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FOURTEEN
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
APRIL 22, 1944
Benedictine Fathers Have Served
in North Carolina Since 1876
Rector of Belmont
Abbey Seminary
BELMONT, N. C.—In 1875, the
monastery of St. Vincent in Penn
sylvania received two offers of
fields for future labor, one that
of a Western university, fully es
tablished guaranteed, and with
bright prospects; the other a wil
derness plantation in Gastonia, N.
C. Both offers were laid before
the Abbey Chapter. North Caro
lina and its poverty appealed to
the big-hearted Arch-Abbot Boni
face; it won. In 1876 the Benedic
tines came to North Carolina, the
most thoroughly non-Catholic state
in the Union. The establishment
of even a mission seemed impos
sible.
The monks occupied a rough log
cabin. Under the direction of
Father Julius, O. S. B., they erect
ed a frame chapel, erected to Mary
Help of Christians, and then com
pleted a small brick school.
In 1884 Pope Leo XIII approv
ed the work of these struggling
North Carolina Benedictines by
agreeing with St. Vincent Arch-
Abbey that Belmont should be
made independent. Although St.
Vincent itself needed men, Arch-
Abbot Boniface called for volun
teers for North Carolina. Several
responded. They met, and chose
as their Abbot, Father Leo Huid,
O. S. B.. who was blessed at the
Cathedral i n Charleston o n
Thanksgiving Day in 1885 by the
Rt. Rev. Henry P. Northrop, D. D.,
Bishop of Charleston. On May 4,
of the following year, 1886, Abbot
Leo laid the cornerstone of the
new St. Mary's College, and re
built and enlarged the frame
chapel.
On December 7, 1887, word was
received that Abbot Leo had been
appointed Vicar-Apostolic of North
Carolina and Titular Bishop of
Messene. a report confirmed by
Archbishop Gibbons, of Balti
more. Archbishop Gibbons conse
crated Bishop Haid at Baltimore
July 1, 1888, with Bishop Northrop
of Charleston and Bishop Becker
of Savannah as co-consecrators. He
was enthroned by Cardinal Gib
bons July 14 in the Pro-Cathedral
at Wilmington succeeding three
of the most illustrious men in the
history of the American Church,
Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop
Keane of Dubuque and Bishop
Northrop. There were in the state
at that time but 12 churches and
six priest* to serve 52,250 square
miles of territory. Now there are
48 priests, 63 churches and mis
sions; two orphan asylums, four
hospitals, twelve parochial schools,
two academies for young men and
a seminary, illustrating the growth
of Catholicity in the state during
the past third of a century.
In 1894 (he Catherdal Abbey
was dedicated by Cardinal Gib
bons. It is due largely to the dili
gent labors of the monks them
selves. Five richly ornamented al
tars, beautiful mural decorations,
costly paintings and stained glass
windows which carried off first
prize at the World’s Fair consti
tute part of its equipment.
Other Duildings erected include
ttie monastery, three stories in
height, with a beautiful monastic
chapel, and a large chapter room,
quarters of the Abbot, study halls
and rooms for monks, and one of
the finest libraries in the state;
the college at right angles to it,
one of the most modernly equipped
institutions in the South, with
classrooms, dining hall, laboratory,
reading rooms, recreation rooms,
student quarters, and gymnasium
and music hall. South of the Col
lege, erected at the cost of $40,-
000, and which contains a drama
tic hall, recreation parlors, music
rooms, painting, typewriting and
athletic rooms, including a mod
ern gymnasium. The Abbey is a
city in iteself, with ils own power
house, farms which supply the
bulk of the food used, and other
accessories.
Belmont Abbey has the distinc
tion of being only Abbey Nullius
or Cathedral Abbey in the United
States, a dignity to which it was
raised in 1910, when Pope Pius X
withdrew eight counties, Gaston,
Catawba, Burke, Cleveland, Lin
coln, McDowell, Polk and Ruth
erford, from the Vicariate oi
North Carolina, and formed them
into a separate Diocese of BcN
mont Cathedral Abbey.
Belmont Abbey is represented
in the Diocese of Raleigh at St.
