By Msgr. R. Donald Kiernan, P.A.

Georgia had been without a bishop for a number of years.

Bishop Gerald P. O’Hara had been assigned to the Apostolic Nunciature in Albania. The Communists would not let him in. On his return trip to the U.S. he was literally getting off the boat when he was assigned to Romania and returned to Europe on the same boat. This assignment was to be followed by appointments as Nuncio to Ireland and Apostolic Delegate to England.

So, it was with great joy when we picked up the newspaper on Wednesday morning and read that Monsignor Francis E. Hyland, the pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Philadelphia, had been named as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta.

The newly ordained bishop arrived by train. He was met at the front of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist by all of the Catholic school children of the City of Savannah. Following the ceremony he came into the Cathedral rectory and the first thing I ever heard him say was “give a day off to the children.”

This act of thoughtfulness characterized Bishop Hyland. Five years as Auxiliary of Savannah-Atlanta and five years as the first Bishop of Atlanta could all be summed up in the word thoughtfulness.

It was not long before he purchased an auto and set out to visit every church and institution in the whole state. Particularly in those mission districts, Bishop Hyland was most solicitous not only about the spiritual attention the people were receiving, but also the living conditions the missionaries were enduring. he kept a small book with the names of people out on the missions and whenever he went through a town out in a remote area, the people could always count on a little visit from Bishop Hyland.

Long to be remembered were especially his sermons at Confirmation time. His instructions to young people were real gems.

The bishop’s first concern for the missions developed during a conversation with a student nurse from Richmond, Georgia. She told of having to drive many, many miles on Sunday to Mass. Soon afterwards a mission was opened at the chapel on the old Henry Ford Plantation, some 20 miles below Savannah.

This was to be followed by missions in Carrollton, Trion, Statesboro, Hartwell, Monroe and Jesup. The interstate highway system had not yet opened up and road travel in cars that were not yet air-conditioned were a real task.

Bishop Hyland succeeded in getting many parishes “up North” to adopt mission parishes in Georgia.

Nights in the old Cathedral rectory were pleasant times long to be remembered. The bishop would come up to the fourth floor where the assistants lived and smoke a cigarette and listen to the eleven o’clock news on the radio. One night when the bishop was out of town and I was out of cigarettes I went to his room to borrow just one. On his return trip to Savannah, he reminded me that stealing was a sin. I told him I had just borrowed it and consequently no sin was involved. “Yes there is,” he said. “especially when it was the last one in the pack.”

As a young priest I had organized a Cub Pack (Boy Scouts) and on Charter Night I invited the bishop to attend. Being new in Savannah, I guess he felt an obligation to attend. Patiently he sat through all of the speeches and the little boys’ demonstrations. The ceremony went on and on and on. For the next ten years he put me through a real inquiry every time I invited him to attend any function.

But health was to claim this kind, dedicated and thoughtful Bishop. After having served for five years as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Atlanta, he had to retire for reasons of health. The bishop retired to live in St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, only a block from the parish he had served so long as the pastor.

I went on one more trip with him before he was called to his eternal reward. Often he would call me to go away for a few days. Once or twice we went to Daytona Beach, but his real favorite was Saint Simon’s Island here in Georgia. On his last trip we went out to Martha’s Vineyard Island off the coast of Massachusetts.

Bishop Hyland had a table in his room at the seminary. He used to say his prayers seated at this table. When his call came there he was speaking to the Lord. His body was discovered the next morning when he failed to appear for morning Mass. He passed away quietly while in prayer. His final action in life so characterized his whole life--prayer, quiet and in deep thought.