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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC L AYMEN’S ASSOCIATfOW Of* GEORGTK
NINE
Society of African Missions Nearly Thirty Years in Georgia
THEY HAVE PARISHE
IN 4 GEORGIA CITIES
§ Cardinal Dougherty Speaks
at Luncheon on Holy Father
Three Parishes in Savannah
-—All Six Parishes in Dio
cese Have Pine Schools
•/ For nearly thirty years the Fathers
of the Society of African Missions
have been laboring among the col
ored people of Georgia, with results
which have attracted the attention of
Catholics throughout the country and
beyond the borders of the nation.
The Benedictine Fathers in Savan
nah, the Jesuit Fathers in Macon and
Augusta, and the Diocesan clergy,
elsewhere, had devoted their atten
tion to the colored Catholics before
the coming of the Fathers of the So
ciety, or the African or Lyons Fa
thers. as they are called. In Bishop
England’s day the welfare of the col
ored people was a deep concern of
the Bishop and his priests, and be
fore and after the founding of the
Diocese of Savannah the priests min
istered to the colored as well as to
the white Catholics of the state and
Diocese.
The late Bishop Keiley, however,
'desired that an impetus be given to
the work by inviting to the Diocese
a group of priests who would make
it their chief concern, thus relieving
the Diocesan and religious priests
Who were endeavoring to serve both
white and oolored congregations at
the same time. Accordingly the Ly
ons Fathers came to Georgia in 1907.
The Very Rev. Ignatius Lissnsr,
S. M. A,, then as now, was American
superior of the Society, and he start
ed work in Savannah. He he took
over St. Benedict's Mission which
the Benedictine Fathers had conduct
ed for years and where they also
Were instructing the colored parish
ioners and children, assisted by Fa
ther Obrecht, still active in the work,
and the late Father Dahlent, he
transformed the little mission into
the beginnings of a promising par
ish, and then moved on to Augusta
With Father Peter, whom death
claimed in New Jersey only a few
Weeks ago.
This was in 1908; the first step in
' Augusta was to rent an abandoned
store as a church and school. From
these humble beginnings the enter
prise started to grow; Father Peter
Was. assisted by Father A. J. Laube,
Who shortly afterward succeeded Fa
ther Peter as pastor and remained in
that capacity for over a quarter of a
century until last year. The Rev.
.George Laugel, S. M. A., for many
years on the missions in Africa, suc
ceeded him when he went to France,
Where hi3, mother still lives at an
advanced age and in precarious
health.
His Eminence Outlines Life of Supreme Pontiff, Who
Intensely Active at Age of 78
Is
“The Holy Father” was the subject
of His Eminence, Dennis Cardinal
Dougherty, Archbishop of Philadel
phia, at the luncheon for the prelates
and priests at the De Soto Hotel after
the installation, the Rt. Rev. Msgr.
Jos. D. Mitchell, V. G., presiding.
There are few persons in the world
outside of the Holy Father’s imme
diate entourage who know His Holi
ness better than Cardinal Dougherty,
who was elevated to the Sacred Col
lege by Pope Pius XI, and his depict
ing of the life and character of His
Holiness was intensely interesting.
His Eminence said:
“On the 31st of May next, Pope
Pius XI, will be seventy-nine, though
he looks much younger.
“He was born and raised near the
foothills of the Alps at Desio, about
thirteen miles north of Milan.
“From childhood he was fond of
outdoor life, and was given to moun
tain climbing. This partly accounts
for his robust health.
“His father was part owner and
superintendent of a silk mill; whilst
not rich, he was sufficiently well off
to give his three sons a college educa
tion.
“Achille, the youngest son, now
Pope, was placed, before he was ten
years old, in the Seminary of St.
Peter the Martyr, Milan, where he
distinguished himself by keenness
of mind, eagerness to learn and a
special bent for mathematics; hence,
it was at one time the intention to
send him to Turin for a special course
in higher mathematics.
“But instead, he was sent to the
Lombardi Seminary, Rome.
V In 1909 the work in Savannah was
expanded by the addition of St. An
thony s Mission in West Savannah-
In 1913 the new Church of the Im
maculate Conception, a splendid
School and fine rectory were com
pleted in Augusta, a plant supple
mented in 1919 by a spacious parish
hall; 310 pupils were enrolled last
year in the school,
^ In 1914 a combination church and
School were erected in Macon under
the direction of the kindly Father
Dahlent, the first pastor there; the
church was dedicated to St. Peter
Claver. The parish there now has a
new church, and the zealous Father
A. Barthlen, for many years in
Georgia, and formerly a professor of
theology in the seminaries of his or
der in this country and France, is
pastor.
