History of Sacred Heart Cathedral

His Holiness Pope John XXIII

History of Sacred Heart Gathedral

Rochester, New York 1911 - 1961 A HISTORICAL SKETCH by Robert F. McNamara Professor of Church History ST. BERNARD'S SEMINARY Rochester, N. Y.

THE CATHEDRAL Rochester 1961

His Excellency Most Rev. James E. Kearney, D .D. Bishop of Rochester

Foreword

After half a century of religious activity, I am sure the story of our beautiful Cathedral will be very welcome.

While it is true that the story of a Catholic Church is a deeply spiritual experience written in the hearts of those who worshipped here both within the sanctuary and in the pews, we still have the saga of those whose devotion and labors created, developed, and finally brought to cathedral magnificence this Church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Scholarship and piety give to the pen of Father McNamara the gift of enriching th~s simple story for our edification. I thank

God for the privilege of being a part of the story for so many years.

+ James E. Kearney Bishop of Rochester

Preface

After the parish picnic on July 9th, we spent the evening proof­ reading the galley sheets of Father McNamara's parish history. Reading his account of the laying of the cornerstone of the original church, Sunday, July 9, 1911, we suddenly realized that the event had taken place exactly fifty years before, to the very day. Laying the copy aside, we made a sentimental pilgrimage across the street and stood in the gathering darkness before the cornerstone, thinking long thoughts about the past.

That weather-beaten cornerstone, discolored by the elements, now stands as a mute witness of many things. It saw Father George Burns as a young man of thirty-eight passing each morning on his way to church to say Mass; it saw him making his rounds in the infant parish, busy about the work of the Lord. It saw the few hundred pioneer parishioners of 1911 increase to several thousand by the 1920s; to over 6000 by 1961.

That cornerstone saw the construction of the new church across the street and the same pastor, now in his fifties, still serving his people with the same fidelity and selflessness which characterized his early years as an assistant at the old Cathedral. Later it saw Mon­ signor Burns, enfeebled by age, going over to the beautiful church he had built, to say Mass and administer the Sacraments to his flock. And it was a silent observer when the coffin of the beloved prelate was carried down the steps of the Cathedral.

As Father McNamara states correctly in the first page of his history, "One might almost say that for forty years Father George V. Burns was the parish." His name runs like a golden thread through the book, connecting scattered incidents and the names of hundreds of priests and people together.

High Altar Sacred Heart Cathedral 1957 The history you are about to read is a worthy tribute to a good priest and pastor. My mother, who knew Father Burns at the old Cathedral, and later as a parishioner of Sacred Heart in the 1920s, had a genuine respect and affection for this kind man. Her feelings were a faithful reflection of the sentiments of the thousands of Catholics, young and old~ who made Sacred Heart their spiritual home. In his story of fifty eventful years, Father McNamara has cap­ tured very well the spirit of the Sacred Heart people and the changing tempo of the times in which they lived. He traces the spiritual progress of two generations of Catholics residing in one section of the Tenth \Vard and he narrates their days of happiness and the days when sorrow crossed their path. The many hours Father lVIcNamara spent in research, in visiting pioneer parishioners, and in the actual composition of his history were worth the effort, as you will agree when you have finished his book.

As we finished it, an incident from Our Lord's life came lo mind - the words which He murmured one day in the hearing of His apostles, half in soliloquy, half directly, as the vision 0£ the harvest of souls was suggested to Him by the sight of the fields ripening for the sickle: "One man sows, and another reaps. The harvest I have sent you out to reap is one on which you have bestowed no labor; others have labored, and it is their labors you have inherited."

We priests and people of Sacred lleart are trustees of a great inheritance, given to us by the hardy pioneers of 1911 and their pastor. We now enjoy the fruit of their labors and of their priva­ tions. As we begin the long march to the day this parish will~ God willing, celebrate its centenary, may God give us the strong, simple~ generous faith of these men and women.

Rochester, N. Y. + Lawrence B. Casey July 12, 1961 Rector, Sacred Heart Cathedral CHAPTER in the name of the Father

"I LIKED IT IN OWEGO," Father Burns, Pastor of Sacred Heart Church, Rochester, told his assistant, Father Mason, in one of his rare confidences. "I liked it in Owego. In fact, I would have been quite happy to stay there." Owego Catholics who read these lines will no doubt be grati­ fied by them. To long-time parishioners of the present Cathedral the words may cause something of a shock. It would be very difficult to conceive of Sacred Heart parish without thinking of its .founder. One might almost say that for forty years Father George V. Burns was the parish. It all began in 1910. In that rather uneventful year of our national history, President William Howard Taft stood at the helm of the American ship of state, and Boss George Aldridge was the un­ crowned king of the Flower City. If there was anything at all which excited the country at that time, it was probably the incredible air­ plane flights of inventor Glen H. Curtiss. The City of Rochester was expanding slowly but perceptibly. Since 1900 its population had increased from 160,000 to 218,000. Especially after 1891, when George Eastman located his factory at the corner of Lake Avenue Boulevard and Lewiston Avenue ( now Ridge Road, West), commercial and domestic construction had be­ gun to veer off into this northwesterly direction. Several new resi­ dential streets were opened to the north of Driving Park Avenue, and the new residents, many of them Eastman employees, erected sub­ stantial middle-income homes. Of course there was still much more1 elbow-room, especially to the north of the Ridge. Here St. Ann's Home for the Aged, opened just five years before, stood out in high relief amid the Town of Greece farmlands. In the 1860s or early 1870s, when the Ridge-Lake Avenue area was still more countrified and remote, a few Catholic families had settled around Hanford's Landing. They did not escape the pas­ toral eye of Father John 1\1. Maurice, rector of Our Mother of Sor-

9 rows Church on "Paddy Hill.,, He used to drive down at intervals, gather the neighborhood children together, and teach them their catechism. In 1876, the first bishop of Rochester, Bernard J. Mc­ Quaid, erected the chapel he called the "Church of All Souls" in the present Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Thereafter the pastors of Holy Cross Church in Charlotte took over the care of the faithful of Han­ ford's Landing, and for their benefit had a Mass celebrated each Sunday in the cemetery chapel. By 1889, however, the northward trend of residential build­ ing obliged Bishop McQuaid to cut off a new parish-Holy Rosary Parish-from St. Patrick's Cathedral. And by 1910, Rochester's second bishop, Right Reverend Thomas F. Hickey, saw that Holy Rosary would soon have to cede its northern reaches to still another new parochial foundation. Immediately to the west of the district of which we are speak­ ing was the parish of St. John the Evangelist, Greece (Ridge). St. John's is now in the center of a teeming suburban development. In 1910, however, it was a quiet little country parish. The pastor was Father George W. Eckl. Knowing that this eager young priest had some leisure time, and knowing perhaps that he had a flair for census-taking, Bishop Hickey requested him to make a door-to-door canvass of the upper Tenth Ward in order to see whether its Catholic population was large enough to be formed into a separate congrega­ tion. Each day thereafter, through the fair season of the year, Fa­ ther Eckl and his driver hitched up the buggy and drove into town to make the rounds. One call which the young priest made proved particularly memorable. When he asked the woman who answered his knock whether she was a Catholic, she said she was not. "But come right in," she added. "I've been waiting twenty years to meet a priest." In due time she sought and received instruction in the .faith from her clerical caller. It was the first yield of the new parish's harvest. Father Eckl was actually surprised to find that so many Catholics-most of them of Irish antecedents-lived in the neighbor­ hood under survey. Bishop Hickey shared that surprise when he re­ ceived the final report. One hundred seventy-five Catholic families already inhabited the district; and the rate of its residential con­ struction indicated that this number would grow indefinitely. There was no reason to delay the establishment of a new

10 parish. Bishop Hickey the refore instructed Father Eckl to take the requisite steps. He was to choose two worthy and capable parishion­ ers to serve as lay trustees, and to decide upon the name for the church under which the parish could seek legal incorporation. After diligent inquiries, Father Eckl selected Mr. Michael J. Culhane and Mr. Robert \V. Cook as the lay tr-ustees. Events were to prove that he could not have made a better choice. As for the name of the church, he adopted "Sacred Heart." Bishop Hickey replied to this suggestion that there already were churches in the Diocese dedi­ cated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. But Father Eckl rightly pointed out that there was as yet no church by that name in Rochester or Monroe County, and he pleaded that his choice be accepted. Accepted it was. The Bishop readily agreed that any parish dedicated to the Sacred Heart would be richly blessed. At a meeting held in December, 1910, the organizational de­ tails were completed. Here the Bishop, his vicar general, Father Den­ nis J. Curran, and the acting pastor, Father Eckl, as the three ecclesi­ astical trustees, met with the two lay trustees, and drew up the lines of the new parish. It was to run from the New York Central tracks on the west to the Genesee River on the east. Seneca Parkway consti­ tuted the southern boundary, a straight line east and west. The northern boundary was more irregular. It ran east from the railroad tracks to Barnard's Crossing; but then it cut down Dewey Avenue so as to exclude lloly Sepulchre C~metery and St. Bernard's Seminary, swinging east and across Lake Avenue Boulevard to the River at Bennett ( now Winchester) Street. Losing no time, the trustees now went in search of a site for the new parish plant. They inspected several properties; one of them met with their tentative approval. This was a plot of eight wooded lots on Knickerbocker Avenue, west of Dewey Avenue, at Summit Hill ( now Summit Grove) Park. It was an attractive, elevated site, from which one could get a good view of the City to the southeast and St. Ann's Home and St. Bernard's Seminary a mile or more to the northeast. So far, the project had been handled more or less privately. In mid-December, however, Bishop Hickey announced to the local press the foundation of Rochester's twenty-fifth Catholic parish. On December 20, 1910, he appointed the first pastor of Sacred Heart. The man chosen was the Reverend George Vincent Burns, pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Owego, N.Y.

11 Although Father Burns was summoned to Rochester from what was then the remotest parish in the Rochester Diocese, he was himself a Rochesterian. Not by birth. His parents, John and Mar­ garet Slattery Burns were residing in Buffalo when he and his twin brother Robert were born, on April 4, 1873. But the family had moved to Rochester as early as January, 1883, and settled in St. Patrick's Cathedral parish. Young George thus attended, as a matter of course, St. Pat­ rick's Cathedral Grammar School. Along the way, he felt an attrac­ tion to the priesthood. He therefore entered St. Andrew's Seminary­ located on the very grounds of the Cathedral-in the Fall of 1888. More convinced than ever, at his graduation in 1892, that he had a priestly vocation, he prepared to enter the major seminary. But the time had not yet come for that step. In 1892 George suffered a breakdown in health, and was ordered by his physician to take a year of complete rest. The prescription proved effective, and in the Autumn of 1893 he was pronounced well enough to begin his philosophical and theological studies. As a matter of fact, the delay had been in one sense advantageous. If he had entered philoso­ phy classes in 1892, he would have had to go to St. Joseph's Semi­ nary, Troy, N.Y. But in 1893 Bishop McQuaid opened, at Rochester itself, the major seminary of St. Bernard. John Burns's boy thus became a member of the first class to foil ow the complete course and be graduated from the new Rochester seminary. The seminary course at that time required only five years to complete. On June 11, 1898, Bishop McQuaid ordained the Reverend George Vincent Burns to the priesthood, in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rochester, N.Y. The Spanish-American War was in full swing when young Father Burns celebrated his first holy Mass, and when he received his first appointment as assistant pastor at the Cathedral. But this minor war on -foreign strands did not alter in any way the course of his parochial apprenticeship. Nor was the assistancy his only assignment while he was at the Cathedral. That same Fall ( when the War was already over) he began to teach at St. Andrew's Seminary. Latin, Greek and algebra were his subjects, and tradition says he taught them well. StiJI another task was allotted to him after he withdrew from the Seminary staff in 1904. Named to the faculty of Cathedral High School, he continued to teach there until 1909. Father Burns's first decade in the priesthood was therefore a busy and a varied one. In his assignments he had the good fortune

12 to serve two zealous and punctilious superiors. One was the rector of the Cathedral, Father Thomas F. Hickey, who was to become coadju­ tor bishop of Rochester in 1905. The other was Msgr. Hippolyte De Regge, chancellor of the diocese and co-founder, with Bishop Mc­ Quaid, of St. Andrew's Seminary. Monsignor De Regge was then close to the end of his earthly career. Father Hickey was still in his thirties; and having conceived a great admiration .for his young as­ sistant, he remained thereafter his lifelong friend. When Bishop Hickey automatically succeeded to the bishopric of Rochester through the death of Bishop McQuaid on January 18, 1909, he at once named Father John F. O'Hern, his junior assistant, to succeed him as rector of the Cathedral. The senior assistant, Fa­ ther Burns, he named pastor of St. Francis Church in Phelps, N.Y. The appointment took effect on February 5, 1909. Then on July 10, 1910-a bare seventeen months after his installation at Phelps­ Father Burns was transferred by the Bishop to the more important pastorate of Owego. But the new pastor at Owego had scarcely hung up his hat in his new rectory when, as we have seen, he was called back to Rochester to establish Sacred Heart parish. The story current at the time of his recall was that Bishop Hickey was trying to make amends for his apparent slight in passing over George Burns in his choice of Cathedral rector. It was a plausible rumor. But Father Burns was himself too good a soldier to take offence at any assign­ ment. He would go where he was sent, and accept with good will whatever task he was given. · That good will was evident in the systematic way in which he went about planning for the new parish. As soon as he assumed his duties, on January 15, 1911, the machinery began to hum. One of the earliest decisions which he and the trustees reached was to discard the Knickerbocker Avenue location in favor of a site closer to the center of the parochial territory. A better location was discovered on Flower City Park: five lots, measuring a total of 255 by 175 feet, on the south side of the street. At a special meeting of the trustees on March 27, it was agreed that Father Burns pay the owner, Mr. D. B. Butler, a purchase price not exceeding $6,000.00. One of the noblest traditions enforced by Bishop McQuaid was that wherever possible each new church should have its own parochial school. Sacred Heart parish was to respect this tradition, and begin, as many another parish had, with a combination church and school building. The trustees now approached the architectural

13 firm of Gordon and Madden, which had designed many Catholic structures in the Diocese of Rochester. The architects drew up plans for a three-story building of tan pressed brick. The main floor was to serve as the church accommodating at least 650 persons; the school would occupy the upper floor. The basement floor was to be developed into an auditorium, with a stage and dressing rooms. Among the up-to-date appointments of the building there were to be a built-in vacuum-cleaning system and a ventilating system equipped with electric exhaust-fans. (The pastor was especially pleased with these "modern" mechanical features.) For all that, the estimated cost was modest enough: $35,000.00. By May 3rd, the contracts had already been awarded. Mr. H. P. Sickles, the carpenter, and Mr. Ferdinand Schubmehl, the stonemason, were told to aim for completion by September first. On May 3rd, therefore, the pastor turned over the first spadeful of soil, and the excavation was commenced. Father Burns had taken up temporary residence on Flower City Park so that he could keep an eye on the progress of construc­ tion. But he had more to do than merely stand and watch. First and foremost, the undertaking had to be financed. Early in May he bor­ rowed $30,000 .from the Rochester Trust Company. Thereafter he de­ voted much of his time to ringing the doorbells of his prospective pa­ rishioners, with the double purpose of getting acquainted and soliciting contributions. Those whom he visited were quickly impressed with the young pastor's zeal and gentle persistence. Persuaded, if not always by his zeal, at least by his persistence, the parishioners sub­ scribed generously. Meanwhile, the contractors had worked so diligently that by July the front wall was one-story high. It was now possible to lay the cornerstone, for which space had been left in the northeast cor­ ner of the structure. Bishop Hickey performed the cornerstone rite on Sunday af­ ternoon, July 9, 1911. Since the Bishop then resided on Lake View Park-only a few blocks to the south of the new parish-it was ar­ ranged to have the Knights of St. John call upon him as a guard of honor and accompany him to the site. A large crowd was on hand. There were many of the clergy, many laymen in their Sunday best, and many ladies in the stylish "wasp-waisted" summer dresses and colossal straw hats. It was very warm that July afternoon, and the men had soon

