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SERVING 88 SOUTH GEORGIA COUNTIES
The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 54 No. 2 Thursday, January 11,1973 Single Copy Price — 12 Cents
INSTALLATION - Archbishop Luigi Raimondi, John’s Cathedral, Lafayette. The seating in the
left, apostolic delegate, and Archbishop Philip M. bishop’s chair is the traditional or symbolic act of
Hannan, right, of New Orleans, lead Bishop Gerard L. installation of a new bishop.
Frey to the bishop’s chair in the sanctuary of St.
Savannah Bids Last Farewell
Bishop Frey Installed
In Lafayette Diocese
LAFAYETTE - “The place of a bishop today is not behind a desk doing
administrative work but out among the people whom he was sent to serve,”
Bishop Gerard L. Frey said in his message to clergy, religious, and laity in
the Lafayette Diocese at installation ceremonies Sunday afternoon in the
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
“It is only by meeting and getting to know as many of the laity,
religious, and clergy of the diocese as possible that I can become aware of
your problems, your needs, and the manner in which I can best promote
the cause of renewal and unity in the diocese,” the newly-installed bishop
stressed.
(The Diocese of Savannah paid
tribute to its former bishop, The Most
Rev. Gerard L. Frey, at a dinner
following his installation as the third
Bishop of Lafayette, Louisiana last
Monday (Jan. 8). Speaking in behalf of
the Savannah diocese was Father J.
Kevin Boland, former Vicar General of
the diocese. The following is the text of
his remarks:)
The Diocese of Savannah is an
ancient and venerable See. It was
founded 123 years ago, and, during this
INSIDE STORY
Hijacker, Cardinal
Pg. 2
'Quake’ Report
Pg. 3
Rabbi Heschel
Pg. 6
Sniper Battle
Pg. 7
length of time, has come under the
leadership of eleven Sishops. We
anxiously await the appointment of the
twelfth. The Savannah Delegation has
been instructed to keep a watchful eye
on Archbishop Raimondi just in case he
makes a slip. Freudian or otherwise.
One of the notable attributes of the
Diocese of Savannah in Georgia has
been its ability to share its episcopal
leadership to help fulfill the needs of
the Universal Church.
Not only have we never had a Bishop
in the Diocese to retire, but in fact, a
Bishop has not died in office in
Savannah since 1889. This of course
could also be interpreted that they were
not able to tolerate us and that they
were anxious to move elsewhere. The
facts, however, point to the contrary.
Since the middle of the 1930’s, the
run-down is as follows: From 1935 to
1959, Gerald Patrick O’Hara was our
spiritual leader. After he had overcome
the literary and historical difficulties of
proving that he was not the same
O’Hara of “Gone with the Wind”, he
proceeded to be the special Papal
Representative in Bulgaria and Romania
during the war years. Afterwards he
became the Papal Nuncio to Ireland and
died as the Apostolic Delegate to Great
Britain.
When . the State of Georgia was
divided into two dioceses in 1956,
Bishop Francis Hyland, our Auxiliary
Bishop became the first Bishop of the
now sprawling metropolis of Atlanta. In
1957, we borrowed from Philadelphia
by way of Florida, Thomas Joseph
McDonough. We are graced with his
presence today and notice with joy that
he is none the worse for his sojourn in
the blue-grass country of Kentucky,
where he gloriously reigns as the ninth
Archbishop of Louisville.
To prove that Georgia Peaches are
not exclusively for human consumption,
this past September, our own Andrew
Joseph McDonald, who was born and
reared in the Cathedral Parish of
Savannah, became the first native
Savannahian to be honored as a kishop
and we shipped him off to Little Rock,
Arkansas. Not only is he gloriously
reigning but he is also gloriously
beaming.
A little over five years ago, the word
was flashed around the Savannah
Diocese that we had a new Bishop. Who
was he? He was a Monsignor from New
Orleans and his name was Frey. In time,
we learned more of the facts and the
proper pronunciation. He was one of
four Pastors who attended the Second
Vatican Council.
