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About
iTiendlier
Keeling Among
Neighbors Irre
spective of Creed”
Published by the
Catholic Lay
men's . Association
of Georgia
Vol. XXIX. No. 8 THIRTY-TWO PAGES AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, AUGUST 21, 1948
ISSUED MONTHLY—$3.00 A YEAR
BREAKING GROUND FOR HOSPITAL IN COLUMBUS—On August 5, with impressive ceremony,
ground was broken lor the two million dollar St. Francis Hospital now in the course of construc
tion at Columbus, Georgia. Leaders in the campaign to secure a Sisters’ hospital for Columbus,
who took part in the ground-breaking ceremony were: left to right, Andrew Prather, Jack B. Key,
Sister Laurentine, of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, from Pittsburgh, James Wood
ruff, Sr., C. J. Swift and John Illges, Jr., with several Franciscan Sisters of the community which
will operate the hospital when it is completed—(Photo courtesy of The Columbus Ledger).
Nearly Three Million Students in
Catholic Schools This Fall Saving
Taxpayers Close to $400,000,000
Nearly three million students
will be enrolled in the Catholic
schools of the United States dur
ing the coming school term. This
prediction, based on Catholic
schools statistics of previous years
and information secured from the
U. S. Census Bureau and the U.
S. Office of Education, will give
the Catholic school system the
largest enrollment it has ever at
tained.
The estimated total of 2,947.600
students in 10,850 schools, staffed
by 105,000 teachers, is distributed
as follows: 2,185,600 in elementary
schools; 490,000 in high schools
and academies; 240,000 in univer
sities and colleges; 8,000 in normal
schools and teachers colleges; 9,-
000 in major seminaries, and 15,-
000 in preparatory seminaries.
This immense student body
should hr an impressive remind
er of the great contribution that
Catholics are making to educa
tion in the United States. Last
May the Director of the N. C.
W. C. Department of Education,
Monsignor Ferderick G. Iloch-
walt. In speaking at a meeting of
the American Council on Edu
cation in Chicago, stated that
the Catholic schools system
saves the taxpayers of the Unit
ed States about $375,000,000
yearly.
The above data have real mean
ing. But recent court decisions
and controversies on federal aid
to education overlook such facts
and, especially, the importance
of religion in education. No heed
is being given to a statement
of the Catholic Bishops of the
United States who, assembled at
Washington in 1919, declared in
a Pastoral letter:
“The Church in our country is
obliged, for the sake of principle,
to maintain a system of educa
tion distinct and separate from
other systems . It is supported
by the voluntary contributions of
Catholics who, at the same time,
contribute as required by law
to the maintenance of the public
schools. It engages in the serv
ice of education a body of teach
ers who consecrate their lives to
this high calling; and it prepares,
without expense to the state, a
considerable number of Americans
to live worthily as citizens of the
Republic”.
This declaration made almost
thirty years ago, has great import
today. Because the Word of God
is taught in our schools, there are
still many people who do not
believe that daily our children
sing: “God Bless America”.
There should be no question
that the songs and prayers of
these children have helped to give
our nation the strength it needs
in the present unsettled world.
There is no doubt, also that the
nation should realize the impor
tance of the statement, likewise
quoted from the 1919 Pastoral Let-
ler, that “an education that unites
intellectual, moral and religious
elements is the best training for
citizenship”.
St. Francis Xavier
Infirmary, Charleston
To Build Nurses’ Home
(Special to The Bulletin)
CHARLESTON, S. C. — Con
struction of a six-story nurses’
home at 148-150 Ashley Avenue by
St. Francis Xavier Infirmary, has
been approved by the board of ad
justment, of the city zoning ordi
nance. which ordinance stipulates
that dormitory buildings may be
provided for institutions.
The building will be of masonry
construction, with a steel frame.lt
will have a frontage of 38 feet and
extend back 90 feet. The site is
now a vacant lot and a residence
purchased some time ago by the
Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy who
operute the hospital.
It is estimated that the new
building will cost about $500,000.
Plans for the structure were exe
cuted by Father Michael Mclner-
ney. O. S. B., of Belmont Abbey,
with Harold Tatum, of Charles
ton, as associate architect. The
contract for the' erection of the
building has been awarded the
Southwestern Construction Com
pany, of Charlotte, N. C.
St. Francis Xavier Infirmary was
established in 1882, and since its
establishment has boon under the
tender and efficient care of the
Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. The
first superintendent of the infirm
ary was the late Sister De Chantel,
of blessed memory.
