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AUGUST 21, 1948
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
ONE—A
0 ,
Best Wishes
From
WFRP
1230 KC
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
Best Wishes
From
WDAR
1400 on your Dial
9
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
the station that presents
“Hour of Faith”
Every Sunday
12:30 - 1:00 P. M.
American Broadcasting Company
A GIFT FROM CATHOLICS OF THE V. S. A.—A gift of the Catholics of the United States to the
Pontificial Relief Commission, five new ambulances car bearing the emblem of War Relief Serv-
ices-National Catholic Welfare Conference are blessed by His Holiness Pope Pius XII. The cere
mony took place in the Cortille di San Damaso, in Vatican City.—(NC "Photos).
Report of Secretary
FEMALE ORPHAN BENEVOLENT SOCIETY
SAVANNAH, Ga.—Monsignor T. James McNamara, as secre
tary of the Female Orphan Benevolent Society, submitted the
following report on the operation of St. Mary’s Home for the
1947-48 fiscal year at the annual meeting of the society:
As Secretary of the Female Or
phan Benevolent Society, it is my
pheasant duty to report on the
operation of Saint Mary's Home
for its fiscal year, which is for
mally closed as of April 30, 1948.
While this duty is a pleasant
one, indeed, nevertheless its joy
is lessened by reason of the know
ledge that the Report will not
carry the prestige which former
years have given to it, nor will
there be in its composition the
edification and satisfaction which
its authorship in these years as
sured to it. The honor which is
mine in making this report results
from a condition or circumstances
which is the occasion of sadness
and sorrow for all you who are
interested in the welfare of the
little ones who ore shielded by
the protecting mantle of Holy
Mother Church in St. Mary’s
Home. These little ones and those
who have accepted the respon
sibility of providing them with
a normal childhood and grow'th,
together with all whose Christ-
like charity constitutes them pa
trons of St. Mary's Home, feel
keenly the absence of our Bishop.
His paternal solicitude and kind
ly yet firm guidance are missed
and our interest prompts the pray
er that his highly important mis
sion will soon be completed so
that once again the Home might
experience the benefieience of 1'is
presence.
Comforting the Bishop in his
continued absence from the Dio
cese are the devotion and zeal
with which all have addressed
themselves to the needs of the
Home. As he labors for the cause
of God’s Church in war-stricken
Europe he is supported in those
labors by the knowledge that the
children of St. Mary’s Home
have the watchful care and in
telligent direction of the Sisters
of Mercy. He would want that
this report should make special
mention of the debt that lie feels
as he contemplates the tenure of
the Sisters of Mercy in St. Mary’s
Home.
Adding to the sustaining force,
which supports him in his ar
duous labors, is the knowledge
that Mr. John W. Gleason, vice-
president in whose thinking and
action St. Mary’s Home takes
primacy, has, in the ’Advisory
Board constituted by him, the sup
port of men sincerely interested
in the Home and anxious to be
of service in its welfare. At the
time the Bishop welcomed the
new members of this Board, ad
dressing the Board in its full
complement, he stated that he felt
with the Board as constituted, a
new chapter was opening in the
history of the Home. The unfold
ing of this Chapter has been a
source of joy to him, even though
distance defeats him in his de
sire to be more intimately asso
ciated with Mr. Gleason and the
members of Vie Board as they
together advance the progress of
the Home and protect its sub
stance in the affairs of the Fe
male Orphan Benevolent Society.
At great sacrifices these gentle
men have met periodically thru-
out the year in the interest of
the Home.
As the Bishop seeks to bring
solace of true religion and to re
lieve the impoverishment of those
who suffer the devastation of war,
the Bishop musk be supported in
his efforts by the thought of the
self-sacrificing work of the l«dy-
eollectors, whom he regards as
among the best benefactors of
St. Mary's Home. Likening them
to’mendicants for Christ”, he has
spoken of the great debt the
Diocese owes these ladies. Even
though saddened by the death
of Mrs. J. W. Masserling who
gave untiringly of her time for
twenty-five years as a Collector
for the Home, I am sure the
Bishop finds joy in the midst of
his sorrow in the knowledge of
the reward that must have await
ed this good lady as she answered
God's summons.
