St. Lucien`s Noel Devotional

Catholic Historical Society
806-383-2243 + Fax 806-383-8452
P. O. Box 5644 + Amarillo, TX 79117-5644
Museum 806-381-9866 + Email: achs@dioama.org
VOLUME FOUR
WINTER
2013
St. Lucien’s Noel Devotional
Please come
Sunday, December 1, 2013
St. Lucien’s Chapel
3-5 P.M.
St. Lucien’s Noel Devotional
Presented By:
The Catholic Historical Society
Diocesan Musicians and Catholic
Historical Society Members will
present a program of carols and history in celebration of Advent, and
the Preservation/Conservation of
St. Lucien’s Chapel.
St. Lucien’s Chapel is east of the Pastoral Center.
For more information call Susan
Garner, President, 383-2243.
They used to come from miles
around, from the fields and forests,
from peasant huts and baron’s manor, from the towns and villages and
from the countryside, to crowd into
the monastery church or great cathedral to take part in the Christmas
liturgy. And they would come in the
middle of the night, to celebrate
the Midnight Mass of Christmas,
remain for the the night vigils and
stay also for the Christmas Mass at
dawn. They came because they had
been touched by the wonder of it all,
and it was a wonder that would stay
with them for the rest of the year.
Our Christmas liturgies did not
come full-blown from the hands
of some liturgist; they came from
the deep sense of the wonder of
Christmas and of the miracle of
God becoming man. The marvel of it all was almost too much
to bear as the full meaning of that
Nativity was celebrated and dramatize and sung. It overflowed
into people’s lives, giving joy and
strength and an immense hope as
the stern realities of life were faced.
What that liturgy proclaimed and
celebrated in song and art, in poetry and ritual was the immortality
of man, linked to God’s wondrous
plan for the human race, embodied
in the one central event of human
history: the birth of God as man.
Those who believe in this event
and understand something of its
significance cannot go back to
their normal living unchanged
or untouched. The kitchen windows and the backyard fence do
not open merely onto the town
and village, they open to eternity. It was from this vision that the
which must be recaptured as
Christmas is the great window of
Christmas is once again upon us. the year, the great window which
opens onto eternity and gives man
What Christmas really says is that a glimpse of immortality. Whatall dreams come true, that the fairy ever it is that we experience at
tales are really right, and that ev- Christmas, this is at the back of it
ery hope and expectation of the all. We may not know how to dehuman heart can be fulfilled. The scribe it and we may sometimes be
universe contains a tremendous se- too choked with feeling to define
cret, a secret that begins to be un- it to ourselves but that is the sublocked by the Christmas Mystery, a stance of the Christmas experience.
secret that we all dimly suspect as
we kneel in the glow of Christmas It does not matter then whethDay. Christmas presents the great- er we are Wise Men or shepherds,
est challenge to human aspirations kings or page boys, merry gentleand it opens up to the human in- men or street carolers, we have just
tellect a hope and an expectation glimpsed our inheritance and all
that rocks it to its very roots. It is human differences and divisions
unbelievable, it is incredible, it is become insignificant. So Twelfth
startling; it is shocking to normal Night becomes a Topsy-turvy time:
human sensibilities – that it is true. the boy becomes the bishop, the
The tiniest child can understand it, king becomes the fool, angels stalk
and the greatest human mind cannot the village streets and the poor
exhaust it. Poets have sung about it, become God’s special intimates.
song smiths have surrounded it with
melody and great theologians have This is the reason for much of the
pondered it. Still it remains as fresh blatant generosity of Christmas:
and new and full of meaning as it did the rich man realizes that his richfor the shepherds and the Wise Men. es mean nothing in God’s eyes and
the poor man that his lack of them
“A Child is born to us; a Son is makes no difference with God, litgiven to us.” Christmas has nev- tle blind girls see and every child
er been an empty belief, not for hears strange voices and strange
those who celebrated it with the footsteps in the Christmas darkfull solemnity of the Church’s lit- ness. Stockings are filled with goodurgy. It was prepared by a Season ies, shoes are filled with gifts and
of Expectation and it was followed the whole world is sparked by the
by Twelve Days of mirth and mer- overwhelming generosity of God.
riment and the reason for the Merriment was clear: God has become
man, human life is redeemed, and
Looking Back
everything in life has meaning.
