From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
Since Mardi Gras is approaching and parades are rolling all over the region, I wanted to share a fun fact about Bishop Richard Gerow’s father, Warren Rosecranz Gerow.

As I have chronicled in these columns, Bishop Gerow is a native of Mobile. There is a big debate as to where the first Mardi Gras celebration occurred in the United States. New Orleans claims Mardi Gras, but Mobile is fiercely protective of the fact that the first hint of Mardi Gras on the soil of the country happened around 1699 outside of its current location. I think the towns have settled on Mobile came first, and New Orleans made it bigger. That is probably the best consensus among the ranks.

With that being said, let me tell you about Bishop Gerow’s father. Warren Gerow was born in Mobile on Aug. 21, 1850 to Warren DeLancey Gerow and Charlotte Rosecranz, who had moved to Mobile from Duchess County, New York prior to the arrival of Warren Rosecranz. He was the oldest of Warren and Charlotte’s four children.

Warren DeLancey was a shipbuilder and probably moved to Mobile, which was growing into a large port. The family home was a one-story wood-framed building on the east side of Hamilton Street near Eslava Street. Bishop Gerow in his Reminiscences describes the yard as having two fig trees and that he would visit his grandparents much more often during fig season. Having a fig tree in my yard, I understand why the visits were probably daily during July.

Bishop Gerow’s father married Annie Skehan on April 11, 1883. Two years later on May 3, the future bishop, Richard Oliver Gerow was born to Warren and Annie.

Let me allow Bishop Gerow to take it from here: “My father received his education in the public schools of Mobile. His early years gave evidence of a talent for art, drawing and painting, and later this became most helpful to him when he was engaged permanently by the Order of Myths (OOM) for designing and construction of the Mardi Gras floats of that Order.

“He was a great reader and student all his life and accumulated a rather fine library of classics of history, science, and literature. I still have very vivid memory of my father. As I grew we became the greatest of close pals. To me he was the greatest man in the world.

“I remember well the large warehouse on Commerce Street where he used to construct the floats. I was a frequent visitor, and I had the esteemed privilege of knowing long in advance the great secret of what the floats would represent when they were paraded on Mardi Gras night.

“I still remember many of the intriguing floats. One particularly I remember had little electric bulbs lighted at the tip of gigantic morning glory blossoms each representing a sparkling dew drop. “In order to light these bulbs my father had to construct within the float a dynamo – for storage batteries were not available in those days. I remember that at night at home he would study books on electricity. I remember, too, the big wheel within the float with iron cranks on either side had to be turned by two muscular men – and it worked beautifully.

“Other cities from time to time called upon him to put on pageants – among these was Baltimore, Albany, Vicksburg. He was a member of the No. 5 Volunteer Fire Department and also of a Volunteer Company of the U.S. Artillery.

“On May 29, 1894, my father died; he was buried in the Gerow lot in Magnolia Cemetery. During his long illness he gave serious thought to preparing his soul for death. He had not been a church-goer for many years. He now gave thought to the Catholic Church, and well before he died his family had the pleasure and consolation of seeing him received into the Catholic Church and prepared with the last sacraments.”

Having come upon this account in Bishop Gerow’s Reminiscences I will have a more nostalgic and more appreciative experience of Mardi Gras this year. Bishop Gerow was only 11 when his father died. His father had become his closest friend and losing one’s father at any age is so difficult. But losing one’s father at such a young age had a profound effect on young Richard.

As I have written before, Richard grew up in the shadow of the Cathedral, and he received all his sacraments there, except for ordination to the priesthood. His father would have been received into the church there.

As he grew older, Bishop Edward Allen became somewhat of a spiritual father to Richard. Bishop Allen would have helped guide Richard ultimately to seminary and ordination. But I sense that Warren Rosecranz Gerow was deep within Richard’s heart as a profoundly spiritual and creative driving force who instilled in his young son a sense of wonderment for creation and a love for arts and sciences that he carried with him throughout his life.

I hope this memory of Bishop Gerow inspires you as much as it has inspired me. Have a wonderful and safe Mardi Gras and a blessed Lenten journey.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

Annie Skehan Gerow is pictured in an undated photograph taken prior to 1894. At left, her husband, Warren Rosecranz Gerow, father of Bishop Richard Gerow, is shown in an undated portrait. Warren Gerow was a Mobile native known for his artistic talent and work designing Mardi Gras floats for the Order of Myths. (Photo from archives)

From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – As of this writing, I am recovering from the Ole Miss Rebels losing to the Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl last night in Arizona. Ole Miss had a historic run playing for a spot in the college football national championship game. I know everyone has their favorite school and team, but it is exciting that a team from our state reached such a high level on the national sports scene.

