Newspaper Page Text
MAY 31, 1945
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LA YMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
THREE
Saturday Evening Post
Article Tells Story of
Chaplain Hoffman
(B.v N. C. W. C. News Service)
PHILADELPHIA. — A graphic
account of the experiences of the
Itev. Albert J. Hoffman, U. S.
Army chaplain,'and the ideals for
which he labored in the present
.war, written by Jack Alexander,
appears in a recent issue of The
Saturday Evening Post, published
here.
Father Hoffman, a priest of the
Archdiocese of Dubuque, is now
assistant chaplain at Percy Jones
General Hospital, Battle Creek.
Mich. He has received the Silver
Star and the Distinguished Ser
vice Cross for gallantry in action,
and the Purple Heart tor a wound
which resulted in the loss of'a leg
when he stepped on a German
mine in Italy.
In his article entitled "He's Our
Guy.'' Mr. Alexander state that
many army men refer to Father
Hoffmann as “the Father Duffy
of (his war," because his insist
ence on performing other than his
regular duties "got him into tight
spots repeatedly and made him a
legend or the hard-hit 34th Divi
sion.”
Mr. Alexander % states that Fa-
Iher Hoffman justified the extra
risk? he took on the ground that
“the,! unaided wounded lying out
in the field had the highest call
upon the chaplain’s services.”
“Father Hoffmann"’ the author
writes, 'although a quiet, unbel-
ligefent man, simply had a front
line temperatment. And the front
line troops throughout the regi
ment would tell one another: ‘He’s
our guy.’ They thought of him as
a personal possession, the way
they thought of a good combat
officer.”
Noting that the locale where Fa
ther Hoffman administered to the
wounded was usually a ditch or a
position behind a rock, Mr. Alex
ander continues: “If the wounded
man was a Protestant, the chap
lain recited the Lord’s Prayer
with him. Then he would have the
man repeat, after him, acts, of
lailh, hope, charity and contri
tion. After that, if there was time,
lie recited from memory a few of
the Psalms — 'anything,' as lie
put s it now, ‘that would take I he
kid’s mind back to liis home con
gregation.” For Jewish soldiers he
also recited Psalms and other
passages from tlie Old Testament.”
Touching briefly on Father Hoff
man’s life as assistant pastor at
Sacred Heart parish in Dubuque,
the author tells how the young cu
rate “said Masses, called on the
sick, taught in the parish school,
helped run bazaars and parish din
ners, coached baseball and foot
ball. directed boys' and girls’
choirs, and acted as chaplain to
the Boy Scout Troop.” In this, he
writes, Father Hoffman resem
bled the young priest portrayed by
Bing Crosby in “Going My Way.”
The rest of Mr. Alexander’s
narrative is devoted to bristling
accounts of Father Hoffman’s
bravery under fire. He describes
him day after day, as recklessly
“crawling out, caring for the
wounded and policing the field of
'lie dead.” He tells how the Du
buque priest developed malaria
and, ignoring the doctor’s orders
to remain in sick bay, continued
his work, winding up successive
weeks of misery and horror with
"three Masses on Sunday for dif
ferent battalions located 40 miles
apart."
World
SAILOR FROM GEORGIA
PRAISES HEROISM OF
CHAPLAIN O’CALLAGHAN
(Special to The Bulletin)
ATLANTA, Ga.—“There was
only one man on the Franklin wlic
stayed really calm within himself,
and that was Chaplain O'Callaghan
—the bravest man I've ever
known,” was the tribute paid
Lieut. Comdr. Joseph T. O'Cal
laghan, S. J., Catholic chaplain of
the aircraft carrier which suffered
severe damage from enemy bombs
off the coast of Japan, by Fireman
First Class Bill Reeves, of Luth-
ersville, Ga., in an interview pub
lished in The Atlanta Constitution.