The Diocese 87 Years Ago
Only when this is forgotten does
1926
life become a bore and a burden.
The theme is carried right through the
whole year as the Church celebrates The diocese of Amarillo was estabthe Mystery of human redemption. lished in 1926
If we forget it is because we have
forgotten what we are celebrating.
An increase in the Catholic population resulted from the influx of
oil workers after the discovery of
gas and oil in the Panhandle and
in the Permian Basin to the south.
The new diocese covered both areas, extending from the Oklahoma line on the north to nearly a
hundred miles below San Angelo.
Two new parishes were established
in 1926 as a direct result of the coming
of oil people – St. John’s Borger and
Holy Souls in Pampa. Father John J.
Krukkert, pastor at St. Francis, made
a search for Catholics in both towns.
St. John’s received a church in
1926. The congregation in Pampa began having Mass in homes
in 1926, but their church, dedicated to the Holy Souls, was
not built until two years later.
Pampa was a quiet little town
with mud streets and a population
of 926. In that year oil was discovered south of town, and in a few
months the population was 5,000.
Father John H. Krukkert, stationed
at White Deer, where he said Mass
once a month, came to Pampa to see
whether he could find enough Catholics to warrant building a church.
In
September
he
offered
Mass in the home of Dr. and
Mrs. A. R. Sawyer in Pampa.
By February of the next year, the size
of the congregation necessitated the
use of the American Legion Hall for
Mass, and by the next year, the happy band of Catholics had their own
church; Holy Souls church and their
own pastor, the Rev. Joseph Wonderly. Holy Souls Church was dedicated by Bishop Rudolph A. Gerken
on Thanksgiving Day of 1928.
Although the bull of erection of the
Diocese of Amarillo is dated Aug. 3,
1926, the first bishop wasn’t named
until several weeks later. The official
erection of the Diocese occurred
April 19, 1927, with Archbishop Arthur Drossaerts of San Antonio officiating. The ceremony took place
in Sacred Heart Cathedral of Amarillo. Father J. J. Dolje of Umbarger
was celebrant of the solemn Mass,
following Father Thomas O’Brien
who read the bulls of erection in
Latin and in English. Bishop Rudolph A. Gerken was consecrated
April 26, 1927, in Dallas by Bishop
Joseph P. Lynch, and was installed
as bishop of Amarillo two days later.
___________________________
Dallas, the Rev. Rudolph Aloysius Gerken, was pastor of St. Rita’s
Church in Ranger, which was then
in the center of an oil boom. In
nine years as a priest he had built
six churches, three schools and two
rectories. He had no idea that he
Nazareth School
might be tapped to head the new
Diocese of Amarillo in West Texas.
At Hereford, St. Anthony’s
The young pastor was on a stepSchool had 62 pupils. Five Sisters
ladder painting his rectory when
of the Atonement were in Hereford.
a letter arrived from the Apostolic
St. Joseph’s School in Slaton had
Delegation in Washington saying
59 students with six Sisters of Mercy.
that on Aug 25, 1926, he had been
Our Lady of Guadalupe School
named the first Bishop of Amarillo.
had one lay Teacher and 75 students.
In 1926 the parish of St. Anthony’s in
Hereford began to build a new brick
school, the building later became
the Deaf Smith County Museum.
In 1917 four Sisters of the Atonement came to Hereford to open St.
Anthony’s School. They came as
a result of correspondence that Father J. A. Campbell had with Father
Paul James Francis, founder of the
Fathers of the Atonement of Graymoor. Father Campbell’s health was
failing and he wanted to provide leadership for the parish and school he
had dreamed of creating in Hereford.
___________________________
87 years ago the territory of
the present Diocese of Amarillo had five Catholic Schools.
St. Mary’s Academy in Amarillo had 173 pupils in grades
1-12 taught by 17 Sisters of
Charity of the Incarnate Word.
At Nazareth, 141 students were beIn January of 1926 a vigorous
ing taught by five Benedictine Sisters.
young priest of the Diocese of
In 1926 Canadian’s Sacred Heart
Church was a mission of Sacred
Heart Church in Amarillo, and was
attended by Father Edward Clinton. Mass was not said every Sunday, for Father Clinton was attending four mission churches, besides
three stations (places where there
are no churches). This probably
meant Mass once a month in each
church. When there was Mass in
Canadian, the priest came up on
the Santa Fe on Saturday. Sometimes he stayed over until Monday,
to say Mass for the Mexican people.
name of the “Tar Paper Church.”
