Newspaper Page Text
Published by the
Catholic Lay
men’s Association
of Georgia
“To Bring About
a Friendlier 5
Feeling Among
Neighbors Irre
spective of Creed” ! •
Vol. XXV. No. 4
TWENTY-FOUR PAGES
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, APRIL 22, 1944
★ ★ ★
ISSUED MONTHLY—$2.00 A YEAR
Golden Jubilee of Belmont Abbey Cathedral
BELMONT ABBEY CATHEDRAL—One of the most inspiring and
impressive religious structures in the South is the Cathedral of Mary
Help of Christians, the seat of the Abbot-Ordinary of the Abbatio
Nullius of Belmont Abbey, Belmont, North Carolina, which reached
the fiftieth anniversary of its dedication on April 11. Its erection
was due largely to the diligent labor of the Benedictine Monks, who
contributed generously of their art and talents. Five richly orna
mented altars, beautiful mural decorations, costly paintings and
stained-glass windows which were awarded first prize at a World's
Fair enhance its magnificence, to which recent renovations and in
stallations have added new grandeur.
All Territory of Belmont Abbey Nullius, Excepting
Gaston County, Ceded on April 17 to Diocese of Raleigh
(Special to The Bulletin)
RALEIGH, N. C. — By a joint
action of the Diocese of Raleigh
and Belmont Abbey, a request was
sent to Rome seeking permission
for Belmont Abbey to turn over to
the Diocese of Raleigh seven of
the eight counties that comprise
the Abbatia Nullius. Such an un
usual request was necessary be
cause of the constant and increas
ing demand for professors for the
three outstanding schools at Bel
mont, Richmond, and Savannah
conducted by the Benedictine Fa
thers.
The relinquishing of the counties
of Burke, Catawba, Cleveland,
Lincoln, McDowell,, Polk, and
Rutherford, will thus enable those
burdened with their spiritual care
to give all their time to scholastic
pursuits, while the usual privileges
and prerogatives of an Abbatia
Nullius are preserved in Gaston
County.
There are three churches in the
relinquished territory: Hickory,
Shelby, and Tryon, and these in
the future will be manned either
by diocesan priests or such Reli
gious Communities as the Bishop
may elect to attach to these terri
tories.
These seven counties, which
are now an integral part of the
Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, em
brace a territory of 2,928 square
miles with a total population of
252,957 and a Catholic population
of approximately 300. The County
of Gaston remains under the spir
itual jurisdiction, of the Abbot of
Belmont Abbey, the Right Rever
end Vincent G. Taylor, O. S. B.,
who retains all the rights, honors,
an privileges of an Abbot Nullius.
Bishop McGuinness has com
pleted plans for the erection of the
following three parishes in the an
nexed territory: St. Mary’s Parish,
Shelby with the missions at Forest
City and Kings Mountain; St- Aloy-
sius’ Parish, Hickory, and its ad
jacent missions'at Morganton, Mar
ion, Newton, and Old Fort; St.
John’s Parish, Tryon, to which are
attached the missions located at
Lake Lure, Riitherfordton, and
Spindale.
PASTORS APPOINTED
The Reverend William T. Mc-
Shea, former pastor of Holy Name
Church, Vanceboro, has been ap
pointed pastor of St. Aloysius’ Par
ish, Hickory, and of the missions
attached to this parish. The Rever
end Walter F. Higgins, formerly
assistant at St. Benedict’s Church,
Greensboro, has been made pastor
of St. Mary's Church, Shelby; Fa
ther Higgins will reside at St.
John’s Rectory, Tryon, until a rec
tory is built at Shelby. The Rever
end Vincent J. Mahoney, assistant
at Infant of Prague Mission, Jack
sonville, has been appointed pas
tor of St. John’s Parish, Tryon.
