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The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 56 No. 31
Thursday, September 11,1975
Single Copy Price — 15 Cents
Seton Canonization Day Is 44 American Day” In Rome
VATICAN CITY (NC) - The 15,000
American ticketholders to Mother
Elizabeth Seton’s canonization Sept. 14
will find a special edition of the Vatican
newspaper L’Osservatore Romano
devoted principally to her, as the first
native-born citizen of the United States
to be declared a saint.
The front page of L’Osservatore
Romano’s weekly English edition
features a photo of the new saint, a
five-day schedule of events and
ceremonies, and an account of the
canonization itself. A biography of her
filled the centerfold.
Father Lambert Greenan, the Irish
Dominican who edits the worldwide
English-language weekly, observed:
“While it is true that Mother Seton’s
canonization is of greatest interest in
America, it is important to the
English-speaking world at large.”
Reserved sections in St. Peter’s
Square for the 9:30 a.m. ceremonies on
Sunday, Sept. 14, are set aside for
ticketholders, mainly American. The
rest of the huge square will be left for
the throngs of Romans, the hundreds of
pilgrims from the north Italian city of
Leghorn, where Mother Seton once
lived with a devout Catholic family
before her conversion, and Holy Year
pilgrims from all over the world.
The American presence will be
dominant, with 78 U.S. bishops, U.S.
Ambassador John Volpe, Presidential
Envoy to Pope Paul VI Henry Cabot
Lodge, Secretary of the Navy J. William
Middendorf II, and a group of
high-ranking naval officers listed to be
present.
The Navy officials were delegated
because Mother Seton’s two sons both
served in the Navy, William as a Captain
and Richard as a captain’s clerk. In the
party will be Rear Admiral (Msgr.) John
J. O’Connor, chief of chaplains of the
Navy, who is a priest of the Philadelphia
archdiocese.
A portrait of the new saint, an
18-by-12-foot painting, was
commissioned to hang from the balcony
from which the Pope traditionally
imparts his blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (to
the city and to the world) on Christmas
and Easter.
NBC has scheduled a special
hour-long telecast of the canonization,
entitled “A Saint for America,” the day
Seton Descendants
There are a number of direct descendants of Mother Elizabeth Seton in the area
served by THE SOUTHERN CROSS.
The family of Richard Craig, of Augusta, are direct descendants of America’s first
native bom saint. According to Craig other descendants include:
The families of Mrs. Jeanette Burton, North Augusta, S.C.; Mrs. Celeste Griffin,
Augusta; Mrs. Louise Anderson, Stevensville, Md.; Dr. James Craig, Savannah and the
families of the late James Roosevelt Bayley Craig of Augusta and the late Harry
Armstrong Craig of Augusta.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Craig will be in Emmitsburg, Md., this Sunday to attend the
celebrations marking the canonization of Mother Seton.
of the canonization at 2 p.m. New York
time. This will be a joint enterprise with
the U.S. Catholic Conference. ABC and
CBS have made arrangements to pick up
parts of the canonization broadcast:
ABC for its “Directions” series from 1
to 1:30 p.m., and CBS for “Lamp Unto
My Feet,” from 10 to 10:30 a.m., both
on the day of the canonization.
Twenty-seven of the American
bishops to attend the canonization were
already in temporary residence at the
graduate house of North American
College for a month-long consultation
with leading theologians, philosophers
and experts in Scripture.
Mother Seton’s canonization is
officially characterized as the Vatican’s
special celebration of “International
Women’s Year,” paying tribute to a
woman who passed through every
possible state of life, including marriage,
motherhood, widowhood and the
Religious life.
Mother Seton’s Episcopalian
background lends a special ecumenical
dimension to the canonization. Bishop
John Allin, presiding bishop of the
Episcopal Church in America, has sent
two bishops and one clergyman as an
official delegation.
Four women will break Vatican
precedent at the canonization by taking
a speaking part in the ceremonies.
The four - a young girl, a mother, a
widow and a Religious - will give a brief
oral presentation of the four stages of
the life of Mother Seton -- girlhood,
motherhood, widowhood and Religious
life.
