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AUGUST 25, 1945
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LA YMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
ONE—A
St. Theresa’s
Centennial of
Parish Plans Celebration of
First Mass Offered in Albany
(Special to The Bulletin)
ALBANY, Ga.—The Very Rev.
Daniel J Bourke. V, F„ pastor of
St. Theresa’s Church in Albany,
and the members of his congrega
tion are now making plans for th
formal commemoration, sometime
this fall, of the one hundredth an
niversary of the first celebration
of Mass in this locality.
All details of the centennial
celebration are not yet completed,
His Excellency the Most Rev.
Gerald P. O'Hara, D. D„ J. U. D„
Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta, will
offer a Solemn Pontifical Mass on
the last Sunday in October, at
which His Excellency the Most
Rev. Emmet M. Walsh, D. D.,
Bishop of Charleston, and a for
mer pastor of the parish in Albany
and its missions, will be invited
to deliver the sermon.
The tentative program also in
cludes a reception in the evening,
and. as has been announced, the
■irlieth annual convention of the
Catholic Laymen’s Association of
Georgia will be held during the
afternoon.
It was a century ago tad the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was of
fered for the first time in Albany
—at the home of John Valentine
Mock, one of the pioneer settlers
of this community, and a friend
of Col. Nelson Tift, the founder of
Albany.
■ 1845, Georgia was still a part
of that vast area which was includ
ed in th: Diocese of Charleston, an
'ecclesiastical jurisdiction which at
that time embraced not only South
Carolin. and Georgia, but North
Carolina and Florida as well.
The priests who ministered to
the members, of the Catholic
Church, scattered over the South
east in those distant days, had to
travel a long distance to reach the
Catholics living in Southwest
Georgi... The trips were long and
fatiguing, made on horseback, by
stage-coach or by ox-cart, for
railroads were few.
It can be imagined that the
Catholic colony in Albany, a cen
tury ago, was filled with joy at
the arrival of a missionary priest
in their midst, and that he was
probably escorted in a two-horse
wagon to the log cabin in the
woods, four miles from the village,
where John Valentine Mock - had
made his home. Part of the old
home is still standing, just out
side the present city limits of Al
bany. a mile south of the Sylvester
Road.
In 1859, Col. Nelson Tift, the
founder of Albany, gave his Cath
olic friends a half-acre of land to
be used as the site for a church.
This plot of ground is that on
Residence Avenue, where St.
Theresa’s Church now stands.
Encouraged by their Bishop, the
Rt. Rev. John Barry, D. D., who
had come to the Diocese of Savan
nah, which had been founded in
1850, as its second Bishop, in
1857, the little congregation began
to erect the present St. Theresa’s
Church.
Carpenters, brick masons and
plasterers, members of the congre
gation, gave their time and skill
to the building of the church. The
bricks used in its construction
were made by hand, by slaves, on
the plantation of Dr. Barbour, near
Newton. t
In 1860, the exterior walls of the
building were completed, and the
work of finishing the interior of
the edifice was under way when
word came that Georgia had se
ceded from the Union, and the
War Between the States had be
gun.
The young plasterer, Tom
Churchill, laid down his t ,- owel
and rode away to join Gen. Lee’s
forces in Virginia, and to die in
the batle of Malvern Hill.
The church remained in its un
finished condition until after the
surrender at Appomatox, but It
has been recorded that Bishop Au
gustin Verot, S. S., D. D., the third
Bishop of Savannah, administered
the Sacrament of Confirmation in
the church in 1860, and that the
last survivor of those who were
confirmed on that occasion was
Mrs. John Mock, a most beloved
and faithful member of St. The
resa’s congregation until her death
in 1934.
From the memoirs of Bishop
Verot it is learned that the church
was being used as a hospital for
wounded soldiers when he visited
Albany toward the end of the War
Between the States.
During the stirring days of the
’60’s, and for some years after,
the Catholic congregation in Al
bany was served by priests from
Macon, Atlanta and Brunswick.
