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MAY 9, MB'"
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
5
I
Religious Reception and Profession
Ceremonies at St. Vincent. Convent, Savannah, When
Young Women Dedicate Their Lives to God, De
scribed in Detail
By MRS. F. J. SKEFFINGTON
Tile reception of three beautiful
young Irish girls and the solemn
profession of another tvho had been
received into the Order of Mercy
more than five years - previously,
were impressive ceremonies which
took place in St. Vincent’s Academy,
Savannah, Georgia, on April 26.
Ht.. Rev. Michael J. Keyes, DD,
Bishop of Savannah, assisted by Rev.
Father Croke, Chancellor of the dio
cese, presided at the reception, and
celebrated the Mass at which Sister
Mary Assumpta known in the world
as Miss Sarah McGeown, of Porta-
down, Armagh, Ireland, made her
final vows. Sister Assumpta was re
ceived into the Order on April 26,
1921.
Tlie young girls who became no
vices had completed six months as
postulants. They are: Miss Jose
phine Devane, of Drngle, County
Kerry, who is to he known as Sister
Mary Xavier; Miss Margaret Mary
Collins, also of Dingle, to he known
as Sister Mary Casimir, and Miss
May Wilson, of Dublin who re
ceived the name Sister Mary Stanis
laus.
The ceremonies, always of deep
religious significance, were beauti
fully carried out. The Academy
chapel, one of the largest private
chapels in the South, distinctly
chaste in architectual design and
prevaded by an atmosphere of devo
tion, seemed never more beautiful
and inspiring than upon this oc
casion when these four young girls
came to offer the sacrifice of their
lives to God in the work of the Sis
ters of Mercy' in Georgia.
The procession moved from the
convent proper to the chapel in the
following order: The Cross-bearer,
the postulants, the novices, the pro
fessed religious, the novices-elect,
the Reverend Misteress of novices
and Reverend Mother Superior, the
Right Reverend Bishop and Chap
lain. All the religious carried light
ed wax candles, symbolic of Christ!
the Light of the world.
As the procession entered the
chapel, the hymn “O Glorious Vir
gin” was sung by the sisters cantors.
This being ended, the novices-elect,
attired as brides, proceeded to the
Altar and received from Bishop
Keyes a lighted wax candle, the
Bishop saying: “Receive, dearly be
loved daughter, tltis corporal light,
as an emblem of the inward light
to dispel all darkness of Ignorance
or error; that, illumined with the
light of divine wisdom, thou mayest
deserve to he united with Jesus
Christ, the Spouse of the Church
who liveth and reigneth with God
the Father, in the Unity of the Holy
Ghost, world without end.”.
The Bishop next, questioned the
novices-elect. to ascertain if of their
own volition they asked to be re
ceived into the order. Their desire
to he received and to persevere in
their holy calling having been stated
before the assembly, the psalm,
“In Exitu Israel” (cxii) was sun
.by the cantors, while the novices-
elect retired to the convent attend
ed by (lie Reverend Superior and
Reverend’ Mistress of Novices, to
await the presentation of the relig
ious habits which were blessed by
the Bishop at the altar.
Tlie meaning of the religious ha
bit is given in the prayer of the
Bishop: “O God, most faithful prom
iser and never-failing bestower of
everlasting benefits, Who hast prom
ised Thy faithful the garment of
salvation and the raiment of end
less bliss* we humbly implore Thy
clemency that Thou wouldst bless
these garments, the emblems of low
liness of heart, by which Thy ser
vants are visibly instructed in their
holy intention, that under Thy pro
tection they may preserve the holy
habit of chastity, which through Thy
insiprations they have received; and
clothe them with a happy immortali
ty who are now dressed temporarily
in the garb of the revered promise.
Sanctify these garments which Thy
servant s wish to put on as an index
to the knowledge of religion, that
they may be known among all other
women to be dedicated to Thee. Send
down the blessing upon these gar
ments, as Thou pourest out on the
hem of Aaron’s garments the bene
diction of ointment. So mayest thou
vouchsafe to bless them, that they
may he a protection of safety to
these Thy servants, a mark of re
ligion, a beginning of holiness and a
strong defense against all the wea
pons of the enemy, that perserver-
ing in chastity they may be enrich
ed with a hundred-fold reward. O
God. the head of all the faithful
and Savour of- the whole body, sanc
tify this covering of the veil, which
for ’Thy love, and Thy blessed
Mother’s, Thy servant is about to
put on her head; and may she by
Thy protection always, with equal
purity of body an<\ mind, preserve
what is mystically signified thereby;
that when, with the prudent virgins,
she shall come to everlasting re
compense of the saints, she also, be
ing prepared, may be worthy to en
ter, conducted toy three, into eter
nal fecility who livest and veignest,
God, for ever and ever,"
Having been clothed by the Rever
end Mother Superior and Mother As
sistant with the habit of the novice,
the young religious returned to the
chapel while the cantors sang the
joyful notes of the “Quae est Ista”
from the Canticle of Canticles.