14 begun to remove their boater straw hats and to mop their brows. When the ceremony itself was finished, Bishop Hickey, shaded from the sun by an umbrella which the pastor held, promised that he would be mercifully short in his remarks. He commented on the ex­ traordinary growth which the city had experienced, and the corres­ ponding growth in the number of its Catholic churches. The parish­ ioners of Sacred Heart, he said, were particularly deserving of praise for the support th.ey had given Father Burns in the establishment of the newest Rochester parish. "This church will continue to grow t he predicted, "for it is founded on the truth, and the truth will ever preva1.·1 " While the builders renewed their efforts after the laying of the cornerstone, they quite frankly admitted that there was no hope of :finishing the job by September. They would be lucky, they said, if they were through by Christmas. Now their hopes may have been less pessimistic than their words; or perhaps the pastor brought to bear upon them some of his genial pressure. At any rate, the church was actually sufficiently ready by September 26th to permit it to be used for Mass. And the whole building was sufficiently complete by late November for the dedication. Bishop Hickey again officiated at the dedication services on Sunday, November 26th. He celebrated the pontifical Mass of dedi­ cation at 10:30. Father James J. Hartley, D.D., was assistant priest Fathers Michael J. Nolan and James B. Keenan were deacon and sub-deacon of the Mass; Fathers Edward J. Hanna and James H. Day were assistant deacons; and Father Andrew B. Meehan was master of ceremonies. A surpliced men's choir, directed by Professor Charles Meunzen, provided the liturgical music, and Professor W. J. Dousek played the organ. In his sermon, Bishop Hickey once more commended the new congregation for what it had done to make that day possible. A .few days after the dedication, when the auditorium had received its finishing touches, the parish treated itself to a magnifi­ cent chicken dinner. This was on December 11th. Bishop Hickey was the guest of honor at this first parish dinner and at the concert which followed. Even before the dedication of the church, Sacred Heart Parish School had commenced its sessions. On November 13th the 116 chil­ dren enrolled marched into their new second-story school for the first time. The teaching staff which greeted them comprised three

15 sisters of St. Joseph: Sister Marciana O'Hara, principal; Sister M. Paulette Ulton and Sister Vincent Joseph Hanley; and one lay teach­ er, the pastor's sister, Miss Harriet Eleanor Burns. Sister Marciana taught grades seven and eight; Sister Paulette, grades five and six; Miss Burns, grades three and four; and Sister Vincent Joseph~ grades one and two. The rectory was now across from the school. Harriet Burns lived there, as did her widowed mother, whom Father Burns had persuaded to become his housekeeper. During the first several years, the sisters had no parish convent, but "commuted" from their motherhouse-then located on Augustine Street. Dwellers on Dewey AYenue soon grew accustomed to the sight of the sisters hurrying down the hill to school, the younger ones carrying the basket which contained their noonday lunch. The first year of Sacred Heart parish thus closed upon a well­ equipped and fully functioning parochial organization. As 1912 dawned, the pastor and his lay trustees and auditors set themselves to the task of preparing for the bishop their first annual report. In the matter of finances, they set down the cost of "improve­ ments~' at $49,000.00. The new building accounted for $35,666.70 of this. The parish debt was sizable: $46,000.00. Still, $4500.00 had already been paid on the pledges, and a parish entertainment had brought in an additional $1750.00. There was no reason to be any­ thing but hopeful of the future. The pastor was also happy to state that the number of parish­ ioners had risen considerably in the past year. Now he reported 215 families, comprising 900 parishioners. Of these 900, 255 were under sixteen. One hundred and twenty-five children attended the weekly catechism class. It was clearly a promising parish, one made up of a large number of young families: the sort that would need careful attention and be generously grateful for it. Its average member was neither rich nor poor. And experience had shown that people of this sort make the best sort of parishioners, and a parish made up of them makes the most satisfactory sort of parish. The parish officials felt no qualms, therefore, when they signed the official report and sent it off to Bishop Hickey: George V. Burns, pastor and treasurer; Michael J. Culhane and Robert W. Cook, lay trustees; and Charles Ryan and Leo M. Terhaar, auditors. Sacred Heart parish had thus begun, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. We move now into its first decade of life.

16 CHAPTER the first D decade A PRIEST WHO FOU.\'DS A PARISH must early establish among his people a tradition of parochial service. As the founder of Sacn~d Heart parish~ Fath«=>r George Burns SPt a fine personal example of m«=>thodical spirituality. Deeply conscious of his responsibility towards each soul in his charge. he kept close tab of new parishioners as they arrived, and old parishioners as they departed. Every other year he conducted a door-to-door census; and every third year he paid a personal visit to each family. He was likewise very solicitous about the sick. In those days it took much longer to get from the rectory to the scattered city hospitals. but he would not use this excuse for shirking his pastoral duty. In the parish neighborhood itself he gave full attention to the needs and the convenience of his people. He scheduled as many Masses as were required~ and made sure that each started on time. Although the natural weakness of his voice prevented him from being an impressive speaker, he preached well-composed sermons. If he was a popular confessor, it was not only because he corrected the penitent with kindness, but because he sent him off with some devout thought to ponder. His gentle decisiveness engendered con­ fidence, so that many came to him outside of confession with their problems. Of all the personal responsibilities which were his, the parochial school was probably Father Burns's favorite concern. An experienced teacher himself, he always retained a sympathetic interest in educational work. Each day, at least in the early years of the parish, he visited Sacred Heart School. He loved to he with the children; and in the beginning, his visits likewise gave him a chance to assist and encourage the pioneer teachers. One day, for instance, he dropped into the room of a young sister who was just beginning her teaching career. He had not been there long before his proprietary eye noticed that the alarm clock on the desk had stopped. "What was the reason for that?" he asked sister.

17 The young nun, who innocently thought that clock-winding, like · furnace-tending, was the task of the janitor, replied, "The old thing won't go!" The pastor inspected it more closely. "Did you try wind­ ing it?" he suggested, with a mischievous little twinkle in his eye. No, she hadn't . . . Without waiting for further explanation, he wound the clock until it ticked, set it, replaced it on the desk, and departed chuckling. Another schoolroom had to he opened as early as 1912, and still another in 1913. Five new sisters were soon assigned to the faculty, and the pastor likewise engaged another lay teacher, Miss Adelaide Carroll. The first commencement had already taken place by then. On June 23, 1912, eight pupils were awarded their Regents Diplomas: Raymond Ryan, William Murphy, Joseph Casey, Joseph Byrnes, Geraldine O'Connor, Mildred Wera, Helen Drumm, and Irene Bradley. Father Burns followed these and the later graduates with interest. St. Patrick's school had had a successful alumni as­ sociation for some years. With the benefits of this association in mind, he encouraged the formation, in February, 1916, of a Sacred Heart School Alumni Association among the graduates of his own parish school. Growth was gradual hut constant throughout Sacred Heart's first decade. By 1916 the number of families had reached 700; that of adult parishioners, 2840; and that of children, 900. In 1921 there were 877 families, comprising 3266 souls, of whom 1025 were chil­ dren. The school enrollment in 1916, 415, had risen to 608 by 1921. Expansion of this nature implied a heavier pastoral burden. During his first three years at Sacred Heart, Father Burns had needed only weekend help; and this the professors of St. Bernard's Seminary, especially the Reverend Doctor John Francis Goggin, had gladly supplied. By 1914, however, Bishop Hickey saw that the church on Flower City Park could keep two priests constantly busy. In June of that year, the ref ore, he gave Father Burns his first as­ sistant, a newly-ordained priest, the Reverend Francis W. Mason. A second assistant pastor arrived in 1916, ·Father James W. Tischer. Three priests, along with the pastor's mother and sister, crowded the small rectory. l\t1rs. Burns continued to reside there until 1919, having yielded up the housekeeping to Harriet. Margaret and Harriet Burns were true gentlewomen. And Father Burns, as a superior, proved to he fair and loyal. Parish growth inevitably posed the question of the expansion

18 of facilities. In 1913 the pastor bought five lots adjacent to the church property, and in 1917 he secured another lot on the corner of Flower City Park and Primrose Street. ( The latter lot, opposite the school, was of course to become, in due time, the site of the present Cathedral.) To finance purchases of this sort along with the ordinary expenses of the parish, Father Burns naturally depended principally on the weekly donations of the faithful. He disliked "preaching money," and was gratified that the natural liberality of his people made such preaching practically unnecessary. The annual income from Sunday plate collections alone rose from $4600.00 in 1916 to $:15:000.00 in 1921. Supplementing this was the income from enter­ tainments. The major entertainment was the summer bazaar, from which $2000.00 was usually realized. It was a typical old-time festi­ val, with some booths for food and fancy-work, and other booths for various games-except, however, games of chance, of which the pastor disapproved. Parish societies also occasionally earned money which they gave over, in whole or in part, to the parochial treasury. The busiest of these societies was the Ladies Auxiliary #166 of the Knights of St. John. Many a card party was sponsored by the Auxiliary to collect funds for the missionary causes to which it was dedicated. We hear also of a "Sacred Heart Dramatic and Glee Club." If the Club was doomed to a short life, it nevertheless ]asted long enough to present the romantic drama A Daughter of the Desert in February, 1912; and The Friend of the Enemy in June, 1913. Frank Meyering and Frank DeMarle produced the first of these; Edward G. Zimmer and Al Gordon, the second. Once in a while, too, there was a concert, sponsored by the parish itself, and staged by a group selected for the purpose. In general, however, the pastor of Sacred Heart was not in favor of a multiplication of parish societies or strictly social events. For him these were only incidental to the principal task: the saving of individual souls. Strictly spiritual activities pleased him far more. In the early years of the parish these included Bishop Hickey's first parish confirmation, in June, 1913, and his first official visitation, in January, 1914. They also included two missions: the first, a mission of on~ week, given in May, 1912, by the Redemptorist Fathers Alo­ ysius Engelhardt and Peter Dietrich; the second, a two-week mis­ sion, given in November, 1915, by the Oblate Fathers John P. Fallon and Patrick J. Phelan.

19 Of course Sacred Heart parish had its Holy Name Society. It sent a delegation of 250 to the vast parade of 12,000 Holy Name members which took place in Rochester on October 12, 1913. In 1915 the pastor also organized a "Boys of the Sacred Heart So­ ciety" (later referred to as the Sacred Heart Sodality). Although this began with a charter membership of 125, it apparently did not continue long in existence. The Apostleship of Prayer, introduced at Sacred Heart in 1916, enrolled 265 at the outset, and proved more durable. George Burns always belieYed that the nicest possible way to reward a parish group for services rendered was to take it on a summer outing. The male choir was a case in point. On September 2L 1914, Father Burns and Father Mason took the choristers to Island Cottage on Lake Ontario for a full day. The sporting events naturally included a baseball game; and Father Burns, a devotee of the sport and a good player, probably insisted on being on one of the teams. Then came the big dinner, followed by the traditional speeches and songs. Whatever may be said of the social activities of a parish, its progress is more likely to be judged by the converts it makes and the vocations it gives to the priesthood and the religious life. As for converts, the pastor of Sacred Heart was able to list on • .L an average of six each year from 1911 to 1916. In the matter of vocations to religious orders of women, the parish tradition, so exemplary in later years, got under way only slowly. But the first boy of the parish to become a priest was ordained in 1915. He was the Reverend William J. Flynn, son of Mr. and Mrs. James P. Flynn of Seneca Parkway. Father Flynn celebrated his first high Mass ·fin Sacred Heart Church on June 20, 1915. Soon afterward he departed for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, which had sponsored his education. On November 26, 1916, the parish observed its fifth anni­ versary. The Reverend Dr. Goggin of St. Bernard's Seminary cele­ brated the high Mass of thanksgiving, while the two current assistant pastors, Fathers Mason and Tischer, took the parts of deacon and sub deacon. The pastor reserved the sermon to himself. As was his wont, he praised the "loyal and unselfish sacrifice of the parishion­ ers." This, he declared, had been the real reason under God for the success which the parish had enjoyed during its first five years of existence. In retrospect, the era that ran from 1910 to 1917 seems to

20 have been ideally relaxed, pleasantly old-fashioned, unperturbed. In a sense, it was an easy-going period. True, American Catholics were subjected in those days to a minor national campaign of bigotry, spearheaded by Wilbur Franklin Phelps and his weekly paper, The Menace. Local supporters of the anti-Catholic cause often deposited copies of the periodical at the rectory door. But Rochester and the east were not so active in the movement as the rural west and south; and so far as we know the neighborhood agitators went no farther than to provide Father Burns with complimentary copies of their tiresome paper. Europe, on the other hand~ was in turmoil. World War I, having broken out there in August, 1914, had assumed increasing proportions; and by 1917 it seriously threatened to pull our own placid land into the fray. Father Burns had a fair idea of what that would mean. He had had a brush with the first World War at its very beginning. Here is what happened. Bishop Hickey and his former as­ sistant had remained on the best of terms. As long as the bishop continued to live on Lake View Park, he and George Burns could often be seen taking a stroll together. Now, in 1914 the second bishop of Rochester was obligated by church law to go to Rome to report to the Pope on the condition of his diocese. He therefore in­ vited three of his priests to go with him as travelling companions: Father John F. O'Hern, rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral; Father Michael C. J. Wall, pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Dansville; and Father Burns. The party left Rochester on June 30th. Arriving in Europe they went first to Rome so that Bishop Hickey might pay his of­ ficial respects and consign his official diocesan report to Pope St. Pius X. They had planned, once the business part of the voyage had been finished, to take an extensive European trip. The itinerary in­ cluded, first, a Eucharistic congress in Lourdes; then, visits to Vien­ na, Berlin, Paris, London, and Ireland. Unfortunately for their plans, the war broke out on July 28th. The party of four had just reached the border between France and Italy when news came of the German invasion of Belgium. After that, European transportation was thrown into chaos, and the Roches­ terians, striving now to reach Paris, London, and home, had difficulty in making train connections at Basel, Switzerland, and at Belfort, France. As they passed the frontier by Belfort they saw wounded

21 soldiers being brought back from the earliest battles. At Paris there were further inconveniences and delays. But on August 5th Father Burns was at least able to cable his mother "All well." At London they found that the heavy demands for transatlantic passage would further retard their embarkation. Finally Fathers Burns and Wall got passage on the S.S. "St. Paul," which arrived in the States at the end of the month. The parishioners had followed the travelers with concern, and were much relieved to haYe their pastor back safe. He had at least enjoyed his stay in Rome, and he brought them many devo­ tional articles from the Eternal City. He also bore with him a special blessing and indulgence granted to Sacred Heart parish by the late Pope. We say "late" because the saintly pontiff who had granted Father Burns the audience and the blessing in late July, had died August 20. The outbreak of the war had certainly shortened the life of Pius X. He thus became one of the conflict's earliest victims, and, in a sense, its greatest casualty. Surely the thoughts of what Father Burns had seen in France ran through his mind in the months that followed, as he read of the increasing tempo of the war. When all Catholics, at the request of Pope Benedict XV, observed a worldwide day of prayer -for peace on March 21, 1915, the Rochester pastor must have led his congrega­ tion with special fervor. And when he took up the special collection for war victims in 1916, the vision of the wounded poilus of Belfort must have arisen once more in his memory. Finally our country itself entered the war. On April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation of hostilities against Germany. Now the Yankees leaped into the conflict in order to "make the world safe for democracy." Each citizen was called upon to aid the cause; each parish, too, was expected to "do its bit." Sacred Heart Church did not shirk that duty. Part of its task lay within the very parish bounds. A U.S. Army School of Aerial Photography was opened at Kodak Park. The pastor at once took steps to provide for the Catholic servicemen who attended the school. He assigned his assistant, Father Mason, to take care of their spiritual needs. Bishop Hickey himself conducted a special retreat for these soldiers at Sacred Heart Church. Their recreation "hut" on the school grounds, was conducted jointly by the Knights of Columbus and the Y.M.C.A.-a unique arrangement in the annals of World \Var I recreational service.

