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TEN
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
SEPTEMBER 19, 1936
St. Augustine 9 s First Bishop Heads Scientists
Prize Essay of Thomas Brenner, Jacksonville, in Florida
State Council, K. of C. Contest
“Bishop Verct, the First Bishop
of St. Augustine,” was the subject
of this year's essay contest spon
sored by the Florida State Coun
cil, Knights of Columbus, and
the contest was won by Themas
Brenner, seventeen years old, a
pupil in the eleventh grade of
St. Joseph’s Academy, Jackson
ville, Fla., conducted by the Sis
ters of St. Joseph; Sister Mcnica
was his teacher. This was the
eighth annual contest and was
open to the pupils of Catholic
high schools and academies in
the state and to Catholic pupils
of other high schools. The sub
ject was selected by the Most
Rev. Patrick Barry, D. D., Bishop
of St. Augustine, and the essays
were judged by Dr. A. J. Hanna
of the Department of History and
Government, Rollins College,
Winter Park, Fla. State Deputy
J. Herman Mauncy presented a
silver cup appropriately inscrib
ed to Mr. Brenner at exercises
at St. Joseph’s Academy. The
winning essay follows:
The political history and the re
ligious history of Florida have been
closely interwoven. Each has had
its fruitful and fruitless periods.
Ponce de Leon, accompanied by mis
sionaries was the flagbearer of
Christianity in Florida, and in his
wake came DeSoto, Menendez and
Luna ,all accompanied by missiona
ries and all imbued with the deter
mination to SDread Christianity on
this then uncivilized peninsula.
From 1513 to 1857 the jurisdiction of
the Church in Florida was under the
bishops of Spain, Santiago de Cuba,
Havana, St. Christopher, New Or
leans, St. Louis, Mobile and Charles
ton. During these changes very .little
could be done for the progress of re
ligion in Florida, because of its
great distance from the Episcopal
cities and hence, the Council of
Baltimore in 1857 appealed to Pius
IX to give it a Vicar Apostolic. He
appointed Father Augustine Verot.
AUGUSTINE VEROT was born in
LePuy, France in 1804. After finish
ing grammar school, he was sent to
the seminary of- St. Sulpice, Paris,
where he had as fellow-students.
Lacordaire and Depanloun. He was
ordained on September 20, 1828, and
shortly afterward was admitted in
to the Society of St. Sulpice. In
1830, he was sent to Baltimore, where
for several years he was professor
in St. Mary’s College and in the
seminary. Later, in 1852, he. was
sent to Ellieotts Mills. He was
chosen Vicar Apostolic of the newly
erected Vicariate of Florida in 1857
and was consecrated the following
year by Archbishop Kenrick.
When Bishop Verot first entered
his Vicariate, there were but three
priests within its boundaries, two at
St. Augustine and one at Jackson
ville.! He at once urged his people
to unite and erect small churches
where possible. He also encouraged
them to cultivate piety, especially
by joining religious organizations.
He promised every exertion to ob
tain priests to visit all stations regu
larly. The churches at St. Augus
tine. Key W’est and Fernandina were
repaired and new ones were built
the PaHtka. Tallahassee and Middle-
burg. He had schools for both sexes
built at St. Augustine. After much
effort, he obtained Sisters of Mercy
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who opened an Academy there. He
also built schools at other advan
tageous points throughout Florida.
After thus setting religion on the
road to recovery, Bishop Verot left
for France and returned in the same,
year 1859. He brought with him
priests. Brothers and additional Sis
ters' for the schools. A church was
erected at Mandarin and a priest
was appointed to attend that station
and St. John’s Beach. . The latter
church was soon destroyed by a hur
ricane.
IN 1861 the Vicariate, poor as it
was, sent its tribute to Peter’s Pence
to Rome, thereby drawing a touch
ing and grateful letter from the Holy
Father.
Meanwhile the See of Savannah
was left vacant and Bishop Verot
was transferred to that Diocese. At
that time he was in Baltimore get
ting help for the Florida missions.
He accepted this position reluctant
ly and on September 15, 1861, he took
his new diocese, remaining, however.
Vicar Apostolic of Florida.
From September 16, 1861, until 1S70
when he gave up the Diocese of Sa
vannah for that of St. Augustine
Bishop Verot had his hands full
traveling all over the Diocese of Sa
vannah and Vicariate of Florida. lie
was on the go almost every day.
making continuous trips to St. Au
gustine, Mandarin, Jacksonville, Tal
lahassee, Tampa. Key West and
other small settlements throughout
Georgia. From time to time he con
firmed peonle in these cities. On
many occasions he had to say Mass
in private houses, there being no
church in many small places. He
opened retreats in the two states
and even preached at one in Ala
bama.
