Newspaper Page Text
GEORGIA BULLETIN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1963
PAGE 3
LORETO
Ancient
Houses
Rosary
LORETO, Italy—The clang
of stamping presses, the click
of stringing machines and the
whirling scream of steel cutting
steel characterize the pious and
prosperous factory of "Ditta
Nicola Brancondi,” which
claims the title of the world’s
largest producer of rosaries.
Chances are that if you have
a rosary brought to you from
Italy, it was made in this quiet
shrine city not far from Venice
on the Adriatic. And even if
your rosary was brought in Am
erica, it is quite possible It
was made in Loreto, since the
factory supplies 60 per cent of
all rosaries imported in the
United States.
THE FACTORY was founded
by Nicola Brancondi in 1860.
Though it still bears the
founder’s name, the present
boss is one of His decendents,
38-year-old Luigi Fanini. The
energetic and enterprising
Fanini has transformed the
factory from a quiet family bus
iness into a big-scale organi
zation which turns out more than
10 million rosaries and nine
million medals a year.
The two-story, white-walled
building stands at the base of
the ancient stone walls above
which rises the soaring basilica
which enshrines the Holy House
of Loreto, believed to have been
the house of Mary at Nazareth.
NOTWITHSTANDING the an
tique setting, the Brancondi
factory is a thoroughly modern
and technically complicated
operation. Row on row of punch
presses and stamping machines
thunderously turn out thousands
of rosaries an hour.
"We employ 35Cf people in the
factory the year round and have
another 1,400 at work in their
homes,” Fanini says proudly.
The home workers are mostly
women who pick up the com
ponent parts which go into
making rosaries and take them
home to string them together.
"We have always encouraged
work at home since it does not
take the mother out of the
house,” he explained.
BY NO means, however, does
Fanini limit himself to hand
work. On the second floor of the
factory there is a locked room
to which only a few people
have access.
Behind the locks are 60
specially designed machines
that automatically stitch beads
together in series of 10. The
machines, which look something
like old fashioned coffee
grinders, were designed by
Brancondi engineers and are
guarded from knowing eyes lest
the principle of their operation
become public. One is almost
hypnotized watching the
machines rythmically churning
out hundreds of beads an hour.
NOR IS automation limited
only to bead-stringing mac
hines. Brancondi has designed
dies which can turn out complete
rosaries in one press. Another
innovation introduced by the
factory is the production of
small plastic rosaries—five to
a sheet—which can be stripped
from the surrounding plastic
with a flick of the hand. These
are designed for inexpensive
rosary supplies to schools and
various organizations.
Fanini has entered the plastic
field vigorously and is also
responsible for the "glow-in-
the-dark” variety of rosary.
”It’s the American market that
buys the great bulk of them,”
he notes.
Despite the jump in the
factory’s plastic production, it
still also turns out millions of
more expensive and beautiful
rosaries. Oddly, one of the
Iron Curtain countries makes
a big profit on Catholic devotion.
The bulk of the glass and crystal
beads used in the better grade
of rosaries come from Czecho
slovakia.
”WE GET some from Au
stria,” Fanini said, "but the
best beads are produced by the
Czechs.”
Among other machines de
signed by Brancondi engineers
are a number which can pro
duce exquisite tiny crucifixes
and medals, perfect in every de
tail and expression. A large
Shrine
Largest
Factory
sculptor’s model of a medal
is mounted on a machine. The
surface of the model is scanned
by an electric eye little by little.
As the eye moves, another
section of the machine cuts a
die, proportionally smaller, re
producing every single detail
of the model. From this die
thousands of medals can be re
produced.
While Loreto is the site of
the factory, few people know
they have rosaries from that
city. For example, Brancondi,
which supplies a great segment
of the religious art stores in
Rome, stamps these rosaries
with the word "Roma” since the
purchasers want souveniers of
the Eternal City. The factory
sells primarily to wholesalers
who import rosaries in all parts
of the world where there is a
demand.
AS FANINI tells of his
factory, its development and its
innovations, he refers proudly
to its "American style.” When
he lingers over the sorrow in
the Madonna’s eyes, his words
are warm and almost loving.
Perhaps Fanini and his
factory are best summed up
in the sign above his office
door—‘’Riflettete” —the It
alian and slightly softer version
of IBM’s famous motto—
THINK!
EDITOR STRESSES
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ARCHITECT’S RENDERING OF KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HOME
PROGRESS
...A Job well done
Knights of Columbus Open
New Buford Hyway Home
Atlanta Council 660 Knights
of Columbus have opened a
Catholic Center located at 2620
Buford Highway, which is U. S.
