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Contents
Headline Hopscotch 2
News 3
Commentary 4-5
"Missionary to the world". . 6-7
Faith Alive! . . 8-9
Notices 10-11
Last But Not Least 12
Vol. 79, No. 25 $.50 per issue
Thursday, July 15, 1999
Sister Mary James McDonald, Francis Larkin
receive Papal awards from Bishop Boland
Father Robert J. Baker,
Bishop-designate of Charleston, S.C.
Bishop Thompson retires;
Florida priest named successor
WASHINGTON (CNS)
P ope John Paul II has accepted the resignation of
Bishop David B. Thompson of Charleston, S.C.,
and has appointed a Jacksonville, Fla., pastor,
Father Robert J. Baker, as his successor. The changes
were announced in Washington July 13 by Archbishop
Gabriel Montalvo, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Bishop Thompson, 76, was appointed coadjutor bishop of
Charleston in April 1989 and has been head of the diocese
since February 1990. Bishop-designate Baker, 55, has
been pastor of Christ the King Church in Jacksonville
since last year. He also has been a seminary spiritual
director and theology professor.
Savannah Bishop J. Kevin Boland sent his congratula
tions to the Bishop-designate, noting that the new bishop
will be part of the Province of Atlanta, which includes the
Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Dioceses of Charleston,
Savannah, Raleigh and Charlotte. Bishops in the province
meet regularly to discuss common concerns and, at times,
collaborate on projects.
“The Diocese of Savannah extends a warm welcome
to Bishop-designate Baker,” said Bishop Boland Tuesday
from Atlanta, where was attending an Atlanta Province
Bishops’ gathering.
Born in Fostoria, Ohio, June 4, 1944, Bishop-designate
Baker went to Columbus, Ohio, for high school at
Josephinum High School and for college at the Pontifical
College Josephinum, where he earned a bachelor's in phi
losophy and master of divinity degree. Bishop-designate
(Continued on page 3)
By Barbara D. King
Bishop J. Kevin Boland presents the "Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice" to Fran Larkin, as his daughter, Missy, looks
on. The Bishop will present the Papal Medal to Sister Mary James McDonald, right, in St. Louis today.
Savannah
he nurtured the growth of
Catholic education in the Augusta
area; he left a flourishing Catholic
community in New Jersey to help nour
ish the tiny seed of the Catholic faith in
Emanuel County.
Though they lived many miles apart,
Sister Mary James McDonald, CSJ, and
Francis Larkin shared a mission: to
bring the good news of God’s love to
the people of South Georgia.
Now many decades later Pope John
Paul II has recognized their work by
bestowing the Papal Award, Pro
Ecclesia et Pontifice, on Sister Mary
James and Fran Larkin.
Bishop J. Kevin Boland presented
the medal to Larkin at Sunday Mass at
his parish, Holy Trinity of Swainsboro,
on June 27. The bishop is to travel to Nazareth
Living Center in St. Louis, Missouri today to pres
ent the medal to Sister Mary James. The home
serves as the retirement center for the Sisters of St.
Joseph in St. Louis.
“This honor and recognition is given to you for
your unwavering loyalty and fidelity to your reli
gious community and for your exceptional and
extraordinary commitment to Catholic education,”
Bishop Boland wrote to Sister Mary James in telling
her of the honor. “For the most part your service to
education took place in the Diocese of Savannah
and especially at Aquinas High School in Augusta.
The Diocese of Savannah owes you a debt of grati
tude for your magnificent contribution to the growth
and development of Catholic education in the
Augusta area.”
Sister Mary James was born Theresa Ann
McDonald in Savannah, the eighth of twelve chil
dren of James and Theresa McDonald. She entered
the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
in 1934, began her teaching career at Sacred Heart
School in Savannah in the late 1930’s and was
named principal of the Girls’ Department of
Aquinas High School in 1958. When classes
became coeducational, Sister Mary James was
(Continued on page 2)