The story goes that the men had
to repair the roof during one
Mass in this building.
Within two years, a better church
was blessed by Bishop Gerken.
Canadian is the center of beautiful ranch country, and there were a
few Catholic ranchers in that area
from the beginning. For some time
the town was a railroad division
headquarters of the Santa Fe. Railway. Father David Dunn began to
visit Canadian occasionally about
1910, saying Mass in private homes.
Sacred Heart Church was built
in 1914. The congregation fluctuated with the population of the town.
At times they had a resident pastor.
___________________________
___________________________
In 1926, Rev. Salvator di Giovanni,
S.A.. was pastor of St. Anthony’s
Church in Hereford. He was the
first of a long succession of Franciscan Friars of the Atonement to
serve as pastors at St. Anthony’, and
the first one of their Friars to be sent
out from Graymoor as a missioner.
It was Father Salvator who reRig Theater
modeled the old Deaf Smith County
Courthouse to create the first St. AnIn 1926 Father John Krukkert was thony’s Church. Father J. A. Campgoing up and down the streets of bell had purchased the building in
the booming oil town of Borger 1910 and furnished the second floor,
looking for Catholics. Those he which had been the District Court
found gathered at the Rig Theater Room, as a chapel, dedicated to St.
for the first Mass offered in the Anthony. When Father Salvator
new city. The energetic mission arrived, a fledgling priest, he deterpriest purchased three lots west of mined to make a beautiful church
town, on Hedgecoke Street, and out of the structure. The parish was
adapted a rude frame building to very small, so the pastor addressed
serve as a church. The roof was appeals for help through the pericovered with tar paper, hence its odical, The Lamp, that the Atonement Fathers published, and had the
church completely paid for when
it was dedicated in 1922 by Bishop Joseph P. Lynch of Dallas. The
Bishop referred to it as “a miniature
basilica.” This was one of the finest
churches in the new Diocese of Amarillo when it was created in 1926.
One of the early German priests
suffered from anti-Catholic prejudice in the “20’s Father Joseph
Keller at Slaton. Possibly he was
too authoritarian, certainly he loved
his fatherland. He kept a picture
of the Kaiser above his desk in the
rectory until his troubled parishioner’s made him take it down.
Father Keller served the Church well
in mission working the Slaton area.
Rumors spread against him until one night a group of men in
the hoods of the Ku Klux Klan
took him out on a lonely road
and tarred and feathered him.
___________________________
The Church had a number of
problems in the 20s. One that was
widespread across the country was
anti-Catholicism. There were a
number of causes for it. Millions of
Catholic immigrants from southern
and eastern Europe had come to the
United States, beginning about 1900.
We are happy to have these fine people, but the Protestants were afraid
they would try to make the United
States Catholic. They were afraid the
Pope would try to rule this country.
When World War I broke out,
German people at first sympathized
with Germany, quite naturally. The
Irish also tended to side with Germany, because of their dislike for
England. Remember that many
Catholics were German or Irish,
particularly so in West Texas. When
the United States entered the war
on the side of England, it was quite
a switch for the Germans and the
Irish to change their sympathies,,
but they did it. Never the less,
among the Protestants of English
background, a considerable amount
of distrust had built up against the
Irish and German Catholics. In
those days Catholics stayed together
and didn’t talk much about their religion to non-Catholics. One might
not get a job if it were known that
he was a Catholic. Things are different now, but that’s the way it was.
-
-
-
About 1915 Father J. C. Campbell
was fighting anti-Catholic prejudice. At Hereford, he started a paper
called The Antidote to offset the scurrilous Menace. When he left Hereford the Friars of the Atonement
continued his publication for a time.
Gradually the most rabid anti-Catholicism subsided, though
it was much in evidence in
Al Smith’s campaign in 1928.
By 1926, St. Mary’s was a well-established parish. Father F. X. Pruss
became pastor the next year, and
within a year the dream of a parochial school was a reality, with
the Sisters of Mercy in charge.
