SERVING SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & 1'HE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. 22, NO. 22
FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 1978
20c, $6 Per Year
Swansea Parish Marks 50th Year
Diirectory Shows 1,632 Increase
A concelebrated Mass at 5 p.m. Sunday with Bishop Daniel A. Cronin presiding will mark the 5th anniversary of St. Louis de France parish, Swansea. A banquet will follow at Venus de Milo restaurant.
lhere are 1,632 more Catholics in our diocese than there were at this time last year. That's one of thousands of statistics contained in the latest edition of the Official Catholic Directory, just published by P.J. Kenedy and Sons, New York. Nationwide there are 49,836, 176 Catholics, 23 percent of the pOJ:ulation, up 511,424 from last year. Other diocesan statistics: -- We have 424 diocesan and religious order priests, down 11 fro:n last year; 827 Sisters, up 26; .and 46 Brothers, exactly the same. -- We have 113 parishes and 15 missions, each down one, and 75 chapels, unchanged. -- The total number of students under Catholic instruction is 60,571, up 470. Infant baptisms numbered 5.353, down 37; there were 84 converts, down 3; and 2,301 marriages, up 33. -- Our five homes for the aged sheltered 849 guests, down 49. -- We have 35 men studying for the priesthood, down eight. 'Nationally, the Catholic Directory shows a record of 18,625 parishes and reports that, contrary to our diocesan figures, priests are on the increase and Brothers and Sisters on the decrease. The 1977 decline in students receiving religious instruction in Catholic schools and religious education programs was four times greater than the 1976 decrease. -- Increases listed were in the nu:nber of lay patients treated 路in Catholic hospitals; infant baptisms; students in Catholic Turn to Page Seven
The celebration will conclude a year-long series of events commemorating the parish jubilee. Days of recollection. dances, picnics, a Christmas concert featuring the Peloquin Chorale, and many other activities have marked the anniversary year. St. Louis de France was founded as a French national parish in 1928 and had as its pastor for its first 26 years Msgr. Louis E. Prevost. The church now serves 825 families and has as its present pastor Father Louis R. Boivin, whose first assignment in 1948 as a newly ordained priest, was to St. Louis. At that time, working under Msgr. Prevost, he helped clear the land for the present church, which was built in 1951, and served as master of ceremonies at its dedication ceremony. Leaving the parish in 1952 to serve in various other. parishes of the diocese, Father Boivin returned in 1970 as pastor. The present associate pastor is Father Richard Gendreau, who has, say parishioners, "continued the parish tradition of positive Christian action by instituting days of recollection, scripture series and other innovative programs."
Amb. Lowenstein In Cape Address The Cape Cod chapter of Bread for the World, headed by Jessie duMont of Our Lady of Victory parish, Centerville, will sponsor an address at noon Friday, June 16 by Allard Lowenstein, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
DR. FREDERICK J. SULLIVAN speaks a t dedication of medical library in his honor at St. Anne's Hospital, Fall River. He has served the institution since 1948 and has been chief of medicine, president of the medical staff and a trustee. His contribution is epitomized in a scriptural quotation lettered on t he library wall: "He made them welcome and talked to them about the kingdom of God; and he cured those who were in need of healing." (Lk. 9:11)
Marriage Encounter Parley Over 20,000 couples, priests and religious of the Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement, including many from the Fall River diocese, will meet the weekend of June 23 through 25 at the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts. Couples from over 30 countries will participate in the program, which will focus on family life, with presentations on
husband-wife and parent-child relationships, family values and involvement in church community. Some 6,000 delegates will be housed on the Amherst campus and the remaining 14,000 will be housed by Encounter couples within a 50-mile radius of the university. The Encounter program began in Spain in 1950, growing with-
in the structure of the Christian Family Movement and spreading to Latin America and then to the English speaking world, beginning in Miami, Fla., and now having headquarters in New York. Founders say the organization is the fastest growing pro-marriage organization in the world, numbering over one million members of many denominations.
Aged Pontiff Nears 15th Anniversary VATICAN CITY (NC) - As he completes his 15th year as pope, Pope Paul VI's age is having good and bad effects on his pontificate. 'Pope Paul, who was crowned
pope June 30, 1963, at age 66, will be 81 Sept. 26. The once spry pontiff, whose sharp features, erect posture and dancing eyes were seen by millions during his many trips
abroad, now has the look of a very old man. Since February and March when the pope was in bed with a serious flu his health showed Turn to Page Seven
~~he Chancery Office has announced assignments to be effective Wednesday, June 21. Father John Perry, now directing campus ministry at Southeastern Massachusetts University, will also take up duties as chaplain of Bishop Stang High SC:lo01, North Dartmouth and wi:! serve as an assistant at St. Turn to Page Seven
Speaking at .the Sheraton Regal Inn, Hyannis, the ambassador's topic will be UN efforts to provide alternatives to war, including attempts to provide food supplies to needy nations. Lowenstein has held several UN positions, has been a member of the House of Representatives for New York State and has taught at several universities, including Stanford, Harvard and Yale. Reservations for his address and a preceding luncheon may be made through the Cape Cod Council of Churches or local Cape churches.
Flour Are Named To New Posts
what's inside Page neutrality? the quest for clarity first scout awards
10,000 CHEERED AS AGING POPE TOSSED SOCCER BALL
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