Newspaper Page Text
Published By The
Catholic Laymen's
Ass'n Of Georgia
Vol. 39, No. 5
Mass At The Chapel Of The Rue Du Bas
Paris Proves A Fitting
Preparation For Lourdes
these strategic positions of the
(By The Rt. Rev. Msgr. T.
James McNamara, V.F.)
With the Archbishop on hand
to bid us Godspeed, our party
was soon, by plane, over water
and land on its way from Lon
don to Paris. Here as elsewhere
we found that neither language
nor customs proved a barrier.
Indeed, from Ireland to Portu
gal and in between, the English
language, even in the American
vernacular, struck a responsive
chord; not to mention the
American dollar, which, to the
people whose countries we were
privileged to visit, had a green
er tint than we Americans had
visualized. I might remark in
passing that when I said to the
cashier in the Hotel Grande in
De Gaulle’s France what was
badly needed was a universal
currency, he observed we had it
— the American dollar. But that
is another story, since our Pil
grimage Party was in France be
fore De Gaulle came to power.
Paris — “Gay Paree” to so
many and fabulous Paris to
those who exult in their super
latives — proved for us a most
fitting preparation for Lourdes,
whose centenary was the inspi
ration for our Diocesan Pil
grimage. No doubt Paris, like
New York, is gay and some
times offensive in its gaiety, but
this to the casual visitor who in
visiting.is distracted by the per
imeter and so misses the sub
stance of what makes either
city click, so to speak. Paris is
likewise fabulous. A wondorous
city with wide boulevards, beau
tiful parks, buildings, esthetic-
ally charming and eloquent in
historical perspective, a river,
the Seine, which adds to the
gracefulness of the city. Paris
is without a doubt the acme of
beautiful cities. Its obvious
striving for the beautiful in ar
chitecture, sculpture, painting
and city planning might well
suggest the mythological Paris
and his striving for the beauti
ful. There is much to captivate
the eye; much to emphasize
graceful living ("much to bring
history to life and to spell out
its meaning.
The Rue de la Paix was in
triguing, the Champs Elysees
beguiling, the Tuileries Gar
dens exquisite, the Pantheon,
the Palace of Justice, the Palace
de Bastille, the Invalides and the
Arch of Triumph reminiscent,
the Eiffel Tower challenging,
but at best they were only tok
ens. The Historical Paris, which
makes these tokens meaningful,
is written in the stones of Notre
Dame Cathedral; in the deli
cately beautiful Ste. Chapelle;
in the Church of the Madeleine
and in the towering, imposing
structure of Sacre Coeur. These
are the living- witness to the
dead past; their hallowed walls
speak out the glories of Paris
and of France. They narrate the
facts which resulted in the tok
ens that now seize the imagina
tion of the visitor. Notre Dame,
one of the world’s great Cathed
rals, dating back to the Twelfth
Century, nestling on an island in
the River Siene, seems provi
dentially placed. In between the
right bank and the left bank of
the River, Notre Dame seems
what its glorious title would in
dicate — a Mother guarding the
past and hopeful of the future.
Here Kings and Emperors were
crowned and royalty had its
marriages solemnized; here, too,
all Paris looks with pride. And,
as if to challenge the thinking
of those who would write off
Notre Dame and its effect on the
population of Paris, topping
Montmartre is ' the imposing
structure of Sacre Coeur which
was built by popular subscrip
tion to honor the Sacred Heart
of Mary’s Son. I might -remark
in passing that from the steps
of this Basilica all Paris can be
seen in one panoramic sweep.
While Sacre Coeur dominates
Paris and Notre Dame envel
opes Paris, situated as it is be
tween the Right Bank and the
Left Bank of the Seine, it is not
Sacred Heart of Jesus and His
lovely Mother that prompted
me to say in my previous article
that Paris was not so strange an
interlude before Lourdes as it
might seem. Indeed, it was a fit
ting preparation — a sort of day
of recollection and this be
cause of a hidden convent on a
comparatively obscure street.
140 Rue du Bac and the Con
vent of tne Daughters of Charity
made Paris for us a fitting in
terlude before Lourdes and gave
to us the atmosphere and the
spirit we were to experience
tnroughout our Lourdes stay.
Here as at Lourdes the presence
of Our Lady pervades the place.
