By Gretchen Keiser and Rita McInerney

A son of Ireland, Monsignor E. Peter Ludden, was buried May 22 in the Georgia soil that had become his adopted home.

In 22 years as a priest in the Atlanta archdiocese, the Dublin native had served in a number of parishes, pastored three and become vice chancellor and then chancellor.

At the funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, who shared the archbishop’s residence with him, spoke of their one year’s work together and encouraged the congregation to look toward God with faith in His goodness.

The cathedral was crowded for the Mass and for a Vespers Service the night before as hundreds of friends, former parishioners, priests and working people from the Catholic Center gathered amidst a sense of shock over his death, less than three months after he was diagnosed as ill with cancer.

Monsignor Ludden, 50, died May 18 at Piedmont Hospital where he was rehospitalized five days earlier. He had undergone surgery at the hospital Feb. 27, a procedure which revealed the severity of his illness.

“During the final days of that struggle, he preached the most powerful sermon of his priestly life. Purified in the crucible of suffering, like the Lord Jesus, having loved his own who were the world, he loved them to the end,” the archbishop said.

Monsignor Ludden was “a man of great faith, and were he able to speak to us today, I should think he would urge us not to waste time on tears, but rather to offer prayers for his soul. He would encourage us to greater confidence in our loving God who clothes the lilies of the fields and feeds each tiny sparrow,” Archbishop Marino continued.

He quoted from the spiritual, “His Eye Is On The Sparrow:” “Let not your heart be troubled; His tender word I fear; And resting His goodness; I lose my doubt and fear; Though by the path He leadeth; But step I may see; His eye is on the sparrow; And I know He watches me.”

The archbishop entered the Cathedral at 11 a.m. with nearly 100 priest in procession. Principal concelebrants with the archbishop were six priests, fellow classmates from St. Patrick’s College in Carlow, Ireland as well as personal friends: Father Edward Dillon, Father Leo Herbert, Father Michael Hogan, Father Paul Fogarty, Father Jim Fennessy and Father Terry Kane.

His family members, who had encircled their brother since his illness was diagnosed, and graciously received his friends at the hospital and at home, now spoke words from Scripture and led intercessory prayer. At Vespers Michael Ludden, his brother, and Muriel, his sister, led the congregation. At Mass his sister and brother-in-law, Brendan and Joan O’Reilly, and his brothers, Seamus and Paul, were lectors.

In his homily, the archbishop said he first met his future colleague last April when then Father Ludden went to Washington, D.C., to discuss plans for the installation Mass.

“His calm and gracious manner was impressive, especially since this had to have been one of the most difficult periods of his life,” the archbishop recalled. “There had been no bishop in this local church for six months, and with the administrator recuperating from major surgery, a disproportionate share of the responsibility for running the archdiocese had fallen upon him, along with the huge task of coordinating the installation ceremony.”

“When I saw on that occasion that he could smile and enjoy a cigar after a meal, I thought to myself: ‘Now there’s a man I can live with!’”

“Since then,” he said, “I have come to know how accurate that thought was. He always showed himself pleasant, cooperative and generous.”

In interviews, several priest friends recalled as well his wit and companionship.

For Father Herbert, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Kennesaw, it was the loss of a “particularly good friend of 21 years,” a friend who would “stand by you.”

“He was in a leadership role at a difficult time in the archdiocese,” Father Herbert said. “He would never break a confidence or speak about what was happening in the chancery. There was never any gossip, he was loyal to both the archbishop and to all the priests.”

Father Herbert called his friend and golfing partner a “man of great charm who was always able to laugh at himself.”

The last homily Father Herbert heard him give was on April 2 at the Cathedral when he was invested as a monsignor. “He spoke about well-trained tongues,” Father Herbert said softly. “One of them has been silenced.”

Father Michael Woods, pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Hapeville, who also golfed with him on days off, said he too admired his colleague’s great discretion which was sustained when he was with his friends. “He was always loyal to the priests and their business even around his friends. Anything we weren’t supposed to be privy to was left unspoken and avoided.”

“But his true grace shone through in his sickness,” he said. “His deep sense of humble gratitude at being made a monsignor when he knew he may not serve much longer; his holy acceptance of a debilitating sickness and suffering while still strong in mind and body; his joy at meeting friends and family: all these things spoke of his faith and his hope of things to come.”

Father Dillon, vicar general, said Monsignor Ludden’s death “is a loss to the archdiocese, to his colleagues in the Catholic Center and to his seminary classmates. The onset of his illness was a great shock and the rapid deterioration of his health left all of us saddened.”