22 Regular parishioners were meanwhile helping the cause in many ways. At home, they followed the government's food conser­ vation program. Outside, they helped raise funds to aid the nation and its soldiers. The Red Cross offered the people of the parish many opportunities to lend a hand. Everybody could give some donation, large or small, to this popular society. Even children could enroll in the Junior Red Cross. Women of the parish could prepare first aid materials under Red Cross auspices. Parochial organiza­ tions could promote benefits in its favor. At Sacred Heart, the Auxiliary of the Knights of St. John held many parties and enter­ tainments on behalf of the American Red Cross. Then there were the Liberty Bond drives. Here again, most people could afford a bond; or if not a bond, war savings stamps; or if not war savings stamps, then "thrift stamps." The parish itself participated. By 1919 it possessed $700.00 in War Savings stamps, and $3000.00 in Liberty Bonds. But rolling bandages and raising funds were only two of the demands which the war made upon the people of Sacred Heart Church. The hardest sacrifice was the manpower that the Govern­ ment exacted for its armed forces: especially after July 20, 1917~ when the draft law went into effect. One hundred and thirty young parishioners in all were called to the colors. By December 30, 1917, when the number had reached fifty, Father Burns, at a special church service, blessed and unfurled a service flag bearing fifty stars. Four parish servicemen assisted him at this patriotic rite. They were Captain James M. Flynn of Base Hospital # 19; Lieutenant George L. Flannery, of Camp Y aphank, Long Island; Private William Lar­ kin, of Camp Dix; and Private Bernard Farrell of Base Hospital # 19. The pastor then delivered an appropriate address. Thereafter, an honor roll was set up in the vestibule, upon which the name of each serviceman was inscribed as he went off to camp. In July, 1918, the parish sent another one of its men into the army-this time a priest. That summer the national government ap­ pealed to Bishop Hickey ( and to all American bishops) to release some diocesan priests for military service as chaplains. Bishop Hickey therefore asked for volunteers. Father Francis Mason of Sacred Heart stepped forward, received permission from the bishop, and accepted his commission as First Lieutenant on July 16th. Father Burns would miss his assistant, of course, but he was proud to have him go. This he evidenced in the farewell party which

23 he arranged for Chaplain Mason on the eve of his departure. It was a fine festival of speeech and song climaxed by the presentation to the new padre of a parish purse of $900.00. As a matter of facL the pastor had been so enthusiastic over Father l\1lason's enlistment. that he had thought at first of doing the same thing himself. This was not at all surprising. George Burns was a born patriot. His father. a ca,·alryman in the Ci,·il ~,"ar. had been wounded at Gettysburg and held captive in Libby Prison. Se,·eral of his uncles had also been ''bovs., in blue:' and there is . we are told. a monument in :\iagara Falls. :N.Y .. erected in honor of the soldiering Burns brothers. \Ve may be sure that when Father George Burns offered Bishop Hickey his own serYices as an army chaplain. he did so in all sincerity. But the bishop. while grateful for the thought, declined the offer. Said he, ··It is better to let the youngsters go." While Father Burns was disappointed, he was probably not surprised by the refusal. At any rate~ he and his new assistant. Fa­ ther Francis W. Luddy. had plenty to keep them busy on the home front. This was all the truer now. since Father Tischer had been transferred elsewhere in October, 1917. Priests were in special demand that fall of 1918 when the dreadful epidemic of influenza struck the city. The plague moved in upon Rochester rather early in October, and for a month enshrouded the city in its dreary pall. While the Flower City was not so sorely stricken as some other upstate com­ munities, its situation was grave enough. The hospitals could ac­ commodate only one-half of the victims; and nurses, both graduate and practical, were kept busy around the clock. Here was one of those occasions increasingly rare in our highly complex society when the organizations 0f charity become overtaxed. In the emergency~ laywomen from every walk of life were called upon to exercise per­ sonal charity as nurses of the afflicted. Factories shut down, schools closed their doors; and finally, on the advice of the civil authorities, the Bishop of Rochester felt obliged even to call off church services and lock the churches so long as the danger lasted. Of the members of Sacred Heart parish sixty contracted the disease. Two were sisters on the staff of the parochial school. Seven parishioners died, of whom one was Sister Francis Xavier Byrnes, the principal of Sacred Heart school. \Vhile the loss of the principal was a heavy one. her death

24 occurred under circumstances nothing short of ht>roie. Sislt>r Francis had been named to succeed the schoors pioneer principal. Sister l\Iarciana O'Hara, only that August. \Vhen school reopPnt>d in Sep­ tember. 1918. the new principal quickly won the affection of all.

As Father .Burns later wrote. she was "'a nun of grace[l ul attainments. culture. patience and sympathy which charmt>d the students as she in:3tructed thf'm.'' Beneath that charm was an unimagined spirit of Christian gf'nerosity and unselfishness. \"rhen the epidemic broke out. less than a month after the reopt>ning of school. it laid its hand n10sl heaYily upon the Yillages of the Genesee Val1t>y. l\Jount l\Torris. severely plagued. had to appt'al for outside aid. Sister Francis heeded the ap­ peal. secured permission from her superiors. and offered her sen·ices to the sick of i\Iount l\Iorris. She was quickly assigned lo the l\Iount :\1orris emergency hospital and began to nurse the Yictims of influ­ enza. It was not long. howeYeL before sht' herself contracted the disease. Gravely stricken, she died on All Saint's Day. Tht> funeral was held from the mother house on Augustirn.~ Street and Father Burns celebrated the l\1ass. Bishop Hickey voiced the admiration and gratitude of the whole diocese in a touching eulogy. Truly, she had laid down her life for her friends. l\Ieanwhile the toll of deaths in war was rising among the parish servicemen. Before all was over, seven Sacred Heart boys had made the supreme sacrifice for their country. Frank L. Guillod was mortally wounded at Belleau Wood on June 11, 1918. Clarence F. Tracy was killed in action in the Battle of the Marne of July 15th. ( Tracy, aged sixteen, was the youngest war victim from Rochester: he had enlisted at fifteen by misrepresenting his age.) Lieutenant Philip H. Farren, an airplane pilot, was killed in a test flight over Dayton, Ohio, on October 5, 1918. Four days later, Seward J. Bragg met his death in the Meuse-Argonne campaign. On October 13th, Pierre ,r. lVIeisch, who had suffered from exposure as a member of Whittlesey's "Lost Battalion," died of pneumonia. Two other parish boys survived the actual conflict, but did not live to return home. Raymond J. Quinlan's death occurred in France on February 6, 1919, just before his unit departed joyfully for America. Aloysius E. Fritsch died at Great Lakes Naval Station six days late~. Farren and Fritsch were buried from Sacred Heart church shortly after their deaths. Four of those who died in France were eventually brought back for reburial from their parish church. Young Tracy,

25 a member of the Canadian Dragoons, still lies interred in the land where he fell. The rest of the parish's soldiers were welcomed home safe and sound. One of them, Captain Joseph E. Hurley came back not only with battle scars, but with a commendation for gallantry won in the last days of the combat. Sacred Heart Parish, therefore, was not without its incon­ veniences and its sufferings during the first World War. As one would hope~ these trials~ and even these deaths, did not engender in the parishioners any unchristian bitterness towards the national enemy. One evidence should suffice for proof. When an urgent col­ lection was taken up in all the parishes in 1920 to aid the war­ wracked and impoverished Germany, the people of Sacred Heart church contributed to it generously. Not many months after that, in November, 1921, the tenth birthday of the parish rolled around. A lawn festival was held on July 27 - 29 to commemorate gratefully the completion of the first decade. If the young parish had had its share of sorrows during the formative years, it had also had its share of blessings.

26 CHAPTER the second DD decade BY 1919 THE PARISH OF SACRED HEART had a population of 800 families comprising 3200 souls. There were over nine hundred children. of whom more than half attended the parish school. If this growth continued-and there was every indication that it would-new buildings would soon be necessary. During the 1920s, therefore, Father George Burns began to lay plans for a new convent, a new rectory, a new residence for the sexton, an annex to the school, and, finally, a large, permanent church. Any such planning would entail considerable expense. But the pastor had every confidence that his people would see it through. What assured him particularly, no doubt, was their generous re­ sponse to the seminary drive of 1919. In that year Bishop Hickey launched the largest campaign in the history of the diocese for the purpose of liquidating the debt of St. Bernard's Seminary. Catholics of the diocese responded with magnificent loyalty. Sacred Heart parish, assigned a quota of $700.00, subscribed $3223.50 ! That same year, the pastor paid off the last of the original parish debt. He announced this fact on Sunday, November 23rd, in connection with the eighth anniversary of the dedication. "Our mortgage indebtedness, originally $30,000, is cleared!" he told his people; and waving the document before them, he said, "Behold the cancelled mortgage!" Then he went on to reveal his intention to erect a new church. The nucleus of a building fund was already on hand. A $100.00 Liberty bond had been the initial donation. On January 4, 1920, Father Burns informed his congregation that he would begin that day to ask additional contributions. If all contributors would henceforth give a dollar a Sunday, that sum would cover both their usual offerings and their church subscription. The parishioners did not fail him. The collection on De­ cember 28, 1919, had amounted to $351.00. On January 4, 1920, it

27 rose to $714.00. So it went, and the pastor was able to set aside a tidy sum each year. Despite the depression at the beginning of the decade, the church-building fund had reached $88,000.00 by the end of 1922. Of course, some of this money had been realized from other sources: the three-day summer festival, and the card parties and other social activities sponsored by the Nina Club, and the rest. In the interim, several of the more pressing needs had been attended to. In 1920, at a cost of $7500.00, the rectory at 296 Flower City Park was remodeled into a convent. (The clergy moved around the corner to 455 Raines Park until another rectory could he acquired.) At about the same time a home on Primrose Street was bought and remodeled at a cost of some $5000.00 .for the use of the sexton. The school annex was next on the program. In 1920 the regis­ tration was so high that the first grade was divided and put on half-day sessions. The trustees engaged Mr. Frank Frey in 1921 to draw up plans for a school wing to provide six additional classrooms. This annex was finished in 1922. It cost $31,000.00-only $3000.00 short of the total cost of the original church and school combined! While the outlay which this wing necessitated obliged the postpone­ ment of the new church project, the church fund itself was not touched in the financing of the other new structures. As the arrangements for the permanent church became more definite, the question arose whether Flower City Park was really the best site .for it. In 1922, Father Burns learned that the property of Mr. William B. Wegman, located at 1361 Lake Avenue on the southwest corner of Clay Avenue, was up for sale. This seemed to he a commendable location for a church. It was in the next block south of the present church; it was on a rise of ground; and it occupied a prominent position on an important and attractive residential street. Bishop Hickey, when he learned of the availability of the Wegman home, agreed with Father Burns. With his permission, therefore, the pastor bought the house and lot for $40,000.00, envi­ sioning the building as the new rectory. Then he purchased the Weis land to the south of the Wegman land, intending this for the new church itself. He also got liens on adjacent parcels. Meanwhile the pastor of Sacred Heart made a tour of a number of cities in search of churches which looked something like the kind he wanted his parish to have. He had a Gothic-revival structure in mind. St. Paul's Cathedral in Pittsburgh particularly impressed him,

28 with the result that he engaged the firm that designed it, Egan and Prindeville of Chicago, to act as his architects. Mr. Charles H. Prin­ deville, under his instructions, drew plans for a Gothic-type building to face on Lake Avenue. Then the relocation scheme met with a setback which was serious and, as events proved, permanent. In his intense desire to build on Lake Avenue, Father Burns had chosen to dismiss the warning of his legal counsel that the Jeannette J\1cKee Tract, of which the new site was a part, was restricted to residential building. Perhaps he believed that nobody would really object to the erection there of a splendid church. If he did, he soon learned better. Im­ mediately the plans to build on Lake Avenue were announced, legal notice was served on the pastor that any attempt to carry out his undertaking would be contested in the courts. Sadly, Father Burns saw that he would have to forego this part of his cherished project. Fortunately, he was able to dispose of the Lake A venue property which he did not need. He retained the Wegman home, however. It was used as a rectory in 1923 and 1924, and thereafter, until the building of the present convent in 1954, as the parish convent. The pastor now turned to the alternative plan and prepared to have the church built on the corner of Flower City Park and Primrose Street. In order to clear the site, it was first necessary to remove four residences. The original rectory, until now a convent, was taken across the street and relocated alongside the school. Later on, from 1928 to 1933, this house was to serve as a residence for a few Basilian Fathers teaching at Aquinas. Two other buildings were also moved over next to this residence. One was a double house, and one a bungalow, both of which were then rented. In 1925, a two­ residence house at 304-306 Flower City Park was purchased for $17,000.00 and moved east to the lot where the relocated double house had stood. It was subsequently remodeled as a rectory, and still serves that purpose. This house-movers' game of chess was over by the feast of the Sacred Heart, 1925. On that feastday, the first earth was turned. The contractors, Iuppa and Maggio, then took over. Six months later, on November 15, 1925, Bishop Hickey laid the cornerstone, as he had done for the original church. In 1911 severe heat had inconvenienced him; today it was severe rain. Still he must have

29 been gratified with the progress which the repetition of the ceremony symbolized. Now that construction was progressing, there was added reason for redoubling the effort to finance it. While the pastor soli­ cited memorial gifts for the church windows, stations of the cross, pulpit and the like, the parish women in particular busied them­ selves with ways and means. Especially active was "The 100 Group," a committee of one hundred women each of whom was asked to raise ten dollars for the cause. They vied with each other in con­ ducting food sales, card parties, suppers, and raffles. Were the box office receipts of The Arrival of Kitty likewise signed over to the building fund? The parish staged this play, directed by the assistant pastor, Father G. Stuart Hogan, on November 16-18, 1926; and it proved so popular that it was taken "on tour" to Immaculate Con­ ception Church the following January. Nobody seems to remember how its earnings were spent. But it is fair to guess that some of it was applied to the new church. By the end of January, 1927, the exterior was completed, with the exception of a single stone in the west tower, intentionally left unset. Mr. Michael I uppa, one of the contractors, and Thomas Maggio, the son of his partner, mounted the tower one winter's day to lay this final stone. "Put a dime in the mortar," Mr. Iuppa told Tom after he had spread some mortar and put into it a dime of his own. Tom reached into his pocket but could find nothing smaller than a quarter. He was unacquainted with this ritual, was just learn­ ing the mason's trade, and furthermore did not have many quarters to spare. But after only a moment's hesitation, he sank his quarter into the wet cement, and the two straightway pressed the ornamental slab of limestone into position. Six months later the interior of the building was finished, and all was in readiness for the dedication on June 26th, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The five earlier Masses that day were the last to be celebrated in the combination church. The adults who attended the Mass at 11 :00 were ushered to their places by Knights of Columbus under the direction of Grand Knight Charles R. Barnes. When Bishop Hickey arrived, he was accompanied by an honor guard of Knights of St. John commanded by Col. Joseph H. Weis. Two former pa­ rishioners served as deacon and subdeacon of the Mass: Very Rev. Msgr. William J. Flynn, now General Secretary of the Marquette League, and Father Flavian Wilber, O.F.M. The assistant priest