We were not too long .in Paris
when Father Bourke, Father
Deimel, Father Daly and 1 were
in one of those intriguingly tiny
taxis of Paris and on our way to
the “Seminary,” as 140 Rue du
Bac is called by the Daughters
of Charity. Here on his compar
atively obscure street, beyond
the River Seine, we went up and
down the Rue du Bac seeking
out the “Seminary” in whose
chapel Our Lady had appeared
to Catherine Laboure. None too
conspicious in its exterior, we
found the interior shutting off
the din of city streets and creat
ing an atmosphere that made
for an awareness of God and
His interest in the affairs of
men. We were soon greeted by
a charming Irish Daughter of
Charity, who arranged for us
the privilege which we were to
share for the next two days. The
following morning, at 6:15 o’
clock, the four of us arrived at
140 Rue du Bac to say Mass in
the very chapel which Our Lady
had visited in person on the
night of July 18, 1830, and again
on the 27th of November, 1830.
Here intact was the body of
Catherine Laboure, dressed in
her habit of the Daughters of
Charity. To the great astonish
ment of the Doctors, Priests and
Sisters who were present when
after some fifty-six years of
burial her body was exhumed,
Sister Catherine Laboure’s body
was found to be intact, even to
the blue of the pupils of her
eyes. Her heart which loved Our
(Continued on Page Eight)
Father Bourke
Speaker For
K. of C. Series
AUGUSTA — Reverend Dan
iel J. Bourke, V.F., pastor of St.
Mary’s Church is currently
speaking over WBBQ Radio Sta
tion each Sunday evening from
7:30 p. m. until 8:fl0 p. m.
This program is being spon
sored by the Knights of Colum
bus. His subject for Sunday,
July 20th was “The Importance
of Salvation”; for July 27th,
“Christian Marriage.” On Aug
ust 3rd his topic was “Justifi
cation, or the Sacrament of Bap
tism” and August 10th, he will
speak on “Tis the Mass that
Matters.” August 17th his sub
ject will be “Thou Art a Priest
Forever or the Sacrament of
Holy Orders.
August 24th, “Why Tell Your
Sins to a Priest, or the Sacra
ment of Penance”; August 31st,
“If Any Be Sick Amongst You,
Let the Priest of the Church be
Called, or the Sacrament of Ex
treme Unction.”
DISPENSATION
AUGUST 1 STM
Due lo Ihe facr that Ihe
feasl of ihe Assumption falls
on Friday this year. His Ex
cellency the Most Rev. Tho
mas J. McDonough, D.D.,
J.C.D., auxiliary-bishop of
Savannah has granted a dis
pensation from the law of ab
stinence for Friday, August
15th.
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH EDITION
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
Serving
Georgia's 88
Southern Counties
MONROE, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 1958
10c Per Copy — $3 a Year
Attend Journalism Course
Interview With Msgr. Varga
Georgia students pictured here are studying an exchange paper at the Journalism Institute
of the Catholic University of America. They are, le ff to right, Linda Davis, Norma Gannam, Priscilla
Marano, and Kathleen Dillon, and seated at the typewriter, Peggy Schano.
SMftMH STIiHTS flTTESD
JOURNALISM COURSE AT CU
Hungary's Plight Must
Not Be Forgotten Due
To Middle East Crisis
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
ROME —• Although its thinking is today dominated by events
in the crisis-torn Middle East, the West must not forget the plight
of Hungary, Msgr. Bela Varga, president of the National Hungarian
Committee, said here.
SAVANNAH — Five local
students from Saint Vincent’s
Academy have completed a four-
week course in journalism for
high school students at the Cath
olic University of America,
Washington, D. C.
Taking the course.were: Linda
Davis, 237 Gordon Street; Kath
leen Dillion, 5411 Habersham
Street; Norma Gannam, 418
West 38th Street; Priscilla
Marano, 321 East 52nd Street,
and Peggy Schano, 313 East 53rd
Street.
Under the direction of Doctor
Regis L. Boyle, chairman of
Catholic University’s journal
ism department, the girls at
tended daily classes from 9:30
a. m. to 2 p. m. They were in
structed in reporting, editing,
photographing, feature and edi
torial writing, layout, headlines,
and finance.
In addition they covered
stories on campus and assisted
in publishing the Pioneer, the
summer session newspaper of
the University.
Included in their agenda were
field trips and tours among
which were the newspaper
plant of the Washington Post,
Mount Vernon, and the United
States Naval Academy.
Besides Doctor Boyle, the
teaching staff comprised Miss
Mary Murray, Mrs. Richard
Preston, Mrs.. Clare Wooten
Crawford, and Rev. Donald
Baydik, O. S. B.
