Author Archives: Mary Woodward

First Mass on Mississippi soil dates back to Easter 340 years

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – Possibly a little-known fact by most of us is this Easter is the 340th anniversary of the first Mass celebrated on Mississippi soil. In the southwest corner of the State of Mississippi in Wilkinson County, there exists a very important site of church and American history.

On Easter Sunday in 1682, Father Zenobius Membre, an Order of the Friars Minor Recollect priest, celebrated Easter Mass on the bluff above the river near present day Fort Adams as part of Sieur Robert Cavelier de LaSalle’s expedition down the river from Montreal to its mouth.

Although this is the first documented Mass in the area, there is much evidence that the Hernando deSoto expedition in 1540 would have had Masses celebrated in what is now southern Alabama. It is believed by the time the expedition reached the Mississippi, where deSoto died of a mosquito born illness in 1842 near present day Ferriday, Louisiana, the priests travelling with him would have run out of the wine needed for Mass.

FORT ADAMS – On Easter Sunday 1682, the first recorded Mass on Mississippi soil took place in Wilkinson county. St. Patrick’s Church was built in 1900 on Fort Adams town square. Today, the town has largely become a hunting and fishing camp and was named to the 2021 list of Ten Most Endangerd Places in Mississippi by the Heritage Trust. (Photos by Mary Woodward)


After de LaSalle claimed the territory along the entire river for France and named it Louisiana, the Bishop of Quebec sent missionary priests down the river to evangelize the various tribes of indigenous people. Father Antione Davion was one of these missionaries, who came to the area around 1698 and established a small mission near the site of what is now Fort Adams. He built a small church on the bluff, which became known as La Roche a Davion, and ministered there until he left the mission in 1720.

In 1795, after the Revolutionary War, the United States signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo with Spain, establishing the boundary between Spanish West Florida and the U.S. at Latitude 31 N, a short distance south of Roche Davion. Because of its strategic location on the river, the site became the last military outpost before French territory and served as the port of entry for the United States. The name was then changed to Fort Adams after the President John Adams who was in office at that time.

It is here that in 1801, the Choctaws signed the Treaty of Fort Adams ceding more than 2.6 million acres of Choctaw land to the U.S. When the Louisiana Purchase occurred in 1803, the more than 500 troops on site were moved to New Orleans, but Fort Adams continued to function as a post until the War of 1812.

With time and the river’s changing course, Fort Adams population dwindled as happens in many cases. Those who remained eventually saw the building of a small church dedicated to St. Patrick on the town’s main square in 1900. The church, along with St. Joseph Church built in 1873 were serviced by priests from Natchez mostly until 1940, when St. Joseph was established as a parish again.

Nowadays, Fort Adams has become largely a hunting and fishing camp with only a few houses and two churches remaining, including St. Patrick. Although, the river is now distant from the town, it often visits after a few heavy rains and floods most of the area including the small church, which a few years ago was given to a group of local parishioners devoted to saving the church building. Mass is no longer celebrated there and most of the sacred items are stored safely in higher ground.

On a visit to Woodville and Fort Adams a few years ago, I was given a tour of the area by my dear cousin, Shep Crawford, local lawyer and judge, who has lived in Wilkinson County near Woodville for many years. Shep and I toured Fort Adams on a dry day and were able to see St. Patrick and the almost permanent water line four feet up on the church exterior wall. Pontoons boats were parked on the land adjacent to it. Residents of the area live up on the hillsides that once looked out of the “father of waters.”

We then made our way around to the small hamlet of Pond, which is named so because there is a pond in the middle of it. It includes a small general store and post office and a couple of cabins overlooking the pond.

I have often wanted to return to Pond and one of its cabins to spend a few days steeped in the history of the area. But I also remember Shep casually stating, as we stopped and looked down a road headed south, that 20 minutes down this scenic highway was Angola State Prison. So that was a reality check.

The entire town of Fort Adams was named to the 2021 Ten Most Endangered Places in Mississippi by the Mississippi Heritage Trust. It is recognized for its once pivotal role in the development of borders among nations as our country and state grew into existence.

So, on this Easter Sunday, imagine back 340 years and a missionary journey that brought the sacred mysteries to a small corner of God’s Kingdom. The history is there, and the spirits of the past linger as an inspiration of commitment and dedication to our Catholic Faith. We give thanks to Almighty God for them.

I credit the Heritage Trust website for historical information included in this article. You can learn more about the 10 most endangered places at https://www.10mostms.com/.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

Current war tactics date back centuries;
Bishop Elder describes destruction in time of U.S. Civil War

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – This week we are journeying back to Civil War times in analyzing the current situation in the world. In no way would I equate the motives of the Civil War to that of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but the siege tactics are classic military maneuvers that date back centuries.

In July 1863, the city of Vicksburg fell after a 47-day siege by General Ulysses S. Grant. Forty miles to the east, General William Sherman arrived at Jackson to implement a similar siege strategy.

My knowledge of Civil War tactics may not be precisely accurate, but we read in Bishop William Henry Elder’s diary about the Civil War’s destruction to Jackson and its only Catholic church – St. Peter. Bishop Elder’s writing style is more phrase-based than in complete sentences, but it is easily followed.

The original St. Peter Church was located about five blocks south and east from its current location on the corner of West and Amite Streets in the center of the capitol city. In May 1863, it along with the school and rectory was burned to the ground by Federal troops exiting Jackson. The troops were ordered to burn tar in a storage shed adjacent to the church according to the diary and despite the pleas of Father Orlandi, the pastor, to move the tar into the street away from the church, the shed was set ablaze and with it all the parish buildings.

