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DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH EDITION Published By The Catholic Laymen's Ass'n Of Georgia OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH Serving Georgia's 88 Southern Counties Vol. 39, No. 6 MONROE, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1958 10c Per Copy — $3 a Year a Pilgrims Visit Lourdes “AWE, AVE, HE MARIA MARY, MOTHER OF RATIONS IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY (By Ri. Rev. Msgr. T. James McNamara, V.F.) With our Catholic pride en riched by the memory of Fans’ glorious Cathedral of Notre Name; our estimate of Fans heightened by its architectural gems in honor of tne fciacred Heart of Jesus and the penitent, Mary Magdaien; our anticipa tion of .Lourdes vitalized by ra- ris' own Catnenne Laooure, we arrived at raroes, see city of Lourues. Greeting us as we ar rived at tne airport was His Excellency, Arcnuisnop u'riara. With tne Arcnoisnop as patron and sponsor, we found our Pil grimage r-arty enjoying a dis tinction that was' enviaoie. We were not too long motoring through tne lovely countryside oi bouinern fiance when we ue- gan to sense an atmosphere lhat was other than munuane and to experience a feeling- or fulfill ment. mere at.last was Lourues, tne inspiration of our Pilgrim age; tne local point-of an our planning. Here, we came fo rea lize tne better tne meaning of that tirst Christmas, when in an ooscure village in distant Pales tine, under even more ooscurmg circumstances, God, tnrough tne portals of motnernood, found His way into His visinie cre ation. as at Bethlehem, so at Lourdes God finds His way into the hearts of men through Mary, His Mother. How thrilling and how conclusive this historical fact is demonstrated at Lourdes. One hundred years ago Lourdes was but an unimport ant village in Southern France, nestled in the shadows of the Pyrenees, not too far from the Spanish border. Its only claim to fame was an ancient fortress, dating back to the Roman occu pation, when the Caesars found their pseudo-divinity disinte grating before the authentic di vinity of Mary’s Son. One hun dred years ago, the fortress dominating the village by rea son of its elevation, was a sort of mausoleum piece, burying a dead past. Today even the forU ress is vitalized and has taken on a continuity. The members of our Pilgrim age Party found Lourdes all that they had anticipated and more. For each of us it was an inde scribable experience; a sort of foretaste of Heaven; a nearness to God. It is a beautiful city- nature having lavished it gen erously; — it is an unique city for its very atmosphere breathes a love of Jesus and His Mother, Mary; it is a prayerful city for prayer is its very lifeblood; it is a city that radiates piety, but there is nothing sticky or slop py or sentimental about its pie ty. Its piety is vital and vigor ous, so much so that over the past hundred years countless cures have taken place there which baffle medicine and defy the known laws of nature. We were not too long in Lourdes when we made our way to the Domaine, the Estate of Our Lady of Lourdes. It was in the middle of the afternoon and the sick — countless numbers of them — were being assembled on the esplande fronting the beautiful Basilica fo the Holy Rosary. Around from the es plande and near the grotto of Massabielle, where Our Lady appeared to little Bernadette, with the tumbling waters of the Rive Gave on our left, we form ed with thousands of others from all corners of the Globe in procession. As the thousands upon thousands in procession made their way, circling the enclosure of Our Lady’s Lourdes Estate, the air vibrated with song and prayer to her and rad iated a feeling of closeness to Jesus, Whose presence in the Eucharist was with us and for Whose blessing the sick were in attendance. Moving on to the esplande on whose borders the sick had assembled, the Blessed Sacrament was carried to each for an individual blessing and then placed on a portable altar before the Basilica, Of the many Bishops present, the honor of in censing the Blessed Sacrament fell to our own Archbishop O’ Hara, and again as in London and eventually in Rome, we had the feeling that distance had been blotted out and Savannah was not too far away. The next morning, through the exquisite generosity of the Archbishop, we had the rare privilege of saying Mass at the Grotto where one hundred years ago Our Lady appeared to Ber nadette Soubirous. As we awaited our turn at the altar of the Grotto, we witnessed in a tangible way the historic fact that Christ finds His way into the hearts of people through His Mother. Some nine priests in re lays of three were distributing Holy Communion and this had been going on long before we said Mass and long afterwards. Indeed, when we went to the al tar, there were four ciboria (Continued on Page Eight) Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary spread rapidly throughout the world following the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, in 1917. In 1942 Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to her Immaculate Heart and three years later extended the Feast of the Immaculate Heart oi Mary to the Universal Church.