Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, June 1, 2000
The Southern Cross, Page 3
Father Joseph W. Kavanagh: his ministry and influence
on young Catholics in the 1930 3 s-40’s
r hey still talk about him,
those couples he, in a sense,
played clerical cupid for in the
1930’s and 40’s by founding
the Catholic Young People’s
Association. In 1936, Father
Joseph W. Kavanagh, a
stocky, dark-haired young
riest from Philadelphia, came
to the Diocese of Savannah
Rita H. as secretary to the new and
DeLorme dynamic Bishop Gerald P.
O’Hara. His influence was
to be much more than that of secretary to the bish
op. Stationed at the Cathedral of Saint John the
Baptist, Father Kavanagh soon won the affection
of the Catholic youth of Savannah, by establishing
the Catholic Young People’s Association. Here,
youthful Catholics socialized with their peers in an
informal and wholesome way. The organization
caught on, and was eventually sited at Harris and
Abercom Streets, in the shadow of the Cathedral.
Father Kavanagh had been ordained in 1931 by
Cardinal Dennis Dougherty at the Cathedral of
S.S. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. One of four
sons in his family to enter the priesthood,
Kavanagh served first as assistant pastor at Saint
Patrick’s Church in Pottsville and, later, at Nativity
B.Y.M. Church in Philadelphia. In 1934, he
assumed his duties as bishop's secretary. Two years
later, he arrived in Savannah and shortly thereafter
initiated the youth ministry for which he would be
so well-remembered. The C.Y.P.A., as the Catholic
Young People’s Association was usually known,
fielded athletic teams and held dances and socials.
They also produced several musical comedies
while Father Kavanagh was in charge, including
the rousing “Rio Rita.” Talented amateurs culled
Father Joseph W. Kavanagh (1950)
from the membership of the group sang and
danced and emoted at the old Municipal
Auditorium or helped backstage with costumes,
scenery painting and props. The teamwork neces
sary for the musicals pulled members of the
C.Y.P.A. closer together and, soon, romance was
“in the air” and couples were heading to the altar.
As World War II began, many of Savannah’s
young Catholic men answered their country’s draft
call. The Catholic Young People’s Association
honored them and entertained them and aided the
war effort in numerous ways. Until 1943, Father
Joseph Kavanagh sustained the group with a dedi
cated leadership which resulted in continued suc
cess. When Bishop Gerald P. O’Hara of the
Savannah Diocese was assigned to Rome, Father
Kavanagh returned to his native Pennsylvania. His
priestly career there included service as adminis
trator at Saint Matthew Church, Conshohocken,
and the pastorate of Transfiguration of Our Lord
Church until 1972, when he was named pastor
emeritus of the latter parish. Father Kavanagh
retired to Saint Joseph’s Church in Collingsdale,
Pennsylvania and later moved to Villa Saint
Joseph. He died at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital in
Darby, Pennsylvania in 1982 at age 76, survived
by two sisters, Mrs. Rita O’Connell and Miss
Marie Kavanagh and two brothers, Monsignor
John C. Kavanagh and Father Francis Kavanagh,
O.C.S.O., his other brother, Monsignor William
Kavanagh, having predeceased him.
If Savannahians have not forgotten Father Joseph
Kavanagh, he never forgot those Savannahians he
had known early in his priestly career. Throughout
the years, Father Kavanagh visited the city fre
quently and renewed acquaintances with former
parishioners as well as the young people, now
growing older, whom he had guided early on. In
1951, the C.Y.P.A. acknowledged the group’s debt
to Father Kavanagh and their affection for him by
holding a special observance in his honor. In less
than a decade in the Savannah Diocese the lively
priest had left the imprint of his personality on
both the group he founded and on the numerous
young Catholics he had encountered in his min
istry.
Rita H. DeLorme is a volunteer in the
Diocesan Archives.
Republican
(Continued from page I)
tice, in compassion, family, love and
moral courage,” and try to make sure
every American benefits from the
American dream. He said he wants
the country to have “a safety net of
care” for immigrants and those enter
ing the work force after being on
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welfare.
“I want to take down the toll booth
on the road to the middle class,” with
lower taxes, greater access to health
insurance and more opportunities for
home ownership, Bush said.
He said he supports charter schools
and school choice where public
schools are failing because parents
need answers, “not excuses,” and a
parent “with options is a parent with
influence.”
“I want America to be, in the
words of Pope John Paul II, a hos
pitable society,” Bush said, adding
that social reforms should promote a
culture of life and affirm every per
son “in the image and likeness of
God. ... As a country we must keep
our pledge to the first guarantee of
the Declaration of Independence.”
He said he supports maintaining
the permanent observer status of the
Holy See at the United Nations and
opposes the efforts of “some groups
that are trying to silence” the voice
of the Vatican at the world body.
After Bush’s appearance, Joseph K.
Ryan, CPA president and editor of
The Catholic Standard and Times in
Philadelphia, told Catholic News
Service that Vice President A1 Gore,
the likely Democratic presidential
nominee, had declined the invitation
to address CPA members.
After the CPA invited Bush and
Gore to speak at the convention, the
Bush campaign expressed interest
and suggested a video conference.
Ryan said the CPA told the campaign
it would agree to it if Bush would
take questions. Gore declined to
speak, said Ryan.
About 10 days before the conven
tion, Ryan said, the Bush campaign
agreed that the candidate would take
questions and the CPA again invited
Gore, telling him that the convention
schedule could be rearranged at any
time during the three-day meeting to
accommodate him. But Gore again
declined, said Ryan.
Rita DeLorme and Mary Hood Hart
recognized by Catholic Press Association
Baltimore
T wo Southern Cross columnists, Rita DeLorme and Mary Hood Hart,
received honorable mentions at the annual convention of the Catholic
Press Association held in Baltimore May 24-26.
Mrs. DeLorme, whose historical sketches have appeared in this newspaper
since January, 1999, was recognized for her article, “More than a pretty love
story,” which appeared in the December 9, 1999 issue of The Southern Cross.
Mrs. Hart was recognized for her column, “Everyday Graces,” which
appears weekly in The Southern Cross and in the Springfield-Cape Girardeau
Mirror.
Father Douglas K. Clark, editor, extended his heartfelt congratulations to the
winners. “We are proud of Rita and Mary, who bring honor to our diocesan
newspaper,” he said. “And we congratulate them on this recognition of their
talent and hard work for us.”