A view from a drone shows the site of a destroyed shopping center after it was hit during a Russian military strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 21, 2022. During his March 20 Angelus, Pope Francis condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine, calling it a “senseless massacre” and “sacrilegious” attack on human life. (CNS photo/Marko Djurica, Reuters)

We read in the diary marked May 21: “Father Orlandi begged for fifteen minutes to roll the barrels into the street where they would burn with less danger to the church, but the officer would allow of no delay and the shed was so close that there was no possibility of saving the church, etc. – All the ornaments and furniture were removed to safety. Dr. Hewet, surgeon in the Federal Army, brother to Rev. Dr. Hewet of the Paulists, himself a convert, endeavored also to obtain the respite, and when he could not succeed, he helped to save the things.”

Two months later, on July 18-20, Bishop Elder is able finally to visit Jackson and this is what he reports: July 18: “General Crosby, Commanding the Rear Guard, first refused to let me go to Jackson. When I explained that I wanted to see to the Sisters [of Mercy], he agreed to let me go.”

“Left Brandon at 4 p.m. for Jackson. Some cotton burned along the road and some burning [still]. Federal Pickets allowed me to go to the hospital – the field hospital of the Confederates during the siege of Jackson: attended still by Confederate Surgeons – although in the Federal Lines. Dr. Hinckley – son of Lawyer Hinckley of Baltimore has charge.”

July 19, Sunday – “No Mass. Spent the day visiting the hospital. The Federal Soldiers wounded here were moved – nearly all of them to town today.”

July 20 – “Continued in the hospitals till dinner time. The doctors here have been very polite to me.”
“After dinner drove into Jackson – trestle work burning – rails torn up – crossed river on the pontoon bridge of the Federals. In the warm ashes and ruins at every step. Melancholy desolation. Found Father Orlandi at Mrs. O’Connor’s house. Sad meeting.”

“The chapel he had fitted up with so much labor – in the Spengler’s Saloon – has been burned – the chalice and crucifix stolen – though recovered broken – bought by a Catholic Federal soldier and brought back to Father Orlandi. Father Orlandi’s house was robbed of all his clothes and the provisions he had laid up.

“He is now living on Army rations – he has no place to cook them. Today he has eaten only some crackers.”

“We went to General Ewing’s quarters to find a safe place for my horse and buggy. General Ewing is a Catholic from Ohio. He promised to see that the Sisters’ Convent in Vicksburg would be preserved unhurt for them. I could not talk much, I felt myself choaked with sadness.”

A man walks near a block of destroyed apartment buildings in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 17, 2022. A theater in Mariupol, where hundreds of people are said to have taken shelter, has sustained heavy damage after it was bombed by Russian forces. (CNS photo/Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters)

I share these moments to bring us back to the notion that no matter the era, the destruction of war only hurts those caught in the middle. The human toll – both physical and spiritual – is immeasurable.
Those trying to bring aid and relief to the people of Ukraine in the midst of the chaos and savage violence are much like the wandering Bishop Elder trying to minister to those he encountered in field hospitals and burned-out towns.

Now as we are spectators to a war unfolding before us, let us pray for peace and hope for a miracle.
Pope Francis is consecrating Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord. Here is a snippet of the prayer he is using:
Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.
Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.
Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.
Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.
Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.
Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.
Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.
Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.
Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.
Amen.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

Glimpse of WWI and WWII through lens of Bishops Gunn and Gerow

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward

JACKSON – Considering the volatile situation, the world is facing, I thought I would share some more somber notes from Bishop John E. Gunn’s diary about World War I and a reflective paragraph from Bishop Richard Gerow’s diary on the beginning of World War II.

WWI was the war to end all wars, but obviously that was not the case. My paternal grandfather served as a mule-trainer in WWI as part of the 39th Infantry 140th Field Artillery Regimen in France during the last stages of that war. He never spoke of it.

Volumes of Bishop Gerow’s diary sit on the desk of Mary Woodward.

Bishop Gunn writes in his diary at Christmas 1915: “It seemed hard to preach on peace on earth and good will to men at Christmas when everyone was talking of the big war. I made no allusion to it in my notes of 1915 because our President told us to be neutral in thought and word.

“However, now everybody is talking of it – in fact, the world is talking of nothing else, it may be no harm to note some dates and facts that will live in history.”
“In the summer of 1914, an Austrian Archduke was assassinated in Servia. The crime was an atrocious one and was turned over to the world politicians for adjustment. The politicians fumbled and turned the crime over to the war lords of Europe, with this result:
1914 – July 28th Austria declares war on Servia
August 1st Germany invades France
August 4th England declares war on Germany
August 6th The Germans take two Belgian forts
August 10th France breaks with Austria
August 13th England declares war on Austria
August 18th English soldiers land in France
August 23rd The Allies take offensive against the Germans along 150 miles from Mons to Luxembourg but on the 24th the Allies were forced to fall back. The Germans had all the initial advantages and on August 30th the French left wing had to fall back, thus exposing on August 31st even the capture of Paris; the French government voted to move the capital temporarily to Bourdeaux.”

Shelby Woodward, sitting, is the paternal grandfather of diocesan chancellor and archivist, Mary Woodward. He is pictured here with others at Camp Shelby for training before deployment in World War I. (Photos courtesy of Mary Woodward)

“Apart from the Battle of Marne the first few months of the war was entirely favorable to Germany. Americans read and listened and the biggest propaganda that was ever known in the history of the world was started in 1914 and continued all through 1915 to get the Americans actively interested on the side of the Allies. In this diary I shall say little about the war, except where the Diocese took some part in it.”

