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Vol. 59 No. 29
Form 3579 To: 601 E. 6th St. Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Thursday, August 17,1978
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1 P* Ponte
THOUSANDS WITNESS - A huge stone statue of
St. Peter, the first pope, towers over the crowd
estimated at 100,000 people who filled St. Peter’s
Square for the funeral of Pope Paul VI. The requiem
Mass for the pope was the first in history to be held
outdoors. (NC Photo)
BLESSING THE COFFIN - Cardinal Carlo
Confalonieri, 85-year-old dean of the College of
Cardinals, Messes the coffin of Pope Paul VI. The
senior cardinal was principal celebrant of the requiem
Mass which was concelebrated by 95 other cardinals.
(NC Photo)
Solemn Outdoor Rites For Pope Paul
VATICAN CITY (NC) -- As 100,000 people broke into spontaneous applause, the
mortal remains of Pope Paul VI were carried to their eternal resting place in the simple
earth beneath St. Peter’s Basilica.
Burial of Pope Paul took place in a private ceremony which followed a solemn
funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square the evening of Aug. 12.
Cardinal Carlo Confalonieri, 85-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals, presided
at the Mass concelebrated by 95 cardinals.
The pope’s brother, Ludovico Montini, family members and representatives from
95 countries sat on either side of a large altar before which the cypress coffin of the
pope lay on an oriental carpet.
The rite, austerely simple as the pope had requested in his will, finished in two
hours as the Roman sunset colored Bernini’s famous square in shades of rose.
The cardinals, vested in red chasubles, sat along the baroque facade of the basilica
as Cardinal Confalonieri preached a homily with elements of a eulogy. (The pope had
requested that a homily be given on the Mass Scripture readings in place of the
traditional eulogy in honor of the dead pope.)
“How was it possible that from one man alone came so many speeches, so many
documents, so many enterprises?” asked the tall, lean prelate.
The cardinal, who once served as Pius XI’s private secretary, said that Pope Paul’s
life was “a continual dedication to duty.”
PAPAL KNIGHT
Funeral Mass In Augusta
For John McDonald K.S.G.
Mass of Christian Burial for John
W. McDonald Jr., K.S.G. of Augusta, was
offered at St. Mary’s on-the-Hill Church
on Monday August 14. Mr. McDonald
died at an Augusta hospital on August
12.
Mr. McDonald was honored for his
work in his church in 1954 when Pope
Pius XII confered Knighthood in the
Order Of St. Gregory the Great upon
him. Owner of McDonald Construction
Company and a member of Patrick
Walsh Council Knights of Columbus, he
was a member of the Augusta
Homebuilders Association.
John W. McDonald Jr., K.S.G.
Johnny, as he was called by
countless friends, was known for his
cheerfulness, particularly for his wide
grin and friendly greeting. He was
known for his many charitable activities
and generosity to his church,
’particularly in the use of his talents as a
builder to provide buildings of worship
and for other church activities. The
Church in Nashville, St. Mary’s, was a
gift to the Diocese.
Nine priests were in attendance at
the Augusta Mass. They were: Father
Michael Delea, principal celebrant;
Father Joseph Murphy of Charleston, S.
C.; homolist; Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke,
Savannah, who read the epistle; Father
William Simmons, Augusta; Monsignor
George L. Smith, Aiken, S. C.,
Monsignor Felix Donnelly, Father Ralph
Seikel, both of Savannah; Father Cyril
Gabbett, former pastor at Nashville;
Father John Fitzpatrick, Augusta.
Survivors included his wife, Mrs.
Marguerite Mura McDonald, Augusta;
one daughter, Mrs. Mary McDonald
Bowles, Augusta; Two sisters, Miss
Margaret E. McDonald, Mrs. Jessie M.
Barnard, Augusta; one brother Jerre A.
McDonald, Montgomery, Ala.
Pallbearers included Richard N.
Bowles Jr., John McD. Bowles, Ralph
M. Bowles, Kevin T. Bowles, Gerald V.
Bowles and Joseph E. Bowles.
Before the Mass, the College of Carcmals witnessed the sealing of the cypress
casket in which Pope Paul’s remains were iroight into the square.
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A Vatican official placed the “rogito,” a notarized death certificate, along with a
copy of Cardinal Confalonieri’s homily and a red velvet pouch containing the coins
and medals struck under Paul’s pontificate in the pontifFs casket before sealing it.
After the Mass the cypress coffin was borne amid the spontaneous cheers of the
crowds to the basilica crypt.
In a small chapel where a statue of Mary by Donatello once stood, Paul’s cypress
PAYING RESPECTS - Mrs. Rosalynn Carter stands beside Mrs.