IN NOVEMBER, 1863, Bishop Verot
issued a peace pastoral, saying that
the Pope had granted a plenary in
dulgence to all who would receive
Communion and Dray for peace. He
introduced in December, 1863, for
the first time, the devotion of the
Forty Hours, which took place dur
ing the last three days of a Novena
in honor of the Immaculate Concep
tion.
The frightful condition of the Fed
eral prisoners in Andersonville
aroused Bishop' Verot’s sympathy,
and he sent Father Whelan and
Father Clavreul to attend to them.
In 1864 Bishop Verot and his Vicar
General went to Andersonville.
where they helped with the care of
the prisoners, administering the last
Sacraments to many of them.
On June 10, 1865, Bishop Verot
made his second trip to Europe. He
arrived in Paris on June 23. He vis
ited Rome, where he obtained an
audience with the Holv Father and
then visited De Prey, his birthplace.
Here he arranged for a colony of
the Sisters of St. Joseph to settle in
Florida the following spring. He re
turned to Savannah in Seotember.
He made a visitation of Florida in
December, this time going to Key
West, where he visited Fort Jeffer
son, and heard confessions of the
prisoners, especially that of Dr.
Mudd, who was in orison for at
tending the wounds of Wilkes Booth,
assassinator of President Lincoln.
Father McVann Records His
Press Exhibit Impressions
Paulist Father Stationed in Rome Finds Internationa]
Catholic Press Exposition a Panorama of the
Catholic World
The following interesting article
on the International Catholic
Press Exhibit at Vatican C'ty
which brings the exhibit to the
readers of The Bulletin in vivid
fashion was written by the Rev.
James P. McVann, C.S.P., of the
Church of Santa Susanna, which
serves particularly the English-
speaking Catholics in the Eter
nal City. Father McVann, whose
home is in New' York, is a warm
friend of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia and of The
Bulletin, and has been over an
extended period of years.
Rev. L. H. Tibesar, M.M., pastor
of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs
Church, for Japanese in Seattle,
and former pastor at Dairen,
Manchuria, who was elected presi
dent of the Catholic Anthropo
logical Conference at eleventh
•annual meeting of that society-
just held in New' York City. /
Mrs. Mary Reynolds
Dies in Savannah
IN FEBRUARY, 1867. he returned
to Savannah and in April he went
on a begging tour through Rhode
Island and Connecticut. He then
went to Key West by boat, then to
Savannah and back to St. Augustine
in July. In 1869, he made his third
trip to Europe, where he attended
the Ecumenical Council, which de
clared the infallibility of the Pope.
On his return he was given the
choice between the well developed
Diocese of Savannah and the newly-
erected Diocese of St. Augustine.
Realizing the greater need in the
Florida Diocese, he took St. Augus
tine, where he had to labor more
than if he had taken Savannah.
After Lent he made his first visi
tation of Florida, as Bishop. Look
ing to the betterment of education
he asked the school commission to
recognize the Catholic schools and
have them supported by taxes, but
his efforts failed.
In February. 1873, the Sisters of
St. Joseph opened a convent in Man
darin. and in May of this same year
the Church in Jacksonville was ded
icated.
Bishop Verot again toured Florida
in 1874. This was one of his last
trios through his Diocese. In June,
1875 he visited Miami and admin
istered Confirmation in that city. In
May he made his fourth and last
visit to Europe, and returned that
same year.
IN 1876 Bishop Verot’s health fail
ed, but remained cheerful, no one
suspected any immediate danger.
However, after saying Mass on June
10, he breathed his last so suddenly
that there was no opportunity to
administer Extreme Unction or to
recite prayers for the dying. Thus
passed one of the most zealous pi
oneers of the Catholic religion in
Florida.
Besides laying a foundation for
Catholicity in Florida, Augustine
Verot also did much for the mater
ial welfare of the state. He was
among the first to recognize and to
back Florida’s claim on a health re
sort, and was untiring in his efforts
to promote education, building a
number of schools throughout the
state.
This era of progress inaugurated
by Bishop Verot has continued un
der the administration of his succes
sors, Bishop Moore, Bishop Kenny,
Bishop Curley and the present
Bishop of this Diocese, Bishop Bar
ry.
(Special to The Bulletin)
SAVANNAH, Ga.—Mrs. Mary Har
ney Reynolds, widow of John M.
Reynolds, died here late in August
after an illness of several months.
Mrs. Reynolds was a native of Au
gusta and had lived most of her life
in Savannah. Surviving are two sons,
John M. Reynolds, Atlanta. and
Steven Reynolds, Jacksonville, six
daughters, Miss Margaret Reynolds,
Mrs. George N. Paul, Mrs. D. L. Mc
Clellan. Miss Theresa Reynolds and
Miss Elizabeth Reynolds, Savannah,
and Miss Sarah Reynolds, Atlanta,
and 11 grandchildren- The funeral
was held from Sacred Heart Church
with a Requiem Mass; interment was
in Cathedral Cemetery.
