Retired Archbishop John Francis Donoghue, head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta from 1993 until his retirement in 2004, died Friday. He was 83.
The archdiocese said Saturday that Donoghue will lie in state at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 353 Peachtree St. NE in Atlanta from 10 a.m. Wednesday until 10:00 a.m. Thursday.
On Thusday, there will be a procession of the body from the basilica to the Cathedral of Christ the King, 2699 Peachtree Road NE, where a funeral Mass will begin at 11 a.m.
Donoghue was Atlanta’s fifth archbishop and was succeeded by current Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory.
In a statement, Gregory said, “Please join me in praying for the soul of Archbishop Donoghue -- a devoted servant to the Church and a Pastor after the heart of Christ!”
The Catholic News Herald reported that on Oct. 20, a memo from Gregory stated that Donoghue had grown increasingly weak and that the health concerns had "taxed his system." "I write now to ask you to keep him in your prayers," Gregory wrote.
Father Paul Burke, who was ordained in 1996 by Donoghue in Galway, Ireland, for service in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, said the retired archbishop’s legacy will be the emphasis he placed on renewing the importance of the Eucharist, or Holy Sacrament, in the lives of local Catholics and on education through building more Catholic schools.
“He tried to bring about more of the Catholic awareness of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist,” said Burke, who added Donoghue regularly prayed at the cathedral at 2 a.m. “He always said that it was the Sacrament of Communion that unites us to God and to one another, and that really was the way he tried to build up the archdiocese as well.”
Burke said Donoghue also placed a big emphasis on the importance of Catholic schools. “Not only should there be academic excellence, but we should be looking at spiritual formation as well within our schools," the priest said.
At his retirement as head of the Atlanta archdiocese at age 76, Donoghue said he was most proud of the surge in Catholic school construction in metro Atlanta under his watch.
"The first complaint I heard when I got here is that we don't have schools, " Donoghue told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time. "I knew people were right. If we're going to pass on our Catholic faith, the best way to do that is through the schools."
The schools he built included Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Our Lady of Mercy High School in Fayetteville, Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Johns Creek and St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School in Kennesaw.
Donoghue also focused on accommodating Atlanta's burgeoning Latino Catholic population. The Atlanta archdiocese, unlike many across the nation, grew dramatically during his tenure as Latino immigrants and Northern transplants moved into the area.
"We have a huge Hispanic population and trying to meet the needs of the people is hard because we don't have that many priests who speak Spanish, " he said at the time.
Donoghue presided over the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta for 11 years and occasionally drew fire for controversial edicts that included a ban on women participating in foot-washing ceremonies and an edict denying Holy Communion to politicians who support abortion rights.
The archbishop alienated some Catholics. He once refused to allow a support group for victims of the church's sex abuse scandal to meet on church property. He said the group's reformist goals weren't in line with church teaching.
Kathi Stearns, the diocese’s top lay official from 2001 until 2005 who served as Donoghue’s chancellor, said the archbishop was "steadfast and unwavering in his support for the teachings of the Catholic faith."
“He would often say to me that doing what the Holy Father expects of you isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but even your bad publicity or criticisms can be used as a teaching moment to communicate the beliefs of the church,” Stearns said.
Donoghue was born Aug. 9, 1928, in Washington D.C. to Irish immigrant parents, one of four sons.
He attended St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore and was ordained to the priesthood in Washington in 1955. He studied for a licentiate in canon law in 1964 and for 18 years served under three Washington cardinals. He was chancellor, vicar general and secretary for support services of the Archdiocese of Washington from 1972 until 1983.
Pope John Paul II appointed Donoghue bishop of Charlotte, N.C., in 1984, and nine years later he was appointed archbishop of Atlanta after the death of Archbishop James P. Lyke in December 1992. Donoghue was installed as Atlanta's fifth archbishop on Aug. 19, 1993. He retired on Dec. 9, 2004.
The archdiocese says each bishop has a coat-of-arms and a motto. Donoghue, who was a bishop for 27 of his 56 years of priestly ordination, chose "To live in Christ Jesus."
-- AJC archival reports contributed to this article
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