30 was Very Rev. Msgr. John F. O'Hern; the deacons of honor, Dean Frank O'Sullivan of Port Hope, Ontario and Reverend John P. Brophy, pastor of St. Monica's, Rochester. Reverend Dr. John F. Goggin of St. Bernard's Seminary, long associated with the parish, was first master of ceremonies, and the Reverend John M. Sellinger, neighboring pastor of St. Charles' Church, Greece, was second master. In keeping with the rubrical directions, the bishop sprinkled the exterior and the interior of the new building with holy water. There were litanies, psalms, and prayers of blessing. Then, changing to lVIass vestments, Bishop Hickey began to celebrate the first of many pontifical Masses which were to be offered up within those walls. Pastor and Bishop, each in his turn, addressed the congrega­ tion. Both emphasized the part which a church plays in the sancti­ fication of its communicants. The Bishop of Rochester, fondly recall­ ing the beginnings of the parish just sixteen years before, com­ mended the parishioners for their devotion to the cause of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Bishop Hickey was certainly proud of the new church, and deeply interested in it. He had gone to Chicago with Father Burns to interview the architect. He had shared the pastor's enthusiasm for the Lake Avenue site, and his disappointment when that site had to be rejected. The original design had been for a smaller struc­ ture; but the bishop had ordered that it be built larger. He saw to it likewise that a bishop's chapel, enclosed by a wrought-iron gate, was placed in the west transept, and that the appointments include n portable bishop's throne. These facts point to one conclusion. By 1927 St. Patrick's Cathedral, .far downtown, was already becoming marooned in a growing commercial neighborhood. Eventually it might have to be disposed of. Would it not be well in that event to have a large new structure magnificently located far out Lake ..t\.venue to serve as a cathedral church? The bishop apparently never publicly disclosed his thoughts about the matter. Ten years later, however, what he had foreseen actually came true. Throughout the afternoon of dedication day, parishioners and friends visited and inspected the new church. They saw a build­ ing which had cost a little over $400,000 to erect, and which ap­ peared decidedly worth the price. While its corner location on a flat lot did not display it as well as the Lake Avenue location would

31 have, this was nevertheless a seemly and dignified edifice. The style was an adaptation of English perpendicular Gothic. It was construct­ ed of fine-grained Indiana limestone, and its facade was crowned by two modest but attractive open towers. The interior proved spacious and sufficiently impressive; and predominantly blue stained glass win­ dows, made in the thirteenth century style by the Pike Studio, gave the church a cool devotional dimness. Here was a temple, the visitors agreed~ where one felt invited to pray. The original church, now that it had been superseded, was remodeled to make additional classrooms for the school. The "new" rectory, altered from a double to a single house when first purchased for that purpose, was further enlarged in 1931. All this physical expansion implied that Sacred Heart parish had become one of the most populous parishes in Rochester. This was certainly the case. By its twentieth birthday in 1931, it could claim jurisdiction over 1193 families, representing 4440 souls; and there were 750 children in its parochial school. Of the other parishes in the city only four had a population in excess of 4000. These were: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, an Italian national parish, 5000; Im­ maculate Conception, 4899; Corpus Christi, 4800; and Holy Family, a German national parish, 4500. Youngest of the five, Sacred Heart nevertheless ranked fifth in magnitude among the Catholic con­ gregations of Rochester. From 1923 on~ the pastor had the constant aid of two as­ sistants, except for one year when there was a scarcity of diocesan priests. The two who aided him for the longest terms were the genial Father Daniel J. O'Rourke, later pastor of Our Mother of Sorrows at "Paddy Hill," and the enterprising Father G. Stuart Hogan, later pastor of St. James Church, Waverly. Father Hogan not only pro­ duced plays, as we have seen above, but also served as scoutmaster to the Sacred Heart Troop #68. Founded in 1925, this was the first troop in the city to be organized under Catholic auspices. (A girl scout troop, #102, came into being five years later.) Even though the parish was growing large, Father Burns sought to maintain among its members that sense of "belonging" which he had impressed upon the original members of his flock. To this end, he revived, in 1925, the annual meetings of the school alumni, which had been suspended around the time of the war. He likewise kept up the tradition of an annual parish picnic at nearby Lower Maplewood Park. At these picnics a committee of men organized

32 the games and a committee of women took care of the refreshments; and the pastor was on hand to see that everybody had a good time. He still rewarded parish organizations by treating them to an outing. And he still persevered, as well as he could, in those personal con­ tacts with his faithful which had always contributed so much to the fruitfulness of his pastorate. It goes without saying, of course, that he was meanwhile encouraging all in the regular practice of the sacramental life. These were the days in which the custom of f re­ quent Communion was fast developing. In a parish historical sketch which he wrote in 1928, Father Burns was especially gratified to point out the increased number of Holy Communions at Sacred Heart. In 1925 they reached 56,000. By 1926-in large measure, perhaps, because this was the year in which the papal jubilee of 1925 was extended to the whole world--the number of Communions had mounted to 78,000. If Sacred Heart parish was now a ranking parish in the dio­ cese of Rochester, the pastor himself was one of the diocese's ranking and most influential priests. In the first place, Father Burns had reached his silver jubilee in the priesthood, and had thus become one of the senior diocesan clergymen. When he celebrated his twenty-fifth anniversary on June 11, 1923, Bishop Hickey, presiding at the Mass of thanksgiving, preached the sermon for his long-time friend. To commemorate the occasion, the children of Sacred Heart School gave their pastor a new chalice, and the members of his devoted congregation pre­ sented him with a purse of $2600.00. In the second place, George Vincent Burns, two years before his silver jubilee, had been appointed a diocesan consultor. This was on September 23, 1921. In the year of Father Burns's silver jubilee, the bishop likewise named him to the diocesan Children's Welfare Board-a post which he held until 1931, when the Board was super­ seded by the diocesan office of Catholic Charities. In 1926, he was named a synodal judge of the diocesan tribunal. On October 28, 1928, the Right Reverend Thomas F. Hickey resigned his post as head of the Rochester Diocese, and was pro­ moted by Pope Pius XI to the titular Archbishopric of Viminacium. But his successor, elected third bishop of Rochester on January 4, 1929, was another old friend of Father Burns-the Right Reverend John F. O'Hern. Bishop O'Hern retained the services of the pastor of Sacred Heart in the diocesan positions to which ht> had already been

33 elevated. He also made him a member, in 1931, of the important Building Commission of the Rochester Diocese. And on January 2, 1931, upon the recommendation of Bishop O'Hern, Father Burns was made a domestic prelate of the Holy Father, with the title of Right Reverend Monsignor. It was in the red of a domestic prelate that Monsignor Burns participated in the twentieth anniversary of the parish which he had founded. Bishop O'Hern, who had been on hand for the original dedication, celebrated the commemorative Mass that November day of 1931. The preacher was Archbishop Hickey, who as we have seen, had dedicated both churches. The Monsignor made sure that in ad­ dition to his current assistants, Fathers G. Stuart Hogan and John P. O'Beirne, as many as possible of his former assistants serve as minis, ters of the Mass. So we find Fathers Francis Mason, James D. Tischer, Richard W. Mason, and William J. Devereaux taking formal part in the ceremonies. The twentieth anniversary was, therefore, a sort of "old home day" celebration. And that was the way Father George Burns always wanted anniversaries to be.

34 ~

I\ ' • 1' !~~~ 't

Rt. Rev. Msgr. George V. Burns 1873 - 1954 Founding Pastor, Sacred Heart Parish

35 l\fost Rev. Lawrence B. Casey, D.D., V.G. Titular Bishop of Cea and Auxiliary Bishop of Rochester Hector, Sacred Heart Cathedral

36 The Reverend Edward A. Zimmer The Reverend James J. Marvin

The Reverend Conrad J. Sundholm The Reverend Gerald J. Appelby

37 Bishop Thomas F. Hickey preaches at the laying of the cornerstone of the original Sacred Heart Church. July 9, 1911

Sanctuary of the original church. 38 Father George Burns on the rectory steps. ( about 1915)

Father Burns, Father Frank W. lVIason and the Graduating Class of 1915, Sacred Heart Parochial School.

39 (' .,_

·<:. ~~

'/ . . ··~~·~•~·~,2' . ,

Vested choir of Sacred Heart Church, 1913 Standing, left to right: \V. P. Hart, Michael Kelly, John Otto, Herbert Leis, Floyd Carbone, Frank Bayer, Joseph Carbone, Thomas Canavan, John McKnight, Robert Cook, T. Thomas, M. J. Culhane, James Canavan, Second row: Ray Burnett, John Hicks, Leo Cook, Rev. George V. Burns, the rector; Frank DeMarle, choir director; Roland Acker, Gerald Smith, T. Sherry. First row: Mark Kennedy, Frank Passero, Clarence Terhaar, Francis O'Neill, Warren Cook, Andrew Acker.

Bishop Hickey breaks ground for the present Sacred Heart Cathedral, Feast of the Sacred Heart, June 19, 1925. (The boy holding the holy water container is the future Father Francis Pegnam).

40 Altar from St. Patrick's Cathedral Sacred Heart Cathedral 1937 · 1957

~~

; . ···~-.. ,t•W-, -~ ·-~

Sacred Heart Convent ( 1954) and the original combination Sacred Heart Church and School \ 1911) now the old wing of tht> parish school.

41 Sacred Heart Cathedral today. CHAPTER the third decade

AT SACRED HEART THE HAPPIEST DAYS of the period 1931- 1941 came at mid-season. The shadow of the Great Depression fell over the early years of the decade; the shadow of World War II, over the final part. In 1929, l\1onsignor Burns accompanied Archbishop Hickey on a trip to Rome. When he returned in August, 1929, his loyal parishioners welcomed him with a special reception and presented him with a substantial purse. Only two months later, in October, the stock market crashed. Slowly thereafter the virus of economic depression spread a creeping paralysis through the sinews of the nation. Sacred Heart parishioners could scarcely escape this common plague. The gift which they had so generously given to their pastor the previous July can perhaps be considered a symbol of America's liberal spending in the 1920s. We may be sure that some who had contributed to that purse in 1929, were counting their pennies much more carefully a few months later. One of the effects of the new frugality was the decline in parish income. The annual loss of several thousands of dollars na­ turally caused concern to Monsignor Burns, who, after all, had daily operational costs to meet and a large debt to pay off. If the contribu­ tions did not decline to a lower point, it was simply because of the admirable spirit of self-sacrifice of the people of the parish . .Another source which aided the finances in those days of rela­ tive want was a variety of parish entertainments. More reliance than ever had to be put upon the summer festival, and the women who baked for the food sale and the men who managed the booths outdid themselves. Then there were the card parties, and, at least on one oc­ casion, a fashion show. A parochial group which contributed much to the needs of the school was the Parent-Teacher Association, found­ ed in 1932. Established to create a livelier interest in the parish

43 school and its problems~ the P.T.A., during the twenty years of its existence, was also an active social unit. It must not be thought, however, that parochial finances were the only phase of the depression that worried the pastor of Sacred Heart. A man of deep natural sympathy, Monsignor Burns did his best to instil in his flock that supernatural patience and confidence so necessary in trial, yet so hard to achieve. So far as we can judge, the parishioners "kept their chins up". It may not be going too far to single out one of their number as representative of the parish spirit. He was Mr. Joseph H. Weis (1858-1937). Mr. Weis was a trustee of Sacred Heart, a leader of the Knights of St. John, and a Catholic layman whose acknowledged worth had merited for him, in 1931, the papal decoration of Knight of St. Gregory. Mr. Weis had been an outstanding Rochester furni­ ture merchant for many years. Now, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on March 6, 1933- only two days after his first inauguration-proclaimed a nationwide bank holiday, so that the solvency of all American banks might be studied. Confronted with such an order, business naturally faltered, and most businessmen held their breath. But not Joseph Weis. The very day the bank holiday began, Mr. Weis, just seventy-five years of age, threw open the doors of a magnificent new furniture store on East Avenue, one "as modern," said he, "as the New Deal." "I have no time," he told a birthday interviewer, "for anyone who wants to cry on my shoulder." The story of Joseph Weis' s pluck gained wide notice in the national press. Justly so, for his action was an act of faith in America. Not every member of Sacred Heart was in a position to repudiate cowardice so boldly. But courage is contagious, and the courage of men like Joseph Weis can only have heartened most of the people of the parish. In the following September the pastor and his flock were given an opportunity to make their own American act of faith. There was to be a great public demonstration in favor of President Roose­ velt's National Recovery Administration. The Diocese of RochesteL happy to cooperate, named Monsignor Burns to the Catholic Com­ mission in charge of preparing the demonstration. In the days be­ fore September 26th, preachers in all of the churches of the diocese urged upon Catholics the need for collaborating with the national

44 effort. And on September 26th, parishioners took their part in the mammoth NRA parade which moved briskly and confidently along Main Street. Measures like these assisted recovery by stimulating the na­ tional will to recover. But public demonstrations alone were not going to provide jobs for the jobless. Rochester suffered less in this respect than some other areas, and Sacred Heart was by no means the most unfortunate parish in Rochester. But in Rochester and in Sacred Heart parish~ unemployment had its victims. Bishop O'Hern was quick to urge his pastors to strive to find positions for those out of work and to provide for parishioners who were impoverished. Monsignor Burns, we may be sure, needed no special incentive to interest himself in these tasks. Naturally there is no way of estimating the extent of his parochial charities­ Christian charity does not shout its wares. The day-book he used at the rectory, however, gives certain clues to the pastor's works of mercy. Here we find allusions to employment sought, and these al­ lusions warrant the belief that Father Burns was able to find jobs for some who were out of work. There is, again, one reference to the provision of bedding and clothing. Most of the clues, however, relate to gifts of fuel. Even as late as 1939, the pastor was jotting down memoranda like the following: "Coal to C. and K."; "Order coal for ...... Electric Avenue". The story told by a prominent wom- an parishioner furnishes us with a little more information about this practice. Once during the hard days she asked Monsignor Burns's permission to conduct a parish card party for the benefit of parochial needs. He gladly consented to her thoughtful suggestion. When she presented to him, some time later, the generous sum she had collected, he was very pleased and very grateful. "This," he said, "will take care of a quarter-ton of coal for a good many families." Despite the depression, life moved on; and the spiritual life of the parish moved along with it. The untimely death of the beloved Bishop O'Hern, on May 22, 1933, brought sorrow to Sacred Heart Church and a deep per­ sonal grief to its pastor. But the See of Rochester did not long re­ main widowed. On August 28, 1933, Pope Pius XI named as its four th bishop, the Apostolic Delegate to Japan, Archbishop Edward Mooney. When Archbishop Mooney was installed in office on October 12th, Monsignor Burns, as a diocesan consultor, was one of the of­ ficial welcoming committee. The new bishop soon came to appreciate~

45 as had his predecessors. the worth of Father George Burns. He. too~ turned to the Tenth '\Vard pastor for counsel. Monsignor Burns was especially active in the months that followed as a member of the Building Commission. The 1920s and 1930s were the pioneer days of Catholic Action-that group participation by the laity in the apostolic pro­ grams of the hierarchy-which Pope Pius XI did so much to pro­ mote. Catholic Action activities had begun to spread through the Rochester Diocese under Bishop O'Hern. He had instituted. for in­ stance, the Diocesan Council of Catholic '\Vomen, affiliated to the l\"ational Council of Catholic ~romen. and the National Council of Catholic ~fen. Rochester Diocesan Branch. This was in 1931. In 1932. he had established the Diocesan Holy Name Cnion. The lay organizations at Sacred Heart Church had been aggregated to these unions and had participated in their programs. The parish was to engage in additional forms of the lay apos­ tolate during the regime of Archbishop Mooney. In 1934 the Arch­ bishop, acting in concert with the rest of the hierarchy, instituted the Legion of Decency in the diocese. In that year the parishioners of Sacred Heart took, for the first time, the pledge not to support immoral and demoralizing moving pictures. The campaign then undertaken was highly successful, not only in improving movie morals, but actually-as the moving picture producers themselves eventually admitted-in preserving the movie industry. And it was the joint lay action of groups like the congregation of Sacred Heart Church which accomplished that double achievement. In 1935 an­ other Catholic Action society, the Confraternity of Christian Doc­ trine was set up. That same year, vacation schools were established in many diocesan country parishes under the diocesan Rural Life DirectoL and in several city parishes under the diocesan Superin­ tendent of Schools. One of the city vacation schools was inaugurated at Sacred Heart under the Superintendent of Schools, but in 1941 passed to the control of the diocesan director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Only in 1945, when gasoline rationing made transportation of the children too difficult, was the Sacred Heart summer school temporarily discontinued. An event of 19:15 which was of more strictly parochial in­ terest was the Pontifical .'\f ass of the parish's first priestly vocation, .Rt. He\·. \fsg-r. William J. Flvnn. Since the dav when hP celehrat<~d - • .I his first !\1ass fr1 old Sacred Heart Church. Wi1Iiam J. Flynn had

