FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 26, 2017n
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WORLD WAR I EXHIBIT “THE GREAT WAR AND CATHOLIC MEMORY†OPENS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AT THE ARCHIVES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK
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The World War I exhibit “The Great War and Catholic Memory†is a retrospective focusing on the soldiers of New York who served in one of history’s most devastating wars and the chaplains who accompanied and ministered to them on the battlefields of Europe. The exhibit which was curated by the Archives of the Archdiocese of New York, under the leadership of Director Kate Feighery, and opens this Thursday, September 28 at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, transports the viewer into the hearts of these courageous servicemen, nurses, and medics, by way of the accounts of the chaplains who sustained them through the trials of war. n
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The exhibit “The Great War and Catholic Memory†is a spiritual biography told through the intimate lens of correspondence, photographs, and documents that have been carefully preserved, for decades, in the Archives of the Archdiocese of New York; and are now open, for the first time, to the public in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. The exhibit explores the contribution of these servicemen and women from the perspective of faith and duty. It also looks at the institutions that arose in response to the spiritual needs of an unprecedented number of enlisted soldiers. These institutions, like the early Military Diocese, are now woven into the fabric of the United States military, as well as the history of the Archdiocese of New York. The Fighting 69th , their chaplain Fr. Francis Duffy, Archbishop Hayes, and the legacy of White Plains, all emerge from Catholic memory to tell the story of a generation of New Yorkers whose journey through the “War to End All Wars†was as much a spiritual feat as it was a physical one.br>  n
The Archives of the Archdiocese of New York is situated on the campus of St. Joseph’s Seminary at 201 Seminary Avenue, Yonkers, New York 10704. Viewings of the exhibit are by appointment.br>  n
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 28 at 6:00pm
Speaker will be Fr. Joseph Deponai. n
 

Father Joseph J. Deponai graduated from West Point in 1974.  After graduation, he served as a field artillery officer in with the 11th ACR in Germany and the 1st Calvary Division in Fort Hood, TX.  Upon leaving military service in 1979, he entered St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, where he was ordained in 1983.  After serving various seminary and parish apostolates for 10 years, he returned to active duty as a chaplain in 1992.  He served with the 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, the 1st Armored Division in Germany and Bosnia, the 1st Mountain Division at Fort Drum, and as a chaplain at West Point.  He ended his time in the service in Heidelberg, Germany, as the Community Catholic Chaplain.  When he returned to the Archdiocese, he was assigned to St. Anthony’s, Nanuet, as the associate pastor.  He was appointed pastor in 2009

New York Archives Week: Saturday, October 21 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Speaker will be Vivian Davis of the Bronx County Historical Societyn
 

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Members of the press interested in covering the exhibit are asked to kindly contact Mercedes Lopez Blanco at [email protected].