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The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER
Vol. 56 No. 38
Thursday, October 30,1975
Single Copy Price — 15 Cents
Brunswick Sisters Mark Jubilee
Bishop Raymond W. Lessard was the
principal celebrant and homilist at a
concelebrated Mass (Oct. 30)
celebrating seventy-five years of service
of the Sisters of St. Joseph of
Carondolet in Brunswick.
The first school, known as St.
Joseph’s, was founded in 1900. In 1958, a
new school was built and dedicated to
St. Francis Xavier. The first school had
an enrollment of between 60 and 70
students. Today’s St. Francis Xavier
boasts an enrollment of 375.
The history of the founding of the
school, and the sisters coming to
Brunswick, is recorded in a Historical
Record of the Saint Francis Xavier
Church which was published in the late
40’s as follows:
“The parochial school in Brunswick
was begun in 1900 after Father Luckie
had requested Sisters of Bishop Keiley.
The Bishop in turn asked the Sisters of
St. Joseph to assume this charge, which
they did in September of the same year.
“In the beginning the school was
apparently run on the “academy” basis
and this explains the strange anomoly of
having “St. Joseph’s School” as the
parochial educational institution for St.
Francis Xavier Parish.
“Conditions at the outset did not
seem favorable and it is to the credit of
the first historic band of Sisters that
they continued their work and laid the
foundations for the flourishing school
of today.
“The first faculty of the school
included Sister Aloysius, Sister Ignatius,
Sister Celestine and Sister Genevieve.
“Although the Sisters had passed
through severe storms of dire poverty
and countless trials in their loyalty to
Christ, this seemed to be the
culmination. Had it not been for the
kindness of Father Luckie in begging
assistance from the parishioners, for
them, the Sisters would have fared very
ill.
“He secured for them a house,
formerly a grocery store, on the corner
of Richmond and Howe Streets. Three
rooms downstairs were converted into
schoolrooms and a tiny bit of cubby
hole just large enough for four
prie-dieux was used as a chapel. The
Sisters slept upstairs.
“The school opened with from 60 to
70 pupils, too many for the house, so
that the seventh and eighth grade girls
were taught in the sacristy of St. Francis
Xavier Church on the opposite corner.”
ESTABLISH UNITY
Pope Tells Portugese President
RALLY FOR LIFE -- Thousands of persons
opposed to abortion rally in front of the Old Court
House in St. Louis to urge passage of a constitutional
amendment to restrict abortion. Featured speaker at
CHARITIES[ LEADERS TOLD:
the rally was Dr. Mildred F. Jefferson of Boston
University Medical Center, president of the National
Right to Life Committee. (NC Photo)
Catholic Church Wants To Help
Observing that they had been
“listening to the people themselves” at
five bicentennial hearings sponsored by
the bishops in various parts of the
country, he said: “It is one thing to hear
a scholarly presentation on the
‘unemployment problem.’ It is another
to hear the pain and suffering of
prolonged Unemployment. . .
Sister Mary Stanislaus Wilson, R.S.M.
Sr, M, Stanislaus Wilson
Celebrates Golden Jubilee
Fifty years ago this month, a young Irish girl left her home and family in Dublin,
Ireland, to join the Savannah Community of the Sisters of Mercy. Mary Josephine
Wilson, who became Sister Mary Stanislaus, was honored at a double celebration on
Saturday, October 18th.
A Mass concelebrated by Father Eamonn O’Riordan and Father Francis Teoli was
attended by Sisters of Mercy from Savannah, Macon, and Atlanta. This was followed
by a Jubilee dinner at Mercy Convent. In addition to the homily at the Mass, tribute
was also paid to Sister Stanislaus during the dinner.
In the afternoon, a reception was held for the Jubilarian. Attented by numerous
guests, some of whom had been first grade pupils of her’s fifty years ago. Other guests
included friends from throughout the city.
During the past fifty years, Sister Mary Stanislaus taught in elementary schools in
Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Maryland. She also instructed choirs in several schools
and taught piano lessons after school hours. She was engaged full time in teaching for a
total of forty-three years.
Now Sister is actively engaged in work with senior citizens in the Savannah area. She
is a member of Cunningham Golden Age Center, a Volunteer under tb£ Retired Senior
Volunteer Program (RSVP). Under this program, Sister has contributed several
hundred hours of service in various activities - presently she visits at Cohen’s Men’s
Retreat and also serves several hours each week in the Technical Services Department
of the Public Library.
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope Paul
VI, receiving Portuguese President
Fr?."‘''isco da Cost?» Gomes in a private
audience Oct. 22, reassured him that the
Catholic Church in Portugal “is ready to
give her own devoted collaboration” to
his government’s attempts to achieve
unity in that troubled nation.