46 had an impressive career~ first as a priest of the Diocese of Pitts­ burgh. and then as Director of the l\ilarquette League for Indian ~\fissions. When Pope Pius XL on April 18~ 1935~ added to the other honors he had given Father Flynn the crowning honor of Protono­ tary Apostolic, the recipient ever loyal to his home parish. made early plans to offer in Sacred Heart one of the splendid Pontifical :\lasses which protonotaries are privileged to celebrate. The lVIass took place on June 30~ 1935, and lVIonsignor Burns was assistant priest to the mitered celebrant. It is regrettable that this priest of great promise did not lin:-- longer to enjoy his new honor. He died in Brooklyn on December 29~ 1936, at the age of only forty-eight. The burial was from Sacred Heart, Rochester. Among the prominent out­ of-town personages who attended the funeral were Senator James F.

l\Iurrav.,, of Montana.J Father Bernard Hubbard., S.J ../ the "Glacier Priest"~~ and Judge Alfred Talley of New York, president of the l\Iarquette League. If l\1onsignor Flynn was the parish's first vocation, he was by no means its only one. The second parish boy ordained to the priest­ hood was Father Fabian Wilber, O.F.M., who celebrated his First l\Iass and the first first l\1ass offered in the new Sacred Heart Church -on June 3~ 1928. Unfortunately, his priestly career was also brief. He died in 1934. But between 1933 and 1940, six more young men of the parish were ordained to the priesthood. All but one of them were priests of the Rochester diocese, and Archbishop Mooney himself ordained two of these in successive years. Vocations to the sisterhood also rose rapidly during the same period. Between 1926 and 1940, ten young women from Sacred Heart entered the Sisters of St. Joseph; four, the Sisters of Mercy, and one each, the Francis­ can Sisters and the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Certainly the greatest single event of the third decade of its history was the elevation of Sacred Heart Church to the rank of Pro­ CathedraL that is, temporary cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester. Although this action was taken a few weeks after the Holy Father had transferred Archbishop Mooney to Detroit as its first Arch­ bishop. the arrangements which led up to it had already been in process before his departure. What brought it all about was, of course. the sale of St. Patrick's Cathedral. For over a century now St. Patrick's-the two t'arlier slructun_.s and tht> cathedral begun in 186-l,-had occupied and sanctified the same sil< .. at the C'orner of Plymouth An.. nue North

47 and Platt Street. But in late years the neighborhood of western New York's first parish had been much altered by the invasion of business and commercial establishments. When, therefore, in 1937, the East­ man Kodak Company manifested an interest in purchasing the Cathedral and its adjacent church buildings, the Diocese of Roch­ ester decided to accept the offer. On August 23, 1937, the Diocesan Administrator, Rt. Rev. lWsgr. William M. Hart, announced the pro­ jected sale and stated at the same time that after the old cathedral was closed, Sacred Heart would serve as Cathedral of the Diocese until the Holy Father officially designated some church as Rochester's Cathedral Church. The Eastman firm agreed to the transaction on September 8th. On September 12th, the last Masses were celebrated in the memorable old building. On the following day, the new owners com­ menced to dismantle the property. Steps were taken at once to re­ move the more notable furnishings to other locations. Sacred Heart received the major portion of these furnishings including the organ, the white marble altar, and the two bells. ("St. Patrick," the 6000 lb. bell, and "St. Louis/' the 2530 lb. bell, had been consecrated by Bishop McQuaid in 1869.) While these were being installed in Sacred Heart, the bishop's throne was also set permanently in posi­ tion on the gospel side of the sanctuary, and the pulpit was moved over to the epistle side. Almost a month before the sale of the old Cathedral had been announced, Pope Pius XI had named the successor to Arch­ bishop Mooney. I-le was the Bishop of Salt Lake City, the Most Rev­ erend James E. Kearney, D.D. According to custom, Bishop Kear­ ney's inauguration was deferred for some time. When it did take place on Thursday, November 11th, Rochester's new Pro-Cathedral was all ready for the ceremony. Sacred Heart has seldom known so splendid a rite as the installation of Rochester's fifth bishop. The Most Reverend Stephen J. Donohue, Auxiliary Bishop of New York, representing Cardinal Hayes, conducted Bishop Kearney to his throne as three archbishops, twenty-six bishops and countless clergymen, religious and laymen witnessed his act. Parishioners of the Pro-Cathedral had joined in the crowd of twelve thousand who greeted the new bishop at the New York Central station on the 10th; and as many as were able had partici­ pated in the Rite of the 11th. On the following Sunday, howeveL

48 they were able to have Bishop Kearney to themselves. He presided at the l\1ass that day for the first time. Monsignor Burns welcomed the Bishop in the name of the parish, and the Bishop then preached to the congregation, as a pastor would preach, on the Sunday gospel. It goes without saying that Sacred Heart Church by virtue of its new rank as Mother Church of the Diocese of Rochester, was henceforth to be the center of diocesan devotional life. From now on this sanctuary would be the site of the episcopal ceremonies of Holy Week; of ordinations to the priesthood; of consecrations to the episcopacy. From now on this church would be the normal church for tht' bishop to use on important occasions; for ecclesiasti­ cal observances, like the lVIasses on the day of the coronation of popes; for patriotic observances, like the lVIasses on Independence Day, Labor Day or Community Chest Sunday. In one sense the members of the parish lost something when the church which they built became an official diocesan center. In belonging to all the dio­ cese, it became a little less their own. But this was a minor depri­ vation, and one largely offset by the pride which the parishioners felt in seeing their church promoted to such a distinguished rank. As temporary cathedral, the Church of the Sacred Heart would also assume leadership over the other parishes of the diocese. It was in Sacred Heart, for instance, that Bishop Kearney inaugu­ rated the touching Christmas pageant in 1937. It was an assistant at Sacred Heart, Father Alphonsus P. Crimmens, who was named diocesan director of the Campaign for Decent Literature in 1940. And when the Bishop, in 1940, introduced into the diocese the beautiful custom of family Communion on Holy Family Sunday, the Pro-Cathedral set a special example of its observance to the other diocesan churches. The assistant pastors-there were usually three of them now­ were each assigned one or more of the parish societies to guide; the John Fisher Club ( established by Father Joseph J. Sullivan in 1941) ; the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts; the Sodality; Holy Name Society; the Rosary Society; and the P.T.A. Monsignor Burns re­ mained the spiritual adviser of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of St. John, and from the time he founded the parish praesidium of the Legion of Mary in 1939, he gave to that Catholic Action group his almost undivided attention. While the Sacred Heart praesidi­ um was not the original diocesan unit of the Legion of Mary (Fa­ ther George Schmitt had founded the initial unit at St. Anne's, Roch-

49 ester, and it had spread thence to Sacred Heart and St. Andrew's parishes) , the Legion found in Father George Burns a firm convert and an ardent advocate. As chaplain of his praesidium, he dutifully attended the meetings, led the little group of active women members in the prescribed devotional exercises, and gradually worked out with them the plans of their apostolate. The first assignment which he gave them was the distribution of the leaflets of the League of the Sacred Heart. From this, they moved on to their major work, the visitation of the sick. In December, 1939, Bishop Kearney authorized the three praesidia in the City of Rochester to unite wth the prae­ sidium of St. John the Evangelist Church in Clyde, N. Y., in forming a diocesan unit of the Legion, called a curia. Two of the officers of the Pro-Cathedral praesidium were then elected officers of the curia: Mrs. Kathryn Reynell as president, and Miss Odilla M. Punch, secretary. The Bishop named Monsignor Burns himself diocesan di­ rector of Legion of Mary activities. By 1939 the Great Depression was pretty much a thing of the past. But the late 1930s and early 1940s brought new griefs and new trials to replace it. It might at first seem too personal to include among the griefs the death of Father Burns's sister Harriet. Her loss in April, 1939, was indeed a severe one-one from which it is said the Mon­ signor never quite recovered. But it was also a loss to the parish. Harriet Eleanor Burns had served Sacred Heart Church well, first, as one of the pioneer teachers in the school; later as devoted house­ keeper and secretary to her brother. The passing of Archbishop Hickey on December 10, 1940, was of its very nature a bereavement more widely felt. Thomas F. Hickey had served well not only the Diocese of Rochester but the Church in the United States. But his death was probably most keenly felt at Sacred Heart. The Archbishop had been deeply attached to the parish and to its founding pastor. He was, of course, buried from the Pro-Cathedral. Monsignor Burns served as Deacon of the Mass of Requiem, which was celebrated by Bishop Kearney. The Most Reverend Walter A. Foery, the Rochester-born Bishop of Syracuse, delivered the eulogy, and the Most Reverend Francis J. Spellman, Archbishop of New York, gave the final absolution. A parochial misfortune of a quite different sort was the school fire of December 27, 1940. It broke out in the evening and thus endangered no lives; and while the quick action of the so firemen prevented it from doing major damage, the fire was none the less a shock to the parishioners. The loss, restricted pretty much to two classrooms and the school hall, amounted to about $20:000.00. The school was able to reopen after Christmas vacation because there were two extra rooms available for class purposes. The ren­ ovation of the affected areas, however, was finished only in the fallowing April. The worst trial of all, however, was the coming of World War II. Sacred Heart parish had passed its twenty-fifth anniversary -very quietly-in November, 1936. In November, 1941, it reached its thirtieth birthday. Between these dates, Europe had been moving inevitably towards a war between the democratic nations and the totalitarian states. Finally, on September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler, the German Chancellor, authorized the Nazi invasion of Poland. England and France, allied with Poland, thereupon declared war on Germany. Benito Mussolini's Italy pronounced itself on Hitler's side on June 10, 1940. World War II had begun, and, as the months passed, it spread its devastation throughout the rest of Europe, into Africa and Asia. Our own nation, meanwhile, held aloof. But preparadness was clearly in order. One measure of preparedness was the Selective Service Registration, inaugurated on October 16, 1940, with a view to assembling the "biggest peacetime army" our country had ever possessed. No defense measure affected the parish of the Sacred Heart so directly as did this one. A new generation of parishioners now marched off to camp to don the khaki or the blue or the green of our armed services. It was not that the parish had not prayed for peace during these agitated months. God alone knows how 1nany private prayers sprang to the lips of the mothers, wives and friends of the service­ men and women of Sacred Heart. Nor had public prayers been wanting. Either on his own initiative or at the behest of that Pope of Peace, Pius XII, or of President Roosevelt, Bishop Kearney had often implored his diocesans to unite in adoration and supplication for the restoration of international concord. On these occasions the Pro-Cathedral usually became the focus of diocesan-wide devotion. God seemed intent, however, on allowing mankind to suffer the con­ sequences of its own folly. November 30, 1941, was the date on which Sacred Heart Church observed the end of its third decade as a parish. Bishop

51 l(earney celebrated the Pontifical Mass, and in his remarks on the anniversary, paid a special tribute to the pastor who had founded and so effectively guided the parish. With the Forty Hours' Devo­ tion and a men's mission beginning that same Sunday, the observ­ ance took place in an emphatically spiritual setting. The statistics for the thirty years certainly presented concrete reasons for rejoicing. Since 1911 the parochial membership had risen from 175 to 1400 families, comprising 4200 souls. The school population, 116 at the opening of Sacred Heart School, had now reached 610, taught by eighteen Sisters of St. Joseph. Thirteen hun­ dred parishioners had died during the three decades; 1253 mar­ riages had been performed in the parish; and 3102 had been born into Christian life through the Sacrament of Baptism. The quiet joy of the anniversary had barely subsided, how­ ever, when war finally struck at our country. It was on December 7, 1941, that Japan launched its attack upon the American base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. President Roosevelt replied the next day with a Declaration of War upon Japan; on December 11th, with a Declaration of War upon Japan's allies, Germany and Italy. When the President first spoke out, Bishop Kearney at once offered to the national cause the full cooperation of the Diocese of Rochester. "We place at the disposal of our country," he declared, "all the spiritual, moral and material forces of our Church . . . l\1ay God bless and protect our country." America's Chief Executive set aside January 1, 1942, as a "''national day of prayer". Bishop Kearney responded personally by conducting the Holy Hour that ushered in the new year, and by celebrating the noon Pontifical Mass on the feastday itself. Both rites took place, of course, in the Pro-Cathedral. In keeping with Mon­ signor Burns's special announcement, the collection taken up at the noonday Mass was sent as a contribution to the American Red Cross. Girded, therefore, with prayer and charity, the parishioners of Sacred Heart arose to face the responsibilities of America's greatest war.

