South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, February 28, 1986 Page: 3 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Gulf Coast Register/South Texas Catholic and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
February 28,1986 • 3
Local
Laredo hosts second Forty Hours Devotion
By Rebecca Cavazos Sepulveda
STC staff writer
LAREDO—Deanery celebrations of
the Forty Hours Devotion have been
renewed at the request of Bishop Rene
H. Gracida. The first Forty Hours was
held Feb. 16-18 at Our Lady of
Guadalupe Church in the Sinton
Deanery, and the second celebration
was held at Blessed Sacrament Church
Feb. 23-25 for the Laredo Central
Deanery.
The special adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament began Feb. 23 at l :30 p.m.
The Holy Eucharist was placed in a gild-
ed monstrance on the altar of Blessed
Sacrament, and, through the evening of
Feb. 25, the faithful gathered to show
their devotion and to strengthen their
relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Forty Hours Devotion involved
the participation of worshipers from
throughout the Laredo Central
Deanery, said Msgr. William Thomp-
son, pastor and vicar general!
The devotion ended with the tradi-
tional solemn rites attended by Bishop
Rene H. Gracida.
It was Bishop Gracida’s wish that the
Forty Hours Devotion be observed in
one parish of each deanery in the diocese
this year, and that the traditional devo-
tion be held in all parishes at least once
each year,
“It is with great joy that I anticipate
these celebrations within the diocese and
pray for the fullest paiticipation on the
part of priests, deacons, Religious and
laity as we join in the worship of our
Lord present in the Blessed
Sacrament,” said the bishop in a letter
preceding directives for the devotion.
Msgr. Thompson said his parish was
pleased to oblige the bishop's request,
having demonstrated the desire to hold a
similar vigil oefore the Blessed Sacra-
ment when Lardoans Vicente Garza
and Robert Trautmann were held
hostage by terrorists in Beirut in 1985,
“For 16 days, our parishioners took
turns in a prayer vigil, and it was very
inspiring,” Msgr. Thompson said. Par-
ticipants gained so much from the op-
portunity to worship in the calm sur-
roundings of the church, into the “wee
hours of the night,” that he felt assured
they would embrace the opportunity to
repeat the devotion.
“When I was a very young priest 32
years ago the Forty Hours Devotion was
practiced in every parish in the diocese.
We found it a great time to get the peo-
ple together in prayer,” Msgr Thomp-
'son added.
According to Fathei Thomas Wellar
of the Holy Spirit Retreat and Con-
ference Center in Laredo, the Forty
Hours Devotion was brought to this
country by Bishop John Neumann at a
time when there was much antagonism
toward the Catholic Church in America.
It was the 1850s and the time of the
“Know-Nothing riots” when many
churches were burned to the ground.
The devotion was needed to “nourish
the faith” of the Catholic imrr.grants
who were turning to other churches for
worship, Father Wellar said.
The tradition of the devotion to the
Holy Eucharist did not begin, however,
in the United States. It dates bark to the
rituals of the early desert priests who,
like the Israelites, escaped into the desert
to rid their lives of evil influences.
“We can relate its beginnings to
many different events in the history of
redemption," Father Wellai said. The
old tradition of covering the Eucharist
and the priest celebrant with a canopy in
a procession probably stems from the
fact that the Israelites carried the Ark of
the Covenant in a tent and always kept
it under a tent, throughout their 40
years in the desert.
“The devotion can also be related to
the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert
and the development of the Christian
communities in the desert in the early
Church where worshipers sought the
guidance of spiritual hermits or priests
to gain control over their lives,” Father
Wellar added.
The modern Forty Hours Devotion is
akin to the Chosen People seeking out
the promised land in an observance
which allows individuals or groups to
“be alone in the desert with Christ,”
The continuing experience of the For-
ty Hours Devotion is a modern version
of an old Christian custom, regardless of
its origin, Father Wellar said.
Father Thomas Quintan dies
LAREDO—Father Thomas Gerard
Quinlan, parochial vicar at Blessed
Sacrament Church here since 1977, died
Feb. 23 after a lengthy bout with cancer.
Father Quinlan was ordained by
Bishop Thomas J. Drury at Blessed
Sacrament Church on Dec. 23, 1977,
and served out his career *n this parish.
The native of Jersey City, N.J. was
56-years-old at the time of his death.
Funeral sendees were held Feb. 26 at
Blessed Sacrament Church and the
Laredo Catholic Cemetery under the
direction of Joe Jackson Heights
Funeral Chapels. Bishop Rene H
Gracida attended the funeral Mass and
conducted one of two rosaries for Father
Quinlan on Feb. 25.
Father Quinlan studied at St.
Michaels School in Jersey City, N.J.: at
Long Island City School in Queens,
N.Y.; at the University of New Mexico
in Gallup, N.M.; and at St. Mark’s
Seminary in Southern Union, Ky.
