Newspaper Page Text
Official
Newspaper For
The Diocese Of
Savannah - Atlanta
" PUBLISHED BY THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
“To Bring About
a Friendlier
Feeling Among
Georgians Irre
spective of Creed”
Vol. 37, No. 6.
MONROE, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, AUGUST 13,. 1956 10c Per Copy — $3 a Year
Only One Of Many Catholic Firsts
A PRAYERFUL REMINDER — Postmaster James C. Smith
of the Pittsburgh Post Office shows Father Daniel H. Brennan,
executive secretary of the Pittsburgh Catholic, diocesan newspaper,
what the new. “Pray for Peace” cancellation stamp looks like. The
new mail motto is a reminder to Americans and people all over
the world,’ to pray for peace. President Eisenhower signed the law
authorizing the special cancellation on July 20th. (NC Photos)
Will Teach At St. James
Servants Of The Immaculate
Heart Of Mary To Staff School
SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Sis
ters, Servants of the Immaculate
t art of Mary will form the facul-
‘ 'of the new St. James -school
jw nearing completion on the
Montgomery Cross Road.
FatherUohn D. Toomey, pastor
of St. James, announces that four
Sisters have been assigned to
teach at St. James and that they
will arrive in Savannah the. later
part of August
Four rooms bf the new school
will be completed for the open
ing of school in September, with
the convent ready for occupancy
the first of October. In the mean
time the Sisters will be the guests
of the Sisters of Mercy at St.
Mary’s Home.
Mother M. Hubert and Mother
M. Esther, of the Council of the
Sisters, Servant's of the Immacu
late Heart of Mary, visited Sav
annah. the first week in August
to inspect the buildings under
construction at the new parish. -
A history of the Order shows
it has achieved a remarkable rec
ord of service and growth during
its 110-year existence.
In 1843, Father Louis Florent
Gillet. a zealous Belgian Redemp-
torist, was assigned to conduct
a series of missions in and about
Monroe, Mich., and also to estab
lish a Redemptorist foundation
in that region.
In vain did he try to secure
various communities of teachers
in the United States and Europe
to staff a parochial school in
Monroe. Finally, under the guid
ance of the Holy Spirit, he re
solved to found a Sisterhood of
his own: “If I cannot find Sisters,
I will make some.” Thus with ec
clesiastical approval was formed
in November, 1845, a communi
ty entirely American in Origin,
the Sisters, Servants of the Im
maculate Heart of Mary. The Sis
ters were introduced intp the
diocese of Philadelphia by Bish
op Neumann in 1858.
In the 110 years since Father
Gillet began his congregation of
three Sisters in a small log cabin
in the western wilderness, the
members have increased to more
than 4,000, divided into three
branches with Motherhouses at
Monroe, Mich., Scranton, Pa., and
West Chester, Pa.
The Sisters whose Motherhouse
is in Villa Maria, West Chester,
staff approximately 140 Schools,
providing Catholic elementary
and secondary education in Pen
nsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia
and Florida. They conduct four
academies in the United States;
a college of liberal arts for young
women, Immaculata College, at
Immaculata, Pa., and academies
and parochial schools in Peru and
Chile. During the past year the
congregation has been honored
with a Decree of Praise and Pon
tifical Approval from Rome.
The habit of the congregation
is of blue serge, with a blue
scapular, a rosary of 15 decades
is worn in the form of an “M” on
the left side, and a crucifix is
worn below a white circular cape.
The Sisters’ veils are black.
Georgia Is First Southeastern State
With Two Dioceses Within Borders
'The author of this article is the
editor of the Catholic Neves, news
paper for the Archdiocese of New
York. For many years, he urns
editor of The Bulletin, organ of
the Catholic Laymen’s Association
of Georgia. In this 'article he ivrites
about Church development in the
Savannah-Atlanta diocese ivhich
recently was divided into tieo
separate dioceses.
By Richard Reid
(Written for the N.C.W.C.
News Service)
Georgia, recently divided into
the Dioceses of Savannah and
Atlanta, is the first ■ state in the
Southeast to have two entire Sees
within its borders.
This is one of the state’s many
Catholic firsts in its region.
It was the first state in the
thirteen original colonies to be
blessed with the offering of the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It
was probably the first in the
original colonies to have its soil
consecrated by the blood of a
martyr.