52 CHAPTER the fourth decade THAT SACRED HEART PARISH was prayer­ ful during World War II is evident to anyone who reads its little weekly Parish News. Here we see reference to the many requests which Bishop Kearney made, as the months rolled on~ for diocesan­ wide intercessions. But even on the strictly parochial level, Sacred Heart seems to have sponsored more devotional practices than usuaL There were the annual Novena of Grace, the Miraculous Medal No­ vena, and the triduum of the Sacred Heart. To these were added such crusades as the Lay Retreat movement, the "Rosary a Day',. campaign, and the Home Enthronement of the Sacred Heart. The service personnel of the parish were often remembered in special Masses, and when on June 6, 1944--"D-Day"-the Allies launched from Great Britain the major assault upon Nazi-occupied France, hundreds visited the Pro-Cathedral to whisper a prayer for victory and peace. Meanwhile the parish had not been shirking its more material duties to the national cause. Parishioners took part in the scrap-metal drive of March, 1942, and the drive for old rubber in the following June, just as readily as they had taken part in the Bishop's drive for rosaries and religious articles the previous February. As in World War I, the Red Cross offered many natural opportunities for willing patriots. The women of the parish P. T .A. and the Northwest Kiwanis Club cooperated in the Red Cross sewing program. The Red Cross sponsored nursing classes in the church hall, and many people of the parish appreciated the privilege of giving their blood, through the American Red Cross, to the soldiers wounded in battle. World War II also had its government bond campaigns. In launching the observance of War Week in June, 1942, the Bishop of Rochester ordered that the collection taken up on June 1st be devoted to the purchase of a Victory Bond by the parish cor­ poration. In 1944, Monsignor Burns reminded the purchasers of defense bonds that they were entitled to credit Sacred Heart School

53 with their individual purchases and thus aid the school in reaching its quota. By the end of the war, the parish had a sizeable sun1 invested in government bonds. But the biggest investment which the parish made was its contribution to the nation's manpower. On August 15, 1942, Father Burns mailed to Father John M. Sellinger-who was keeping official records of the diocesans in uniform-the parish honor roll of that -date. He reported a total of 208 servicemen, of whom 185 were in the army; 18 in the navy and 5 in the marines. By the war's end, that total had trebled. The final parish figure was 610 men and women. Of these, 400 were in the army; 137 in the navy; 44 in the air force; 16 in the marines; 2 in the coast guard. Of the ten en­ listed women, seven had joined the WACs, one the WAVES, one the Army Nurse Corps, and one the Navy Nurse Corps. If you add to this list of 610, the one woman who was a paid employee of the American Red Cross, you have a parochial grand total of 611 persons. Sacred Heart likewise made its contribution once more to the Chaplain Corps. No, the pastor was not one of the volunteers. This time he was far too old even to give serious thought to the .subject. (The only quasi-military chaplaincy that Monsignor Burns ever came to hold was the post of Chaplain of the Henry Lomb Camp -#100 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. He even held .for a couple of terms, the post of New York State chaplain of that ,organization.) But in World War II, as in World War I, Father George Burns would gladly give his blessing to any of his assistant _pastors who felt the call. And on this occasion, it was not one, but two of his assistants who sought commissions in the Army: Father Joseph J. Sullivan and Father John S. Hayes. Father Sullivan was granted his commission on May 7, 1943, .and called to active duty on June 12th. During the actual conflict he served with the 15th Air Force, 40th Bomb Wing, of the AAF Air Transport Command, during its operations in the China-Burma­ India campaign. After the close of the war, he was stationed with .the army of occupation in Germany until October, 1947. Father Hayes received his commission on November 1, 1943, and was called to active duty three days after Christmas. Associated with the 183rd FA Group, he participated in the campaigns of Northern France, the Rhineland, the Ardennes, and Central Europe. For heroic dis­ .charge of his chaplain's duties under fire, he was awarded the

54 Bronze Star Medal with a "V". He was released from active duty on May 17, 1946. The pastor did not permit either of these priests to depart for the war without an appropriate farewell. Each in his turn was given a special reception in the church hall. To each, at the climax of the celebration, the parishioners presented a generous purse. Nor did Father Burns allow his people to for get their two soldiers of God. As a reminder to keep the chaplains in their prayers, he hung from the pulpit a special little chaplains' service flag with two stars. When men at war are able to keep in touch with their homes and their parish churches, the contact benefits both their morals and their morale. From 1943 on, Monsignor Burns made available to the parish service personnel a monthly "Parish Serviceman's Newsletter". Father Edward McAniff edited this leaflet, which con­ tained a sermonette and news items about the activities of other pa­ rishioners, civil and military. It was sent to the homes of the service­ men and women to be re-addressed by them to the proper APO or FPO. Although it was one of our nation's longer wars, World ,var II did not last forever. Eventually victory came piecemeal. but each stage of the victory brought our nation new responsibilities. Although much of Europe had been reconquered by the Fall of 1944, its liber­ ated inhabitants were found to be in dire need. To shield these poor people against the bite of winter, the American Bishops undertook a nationwide clothing drive in September and October, 1944. Catho­ lics of the Diocese of Rochester were instructed to bring available clean clothing to school halls or centers, where a parochial committee would sort and pack it for transatlantic shipment. When the tally of clothing contributed in the Rochester Diocese was finally com­ piled, the Pro-Cathedral led all the other city parishes. Parishioners had donated 9312 garments ( of which 775 were overcoats) ; and these garments had filled 71 cartons, each weighing about a hundred­ weight. It was a charity which demanded little enough sacrifice, hut which may well have saved the life of many a European that cold winter. As late as lVIay 20, 1945, the Parish Bulletin published an ur­ gent plea from the General Railway Signal Company for women workers. The Signal Company was under government contract to produce equipment for B-29 bombers. But by that date~ the tide of war was running out. "V-E Day", May 8th, had already marked the

55 Allied triumph in Europe. At San Francisco, the United Nations was in the process of organization. (And regarding the efforts of the U .N ., the Parish Bulletin had declared: "We can pray as we have never prayed before, that our world may be deserving of the peace of Christ") . Victory in the Pacific finally came in August, 1945. The war which had begun on the eve of the feast of the Immaculate Concep­ tion of Our Lady, 19_:_ll, was brought to a close by the Japanese sur­ render on the eve of the feast of Mary's Assumption, 1945. Presi­ dent Truman made his dramatic announcement at 7 :00 P.M. Almost at once, hundreds of Catholics set out spontaneously for their church­ es-the Pro-Cathedral among them-to express to God the gratitude which the news brought to their hearts. It was in a mood of spiritual jubilation that they attended the feastday Masses on the following . morning. But liberation of the Pacific meant more impoverished victims to clothe and feed in the name of Christian principles. When the American Catholic hierarchy launched a canned-food drive in De­ cember, 1945, Sacred Heart replied with a donation of five tons. And the Pro-Cathedral has given a similar response to all of the annual appeals for clothing which our bishops have made since 1945 for the world's needy. The people of the parish have seen that worldwide charity of this sort is not only a benefit to individuals, but to the cause of freedom in the cold war which is the first evil fruit of the atomic age. Nor had Sacred Heart parish, however remote from the battle fronts, escaped the ravages of war. If seven of its boys had made the supreme sacrifice in World War I, fifteen gave their lives in World War II. Ten of these were army casualties: Robert Coers, John Cullen, James Dennis, Joseph S. Joyce, Jr., Robert King, Frederick Lynch, Michael S. Manning, George A. Marion, Jr., Alexander McLaren, and Donald H. Weddell. Two were sailors: Lloyd J. Dodge and Earl Switzer. Three-two of them brothers­ were members of the Air Force: Bernard Dalton, Joseph Zaga ta and John L. Zagata. Social activities at Sacred Heart seem to have increased rath­ er than diminished in the war years and the latter years of the decade. Among the older organizations, the St. John Fisher Club kept particularly busy. This organization of young adults, married and

56 single, sponsored both dances and theatricals. The theatricals includ­ ed a musical, Ii its from the Ifit Parade, directed by Jack Foran, and presented in 194 7, and a straight comedy presented in 1950. The name of the comedy? The Arrival of l(itty. Yes, Kitty dropped in again after twenty-four years. Did the new producers remember the day back in 1926 when Father Stuart Hogan first introduced the perennial Kitty on the stage of Sacred Heart auditorium? The St. John Fisher Club had its spiritual side, too. Each year they collected a fund-sometimes as high as $500.00-to finance the Christmas baskets which they made up and delivered to the poor. A newer social-and-religious society was the Men's Club, or­ ganized by Father John T. Callahan in 1944. It had supper meetings on the second Thursday of each month. When the annual parish picnic was revived after the war, it was the l\1en's Club which planned it. We may he sure, too, that its members played an active part in the annual Fall bazaars and turkey raffles. A third parish society, founded in late 1946, was the Sacred Heart Post, #1127, of the Catholic War \reterans. The C.W.V. engaged in a number of social and philanthropic undertakings. In 1947 they cooperated in the construction of the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, which was set up in the yard of the rectory beside the Pro-Cathedral. This shrine, a monument to the men of the parish who had died in the war, was dedicated by Bishop Kearney on October 18, 194 7. Our Lady was the object of great devotion in the years that followed the war. Men naturally turned to her as the most efficacious sponsor, next to her Son, of the cause of world peace. In 1947, three anonymous Rochester workingmen began to take off enough of their Tuesday lunchtime to recite the rosary together at St. Augustine Church. The idea of a workingmen's rosary for peace caught on, and eventually there were five hundred working people praying the noon rosary at several of the local churches. The group at Sacred Heart gathered before the new shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima. The Holy Year of 1950 was also largely a Marian Year. Bishop Kearney not only celebrated the Pontifical Midnight Mass which welcomed in the new year; he likewise offered the Pontifical Mass on Passion Sunday, a special day of prayer, during which there was a public rosary in Sacred Heart four times during the afternoon hours. Then when Pope Pius XII defined the dogma of Our Lady's Assumption on All Saints' Day, 1950, the Pro-Cathedral signalized the event with a special triduum. Some of the parishioners

57 were doubtless able to visit Rome itself during that year of jubilee. Those who remained at home were enabled in 1951 to obtain the jubilee indulgences by making a pilgrimage to certain churches in Rochester. Like many another local parish, the Pro-Cathedral en­ gaged buses to enable its people to make a group pilgrimage in May. In 1944, the pastor established a parish library, housed in the parish-owned dwelling at 32 Primrose Street. In 1946, a regular Catholic Information Lecture Series was initiated, conducted by the priests of the parish for Catholic and non-Catholic inquirers. The library and the lectures, along with the devotional practices already m~ntioned, givt" amplt" proof that the spiritual life of the Pro­ Cathedral was not neglected during its fourth decade. Still another proof is to he found in the increase of parochial vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. Between 1942 and 1953, nine parish men were ordained to the priesthood. Three of the new priests were members of the Basilian Fathers, one was a Jesuit, one a Sacred Hearts Father, and four ( all but one of them for the Dio­ cese of Rochester) were secular priests. During the same period, seven young women from the parish entered the Sisters of St. Joseph, two the Sisters of Mercy and one the Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary. Since World War II, there has been a very rapid expansion of our national population. In cities, this has led to a great move­ ment from downtown housing into housing on the outskirts of the city or in the suburbs. Rochester has been no exception to the general rule, and Sacred Heart parish, located on the edge of sub­ urbia, has experienced much growth. By 1946, the 1941 population of 1400 families and 4200 parishioners had risen to 1440 families and 4575 parishioners. By 1951, there were 2200 families identified with Sacred Heart Church, comprising 6000 souls. The 1941 school population, 610, had reached 978 by 1951 and would top the thou­ sand mark in the following autumn. Although the dollar had lost much of its value, the members of the congregation were sufficiently prosperous. The Sunday plate collection had averaged $35,000.00 a year in 1941. Now, it came closer to $60,000.00. In fact, by 1951, the Pro-Cathedral, now the largest parish in the city except for the Italian parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, had an income of $94~547. The care of a parish of this magnitude was a task which could have staggered even a younger man, and Monsignor Burns

58 was no longer young. In 1948 he reached the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. That year, for the first time in the history of the Diocese of Rochester, four priest-classmates celebrated their golden jubilee. At the Pro-Cathedral every effort was made to honor the pastor. On the actual anniversary, June 11th, Father Burns celebrated a Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving, Bishop Kearney presiding at the throne. On the following Sunday~ June 13th, he celebrated another Mass of Thanks. The parishioners had been urged to receive Holy Commun­ ion for his intention that day and hundreds complied. lVIonsignor Burns was guest of honor at a reception held in the school hall the same afternoon. Dressed in the red-trimmed cassock and red silk cloak of a monsignor, he sat and greeted each member of the crowd which turned out to pay him tribute. But the jubilarian was not content to rest on his oars. With his consent the assistant pastors had taken the occasion of the an­ niversary to launch, in 1946, a drive to liquidate the parish debt which amounted to some $70,000.00. Father William F. Nolan head­ ed this "Golden Jubilee Campaign". While the drive was not a total success, it brought in enough to pay off $45,000.00 of the debt that year and $5,000.00 in 1949. No other jubilee gift could have pleased Monsignor Burns as much as this one did. With the debt substantially reduced, the pastor embarked upon a new and urgent building project; a school wing to accommo­ date the ever-growing number of pupils. The architect selected, Mr. Frank M. Quinlan, drew up plans -for an annex to be attached to the rear of the existing school. It provided eight new classrooms, a kitchen, a large assembly hall and two smaller meeting rooms. The contract was let to Frank A. Maggio and Brothers. Completed in late January, 1952, this second addition to the school cost $143,000, a bit more, it will be seen than the $35,000 spent on the original building. But the adequacy of the wing was quite evident to the hundreds of parishioners who inspected it on Sunday, February 3rd, after Bishop Kearney had blessed it. The new annex to the school was to be the last building proj­ ect of the Pro-Cathedral's pioneer pastor. When he marked the fortieth anniversary of his parish in November, 1951, he was already well on the way to his own seventy-ninth birthday. Age had brought its infirmities, infirmities which made it ever more difficult for him to discharge his increasingly demanding task.

59 Although the parishioners could see that their beloved found­ er had failed considerably in health, they were scarcely prepared for his retirement. The Catholic Courier-Journal of February 23, 1952, brought them that sad news. It stated that Monsignor George V. Burns had submitted his resignation and had been named to the honorary post of pastor-emeritus. To succeed him~ Bishop Kearney had named Right Reverend ~1onsignor Lawrence B. Casey~ his former secretarv and vice-chancellor. who since 1946 had held the - , pastorate of Holy Cross Church in Charlotte. Because the rectory was already overcrowded. l\1onsignor Burns decided to move elsewhere. But he did not go far. His niece~ Mrs. George A. Wilkin lived at -1.55 Raines Park, directly across from the school and within view of the Pro-Cathedral. This proved an ideal residence for the pastor-emeritus who had abdicated his of­ fice but not his interest in Sacred Heart Parish. Thus it was that the first pastorate of the Pro-Cathedral reached its quiet conclusion. There is no denying that during his four decades of parochial leadership, George V. Burns had been a good shepherd. For one thing, he had been a good citizen. A patriotic Ameri­ can in war and peace, he was ever ready to discourse on Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and the Obligations of Citizenship. On the local scene, he participated in the arrangements for the Roch­ ester Centennial of 1934, and in the activities of the School Health Committee. His chairmanship of the Nazareth College Drive of 1940 and his cooperation with the Civic Music Association indicate his interest in the educational and cultural progress of the community. It is important for a Catholic pastor to play some part in civic af­ fairs. He must set an example to his flock of virtuous life, and love of country is one of the virtues. In the second place, Father Burns had been a good and faith­ ful steward. He had known his flock well. He had been punctilious about providing them with even more than the necessary ministra­ tions. An able if conservative businessman and administrator, he had given his people a parish plant dignified in appearance and efficient in management. Finally-and this was the key to his other successes-Mon­ signor Burns had been a good priest. The good priest is one who constantly tries to imitate the Christ whom he is preaching to others. He takes up his cross and

60 follows in Christ's footsteps. It is rather interesting in this connec­ tion to take note of some lines of portry which the Monsignor once wrote. They come from a poem called "The Answered Prayer," une of several which the pastor published privately in 1934 in a neac little book called The Cycle of Lije. While this and the rest of the Vt'rses are not great poems. they do tell us much about their author. Here are the lines: To bear the burden of the cross~ To walk the bloodstained way, To kneel be£ ore the crucified; Dear Lord~ for such I pray. If Father G('orge Burns impressed those whom he met by his infinitt' patience. his gentle pt->rse\·t'renef and his rt->ady counst->l; if he edified them by his recollected bearing~ by his reverence at Holy 1'1ass. by his attentive reading of the breviary~ it was because he had schooled himself in these lessons of the Cross. For all that, the founder of Sacred Heart Parish remained most approachable and delightfully human; a man of strong feel­ ings~ warm sympathit=>s and quiet good humor. Nothing, perhaps, revealed this other side of his nature so much as his great fondness for a game of bridge. While his family still lived~ a weekly game at the rectory was part of the routine. After they were gone, he had no difficulty in finding a number of laymen from within or outside the parish to help him maintain the sacrosanct tradition. They played "the boards"; and Monsignor Burns was an expert and zestful player. But he played today in order that he might work better tomorrow. Our Lord said of Himself as the Good Shepherd, "I know mine and mine know me". Surely the effectiveness of Father George Burns's pastoral career was not only founded on the fact that he knew his people~ but that his people knew and loved him.