Among these were Father O’Neill,
Father Bazin, Father Semmes,
Father O’Reilly, Father Quinlan
and others.
The first resident pastor in Al
bany was the Rev. Stephen J.
Beytaugh. who was appointed by
the Rt. Rev. William II. Gross, C
SS. R., D. D.. Bishop of Savannah,
in September, 1875.
Fath -r Beytaugh died in October
of the following year from yellow
fever, conlracled while ministering
to Mrs. Michael Monohan. who
had just come to Albany from Sa
vannah, where an epidemic was
raging.
It wa., while Father BetaUgh was
pastor of St. Thresa’s that the St.
Mary’s Singing Society was or
ganizes for the purpose of giving
the church a choir and to supply
altar breads, altar wine and flow
ers and candles for the sanctuary.
The first officers of the society
were Jchn Mock, president; Mrs.
Dennis Brosnan, vice-president;
Joseph Demont, secretary, and
Mrs. John Mock, treasurer.
The Singing Society later be
came St. Theresa’s Altar Society,
with Miss Elizabeth Meyer, ‘a
granddaughter of John Valentine
Mock, as one of its members. At a
meeting of the Singing Society,
Miss Meyer volunteered to make
the altar breads. Irons were pur
chased, and every week, for piore
than sixty years. Miss Meyer bak
ed the hosts which were used up
on the altar at St. Theresa's
Church and at the altars through
out the Albany mission territory.
In 1879, the Rev. P. H. McMa
hon came to Albany as the second
resident pastor, being succeeded
two years later by the Rev. C. C.
Prendergast. during wdiosc pas
torate. in 1882. St. Theresa’s
Church was formally dedicated by
Bishop Gross.
Upon the death of Father Pren
dergast, in 1896, Albany and the
far-flung missions of Southwest
Georgia became a charge of the
Jesuit Fathers who for some time
had been established in Macon.
In all of the years from about
1850 to 1896. Albany had been just
a mission city, with Mass celebrat
ed on not more than one Sunday a
month but with the coming of
Father Meriwether and Father
Dane, of the Society of Jesus, the
congregation in Albany was privi
leged to have Mass on two Sundays
of each month.
In 1901, when the Rt. Rev. Ben
jamin J. Keiley, D. D., Bishop of
Savannah, appointed the Rev.
John J. Power as patsor of St.
Theresa’s, it was decided to build
a rectory. For more than twenty
years the priests attached to the
church had made their home ut
the residence of Mr. and Mrs. John
Mock.
Father Powers served only a
few months, being succeeded as
pastor by the Rev. Godfrey X.
Schadcwell, a priest of scholarly
habits, charming personality and
apostolic zeal, lie remodeled the
interior of the church, enlarged
the rectory and extended the mis
sion work throughout Southwest
Georgia The Rev. C. M. Reich
came as his assistant, and Mass
was offered in. Albany on every
Sunday and on nearly all. week
days.
In 1907 Father McMahon, who
was then Vicar General of the Dio
cese of Savannah, returned to Al
bany as pastor of St. Theresa’s,
remaining until the fall of 1909,
when Father Reich was made pas
tor, and the Rev. Henry A. Schol-
liardt, now of Atlanta, was appoint
ed his assistant.
These eager young priests, with
untiring zeal, devoted themselves
to their work, and it was during
their stay in Albany that St. Wil
liam’s Church was built in Fitzger
ald, and the Very Rev. Daniel J.
McCarthy, now pastor of St.
Mary’s Church in Rome, and the
late father Harry Clark, who was
later made a Monsignor, came to
Albany to assist at St. Theresa’s,
and on the missions. In 1911, Fa
ther Richard Hamilton came to
Albany as another assistant.
