Dolores Madlener greets Cardinal George after a Mass at the Cardinal Meyer Center, 3525 S. Lake Park Ave., on Jan. 9, 2012 Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic
Like all of his flock, I grieve the loss of Cardinal George, our shepherd for 17 years. It seemed to me he and I were the best of friends. But I have no binder filled with his letters, and we never spoke on the phone. Maybe I met him informally a half dozen times. Once the Daughters of Divine Love sisters seated me next to him at a luncheon. It was the thrill of my life. But our physical paths really didn’t cross. Instead, we had a “I know mine and mine know me” connection that was pretty neat. The cardinal came to visit our offices at Catholic New World several years ago. In his generosity to put me at ease when I greeted him, he said with a smile, “I always read Church Clips first, so I can find out what’s going on in the archdiocese!” Years later we agreed he read his column first to make sure there weren’t any typos — then he read Church Clips! Our “friendship” had that spiritual thread. He was Pastoral, with a capital “P.” You knew he bore the ravages of polio all through the years. You also knew he offered up that suffering for his flock. Where else would it go? His intelligence could be intimidating only if you let it, but he seemed to accept it with grace not grandeur. That he was born and raised in Chicago was just frosting on the ecclesial cake. It meant we all grew up having parish life, the Lincoln Park Zoo and Buckingham Fountain in common. He was fatherly. While my son Bob was battling cancer, the cardinal asked me to keep him informed. He promised his prayers. I wrote him shortly after Bob’s death in 2013, saying in part: “Dear Cardinal, Your Mass for the repose of the soul of my son Bob brought all of us comfort and renewed strength. Your kind letter extending your sympathies to Cathy and the boys and our family touched our hearts. And yes, we have experienced the love of Christ in our sorrow, as you prayed we would. Bob died bravely, knowing he was in God’s loving hands.” The last letter I wrote Cardinal George was on his 78th birthday in January. For the sake of this remembrance, I’d like to repeat a few thoughts that I hope cheered him: “Dear Cardinal George, Happy birthday! Back in 1998 I wrote on your birthday: ‘I am grateful every day to realize how much the Holy Father loved the Archdiocese of Chicago, because he sent you to us.’ That gratitude has only multiplied. Thank you, too, Cardinal, for what you shared in the interview you gave Joyce Duriga in our Nov. 16 issue. It was from your heart and personal about what we feel, thinking of our mortality. … It helped so much to read that you also experience a holy fear of the process of dying and of the unknown. If we all feel it, it must be there for a good reason. You’ve given me strength, and I’m sure countless others. I’ll keep praying for you. This is a little weird for a birthday greeting, Cardinal, but someday we’ll be ‘born again’ into his mercy, so maybe it fits…” Cardinal George, our loss is heaven’s gain.
Cardinal George receives city’s highest honor In the course of his ministry, Cardinal George has received many honors and accolades, and on Dec. 10 he added one more — the City of Chicago’s Medal of Merit.
‘You are my legacy,’ Cardinal George tells the faithful “His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.’” (Mt 25:21) That was a line from the Gospel reading from the parable of the talents on Nov. 16, the Sunday of Cardinal George’s final public Mass as archbishop of Chicago at Holy Name Cathedral. It’s a fitting line given Cardinal George’s 17 and a half years of ministry as the eighth archbishop of Chicago.
Cardinal George talks about his ministry, life and facing death As Cardinal George prepared to officially retire as archbishop of Chicago — the first archbishop to live to retirement — he sat down with editor Joyce Duriga to discuss his ministry and the next phase of his life.