IRISH-AMERICAN-L Archives

Archiver > IRISH-AMERICAN > 2006-05 > 1148068872


From: "Cece" <>
Subject: Re: [Irish-American] Catholicism in the South
Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 16:01:12 -0400
References: <000801c67b79$ab2648b0$251ecac6@jean>


This was very interesting. Thank you. Margaret Mitchell sure used the
southern Catholic legacy with her pretty Scarlet O'Hara !!!

Cece
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jean R." <>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, May 19, 2006 3:23 PM
Subject: [Irish-American] Catholicism in the South


> SNIPPET: After the Revolutionary War, when the freedom gained for our new
> Nation was denied to the Catholics of Maryland, they sought freedom in
> Georgia and located themselves in Locust Grove, Augusta and even in
> Savannah. They were joined by French Catholics fleeing the horrors of
> their country's revolution. Later, driven out of their country by the
> Great Famine, the Irish Catholics arrived, some poverty stricken, some
> wealthy, all found a new home in the "Peach State" with few priests to
> minister to them. When the youthful BISHOP J. ENGLAND, himself an
> Irishman, took over the Diocese of 127,000 square miles (the Carolinas and
> Georgia) in 1821, he had one permanent priest and five on loan from
> European countries (our country was a missionary country during that era.)
> on loan, to minister to 1,000 Catholics. By 1850, a 100 years after the
> end of the Franciscan missions, when the Diocese of Savannah was
> officially established with Francis GARTLAND as Bishop, the Church had !
> grown to 4,000 souls, but dark days lay ahead. Yellow fever ravished the
> city of Savannah in 1854, claiming the lives of two bishops, BISHOP
> GARTLAND and his friend, BISHOP EDWARD BARRON and quite a few priests. In
> 1857 the Diocese, now without its bishop, was administered by the famed
> FATHER PETER WHELAN. FR. WHALEN was the general chaplain of the
> Confederate Army stations from Andersonville to Tybee. His living
> quarters can be seen at Fort Pulaski. It is said of him that he never let
> down a sick person or missed a Mass. He had a reputation of never have
> uttered an untruth. such was the man who was to sow the seeds of faith on
> Tybee. Several places in Fort Screven had the honor of having Holy Mass
> offered.--St. Francis Villa, (former ward of the base hospital), the home
> of the LYNCH family (Nell DEVINE's parents), Nell DEVINE's home, which was
> once the Tybee railroad station and the building that now houses the
> American Legion Hall. It was at the hall that all gathered f!
> or Sunday worship. As the Church in Georgia grew, places of worship were
> opened in several areas. In 1891, the Chapel of St. Michael, a wooden
> structure, was built by pioneer Catholics and on July 5, 1891 was
> dedicated by BISHOP BECKER. Tybee Catholics now had a place to worship. It
> was a humble place--the wind whistled through the wooden walls and the pot
> belly stove had to be lit at 6AM on Sunday morning. This was done by a
> member of the LYONS family. Week after week, when the priest arrived from
> Savannah, a faithful congregation waited to be nourished by word and
> Eucharist during the "Holy Sacrifice of the Mass." Thus the faith grew,
> kept alive and nourished in families, such as, LYNCH, ROACH, HUGGINS,
> GRADY, SHEEHAN, BUCKLEY, RYAN, WILSON, OWENS, SOLOMON and others. Among
> the priests who served the Church of Tybee, one find the great name of FR.
> PETER WHALEN, who was followed by dedicated men such as Fathers NOONAN,
> GRADY, DORAN, HAYES, McEVOY, KEHOE and many others!
> . Soon the growing community needed a larger church and a resident
> priest. A new milestone was reached when in 1940; St. Michael's became
> a parish. It continued to flourish and soon the need was felt to build a
> school to serve the children whose families desired a Catholic education
> for them. However, this need was not realized till 1948. In the meantime,
> the children had to make the long trek to Savannah. Since 1873, the
> Franciscan Sisters, spiritual daughters of MOTHER MARY IGNATIUS HAYES, an
> English convert, had labored in the Diocese of Savannah. It was not
> surprising, then that these Sisters were invited by MONSIGNOR MOYLAN to
> staff St. Michael's School, which was opened September 1, 1948, with 54
> students, many of whom were non-Catholic. The Sisters were SR. MARY, SR.
> MARY CENSILA, SR. COCEPTA and SR. RUFINA. It may be of interest to know
> that the above mentioned MOTHER MARY IGNATIUS, Foundress, had, herself
> opened a school for Afro-American girls in Augusta a!
> s early as 1879, and counted among her first daughters a Savannahan, SR.
> BENEDICT LAUER, LAUER, who was first to die in the newly founded
> community. September 9th, 1948 was a day to remember. The cornerstone of
> the new school was laid. Those present for the event were the pastor FR.
> McENVOY, Mrs. Tom LYNCH, the oldest resident of the Island and mother to
> Nell DEVINE, Mr. DOLAN, the contractor and the students with their
> teachers. All watched with interest as Mrs. LYNCH placed the Savannah
> paper, the Catholic paper, a miraculous medal and the profession ring of
> SR. VINCENT O'DONAGHUE (aunt of Mrs. LYNCH) in the stone, and then sealed
> it.
>
>
>
> ==== IRISH-AMERICAN Mailing List ====
> The IRISH-AMERICAN Mailing List Website and Lookup Service
> http://www.connorsgenealogy.com/IrishAmerican/
> Use this to unsub, change your subscription, links, etc.
>
>

This thread: