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The B. C. Chorus of Benedictine Military School, Savanna!
part in the seventh annual “Grand Night in the Cathedral
B.C. on December 14, Also performing were Ceremonial
Of Savannah, the 13th Colony Sound Barbershop Chorus
f organist Timothy Hail, \
Photo by Paul H. Camp.
Southern Cross, Page 6
Around the Diocese
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Nuestra Senora de
Guadalupe
Bishop O’Hara...
Continued from page 3
politico and lawyer John J. Bouhan,
a Catholic, to help obtain a job for
the head of a family the bishop knew
personally. “I have taken a personal
interest in this case,” wrote the bish
op, “because of the worthiness of all
the members of the family. They do
not ask for charity or financial assis
tance of any kind; all they hope for
is that the head of their family may
find permanent work.”
In 1937, the economic crunch was
still on when an older man wrote
Bishop O’Hara seeking “additional
aid.” His wife, the man explained,
had been hurt in an accident and
hospitalized for a while at great
expense. “The rent man knows of
the cause of why I did not keep up
the rent as I have always done
promptly,” this man wrote, adding:
“If you do not pay them and have to
vacate, the word is passed to other
Rental Agents and you are not
desired.” This letter writer was in his
70s and could find no work. He dis
closed that the Saint Vincent de Paul
Society had helped the family some,
but could not pay their rent. If only
his old age pension would come
through, he added, he would no
longer “be a burden upon others.”
Another correspondent, this time
from rural Georgia, wrote poignant
ly: “Dear Sir, I am writing you in
regard to our financial afairs (sic).
Certainly hate to have to do this but
just feel sure if you knew our condi
tions you would be glad to help me
so that is why I am writing and I
more than appreciate what you have
already done for me and my family
and I feel sure the Lord will give me
a chance to return it to you if you
can help me in any way.”
“Keen regret”
Perhaps even more poignant was
an appeal made to the bishop by a
man he evidently knew personally
for a loan of thousands of dollars to
keep from losing not only his busi
ness but his home and homes of rel
atives. Bishop O’Hara, addressing
this man by first name, said he had
given “long and serious considera
tion” to the request, but there was no
amount of money from diocesan
trust funds “that would come any
where near the sum needed.” O’Hara
added: “It is with keen regret there
fore that I have to say that it is not in
my power to help you despite the
urgency of your distress. I say this
with real regret and with a most sin
cere sympathy for you in this trou
ble. If I had the money myself per
sonally, I would gladly advance you
what you need.”
Appeals to Bishop P. O’Hara’s
charity became less frequent when
World War II began. The military
draft gave many employment they
never bargained for. Munitions fac
tories and shipyards provided jobs
and revenue on the home front. The
American economy bounced back
and Bishop O’Hara went on to other
challenges; among them, represent
ing the Vatican in Communist-con-
trolled Romania after the war.
Columnist Rita H. DeLorme
is a volunteer in the Diocesan
Archives. She can be reached
at rhdelorme@diosav.org.
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Melanie Alvarez prays before a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe after
Mass at Sacred Heart Church, Vidalia, on the December 12 feast celebrat
ing the apparition of Our Lady to Juan Diego at Tepeyac in 1531. Devotion
to Our Lady of Guadalupe, declared Patroness of the Americas by Pope
Pius XII, is particularly intense among Catholics of Mexican heritage.
Photo by Michael J. Johnson.