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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.”