On April 2, 1917, the United States entered the war on the side of the allies. It was the beginning of Holy Week in the Catholic Church and Bishop Gunn writes the following in his diary from April 1917: “The usual routine of Holy Week at Natchez – the blessing of the oils, the washing of the feet, the big ceremonies of Good Friday and Holy Saturday and Easter were all thrown in the shade by the declaration of war against Germany.

“This declaration upset everyone and everything and its influence was felt in every circle. I made up my mind before Easter Sunday the role that I would play as Bishop of Natchez during the war.”

“I had no time for consultation with anybody but at the Pontifical High Mass on Easter Sunday, April 8, I declared my policy very clearly and very plainly. While preaching on the subject ‘Christianity is not a Failure’ (because it never got a chance) as we were living in an age when there was knowledge without faith, manners without morality; plenty of work but ill-directed, I took up the President’s proclamation and told the Catholics of the Diocese that during the war they had to follow one leader; they had to form their conscience to one direction and to do everything as men, as Christians and as Catholics to win the war.”

Shelby Woodward’s ring commemorating WWI. He was a part of the 39th Infantry 140th Field Artillery Regimen in France.

Twenty-two years later, on Sept. 3, 1939, Bishop Gerow writes this bleak entry in his diary: “Today, England and France officially declared a state of war exists with Germany. Though we in this country are three thousand miles from Europe, we feel that the inauguration of another great war in Europe cannot but have a vital influence upon us and upon the other nations of the world, no matter how far away they may be.”

“We cannot but hope and pray that the other nations of the world will not be involved in this conflict and that another world war may not ensue which might wreck our modern civilization.”

Only two years later, he writes on Dec. 8, 1941: “Today, President Roosevelt addressed Congress telling them of the attack of the Japanese upon the Hawaiian Islands and our naval and air forces there, asking them to declare war.”

Bishops’ diaries provide a unique lens on history often including facts that do not make it into the history books. We are fortunate to have these diaries to be able to look back on the development of the church in Mississippi, the region, the country and the world.

I share these sobering passages from the two diaries to put into perspective what is going on in Ukraine as this is written. Who knows what will be by the day this is published and where we may be in two weeks or even two years? We can only pray and hope for peace.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

Commanding figure, Bishop Chanche rests in Natchez

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward

JACKSON – In his person, Bishop Chanche was of rather a tall and commanding figure, and prepossessing in his appearance. The grace and dignity with which he conducted the ceremonials of the church, on marked occasions, will long be remembered. By his courteous bearing and suavity of manner, as well as by sacerdotal virtues that graced his life, he won the esteem and respect of all who knew him.

The above is taken from a funeral story published July 24, 1852, in The Catholic Mirror, newspaper for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, upon the July 22 death of Bishop John Joseph Chanche, SS, first bishop of our diocese.

On Feb. 19, Bishop Joseph Kopacz presented the Bishop John Joseph Chanche Medal to 17 individuals from parishes around our expansive diocese. This diocesan award, established in 2012 in honor of our diocese’s 175th anniversary, is given for outstanding service to parish, diocese and community.

Bishop Chanche was a Sulpician. Since 1641, Sulpicians have dedicated themselves to assisting bishops by providing seminary education and ongoing formation to priests.

NATCHEZ – Mary Woodward and Jimmy Guercio, who was chair of the St. Mary Basilica archives committee, are pictured at the resting place of Bishop John Joseph Chanche on July 28, 2012 for the 175th anniversary of the diocese. (Photos courtesy of archives)
William Cardinal Keeler, then Archbishop of Baltimore, receiving the remains of Bishop John Joseph Chanche, SS on Jan. 19, 2008 at St. Mary Basilica. To the right is Mary Woodward and Father Matthew Simmons.

Arriving in Natchez from Baltimore St. Mary College and Seminary where he was president and rector in May 1841, Bishop Chanche found a couple of missionary priests and no real church building. By his death in July 1852, the diocese had grown to 11 parishes throughout the state and 13 priests.

After serving as Chief Promoter of the First Plenary council of Baltimore in May 1852, Bishop Chanche went to visit family in nearby Frederick, Maryland. It is believed that he contracted cholera which led to a slow, painful death two months later. He was buried in the Baltimore Cathedral Cemetery.

The following was written in The Catholic Mirror after his Requiem Mass: Bishop Chanche was greatly beloved in our community – his native city and the field of many years’ zeal and labor – the tears which moistened the eyes of those who surrounded his grave evidence that his absence from among us had not caused him to be forgotten.

In 1878, he was moved with the remains of his sister, Mary Marcilly Edwards, to the new Cathedral Cemetery. There he remained until the fall of 2007, when after many years of research and preparations, the St. Mary Basilica Archives Committee in Natchez in conjunction with then Bishop Joseph Latino asked the Archdiocese of Baltimore to have his remains sent back to his diocesan home to be buried.

His Eminence, William Cardinal Keeler, then Archbishop of Baltimore, agreed to the exhumation and to come celebrate the re-interment Mass on Jan. 19, 2008.

The morning of Jan. 19, we awakened to three inches of snow on the ground. It had not snowed in Natchez in 15 years. I wondered if it was a message from Bishop Chanche to please not dig him up again and let him rest in peace, since this was the third time he would be buried.