Imelda Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines, as they study the Mass
booklets. (NC Photo)
:offin was enclosed in an 800-pound lead coffin. That, in turn was put inside a coffin
of c.'k
The lead coffin bore a skull and crossbones. Both the lead and oak coffins had
bronze plaques reading:
“Corpus Pauli VI P.M. - Vixit annos LXXX menses X dies X - Ecclesiae universali
praefuit - annos XV menses I dies XVI -- Decessit dies VI mensis Augusti - Anno
Domini MCMLXXVm” (“The body of Paul VI - He lived 80 years, 10 months, 10
days - He governed the universal church -- 15 years, 1 month, 16 days - He died
August 6 -- Year of Our Lord 1978).
Before the coffin of Paul was borne out of the square by the 12 chairbearers who
once carried the pope on his portable throne, the cardinal-concelebrants lined three
sides of the coffin.
Cardinal Confalonieri sprinkled holy water on the coffin and incensed it. The
pope’s vicar for the Rome Diocese, Cardinal Ugo Poletti, read a prayer on behalf of the
pope’s diocese.
Then praying in Jesus’ own language, Aramaic, and in Arabic, Maronite-Rite
Patriarch Antoine Pierre Khoraiche of Antioch, representing the Eastern churches,
sang Eastern-Rite prayers for the dead.
The people responded, “Pray for him” as the choir invoked a long Litany of the
Saints. It included an invocation to Mary as “Mother of the Church,” the title given
her by Paul VI at the end of Vatican Council II.
In the first rows sat close associates of the pope and civil and religious dignitaries.
The United States was represented by Mrs. Rosalynn Carter, who wore a black
suit, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, only living brother of the first Catholic U.S.
president, in formal dress.
The Sistine Choir sang traditional Latin chants interspersed with modem
polyphony written for the occasion by the papal music director, Msgr. Domenico
Bartolucci.
The only sound accompanying the choir was a simple harmonium.
The cardinals wore red, the color of papal mourning.
As the pope’s body was brought out of the basilica for the Mass, the 100,000 in
the square and tens of millions of television viewers around the world heard the
traditional “Requiem Aetemam” beginning a funeral Mass.
But in keeping with reforms of Vatican II, the celebration bore many signs of joy,
with a triple “Alleluia” substituting for the somber “Dies Irae” that used to precede
the Gospel. And as Paul’s body was taken back into the basilica at the end, the crowd
clapped, the basilica bells rang out, and the choir broke out into the “Magnificat,”
(Continued on page 6)
College Of Cardinals Begins Its Work
VATICAN CITY (NC) - As
hundreds of the curious stream past
Pope Paul’s simple tomb below St.
Peter’s, the College of Cardinals has
already unofficially begun electing his
successor.
The commandant of the Swiss
Guards and a small group of Vatican
officials will not seal the oak conclave
doors bfficially until 5 p.m. Aug. 25.
But the cardinals during their daily
meetings in baroque, frescoed halls near
the basilica have already begun the key
process of getting to know one another
and sizing up the leading candidates.
The cardinals purposely made the
period between the pope’s death and
the conclave as long as possible to cut
down on the time they will have to
spend sealed off from the outside world
in electing Pope Paul’s successor.
The lengthy pre-conclave period
also allows input from the cardinals over
age 80, whom Pope Paul excluded from
the approaching election.
Actually none of the eight
conclaves held in the last 132 years
lasted more than four days.
And the upcoming election should
not be overly long either, despite the
huge problems of the post-conciliar
church and the size of the College of
Cardinals (Of 114 cardinals eligible to
enter the secret conclave, only a handful
are not expected to come.)
One reason for anticipating a short
conclave is that many of the foreign
cardinals seem determined to try to
elect another Italian.
The last foreigner to wear the tiara
was Dutchman Pope Adrian VI in 1522.
And many cardinals seem to think that
among current candidates only the
Italians have the proper background for
governing the church.
Another reason for a quick election
is that most cardinals know each other
quite well already.
Many have participated in the
Second Vatican Council as bishops -
(Continued on page 3)
Admission Ceremony Aug. 20
The formal Admission To Candidacy ceremony for the 17 members of
the Savannah Diocese’s first Permanent Deacon Class will be held during the
10 am. Mass at the Cathedral in Savannah on Sunday, August 20.
Bishop Raymond W. Lessard will be the principal celebrant of the Mass.
Concelebrants will be Father Michael Smith and Monsignor Felix Donnelly.
The group has finished the first year of training with the second year set
to begin in September.
Candidates and families will gather Saturday afternoon for a picnic at
Camp Villa Marie. They will be feted at a Luncheon following Sunday’s Mass
at St. Vincent’s Auditorium.
The Southern Cross
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH NEWSPAPER