Bishop Francis X. Gartland Service Award to be given to 84 on the Feast of Christ the King

mjjohnson — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:51:44 -0600

Every year since 2000, the Diocese of Savannah has recognized long-standing service to the Catholic Church in south Georgia by conferring the Bishop Francis X. Gartland Service Award on honorees nominated by their pastors. In this way, the Diocese expresses its gratitude to those who serve within it. This year, Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv.

Faith in the darkness: Georgia’s immigration law leaves Hispanic families in daily fear

mjjohnson — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:45:16 -0600

The Southern Cross recently reached out to parishes with a Spanish-speaking population to gather perspectives on how immigration laws have affected them.
This is the second installment of a four-part series.

By Dana Clark Felty
For the Southern Cross

“Families are being torn apart,” Erika Garza told The Moultrie Observer in June. “I don’t think people recognize the severity of the issue.”

Faith in the Darkness, Georgia's crackdown on illegal immigration puts a damper on church attendance

mjjohnson — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:35:43 -0500

The Southern Cross recently reached out to parishes with a Spanish-speaking population to gather perspectives on how immigration laws have affected them. This is the first installment of a four-part series running through November.

By Dana Clark Felty

Father Pablo Migone watched as attendance dropped at the 2 p.m. Sunday Spanish Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Warner Robins earlier this year.

Word had begun spreading among parishioners that busloads of Hispanics were fleeing the area. Panic had set in, and many of the faces Migone saw most Sundays in the pews were disappearing.

“I know of families who sold their trailers,

"Ground Zero Grace" evangelizes "Audelia's Angels"

mjjohnson — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:33:57 -0500

By Father Bob Cushing

In mid-August while a group of parishioners from four Catholic middle Georgia parishes (St. Theresa – Cordele, St. Patrick – Kathleen, St Juliana – Ft. Valley, and St. Mary – Americus) were working to restore a home for a leukemia victim in Vienna, Georgia, they received some surprising assistance from an enthusiastic group of emergency workers called “Ground Zero Grace.”

Audelia Villa was eleven years old this past May when she was diagnosed with two kinds of leukemia.

Clemency Requested For Death Row Inmate Troy Davis

mjjohnson — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:35:10 -0500

Clemency Requested For Death Row Inmate Troy Davis By Andrew Nelson Staff Writer Published in The Georgia Bulletin, 9/15/11 ATLANTA—Catholic spiritual leaders asked the state Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant clemency to Troy Davis, the death row inmate convicted of murdering an off-duty Savannah police. Davis is scheduled to be executed at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21, for the 1989 death of Savannah Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail.

Friar and son of St. Francis appointed as fourteenth bishop of Savannah

mjjohnson — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:59:37 -0500

Bishop-designate Gregory John Hartmayer, OFM Conv.

By Michael J. Johnson
“I am extremely grateful to Pope Benedict for his confidence in me as the bishop of Savannah,” said Bishop-designate Gregory John Hartmayer, Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv.) as he stood on the shady lawn of Lafayette Square opposite the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Savannah.

The announcement of his appointment as the 14th bishop of Savannah was released in Washington D.C. Tuesday, 161 years after the establishment of the Diocese of Savannah on July 19, 1850.

Bishop’s Annual Appeal exceeds the goal

mjjohnson — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:38:55 -0500

The BAA goal of 2,4 million dollars has been surpassed with 7,710 of 28,121 households participating (27.4%). The total amount pledged is $2,422,260.13. The total amount received to date is $1,793,788.83. The 2011 Bishop’s Annual Appeal, “One In Faith, One In Family, One In The Body Of Christ” began the weekend of February 5-6, 2011.

Sister Noelle Hart follows the call to Bradenton, Florida

mjjohnson — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:22:49 -0500

By Michael J. Johnson
“God has never written straight, he has always written in crooked lines,” said Sister Noelle Hart, MFIC as she described her life as a Missionary Sister of the Immaculate Conception.
She reflected on her life recently as she prepared to leave the staff of Sacred Heart Parish in Savannah for a new position as director of a clinic in Bradenton, Florida.