Unbeknownst to most, we had requested a small box of soil from St. Mary Seminary on Paca Street in Baltimore to put in the grave so that Bishop Chanche would have some native soil beneath him. As an aside, St. Mary Seminary gave us Bishop Chanche in 1841 and Bishop William Houck in 1979.

When the snow stopped, I emptied the soil into the grave which is located on the grounds of St. Mary Basilica behind the rectory. Fortunately, the grave had been covered for several days.

The Mass was concelebrated by archbishops, bishops, and clergy from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Music incorporated into the liturgy was indicative of pieces from the times of Bishop Chanche.

In spite of the weather, a large congregation gathered to pay their respects to the well-travelled bishop, who left the comforts of his life at the seminary in Baltimore and journeyed to what must have seemed like the edge of the universe to serve God’s people in Mississippi. He served fervently and faithfully until the end.

Father Jean Jacques Olier, founder of the Sulpicians, penned a beautiful prayer for his confreres, which was placed in the worship book for the Mass in 2008. It is indicative of Bishop Chanche’s ministry and zeal and embodied in our Chanche Medal recipients:
O Jesus living in Mary,
Come and live in your servants,
In the spirit of your holiness,
In the fullness of your power,
In the perfection of your ways,
In the truth of your virtues,
In the communion of your mysteries,
Have dominion over every adverse power,
In your Spirit for the glory of the Father.
Amen.

As Bishop Kopacz presented the medals to this year’s awardees, memories of that Mass in 2008 filled my mind – the snow, the dirt, the Spirit – all reflective of honoring our first bishop – John Joseph Marie Benedict Chanche, a tall, commanding figure; prepossessing in appearance.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

Vandalism damages items procured from days of ‘Apostle of the Delta’

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward

JACKSON – Somewhere around Jan. 26, our diocesan church family was wounded by an act of violence and evil against Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Greenwood.

Most likely the work of someone high on crack or mentally ill, nonetheless the church was broken into and vandalized – the altar was overturned, and an antique five-foot statue of the Blessed Mother was heavily damaged. The Blessed Sacrament was removed from the tabernacle and placed on the church’s original altar. The antique baptismal font was damaged, and songbooks were strewn all over the pews. Fortunately, no spray paint was involved.

Throughout its early history, Greenwood Catholics were served from Water Valley and Lexington. The initial church structure was built in 1901 and in 1912, Father John Clerico, a young priest from Italy, was appointed the first resident pastor.

Msgr. John Clerico was known as the “Apostle to the Delta” because he ministered to much of the area, including Grenwood, Shelby, Leland, Hollandale, Anguilla, Indianola and Belzoni. Many of the items damaged in a break-in at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish were procured from Italy by Msgr. Clerico.

Father Clerico was ordained on June 9, 1906, in Genoa, Italy and came to the diocese in March 1907, where he began serving in Shelby at St. Mary Church and its missions. Father Clerico who became a monsignor in 1951, became known as the “Apostle to the Delta” because he ministered to much of the area from Greenwood for the next 52 years until 1964.

Msgr. Clerico considered the entire area, which included Greenwood, Shelby, Leland, Hollandale, Anguilla, Indianola and Belzoni, as his parish and he knew all the families of the region. Hence, he was given the title mentioned above. There is even a park named after him in Greenwood.

Many of the furnishings in IHM church were procured from Italy by the apostle. The 100-year-old statue which was heavily damaged was hand-painted and made of plaster. I have brought it to Jackson in the hopes that a local artist might be able to repair it.

The altar that was turned over was restored more than 10 years ago and was rededicated by Bishop Joseph Latino in a beautiful ceremony with the whole parish present. The parishioners were so excited to have another piece of their history becoming a part of their worship.

On Tuesday, Feb. 1, in a very moving and compassionate manner, Bishop Joseph Kopacz celebrated a Mass of Rededication for the parish and again anointed the altar and walls of the church returning it to sacredness from the evil that had been wrought upon it. There was a sense of resolve and relief among those present that what Msgr. Clerico had put in place was now made whole and healed once more.

It is hard to put into words the myriad of feelings experienced when evil attacks the church – even if it was a misguided or mentally ill person who perpetrated the acts. It was still evil. IHM is home to many, and the violence of this vandalism was heart-breaking.

In its infinite wisdom, Holy Mother Church has beautiful and deeply profound rituals that bring solace and a renewed sense of hope in the Lord by reclaiming the sacred from the profane. I consider it a blessing and a privilege to have been present for Bishop Latino’s dedication of the refurbished altar many years ago and for the rededication on Feb. 1, by Bishop Kopacz.

As Bishop Kopacz anointed the walls of the church with Chrism, I imagined Msgr. Clerico looking down lovingly upon all gathered in IHM from where he now celebrates endlessly at the table of the heavenly banquet.

The next morning as I was driving home from Greenwood in the rain with the broken statue of the Blessed Mother lying in the back of my car, I reflected on the liturgy the night before and the beautiful depth of faith shared at IHM. What an awe-inspiring numinous moment in the life of our universal church where the communion of saints joined with the people to restore a sacred space.

When it began to rain harder and I approached several 18-wheelers spraying blinding mist on my windshield, I felt fear rising in my heart as I engaged to pass them one at a time on the slick, ponding road. We have all been in this situation and it is no fun thinking about passing these mammoth vehicles in those conditions.