Proceeding again to the altar, the
novices received from the Bishop
other issignia of the order: the cinc
ture, emblematic of the yoke of
Christ, the white veil, and white
church-cloak, symbols of purity and
of the robe of immortality; these
the novices presented to the Rever
end Superior, with which she invest
ed them at the altar steps.
The Novices now fully clothed with
the religious habit, in clear and fer
vent accord pronounced the words
of renunciation:
“Tlie empire of the world, and all
the grandeur of this earth. I have
despised for the love of our Lord
Jesus Christ, Whom 1 have seen,
Whom I have loved and toward
Whom my heart inelineth.”
The young sisters llicii prostrated,
the most profound of the outward
acts of humility and adoration, and
the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus was
sung by the cantors. At the con
clusion of the hymn, the novices
rose and accompanied by the Mis
tress of Novices were presented to
the Mother Superior by whom they
were embraced, and afterwards by
all the professed religious, while the
psalm “Ecce quam Bonum” was
sung:
“Behold how good and pleasant it
is for the brethren to dwell together
in unity: for there the Lord hath
commanded blessing and life for
evermore.”
One- of the features of the trip
was an excursion to Matanzas, about
sixty miles from Havana, the trip
being made over a railroad equipped
with an oil-burning engine. The ab
sence of dust, smoke and flying cin
ders was refreshing. Matanzas is a
city about the size of Augusta, a
seaport, and here the mayor wel
comed the party and spoke at the
dinner. Bellmar cave, said to sur
pass those of Kentucky, and Mont
serrat Chapel were visited here, and
the editors also viewed the famous
Yumuri Valley, one of the most beau
tiful and fertile in the world. At
the Matanzas railroad station we
saw one of the two priests we met on
the streets of Cuba; the other one
was reading his office in a court
yard near a church in Havana. Cu
ba, therefore is not “priest-ridden,”
as often claimed by critics of Latin-
■American an<l other Catholic coun
tries.. Indeed, for the 600,000 Cath
olics in the Archdiocese of Havana
there are 265 priests, or less, than
one to every 2,300; in the Diocese
of Mantanzas the proportion is even
less. Secular priests are greatly
outnmbered by members of religious
orders in Havana.
At the Communion of the Mass
of the Holy Ghost, said by Bishop
Keyes following the reception oi
the novices, and while the Bishop
held aloft the Sacred Host which
she was to receive. Sister Assumpta
pronounced her final vows, thus
sealing at this solemn moment the
sacrifice of her life under the ban
ncr of the Cross.
In his address on this occasion
Bishop Keyes commended the spirit
of devotion and the courage of these
young girls who had answered the
call to the religious life and, break-
ingNall earthly bonds of home and
kindred had crossed the trackless
waters of the Atlantic to serve in
the missions of Georgia, where ‘ the
Harvest indeed is great, but the lab
orers are few.” The word's of Christ
to (he rich young man, “If thou
wouldst he perfect go sell what thou
hast and give to the poor and fol
low me,” as also those other words
of the Divine Master: “Take up thy
Cross and follow Me” were used by
Bishop Keyes to illustrate the serv
ice of charity upon which the young
sisters were to enter. The Bishop
spoke regretfully of the almost
complete failure of native Georgians
to respond to the call, which he feels
that many receive but neglect to ans
wer. He said that Ireland, a little
island, scarcely half the size of Geor
gia, furnished a constant stream of
spiritual life for the Catholic church
throughout the world and more than
half the percentage of all vocations
furnished by lands in which English
is the language of the people, so that
practically all countries today re
echo to the footsteps of Irish Priests
and Nuns who, labor in the cause of
Christ. He ascribed this to the will
ingness of Irish pareuts to give the
best of their Wood to the service
of God, in reiurn for all that God
has doue for them, and to foster the
religious vocation in their children
who receive this great and special
grace through their parents’ coope
ration with the Divine Will, a grace
too often lost in American homes
through the neglect or positive op
position of worldly-wise but foolish
parents.
