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PAGE SIX.
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
SEPTEMBER 3, 1955.
Catholic 'Womans PAGE
EDITED BY MRS. JOHN RHENEY
SAVANNAH-ATLAN7A DIOCESAN COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC WOMEN
RIO—THE EUCHARISTIC CAPITOL OF THE WORLD
(MRS. ROBERT McCORMACK)
The city of Rio and the entire
Country of Brazil joined in pray
er and preparation for the Eu
charistic Congress many months
before the official opening.
The choice of a fitting site for
the congress was a difficult prob
lem which Rio solved beautifully
and effectively. Since the city is
squeezed between sea and moun
tains, no large open area was
available. In order to provide this
setting, Rio literally moved a
mountain into the sea. A fill was
made on the bay front making
a tremendous open square which
came to be known as the Praca
do Congresso.
■ On the Sunday before the of
ficial opening of the Congress
Rio acclaimed as PILGRIM NO. 1
1
tfie image of the Patroness of
Brazil, Our Lady of Apparecida.
This was the first gathering in
the Praca. Our Lady’s miraculous
image was placed on the Altar
to reside there throughout the
Congress.
Tuesday, July 19, brought the
official opening of the 36th In
ternational Eucharistic Congress.
The Praca was filled to capacity,
and in every available space in
the area outside and in the arc
of tall buildings surrounding the
Praca were people, people, peo
ple—estimated at more than half
a million.
Darkness had just fallen and
the tremendous statue of Christ
the Redeemer atop famous Cor-
pavada mountain looked down on
jthe masses as if to say, “It is
good.”
I Boats of all kinds from the na
vy warships to the fascinating
ocean rafts of Brazil’s Northeast
lay in escort to the maritime
procession which crossed beauti
ful Guanabara Bay bringing the
Blessed Sacrament to the tri
umphs of the 36th Internatioanl
Eucharistic Congress. The proces
sional boats were aglow in lights,
fireworks added their brilliance
and giant sized spotlights played
across the sky.
From the .wharf the Blessed
Sacrament was carried in proces
sion to the Altar amid thrilling
sea of waving white kerchiefs
and voices raised in the strains
of the hymn of the Congress.
The altar pavillion was built
at the water edge and was made
to resemble a ship, and a tre
mendous sail with a golden Papal
seal served as a backdrop.
The twenty-one Cardinals in
their trailing robes of scarlet and
ermine filed one by one to their
brocade chairs on the platform.
And the hundreds of purple-clad
archbishops and bishops filled
the pews to the side of the Car
dinals. The white and gold throne
of the Papal Legate was at the
gospel side of the Altar. Dotted
among the hierarchy were vari
ous uniforms of the papal knights
and papal guards. It was a spec
tacle of grandeur and color which
could only be achieved by the
Church in her splendor.
The hymns of Benediction were
sung by the vast crowd and' the
Blessing given. Thus the 36th In
ternational Eucharistic Congress
was opened.
During the five days of the
Congress special programs were
arranged in various languages for
the pilgrims from all parts of
the world. The English-speaking
program was under the direction
of a remarkable little group of
Englishmen and American liv
ing in Rio and headed by
G. A. Dill.' The wonderful lay
Catholic Action of this group is
worthy^of a story in itself.
While all of the solemn ceremo
nies and functions at the Praca
were conducted in Portuguese,
there were confessions, confer
ences and Masses for the English
speaking pilgrims given by Eng
lish and American clergy.
The eight o’clock Mass on
Thursday morning at the Praca
was the general Communion for
women and girls. Two hundred
bishops and priests came down
through the aisles distributing
Holy Communion. Their giant
gold ciboriums each held a thou
sand Hosts, and approximately
200,000 received our Eucharistic
Loi'd at this one Mass.
Friday at midnight was the
Mass and general Communion
for men and boys. The number on
this occasion even exceeded that
of the women’s Communion. So
great were the throngs that a re
quest was broadcast over the pub
lic address system for additional
priests to help-distribute Commu
nion.
