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The
ANCHOR·
Vol'. 1, No. 18
St. Joseph's Parish at Woods Hole, which has the distinction of being the fourth oldest parish on Cape Cod, is observing its 75th anniversary this year. Originally a mis sion of Corpus Christi at Sandwich, it was established as a separate parish in June, 1882, with Rev. Cornelius McSweeney as its first pastor. At that time, according to ~ai'ly baptismal records, the parish included all the south part of the Cape as far as
The Anchor .Sales Climb Thursday, Augu,st 8, 1957 In Diocese
An Anchor 0/ the Soul, Sure and Fi;m -
Fall River, Mass"
Cape Parish Marks
• 75th nnlversary
ST. PAUL
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Second Cia" Mail Privileges Authorized at Fall Riyer, Mass.
Feast Of Our Lady
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On a sweep of hill in downtown Fall River stands an answer. It is an answer in granite and stained-glass to a problem as mysterious as life itself: what becomes of us after death? Fall River first opened its doors The beautiful Cathedral to worshipers. of Our Lady of the AssumpIn 1950 the Holy Father merely tion has been teaching us defined as an article of faith by its very titie for over 100 what Christians had believed Co
years what Catholics have been believing for nearly 2,000 yearsthat the Blessed Virgin Mary's glorious Assumption, body and sOl~). into heaven is a thrilling preview of our own destiny. The Assumption answers despair with hope. To a world gloomily obsessed with the problem of pain and the grave, Mary's, Assumption cries to the ends of tM earth, "My Son has said that He is the resurrection and the life. Believe In Him!" Arllc\e of lFaith Catholic belief in the Blessed Virgin's Assumption into heaven did not begin on that Fall day in 1950 when< in St. Peter's Square, Pope Pius XII solemly defined it to be an article of faith, It goes back much further than that. The doctrine of Mary's Assumptlon was believed and loved long before Our Lady of the AssumptiOll in Osterville was completed In 1928 0 0 0 many years before the Assumption Church in New Bedford received its dedication in 1905 0 0 • and many, many centuries before the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in
from the very beginning. But why was a definition necessary if ,there was no doubt about Our Lady's Assumption? Why? Be cause our age needed to be strik ingly reminded about the destiny of the human body. Vision of Death For our nuclear age has pam pered itself into a cult of the body.. Result of this cult: the new Age of Carnality dreads any thought of death. For death puts a sudden end to the body. And so, to 'a civilization that cannot see beyond the ratios of pleasure, pain, and pulse, the finality of death is a hard reality to stare !n the face, But the Blessed Virgin's As sumption gives a new vision of death. It lavishes a 20-20 spirit ual power on those who wish to see. Our Lady's Assumption tells us for certain. if we have ever doubted it, that the body is beautifullY precious, and that death cannot change this beauty but only unite it, at the last, with the God of All Beauty. The Assumption of Our Lady Turn io Par:eEig-ht
Four more parishes scat tered thi'oug'hout the Dio cese have attained, or ex ~eeded, the quotas estab lished for them by the Circula tion Department of The ,Anchor. With the addition of these four, a total of 15 parishes are now distributing by mail the al lotment originally set for them when this newspaper commenced publication approximately four months ag'o. In addition, the circulation of ,The Anchor continues to increase in other parishes in the Diocese. The four parishes to reach their quotas are: Attleboro - St. Joseph's. Rev. Ubalde J. Deneault. pastor. Fall River - Espirito Santo. Rev. Joao V. Rezendes, pastor; Sacred Heart, Very Rev, J. Jos eph Sullivan, P.R., pastor. Mattapoisett - St. Anthony's, Rev. Damien Veary, SS.CC., ad ministrator. Eleven other parishes. listed alphabetically, distributing their weekly quotas are: Corpus Christi Church, Sand wlch. Rev. James A. Dury, pastor. Mt. Carmel, New Bedford. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Antonio P. -vieira, pastor. Mt. Carmel, Seekohk. Rev. James E. O'Reilly, pastor. Our Lady of, Grace Church, Westport, Rev. Maurice H. La montagne, pastor. Our Lady of the Isle, Nantuck et. Very Rev. Edward F. Dowling, pastor. St. Boniface" New Bedford, Rev. Columba Moran, S8.CC., pastor. St. DOminic's Church. Swan sea. Rev. George E. Sullivan, pastor. St. Francis, Acushnet, Rev. Alexis Wygers, SS.CC., pastor. St. Joseph's Church. New Bed ford, Rev. Louis E. Provost, pas tor. St. Patrick's Church, Fal mouth, Rev. James E. Gleason, pastor. ·St. Patrick's Church, Somer set, Rev. Edward J-. Gorman, pastor. The Anchor belongs in every Catholic home in the Diocese. Are you a regular subscriber? Tell your Catholic neighbor how ml,\ch you enjoy your copy of The Anchor.