We are not exactly sure what became
of the other three, but we do know that
the Diocese of Savannah was to become
unique because we were the first
Diocese to have a priest-Bishop in the
true sense of the word. Changing the
(Continued on Page 7)
A delegation from the Diocese of
Savannah travelled to Lafayette to
attend the installation rites. The group
was composed of fourteen members of
the laity, four Nuns and twelve priests.
The ceremony consisted of the
presentation of the papal document of
appointment of Bishop Frey to Msgr. H.
Alexandre Larroque, Chancellor, and
the diocesan consultors. Through the
presentation and acceptance of the
document, Bishop Frey assumed the
headship of the diocese.
In undertaking his mission as the
third bishop of Lafayette, Bishop Frey
asked for the assistance and cooperation
of the diocese’s clergy, religious
brothers and sisters, and laity. Praising
Bishop Schexnayder for his 17 years of
devoted service as the second Bishop of
Lafayette, Bishop Frey said he would
“look to the wisdom and pastoral
experience of Bishop Schexnayder.”
He said he was pleased that his
official introduction to the diocese of
Lafayette was in the context of a
ceremony at which practically every
parish and group of the diocese was
represented. He noted that it was
especially fitting since his mission is to
NewPastor
At Macon
In one of his last administrative
actions before leaving the Savannah
diocese to take up his new post as
bishop of Lafayette, La., Bishop Gerard
L. Frey named Father William Leahy
Administrator of Holy Spirit parish,
Macon, effective January 10. Father
Leahy succeeds the late Father John
Hurley who died December 20th.
Father Leahy is a native of Ireland.
His home was at Kilcredan,
Ladysbridge, County Cork, Ireland,
where he was born in 1936.
The son of John and Johanna Smiddy
Leahy, he is a graduate of Mt. Melleray
Seminary, Waterford, and St. Patrick’s,
Carlow.
The Macon administrator was
ordained in 1966. Prior to his
appointment to Holy Spirit parish,
Father Leahy served as Assistant Pastor
of St. Joseph’s parish, Augusta from
1966 to 1968, Administrator for the
Catholic community at Liberty and
Bryan Counties from 1968 to 1969, and
Administrator of St. Joseph’s parish,
Jesup, from 1969 until January 10 of
this year.
FATHER LEAHY
the entire people of God in this area of
His Kingdom.
“The challenge we face together is
great and the opportunities are
unlimited. With god’s help and your
assistance I will do all that I can to
advance His Kingdom in our midst. To
all of you I can pledge only one thing; I
will do my best to serve you well,” he
said.
Bishop’s Role Described
In the homily at this ceremony, Msgr.
George Bodin, pastor of the Cathedral,
described the office of bishop.
The Cathedral pastor noted that
among the faithful, some are called to
be ordained, but others are called
to participate in the fullness of the
priesthood -- as bishops are. All priests
are teachers because they exemplify the
Gospel, Msgr. Bodin said. But a bishop
is the official teacher and the official
(Continued on Page 8)
BISHOP AND HIS MOTHER - A reception was held in the chancery
milding in Lafayette after the Cathedral ceremony in which Bishop
Jerard L. Frey presented his credentials as third Bishop of Lafayette.
Vith the bishop to greet those in attendance was his mother Mrs. Andrew
7 rey of New Orleans.
HEADLINE
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Carnation for Managua
VIGO, Spain (NC) — This is the story of a red carnation and how it helped the
victims of Managua’s pre-Christmas earthquake. A child, Marie Montes, brought the
carnation to Vigo’s main radio station, saying: “This is the last one from my little
garden. I would like someone to plant it over Managua’s ruins.” The station manager
decided to auction the flower. A radio listener - industralist Moises Alvarez O’Farril --
topped other bidders with $7,500. Then the carnation left with a mercy mission flight
to Managua. An Iberian Airlines pilot dropped it over the city.
Relief Control Hit
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (NC) - At an emergency meeting here leaders of the
iternational Red Cross protested the “lack of freedom” in their relief operations in
[icaragua for the victims of the Managua earthquake. One of the leaders said unless
;lief supplies are allowed by the government of Gen. Anastasio Somoza to flow “in a
ee and orderly way into refugee centers,” the International Red Cross will quit,
ither relief groups have criticized the excessive government centralization of supplies,
t if 1 1 1 n 1