61

CHAPTER the fifth decade

EVERY PASTOR BRI~GS TO HIS TASK not only the common powers of a priest hut a particular approach to pastoral problems which his own experience has taught him. Thus, for example, l\ilonsignor Burns had spent years as a teacher. It was, the refore~ quite natural that he should have taken a special interest in Sacred Heart School. Monsignor Casey's regime at Sacred Heart was to he charac­ terized by a somewhat different approach, but one which was again traceable in large measure to his earlier priestly experience. Lawrence B. Casey was born in Rochester on September 6, 1905, the son of Joseph L. Casey and Agnes M. Switzer Casey. After beginning his elementary schooling at Corpus Christi School in 1911 and finishing it at Holy Rosary School in 1919, he attended St. Andrew's Preparatory Seminary and St. Bernard's Theological Semi­ nary. On June 7, 1930, Bishop O'Hern ordained him to the priest­ hood~ and shortly thereafter assigned him as assistant pastor of Old St. Mary's Church in downtown Rochester. In October 1932, how­ ever, the Bishop called him in from his parochial work and named him his assistant chancellor and acting secretary. From that time on uniil February 1, 1946, when Bishop Kearney reassigned him to parish work as pastor of Holy Cross Church, Father Casey was prin­ cipally engaged in the administrative tasks of the Chancery, acting as secretary to three Bishops. In the year following his appointment to Charlotte, on November 28, 1947, he was named a domestic prelate by Pope Pius XII and given the title of Monsignor. During his Chancery years, however, Father Casey had also been instructor in religion at Our Lady of Mercy High School; catechist to the public high school students of St. Francis Xavier parish; and chaplain of Monroe County Jail. To meet the educa­ tional needs of these three dissimilar tasks, he had developrd very proficient catechetical techniques. Indeed, when he eventually issued in mimt->ographed form the collection of the aphorisms and anecdotes

63 he used in his instructions, the booklet was welcomed enthusiastically by the other catechists of the diocese. It is not at all surprising, therefore~ that Monsignor Casey should have placed special stress on both the organizational aspect of parish life and on its catecheti­ cal program. "Order is heaven's first law." So the new pastor declared in an earlv issue of the Sacred Heart weekly bulletin. Efficiencv is in- - . .; deed necessary in a proper parish; and the bulletin itst'lf became one important instrument of parish planning. lvlonsignor Casey took over the editorship of the mimeographed Parish News, and from April. 1952~ it began to appear as a neatly printed leaflet which communicated to the congregation routine announcements, news about parish projects past, present and future, and good, straight­ £or ward catechetical instructions. An organizational approach was to prove most serviceable in dealing with the constructional problems which the rapid growth of . the parish now posed. On April 27, 1953, Monsignor Casey stated that there were three architectural measures which demanded prompt attention: the remodeling of the church sanctuary, the building of a new convent, and the building of a new rectory. By October, how­ ever, it became evident that action on the rectory must be deferred. Inadequate though the rectory was-and continues to be-it was not so urgently inadequate as the Lake Avenue convent. A parish drive was therefore undertaken for the construction of a convent to be erected adjacent to the school. Directed by the two assistants, Father Francis Taylor and Father Edward McAniff, the campaign ran from October 12 - 25, 1952, conjointly with Bishop Kearney's diocese-wide drive for St. Agnes and McQuaid high schools. The Pro-Cathedral was asked to give $300,000 towards its own convent and $68,975 towards the high schools. This was the largest fund ever solicited from the parishion­ ers. They not only reached their goal, they exceeded it, pledging a final total of $414,039. The pastor had meanwhile gone ahead with the revamping of the sanctuary. A red velvet drape was mounted as an altar-dossal, the bishop's throne was relocated, and the communion rail doubled in length. Electrical engineers installed a new lighting system throughout the church, and the Tellers Organ Company completely rebuilt the historic old organ. The sum of $34,000 was spent on these and other renovations and new purchases. Only on October 5,

64 1952~ were the people informed of the real reason why the remodel­ ing had been undertaken at such short notice. That Sunday, Bishop Kearney formally published a Roman decree issued on June 21, 1952, under the authority of Pope Pius XII, which constituted Sa­ cred Heart Church as the official cathedral church of the Diocese of Rochester. The Bishop had requested this favor the previous lVIay. When the document arrived, he was happy to consign it to the pastor-emeritus, and we may be sure that Monsignor Burns was gratified to see the temple which he had built receiYe such an out­ standing honor. l\1onsignor Burns also took as active a part as he was able to in the convent campaign. The workers were pleased to see him at their campaign dinners and were heartened in their efforts by the words of encouragement he gave them. The splendid brick convent, designed by Edward Lorscheider and constructed by the F. Gleason Company, took fourteen months to complete and cost, furnished, $334,000. On July 6, 1954, the sisters moved in. They had good reason to be grateful to the parishioners for their new home. Nor was this the last or only evidence of the people's solicitude for their teachers. From 1952 on they contributed to an annual Thanksgiving "food shower" for their teaching sisters; and in 1956 and 1958, they presented them with station wagons. If the members of the congregation showed special interest in the comfort of the sisters, it was because they took a special in­ terest in procuring for their own children the best Catholic training. They knew that it was no easy task to operate an elementary school whose registration increased from 1006 in 1952, to 1360 in 1960. They knew that even with each grade tripled and two teachers con­ ducting the kindergarten, the teaching chores of the twenty-three nuns and six lay teachers were heavy. They therefore gave the staff their full backing. In 1952 they paid off the last $44,000 owned on the new wing, and in 1956 they underwrote the cost of modernizing the old section of the school at a cost of $38,000. Some of the men of the parish likewise donated their time and labor when it was needed, to wall off new classroom space, sand desks or make other incidental repairs in the school. This devotion to Catholic education was, of course, a point of view in which Monsignor Burns had trained them well. It was furthermore an interest which went beyond the parish school itself. In February, 1959. for instance, parishioners pledged $30,000

65 towards the new and much needed infinnary building at the mother house of the Sisters of St. Joseph. And in 1960, under the manage­ ment of Father Edward Zimmer, the parish campaign director, they responded magnificently to Bishop Kearney's appeal for $4,100,000 to build two new Catholic high schools. The Cathedral had been as­ signed a quota of $200,000. At the drive's final Victory Rally on November 30, 1960, the Cathedral parish workers were proud to report their parochial total of pledges as $287,693. But we run ahead of our story. Between the day in October, 1952, when the Pro-Cathedral was proclaimed a Cathedral, and the day in July, 1954, when the sisters moved into the new convent, there had occurred an even more important event in the life of the parish and of the whole diocese of Rochester. Pope Pius XII named the pastor of Sacred Heart an Auxiliary Bishop. After governing the faithful of Rochester for sixteen years, and engaging in an annual round of episcopal activities which would have tried the strength of many a younger priest, Bishop Kearney had at length decided to share some of his pontifical duties. At his request, therefore, the Holy Father, on February 10, 1953, named Monsignor Casey Titular Bishop of Cea ( an ancient but non­ functioning diocese in Greece) and Auxiliary to the Bishop of Rochester. When he announced the appointment, Bishop Kearney also stated that Monsignor Casey would continue as pastor of the Cathedral. Who of the parishioners witnessing the Bishop-elect's con­ secresecration on May 5 - whether from a pew in the church or on WHAM-TV-can ever forget the splendor of that day; the flourish of the processional trumpets; the magnificent song of the Seminary choristers; the dignity of the ritual? Cardinal Francis Spellman was the consecrator. Consecrated himself by Pope Pius XII, he passed on the fullness of the priesthood to the Bishop of Cea. The senior co-consecrator was Most Reverend Walter A. Foery, the Roch­ ester-born Bishop of Syracuse. The junior co-consecrator was Most Reverend Alexander Zaleski, Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit. Bishop Zaleski represented Cardinal Mooney in the Rite of Consecration. ( Cardinal Mooney himself was to be on hand for the new Bishop's dinner later in the morning.) The Consecration sermon was preached by Bishop Kearney. Civic officials were present, scores of religious, four hundred priests, nineteen bishops and two archbishops. And

66 among the monsignori, old and frail, but proudest, perhaps, of all, sat ~Ionsignor George Burns. What were the thoughts of the new bishop as he .felt upon his head the consecrating hands and heard the sacramental words "Receive the Holy Spirit"? Surely he was awed at the new responsibilities which were now consigned to him. He had made his own the motto of St. Lawrence the Martyr, "llli soli servio"­ "Him alone do I serve"; and at that tremendous moment, he must have felt especially unequal to so complete a commitment. But one recollection in particular could give him some assurance. Be­ fore this same altar, if in a different church, he himself had been ordained a priest. Before it, too, four other Rochester priests had been consecrated bishops: Bishops Thomas F. Hickey and John F. O'Hern of Rochester, Bishop Foery of Syracuse, who stood there beside him, and Archbishop Edward J. Hanna of San Francisco. God had continued to aid him after his own priestly ordination. God had aided and sustained these four prelates. Unquestionably He would not fail the new Auxiliary of Rochester in the years to come. Although Bishop Casey was also named a vicar general of the diocese on May 29, 1953, he did not allow his many new duties to interfere with his work as parish priest. Each year there­ after he was able to carry out one or more of his improvement projects, large and small. In 1953, for instance, he opened the playground for the younger school children. In 1954, he enlarged and paved the parking lot. In 1955, the old convent which had been occupied for a year by the Jesuit faculty of the new McQuaid High School, was remodeled by the men of the parish to serve as a center for Information Classes, scouting, social affairs and com­ mittee meetings. Meanwhile, the Cathedral itself continued to be the scene of important diocesan rites and observances. Some of these events were happy ones. The annual ordina­ tions to the priesthood fall into this category. So do the two abbatial blessings performed by Bishop Kearney. On November 9, 1953, he solemnly blessed as Abbot the Right Reverend M. Gerard McGinley, O.C.S.O. the first superior of the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of the Genesee at Piffard, N.Y. The saintly Abbot Gerard met an untimely death on September 19, 1955. Bishop Kearney therefore blessed and installed his successor, the Right

67 Reverend M. Walter Helmstetter, O.C.S.O., on February 8, 1956. At certain intervals the bishop of each diocese is required to hold a diocesan synod of his priests in order to publish to them new laws for the government of the diocese. Bishop Kearney convoked the Sixth Diocesan Synod in Sacred Heart Cathedral on Tuesday, April 6, 1954. It was the first synod to be held in Rochester's second cathedral church. Then there were the commemorative events. On Thanks­ giving Day, 1954, for example, Bishop Kearney presided while Bishop Casey celebrated a Mass in honor of the centenary of the arrival of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the diocese. Three years lateL on May 5, 1957, the Sisters of Charity observed the centenary of the founding of St. Mary's Hospital. Bishop Kearney celebrated the Pontifical Mass on that occasion. There were likewise devotional "years". The Cathedral joined with Christendom in the devotions on the papal Marian Year, 1953-1954. The Bishop of Rochester instituted his own year-long observances thereafter. He designated 1959 as the Eucharistic Year; 1960 as the Sacred Heart Year; 1961 as the Year of the Precious Blood. Sacred Heart Cathedral played an especially important role in the Sacred Heart Year. On Sunday, October 30, 1960, after an afternoon Pontifical Mass, Bishop Kearney read from its pulpit the formula dedicating the whole diocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When Pope Pius XII reached his eightieth birthday, Bishop Casey, on March 2, 1956, conducted a holy hour of prayer for the Holy Father's intentions. This saintly shepherd who had created Sacred Heart the Cathedral of the Rochester Diocese and had named Father Casey its Auxiliary Bishop, passed to his reward on October 8, 1958. Six days later Bishop Kearney offered the official diocesan Mass of Requiem for the repose of his soul. As the time drew near for the cardinals to choose a new pope to succeed Pope Pius, the people of the Cathedral were urged to remember the electors in their prayers. Cardinal Joseph Roncalli was chosen Pope on October 28th. The parish bulletin of the following Sunday pledged to the new Vicar of Christ, in the name of the whole parish, "unquestioning loyalty and obedience". One of the happiest events of the 1950s was the silver jubilee of Bishop Kearney's consecration as a bishop. Since autumn, 1957, also marked the twentieth anniversary of his appointment to the

68 See of Rochester, there was double justification for brilliant fes­ tivities. There was only one drawback which faced the planners of the jubilee. Sacred Heart Cathedral needed redecoration; and, for that matter, it needed a new altar-one more in conformity with the architecture of the building. Bishop Casey had plans drawn up, and they met with the enthusiastic approval of Bishop Kearney. But who would pay the bill? Would the Cathedral parishioners? Bishop Casey stated his case to them. A complete new marble altar with a bronze canopy and a bronze altarpiece of the Sacred Heart would come to $71,300. Redecoration would cost another $41,000. If its people were willing to def ray the expenses, he proposed that they subscribe $95,000~ payable in instalments over a period of only six months. A team of five hundred workers set out on October 16, 1956, to find the answer to their pastor's question. The answer was: Yes, the parishioners are willing. As a matter of fact, they pledged over fifty percent more than the quota-$144,164.90, and by January, 1961, those who had subscribed had paid $143,058.90. This was over ninety-nine percent of the total pledged. Of course the installation of the new altar necessitated the removal of the historic altar of white marble which had seen service first in St. Patrick's Cathedral, then in Sacred Heart Cathedral, since July 12, 1898. All admitted, however, that the Daprato Studio could be proud of its creation. The new altar was of fine, ruddy Rojo Alicante marble; the altar table, pillars, pilasters and side panels were of tawny Botticino; and the canopy, decorative shields and altar fittings were of the finest satin-finished bronze. On March 12, 1957, while Bishop Kearney presided, Bishop Casey performed the solemn rite of consecrating the altar table. The most notable event of the series of jubilee celebrations that Fall was, of course, the reception which Catholics of the Diocese of Rochester gave to the jubilarian on Sunday evening, October 27, 1957. Four hundred Cathedral parishioners~ trans­ ported by eleven buses, represented the chief church of the diocese. It was not merely the occasion itself, but the fact that Bishop Kearney had only lately recovered from a long and serious illness, that prompted the capacity throng to give him a most enthusiastic and tender ovation. But the official jubilee observance, the Bishop ~s Pontifical l\tlass, naturally took place in the Cathedral itsdf on

69 November 7th. His Eminence, Cardinal Francis Spellman, as Metro­ politan of the church province of New York, presided that day. In a sense, however, Bishop Kearney did not finish commemorating jubilees for another year. On September 9, 1958, again in Sacred Heart Cathedral, he sang a Pontifical Mass of Thanksgiving to mark the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. But the parish had its griefs as well as its glories during the 1950s. In the early years of the decade, there was the l(orean War. A number of parishioners were called to serve in that remote and bitter conflict. The parish was once more required to release one of its assistants to the Chaplain Corps. Father William F. Nolan, assigned to the Pro-Cathedral upon his separation from the Navy Chaplain Corps in 1946, was recalled to duty in February, 1952, to officiate on troopships in the Pacific. Another sad occurrence was the death of Monsignor Burns. The pastor-emeritus had grown weaker in the winter of 1953-1954, and after a serious illness, had moved to St. Ann's Home in April. Of course, he had the consolation of knowing that at St. Ann's he was still within the boundaries of the Cathedral Parish, and as his health slowly mended, he was pleased to receive cards and calls from his old parishioners. Another siege of illness in July necessitated hospitalization. Although he was able to return to St. Ann's in August, he passed to his reward on September 27, 1954, in the eighty-first year of his life and the fifty-seventh of his priesthood. Bishop Casey, who dedicated a special issue of the parish bulletin to the memory of the pastor-emeritus, celebrated his Requiem. Bishop Kearney pronounced the last blessing over this priest whom he had termed in his eulogy a "saintly gentleman", and the "model and example to his fellow priests." Then they laid him to rest in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, in the family plot, close to his dear ones. He had remembered his former parish with a generous bequest. He would continue, after death, we may be sure, to second its interests with his intercession. A few years after the death of Monsignor Burns, Bishop Casey was to sustain two other deeply personal losses. On May 10, 1957, his mother, Mrs. Agnes M. Casey, passed away. The Bishop naturally made no special allusion to her death in the pages of the bulletin. But his remarks on motherhood in the next