“Since his ordination, he devoted himself to serving the people of the archdiocese as priest, pastor and administrator, and in 22 years of faithful service he touched the lives of many people. His many friends will miss him and will carry his memory in their hearts.”

A close friend, Father Walt Foley, pastor of St. John Neumann parish in Lilburn, was homilist at Vespers.

Father Foley began his moving homily with lines from the British poet of the Elizabethan era, John Donne. “No man is an island, entire unto himself; everyman is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If one clod be washed away the sea, Europe is less…Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind.”

His friend has been “washed away by the sea of suffering and death,” he said.

Who can deny, he asked the thoughtful congregation, that “all grief is in the end but for ourselves. And yet in the midst of our grief, we recall the words of the Apostle Paul. As he faced his own death he reflected on his adventurous life.”

“Paul said: ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on a merited crown awaits me; On that day, the Lord, just judge that he is, will award it to me. And not only to me, but to all who have looked for his appearing with eager longing.’”

“…I am sure we can say the same of Peter,” Father Foley said. “He has fought the good fight, he has finished the race, he has kept the faith. Praise be Jesus Christ for this man.”

Paul, he continued, did not say ‘he had won the fight or he had won the race. He merely said he fought the battle of Christ, he ran in the race for Christ. He carried the banner of Christianity and put it on public display.”

“The death of a priest ought to remind us,” Father Foley said, “that the priest is human, he is limited in talent, he has faults, he fails, he agonizes over his sinfulness. But in spite of all that and more, he dares to run the race, he accepts the challenge to fight the fight, and he preserves in faith. You priests understand these words and I think you will say with me ‘Well done, Peter, well done.’”

Both before and after the Vespers service, people from many areas and locations of his ministry walked up to the open casket to pay their final respects. Former parishioners, staff members from the Chancery, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, sisters from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cancer Home and other sisters from around the archdiocese, young adults. Many walked away with tears glistening in their eyes.

Thelma Buck wept for the loss of a dear friend. She was a parishioner at St. John Vianney while the monsignor was there from 1972 until 1975. She mourned his loss, remembering the “rock” he had been for her while her husband, Newton Buck, was dying of the same disease, liver cancer. He had been there for her often during the sad time, she recalled.

“The love he showed us was great,” her companion Olga Caubo, said. “He was understanding, loving, humble and warm.” Mrs. Caubo was a member of St. John Vianney at that time also.

Father Foley, standing in the entry hall of the rectory after Vespers, accepted words of appreciation from priests and laity alike for his homily. Several priests were grateful that he mentioned “he has finished the race” because of Monsignor Ludden’s fondness for running as well as golfing. He had run in the Peachtree Road Race the past few years.

Father Foley said it was just about a year ago that Monsignor Ludden and his other golfing partners had traveled to Princeton, N.J., to be with him when he buried his father.

Ordained for the archdiocese June 10, 1967, Monsignor Ludden served at Holy Cross parish and St. Thomas More in Decatur as an assistant before his first pastorate at St. John Vianney. There, he and 250 parish families discovered the ecumenical aspects of being a parish without a church.

He celebrated Saturday Vigil Mass at an Episcopal church and two Sunday Masses between services at a Baptist church. He lived in a rectory owned by the Presbyterian church, which also made its church available for occasional liturgies.

In the Georgia Bulletin article on the parish in March 1973, he said he couldn’t help but chuckle when a Catholic family passing through called to inquire about Mass times.

“When I tell them our Sunday Masses are in a Baptist church it really blows their minds,” he said.

During his time at St. John Vianney a church and parish center was constructed on a 10-acre site on Skyview Drive in Lithia Springs. Cost of the construction was $194,000. Of the anticipated completion date, he stressed that at that time, “We will welcome with open arms our many dear Protestant friends who were so very helpful to us for so many months. Our joy on that occasion is one that must be shared with them, for they are truly our friends in Christ.”

Although joking about his many faceted role at St. John Vianney of priest, cook, secretary, building inspector, the young priest made it clear that the pastoral and sacramental ministry “for which a priest is ordained should not be lost in so much administration.”

After serving as pastor of the established Holy Spirit parish in northeast Atlanta from 1975 until 1981, Monsignor Ludden was named first pastor of St. Andrew’s Church in Roswell, a new parish established to ease the bulging population of St. Jude’s Church in Sandy Springs.