At Blessed Sacrament Church, he was
.......t Catholic
Otficial newspaper of the Diocese of Corpus Christi
Published weekly Sept, t -June 1, except tor the Friday
following Christmas: bi-weekly June 1-Sept 1
Bishop Thomas J. Drury
Publisher Emeritus
Bishop Rene H. Gracida
Publisher
Don Michls, Ph.D.
Executive Editor and General Manager
Rachclle Parry Ramon
Assistant Editor
Rebecca Cavazos Sepulveda
Staff Writer - Laredo
Mary Turner
Administrative Assistant
Lana Laurel
, Production Manager
Tina Garrett
Advert rung Manager
Office Address: 1200 Lantern St.. Corpus Christi, TX
7840?—Mailing Address: PO Sox 4983, Corpus
Christi TX 78*Sa-St2/289«S01
Second class postage paid at
Corpus Christi, Texas
(ISSN 0745-9343)
Father Thomas Quinlan
active m pastoral work and r tjoved his
duties involving Blessed Sacrament
Parochial School and the CCD pro-
gram.
He was preceeded in death by his
brother, Father Patrick Quinlan, who
also died while in the service of the
Diocese of Corpus Christi in Laredo.
Hispanic music
workshops set
Sister Mary Frances Reza, a com-
poser and liturgist, will conduct two
Hispanic Music Repertoire
Workshops March 1 and 2.
The first will be held on Saturday
from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Christ
the King Church, Laredo, followed'by
a workshop on Sunday from 2:30-4:30
p.m. at Sacred K«,<.rt Church, Corpus
Christi.
The workshops are sponsored by the
Office of Worship/Sacred Music.
Participants are invited to bring
their instruments. Sister Reza is also
an executive board member of the In-
stitute of Hispanic Liturgy and a
Hispanic music consultant for the
Oregon Press, as well as a liturgical
commission for the Diocese of Santa
Fe.
This is the first workshop of its kind
to be held in this diocese, said Pro-
vidence Sister Jeremy Gallet, director
of the Office of Worship.
Barrera-
evangelizing efforts by the Diocese of
Corpus Christ'
Late last year she was chosen to take
part in the piestigious Leadership Texas
program—one of 60 women from a field
of 873 candidates.
The same month she was named one
of the cutstanding Texas women of the
year by the Young Women’s Christian
Association for her work in establishing
the Religious Access Users Group.
In 1983 she was also named the
chairperson of the Region X UN DA
and helped bring its national convention
to Corpus Christi.
Sister Barrera was also one of the
writers of a grant for 165,000 to promote
a documentary of the history of the
Catholic Church in Texas for Ses-
quicentennial observances.
Ar.d she was one cf the organizers of
the Peace and Justice Commission in
198?
S'iter Barrera remains committed to
the power of communications to spread
the Gospel. “I strongly believe that
telecommunications is essential if the
Church is to reach out and effectively
communicate with its people,” she said.
She praised the efforts of retired
Bishop Thomas J. Drury and Bishop
Rene H. Gracida in holding those
beliefs in high esteem as well.
Sister Barrera has contributed much
to the Diocese of Corpus Christi, and
she leaves, wishing them suegess in their
telecommunications efforts in the
future.
From page 1
Holley—
From page 1
tional Bank of Muskogee
Holley has won nine awards Or the
best newscast from the Associated Press
and United Press International, in-
cluding awards for best newscast longer
than five minutes and best newscast
shorter than five minutes.
The Missouri Associated Press gave
him its award lor best documentary, and
he has been active in the Broadcasters’
Associations of Kansas, Missouri and
Oklahoma.
He is a convert to Catholicism and
has done work for the Catholic hospital
in Fort Smith. He is also active in his
parish. He organized its rhoir and sings
bass.
The Fort Smith Jaycees gave him
their distinguished service award; he is a
member of the Fort Smith Art Center,
and he serves on the boards of directors
of both the cerebral palsey and the
Arkansas arthritis foundations.
He flies his own plane and is an ar-
dent hunter. He and his wife, Mary
Eiien, have three children living at
home, bobby, 24, Anette, 20, and
Crystal Brooke, 3.
The move "rorrt Fort Smith to Corpus
Christi means divesting himself of his
six-acre home, possibly his airplane and
eventually his radio stations. So ten-
tatively he will begin work in Corpus
Christi on March 15.
Official appointments
Rev. Francis X McGerity is released
from his assignment as parochial vicar of
St. Pius X parish, Corpus Christi, effec-
tive March 19, 1986 and assigned to ad-
vanced studies with residence at Our
Lady of Guadalupe parish, Corpus
Christi until July I, 1986 when he will
assume the position of parochial vicar of
Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish,
Corpus Chiisti.
Rev. Clyde G.W. Masterson is
released from hi* assignment as
parochial vicar of St. Patrick parish,
Corpus Christi, effective March J9 and
assigned to advanced studies with
residence at Our Lady of the Pillar
parish, Corpus Christi.
By order of the Most Reverend,
Bishop of Corpus Christi
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Miehls, Don. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, February 28, 1986, newspaper, February 28, 1986; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth840408/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .