A
Prince In the Service of The Great King
The Catholic Register - March 16,
2009
Betty Seymour writes of another illustrious
speaker who paid tribute to Father Gallitzin.
On the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of
Prince Gallitzin in 1970, the Archbishop of Baltimore, Lawrence Cardinal Shehan,
was the guest speaker at celebrations in Loretto. Born in
Baltimore in 1898, he was ordained a priest at the Basilica of Saint John Latern
in
Rome
, in 1922. He served as pastor of St. Patrick Parish and director of
Catholic Charities in Washington
,
D.C.
; was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of
Baltimore
in 1945; 
Bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1953; Archbishop of Baltimore in
1961; and in 1965 was named a Cardinal by Pope Paul VI. Cardinal Shehan
participated in all four periods of Vatican Council II as a member of the
Secretariat for Christian Unity. He was a leader in ecumenism and reforms
for racial justice in the Catholic Church. He retired from active ministry
in 1975.
Cardinal Chehan died in Baltimore on August 26, 1984.
Speaking at Loretto on May 11, 1970, Cardinal
Shehan began his sermon by reminding those gathered that, “
Baltimore
shares with the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese the memory of this holy priest.
It was through the
Port
of
Baltimore
that young Demetrius Gallitzin entered this country. It was in
Baltimore
seminary of St. Mary that he received his entire training for, and was ordained
to, the priesthood. He spent the first thirteen years of his priestly life
as a member of the Diocese of Baltimore, and all the remainder of his life
within the
Province
of
Baltimore
. However, by his own personal and final choice, Father Gallitzin belongs
entirely to you, priests and people of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
It is about his life and work here in
Cambria
County
, and more especially at Loretto, that I speak to you today.”
Cardinal Shehan went on to point out that, “it was
no ordinary priest who brought the Church into the backwoods region of
McGuire’s Settlement in October 1799”. He spoke of Gallitzin’s
titled birth, his conversion and vocation, his rough and laborious
apprenticeship, and finally, the assignment to a large mission territory
extending around the community later called Loretto. Gallitzin believed
that, “Nothing had been done at Conewago or elsewhere …to build up a truly
Catholic community, and that was particularly what Father Gallitzin wanted to
do”.
The Cardinal outlined the many accomplishments of
Gallitzin from the first church and school, the first Midnight Mass, the
enticement of more and more settlers to his Catholic settlement, the converts,
the building up of the community and the town of Loretto, the far mission visits
to bring the sacraments to all Catholics. This was contrasted with the
many trials, tribulations and hardships he had to endure. Many of these
were financial - his debts were a burden throughout his life. The personal
hardships, as the death of his parents and the betrayal of a few of his flock,
weighed heavier on him than the constant physical ailments he endured. Through
it all, “Father Gallitzin had gone on with his simple, everyday work of
providing for the spiritual and material needs of his flock.”
