God's call to future archbishop came early

	A Man of History A Shepherd of Hope A Catholic Herald special supplement Supplement home Aug. 22 issue home

MILWAUKEE -- Long gone are Timothy M. Dolan's Wonder Bread and Welch's grape juice days, yet they do shed light on the man who becomes the 10th Archbishop of Milwaukee on Aug. 28.

Determination, personal drive and love of the church seem to be qualities ingrained in him from an early age.

Even as a youngster growing up in Ballwin, Mo., Dolan was drawn to the priesthood. So much so, that as early as age 3 or 4 he would beg his grandmother to sit in the front pew at Mass so he could closely watch the priest, recalled his mother, Shirley Dolan, in a telephone interview with the Catholic Herald.

FIRST MASS -- Newly ordained Fr. Timothy Dolan addresses the congregation at his first Mass of Thanksgiving at Holy Infant Parish, Ballwin, Mo., in 1976. (Photo courtesy of Dolan family)

Taking home what he learned, the youngster frequently staged Masses, complete with a white-linen covered "altar," pressed Wonder Bread cut with the edge of a circular glass for hosts, and grape juice for the wine, remembered his younger brother, Bob Dolan, a member of St. Luke Parish, Brookfield. Fortunately, the eldest of five children, Dolan had access to a ready-made congregation for what came to be known in the family as "Tim's Masses."

Priesthood, Dolan's only goal

And unlike most children who have an abundance of plans for "when they grow up," Dolan never wavered from his first goal of being a priest.

Born Feb. 6, 1950, in St. Louis, Dolan was the first of Robert and Shirley Dolan's five children. He was baptized at Immaculate Conception Church in Maplewood, Mo., and attended elementary school at Holy Infant School in Ballwin. After his graduation in 1964, he entered St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in Shrewsbury, Mo., graduating in 1968.

He attended Cardinal Glennon College, also in Shrewsbury, and graduated in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy.

He did his theological studies at the North American College and the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and was ordained a priest of the St. Louis Archdiocese on June 19, 1976, at age 26.

His first assignment was as associate pastor of Immacolata Parish, Richmond Heights, Mo., where Mary Grace Guyol, a parishioner still remembers him fondly. In attendance at his ordination Mass as a bishop last June in St. Louis, Guyol was quoted in the Aug. 16, 2001, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Our family just feels so close to him ever since his first assignment at Immacolata Parish in 1976. But Monsignor Tim makes everyone feel that way."

While at Immacolata Parish, only a year after his ordination, Dolan's father, Robert, an engineer for McDonnell Douglas aircraft corporation, died of a heart attack at age 50.

Although friends claim Dolan never had any higher aspirations than being a parish priest, his time in parish work has been limited.

Three years after his appointment at Immacolata, Dolan left the parish for graduate studies at The Catholic University of America from 1979 to 1983 where he earned master's and doctoral degrees in church history. During this time, he was St. Louis archdiocesan representative to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, located on the university campus.

Dissertation researched O'Hara

As he worked on his doctorate, Dolan lived for a year in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph where he completed research on the late Archbishop Edwin O'Hara, whose life and ministry was the subject of his doctoral dissertation. O'Hara was founder of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference and a leading figure in the development of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. He completed his doctorate in American Church History. The dissertation, published in 1985, was titled, "To Teach, Govern, and Sanctify: The Life of Edwin V. O'Hara."

In 1984, Dolan was the recipient of the Bishop Thomas Shahan Prize for Excellence in Church History.

Upon his return to St. Louis, Dolan once again immersed himself in parish work as associate pastor of Cure of Ars Parish in Shrewsbury from 1983 to 1985 and at Little Flower Parish in Richmond Heights. During this time, he was also liaison for the late Archbishop John L. May in the restructuring of the college and theology programs of the archdiocesan seminary system.

He left St. Louis again in 1987 when he began a five year term of service as Secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C., assisting Cardinal Pio Laghi and then Cardinal Agostino Cacciavillan.

New monsignor heads for Rome

When he returned to St. Louis in 1992, he was appointed vice rector of the Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. He also served as director of spiritual formation and professor of church history.

Two years later, Dolan again packed his bags and left St. Louis, this time headed for Rome where he was named rector of the North American College by the Congregation for Catholic Education in Rome. He was made a prelate of honor with the title of monsignor.

While in Rome, Dolan also served as visiting professor of church history at the Gregorian University and as a faculty member in the Department of Ecumenical Theology at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

The North American College is an American seminary which overlooks St. Peter's Basilica in Rome where approximately 325 priests from about two-thirds of the dioceses of the United States are in formation. Students, the best and brightest young men, study graduate theology at various universities in Rome.

As rector, Dolan gave regular addresses to his seminarians. Several of his talks have been compiled in "Priests for the Third Millennium," published in book form by Our Sunday Visitor in 2000.

"At the seminary, he wore his leadership lightly, he was indubitably in charge but it was never oppressive," said seminarian Raymond de Souza in an Aug. 16, 2001, article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. de Souza was one of about 45 of Dolan's former students who attended his ordination as a bishop last summer in St. Louis.

His greatest lesson was example

While according to the Post-Dispatch article, many of the former seminarians at the ordination praised Dolan for being a great preacher, his greatest lessons came from his own joyfulness and hospitality.

"He was always saying, be kind, be kind, be kind. He made kindness the spirit of the college," said Fr. Kenneth Malley, a former seminarian of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Another priest attending last year's ordination recalled the announcement of Dolan's appointment to the North American College.

"The students heard all these wonderful things about him in advance, about this witty, happy, gregarious, good and holy priest," said Fr. David Toups in the Aug. 16 Post-Dispatch. "We thought they certainly all could not be true. We were wrong. Dolan is who he appears to be."

When Dolan's seven-year appointment as rector of the North American College was completed in 2001, he returned to St. Louis in mid-June and 25 years to the day he was ordained a priest, Dolan was appointed auxiliary bishop of St. Louis.

An international, standing-room only crowd of more than 1,700 filled the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica last year on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, Aug. 15, when Dolan was ordained auxiliary bishop of St. Louis, titular Bishop of Natchez.

The crowd included seven cardinals, 57 bishops from across the United States and Italy, former students, classmates and family.

A similar overflow crowd is expected next week at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee when Dolan will be installed Archbishop of Milwaukee on Wednesday, Aug. 28. His appointment to head the Milwaukee Archdiocese by Pope John Paul II was announced Tuesday, June 25.