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‘Vision’ for the Big Picture
Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell, the retired Bishop of Springfield, Mass., was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York by Cardinal Egan in 2001. Cardinal Egan also appointed Bishop McDonnell to serve as vicar general. As such Bishop McDonnell worked very closely with the cardinal on a number of important issues, including the reorganization of the Archdiocese to make it more accurately reflect the changing demographics of the New York metropolitan region.
“He had the vision to see the bigger picture,” Bishop McDonnell told CNY. “And New York’s demographics were changing. At that time Manhattan had 114 parishes. You had one-quarter of the parishes in the Archdiocese concentrated in 22 square miles on Manhattan Island and he could realize that there was a need to expand upstate in the upper part of the diocese and concentrate in the lower part of the diocese. It was working slowly toward that process that finally has come to culmination under Cardinal Dolan now. But he could see the picture as to what had to happen because the needs of diocese and the people of the diocese were the heart and soul of who he was. ”
One side of the cardinal that the public generally did not see that Bishop McDonnell did working with him on a daily basis and living with him in the Cardinal’s Residence behind St. Patrick’s Cathedral was the man’s warmth and sense of humor.
“Living in the house with him, one on one, he was one of the most delightful men you’d ever know,” Bishop McDonnell said. “He had a good sense of humor. He was very insightful. In public he came across as more formal. But in private he was very warm and outgoing. He really was one of those hewers of wood and drawers of water that the Scriptures speak of who did the day in and day out work necessary to ensure there was a solid foundation on which to build the future. ”
-Ron Lajoie
Rising to His High Standards
Bishop Dennis Sullivan, the Bishop of Camden, N.J., since 2013, previously served as vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York. Cardinal Egan appointed him to that post in 2005.
“He had a very good grasp of the issues,” said Bishop Sullivan of Cardinal Egan. “He was forced to make difficult decisions when he came to the Archdiocese such as how to control spending and he took a lot of criticism I know. But he had to do what he had to do. We had to pay the bills on time and not be overspending, make provisions for the future. He always said he learned how to do that from his father. He was an excellent administrator.”
He also called the late cardinal a “perfectionist” who expected nothing less from his staff.
“He expected you to work as hard as he worked,” Bishop Sullivan noted. “You really had to rise to the standards he set and they were very high standards.” He said Cardinal Egan had great pastoral concern for the new ethnic communities then arriving in great numbers in the Archdiocese, including new arrivals from Mexico and Asia. “He was very concerned that we needed to minister to them and we had to do it properly and do it well,” Bishop Sullivan said. “So I think all of that ethnic ministry, building that up will certainly be part of his legacy.”
-Ron Lajoie
‘A Very Astute Canonist’
Msgr. Douglas Mathers, pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in Manhattan and a vice chancellor of the archdiocese, is a canon lawyer and a civil lawyer, and was a judge of the Metropolitan Tribunal. He worked closely with Cardinal Egan in his role as a canon lawyer.
“He and I both shared an interest and expertise in canon law so that’s essentially where he and I had a meeting of the minds,” Msgr. Mathers said. “Among other things, he was a very astute canonist and he was a great churchman in terms of applying the law. I always had a great relationship with him. He was very easy to work with, and since we had a common background in canon law, we had a common vocabulary. We understood each other.”
Referring to Cardinal Egan’s legacy, Msgr. Mathers said, “It’s the legacy of a hard-working and caring shepherd. That’s what he was.”
-Ron Lajoie
‘Great Tool for Communications’
Robert P. Astorino, now Westchester County Executive, was program director of The Catholic Channel on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio from its inception in 2006. He worked with Cardinal Egan on the program “A Conversation With the Cardinal.”
They never had to turn the microphone up for Cardinal Egan. “He had that baritone voice,” Astorino said.
“I would go every Thursday morning to the residence and we would have breakfast together,” Astorino told Catholic New York this week. The two would discuss everything from politics to family life to Church issues.
“He and I had a great relationship. It was a pleasure,” Astorino said.
On the air, Astorino said that the cardinal’s personality changed over time. “He evolved really. He was very reserved, almost overly prepared. Over a month or two, he could let his collar down, and he did,” Astorino said.
“He made people laugh. He educated and evangelized,” he said.
With a laugh, he recounted how the show was returning from a break and instead of his formal introduction, of “His Eminence, Cardinal Egan,” Astorino slipped and said, “I’m Rob Astorino along with Ed Egan.”
“I immediately knew that I blundered. He smiled right away. For him it was a great way to say, ‘Don’t worry about it.’”
“I think his true legacy is going to be The Catholic Channel. It could be a great tool for communications. He didn’t control it. He allowed us to program the channel as we saw fit.”
During the 2008 Papal Visit of Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Egan convinced the pontiff to record a promo for the channel—not something everyone would do. It was a historical moment, and it all took place in the cardinal’s office thanks to Cardinal Egan’s request.
-Juliann DosSantos
‘Music Was in His Soul’
Dr. Jennifer Pascual has served as director of music at St. Patrick’s Cathedral since her appointment by Cardinal Egan in 2003. She also is the host of “Sounds From the Spires” on the Catholic Channel on Sirius/XM satellite radio.
At Cardinal Edward Egan’s Vigil and Funeral Masses, movements from Dom Perosi’s hauntingly emotional “Requiem” filled St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was just as Cardinal Egan would have wanted.
“He told me of his love of Italian Romantic sacred music, especially a former music director at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome,” Dr. Pascual said. “He sang snippets of the beautiful melody to me a number of times.”
Dr. Pascual worked closely with Cardinal Egan since her appointment at the cathedral in 2003. At the time, he stressed the importance of selecting music that the people in the pews could sing.
“He wanted a good balance of accessible music. He didn't like repertoire that was dissonant or too academic for the average person sitting in the pews. He loved melodies and always pushed for that,” she said.
“He always wanted to be inclusive and requested that at least one hymn at every weekend Mass was sung in Spanish or bilingual Spanish and English,” Dr. Pascual said.
During Pope Benedict XVI pastoral visit to New York in 2008, Dr. Pascual knew from experience that the cardinal would only want “the best singers from the Metropolitan Opera” for the Masses at Yankee Stadium and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
“We worked extremely closely on the music for the papal visit... Together we selected the music for everything and spent hours together on it,” she said.
She said, “He was quick to tell me when he didn't like something or didn't work for Mass, but was even quicker to praise his beloved cathedral choir. He loved them.”
Dr. Pascual said his taste and love of music showed Cardinal Egan’s personality. “He was a classy guy and loved the classical arts. He was so supportive of great music, musicians and music programs. Music was in his soul every day of his life,” she said.
Cardinal Egan played the classical piano and cello.
“I saw him as a very compassionate person. He was chivalrous. He was elegant. He never hesitated to help when you asked him for it. You always knew where you stood with him and he never hesitated to tell people when something was great or if something didn't quite work out,” she said.
“I was very fortunate to have known him, to have worked with him, and to be able to call him my mentor and friend. He attended my wedding and baptized my daughter. He was like my musical dad.”
-Juliann DosSantos
