Bishop Buddy Scrapbook 1937 (3)

BISHOP BUDDY IS CALLED EAST FOR FUNERAL 1 Hi. E ·c Heney P re a c h e d ermon at Funeral of Bi hop Johannes Death of a dear friend , the Most Re\·. F'lanc1s Johannes, 63, Bishop of Leavenworth, Kansas. last Saturd r. called San Diego's new Blsl op the Most Rev. Charles Francis Buddy, to hi!' forme!' home this week on a sad mission Bishop Buddy preached the ser- mon at the Solemn Requiem Ma55 in the Leavenworth Cathedral Solemn High Mass of Re- quiem was celebrated in San Diego at Our Lady of Gua~a- lupe church Wednesday m01n- ing by the Augustinian Recol- lect Fathers for the repose of the soul of Bishop Johannes. 1 According to Father Damiar! Gobeo, A. R.. the bishop of Leavenworth was a benefactor of theit· order. having assisted them greatly in the establish- ment of their house in Kansas City. T ·o hundred parishion- 1 ers were present at Mass. I Wednesday and is expected to re- turn to San Diego tomorrow eve- ning. As priests in St. Joseph, Mo., the two bishops were neighbor- ing pastors before Bishop Johan- nes' elevation in 1928 to Bishop of Leavenworth. Bishop Johan- nes was born in Bavaria and came to this country with his parents at the age of eight. He was reared in St. Joseph and afterward be- came pastor in the Immaculate Conception parish in which h 0 lived as a child. He spent all of his pries .hood, 34 years, in that parish. He was appointed coad- jutor bishop of the Leavenworth diocese as assistant to Rev. John Ward until the latter's death in 1929. As head of the diocese, he furthered construction of the I $350,000 Ward high school in Kansas City, Kan. In all of tha 1 128 parishes in the dioce&e he es- tablished the society for the pro-1 pagation of the faith. In the larg- er parishes he established the SO·· ciety of St. Vincent, de Paul. H~ or{:l"anized religious vacation-time schools and established a diocesan newspaper. the Leavenworth Mis- sionary, Bishop Johannes had been iii for over a year with as.hma an.:i heart trouble and for the last three months had been confined to his bed in a Denver hospital.

'The Jesuit CBulletin

Vol. XVI

APRIL, 1937

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The Late Most Reverend Francis Johanne The death on March 13 of the Most Rever, end Francis Johannes, Bishop of the Diocese of Leavenworth, Kansas, was felt by the two, hundred and thirty Jesuits at St. Mary's Col, lege with a keenne s of sorrow the like of which they had not experienced for years. Only three more months were to elapse before the ordinations, and the scholastics due for the priesthood in June were eagerly looking forward to be ordained by their beloved Bishop. He himself was confident, even a few months before his death, that be would be in condition to perform the ceremony. In reply to a letter about the dates for the ordinations, he wrote in his own beautiful handwriting, "God willing, I will be on hand." But it was not God's will.

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The rite of ordination is undoubtedly the most sacred and solemn of all the functions a Bishop is called upon to perform. Bishop Jo, hannes was keenly alive to its solemn and soul-stirring character, and he entered into its spirit with a fervor and unction that showed in every movement he made, in every word he pronounced. But there was nothing of the emotional about his manner. All was dignity and propriety. Slow and deliberate he was,

clear and precise in the enunciation of every syllable of the simple but impressive prayers. No wonder that young men were anxious to be ordained by him. When the ceremony was over, they were not merely coqvinced that they were now properly ordained priests, they felt it with an inward sense of calm assurance which left no room for scruple. To see Bishop Johannes confer the priesthood was like witnessing a grand pageant never to be forgotten. It was impressive, it was majestic. Involuntarily one thought of the moral grandeur and power of Christ's Church on earth as exemplified in her great Pontiffs and Bishops of the past - Gregory of Rome; and Ambrose, the Consul Bishop of Milan; and that other Bishop whose name has not come down to us but who, when summoned before the Roman governor in the days of persecution and reproved by him in the words, "never has any man spoken to me thus," answered: "Possibly you have never met a Christian Bishop." Francis Johannes was every inch a Bishop. If it could be said that Bishops are born, as poets are said to be, it might be said that Francis Johannes was a Bishop from birth. Fanciful as this is, one can not well imagine him ever to have been anything but grave and dignified. Nature had given him an imposing presence and a bearing that fitted adinirably as a vesture for the episcopal honor and authority that were his. But externals are minor matters. Bishop Johannes' ideals were apostolic. The interests of the Church and of the souls entrusted to his shepherding, these were uppermost in his thoughts. The youth of the Diocese were particularly dear to his heart. He attended their commencements, contests, conventions - encouraging, urging on, ever insisting on what was fundamental and solid in Catholic living: faith, the Commandments, obedience to law and authority, piety. His own life illustrated what he preached. He was a holy man devoted to prayer, generous to the poor. We loved him for his apostolic zeal, his simplicity of soul, his holy life.

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