History in the making

Diocese founders recognized at Mass, reception to mark upcoming milestone

By Dan McWilliams

The spirit of 1988 lives on in the Diocese of Knoxville as evidenced in a Founders Mass that honored clergy and laity who were part of the establishment of the Church in East Tennessee that year and its first decade of mission.

Bishop Mark Beckman, who as a seminarian was present at the Mass on Sept. 8, 1988, in which the diocese was erected and its founding Bishop Anthony J. O’Connell ordained, celebrated the Founders liturgy on Aug. 31 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Concelebrating was Bishop James Vann Johnston Jr. of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., a son of Holy Ghost Parish in Knoxville and the longtime chancellor for his native diocese.

The second reading at Mass came from Hebrews 12 and described the city of the living God that awaits believers.

“This liturgy is a foretaste of that sacred gathering. I want to thank all of you who are part of the founding of this beautiful diocese for your presence here,” Bishop Beckman said in his welcoming remarks. “We know that there are many others who helped to found the diocese who are already at that festal gathering in the heavenly Jerusalem.”

A reception in Cathedral Hall following the Mass featured a slideshow and a video that included footage of the 1988 Mass and interviews of four people instrumental in the early years of the diocese, and the reception gave numerous current and former employees of the Chancery time to reunite and share memories as East Tennessee Catholics look forward to the 40th anniversary of the diocese in 2028.

At the reception, Monsignor Patrick Garrity presented Janie Hennessy, executive secretary to chancellor and chief operating officer Deacon Sean Smith and, at 30 years, the longest-serving employee in the diocese’s history, the first Sister Albertine Paulus Relentless Award. The honor is named for the late Sister of Mercy who was the longtime director of the diocesan evangelization office.

Concelebrating the Founders Mass and/or attending the reception were Monsignor Al Humbrecht, Monsignor Garrity, and Fathers Mike Creson, Mike Nolan, Jim Haley, CSP, Michael Woods, John Dowling, and Charlie Burton, all of whom were ordained before the Diocese of Knoxville was created. Father Michael Cummins, Father Jim Vick, and Father Peter Iorio as well as Father Martin Gladysz and Father Danny Herman, the latter two of the cathedral parish, also concelebrated.

Monsignor Humbrecht, who served as diocesan administrator between Bishop O’Connell and Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz and between Bishop Kurtz and Bishop Richard F. Stika, and Father Burton were masters of ceremonies for the 1988 ordination Mass.

Deacon Otto Preske of Good Shepherd Parish in Newport was deacon of the Word at the Founders Mass, and Deacon Jim Fage of St. Patrick in Morristown was deacon of the altar.

Founding staff attend

Andrea Cox, a founding Chancery staff member, approached Bishop Beckman in January with the idea of a Founders Mass and reception, and the diocesan Office of Communications produced the video and provided more than 150 photos that appeared in the slideshow.

Former Chancery staffers and others attending the Mass and reception included Edgar Miller, founding editor of The East Tennessee Catholic; April Partin, the newspaper’s second editor; Linda Taylor, Chancery office manager, facilities manager, and manager of the bishop’s residence; Kathleen Hanks O’Hara, Terry Torricelli, and Suzanne Erpenbach, respectively the second, third, and fourth directors of the diocesan Office of Stewardship and Development; David Dotson, founding director of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee; Glenda Keyes, who co-directed with late husband Marcus the diocesan Office of Justice-Peace-Integrity of Creation; Jeannine Fort, former diocesan assistant in and interim director of Hispanic Ministry; Cathy Qualls, director of the Religious Education Resource Center at Notre Dame Church in Greeneville; and Ann Guise, an early administrative assistant at the Chancery. Mrs. Erpenbach is also active in the Knoxville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women.

Many of the former staffers worked all or part of their years with the diocese in its original Chancery, located on the property of Sacred Heart, before the current diocesan office building was dedicated next-door to the cathedral in 1995.

Mr. Miller was interviewed for the video played at the reception along with Dottie Roddy, original chair of the Diocesan Finance Council; Sue Clancy, special-events coordinator for the city of Knoxville and facilities coordinator for the ordination in 1988; and Father Chris Michelson, who was the founding pastor of one of Knoxville’s biggest parishes in All Saints and was in charge of the move of Knoxville Catholic High School from its original Magnolia Avenue location to its present site next to the All Saints campus.

History made in 1988

In his homily at the Founders Mass, Bishop Beckman recalled the 1988 Mass that erected the Diocese of Knoxville, during which the principal consecrator of Bishop O’Connell, Archbishop and future Cardinal Pio Laghi, read the names of the 36 counties in the new diocese from Pope John Paul II’s decree establishing it. Bishop Beckman also referred to the day’s Gospel reading from Luke 14 that included Jesus’ parable of the great banquet.

“In some ways, the creation of this beautiful Diocese of Knoxville was like a great wedding banquet, wasn’t it, for those of you who were here?” the bishop asked. “Think about the days and months and weeks and even years of preparation that went into that moment when this diocese was created by Pope John Paul II, now St. John Paul II, with all of its counties named aloud at that first ceremony.”

The bishop asked how many of his listeners in the cathedral pews attended the 1988 Mass, and many hands were raised.

“You remember that festive day. It was like a wedding, wasn’t it? I was a young deacon at the time, and I was overwhelmed by the joy here in East Tennessee,” he said.

