Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, December 07, 2000
The Southern Cross, Page 3
Life and Times of Father Michael J. Byrne,
prison chaplain in the Savannah Diocese in the 1920s
F ather Michael J. Byrne’s
biography would make a
great movie. Bom in 1857 in
Norwich, Connecticut,
Michael Byme wanted
nothing more than to join
the Passionist Order,
although ill health forced
him to discontinue his reli
gious studies. Cut adrift
from his vocation, the
young man decided to sign
on as business manager and public
relations person with his brothers’
theatrical company, “The Eight
Bells”. As a member of their troupe,
he traveled much of the country and
overseas as well. At thirty-seven, he
married Mary Scanlon, a childhood
friend. Michael and Mary Byrnes
had three children, two of whom
would later serve in World War I.
When his wife died in 1908, the
grieving husband returned to his
original vocation: the priesthood,
commencing his studies at 51 years
of age, at Saint Francis College,
Loretto, Pennsylvania. Following
ordination, he was assigned to the
Diocese of Savannah. After several
years of parish work in Savannah, he
was reassigned; this time, to be chap
lain at the Federal Penitentiary in
Atlanta.
Father Byrne’s years of residency
at the penitientiary—1917-1921—
occurred during the post-World War I
period when soldiers returning from
duty often found themselves unskil
led and jobless. Many of these men
drifted on a tide of hopelessness into
a life of crime. Immigrants unfamil
iar with both the language and mores
of this country constituted another
segment of the population headed for
trouble. As prison chaplain, Father
Byme had been primed by his varied
background: theatrical troupe mem
ber, world traveler, husband and
father, and—finally—priest, for his
new ministry. Writing for The Bul
letin in an article of June 1921,
Father Byme tried to explain what it
was like being pastor to inmates of
a federal penitentiary. He men
tioned his early efforts to
obtain a separate place for
Catholic prisoners to worship.
Given a room which had once
served as a prison tailor shop,
Father Byme and the Catholic
inmates worked to transform
their spare, designated space
into a chapel. Bishop Benjamin
J. Keiley consecrated the new
place of worship as the Chapel of
Our Fady of Perpetual Help on April
14, 1918. Over a period of several
years, one of the prisoners—an
Italian artist—undertook the beautifi
cation of the “government-issue”
room. This modem “Michaelangelo”
painted the windows of the chapel to
simulate stained glass, decorated the
walls and ceilings of the sanctuary
and enhanced the enlarged altar with
a beautiful oil painting of Our Fady
of Perpetual Help. Statues and sta
tions of the Cross came from donors
in Savannah and a pipe organ was
underwritten by Federal authorities.
Refurbishing the humble chapel was
not in vain. Father Byme noted that it
was filled to capacity every Sunday
morning and that the number of com
municants was so great that he some
times had to seek outside help. In
1921, with 560 Catholic inmates in
the prison, the priest was pleased to
note that 90% of that number had
made their Easter duties. Prison life
was still prison life and the chaplain
lamented the lack of preparation and
means for his “boys” when they even
tually left the place. He fretted over
the fate of their family members who
had no support and who sometimes
had to resort to illegal activities them
selves in order to survive. He worried
that the paroled prisoner “owing to his
utter lack of references” would find it
impossible to obtain work. When the
ten dollars supplied the freed inmate
had dwindled away, said Father
Byme, “he must either starve or go
back to crime.”
Father Michael Byrne
The chaplain campaigned for pris
oners to be given paid work while in
carcerated so that, with a “nest egg”
nurtured while they were imprisoned,
they might have the means to exist
“outside” until they could find
employment. While Father Byrnes
was stationed at the Federal peniti-
tiary at Atlanta he was pleased to see
that at least one business, the Duck
Mill Company, was offering inmates
the chance to make money while
imprisoned. Father Byrnes inaugurat
ed a Catholic circulation library for
the men under his charge and proud
ly disclosed that the library had come
to hold some 5,000 volumes
“through gifts from publishers and
well-wishers”. In gratitude for all he
had done for them, the prisoners and
prison authorities designated a new
athletic field “Byme Stadium” in the
chaplain’s honor.
