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DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH EDITION
Serving
Georgia's 88
Southern Counties
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
Published By The
Catholic Laymen's
Ass'n Of Georgia
Vol. 39, No. 15
MONROE, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1958
10c Per Copy — $3 a Year
1 1
CHRISTMAS IS A TIME FOR CHARITY
f f
BISHOP'S OFFICE
Savannah, Ga.
To the Reverend Clergy, Devoted Brothers,
Venerable Sisters and Faithful Laity
of the Diocese of Savannah:
May the Christ Child fill your heart with every joy
and may His blessings descend upon you and your loved ones
a thousand-fold. Your intentions will be included in the three
Masses which I shall offer on the Feast of the Nativity of
the Infant Jesus.
Archbishop O’Hara and I extend to you devoted greet
ings and prayerful good wishes during this holy season of
Christmas and throughout the New Year.
Devotedly in the Christ Child,
thomas j. McDonough
Auxiliary Bishop of Savannah.
Archbishop O'Hara At
Irish Nuncio's Funeral
DUBLIN, (Radio, NC) — Full
Church and state honors were
rendered here at funeral rites
for Archbishop Alberto Levame,
Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland.
Crowds lined the streets of
Dublin in silent tribute as the
prelate’s remains were escorted
by a military guard of honor
from the nunciature to the city’s
pro-cathedral.
His Eminence John Cardinal
D’Alton, Archbishop of Armagh,
presided over the Pontifical Re
quiem Mass attended by Presi
dent Sean TT'O’Kelley of Ire
land, Irish Premier Eamon de
Valera, government representa-
AUGUSTA
MEETING
JANUARY 7
AUGUSTA — The mid
winter luncheon meeting of
ihe Augusta Deanery
Council of Catholic Women
will be held on Wednesday,
January 7, at 1:00 p. m. at
St. Joseph's Parish Hall on
Lumpkin Road.
The Most Rev. Thos. J.
McDonough, D.D., J.C.D.,
will be the principal speak
er and celebrant of the
Dialog Mass which will be
gin at 12:15 at St. Joseph's
Church. The Very Rev.
John D. Toomey will be
the leader for the Dialog
Mass.
Luncheon tickets are
S1.75 and reservations are
to be made with the parish
presidents.
tives, members of the diplomatic
corps and the Lord Mayor of
Dublin.
Also present at the Mass, of
fered by Auxiliary Bishop Pat
rick Dunne of Dublin, were the
heads of religious communities
and more than 15 members of
the hierarchy including Arch
bishop John McQuaid of Dublin
and Archbishop Gerald P. O’
Hara, Bishop of Savannah and
Apostolic Delegate to Great
Britain.
Born in Monaco on January
19, 1881, Archbishop Levame
was ordained a priest on May
21, 1905, and named Titular
Archbishop of Chersonesus in
Zechia in 1933. Pope Pius XII
appointed him Apostolic Nun
cio to Ireland on June 16, 1954.
Archbishop
Vagnozzi Is
Hew Delegate
WASHINGTON — His Holi
ness Pope John XXIII has nam
ed Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi
to the post of Apostolic Delegate
to the United States. Archbishop
Vagnozzi replaces Cardinal Cic-
ognani who received the Red
Hat from Pope John at the Con
sistory last week.
Announcement of the appoint
ment was made by Msgr. Achille
Lupi, Charge d’affaires of the
Apostolic Delegation.
Archbishop Vagnozzi comes to
America from the Philippine
Islands where he has served as
THE RED HAT COVERS THE WORLD
ENGLAND
POLAND
AUSTRIA
HUNGARY
YUGOSLAVIA
UNITED
STATES
ARMENIA
CHINA
MEXICO
FRANCE
COLOMBIA
CUBA
GERMANY
ITALY
ECUADOR
SYRIA
BRAZIL
.-SOUTH i
i AM ERICA
AUSTRALIA
ARGENTINA
EUROPE
53
NO. AMERICA
(& WEST INDIES)
8
SO. AMERICA
8
ASIA
3
AFRICA
1
AUSTRALIA
1
TOTAL
74
INDIA
{ . •
MOZAMBIQUE
ag
CANADA
TVi
SPAIN
URUGUAY
The universality of the Catholic Church is clearly represented by
the membership of the completed Sacred College of Cardinals
when Pope John XXIII proclaimed 23 new cardinals at the con
sistory of December 15, 1958. Prepared by N. C. W. C. News
Church Has Largest College
Of Cardinals In Modern Times
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
VATICAN CITY—A few words said solemnly to 21 men in
the presence of cheering tens of thousands ended ceremonies which
gave the Catholic world its first new cardinals since 1953 and the
largest modern College of Cardinals.
