By Gretchen Keiser

Atlanta's second archbishop, Thomas A. Donnellan, came to Georgia from New York state in 1968, and it may have seemed at the time as if a bishop had been brought from the farthest reaches of the country to pastor this small Southern archdiocese.

But his coming preceded the arrival of many more Catholics, who would follow job opportunities as they shifted from the older urban areas of the North and Midwest to the South. And his special graces held us together, in a Church that is diverse, growing, but still a minority.

Catholics coming to the archdiocese from the North found it a great change in Church experience; in many ways a breath of fresh air as they were needed and wanted, and as they pulled together in an unfamiliar place with the Church as their new family. But in some ways our coming was stressful for the archdiocese; new desires for Catholic services so available in older, more heavily populated Catholic cities: for churches, schools, adoption services, care for the old, youth programs.

A newcomer to the South, Archbishop Donnellan could appreciate the desires of other newcomers for the church to grown and expand. But he could also, as an immovable adherent to the spiritual core of Church life -- the parish and the sacraments -- provide stability in the midst of change and orient rapid growth around new churches and new parish communities.

He loved the Church as a universal Church and was deeply faithful to the teachings of the magesterium and the direction set by the popes.

Serving his Catholic people in an area shaped by Scripture, but not by Catholic tradition, the archbishop, by wisdom and personal example, emphasized Catholic teaching and perspective. He was willing to stand alone, if necessary, in his faithfulness.

He also made himself completely available to his people, traveling throughout the archdiocese and, by his presence and demeanor, showing no distinction between large suburban parishes and small mission churches. Clearly, he believed and lived out his belief that Christ was present in his people and that Christ was present in and through His Sacraments and His Church. This is a tremendous gift given over 19 years and surely enduring, as Archbishop Donnellan would have it, in the future of the Church in North Georgia.

May he have his joyful reward.