Highway 23, between Lenox
Road and North Druid Hills
Road in Northside Atlanta.
The grounds and the new
structure, designed by Albert
O. Ordway, Atlanta architect,
are valued at $125,000. The
Catholicism Petains
To Whole Of Life
ROCKFORD, Ill. (NC)—"To
get the idea that Catholicism
pertains only to individual and
family morality and has noth
ing to say about social morality
is to lose the true vision of
Catholicism," Father Louis J.
Twomey, S.J., editor of Social
Order said here.
Speaking before a meeting of
the Catholic Employers and
Managers Association, the Je
suit added:
"WE HAVE been turning out
from our schools and seminar
ies people irreproachable in
their personal lives, but who go
off in all directions when they
enter the social, political and
economic order, as though we
nad nothing to offer society.”
"Christ’s doctrine applies to
. the whoje of life^whetheronthe
individual or social level,” he
went on, "and Catholics, whe
ther they be priests, nuns, or
laity, if they understand the so
cial doctrines of the Church,
they must labor to bring Christ
into the institutional framework
of society.”
The priest from St. Louis,
long active with numerous so
cial action groups, addressed
some 50 members of the em
ployers and managers group,
who have banded together to
apply the social teachings of
the Church to modern busi
ness situations.
tree - studded acreage of the
grounds lies upon a beautiful
knoll overlooking the North
east Expressway and Lenox
Road, and to the rear of the
property flows famous Peach
tree Creek.
It is significant that the struc
ture was started and completed
in the 60th anniversary year of
the Council. Chartered in 1902,
the history and activities of 660
have entwined the history and
activities of other Catholic or
ganizations. It is from this fact
that the idea of service to other
Catholic organizations^arose.
MEMBER Knights of the
Council, for example, partici
pated in the formation of other
organizations such as the
Christopher Toastmasters and
The Serra Club of Metropoli
tan Atlanta, and these organiza
tions, without their own facili
ties, conduct their meetings in
various locations about the city.
To .these and other organiza
tions the facilities of the new
Knights of Columbus Catholic
center can be made available.
The ballroom of the new cen-
Pope’s Message
WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (NC)
— The 1962 Christmas message
of His Holiness Pope John XXIII
has been published in pamphlet
form. Copies are available at 25
cents a copy or $17.50 per 100
copies from the Publications
Office, National Catholic Wel
fare Conference. 1312 Mass.
Ave. N.W., Washington 5, D.C.
ter will be available for large
meetings, dances, banquets, and
large luncheon meetings. A
stage is part of this facility and
the dance floor is beautifully
inlaid hardwood. The ballroom
can accomodate up to 300 cou
ples for dances, and upwards
from this number for meetings
and banquets. There are smal
ler meeting rooms and two
lounges. Right off the ballroom
is a prayer room - an oratory
- and in the future plans there
will be a Blessed Mother Grot
to on the grounds. Future plans,
too, include a swimming pool.
Last fall, as part of Colum
bus Day activities, Msgr. Mic
hael J. Regan, chaplain of the
Council, blessed the grounds
and the rising structure in de
dication to the purposes of the
new home and center.
It has been under the gui
dance of Grand Knight George
A. Andrews, that the new home
came into existence. A job well
clone has been that of Knight
Leo Coletti, as building chair
man, and his aides, Knights
William M. Sherwood and James
J. Cronin. It is a case of a job
beginning, however, for William
T. Jordan, Jr., past State De
puty, who is the improvement
chairman, charged with the fur
nishing and landscaping of the
grounds of the home. Jordan’s
aides will be John M. Lengyel
and B. Franklin Clark.
An open house program is
being planned and an announ
cement will be made at a later
date.
CARDINAL BE A SAYS:
Council Gets Project Voicing
Belief In Conscience Freedom
ROME (NC)—The Secretariat
for Promoting Christian Unity
will submit to the next session
of the ecumenical council a
document which would proclaim
the Catholic Church’s belief in
freedom of conscience and wor
ship, Augustin Cardinal Bea re
vealed here.
Cardinal Bea, president of
the secretariat, said the docu
ment will uphold every man’s
right to follow the dictates of
his conscience and his right
to worship as he chooses with
out interference by the state.
THE CARDINAL was addres
sing the eighth annual "Agape
(lovefeast ) of Brotherhood”
sponsored by Rome’s Pro Deo
University (Jan. 13). He pre
sided over the banquet, which
brought together more than 500
persons from 21 faiths and 69
nations. Among the guests were
not only adherents of various
Christian denominations, but
also Jews and Moslems—in
cluding professors from uni
versities in Tel Aviv and Cairo
—and Buddhists and Taoists.