GREENWOOD – Pieces of the Blessed Mother statue damaged in a break-in at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, pictured below, ride in the back of Chancellor Mary Woodward’s vehicle brought back to possibly be repaired by a local artist. (Photo by Joanna Puddister King)

Suddenly, I remembered I had the Blessed Mother with me in the back seat. Even though she was battered and broken in many pieces, she came together and gave me the strength to put the pedal to the metal and get past those trucks.

Thank you, Blessed Mother! What a great church!

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson)

Bless the Kelly’s of Potato Hill

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – As we begin the new calendar year, let’s visit another interesting stop in Bishop John Gunn’s diary. This time we are on the road in northeast Mississippi in June of 1912.

On this trip, Bishop Gunn visits Tupelo and Plantersville among other places. He conferred the sacrament of confirmation and spoke to large gatherings of Catholics and non-Catholics in each location.

On June 12 he arrived in Tupelo and here is what he had to say about his visit: “Tupelo is a boom town of new growth with plenty of activity, and a promise that it may become something. The town hall was secured, much free advertisement was given, and I said Mass on the stage, confirmed a few Catholics there and found the big event of the visit was to be a mass meeting in the theatre to hear the Bishop talk of Catholic claims.”

“I spoke about an hour in Tupelo on that night and was congratulated for nearly another hour afterwards with such vigorous handshaking that I was afraid of arm dislocation.”

Similar to the Kelly cabin in Plantersville, this house from our diocesan archives photo collection in Hickory Flats could have been a visiting place for our early bishops, such as Bishops Elder and Gunn.

From Tupelo, Bishop Gunn headed the next day to Plantersville – called Potato Hill by locals. There he encountered an elderly Mrs. Kelly, who was overcome with tears of joy to meet the Bishop. Bishop Gunn’s diary account gives the reason for her outpouring.

“There was one family of the name Kelly – the oldest settler in that section – and after walking, riding and climbing for a number of hours we reached the little log cabin on a hill where Mrs. Kelly was rocking herself in expectation.”

“She was old and very religious and as soon as she heard that there was actually a Bishop on her porch she commenced to weep and to talk about John. ‘Do you think, Bishop, he will ever be forgiven, or what part of hell is he in, or can you get him out?’ Or other questions equally hard to answer.”
“I thought that John probably had misconducted himself in years gone by – he was now eleven years dead – and his wife had not completely forgiven him. I tried to make the man’s excuse as well as I could, but she would talk of John and finally I let her tell the whole story.”

“John and I came from Ireland to Mobile and we got married there and struck out to find a quiet place to spend our honeymoon. We got tired just here and we camped and thought it would be a good place to remain.”

“The Indians were everywhere but they didn’t bother us. John – who was a carpenter – cut down the logs and I was strong enough to drag the logs up here. John and I built this log house, and we were the happiest people in the world for some thirty or forty years. The Indians roundabout didn’t bother us, but the Protestants wanted me and John to go to their meeting houses, or they wanted us to pray with them.”

“This made John mad and every time he saw anything like a preacher he commenced to curse and swear, and I had great trouble in keeping John from attacking the preacher. This kept on for years and finally the great trouble came to John one evening when two men came up the side of the hill on horseback. John and I were on the porch looking at them coming.”

“John whispered to me ‘here are two more preachers’ and it was not long until one of them came up and said, ‘Aren’t you John Kelly?’ He said ‘Yes, what do you want?’ “Well, John, I heard you are a Catholic.’”

“Then John got mad, and he asked the preacher what in —- did it matter to him, and the preacher smiled, and that made John madder and madder. He told the preacher to go to the bad place. This made the man get off his horse and John got ready to thrash him when the preacher said to him: ‘Why, John Kelly, I am Bishop Elder, the Bishop of Natchez, and that is the way you receive me and treat me.’”

“Poor John was dumbfounded that he couldn’t speak but fainted. To send his Bishop, who had come 28 miles on horseback to see him – to welcome him in such a way. And Mrs. Kelly’s whole trouble was to find out if poor John, who had received the last Bishop who had visited them, was still suffering from the reception given.”

“The Kelly’s had been visited 28 years before by Bishop Elder and poor Mrs. Kelly was glad to see another Bishop who promised all kinds of excuses for her old man, John.”

“She had a number of grown-up children and their families. They were all at supper in the log cabin at Potato Hill. I got the best room and enjoyed it as the trip was long and tiresome.”
This is a great account of life on the road in our diocese. We take for granted being able to travel most places in the diocese in one day. Here we have the accounts of bishops travelling to some outlying areas to find their sheep – even sheep who greet them in a not so pleasant way.

God bless the Kelly’s of Potato Hill – salt of the earth.


(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson)

Rich tradition links Archdiocese of Mobile and Jackson

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward

JACKSON – Recently, I spent a few days in the Mobile area getting some spiritual guidance and refueling after some interesting months. As I sat in the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, I began to think about the historic connection our diocese has with Mobile.

To give a brief history of the region, I have taken the following from the Archdiocese of Mobile’s website history section.

The Archdiocese of Mobile was established as the Vicariate-Apostolic of Alabama and the Floridas in 1825 and became the Diocese of Mobile on May 15, 1829, with Bishop Michael Portier, D.D., as the First Bishop of Mobile. The newly created Diocese of Mobile encompassed the entire State of Alabama and the entire State of Florida.

In the 1850’s new dioceses were created in the State of Florida, nonetheless, the Diocese of Mobile still retained the panhandle of Florida until 1968 when the panhandle of Florida became part of the Diocese of St. Augustine and later the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. On Oct. 8, 1969, the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham was divided into two separate dioceses with the newly created diocese in the state known as the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama.