Several of my nieces and nephews went to Ole Miss, and we currently have one there and one playing in the band at Mississippi State, so our family is very diverse when it comes to college sports among other things. I went to Millsaps, so I like to see everyone do well.

Back in the early part of the 1900s, Oxford was not the sports or Catholic epicenter it is today. The thriving town of Water Valley was the central parish of that region. From Water Valley came Grenada, Oxford, and Holly Springs. All these were missions of Water Valley.

In October of 1941, Bishop Richard Gerow made a visit to that region after picking up Bishop William O’Brien, president of the Catholic Church Extension Society in Chicago, at the “airfield” in Memphis. Bishop O’Brien was coming down for the dedication of St. Peter’s in Grenada. Extension had supported the building of the church there.

The plan was to stay the night before the dedication at the rectory in Water Valley with the pastor of St. Patrick Parish, Father Cletus Manon. If you haven’t been there, Water Valley is about halfway between Grenada and Oxford on Hwy 7. It’s the Coffeeville exit just north of Grenada off I-55. Make sure you stay close to the speed limit on that stretch.

Back to the story. After arriving at the rectory, the men devised who would sleep where in the quaint structure. Because he would be celebrating the Mass at the parish the next morning before going over to Grenada, Bishop Gerow decided to take the small bedroom closest to the church.

In his diary, he offers an interesting tale about the situation:

“As I was preparing to go to my room, the housekeeper very timidly approached me and with a look of anxiety in her eye said to me, ‘I hope you will be able to sleep in that room tonight’; and when I inquired as to the cause of her anxiety, she told me that the room was haunted.

“She told me that at night strange noises were heard in this room that had disturbed others who had attempted to sleep there. I assured her that I was not afraid of haunts, and that I was very glad that I had been assigned to this room rather than one of the other Bishops.

“When I entered the room to prepare for the night, I had the theory that there was probably some loose furniture or some loose article in the room that in the still of the night might be caused to vibrate when trucks would pass by the house.

“Accordingly, I examined the furniture and the articles in the room but found nothing there that might indicate a tendency to rattle on vibration. So, I went to bed and went to sleep. During the course of the night, I heard the knocks and creaking that she had spoken about, and it was not long before I readily discovered the cause of it.

“During the heat of the day preceding, the timbers of the room had expanded, and now in the chill of the night they were contracting, and this contraction of the timbers was the cause of the knocking and the creaking and the weird noises about which the housekeeper had spoken.

“So now having satisfied myself definitely as to the nature of the spooks, I went back to sleep. The following morning, I told her of my discovery, and, while she did not exactly want to doubt the word of a bishop, nevertheless I don’t think that I thoroughly convinced her.”

During his stay in Mississippi, Bishop O’Brien visited Oxford and celebrated Mass for the Catholic students at Ole Miss. It was then that he along with Bishop Gerow saw the need for a church building in Oxford.

After almost passing out when Father Manon told everyone the good Bishop from Extension had promised $50,000 toward building a church there, Bishop O’Brien ended up pledging $10,000 from Catholic Extension. A few years later, Bishop O’Brien was back from Chicago to celebrate the dedication of St. John Church in Oxford.

This is a great story that reminds us of our connection with Catholic Extension and how they have helped and continue to help our diocese grow and spread the Good News. I imagine at the dedication of the new St. John’s 80+ years ago, the students let out a boisterous “Hotty Toddy” for Bishop O’Brien to take back with him to Chicago.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – On a crisp November Saturday, a group of 27 pilgrims boarded a bus in front of St. Peter Cathedral bound for Mobile, Alabama to participate in the Archdiocese of Mobile’s annual Black Catholic History Month celebrations. The pilgrims were all charter members of the newly launched Sister Thea Bowman Guild.

Several months ago, archdiocesan officials in Mobile had invited our diocese to participate in their annual celebrations to promote the cause for canonization of Sister Thea and invite collaborative efforts among the two dioceses going forward around her cause. This invitation grew into the formation of the official guild for Sister Thea’s cause, which early next year will be the main point of contact for actively supporting her cause prayerfully and financially.

