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Vinc'eiitiari"Parish Has Its Origiiuin'House; of Retirement Built i	for"	Fathers	at	Long	Beach;	Villa	Destroyed	by
fe..^’Fire;'St, Thomas Church Was Built in 1905
" ®&R^§K*10mas Lilley, C. M.
^ Thdfeajai^st^record of Catholics n thM^icifijJ^of' Long Beach be-|an%E^S^ear«'1891 or 1892, when i fe^ffan&lies were scattered over i va&^areaVpf . this section. The irst’S’^atholic. families were those if Thomas ' Camp, Charles Alder, «Tr.$and$Mrs. 'William Smith, Mr. mdl-Mr^jGabriel Sintes, the Ca-eysJ"Schnudt's and Bennets, all ot vhomTreceiviyl their -spiritual in-trubtjpiis/ytfaeriever.'a -priest could ©meSfj&ijiH Biloxi or Mississippi -ity4:Tlttese';good people, with the issistance/of other. Catholics, few hough*they-were, decided to build i church and Fourth street and eff Paf^s avenue in Long Beach, ^he 'iframework of this building vasi.partly;"-erected when it was iestroyod..by; a hurricane and the vork ,was .never completed. '	■
a In;4il894fj,a’''-sm^ll church was irecteS^neax&’the L.' & N. ■ railroad . rack?,::15uti'in; 1901 this' was moved o its>;present^i.te and is now used . is a.chapeljbyUhe Missionary Sls-ers'Vp.f/the' Sacred Heart.
• The,fcsti priest to r attend Long 3eabH'regiiiarly was Father Dut-o after;?his7,aippointrn.ent to Mis-
iissippi<’CitylXi!/;;'• '
■ The ^records1 of 11896 show that 3ev.v£amille~E)e Hooghe, who was .he ngxt.:pastor at Mississippi City, ilso rserved-':li(?ng Beach, i- In'tl900•if'jibecame a mission of "fulfpprfc£aQd4;was . attended by Rev^t}5*Sfgndergast,. who re-linqi^^edtthjgjipi^sion in. 1904 as the 4Yuice$$jyi£|tof the Western Rro\[ince;^-pur.ciiaseda • plot of ground fon:the^ecection ,of a house and5£hurcj£'|s«'a-rplace .,of. retirer naeutriors jjijofgssors.. andelderly, pi;ests>-?	-
Ai-be‘auUiul,ichiir,ch was erected
by the Vincentians and dedicated by Bishop Heslin on July 23, 1905, in honor of St. Thomas the Apostle. A spacious house of 40 rooms was built nearby and was called St. Thomas’ Villa.
The first pastor was Rev. D. J. Hurley, C. M.. in-1905. Next came
3 ~	\7»'	"	j
Rev. Thomas Aloysius Lyiey,, C. M., born, St. Louis, Mo.; studied at St. Mary’s seminary, Perry vilie, Mo.; Provincial House of Western Province, of Vincentians; ordained,. June 9, ,1,906, at Old Kenrick ..seminary, St. Louis, Mo.; came to the diocese,* September . 2, 1936; : successive appointment,., September 2,.,1936, St, Thomas’ church,.pastor.	.	-
Rev. F. P. Feeley, C. M., in 1906. Rev. R. I. Roberts, C. M.,.was pastor and Rev. Thomas Levan, C. M., superior, in 1907. During this time the increase in the Catholic population was almost negligible.
In 1908 Rev. J. J. Helinski, C. M., was in charge, assisted by Rev. A. I. Ingrund, C. M. The former employed most of his time in going along the coast, attending the Polish Catholics who were brought South to work in the shrimp and oyster factories, but these families remained only a Short time, then returned North.
In 1909 and 1910, Rev. D. B. O’Connor, C. M., was in charge, assisted by Rev. H. J. O’Connor, C. M. From 1911 to 1913 Rev. C. J. Alton, C. M., was pastor. It was during this time that the Villa, was destroyed by fire and never-rebuilt. ..
■ In 1913 Rev. Leo Sweeney, C. M., came as pastor of St. Thomas’ parish and at that time Mississippi City and its missions became missions of 'Long Beach. ;.The church in Mississippi City was destroyed by fire in 1913, but a very beautiful new church, sufficiently large for the congregation, was then erected.
Rev. Joseph ^lager, C. M., sue*-ceeded Father Sweeney. He was , destined to remain over a period -of 21 years, which was terminated by his death on January 15, 1936. It was during this time that the Bishop again made Mississippi City a parish with a resident pas-...tor and Wiggins a mission.