— ,(NC Photos). Conduct Camp At Statesboro STATESBORO — Four Glen- mary Sisters are in Statesboro to operate a camp for religious instruction of children, The children are gathered from 8 counties which make up 2 parishes, St. Matthew’s and Our Lady of the Assumption. The camp is divided into two sessions of 3 weeks each, older children first, then the little ones. Brother Ed West, a Glenmary Brother, is director of recreation, which includes swimming, hik ing, handicrafts, square and folk dances, and many other care fully planned activities. James Nolan, a Glenmary Seminarian, works with the priests and the brother to plan and carry out the camp program. One Sister with the help of three councillors, is the camp cook. The councillors, Dorothy Hoeing, Betty Nally and Wanda Clark, besides helping in the kitchen, teach Bible History, assist at recreation and in the dormitory. To Be Divided Into Two Sections Council Of Catholic Youth Plans September Meeting ~~ Msgr. Schieder Will Conduct SIXTEEN GRADUATE AT ST. JOSEPH’S, SAVANNAH CHARGES AGAINST CHURCH BY POLISH OFFICIAL HIT BY VATICAN CITY PAPER Spend $14-Million On Poor In 1957 ROME, (NC) — The Italian St. Vincent de Paul Society spent $14 million helping the poor of Italy in 1957, the organi zation reported. SAVANNAH — Commence ment exercises of St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing were held August 3rd in the Ca thedral of St. John the Baptist. The Right Rev. Monsignor T. James McNamara, V.F., rector of the Cathedral, presided and confered the diplomas on the sixteen young graduates. The Rev. Anthony Damian Lee, O.P., a member of the fac ulty at Mount Carmel School of Nursing, Columbus, Ohio, deliv ered the baccalaureate address. The following graduates re ceived their diplomas: Miss Dorothy Adele Albecker, Hampton, S. C.; Miss Rose Marie Blase, Savannah; Miss Jenny Clair Connelly, Hampton, S. C.; Miss Mildred Ann Fletcher, Lu- dowice; Miss Janice Jean Floyd; Savannah; Miss Gail Janice Jones, Savannah; Miss Audrey Kay Mock, Brunswick; Miss June Marsha Overseret, Savan nah; Miss Jane Elizabeth Par rish, Savannah; Miss Patricia Carolyn Pinckney, Bluffton, S. C.; Miss Sarah Adelaide Prick- ett, Nashville; Miss Barbara Ann Royal, Wilmington, Savan nah; Miss Jo Ann Seckinger, Springfield; Miss Roberta Nao mi Smith, Hardeeville, S. C.; Miss Betty Jo Wrenn, Savannah, and Miss Annie Louise Zagar, Davisboro. First honors for obtaining the highest scholastic average for the three years in the school of nursing was awarded to Miss Rose Marie Blase of Savannah. Miss June Overstreet, also of Savannah, won second honors. Both Sessions SAVANNAH — A workshop sponsored by the Diocesan Council of Catholic Youth will be held in Savannah during the latter part of September, it was recently announced by Rev. Bishop Coleman Carroll Named Ordinary Of New Miami Diocese VATICAN CITY, (Radio, NC) —The Vatican City daily has challenged the charge of a Pol ish cabinet minister that priests at the Polish national shrine at Czestochowa were engaged in illegal activities. L’Osservatore Romano’s new editorial on the Polish police raid on the Jasna Cora mona stery at Czestochowa was prompted by reports on a press conference held in Warsaw by Jerzy Sztachelski, Polish minis ter for religious affairs. At the time, Mr. Sztachelski offered al leged proof of illegal activities in the form of several publica tions s^id to have been confis cated during the celebrated raid on July 21. L’Osservatore said that one proof offered was a booklet en titled “Miracles of Grace grant ed through the Intercession of Our Lady of Czestochowa” and another a mimeographed circu lar on “Catholicism and Social ism.” Polish authorities objected to the account in the booklet of the failure of the Bolshevik army to occupy Warsaw during the Rus- so-Polish war in 1920. The Vat ican City paper commented that although the booklet was “dis covered” during the police raid, it had been printed in 1938. L’Osservatore also said that the mimeographed circular was of a strictly doctrinal nature and was addressed exclusively to priests. It said that therefore it is an internal matter and thus outside the competence of the minister for religious affairs. In this connection, the paper allud ed to a recent defense voiced by the Polish Communist party in which the party insisted that in ternal questions of the party are not a matter of national concern. L’Osservatore then ridiculed the communists as having a “bour geois mentality which judges ‘internal questions’ according to its interests.” In the course of his press con ference, the Vatican City daily (Continued on Page Eight) WASHINGTON (NC) — His Holiness Pope Pius XII has di vided the Diocese of St. Augus tine, Florida, creating the new Diocese of Miami. The Most Rev. Coleman F. Carroll, Titular Bishop of Pit- anae and Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh, has been named the first Bishop of Miami. St. Mary’s Church in Miami has been elevated to the posi tion of cathedral for the new diocese. The announcements were made here by his Excel lency Archbishop Amleto Gio vanni Cicognani, Apostolic Del egate to the United States. The new Diocese of Miami comprises 16 countries in the southern part of the State of Florida; namely, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Dade, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, High lands, Indian River, Lee, Mar tin, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie. Pleretofore, the Diocese of St. Augustine has included all of the State of Florida east of the Apalachicola River, which is in the northwest section of the state. The Florida counties of Calhoun, Jackson, Gulf, Holmes, History