Bishop Buddy Scrapbook 1937 (3)

Catholie Chaplai11 Attends Spi1·itual Needs Of Sailors Four Sets of Recruits Receive Spiritual Training from Catholic Chaplain Each Year at Station; Priest Also Attends Catholic Men at Navy Hospital To shephenl an ever-moving flock of hundreds of Catholic youth at the San Diego Naval Training- Station is indeed an interesting opportunity for a Catholic priest. Our boys come from cities and towns of states west of the Mississippi river. Of the 2,000 or more who are en- rolled, about 400, more or less, are Catholics. They are Bv THE REV. W. A. MAGUIRE, Com. 11. S. N.

• ·.1VY PADRE HAS ,\-1~ ·y DUTIES IN SERVICE In addition to his daily duties at the Training Station the Cath- olic Chaplain ministers to th e Catholic patients at th·e Naval Hospital. He receives a list ever:; day which gives the names of those seriously and critically ill. This requires him to be in the wards every day. Once a month when the recruits of South. Unit are moved to the North Unit he celebrates the early Sunday mass at the hospital. He is called upon frequently to perform baptisms. marriages and to conduct iunerals for Service 'personnel. He is re- quired to be a rather vers~tile sort of person. On Memorial Day, last spring, he organized and directed the military field mass at th e Training, Station at which His Excellency, Bishop· Buddy, pre- sided, and on Thanksgiving pay eve he was chairman of the Au- tumn Ball committee. He "is now busily organizing the Christmas party for Navy 'children. This is a 1·ather sketchy picture of a Navy padre's job ashore. It may give you some idea of how a priest is kept busy in his peculiar apostolate with the qolors. He has every reason to be happy because he receives every sort of coopera- tion from his fellow officers r~- gardless . of their faith. His work ashore is interesting enough but ean you blaime him for yearning at times fo1· a ·maQ o' war and a , cruise in the southern seas?

even reputation as a trencher-man is par excel- lence. At least once while a man i3 on the Station the history o-f the mass is told him. The vestments are exolained and a special effort is made to impart to his mind a knowledge that might help him to desire to assist at mass throui,;h an understandL."1g and love of this. I our highest form of worship. and) not because he is ordered to a.t- \ tend. As a military man, for ex- ample, the recruits customarily stand at attention during tl>e ele- vation of host and chalice and then they kneel for their prayers though his A p1iest's work at a Nav::i.l Training Station is varied. There is much to do- in addition to- his la ors in the chapel. He deliver;-; I sign marked "Cathblic Chaplain" , hanging over his office, he serves the men irrespective of creed dur- I ing the humdrum hours of tht , week. He is in his office at 9: 00 a. m. week days and there he finds r a pile of "fan mail" written by parents and pastors back home enquiring of their ooys. Then fol- low many personal heart to heart talks with the boys concerned, about many things, including reli- gion, ships, technical schools, and "cabbages and kings." b . l lectures on occas10n cruits both Protestant and Catho- In fad, although there is a to all r~- , lie of faith and adoration. CATHOLIC CHAPL.AL'1' EDITS PAPER

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high school boys, most of them. ,--~ and they come to us inspired with youths enthusiasm for action ana adventure. Some have had pre- 1 vious military experience but the I , . • .

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The recr~it durmg hi~ three weeks m South Unit 1s care- 1 fully observed for f~ar he may have brought wi th him a conta- world. These are important weeks. It is then that a young man m:is have misgivings regarding a Naval Home, however humble, looks from the drill ground enor- mously sweet to him and he seeks advice, The Priest usually proves to be a pretty good medico in such cases. And his lecture, "You;: Contract,'' takes place about this time which, although it covers a great deal of ground and has to do prh1cipally with the meaning of authority and dfacipline. it serves as an effective antidote for the blues. FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS TAUG}lT RECRUITS fundamentals. Using f:xamples culled from a missionary life spent mostly in Navy ships on cruises ·over the seven seas. the priest preaches on the more im- portant tenets of Catholic faith. He reminqs the boys that it is customary for recruits to receive- Holy Communion at least once during their course of training. Each one receives a card when he comes to confession and he sends it home to inform his parents that all is well in that respect. A great number of the men a:re weekly communicants. A mass is said for the South ·Unit men at 8:30 and another for the more "salty" re- cruits from North Unit at 9:30. It may be of interest to know that breakfast is held in the galley for those who receive Holy Commun- ion. Fasting, however, does not seem to deter a bluejacket as iar as Holy Communion is concerned gious disease from th e outside career. Sermons mostly _on to the recruit are

typical American

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lads who know little of discipline,

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term. Hence it is far from easy to transform a "boot" duri.ng a I period of twelve weeks into a smart man o' wars man. Such a transformation is the aim of the Training Station. Chief Petty Officers qualified by years of Fleet service, are the instructors and their work is done under the supervision of experienced com- I missioned officers. There are countless things a bluejacket must know but the point that is chiefly stressed at the Station is the nec- essity of becoming a seagoinir Navy man of good and strong ch a r ·a ct er, a self-respecting, staunch and loyal citizen. Hence the importance of a Chaplain's mission in the curriculum. Chaplains, Protestant and Catholic, assigned to the Training Station and each has his chapel. As at a Catholic boarding school, our recruits are 1 required to attend Holy Mass onJ 1 Sundays and holy days of obliga- tion. j DEVOTION CONSIDERED PART OF LIFE When a recruit arrives at the Station he is taken to the South Unit where he i.s thoroughly gone over by the doctor, the dentist and, of course. the barber. He is given his uniform, etc., and as- signed to a company of 100 men with whom he undergoes the three month course of training. On his first Sunday the recruit fincls himself assisting at his first Navy Mass. He marches to Chapel just as he would to a lecture on sea- 1 manship. Even on Thanksgiving · Day this year, all hands went to church and .several men received Holy Communion. No institution could give a priest a better oppor- tunity for successful work among men than at this Station because the commanding officer, Capt. Paul P. Blackburn, lends his whole I hearted support and encourage- ment on every -0ccasion. Th er e are two

We publish a weekly paper for the instruction and amusement of the recruit. It is called "The . Hoist." and it contains stories of 1 the old Navy and facts concern- ln,.., thP Uf>W. The men like it, 1

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORN!A,-FinDAY,-nECEMBER 24, 1937

- - SAN DIE(;O NAVAL ACA!'1EMY --- -~~,- --- -

Inspection in Paul Jones Court, Naval Training Station at San Diego, finds hundreds of new recruits at attention. It, was in this court last Me morial Day that His Excellency, Bishop Charles Francis Buddy, presided at Solemn Field Mass for the nation's war dead. A special Altar w::is erected and thousands attended.