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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 Trims are increasingly important... the magic touch on rayon velvet for your fall wardrobe. See the many others in our just-arrived groups in new styles and colors. JUDY HATS 101 PRYOR STREET, N. E. A Step Off Peachlree Toward Houston St. Atlanta, Georgia