In alluding further to the attitude
of the world toward the religious
life and the prevailing misconcep
tion of its sacrifices and consolations
Bishop Keyes recalled the expres
sion of at least one among the on
lookers in the banquet hall, when
Mary of Magdala poured the precious
ointment upon the head of the Sa
viour: “Why this waste? for this
could, Rave been sold for much and
given to the poor.”
When a young girl dedicates her
life to the service of God in a com
munity of religious devoted to the
promotion of religious ideals, the
instruction of youth, the care of the
sick, the comfort of the dying and
of the imprisoned, the Bishop re
marked that the same question is
asked by the worldly-minded, who
do not discern the Cross of Christ
and the real end of man: “Why this
waste? this person’s life is lost; she
could have remaianed in the world
and could have done so much for
the progress of the human race.”
The world, Bishop Keyes said, is
a very good place to live in, so long
as we use it as a stepping stone to
the higher life, which, after all, is
the only life that counts. But how
many, he asked, living amid its al
most boundless blessings, remain
Dixie Musings
(Continued from Page Four)
A Unique Carolina Congregation
Colored Catholics of Walterboro, S. C., Out of Touch
With Priests For Thirty Years, Nevertheless Pre
served the Faith
Perhaps the most memorable fea
ture of our trip was our visit to
Belen college, one of the most mag
nificent institutions of tearing we
have ever seen. Father Maureau, S.
J,. of Key West had been kind
enough to give us a letter of intro
duction lo the Rev. Rector of Belen,
an eminent educator who made us
feel at home at once. Father Gu-
herrez Lanza, S. J., director of the
Observatory, one of the finest in
the world, showed us through the
college; he made some of his studies
at Florissant, Mo, and speaks Eng
lish fluently. The college was com
pleted recently, is located in the
suburbs of Havana on a slope over
looking the sea, and succeeds the old
Belen College, which is in the city
proper.
One can better imagine than de
scribe Belen. Built of reinforced
concrete, it resembles a great goy
ernment building in Washington in
its approach. The first unit is in
the neighborhood of one hundred
yards square, four stories in height,
with the ceilings in each floor per
haps twice as high as those in spa
cious American schools. Within this
unit, which contains reception rooms
offices, class-rooms and quarters, is
a beautiful courtyard that makes one
imagine that he is in the palace
of some mighty monarch of the l^ast.
Beyond this unit is the second one
built in horseshoe fashion and sur
rounding' a courtyard which serves as
a campus for the students. It seems
large enough to contain a regulation
football field. From these two units
nine other buildings radiate. This
may give an idea of the magnitude
of the college. There is not space
available at this time to describe the
world-famous museums or the Ob
servatory of the college. Nothing
we have seen in the United States
surpasses it. The cost of the col
lege runs into the millions. It is un
derstood that the enhancement in
value of the property of the college
in Havana made the erection of the
new plant possible, although it is
not free of debt.
(Written for Tlie Bulletin)
On Suhday, April 25, Rt. Rev.
Wm. T. Russell, D. D., Bishop of
Charleston, gave three children of
St. Anthony’s church, Walterboro,
S. C., their first Holy Communion
at the 7:30 o’clock Mass, and con
firmed them along with an adult
after Mass. Lucian Patterson and
his sister, Miss Lucia Patterson,
were the sponsors.
At 11:30 a. m., the Ht. Rev. Bish
op arrived at St. James (colored)
church, where he confirmed twen
ty-seven children and several adults.
Bishop Russell was assisted by Rev.
Janies J. May, rector of the Cathe
dral of Charleston, and Rev. John
V. Woods, of St. Mary’s church, Du
mont, N. J. Confirmation was fol
lowed by Solemn Benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament.
Along with delegations from St.
Anthony’s church, Walterboro, and
St.Mary’s church, Yonge’s Island, a-
bout one hundred and thirty Knights
of Columbus, including their families
and friends, were present at Cath
olic Cross Roads. This pilgrimage
was organized by the lecturer’s com
mittee of the Charleston Council,
K. of C. Immediately after the
services of confirmation the con
gregation and visitors gathered
around the flag pole, recently erect
ed, on the campus of the school.