Looking Back
The Diocese 62 Years Ago
1951
The Red persecuted Tyszykiewicz
family, natives of Poland, had a
reunion at Price College, where
Father Pruss also helped the Cathothree of the sons were students.
lics at Shamrock to build a church, St.
___________________________
Patrick’s, in 1929. The first members
of the Shamrock parish had come
Bishop Laurence J. FitzSimon sailed
from Greeley, Nebraska, in 1908,
to Lyons, France, to participate in
Irish-Catholic farmers. In 1926 their
ceremonies honoring the memolittle Catholic community was a stary of Bishop Claude, M. Dubuis,
tion served by St. Mary’s of Groom.
second bishop of the Diocese of
Galveston, which in the middle
1880’s embraced the whole of Texas
In 1926, the first St. Ann’s Church
in Canyon was just two years old.
Bishop Joseph P. Lynch of Dallas had
purchased two lots in Canyon on
May 20, 1924. The Catholic Church
Extension Society donated $3,000,
Mike Gallagher gave $1000 and
the contractor, M. M. Egan of Fort
Worth, donated his time to build
the church. St. Ann’s was dedicated
by Bishop Lynch on Dec. 11, 1925.
Mass at St. Ann’s was once a
month in 1926, offered by Fa- Lightning struck a corner tower of
There were 33 families in the Groom ther Edward Clinton, assistant at the new St. Anthony’s Church in HerParish 87 years ago, with 250 souls Sacred Heart Church, Amarillo. eford, doing considerable damage.
Father Francis Smyer was to enroll
in the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., to begin a
course of studies in Canon Law.
Newly ordained Father Richard MacLellan reported at the
Chancery Office in Amarillo to
spend the summer taking the
place of pastors going on vacation.
Electricity was installed for the
first time in St. Mary’s Church,
Clarendon, as the building was
completely
renovated
under
the direction of Father Richard Vaughan, Chaplain of Price
College, Amarillo, who was in
charge of the mission church.
_________________________
Joe Martin was director of the
Sacred Heart Cathedral choir.
The St. Joseph’s Church building as it was being moved. Before
it became St. Joe’s, the building
was a former Presbyterian Church
building on 11th Street and then a
temporary facility for the YMCA
Paul Harris, 1813 Hughes, Amarillo, is enjoying the spring weather in the new convertible given
to him by the Parent-Teachers’
association of St. Mary’s Academy. Last week he paid a visit to
Father E. J. Hartigan, who gave
him the extra set of keys to the car.
J. J. Berg, state president of the
Farmers Union, attended a conference in Washington, D.C.,
with other state presidents of the
union in connection with party prices for grain sorghums.
The annual Priest’ Retreat at Price
College, Amarillo, conducted by
Father R. D. Goggins O.P., was attended by Fathers James Sondeman,
Kevin Heyburn, J. Arnold Carlson, Bernard Binversie, James Daley, SAC, M J. Matthiesen, Vincent
Daugintis, Francis Smyer, Bernard
Cunningham, SAC, Jerome Hancox,
T. D. O’Brien, B. A. Erpen, Edmund
Hartigan, Charles Knapp, James
E. Fitzgerald, James Comiskey,
A.M. Bottoms, E. M. Higgins, W.
J. Riechel, Charles Dvorak, George
Buckley, SAC, William Lensing,
Andrew Quante, Matthew Schafle,
Peter Morsch, Bartolomew O’Brien,
W. F. Boksen, Andrew Marthaler,
James Erickson, F.M. Kaminsky, Joseph Walter, G. A. Boeckman, Fred
Hyland, Vincent Lux, OP, Gerard
Lynch, R. M. Schindler, Thomas
Butler, Norbert Wagner, Arnold
Boeding, Richard Vaughan, Antonio Rodriguez, Edward Chrisman, L. T. Matthiesen, and Harry McLeod; and Monsignors F.J.
Pokluda and John A. Steinlage.
____________________________
Msgr. Rex Nicholl was a member of
the first track team at Price College,
Amarillo.
Louis Dreup, seventh grader at St.
Anthony’s School, Hereford, represented Hereford Elementary Schools
in the Globe News Spelling Bee.
Father Hubert Halfmann pitched
a one-hit game for the Sacred Heart
Cathedral softball team to win 13-3
over the First Nazarene team.