In his talk, Cardinal Bea
characterized the wars of re
ligion of past centuries as "an
other error of the misunder
stood love of truth.” During
them, he said "men tried to
impose by fc ce and in the
name of truth certain convic
tions on other men, forgetting
the no-less fundamental value
of the love of truth—man’s
freedom, that is, This free
dom means man’s right to dis
pose freely of his own destiny
according to his own conscien
ce.”
IT WAS after reading to the
guests a telegram extending
greetings from His Holiness
Pope John XXIII that Cardinal
Bea spoke on this theme—"the
love of truth, practiced in cha
rity—the road to harmony
among individuals and groups.”
The German-born Scripture
scholar declared:
NEW YORK, (NC) — A chal
lenge to laymen and a report
on the Vatican Council will be
heard on the radio "Catholic
Hour” this month.
On Sunday, Father Raymond
T. Bosler, editor of the Cri
terion, of Indianapolis, will
speak on lay responsibility,
particularly in racial justice.
"One should always under
stand another man's point of
view. This means putting one
self in his place and seeing
things from the position from
which he sees them. One should
also realize that reality has
a thousand different aspects,
a thousand different facets,
whereas the individual, even
when very gifted and intelli
gent, sees only one or a few.
"LOVE of truth cautions us
to bear in mind the limita
tions of our knowledge and al
so to recognize the aspect of
truth which others see... We
should recognize it wherever
we come across it.”
Concerning the problems of
On January 27 Father Gregory
Bau, L.S.A., of St. Michael’s
College, Toronto, will discuss
the Vatican council and the
structure of the Church.
The "Catholic Hour” is pro
duced by the National Council
of Catholic Men in coopera
tion with the National Broad
casting Company. It is heard
Sundays at 2:30 p.m., E.S.T.
expressing truth, Cardinal Bea
stated that the Catholic Church
has always been "rather con
servative when It is a matter
of formulas for expressing her
doctrinal heritage.” Then he
said;
"Yet when the Holy Father
inaugurated the ecumenical
council he explained the neces
sity of proclaiming to the mod
ern world the truth, of which
the Church is the custodian,
in a new language— that is, the
language of men today, the only
one they understand.
"PRESERVING faithfully the
purity of doctrine, it can be ex
pressed therefore through oth
er and different concepts, ac
cording to the mentality and
language of men.”
The Cardinal concluded by
referring to the recent Christ
mas message in which Pope
John spoke of man’s thirsting
for peace. "Today,” he said,
"we are also aware that peace
does not depend on legislators
of nations alone, but on large
sections of peoples themsel
ves. This peace must be built
therefore with love— through
the practice of love in charity.
To achieve this harmony, we
must seek the help, strength
and light of God.”
Catholic Hour Radio
IN RACE BIAS
Dialogue with Catholics
Can Assist Protestants
CHICAGO (NC)—Fellowship
with Catholics can help Prote
stants in the fight for in
terracial justice, a Protestant
church historian said here at
the National Conference on Re
ligion and Race.
Dr. Franklin H. Littell, pro
fessor of church history at
Chicago Theological Seminary,
said "one of the chief argu
ments for the Protestant-Cat
holic dialogue” is to count
eract an American nativism that
"has allied with the white sup
remacists.”
"THE CATHOLIC com
munion is plainly a universal
church,” he asserted, "and
fellowship with Catholics—
which has gained such great
impetus under the leadership
of Pope John XXIII—can help
Protestants to avoid sinking
back into racial and tribal re
ligion.”
Dr. Littell spoke on the
second day (Jan. 15) of the
conference, the first national
meeting to be convened by all
major faith groups in the U.S.
He first assailed the belief
that the early days of this
country, when Protestants were
in the majority, were "the good
old days.”
"CONTRARY to the re
actionary legend of the
nativists,” he continued, "the
generation of the ‘Founding
Fathers' was not the heyday
of religion and simple virtue—
from which high level degene
rate sons and daughters have
been steadily falling away.
"The legend is a white Pro
testant construct, and it is heart
and core of the vicious assault
of the radical right upon our
present national leadership...”
Declaring that "the old
America of white, rural and
Protestant dominance is dying,
Dr. Littell added: "The choice
before the Protestant churches
is clear: Either they can accept
the logic of a voluntaryistic
and pluralistic situation... or
they can end up as embittered
and negative minorities which
the course of history has passed
by.”
