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Timothy Dolan had issued the invitation to Timothy Dolan years ago, while he was in second grade, in fact. So it was indeed a thrill when Timothy Dolan, the graduating eighth-grader, got to meet to his namesake Timothy Dolan, the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, when the cardinal visited St. Barnabas parish in the Bronx for confirmation ceremonies June 4. Oh, and John O’Connor was there, too. That would be John O’Connor, another graduating eighth-grader at St. Barnabas School.
“I wrote a letter to him in second grade because that’s when I first found out that we had the same first name,” explained young Timothy. “I wrote it in second grade and then I wrote asking if he could do our confirmation.” Msgr. Edward Barry, pastor of St. Barnabas, introduced the two boys to Cardinal Dolan. “We just talked about confirmation and how it was going to feel to receive it,” said young Timothy of the brief encounter. “It was good because he made me proud to be a Catholic.”
Young John O’Connor was actually named after his grandfather but he was nonetheless proud to share a name with a former much-loved Cardinal Archbishop of New York.
“My grandfather wanted me to be named that because it was his name but also because it was the name of the cardinal,” explained John. “I think it’s amazing because not that many people are able to say ‘the cardinal and I have the same name!”
While John said classmates didn’t kid him about his name, possibly because they were all too young to remember Cardinal O’Connor firsthand, Timothy said he sometimes gets comments about the name share. “Yeah, sometimes they would joke about it,” he offered.
Despite sharing such eminent monikers, neither boy has thought seriously about following in their namesakes’ footsteps, however. Right now John, who will enter Fordham Prep in the Bronx this fall, is more interested in thespian pursuits. He’s currently rehearsing with the Riverdale Children’s Theatre program for the summer production of High School Musical.
Timothy, who will attend Archbishop Stepinac High in White Plains in the fall, has his mind on baseball. “I play a lot of baseball,” he said, adding that his team is, believe it or not for a Bronx kid, the Los Angeles Angels.
“I like Mike Trout,” he explained. The other Timothy Dolan is also a big baseball fan. His favorite ball club is, however, much more appropriate: the St. Louis Cardinals.
