https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2021/11/16/u-s-has-no-black-catholic-saints-could-future-one-buried-memphis/8588496002/?utm_source=clarionledger-Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=list_article_thumb&utm_content=1098CL-E-NLETTER65

From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – Since we focused on Bishop John Gunn’s surviving the arsenic attack in 1916, I thought I would share some more details about the bishop from the early pages of his diary.

Bishop Gunn was born on March 15, 1863, in County Tyrone, Ireland. He was the oldest of 11 children. His family originally came from Scotland to County Tyrone as descendants of Olaf the Black, a Viking ruler of the Isles off the coast of Scotland in the 13th century.

Hence, they called themselves the “Black Gunns of Caithness” and the family motto was aut pax aut bellum (either peace or war).

Bishop Gunn honors this heritage on his coat of arms with a Viking ship, but wisely chose not to use the family motto for his episcopal motto. He instead chose Monstra Te Esse Matrem (show thyself to be our mother) which comes from his formation as Marist priest.

He studied at the Gregorian University in Rome and was professed in 1884 and ordained a priest in 1890. He was ordained a bishop on August 29, 1911, at Sacred Heart Church in Atlanta where he had been serving for 13 years. Fellow Marist and Archbishop of New Orleans, James Hubert Herbert Blenk, was the principal consecrator.

In reading through the early entries of Bishop Gunn’s diary, it is evident that Archbishop Blenk was a great friend and mentor to him.

From Sept. 11, 1911, we read: “I went to Archbishop Blenk where the only misunderstanding I ever had with him was explained. I knew that I had been proposed for San Antonio and I made Archbishop Blenk promise he would oppose any and every effort to have me appointed a Bishop anywhere. When my appointment came, I accused him a breaking his promise and he showed me letters from Cardinal Gibbons which explained my appointment to Natchez and cleared Blenk. The Archbishop brought me to his friends in New Orleans and tried to give me the necessary courage to face Mississippi.”

His next entry from Sept. 14, supports the previous: “Started for Natchez with Father Larkin and my brother, Father Ed. I wanted Blenk to come – he refused, telling me that I was old enough to face the music without a chaperone and that the Natchez spotlight was not brilliant enough for two. I think his advice was correct.”

A few months later on March 21, 1912, Bishop Gunn gives us an interesting insight into his ministry as Bishop in describing a meeting of the Bishops of the Province of New Orleans. In 1912, the then Diocese of Natchez was part of the Province of New Orleans. Dioceses are structurally arranged according to provinces and then regions. Provinces center around an archdiocese and archbishop, known as the metropolitan.

Currently the Diocese of Jackson is part of the Province of Mobile that was established in 1980 when Mobile was elevated to an archdiocese. The dioceses of Jackson, Biloxi and Birmingham are suffragan sees under the archdiocese of Mobile. Coincidentally, our own Bishop, Joseph Kopacz, is the senior suffragan of the province led by Archbishop Thomas Rodi.

Back to 1912 where we were a suffragan see of New Orleans. Bishop Gunn describes the March 21 meeting in this manner: “That was my first introduction to the Bishops of the Province of New Orleans and a more congenial lovable lot of men I never met.

“I was born afraid of Bishops. I ran and hid from them when I could, feared them, and never met any of them that I thought worth knowing until I met the Bishops of the New Orleans Province. Such men as Gallagher of Galveston, Meerschaert of Oklahoma, Morris of Little Rock, Allen of Mobile and the younger crowd – Shaw of San Antonio and Lynch of Dallas, and of course, the greatest Roman of them all – the Archbishop of New Orleans [Blenk].”

“The meeting was a serious one and a useful one, but it did not prevent Meerschaert and Van de Ven from initiating Lynch and myself with some third degree work, especially suited to the Mutt and Jeff of the Bishops of the Province. I met most of these Bishops at my consecration, but I got to know them on the 21st and if knowing is akin to loving, I see my finish.”

Having served in the diocesan structure for more than 30 years, and in a particularly close way having served the office of bishop, I have observed a lot about the office and the men in it. I think often we forget that these are men, not statues, and they have very real fears and trepidations in accepting the office. Heavy is the head that wears the miter.
During this Advent, I am aiming some extra prayers for the bishops with whom I serve and have served. I encourage you to do the same. They need it.

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

From the Archives
By Mary Woodward

JACKSON – After last week’s article on the death of our bishops, I received a few inquiries about the arsenic poisoning of Bishop John Edward Gunn, which actually occurred in February 1916 in Chicago instead of 1915 Detroit as previously reported.

The event honored Archbishop George Mundelein who was recently appointed as Chicago’s top prelate. Most of Chicago’s “who’s who’s” were there. Bishop Gunn’s description of the event is so vivid that I will let his words paint the scene.

“On February 10th there was a meeting of the Catholic Church Extension Society followed by a dinner at the Archbishop’s house. Everybody was invited to wait over in Chicago for the big blow-out that was to take place on the night of February 10th when the city of Chicago was to banquet the new Archbishop. This banquet was engineered by Msgr. [Francis] Kelley of Catholic Extension.

“It took place in the banquet hall of the University Club and had among its guests forty Bishops, the head of the Army, the government officials, Governor of the State, Mayor of the City and everybody else worthwhile in Chicago.”

“It was at that banquet that the nearest approach to the wholesale poisoning of the hierarchy and the Chicago millionaires was attempted. After the oysters came the soup and while only a small cupful was served to each guest, before the last guest was served with soup, one hundred men were on the floor or were being carried out. There was a panic in the dining room and as no one knew its cause, everybody was frightened.”

