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I
PAGE 2—The Southern Cross, August 1, 1963
Archbishop O’Hara
Intense Love
Of Church
Following is the text of the
sermon by Bishop Francis E.
Hyland at the pontifical requiem
Mass on Wednesday, July 24th
in Pholadelphia for Archbishop
Gerald P. O’Hara, Apostolic
Delegate to Great Britain and
former Auxiliary Bishop of
Philadelphia:
“I will most gladly spend
and be spent myself for your
souls.” (II Cor. 12, 15).
In the year 1929, when Gerald
Patrick O’Hara, at the early
age of 34 years, was elevated
to the office and dignity of
Bishop, having in mind the
quoted text of St. Paul, he chose
as his episcopal motto "Vitam
impendere Christo”—to devote
one’s life to Christ; or as the
Archbishop himself under
stood his motto—and of course
it is the same thing—to devote
one’s life to the cause of
Christ’s Church.
I venture to say it would not
be easy to find another whose
★★★★★★★★★★★★★
The Southern Cross wishes
to thank the Philadelphia Catho
lic Standard and Times for the
text of Bishop Hyland’s sermon
and the pictures of Archbishop
O’Hara’s funeral.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★
entire ecclesiatical life and ca
reer corresponded so literally
to his motto. We all love the
Church: “Holy Mother,” we
call her with filia affection.
But with Archbishop O’Hara
love of the Church was a verit
able passion, and he could never
really be at ease as long as
there was something which he
personally could accomplish for
the Church, or for the souls
committed to his charge as
pastor and Bishop, or for the
members of the hierarchies
of the three countries in which
he was privileged and honored
to serve as the personal re
presentative of the Supreme
Pontiff.
The Archbishop was kind and
generous to a fault; kind
and generous of his time and
his many talents kind and gene
rous indeed of his meager ma
terial means. He was a man who
was thoughtful of everyone, ex
cept himself.
The Archbishop would be the
very last to think of himself
as a martyr even in the sense
of a martyr to duty. But those
of us who were privileged to
know him well during the last
10 or 12 years of his life knew
that his health was poor, to
say the least, and that physical
pain was almost his daily com
panion.
Yet until a few days ago, when
death stilled his zealous labors,
he carried on his arduous duties
in behalf of the Church and the
Supreme Pontiff. It was of
course his intense love of the
Church which urged him on an
substituted, as it were, for
the physical stamina which he
no longer possessed.
When one speaks or thinks of
Archbishop O’Hara he always
returns to the theme of love
of the Church. But there was
also something else. The Arch
bishop was endowed with an un
usual ability, a truly re
markable facility of being able
to rise magnificently to an oc
casion or a challenge. When
he returned to Savannah in the
early fall of 1950 after his ex
pulsion from Romania, his
health and his nerves were
shattered. In the opinion of a
physician-friend, he was like
a soldier who had just return
ed from the battle front. Dur
ing those months he was usually
tired and weary because of his
inability to rest properly; he
was nervous; at times he was
easily disturbed and upset; at
times he found it difficult to
concentrate upon his work.
But on the occasion of a
function or a ceremony, he
would suddenly spring back to
life; he would become almost
an entirely new person;
he would be totally oblivious
of his physical ailments and
his mental distress.
More often than not on those
occasions, his sermon or ad
dress, as the case may have
been, would be an eloquent per
formance, and always on those
occasions, after the ceremony
or the function, as he moved
among priests and people—"my
priests and my people” he call
ed them with affection, he would
be graciousness personified,
communicating to all the in
nate charm and warmth of his
personality.
I have referred to the men
tal distress which the Arch
bishop endured for a time after
his experiences in Romania.
“Distress” is the word he him
self used when he spoke of i|
those experiences. On a number
of occasions as we chatted
briefly of an evening, the Arch
bishop, staking the arm of his
chair or the top of his desk
for emphasis, would say:
“Believe me, I would glad
ly return to Romania tomor
row if I could. Oh, it would
not be easy,” he would
add, “and perhaps I could ac
complish very little for the
Church at large in a Commu
nist land. But think of the many
acts of kindness and charity
I could perform in the name of
the Holy Father for individual
bishops, priests and laity, to
reassure those unhappy people
of the paternal concern and
love of the Vicar of Christ.
It distresses me and distresses
me greatly that now there is no
one in Romania to do these
things in the name of our Holy
F ather.”
Vitam impendere Christo.
The distress which the Arch
bishop endured during those
months was surely a re-echo
of those other words of the
great Apostle of the Gentiles:
The charity of Christ presses
upon me.
The highlights of the career
of Archbishop O’Hara are well
known to all of you. It was an
unusual and a varied career,
one that is unparalleled in the
annals of the American Hier
archy, It was a career which
took him to Georgia in our own
Southland, to Romania in East
ern Europe, to the Emerald
Isle from which his own fore
bears came, and finally to Great
Britain from which we have de
rived so much of our basic
customs and culture.
We of the Archdiocese of
Philadlephia are justifiably
proud that Holy Mother
Church should have reposed
so much confidence in one of
our own, and prouder still that
the confidence was never mis
placed.
