Sunday, November 24, 2019 | 11:30 AM
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv. will bestow the Bishop Gartland Service Award on 85 South Georgians at the 11:30 a.m. Mass on the Feast of Christ the King, Sunday, November 24. All are invited to attend.

The service will be streamed live at diosav.org/livestream and at savannahcathedral.org/livestream.

The Bishop Gartland Service Award is an honor bestowed by the Diocese of Savannah on persons who have given distinguished service to the Church in the tradition of its first Bishop, Francis X. Gartland who served from 1850-1854.

Francis X. Gartland, born in 1805 in Dublin, Ireland, immigrated with his parents as a child to this country.  He was ordained for the Diocese of Philadelphia and served there as a priest and later Vicar General until he was named Bishop of the newly-erected Diocese of Savannah in July 1850.  In the fall of 1854, yellow fever struck the City of Savannah, leaving more than a thousand dead in three months.  The Bishop visited the sick tirelessly, administering the sacraments, until he himself was laid low by the fever.  Mortally ill, he was forced to leave his residence when a hurricane blew its roof off, and died September 20 at the home of friends.  He was 49 years old.

The gold and blue pin combines elements of Bishop Gartland’s episcopal coat of arms with elements from  the shield of the Diocese of Savannah. 

His motto, Vincit Veritas, or “Truth conquers,” is inscribed on the pin.

“The Gartland Award is an opportunity for pastors to recognize the ‘unsung heroes’ of the parishes throughout the diocese.  These men and women are the ‘salt of the earth’ who are so generous with their time and talent in serving in the ministries within the parish.  They are truly Disciples of Christ to others,” Bishop Hartmayer said.

You can view a gallery of the Gartland Award Recipients here: 2019 Gartland Award Recipients

The Gartland Award recipients and their parishes are:

Albany Deanery

Carlos Corona
Faustino Hernandez
Immaculate Conception, Moultrie

Priscilla Carpenter
Marisol Gaytan
Our Divine Saviour, Tifton

Joann Humphries
Aida Santoyo
St. John Vianney, Camilla

Rocio Marin Aparicio
St. Mary, Americus

Marlene Kimball
Michael Pittman
St. Theresa, Cordele

Augusta Deanery

Barbara Kiernan, PhD. RN.
Most Holy Trinity, Augusta

Juan Casarez, Jr.
Bert Cline
Sacred Heart, Waynesboro

Eleanor Brown
Kristine Evans
St. Joan of Arc, Louisville

Jonathan A. Von Plinsky
St. Joseph, Augusta

Daniel B. Walter
Marcie Wilhelmi
St. Mary on the Hill, Augusta

Jean Ruddy
John Vigna
St. Teresa of Avila, Grovetown

Columbus Deanery

Angelika K. Cortright
Miriam Lang
Christ the King, Pine Mountain

Betth Gardner
Our Lady of Lourdes, Columbus

Anne Lester
Roger Thompson
St. Anne, Columbus

LaFini Gilmer Mosby
St. Benedict the Moor, Columbus

Macon Deanery

Cecilia Blas
Manuel Blas
Sacred Heart, Warner Robins

Dr. Mary-Julia Burt Dennis
William Sanders
Immaculate Conception, Dublin

Bob Fenimore
Dale McGoldrick
St. Joseph, Macon

James Drescher
Kathryn Drescher
St. Patrick, Kathleen

Loleatis Green
Armando Perez
St. Peter Claver, Macon

Savannah Deanery

David Peterson
Barbara Peterson
Blessed Sacrament, Savannah

Jane R. Pruitt
John Pryor
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah

Ralaine Kay Burd
Joni Porter
Corpus Christi, Pooler

Oralia V. Cabrera
Alma Latorre
Our Lady of Lourdes, Port Wentworth

Causey Mincey, Sr.
Ocia M. Walker
Resurrection of Our Lord, Savannah

Dinah Gretsch
Fred Gretsch
Sacred Heart, Savannah

Joanne Pruszynski
Ronald Pruszynski
St. Anne, Richmond Hill

Frankie Washington
Dianne Fields-Williams
St. Benedict the Moor, Savannah

Allan Bazemore
Gloria Bazemore
St. Boniface, Springfield

David Hoover
Helena Yoon
St. Frances Cabrini, Savannah

Lester M. Haddad, MD
Cindi Vita Vogel
St. James, Savannah

Michael Beytagh
Ginny Murphy
St. Michael, Tybee Island

Ann Marie Collins
Mark Immel
St. Peter the Apostle, Savannah

Samantha Huong Ngo
Sts. Peter and Paul, Savannah

Statesboro Deanery

William Velasquez
Sacred Heart, Vidalia

Dr. Jim Bergin
Joyce Williams Bergin
St. Matthew, Statesboro

Valdosta-Brunswick Deanery

Marisol Zarraga
Good Shepherd, Hazlehurst

Marte Moreno Solorio
Holy Family, Willacoochee

Donald Smith
Nativity of Our Lady, Darien

Tricia Jenkins
Tom Jenkins
Our Lady Star of the Sea, St. Marys

Kathleen O’Brien Rodgers
St. Francis of Assisi, Folkston

Modesta Cortés
St. Frances of Rome, Alma

Mary Meyer
Antonio M. Vazquez Hipolito
St. Francis Xavier, Brunswick

Marilyn Baltrus
Lee Crosby
St. John the Evangelist, Valdosta

David E. Cahill
Francisco Velez
St. Joseph, Waycross

Alfredo Garcia
Maria Garcia
St. Paul, Douglas

Nerissa Fernando
St. Rose of Lima, Baxley

Christopher Jimenez
Tonjoli Laveaux-Futch
St. Stephen First Martyr, Hinesville

Bacilio Sarmientos
St. William, Fitzgerald

Ronald Casler St. William, St. Simons Island