North Carolina Catholic
Volume II.
Nazareth, N. C., Friday, February 20, 1948
Number 21
RECEIVE NEW APPOINTMENTS
Most Rev. J. Francis A. Me- Most Rev. T. Bergan, Bishop
Intyre, Coadjutor Archbishop of of Des Moines, since 1934, who
New York, who has been appoint- has been named Archbishop of
ed Archbishop of Los Angeles, Omaha, succeeding th» late
filling the See made vacant by the Archbishop James H. Ryan, who
death of Archbishop John J. Cant- died last November. Archbishop
well last October.— (NC Photos) elect Bergan was born in Peoria,
Archbishop McIntyre, Bishop Bergan
Appointed to Los Angeles, Omaha
WASHINGTON—Two important Sees of the West and Mid
dle west, the Archdioceses of Los Angeles and Omaha, made vac
ant by the deaths of their Archbishops toward the end of 1947,
received new Shepherds during the past week through the
appointment of Archbishop J. .
Francis A. McIntyre, Coadjutor of
New York, to Los Angeles, and
of Bishop Gerald T. Bergan of
Des Moines to the Metropolitan
See of Omaha.
Announcement of these ap
pointments by His Holiness Pope
Pius XII was made here by His
Excellency Archbishop Amleto
Giovanni Cicognani, Apostolic
Delegate to the United States.
Los Angeles became an Arch
bishopric in July 1936, Arch
bishop John J. Cantwell being, its
first Archbishop. The See has
601,200 Catholics in a total popu
lation of *3,528,000. Omaha was
made an Archbishopric in August
1945. In a total population of
529,078, Catholics in the Omaha
Archdiocese number 120,000.
Archbishop McIntyre, who
now goes from the eastern See
of New York, his native city, to
the Western See of Los Angeles,
gave up a business career to en
ter the priesthood. He was or
dained at 35 years of age in May
1921 by the late Cardinal Hayes.
Two years later he became As
sistant Chancellor of the Archdio
cese, subsequently serving as
Vice Chancellor and being named
Chancellor in September 1934.
In 1940 His Holiness Pope Pius
XII named Monsignor McIntyre
as Titular Bishop of Cyrene and
Auxiliary Bishop of New York,
and about two years ago he pro
moted him to be Titular Arch
bishop of Paltus and Coadjutor to
His Eminence Francis Cardinal
Spellman, Archbishop of New
York. In recent years he has ser
ved as Vicar General of the Arch
diocese.
Archbishop - elect Bergan was
consecrated Bishop of Des- Moines
in June 1934. Prior to this he
had served as Chancellor of the
Diocese of Peoria and as rector of
the Cathedral.
He was made a Domestic Pre
late in 1931 and three years later
received his appointment as Bish
op of Des Moines.
Archbishop-elect Bergan was
bora in Peoria on January 6,
(Continued on Page 8)
'48 Annuario Reveals
Great Church Growth
In Present Pontificate
VATICAN CITY — The growth
of the Church during the ponti
ficate of His Holiness Pope Pius
XII has brought about an increase
of 79 archdioceses and 71 dio
ceses it is revealed in the 1948
“Annpario Pontificio” which has
now been published here.
Among the changes shown in
the new Annuario is the split
ting of the Archdiocese of Glas
gow, Scotland, into a metropoli
tan See with two new suffragan
sees. The new dioceses are Moth
erwell and Pasleta.
The new annuario lists 61 Car
dinals created by four Popes; 14
patriarchates, 257 metropolitan
archdioceses, 38 non-metropolitan
archdioceses, 1,052 dioceses, 1,
639 titular sees, 53 abbeys and
prelacies nullius, 12 apostolic ad
ministrations, ~T3 oriental rite
prelates, 228 vicariates apostolic,
136 prefectures apostolic, and 12
missions of their own right.