N. C. VICARIATE ESTABLISHED
North Carolina was one of three
Southern States comprising the
Diocese of Charleston, South Car
olina, when that diocese was expect
ed on July 12, 1820 Pope Pius IX
established the Vicariate of North
Carolina on March 3, 1868, and he
appointed the Revei'end James, af
terwards Cardipdl Gibbons, the
first Vicar Apostolic. The Right
Reverend James Gibbons served in
that capacity until he was promot
ed to the archdiocesan See of Bal
timore in 1877. The population of
the State of North Carolina in 1870
was 552,657; the Catholic popula
tion of that time was approximate
ly 1,500 souls which were served
by seven priests; there were 13
churches and four parochial
schools. The other Vicars Apostol
ic of North Cai'olina wex - e: Most
Reverend John J. Keane, 1878 to
(Continued on Page Twenty)
EDIFICE DEDICATED
FIFTY YEARS AGO BY
CARDINAL GIBBONS
■ ‘ ;• ■ ■ t*
Formal Celebration of Anni
versary Observed April ^11
Has Been Postponed on Ac
count of Exigency of War-
Time Cnnditions
(Special to The Bulletin)
BELMONT, N. C.— April 11,
1944, mai'ked the fiftieth anniver
sary of the dedication of the Cath
edral of Belmont Abbey, which
was dedicated in 1894 by his
Eminence James Cai'dinal Gib
bous, at that time Archbishop of
Baltimore, who also delivered the
sermon at the Mass of dedication
which was celebrated by the Right
Reverend Leo Haid, O. S. B., D. D.,
the first Abbot of Belmont.
The Cathedral was dedicated to
the honor and glory of God under
the patronage of the Blessed Vir
gin, in her title as Mary, Help of
Christians.
Due to war conditions and the
difficulty incident to travel' for
mal celebration of the Cathedral's
Golden Jubilee has been postpon
ed, perhaps until after the war. In
the meantime, the completion of
the l-enovation and redecoration of
the Cathedral will continue as a
tribute to the half century of ser
vice to God which has been ren
dered through this beautiful struc
ture raisted in His honor and glory.
The Abbey Cathedral, the only
church of its kind in the United
States, is the seat of the Abbot-
Ordinary of Belmont Abbey Nul
lius diocese, the Rt. Rev. Vincent
G. Taylor, O. S. B.. D. D. The edi
fice is the abbatial chdrch of Bel
mont Monastery and, at the same
time the mother church of the dio
cese. This combination enjoyed by
no other church in this country, in
this sense, that, although there are
many cathedrals and many Abbey
churches, the Belmont church is
the only combination of the two,
making it an Abbey cathedral like
the famous churches of Europe—
for example, Canterbury, during
the Middle Ages.
Fifty years is but a short time
in the life of a Benedictine
chuxch, and very often it is twice
that age befoi-e it is liturgically
completed. As a monastic church,
where the appointments permit
the full expression of the sacred
functions, Belmont Abbey Cathe
dral has been unfinished these
many years. It lacked the choir
stalls for the monks to x'ecite the
divine office publicly; the sanc
tuary was not complete for the
full religious ceremonies.
Now, the choir stalls, a gift of
the Rev. Charles McGinley, of
Philadelphia, Pa., as a memorial
to his mother, have been placed,
and the sanctuary has been re
modeled and enlarged. Already the
monks of the Abbey are chanting
the divine office in the Cathedral
publicly and the students assist at
the community Mass, each morn
ing. The renovations of the sanc-
tuax'y, the pi-esence of the monk-
teachei's in their proper places,
give an atmosphere to the Abbey
Cathedral that inspires an ob
server.
BISHOP DEDICATES CROSS
OF PEACE ON SWISS PEAK
NEW YORK. — The Most Rev,
Victor Beiler, Bishop of Sion,
Switzerland, recently dedicated a
Cross of Peace which has been
erected on the Dom, the loftiest
peak in Swiss territory-
included in the party which
ascended the Dom to erect the
ci'oss, which is made of iron, wei'e
the Rev. Armin Breu, a Capuchin
priest of the Diocese of Sion, a
member of the Swiss Nationalist
or House of Representatives, a doc
tor and several alpinists.