The Rt. Rev. Bishop blessed the
American flag, the gift of the
Knights of Columbus, P. N. Lynch
Council 704, of Charleston. Basil
Kerr, deputy grand knight, in his
splendid address of presentation,
dwelt upon the ideals of the Knights
of Columbus and illustrated the
genuine patriotism of American
Catholics in the late War of the Nar
tions. The flag was received by
Joseph Brown in the name Of the
senior member of the parish. He
said in part: “As we gaze upon
the Cross of Christ, the symbol of
our salvation, it must ever remind
us how best to serve our country.
For we believe that all authority
comes from God, and we teach our
children here to respect and obey
our country’s rulers. We believe it
is our duty to our country to love
it; to support its constitution; to
obey its laws; to respect its flag;
to defend it against all enemies.”
Father H. F. Wolfe, pastor of
this mission church of St. James
and also chaplain of P .N. Lynch
Council, announced that the occa
sion might have a threefold pur
pose, namely, to commemorate the
centennial of the founding of this
shrine of Catholicity in South Caro
lina. The original church was built
about 1826, under the''title of St.
James. The McGees, the Maloneys,
the Purcells, the Fox’s, the Bretts,
the Ryans, and some others formed
a respectable Catholic settlement.
They acquired considerable wealth,
were people of culture and charac
ter, and produced an abiding im
pression in favor of the faith, gain
ing for it esteem and consideration
among the wealthy planters. By the
year 1847 all the old Catholics had
passed away. Tlie parish fell into
desuetude—death and removals be
ing the cause.
Bishop Russell in closing the ex
ercises of celebration said that the
Bible was not presented, as was cus
tomary by other societies, because
the Catholic church has ever pos
sessed- the Bible, and that if the
Catholic church had not preserved
the Bible for the world it would not
be extant as it is today. He stress
ed the solemn duties of Catholics
to their country. In conclusion he
recalled the story of Catholic Mary
land and her priceless gift of re
ligious toleration to the American
colonists. At the conclusion of his
address all joined in the singing of
“The Star-Spangled Banner.”
There is a powerful lesson to be
drawn from the colored Catholics
of St. James parish. For nearly 30
years these people preserved their
Catholic faith without the minis
trations of a priest. In 1861, or
thereabouts, the original church be
came a holocaust in a forest fire.
After the proclamation of emanci
pation the Catholic negroes from
the plantations of the Northrops,
Pinckneys and Bellingers, formed m
community in the vicinity of the
former church. They were found,
so the. tradition runs, by a Catho
lic negro, from Charleston, who di
rected them to the late Bishop Nor
throp of happy memory. A new
church was constructed about 1898,
by the late Rev. Daniel Berberich,
the Apostle of Catholic Cross Roads,
on the site of the old St. James
church. The lumber was cut by
hand and prepared in the vicinity,
and the shingles, too, were fashion
ed by devoted hands in yonder
swamp. About 1900 Father Berer-
ich constructed a parochial school
which has been maintained consist
ently down to the present day. Un
til a year ago it was presided over
by Miss Eugenia Gatewood, who for
nearly a quarter of a century de
voted her life and talents to negro
education.
It is now presided over by a
younger teacher, an alumna of the
school. Twice each month is this
mission visited by a priest. On the
Sundays the priest is absent, these
people come to the church, recite,
the Mass prayers, say the rosary and
have the gospel read to them. Some
of the parishioners walk from five
to eight miles one way to attend
services. If some Catholic traveler
from the north, on his way to the
playground of America, happens
along some Sunday eveniug, he
might, if his ear is attnned, catch
the familiar chant of the Tantum
Ergo, and see Our Sacramental Lord
bless His .children. Thus the Catho
lic church in South Carolina watches
over in ibis secluded spot her
negro children.
One can of course only touch
high point here and there in an arti
cle of this length on such a sub
ject. Again, the longer we talk
about a country upon which we are
qualified to speak principally by a
hasty visit the greater is the liabil
ity to err, as we know from our ex
perience in reading the impressions
of our European brethren after their
flying trips to America. There is
no mistake, however, in our de
sription of the cordial hospitality
and good-will displayed toward us
by everyone with whom we came ^
contact in Cuba. When our Cuban
friends visit Georgia, as a delegation
proposes to do next year on the in
vitation o ftlie Georgia editors, we
know that the desire to make their
stay memorable will he no less sin
cere than theirs was, and we trust
that the realization will he no less
full—R. R.
faithful to God, the Author of all
good? The world in general for
gets, if it does not despise, its God,
and pursues the mad race after
pleasure until it falls into the grave.