In ill health and needing surgery,
Father Michael Byme continued to
serve the men placed in his care
almost to the time of his death on
January 9, 1922, following an opera
tion. A eulogy of Father Byme car
ried in The Bulletin supplied the
priest’s view of the inmates he
served: “My boys, that’s what they
are—my boys. Gunmen, counterfeit
ers, yeggmen, they’re all one here.
Boys in hard luck, who went wrong
and were found out—that is the way
I see them.” His pastoring did not
stop at the doors of the prison. In
many instances, the compassionate
Father Byme managed to get aid for
destitute families of those in jail—
“no questions asked”—from groups
such as the Saint Vincent de Paul
Society.
Father Michael Byrne’s life shone
with many facets of dedication and
service. His prison ministry occurred
during a time when many prisons in
Georgia were operating in a cmel and
inhumane fashion and chain gangs
were not an uncommon sight on
highways.
The book, I Am a Fugitive from a
Georgia Chain Gang, was penned by
Robert E. Bums, a man who was in a
Georgia county prison at the time
when Father Byme wrote his piece
for The Bulletin describing life in a
Federal prison. The author of the
book was eerily like the men the
priest encountered in his ministry: a
soldier returning from World War I
who got into trouble, fled a Georgia
chain gang, and eventually landed in
more trouble. The book and a 1932
film based on it helped bring about
reform in many prisons throughout
the state.
Though not as dramatic, the ministry
of prison chaplain, Father Michael J.
Byme, made a difference in the lives
of those he served as he participated in
“the healing mission of Jesus Christ”
in the Federal prison in Atlanta.
Rita H. DeLorme is a volunteer
in the Diocesan Archives.
Rita H.
DeLorme
Cathedral
(Continued from page I)
as the temple of God, read in Spanish) and the
Gospel according to John (on worship in spirit
and tmth) from the new pulpit. Cardinal
William H. Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore
gave the homily (see page 4).
The singing of the Litany of the Saints began
the Rite of Dedication, which involved a solemn
prayer followed by the anointing of the new altar,
its incensation, clothing and lighting (see page 6).
The bishop inaugurated the new ambry or recepta
cle for the holy oils.
Relatives of first Savannah Bishop Francis X.
Gartland brought forward the gifts of bread and
wine and symbolic gifts of bread and grapes, at
the Presentation of the Gifts. The bishops of the
Atlanta Province (Archbishop John F. Donoghue
of Atlanta and Bishops William G. Curlin of
Charlotte, F. Joseph Gossman of Raleigh and Ro
bert J. Baker of Charleston) joined Bishop Boland
in proclaiming the Eucharistic Prayer. After the
distribution of Holy Communion, Archbishop
Donoghue inaugurated the new tabernacle by
solemnly placing a pyx containing the Host in it.
Just before the final blessing, Father O’Neill
stood stunned as Bishop Boland surprised him
with the announcement of his appointment as a
prelate of honor, with the title of monsignor, the
first time a priest in the diocese has been so hon
ored since 1967.
During the ceremony, Father O’Neill found
himself “reminiscing about different incidents
over the last year,” he said afterward at a recep
tion in neighboring Lafayette Square. “It was just
like a maiden voyage. You wonder if things are
going to go all right. It was like a jigsaw puzzle.
In the end, all the pieces come together.”
Throughout the last year, Father O’Neill clim
bed scaffolding and swept floors, Bishop Boland
said from the altar. “His temper flared and he smi
led graciously,” Boland said. “He was an archi
tect, artisan and project manager.” He also worked
under one principle: there are two ways to do
things. A right way. And a wrong way. “Heaven
help you if you made the wrong selection,” Bi
shop Boland said. His announcement was greeted
with prolonged applause.