Statistics on increases during
the present pontificate are: 47
new archdioceses, 12 dioceses
elevated to archdioceses, 20 vi
cariates apostolic raised to arch
dioceses; 79 vicariates elevated
to bishoprics, four prefectures
raised to bishoprics; 25 prefec
tures raised to vicariates, and
five missions elevated to prefec
tures. The Annuario also lists the
following new creations during the
pontificate: five abbeys and pre
lacies nullius, 26 vicariates and
30 prefectures.
Other changes in the pontifical
year book reveal the creation of
the new see of Assiut for the Cop
tic rite Catholics in Egypt, the
elevation of the prefectures apos
tolic of Kinghsien, Taming, Ting
chow in China and of Rawalpindi
in India to bishropics; the rais
ing of the African prefectures of
Accra, Calabar, Tshumbe to vi
cariates, and the establishment
of the African prefectures aposto
(Continued on Page 8)
Russians Condemn
Nuns to Slavery
The following is a dispatch
from. KIPA, Catholic press agen
cy, which appeared in “L’Echo,”
at Lausannq, Switzerland, Jan.
27, 1948, and reached THE
BROOKLYN TABLET by mail
last week.
A German prisoner of war, re
cently liberated from Russia, has
made the following statement on
the shocking situation existing
among those deported from the
Soviet zone in Germany. His
statement has been declared au
thentic by ecclesiastical authori
ties:
“On Oct. 12, 1947, we left
Stalino to return to Germany. Up
to that time we had worked in the
Stalino mines. As we were about
to leave the station, the contin
gent that was to replace us got
off a train which had just ar
rived. It was made up of 1,400
Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent
de Paul. They were a misera
ble lot, looking as miserable as
ourselves.
“lome of them wore religious
habits, dirty and torn; the rest
were deplorably clothed. I was
able to speak to two of these
nuns. They told me that in 1946
all the. Sisters of Charity in the
Soviet zone had been arrested.
They were brought together in
Pomerania for mass deportation.
Many Were Young
“One of the nuns to whom I
spoke was from Stargard and the
other from Leipzig. The former
was about 34 years old and the
latter 39. From what I could
judge, some of the nuns were
more than 50 years old.
“From 1946 until a short time
ago, these Religious had been forc
ed to work in reconstructing
bridges over the Dnieper until
one day they were again brought
together for a second deportation.
They were told they would like
working in the mines, that the
food would be better and that
after working until April they
would be returned to Germany.
The two Sisters told me they had
no faith in the promises as long
as they were destined to work in
the mines. . v
“They were depressed and dis
continued on Page 8)
Anti-Semitism Is
Rampant in Russia
NEW YORK — Anti-Semitism
is so widespread in Soviet Rus
sia today it is difficult to believe
it could exist “in so closely con
trolled a police state if the Gov
ernment did not give its tacit ap
proval,” writes Drew Middleton,
former New York Times corre
spondent in Moscow, in a recent
article of the series he is writing
for the Times on conditions in
Russia.
“Announced or not,” Mr. Mid
dleton writes, “it appears to be
Government policy to reduce the
number of Jews in positions of
influence in the Ministry of For
eign Affairs. Moreover, Jews are
barred from joining the Ministry
even in the most subsidiary posi
tions_
“Jews cannot now enter the
principal military academies in
Moscow. Their number is re
stricted in the medical and law
schools in the university at Kiev
and in Moscow University.
“Jews trac» the start of the
present antagonism to the treason
trials twelve years ago. Leon
Trotsky, they point out, was a
Jew and so were many of his fol
lowers.”
Fr. O'Brien Calls School Children
To Sacrifice for European Youth
RALEIGH— School children will play a special role in the
appeal for the Bishops’ Fund for War Victims in their own spec
ial collection which opened on Ash Wednesday. During the
Lenten season, more than 2,000,000 pupils in parochial schools
Rev. Francis K. O’Brien
Chancellor ,
Chaplain Believed
First Priest To
See North Pole
MILE 26 AIR BASE, Alaska—
The Rev. Olbinus R. Lesch, C.
P., army chaplain from Auburn,
N. Y., is thought here to be the
first Catholic priest and the first
American chaplain to see the
North Pole.