“For the praise of Almighty
God and the honor of the Apos
tolic See, receive the red hat,
the special badge of the cardi-
nalitial rank.
“By this you are to under
stand that you must show your
self fearless, even to the shed
ding of blood, in making our
Holy Faith respected, in secur
ing peace for Christian people
and in promoting the welfare of
the Roman Church. In the name
of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”
This simple formula said'in
Latin by His Holiness Pope John
XXIII on December 18 in St.
Peter’s basilica was the con
cluding official papal act in the
last of three consistories that
raised the number of cardinals
to 74.
Twenty-one prelates — two
were not present — had knelt
Apostolic Delegate. No stranger
to America, the Archbishop
served as secretary to the Apos
tolic Delegation here from 1932
to 1935.
In 1935 he was named auditor
and remained in that post until
March of 1942 when he was
named a Councilor. He served in
this post until May of that year
when he was named Councilor
of the Papal Nunciature at Lis
bon.
In 1949 he was named Apos
tolic Nuncio to the Philippines,
being named Delegate in 1951.
and bowed their heads before
the Pontiff, receiving in return
imposition of a symbolic red
felt hat and a reminder of their
duties.
The public consistory was the
glittering climax of a series of
events begun one month earlier,
November 17, when Pope John
XXIII, only 14 days after his
coronation, published the list of
23 prelates he intended to pro
pose as cardinals.
Since then cardinals gathered
here from many parts of the
world. This week the elder car
dinals approved the ones pro
posed by the Holy Father in a
secret consistory on December
15, observed these new Princes
of the Church pledge obedience
to the Pope and receive scarlet
birettas in the semi-public con
sistory on December 17, looked
on as their new colleagues re
ceived red hats in the public
consistory of December 18 and,
finally, joined with them in a
second secret consistory, also on
the 18 th.
It was at the first gathering
of cardinals, December 15, that
the official elevation of the new
Princes of the Church was ac
complished.
The Cardinals of the Roman
Curia, plus numerous others
from several parts of the world,
had gathered in the Hall of the
Consistory in the Apostolic
Palace. At approximately 9:30
a. m., (3:30 a. m., EST), the
Service, this map depicts the distribution of the Red Hat on ail
five continents showing the number in each of the 27 countries
represented in the completed college which will have 29 Italian
and 45 non-Italian cardinals.—(NC Photos).
BISHOP’S FUHD CAMPAIGN
The Bishop’s Fund Campaign concluded in early De
cember. His Excellency, Bishop McDonough, extends grateful
thanks to the faithful who made pledges to the campaign.
Of the $600,000 pledged approximately $360,000 was received
in cash. Many pledgees have signified their intentions of con
tinuing payments on their pledges. Please send these payments
to the Bishop, c/o The Chancery in Savannah.
During the past week checks were mailed to all the
parishes in the Diocese of Savannah who participated in the
campaign. These checks represented twenty-five percent of
the money collected by each parish in fulfillment of one of
the promises of the campaign.
God bless all who made possible, by their contributions,
so much expansion in the Diocese.
Pope, wearing falda, rnozetta
and red stole, entered.
After taking his place on the
throne, the Pontiff waited sil
ently as Msgr. Enrico Dante,
Prefect of Papal Ceremonies, re
cited the traditional “extra
omes” (everybody out) which
ordered all persons except the
Pope and cardinals to leave.
The Pontiff and his cardinals
recited a. prayer invoking assist
ance of the Holy Spirit and then
took up two matters before con
sideration of the new cardinals.
The first matter was publi
cation of the official acts of the
Church issued since the consis
tory called by the late Pius XII
in June, 1958. The second was
the traditional transfer of au
thority over administration of
the properties of the College of
Cardinals, a ceremony of every
consistory as each cardinal in
Rome in turn assumes the of
fice, which is distinct from that
of camerlengo of the Holy Ro
man Church.
His Eminence Eugene Cardi
nal Tisserant, dean of the col
lege, passed the red damask
“camerlengo’s purse” to His Em
inence Clemente Cardinal Mic-
ara, new camerlengo of the
Sacred College.
This done, the Pope addressed
(Continued on Page 2)
Christmas Collection
For Saint Mary's Home
SAVANNAH—“If every person who attends Mass on Christ
mas Day would respond according to his gift of faith, we would
receive a plenteous return to sustain our orphans.”
