Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 9 — The Georgia Bulletin, October 22, 1987
Archbishop's Administrative Skills Widely Recognized
Archbishop Thomas Donnellan’s abilities as a good ad
ministrator who ran “a tight ship” stood him in good stead
after he became head of one of the fastest growing dioceses
in the country.
“He always received me beautifully,” said Joseph
Estafen, director of finance for the archdiocese since 1976.
“He was always open to ideas to promote constructive
change.”
Estafen, who is responsible for obtaining financing for all
new construction in the archdiocese, said some of the ideas
the archbishop accepted included the proposal for a
regional school, St. John Neumann in Lilburn; a new con
cept for funding, the deposit and loan fund, and the cen
tralization of accounting and financial functions, and com
puterization.
The archbishop’s ability as “a good administrator who
ran a tight ship,” Estafen said, was recognized by the Na
tional Conference of Catholic Bishops which occasionally
called on him as a troubleshooter for financially strapped
dioceses.
In his association with the archbishop, Estafen said he
gained much. “He taught me humility and wisdom. He was
a beautiful man. He had an inner goodness about him that
was obvious to all who knew him.”
“He taught me that authority is not something to be bran
dished but exercised with respect, gentleness and compas
sion for each individual.”
“He had an untiring dedication to the work of the church.
He would see anyone and everyone, it was just a matter of
getting an appointment scheduled. It’s unfortunate that a
lot of people didn’t get to know him better and see so many
of his good qualities.”
The finance director said that although the Catholic
population was listed at 137,074 at the beginning of 1987, his
office believes the figure now to be closer to 150,000. This is
based on an estimated 45,000 families averaging three plus
people per family unit. And growth in north Georgia shows
no signs of leveling off, he said.
--Mclnerney
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THE OLDEST RESIDENT of Marian Manor, bishop following the special Mass for senior
Harry Ormond, then 95, chatted with the arch- citizens in May, 1986.
32 New
Paris h
es Establ
is
hed
During the last 19 years, the archbishop,
with the priests’ advisory body, the College
of Consultors, decided to establish 32 new
parishes in response to the growth in the
Catholic population. These are the parishes
in chronological order.
St. Francis of Assisi
Cartersville
March 31, 1969
St. Oliver Plunkett
Snellville
April 24, 1978
St. Patrick
Norcross
August 25, 1970
Church of St. Ann
Marietta
July 3, 1978
Corpus Christi
Stone Mountain
July 11, 1971
St. James the Apostle
McDonough
March 12, 1979
St. Thomas Aquinas
Alpharetta
May 1, 1972
St. Matthew
Fairburn
October 9, 1979
St. Anna
Monroe
May 1, 1972
Our Lady of LaSalette
Canton
June, 1980
Holy Family
Marietta
May 28, 1973
St. Francis of Assisi
Blairsville
March 4, 1982
Holy Trinity
Peachtree City
May 28, 1973
Sacred Heart
Hartwell
June 17, 1982
St. George
Newnan
March 31, 1974
Queen of Angels
Thomson
June 17, 1982
St. Lawrence
Lawrenceville
June 17, 1974
Church of St. Andrew
Roswell
June 28, 1982
St. Pius X
Conyers
July 8, 1974
Prince of Peace
Buford
April 3, 1983
All Saints
Dun woody
April 11, 1977
Christ Our Hope
Lithonia
August 1, 1984
St. John Neumann
Lilburn
June 16, 1977
St. Clement
Calhoun
September 20, 1984
Church of the Good Shepherd
Cumming
August 1, 1977
Our Lady of the Mount
Lookout Mountain, Tenn.
November 18, 1984
St. Augustine
Covington
September 29, 1977
St. Theresa
Douglasville
August 8, 1985
St. Catherine of Siena
Kennesaw
September 29, 1977
St. Anthony
Blue Ridge
June 13, 1986
Church of the Transfiguration
Marietta
September 19, 1977
St. Benedict
Duluth
June 11, 1987
Archbishop —
(Continued from page 8)
Sheila Mallon, who retired this year as diocesan pro-life
coordinator, said the archbishop was always supportive of
the activities of her office. He came out for the first pro-life
march in 1983, an encouragement both to the Catholics and
the people of other faiths attending. On another occasion
the bishop was present, as he had promised, at a pro-life
meeting at the Catholic Center even though his appearance
there meant missing an anniversary celebration for a
seminary classmate in another part of the country.
When she needed information on Catholic teachings he
would always look up the reference in an official volume
and mark it for her, she recalled.
Politically he considered himself neither conservative or
liberal, he told the Southline interviewer in 1986. “I'm
Catholic. I have to read the signs of the times and apply my
principles to them. I'm not hung up on this or that political
party. I’m hung up on the positions they take.”
The archbishop had a special love of children and was
always open to them. Mrs. Sally Grubbs, his secretary
through all the years he led the archdiocese, said he told her
one time that what he missed in Atlanta was not being able
to walk out and see the children playing in a nearby school
yard as he was accustomed to doing in New York state.
She said he always looked forward to the children from
the Village of Saint Joseph coming to the Catholic Center to
sing carols at Christmas time. And the children looked for
ward to the annual party, Sister Teresa Termini, C.S.J.,
said. Their performance was always followed by a little
party, with each receiving a stocking or basket filled with
holiday treats.
When he came to the Village for a trustees’ meeting the
children always clamored to sit at the table with him for the
meal.
Sister Termini was administrator at the Village for seven
years from 1969. When she became director of services for
the elderly with Catholic Social Services, she found him to
be very supportive of programs for senior citizens. He was
disappointed, she said, when plans for a nursing home,
already well advanced, had to be dropped after his finan
cial advisers warned him against proceeding with the
building because interest rates were sky high. In later
years she found him to be supportive of the personal care
home program.
His presence was always a highlight of Senior Citizens
Sunday held each May. He celebrated the Mass and gave
the homily at the Cathedral of Christ the King. At the recep
tion which followed in the Highland Center he made it a
point to move graciously from table to table, greeting
everyone personally.