Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, December 16, 1999
The Southern Cross, Page 3
Parish by the sea: Saint Michael’s on Tybee Island
By Rita H. DeLorme
r ith all the recent
developments in
real estate at Tybee
Island, Georgia, this is—
perhaps—a good time to
look at Saint Michael’s
Catholic Church, pioneer church of
the island. On Monday, July 6, 1891
the Savannah Morning News devoted
considerable space to “Saint
Michael’s by the Sea—Tybee’s new
Roman Catholic Church.” It was at
this time that Bishop Thomas A.
Becker dedicated the church. The
new church was named after Saint
Michael the Archangel, known as the
“ruler of the waves,” a name particu
larly suitable for new edifice, given
its location near the ocean.
In the early days, access to Tybee
Island was either by boat or by train,
so on the day of the dedication of
Saint Michael’s Church, the 9:30 a.m.
train from Savannah chugged over
the rails with some 200 people to
attend the services. These visitors,
plus residents of the island, filled the
church’s 24 pews and overflowed
into chairs in the aisles and, finally,
opted for available standing room.
Estimated attendance at the dedica
tion ceremony performed by Bishop
Becker, Father Edward D. Cafferty,
V.G., and Father W. A. McCarthy
was a snug 400-plus individuals.
Following the initial prayers, bless
ings, litany and psalms, Mass was
celebrated for the first time in the
new little church. A choir consisting
of Mrs. Altick, Franke E. Rebarer
and M. A. O’Byrne, with Professor
Leo Mehrtens at the organ, provided
music, according to the newspaper
account. The Catholic Church, said
Bishop Becker in his sermon, “is not
a church of opinions but of faith” and
“its principles are unchanging.”
The physical description of Saint
Michael’s Church in this contempo
rary newspaper is of interest to
today’s historians. Said the Morning
News: “Saint Michael’s is situated on
Railroad Avenue and Eighth Street,
Bishop’s Christmas
Midnight Mass
at Savannah Civic
Center
B ishop J. Kevin Boland will cele
brate the Midnight Mass of
Christmas in the Johnny Mercer
Theatre of the Savannah Civic
Center. The Cathedral Choir will
begin singing at 11:30 p.m. on
Christmas Eve; the Mass will begin
promptly at midnight. Free parking
in the Civic Center lot has been
arranged for worshipers. All are
invited to join in the bishop’s
Midnight Mass of Christmas.
just across from the Atlantic Club.
The exterior is painted white, with
black trimmings. The roof is sur
mounted by a white and black dome,
on the top of which stands a large
white cross. The interior walls are
painted white and the ceiling a sky
blue, the combination making a pret
ty effect. The pews are of polished
Georgia pine. The altar is a beautiful
and artistic piece of work. It is carved
in an attractive manner, and in the
center is a lamb bearing a cross. The
altar was made at McDonough &
Company’s mill. On each side of the
altar is a room. One is used as a sac
risty and the other as a sleeping
apartment for the priest, who will go
to the island every Saturday night.”
According to this same newspaper
account, Saint Michael’s cost a slim
$2,000—no doubt a considerable
amount at that time—and was built
on land donated by the Tybee Beach
Company after some prodding by
Capt. D. G. Purse. Robert E. Pepper,
president of the Atlantic Club, was
given much credit for the church’s
construction because he had interest
ed others in the venture and had evi
dently devoted himself wholehearted
ly to seeing the project through to
completion. The News also noted
that: “Saint Michael’s has the honor
of being the pioneer house of reli
gious worship on Tybee. The island
has quite a contingent of Catholic
residents and the chapel will be
amply supported.” The same article
mentioned in passing that there had
been talk “some time ago” of erecting
a union Protestant chapel at Tybee,
but that no steps had as yet been
taken to implement the building of
this church for which the Beach
Company was also willing to donate
a site.
At the time of the founding of
Saint Michael’s Church at Tybee, the
diocese was supplying priests for
Sunday Masses while separate ser
vices were held by Benedictine
Fathers at the nearby Fort Screven
military post. Masses were offered
there in private homes, notably that
of the Thomas Lynch family, or in a
ward of the station hospital. In the
1920’s, Monsignor Joseph Croke
oversaw the building of a rectory at
Tybee. A succession of priests served
Saint Michael’s through the years:
Saint Michael Church, Tybee Island, before its renovation.
Father Thomas Finn, Monsignor
James Grady, and Monsignor Joseph
Moylan, P.A., as well as various other
priests whom Monsignor Moylan was
able to obtain to serve the island’s
Catholic community. In 1946, Saint
Michael’s attained parish status. Later
priests of the parish included Fathers
John Keough, Thomas Payne, John
Cuddy, Robert Teoli, Herbert
Wellmeier, J. Kevin Boland, and
Timothy Flaherty, Ralph Seikel and
Terence Keman. In recent years,
Father Payne served as pastor of
Saint Michael’s until his retirement.
In the 1930’s and 1940’s, Sister M.
Amabalis and Sister M. Rosarii con
ducted catechism classes for children
of the parish and, in 1948, a school
for eight grades opened with the
Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the
Immaculate Conception in charge of
its 55 students. Change came to Saint
Michael’s as the building which had
once been the rectory became a con
vent for the sisters. A new rectory
was completed in late summer of
1949. Also, a practical brick exterior
was applied to the church and its
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interior was paneled. Other innova
tions included a better heating sys
tem, and the addition of a choir loft.
A new convent was built in the
1960’s and a new school and gymna
sium were ready for use; in 1976. A
thrift store, to this day a magnet for
bargain hunters on Tybee, was
opened in the old convent building
with all proceeds going to help the
poor.
This year, Saint Michael’s School
is still going strong and celebrates its
fifty-first anniversary. Staffed these
days mostly by lay people, the school
—with Ms. Peggy Poole as principal
—remains an excellent facility with
favorable student/teacher ratios and a
first-rate learning environment.
Catholic students at the school are
prepared for First Penance, First
Communion and Confirmation by
Sister Mary Robers, S.C. Like the
parish itself, Saint Michael’s School
remains close-knit, with successive
generations of Tybee Catholics in
attendance. The current pastor of
Saint Michael’s Church is Father
John J. Fitzpatrick. Parish organiza
tions include a Parish Council,
Women’s Club and Men’s Club. A
pancake breakfast on the first Sunday
of each month from 8:00 a.m.-noon
gives parishioners and non-parish
ioners alike, at a cost of $1.00 for
children and $2.00 for adults, the
opportunity to fraternize and enjoy
the ambience of this unique Catholic
parish.
Rita H. De Lorme is a volunteer in
the Diocesan Archives