____________________________
Sister Mary John (Bernice)
Noggler of Hereford made her
temporary vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience in the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate.
St. Mary’s Academy Convent
was dedicated by Bishop Laurence J. FitzSimon. The structure, containing 12,000 square feet
of space was erected at a cost of
$113,712. Monsignor John Steinlage was pastor of Sacred Heart
Cathedral Parish and St. Mary’s.
____________________________
A notice appearing in the September 14, 1951, issue of the Amarillo
Register stated: “Wednesday, Friday,
and Saturday, Sept 19, 21, and 22 are
the fall Ember days. These are days
The picture of the Wilhelm
of abstinence from meat for all Cathtwins, James and Jerry, was takolics and for fasting for those who
en while they were on duty in Kocome under the Church’s laws of fast.
rea. They are the sons of Mr. and
Mrs. E. J. Wilhelm and 1948 graduates of Nazareth high school.
Looking Back
The Diocese 47 Years Ago
1966
Construction of the first Catholic Church in Tulia was begun
March 19, 1951. Father Gregory
Boeckman, pastor of Holy Name
Church, Happy, of which Tulia
was a mission, announced that
the new church in Tulia would
be built on property donated by
Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Kleman, and
would be known as St. Williams.
Robert O’Boyle, first oboist in the
Amarillo Symphony Orchestra, instructor in instrumental music in
public elementary schools, and a
private teacher of oboe at Amarillo College, was employed as band
instructor the new Alamo Catholic
High school.
Bishop Lawrence M. DeFalco established a Senate of Priests in the
Diocese of Amarillo. The Senate
was to include 12 members elected by the clergy, diocesan and religious, working in the Diocese, and
was to “provide a forum for discussion of problems common to clergy,
and particular diocesan problems.”
___________________________
The Jan. 7, 1966 “Wise and Otherwise” column noted that Father
Jerome Hancox never locked the
Sacred Heart, White Deer, rectory,
because he knew that someday the
Lord would be coming for him, and
he didn’t want Him to be locked out.
__________________________
Three new priests were ordained
for the Diocese of Amarillo.
Emilio Abeyta, Matthew Malnar, and Malcolm Stasiowski.
Monsignor John Steinlage, rec- Extension Volunteers teaching
tor of Sacred Heart Cathedral, in the Diocese of Amarillo held
Amarillo, Conducted a Day a retreat at S. Lucian’s Seminary.
of recollection for families at
St. Mary’s Church, Umbarger.
The Frank Grabber family of Umbarger had its own orchestra,
which played for community dances at Umbarger and St. Francis.
Phillip Sanger of Lubbock was
valedictorian and Richard Wilson
of Amarillo was salutatorian of
the last graduating class of Price
Catholic High School in 1966.
Sister Mary Magdalena of the
Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate
was
named
Alamo Catholic High School.
A 40-year-old landmark at
Price Catholic high school
fell
to
wrecking
crews
____________________________
Bishop Lawrence M. DeFalco wrote
in his “Jottings from the Bishop’s
Desk” Column, “No group or organization deserved the thanks of
our priests and people more than
the Catholic Church Extension Society. Almost $1 million has been
contributed to the building of our
churches and to the support of
our priests in the years since 1927,
when our Diocese was established.”
The new Our Lady of Loretto
Church at Silverton was dedicated
May 1, 1966. Father Bartholomew
Besterci was pastor of St. Williams,
Tulia, and Our Lady of Loretto.
Sister Perpetua conducted a
tour of St. Anthony’s School
of Nursing for high school
students from White Deer.
___________________________
Charles Detten, son of Mr. and Mrs.
John Detten of St. Francis Parish returned to duty as a seaman, second
class, in the Naval Air Station in San
Diego, CA, following leave at home.
Groundbreaking
ceremonies
were held at St. Patrick’s Church,
Shamrock, under direction of
Father Patrick Burke, pastor.
Parishioners of Sacred Heart
Church, Spearman, completed work
on a 9 x 12 foot tapestry showing
a figure of Christ holding a book
titled, “The Word of God.” The
tapestry, designed by Albert Melendez of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Lubbock, was hung on the
back wall of Sacred Heart Church
Talking over plans for a campaign
to sell season tickets to athletic
events at new Alamo high school
are Father Joseph Tash, general
chairman of the ticket drive, and
Coach Tom Crank of Alamo high.