/ A third mission was started in Sa-
'itrannah some years ago, that of St.
Mary s on the East Side, where the
Rev. A. Gall, S. M. A., a native of
Iowa but reared and educated in
France, is pastor; Father Gaul was
jtormerly stationed in Augusta,
The work has been developed
Splendidly in the Capital City of
Georgia; in 1913 the substantial
church and school of Our Lady of
Lourdes were erected there, and this
work flourished like the work of the
Fathers in Macon, Augusta and Sa
vannah, The Rev. A. Weiss, S. M. A.,
Who also worked on the missions of
/s,
“In Rome he attended the Gregorian
University, his Canon Law Professor
being Father Wemz, the well-known
Canonist.
“From the Sapienza he got his
Doctorate of Divinity.
“From the Academy of St. Thomas
he got to the Doctorate of Philosophy,
the examiners being vtie future Cardi
nals Satolli and Lorenzelli and the
Jesuit Liberatore, whose text-book in
philosophy is well-known.
“After ordination to the priesthood,
he returned to Milan; and was ap
pointed professor of dogmatic the
ology.
“Afterwards he was placed over the
Ambrosian Library. „
“In that capacity he published more
than 70 original works, based mostly
on old manuscripts; and he became
known to the learned world.
“Just before the World War, he was
put in charge of the Vatican Library,
Rome.
“From this positon he was selected
by Pope Benedict XV as his repre
sentative to Poland; and was charged
to study conditions there and also in
Russia, the Balkans, and the Near
East.
“Having fulfilled this mission, he
was made archbishop of Milan; and
a litle later a cardinal.
“When he was only a few months
in the Sacred College and last on its
list, he was elected Pope to succeed
Benedict XV.
“His meteoric career would seem to
indicate a special providence in his
behalf.
“His experience in Poland and his
acquaintance with the conditions
there, in Russia, and in the Near East
fitted him to grapple with the grave
problems that had to be solved at
that juncture.
during which the news of the day is
read to him by his secretary, he
finishes the recitation of the divine
office; takes either a walk or a drive
in his garden, and during that time
thinks out the matter for addresses.
“Once again he begins private audi
ences, receiving at this time chiefly
the cardinals and other officials of
the Roman curia, and discusses with
them the reports they have to make
and the problems which they present
for solution.
“Rather late in the evening he
dines, usually on two soft-boiled
eggs, and afterwards retires into his
study to go over correspondence, but
particularly the reports that have
been presented for his consideration.
“Frequently he remains at his desk
until after midnight. It is said that
he sometimes works far into the
morning, and then says Mass before
retiring to bed.
Africa in his younger days, is pas
tor.
The Society for African Missions
Was founded at Lyons, France, in
1856, by the saintly Bishop Brezilhac,
iwho became impressed with the nec
essity for doing something for the
ignored tribes of Africa when a ship
on which he was traveling put in to
an African port and he witnessed
conditions there. Many more than
100,000 Africans are now Catholics
Worshipping the true God instead of
devoting themselves to idolatry in
the missions under the care of the
Fathers in that continent, where
about 200 priests of the society are
laboring, in addition to those work
ing in the United States, Egypt and
elsewhere—such are the results of
the apostolic Bishop’s decision and
jttlf-sacrifice.
Father G. Obrecht, S. M, A., is
pastor of St Benedict’s Church in
Savannah, and Father Aloysius .Ham-
Stein, S. M. A., is assistant. /There
are 135 pupils m the school, taught
(by the Missionary Franciscan Sisters
of the Immaculate Conception, who
also teach at St. Anthony’s, where
Father V. H. Martin, S. M. A. is pas
tor, and at St. Mary’s, where the
Rev. A. GaH. S. M. A., is pastor;
“It fell to his lot to have to do
with a number of jubilee celebrations,
which only a man of his strength,
health, and endurance could have
borne with.
“Though not previously accustomed
to public speaking, he delivered to
pilgrims from all parts of the world
three or four daily addresses, on a
wide range of subjects, appropriate
to the nationality and conditions of
the audience.
“Perhaps, the outstanding achieve
ment of his reign has been the settle
ment of the Roman question, which
for near three generations had been
a thorn in- the side of Italy, not to
speak of the bitterness it had created
elsewhere.
“This feat of itself should perpetu
ate his name in history.
“The massiveness of his frame, the
strength of his facial features, the
calmness of his countenance strike
at once anyone who sees him for the
first time.
“Where is the priest, whether young
or old, throughout the world, who
works harder than Pope Pius XI!
