Being grateful for a life of service

It was almost exactly ten years ago in this space that we congratulated then-Msgr. John G. Nolan on the announcement of his appointment as bishop by Pope John Paul II. Now, we devote this space to another sort of tribute: a final farewell to a priest who served God's people for nearly half a century all around the world.

Thanksgiving is an appropriate time for such a farewell, for thousands -- perhaps millions -- of people are thankful that their lives intersected with his. As readers of his biography (see pages 1 and 3) soon learn, Bishop Nolan's diocese was the entire globe, as he dedicated his ministry to serving Palestinian refugees, Eastern-rite Catholics who were minorities in the Middle East, and the Catholic men and women of the armed forces wherever they were stationed.

Prior to that, he was "ours," a parish priest and professor in the Albany Diocese, one whose pastoral manner and keen intelligence touched thousands of Catholics in parishes, colleges and the seminary.

Remarking on Bishop Nolan's contributions to the Church, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard said: "I am deeply saddened by the death of Bishop Nolan. He served the Church of Albany with great fidelity and caring as a parish priest, and as a faculty member. We are profoundly grateful for the leadership that he gave to the wider Church through his outstanding work. To all of his ministries, Bishop Nolan brought dynamic energy, enthusiasm, sage insights and pastoral sensitivity."

We pray, with his family and all those who knew him, that a priest and bishop whose work was world-wide will now rest in the arms of the Creator of that world.

(11-27-97)

[[In-content Ad]]