On January 6, 1917, Father Em
met M. Walsh, now Bishop of
Charleston, succeeded Father Reich
as pastor of St. Theresa’s Church,
and under liis leadership the par
ish awakened to an activity never
before experienced. The Holy
Name Society was reorganized; the
Altar Society, formerly the Sing
ing Society, was placed on a sound
financial basis; Father Prendergast
Council, No. 2,057, Knights of Co
lumbus, was organized; an active
branch of the Catholic Laymen’s
Association of Georgia was estab
lished, the parish Sunday School
ther Walsh was ably assisted by
the late Very Rev. Leo M. Keenan,
who came to Albany as an assist
ant, in January, 1917, and by Fa
ther Leonard Van do Zon, who
met his death in an automobile ac
cident while en route to one of the
mission stations.
Added duty was imposed on
Father Walsh and his co-workers
with the outbreak of the World
War in 1917, which brought ,o
an already crowded schedule ot
pastoral activity the necessity of
ministering to the Catholic sol
diers encamped at Americus.
In 1918, the Service Hag of St.
Theresa’s parish \V9s blessed by
Bishop Keiley and its stars repre
sented Gertrude Mock. Helen Blan
chard. lohn Hall Brosnan, Ber
nard Conaghan, Paul Keenan,
James 11 Lynch Thomas Lynch,
George Mock, F. M. Mulholland.
O J. Neundorfer, Ray Pinkston,
William Posey, Arthur Posey,
James Romeo, M. J Reidy arid,
Morton M..Wiggins, who served in :
the natron's armed forces, and
Lawrence McNicholas, who gave 1
his life in defense of his country.
During Father Walsh’s pastorate
the Church of the Immaculate
Conception was built in Moultrie,
but he was transferred to Savan
nah, as pastor of St. Patrick’s
Church there, before the church
had been dedicated.
Father Keenan, who had been
at the Cathedral in Savannah, was
returned to Albany as pastor of
St. Theresa’s to succeed the then
Father, the now Bishop Walsh.
Father Keenan served as pastor for
nv>re than nine successful years.
Upon tile death, in 1926, of Fa
ther John Bessemer, who was serv
ing as assistant at St. Theresa’s,
the Rev. Thomas A. Brennan came
to Albany to replace him.
During Father Keenan's term
as pastor, through the generosity
of the late Mrs. J. J. Lynch, of At
lanta, the Church of St. John the
Evangelist was erected in Valdosta,
and dedicated by the Most Rev.
Michpel J. Keyes, S. M., D. D.,
Bishop of Savannah, in November,
1927.
After Father Keenan's transfer
to Augusta to be pastor of St. Pat
rick’s Church, Father Brennan was
made pastor of Albany and its
missions, in September, 1930, with
the Rev. Thomas I. Sheehan, now
of Decatur, and the Rev. Joseph
Malloy and the Rev. Henry Ho-
neck, now of Augusta, as his as
sistants.
One of Father Brennan’s first
tasks was to renovate St. Theresa’s
Church and enlarge the rectory.
Later hi; built the beautiful Church
of the Little Flower in Cordele and
made improvements in six other
churches on the Albany missions.
The church in Cordele was also
erected through the generosity of
Mrs. J. J. Lynch, affectionately re
membered as "The Mother of the
Missions.”
In 1936, St. Augustine’s Church
in Thomasville, was made a sep
arate parish by the Most Rev.
Gerald P. O’Hara, D. D„ J. U. D„
who had recently been installed as
Bishop of Savanna h. Father
Sheehan, who had been one of the
assistants in Albany, being 'made
pastor of the new parish.
In the same year, the Rev. James
E. King was appointed as the first
resident pastor of St. John the
Evangelist Church in Valdosta.
1937 witnessed other divisions
in the Albany mission territory.
St. Paul's Church in Douglas, now
a charge of the Oblate Fathers,
was given Father John Mullins, as
its first resident pastor, with Holy
Family Church, Willacoochcc, St.
Ann’s Church, Alapaha, and St.
William’s Church Fitzgerald, as
mission parishes of Douglas.
