Print Issue: March 28, 2002

As Msgr. Louis Naughton Is Laid To Rest Friends Pay Him Tribute

Msgr. James Fennessey, pastor of St. John Neumann Church, Lilburn, delivers the homily during the March 19 funeral Mass for Msgr. Louis Naughton at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta. (Photo by Michael Alexander)

By Gretchen Keiser, Staff Writer

ATLANTA-"A priest to his fingertips," a father to staff members at the Tribunal where he worked as judicial vicar and a brilliant and humorous character are ways Msgr. Louis Naughton is being remembered following his death March 14.

"Louis' faithfulness and loyalty to the church was unquestionable," said Msgr. James Fennessy, homilist at the funeral Mass March 19 at the Cathedral of Christ the King. Msgr. Naughton, who was 64, died of pancreatic cancer.

"He never left us in doubt," said Msgr. Fennessy, his friend. "He held himself to a high standard of faithfulness and he expected us to do the same."

He was devoted to celebrating the Mass, offering the Eucharist for and with the people, Msgr. Fennessy said. "Louis Naughton was a priest to his fingertips."

A native of Galway, Ireland, who entered the priesthood after a successful career in civil engineering, Msgr. Naughton was noted for his precise knowledge of canon law and theology, his scholarly mind and avid interests, particularly in every aspect of the Catholic Church and Catholic faith. It was less well known that, relishing the company of his fellow priests, Msgr. Naughton golfed with a group of priests every Tuesday, Msgr. Fennessy said.

"He was an atrocious golfer," he added, evoking laughter. "The truth is he had no interest in golf whatsoever. His only reason was to be with his priest friends. If that's what it took to do it, that's what he would do."

His appreciation for his fellow priests was echoed by the presence of over 125 priests at his funeral Mass. Archbishop John F. Donoghue was the principal celebrant and Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah was the principal concelebrant. Visiting priests included the judicial vicars in Savannah and Raleigh, N.C., Father Jeremiah McCarthy and Father Gerard Sherba.

Archbishop John F. Donoghue, second from right, reads the prayer of final commendation before the casket holding Monsignor Louis Naughton is removed from the church. (Photo by Michael Alexander)

Msgr. Naughton's diligent work at the Tribunal, handling hundreds of petitions seeking marriage annulments, was done "with such great faithfulness and love for the church and the church's teachings," Msgr. Fennessy said. At the same time, he often spoke of the need each person has for God's mercy.

"He never gave less than 100 percent" in fulfilling the promises made at his ordination to his bishop, Archbishop Donoghue said.

A tireless worker, "who was very generous in accepting" more work, whatever needed to be done, he went about his work "in a very unassuming way," the archbishop said.

"Much of the man remained unseen."

Yet "his contributions to the spiritual foundation and local supports of the church were . . . unmoveable."

One of his brothers, Cecil, a London dentist, said Msgr. Naughton was very touched when the church honored him by naming him a monsignor in 1994 and giving him a knighthood of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre last year. Very knowledgeable about trains and stamps, as well as theology and church law, he left his extensive book collection to the permanent diaconate program of the archdiocese.

Msgr. Louis Naughton's brother, Cecil Naughton, DDS, of London, shares some parting words about his brother's life following the song of thanksgiving, "Salve Regina." (Photo by Michael Alexander)

Father John Adamski, who was ordained in 1971, the same year as Msgr. Naughton, and served with him in his first assignment, gave the reflection at the wake March 18.

Due at Holy Cross Church, Atlanta, in July 1971, he was held up by visa problems and by the time he finally got there in October, it had become a bit of a parish joke about the soon-to-arrive Father Naughton. Then "he had to learn to drive," Father Adamski said, a feat which he accomplished, albeit with some difficulty, like seeing over the steering wheel. Amazement about "how we Americans did things . . ." may have characterized his first months here, but his priesthood of the last 30 years became "faithfulness and loyalty to the church and her ministry," Father Adamski said.

"It is that steadfast commitment that brings us here tonight," he said. He also highlighted Msgr. Naughton's "special example of prayerfulness," during the last five months in which he suffered with cancer.

Wally and Mary Holst of Tucker said Msgr. Naughton was one of the Irish priests who frequently came to their home over the years, sometimes to swim and sing Irish songs, while neighborhood children stood at the end of the driveway and listened. Msgr. Naughton became a part of their family, known as "Uncle Louis" to their four children and 12 grandchildren. Despite his illness, this past Christmas he made the effort to be there, saying, "I want to have dinner with my family," Mary Holst said. "He wanted to be with everybody."

"He was such a sacred priest, such a holy priest," Wally Holst said. "He would always give the kids a special blessing."

One of a family of 11, Msgr. Naughton treated his staff at the Tribunal like a family also.

Margarita Rice, an office assistant and native of Colombia, said, "He represented a father figure, very gentle. I knew he was there. I knew we could count on him."

Working for him over the past four years, Rice said he gave her tips on becoming a U.S. citizen and had an office party when she received her citizenship. Once when she learned she would need surgery, she went to him in tears, saying, "I'm all alone here."

