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DECEMBER 21, 1935
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
NINE
Msgr. Dennen is Forty-Four Years in Wilmington
Church in the Mountains
Little Flower Church, Revere. N. C., In “The Land of the Sky”, Western
North Carolina, the Rev. Lawrence Toups, S. •!., pastor.
WILMINGTON, N. C.
George W. Huggins
Company
Jewelers
Silverware, China
Diamonds, Watches
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The Gateway Port of North Carolina
WILMINGTON, N. C.
Compliments
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Phones 29—30
WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA
ERECTED BEAUTIFUL
ST. MARY’S IN 1912
Cardinal Gibbons Wrote
“Faith of Our Fathers” in
Quarters of Old Church
The story of the Church in Wil
mington for nearly the past half-cen
tury is largely the story of the efforts
and accomplishments of the Rt. Rev-
Msgr. Christopher Dennen, who for
over forty years was pastor of St-
Mary's Pro-Cathedral, and who now
is honored as pastor emritus of the
historic parish.
The first pastor at Wilmington was
the Very Rev. Thomas Murphy, V. F.,
a native of Comity Carlow, Ireland,
who affiliated with the Diocese of
Charleston when Bishop Clancy be
came coadjutor to B ; shop Eng’and,
and who was ordained in 1836. Sta
tioned at Colleton for two years, he
was assigned to the eastern section of
North Carolina in 1838. making his
headquarters at Fayetteville, and
serving Raleigh, New Bern, Washing
ton and the intervening territory.
For many years Father Murphy was
the only priest in this section, work
ing unceasingly to preserve and ex
tend the faith. He knew every Ca’h-
olic in the eastern part of the state
personally, and while they were com
paratively few in number, the re-
soect which Father Murphy elicited
for himself and for his flock made
them quite influential.
In 1846 Father Murphy was assign
ed to Wilmington, and he immediate
ly started to build up the parish,
serving also the soldiers at the gar
rison at Smithville. He completed St-
Thomas’ Church, making a rec f ory of
the rear of it. Father Murphy died in
1863, and was succeeded by the famed
Dr- Corroran, one of the giant intel
lects in the Church of those days; Dr-
Corcoran was pastor about five years.
Seven Bishops, Many Other
Notables at Raleigh Program
Bishop Hafey, Senator Bailey, Bishop Ireton, Monsignor
Guilday Are Anniversary Speakers — Provincials of
Seven Religious Orders Attend Exercises
(Continoed From Page One)
eigh, and the Rt. Rev- Msgr. Chris
topher Rennen, Raleigh.
Miss Mary C. Duffy, of Newark, N.
J., Supreme Regent of the Catholic
Daughters of America, of which
Bishop Hafey is Chaplain, presented
Bishop Hafey with a check for ?4,000
in the name of the C. D- of A The
money is for the Catholic Orphanage
at Nazareth, N. C. Monsignor Guil
day p—anted Bishop Hafey with an
original copy of Cardinal Gibbons
Reminiscences of his work in North
Carolina. The volume had been given
io Monsignor Guilday by the Car
dinal himself.
SENATOR BAILEY, referring to the
lofty place which William Gaston
holds in North Carolina’s history, said
in his address that evening that he
was “distinguished by the mold m
which his soul was cast and that mold
was fashioned by his Catholic moth
er.” Reviewing William Gaston’s ca
reer from the time he entered
Georgetown College, Washington, D.
C„ as its first student the Senator
said the great John Marshall would
have yielded the office of Chief Just
ice to the North Carolinian who had
unhorsed the orator, Henry Clay, in
debate; had been the counsellor of
Daniel Webster, and had rejected op
portunities for higher office, even
that of the Presidency of the United
States
It was in those days that Cardinal
Gibbons made the Wilmington church
his headquarters; he lived in small
partitioned quarters in the rear of St.
Thomas’ Church, and it was here that
he wrote the immortal classic, “The
Faith of Our Fathers”, one of the
most read books in the English lan
guage. At that time there were about
800 Catholics and only three priests in
all North Carolina.
The service at St. Thomas’ Church
of Father White and Father Gross
paralleled the episcopacy of B’shop
Gibbons in the Old North State, and
the beloved Father Moore was the
next priest who spent extended years
here.
Father Dennen came In 1891, and
his service connects the present days
in tl>e parish with the early days and
wi:h the pioneers who laid the foun
dations of Catholicity in the vicariate,
now the Diocese. Under Monsignor
Dennen’s leadership, the parish grew
in strength and in Catholic spirit,
and in 1912 his dream of a new
church was realized in the completion
of the handsome St Mary’s, dedicat
ed that year; St. Thomas’ Church
was then given to the colored Cath
olics as their parish church.
On November 21, 1923, Father Den
nen became a member of the Papal
Household with the rank and title of
Monsignor, by appointment of the
Holy Father at the request of the th:n
vicar-apostolic of North Carolina,
Bishop Haid, in fitting recognition of
his great serv ; ces to the Church.
When the new Diocese of Rale gh was
erected, the Most Rev. Michael J-
Curley, D. D.. Archbishop of Balti
more, administrator of the D’ocese.
appointed him vicar-general, an ap
pointment renewed by B-'shop Hafey:
Monsignor Dennen held this post un
til his resignation recently because
of his advancing years.
The Rev. James A. Manley who had
for a number of years been assistant
to Monsignor Dennen. is now in
charge of the parish of which Mon
signor Dennen is pastor emeritus,
and the Rev. Paul Murphy is assistant.
Wilmington is s’ill the center of an
extended mission territory as it was
in the days of old. The Sisters of Mer
cy teach in the parish school, attend
ed bv nearly 150 pupils- St. Thomas’
Church for colored Catholics is under
the direction of the Rev. Joseph F-
Wareing. S- S. J. and the Fran-iscan
Sisters of Baltimore ’each in the par
ish school, attended bv over 200 pu
pils, most of them non-Catholics.
