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ADVENT SEASON - TIME OF PREPARATION
NEWSPAPER DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
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Vol. 45, No. 22
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SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. THURSDAY,'DECEMBER 3, 1964 10c Per Copy — $5 Per Year
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History of Catholicity in the
Macon area dates back to 1539
when De Soto stopped at an In
dian village, identified now as
the site of the city. Two Indian
guides were baptized! by the
Franciscan Fathers who accom
panied the expedition.
Prior to 1841 Mass was offer
ed occasionally by visiting
priests in residences of the few
Catholics in the town. In that
year, Father James Graham
became the first resident pastor
and purchased the building of
tiie First Presbyterian Chiurch
which was located at Fourth
near Plum. The first recorded
baptism was in 1843. In 1844 the
first marriage and confirma
tions were listed.
In 1876 Bishop Gross establish
ed Pio Nono College in Macon.
It was designed' for diocesan
students for the priesthood and
for others desiring a college ed
ucation.
Pio Nono College was acquir
ed by the Jesuit Fathers as a
novitiate for the New Orleans
province, and the name chang
ed to St. Stanislaus. The Semi
nary was used until it was de
stroyed by fire on Nov. 8, 1921.
As the Jesuit Fathers were lo
cated at St. Stanislaus, the par
ish was turned over to them to
administer.
In 1888 the parish acquired a
hillside on Poplar Street at New
Street with the ground 1 for a
new church edifice being bro
ken the following year. First
the basement wos built, com
pleted in 1892 and used as the
church until the superstructure
was completed in 1903.
St. Joseph’s School had its be*
ginning in the year 1872 in the
basement of the old Church and
it was here that the first unit
of the Public School System of
Macon began to operate.
It came about in this way. In
1872, the newly formed! Board
of Education had applied for
their charter and were looking
for convenient temporary quar
ters for school purposes. The
Rev. L. X. Basin, pastor of St.
Joseph’s, offered the several
large rooms of the basement of
the church for public school
uses until suitable buildings
could be provided.
When the charter was obtain
ed for the Macon Public Schools,
the Board! of Education elected
two Sisters of Mercy to mem
bership in their teaching body,
having acted favorably on the
application of the pastor and the
Catholic men of the parish. Sis
ter Mary Bernard and Sister
Mary Gertrude took the requir
ed examinations and began their
work under the principal, Mr:
J. Roberts. This arrangement
held for about two years and
at the end of that time the par
ish had its own school on the
church lot facing Broadway.
Shortly afterwards the Board of
Education secured better school
accommodations, re-adjustments
were made and all Catholic
children, regardless of school
wards, were permitted to attend
the Sisters school.
In June of 1902 the Sisters
withdrew from the Board of Ed-
cation and St. Joseph’s Paro
chial School was organized with
four Sisters of Mercy as instruc
tors. About twenty years later,
when the Rev. T. D. Madden,
S.J., was pastor of the parish,
the school was moved to High
Street.
St. Joseph's School occupied
its present school plant in the
fall of 1953.
road proclaimed “Welcome Holy
Father” on behalf of the em
ployes of the Mahindra and
Mahindra motor car corpora
tion.
Once he reached the Eucharis
tic Congress site, the Pope left
his limousine for a white jeep
which waited to take him a-
round the oval-shaped grounds--
officially christened, in fact,
“The Oval”. He lifted his hands
to the cheering crowd in his
characteristic gesture of greet
ing and acknowledgment.
The following day Pope Paul
began a round of visits to the
civic authorities of Bombay it
self, the diplomatic and consu
lar corps, and finally to Presi
dent Sarvepalli Radhkrishnan
himself (a visit that was return
ed by the President to the Pope
a few hours later).
But in many ways the most
significant of his encounters was
with representatives of the non-
Catholic Christian communities
in India.
The Pope first had a 'private
meeting with Mar Basilios Ou-
gen I, Catholicos of the Syrian
Orthodox Church in India. At
the end of this meeting, the
entourage of the Catholicos was
presented to the Pope. Then the
Pope received — again in pri
vate — a group of heads and
representatives of various Chris
tian churches and communities.
Following that meeting ,there
was a special audience for oth
er such representatives, plus
participants in a seminar on
inter-Christian relations sponsor
ed by the Eucharistic Congress.
That evening, at the Oval, Pope
Paul consecrated a group of six
bishops.
The Pope began the following
day (Dec. 4) by celebrating
Mass at a working class par
ish, St. Paul’s. He also visited
Our Lady’s Home, an orphanage
in that parish, and the local
center of the Young Christian
Workers.