As we rolled down Highway 49, guild members anticipated a first stop at historic Africatown just outside Mobile. Africatown is the site where descendants of the last ship carrying slaves entered the United States illegally in 1860. The Atlantic slave trade had been banned since 1808, but in 1860, 110 slaves were smuggled into the Mobile Bay and partially up the Mobile River on the Clotilda, which was burned and sunk shortly after its arrival to conceal any evidence of its cargo.

Unfortunately, on the outskirts of Seminary, our bus broke down and the pilgrimage was delayed waiting for repair. Serendipitously, we coasted into the parking lot of the local Ward’s and spent the next two hours getting to know one another over grits, biscuits, burgers and fries. Guild members came from Greenville Sacred Heart Parish, Vicksburg St. Mary Parish, Jackson Holy Ghost and Christ the King Parishes along with a smattering of other locations in the diocese. We even had a communications person come down from LaCrosse, Wisc., to cover the event for the FSPAs, Sister Thea’s religious order.

Soon enough we were back on the road, but the delay caused us to miss Africatown so that we could make it to the hotel and change for the archdiocesan event at Prince of Peace Parish. The celebration included a vibrant program of prayer, music and the sharing of stories about Sister Thea by several who knew her and whose lives were greatly influenced and inspired by her.

Following the program, Archbishop Mark Rivituso of Mobile celebrated Mass with Father Tony Ricard serving as homilist. Father Ricard, a priest from New Orleans, gave an incredible witness in word and song of the journey of African American Catholics throughout history, including Sister Thea’s profound contributions to that journey.

At the very end of the Mass, I was asked to share a few words on Sister Thea’s Cause and the new guild. It was a great honor to be standing before such a vibrant gathering of faith, hope, and love. I assured the congregation that Sister Thea’s cause was in the hands of some incredibly dynamic scholars who were hoping to have everything ready to send off to Rome very soon. We will have more details on that in January.

After Mass, our group enjoyed dinner on the grounds of Prince of Peace listening to a jazz band and mingling among the parishioners and others from around Mobile then headed back to the hotel for some rest.

The next morning, we made a quick visit to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, a short walk from the hotel in Downtown Mobile. The cathedral parish was founded in 1703 and has been on that spot since then though not the original building. It is a beautiful worship space, and our pilgrims appreciated a chance to offer some prayers of thanksgiving before boarding the bus bound for Montgomery. Fortunately, the ride up to Montgomery did not involve any unexpected stops and we made it to our first stop, the Equal Justice Initiative Legacy Sites, in good time.

The EJI Legacy Sites include the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. If you have never been, you need to go. It is an outstanding, comprehensive, and heart-wrenching encounter documenting the Black Experience in our country.
One could spend days trying to take in all the interactive exhibits, artifacts, and information. On the EJI website, Forbes Magazine describes it this way: “With each person who visits the Legacy Museum, who faces these wounds of our past and is moved to change, we move one step closer to healing.”

After several hours at the Legacy Sites, we headed to the City of St. Jude Parish in Montgomery. This parish is historic for it becoming a city within the city of Montgomery offering on its grounds educational opportunities, medical and social services to the community, and refuge to Civil Rights workers and those who participated in marches in Selma and Montgomery.

The afternoon program featured music and prayer and witnesses to Sister Thea’s dynamic strength and faith by those who knew her. Once again Father Ricard shared his vibrant message of African American Catholics and Sister Thea’s legacy.

The parish kindly provided us with food for our journey home as we made our way to our bus and the long ride home to Jackson.

Reflecting on the whole weekend, we encountered the rich and deep faith of our church in a unique and profound way. It was an honor to be a part of this journey of hope with such an inspiring group of people from our diocese. We are already thinking of future adventures.

To learn more about Sister Thea’s Cause and the Guild, visit our website at: https://www.jacksondiocese.org/thea-bowman

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
American Archives Month is national celebration led by the United States National Archives every October to promote the importance of archives in preserving cultural heritage and historical records. It’s a time when archives nationwide open their doors to highlight their collections, showcase stories, and celebrate the value of public records.

For the past five years through this column, we have been highlighting in various ways our diocesan archives. We have shared sacramental records dating back to the 1790s, stories from the travels of our bishops at home and abroad, our diocesan connection to the Gulf South region, unique characters and historical tidbits. A huge thank you to Bishop Richard Oliver Gerow who meticulously maintained our collection for more than 40 years.