Mrs.
James
Gillland
and
Mrs. Maurice Schooler made
plans for St. Joseph’s Amarillo, 10th annual Smorgasborg.
Fr. Hyland
Father Antonio Rodriguez, Father James Fitzgerald, Father
Fredric Hyland, Father Matthew Schafle, and Father John R.
Schmidt were named monsignor.
Announcement is made of the organization of a Six-year co-instruction program at what was then
Price College High School – the
new institution to be known as Alamo Catholic High School and to
be opened for the fall term in 1966.
Proceeds of the first annual St. Patrick’s Day dance sponsored by the
Knights of Columbus for the benefit
of Catholic Charities were $2,002.
The closing ceremonies of the 150th
Cursillo in the Diocese of Amarillo at the Fairpark Coliseum, Lubbock, was attended by 7,000 people
The July 15, 1966 issue of the West
Texas Register contained no local
news, due to the fact that the airmail package of editorial content
was delayed by a stride on sever.
Looking Back
The Diocese 37 Years Ago
1976
Bishop DeFalco Attends Amarillo
Library Opening.
Bishop Lawrence M. DeFalco gave
the dedicatory prayer at the opening if the new Amarillo Central Library Nov. 28. Mayor John Drummond cut the ribbon to admit a
crowd of 200 to tour the facility.
To the right of the entrance is
the specially designed room that
houses the Texas collections of William H. Bush and Bishop Laurence
J. FitzSimon. The collection of
Bishop FitzSimon was donated to
the City of Amarillo in 1975 when
the planning of the new library
building made it possible to incorporate the room to house the two
complementary Texas collections.
Present at the dedicatory ceremony were Mr. and Mrs. Frank
T. O’Brien and Mrs. Frederick L.
Emeny, who furnished the room.
14th Annual study week of the
Southwest Liturgical Conference.
Left to right, they are Father James
Comiskey of Amarillo, Director
of the Liturgical Commission in
the Diocese of Amarillo; Father
William Freburger of Baltimore,
Deacon Leroy Benke of Littlefield
Sr. Mary Louise
New C.Y.C. officers, left to right, are
Elane Acker of Holy Family Parish
Nazareth, Rita Saliz of St. Joseph’s
Two School Sisters of St. FranParish in Hereford, Don Brockman of
cis were pistol whipped at the
St. Anthony’s, Hereford, and Kathy
Children’s Home by a white man.
Albracht of St. Mary’s in Amarillo.
One of the Sisters, Sister Mary
Louise Britten, was taken to High
Plains Baptist Hospital in Amarillo for treatment of cuts to her head
and hands. She has since been released. Sister Mary Gabriel, the
other nun, received treatment here
and returned work at the home.
Sister Valentina, director of the
Home, said that the incident occurred shortly after midnight when
all except the night nurse were
asleep. Sister Mary Louise had just
returned to the infirmary after making her regular rounds and was resting with the lights out. She suddenly
became aware of figure silhouetted
in the doorway (the only light came
from the hall, and a good description
was impossible) and, thinking it was
one of the boys who needed something, she asked what he wanted.
“The next thing she knew,
she had the butt of a gun in
her face.” Sister Valentina said.
Sister Mary Louise’s screams awakened Sister Mary Gabriel, who was
asleep in a nearby room. She ran into Commending the West Texas Cathothe room and tried to beat the in- lic, official newspaper of the Diocese
truder attacking Sister Mary Louise. of Amarillo, for 40 year of continuThe man fled after superficial- ous publication, Grand Knight Tom
ly injuring Sister Mary Gabriel. BrownofCouncil3008oftheKnightsof
Carson County deputies said Columbus, Lubbock, presented a
that several persons have been commemorative plaque to Msgr.
questioned
about
the
inci- L. T. Matthiesen (right), editor, and
dent, but no one was in custody. Mrs. Otto Schuerger, office manager.
Nuns Assaulted At Children’s Home:
Frank Kelm Council No. 2767,
Knights of Columbus, Pampa,
played Santa Claus to the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul. A half
of beef was presented to the Sisters. From the Left, front row, are
Sisters Margaret, Emiliana, and
Wendelinus: Back row, George
Dillmand and Emil Urbanczyk.