Peter's Church in Charlotte; in
the Diocese of Richmond at St.
Benedict's Church and Benedic
tine High School, in Richmond,,
and in the Diocese of Savannah-
Atlanta, at Sacred Church and
Benedictine Military School in
Savannah.
A territory, thus separated from
any Diocese and attached to an
Abbey under the rule of an Abbot
is called an Abbey Nullius. The
jurisdiction of Abbot Nullius ex
tends over the faithful and clergy
which form the Diocese of the Ab
bey.
An Abbot Nullius has the same
ordinary powers and obligations
as a residential Bishop in his own
Diocese. If he is blessed, even if
ho may not have the episcopal
consecration, he can, when neces
sary, consecrate churches ar.d
fixed altars, and within his own
territory and during his term of
office, impart all the blessings re
served to Bishops except the pon
tifical; he can consecrate chal
ices, patents and portable altars,
with oils blessed by a Bishop;
grant indulgences of fifty days;
administer Confirmation and con
fer clerical tonsure and four
minor orders on his own subjects,
even secular, and on others show
ing the requisite dismissiorial let
ters.
An Abbot Nullius also has the
right to assist at the General
Councils of the Church, and the
right to a decisive vote therein, lie
can impart the Papal Blessing with
a plenary indulgence in his terri
tory but only on one of the more
solemn feasts of the year.
In his own territory, an Abbot
Nullius, even when not a Bishop,
uses the pontifical vestments with
throne and canopy and may law
fully hold divine services there
according to the pontifical rite.
He wears the pectoral cross, the
ring, and the violet zuchetto often
when he is outside his territory.
Included in the Abbatio Nullius
of Belmont, in addition to the Ab
bey Cathedral have been St.
Michael’s Church, Gastonia; St.
Aloysius Church, Hickory; St.
Mary’s Church, Shelby, and St.
John’s Church, Tryon.
With the transfer of Catawba,
Cleveland, Burke, Lincoln, Mc
Dowell, Polk and Rutherford coun
ties from the Abbatio Nullius to
the Diocese of Raleigh, only the
Cathedral parish in Belmont and
St| Michael’s parish in Gastonia,
will remain under the jurisdiction
of the Abbey.
Educational institutions of the
Abbey Nullius include the Bel
mont Abbey Seminary and Bel
mont Abbey College, the Sacred
Heart College and Academy, and
St. Leo’s Preparatory School for
small boys, which like the col
lege and academy, are conducted
by the Sitsers of Mqrcy, in Bel
mont. St. Michael's Parochial
School, Gastonia, which is also a
Sisters' school, will now be within
the extended limits of the Diocese
of Raleigh.
There is also at Belmont, St.
Benedict’s School, for colored chil
dren.
MARRIAGES
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JAMISON-MEEM
FATHER BERNARD
The Rev. Bernard Rosswog, O. S.
B , former Dean of Men at Bel
mont Abbey College, Belmont, N.
C., was appointed Rector of Bel
mont Abbey Seminary last fall.
Father Bernard, a native oi’
Erie, Pa„ attended Belmont Abbey
College and St. Benedict’s College,
Atchifeon, Kans. After his ordina
tion in 1937, he matriculated at the
(Satholic University, where he
earned a Licentiate in Theology in
1939 and a Doctorate in 1941. While
at Catholic University he was as
sistant Dean of Men, and before
being named Dean at Belmont Ab
bey College, he taught theology in
the seminary and Latin, philosophy
and mathematics in the college.
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ATLANTA. Ga. — Miss Eleanor
Eastbourne Meem, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Harry Grant Meem, of
Washington, D. C.,( and Captain
Cecil Alexander Jamison, U. S.
Marine Corps, were married re
cently at St. Thomas the Apostle
Church, in Washington, the Rev.
Joseph M Moran officiating.