He presided at a Syro-Malan-
kara-rite Mass at the Oval, and
blessed the sick there.
He was scheduled to return
to Rome on Dec. 5.
Official
Effective immediately, the
time for fasting from solid
foods, before receiving Holy
Communion, has been reduced
from three hours to one hour,
The one-hour time limit may be
computed from the actual time
of the reception of Holy Com
munion.
The new relaxation brings in
to harmony the regulations for
the use of both solid food and
non-alcoholic liquids before Com
munion. The time limit is now
one hour for both.
The three-hour limit for al
coholic liquids continues in
force.
by Patrick Riley
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
BOMBAY — Bombay lavishly
poured out its greatest wealth-
people — to greet the pilgrim
Pope Paul VI on his arrival for
this city’s International Eucha
ristic Congress.
After official India, including
Prime Minister Lai Bahadur
Shastri and Vice President Za
kir Hussain, met the Pope at
Santa Cruz airport ,the real In
dia cheered him from the
streets. Smiling and applauding
crowds estimated at 2,000,000
lined the 20 miles of road from
the airport in the raw and
sprawling suburbs to the con
gress site in the heart of old
Bombay.
There were papal flags aplen
ty in the strongly Catholic Santa
Cruz area. Many people put out
their Christmas lanterns as well.
But even in the solidly Hindu
neighborhoods farther on, lat
tice work arches intertwined
with flowers spanned the road
the Pope took. Some arches
were surmounted with a sign
“Long Live the Pope.” And one
banner stretching across the
AT NATIONAL MARIAN SHRINE
ESTIMATED 2,000,000 LINE MOTOR ROUTE
Pope Paul Receives Enthusiastic
Welcome On His Arrival In India
THE REVISED LITURGY was formally Introduced throughout the Diocese of Sa
vannah last Sunday. Bishop Thomas J. McDonough raises chalice at consecration
during 8:30 A.M. Mass at Cathedral. Assisting the Bishop was Father Sean O’
Rourke (1.) and Father Lawrence Lucree.. Both are assistant rectors at the Cathe
dral. (Ward Studio Photo)
On December 6th, St. Joseph’s
Parish in Macon will commem-
morate the Diamond Jubilee of
the ground - breaking for the
present Church. At 12:30 p.m.
a Solemn Pontifical Mass will
be celebrated by his Excellency
Bishop Thomas J. McDonough,
with Monsignor Thomas I. Shee
han, pastor of St. Joseph’s, as
assistant priest.
Returning to Macon to be
Deacons of Honor at the Mass
will be former parishioners,
Rev. Arnold Benedetto, S.J. and
Rev. Patrick Adams, O.F.M.
Foriper assistant pastors, Rev.
John J. Fitzpatrick and Rev. Jo
seph L. Stranc of the faculty
of St. John Vianney Seminary
will be Deacon of the Mass and
Sub - deacon, respectively. Mas
ter of Ceremonies will be Rt.
Rev. Monsignor Andrew J. Mc
Donald, Chancellor of the Dio
cese, and the Assistant Master
of Ceremonies, Rev. Edward R.
Frank, assistant pastor at St.
Joseph’s.
Fourth Degree Knights of Co
lumbus will serve as Honor
Guard. Mrs. S. A. Giglio, organ
ist, and the choir will provide
the music.
From 3:30 to 5:00 a reception
will be held at St. Joseph’s
School, under the chairmanship
of Mrs. Robert Hurley, Jr.
Right Reverend Monsignor
Thomas I. Sheehan is pastor
with Father Edward Frank and
Father Joseph Gillespie, assis
tant pastors.
ST. JOSEPH'S MACON — Special cerem onies, Sunday, will commemorate the Dia
mond Jubilee of the ground-breaking for St. Joseph’s Church.
(George Currey Photo)
VATICAN CITY (NC)—Pope Paul VI and those who accom
panied him to Bombay gathered the day before departure (Dec. 1)
in the Matilde chapel of the Vatican for one-day retreat.
