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BELMONT ABBEY COLLEGE GRADUATION—Participants in the 81st graduation exercises
at Belmont Abbey College, upper left, Dr. Charles H. Malik, Commencement speaker; upper right,
the Most Reverend Bishop Joseph H. Hodges, Baccalaureate preacher; and recipients of honorary
degrees, bottom left, Dr. James M. Godard of Miami, Fla., and Dr. Charles B. Norris of Charlotte.
73 RECEIVE DEGREES FROM
BELMONT ABBEY COLLEGE
RIGHT REVEREND VIN
CENT TAYLOR. O.S.B. — One
of the most widely known and
highly esteemed members of the
order of St. Benedict in the
United States is the Right Rev.
Vincent George Taylor, O.S.B.,
D.D. Under Abbot Vincent’s
able, scholarly and deeply spi
ritual guidance, the Abbatia
Nuilius of Belmont has show
in the thirty-four years since
his installation a progress which
compares with its remarkable
advancement under his illus-
trous predecessor.
BELMONT — Seventy-three
candidates for the Bachelor of
Arts and Science received de
grees at the 81st annual gradu
ation exercises held at Belmont
Abbey College on Tuesday,
June 2nd.
The Baccalaureate service
was held in the Abbey Cathed
ral on Tuesday at 10:00 a. m.
The Most Reverend Joseph H.
Hodges, D.D., Auxiliary Bishop
of Richmond, Virginia, preached
the baccalaureate sermon to the
graduates.
The solemn academic convo
cation was held in the Haid
Gymnasium at 8:00 p. m. The
academic procession of faculty
and graduates formed at 7:15
p. m. and proceeded to the
South Campus for the flag cere
mony. There the class flag was
lowered and the new class flag
presented to the president of
the rising senior class of 1960.
The last Benediction was giv
en in the Abbey Cathedral, af
ter which the procession return
ed to the gymnasium for the
conferring of degrees.
In addition to the 73 degrees
granted in course, three prom
inent men received honorary
degrees.
The degree Doctor of Humane
Letters was conferred on the
Hon. Charles H. Malik, Presi
dent of the General Assembly
of the United Nations, Foreign
Minister of Lebanon and former
Lebanese Ambassador Extraor
dinary to the United States, in
recognition of his statesmanship
and scholarship.
Dr. James M. Godard, Execu
tive Vice President and Admin
istrative Dean of the University
of Miami, received the Doctor
of Pedagogy degree. Dr. Godard
is the former Dean of Queens
College.
Dr. Charles B. Norris, Char
lotte physician and Abbey
alumnus, was recipient of the
degree Doctor of Medical
Science.
Belmont Abbey Has Made Valuable
Contributions To Catholic Education
College
Receives
Grant
BELMONT — Belmont Ab
bey College has received a grant
from the United States Steel
Foundation, it was announced
recently.
The President of the college,
the Reverend Cuthbert. E. Allen,
O.S.B., was notified that the
abbey was designated as a re
cipient of the grant which will
be implemented annually. The
funds of the grant are unre
strict and are intended for ope
rational expenditures..
The notification received in
dicated that the Abbey is one
of the institutoins to receive aid
from the Foundation’s Aid-to-
Education program.
The notification received in
formed the Abbey officials that
Belmont Abbey College is one
of twelve North Carolina insti
tutions designated as partici
pants and recipients of the Unit
ed States Steel Foundation
funds. Queens, Davidson, and
Johnson C. Smith were also giv
en grants under this program.
BELMONT — Belmont Abbey
has made many valuable con
tributions to education, especial
ly in the foundation and estab
lishment of other various insti
tutions of learning. One of the
first foundations from Belmont
was St. Leo’s at St. Leo, Florida,
which dates back as early as
1889.
Chronologically speaking, a
second foundation was made at
Bristow, Virginia, not long af
ter the first foundation in the
year 1893. Here Belmont was
responsible for St. Joseph’s In
stitute, a training school for the
poor homeless boys. In 1926, the
school and property were deed
ed over to Benedictine Sisters,
who combined it with their own
Miltary School for small boys,
Linton Hall.
In 1902, another educational
foundation was laid at Savan
nah, Georgia, the seeds of this
foundation being sown as early
as 1887. The School, a military
high school, is located in the
heart of the city and is today
one of the leading schools in the
city. It is still manned and staf
fed by members of Belmont Ab
bey College.
Another school, similar to the
one founded at Savannah, is
Benedictine Military High
School in Richmond, Virginia,
which is also under the direc
tion of the members of Belmont
Abbey College. Today it ranks
high in Richmond’s educational
circles.
Aside from the above men
tioned institutions, Belmont Ab
bey College has also been re
sponsible for several grammar
schools, one of which is St. Ben
edict’s School in downtown Bel
mont. Under the direction of
Father Gabriel Stupasky, a new
and most modern structure was
erected in 1952, replacing the
old structure, which is now
used for social purposes.
In the city of Gastonia, an
other beautiful and modern
grammar school, St. Michael’s
School, was put up in 1952 by
Father Gergory Eichenlaub, a
member of the college staff and
pastor of St. Michael’s Church.
The school is staffed by the
Sisters of Mercy.
In the city of Belmont, just a
half mile distant from Belmont
Abbey College, is Sacred Heart
Junior College for young ladies,
conducted by the Sisters of Mer
cy, who were brought to Bel
mont in 1892 by the Benedic
tines. As part of the educational
facilities provided by the Sisters
of Mercy is also Sacred Heart
School for girls as well as St.