“One of his peculiarities is that
he has a real passion for geography,
which he knows at his fingertips, he
often surprises visitors from various
parts of the world by asking about
out-of-the-way places in their own
country.
“Another remarkable trait is his
calmness. His Nuncios and ther sub
ordinates may be worked up into a
fever of agitation and anxiety over
local conditions, or over seemingly
insoluble questions, but Pope Pius
XI remains imperturbable.
“Lew Wallace, in his great novel
called ‘Ben Hur’, has a vivid de
scription of a Roman naval battle on
the Mediterranean sea.
“Whilst the deck of the Roman
warship is in flames, whilst volumes
of black smoke hide the face of the
sun, whilst the cries of combatants,
the shrieks of the wounded and the
odor of burning flesn make an inferno
of the battleship, down below, the
deck the master ot the rowers sits at
his table, beating time, with a wooden
mallet, as if unconscious of the
slaughter over his head.
160,000 CONFIRMED BY
BISHOP IN SIX YEARS
Since his consecration as Auxiliary
Bishop of Philadelphia six years ago,
His Excellency, Bishop O’Hara, has
administered the Sacrament of Con
firmation to about 160,000 persons,
which is perhaps three times as many
as have been confirmed in Georgia by
all the Bishops of Savannah from 1850
to date. There are over 10,000
parishoners of record in Nativity
Parish, Philadelphia, of which Bishop
O’Hara was pastor in addition to
being Auxiliary Bishop, more than
10,000 men, women and children list
ed in the records of the church as
now being within the confines of the
parish. Bishop O’Hara and five as
sistants served the parish; the Rev.
William Fogarty, who was at the in
stallation ceremony in Savannah, is
assistant pastor. Bishop O’Hara’s
successor as Auxiliary Bishop, the
Rt. Rev. Msgr. Hugh Lamb, D. D.,
succeeds him also as pastor of the
Church of the Nativity.
SCOUT HONOR FOR
J. S. ROBERTSON, JH.
Diocesan Consultors
Committee in Charge
The ‘ committee on the installation
of Bishop O'Hara was composer of
the members of the Board of Dio
cesan Consultors, who named the
Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph D. Mitchell-
V. G., was chairman of the commit
tee on distinguished guests, the Rev.
Joseph R. Smith, pastor of Blessed
Sacrament Church, chairman of the
committee on transportation, the
Rev. James H. Conlin of the Cathe
dral chairman of the committee on
the dinner at the De Soto, and the
Rev. Harold J. Barr, chairman of
the committee on the arranging of
facilities for Mass for the visiting
Archbishops, Bishops and priests.
The splendid and effective manner
in which all the details were hand
led elicited universal commenda
tion.
MRS. INEZ COLEMAN
IS DEAD IN SAVANNAH
Given Silver Beaver Award
in Savannah—Catholic
Boys Eagle Scouts
Wife of Col. Sheftall Cole
man Was Widely Known
“So, all about the Pope there may
be war and rumors of war; how they
would effect him no one knows. But
he never flinches from his duty. Come
what may, he governs the church at
large, defines revealed truth, creates
new dioceses throughout the world,
and seated in the chair of Peter as
signs new shepherds to their flocks.
“In such conditions he has trans
ferred Bishop O’Hara from the
auxiliaryship of Philadelnhia to the
See of Savannah, and the Bishop,
harkening to his voice, has left his
home to come here into this great
State, in order gladly to give him
self to the work assigned him.
“We all join in wishing him a con
tinuance of the success, which he has
achieved up to the present in all the
posts to which he has been ap
pointed.”
Some Visiting Laity
at the Installation
“He is most abstemious in everything
except work. He rises early, says his
daily Mass, sips a cup of coffee, eats
a mouthful of bread, and at once be
gins work, which he continues un
broken until one or two o’clock in
the afternoon; wearing out even the
youngest in his entourage.
“After a most sparing luncheon,
these schools have 140 and 179 pupils,
respectively.
In Macon, Father A. Barthlen, S.
M. A., is pastor, and the Sisters of
the Blessed Sacrament conduct the
school, which over 100 pupils at
tend. They also teach in Atlanta, in
Our Lady of Laurdes parish, where
Father F. V. Weiss, S. M. A., is pas
tor; the school has 245 pupils. Thus
in the schools conducted in the par
ishes of the Society of African Mis
sions of Georgia there are 1668 pupils,
a record which, while splendid in it
self is even more heartening as a
promise for the future.
