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SERVING 88 SOUTH GEORGIA COUNTIES
The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
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Vol. 54 No. 18
Thursday, May 3,1973
Single Copy Price — 12 Cents
Bishop Lessard Ordained, Installed at Savannah
Enthusiastic
Crowd Cheers
Heavy rains and a tornado watch last
Thursday (Apr. 26) did nothing at all to
squelch the enthusiasm of hundreds of
people who crowded the waiting room
at Savannah’s airport terminal
to offer a tumultuous welcome to
Monsignor Raymond W. Lessard,
arriving in this port city to be ordained
the next day (Apr. 27) as the twelfth
bishop of Savannah.
The new bishop’s plane landed about
two minutes after another aircraft from
a different airline. As passengers from
both planes disembarked they were
plainly puzzled by the delegation of
clerics and laity waiting outside the
terminal and looking anxiously toward
Delta Airlines flight 1245.
When they entered the terminal
building a large banner reading
“Welcome Home, Bishop Lessard” and a
waiting crowd which made it difficult
for them to work their way toward the
baggage claim area clarified the mystery
for them.
When Bishop Lessard entered the
building a few moments later the throng
of well-wishers broke out in prolonged
applause, while musicians from
Savannah’s Benedictine Military School
and St. James Elementary School
provided musical fanfare.
Another banner prominently
displayed in the airport terminal
proclaimed “To Add Joy To Ynpr
Faith,” the motto Bishop Lessard has
chosen for his personal coat of arms.
Under escort by local County Police,
Bishop Lessard, members of his family,
several other bishops and archbishops
and local dignitaries traveled in a
motorcade to the De Soto Hilton Hotel
where, after registration, most
continued on to the Cathedral of St.
John the Baptist.
(Color photos by Thomas Clemens, courtesy of Pollack and Daly Studios)
THE SCARLET MANTLES OF TWO CARDINALS, Lawrence Cardinal dozens of prelates and priest in the Sanctuary of the Cathedral of St. John
Shehan of Baltimore (in left foreground) and John Cardinal Cody of the Baptist during the Ordination and Installation of Bishop Lessard.
Chicago (in right foreground) dominate the multi-colored vestments of the
Speaker Cites
Bishop’s Task
The Most Reverend Joseph
Bemardin, Archbishop of Cincinnati,
delivered the Homily at the Ordination
of Bishop Raymond W. Lessard. He
outlined the duties of a bishop in the
modern world and stressed the need for
mutual respect and collegiality of action
on the part of both bishop and the
people of his diocese. (The full text of
Archbishop Bernardin’s remarks are
reproduced elsewhere on this page.)
The Cincinnatti prelate declared that
it will be Bishop Lessard’s task to help
“God’s people relate the gospel to the
many situations in which they find
themselves each day.”
“For example,” he continued, “what
does Christ’s gospel have to say about
putting God first, ahead of ourselves
and all the things - wealth, prestige,
comfort, pleasure - that clamor for out
attention? What does the gospel have to
say about the causes of war, racial
discrimination, economic oppression,
the dignity of all life, and the necessity
of personal integrity under all
circumstances.”
The homilist then warned that unless
such a connection is made between the
gospel and the problems of daily life,
“religion will become irrelevant and lose
its power to touch and transform our
minds and hearts.”
He reminded Bishop Lessard that
a minister of the gospel “must speak out
forcefully, without fear 'v;ny \'ind,
whenever he perceives that the gospel
message, whose authenticity is
guaranteed and preserved by Christ’s
Church, is distorted or whenever it is
deliberately put aside or ignored in
order to give rein to the forces of evil.”
Then, addressing the people of
the Savannah diocese, Archbishop
Bemardin called upon them to “accept
his (Bishop Lessard’s) willingness to
serve you.”
In a starkly simple ceremony at the
Cathedral, Bishop Lessard met with
members of the Board of Diocesan
Consultors and presented to them his
letters of appointment by Pope Paul VI
to succeed Bishop Gerard L. Frey as
bishop of the Savannah diocese. Bishop
Frey was transferred to the Diocese of
Lafayette, La. early this year.
The next day, Friday, April 27,
dawned bright and clear and at 4 p.m.,
under bright and sunny skies, a
procession of two Cardinals, four other
Archbishops, twenty-one Bishops and
one Archabbot, entered a glittering and
packed St. John the Baptist Cathedral for
solemn rites ordaining and installing
Bishop Lessard as twelfth chief
shepherd of the Roman Catholic
Community in Georgia’s eighty-eight
southern counties, embracing an area of
38,000 square miles.
Present for the ceremonies were
Cardinals Lawrence Shehan of
Baltimore and John Cody of Chicago.
Also taking part in the rites were Bishop
Gerard L. Frey, former bishop of
Savannah (presently Bishop of
Lafayette, La.) and Bishop Andrew J.
McDonald of Little Rock, Ark. Bishop
McDonald is a former pastor of
Savannah’s Blessed Sacrament parish.
In addition to the hundreds of
priests, Religious and laity present in
the Cathedral, thousands more
witnessed the ordination and
installation via television. WJCL-TV, an
affiliate of the American Broadcasting
Company (ABC), televised the
ceremonies directly from the Cathedral,
live and in full color. The station also
has plans to air the program again, in its
entirety, at an early date.
At Bishop Lessard’s request, the
principal ordaining prelate was
Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan of
Atlanta. He was assisted by Bishop
Justin Driscoll of Fargo, N. D., Bishop
Lessard’s home diocese, and Bishop
Joseph Gossman, Auxiliary of
Baltimore.