It was the.first in the Southeast
and the second in the nation to
have a Bishop who later became
a Cardinal while serving abroad.
It is the first in the Southeast
and the second in the nation to
have its bishop serve the Holy
See as a Nuncio, a legate from
the Holy See sdnt as an ambas
sador to a foreign government.
It is probable that Mass was
offered in Georgia in the early
part of the 16th century by
priests with Spanish expeditions
which cruised along the coast of
the Southeast. It is certain Mass
was celebrated by priests with
De Soto’s expedition which tra
versed the state in 1540.
On September 28, 1566, the
Jesuit Father Pedro Martinez,
landing from a ship crippled by a
hurricane, was killed by Indians
while he was kneeling in prayer.
Most authorities place the scene
of the martyrdom on Cumber
land Island, Georgia
some claim the martyr for Flori
da.
Soon after the arrival of Fran
ciscans in 1573, there was a series
of missions along the coast from
St. Augustine to St. Elena, South
Carolina. Sir Francis Drake bat
tered - the colonies in 1586, and
an uprising led by a young chief
added four Franciscans to the list
of martyrs in 1597.
But the missions flourished to
such an extent that, according
to Dr. John Tate Lanning’s “Span
ish Missions of Georgia,” Bish
op Altamirano of Santiago, Cuba,
confirmed 2,074 Indians and 370
white persons in the Southeast
in 1606.
This was the golden age of the
missions.
The coming of the English to
Jamestown in 1607, to Charleston
in 1670 and to Savannah in 1733
began to push the Spanish back.
The Spanish supported the losing
French in the French-English war
of 1754-1763. The treaty of Paris
which gave Canada to the British
(Continued on Page 20)
New Assignment
For Father Hayes
ATLANTA, Ga.—-Rev. Harry T.
Hayes, S.M., Pastor of Sacred
Heart Church, Atlanta, Georgia,
for the pasOnine 'years is being
transferred to St. Joseph’s
Church, a new parish in Algiers,
and he is re
turning there
to help out
primarily in an
extensive build-
Rev. Dowling Dies
In New Orleans
AUGUSTA, Ga.—The Rev. Leo
T. Dowling, S.J., spiritual Father
and retreat confessor at Xavier
Hall, Pass Christian, Miss., and
assistant pastor at Sacred Heart
Church here in 1927 and
several years thereafter, died in
a New' Orleans Hospital. He was
83.
A native of New Orleans, Fath
er Dowling entered the Society of
Jesus on Sept. 10, 1889, at the
Seminary in Macon, Ga.
He taught at Jesuit Schools in
New Orleans, Tampa, Fla.; Macon
and Grand Coteau, La.
In addition to his Augusta as
sistant pastorate, he served
churches in Mobile, Selma, Ala.;
El Paso, Tex.; Albuquerque, N.
M.; Shreveport, La., and West
although 1 Palm Beach, Fla.
fl
Rev. Hayes
Ing program which will comprise
a new church, school, and con
vent for the Sisters.
During his long and productive
years here he has endeared him
self to everyone by his ability,
kindness and understanding. Dur
ing his pastorate here, a fine new
auditorium and cafeteria was
erected which has been used and
enjoyed by Catholics throughout
Atlanta. Two years ago, under
Father Hayes direction, Sacred
Heart Church was renovated and
redecorated and its beauty has
been an inspiration to both the
parishioners and visitors at Sacr
ed Heart.
In addition to his duties as
Pastor, Father has been Director
of the Third Order of Mary,
Moderator of The Altar & Rosary
Society, The Mothers Club, and
the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
He has been Confessor to the
Gray Nuns of the Sacred Heart
at Christ the King Convent, and
to the Medical Mission Sisters at
the Catholic Colored Chnic as
well as Extraordinary Confessor
to the Sisters of The Blessed Sac
rament at Our Lady of Lourdes
Convent and to the Sisters of St.
Joseph at St. Anthony’s Convent.
ST. JAMES SCHOOL—Shwn above is an architect’s sketch of the new St. James School now nearing completion on Montgomery
Road near Hayner’s Bridge. The eight-classroom structure will have many unusual features, including two attractive open interior patios.
(Morning News Photo)