With these words His Excel
lency The Most Reverend
Thomas J. McDonough, Auxil
iary Bishop, urged generosity
of the faithful of the Diocese
in the annual Christmas collec
tion for Saint Mary’s Home.
Bishop McDonough, in a letter
addressed to all Catholics of the
diocese, reminded that “Christ
mas is a time for charity.” The
Bishop called upon all “to give
your first gift on Christmas
Day to Saint Mary’s Home by
making a sacrificial contribu
tion.”
The text of the letter follows:
My dear People:
The ineffable joy of Christmas
brings to our minds the inflex
ible promise of peace on earth
to men of good will. For almost
two millenia the followers of
Christ have paused in their
journey through life to pay
homage and offer worship to the
Divine Babe of Bethlehem. In
the midst of poverty Christ ex
udes perennial happiness because
in the manger He immolated
Himself, as He did on the Cross,
to assure all mankind that His
love is eternal.
The holy season of Christmas
is auspicious for reflection on
our state of life. Our holy faith
has presented to all the inexor
able principals for spiritual sur
vival. We obey the laws of our
Country; we must too obey the
laws of God. But do we respond
to God’s graces according to the
fullest measure of our capacity?
Are we sometimes recalcitrant,
immobile in our devious way of
life?
Christmas is then for you a
time of special grace, of interior
peace and expectation, because
the Child of the Crib reaches out
to embrace you and draw you
to His very heart. The peace
of Christmas evokes love and
the insatiable desire to receive
in Holy Communion the Babe
of Bethlehem, Our Eucharistic
King, Who is our Christmas
gift on His birthday.
Too often the picture of the
Nativity is blurred ii»m our
eyes. We become prey to the
unrest of the world. Christmas
is Christ among us; Christmas
is our spiritual rebirth; Christ
mas is the story of the intran
sigent glory of the Kingdom of
God.
Christmas too is a time for
charity. St. Paul exhorts us with
the words, “The charity of
Christ urges us”. So, too, we as
Catholics must emulate Christ
in the charity that flowed from
His Sacred Heart. He healed
the sick, the rich and the poor.
He though little about His own
needs because he even said that
He had no place to lay His head,
He taught you and me by
example the essence of charity,
which is love. If we fail in
charity we alienate God’s love,
for without charity we are noth
ing.
We are told that artists often
see in the same scene different
concepts. But with the eyes of
faith we, as Christians and Cath
olics, see and must see only one
concept in the scene of Beth
lehem — God coming into the
world stripped of all things of
the world, but holding out to
you and to me the heavenly in
exhaustible riches of living al
ways in His Sacred Heart.
Traditionally on Christmas
Day the people of the Diocese
of Savannah are reminded of
the debt of charity they owe
Holy Mother Church. All the
gold in the world cannot pur
chase faith. All the influence
cannot change one iota the ways
of God. But charity and love can
open up the wellsprings of grace,
because charity is God and God
is love.
We call upon our faithful peo
ple to sustain us in the work
of providing care for the chil
dren at St. Mary’s Home in
Savannah. For the past five
years we have been faced with
a deficit in the administration
of the Home, which can be
attributed to increased costs and
the diminishing returns realized
from contribution*! throughout
the years. We are calling upon
you to give your first gift on
Christmas Day to St. Mary’s
Home by making a sacrifical
contribution. If every person
who attends Mass on Christmas
Day would respond according to
his gift of faith, we would re
ceive a plenteous return to sus
tain our orphans. Kindly take
home the envelope prepared for
this collection and enclose your
gift to the Christ Child on His
birthday.
You, my good people, who
have been so generous to my
every appeal since I came here,
will, I know, continue to de
monstrate this bond of fraternal
charity which we must have
one for the other.
On Christmas Day, as we
again issue in the birth of Christ
to a world that cries out for
spiritual guidance, I will re
member you and your loved
ones in my three Masses. To
gether let us hasten over to
Bethlehem, guided by the star,
and take our place before the
crib of the Infant God. As we
pray at the crib we will under
stand the example that the Child
gives to us, “Except you be
come as children you shall not
enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Pray fervently that your faith
will become more articulate;
pray for the world in its suffer
ings; pray for all mankind.
Only in this way and through
this type of deep devotion can
you comprehend the words of
the Angels, “Glory to God in
the highest and on earth peace
to men of good will.”