Monsignor Schafle was 67 when
he died, old age for some, retirement
time
for
many.
But in a real sense, Msgr. Matt
Schafle never grew old and he never retired. Fatal illness hit him on
a Thursday morning (he drove
to the hospital himself), and by
next morning early he was dead.
That day he had planned to finish a
greenhouse he was building, and the
book he was reading about how to
grow green things in a greenhouse.
In the rectory living room – one
of the lived-in ones around – the
Vitagrow lights were still shining on the African violets, across
the room there was an unfinished
rug he was weaving on the loom,
one of several he had around.
Across the way there was still a message on the teletypewriter he used to
communicate with other deaf people
in Amarillo and across the country.
Ceramic chimes he had made
were tingling in the late April
wind as doors opened and closed.
The tools he used in the locksmith trade he had taught himself were waiting to be picked up.
The industrial sewing machine
on which he had taught himself
upholstering was ready to whir.
An old typewriter – he had
taught himself to repair them –
stood there ready to be pounded on.
Photography equipment was
piled in a corner waiting for
the next trip through the West.
On his desk were penny coin
folders. He had gotten interested in
coin collecting. There was a magnifying glass there, part of the trade.
A terrarium he had planted in an Ozarka bottle will live
on to remember him. He had
learned the art of glass cutting.
Candles stood, in warm colors, around his room. He had
taught himself to work with wax.
In the shop outside were the
machines he used to build things
with. And alongside, the trailer house he pulled around the
country as he traveled “to find out
what they’re thinking” out there.
Msgr. Schafle was a prowler;
he roamed the country, stopping
in out–of-the way places to chat
with the people, to put his finger
on the pulse of the ordinary man.
And he prowled through books
and magazines.
They were his teachers, and he
followed their instructions religiously, with outstanding success.
A year ago he talked about learning skin diving, about going back to
work in a mission church in the diocese among the Mexican people (he
really believed no Anglo priest understood them quite as well as he).
He fretted about the loss of priests
in the diocese, believing strongly that we should reopen a minor
seminary. Or, failing that, at least to
have summer camps for young men.
He thought the financial affairs of the diocese could best be
handled
by
laymen,
sticking doggedly to that thesis, though few were listening.
He fretted about the parishes,
again holding that pastors should
do the spiritual work and leave
the rest to the parishioners. The
bulletin making, the ministerial appointments, the financial affairs, the maintenance of the plant.
Wherever he went he practiced what
he preached with eminent success.
He was old-fashioned and
new-fangled at the same time,
an interesting combination of
the best of the old and the new.
He wasn’t a saint, not yet, but
if a Christian is one that believes
in the future, who is filled with
hope, which can walk with paralysis, and hear without an eardrum, then he is a Christian.
He met the challenge of deafness by joining an association
for the deaf, learning to lip read
(he worked hard at that and was
just beginning to succeed) and to
sign with his hands, and searching out other non-hearing people
to minister to their spiritual needs.
He had suffered spinal meningitis, and had a kidney problem and high blood pressure,
But you never heard about it
from him... His talk was all about how
to serve the people and the future.
He knew his life would end. He
prepared his parish council for that
day. “I can go at any time he said.”
It was only natural that he should
drive himself to the hospital, in
a final act of self-confidence and
self-reliance. There he had to be
helped into a wheelchair, never to
walk, or to drive or to build again.
Except in that new world that will
have no limits and no end of time.
Where he will surely roam to his
heart’s content for ages and ages.
In preparing for his death, Msgr.
Schafle was much like another
stalwart Umbarger priest, Father
J. J. Dolje, who, on his deathbed
in St. Anthony’s Hospital, Amarillo, reportedly asked Father John
(the late Msgr. John Steinlage) for
the Sacrament of Anointing in
wholesome, bold, and beautiful
language: “Grease me up, John!”
+L.
T.
Matthiesen
–
1976
Looking Back
The Diocese 25 Years Ago
1988
Marie and Ted Keller. Fifty Years
together helping others.