Captain Jamison, the son of
Mrs. Florence Jamison and the
late Rev. Christopher Alexander
Jamison, for rnor6 than forty
years a minister of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, is de
scended from the Mann, Mitchell
and Davis families of Georgia and
Carolina on his maternal side, and
from the Jamisons, Dukes and Is
bells, of Carolina, on his paternal
side. Mrs. Jamison is a descend
ant of Chancellor Robert Living
ston, of New York, who adminis
tered the oath of office to George
Washington, first President of the
United States. She also numbers
among her ancestors the Carrolls
of Maryland and the Lamars of
Georgia.
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| IIENDRICKS-SMITH
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CHARLESTON, S. C. — Miss
Mildred Smith, daughter of Mrs
Katherine Smith and the late Al
lison Henry Smith, and Mr. James
Walter Hendricks, Jr,, son of Mr.
and Mrs. J. W- Hendricks, were
married on March 25 in the rec
tory of the Sacred Heart Church,
the Rev. Henry F. Wolfe officiat
ing.
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GAY-JABALEY
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GRABER-TEACHEY
Rector of Belmont
Abbey College
FLORENCE, S. C. -- Mr. and
Mrs. C. S. Teachey, of Florence,
anounce the rparriage of their
daughter. Miss Agnes Teachey, to
Lieut. Charles David Graber, Jr.,
U. S. O., in the chapel of the Pre
sidio, San Francisco, Cal , Chap
lain'George J.'Zentgraf officiat
ing.
Lieutenant Graber is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Graber,
of Pomeroy, Ohio.
LAGRANGE, Ga, — Announce
ment has been made of the mar
riage of Miss Lena Jabaley, daugh
ter of Mrs. Charles Jabaley and
the late Mr. Jabaley, to Mr. Sid
ney Gay, of the United States
Army, and Wrens, Ga., at St. An
thony's Chrch in Atlanta, the Right
Rev. Msgr. Joseph F. Croke offi
ciating.
MURPHY-GATTIS
ATLANT, Ga.—Mr- and Mrs. W.
M. Gattis announce the marriage
of their daughter, Miss Marcia
Gattis, to Mr. Frank Kirby Mur
phy, son of the late Mr. and. Mrs.
John Patrick Murphy, on March
28, in the rectory of St. Anthony’s
Church, the III. Rev. Msgr. Joseph
Croke officiating.
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I KENNKDY-BRUMBELOE
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A 1 LA NT A, Ga.—Miss Dorothy
Lee Brumbeloe, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. J. B. Brumbeloe, and Mr.
William ICnnerd Kennedy, of Es-
canaba, Mich., were married at the
rectory of he Sacred Heart Church,
the Rev. F. M.- Perry officiating.
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BROWN-SMITHERS
—O
Miss Laura
of
CHARLESTON LION’S CLUB
HEARS FATHER MCCARTHY
CHARLESTON, S. C.—Religion
and the family »unit are the twlb
strong bases of society that can
not be displaced by present-day
distractions if the future genera
tions are to maintain their integ
rity, the Rev. John J. McCarthy,
assistant pastor of the Cathedral
of St. John the Baptist told mem
bers of the Lions Club, at then-
meeting on April 10 at the Fran
cis Marion Hotel, at which he
was the guest speaker-
FATHER BEDE
In 1942, the Rev. Bede Lightner,
O. S. B., who had been a member
of the faculty for seven years, was
appointed Rector of Belmont Ab
bey College. A native of McKees
port, Pa., Father Bede began his
collegiate study at the schoool of
which he is now Rector, completing
his study for the priesthood at St.
Vincent’s Archabbey in Latrobe,
Pa., the Catholic University of
America, and Belmont Abbey Sem
inary- He was ordained to the
priesthood in 1941, and though one
of the younger members of the
Benedictine community at Bel
mont, his scholarship and admin
istrative ability ably fit him for the
position of responsibility which he
holds.
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RALEIGII, N. C. „
Elizabeth Smithers, daughter
Mr. and Mrs Joseph Smithers, of
Harrisburg, Pa., and Lieut. Jeffer
son O. T. Blown, son of Mr. and
Mrs. J. O. Brown, of this county,
were married in a post chapel at
Camp Pickett, Va„ Chaplain Thom
as J. Donnelly officiating.