MRS. ELLEN LUNCEFORD OF
CATHEDRAL PARISH DIES
Mrs. Ellen Lunceford. widow of
Joseph G. Lunceford. died here re
cently after an extended illness. Mrs.
Lunceford was born in Atlanta, Sep
tember 22, 1861, and had lived here
for a number of years.
Suriviving are her dauhgter. Mrs.
Cora DuFour. Savannah; her son,
William Robert Lunceford, Savannah;
two grandsons, and several sisters and
brothers, including Mrs. John Jones,
and Mrs. Rubin Arnold, Atlanta. The
funeral was held from the Cathedral
of St. John the Baptist with inter-
fent in Laurel Grove Cemetery.
MRS. CARRIE WHITE
DIES IN SAVANNAH
The Rt. Rev. Msgr. Jos. D Mitchell,
V. G., officiated at the funeral of
Mrs. Carrie White, who died here,
after a short illness. Mrs. White is
survived by her husband, J. A.
White, her son, J. A. White, Jr., and
two brothers, Edward Parker, of Au
gusta and George Parker, of Savan
nah.
BENJAMIN MALAGUIS
OF BROOKLYN DIES
The Rev. Harold J- Barr, of the
Cathedral, officiated at the funeral
of Benjamin Malaguis. of Brooklyn,
who dide here late in August. Inter
ment was in Laurel Cemetery.
Victor Hugo made one of his char
acters say that the press would slay
the Church. Set m the heart of the
Vatican is an exhibit that gives the
lie to his prophecy. For it is the
purpose of the World Exposition cf
the Catholic Press to show that the
Church has turned this mighty en
gine of our age to the noblest ser
vice, the furthering of the Kingdom
of God cn earth.
The Holy Father spared no pains
to give this exposition the best set
ting. You go into the territory of
the Vatican City by the St. Anne
Gate, pass the Swiss guard, the post-
office and telegraph station, turn to
the right just short of the entrance,
to the Cortile of Saint Damasus, go
up the hill a hundred yards to a
building that Baedeker does not list,
for it was put up for the occasion.
C. J. Mueller, Jr., of
Macon Parish Dies
(Special To The Bulletin)
MACON, Ga. — Curt James Muel
ler, Jr., assistant manager of the Ma
con office of Canada Dry, Inc., died
here early in September from burns
sustained when a kettle of boiling
water he was removing from the
stove at his home tipped and splash
ed the water over him.
Born in Macon 23 years ago, the son
of Mr. and Mrs. Curt James Mueller,
he was educated at the local schools
and attended Mercer University for
a year. He then entered the Jesuit
novitiate at St. Charles College,
Grand Coteau, to study for the priest
hood, but ill health forced his retire
ment after two years. He later became
connected with the Canada Dry cor
poration. His father is superintendent
of the dye and finishing plants of the
Bibb Manufacturing Co.
The funeral was held from St. Jo
seph’s Church, Father Peter McDon
nell, S. J., pastor, officiating- Inter
ment was in St. Joseph’s Cemetery.
Surviving Mr. Mueller, who was an
active member of the Knights of Co
lumbus and the Shamrock Club, are
his parents, two brothers, Herman
and James Mueller, an uncle, Robert
McCreary, Birmingham, Ala., three
aunts, Mrs. N. Fogarty. Mrs. R. H.
Elliott and Miss Lena Mae McCreary,
Macon. _ „ _ , .
From the entrance you can see
Rome, its Campagna setting and the
half-girdle of mountains beyond.
Someone may grumble that up-hili
and a walk are not the best introduc
tion to an exhibit. But the planner
of the show needed"sunshine and air
for his items, not to be had huddled
away in a comer under the Leonine
Wall. He (and the he in this case is
the Pope) put his building on the
open space before the Little Court
of the Pinecone, one of the choicest
spots in the tiny papal domain, and
(as any lover of art will tell you) set
down amid the array of Museum gal
leries.
In the heart of-the lobby stands a
miniature galleon, perhaps ten feet
long, four feet abeam, eight or nine
feet to the pannants, all made of
aluminum, spouting water from every
gun, ■ mast, yardarm, that falls back
into a pool rimmed with aquatic
plants. On the walls raised letter
ing tells the place of the press in the
world and in the church.
To Read the Paper Means to
Think With Mankind and Feel
With Mankind and Feel W.th
Every Man’s Heart.
The Condition of the Press is a
Sign of the Feelings of a Country.
The Journalist Has a Public,
Highly Civil Ministry, Which
May Rise to the Loftiness of the
Priesthood.