Leo’s Military School for Boys.
These six large foundations
■HE BULLETIN, June
Facts About
Belmont Abbey College is a
full four year Catholic institu
tion conducted by the Benedic
tine Monks and dedicated to the
work of preparing youth for the
business of living life to its full
ness. Life is given to man by
God. that it should be used ful
ly and completely and effective
ly in the attainment of man’s
ultimate and eternal happiness.
This end, the last in attainment,
is the first in intention, and as
such, it colors and directs the
whole of living. Life, to be full
must be lived from a supernat
ural motive. An educative pro
cess that prepares for living
must be motivated and per
meated with this principle. The
training of the body, the inform
ing of the mind, the strength
ening of the will, the developing
of habits and skills and attitudes
all these must be for God and in
accord with God’s Will.
In its effort to attain this end,
Belmont Abbey College seeks as
immediate objectives for its stu
dents:
1. The habit of study and re
flection in the search for know
ledge and Truth.
2. The mastery of the curricu-
la-contest leading to general
culture as well as to vocational
fitness for continued study or
for industrial and business.
3. The appreciation of the
good, the true and the beauti
ful in nature and art.
5. The love and appreciation
of physical well-being, and the
formation of habits of corporal
and mental cleanliness, neatness
and orderliness.
6. The love of cooperative
competition and fair play.
7. The practice of tolerant
gentlemanliness.
8. The courageous pursuit of
American Democracy.
9. The persistent following of
a conscience made right and
virtuous by sound philosophy.
The college opens its courses
to all worthy youths regardless
of religious affiliations. There is
no subject in the curricula that
is ever approached from the
viewpoint of indifferentism, yet,
no effort is made to undermine
religous convictions. God’s gen- I
tleman is the ideal of the Ab
bey. “We must educate man
first for what he is and then
for what he is to do. We must :
educate him for his ultimate end
and then the proper use of the
means to this end, i.e., full liv
ing.”
THE ABBEY CREED
To do this effectively, Bel
mont Abbey College, its faculty I
and student body, subscribe to
the following practical and fun
damental principlse:
1. We believe in God.
2. We believe in the dignity j
and sanctity of the human per
sonality.
3. We believe that man pos
sesses certian rights that are in
alienable because they come
from God and not from the
State.
4. We believe that liberty is.a
sacred right, and that law which
regulates liberty, is a sacred ob
ligation.
5. We believe in inculcating
all the essential liberties of
American Democracy and that
open and frank issue with all
brands of false “democracy.’
6. We therefore are oppposed
to all forms of dictatorship j
which holds that the “total
man” belongs to the State.
7. W T e believe in the natural I
right of private property, biit
likewise that private property 1
has its social obligations.
9. We believe that Labor has !
certain rights but also definite
obligations.
10. We believe that Capital
(owners and managers) has not
only rights but also obligations.
11. We are vigorously opposed
to all forms of racism-persecu
tions or intolerance because of
race, color, creed or nationality. |
12. In fine, we believe in |
Jesus Christ, who taught that
morality muSt regulate the per
sonal, family, economic, politi
cal and international life of all
civilization.
Belmont Abbey Founded In 1876;
Only Abbatia Nuilius In U. S.
BELMONT, N. C.—Belmont
Abbey, officially titled Our
Lady Help of Christians, is sit
uated one mile north of Bel
mont, Twelve miles west of
Charlotte, 800 hundred feet
above sea-level, in the healthful
Piedmont section of North Caro
lina. It was in 1876 that the first
Benedictines came from St. Vin
cent’s Archabbey in Pennsyl
vania to found this community.
Nine years later in 1885, the
foundation was raised to the
dignity of an Abbey with Fa
ther Leo Haid, O. S. B., as the
first Abbot. The new Abbot and
his monks and brothers, all from
St. Vincent’s indeed labored
hard and experienced the rigors
of pioneers in their first years.
Dispite great difficulties, they
built; they developed a high
school and a seminary, they did
a great deal of missionary work;
they grew; and God Blessed
them. The Abbey of St. Leo in
Florida was founded from Bel
mont from Belmont in 1889.
The Holy See named Leo Haid
from Belmont Abbey College
are but the most prominent con
tributions to the educational
field. Numerous others could be
mentioned which were indirect
ly fostered by the Abbey.
as Vicar Apostolic of North i
Carolina in 1887, and elevated
him to the episcopacy. In 1910. ;
Belmont Abbey was honored .
with the unusual dignity and
privileges of an Abbatia Nuilius
(An Abbey Nuilius is almost
identical to a Diocese: i. e., a
certain territory is set aside over
which the Abbot is Ordinary.
This territory of the Abbey Nui
lius is completely distinct from i
the surrounding Dioceses. An
Abbot Nuilius has all the rights
and privileges an obligations of i
a Bishop in his Diocese, except ,
an Abbot Nuilius cannot ordain,
to major orders and cannot con
secrate the Holy Oils).
Here in Belmont the territory
comprises Gaston County: the
Nuilius contains the Abbey Ca
thedral. Belmont Abbey College,
Sacred Heart Junior College,
Cathedral School, St. Leo Mil
itary School, St. Benedict’s ,
School (for colored children of
the Cathedral Parish). St.
Michael’s Parish in Gastonia, 1
St. Helen’s Church, Spencer
Mountain, and St. Joseph’s
Church, Mountain Island.
At his lamented death in 1924,
Bishop-Abbot Leo Haid was
suceeded by Abbot Vincent
Taylor, O. S. B., During his
abbacy, which is still happily
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