Sunday, July 22, 2012

An Invitation


It is inevitable, with the comings and goings in a city the size of Chicago, that Agnes Tully Stevens would eventually have connections in far-flung regions of the country.

This invitation bears witness to that process.

When I first glanced at the designation, “North Carolina,” my mind flew back to the set of photographs from the waterfront resort at Wrightsville Beach, thinking I had made a connection. However, buried deep within the flowery text of this formal invitation was the date: 1937, too late to match with those Wrightsville Beach pictures.

Whoever the Most Reverend Eugene Joseph McGuinness of Raleigh, North Carolina, was—or how he connected to my Tully and Stevens family—I will have to set aside for another day’s musings. For now, he becomes a token of how widespread the circle of friends and acquaintances were for one humble homemaker in 1900s Chicago.


The Most Reverend Eugene Joseph McGuinness
Bishop-elect of Raleigh, North Carolina
Vice President of The Catholic Church Extension Society
requests the honor of your presence at the
Ceremony of his Consecration
His Eminence Dennis Cardinal Dougherty
Archbishop of Philadelphia
officiating
The Most Reverend William David O’Brien, D. D.
Titular Bishop of Calinda and Auxiliary of Chicago
The Most Reverend Hugh L. Lamb, D. D., V. G.
Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia
Co-Consecrators
Sts. Peter + Paul Cathedral, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
nine-thirty, Tuesday morning, December twenty-first
One thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven
The Most Reverend Francis Clement Kelley, D. D.
Bishop of Oklahoma City and Tulsa
will deliver the sermon


2 comments:

  1. Lots of higher up muckity mucks in this list!

    A lot of them stem from the poor coal mine regions of Pennsylvania. The Chicago link seems to be to a charitable outfit, The Catholic Church Extension Society (based in Chicago).

    Reading of its history doesn't shed much light (for me) but it is of some interest:

    http://www.catholicextension.org/about-us/our-history

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link, and bio of Bishop Kelley, Iggy. It appears Bishop McGuinness later followed Bishop Kelley in assuming his position in Oklahoma City. Interesting how all these professional roots seem to go back to Chicago.

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