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4 I 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 -for scor-es—of -years-.-- Tnr-T871, at the request of the faculty ECHOLS TRANSFER INC. HAULING & MOVING Truck & Driver $3.50 per Hour Tractor Trailor &. Driver $4.50 per Hour Serving Customers Throughout Georgia” 370 Lee St. S. W. PL 3-2153 Atlanta AUGUSTA William J. Heffernan, Jr. T. R. Heffernan JOHN W. DICKEY COMPANY REALTORS INSURANCE & MORTGAGE LOANS 128 Eighth St. — Dial PA. 2-0184 rs 2308 MILLEDGEVILLE ROAD AUGUSTA, GEORGIA Meating and Air Conditioning PHONE RE 6-6082 A Complete Cine of Appliances FARM . . . HOME . . . COMMERCIAL ... PHONE RE 6-5363 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. AUGUSTA SLUSKY Builders’ Supplies, Inc. Quality Chain Link Fence Residential — Industrial FREE ESTIMATES - ERECTION SERVICE 36 MONTHS TO PAY 1009 Broad St. Augusta, Ga. PA. 2-4477 BARTON HOUSE WRECKING CO. NEW AND USED LUMBER, SASHES, DDDRS, BRICKS AND PLUMBING 1 All KUtcLl oj Building Mat&Ual 1227-9 D'Antibnac St. AUGUSTA, GA. W. E. 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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. Heating and Air Conditioning For The Home SiqCoie (^)Westinghouse 1431 GreeneSt. 722-5304 Augusta, Ga.