IN THE sphere of interracial
justice, he said "the type of
Protestantism which has its
chief strength in those areas
mosr threatened by violence
needs the attention to law and
objective justice which is one
of the strengths of Catholi
cism.”
‘The large churches of the
Deep South,” he pointed out,
"stand in the tradition of radical
Protestantism, which had a
powerful sense of fellowship
within the congregation; for the
affairs of the world, the Old
Testament once sufficed as a
guide to righteousness and
justice.”
HE STATED, however, that
“with the abandonment of pro
phetic teaching, the softening
of theology and confession of
faith, the Old Testament too
was scuttled.”
"The style of the community
of grace was generalized,” he
continued, "until at last we have
a society without law and with
no understanding that right is
right though the heavens fall.
"The governor of a Southern
state asks the Infantile ques
tion: How can a law be enforced
if we don’t like it? As though
justice and righteousness in the
social order were conditional
upon the subjective sentiments
of the ill-disciplined and diso
bedient.
"THE OLD Testament was
Cardinal Speaks
At Harvard
RICHARD Cardinal Cushing,
Archbishop of Boston, disclos
ed last month that he had invit
ed Cardinal Bea to visit this
archdiocese. Cardinal Cushing
also disclosed that Cardinal
Bea had been invited to address
an ecumencial meeting spon
sored by Harvard University’s
divinity school.
Cardinal Cushing also said
Cardinal Bea may speak at Bos
ton University, which is affiliat
ed with the Methodist church,
and may go on a "stumping
tour” for Christian unity in
several Eastern states with
Cardinal Cushing.
the radical Protestant alter
native to the tradition of the
natural law. Without either, a
society descends into anarchy.
The strengthening of the Pro
testant - Catholic dialogue
should bring to the fore the
fact that the foundation of law
is abiding, although men and
nations may rise and fall.”
"For my part,” Dr. Littell
concluded, "I am thankful that
we have a President of the
United States who believes that
law is law.”
A RABBI addressing one of
the conference’s four forums
declared (Jan. 15) that religion
must involve itself in the public
arena in which voluntary and
secular organizations and the
government function.
But in so doing it should never
allow itself to be used solely
CLASSIFICATIONS
for the purpose of promoting a
good image of this country,
said Rabbi Morris Adler of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek iri
Detroit.
"Religion,” he stated,
"should welcome the support
of every secular group whose
motivations are sincere and
whose social goals coincide with
its own... But even as religion
enters into such a partnership,
it should not relinquish its role
as a critic, since in perspective
and purpose it ranges far bey
ond the immediate goals.
"For religion, the achieve
ment of racial justice is not
an element in a foreign policy,
a factor making for a good
image abroad; or the fulfillment
of the Implications of a pol
itical system or doctrine, nor
yet the price for domestic tran
quility."
Legion Of Decency
Rates U.S. Movies
NEW YORK ( NC)— The Nat
ional Legion of Decency in
1962 put most of the American
films it reviewed in one of its
three "A” classifications.
One hundred and fifty-three
of the 187 U.S. movies reviewed
were placed in the "A” group,
according to a statistical sum
mary of the legion’s work. The
summary is part of a legion
booklet listing films reviewed
from October, 1961, to October,
1962.
THE LEGION rated 66 dom
estic films, or 35.30 per cent
of the U.S. films reviewed, as in
Class A-ll. Fifty-one domestic
films, or 27.27 per cent, were
rated as Class A-l, morally
unobjectionable for general pat
ronage. Thirty-six or 19.25 per
St. Paul Parish
The Altar and Rosary Socie
ty of St. Paul of the Cross
Church sponsored its first an
nual New Year’s Eve Party in
the Church’s School auditorium.
Fifteen minutes before the
midnight hour, the members
and guests left the auditorium
and went next door to the calm
and serenity and sanctity of
the Church. The Priests of St.
Paul of the Cross, with Fath
ers Banks and Christian cele
brating and serving at the al
tar, held solemn Benediction
of Th e Most Blessed Sacra
ment for all present.
cent, were rated Class A—111,
morally unobjectionable for ad
ults.
Twenty - seven American
films, or 14.44 per cent, were
placed in Class B, morally ob
jectionable in part for all. No
American films were condemn
ed in 1962, but seven were plac
ed in separate classifications.
OF THE 88 foreign films re
viewed, the legion condemned
15, seven more than in 1961 and
the highest total for any year
since the legion began rating in
1936.
It rated 22 foreign films as
Class A-l; 14 as A-II; 15 as
A—Ill; 19 as B and 3 as sepa
rate.
Look For
Oscar
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