The young sailor, who is home
on leave, told the interviewer that
“even Captain Gehres told us latei
that he was scared all the way
down to his shoes, but Chaplain
O'Callaghan was calm the whole
time. He did everything and seem
ed to be everywhere at once, fight
ing fire, helping _lhe wounded,
saving a comforting word to those
who needed it Yes, he is the
bravest man 1 have ever known.”
And the reviewer commented,
that when a sailor says a man is
brave, he means it.
‘ •' :• • jtm
STRIIvEN CARRIER, AXD ITS HERO CHAPLAIN Hit hv Tononoc . .
the gallant aircraft carrier, U S S Franklin guUerl iw fiimil ^ £ l ve-bomber, March 19, 1943,
strike against the Japanese fleet in thc Inland Sea, has reached tL S in a
It suffered more than a thousand casualties. Among the many mrocs aboard rla sa
racked by explosions and fire was Chaplain Joseph T O Cailah-m S r „ ,t7 ' • w V e l w “
only gave religious consolation to the injured and dying bul assisted'il, . Bo:>lo, L (inset), who not
trol and rescue parties: His superior officer declared that n ? organising and leading lire con-
men he had ever seen. The heroic chaplain is a brnthl. n/ « f ° Callahan "’as one of (he bravest
munity, who served fifteen years in the P philippines. She was^tlf j"' ? ose ' ?. f . tllc . Maryknoll com-
Banos prison camp last February.—(NC Photo). * “ & Amencang liberated from the Los
Plea
Bing
lor “Family Rosary” Made hy •
Crosby on International Broadcast
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
NEW YORK.—Dedicated to en
couraging the practice of the daily
family Rosary, an international ra
dio broadcast was staged here,
featuring addresses by the Most
Rev. Francis J. Spellman, Arch
bishop of New York, and by Bing
Crosby, movie and radio star.
The program, arranged by the
Rev. Patrick P. Peyton, C. S. C„
National Director of the Daily
Family Rosary Movement, was
broadcast over the facilities of
the Mutual Broadcasting System
and was shoU>waved to numbers
of the armed forces. The program
originated al the Guild Theatre
here.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Sullivan,
of Waterloo, La., parents of the
five Sullivan brothers who were
lost at-sea early in the war in the
Pacific, recited the Rosary over the
air. bile a commentator explained
each of the Five Glorious Mys
teries as the prayers were recited.
Archbishop Spellman ecalled
that during his journeys t< the va
rious battle fronts as Military Vi
car of the U S. Armed Forces, he
met one chaplain who said hat his
association with devout soldiers,
had made him “a belter priest."
‘CIGARETTE BOWL' HELPS
SERVICEMEN AT NCOS CLCB
r (B.y N.C.W.C. News Service)
■ DURHAM, N. C.—“Share Your
Cigarettes” is the slogan originat
ed by Director A. J. Sicnolf at the
LiSO club here, operated by the
National Catholic Community Ser
vice.
The idea took hold one evening
when three servicemen stood at
the snack bar bemoaning the ciga
rette shortage.' Nearby stood an
other serviceman with a pack of
cigarettes in bis hand. Reaching
out.- he offered to share his ciga
rettes.
That's how the idea of a "ciga
rette bowl” was born. Now a huge
bowl rests on top of the snack bar
with a sign reading: “If you don't
have a cigarette, take one. If you
have cigarettes, pul one in.” Di
rector Sicnolf slates that frequ
ently a man will contribute an en
tire pack “The bowl maintains
itself dpring tlie week," he said,
hut the wet^t-end strain is usu
ally a little too much.”
Mr. Crosby spoke from Holly
wood and asked that "on litis day
of days. Mother s Day,” h might
enter American homes end tplk
as a father.
Just like ail parents every
where,” Mr. Crosby said. “1 want
my children to become honest,
useful citizens in an honest peace-
loving world. I want nay four boys
to love their country, love their
home, love their God. 1 want my
children to pray—because I know
the deep and all-moving power of
prayer.
"I know that power, not as a
member of the clergy but just an
other father, just another parent
—just like you.