A modern four-story addition,
which doubled the capacity of the
Infirmary, was erected six years
ago.
THE NORTH AMERICAN COL
LEGE in Rome wlil roopen in the
fall for the first time since it was
closed. June, 1940, to receive fifty
students for the priesthood from
thirty-nine United States Dioceses.
Because, of the war-time interrup
tion both the old college building
in downtown Rome and the sum
mer villa at Castelgandolfo have
had to be remodeled and modern
ized.
CHAPLAINS for Catholic stu
dents on state and secular college
campuses will go to school them
selves for two days when they at
tend the Newman Club Chap
lain’s Institute at the College of
St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minn., on
September 1 and 2. The Institute
is being held in conjunction with
the 34th national convention of
the Newman Club Federation
which will be in session Septem
ber 3-5 at the University of Min
nesota.
JAMES G. MacDONALD, special
United States representative to the
Porvisional government of Israel,
was received in private audience
by His Holiness Pope Pius XII at
the Pontiff’s summer residence,
Castelgandolfo. Mr. MacDonald,
who was in Italy on his way to
Palestine, had an unusually long
conversation with the Holy Father.
pAing a courtesy call
on President Truman, Anthony
Forbes of New York, newly-elect
ed National Commander of the
Catholic War Veterans, pledged
the Chief Executive the full sup
port of the CWV in his fight
against all forms of un-American-
ism, and said the members of the
organization were ready and will
ing to serve in this connection in
any way possible.
LABOR DAY wi'l be itHe occa
sion this year for a number of
special Masses an industrial cen
ters across the nation, among
them being Detroit, New York,
San Francisco, Chicago, Los An
geles, Columbus, Ohio, and Bay
onne, N. J.
SAN CARLOS COLLEGE, in
Cebu, Philippines, first founded as
a seminary-college by the Jesuit
Fathers in 1595, celebrated its
newly-acquired status as a univer
sity recently at a ceremony in
which Archbishop Gabriel M.
Reyes of Cebu, Governor Manuel
Cuenco of Cebu, and other leaders
of the southern Philippines took
part. San Carlos is the second
Catholic university in the Philip
pine Islands.
AMPLE FACILITIES for daily
attendance at Mass were offered
the estimated one hundred Catho
lic youths on the 350-mcmber U.
S. Olympic team being accommo
dated at the Royal Air Force
Camp at Uxbridge, Middlesex,
while the Olympic games were be
ing held in London. Masses were
said each morning in the Uxbridge
lounge by two American priests,
who Were with the team as un
official Catholic chaplains. Prob
ably half of the several thousand
athletes taking part in the Olym
pics were Catholics.
Construction Underway on
$2,000,000 St. Francis
Hospital in Columbus; Ga.
(Special to The Bulletin)
COLUMBUS, Ga.—The first re
turns bn two and a half years of
hard work were in sight on August
5 as ground was broken for the
two million dollar St. Francis Hos
pital which is to be erected here..
Some fifty pex\sons were present
at the ground-breaking ceremony
as Jack B. Key, chairman of the
general committee sponsoring the
hospital building fund campaign,
introduced some of those who had
contributed their time, money, and
services toward making possible
the erection of a Catholic hospital
in Columbus.
Father Herman Deimel, pastor
of Uie Church of the Holy Family,
blessed the ground and offered
prayer, and Sister Laurentine, of
the Sisters of the Third Order of
St. Francis, from Pittsburgh, who"
will conduct the hospital, turned
(he first shovelful of earth. James
W. Woodruff, Sr., donor of the
twenty-acre site upon which the
hospital will he built, Mr. Key,
Andrew Prather, C. W. Swift and
John Illges, Jr., also helped to
“break the ground.”
The ceremony marked the cli
max of a campaign launched in
February, 1946, for local funds
which were to be matched by
funds furnished by the Franciscan
I Sijstcrs, and to which would be
added a Federal grant in the
amount of approximately one-third
of the cost, of tlie hospital, under
the provisions of the Hill-Burton
Act.
Some weeks ago, after plans
and specifications had been ap
proved. bids, for the construction
of the hospital were asked for, but
the lowest bid submitted was
$199,300 more than the funds than
available for the building of the
hospital.
It was found that it would re
quire $300,000 more than was at
the disposal of the building fund
committee in order to build the
154-bed hospital us planned.