There were further changes in
1942, St. Mary’s Church. Americus,
and the Little Flower Church. Cor
dele becoming charges of the Or
der of Friars Minor, who had es
tablished residence in Americus.
In 1942, when Father Brennan
was given a leave of absence on
account of illness, the Rev. Thomas
Finn, now of Atlanta, served as
administrator of the parish until
Father James E. King was appoint
ed as pastor to succeed Father
Brennan, wlib had become -pastor
of St. Mary's-on-The-Ilill Church
in Augusta.
In March, 1943, the Very Rev.
Joseph G. Cassidy came to Albany
as pastor of St. Theresa’s, and
plans for the erection of a new
church, rectory, school and con
vent were underway when he was
moved to Atlanta to be rector of
the Cathedral of Christ the King.
Monsignor Cassidy was sue-
Bishop of Charleston
a Former Pastor of
St. Theresa’s Albany
■ > \
? ,
Albany Was Host to
Convention in 1938
The Catholic population of Al
bany was practically doubled when
the Catholic Laymen's Association
of Georgia held its twenty-third
annual convention in that South
west Georgia city in 1938.
On that occasion the convention
| opened with a Pontifical Mass,
celebrated by the Most Rev. Ger
ald P. O’Hara, D. D.. J U. D„ up
on the altar of the motor chapel,
Queen of the Apostles, which had
in that year been put into service
on the missions of Georgia. The
large congregation which attend-
1 ed the Mass, gathered on the lawn
of St. Thesesa’s Church, where the
moto.r chapel had been parked.
The Most Rev. Emmet M Walsh
D. D., Bishop of Charleston, and a
former president of St Theresa’s
Church in Albany, was the conven
tion speaker.
Alfred M. Battey, of Augusta
presided at the convention, and
was reelected president of the As
sociation. Other officers electeo
at that convention were James J
Haverty, K. S. G., Atlanta, honor
ary president; Dr. J. Reid Broder
ick, Savannah, first vice-president;
John B. McCallum, Atlanta, secre
tary; Thomas F. Walsh, Savannah
treasurer; Richard Reid. Augusta
executive secretary; Miss Cecil*
Ferry, Augusta, financial secre
tary; Alvin M. McAuliffe, Augusta
auditor.
State vice-presidents electeo
were: T. H. McIIatton, Mrs. Loret
ta Costa, Athens; R. E. McCor-
development of the vast Southwest ,™ ck ' „ M j ss T ™ar y _ B ™*! nan - A J
Georgia mission territory which o. K. M M
BISHOP WALSII
The Most Rev. Emmet M. Walsh,
D. D.. Bishop of Charleston, i. the
most illustrious former pastor - f
St. Theresa’s Church, Albany, Ga.,
and was one of the priests who
made valuable contributions to the
was served from Albany.
Pastor in Albany
was systematized and graded. Fa-ceeded, in April of this year, by the
G., K. M., Miss Ida Ryan, Atlanta
E. J. O’Connor, Miss Anna Rice
Augusta; John B. Touhey, Mrs. J
C. Stiles, Brunswick; Louis C
Kunze, Mrs. H. C. Smith, Colurn
bus; F. J. Brennan, Miss Clara
Deimel, Fitzgerald; M. J. Callag
han, Mrs. Edward A. Sheridan, Ma
con; Mrs. E. J. Butler Cordele; R
W. Hatcher Mrs. J. A. Horne, Mil-
lodgeville; Bernard S. Fahy, Mrs.
George Horton, Rome; Judge J: P.
Houlihan, Mrs. J. P. McDonough,
Savannah; George Poche, Mrs. F.
W. Gilbert, Washington; E. M.
Heagarty, Mrs. J. W. Cason, Way-
cross.
Appointed to the publications
committee were: Richard Reid,
Augusta; C. A. McCarthy. Savan
nah; Evelyn Harris. Atlanta; Mrs.
Joseph E. Kelly, Savannah; Miss
Kate Murphy, Atlanta: R. Habe-
night Casson, Mac6n, and John M.