In 1980 the Diocese of Mobile was raised to the status of an archdiocese and Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb was appointed the First Archbishop of the newly created Archdiocese of Mobile. Today the archdiocese encompasses 22,969 square miles and includes the lower 28 counties of the State of Alabama.

Bishop Michael Portier, D.D., first bishop of Mobile. (Photos courtesy of The Catholic Week/Archdiocese of Mobile)

The arrival of Catholicism in the region traces its origins to the early Spanish and French explorations and permanent settlements at Pensacola, Florida in 1696, and in Mobile in 1702, where a parish was erected on July 20, 1703, with Henry Rolleaux de la Vente as first pastor. At the time of the creation of the new Diocese of Mobile in 1829, most Catholics were centered in the principal towns of Mobile, Pensacola and St. Augustine.

I have such fond memories of Archbishop Lipscomb who died July 15, 2020. He was a consummate man of the church who exuded priesthood and the office of bishop and had a deep, abiding love for the history and tradition of the Catholic faith in our region.

A man of gentle voice and spirit, he was the principal consecrator of Bishop Joseph N. Latino on March 7, 2003. After the ceremony, we were headed back to the bishops’ vesting area, where he asked me to summon the miter and crozier bearers who had served him that day. When brothers Garrett and Gordon McMullin arrived, the Archbishop presented each of them with two gold Sacagawea dollars stating it was an ancient tradition in the church for the bishop to present two gold coins to them because they were considered part of the bishop’s household.

That was such a special moment to witness, and it testified to the Archbishop’s love for history and the church’s rich traditions.

Oftentimes as Mississippi Catholics, we connect ourselves to New Orleans because we share the River with Louisiana. Our diocese originally was cut from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which is the Mother See of the United States. In 1850, New Orleans was elevated to an archdiocese and became our longtime province and metropolitan see until 1980, when Mobile was elevated to an archdiocese. We then were reunited with our sister territory of Alabama into the Mobile province as mentioned in the last article.

So, in reflecting on our history as a combined U.S. territory with Alabama in the early days of America, we have a lot of extraordinary connections to Mobile not only ecclesially, but also through the air we breathe, the soil upon which we trod and the beaches we enjoy year-round. We are sisters and brothers in one of the most unique territories in the country – Spanish West Florida.

Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb was the first Archbishop of the newly created Archdiocese of Mobile in 1980.

In another profound way we are linked to Mobile through the office of bishop. Both Bishop Richard O. Gerow (1924-1966) and Bishop William R. Houck (1984-2003) were Mobile natives and Bishop Joseph L. Howze (auxiliary of our diocese from 1972-1977) was from Daphne.
Bishop Houck had a unique connection to Archbishop Lipscomb in that the Archbishop’s uncle, Msgr. Hugh Lipscomb, was Bishop Houck’s first pastor to serve under as a newly ordained priest in 1951. Bishop Houck often remarked that the Monsignor was quite the mentor.
Therefore, as I sat in the Cathedral in Mobile, I pondered on the rich tradition of Catholicism in the region and offered a prayer for Archbishop Lipscomb, who is buried in the crypt below the altar there, and for Bishops Gerow and Houck – sons of Mobile. Then I prayed for the laity, religious and clergy of our diocese and the archdiocese along with our current bishops – Joseph Kopacz and Thomas Rodi, who carry on the ministry of those 19th-century bishops of the region – John Joseph Chanche and Michael Poitier.
May God continue to bless our region with strong faith and a deep connection to our mission to serve the Lord in this distinctive corner of God’s kingdom.
I pray you all have a blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year. See you from the archives in 2022.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson)

MOBILE – The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was consecrated by Bishop Portier on Sunday, Dec. 8, 1850. The Diocese of Jackson is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mobile.

Bishop Gunn’s diary shares rich family history and experience being named bishop

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – Since we focused on Bishop John Gunn’s surviving the arsenic attack in 1916, I thought I would share some more details about the bishop from the early pages of his diary.

Pictured is the Seventh Archbishop of New Orleans, James Herbert Blenk. Bishop Gunn wrote in his diary about his appointment as the Bishop of Natchez, detailing his interactions with Blenk, who was a great mentor to him. (Photo public domain)

Bishop Gunn was born on March 15, 1863, in County Tyrone, Ireland. He was the oldest of 11 children. His family originally came from Scotland to County Tyrone as descendants of Olaf the Black, a Viking ruler of the Isles off the coast of Scotland in the 13th century.

Hence, they called themselves the “Black Gunns of Caithness” and the family motto was aut pax aut bellum (either peace or war).

Bishop Gunn honors this heritage on his coat of arms with a Viking ship, but wisely chose not to use the family motto for his episcopal motto. He instead chose Monstra Te Esse Matrem (show thyself to be our mother) which comes from his formation as Marist priest.

He studied at the Gregorian University in Rome and was professed in 1884 and ordained a priest in 1890. He was ordained a bishop on August 29, 1911, at Sacred Heart Church in Atlanta where he had been serving for 13 years. Fellow Marist and Archbishop of New Orleans, James Hubert Herbert Blenk, was the principal consecrator.

In reading through the early entries of Bishop Gunn’s diary, it is evident that Archbishop Blenk was a great friend and mentor to him.