The Sisters of St. Francis agreed
to increase their contribution, and
within ten days, individuals and
firms in Columbus donated an
other $160,000 in response to an
appeal on behalf of the hospital
building fund.
Plans for the hospital were exe
cuted by Carl Erickson, Chicago
architect,*with Biggers and Lock-
wood, of Columbus, as associate
architects.
Jordan Contracting, Company,
of Columbus, was low bidder at
$1,545,333 in new construction bids
were opened. This represented
a marked decrease over previous
bids, the lowest of which was $1,
646,800. Two other amended bids
were submitted, one in the amount
of $1,576,700 by Beers Construc
tion Company, of Atlanta, and the
other, $1,682,000 by Williams Con
struction Company, of Columbus
Equipment and architects fees
will cost another $300,000.
Since the decrease in the amount
anticipated, Mr. Key explained,
some additions to alternate speci
fications was permitted. It would
require, according to Mr. Key’s
estimate, from a year to a year
and a half to complete 1 the struc
ture.
The Federal government will
pay approximately one-third of
the cost. Individuals and firms in
Columbus have donated about
$660,000 toward the cost of erec
ting, equipping and furnishing St,
Francis Hospital, and the Sisters
of the Third Older of St. Francis,
of the Pittsburgh foundation, are
contributing funds in an amount
to equal the generous donations
of the people of Columbus.
The campaign for the local
funds, which were to be matched
by the Sisters, was launched in
February, 1946, and when it was
found that rising costs had pushed
the cost of construction consid
erably above original estimates,
another drive was launched a few
weeks ago and the prompt and
generous response yielded an ad
ditional $160,000.
Mr. Key said, however, that
when the new bids were called
for that the committee planned
to. leave out specifications for
about $150,000 worth of work.
Now he added, due to the local
contributions, which are still com
ing in, and the lower revised con
struction bids, “we will be able to*
put back about $50,000 of that
work.”
The general chairman of the
iiospital building committee stated-
that pledges are still being made.
He said that these and other do
nations which might bo made in
(he future would permit the res
toration of the specifications of
some items which are at present
not included in the plans. .
On behall of the Franciscan
Sisters and the •committee, Mr.
Key expressed grateful apprecia
tion “for the wholehearted sup
port of tlie committee" in raising
funds for the hospital which will
fill a need for more hospital
space here.
Convert Makers of America
Now Active Throughout Nation
(N. C. W. C. News Service)
GLENDALE, Calif.—Reports of
activities from one coastline of the
country to the other have been re
ceived here at the headquarters- of
the Convert Makers of America,
an organization which was found
ed during Jhe Summer School of
Catholic Action in San Antonio.
Texas, in 1944.
In Burlington, Vt.. an informa
tion center opened by tlie organi
zation has started its second year.
The center’s records show that
more than 600 non-Cntholics have
consulted it for information con
cerning the Catholic Faith and that
135 residents of the State are tak
ing free correspondence courses on
the Catholic Faith, a number of
whom already have enrolled in
convert classes.
Chief forms of publicizing the
center are through a Sunday after
noon half-hour radio program,
“Catholic Information On The
Air,” and paid newspaper adver
tising. The Rev. William R. Mulli
gan, vice chancellor of the Bur
lington diocese, serves as director
of the program. The Vermont
Knights of Columbus councils
have donated $3,000 to enable the
center to operate and Bishop Ed
ward F. Ryan of Burlington, has
given his approval to tlie center’s
operations.
One of the principal activities of
the organization throughout the
country is keeping more than 375
pamphlet racks, located in railroad
stations, bus depots, airports,
stores, beauty parlors and similar
institutions, suppled Wtih litera
ture. In one rack, located in a
Chicago left-wing district, the
glass front was broken eight times,
(lie literature removed and copies
of The Daily Worker, Communist
newspaper, substituted. Unbreak
able glass was installed in the rack
and within a month it was crum
bled into a shapeless mass by
sledgehammer blows. To compen
sate for the ruined rack, the Uni
versity of Chicago invited the Con
vert Makers to install a rack on
the campus.
The organization was started in
San Antonio in 1944 by the Rev.
John E. Odou, S. J., then a lectur
er witli the Summer School of
Catholic Action and now on a
special teaching assignment; the
Rev. Erwin A. Juraschek, priest of
the San Antonio archdiocese who
is spiritual advisor of tlie organi
zation and is traveling with Ihe
Summer School, and Miss Marga
ret Lynch, a lay director oi! the
CMOA, of Pontiac, Mich. ,