In 1920 a school was opened in a-private residence with Mr. and Mrs.1 ■ David Smith as teachers.. Then a. combination school and Sisters’ residence ’’ waf built in
St. Thomas church, Long Beach, erected in 1905 by the Vir tian Fathers and dedicated to St. Thomas- the Apostle^,.i,: '
1922. Sister Clare, as superioress, opened classes on September 14. Since that time the school has had its vicissitudes, attendance' increasing and decreasing with the times. In 1927 the. attendance was the largest in the history of. the school and it was imperative that, more room be had. The generous • parishioners who gave of their means and labor with the finan--cial assistance given so generously, by the Bishop, the superioress, Sister Clare,, and other friends
outside the diocese, a convert] erected in , which -the live,'
During, father. Hbgetafedlffi and .: for .a,r short :,timq,i;^f death, the. pjy:is)i work^'as., after,.by<^ Rev.; ,Fred -F^shfij^j but ne;-was actually,.succ rRev.j-.William;: Kelly*.
. remained .about-,ii^a ^ his successor... is- the -presis^ tor, Rev.'-Thorhas A. LiUq&j: who,, assumed,. charge*, ,’Sepf 2„ 1936.; ;,	:T^.;
mmmi
I	i^l '	.Lr D'.’..USma< - terially this .-year, 1937, as it is the
L|Uie)iPhurclj Bmldmg
t	*	*0-year	pastorate,	at	Lau-
-r'	rel, was sent to Pass Christian and
s; J(,(3^ntinuei.: from Page 69) the future- church.” (Diary - of Rev. ThOmas Bowe was appointed aw^dedvi^fthe Oden and0Glenn .Bishop Gerow, page 135)	;	pastor at; Laurel.
Const^iction'.^Pompany 'of^H^tties.-burg,;lthe.'ichurcl;^to 'cpst about $45,00(hjy'The-> congregation, /with
the^-^ishpp’s ^(approval,' . borrowed— church, according tg the rite con- ..
$20,000/and placed a lien on the tained in ' the- pontifical.. '.There church property^	were present Fathers Hayes, Kee-*
f “On April 17, 1929, Bishop Ge- na>?- gmelch’Jn^’	Ca-
row^asisted’by Father Hayel"the seJ.’	/chernies-
pastor,'“fand Father Enis of Hat- ® ’ O Connell, Philippe and Ha-tiesburg,' and'in the presence'of a fn''.T^, ^ church 13 at bnck largetln'umber;of people,-blessed bu\\d ngt of Romanesque style of the. grotind to be occupied by the architecture having a Seating ca-
r.rmKU . Hi
St. Elizabeth’s at
(Continued from Page 66)
and interested member’shr
Cornerstone and Dedication On Jiine’.•?!, 1929,-Bishop Ge- , row laid; the .cornerstone of the ’ new Immaculate Conception
Bishop Dubourg First Ordinary?
$3600 paid off,'and Clarksdale .hadcapable leadership, pla’yigL „ a cleaa' slate. - The ^ subsequent/ dispensable; part in, bringifl, years, saw a " phenomenal, growth various activities to" a hap~ in the -congregation^: and the ca- successful realization. The -fo.
pacity of about 400. then\i broke ;the ground arid each It is a lasting, monument .to the
pacity of the church was over- ing societies are ' functfogi(jgj& taxed. In 1924 the vestibule was C. C. W., two Altar societies, removed and the .crowded condi- lor and Junior Holy^ar^jg, tion was remedied, for the time ties,. Blessed Virgin sodah&d f _	by adding new pews and increas- fraternity of ^hristia1ri.‘jPpc
10 f loll IldltOcZ ing the standing,space. ' k .and,:A,Pbstleship; of
________.	On January- ,25, .1925,;His Ex-,The''area of the -parish^Hg^
• ....	. i. . . .-	-	..........cellency,. Bishop ,vQerowt camg.^o. 400a,isquare- niile^.withlt^:G?
.Although the state of Mississippi Confirm a class o£ 125.;-,Xhi& was. iic population of' 831.:v£esidfii was settled by the French,as early the Bishop’s first' Confirmation.'in church in Clarksdale;iher^^ as 1699, and the missionaries be- th<» riinposo. On that nwasim iHp „t___________•
.	.. .	^ . ..	the diocese..	On that occasion, /the	also at Friarspoi'nt. Two,?
gan, their labors	in	this	territory	people of	Clarksdale- presented	are said each Sunday -in'
him with a	beautiful set of bre->	dale and once a month on
at that time,.the state did not have
new^.btick- ; church. The j Bishop
one^preseift ‘'Sag f^padeful of^irt faith and zear of the .people as ^ visU^T	Z ^ SoSS
and'^cast it loutside the limits of well as a work of architecture in This was Bishop Dubourg’s visit Mav 24. 1931, th® Rtehon C6n-. ,5S
keeping with the culture and civic
Congratulations
IBP' .■?- :
on .' :; ;-
Wmti.Years
' '
Of
if|^IService''v:'
-,
Va'v5,'-'4;? ■
’■'H- i . .