Harwich and the Island of Nan tucket as well. Father MacSwee ney made reg'ular trips to Nan tucket to attend to the spirit'ual needs 'of his large flock. ~tories arc told of his ventures to and from the island even under the most severe weather conditions. On more than one occasion; it is said, his Nantucket parishioners stood weeping on the dock as their beloved priest braved the raging elements to bring his priestly services to some other section of' his large parish. Father MacSweeney served as pastor for 20 years, and saw the parish grow in numbers while shrinking in size, as other par i,'..hes were established on the Cape. In 1899 he built St. Pat rick's in Falmouth, which served as a mission' of St. Joseph's for many years. 111 1902 he was su~ ceeded by Fathet· James Coffey. who remained at st. Joseph's only three years, but is remem bered stl11 with affection and high regard by the older parish ioners. Tower Dedication In May, 1905 the Rev. Thomas F .Kennedy came to st. Joseph's and over the next 27 years be came one of the best known figures 'in the Falmouth area as he labored zealously in the care of the parish. It Is said that he never took a vacation, and was to be seen frequently in every sec tion of the parish from Waquoit to Cataumet in his horse-drawn carriage. In 1915 he opened the Immaculate Conception Chapel at Megansett as a summer cha pei, and was able to purchase the property five years later. In 1918 he opened st. Thomas Church in Falmouth Heights, to care for the needs of summer visitors. The crown of his activities came . with the dedication by the late Bishop JamesE. Cassidy, of the granite st. Joseph's Bell Tower, located opposite the church. and given by Mrs. Frank R. l.illie of Chicago and Woods Hole. In 1928 st. Patrick's in Falmouth became a separate parish and St. Jo seph's was left with the chapel at Megansett, as it is today. After 27 years of sterling serv ice Father Kennedy retired to a well earned rest in February, 1932. and was succeeded by Rev. Hugh A. Gal1agh~, who is at ' present the pastor of st. James in New Bedford. Father Galla
High Military Position for Fr(l Fenton
Appointment of Rev. (Lt. Col.) Bernard J. Fenton of Taunton, a Fall River Dio cesan priest who has been serving as-an Army chaplain for the past 15 years, to the office of Chief of Military Personnel Divi sion which handles recruitment. assignment of chaplains and! other personnel matters. has been announced by Msgr. (Maj. Gen,)
Patrick J. Ryan, Chief of Armii Chaplains, Father Fenton was educated at St. Mary's High School, Taun ton; Holy, Cross College and st. Bernard's Seminary, Rochester, N. Y. Ordained May 26, 1934 in .St. Mary's Cathedral, he served! as assistant at Corpus Christi Church, Sandwich, until 1941, when he was assigned to St. Paul's Church, Taunton. Enlisting in the Army' Chap lain Corps in March, 1942, Fath er Fenton served with the 141st Infantry, 36th Division in World! War II. He was awarded the Sil ver Stat·. Bronze Star, Legion of Merit. Purple Heart with cluster and the Presidential Citation. His African-Asiatic service medal carries the bronze arrowhead for a beach operation and seven ma jor campaign stars. Following World War II Fath er Fenton served for a time in United States before returning to Europe in 1947 for occupation Turn to Pall'e Nine