Thursday, September 14, 2017
Feature
Southern Cross, Page 13
Saint John Vianney Minor Seminary was a major
undertaking of the Catholic Diocese of Savannah
O n September 11, 1959, when
it officially opened with a
Mass of the Holy Spirit, Saint John
Vianney Minor Seminary located
at Grimball’s Point on the Isle of
Hope in Savannah, was termed by
Most Father Thomas J. McDonough,
the Auxiliary Bishop of Savannah,
“the answer to prayers” for voca
tions to the priesthood. Few sem
inarians studying elsewhere to be
priests of the Savannah Diocese
were native Georgians. What Bishop
McDonough wanted was a number
of homegrown seminarians preparing
to serve in the Diocese of Savannah.
Establishing a diocesan minor semi
nary seemed to be a practical answer
to this need.
So it was on that September day
in 1959, when Bishop McDonough
offered a dedicatory Mass for the
fledgling Saint John Marie Vianney
Minor Seminary, his prayers con
cerning the need for more priests
for his diocese seemed at last to be
on the way to being answered. “You
are the ‘Spes Ecclesiae,” 1 he told the
seminarians attending the Mass, “the
hope of the Church.”
The locale of the new seminary
consisted of a large tract of land
where summer Camp Villa Marie
welcomed children from around the
diocese to receive needed instruction
in their Catholic faith in a healthful
environment. Now, Catholic boys in
the ninth grade throughout the dio
cese would be given the opportunity
to discern vocations and to study
for the priesthood in a fostering
environment.
By the time Saint John Marie
Vianney Minor Seminary opened,
14 boys from various locations —
Savannah, Augusta, Macon, Warner
Robins and Albany — enrolled to
answer this early call to be priests.
Not long before that, many of them
had been addressed at their schools
by Father William V. Coleman, who
would serve as rector of the new
seminary. Bishop Gerald P. O’Hara
was to head the seminary’s executive
board.
Faculty appointed by Bishop
McDonough and the subjects
they would teach included: Father
William Coleman (Rector and
instructor in Latin, English and
Math); Monsignor Andrew J.
McDonald, who would serve as spir
itual director; Father Robert J. Teoli,
assistant spiritual director; Father
John J. Cuddy, acting as dean of
studies and instructor in history; and
Father Felix Donnelly, would teach
sacred chant and art appreciation.
Father J. Perot Fiero was appointed
librarian and instructor in religion
and Father Herbert J. Wellmeier
would act as the director of physical
education.
All seminarians were to be ninth
grade students and one additional
grade would be added each year to
the seminary, with a full four-year
high school course projected to start
in 1962. The 30 acres of land avail
able at what previously had been
Camp Villa Marie would give the
future priests ample room in which
to play sports. An outdoor swimming
pool would be available for them to
relax in during the summer.
Boarding students from outside
Savannah had their own schedule:
dinner at 5:15 p.m., recreation at
6:30 and Study Hall from 7 till 8
o’clock. Spiritual reading at 9:15
would mark the official end of their
day.
Saint John Vianney Minor
Seminary held its last graduation
in 1968. Auxiliary Bishop (later
Bishop) of Savannah Thomas J.
McDonough was subsequent
ly promoted by Pope Pius VI to
be the archbishop of Louisville.
Meanwhile, after Saint John Vianney
Minor Seminary closed in 1968, the
former seminary grounds reverted
to being the site of a summer camp
for children as well as a gathering
place for various organizations and
religious orders throughout the
Savannah Diocese.
Father John Cuddy, who taught for
seven years at Saint John Vianney
Minor Seminary on Isle of Hope,
died on January 20 2017.
Columnist Rita H. DeLorme is a volun
teer in the Diocesan Archives.
M-
ST )oseph'sjCandler anc j
PRESENTS
t. Vincent’s Annual Historic
or
OUR of HOMES &
or
EA
&
St. Vincent's Academy will host the 2017 Annual Tour & Tea on
Saturday, October 21,2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Proceeds
benefit the restoration and preservation of the 1845 Convent of
St. Vincent de Paul. This popular, self-guided tour features the
original 1845 Convent, seven private homes throughout historic
downtown Savannah, and an elegant tea served on the Convent
grounds. Tickets are $45 per person: $40 per person if purchased
by September 30,2017.
912.236.5505
www.svatourofhomes.net
-A
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