Vatican sources believe that this will
be the first time that women will have
speaking roles in a papal ceremony at
the Vatican. It is also believed to be the
first time that presentations of this
nature will be made at a canonization.
SATURDAY-SEPT. 20
Savannah Deanery Assembly
The Savannah Self-Study Steering
Committee has announced the schedule
for the history-making Deanery
Assembly which will be held Saturday,
September 20, at Blessed Sacrament
Church.
This highly important phase of the
self-study process will begin with
registration between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m.
The Most Reverend Raymond Lessard,
Bishop of Savannah, will preside at a
concelebrated mass and will deliver the
homily.
Following the Mass, beginning at
10:30 a.m., will be a general session in
which an overview of the self-study will
be presented. Lunch is scheduled for
noon and assembly participants are
asked to bring their own. Drinks will be
furnished.
The Assembly will reconvene at
12:45 at which time group sessions will
be organized. Parish Councils, Parish
School Boards and educators, and
Deanery Pastoral Council members are
the three anticipated breakdowns. While
members of these organizations are
especially urged to attend the Assembly,
it should be noted that all persons who
wish to participate in setting missions,
goals and objectives for the Savannah
Church are invited to attend.
The entire assemblage will come back
together at 2 p.m. for a closing session
with adjournment scheduled for 2:30.
According to Paul W. Ramee,
chairman of the Savannah Self-Study
Steering Committee, it is the purpose of
this Deanery Assembly to place the
tools of planning and self study in the
hands of Catholics throughout the
Savannah Dejfcnery. Also, it is the
Steering Committee’s hope to receive
input from every Catholic interested in
the planning and renewal of their
church.
Core Doctrines Of Faith
Deanery Workshops’ Theme
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION SUNDAY --
Children of Savannah’s St. Mary’s Home, pictured
above, are looking forward to the 100th anniversary of
the Home to be observed this Sunday, Sept. 14. Bishop
Raymond Lessard will be the principal celebrant of the
Centennial Mass at 1 p.m. A reception and open house
will be held immediately following the Mass until 5
p.m. Pictured with the children are Sister Theresa Mary
Sumner and Miss Edith Johnson. The Home is located
at 2170 East Victory Drive.
Grant To Fund Marian Study
DENVER (NC) - The executive
committee of the Catholic Biblical
Association (CBA), at the association’s
annual convention here, authorized a
$1,000 grant to the U.S. Bishops’
Committee on Ecumenical and
Interreligious Affairs to fund a
Lutheran-Catholic study of “Mary in
the New Testament.”
Sponsored by the bishops’ committee
in collaboration with the national
committee of the Lutheran World
Federation, the study, like the recent
joint study “Peter in the New
Testament,” will involve biblical
scholars of faiths other than Catholic
and Lutheran. “Mary in the New
Testament” is scheduled for completion
by the end of 1976.
The executive committee also
pledged a tithe of about $1,200 of
membership dues for famine relief.
About 150 CBA members attended
the four-day convention here.
Among the resolutions passed was
one stating that the CBA, recognizing
that “in this International Women’s
Year all Christians are called on to
reaffirm and wherever possible
implement the principles of complete
equality of all the children of God as
clearly set forth in His Holy Word . . .
strongly reaffirms its whole-hearted and
unreserved acceptance of the full
implication of the Christian message as
it is set forth by St. Paul in his epistle to
the Galatians: ‘There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is neither male nor female; for you
are all one in Christ Jesus.’”
“What do we really believe? What is
the heart and core of our faith as
Catholics? This will be the theme of
four Deanery Workshops to be
presented by the Savannah Diocesan
Department of Christian Formation in
September, November, January and
March.
Conducting these workshops will be
Father Michael Smith of the Diocesan
D.C.F. The program will provide an
opportunity for people of the diocese to
deepen their understanding of the faith
that grounds and guides their lives.
Dates and times in the various
deaneries are as follows: WAYCROSS -
Sat. Sept. 13 - 11:00 - 12:30 - St.