But Father Lesch says modest
ly: “I think that the most sig
nificant realization that would
come to a person with such a
dubious title as this is that the
whole matter is quite insignifi
cant ... at a time when scienti
fic discoveries have made the
trip relatively safe, it is hardly
the time to mention that a priest
has flow* over the pole.”
Father Lesch, chaplain at the
air field here, accompanied a
group of 16 Air Force fliers and
scientists on a flight over the
pole late last month “in the B-29
“Northern Star.”
“It was a very clear night,” he
relates. “We had a wonderful but
distant view of it from 12,000
feet. The most satisfying as
pect of the flight for me was the
fact that it was perhaps the first
time that the hand of a priest had
been raised to invoke the Bless
ing of God on this wild frozen
ocean ... to implore the Almigh
ty and All-Merciful Creator of it
so to control its elements as safe
ly to return to Alaska the flyers
whose duty it is to fly over this
great open space ‘north’ of Amer
ica.”
Thousands See Fatima
Statue in Nashville
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — More
than 2,000 persons crowded into
the Cathedral of the Incarnation,
here, to pay homage to the “Pil
grim Virgin,” a replica of the fa-'
mous statue of Our Lady of Fa
tima. The statue was blessed and
crowned by Bishop William, L.
Adrian of Nashvlile, during a
Marian Hour service.
The statue was brought here
from a tour of the Covington dio
cese, where it was estimated that
more than 65,000 persons viewed
it. At St. Paul’s Church in Lex
ington, Ky., it was estimated that
somg 15,000 persons viewed the
statue, some coming from dis
tances as great as 7S> miles.
tnrougnout tne country- wiu save
their pennies, nickels and dimes
for suffering children overseas.
Their contributions will be turned
over to the general relief fund
which is being raised by two
American Catholic relief agencies
—the Bishops’ Emergency Relief
Committee and War Relief Ser
vices-National Catholic Welfare
Conference.
Pupils of the parochial schools
of the Diocese of Raleigh are
among the Catholic students who
are participating in the appeal.
To set the keynote of the drive,
school rooms are now displaying
a handsome poster depicting an
American youngster kneeling in
prayer. Over her bowed head
are the words: “And, dear Lord,
help me to make little sacrifices
for suffering children overseas.”
A goal of $5,000,000 is sought
by the joint agencies whose rec
ord of relief work in Europe and
the Far East has been lauded by
spiritual, civic and politidhl
leaders both in the United States
and abroad. Since 1943 the or
ganizations have distributed 106,
670,000 pounds of foodstuffs,
clothing and medicine to 61 war
stricken countries.
“There can be no worthier
cause than to help these unfor
tunate victims of the most de
structive war in history,” said
Father Francis K. O.’Brien, chan
cellor, “For them three years
of peace have meant only new
misery and suffering. There are
still thousands of men and wo
men living in unbelievably filthy
hovels with a daily diet of scraps
of food. Their children—if they
have managed to survive the past
winter—are diseased and starving.
“We in America whom God has
blessed so richly can help these
men and women return to a hope
ful, healthy and dignified way
of life. Once more War Relief
Services is asking for cooperation
to completely wipe out the scars
war has left. Once again may
you give from your hearts, that
the whole world may know the
boundless depths of Christian
charity.”
Last year, continued Father
O’Brien, “the’ Diocese of Raleigh
contributed $16,000 to the relief
camp'aign. It is hoped that the
Catholics in the State will try to
at least equal, if not surpass last
year’s record, in this new Len
ten drive.”
K. of C. Run Gas Pump
ARLINGTON, Va., — Many of
them had never operated a gaso
line pump before, but for three
weeks members of the local
Knights of Columbus council took
daily turns at the service station
of Edward Kennedy while Mr,
Kennedy, father of four small
children, was hospitalized with
a serious illness.
Refugees Crowd City
PEIPING — In normal times
there would hardly be more than
200. priests in this Chinese city,
but today there are more than 500
owing to the influx of 300 refugee
priests and' five Bishops, driven
from their mission territories by
the inroads of communists, Fides
reports. There are also some 500
nuns among the refugees.