A Note of Gratitude
Among my mother’s keepsakes is this small handwritten note, dated June 6, 1949. At first glance, it appears to be an ordinary thank-you card. It preserves one of the happiest occasions in the ordination and the celebration of a First Mass.
The note was written to my mother, Mary Watson, thanking her for including the writer in the invitation to the graduation and First Mass. The writer expresses his joy for my grandparents and the “sublime event” they were experiencing. Those words remind us that becoming a Catholic priest was not simply an individual achievement. It was a milestone celebrated by an entire family, parish, and community.
In 1949, a First Mass was one of the most significant events in the life of a Catholic family. Years of education, spiritual formation, and preparation culminated in the newly ordained priest celebrating Mass for the first time. Families often planned large gatherings, welcomed relatives and friends from near and far, and carefully preserved invitations, photographs, and letters from the occasion.
What I especially enjoy about this note is its simplicity. There are no elaborate speeches or lengthy congratulations. Just heartfelt appreciation written in careful penmanship. It reflects a time when important occasions were acknowledged with personal letters rather than quick messages or emails. Every word was chosen thoughtfully, and every note became something worth saving.
As I continue exploring my family’s history, I have come to appreciate these small pieces of correspondence as much as official documents and photographs. They reveal the relationships that surround important milestones and remind me that history is built not only from great public events but also from the quiet expressions of friendship, gratitude, and shared joy that marked family life.
This note also gives me a glimpse into my mother’s role within the family. She was not simply a spectator. She was involved in the preparations, helping with invitations and sharing in a celebration that brought pride and joy to everyone. More than seventy-five years later, this little note still conveys the warmth of that remarkable occasion.
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Another Wartime Wedding
Among my mother’s papers is another wedding announcement from the World War II years. The envelope is addressed simply to “Miss Hannigan,” my mother before her marriage, and inside Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Goings announce the marriage of their daughter, Dorothy Irene, to Mr. Leonard Field Hubbard on Saturday, November 21, 1942, in Newport, New […]
A Wartime Marriage
This is the marriage certificate of my parents, Roger Edward Watson and Mary Elizabeth Hannigan. They were married on May 3, 1944, at Saint John the Evangelist Church in Concord, New Hampshire, while my father was home on leave during World War II. My father came from West Virginia, while my mother had grown up […]
The Beautiful Hands of a Priest
This is the kind of paper that was never meant to be thrown away. Tucked among my mother’s things, it is worn, folded, and softened by time. At the top, typed simply, are the words: “The Beautiful Hands of a Priest.” There is no author, just the poem itself. The poem was passed down orally in Ireland, […]