Enrollment in the institute
totaled 87 journalists from 11
states besides Georgia and the
District of Columbia. They in
clude Alabama, Connecticut,
Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New
York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and
Virginia.
Pope Names
U, S. Priest
Iran Attache
VATICAN CITY, (NC) — His
Holiness Pope Pius XII has ap
pointed Father Charles Burton
Mouton, a priest of the Diocese
of Lafayette, La., as attache to
the Apostolic Internunciature in
Iran.
The appointment is effective
in the fall. Meanwhile Father
Mouton has been assigned to
work in the English-language
section of the Vatican Secretari
at of State.
Father Mouton is a native of
the Diocese of Lafayette and
was ordained in its cathedral
in 1949. After earning a doctor
ate in theology at the Gregorian
University in Rome, he returned
to serve as an assistant pastor
at Our Lady Help of Christians
church in Jennings, La. In 1954
he returned once more to Rome
and earned a doctorate in can
on law. Immediately upon com
pletion of these studies, he en-
.Msgr. Varga, onetime presi
dent of the Hungarian parlia
ment, said “the Russians and
communists the world over are
protesting the sending of Ameri
can troops to Lebanon although
it was done at the invitation of
the Lebanese.
“But who speaks for Hungary
today? Hungary, where there
are Russian troops who have not
been invited by the Hungari
ans.”
The press conference was one
of several held by Msgr. Varga
in European capitals to call at
tention to the situation in Hun
gary. Msgr. Varga flew from the
committee’s headquarters in
New York to talk to the press
corps of Paris, Berne and Rome.
He had planned to fly to the
Moslem countries to present his
country’s case, but said the
events in the Middle East make
the trip impossible now.
He said the Soviets have ad
mitted to keeping 60,000 Rus
sian troops stationed in Hungary
but that the total actually is
more than 100,000. Many of
these troops, both army and po
litical police, wear civilian
clothes and work in Hungarian
factories and offices watching
for any sign of rebellion, he
added.
“The Russians completely con
trol the economic life of Hun
gary,” the Monsignor said. He
asserted that they have deport-
tered the Pontifical Ecclesiastic
al Academy to pursue its two-
year course of studies in diplo
macy, which he completed this
year.
ed Hungarian citizens to Rus
sia and that Hungarian political
prisoners are known to be work
ing on construction projects in
China and Notrh Korea.
The Russians and their com
munist allies in Hungary are
destroying the Hungarian peo
ple thruogh prison camps, labor
camps, abortion and steriliza
tion, he continued.
He said the number of peo
ple sent to prison or work
camps is five times larger than
the number officially publish
ed. Some 20,000 Hungarians
died in ihe uprising in 1956 and
another 2,000 have been killed
in the past two years, he added.
34,000 Catholics
Live In Jordan
AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan,
where British paratroopers are
stationed to help keep the Mid
dle East’s revolutionary crisis
under control, is the Holy Land
where Christ was born, was
crucified and rose from the
dead.
Somewhat larger than the
state of Maine, Jordan is now a
predominantly Moslem country
with a small Christian minority.
Catholics number about 34,000
in a total population of approxi
mately 1,500,000.
Most of the Catholics are de-
scendended from Orthodox
schismatics who returned to the
Church during the 19th century.
They are about evenly divided
between the Latin and Melkite
Rites.
Rev. E. J. Kelly
Named Assistant
At Brunswick
BRUNSWICK — Rev. E. J.
Kelly, S. M., has been appointed
assistant pastor to the parish of
St. Francis Xavier, Brunswick,
and the Southeastern Georgia
Missions. He replaces the Rev.
Albert Hebert, S.M., who is now
making his Second Novitiate in
the Society of Mary at Watch
Hill, R. I.
Father Kelly was born in
Philadelphia, Pa. on March 20,
1913. He received his elemen
tary education at the Incarna
tion Parochial School in Olney,
Philadelphia. His secondary stu
dies were made at St. Mary's
Manor, the Marist Preparatory
Seminary in Penndel, Pa. Fol
lowing his year of novitiate at
Our Lady of the Elms, Staten
Island, N. Y., he was professed
in the Society of Mary on Sep
tember 5, 1934. Upon completion
of his major seminary courses at
Marist College, Washington, D.
C., he was ordained to the
priesthood by the Most Rev.
Michael J. Keyes, S.M., D.D.,
on June 9, 1940.
Father Kelly pursued higher
studies at Pius X School of Lit
urgical Music in New York, N.
Y. and at Loyola University,
New Orleans, La. He gained the
degree of Bachelor of Music.