Bishop Leroy Matthiesen, seated,
is shown looking over a contract
between the Diocese of Amarillo
and KGNC Radio, Amarillo, for a
30 minute long radio program entitled “The Catholic Bible Hour” to
be broadcast beginning Sunday, July
3 on KGNC. Looking on are Cifford Kreitz, left, business manager Beautiful music is made three times
for the Diocese, and Bob Russell, a week at St. John’ Catholic School,
general manager of KGNC Radio Borger, where 15 second grade
students join together for violin
lessons taught by Virginia Hebermehl, violin instructor, Frank Phillips College. Making Music, above,
are students Jarrod Ward and Lorufes Aranda, with Hebermehl.
A winter storm that blanketed the
Amarillo area with 13 inches of
snow did not prevent a public open
house at Bishop DeFalco Retreat
Center, Amarillo, on the occasion of
the facility’s fifth anniversary, Several of those who attended are shown
above, form left, John and Carolyn
Tromba, Amarillo; Rev. Bob Curry,
BDRC director; Renetta and Maurice
Curry, Houston, parents of Father.
Sister Nellie Rooney stands by a dis
play of religious items which belonged to Father Charles Knapp.
The priest carried them in a case
with him when he traveled to Spearman to say Mass at the courthouse
before a church was erected in the
Amy Brown and Cameron community. Included are vestBlack were featured in a pro- ments, candle stick, incense burnduction of a Christmas play er and chalice, donated by Mr.
at St. Vincent de Paul, Pampa. and Mrs. N. F. Renner, Spearman.
Bishop Leroy T Matthiesen visits
with Sister Barbara Kulas during
an informal celebration March 10
marking the 42nd anniversary of
his ordination to the priesthood.
Employees of the Diocesan Pastoral
Center gathered for cake and coffee.
Bishop Matthiesen was ordained to
the priesthood at the Pontifical College Josephinum on March 10, 1946
Monsignor Joseph Tash, seated, Financial Vicar, and Jeanne-Marie
Picard, Director of Development, are
shown reviewing projected United
Catholic Appeal Campaign figures as
the 1988-89 drive is being launched.
Deacon Edward Sweeney, center, was
ordained to the priesthood by Bishop L. T. Matthiesen, right,June 11 in
St. Laurence Cathedral. The candidate was presented to the bishop for
the order of presbyter by the Very
Rev. Gerald Barnes, left, rector of
Assumption Seminary, San Antonio.
Celebrating the Christmas SpirThe Parish Hall, Blessed Sacra- it. Michael Olay and sister Debbie,
ment Catholic Church, Amarillo, above eagerly await Christmas Day
was heavily damed June 25 when a
“freak high wind” ripped a large section of tin roof from the structure.
As a public service, Amarillo Branch
53, Catholic Life Insurance Union,
presented each parish in the Amarillo Deanery aprons which may
be used in parish hall kitchens.
Monsignor Harold Waldow, left,
pastor of St. Laurence Cathedral,
is shown accepting one of several
aprons from Clifford Krietz, a vice
president of the Amarillo Branch
Open House held at the Martha’s Home, above, 1204 W. 18th.
Matt Parsons and Gwen Johns, left The facility supporters and genare briefed by Grant Nabbefeld, eral public are invited to attend.
Associate, in the Youth Ministry
Office, prior to their discussion of
“Teen Music: Saintly or Santanic” during the 7th annual DioceDoris Smith, left, of Panhandle, was
san Youth Convention in Amarillo.
named the 1988 “Woman of the
Year” during the 52nd annual Fall
Convention of the Diocesan CounA Historical Marker commemorat- cil of Catholic Women. Shown with
ing Holy family Catholic Church, her following the presentation are
Nazareth, was dedicated Aug. 21, Bishop Leroy T. Matthiesen, centhe 86th anniversary of estab- ter, and Monsignor Francis Smyer,
lishment of the parish in 1902. the Council’s Spiritual Moderator.
Polish Sausage Festival turns 50
Shown, clockwise from left Myron Bilgri, Gary Kotara, Max
Britten, and Andrew Rapstine.
The beliefs of Sr.
Mary
Virgina
Clark are shown
in the success of
Martha’s Home
Among those who enjoyed Oktoberfest were Dr. Steve Astuto
and
Linda
Carrder.
CCD teachers and coordinators
gathered for the Diocesan Catechist’s Retreat at BDRC coordinated by Dr. Jordan Grooms, Christian formation Office Director.
St. Catherine of Siena
St. Robert Bellarmine
Pope Pius XII
St. Lucien of Antioch
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