What an inspiring example, then, to
higher things, to the real values of
life, is given today by those irfto-
cent girls from the far-away Isle
of Destitny, who have weighed just
ly the value of human pleasure, of
human achievement, and. by giving
up all that the world holds dear, ob
tain the inestimable blessings, the
hundred-fold promised by our Lord,
our Divine Savior, to these who leave
father or mother, home or kindred
for His sake.
These ceremony ended with Bene
diction of the Most Blessed Sacra
ment given by the Right Reverend
Bishop.
Other professions taking place in
St. Vincent’s durng the past year
were: Sister M. Anmmciata (Cincin
nati, Ohio), final vows, on Novem
ber 21st. Sister M. Angela, (Augusta,
Georgia) first vows, on November
21, and Sister M. Bernardine, (Au
gusta, Georgia), made her first vows
on March 25tb.
Weakening Prejudice
From the Ave Maria, Notre
Dame, Ind,
Sometimes one hVs the conviction
that anti-Gatholic prejudice is as
general now as it ever was; at other
times, one is persuaded that it is not
only far less widespread than it
Used to he, but very much less invet
erate. This depends, perhaps, on the
mood one happens to be in. Wheth
er or not, it is always gratifying to
recall evidence going to show that
bigotry is becoming a thing of the
past and that our separated breth
ren are far more approachable than
we had supposed them to be. A
prominent Unitarian minister in one
of the Eastern cities, to whom we
once sent a book explanatory of a
point of Catholic doctrine which he
had misstated in a published sermon,
wrote in acknowledgment: “I have
carefully read Ihe work, and with
deep interest. There is a marked
change in my thought and feeling
about the Catholic church since
then, and I shall read the book again
There are other things I should like
to know,” etc. Another clergyman,
well known as an historical writer,
and one of the ablest Protestant,
theologians in the United States, ex
pressed his pleasure on seeing in
this magazine “an emphatic rebuke
to unworthy insinuations against
the high worth of Pope Clement
XIV.” Still another pleasant letter
was addressed to us by one of the
leaders of a colony of Shakers,in
reference to “The Black Monks of St.
Benedict,” by the Rev. Ethelred
Taunton. “We are all eager to get
this work for reading during meals.
The life of the early monks is a sub
ject of great interest to us. They are.
the ones who continued the Chris
tian life after the death of the
Apostles.”
There is abundant evidence of this
.kind, but unfortunately, we are apt
to undervalue or to disregard it.
The Mexican Muddle
A notorious French anti-clerical
once boasted that he would blot the
name of God front the heavens. He
and his ilk have failed, but they did
succeed in creating the most intol
erable difficulties for the exercise of
religious liberty. These men made
it impossible for religious teachers
to conduct schools in France. More
than this, they drove into exile hun
dreds of devoted priests and nuns.
What they did not have the effront
ery to do, however, was to interfere
with the work of the secular clergy.
They did not make it next to impos
sible for priests to be supplied for
parish work by closing the semina
ries. Diabolical as was his purpose,
the French anti-Clerical did not dare
to go so far.
'Ihe Mexican anti-clerical, however
seems to be trying to out-IIerod
Herod. With smug self-satisfaction
he cries out that Mexico must be pro
tected from foreign influence. For
eigners must be excluded from i
teaching in the schools. Foreign ■
priests must be forbidden to minis-
ter to the spiritual needs of the
Mexican people. This regulation they '
have written into the Constitution. !
There might even be some sem
blance of justification in such a.
move. But the irony of the whole ,
matter is that the preparation. of 1
Mexican young men to replace the
expelled foreigner has been render
ed practically impossible by closing
the seminaries. You must have only
Mexican priests, Catholics are told.
Then, in the same breath, they are
forbidden to conduct seminaries
which are the only means of prepar- -
ing young Mexicans for the priest
hood. That strikes at the very root
of things. It cuts off the supply of j
priests at its very source. A clergy
without seminaries from which its
depleted ranks may be replenished »
is on the way to extinction. It is
very plain that all this regulation
has but one aim Religion is to toe
blotted out. Religious liberty is
dead. Once more a group of puny
politicians seek to blot the name of
the great God from the heavens.-#
The Tidings, Lob Angeles, ■