By Gretchen Keiser

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, received 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 Services, 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 service 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 member of Holy Spirit parish, was named a Knight Commander 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 Furniture 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 personal care homes for the elderly, expansion and renovation at St. Pius X High School and scholarships for inner city Catholic schools.

Generations of Havertys and Spaldings were proud witnesses to the honors, announced 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, 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 service,” 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 compromise, a task that is simple, but not all easy, he said. “True disciples, authentic 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 edification 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.