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PAGE 7 — The Georgia Bulletin, February 8, 1990
Five 'Friends' Of Church
Are Given Papal Honors
BY GRETCHEN REISER
Five archdiocesan leaders were honored
with tributes from Pope John Paul II Feb.
4 and their friends and family members,
colleagues and fellow parishioners looked
on with admiration and love.
Sheila Mallon, longtime leader in the
Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic
Women and in the pro-life movement in
north Georgia, received the papal medal
Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice (for the Church
and the Pontiff). A bronze medal on a
yellow and white ribbon inscribed with the
award title and the name of Pope John
Paul II, it was accompanied by a framed
scroll announcing the award in Latin.
Mary Wells, also an AACCW leader and
active in many ways in St. Paul of the
Cross parish in northwest Atlanta, receiv
ed the Benemerenti medal (to a well
deserving person), also a bronze
medallion on a yellow and white ribbon,
accompanied by a framed Latin scroll.
Named Knights of the Order of St.
Gregory the Great were John Brent of St.
Jude’s parish in Sandy Springs, and
Hughes Spalding. Jr., a parishioner of
Holy Spirit in Atlanta. Brent was honored
for his volunteer work as an immigration
lawyer, assisting the vocations office, the
immigration office of Catholic Social Ser
vices, and Our Lady of the Assumption and
St. Jude’s parishes.
Spalding, who retired Jan. 1 as senior
partner in the Atlanta law firm of King and
Spalding, has served the archdiocese in
numerous capacities for decades. His ser
vice has included work for St. Joseph’s
Hospital board, the board of Our Lady of
Perpetual Help Cancer Home, the Serra
Club, both locally and nationally, the
board of Catholic Social Services, Marist
School, Ignatius House retreat center and
the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Rawson Haverty, also a member of Holy
Spirit parish, was named a Knight Com
mander of the Order of St. Gregory,
recognizing also decades of service to the
Church of north Georgia. Chairman and
chief executive officer of Haverty’s Fur
niture Companies, Inc., he was the first
chairman of the archdiocesan finance
committee, serving for 14 years. A
longtime supporter of the Village of St.
Joseph, beginning when the residence for
children was in Washington, Ga., Haverty
has served as a member of its board for 10
years and is now co-chairing a capital
campaign for the Village. He chaired the
archdiocesan 1983 Capital Funds Drive,
which raised $7.2 million for a new
Catholic Center at Georgia Tech, three
archdiocesan personal care homes for the
elderly, expansion and renovation at St.
Pius X High School and scholarships for in
ner city Catholic schools.
Generations of Havertys and Spaldings
were proud witnesses to the honors, an
nounced by Father Edward Dillon, and
given by Archbishop Eugene A. Marino.
SSJ, at the Cathedral of Christ the King.
Families of Mrs. Mallon and John Brent
and Ms. Wells, including her mother,
Pauline Cofer, also attended as did
AACCW members, pro-life colleagues,
parishioners from their parishes, pastors
and Religious. The five to be honored, and
their spouses and escorts, entered the
Cathedral in procession. They were given
the awards at the end of a Vespers service,
sung by the Cathedral choir.
In his homily, Archbishop Marino said
these five “dedicated and committed lay
women and men, who are our friends, have
shown that genuine commitment to the
Gospel is possible for all of us.”
“By their witness, we are also inspired
to a fuller measure of devotion and ser
vice,” he said.
The honors given reflect “acts of local
generosity and community devotion of an
eminent degree,” the archbishop said, and
come with the appreciation of the pope and
a token of his esteem.
A witness to Jesus Christ lives in
faithfulness to the Gospel without com
promise, a task that is simple, but not at
all easy, he said. “True disciples, authen
tic envoys of Christ are needed today as
never before. All of us admire true and
dedicated messengers of Christ, and we
look to them not only for sure leadership
for our future, but also for our own edifica
tion and inspiration in our efforts to serve
the Church.” In the task of striving to
follow Christ, Mary is “the prototype of
every Christian vocation,” a help and a
companion on the journey, he concluded.
HONORED — Sheila Mallon, above, receives a papal medal from the
archbishop Feb. 4 in the Cathedral. Below, all five honored, left to
right, Hughes Spalding, Jr., Mary Wells, John Brent, Mrs. Mallon, and
Rawson Haverty, gather with the archbishop. (Photos by Linda
Schaefer)
GREETINGS — Mary Wells and St. Paul of
the Cross parishioner Lois Patrick are shown,
at left, after the ceremony. Hughes Spalding,
Jr. receives his honor, below. (Photos by Linda
Schaefer)