“I want my children lo pray in
our home, as well as in our
Church. That is why 1 want them
to believe as I believe, in the true
glory and true greatness' and true
significance of the family Rosary.
"In our home we believe in the
iamily Rosary as a great force
working for good ... working
for good and against evil. We be
lieve that today as never before
this vital force for good i neces
sary if we are to fashion from the
holocaust of war the framework of
tasting peace.
“As Christians, as Americans,
we believe in Die power and ne
cessity of family prayer in all
homes. As Catholics, we believe
the family Rosary to be the per
fect family prayer. We pledge
ourselves to do everything in our
power to spread the ever-growing
popularity of the daily family Ros
ary.”
“None could witness the devo
tion of these lads without becom
ing better," the Archbishop said.
Tf only you, their beloved ones,
could kneel in a chapel at twilight
its -they say their Rosaries or tread
the Way of the Cross; if only you
could see your boys as 1 daily have
seen them in the greatest picture
of this world's worst war, kneeling
in prayer, earnestly ..sking the
protection of God and His Blessed
Mother. In ntud and sand, in heat
and cold, in sleet and rain, on
many battlel’ronts. I have seen
this precious picture of your boys
reflected in the cup of my chalice,
and I long to print this picture on
your hearts and memories as it
is impressed on mine. Then would
you. too, in your lives and in your
hearts, find time to say your Ros
ary.
FATHER SMITH SPEAKS
AT MEETING OF S. C.
HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION
(Special to The Bulletin)
AIKEN, S. C.— The Rev. George
Lewis Smith, of Aiken, Director of
Hospitals for the Diocese of
Charleston, and second vice-presi
dent of the American Hospital As
sociation. delivered an address at
the annual meeting of the South
Carolina Hospital Association, held
in Columbia on May 17, speaking
on “Current Pending and Pro
posed Legislation Affecting Hos
pitals.”
At the meeting. Father Smith,
who is also a member of the Ad
ministrative Board of the Cath
olic Hospital Association of the
United States and Canada, was
elected first vice-president of the
South Carolina Hospital Associa
tion.
The Rev. George Lewis Smith.
Pastor of St. Mary Help of Chris
tians Church, Aiken, was The prin
cipal speaker at the meeting of
the Co unibiu Deanery Council of
flic National Council of Catholic
Women held on May 21. his topic
being “The Papal Pronouncements
and the Principles of World
Peace.”
CIRCUS PERFORMERS and of-
tieials and members of the theatri-
cal profession attended a Req
uiem Mass in the Actors’ Chapel.
St. Malachy’s Church, New York
City, for Miss Victoria Torrence,
aorialist of the Ringling Brothers-
Barnum and Bailey Circus, who
fell sixty feel to her death duting
a performance at Madison Square
Garden a few weeks ago. The Rev.
Edward Sullivan, of St. Peter’s
Church, Cambridge, Mass., who
acts as chaplain ot the circus when
it is in the North offered the Mass.
Funeral services were conduct
ed from St. Martha’s Church, Sar
asota, Fla., by the Rev. Charles
Elslander, chaplain for the circul
at its w'inlcr headquarters in
Sarasota, where Mrs. Torrence,
and her husband, Frank Torrence,
had made their home.
RECEIVING IN AUDIENCE a
group of Mother Cabrini nTins. tits
Holiness Pope Pius XU praised
(he saintly foundress of their
community and urged them to fol
low faithfully her spirit and ex
ample. Pointing out that in war
time there are endless oppoituni-
(ies to exercise in behalf of war
suffers works of religion and
charity and social assistance, the
llnly Father mentioned the new
right of women’s suffrage in Italy
and said that the exercise of this
riglit is incumbent upon nuns in
Jultilling their obligation of con
science for the good of religion
and of the nation.
