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Contents Sou ☆ ☆ Diocese of, Savannah ☆ ☆ hem (joss News 1-3 Commentary 4-5 Around the Diocese 6-7 Faith Alive! 8-9 Notices 10-11 Last But Not Least 12 Vol. 79, No. 35 $.50 per issue Thursday, October 14,1999 4 J w - Millennium Mass draws 3000 to Macon iiif/ up j §j . jn ' uVJ/V. -,| I f -i Left: Bishop J. Kevin Boland greets participants in the Macon deanery Millennium Mass. Center: a scene from the Mass. Right: the banner from Saint Peter Claver Parish. By Anne Pacosa Macon pproximately 3000 Catholics from the Middle Georgia area joined Bishop J. Kevin Boland to welcome the third millennium of Christianity on October 3 at the Macon City Auditorium. Banners representing all nine parishes in the deanery and a large banner representing the theme “Rooted in Faith, Called to Grow” provided the backdrop as Bishop Boland concelebrated the Mass with all the deanery priests. A deanery-wide choir of over 70 adults and 40 children, accompanied by organ, piano, brass ensemble, timpani, bagpipes and handbells was directed by Lindsey Skinner, Director of Liturgy and Music at Sacred Heart Parish, Warner Robins. Macon Mayor Jim Marshall, a member of Saint Joseph Parish, welcomed everyone to the city and led the congregation in a prolonged tribute to the deanery priests and sisters. One of the most touching moments of the Mass occurred when three thou sands Catholics stood and proclaimed the Creed as our shared profession of faith. Lunch was provided for everyone after Mass. A steering committee composed of members from all the parishes in the deanery planned the event. “Catholics have come a long way,” said one Macon native. “When I was growing up, the only group that could fill the city auditorium was the Ku Klux Klan.” Celebrations are planned for each of the seven deaneries in the Diocese of Savannah. Father Patrick Adams, OFM, dies; was Cordele Saint Petersburg, FL F ather Patrick Adams, OFM, died Wednesday, October 6, in Saint Petersburg. The Macon native had served in the Diocese of Savannah as pastor of Saint Theresa Parish, Cordele, from 1968-1994. Bom in Macon in 1916, Patrick Adams professed vows in the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) on August 16, 1937 and was ordained a priest on May 28, 1942 at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. Father Pat served as a Navy chaplain during and after the Korean War. He was founding pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi in Triangle, Virginia, from 1956-1964. After four years in New York City and Providence, Rhode Island, Father Adams was assigned to Saint Theresa Cordele, and Saint Michael, Monte zuma. During his 26 years in that assignment, Father Pat was known for his daily visits to hospitals and nursing homes. He was active in programs for abused children and migrant farm workers. Father Adams was a member of the diocesan Commission for the Beati fication of the Georgia Martyrs, five Franciscan missionaries who were slain in the course of their efforts to evangelize the Guale peoples of what is now Georgia. He was also largely responsible for initiating the annual Memorial Day Mass at Andersonville. Father Pat celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his religious profession with a special Mass of Thanksgiving and reception on August 30, 1987, at Saint Theresa’s. He retired from his pastorate in 1994. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for Father Pat Adams on October 8 at Saint Mary Church, Saint Petersburg. Bishop J. Kevin Boland celebrated a memorial Mass for Father Pat at Saint Theresa’s, Cordele, on October 10. The bishop paid tribute to Father Adams’ zeal and noted how greatly revered he was in southwest Georgia. pastor 26 years Father Patrick Adams, OFM