathers, of whom he was the su
perior. I found there many valuable books to help
me. He also confided me to the care of a young
priest, the Rev. Father Hebert, with whom I might
continue reading, conversations, etc. In a very short
while I was introduced to the Rt. Rev. Benjamin J.
Keiley, Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah. In him
God gave me one of the best friends I have ever had,
and at a moment when I sorely needed a friend. He
was kindness and goodness itself to me. He was deep
ly touched at the way in which God had been leading
me into the light and truth, and invited me to Savannah
to visit him.
Before leaving Shanghai, Father Bornard had giv
en me a letter of introduction to the Very Rev. Emile
Mattern, S. J., then Rector of St. Stanislaus College,
Macon, Ga.; so en route to Savannah, I passed a day
or two with the Jesuit Fathers of Macon. There 1
got my first glimpse of what the Religious Life is as
lived by the sons of St. Ignatius of Loyola. 1 can never
forget the impression of that visit. The order, the holy
silence that proclaimed the presence of God; the spir
itual joy; the intense love and devotion for the Lord
Jesus Chrust; and for His Glorious Mother and the
Saints of God; all made me cry out from the depths of
my soul with Jacob of old and after his night at Bethel:
“This is no other but the House of God, and the Gate
of Heaven.”
After my arrival at Savannah it was not many days
before I asked to be received into the Church; for God
had gradually led me on until now in the fulness of
Divine Light and Faith. That glorious Temple of
Truth, the “One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church”
of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, stood before
(Coninued on next page.)