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PAGE 9 — The Southern Cross, September 12, 1985
Cathedral interior pictured (left
photo) during Dedication Ceremonies
October 28, 1900. Father William Par-
dow S. J. delivered the sermon. Ex
terior picture (top) taken in 1900.
t. John The Baptist--Savannah
rogram Of 1963 And Booklet Of 1902
Augustine, assisted by the Very Rev. P.
Dufau, vicar general of St. Augustine;
deacon of the Mass, Father M.T. Reilly of
Atlanta; subdeacon, Rev. James O’Brien
of Washington, Ga.
Bishop Lynch of Charleston delivered
the dedicatory sermon.
The cathedral was designed by Baldwin
& Price of Baltimore, one of the outstan
ding architectural firms of the country. It
cost $150,000. The building remained un
completed until 1896, when the two spires
were built by Bishop Thomas Andrew
Becker at a cost of $35,000. In 1889, he had
built the handsome episcopal residence
which adjoins the Cathedral at a cost of
$26,000.
The Cathedral caught fire and was
almost entirely destroyed on Sunday even
ing. Feb. 6,1898, between 10 and 11 o’clock.
Opening paragraphs of the Morning
News article on the fire stated:
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist,
one of the most magnificent and imposing
structures of Savannah, upon which years
of toil and thousands of dollars have been
spent, is a mass of ruin, and nothing re
mains but its four walls and the indestruc
tible parts of its two tall spires.
“The conflagration that swept it away
before the hour of midnight was frightful
in its grandeur and pitiable in its
magnificence. It seemed to blot out in a
moment the work of years...”
The Savannah Press stated, “Years of
work by scores of men burned in the
presence of thousands in less than two
hours.”
It was as though God has wanted to test
the mettle of His Cathedral flock. City
firemen, dog tired after battling the Traub
fire Saturday night, were then engaged in
fighting a great riverfront fire along River
and Williamson Streets. The entire depart
ment was there.
A motorman of the City and Suburban
Railway, who was coming through the
square with his car, discovered the fire.
Evening services had concluded a short
while before and the Rev. Benjamin J.
Keiley, rector, had boarded the Central of
Georgia night train for a business trip to
Atlanta.
When the alarm came there was no ap
paratus of any moment at any of the
jj engine houses to respond. Two or three
hose wagons answered at once, and the
hose was attached to the neighboring
plugs. The pressure from the plugs, due to
the heavy use of water at the other fire,
was scarcely sufficient to throw a stream
across the street. Firemen holding these
hoses stood on the Harris Street sidewalk,
just outside the fence surrounding the
Cathedral, and found them barely strong
enough to reach the first window sill. “The
already worn out firemen let the flames
satisfy tneir hunger in the church,” stated
the Savannah Press.
Thousands watched in horror and shock.
The Bishop’s residence was spared.
Father Keiley, later to become Bishop,
received a wire on the train advising him
of the destruction of his church. He left the
train at Millen and returned to Savannah
arriving at dawn to behold the sad spec
tacle of a smouldering ruin where a
mighty Cathedral had once stood.
Words of kind sympathy and tenders of
temporary accommodations came from
St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Guards
Armory, the Young Hebrew Men’s
Association and the Catholic Library Hall.
The Sessions of the Independent
Presbyterian Church sent an official state
ment of their deep sympathy as did the
rector and vestry of St. Stephens Protes
tant Episcopal Church. The Protestant
Episcopal Bishop of Georgia also sent a
dispatch expressing his regrets and wishes
for a speedy rebuilding.
Fitzhugh Lee White, six-year-old son of
Rev. Robb White, rector of Christ Church,
was the first to contribute to the restora
tion of the Cathedral. He gave $5, the en
tire contents of his piggy bank.
Through the kindness of Mother
Bonaventure the use of their large convent
chapel was tendered the parish by the
Sisters of Mercy. Mass was celebrated
there for two years.
Catholics had sustained the loss of a
church edifice, which with its contents
represented an expenditure of $175,000 to
$200,000. Insurance was only $60,000, out of
which had to come a parish debt of $18,000.
Against that gloomy background and
with the embers still hot. Bishop Becker
declared, “The Cathedral must be rebuilt,
and as soon as possible.” Thus Savannah
Catholics threw themselves into the
monumental task of rebuilding another St.
John the Baptist as beautiful as its
predecessor.
Within the framework of the original
walls, E. Francis Baldwin rebuilt the
Cathedral at a cost of $150,000.
During the work on the Cathedral, on Ju
ly 24, 1899, Bishop Becker died at the
Catholic boys’ orphanage in Washington,
Ga.
When Bishop Keiley was appointed
Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah, the
Cathedral was not yet completed; and
therefore his consecration in June, 1900,
took place in Richmond, Va.
The rebuilt Cathedral was dedicated on
Sunday morning, Oct. 28, 1900, by Arch
bishop Sebastian Martinelli, Apostolic
Delegate to the United States.
The day before the altars of the
Cathedral were consecrated. The high
altar was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. A.
Van DeVyver, bishop of Richmond; the
Sacred Heart Altar, by Bishop Keiley; the
altar of the Blessed Virgin by Bishop Allen
of Mobile; the altar of St. Anthony, by
Bishop Curtis of Baltimore; and the altar
of St. Joseph by Bishop Moeller of Colum
bus, Ohio.
Preacher at the Solemn Pontifical Mass
was the Rev. William O’Brien Pardow of
Washington, D.C., a Jesuit.
The choir was composed of 60 voices,
under the direction of F. E. Rebarer, and
was supplemented by an orchestra of 12
pieces, besides the great organ.
The vespers service that night was at
tended by an estimated 1,800 persons who
crowded up the side aisles and the main ai
sle as far as the pulpit.
Interior of the Cathedral was
redecorated in 1912 while Father
Shadewell was rector.
An organ recital by John P. O’Donnelly
and a concert under the direction of James
Copps, choirmaster, assisted by Mrs. J. J.
Gaudry marked the reopening of the
beautiful structure on the evening of May
21, 1912.
Under the direction of Bishop Thomas J.
McDonough during the rectorship of Msgr.
T. James McNamara, another renovation
and redecoration process took place
(1959-63). A new lighting and air-
conditioning system completed the pro
ject.
More recently, under Bishop Gerard
Frey and Bishop Raymond Lessard,
necessary repairs have been made: brac
ing the spires, caulking the windows,
replastering wall cracks and making safe
the choir gallery.
In keeping with reforms of Vatican II,
changes were made to bring the Cathedral
into line with liturgical norms. The high
altar now serves as a backdrop to
liturgical events, and the celebrant faces
the people.
Archbishop Martinelli
dedicated Cathedral
on Oct. 28, 1900.
BISHOPS OF THE DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
Bishop Francis X. Gartland
(1850-1854)
Bishop John Barry
(1857-1859)
Bishop Augustin Verot
(1861-1870)
Bishop Ignatius Persico
(1870-1872)
Bishop William Gross
(1873-1885)
Bishop Thomas Becker
(1886-1899)
Bishop Benjamin Keiley
(1900-1922)
Bishop Michael Keyes
(1922-1935)
Bishop Gerald O'Hara
(1935-1959)
Aux. Bishop Francis Hyland
(1949-1956)
Aux. Bishop T.J. McDonough
(1957-1959)
Bishop Thomas McDonough
(1959-1967)
Bishop Gerard Frey
(1967-1972)
Bishop Raymond Lessard
(1973- )