The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah, GA June 2017 A salute to an Impish Rector Pgs 2, 3 2 By!Peter!Paolucci ioners warmly upon arrival at Mass. This hold a monthly luncheon for a group of suggestion was summarily dismissed by elderly women who lived at the Rose of the then usher corps. One of them even Sharon. In 2003, with Monsignor O’Neill’s commented, “What are you trying to do, blessing, Joan Schaaf initiated the effort to make this like a Protestant church.” So we revitalize the CCW. According to Joan, “All started a separate Greeting Ministry women in the Parish were invited to join which lasted until the old ushers retired the CCW. Forty Ladies signed up and a By now much has been said and writ- and the new crop, logically assumed the slate of officers was appointed at the first ten about Monsignor O’Neill. An Irish greeting function. meeting. The following year the ladies priest with an impish sense of humor, who The Parish Council was more of the nominated and elected the officers and we almost became a farmer or veterinarian. same. Members were on the council for were launched. And the CCW has been And the restorer and defender of the Ca- many years and elections were rarely held. serving the Cathedral Parish since then.” thedral, who always yearned to be a sim- Monsignor changed all that to our current The only social outreach activity at the ple parish priest. system where we elect new members time was the Annual Food Drive to benefit So as I sat down to write this story, every two years and then have a 2 term the Social Apostolate led by a member of what else was there to be said. I thought limit, thus preventing career membership the Parish Council. During Msgr. O’s ten- back to when, despite his protestations and regularly injecting new blood into the ure, the Christian Service Committee was that “I am not a Cathedral guy”, Billy Ol- council. formed and over the years it has become iver came downtown to be the Rector of The Cathedral Council of Catholic another vital force in the Parish. From the our historic church, which was then in a Women is one of the most dynamic parish Item of the Month to the Personal Hy- state of serious disrepair. It was not only organizations we have today, but back in giene Packs and the Giving Tree, there is the structure that needed to be rehabili- the late 1990’s it didn’t do much except tated, the vitality of the Cathedral Parish really needed resuscitation. It may be hard to believe today when you look at the size and dynamism of the Cathedral Parish, but back in 1996 its population was less than 500 households versus 1400 today. An it’s various parish organizations were practi- cally moribund. A woman told me one Sunday at Mass that the Cathedral was a very cold, un- friendly place and she was thinking of go- ing to services at a Lutheran church, where she was always warmly greeted upon arrival. That prompted Monsignor O’Neill to call a meeting of the ushers to review the need for greeting our parish- 3 always something positive happening from that group. The Parish Life Committee was also formed as a result of a pulpit appeal to join in helping to make our community more alike a family. That first get to- gether was a revelation as the meeting room was full of various energetic peo- ple who wanted to be part of that revi- talization effort and had good ideas about what we should do to make it happen. Parish Suppers were held monthly plus Coffee and Doughnuts were regularly scheduled after Sunday Masses each month. Slowly but surely attendance grew and we got to know many more of our fellow parishioners better. One of the most notable develop- ments early in his term was the initiation of the publication of Twin Spires. As we all feel about him, stated in the first issue, we began the pub- “Monsignor O’Neill, lication to inform the parishioners about thank you for being our what was going on in our parish, give them pastor. You were there an insight into the history and features of for us in good times the church, as well as build a sense of and bad times. You community. All of that has certainly hap- shared in our joys and pened and then some. our sorrows. You’ve In addition, Tour Guides are on duty taught us the true every day to give visitors insight into the meaning of giving serv- history and beautiful décor of the Cathe- ice to our Lord, our dral. And the Heritage Balls and Galas, be- faith, to our beloved gan to build up the Cathedral Endowment Cathedral and our which now stands at almost $2 Million. grateful parish. We are Through it all, Monsignor O’Neill found better, more dynamic, good people to lead these efforts, did not because of your leader- interfere with their activities and sup- ship and unwavering ported them fully. His modus operandi faith.” was to put the right people in place and When I asked Mon- just let them go. signor O’Neill for his To many people, he is most recog- thoughts, he summed it nized for his success in restoring the Ca- up this way.....