May I strike a personal note
here to say that I share this
pride with Philadelphia in a
special way, because I was pri
vileged to be the Archbishop’s
Auxiliary for seven years in the
Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta,
and because as the first Bishop
of Atlanta I was the beneficiary
in so many ways of the aposto
lic zeal of Archbishop O’Hara,
who was the chief shepherd
of the Church in the entire
State of Georgia for two score
years.
The Archbishop brought to th<3rs
various offices which he oc
cupied in the Church personal
talents and abilities of a high
order, a stern sense of duty,
an intense love of the Church
a willingness and readiness to
serve the Church in any capa
city and an unfailing loyalty and
fidelity to the See of Peter.
As we look back over the early
life of Gerald Patrick O’Hara
and consider the circumstances
which combined to form his
priestly and episcopal charac
ter and to develop the outstand
ing qualities which I have
mentioned, we recall most
readily the sterling Catholicity
of the family and the home in
which he was born and reared,
his thorough Catholic education
as a boy and youth and his
seminary and ecclesiastical
training at Overbrook and at
the center of our Holy Faith
in Rome.
But there was another period
of training which Archbishop
O’Hara underwent which helped
considerably to form and
develop his priestly and epis
copal character and enhanced
the qualities which were his by
nature and grace. I refer to
the training which the Arch
bishop received as a young
priest and bishop under the
tutelage of His Eminence Den
nis Cardinal Dougherty.
I am quite certain the Arch
bishop would never forgive me
were I to fail to mention today
this period of his life. It was a
period of training which I am
sure was by no means easy.
The Cardinal could be a stern
though just superior: he was a
man in whose life sentiment
seemed to play little part, at
least on the surface. Yet be
tween these two men, apparently
of such diverse character, there
was an affectionate relationship
which endured as long as life
itself. The relationship between
them was that of spiritual fat
her and son.
I recall a day in Harrisburg,
in November, 1935, when the
then Apostolic Delegate inform
ed Cardinal Dougherty, that his
Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Pa
trick O’Hara was to become
the Bishop of Savannah, Ga.
The Cardinal was visibly moved
by the announcement, and the
few words he said in reply to
the Delegate were uttered with
a quiver in his voice. “Your
Elcellency,” he said, “I am
sorry to lose Bishop O’Hara
because I love him as a son.”
The Archbishop on his part
revered and loved the Cardinal
as a father.
I recall the day of May 31,
FORTY BISHOPS were present for the funeral Mass
and burial of Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara in Philadel
phia last week. Archbishop O’Hara had been a bishop
for 34 years and numbered many members of the American
Hierarchy Attend Rites
For Archbishop
The following members of the
Hierarchy were in attendance
at the Requiem Mass;
His Eminence, Francis Car
dinal Spellman, Archbishop of
New York; Most Rev. Egidio
Vagnozzi, Apostolic Delegate to
the United States; Most Rev.
Martin J. O’Connor, Rector,
North American College,
Rome; Most Rev. Patrick A.
O’Boyle, Archbishop of Wash
ington; Most Rev. Karl J. Alter,
Archbishop of Cincinnati; Most
Rev. Celestine J. Damiano,
Archbishop-Bishop of Camden;
Most Rev. James P. Davis,
Archbishop of San Juan, Puerto
Rico; Most Rev. John J. Krol,
Archbishop of Philadelphia;
Most Rev. Lawrence J. Shehan,
Archbishop of Baltimore; Most
Rev. Ambrose Senyshyn, Arch
bishop of Ukrainian Catholic
Archeparchy of Philadelphia;
Most Rev. John P. Cody, Arch
bishop of New Orleans; Most
Rev. Paul J. Hallinan, Arch
bishop of Atlanta, Ga.; Most
Rev. Joseph P. Hurley, Arch
bishop-Bishop of St. Augustine,
Fla.
Also, the Most Rev. Cuthbert
O’Gara, C. P., Union City,
N. J.: Most Rev. George L.
Leech, Bishop of Harrisburg;
Most Rev. Joseph Yuen, Bishop
of Chumatien, Honan, China;
Most Rev. Vincent S. Waters,
Bishop of Raliegh, North Caro
lina; Most Rev. J. Carroll Mc
Cormick, Bishop of Altoona-
Johnstown; Most Rev. Thomas
J- McDonough, Bishop of Sav
annah; Most Rev. Henry T.
Klonowski, Auxiliary Bishop of
Scranton; Most Rev. E. P. Mc-
Manaman, Auxiliary Bishop of
Erie; Most Rev. Francis E.
Hyland, Titular Bishop of
Bisica (St. Charles Seminary);
Most Rev. Geroge W. Ahr,
Bishop of Trenton.
Also, the Most Rev. Joseph
McShea, Bishop of Allentown;
Most Rev„ Jerome D. Hannan,
Bishop of Scranton; Most Rev.
Nicholas T. Elko, Apostolic
Exarch-Byzantine Rite, Pitts
burgh; Most Rev. Martin W.
Stanton, Auxiliary Bishop of
Newark; Most Rev. Walter W.
