By Msgr. Noel C. Burtenshaw

He came to Atlanta -- a new bishop -- with the motto Sicut Qui Ministrant -- "As Those Who Minister." His final ministry was at the deathbed of the archbishop he came to assist.

I remember it was March 26, 1968. Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan was dying. He had been in a state of semi-coma for some weeks. The doctors had ceased speculating as to when the archbishop would die. Perhaps, they thought, a week or two.

Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Bernardin told me that he felt it important that he go to St. Augustine, Florida that same afternoon to represent the archdiocese at the installation of the new Bishop Paul F. Tanner. He would catch an afternoon plane and would return the following day. "Call me if there is any change" was his final charge.

Before Bishop Bernardin's plane had landed in Florida, the archbishop took a turn for the worse. The doctors were very concerned. They instructed me to call the bishop. I did and he immediately caught a plane back to Atlanta.

As the evening of the 26th wore on, the priests of the archdiocese came to the home of the dying Archbishop. In little groups they went to his bedroom. Some prayed together, others meditated, others gave a final blessing to Archbishop Hallinan.

About 9 p.m. Bishop Bernardin arrived. The archbishop, somehow, began to gain his strength once more. "It will not be tonight" was once more the prediction of the physicians. The bishop told me that he was glad to be back, and would stay that night in the guest room rather than return to his home at the Cathedral rectory.

A nurse was by the bedside of the archbishop. At approximately 1 a.m., after the final priest had left, she suggested that both Bishop Bernardin and I retire. "He is resting very peacefully and seems quite strong again," she said. "I will call you if there should be a change."

At 2:30 a.m. I was awakened by a loud banging on my door. "Hurry," said the nurse, "he is going."

I ran to the guest room. There were two beds in the room. The bishop was sleeping in the one farthest away. "Bishop, he's going," I called. As I remember that moment, it seemed to me that Bishop Bernardin came out of the bed, leaping across the vacant bed and was past me like a flash as he rushed for the archbishop's room.

There was just a moment for a final prayer, a last absolution and as the bishop read the Prayers for the Dying, Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan died. It was about 2:45 a.m., March 27, 1968. It was his final ministry in Atlanta.

A couple of months later I saw Bishop Bernardin in Washington where he became Secretary of the Bishop's Conference. In November 1972, he went on to Cincinnati. Now, at 54 years old, he becomes Archbishop of Chicago.

He began his ministry as a Bishop here in Atlanta. Ever true to his motto, he went on to minister to the entire American Church in Washington, then on to Cincinnati and now again, "as one who ministers," he has been called to the Church in Chicago.

(Monsignor Burtenshaw was Chancellor of the Archdiocese during the years Archbishop Bernardin served in Atlanta.)