Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • May 26, 2023 19 Knights of Peter Claver hold 75th annual District Senior Conference in Mobile Joseph Piernas, District Deputy for the Knights of Peter Claver Gulf Coast District, speaks during the 75th annual District Senior Conference on May 6 at the Mobile Marriot. Piernas is a parishioner of Our Mother of Mercy Parish in Pass Christian. At each conference, the K of PC award a Claver Man of the year award. This year they named the award after Robert Curtis Andry, the last surviving member who founded the Gulf Coast District. He is standing in the middle along with his son Jr. and Daughter Camille. Father Vernon Hugley is standing behind Leonard Stiell, the first recipient of the Robert Curtis Andry Claver Man of the Year Award. BY ROB HERBST The Catholic Week MOBILE -- Ret. Cpl. Robert Curtis Andry of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Chastang was a founding member of the Knights of Peter Claver Gulf Coast District about 80 years ago. Now 98 years old, the Knights of Peter Claver ensured the dedicated World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient’s legacy will last on. The KoPC Gulf Coast District announced during its 75th annual District Senior Conference at the Mobile Marriott hotel on May 6 that its annual “man of the year” award will be named the “Robert Curtis Andry Claver Man of the Year Award.” “He is the reason we are here today,” said District Deputy Joe Piernas. Andry was in attendance to present the award to Leonard Stiell of Prince of Peace Parish in Mobile. Grand Lady Marjorie Seltzer of St. James Major Parish in Prichard was named the 2023 Lady of the Year by the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary. Since being initiated into the Knights of Peter Claver in 1943, Andry has written many fascinating chapters to his amazing life. Born and raised in Bucks, AL, Andry was drafted out of high school. He was part of Gen. George Patton’s all-black soldier 761st Tanker Battalion and was a gun- ner on a Sherman tanker that was struck by a German mortar shell in France. Severely wounded, fellow soldiers pulled Andry out of the tank. He was buried and hidden in a shallow trench until medics were able to retrieve him nearly 12 hours later. Andry was immediately taken to a London hospital, before eventually returning to the U.S. and finally back home to Bucks. The 761st Black Tank Battalion went on to liberate 30 villages and multiple concentration camps.  At home, Andry was married for 72 years to Lillie Andry before she passed away in 2021. Together, they had included eight children, 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Andry has been a dedicated and lifelong parishioner of St. Peter the Apostle Parish. Following the presenta- tion, Andry thanked his elders for raising him in the faith and talking to him about the Knights of Peter Claver. But plenty sharp being only two years away from 100 years old, Andry noticed women outnumbered the men at the conference. He told the men they had to pick up their game. “They’re slacking,” he said. The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem The Southeastern Lieutenancy of The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem held it’s annual meeting in Atlanta, GA, on April 28. New members were inducted into The Order and the Biloxi Diocese welcomed Deacon Norman Cantrelle, Dori Cantrelle and Deacon David Allen. Also new to our diocese is Andrew Koslosky, KGCHS, who transferred his membership to Biloxi from New York. The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a secular institution under the protection of the Holy See. The Order is worldwide and has around 30,000 members charged with the task of helping support the presence of Christians in The Holy Land. The Order has funded the construction of 45 schools in The Holy Land and helps to pay for their operating costs. Today, about 19,000 students attend these nursery, pri- mary, secondary and technical schools. The Order’s involvement with education helps to deal with a very important problem in the region: how to get people of different races and religions used to living in peace and mutual respect. In addition to the schools, the Order provides substantial assistance to the Patriarchate it support of its 68 parishes, costs of the patriarchal seminary, and its orphanages and clinics. The next meeting will be held in Biloxi on April 26-29, 2024, at the Beau Rivage. L-R: Sir Noman Cantrelle, Dame Dori Cantrelle, Sir Steve Montagnet, Dame Monica Montagnet, Sir Ted Longo (Diocese president), Bishop Louis Kihneman, Sir Andrew Koslosky, Dame Jerry Ingraham, Sir Chuck Ingraham, Dame Gretchen Mayeaux and Sir Carl Mayeaux. Not pictured but attending: Sir David Allen, Sir Dave Wyrwich and Dame Pricilla Wyrwich.