.feEAURE^^ v
■ V •	t*-	■	.	.
^BOTTLING CO,
®‘s*?op Dubourg s visit May 24, 1931, the Bishop Con-,, and occasionally at .Tunicai-progress of Laurel >	miS	where	he preached a firmed a class of 156.	Parchman.' " '
On January 22 ' 1930 ' Bishop ml ^ u t,- u	+	During the summer of 1931 Fa-.- The missions at Tunica'
Gerow solemilv dedicated the ^ T.he Queb(;c Blsh°PS never set ther Hunter and Father Catania, Friarspoint are older Cattail, church and then sang Sol- °°K m -*the lower valle/’,,th°ugh fined the Pastorate for short pe-', tlements than the mother' "
new church and_then sang_ c>oi- the territory was part of the Que emn Pontifical Mass.	On thatx j-,ec diocese for many decades. The
happy occasion there were pres.-. first resident Bishop Cirillo de
or»1* vytAPT rtf TnA nlrt^rfT? r»T tl*»/\	1	_	,	,	_
Barcelona, Auxiliary to the Bishop
ent .most of the clergy of the diocese as well as a'large congregation' of Laurel folk of all denominations. .Father Burns 'of Meridian gave tive dedication sermon.
While:,the congregation has had a very hard struggle financially during the. past several years, yet they have "managed to “weather the storm"., fairly well, and with a-firm trust in Divine Providence' look forward to the future with by aViy of the Archbishops of Bal-confidence. At the time of writ- timore in the territory while it ing we are looking forward to big was under the jurisdiction of those - things spiritually as well as' ma- ordinances.
of Cuba,’but there is no record of ments to the extent , of $3000 were
riods. On October .7 of the same In September, 1937, FatliecICa^ year, Father C a r e y ^ assumed rey was transferred to Pascagpula,'T
charge of the parish. In-the fol-‘ - —	~	--	-----	A
lowjng year repairs and improve-
and Rev. .Geoffrey- O’Connell^as^ffiSQ. appointed pastor of Clarksd^fe^^|^|.-
his visit to any point in Missis-' made" on The’chui'ch? Tn 'March',, PRIESTS	-	-
sippi, nor is there any record of any visits by Bishop Penalver, first Bishop- of Louisiana. The latter, however, • could not'well visit this state, because Mississippi had ity*^/'oiVr T^idy"' passed under jurisdiction of Baltimore, except the southern part.
1932, the Bishop "came to Clarksdale and on succeeding evenings enrolled large numbers in • the Holy Name society and the Sodal-
WITH-DE SOT.O SAID',
There is no record also of visits by an
ffl-
The daily newspaper realizes that the future welfare of the world is dependent on established religion, which has been, and is still the greates^ stabilizing agency known to a restless world.
■
The Laurel (Miss.) Leader-Call
J'.'-'.w-t. ::-- Extends its greetings' to the members of the Diocese
■■■•■	' :	'DRY ‘ MASSES^^
■ It is known that the .piiestf’.jfOrU'^^j.' companying De Soto.;.when In 1933 .the ;first summer school crossed the present stat'&'\f of religion was held under the die sissippi, were unable to offer:Mass.¥,S®^i rection of the pastor, who was At the Battle of Mayvilia in .AlaViWfefe. ably assisted„At(y- a, corps, of local bama, the - vestments^ sacred^ teachers. T^he-'average daily at- sels, flour and wine were de?^*. '' tendance was" 153..In- 1934 and stroyed when Indians set afire-to'i^ 1935 four Sisters of Mercy con- a house in which' these'i.werp'. ^ ducted the. school each year and stored. It is said that vestment^-the average attendance-jumped to were made of skins and the priests approximately 180 each term. The recited the Mass prayers but with.- V.s genial and kind ways of the Sis- out consecration, as they ■had/v&i ters, their, zeal for souls and their neither hosts nor wine. This cerer-wi* earnestness in work and exern- mony was called' a “Missa secca»’!^
. plary lives , won the hearts of all ■ 9r “dry Mass,”
:^° th£,theTnnmle af Summer ■' MOCESE OF NATCHEZ^1
^idS^iS	STAXISTICS^l^^
help.’ ; •	-	White ,____________________»>908'..^
At present the church is being .C0l0Fed ------ ----- ———
repaired, and enlaiflpd, the addi- ..-MKKican .._.-~r:-----:—
tion providing seating space for Indian--------------
150. When the work is completed^ the -outlay will ;,have run over