By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

ATLANTA—In his personal diary, the late Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan wrote on Nov. 22, 1963, “Waiter comes to tell us of assassination of President Kennedy.”

Archbishop Hallinan was in Rome at the time, participating in the Second Vatican Council. He writes later in the entry that he listened to news updates on a transistor radio.

The entry “takes us into a place in history that was emotional for all of us as Americans and a turning point for all of us as Catholics,” said Jac Treanor, vice chancellor for archives and records in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Treanor was in Atlanta April 6 to return nine boxes of Archbishop Hallinan’s personal documents to the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

The materials were in the possession of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, who served as auxiliary bishop of Atlanta under Archbishop Hallinan and as the executor of the archbishop’s estate. Archbishop Hallinan, the first archbishop of Atlanta, died March 27, 1968 of complications from hepatitis and liver failure. He was 56. He was installed as Atlanta archbishop on March 29, 1962.

When Cardinal Bernardin, archbishop of Chicago, died in 1996, the Archbishop Hallinan materials, which include some historical research he did and several appointment and journal books, were transferred to Chicago’s archdiocesan archives.

Treanor said that Cardinal Bernardin was insistent that Archbishop Hallinan’s papers be preserved. When Cardinal Bernardin became ill, Treanor said he approached him about sending the papers to Atlanta. The archives in Atlanta were begun in 1992, but a permanent home on the first floor of the Catholic Center was officially established for the archives in 1995. Cardinal Bernardin felt that Archbishop Hallinan’s materials would be better secured in Chicago’s already well-established archives.

“As he got closer to dying, I approached the subject again,” Treanor said.

Cardinal Bernardin then told Treanor that if Atlanta established an archives department that could properly take care of the papers, then he should return them.

“I realized the time was right,” Treanor said.

On April 6, Treanor presented the material to Archbishop John F. Donoghue, who said he was “very grateful to get these back.”

Sally Grubbs, who has served as secretary to every archbishop of Atlanta, was later able to look at some of the historic materials.

Amie Wilson Britton, archivist for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, also expressed her gratitude as well as pride for the archives that she has maintained since archivist Tony Dees, who first established the archives, retired in early 2000.

“I think this demonstrates what we’re doing as an archives program and helps to give us national recognition that we are worthy enough to take care of these important archives,” she said.

She said that it is especially unique to have Archbishop Hallinan’s personal diaries.

“This fills an important gap. We don’t have a lot of information about this period of time,” she said. “These private journals offer some really important personal insight into Archbishop Hallinan’s role as our first archbishop.”

The materials will have to be examined and catalogued by Britton before they will be available for study. Like all archives material, they can then be seen by appointment.

DAYS OF HOPE-- Sally Grubbs, right, secretary to the archbishop, looks through some of the papers of the first archbishop of Atlanta, Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan, while archivist Amie Wilson Britton looks on.
Photo by Priscilla Greear