"He said, 'You're not alone. You have us. I will pray for you.'"

At the annual Tribunal Christmas dinner, he would make a point of sitting next to the spouse of a staff member so he could get to know them as well as he knew his staff. "He liked to know how you were doing in your personal life. He wouldn't ask directly. He would observe."

After he learned he had cancer, the Tribunal staff "saw him through the whole thing," Rice said. "To see him die in five months, it was really devastating in a way. But in a way it is a privilege and a gift God gave him to have time to do what he had to do."

The staff visited him regularly at the Cathedral rectory, prayed for a miracle, brought special foods he liked and rotated preparing meals and sharing dinner with him at the rectory as long as he had the strength.

Tribunal staff members surround Msgr. Louis Naughton June 26, 1996, when he celebrated 25 years as a priest of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. (Photo by Kathi Stearns)

"Right before he died, he gave each of us a crucifix," Rice said. "I started to cry and he started to cry. I said, 'You have no idea what this means to me-you giving me the gift of Christ.'"

"He cared all of the time for all of us, but I feel that in the last five months he became closer to us. He let us become closer to him."

"He loved his own family and his extended family," said Jean Smith, who worked for him for over 10 years. "He was always thinking about us by giving us gifts after his time away from the office. We would look forward to see what he especially chose for each of us. He was a quiet man, but his sense of humor was there when he talked about his golf game. I would ask him, how was your golf game? He would just roll his eyes."

Tribunal staff, who deal with the pressures of a large caseload and frequent calls from parishes and petitioners, are a very close-knit group, said Kim Daniel, Tribunal director. "He was the core of that."

"I just loved the man. He was so humble. He had a huge sense of humor. He was very just," she said. "He was very, very fair."

Since Msgr. Naughton worked for the Tribunal for over 15 years rather than in a full-time parish assignment, he was often asked to celebrate Masses and preach around the archdiocese as needed. Over the years, he was often at Maryfield, the Snellville monastery of the Sisters of the Visitation.

Mother Jozefa Kowalewski, VHM, superior at the monastery, said, "He was a tremendously faithful priest. He exemplified a priest who loved his vocation, who gave homilies well-prepared and full of faith."

"Simple and brilliant, easy-going and hard working, everything a priest should be I found in him," she said.

The funeral "was a tremendous tribute to him from his fellow priests, who recognized in him that which is so needed today, true fidelity to a calling," the superior said.

Father Terry Kane, who was a part of the Tuesday golf group, said his friendship with Msgr. Naughton began when he arrived in Atlanta in 1971.

"He arrived in October with an umbrella on his arm in the middle of the sunshine. He was prim and proper," said Father Kane.

They traveled together, once to Rome for the canonization of St. Oliver Plunkett, an Irish saint, and twice to the Holy Land. "We were the best of friends," Father Kane said. Their friendship weathered their differences in personality-and Father Kane's loud snoring.

While rooming together on one of their trips to the Holy Land, Msgr. Naughton "beat me to death at night with a pillow because I snored," Father Kane said.

Having studied theology at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, he knew priests, bishops and cardinals throughout the world and kept in contact with them, Father Kane said. "He kept up his connections, he wrote lovely thank-you notes. As soon as he met you, the next day he would write you a note."

Although they hadn't seen each other in 25 years, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, OFM, of Durban, South Africa, telephoned him and sent him e-mail during his illness, offering his prayers and support. "God loves you and cares a great deal about you, especially because of the person you have been towards him and towards those whom he placed in your pastoral care," the cardinal wrote March 11.

"He had a tremendous touch to him. He really knew how to keep in touch," Father Kane said.

As a member of the Catholic clergy, "he was very much a company man. All the scandals we had, Louis was upset with them, but he was a com-pany man."

Although intellectually brilliant, he also had a simplicity, loving the church pageantry and thrilled with the opportunity to get close to the pope at a papal audience. They had one "A" ticket, Father Kane said, but the two of them stuck together, as they worked their way through the entrances protected by Swiss Guards, managing to both get prime seats about six feet from the pope. "He loved that," Father Kane said.

When Irish President Mary Robinson visited Atlanta some years ago, it was Msgr. Naughton who arranged for her to visit the bedside of an Irish doctor who had been brutally beaten in a robbery here, Father Kane said, and left paralyzed. Msgr. Naughton regularly visited the doctor.

A reader of L'Osservatore Romano and the British Catholic newspaper, The Tablet, "he didn't suffer fools gladly," Father Kane said. "He was my friend, but he'd tear into you" if he disagreed with your opinion.

"They said he was a loyal, true churchman. They were all right," he continued. "His funeral was Louis to a T."

Recently Father Kane said he visited his friend during his illness, they prayed, he played him some "beautiful Celtic music" and he sang him the "Salve Regina." He sang it again spontaneously when Archbishop Donoghue completed the graveside prayers for Msgr. Naughton at Arlington Memorial Park and all the priests there joined in.

"Louis was wonderful," Father Kane said.