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NEWS IN BRIEF
Welcome to them all: H. McDevitt arrived some weeks after the beginning of term having spent some time in hospital with a broken skull. THE RETREAT
PAINTING MILITARY ACTIVITIES The army received due attention when the Fourth Form went to the Open Day at the Royal Engineers depot at Longmoor near Petersfield All found the visit most interesting and all but one found it enjoyable: the 'one' tried to ram a concrete pillar with his head. A NEWCOMER THE PANTOMIME ALARM |
SERVUS SERVORUM DEI
Anyone standing by the road from Rome to Castelgandolfo on that hot Wednesday afternoon in August would have noticed an unusual amount of traffic. And why not, for the Holy Father was holding an audience at his summer residence. After a hair-raising ride in a car driven by a voluble Italian with no road sense, we three Ghoan priests and myself arrived in the little town of Castelgandolfo with only twenty minutes to spare before the beginning of the audience. Suddenly the air was filled with cheers and cries of "Viva Il Papa" for a tall figure clad in white had appeared at the window. As the cheers died away His Holiness began to speak in his native tongue. After that he addressed the people in French, German, Dutch, English, Spanish and Portuguese. When he had acknowledged the greetings of the English speaking part of the audience, he spoke telling us that in the world in which we lived, although it was a harsh one, it was the duty of the Christian to let his virtues, especially charity, be an example to all men. He concluded with a special word for the members of the British and American armed forces present. The audience closed and the Pope withdrew but everyone knew that the more they cheered the more he reappeared and so the cries of "Long live the Pope" and "Viva il Papa" mingled with the other cheers. The Holy Father appeared three more times and each time everyone experienced the same feeling of holiness and serenity that had pervaded the actual audience. As we sat in the car on the homeward journey nobody spoke for, I imagine, all were lost in the wonder of the experience of having been in the presence of His Holiness Pope Pius XII, the Servant of the Servants of God. |
ON THE AIR
Of course there could be no direct transmission as school was to break up two weeks before the actual date of the broadcast, so a recording was made on July 11th. Father Burridge, our Parish Priest, was responsible for directing preparations in the initial stages as he himself was to conduct the service. Having no proper organ it was imperative that one should be hired and for a few weeks we did have a real organ in the chapel, small but sufficient. The choir spent many hours practising the hymns and it is certainly to the credit of both Father Monaghan, our master of music, and Mr Heath, organist and choir master, that the singing was so pleasantly successful. One of the main problems to be overcome in connection with the singing was the diversity of pronunciation among the boys, for Priorians come from every quarter of the British Isles, so speech training and singing were combined-to the benefit of both! At last July 11th arrived. Technicians had installed mysterious apparatus in the study hall and planted microphones at various places in the chapel. Late in the afternoon Father Agnelus Andrews arrived to supervise the recording. He first of all pointed out to us the importance of what we were going to do-real missionary work, carrying Christ's message into the homes-and hearts-of many thousands who might otherwise never bother about Him. We then went through the whole service-the motet and three hymns, the scripture reading, the sermon and the prayers and finally the blessing. Father Andrews was satisfied with what he heard and after making sure that We knew exactly what to do, the microphones received final adjustments and we waited in breathless silence. Suddenly the red light flickered a few times and then remained glowing brightly. The conductor's hand came down and the choir broke into the rich flowing melody of the "0 Quam Glorifica"--the Priory was "on the air." Subscript The Priory has still not found all the money to pay for its new organ, which was bought on an interest-free loan from a good friend. The bulk of the cost, however, will be covered by the sale of the old harmonium and especially by the proceeds of the Saint Cecilia (Musical) Draw. If you did not have tickets for this, you missed something. Time was short. Our promoters had to look sharp and not let the thing go flat. No one quavered; no one was crotchety; and we raised more than a minimum.
For all the good work and the generosity that contributed to the success of the Draw, and for the blessing of a reliable instrument in the chapel, we are very grateful. |
OLD BOYS' CORNER
We belong to a community which numbers over a hundred and counts members of twelve nationalities including one African. He is from Nyasaland. Beards are still quite the fashion here . . . I suppose life out here is not really very different from that led in any of the other scholasticates, at least in the essential points of prayer, study, community life etc. There are, of course, accidental differences. We found it rather hot when we arrived in September, but now the mornings are quite chilly, F.50 degrees. We've had more rain than I expected. . nearly always thunder rain accompanying violent storms. But the oranges and tangerines are slowly ripening. . . indeed we have had the first fruits already.