Our archive collection is full of American history and church history. We currently are in a clean and reorganize mode. Papers and artifacts are getting a new look. Therefore, the vault is closed to any outside professional research at this time.

As much as we would like to allow visits to the archives, it simply is not the nature of the beast. Visits to our archive collection are reserved for professional scholars researching historical topics for dissertations and journal publications. We do not allow independent genealogical research among our records or the well-intentioned history buff.

With that understanding, we have tried to break open some of our cherished history for you to give you an image of how our Catholic faith has developed over the past 300 years in this little corner of God’s Kingdom. So, in celebration of American Archives Month let me feature a few of our favorite images from the collection.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
While I was in the diocesan archive vault a few days ago searching for an original copy of an agreement established with one of the religious orders serving in our diocese, I came across another historical document of great interest.

The archive vault is a small room on the ground level of our chancery building. It houses most of the permanent and historic paper records of our diocese. Inside the vault is a floor safe that holds these original contracts and agreements mentioned above along with the papal bulls of appointments of our bishops and their wills.

In the safe I found the document for which I was looking, but I also discovered Bishop Richard Gerow’s (1924-1966) ordination certificate from June 5, 1909. It is a large parchment with all the information from that Saturday in June 116 years ago. He was ordained at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome by Pietro Cardinal Respighi, whom the certificate identifies as the Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome.

Bishop Gerow studied at the North American College in Rome. In his recollections about his early years, he talks about coming home to Mobile in 1904 after graduating from St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Discerning God’s call for him, he approached his bishop and spiritual father, Edward Patrick Allen, about entering the seminary.

In the recollection, Bishop Gerow states he was expecting to be sent back to “the Mount” as they called St. Mary’s, but Bishop Allen had other plans. The good bishop told young Richard he would be going to Rome to complete his seminary training.

The North American College (NAC) was founded in 1859 as a place for seminarians from the United States. At that time [and now] Rome housed seminaries from countries all over the world. One could identify the seminary by the uniform of the student. Bishop Gerow describes the NAC uniform as a black double-breasted cassock with blue buttons and blue piping off center down the right.

The idea for the NAC came from the U.S. bishops of the 1850s. They wanted to establish a seminary in Rome where students could experience all that the Eternal City had to offer – history, art, churches, spirituality, and opportunities to learn about the church from countries around the world.

The bishops approached the pope of that time, Blessed Pope Pius IX, with the idea and pledged to provide support and funding from all over the U.S. Blessed Pius agreed and procured a stately building for the endeavor in the center of Rome on the Via dell’Umilitá. Bishop William Henry Elder, our bishop in 1859, was able to raise almost $2,500 for the establishment of the seminary, which was not a small sum of money in those days.

So, 45 years later, young Richard Gerow found himself on a ship to Rome to begin his journey to the priesthood. In those days when a young man went off to the NAC, he most likely would not come home until his studies were completed. So off he went for five years. After eight days at sea, he first landed in Ireland, the birthplace of his mother, where he spent several days touring around including kissing the Blarney Stone, before making his way down through the continent to Rome.

He describes arriving at Via dell’Umilitá where he was met and carted off to the summer residence for NAC students at the Ville Santa Catarina outside Rome near Castel Gandolfo. The Villa was purchased by the American bishops in the 1890s to give seminarians a place outside of Rome to rest from their studies, nurture their vocation in quiet prayer, and develop fraternal bonds that would last a lifetime. While at the Villa, Gerow was fitted for his NAC “uniform.” He received a hand-me-down cassock for daily use and the tailor fitted him for a new cassock to wear on special occasions.

“Alfredo, the shoemaker, was called to take my measure for a pair of shoes such as were worn by students in Rome,” Gerow writes in his reminiscence.

After his 10 days at the Villa, Gerow and the other NAC seminarians returned to Rome to settle in and begin their studies for the semester. He writes: “Soon the summer vacation at the Villa came to an end and the student body returned to the city of Rome to be ready for the opening of classes. New camaratas [cohorts] were organized and assigned to their quarters.”

“I was assigned to a camarata composed entirely of new arrivals except for the Prefect in charge and the Beadle, the assistant Prefect. Our Prefect … was Bill Farrell – one of the older seminarians who was to be to us as a father of the family. Our Beadle … was John Hardeman of Tennessee. John knew every nook and corner in Rome.”

Bishop Gerow’s story gets more and more fascinating so I will end here and pick up with more next time. Ci vediamo dopo …

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)