Until his recent appointment as
assistant pastor to the Bruns
wick parish, his assignments had
all been in the teaching field.
He has served as professor at St.
Mary’s Manor, Penndel, Pa.,
Notre Dame Seminary, New Or
leans, La., Immaculate Semi
nary, Lafayette, La., and Marist
College High School, Atlanta.
Marist Fathers Serve
This is on of a series on Re-
Diocese Sixty Years
ligious Communities in the Dio
cese. Our next edition will fea
ture the history of of the Fran-
ciscians.
In 1897 Bishop Becker, al
ways short of priests, was at a
loss to find a pastor for Bruns
wick. There was relatively
heavy debt on the parish and
the offerings of the faithful
were small. These circumstances
led the Bishop to call in a relig
ious society to take charge. He
offered the parish and the South
east Georgia missions to the
M«*~ist Fathers. Their Provincial
Superior, Father Onesime Ren-
audier, readily accepted the
charge in the name of the Very
Rev. Father Superior General.
At the same time the Bishop
entrusted to the Society of Mary
the parish of Saints Peters and
Paul, now the parish of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, in At
lanta. Thus began the ministry
of the Society of Mary in the
Diocese of Savannah.
The Sacred Congregation of
the Propaganda issued the
necessary rescript authorizing
the Bishop of Savannah to
transfer the above mentioned
places to the care of the Marists.
An official translation of the
rescript follows:
“Since the Right Reverend
Thomas A. Becker, Bishop of
Savannah, has urgently peti
tioned this Sacred Congregation
of the Propaganda that he might
be allowed to transfer in per
petuity to the priests of the
Society of Mary regularly
deputed by their Superior Gen
eral and duly approved by the
Bishop, the parish church of the
Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
situated in Atlanta, together
with the mission established in
Brunswick this year, with full
administrative rights and pas
toral jurisdiction, and since the
Reverend Father Onesime Ren-
audier, S. M., the Provincial
delegated by the Superior Gen
eral, has fully consented to this
proposition, His Holiness, Pope
Leo XIII, has, upon the report
of the undersigned Secretary of
Very Rev. Daniel C. O'Meara,
S.M., Provincial Washington
Province
the aforesaid Sacred Congrega
tion, in the audience of 13 July
1897, graciously designed to re
ceive favorably the petition of
the Right Reverend Bishop of
Savannah and has granted him
all the necessary and timely
faculties to transfer in perpet
uity the aforesaid Missions and
parish to the above mentioned
Religious, and furthermore to
proceed with the canonical
erection and acceptance in the
name of the Holy See of the
congregations belonging to those
churches.. . ”
M. Card. Ledochowski, Praef.
A. Archiep. Larissen. Sec’us.
The confines of the Brunswick
parish were later determined
and comprised: all that portion
in the state of Georgia, from the
Ogeechee River on the North
to the St. Mary’s River on the
South. Its westward expanse
extends from the Atlantic Ocean
to the present day boundaries
of Ware County and the Okefe-
nokee Swamp.
The records show that Fa
ther Guinan was appointed the
first Marist pastor. Upon his
early transfer to Atlanta he was
succeeded in office by his assis
tant, Father P. J. Luckie, and
it is he who is usually considered
the first Marist pastor. Trials
beset the Marist at the outset
of their work in Georgia. The
War with Spain in 1898 arrested
the commerce of the city. In
October of that year a combined
cyclone and tidal wave de
stroyed the larger part of the
business section of Brunswick.
The flood entered the church
and destroyed almost all of the
windows. When the Marists
first came to Brunswick they
rented a home on Union Street
as a residence, but during the
Spanish-American War when
money was scarce, the priests
moved to the Shannon house
and lived there until the pres
ent rectory was built in 1899.
Shortly after the Marist Fa
thers arrived in Brunswick, in
addition to their mission field,
the Bishop requested them to
take over the missions of the
Albany parish Willacoo-
chee, Alapaha, Douglas and Mc
Govern Settlement. When in
1901-1902 Bishop Kiley was able
to assign a priest to Albany, the
Marists withdrew. Father J. P.
Cassagne, who had earlier been
an assistant returned to Bruns
wick as pastor in 1908 and serv
ed until 1913. He is remembered
for his deep devotion to the out
lying missions, and it was dur
ing his tenure of office that the
Chapel of the Immaculate Con
ception was erected at Ludowici.
