More Aid for Lebanon
To assist our program to help displaced Lebanese return to their villages, the United States Agency for International Development has awarded CNEWA a grant of $5.77 million over a five-year period, beginning 1 October 1997. The grant will be used for rural construction and small-scale economic activities in 47 villages.
The project will include self-help home rehabilitation, renovation of drinking water supplies and irrigation of agricultural lands.
Rest in Peace
CNEWA lost a member of its family on 4 December 1997, with the death of Crispon Green, Mail Room Supervisor.
Most of CNEWA’s New York staff joined his family and friends at a funeral Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Manhattan, concelebrated by Msgr. Robert L. Stern, Secretary General, and Chorbishop John D. Faris, Assistant Secretary General.
A skilled amateur photographer, Cris was a frequent contributor to these pages. His kindness and gentle humor will he missed. Rest in peace.
Educating Knights
Brother David Carroll, F.S.C., Assistant to the Secretary General, spoke about the present state of affairs of the Holy Land’s Christian community at the annual meeting of the Northeastern Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in Boston on 22 November. He also presented an update on the Holy Land to members of the Brooklyn Chapter of the Eastern Lieutenancy at a meeting in Douglaston, N.Y., on 7 December.
Armenians Here and There
On 14 November, Archbishop Paul Coussa, Armenian Catholic Archbishop of Baghdad, came to our New York office to plead for assistance for his suffering people. On 17 November, Sister J. Arousiag Sajonian, Superior of the Armenian Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Armenia, shared her concerns for the needs of Catholics in Armenia.
News from the Congregaton
The Holy See has appointed Father Marco Brogi, O.F.M., former Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, as Apostolic Nuncio in Sudan and Apostolic Delegate in Somalia.
Msgr. Claudio Gugerotti, an official of the Congregation and an expert in liturgy, has been appointed as Undersecretary.
Obituary of Bishop John G. Nolan
With deepest sorrow we announce the death on 19 November 1997 of Bishop John Gavin Nolan, 73, Auxiliary Bishop for the Military Services, U.S.A., former Secretary General of CNEWA (a post in which he served for 21 years) and, since 1987, a member of CNEWA’s Board of Trustees.
The youngest of six children, John Nolan was born in Mechanicville, N.Y. He entered the former St. Charles Seminary in Catonsville, Md., and completed theological studies at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore and at Theological College of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Ordained for the Diocese of Albany, N.Y., on 11 June 1949, Bishop Nolan served in parishes and held a number of teaching positions, including a post at the College of St. Rose. In 1956, Bishop Nolan earned a doctorate in theology from Catholic University.
Appointed to CNEWA in 1962, Bishop Nolan succeeded Archbishop (then Msgr.) Joseph T. Ryan as National Secretary in 1965. Bishop Nolan initiated a number of fund-raising programs, including an Annuity Program in 1968. Children were dear to the heart of Bishop Nolan and he started CNEWA’s Needy Child Sponsorship Program during his tenure. An expert on Middle East affairs, he visited the region often and was regularly consulted by the Holy See. In 1974, Bishop Nolan established Catholic Near East magazine. In 1985, he initiated a reorganization of CNEWA to expand its services.
Ordained by Pope John Paul II in Rome on 6 January 1988, Bishop Nolan was responsible for the chaplaincy program for U.S. military personnel stationed in Europe. Among his many awards was the Gold Cross of the Council of Rhodes, presented by Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I in 1967. Bishop Nolan was the first Catholic to receive this award.
R.I.P.