On Saturday morning there was
a pontifical Mass in the Byzantine
Rite at the Praca.
The Sunday closing processions
and ceremonies surpassed all pre
vious spectacles. While the more
than half-million pilgrims sang
the hymn of the Congress the
procession started promptly at
4:00 p.m. from te Candeleria in
downtown Rio and marched al
most a mile to the Praca. Lay del
egations led the way bearing a
huge crucifix flanked by the pap
al flag and the flag of Brazil.
Next came the Legion of Mary and
the League of the Sacred Heart
both with myriads of banners,
blue and red. Then thousands of
nuns and clergy in their various
habits. The brilliant robes of the
Cardinals and Bishops and the
vivid banners of the lay pilgrims
made a color pageant beyond
description.
The Blessed Eucharist was car
ried in a giant golden ostensori-
um about five feet high. This
beautiful vessel was studded with
precious and semi-precious stones
and was especially made by the
Brazilians for this Congress. A
canopied vehicle carried it to the
foot of the altar steps where the
Papal Legate removed the cen
ter part, which was a normal size
monstrance, and carried it to the
altar. The tremendous crowd
greeted our Lord with waving
white handkerchiefs. It was a
sea of color and motion so thril
ling, inspiring and devotional that
most of the pilgrims were moved
to tears. Camera bulbs flashed
and the huge floodlights, six
on each side of the pavillion^
crossed their bright beams in the
sky over the altar. All sang “O
Salutaris”, then knelt for the final
Benediction.
Immediately after the blessing,
by special direct radio connection
from Rome, were heard the bells
of St. Peters, and then the voice
of the Holy Father who spoke to
the Eucharistic Congress in Por
tuguese. There was a hush over
this vast crowd until his l a s t
word was spoken. This was a
sight and experience no one could
forget. And silently watching
from the sky, illuminated and
visible from every point was
Christo Redemptor-the Corcova-
da. At this moment Rio was truly
the Eucharistic Gapitol of The
World in the embrace of Christ
the Redeemer. No other city can
boast of such a blessing.
MRS. C. A. CLEARY
SERVICES HELD
SAVANNAH, Ga. — F u n e r a 1
services for Mrs. Catherine A.
Cleary were held August 22nd at
the Cathedral of St. John the Bap
tist.
Survivors are two daughters,
Mrs. Fred R. Cetti, and Mrs. Ira
J. Ryan, of Savannah; a son,
James L. Cooper, of Warwick, Va.,
ten grandchildren, and six great
grandchildren.
The United States embassy in
Moscow has presented a “follow
up note” to the Soviet authori
ties, “pressing for expeditious ac
tion” on the application for a
visa made by Father Louis F.
Dion, A.A., of Worcester, Mass.
Higfi Schoolers
Arrive In U* S.
WASHINGTON, (NC) —
Thirty-three German teenagers
brought to the United States un
der the auspices of the State De
partment and the National Cath
olic Welfare Conference to “live”
American democracy for a year
have fanned out to their U.S.
homes after a brief visit to
Washington.
The 33 for whom the N.C.W.C.
Department of Education made
arrangements came here direct
from Montreal, where their ship
docked. They will spend the
next year with selected volun
teer Catholic host families.
Greeted here by Msgr. Willi
am E. McManus, assistant direc
tor of the N.C,W.C.’s Education
Department, they had several
briefing sessions at N.C.W.C.
headquarters, and were given
some helpful hints by officials
of the German Embassy and the
State Department, before go
ing their way.
The 33 were part of a group
of some 100 German high school
boys and girls who are leaders
in their home communities, and
who are being sponsored in the
United States by various religi
ous and welfare agencies.
Foil
.97
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JUDY HATS
101 PRYOR STREET, N. E.
A Step Off Peachlree Toward Houston St.
Atlanta, Georgia