Father Joseph Petit, who was
pastor from 1920-1924, was re
sponsible for the building of the
new church and the Plant Build
ing in Waycross. Also, during
his administration, the local
Council of the Knights of Co
lumbus acquired Xavier Hall,
which serves as a meeting place
for parish organizations. While
Father Peter McOscar was pas
tor (1924-1931) the chapel on
St. Simon Island was built and
dedicated to Saint William. Fa
ther F. Perry became pastor of
the parish in 1935. He organized
the first Catholic Boy Scout
Troop in Brunswick. Father
Hasson succeeded Father Perry
as pastor in 1941. During his
term of office, with the un
ceasing help of Father Ziebarth,
the Church of the Nativity of
Our Lady was built in Darien. It
commemorates the Martyrs of
Tolomoto (1597). Also, during
Father Hasson’s administration,
a third assistant was added to
the parish. Father John T. Mer
cer was pastor from 1947-1953,
during which time St. Joseph’s
Academy in Waycross and St.
Joseph’s Church in Jesup were
built. The Jesup church re
placed the chapel at Ludowici.
Father John J. Martell became
pastor on August 24, 1953, just
prior to the ground breaking for
the convent, which was dedi
cated by Bishop Hyland on
March 28, 1954.
The present pastor, Father
James M. Cummings, took office
in August of 1955. Under his
leadership the new Saint Francis
Xavier School has been built
and was dedicated on February
9, 1958 by Bishop McDonough.
At the present time the terri
tory of the Marists Fathers of
the parish of Saint Francis
Xavier and the Southeast Geor-
Rev. Louis J
Marks 50th
AUGUSTA — The Rev. Louis
J. Mulry, S.J., Chaplain at St.
Joseph’s Hospital here complet
ed 50 years as a Jesuit on July
31st.
Father marked the occasion
by celebrating the 10:30 Mass
at Sacred Heart Church on
Sunday, August 3rd. Father
was honored at a reception at
Sacred Heart Hall from 6 to 8
p. m. on Sunday evening.
Father Mulry entered the So
ciety of Jesus at Macon, Ga., on
July 31, 1908, at the age of 16,
and was ordained a priest in
June, 1923.
A native of New York City,
he has served the Church
in a variety of assign
ments, including athletic direc
tor at Loyola University of New
Orleans, student counselor and
president of Jesuit High School
in New Orleans, student coun
selor at Spring Hill College in
Mobile, pastor of Immaculate
gia Missions still embraces
eleven Georgia counties: Glynn,
Camden, McIntosh, Long, Lib
erty, Wayne, Brantley, Ware
Pierce, Charlton and Bryan,
with an area in the neighbor
hood of some four thousand
square miles. It includes the
parish church in Brunswick, St.
William’s on St. Simons Island,
St. Joseph’s in Jesup, Nativity
of Our Lady in Darien, St. Jos
eph’s in Waycross and Our Lady
Star of the Sea in St. Mary's.
The assistant to Father Cum
mings are Fathers Edward J.
Kelly, George J. Meiluta and
Joseph M. Kane.
(This sketch is for the most
part a condensation of facts set
forth in “An Historical Record
of St. Francis Xavier Church,
Brunswick, Georgia.” by the
Rev. John H. Hillman, S.M.)
Mulry S.J.
Anniversary
Conception Church of New Or
leans, pastor of Sacred Heart
Church of Tampa, Florida, and
chaplain of St. Joseph’s, where
he has been for five years.
Jordan Prelate
Prays for Peace
At Lourdes Grotto
LOURDES, France (NC) — “I
have prayed with all my heart
for peace in the Near East and
throughout the world,” an arch
bishop from Jordan told import
ers here.
Syrian - born Archbishop
Michael Assaf of Petra, who
heads the Melchjte rite com
munity of Jordan, left his resi
dence in Amman shortly before
the outbreak of the Near East
crisis. He said that he has been
most anxious about conditions,
but had received no direct
news from Jordan since the
revolution in her sister country
of Iraq.
On his way to Brussels to par
ticipate in ceremonies marking
the 25th anniversary of the Work
of the East organization, Arch
bishop Assaf stopped here to
visit the famous shrine.
In a press interview, he said:
“We Christian leaders, like all
Christians in Jordan and the
Arab countries, wish to be thfe
links, the elements of concilia
tion and agreement. We do not
need to make definite pro
nouncements on this or that po
litical development. The Chris
tians of Jordan have always
been sincere and loyal. The 150,-
000 Jordan Christians have al
ways had perfect understand
ing with the Moslems who form
nine-tenths of the population.