“I give thedral structure to its former glory. But I thanks to God for my believe his revitalization of our Parish is his fifty years of priestly greatest accomplishment. He came along, ministry in America. charmed us with his blarney and reener- I am most proud of gized our faith community. bringing life to this In her toast at Monsignor O’Neill’s previously stagnant Celebration Dinner, Parish Council Chair parish with only a few parishioners.”! Anna Kaluzne eloquently expressed how 4 Our Children’s Religious Education By Janee Przybyl Photos by Mary Clark Rechtiene Have you noticed there seems to be Our CRE year ended with 4 big events Reconciliation pin and a certificate from more children in church sitting in the starting with 1st Reconciliation on Satur- their catechist, Mrs. AnaLisa Love which pews during Mass, serving at Mass, taking day, May 6. We prepared 24 children to brought smiles to their relieved faces. ! up the gifts and attending religious educa- receive their 1st Reconciliation adminis- Mrs. Love, assisted by Catalina Velez, tion? This past year we enrolled 90 chil- tered by Father Schreck and Msgr. O’Neil. prepared our students to receive the sac- dren in Children’s Religious Education Although the children were apprehensive, rament of the Eucharist on Saturday, May 13. (CRE) which meets Sunday mornings Sep- their thorough preparations included vis- First Eucharist usually takes place during tember to May. We just finished our big- its to the confessional and frequent visits the 10AM Mass on Sunday, but the size of gest enrollment year in recent memory from Father Schreck throughout the year the class prompted moving! the celebra- which required additional classroom which eased their nerves. After receiving tion to Saturday at 10AM. We had a won- space, textbooks and catechists to support reconciliation and completing their pen- derful Mass filled with the families and the program. ance, each child was presented with a friends of our children. Some parents 5 chose the Latin Mass on May 14 for their Our next event was our end-of-the- presented “Judgement of the Nation” from daughters’ 1st Communion with Father year celebration. This program gave the Matthew 25:31– 46 and Amy Schuler’s Firmin presiding. After both Masses there CRE children an opportunity to present to class presented “Twas the Night before was plenty of time for communicants’ pic- their families and friends something they Confirmation” written and directed by tures with clergy and families in front of learned while increasing their faith during Caroline Whalen. !The presentations were the altar. It was a memorable time for the the school year. Julie Estvander’s kinder- wonderful, priceless and totally faith children, their families and our catechist, garten and1st graders presented “The based. It was a proud and rewarding day who could not be more proud of her stu- Gifts of the Spirit”, Mrs. Love’s 2nd and3rd for all. dents’ accomplishments. Take a look at graders presented “Our Favorite Bible Our final event was the celebration of the photos highlighting the children’s Stories”, Kristin Ensley’s 3rd and 4th grad- Confirmation. We prepared 8 students to holy faces on their 1st Communion day. ers presented “What Easter Means to Me”, receive this sacrament administered by Shannon Lancaster’s 5th and 6th graders Bishop Gregory John Hartmayer. The CRE 6 students worked very hard to ensure that were thoroughly questioned about their made this memorable evening happen they were ready to receive their final Sac- saint name and why they wanted to be with grace and piety. rament of Initiation guided by Mrs. confirmed. All passed their oral exam and The Children’s Religious Education Schuler and her assistant Sarah Whalen. went on to receive the sacrament. Thank program is here to help parents with their Sarah was a valuable asset, be it sharing you Mrs. Schuler and Sarah! Representa- children’s faith formation. We have a goal her own Confirmation journey or helping tives from the Cathedral’s Council of to enroll each child in the Cathedral who with the many tasks required of each stu- Catholic Women and the Knights of Co- is not attending Catholic school.