Beatification Causes Examined
PAPAL KNIGHT — Sir Knight William. Whatley Battey is pictured with Bishop
VATICAN CITY (NC)—The Congregation of Rites has examin- Thomas J. McDonough (1.) and Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke. Picture was taken last
ed the writings of Bishop Michael Wittman, Father Giovanni Battis- Sunday evening at reception following investiture of Dr. Battey as Knight of St.
ta Mazzucconi, Sister Eugenia Ravasco and Luisa Mazzotta as pre- Gregory. More than four hundred friends of Dr. Battey attended the reception at
liminary steps to their beatification. |St* Mary’s oni-the-Hill parish hall. (Robert Manley Photo):
PHILADELPHIA (NC) — A
Georgia bishop told the congre
gation at a Marian ceremony
here that popular devotions,
such as the Miraculous Medal
Novena, will not be suppressed
due to liturgical changes.
Bishop Thomas J. McDonough
of Savannah spoke (Nov. 27) at
Mary’s Central Shrine dining
Dispensation
December 7th
His Excellency the Most
Reverend Thomas J. McDon
ough has granted a dispensa
tion from the law of fast and
abstinence for the Vigil of
the Immaculate Conception,
December 7th.
observance of the 134th anni
versary of the apparition of
Mary to St. Catherine Laboure
at the Daughters of Charity
convent at Rue du Bac in Paris.
The prelate said that with
promulgation by Pope Paul VI
and the Second Vatican Council
of the Constitution on the Sa
cred Liturgy, many Catholics
concluded popular devotions
were to be discontinued. He said
this is “erroneous”.
“Thanks be to God, no such
untoward action is contemplat
ed,” he said.
“Unquestionably, the devotion
of Our Lady of the Miraculous
Medal harmonizes with the
norms and laws of the Church
. . . these prayers and petitions
directed to God, through His
HEADLINE
HOPSCOTCH
NATION
Tiara Gift To U.S.
NEW YORK (NC)—In tribute to past American charity and
to inspire further generosity, Pope Paul VI has sent to this country
the tiara he dramatically relinquished to show his concern for the
world’s poor. The tiara, valued somewhere between $15,000 and
$50,000, will rest permanently in the National Shrine of the Imma
culate Conception, Washington, D.C. It may also be shown in the
Vatican Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair next summer. The
gift of the tiara was disclosed (Nov. 30) by Francis Cardinal Spell
man of New York.
Too Much ‘Renewar
NEW ORLEANS, La. (NC)—Father Elmo Romagosa, pastor
of St. John the Baptist church, went further than he had antici
pated in introducing the new liturgy. A short circuit in the public
address system caused it to act as a receiver and a radio broad
cast of a Protestant church service came into the church during
the 11 a.m. Mass.
Immaculate Mother, provide for
a fuller participation in the li
turgical life- of- the Church,” he
said.
With the updating of the
Church by the council, Bishop
McDonough said, “m u c h em
phasis, and justifiably so, has
been put upon the Sacred Li
turgy with particular reference
to the Sacrifice of the Mass
(and) ... the implementation
of the vernacular in the Mass
is for the sole purpose of bring
ing you and me closer to Cal
vary.”
“With the promulgation of the
Constitution on the Sacred Li
turgy, which highlighted the
Mass,” the bishop stated, “it
was concluded by some, al
though erroneously, that other
devotions were to be discourag
ed or discontinued. The recita
tion of the Rosary, the Stations
of the Cross, May and October
devotions and special novenas,
among others have been men
tioned.
“Many devotees of Our Lady
of the Miraculous Medal have
asked: ‘Is the novena to be sup
pressed?’
“Thanks be to God, no such
untoward action is contemplat
ed. Devotion to Mary must be
sustained and increased. She is
our most powerful Intercessor
before the throne of God.
“The Constitution on the Sa
cred Liturgy mentions specifi
cally the retention of popular
devotions which are in accord
with the laws and norms of the
Church. In fact, it states that
such devotions ‘are to be highly
commended’,” he said.
I AH EAST
Ships Floating Hotels
EAR EAST
BOMBAY (NC)—Two pilgrim ships have arrived in Bombay
(Dec. 1). The Anna C arrived from Genoa, Italy, with more than
400 passengers. The Akropolis arrived from Venice with about 500
pilgrims, including some from the United States. They joined two
other ships serving as floating hotels for the pilgrims 1 at the Eu
charistic Congress: the Cilicia and the Islami. The Cilicia, a regu-
Utffc-ader between Liverpool and Bombay, was chartered simply
to pilgrims. About 250 have been staying aboard her.
VATICAN
Pope Makes Retreat
Diamond Jubilee To Be Marked
By St. Joseph’s Church, Macon
Bishop To
Preside At
Ceremony
1st Area
Mass 425
Years Ago
No Suppression Of Devotion To
Mary, Says Bishop McDonough