Assisting the new bishop as his
personal chaplains Father Antonio
Richard, his boyhood pastor, and
Monsignor Daniel J. Bourke, Rector of
Savannah’s Cathedral.
(Continued on Page 6)
Text of Archbishop Bernardin’s
In the life of every diocese there are
many notable occasions but surely few
can compare with this joyful celebration
in which the Church of Christ dwelling
in Savannah formally ordains and
installs its new bishop. Before
proceeding with the ceremonies,
therefore, permit me to reflect with you
on the significance of what is about to
take place.
There are, indeed, three important
moments which highlight our meeting
here this afternoon in the venerable
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. First,
representatives of the Church in
Savannah have joyfully gathered to
welcome their new shepherd who has
accepted a call to serve them, and in a
few moments they will officially signify
their willingness to receive him by
warmly applauding him. Then the
bishops of other local churches will
proceed to ordain this new bishop
through the solemn imposition of hands
and thus link him with the college of
bishops over which our Holy Father,
Pope Paul, presides as Bishop of Rome.
And finally, after he has been welcomed
by the people whom he will serve, and
after he has been ordained by the
bishops of the other churches, the new
Bishop of Savannah will then preside as
we celebrate the eucharistic liturgy
together. A brief reflection on the
simple movement through these three
successive moments may help us
understand better the significance of
our assembly today.
First of all, father Lessard has been
called to serve you as your bishop and
he has accepted that call. The service
that he is first called to give, as we know
from St. Paul’s concept of apostleship,
is service to Jesus Christ and his gospel.
But the service he renders to Jesus
necessarily involves service to others.
The words of the Prophet Isaiah,
which we heard in the first reading,
describe something of what Father
Lessard is called to do for you. He is
called to preach the good news of God’s
love for us; to announce that the time
of our salvation is at hand; he is called
to heal the contrite of heart, to
proclaim freedom for the enslaved; to
give comfort and hope to the poor and
the troubled.
Proclaiming the good news means
simply preaching Christ’s gospel. But
more specifically it means helping God’s
people relate this gospel to the many
situations in which they find themselves
each day. For example, what does
Christ’s gospel have to say about putting
God first, ahead of ourselves and all the
SERVING AS PERSONAL CHAPLAINS to Bishop Lessard during
Ordination and Installation rites were Father Antonio Richard, the
bishop’s pastor during his high school days (at left in photo) and
Monsignor Daniel J. Bourke, Rector of the Savannah Cathedral (right).
Homily
things -- wealth, prestige, comfort,
pleasure - that clamor for our
attention? What does the gospel have to
say about the causes of war, racial
discrimination, economic oppression,
the dignity of all life, and the necessity
of personal integrity under all
circumstances? Unless this connection is
made between the gospel and daily life,
religion will become irrelevant and lose
its power to touch and transform our
minds and hearts.
The minister of the gospel, like
Christ himself, must speak out
forcefully, without fear of any kind,
whenever he perceives that the gospel
message, whose authenticity is
guaranteed and preserved by Christ’s
Church, is distorted or whenever it is
deliberately put aside or ignored in
order to give rein to the forces of evil.
As St. Paul warned the Ephesians in the
second reading, we must guard against
those who would distort the truth and
lead us astray.
Father Lessard has accepted the
challenge of this call. In order that he
might meet the challenge, you must
now accept his willingness to serve you.
You must hear Christ’s words from his
mouth and receive Christ’s sacraments
from his hands. You must reach out to
him with your needs, your dreams, your
hopes, your troubles. You must pray for
him as he leads you in prayer. You must
encourage him as he tries to encourage
you. Only then can he truly serve you;
only then can he fully be your bishop.
The first important moment of our
assembly today, therefore, is not an
empty symbol nor a polite round of
applause. Rather, it is the all-important
sign of your acceptance of Father
Lessard, of your welcome to him and of
your willingness to receive his ministry
of service.
Secondly, Father Lessard will kneel
before the altar and the bishops present
will come forward to impose hands on
him, according to the ancient tradition
of the Church. Their action will testify
that Christ’s special gift of the Spirit
(Continued on Page 6)
“You must,” he admonished, “hear
Christ’s words from his mouth and
receive Christ’s sacraments from his
hands. You must reach out to him with
your needs, your dreams, your hopes,
your troubles. You must pray for him as
he leads you in prayer. You must
encourage him as he tries to encourage
you. Only then can he truly serve you;
only then can he fully be your bishop.
“The first important moment of our
assembly today, therefore, is not an
empty symbol nor a polite round of
applause. Rather, it is the all-important
sign of your acceptance of Father
Lessard, of your welcome to him and of
your willingness to receive his ministry
of service.”
Archbishop Bemardin called upon
“all of you here present to be witnesses
to the solemn imposition of hands, that
sacred action by which Bishop Lessard
will become a member of the college of
bishops and your chief shepherd here in
the Diocese of Savannah. Pray to the
Holy Spirit that he will make this man a
worthy bishop who will be able to
continue, in an effective and creative
fashion, the ministry entrusted by
Christ to the Apostles. And open your
own minds and hearts to the Spirit, so
that you will be able to take your place
at his side and work closely with him in
bringing that ministry to all God’s
people.”
INSIDE STORY
Photo Story
Pg. 3
Know Your Faith
Pg. 5
Hopscotch
Pg. 6
Bishops’ Meet
Pg. 7