Bishop John Edward Gunn, SM was the sixth Bishop of Natchez, serving from 1911-1924. His coat of arms features his heritage with a Viking ship. His episcopal motto Monstra Te Esse Matrem translates to “show thyself to be our mother.” (Photo from archives)

From Sept. 11, 1911, we read: “I went to Archbishop Blenk where the only misunderstanding I ever had with him was explained. I knew that I had been proposed for San Antonio and I made Archbishop Blenk promise he would oppose any and every effort to have me appointed a Bishop anywhere. When my appointment came, I accused him a breaking his promise and he showed me letters from Cardinal Gibbons which explained my appointment to Natchez and cleared Blenk. The Archbishop brought me to his friends in New Orleans and tried to give me the necessary courage to face Mississippi.”

His next entry from Sept. 14, supports the previous: “Started for Natchez with Father Larkin and my brother, Father Ed. I wanted Blenk to come – he refused, telling me that I was old enough to face the music without a chaperone and that the Natchez spotlight was not brilliant enough for two. I think his advice was correct.”

A few months later on March 21, 1912, Bishop Gunn gives us an interesting insight into his ministry as Bishop in describing a meeting of the Bishops of the Province of New Orleans. In 1912, the then Diocese of Natchez was part of the Province of New Orleans. Dioceses are structurally arranged according to provinces and then regions. Provinces center around an archdiocese and archbishop, known as the metropolitan.

Currently the Diocese of Jackson is part of the Province of Mobile that was established in 1980 when Mobile was elevated to an archdiocese. The dioceses of Jackson, Biloxi and Birmingham are suffragan sees under the archdiocese of Mobile. Coincidentally, our own Bishop, Joseph Kopacz, is the senior suffragan of the province led by Archbishop Thomas Rodi.

Back to 1912 where we were a suffragan see of New Orleans. Bishop Gunn describes the March 21 meeting in this manner: “That was my first introduction to the Bishops of the Province of New Orleans and a more congenial lovable lot of men I never met.

“I was born afraid of Bishops. I ran and hid from them when I could, feared them, and never met any of them that I thought worth knowing until I met the Bishops of the New Orleans Province. Such men as Gallagher of Galveston, Meerschaert of Oklahoma, Morris of Little Rock, Allen of Mobile and the younger crowd – Shaw of San Antonio and Lynch of Dallas, and of course, the greatest Roman of them all – the Archbishop of New Orleans [Blenk].”

“The meeting was a serious one and a useful one, but it did not prevent Meerschaert and Van de Ven from initiating Lynch and myself with some third degree work, especially suited to the Mutt and Jeff of the Bishops of the Province. I met most of these Bishops at my consecration, but I got to know them on the 21st and if knowing is akin to loving, I see my finish.”

Having served in the diocesan structure for more than 30 years, and in a particularly close way having served the office of bishop, I have observed a lot about the office and the men in it. I think often we forget that these are men, not statues, and they have very real fears and trepidations in accepting the office. Heavy is the head that wears the miter.
During this Advent, I am aiming some extra prayers for the bishops with whom I serve and have served. I encourage you to do the same. They need it.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson)

Bishop Gunn’s diary details 1916 poisoning attempt

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward

JACKSON – After last week’s article on the death of our bishops, I received a few inquiries about the arsenic poisoning of Bishop John Edward Gunn, which actually occurred in February 1916 in Chicago instead of 1915 Detroit as previously reported.

The event honored Archbishop George Mundelein who was recently appointed as Chicago’s top prelate. Most of Chicago’s “who’s who’s” were there. Bishop Gunn’s description of the event is so vivid that I will let his words paint the scene.

“On February 10th there was a meeting of the Catholic Church Extension Society followed by a dinner at the Archbishop’s house. Everybody was invited to wait over in Chicago for the big blow-out that was to take place on the night of February 10th when the city of Chicago was to banquet the new Archbishop. This banquet was engineered by Msgr. [Francis] Kelley of Catholic Extension.

Bishop John Edward Gunn

“It took place in the banquet hall of the University Club and had among its guests forty Bishops, the head of the Army, the government officials, Governor of the State, Mayor of the City and everybody else worthwhile in Chicago.”

“It was at that banquet that the nearest approach to the wholesale poisoning of the hierarchy and the Chicago millionaires was attempted. After the oysters came the soup and while only a small cupful was served to each guest, before the last guest was served with soup, one hundred men were on the floor or were being carried out. There was a panic in the dining room and as no one knew its cause, everybody was frightened.”

“The University Club was turned into an emergency hospital and I was able to get to the elevator. I was brought down to one of the big reception rooms and gently deposited at full length on the floor. I was beside an Army Officer in full regimentals, a civic authority with a generous abundance of shirt waist, a Bishop from somewhere, and we were all in a very undignified scramble to reach the same spittoon.”

“The celebrated Doctor Murphy had charge of our room and while medical hygiene may be all right in the abstract there was very little time for the niceties or ethics of medicine on that occasion. A bell boy from the hotel went ‘round with a pitcher and a glass and insisted on giving everyone a dose of mustard and tepid water.”

“The man who did not take it was made to take it and the results were instantaneous, but the heavily cushioned upholstered University Club carried for a long time the marks of the banquet.”

“Of course, the thing broke up the banquet and about 100 hundred men just barely escaped death by poisoning. There were about 100 who did not take soup and they remained in the banquet hall to make and hear the speeches.”

“About one o’clock I managed to get to my hotel room more dead than alive and the feeling was the usual feeling after a bad attack of sea-sickness. I left as soon as possible for the Pass [Christian] but nothing could induce me to even look into the dining room on the way between Chicago and New Orleans.”