1 CIAMBERLANO-CALHOUN P
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DILLON, S. C- — Miss Viola
Marie Calhoun, of Oklahoma City,
and Corporal Carlo John Ciamber-
lano, of the Raleigh-Durham Air
Base and Philadelphia, were mar
ried March 30 in the reception
room of St. Louis Hospital here
the Rev. Charles J. Baum, chap
lain of tli hospital, and pastor of
St. Louis Church, officiating.
WALLAU-HUGULEY
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SILL-PARKS
ATLANTA, Ga. — Miss Bettye
Sill, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
R. Hodges Sill, and Ensign Charles
H- Parks, son of Mr. and Mrs. E.
S. Parks, of Charlotte, N. C., were
married recently at the Sacred
Heart Church here.
ATLANTA, Ga.—Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Mason Huguley announce
the marriage of their daughter,
Miss Mary Susan Huguley, to Capt.
Alex Lee Wallau, Jr., of Harri
son, N. Y., and Fort Benning,
Ga., at the Cathedral of Christ
the King, the Rt Rev. Msgr. Jo
seph E. Moylan officiating.
BROUGHTON-HARMON
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ADEIMY-SIIEALY
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COLUMBIA, S. C.—Miss Elea
nor Louise Shealy, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. A. If Shealy, of Lit
tle Mountain and West Columbia,
and Lieut. Thomas Edward Adei-
my, U. S. Army, of Cheraw, were
married on March 21 at the rec
tory of the Cathedral of St John
the Baptist in Charleston, the Rev
John J. McCarthy officiating.
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SAVANAH, Ga.—Mr. and Mrs.
E. C. Harmon announce the mar
riage of their daughter, Miss
Teresa Grace Harmon, and Mr.
Herbert Eugeen Broughton, on
April 1, at St. Paul's Church, in
Birmingham, Ala., the Right Rev-
Msgr. Eugene Sands, D. D., of
ficiating.
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BOLL-POPE
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ST \ ALOYSIUS CHURCH, HICKORY, N. C.—Dedicated on September 25, 1938, by the Right Rev Vin
cent Taylor, O. S B D. D„ Abbot-Ordinary of Belmont, St. Aloysius Church, Hickory, North Carolina,
was erected largely through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Doris and Mrs. P. J. Vaughan
parents and aunt of the Rev. Sebastian Doris, O. S. B., who has served as pastor of St. Aloysius’ since
its dedication. , #
BRUNSWICK, Ga.—Miss Eu
genia Pope, of New York and
Washington, D. C., daughter of
Mrs. Stanley Strenks, of Evanston,
111., and Mr. George Boll, of Sea
Island, Ga., were married recently
in the Lady Chapel of St. Patrick’s
Cathedral in New York City, the
Rev. Joseph A. Cahill officiating.
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FISHER-SHERIDAN
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RALEIGH, N. C—-Miss Patricia
Anne Sheridan, of Raleigh, daugh
ter of Dr. and Mrs. John M. Sheri
dan, of Berlin, N. H., and Lieut.
Edmond Joseph Fisher, spn of Mr.
and Mrs. Edward A. Fisher, of Ja
maica Plains, Mass., were married
on April 11 at the Sacred Heart
Cathedral, the Very Rev. Msgr. J.
Lennox Federal officiating.
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GODBOLD-IIAYNES
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SAVANNAH, Ga.—Miss Eliza
beth Mary Haynes, daughter of
Mrs. C- A. Burnside, and William
Frank Godbold, U. S. N. R., son
of Mrs. Anne Godbold, were mar
ried on April 8 at the Cathedral of
St. John the Baptist, the Right
Rev. Msgr. T. James McNamara
officiating.
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KANE-DAVENPORT
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BRUNSWICK, Ga.—Miss Fran
ces Josephine Davenport, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. C. L- Daven
port, of St. Simon’s Island, and
Ensign Eugene Cannon Kane, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Clayton
Kane, of Kansas City, Mo., were
married at St. William’s Chapel, on
St. Simon's Island, the Rev. Jos
eph J. Uobeck, S. M., officiating.