CNS PHOTO/K. PEMPEL, REUTERS
Corpus Christi procession Girls toss flower petals before the start of a Corpus Christi procession in Mrokow, Poland, near Warsaw, June 11. A eucharistic procession is a traditional feature of the celebration of the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.
THE EAST TENNESSEE
Volume 18 • Number 20 • June 21, 2009
The
N E W S PA P E R
of the D I O C E S E of K N O X V I L L E
CNS GRAPHIC/EMILY THOMPSON
www.d ioces eof kn ox ville.or g
‘A church very much alive’ Members of St. Patrick in Morristown celebrate the parish’s first half-century. By Dan McWilliams
B Y CI NDY WOODE N
VATICAN CITY (CNS)—Each and every one of the world’s 408,000 priests should feel loved, respected, valued, and supported in his vocation to bring the Gospel to an increasingly secular— but still open—world, said Cardinal Claudio Hummes. The Brazilian cardinal, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, said the 20092010 Year for Priests, which begins June 19, must recognize the new challenges and possibilities Catholic priests face. Pope Benedict XVI called for the special year to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, who was famed for his priestly ministry. The aim, however, is not to organize a historical commemoration, but to look realistically at the world in which priests live and work and to recognize that the horrible abuse perpetrated by some priests has harmed the reputation of all priests, Cardinal Hummes said. “Many priests in the world have been wounded by what has happened in recent times—pedophilia and other crimes that the media has publicized and that are true and extremely serious, especially pedophilia in which the victims are
31 by looking out at the assembly and commenting on a particular—but appropriate—color of attire worn by many in the pews. “Was there a sale on green T-shirts here?” he asked. St. Patrick outgrew its 1959 church long before its current building was dedicated in 2002. The new and much larger nave still could not hold all of the worshipers gathered for the 50th-anniversary celebration, with many having to stand while others sat in the daily Mass chapel that was formerly the back half of the old church. Longtime pastor Father Patrick Garrity and associate pastor Father Joseph Hammond, CHS, concelebrated the Pentecost day anniversary Mass, with St. Patrick Deacons Jim Fage and Bob Smearing assisting. Sabra Buchanan, one of a handful of charter parishioners re-
DAN MCWILLIAMS
Richard F. Year for Priests: B ishop Stika began his at the goldenclergy need love, homily anniversary Mass for St. Patrick Parish in support, help Morristown on May
‘THE CHURCH NEEDS YOU TO PROCLAIM JESUS’ Bishop Richard F. Stika (center) was the principal celebrant for
St. Patrick Parish’s 50th-anniversary Mass on May 31. With him at the altar are (from left) associate pastor Father Joseph Hammond, CHS; Deacon Jim Fage; and pastor Father Pat Garrity. View more photos at dioceseofknoxville.org.
maining at St. Patrick, was among the gift bearers. Morristown was part of the 34-county mission field served by Father Emmanuel F. Callahan in the first decade of the 20th century, according to St. Patrick’s silver-anniversary history publication. Mass was celebrated in the homes of area Catholics in the 1930s and ’40s. Liturgies moved to the
Kingmyer Hotel dining room and the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. building before finding a longer-lasting home in the Morristown City Hall. Bishop William L. Adrian established Notre Dame Parish in Greeneville in 1955 and made the surrounding eight counties its mission territory, with Father Albert Siener as the first pastor. Father Siener then began the
effort to start a parish in Morristown for the approximately 70 Catholics who lived there. A five-acre lot was purchased for $12,000 from Mary Graves Baker of Knoxville, a former Morristown resident, in February 1956. Father Bernard Niedergeses succeeded Father Siener as pastor later that year. Fundraising efforts for a new building, a
move from the city hall to the courthouse for Mass, and the choice of a church design by architect and future Deacon Milton Robelot of St. Dominic in Kingsport all led up to an important day: Aug. 25, 1958, when ground was broken on an $85,720 church. The Catholic Extension Society suggested the name St. Morristown continued on page 3
Priests continued on page 6
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MARY C. WEAVER
T
Gatlinburg pastor Monsignor Philip Thoni celebrates six decades as a priest Monsignor Philip Thoni processes out of St. Mary Church in Gatlinburg on June 8, following a Mass celebrating the 60th anniversary of his priestly ordination on June 4, 1949. Behind him are Bishop William R. Houck, bishop emeritus of Jackson, Miss., and Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville. Fourth Degree Knights provided an honor guard. Seen left to right are Dick Rideout, Joe Saden, Shelton Johnson, and (in the purple hat) Larry Davis, all members of Assembly 2162 from Crossville. Look for the story in the July 12 edition of the ETC.