St Marys High School - Marianite Yearbook (Southbridge, MA)

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UBEHHIIHIIEBBEJU Oberammergau is a village about sixty miles southwest of Mun- ich in Bavaria, Germany. The town is famous for its performances of the Passion Play, which has taken place every ten years since the l6CO's. This dramatic performance represents the suffering, Passion, and death of Jesus. It is the outcome of a vow which the villagers made in 1633. At that time a plague of Cholera reached the vicinity. When the village was delivered from it, the people in gratitude promised to honor the passion of Christ by giving this play.1 That vow has been kept every ten years, except for a delay from 1920 to 1922 after World War I. World War II halted the l9uO performance. The persons who take part in this play must lead the lives of saints or of ,holy people they wish to por- tray. The men grow beards and let their hair grow. No twigs of any kind, are used. These people have become very famous and people from all over the world flock to Bavaria to see them. The children of Oberammergau are taught to prepare themselves for a part in the play from their earliest years. The one who takes the part of the Christus must lead an almost perfect life. This part requires some very strenuous acting. The Crucifixion scene reouires so much exertion that the actor is completely ex- hausted when taken down from the cross. One of the young men who took the part of the Christus, Anton Lang, attended Holy Cross College. The girl who takes the part of our Blessed Mother must lead an exemplary life. Those taking part are selected with the greatest of care not only in their outward appearance but also in their lives. The people of Oberammergau consider it the greatest thing that came into their lives and the moral uplift they receivermmes this little town a favorite place for tourists who wish to get away from the mad,restless world to a pleasant vacation in the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of Bavaria. ' The tiny Community of Tovar, Venezuela Count Martin Tovary Ponte noticed the strong the hills of the region and the Black Forest invitation, 371 men,women and children left of Bavaria and came to Venezuela. Little by replica of the community they left behind. for tourists, The Passion Play is not a money-making was founded in l8h3. resemblance between in Germany. At his their native country little they built a Today it is a must affair. The actors and actresses receive a salary which would hardly tempt the least of the Hollywood stars. Due to the ever increasing popularity of the purely religious performance it has been necessary to give extra performances but no amount of money has been able to tempt the Passion Players to go on tour. 57 T z Q N v I l' V I n V . . . ,I 3 n A If 11, I ,qi Y .A A, lk' ffl 6, ,,

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I S?.-SAK FOR DEMOCRACY SPONSORED BY THE JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE I, Joyce Marie DeAbreu, am an American citizen, living in these United States, a wonderful-country with the highest standardscn'de- mocracy that ever existed. This Qualifies me to speak for democracy First of all let us turn the democracy in its beginning as it classical Greece and Rome. Theirs the citizens could speak and vote pages of history back and look at was known in the city-states of was an absolute democracy where all in assemblies. Since slavery ex- isted, equality of all individuals was not known and the majority had no political rights. The Jewish and Christian religions, which emphasized the rights of the poor, and equality of all men before God, contributed to the development of our modern democratic theory. The democratic ideal though at times suppressed, has been pre- served through the centuries, only to burst forth again when other forms of government became intolerable. By the middle of the Twentieth Century every independentcxmntry in the world with minor exceptions, had a government which in form, at least, was democratic. In the United States a democracy has been maintained since 1776 which has as its ideal sought an equally square deal for every cit- izen. But to appreciate this to the fullest extent, a person must understand the love of liberty that made America great and Our forefathers believed that the people had the right to make the laws. They believed that these laws should be general good and that everyone should obey them since they made for all. To uphold these rights the colonists fought terrible years, suffering many hardships. It is this kind free o and power for the have been for seven of love of liberty that has made America great and free. With this heritage it is no wonder that democracy holds a high place in the heart of every American. This love isn't something that we can sum up into one neat lit- tle paragraph. There are not words enough to put down on paper what is in the hearts of the millions of people who live,sleepandbreathe democracy every day of their lives, because everyone ofthese people is an individual having thus it means different his own likes and dislikes,wants and needs, things to different people. Liberty which seems to be saying, WYou're home nown. Who can explain the salutes the flag, sings ican or one of our many feeling that comes over a person when he the WStar Spangled Bannern, NGod Bless Amen- patriotic songs, The smile or tear- on a person's face as he is greeted in New York Harbor by the Statue of Democracy is not something that we have to look for in books and we don't have to search all over the world for it either. It's right here at our fingertips being handed to us on a silver platters Whether we are young or old, rich or poor, healthy or sick, we pos- sess it in the same degree. Grasp it: Don't let it slip away! Use it! It's ours. ' Remember always that without democracy we are like fish cast upon the shore completely helpless. Joyce Marie DeAbreu 1598 56

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SPONSORS and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs Edward Labelle Hubert Pariseau Rudolphe Labelle Eddie Castonguay Anthony Detarando H. J. Madore Thomas O'Connor Clayton McKinstry Fred C. Rourke Bernard A. Rannigan Miss Mary Higgins Miss Marcella and Mr. Bernard Rannigan Jr and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs Christo Athanas Pnilbert Tiberii James Lapriore Joseph Casey 59