Of The Franciscans In Georgia # The history of the Franciscans in Georgia is a story that ante dates the history of Georgia it self. More than a century and a half before the name Georgia was applied to this land by English conquerers, Spanish Friars were offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the territory then called Guale. The first Mass offered in the territory of the 13 original colo nies was celebrated in 1540 by one of the chaplains of De Soto’s expedition during its historic exploration of what is now the Southeastern United States. De- Soto’s company included several missionaries, both secular and regular, including sons of St. Francis in the familiar brown robes. This expedition also re corded the first Christian bap tism in the limits of the pre sent United States, two Indian neophytes being received into the Church A half century was to elapse before Franciscan missionaries returned to Georgian territory after the DeSoto expedition, but within a few years a “rosary” of mission stations were founded along the Georgia-Florida coast similar to the famous California missions later founded by Fr. Junipero Serra, O. F. M. Within two years after the foundation of the first mission, five Franciscans were martyred in Indian uprisings. Neverthe less new recuits were added to the mission staffs and by 1606 when Franciscan Bishop Juan de las Cabezas Altamirano of Cuba conducted a visitation of the Georgia missions, his friar confreres presented 2074 Indians and 370 whites as candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation. In 1606 eleven Franciscan monasteries were banded to gether to form a custody of the Order. P’our of these eleven houses were in Guale, modern Georgia. In 1612 this custody was raised to the rank of a Province under the patronage of Saint Elena. This first Francis can province in the United States held its initial provincial chapter in the monastery of Saint Bonaventure, located on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. By 1675 the Friars in the Georgia-Florida missions had gathered a flock of 26,000 bap tized Indians being cared for by thirty-five mission centers. The English conquest of Geor gia destroyed the Franciscan missions. At least three Francis cans were executed and the In dian converts who were cap tured were either slain or sold into slavery. The ill-fated at tempt by Spain to recapture Georgia in 1742 marked her last effort to restore the Catholic influence of former years. The chapter of the English colony permited religious freedom for everyone, “except papists.” Nearly two and a half centu ries passed before another Fran ciscan house was established on Georgia’s soil. The only Francis can note in this long period was the Episcopate of the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Savan nah, the Most Reverend Ignatius Persico, a member of the Capu chin branch of the Friars Minor. Bishop Persico headed the See of Sa /annah only two years, ill- healt i forcing his resignation in 1872. Better health in later years enab ed Bishop Persico to accept several posts in the serv ice of the Holy See, being named Apostolic Delegate of Canada and Ireland and finally being raised to the dignity of a Car dinal before his death in 1895. The modern chapter of the Franciscans in Georgia began in December, 1942, when the Fran ciscan Province of the Most Holy Name, with headquarters in New York, accepted the care of St. Mary’s parish in Americus. Americus had been a mission of Albany, the present parish church having been erected in 1892. Included in the territory given to the care of the Friars was St. Theresa’s Church in Cordele, built in 1930. In December, 1952, a second Franciscan Friary was estab lished in Thomas ville where Holy Name Province was given charge of St. Augustine’s parish with mission churches at Moul trie and Bainbridge. February of 1953 saw the dedication on successive days of the Church of Our Divine Savior, in Tifton, and the Church of St. Clare, in Albany. The former church is served by the Friars from Thomasville. St. Clare’s Church provides for Colored Catholics of Albany, an extension of the work among the colored which was inaugu rated in 1946 with the building of the Chapel of Americus. The Catholics of Macon Coun ty, some twenty miles north of Americus, provided a chapel for themselves in December, 1952, by making over a lumber-yard watchman’s shack into an attractive little house of wor ship. Last year this chapel was ,replaced by St. Michael’s Church in Montezuma, a change made necessary by the growing num ber of parishioners in the area. A new phase of Franciscan activity in Georgia began last September when the New York province accepted the Newman club chaplaincy at the Univer sity of Georgia, Athens. The Newman club at Georgia Tech, Atlanta, will also be served by a Friar beginning this Fall. On July 15th of this year, His Excellency, Bishop Hyland, placed the Church of the Im maculate Conception, Atlanta, in the charge of the Franciscan Fathers of Holy Name Province. This brings us to the current page of the history of the Fran ciscans in Georgia. Soon to be recorded, Lord willing, are the dedication of the new St. Jos eph’s Church in Bainbridge and the beginning of an extensive building program in Americus. This recital tells us mostly of the material milestones in Franciscan-Georgia history. The spiritual story is the more im portant, of course, but only