Before entering the exhibition rooms
one must pass through a stanza dedi
cated to St. Francis de Sales, heaven
ly patron of the Catholic Press, whose
likeness looks down from a stained
window. Next to it is an inscrip
tion which, if it did not come from
the pen of Pius XI, certainly speaks
his mind:
“However one strives towards
the triumph of the Catholic cause,
this will never be achieved if the
press, which is the principal
means, is forgotten, The Catholic
who does not protect, help, de
fend, and make known the Catho
lic Press, may be pious, but he
does not take into account the
times in which he lives, nor has
he reached the stage to sec clear
ly the present hour”.
No harassed circulation manager
could plead the cause of his paper
more eloquently than that.
Now for a general idea of the con
tents, with her and there an observa
tion. First come two rooms which
might be labeled “Before” and :‘Afte-
”. One is an ancient monastic
writing-room, just the sort of cubicle
where books were copied slowly by
hand; the other a likeness of John
Gutenburg’s press, faithful even to
the sheets hanging on lines to dry.
In the next group of halls the visi
tor is instructed by char,t picture and
running commentary the development
of printing, its present scope, the
number of readers in the world, the
way a newspaper is run. Despite in
roads of the radio and the movies, the
printed word still is king, as one
comparative table shows: Radio has
fifty million listeners in the world,
movies claim thirty million fans,
newspapers two hundred million
readers.
The Catholic Press is grouped by
nations, and to each nation is as
signed a hall, large or small accord
ing to its needs. Holland has easily
the best display. Its great Catholic
daily, “De Maashode”, forms the
center of a vast journalistic enter
prise that makes the Catholicism of
Holland the most vigorous in the
world. Belgium comes next for the
attractivensss of its display, though
the chief touch is not one of journali-
ism; it is . the half-veiled portrait of
Queen Astrid . Austria ranks after
that. The country may be political
ly a plaything of European diplomacy,
but religiously it is vibrant with
Catholic aettivity.
Conspicuous for its absence is Ger
many. Recent decrees have all but
wiped out a once powerful Catholic
press in that country, and the govern
ment forbade any participation in the
Vatican Exhibit. Italy has a heavily
stocked room, a paper for almost
every one of its twohundred and
more dioceses,, as well as other sheets
for special activities. “Pro Familia”
is best-known of these. France, too,
has many papers, greatest of all be
ing the Paris “La Croix”, which ac
cording to some recent statements has
the largest mailing list of any paper
in the world.
Readers of “The Bulletin” will be
anxious to know how well the United
States is represented. In answer,
let it be known tha t the Holy
Father assigned it the largest room of
the exhibit. On one wall is set forth
the great news service set up by the
National Catholic Welfare Conference,
which from agencies on six continents
serves the Catholic and some other
papers of the land. On the opposite
wall are ranged the papers, magazines
and specialized periodicals of Ameri
ca. .Due to some misunderstanding,
‘‘The Bulletin”, like a mischievous
boy in a panoramic picture, pops up
in several places: but we know that
the Laymen’s Association will not
mind the additional advertsing in the
least.
After the various nations of all the
continents show their wares, we pass
into rooms given to particular enter
prise: Missions, Education, Catholic
Action, Youth, Labor, Church Exten
sion. Downstairs is a little theatre
where movies are projected showing
the activities of the Catholic Press.
Sorry to say, our Dutch friend “Dc
Maasbode”, seems to have the corner
on that. We knew that with some
energy and intelligence a splendid fif
teen-minute short could be assembled
showing the achievements of the
American Catholic Press—fifteen feet
of Mr. Reid rejecting this manuscript,
for example.
All these exhibition halls and rooms
center about a large throne room
which Pope Pius XI uses for recep
tions when he visits the exhibit. It is
simple to the extreme: a throne on a
dais, two walls hung with famous
tapestries designed by Raffaele (his
Nativity and Resurrection), over the
throne a superscription in blocked let
ters “Inerranti Veritatis Magistro
Veritatis Anna Deduntur”—“To the
unerring teacher of truth are given
the weapons of truth”. And at the
other end of the room, just where
one returns to begin his review of all
the press activities of the Catholic
world, rises another inscription that
is at once their description and pur
pose. and the purpose of the great
exhibition;
Here are the countless _ organs
in various tongues and voices, all
exalting Christ, the Way, the
Truth, and the Life.
F. and W. Grand
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97 Whitehall St. S. W.
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Atlanta, Ga.
B. S. DOBBS, President
G. C. ARMSTRONG, Vice President
D. E. WILLIAMS, Sec. and Gen. Mgr.
ARMSTRONG AND DOBBS, Inc.
COAL and COKE
COTTON GINNING
BAGGING and TIES
Athens, Georgia