“To this end, the Catholic Church in
Portugal is ready to give her own
devoted collaboration, respectfully and
loyally, but without abandoning her
privileges of freedom - guaranteed,
moreover, by the many. . .pacts of
which your Excellency has,
significantly, confirmed the value.”
He cited the freedom “to carry out
her proper mission, to announce the
Gospel and to work for society, at the
service of all the Portuguese people.”
But he declared that the Church
would not yield “her privileges of
freedom,” and specified that the Church
must be free “to carry out her proper
mission to announce the Gospel and to
work for society.”
The Vatican press office did not
immediately state what specific
problems the Pope and the Portuguese
president discussed in their 65-minute
conference. But it was widely
speculated that they focused on the fate
of Radio Renascenca, Portugal’s
Catholic radio station which has been
taken over by communist-led workers.
In his formal address of welcome to
the Portuguese president, the Pope said:
“We ardently hope that the future
will be one of serenity and concord, of
freedom and progress, in peace and
justice, for all her (Portugal’s) citizens.
“We understand the present
difficulties, especially in regard to those
of the overseas territories which are
coming to independence.”
The Pope added: “We give our sincere
and warm wishes that, thanks to the
efforts for unity by all the sons of
Portugal and the firm and intelligent
attitude of the authorities, these
difficulties may be overcome soon
and in the best manner possible.
“It is one thing to talk in abstract
theory of the need for land reform. It is
another to see with one’s own eyes the
powerlessness of a migrant farm
worker. . .
“It is one thing to listen to learned
papers on the collapse of the housing
industry in our country. It is another to
hear the cry of distress from a couple
who are losing the roof over their own
and their children’s heads because of
unemployment coupled with usurious
interest rates...”
STICKY SITUATION - Children at Liberty Park
Day Care Center in Spokane enjoy some of the sticky
fruits of Halloween - apples which they coated with
somewhat more carmel than they got on themselves.
The center cares for children between the ages of 2Vi
and 6, most of whose parents work or attend college.
It received a grant from the U.S. Bishops’ Campaign
for Human Development in 1974. This year’s
collection will be held nationwide on Nov. 23. (NC
Photo)
CINCINNATI (NC) - America suffers
from “a great disease of
disillusionment” and needs leaders of
“moral stature and religious
conviction,” Archbishop Peter L.
Gerety of Newark, N. J., said here.
He preached the homily at a Mass in
St. Peter in Chains Cathedral for
delegates to the 111th annual meeting
of the society of St. Vincent de Paul
and to the 61st annual meeting of the
National Conference of Catholic
Charities (NCCC).
Commenting that the nation’s
priorities “have become twisted,”
Archbishop Gerety called for “leaders
throughout our land, in our villages, in
our towns and cities, who will articulate
the full dimensions of the American
dream.”
“We need leaders who will have the
courage to proclaim our true priorities
in terms of human dignity before God,”
he said. “We need leaders who will cast
out the false idols of money and power,
and struggle to restore the God-given
right to the fruits of this earth to all our
people.”
In his homily at the Oct. 19 Mass,
Archbishop Gerety, who is chairman of
the U.S. Bishops’ Committee for the
Bientennial, said that “for large
numbers of our people liberty and
justice begin to seem like an
instubstantial mirage, not a dream for
fulfillment. . .They are beginning to
mistrust our elected representatives,
they are beginning to lose confidence in
the power of the ballot, they see our
social priorities as set in terms of help
the rich and soak the poor.”
“We must dream of an American
society,” the archbishop said, “where
our priorities are ordered in terms of
liberty and justice for all. Ultimately
nothing else will work in this country,
and yet somehow they have become
twisted.
“In this richest country in the world
should not our policy be one of full
employment?
“In this country with the most
abundant food resources in the world,
should not our policy be to make sure
that no one, young or old, is without
enough to eat?”
Official Appointments
Bishop Raymond W. Lessard has announced the following appointments:
REV. MICHAEL O’KEEFFE, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes, Columbus,
effective November 15,1975.
REV. MSGR. DANIEL A. BOURKE, temporary administrator of St.
Joseph’s, Way cross.
REV. RICHARD MINCH, Associate Pastor of Sacred Heart Church,
Warner Robins, effective November 5,1975.
REV. MICHAEL CRAIG, Associate Pastor of Nativity of Our Lord,
Savannah, effective immediately.
REV. FRANCIS BARRY, newly ordained for the Diocese of Savannah,
Assistant Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church, Savannah, effective
immediately.
REV. ELMER S. POWELL, S.V.D., Associate Pastor of St. Benedict’s
Church, Savannah, effective immediately.
4 U.S. Suffers From Disillusionment^