“The University Club was turned into an emergency hospital and I was able to get to the elevator. I was brought down to one of the big reception rooms and gently deposited at full length on the floor. I was beside an Army Officer in full regimentals, a civic authority with a generous abundance of shirt waist, a Bishop from somewhere, and we were all in a very undignified scramble to reach the same spittoon.”

“The celebrated Doctor Murphy had charge of our room and while medical hygiene may be all right in the abstract there was very little time for the niceties or ethics of medicine on that occasion. A bell boy from the hotel went ‘round with a pitcher and a glass and insisted on giving everyone a dose of mustard and tepid water.”

“The man who did not take it was made to take it and the results were instantaneous, but the heavily cushioned upholstered University Club carried for a long time the marks of the banquet.”

“Of course, the thing broke up the banquet and about 100 hundred men just barely escaped death by poisoning. There were about 100 who did not take soup and they remained in the banquet hall to make and hear the speeches.”

“About one o’clock I managed to get to my hotel room more dead than alive and the feeling was the usual feeling after a bad attack of sea-sickness. I left as soon as possible for the Pass [Christian] but nothing could induce me to even look into the dining room on the way between Chicago and New Orleans.”

“The papers of the country and the detectives of every country got busy to find the poisoner. He was a socialist from Alsace-Lorraine, who was in charge of making the soup. It seems he studied poisoning as a sideline to Socialism and he knew with German accuracy the exact amount of soup to be served to each guest.”

“The soup was made a day or two in advance; the poison was added; and Jacques Crones took French leave. On the night of the banquet there were more guests than soup portions, with the result that the soup had to be watered and smaller portions served. It seems that this saved the entire banqueting party from having to attend their own funeral.”

“I was glad to get back to the Pass on Feb 12th where I stayed under a doctor’s orders close to a stomach pump until the end of the month.”

So that is the real story about the arsenic poisoning from the diary of Bishop Gunn. The diaries of bishops provide much history that never shows up in history books or news media. They are priceless treasures of diocesan life and the development of the church in our state, region and country.

We will share much more as time goes on from these unique perspectives of history from the very real men who held the office of bishop.

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

By Joanna Puddister King

JACKSON – Pope Francis launched preparations Oct. 9-10 at the Vatican for the World Synod of Bishops, which will take place in 2023. On the theme “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission,” the church is seeking input from dioceses around the world, with most bishops kicking off the local listening process with opening Masses beginning Oct. 17.

In the Diocese of Jackson, Bishop Joseph Kopacz launched the Synod of Bishops on Oct. 24 with an opening Mass at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson.

Since the Second Vatican Council, the church has held Synods of Bishops, most recently focusing on topics such as the family and young people. This synod focuses on the topic of synodality itself.

“The undertaking is called Synod on Synodality, which can sound like ‘church speak’ when you first hear it,” said Bishop Kopacz at the opening Mass for the synod in the diocese.

“But it has deep roots in our church tradition as a people of faith, as baptized Catholics, as disciples of the Lord.”
In his homily, Bishop Kopacz challenged us to reimagine the birth of the church on the first Pentecost, nearly 2000 years ago. With disciples of the Lord Jesus, praying intensely for the faith-filled gift of the Holy Spirit.

“This is the image of synodality,” said Bishop Kopacz.

“Pope Francis wants the church to gather in prayer for a number of months leading into a year and then a second year, so there will be time to absorb all that the Spirit is speaking to the church.”

Bishop Kopacz says that during the next two months, the diocese will be laying the groundwork for the synod process in the diocese – preparing materials and training facilitators to conduct parish listening sessions. Then, to be followed by regional meetings to be held in the first few months of 2022.

“Beyond the mainstream of our parishes, schools and other ministries we will also invite many more to participate through social media platforms in order to reach out to the unchurched, the marginalized and the alienated,” said Bishop Kopacz.

“From across the diocese, we hope to receive a very good response – potentially thousands of responses,” said Bishop Kopacz.

“It will be work bringing this together into a 10-page synthesis. But what a story; that we can understand on a deeper level, who we are as a people of God in the Body of Christ, in the Diocese of Jackson.”

Fran Lavelle, director of faith formation for the diocese, was selected to lead the planning for the synod in the diocese, along with an advisory council. She says that the synod is “not a pastoral planning process, nor is it a free for all ‘gripe session.’”

“It is an opportunity for the people of God to pray together and ask of ourselves as individuals and within our church community where we are being called in our journey together. It provides a moment in time for the universal church to look at the greatest issues facing God’s holy people and asking how are we to respond as we embody the Gospel.”

In their planning document, the Vatican asks that each diocese contemplate two questions: How does this “journeying together” take place today on different levels (from the local level to the universal one), allowing the church to proclaim the Gospel; and what steps is the Holy Spirit inviting us to take in order to grow as a synodal church?

In April, all responses will be gathered and organized into a synthesis that will eventually go the Vatican. “The summary will be made available for the diocese as a very important body of material for our discernment in light of our mission and our ministries,” said Bishop Kopacz.

In 2023 after this worldwide process, Pope Francis will speak to the church and to the world the essence of what the Holy Spirit has spoken to the church.

Lavelle says to begin praying now for wisdom and understanding during the synod process.

“When your parish gathers to listen to one another, may you be fortified with the knowledge that your voice matters.”