70 issue, Mother's Day, May 12, 1957, were very touching indeed. The parishioners could read between the lines. In the following year, Cardinal Edward Mooney, whom Bishop Casey had served as secretary from 1933 to 193 7, died very unexpectedly on October 25th. Although unwell, he had duti­ fully gone to Rome on the death of Pope Pius XII to help elect a new pope. Death overtook him the very day the papal conclaYe opened. On November 3rd, when Bishop Kearney celebrated a Pontifical Requiem Mass for the soul of the fourth Bishop of Rochester, Bishop Casey preached an affectionate eulogy on the merits of his friend and mentor. We have now reached the year 1961, during which Sacred Heart parish will complete fifty years of active existence. The bulletin for January 22, 1961, pointed out the interesting fact that during the past nine years the people of the parish had paid out for additions and improvements, over and above operating expenses, the sum of $934,843.92. The parish debt had meanwhile been reduced to $34,168.66. Bishop Casey expressed the hope that he might count on their cooperation to write off this debt by the coming fall, so that the Cathedral building, hitherto only blessed for church use, might be solemnly consecrated. Surely this is an appropriate way in which to mark the jubilee of a parish. But the end of an era in the history of any Catholic parish prompts us to look back beyond its administrative record and even beyond its more unusual events, whether happy or sad, to that which is of primary importance in parochial life-its steward­ ship of souls. Has the spiritual growth of Sacred Heart parish kept pace with its physical growth during the past few years? Instead of trying to examine every phase of parochial spirituality, let us consider only three: catechetics, Catholic Action and the sacramental life. The Cathedral parish is, of course, responsible for the release-time instruction of Catholic students attending Public Schools 40 and 41 and John Marshall High School. In 1957, the pastor engaged Sister Andrea, a Trinitarian nun, to assist in this catechetical program. In 1959, Sister lW. Andrea likewise reopened the vacation school sessions which had been discontinued in the course of World War II. In 1958, Father James Marvin embarked upon another catechetical venture which has been heartily welcomed: annual Pre-Cana conferences for en-

71 gaged couples. And since 1953, Monsignor Edward J. McAniff, though no longer on the staff of the Cathedral, has continued to give at least two inquiry courses each year to interested Catholic and non-Catholic adults. These courses, along with the private in­ structions undertaken by resident assistants, have been responsible for the increasing annual number of converts. In 1959 those received into the Faith at the Cathedral numbered thirty-six. In 1960~ they numbered fifty-seyen. In social matters the parish has continued the popular tradi­ tion of an annual picnic at l\1aplewood Park. Scouting has expanded. Boy Scout troop No. 68 now has several Cub Scout Dens associ­ ated with it. The pioneer parish troop of Girl Scouts, No. 43, has multiplied into seventeen troops of Scouts and Brownies. The Men's Club continues to flourish, and its members have contributed many hours of volunteer labor to the upkeep of the church property. Catholic Action in the strict sense-the religious and apostolic sense-is considerably more extended. The Catholic War Veterans, for instance~ have worked effectively in keeping indecent literature off the magazine stands in neighborhood stores. The Apostolate of Prayer continues with its long-established campaign of intercession. A newer arrival in the field of lay apostolic effort is the women's Rosary Guild. Bishop Casey established this society in 1952, by combining the existing women's societies-the Rosary Society, the Parent-Teacher Association, and the Legion of Mary­ into one organization, divided for greater efficiency into several committees. Among these committees, the Christian Home and Family Committee occupies a unique place. The women who constitute its membership pay several visits to each new mother in the parish from the time her infant is born, leaving with her leaflets to guide her in the religious training of her child. These visits, which the new parents themselves have welcomed, have been very effective in maintaining contact between the families of the parish and their church. On the occasion of their fifth anniversary in 1960, the chairman of the Christian Home and Family Committee was able to report that their group had paid an average of one thousand calls each year to new parish mothers. In August~ 1956, that model Catholic Action organization, the Legion of Mary~ was revived as an independent society, its membership now open to both men and women. The legionaries,

72 after rece1v1ng the customary tra1n1ng, were entrusted with the important but highly delicate task of taking the parish census. The Legion functioned so well that it soon grew in membership. By DecembeL 1960, the one original praesidium had become four praesidia comprising fifty-two members; two junior praesidia, made up of thirty-two high school members; and, backing with their prayers the activities of the praesidial members, there were 1800 auxiliary legionaries. Noblest of alL in a sense, is the apostolic mission of the Nocturnal Adoration Society. A center of this society for men was initiated at the Cathedral in 1953. Since then its members. pledged to one hour of adoration each month, have kept many a night-long vigil before the Blessed Sacrament. In 1960 alone, the members of the Cathedral Center were credited with 3900 hours of Eucharistic prayer. The sacramental life of the parish has also increased in intensity. Novenas have continued, of course. There have been three parish missions: 1954, 1957, 1960. Bishop Casey has also stressed certain newer devotional practices such as his own annual blessing of infants and of expectant mothers, and the home enthronement of the Sacred Heart. But the most notable developments have centered upon the sacred liturgy. The revised Holy Week Liturgy was in­ augurated in 1957, with a Pontifical Easter Vigil at 10 :45 P.1\1. (moved back to 7 :30 P.M. in 1960). Most popular among the altered rites of the last three days of Holy Week is that of Good Friday. Then in l\1arch, 1959, the dialogue Mass was introduced and is growing in popularity. But the most important change is the increased attendance at daily Mass and the increased reception of Holy Communion. Of course, the main reason for the growth of both of these practices is that Pope Pius XII, on two separate occasions, reduced the requirements governing the Eucharistic fast. Thus, the total parish communions for 1952 were 122,000. In 1953. Pius XII issued his first decree. That year the total reached 134,000~ and by 1956, it had risen to 187,000. The second papal decree came out in 1957. Communions for 1957 amounted to 234,000. In 1960, they reached 268,000. Daily Mass attendance naturally in­ creased under these circumstances. Also, from 1954 on. a priest has heard confessions each weekday morning and afternoon. No parish will ever be absolutely effective in leading all of its members to that stage of holiness to which all are in,·ited

73 to aspire. Still~ the spiritual facts and figures which we have cit2d are most reassuring. Even more reassuring, in the last analysis, are the sacramental statistics for the whole fifty years since Sacred Heart Church was established. During the period 1911-1961, 8000 parishioners have received baptism; 5600 have been confirmed in the Holy Spirit; 2700 have been joined in marriage; untold hun­ dreds of thousands have been absolved of their sins and fed with the Bread of Angels; 2700 have been laid to rest in Christian peace. These are strong indications of the deep and sound piety of the people of the Cathedral congregation. The growth of voca­ tions further confirms the impression. Sacred Heart has now sent forth twenty-seven of its young men as priests and four as religious brothers; and forty-six of its young women have become nuns. When Monsignor George Eckl, over a half-century ago, confidently urged the dedication of the new Tenth Ward parish to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, his confidence was clearly not mis­ placed. The present pastor, his assistants, the sisters, staff and people of the Cathedral have every right to congratulate them­ selves on what they have accomplished in the last few years. But they should not forget that they have only watered what others before them planted. Still less should they forget that as St. Paul pointed out: "Neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the growth." In humble joy, therefore, let them conclude with a grateful "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost", these five golden decades of their rosary of years.

74 Appendix

CHURCH PERSONNEL: 1911-1961 POPES BISHOPS OF ROCHESTER

ST. Pius X (1903-1914). THOMAS F. HICKEY (1909-1928). BENEDICT XV(1914-1922). JOHN F. O'HERN ( 1929-1933). Pius XI ( 1922-1939). (Cardinal) EDWARD MOONEY (1933-1937). Pius XII (1939-1958). JAMES E. KEARNEY ( 1937- ) . JOHN XXIII ( 1958- ) . LAWRENCE B. CASEY_. V.G. ( 1953- ) . Auxiliary Bishop (1953- ).

PASTORS GEORGE V. BURNS (pastor, January 15, 1911; pastor emeritus, Feb. 28, 1952). LAWRENCE B. CASEY (pastor, Feb. 28, 1952; effective, March 25, 1952).

ASSISTANT PASTORS

FRANCIS W. MASON (June, 1914-July 1918). ]AMES D. TISCHER (October, 1916-October, 1917). FRANCIS w. LUDDY (June, 1918-August 1919). DANIEL B. O'RouRKE (August, 1919-August, 1925). JOHN C. O'DONNELL (June, 1923-July, 1923). G. STUART HOGAN (June, 1924-September, 1931). *RICHARD R. MASON (October, 1926-June, 1928). EDWARD J. HARTMAN (June, 1928-October, 1928). WILLIAM J. DEVEREAUX (July, 1928-September, 1929). JOHN P. O'BEIRNE ( September, 1929-February, 1940). *JOHN E. RYAN (September, 1932-June, 1936). EARL RITZ (June, 1936-June 1939). JOHN T. CALLAHAN (June, 1939-June, 1945). ALPHONSE P. CRIM MENS (June, 1939-September, 1942). JOSEPH J. SULLIVAN (February, 1940-June, 1943 ). JOHN S. HAYES (September, 1942-December, 1943). WILLIAM H. SHANNON {June, 1943-January, 1946). EDWARD}. McANIFF {January, 1944-June, 1955). RAYMOND J. WAHL (June, 1945-September, 1946). EMMETT MURPHY (January, 1946-February, 1946). JOSEPH M. McNAMARA ( February, 1946-October, 1947). VINCENT E. LEFROIS (March, 1946-December, 1950). WILLIAM F. NOLAN (September, 1946-February, 1952). FRANCIS J. TAYLOR (October, 1947-June, 1959). MICHAEL C. HOGAN (March, 1953-June, 1960). LOUIS J. HOHMAN ( weekends, January, 1954- ) . EDWIN R. WEDOW {June, 1955-June, 1959). ELMER ]. McDONALD (August,1955-July, 1956). ]AMES MARVIN {July, 1956- ) . GERALD ]. APPELBY (June, 1959- ) . EDWARD A. ZIMMER {June,1959- ) . CONRAD J. SUNDHOLM {June, 1960- ) .

* Priest on loan from the Diocese of Albany.

75 PRINCIPALS OF SACRED HEART SCHOOL Sister M. MARCIANA O'HARA ( 1911-1918). Sister M. FRANCIS BURNS { 1918). Sister CLARA AGNES LOCKINGTON { 1918-1920). Sister M. PRUDENTIA O'CONNOR ( 1920-1926). Sister 11. HILARY CURTIN ( 1926-1932). Sister M. VALERIAN O'HARE ( 1932-1938). Sister M. ETHELBERT CAHILL { 1938-1944). Sister ROSEMARY DWYER ( 1944-1950). Sister JOSEPH ANDRE' DEMERS ( 1950-1956). Sister JANE JOSEPH DESHAYES ( 1956- ) . LAY TR US TEES MICHAEL ]. CULHANE (December, 1910-March, 1916). ROBERT W. CooK {December, 1910-March, 1916). JAMES HANNA (March, 1916-December, 1952). GEORGE l\1ETZGER (March, 1916-June, 1931). JOSEPH WEIS {June, 1911-June, 1937). EDWARD P. FLYNN (September, 1937-December, 1952). JOHN P. BOYLAN {January, 1953-July, 1960). OSCAR J. TRABOLD (January, 1953- ) . FRANCIS J. O'NEILL {August, 1960- ) . VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE RELIGIOUS LIFE PRIESTS WILLIAM J. FLYNN, P.A. (Pittsburgh). FLAVIAN WILBER, O.F.M. ROBERT H. FENNESSY (Rochester). L. EMMETT DAVIS (Rochester). FRANCIS J. PEGNAM (Rochester). HAROLD PRENDERGAST (Peoria). MICHAEL P. O'BRIEN (Rochester). WALLACE VANDEUSEN (Rochester). w ALTER E. FLEMING (Rochester). ROBERT MILLER, C.S.B. JOHN E. ROACH (Rochester) VINCENT DAVIS, SS.CC. JOHN W. LEVEQUE (Rochester). ARMAND MAURER, C.S.B. THOMAS MILLER, C.S.B. T. PAUL MURLEY (Rochester). RICHARD MILLER, S.J. JOHN CALKINS (Rockford). ROBERT ]. Do NOV AN (Rochester). PAUL OF THE CROSS MURRAY (William F.), O.C.S.O. GERALD T. CONNOR (Rochester). JOSEPH P. BRENNAN (Rochester). RAMON GUGEL (Steubenville). WILLIAM MARCEAU, C.S.B. ROGER F. SWITZER (Rochester). MICHAEL O'SuLI.IVAN, O.P. ALFRED H. GRAHAM, C.S.B.

76 RELIGIOUS BROTHERS M. CHARLES (Thomas J.) TUCKER, O.C.S.O: JOSEPH MARIE (Monroe) ZAKIA, S.A. AMBROSE (Thomas) CAHILL, S.V.D. BONITUS JEROME (Jerome) LIPPERT, F.S.C.

SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH OF ROCHESTER Sr. FLORENCE LOUISE ( Florence Gratton). Sr. GEORGE VINCENT ( Helen Kannan). Sr. RosE XAVIER ( Gladys Davis) Sr. M. RAYMOND (Margaret McCarthy). Sr. HELEN LOUISE ( Gladys Kirby). Sr. MARIE RENE' (Rose Pegnam). Sr. MARGARET ADELAIDE (Margaret Owen). Sr. RUTH AGNES (June Kesselring). Sr. M. LEON ( Rosemary Davis). Sr. M. EAMON ( Cecilia Wiseman). Sr. M. URIEL ( Lena Vernetti). Sr. MARIE MICHELLE ( Rosemary Peartree). Sr. M. KEVIN (Mary Moynihan). Sr. ANNE JOSEPH (Mary Maloy). Sr. MARIE GREGORY (Mary Catherine Shay). Sr. M. DE MONTFORT (Ruth Gudinas). Sr. CLARE DE PAUL ( Clarisse Roland). Sr. ANN PATRICK (Joanne Hoefler). Sr. M. CARIT AS ( Kathleen Burns). Sr. M. ELEANOR ( Barbara Lum). Sr. M. MARCELLA (Janet Connorton). Sr. M. LUCINA (Marian Dimino). Sr. M. JosANN A (Mary Ellen Kane). Sr. M. Ro BERTINE ( Dorothy Meisenzahl). Sr. M. HoNORA ( Margaret Brennan). Sr. M. Eu GENIA ( Alice Cooney). Sr. M. EYMARD (Joanne Clement). Sr. M. JOEL (Joan Hayes). Sr. M. DAMIEN (Marian Goffredo). Sr. M. BRENDA ( Marilyn Dewey). Sr. M. GERARDA (Mary Ann Raymond). Sr. M. DIONYSIA ( Barbara Fox). Sr. M. INEZITA (Agnes Dimino). Sr. M. ARTHUR (Marie Messinger).

SISTERS OF MERCY OF ROCHESTER Sr. M. CARMELLA ( Gabrielle Coene). Sr. 11. JOACHIM ( Helen Pearson). Sr. M. EUGENE (Kathleen Pearson). Sr. M. MAURICE (Dorothy Pearson). Sr. M. GONZAGA (Virginia Wilson). Sr. M. SIENA (Jean Lawson). Sr. M. LABO URE' ( Gertrude Tucker). Sr. M. JOAN (Janet Korn). Sr. M. GILMARY (Mary Jo Brennan). 77 SCHOOL SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME

Sr. Ev ANGELINE ( Lorine Hooper).

DOMINICAN NUNS OF THE PERPETUAL ROSARY MONASTERY OF MARY THE QUEEN, ELMIRA, N.Y.

SR. TERENCE, O.P. (Teresa McNulty).

FRANCISCAN SISTERS

Sr. MARTHA MARY (Margaret Wilber).

NihiJ Obstat

James C. McAniff, V.G. July 11, 1961

Imprimatur

+ James E. Kearney July 29, 1961

78