The members of the laity on the
“Bishop O’Hara Special” in addition
to members of the Bishop’s family,
named elsewhere, included Mrs. Mar
garet Brennan. Mrs. H. L. Baum
gardner, Miss Helen R. Orr, W. H.
Coleman, Miss Mary C. Clare, Mrs.
Hugh W. Carr, Thomas H. Cullinan,
Daniel C. Donoghue, Harry A. De-
Walle, William Doy'.e, Joseph A. Don
nelly. Henry A. Dagit, V. Eisenberg,
A. L. Fatzpatrick, John E. Green,
Miss Anne G. Hannan. I. J. Horstman,
Mrs. Howard Jackson, Miss Mary
Kelly, Miss Marie Kavanagh, Miss
Marie Kelly, Mrs. Mary Kane, Fran
cis J. Meyers, Mrs. J. P. Mallon. John
R. P. McCloud, Dr. C. T. McCarthy,
Robert Juigley, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas
F. Slattery, Jos. C. Trainor, Mrs. Ed
ward C. Trainor, Mrs. Thompson, and
several others. An additional num
ber came by machine and in other
trains.
Among those who came to the in
stallation from Georgia cities outside
of Savannah were; J. J. Haverty, K.
S. G.. Miss May Haverty, Mr. and
Mrs. Bernard J. Kane, Mr. and Mrs.
Roland Murray. Mr. and Mrs. C. L.
McGowan, G. H. Rudolph, Mrs. A. L.
Winn. Mrs. Joseph N. Needham, Mrs.
C. W. Carver, Mrs. Fred Murphy,
Miss Elizabeth Murphy, Mrs. Emille
Manewaul and others from At
lanta; Miss Sarah Fahy, Rome;
J. J. McCreary, P. J. Cassidy,
R. F. Wynne, P. J. Cassidy,
and Mr. and Mrs. Wallace C. Shafer,
Macon; Alfred M. Battey, Andrew M.
Martin, K. M., Miss Pauline Martin.
Mrs. P H. Rice, Miss Anna Rice. Mr.
and Mrs. Richard P^eid, C. Victor
Markwalter, Julian O’Connor, Mrs.
F. X. Mulherin, Mrs. Joseph L. Her
man. Mrs. Marion Stulb, Joseph
Stulb, Augusta; State Deputy J. M.
Jones of the Knights of Columbus
and Mrs. Jones, Mrs. A. M. Ross, Mrs.
Joseph Mier, Mrs. Arthur P. Leotis.
Miss Catherine Olsen, Mrs. J. J. Far
rell, Mrs. J. C. Stiles, Mrs. A. V. Dor-
gan, Mrs. James Olsen, Brunswick,
and numerous others.
(Special to The Bulletin)
SAVANNAH, Ga. — 1910 Silver
Beaver Award, conferred by Chat
ham Area Council of the Boy
Scouts of America in recognition of
the most distinguished service for
Scouting in the Area, was presented
to John S. Robertson, Jr., president
of the Council, at the annual Boy
Scout banquet here January 16. This
is the highest award in Scouting ex
cept the Silver Buffalo, which goes
to a national leader.
Mr. Robertson has done splendid
work in the upbuilding of Scouting
in Chatham and adjacent counties;
his work as president was a contin
uation he previously did as chair
man of the rural counties commit
tee of the area council. This is the
second time in . the history of the lo
cal council that the award has been
made.
Mr. Robertson, in addition to
beading the Chatham Area Council,
is chairman of the Diocesan Com
mittee on Scouting appointed some
time ago by Bishop Keyes, and
which is functioning splendidly un
der Mr. Robertson’s leadership. It
is_ now engaged in a survey of the
Diocese to determine Catholic Boy
Scout potentialities. He was presi
dent of the Irish Friendly, Society
for several terms- is active in the
Catholic Association and the Knights
of Columbus, and was general
chairman of the 1925 convention
committee of the Catholic Laymen’s
Asosciation of Georgia which that
year met in Savannah.
SAVANNAH CATHOLIC BOYS
BECOME EAGLE SCOUTS
At the banquet at which Mr. Rob
ertson received the Silver Beaver
Award, two Eagle Scout badges
were presented, one to Siegvart J.
Robertson, the son of Mr. and Mrs.
Robertson, and the other to J. Val
entine Heller, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Henry B. Heller, active in Catholic
organization in Savannah. The Rev.
Paul Milde, G. S. B., chaplain of the
Diocesan Boy Scout Committee, was
a guest of honor at the banquet.
English Conversions
Again Exceed 12,000
2,018 More Children Bap
tized, 1,720 More Marriages
By GEORGE BARNARD
(London Corespondent, N.C.W.C.