MONSIGNOR GUILDAY said that
the chapel in the home of Judge
Gaston's mother at New Bern, “where
the first Mass was said a century
and a half ago was the Bethlehem
of Catholicism in this state.” “To
her, then, the mother of one of the
greatest Catholic laymen of these
United States, is given the immortal
honor of foundress of our Faith in
this State,” he said. .
“However.” he added, “this is not
actually the first page in North Caro
lina’s Catho’ic history. The very
name of your capital city—Raleigh—
reminds us that two English Catholic
knights, Sir Thomas Gerard and Sir
George Peckham, were partners m
Walter Raleigh’s adventurous attempt
to plant a colony on the coast of
North Carolina in 1584; and there is
a strong supposition that the pena.
law against Catholics leaving Eng
land was suspended for this enter
prise.”
Bishop Hafey brought the exercises
to a close with a brief address, in
which he said that William Gaston, if
he were to return today, would be
speak religious freedom. Referring to
attacks uoon religion in Mexico. Ger
many and Russia, Bishop Hafev said:
“Give us more Gastons.” The Rt
Rev. Msgr. Ar’hur R. Freeman, rector
of the Cathedral, presided.
' BISHOP HAFEY was celebrant of
the Pontifical Mass, with the Rev.
Ambrose Gallavher, O. S. B.- Char
lotte, deacon of the Mass; the Rev.
J. P. Manley. Nazareth, sub-deacon;
the Rev. Charles J. Gable, Greenville,
and the Rev. Julian End.er, C. P-,
New Bern, deacons of honor, and the
Rev. T. A- Williams. Southern Pines,
master of ceremonies.
The following provincials of the
regular clergy were present at the
observance: the Very Rev. W. J.
Stanton, O. M. L. Buffalo, N. Y-; the
Very Rev. William Slattery, S. M. t
Philadelphia; the Very Rev- C. Byrne,
C. P-, Union City, N. J,; the Very
Rev. L. B. Pastorelli, S. S- J- Balti
more; the Very Rev. J. M. Walsh,
S. J., New Orleans, La.; the Very
Rev. A- B. Kuhn. C. SS- R., Brook
lyn, N Y-, and the Very Rev. Raphael
Adams, O. F. M„ custos, Callicoon,
N. Y.
Chaplains to the members of the
hierarchy present were : Bishop
Fitzmaurice, the Rev. Peter McNer*
ney and the Rev. L. Federal; Bishop
Walsh, the Rev. W. A. Tobin and
Father Daley, Florence, S. C.; Bishop
Barry, the Rev. Hugh Dolan and the
Rev. F. J- Gorham; Bishop O’Hara,
Ihe Rev. J. Roueche and the Rev.
M. J Begley; Bishop McNamara, the
Rev. Peter Denges and the Rev. E. T.
Gilbert; Bi hop Ireton. the Rev-James
Manley and the Rev. Arthur Racette;
Abbot Vincent, the Rev. William Reg
nat. O. S. B-, and the Rev- Alphonse
Buss.
Other clergy present included the
Very Rev. C E. Murphy, dean of the
North Carolina Apostolate; Rev. M. F.
Neale, Rev. R. Vallmer, O. P.. and
Rev- H. J. Dewdney, O- P-, Raleigh;
Rev. G. A. Watkins, Sanford; Rev.
F. A. Scheurich. Sraithfield; Rev. W.
F. O’Brien. Durham; Rev. M. A.
Carey, Elizabeth City; Rev. W- H
Kelleher, O- M. I., and Rev. J. Noo
nan,, O. M. 1„ Fayetteville; Rev. P. J,
O’Mara. Hendersonville; Rev. L. Do--
eterl, Henderson; Rev. P. N. Gal
lagher Orphanage. Nazareth; Rev. J.
A. Beshel, Rev. F. J. Morissey. D. D
and Rev. R J. MacMill n. Nazareth
Apostolate; Rev. R. E. Barrett. Tar-
boro; Rev- Morris Tew, O- P., Green
ville; Rev- T. F. Carney, Spruce Pine;
Pev- L. L. Toups. S. J., Revere; Rev.
M. A. Irwin, New Bern; Rev. F. W.
Clair, C. SS. R-, and Rev- J. G. Eh-
mann. C- SS. R-, Newton Grove; Rev.
H. Blano. Oteen; Rev. W. J. Dillon.
Pinehurst; Rev. Arnold Walters. O.
F. M., and Rev. Anthony Fox. O- F-
M.- Lenoir; Rev. H. V. Lane, Wayr.es-
ville; Rev. J- P. Wareing, S. S. J-.
Wilmington; Rev. L. Frierson, O. S
B. , Winrton-Salem; Rev. J. A. Cowan.
Albemarle; Rev. R. Scott, O. F. M-,
Asheville; Rev. Charles Hanningan
S. S. J-, Southern Pines; Rev. Father
Cuthbert, O. S. B.. Belmont Abbey;
Rev. Dr. Emmet Lans, O. M. I., New-
Burgh, N- Y.: Rev. Dr. E. Doo'ey,
O. M. I-, Ca’holic University; Rev.
E. McCarthy, O. M. Westport. N.
Y.; Rev. J. A. Gallagher, Dunn; Rev.
E. L. Gross, Hamlet; Rev. John Mur-
nane, O- M. C-. Rev. P. Gurgan, O. M<
C-. St. Helena.
WILMINGTON, N. C.
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House Furnishings
213 North Front Street
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Compliments
and Best Wishes
Andrews
Mortuary
LEON P. ANDREWS
WILMINGTON, N. C.