Curtis, Bishop of Bridgeport;
Most Rev. Edward J. Harper,
C.SS.R., St. Thomas, Virgin
Islands; Most Rev. Thomas
Holland, Coadjutor Bishop of
Portsmouth, England; Most
Rev. Coleman F. Carroll, Bish
op of Miami; Most Rev. Francis
J. Furey, Auxiliary Bishop of
Philadelphia; Most Rev. T.
Austin Murphy, Auxiliary Bish
op of Baltimore; Most Rev.
Gerald V. McDevitt, Auxiliary
Bishop of Philadelphia; Most
Rev. John J. Maguire, Aux
iliary Bishop of New York;
Most Rev. James J. Hogan,
Auxiliary Bishop of Trenton,
and Most Rev. James W.
Malone, Auxiliary Bishop of
Youngstown, Ohio.
1951. The Archbishop came into
my room at the Cathedral rec
tory in Savannah. “The Car
dinal is dead,” he said, and
he dropped into a chair and
wept as a child.
The ecclesiastical career of
Archibshop O’Hara ended in
Philadelphia as long ago as
January of 1936, and subse
quently took him to places far
distant from this city. But how
eminently appropriate it is that
his mortal remains should be
borne back to his Cathedral
Church of Philadelphia, to which
he so often came in the company
of Cathedral Church of
Cardinal Doutherty, and that
they should be interred in the
Cathedral crypt close to the
mortal remains of the man who
was his mentor and, above all,
his father in Christ.
To the brothers of Archbishop
O’Hara, to his nieces and nep
hews and other members of the
family, I extend heartfelt sym
pathy. We share your sorrow,
your grief, your sense of loss.
I speak in behalf of all pre
sent here today whowereprivi-
leged to know the Archibshop,
because to know him was to love
him, and all who loved him
are going to miss him, even as
you will miss him from the
family circle.
But I speak especially this
morning in the name of the
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
which mourns the departure of
an outstanding prelate of the
Church who rose from among
the ranks of her clergy, and
in behalf of the Church in Geor
gia which laments the demise
of a former father in Christ
whose name will ever b e held
in benediction in the Empire
State of the South.
My dear people, in this hour
of sorrow and bereavement, you
will derive comfort and conso
lation in the blessed and en
during memory of a dear one,
who, in the words of his epis
copal rnouo, devoted his life
to the service of Christ’s
Church; in the memory of one
who spent himself unto death in
the cuase of Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Certainly during these 43
years as priest and prelate,
the Archbishop has stored up
for himself abundant treasures
in heaven. But we members of
the clergy bear the great priest
hood of Jesus Christ in the
fragile, earthen vessels of
fallen human nature. We pledge
ourselves, therefore, my dear
people, to unite with you in
prayer, even as we have this
morning through the Holy Sacri
fice of the Mass, that Almightly
God in His infinite goodness
may have mercy on this faith
ful servant of His and grant
eternal rest to his noble soul.
To Commemorate
Council
BUDAPEST, (NC) — The
Hungarian government has
given its approval for the con
struction of a new church in
nearby Budakalasz to commem
orate the holding of the Second
Vatican Ecumenical Council,
the Catholic weekly, Uj Ember,
has reported.
ARCHBISHOP JOHN J. KROLL of Philadelphia is shown
as he entered the Philadelphia Cathedral for the Requiem
for Archbishop O’Hara. Chaplain to the Archbishop (left)
is the Rev. Joseph W. Kavanagh, of Philadelphia, secretary
to Archbishop O’Hara when he first came to Savannah in
1936. Priest chaplain at right is Rev. Joseph Jones,
C.SS.R., a secretary to Archbishop O’Hara at the London
Apostolic Delegation . (Philadelphia Catholic Standard and
; Times Photo)
Queen Voices Sorrow
LONDON (NC)—Queen Eliza
beth has expressed sorrow at
the death of Archbishop Gerald
P. O’Hara, American-born pre
late who had served as Apos
tolic Delegate to Great Britain
since 1954.
A message from the Queen’s
secretary to Father Liam Car-
son, the Archbishop’s secre
tary, expressed her “sorrow
in the sad news of the death
of Archbishop O’Hara.”
“Her Majesty desires me to
assure you of her sympathy in
your loss,” the message said.
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from Chicago via Air Conditioned Bui.
AUo included in the above a tour of: Ottawa,
Montreal Quebec City, and Detroit, Botton.
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MASAKA, Uganda, (NC) —
Msgr. Victor Mukasa, the first
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has received a special blessing
and an autographed photo from
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Msgr. Mukasa was ordained on
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Superior General
LONDON, (NC) — Father
Gerald Mahon, 41, has been
elected Superior General of the
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Mahon, who was rector of a
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Kenya, succeeds Father Tho
mas McLaughlin who resigned
from the office because of poor
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Francis Cardinal Spellman of
New York is shown above
during; the Requiem Mass
for Archbishop Gerald P.
O’Hara.
hierarchy among his friends. Bishop Thomas J. McDonough,
who succeeded the Archbishop as Bishop of Savannah, is
pictured in the second row, sixth from left. (Philadel
phia Standard and Times Photo)
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