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1° o| a) ^ c O CD co g t-qg r^ cl co ☆ The ” Sou Diocese of Savannah ins ☆ hern Ooss Vol. 81, No. 29 Thursday, August 30, 2001 $.50 per issue Franciscans leave a coastal legacy By Thea Kielt Jarvis arishioners of Saint William Church on Saint Simons Island joined Bishop J. Kevin Boland August 25-26 in honoring their departing Fran ciscan friends and blessing a newly completed parish life center, one of the order’s many lasting gifts to the community. The Conventual Franciscans, who have served at Saint William since 1987, turned the parish over to the Diocese of Savannah August 30. The order has experienced a decline in numbers and has recently withdrawn from parishes in Hazlehurst and Baxley as well. At a farewell dinner August 25, Franciscans and Saint William parishioners alike shared per sonal stories reflecting the growth of the church and its lively history. Mutual appreciation and respect were expressed for the journey that cler gy and laity undertook together. A morning liturgy, concelebrated by Bishop Boland, Franciscan provincial Father Peter Damian Massengill, OFM Conv., and members of the order who had served at Saint William’s, preceded the parish life center dedication and luncheon August 26. During his homily, the bish op praised Franciscans who opened doors of faith in coastal Georgia and encouraged parish ioners to continue the Franciscan tradition of an open, welcoming community. Franciscan friars first established a mission on Saint Simons in 1587 and a bas-relief sculpture of five Franciscans martyred in 1597 hangs in the vestibule of Saint William Church. Weekend events bore witness to the generosity and talent found among members of Saint Wil liam’s. Local chef Tom Delaney provided gour met meals for the hundreds in attendance. Entrepreneur Tommy Lee hosted the festive two- day celebration. Robert Ussery, architect of Saint William’s newest parish building, gingerly climbed a ladder to install the oversized crucifix now hanging in the gathering hall. The parish welcomes its new pastor September 16, when Bishop Boland will return to Saint William for the installation of Father John A. Kenneally as pastor. Left to right: Brother Hugo Lamm, Bishop J. Kevin Boland, Fathers Art Young, Ernest Waechter, and Peter Damian Massingill (provincial), at Saint William’s on August 26. Father Moses receives Unda-USA award Father Moses at his farewell reception at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Savannah. Dayton, Ohio (CNS) Nigerian priest who is pursuing advanced studies in communications has been awarded Unda- USA’s first Bishop Agnellus Andrew Scholarship. Unda-USA, based in Dayton, is the U.S. branch of the worldwide association for Catholic broadcasters. Unda is the Latin word for “wave.” Father Moses Aondover Iorapuu, a priest of the Diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria, received the $1,000 scholarship to help him with graduate studies in the School of Science and Communications at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome. Father Moses served in the Diocese of Savannah during the summer of 2000. The financial award is one of two to be presented annually by Unda-USA to minority students from the United States and Canada or to students from develop ing nations who have an interest in communications and the Catholic Church. “What we have begun with this scholarship award is a recognition of the need to encourage minority and Third World students to have both access to training and to being a voice in shaping future communications efforts in the church,” said Marilyn Vydra, communi cations director of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Diocese, who led the Unda-USA scholarship award subcommittee. The scholarship honors the memory of the late Bis hop Agnellus Andrew, a Franciscan, who founded the Catholic Radio and Television Center in Hatch End, England, and who was president of Unda-World and vice president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Father Moses plans to use broadcast media for evan gelization in the vast province of Abuja in Nigeria, where he hopes to begin a diocesan media center and assist with media education at the region’s major semi nary. “The mission Father Iorapuu has set for himself will advance the use and understanding of communication media in the church in his native country,” Frank Morock, Unda-USA president, said. Father Moses was encouraged to apply for the schol arship while interning last summer at the Savannah diocesan newspaper, The Southern Cross. He was in residence at Saint Benedict the Moor Parish, Savan nah. The scholarship is funded by a percentage of Unda- USA yearly membership dues and a portion of entry fees for the annual Gabriel Awards competition. Unda- USA also seeks contributions for the program. Sister M. Vianney Walsh remembered —page 3 Hispanic Mission in Douglas —page 6 Father Michael O’Keeffe retires —page 12