Joseph’s Academy; STATESBORO -
Sun. Sept. 14 - 3:30 - 5:00 - St.
Matthew’s Hall; MACON - Tues. Sept.
16 - 8:00 - 9:30 St. Joseph’s Center.
COLUMBUS - Wed. Sept. 17 - 8:00 -
9:30 - Holy Family Social Center;
ALBANY - Sat. Sept. 20 - 11:00 to
12:30 - St. Teresa’s School;
SAVANNAH - Mon. Sept. 29 - 8:00 -
9:30 - Blessed Sacrament School;
AUGUSTA - Tues. Sept. 30 - 8:00 -
9:30 - St. Mary’s School.
Questionnaire
In This Issue
The Savannah Deanery
Self-Study Questionnaire is
reproduced in this issue of the
SOUTHERN CROSS. It will be
found immediately adjacent to the
editorial page.
The Chatham Self-Study
Committee presents this advance
look at the survey questions to
allow Catholics of the Deanery to
consider the answers they wish to
make. The Questionnaire will be
distributed and filled out at Masses
in all churches of the Deanery the
weekend of September 20-21.
Markwalter Named Editor
Of ‘The Southern Cross’
Waycross Ministerial Group
Has Priest As Its President
For the first time under the
leadership of a Catholic president, the
Waycross Area Ministerial Association,
held its first meeting of the year on
Monday, September 8.
These new officers were installed:
President, Fr. Michael J. O’Keeffe;
Vice-president, Rev. Trent Howell, First
Presbyterian; Secretary, Rev. J. N.
Williams, Friendship Baptist; Treasurer,
Rev. Johnny B. Ware, Williams Chapel.
In his address to the Ministerial
Association,'Fr. O’Keeffe said he was
honored to be president of the
Ministerial Association.
He went on to say that in this
ecuminical age “his election showes that
the power of the Spirit is bringing us
together to confront common problems
as a spiritual body in this city.”
Fr. O’Keeffe pledged that on his part,
he would uphold the dignity of the
office of president and to be a bridge
builder, between the many
denominations.
OFFICERS INSTALLED -- Officers of the Waycross Ministerial
Association were installed recently. Left to right are the Rev. Jim Chester,
pastor of First United Methodist Church, outgoing president and member
of the executive committee: Rev. Johnny B. Ware, pastor of William’s
Chapel, treasurer; Rev. J. N. Williams, pastor of Friendship Baptist,
secretary; Rev. Trent Howell, pastor of First Presbyterian, vice president;
Rev. Michael O’Keefe, pastor of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, president.
(Photo courtesy of Waycross Journal-Herald)
John E. Markwalter has been named
editor of THE SOUTHERN CROSS.
The appointment was made this week
by Bishop Raymond W. Lessard, of
Savannah.
Announcing the appointment Bishop
Lessard said, “We are indeed fortunate
and blessed in having such a person as
Mr. Markwalter in the position of editor
of THE SOUTHERN CROSS. His many
years of Church-related activities in this
area and his long experience in the field
of Catholic journalism make him
eminently qualified for the post. I
personally am confident that, along
with his continued responsibilities as
managing editor of THE GEORGIA
BULLETIN, of Atlanta, and THE
CATHOLIC BANNER, of Charleston,
he will, as editor of THE SOUTHERN
CROSS, maintain the high standards
which have made our newspaper an
award-winning publication.”
Markwalter began his career with the
Savannah Diocesan newspaper on a
full-time basis in 1948. He became
Managing editor in 1962 and served in
that post until 1969, when the
newspapers of Savannah, Atlanta and
Charleston began a joint printing
venture with publication offices located
in Waynesboro, Ga. Markwalter was
named Managing Editor of all three
papers.
In May of 1974, he was named a
Knight of St. Gregory the Great by
Pope Paul VI. The honor was bestowed
in recognition of over twenty-five years
of service in the field of Catholic
Journalism.
The new editor is married to the
former Louise D’Antignac. The couple
has three children and are members of
St. Mary’s parish, Augusta.
John E. Markwalter