The young parish worshipped in its early stages at a business park in northern Sandy Springs, just south of the Chattahoochee. In the beginning, in June, 1981, the congregation attended Mass in the Rivercliff Lutheran Church for about seven weeks. The Mass Schedule was inconvenient, although the association with the Lutherans was fine.

The fact that they were worshipping in the middle of business park cause no problems, Monsignor Ludden told The Georgia Bulletin. “The owners are pleased with the diversity of customers using their space. I told them I was the chaplain of the tenants’ association,” he said with another touch of the Dublin wit so closely identified with him.

People were doubtful about the “warehouse concept,” he mentioned, but were pleasantly surprised when they came to Mass. “It’s exciting, a challenge,” he said. “One enjoys watching something grow and develop.”

Such experiences as a pastor were invaluable when he was named vice chancellor of the archdiocese in June, 1982. He had found, from his own experience, that people “eager, willing and enthusiastic” were the most important resource for the fast growing church in Atlanta.

Monsignor Ludden, whose first name was Eamonn, was born June 29, 1938, the son of the late Patrick and Lucy Culhane Ludden and one of six children.

His seminary training took place at Mount Melleray Seminary in County Waterford and St. Patrick’s College in Carlow, the city where he was ordained in 1967 by Auxiliary Bishop Patrick Lennon of Kildare.

The focus of his priesthood changed when he became vice chancellor to Archbishop Thomas Donnellan and then, less than a year later, chancellor. He lived at the residence with Archbishop Donnellan and, at the time of the archbishop’s death, spoke poignantly of his observations, saying that the archbishop bore an acute sense of responsibility for the archdiocese which made it difficult for him to send another in his place even when overburdened. He also said the archbishop felt deeply any sorrow concerning his priests. When Pope John Paul II came to the South in 1987, Monsignor Ludden initiated an effort to have the pope call Archbishop Donnellan who was then staying at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cancer Home.

Joseph Estafen, director of finance and development for the archdiocese, recalled the day of Monsignor Ludden’s appointment as chancellor. “He stood there at the door and looked at me and said, ‘We’ll make it work,’ and we did.”

“We shared a lot of problems and pain and difficulties. But that sharing molded and fashioned our relationship into a strong bond of brotherhood. It really did.”

Saying that the priest spoke Gaelic and German and had traveled in several European countries, Estafen noted that this background gave him “a personal richness and understanding of the diversity of the human family.”

Catholic Center colleague Ann Pitra noted his longtime support of the Hibernian Society as their chaplain who “always turned up for their meetings, no matter what else he was busy with.” He was also a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus at Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara Assembly. The Knights stood vigil at the Cathedral throughout the night May 21 alongside his casket.

Several families considered him a part of their own clan, a regular at their dinner table and holiday celebrations.

“We shared a lot of wonderful holidays,” said Maria Pawly, a Holy Spirit parishioner. She and her husband, John, and their four children expected him to be with them Christmas Eve and, when possible, to visit them at Lake Lanier. Her children called him “uncle,” but respected his cloth, Mrs. Pawly said. “He was always a part of their life; if there was anything special happening they expected him there… He always took time with each one and always had something special for each one. He was able to talk with them on every level.”

She and one of her sons saw him at the hospital two days before he died. “We held his hand and told him how much we loved him.”

Pat and Al Aboussleman first met him at St. John Vianney parish and were with him at his death. They knew him as a pastor, a regular for Sunday dinner, a frequent traveling companion. “My first thought right after he died was a selfish one. ‘What am I going to do without him?’” Pat Aboussleman said.

Their friendship didn’t fade after Monsignor Ludden left St. John Vianney in 1975. Circumstances led them to Holy Spirit and when he was sent to establish St. Andrew’s, there was no problem attending there. They traveled to Ireland, England and France with him but enjoyed just as much playing dominoes with him at home after Sunday dinner. “Not a very exciting thing to a lot of people, but we would laugh and have such a good time,” Pat said.

They encouraged him in his desire to become an American citizen and served as his sponsor about 10 years ago. “He was an American citizen. He wanted to be buried here,” Al said.

Monsignor Ludden was buried at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs May 22 following a graveside service led by Archbishop Marino. His casket left the Cathedral and processed through an honor guard of priests that extended from the steps to Peachtree Street.

His family, Brendan and Joan O’Reilly, Muriel Ludden and Michael, Paul and Seamus Ludden, followed.

In closing his homily, the archbishop noted Monsignor Ludden’s claim to more than one home, calling him “dear loyal son of the Church, proud son of Ireland, dear friend.”

He spoke the familiar Irish blessing: “May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”