angelic recorders possess accu rate statistics. HEADS NEW SEE — Most Rev. Coleman F. Carroll, (above) Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh since 1953, has been named first Bishop of Miami, a newly created dio cese, comprising 16 counties in the southern part of the State of Florida. Born in Pittsburgh in 1905, he was or dained in 1930. One brother. Most Rev. Howard J. Carroll is Bishop of Alioona-Johns- fown. Pa. Another, Msgr. Walter S. Carroll who served in the Vatican Secretariate of State died in 1950. — (NC Photos) Washington, Bay, Walton, Oka loosa, Santa Rosa and Escambia, which are west of the Apalachi cola River, are in the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham. Counties in the Diocese of St. Augustine include Gadsden, Liberty, Franklin, Leon, Kakul- la, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Hamilton, Baker, Suwanee, La fayette, Dixie, Columbia, Union, Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Bradford, Gilchrist, Alachua, Putnam, Flagler, Levy, Marion, Volusia, Citrus, Sumter, Lake. Orange, Hernando, Pasco, Pinel las, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sa rasota, Osceola, Brenard and Polk. Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley is Bishop of St. Augustine. Bishop Coleman Carroll is one of three brothers, all of whom became priests. The Most Rev. Howard .J. Carroll is Bishop of Altoona - Johnstown, Pennsyl vania. The third brother, Msgr. Walter S. Carroll, who was in the Vatican Secretariate of State in Vatican City, died in 1950. The Bishop-Designate of Mi ami was born in Pittsburgh in 1905, and was ordained in 1930, following studies at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, and St. Vincent Seminary, Letrobe. Pa. After 11 years of parish work he took three years of postgraduate studies at the Catholic Universi ty of America in this city, tak ing the degree Doctor of Canon Law in 1944. In 1949 he organiz ed St. Maurice’s parish in For est Hills, Pa., and in 1951 was named pastor of Sacred Heart church, Pittsburgh, which now has one of the most complete parish plants in the country. He was named a Domestic Prelate in 1952 and was elevated to the hierarchy in 1953. Archbishop Cicognani offici ated at the consecration of Bish op Carroll on November 10, 1953, when he became the first Aux iliary Bishop in the then 110- year history of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. More than 40 arch bishops and bishops, Governor John S. Fine of Pennsylvania, Mayor David Lawrence of Pitts burgh, and a large number of state and municipal leaders were among those attending the ceremony. FATHER WELLMEIER Herbert J. Wellmeier, Director of Catholic Youth for the Dio cese of Savannah. While an official agenda has not yet been worked out, Fa ther Wellmeier announced that the workshop will be divided into two sections. The first will deal with “The Parish Youth Council” with emphasis on trie place and the importance of the parish in Diocesan Youth Pro graming. The second section of the workshop will concern it self with “Catholic Youth Week.” Both sections will be conducted by the Right Rev. Msgr. Joseph E. Schieder, Ph. D., National Catholic Youth Direc tor. It is expected that official delegates from every Parish in the Diocese will attend the sessions. His Excellency, Bishop Thomas J. McDonough, under whose patronage the workshop will be held will address both the opening and closing sessions. Said Father Wellmeier, “We are certain that the workshop will be well attended and that it will be a success. But, what is more important, we are confi dent that the Youth Council approach which recognizes the importance of separate Parish Councils with local officers and members making and carrying out their own decisions and pro grams, will prove an invaluable training ground for service to God, family and community.” Father Wellmeir said that the date of the workshop had not yet been decided but would be announced in ample time to allow for election of delegates. NEW U. S. DIOCESE — His Holiness Pope Pius XII has divided ihe Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida, (erected in 1870) creating the new Dio cese of Miami, comprising 16 counties in the southern part of the state. Heretofore the Diocese of St. Augustine, of which Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley is Bishop, included all of the State of Florida east of the Apalachicola River, in the northwestern section of the state. Ten counties west of that river are in the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham, Ala. Most Rev. Coleman F. Carroll has been named first Bishop of Miami. — (NC Photos) Peace Prize For French President’ WASHINGTON, N. J. (NC — President Rene Coty of France has been selected to receive the 1958 International Peace Prize of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, it was announced at the organization's U. S. Nation al headquarters here. President Coty was chosen during the Blue Army’s recent international congress at the Brussels world fair, the an nouncement said. The congress was attended by more than 1.300 delegates from 20 countries. Remember Your Pledge To The Bishop's Campaign Chancellor Honored By Holy Father Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph F. Mar- bach, Chancellor of the Military Ordinariate has been elevated by His Holiness, Pope Pius XII to the rank of Domestic Prelate with the title of Rt. Rev. Mon signor.