“The papers of the country and the detectives of every country got busy to find the poisoner. He was a socialist from Alsace-Lorraine, who was in charge of making the soup. It seems he studied poisoning as a sideline to Socialism and he knew with German accuracy the exact amount of soup to be served to each guest.”

“The soup was made a day or two in advance; the poison was added; and Jacques Crones took French leave. On the night of the banquet there were more guests than soup portions, with the result that the soup had to be watered and smaller portions served. It seems that this saved the entire banqueting party from having to attend their own funeral.”

“I was glad to get back to the Pass on Feb 12th where I stayed under a doctor’s orders close to a stomach pump until the end of the month.”

So that is the real story about the arsenic poisoning from the diary of Bishop Gunn. The diaries of bishops provide much history that never shows up in history books or news media. They are priceless treasures of diocesan life and the development of the church in our state, region and country.

We will share much more as time goes on from these unique perspectives of history from the very real men who held the office of bishop.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson)

Exploring deaths of diocese former shepherds

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward

JACKSON – November is the month to remember the dead in our Catholic faith. It opens with the Solemnity of All Saints where we honor all those ordinary people in our lives who were saints to us. The next day is All Souls, a personal favorite of mine, in which we honor the dead and, in many traditions, decorate graves and have picnics in cemeteries.

This year was a particularly poignant All Souls for me as the death of Bishop Emeritus Joseph N. Latino of happy memory is still fresh. Because of soil and settling, we were just able to move the gravestone over his plot in the diocesan bishops’ cemetery next to the cathedral.

We have a temporary marker for Bishop Latino and are awaiting the engraver’s arrival in a few months to carve his inscription on site. Apparently, there are only one or two people willing to carve out inscriptions on site on this type of stone. So, we wait patiently.

JACKSON – Flowers and candles adorn the grave sites of Bishop William Houck, Bishop Joseph Brunini and Bishop R.O. Gerow in the bishops’ cemetery next to the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle on All Souls Day, Nov. 2. (Photo by Berta Mexidor)

Dealing with this made me think about all our previous bishops and their deaths.

Bishop John Joseph Marie Benedict Chanche, SS, (1841-1852) died most likely of cholera in Maryland while visiting family after a plenary council in Baltimore. Cholera is a horrible death, but he was described as bearing it with great dignity. After spending more than 150 years in the cemetery in Baltimore, he was brought home to Natchez in 2008.

Bishop James Oliver Van deVelde, SJ, (1853-1855) was Bishop of Chicago and suffered from arthritis. He felt a warmer climate would be beneficial for his joints, so he requested a move South. A yellow fever infected warm climate mosquito got him, another terrible way to go. Bless his heart. He was originally buried in the crypt at St. Mary in Natchez, but his Jesuit confreres wanted him home in Florrisant, Missouri.

Bishop William Henry Elder (1857-1880) was elevated to Archbishop of Cincinnati and lived a long life up there into the next century (1904). He died of what we used to call “old age,” which is a medical term for not one specific thing, and he was 85, which is old for 1904.

Bishop Francis August Anthony Joseph Janssens (1881-1888) also moved on to an archdiocese when he became Archbishop of New Orleans in 1888. He died nine years later in 1897 at age 53 aboard the steamer Creole, bound for New York City. He most likely had a heart attack or a stroke.

Bishop Thomas Heslin (1889-1911) as we explored in an earlier column, flipped out of the back of a mule cart near West Point and was levered back into the cart while unconscious. He most likely sustained some broken ribs, which weakened his lung capacity, and he died a few months later. He is buried on Catholic Hill in Natchez.

Bishop John Edward Gunn, SM, (1911-1924) survived an arsenic poisoning administered by a spy during World War I at a banquet in Detroit in 1915. Suffering a major heart attack in January 1924, his health finally gave out in February at Hotel Dieu in New Orleans. He is buried in the Catholic section in Natchez next to Bishop Heslin.

Bishop Richard Oliver Gerow (1924-1966) is the first bishop to officially retire from the office of bishop in our diocese. He lived 10 years after his retirement and died in December 1976 at the age of 91 having achieved 67 years of priesthood – another death attributed to “old age.” He is buried in the bishops’ cemetery beside the cathedral.

Bishop Joseph Bernard Brunini (1967-1984), our only native son bishop from Vicksburg, died suddenly surrounded by his brother bishops on retreat in Manressa, Louisiana on the Solemnity of the Epiphany. I had eaten lunch with him that very day and was shocked when I got the news he was dead four hours later. He is buried next to Bishop Gerow.

Bishop William Russell Houck (1984-2003) also lived many years into retirement dying of heart and lung issues in 2016 at the age of 90. He, too, achieved 60-plus years of priesthood having marked 65 years when he died. Bishop Houck completes the first line of three bishops in the bishops’ cemetery.

Bishop Joseph Nunzio Latino (2003-2013) died on May 28 of this year having just celebrated his 58th anniversary of priestly ordination on May 25. Bishop Latino’s death is still too fresh to share details, so we will save that for a later date.

Throughout this month of November offer some prayers for our deceased bishops who have served as our shepherds for more than 180 years each in his own unique and dynamic ways.
Requiescant in pace.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

NATCHEZ – A photograph of Bishop John Edward Gunn, SM, as he lay in state in the rectory of St. Mary in Natchez. Bishop Gunn survived an arsenic poisoning attempt during WWI, but his health finally gave out shortly after a heart attack in January 1924. (Photo from archives)