Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Recalling the Lion

Lest we forget, this week would've seen the 91st birthday of American Catholicism's last great leader -- a figure from what's now a bygone ecclesial age....

Yet even now, that famous voice -- and its quiet, perceptive take on things -- still echoes, and still offers much to teach us.

So, here -- live from 452 in late 1994 -- an interview with the "Last Lion" of Madison Avenue...


...and at the 10th anniversary of his death last May, a tribute from some of the folks who knew the goldleafer's son from Southwest Philly best:



To be sure, church, we likewise live in historic days, and great figures of our own time have risen to the moment. Still, we may never again see the likes of "Mighty John O'Connor," nor the era in which he flourished.

Just like any "good priest," though, the example and lessons he left behind only become all the more worthwhile as time marches on.

May his witness remain ever with us.

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