Indeed, although in far away
Rumania, the Bishop no doubt
finds added joy and comfort in
the conviction of the good which
his mission can accomplish for
souls, from reflection of the nu
merous benefactions which are
bestowed on St. Mary’s Home by
Catholics and non-Cathlics, by
priests, and laity, by doctors, giv
ing of their talent and energy, by
agencies and institutions. To at
tempt to set down all who have
had part in making for that added
joy and comfort would be to re
cite an endless litany. Symboliz
ing the many who have had part
in making these benefactions avail
able to St. Mary’s Home and in
dicating the nature of the bene
factions are the names of Father
John A. Morris, Chaplain to the
Home, the Sisters of Mercy of
St. Vincent’s Academy and St.
Joseph’s Hospital, Dr. W. B. Craw
ford, Dr. G. H. Faggart, Dr. Dan
J. O’Connor, Mrs. James A. Gross,
City of Savannah, The Savannah
Ice Delivery Company, and fra
ternal organizations of Savannah.
In the name of His Excellency,
Most Reverend Gerald P. O’Hara,
our Bishop, I wish to give -ex
pression to the profound and ever-
abiding gratitude that I know is
his as he reflects on the affairs,
the management, # and the patrons
of St. Mary’s Home. Sharing with
His Excellency this deep senti
ment of gratitude are his priests,
who regret that duty impels him
to experience his joy and satis
faction in St. Mary’s Home
through reflection.
In concluding this Report no
more fitting words could be em
ployed than those of Bishop O'Hara,
where in he stated, ‘‘human grati
tude no matter how deep and
genuine, cannot be compared with
the gratitude that God Himself
bears towards those who do works
of mercy and charity in His name”
Our Blessed Lord tells us that
not even a cup of cold water given
in His name goes without its re
ward. He assures us also that cave
bestowed on the needy is, as it
were, a charity bestowed on Him
self. He does rot forget in this
life, or in the next, those who
have taken an unselfish interest
in the poor and needy. The bene
factors of the poor will discover
seme day, to their great amaze
ment, how rich is the reward that
God bestows on them!
NAMES TO BE ADDED TO
MEMBERSHIP ROLLS OF
BENEVOLENT SOCIETY
SAVANNAH, Ga.—-It has been
noted that the names of Mrs.
Charles V. Walsh and Miss Eliza
beth Walsh, of Savannah, were
omitted from the list of members
of the Female Orphan Benevolent
Society as published in The Bul
letin in July. Mrs. Walsh and Miss
Walsh have long been devoted in
the interest of St. Mary’s Home
and have been active members of
the Benevolent Society under the
auspices of which the home is
conducted.
Radio Program Recording
Sent to Nun, Survivor
of Fatima Apparitions
GARRISON, N. Y. — (NC) — A
transcription of the story of Our
Lady of Fatima which will be dra
matized and broadcast on August
22 by the Ave Maria Hour, produc
ed by the Franciscan Friars of the
Atonement of Graymoor Monas
tery, here, will be sent to Sister
Mary of the Immaculate Heart,
survivor of the three children to
whom the Blessed Mother appear
ed in Portugal in 1917.
The broadcast will be a special
presentation of the Ave Maria
Hour, commemorating the Feast of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The transcription will be present
ed through the Very Rev. Raphael
Grande. S. A., Superior General of
the Society of the Atonement. In a
letter to Sister Mary of the Im
maculate Heart. Father Grande
stated: "The message which Our
Blessed Mother gave to the world
through you is now known far and
wide in this poor, sick world. We
know it will add to your happiness
to learn that we are sending Our
Lady’s instructions ... to all who
will hear it in the United States on
the Feast of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary.”
At the time of the apparitions.
Sister Mary of the Immaculate
Heart was 10-year-old Lucia dos
Santos. Some years after the death
f her companions, she entered the
Congregation of Sisters of St.
Dorothy in Tuy, Portugal, and a
few months ago became a mem
ber of the Carmelite convent at
Coimbro. Portugal.
POPE BLESSES AMBULANCES
GIFT OF U. S. CATHOLICS
ROME.— (NC) — Before leaving
for Castelgandolfo, Papal summer
residence, His Holiness Pope Pius
XII blessed five new Italian-made
ambulances for the Pontifical Re
lief Commission. They are the gift
of American Catholics, having
been donated by War Relief Ser
vices—National Catholic Welfare
Conference, and bring to twenty-
one the number of ambulances giv
en by Catholics of the United
Stales.