Newspaper Page Text
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PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, May 25, 1963
Augusta
History Of St. Patrick’s
Second installment of the
history of Saint Patrick’s
Church. The history was com
piled by the Rev. Ralph E.
Seikel, pastor, from available
records and histories of earlier
years.
The number of Catholics had
increased so much under the
pastorship of Father Barry, that
the church was manifestly too
small for the congregation, and
instead of adding, patching and
altering, this time the conceiv
ed the bold idea of erecting a
structure worthy of the second
city in the state, and in keeping
with the spirit of generosity
and nobleness with which the
pastor and the flock were ani
mated. The first step taken to
wards erecting the splendid
structure originated in 1853.
It was resolved by the congrega
tion that each member would
contribute 25 cents per month.
The collections thus commen
ced were interrupted during the
year 1854. That year was an
epoch of great severity on the
Catholics of Augusta and Savan
nah. The first Bishop of Savan
nah fell victim to the raging
yellow fever. The epidemic
spread itself from Savannah
to Augusta, and raged there with
fearful intensity. Father Barry
was at his post administering
to the sick and saying. He had
to go to Savannah to adminis
ter the consolation of religion
tp his dying Bishop, whose suc
cessor he was to be, in spite of
all his repugnance and opposi
tion.
In this same year of 1853,
while the pastor and people of
the parish were planning their
new church, Father Barry was
also instrumental in bringing
to the city the Sisters of Mer
cy. Here, under the leadership
of the renowned Mother Agnes,
the Sisters founded St. Mary’s
Academy and Convent on what
is now the corner of 7th and
Telfair Streets. Scarcely had
the academy been instituted be
fore Augusta was devastated
with the yellow fever epidemic.
The old Catholic rectory which
was situated in the rear of the
old church was converted into a
hospital and here among the
sick-and- -dying, Father Barry
and his assistant Father
SANCTUARY of newly redecorated St. Patrick’s Church, Augusta. Rev. Ralph E.
Seikel is pastor of the parish.—(Morgan Fitz Photo)
Fuggan, aided by the Sisters,
labored until the pestilence cea
sed. Many orphans were left
by the dread malady. The Sis
ters care for the little girls
and Father Barry adopted the
boys.
In its early years, St. Mary’s
was a public school, with the
teachers paid by the County
Board of Education. It served
the parish and the community
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of the Medical College of Geor
gia at Augusta. These same
Sisters took charge of the City
Hospital, a service they contin
ued for two years.
With the development of the
free schools, St, Mary's Acade
my was forced to close, but not
before it had left its distinctive
mark on the community of Au
gusta.
When the yellow fever tem
pest finally subsided, the work
of raising funds for the erec
tion of a new church was re
sumed with increased ardor in
the following year, 1855. This
time it was a monthly collec
tion taken from Catholics at
their entrance into the Church.
In 1857, the funds collected
amounted to $4,365.00 and it was
deemed opportune to commence
the work. The pastor of the
church, now Bishop elect, laid
and blessed the cornerstone
of the new church on July 19,
1857, the Feast of St. Vincent
de Paul. After the ceremony,
he departed for Baltimore to
receive the episcopal conse
cration.
In the meantime, a building
committee had been appointed
to work under the new pastor,
Father Duggan. The zeal of the
congregation for defraying the
expenses of the building re
ceived now a new impetus.
Weekly contributions steadily
increased the fund of the church,
until it nearly obtained com
pletion at the beginning of the
War Between the States. Unfor
tunately a beautiful organ con
tracted for in the North, could
not reach the city before the
Northern Army established its
blockade. The beautiful marble
altars were installed during the
war by a Mr. J. P. Mullen,
as artist from Baltimore, who
had to run the blockade for that
purpose. These altars were a
present from Mrs. M. Freder
ick, and cost the sum of
$2,000.00.
On August 2, 1857, Father
Barry was consecrated Bishop
of the diocese. He was to die
two years later in Paris on
Nov. 21, 1859, while on a trip to
Rome where he had gone to
recover from the ravages of
yellow fever to which he had
exposed hims'elf in his priestly
labors. His remains were
brought back and interred under
the church to which he had given
so much of his priestly life.
When the new Bishop visited
the parish in May 1862, he
called on the chief members of
the congragation for additional
subscriptions. These subscrip
tions along with an “auction”
held for the right of selecting
pews, raised the necessary
money not only to pay all the
debts of the church and com
plete its ornament and furni
ture, but also enough to defray
the expense of the consecration.
