St Marys High School - Lance Yearbook (Independence, MO)

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History Of The Church . . . Leadership Of Church Changes Hands On August 6, 1978, the fifteen year pon- tificate of Pope Paul VI came to an end, The day after his death, thousands of mourners had gath- ered at St. Peter's Square to honor the Pilgrim Pope. The success of Pope Paul's reign lies in the fact that he kept the church intact despite controversy over the Vatican II rulings concerning abortion, the ordination of women, and marriage of priests. One Hundred - elev- en cardinals took part in the election of the new pope. As antici- pated, a quick deci- sion was made. Car- dinal Albino Luciani, patriarch of Venice, was the new pope. His election came as a complete surprise to most observers, be- cause the cardinal had not been considered as a top candidate. A pope of the people, Cardinal Luciani took the name of John Paul I, in respect for his two predecessors. Barely a month later on September 29, Pope John Paul I passed away, his pon- tificate lasting only thirty-four days. Once again the world mourned the loss of a pontiff. The cardinals gath- ered in Rome for the second time to choose another successor of Christ. People streamed into St. Pe- ter's Square to greet the new pontiff Cardi- nal Karol Wojtyla. The fifty-eight year old archbishop of Cracow, Poland was the first non-Italian pope since 1523. He took the name Pope John Paul II. Photo NC News Service

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Judge Henry A. Bundschu left a major portion of his estate amounting to two million dollars to St. Mary's High School upon his death on May 5, 1978. The Bundschu family had been members of St. Mary's Catholic Church since his grandfather, Karl C. Bundschu settled in Independence after the Civil War. In 1928, Mr. Bundschu tried unsuccessfully to become a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, having lost out in the primary. He was appoint- ed the bankruptcy referee for the U.S. District Court here in 1938. Judge Bundschu was the first president of the Lawyers Association of Kansas City and helped write a nonpartisan plan for selection of state judges, a model throughout the United States. An avid historian, Henry was a member of the Missouri State Historical Soci- ety . Those close to the former Judge were amazed at his recall of events, some trivial and other paramount, in the shaping of this areas history. At age 91, upon his death, Henry A. Bundschu's life spanded nearly a century, beginning in the era when Independence was the jumping off place for the wagon trains which traversed the Santa Fe and Oregon trails.

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World-wide And Local Bishop’s Mass Inspires All The student council organized a mass celebrated by Bishop John Sullivan on September 22. Al- though the crowding was uncom- fortable for some, the entire school assembled in the church. At the end of the mass, the president of the student council Mark Petrovic presented the Bishop with a plaque commerat- ing his second visit to the school.