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Soon after his arrival back at school, Peter McMurray was one morning wandering along the middle of a local highway meditating upon the beauties of the countryside, when his reverie was rudely and brutally interrupted by the sudden appearance of a fast saloon car. Being a polite young gentleman Peter stepped to the side to make way for the new arrival but either he had not judged its speed or its temper for it gave him a smart blow on the back of the neck and Peter had to spend a few days in Winchester HospitaL He is now very much alive and has completely recovered. (Photo: Peter McMurray) 
The visit of the American fleet to Southampton after the NATO exercises was an event which could not be ignored. About half the school spent a Wednesday afternoon aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Forrestal. All were duly impressed by the immensity of the ship but thought it a pity that so much energy had been used to construct this engine of war. We were interested to learn that a third of the crew of three thousand was Catholic. The chaplain said that there were sometimes as many as six hundred men at Mass on a week-day! A note of incongruity was struck by the sight of one of the crew placidly fishing, his line through one of the anchor hoists.
We jostled with countless people all trying to get into the courtyard below the window where the Holy Father was to appear. Getting through the narrow gate-way and passing the tall Swiss Guard, we made our way to the roof where we managed to secure a view of the window. 
Tommy Hennessy has now finished his Army Service and is training for teaching in Manchester. He writes: "Believe me I didn't realise how complicated teaching can be. I am taking English Literature and Mathematics at Higher Level. . . . Our English lecturer is absolutely fanatic over Chaucer. Personally I find him rather heavy reading (Ed. Come, come.); but with a little application and God's help I may get to like him. The amazing thing about Manchester is the weather, it is so constant. We have had rain without fail for sixteen days. But apart from the fact that I am getting webbed feet and growing fins, I don't mind it too much as it gives me a chance to stay indoors and catch up on my long-neglected correspondence. (Ed. Try Chaucer's 'Aprille with his shoures soote for a change.) . . . I shall always cherish the happy days I spent at the Priory."
Brother Richard Calcutt writes to us of the Legion of Mary which is established there: "At St Augustine's it has been realised that as today in Africa the Legion is the missionaries' right hand, it is good for the missionary aspirant to have a working knowledge of the Legion method. Consequently one and a half years ago the first meeting of the Praesidium of Our Lady Queen of Africa took place, The work the group does is very commonplace, for the normal work of the Legion, such as visitations, cannot possibly be done, Scope is restricted to jobs around the house and grounds; yet in spite of this the Praesidium has prospered and membership has increased. 
The site chosen was the entrance to a cave less than a hundred yards from the College itself, from which flows a small stream. Obstacles to be removed included three massive rocks which were eventually dynamited after Brother O'Toole (left) had pounded at them daily for six weeks without success. Then the bed of the stream was cleared of stones. They were used to turn one bank of the stream into a pleasant promenade, while on the other a terraced flower garden has been built. In the process of construction supervised until last July by Brother Shannon, trees have been felled, several tons of clay and stones shifted to make paths. and large quantities of earth moved for the flowerbeds. A path from the College is almost finished while the only tasks still remaining are the laying of stone steps down to the grotto, and the actual installation of the statue." 
Brother Visocchi writes: "Man must have beauty in some form, and where this is absent he falls back on his inventive ability to provide it for him. In Cavan the void is filled for some by the Music Club. Three is no formal membership, nor regular attendance. An announcement is made that such and such a composer will be introduced and such and such a composition played. Tastes vary; but a number of enthusiasts turn up for every performance. The Fathers lend us their record-player and we are grateful to them and to other Brothers for the loan of records." 
For the following notes we are indebted to Brother George Smith: "Looking out of a window, whether at a train (Ed. this is history. The service has been discontinued) an aeroplane or what-have-you, one gets a certain satisfaction. It may be the satisfaction of security, safety from wind and rain, or of watching other men in action. In a sweeping glance I see the tennis court and the grotto, the flower garden, the farm and the winding drive. . . a Brother finding the barrow with two out of every three stones he throws, another finding the path very muddy and reaching the depths of the grotto the hard way, yet another letting Annie have the bit between her teeth as she dashes along as donkeys do with a load of soil for the rose garden. 
From North Africa, however, we had a request for some copies to be sent to our three students at Carthage. They were duly sent. Brother Fitzgerald writes: "When I was in Philosophy in Ireland I had the job of trying to get people to write articles for the Pelican and also of trying to sell the magazine. Neither task was exactly easy but it was worth making the effort. I think the Old Boys' Corner is a very good idea, but I'm sure that many ex-Priorians don't know about it. Certainly We have lost touch with it now. During the novitiate we didn't receive a copy of the magazine at all (Ed. That will not happen again.) although I wrote to Philosophy asking for one. I would be very grateful to you if you could have a copy sent out here. I can arrange for a subscription to be sent to you.