And thus it was that the pre
sent church, built and furnished
at a cost of $42,833.32, was
consecrated on April 12, 1863
under the title and name of The
Most Holy Trinity. But, as : is
1
the custom of the Church, a
patron saint is required for
every Church. On Easter Sunday
of 1863, by a vote of clergy and
people, St. Patrick’s was chosen
as the primary patron and St.
Vincent de Paul as the secon
dary patron.
The naming of the church as
St. Patrick’s is significant and
of historical value. It marked
the ascendancy of the Irish
'Sffiong the congregation. Tor it
is evident that early in the his
tory of the parish, those of
French birth and descent were
largely in the majority.
In 1875, the original church
was torn down and a high school
erected for boys. The school
was opened on Nov. 2, 1875 and
staffed by the Brothers of the
Sacred Heart. In its early years,
the school, like that of the Sis
ters of Mercy, was a public
school with the teachers paid
by the County Board of Educa
tion. In 1903, The Brothers of
the Sacred Heart withdrew from
Augusta and the Brothers of the
Christian Schools took over the
school. They continued their
work until 1927, when the school
was forced to close. Ten years
later, this property was sold
to the city of Augusta for the
purpose of erecting a munici
pal auditorium. In 1936, the
Marish Brothers came to Au
gusta and opened a secondary
school for boys in the building
which once housed St. Mary’s
Academy. When Aquinas High
School was opened in 1957, this
building was torn down and re-
placek by office buildings.
In 1868, the present organ
was placed in the gallery at a
cost of $6000.00. A week later,
an organ concert was held in
the church and netted $2000.00.
On April 8, 1894, the present
bell, weighing 4,750 pounds was
donated by the Dorr family and
blessed by Bishop Becker. The
present statues of St. Bridget
and St. Patrick were donated by
Mrs. Norton at a cost of
$1000.00. In 1899, the handsome
stone steps presently leading
to the Church were constructed.
And in the following years, a
modern heating plant was
installed along with electric
lighting equipment. In 1955, it
was necessary to replace the
heating plant with a new one
which was attached to the rear
of the church.
In 1962, it was deemed feasi
ble to abandon the old rectory,
and a new bungalow was con
structed nest to the Church.
A year later, the Church was
renovated in preparation for
the centenial. It had last been
painted on the inside in 1944.
And thus it stands today, a
fitting monument to Catholicism
in Augusta. Of Norman archi
tecture with stucco over hand
made brick and unornamented
except for recessed crosses
and a tall, slender spire, St.
Patrick’s Church is distingui
shed for its simplicity and beau
ty of line. It holds a special
place in the heart of all Augusta
Catholics and will long remain
Goldwater Attacks NEA
Senate Subcommittee Hears
Proposals For College Aid
(N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE)
WASHINGTON—The Senate
education subcommittee re
ceived several proposals for
U. S. aid to higher education in
hearings last week.
It also heard from three op
ponents of assistance for edu
cation in church-related
schools. They were the Ameri
can Humanist Association, the
Unitarian Fellowship for Social
Justice and Protestants and
Other Americans United for
Separation of Church and State.
Headed by Sen. Wayne Morse
of Oregon, the subcommittee
recessed (May 17) for a week
and will pick up hearings again
during the week of May 27.
Focal point of the sessions
has been President Kennedy’s
24-proposal “omnibus” bill
which would aid all levels of
education. The measure already
has been cut up by the House
Education Committee which has
approved a separate bill for aid
to public and private colleges.
In the meantime, the National
Education Association reported
that a pamphlet which drew an
gry charges from Sen. Barry
Goldwater of Arizona is out of
point.
Goldwater, who opposes U. S.
aid to education, charged the
powerful association with dis
tributing a "subversive docu
ment” when it reprinted an edi
torial from the Hutchinson
(Kan.) News. The editorial said
that the aid to education contro
versy is “a struggle between
people with wealth and people
with kids.”
As Robert H. Wyatt, NEA
president-elect, sat in the wit
ness chair, Goldwater waved the
pamphlet and charged that it
“could have been printed in the
Daily Worker. It is anti-Ameri
can. It is subversive.”
Wyatt said he vaguely re
membered seeing the document
and added that the NEA “feels
it is necessary that our mem
bership know the point of view
of other persons and groups.”
Goldwater read into the sub
committee’s record a portion of
the pamphlet which said that
“the traditional foes (of Federal
aid) have been helped this year
by such strange bedfollows as
Sen. J. Strom Thurmond (of
On Nation’s Radio And TV
K. C. Seeks Pledge
To Flag July 4th
SAVANNAH—The aid of
Knights of Columbus is being
sought, throughout the country,
so that all radio stations and
as many TV stations as possi
ble will broadcast the Pledge
of Allegiance to the Flag on
July 4th.
The movement was proposed
by Hugh H. Grady, Past State
Deputy and past Grand Knight of
the Savannah Council.
Luke E. Hart, Supreme Knight
has sent a letter to all State
Deputies suggesting that they
present a resolution to their
state councils urging broad
casting stations to have the
v pledge of allegiance recited on
radio and television throughout
the jurisdiction and asking the
Grand Knight of each council
to contact his station and take
whatever steps necessary for
that purpose. The K. of C.
weekly News Bulletin of April
29th carried an editorial on the
movement.
At the recent Georgia State
Convention, Grady offered a
resolution, which was adopted,
whereby the thirteen grand
knights of the state would handle
local promotion oftheprogram.
It is planned for all radio and
TV stations to recite the pledge
at noon.
To Avoid Places
Which Practice
Race Bias
KANSAS CITY, Mo., (NC)~
Bishop Charles Helmsing an
nounced here he will not attend
any function held at a place
which practices racial discri
mination.
The Bishop of Kansas City-
St. Joseph, Mo., made the an
nouncement at the annual instal
lation dinner of the Serra Club
of Kansas City.
The dinner was switched from
a private club to Union Station
after Bishop Helmsing informed
Serra officers that an official
of the private club at which it
was to be held had informed him
that colored persons would not
be, served.
Bishop Helmsing said he had
learned of the policy of the pri
vate establishment—the Kansas
City Club—by direct inquiry.
CATHEDRAL AWARDS—Pictured above are the winners
of the outstanding sportsmanship trophy, Anne Porter, and
Mike Leonard, winner of the outstanding basketball player
award. Both winners are students at Cathedral Day School,
Savannah and received their citations at the annual Basket
ball Banquet recently held at the School.—(Carroll Burke
Photo)
South Carolina) who is afraid
the Negroes will get in the
Cardinal Spellman who is afraid
that the Catholics will be left
out.”
Sen. Jennings Randolph of
West Virginia told Wyatt that
he shared Goldwater’s concern
although the two disagree on
Federal aid.
Randolph said the pamphlet
“moves over the ragged edge
into an area not constructive.”
The NEA, an 815,000-mem
ber organization whose voice is
one of the most influential on
education legislation, said later
it had distributed 11,000 copies
of the pamphlet last fall.
Catholics Urged To
Lead In Ending
Injustice To Negro
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (NC)~
Catholic laymen ofthe Harvard-
Radcliffe Club and their chap
lains have appealed to “fellow
Catholics in Birmingham and
throughout the nation to take the
lead in bringing an end to in
justices long inflicted on the
American Negro.”
The appeal urged that such
action for social reform be tak
en “under the impetus of Pope
John XXIII’s recent encyclical
Pacem in Terris.”
The appeal said the encycli
cal’s "ideals, particularly
those regarding the dignity of
the human person, urgently need
to be put into immediate prac
tice.”
“Steps to grant Negroes the
rights which are due to bro
thers,” the appeal continued,
“must immediately be taken in
America.
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a monument to their faith.
Relics in St. Patrick’s Altar
Stone: St. Exuperantius, St. Eu-
phrasius, St. Pierius, St. Eu-
tichiana.
Pastors: Father Browne, Fa
ther J. McEnroe, Bishop Barry,
Father Duggan, Father William
Hamilton, Father C. C. Pender-
gast, Father H. J. McNally,
Father James O’Brien, Father
P. H. McMahon, Father L. Ba
zin.
Father William Quinlan, Fa
ther James Kane, Father Henry
Schonhardt, Father Leo Kee
nan, Father Angel Pengson, Fa
ther Joseph Malloy, Father
Harold Barr, Father Arthur
Weltzer, Father Ralph Seikel.
Many other distinguished
priests have served St. Pat
rick’s, among them Father Ab
ram Ryan, the “Poet-Priest of
the Confederacy.” Others in
clude Father P. H. McMahon,
Father H. J. McNally, Father
Jerry O’Hara, Father Michael
Manning, Father George Daly
and Father Patrick Connell.
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