Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 16 — The Georgia Bulletin, November 21,1985
Flannery O'Connor Remembered
In Her Milledgeville Parish
A MEMORIAL — The Flannery O’Connor
Hall, dedicated by Archbishop Donnellan was
immediately put to use for a church supper.
BY GRETCHEN REISER
More than 20 years after
her death, Flannery
O’Connor has a memorial in
the town of Milledgeville
and in the church, Sacred
Heart, where she prayed
and went to Mass.
A desire of the Sacred
Heart parish council since
1977 was accomplished last
Sunday, Nov. 17, when the
simple brick parish hall ad
jacent to the 1874 church
was named the Flannery
O’Connor Hall. The bless
ing of the hall took place
after the eleven o’clock
Mass and was immediately
followed by a parish supper
which filled the room with
platters of good food,
homemade casseroles and
the rumble of excited con
versation.
On the far wall of the hall,
mounted on wood, are a
framed photograph of Flan
nery O’Connor and a plaque
dedicating the hall in
memory of the writer, who
died August 3, 1964 at the
age of 39. The striking black
and white photograph was
taken by an Atlanta
photographer Joe de
Casseres as part of a group
photograph taken at the
O’Connor home, said
Father Hugh Marren,
pastor of Sacred Heart
parish.
Chosen from several
photographs suggested by
her mother, Regina Cline
O’Connor, this one shows
her smiling, relaxed, and
emphasizes her slender
graceful hands.
yfcAY TH$
ROSARY
NON-RUST AUTO
TAG $3.00
Proceeds Leper Colonies
THE ROSARY HAS
THE POWER TO
DEFUSE THE
NUCLEAR BOMB!
IfjOur Blessed Mother
has ever granted you a
favor...help us, get HER
TAG on everybody’s car.
Mary Joseph Rosary
Crusade
1144 Liberty St.
Jacksonville, FL 32206
While Mrs. Regina
O’Connor was not able to at
tend the blessing of the hall
by Archbishop Thomas
Donnellan, she sent a
message to the parish
through a family member,
Elizabeth Cline.
Mrs. O’Connor “was ex
tremely sorry that she
could not be here. She has
been delighted with all the
honors that have been paid
to Mary Flannery,” Mrs.
Clinesaid, “but this today is
very near and dear to her
heart because it was her
own church which dedi
cated this hall to her
daughter.”
The Cline family, along
with the Treanor family,
have roots in Sacred Heart
parish which extend back to
its beginnings in the
mid-1800’s. A marker out
side the church notes that
the first Catholic Mass in
Milledgeville was cele
brated in 1845 at the Hugh
Treanor apartment in the
Newell Hotel. In 1850 the
parish became a part of the
new diocese of Savannah,
created from one part of
the huge diocese of
Charleston, S.C.
From deep roots of faith
Flannery O’Connor drew as
she wrote her short stories
and novels, Wise Blood, The
Violent Bear It Away and A
Good Man Is Hard To Find,
writings whose humor,
startling vision and unflin
ching honesty have drawn
more and more attention
over the years since her
death. She is now the sub
ject of nearly constant
literary attention, the topic
of symposia, journals and
articles internationally as
well as nationally.
However, the dedication
on Sunday seemed to touch
the roots of Flannery
O’Connor and her family in
Milledgeville and reflect
the unsentimental clear
sighted love she had for
those around her.
Elizabeth Cline, who is
married to Colonel John R.
Cline, a cousin, said that
she converted to the
Catholic faith because of
the faith in the family she
joined by marriage. While
she felt that her memories
of Flannery O’Connor were
a personal matter, she said,
“I just Wish I had ac
complished in the many
years I’ve had as much as
she accomplished in the few
years she had."
Another parishioner,
Elizabeth Horne, who grew
up with Flannery O’Connor
and whose family was close
over the years with the
Cline family, said she
thought that Flannery
would have been pleased
with the parish memorial.
“I think she would be
pleased and I think she
would be pleased with the
kind of thing it was," Miss
Horne said.
“She wasn’t for fancy,
fol-de-rol things,” her
friend said, recalling that
she and Flannery shared
the honor of coming to
church with “the dowdiest
looking hats” and the least
concern for clothes.
“Something plain and
useful” without pretense
would appeal to Flannery,
Miss Horne said. “I think
she would like the use
fulness of (the parish hall)
and that it will be used that
way — for dinners and sup
pers.”
She recalled Flannery’s
constant presence, with her
mother, at parish suppers
and at seven o’clock Mass
during Lent and on First
Fridays, even as she
became increasingly ill
with lupus and had to use
crutches to get around.
“We don’t have a single
way to get into the church
for people with disabilities,
yet there she was with the
crutches right up till the
end,” Miss Horne said.
She also remembered
Flannery taking part in
an annual outing for
schoolchildren to the
O’Connor farm each spring
where they could see all the
newborn ducklings and
chicks. “I can see her now,
even when she was on crut
ches, walking around in a
big straw hat, shepherding
all the children around.”
The parish hall was
originally built as a
cafeteria for the children
who came to school at
Sacred Heart. The Sisters
of St. Joseph briefly ran a
Catholic school in the
parish during the 1950s.
Since this summer the
parish completely reno
vated the kitchen in the
hall, transforming it into a
modern area that can be
used for many functions
and Father Marren, who
became pastor this year,
readied the photograph and
plaque.
At Mass prior to the
dedication Father Marren
admitted that he had not
read Flannery O’Connor’s
writings, but said that in
her work and in her life
“she was a great witness to
the Gospel and still in her
writings confronts many
with the presence of God.”
Personal Injuries Workers Compensation
Social Security Disability D.U.I.
Charles J. Durrance
Margaret Cadigan
Attorneys At Law
Suite 250 Atlanta, Ga. 30309
1750 Peachtree St. (404) 874-0186
RAIL DOMESTIC - INTERNATIONAL AIR CRUISE x
o
K
3
KTI TRAVEL
O
H
m
<
BUSINESS & VACATION
CO
GC
TRAVEL • RAIL & AIR TICKETS,
O
D
CARS, HOTELS,CRUISES
El
h- |
BEST FARES > ALL AIRLINES
r
H
-J
LU
h-
<FREE SERVICES>
o
C
x
o
5
$200,000 ADDITIONAL LIFE INSURANCE
(/>
_j
RESERVATIONS-DELIVERY-TRIP PLANNING
>
r~
ID
K
BOARDING PASSES DL,EA,AA,UA
V—
H
Q
o
x
BUSINESS REPORTS: Cost Control &
Bulk Rate Negotiation Data
73
t>
ID
(/)
SPECIAL AIR RATES NEGOTIATED
F
D
QC
FOR MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS
o
u
Call 876-1332 or 394-9299 nights
o
2
QC
Members All Saints Parish
m
<
TOM &TIMMIE
(/)
H
O
SUnOl 13I0lrt|-1310H 3SinUQ UIV 1VNOI1VNU31NI