News Service)
LONDON.—Conversion in England
and Wales during 1934 totalled 12.-
206. By an extraordinary coinci
dence the figure is exactly the same
as that for the previous year, though
the returns for each of the 18 dio-
cases were different.
There was an increase of 2,018 in
children’s baptisms, the new total
for the year being 65,223, and mar
riages increased by 1,724 to 24,486.
These and other statistics will be
given in the “Catholic Directory”
which will be published soon by
Burns, Oates and Washboume here.
The total Catholic population of
England and Wales is given as 2,-
335,890 in the new return.
(Special to The Bulletin)
SAVANNAH. Ga.—Mrs. Inez Mar
guerite Coleman, wife of Col. Shef
tall B. Coleman, widely known in
Catholic and other circles here, died
in December after an extended ill
ness. Mrs- Coleman was born in Sa
vannah and was a lifelong resident of
the city; she was an active member
of the Sacred Heart Parent-Teachers’
Association and of the Ladies Aux
iliary, A. O. H., and other organiza
tions. Surviving in addition to her
husband are two daughters. Miss Inez
Elizabeth Coleman and Miss Mar
guerite Rose Coleman; two sons,
Sheftall B- Coleman, Jr., and Mi
chael Joseph Coleman; her parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest W. Mickler; her
sister, Mrs. D. T. Parker, and her
brother, Ernest W. Mickler, Jr„ Sa
vannah. The funeral was held from
Sacred Heart Church, the Rev. Aloy-
sius Wachter, O. S. B., officiating at
the Requiem Mass. Interment was
in Cathedral Cemetery.
FUNERAL IN SAVANNAH OF
MSS MARY GALLAGHER
The Rev. Peter Trizzino. O. S. B..
of Sacred Heart Church, officiated at
the funeral of Miss Mary Ann Gal
lagher, who died in Savannah late in
December. Miss Gallagher was born
in Savannah 78 years ago, and is sur
vived by four nieces- Mrs- Teresa
Russell. Miss Katherine Hayes and
Miss Margaret Hayes, Savannah, and
Mrs- Joseph H. Black. Pensacola, Fla-
MISS MARY O’BRIEN OF
SAVANNAH- PARISH DIES
Miss Mary O’Brien, a member, of
a leading Savannah Catholic family-
died here in December after a short
illness. Miss O’Brien was the sister
of the late Joseph F. O’Brien, for
many years a business leader here,
and of Mrs. Kate C. Greene, Savan
nah. and William H. O'Brien, Tampa. ■
A native of Savannah, Miss O’Brien
was a member of Sacred Heart
Church, from which her funeral was
held, with interment in Cathedral -
Cemetery.
FUNERAL IN SAVANNAH
OF MRS. JERRY GEORGE
Hie funeral of Mrs. Theresa George,
a member of Sacred Heart Church,
was held from the parish church in
December with interment in Cathe
dral Cemetery. Mrs. George was the
wife of Mr- Jerry George and was
a native of Sorrento, Italy: she had
resided in Savannah most of her life-
Two brothers, Louis and Andrew
Aprea, Savannah, and five sisters in- :
eluding Mrs. John Porzio, of Savan
nah. survive.
MRS. JOHN F. GLEASON’S
SISTER DIES IN BROOKLYN
Friends of Mr. and Mrs. John F.
Gleason learned with regret of the
death in Brooklyn, N. Y„ of Mrs.
Agnes D. Smith, Mrs. Gleason’s sis
ter. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason attended
the funeral in Brooklyn, where Mrs.
Smith made her home.
MRS. LUCY HENNESSeY OF
CATHEDRAL PARISH DIES
Mrs. Lucy Hennessey, one of the
most widely known members of Ca
thedral Parish, died late in Decem
ber after a short illness. Mrs. Hen
nessey was the widow of the late
James Hennessey, and the mother of
James W- Hennessey. Jr„ John T.
Hennessey, and Mrs. Frank C, Mas-
thew- Surviving also are two grand
children, an uncle. John Downing.
Savannah, and two brothers, John J.
Downing and Sylvester Downing, and'
a sister, Mrs. Mary Bowler, of Cork,
Ireland. The Rev. Harold J. Barr
officiated at the Requiem Mass at
the Cathedral; interment was in Ca
thedral Cemetery.
SET0N HILL COLLEGE
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Pre-Medkine, Pre-Law, Teacher Training, Social Ser
vice, Degrees in Liberal Arts, Musk, Home Economics.
Accredited by the Association of American Universities,
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