Harrison, Atlanta.
The business sessions of the con
vention were held in the Munici
pal Auditorium, and between the
morning and afternoon sessions a
luncheon was served at the New
Albany Hotel. On the evening
previous to the convention, the
Catholics of Albany were hosts to
the visiting delegates at a recep
tion.
Officers of the Albany Branch
in 1938 were: Fred Wiggins, pres
ident; Mrs. R. E. McCormack, vice-
president; Mrs. J. L. Bacon, sec
retary-treasurer; J. L. Rau, George
B. Mock, Garrett Fleming, R. E.
McCormack. Ray Pinkston. Jo
seph Loeb, N. F. Dugan, W. J.
Rakcl, Miss Mary Brosnan, Mrs.
Y. G. Hilsman, Mrs. L. E. Mock,
Mrs. Darien Tompkins, Miss Mar
garet Mock. Miss Jane McCart
ney, Miss Catherine Fleming and
Miss Stella Davis, directors.
A NISEI CENTER for all Amerl- The Very Rev. Thomas A. Brcn-
can-born Japanese regardless of nan, now of Savannah, was pastor
religious belief has been opened in of St. Theresa's Church, at that
Chicago by the Catholic Youth time, with the Rev. Michael Man-
Organization. The Most Rev. ning, now of Thomasville, as his
Bernard J. Shell, auxiliary bishop assistant,
of the Archdiocese of Chicago, who
dedicated the center, pointed out,
that Chicago now has more than | Mass of Thanksgiving
7,000 Japanese Americans, and f np Uj r t nr v/ fU/pr lanan
that many of them are Catholics f0r VICI0I y UVd Japan
although the great majority of
them are not.
FATHER BOURKE
The Very Rev. Daniel J. Bourke,
V. F., present pastor of St. The
resa’s Church, Albany, Ga., is a
native of Ireland, who came to the
Dioces of Savannah following his
ordinat'on in 1934. He has served
as assistant at the Cathedral and at
the Blessed Sacrament Church in
Savannah, at the Immaculate Con
ception Church in Atlar n . and at
St. Theresa’s in Albany. For some
years he was administrator of St.
Mary's-on-The-IIill parish in Au
gusta. and was most recently pas
tor of the Blessed Sacrament
Church in Savannah.
Very Rev. Daniel J. Bourke, pas
tor of the Blessed Sacrament
Church in Savannah, who came to
Albany as pastor of St. Theresa’s
Church and Vicar Forane of the
Columbus Deanery.
The Altar Society ot St. The
resa’s Church, descended from the
Singing Society of many years ago,
is now functioning efficiently un
der the leadership of Mrs. W. J.
Rakel, .president, and Mrs. K. M.
Russ, secretary-treasurer.
There is a parish council of the
Confratirnity of Christian Doc
trine, with Mrs. Russ as president,
and Mrs. M. M. Wiggins, secre
tary.
A Knights of Columbus Club,
has been formed by K. of C.’s in
Albany, and hopes are entertained
for the restoration of the charter
of Father Prendergast Council in
the near future.
at St. Theresa’s, Albany
(Special to The Bulletin)
ALBANY, Ga.—Marking the an
nouncement of the surrender of
Japan, a Mass of Thanksgiving was
celebrated at St. Theresa’s Church
here by the Very Rev. Daniel J.
Bourke, V. F., the pastor, on the
morning of August 15, the Feast ol
the Assumption.
The Turner Field a capella choir,
under the direction of the Rev.
Valentine Roche, S. J., U. S. Army
chaplain, sang during the Mass.
Members of the Activities Com
mittee of St. Theresa’s parish serv
ed a barbecue dinner on the church
grounds on August 15, serving
more than four hundred guests
Arrangements for the ’cue were
made under the direction of Pelro
Stephens, assisted by Fred Wig
gins and J. J. Romeo, and the din
ner was served by a committee of
women of the parish, headed by
Mrs William R#kel Sr