Silent Monk Who Cared tor RAF Sergeant
Identified as French Ace of World War 1
(Special to The Bulletin)
_ ATLANTA, Ga.—Here in Geor
gia, where the Trappist monks al
the Monastery of Our Lady of (he
Holy Ghost, near Conyers, follow
the rule of silence of I lie Order
of Cistercians of the Strict Obser
vance, a United Press release from
London, published recently in
The Atlanta Constitution, was read
with unusual interest.
H was tlic dramatic story of a
sergeant of Britain’s Royal Air
Force, who was forced to bail out
of his Mitchell bomber over Ma-
lines, Belgium, shortly before the
end of hostilities in Europe, and
who made a parachute landing on
the roof of a monastery, where for
three days lie was cared for and
his wounds were treated by a
monk who maintained silence
throughout his ministrations of
mercy.
Knocked unconscious when his
parachute opened, Sgt. George
Cole, flic British airman, crashed
through the monastery roof, and
when lie awoke on a heap of rub
ble, there was a grey-clad monk
holding u lantern over him.
Silently, the monk led him to
the refectory of a monastery, the
UP release goes on to relate. There
lie was fed, and then his wounds
were cleansed, without a word be
ing exchanged.
After three days, the airman was ,
strapped lo the back of a motor
cycle and tak *n by the monk to
bis base. - En route, the monk
broke bis silence and began asking
questions—the kind of questions
lliat only one flier would ask of
another. The sergeant asked a lew
questions himself, and finally
learned that the monk was none
other than the legendary hero of
French aviation, Li. Col. Rene
-Fonek, France’s great ace of World
War 1, who according to official
record? accounted lor 75 German
planes, and whose score by unof
ficial records reached 125. -
The story of the British air
man’s encounter with the lormer
rce of France’s flying forces hold
added interest for Georgians be
cause of the fact that Colonel
Fonck visited Georgia twenty
years ago, and was the guest of
I he then Gov. Clifford Walker, at
the governor’s mansion in Atlanta,
and also the guest of the late
Howard Coffin who developed Sea
island and other Georgia enter
prises.
Dtti>ing his visit in Georgia, Col
onel Fonck was taken on a deer
hunt on the Coffin estate on Sa-
pelb Island, where the accuracy of
his shooting won the admiration
of other members of the party.
Like the silent Belgian monk.
Father M. James Fox, O. C. S. O.,
superior of the Trappist commun
ity at Conyers, is a veteran of the
First World War, having served as
an ensign in the United States
Navy, in the days of 1917-18.
THE 150111 ANNIVERSARY of
the founding of SI. Mary’s
Church, Alexandria, Va., which
was first planned at a meeting
George Washington attended
was celebrated on Pentecost Sun
day, the Most Rev. Peter I,. Ire-
lon. Bishop of Richmond, pontifi
cal ing at a Solemn Pontifical
Mass of Thanksgiving.
On St. Patrick’s Day. 1778. a
group nf men gathered in the
home of Colonel John Fitzgerald,
aide-de-camp to General Wash
ington. and, his close personal
friend, and decided to build a
Catholic church in historic Alex
andria. General Washington, who
attended the _ meeting afterward
contributed to flic building fund
of the original church, built in
1795.
JOHN W. CONS1DINE, ,IU..
motion picture director and pro
ducer. has obi allied an option for
the film rights on "My Mother.”
a volume written by the Rev.
Daniel A. Lord, S. j., editor of
The Queen’s Work. Mr. Consi-
dine, who directed “Boys’ Town”
for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, inform
ed Father Lord that he expected
lo make a. great picture out of the
story he had written of his mother.
FATHER EUGENE B. EREIN,
U. S. Army chaplain, of I lie Dio
cese of Brooklyn, has been award
ed the Bronze Star for “meritor
ious service in the face of the ene
my in England, France, Belgium
and Germany,” (tie War Depart
ment has announced.
OF THE MILAN CHURCHES
listed as national monuments,
only five are still intact. The Duo-
mo, or Cathedral, escaped with
minor scars, bul the Basilica of
Sant’ Ambrogio, one of the oldest
churches ih Europe, was severely
damaged.