Bishop Beckman told the faithful at Sacred Heart that “all those hidden things throughout your lives that you’ve done to build up this Bride of Christ have been seen by the Lord. There is nothing that you have done or suffered for the sake or the good of this Church that the Lord is not aware of. He sees everything in your hearts. Know that. The quiet ways that you have served Him through the decades in lots of different ways, those of you still serving and receiving that baton of faith in our Church today, those younger folks who are now part of this beautiful Church of this Diocese of Knoxville and the newest comers.”

The bishop pointed toward the upcoming major anniversary of the diocese and its true mission.

“This Diocese of Knoxville, this beautiful Bride of Christ, is a place through the decades—and we’re approaching 40 years as a diocese—where the wounded people in our world who most need healing have been welcomed at the table of the Lord,” Bishop Beckman said.

“I am reminded, as Pope Francis often told us, the Church is not a community of the perfect, and that’s not what the Eucharist is for, but it’s a field hospital. The Lord knows that the wounded need to be here, those who are lame and blind, suffering in some way, need the Lord especially. And I would add: all of us are wounded in life in various ways. We’re lame and blind and crippled in our own ways, and we need the Lord. That is why this place, this beautiful eucharistic assembly, is so important. The Lord, the healer of souls, is here in this place.”

‘Grateful for the blessings’

Monsignor Humbrecht emceed the reception in Cathedral Hall and led the blessing before the meal.

“We gather this evening grateful for the blessings that you have poured out upon us as the Diocese of Knoxville,” he prayed.

Father Burton also led a prayer at the reception after the meal, before the program began.

“Heavenly Father, this is an evening of thanksgiving, of grace, and celebration. It is a time to remember and give thanks,” he said.

Monsignor Humbrecht then welcomed the founders and guests at the reception and acknowledged Bishop Johnston, who was among the original five seminarians of the new Diocese of Knoxville in 1988, as well as Mrs. Roddy of the original finance council.

“I’m proud to say that she was possibly the first woman in the entire American Catholic Church to serve in that role. She had the gifts to do the job, and she did the job well,” Monsignor Humbrecht said.

The monsignor, then dean of the Chattanooga Deanery, remembered Bishop O’Connell’s appointment on May 27, 1988, as Knoxville’s first bishop and his initial meeting with his priests.

“When Bishop O’Connell was named and before his actual ordination, he wanted to make a visit to the diocese, and Chattanooga was the first deanery that he came to visit,” Monsignor Humbrecht said. “What I thought was so amazing was that he wanted to meet in the afternoon with all the priests in the deanery, but in the evening he wanted to meet with the chairpersons of all the parish pastoral councils in the deanery.”

Bishop Beckman introduced the 20-minute video, titled “Remember, Celebrate, Give Thanks: The First 10 Years of the Diocese of Knoxville” that was edited by diocesan communications director John Mecklenborg, saying it “offers a sneak-peek into a project we’ve been working on in our diocesan archives. Our archivist, Andrea Cox, has been working with the Office of Communications to dig through videotapes, photos, and old newspapers from the founding of our diocese, and she has unearthed remarkable footage from that 1988 ordination, including many of you here tonight, and some never-before-seen material from the morning of the ordination.

“We’ve also conducted interviews with four individuals who were pivotal in creating our great diocese,” the bishop said. “These interviews are part of our historical archive project where we hosted one-on-one conversations with these pillars of our diocese. The full interviews will eventually be shared, and we plan to continue gathering stories and history that make our diocese so special.”

The video opened with Father Michelson calling the early time in the diocese “the day of the giants” with Monsignor Xavier Mankel and other priests serving in East Tennessee in those days. Monsignor Mankel was a founder of the diocese who served as vicar general, chancellor, moderator of the curia, and schools superintendent in those early days while also serving as KDCCW moderator and pastor of the cathedral parish and Holy Ghost among many assignments over a 56-year priesthood.

Mrs. Clancy in the video saluted her good friends Mary Catherine Willard, the “godmother of the diocese” who died earlier this year, and the late Roseanne Wolfe.

Mrs. Roddy drew laughs from the reception audience when she recalled in the video her original remark to Bishop O’Connell when he appointed her finance-council chair. “I said, ‘Do you know I’m a woman?’”

Mr. Miller left his job with the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and had joined United Press International when he was hired by Bishop O’Connell and given two months to start The East Tennessee Catholic in 1991. The founding editor said Knoxville’s first bishop could talk to Cardinal James Hickey, the D.C. archbishop, for references.

“Bishop O’Connell said, ‘I don’t need to talk to Hickey. I make up my own mind about people,” Mr. Miller recalled.

Longest-serving employee honored

After the video, Monsignor Garrity presented the Sister Albertine Paulus Relentless Award to Mrs. Hennessy.

“I was blessed when I first became principal of Knoxville Catholic High School to have Sister Albertine on my staff,” Monsignor Garrity said. “She taught math and life and work ethic and kept everybody in line. I remember she always wanted snacks in the faculty lounge because she said an army marches on its stomach.

“This certificate I’m about to present reads, in recognition of her exemplary and faithful service to the Diocese of Knoxville for 30 years, so far, and in acknowledgement of the fact that she has worked full time longer than any other employee since the establishment of the diocese in 1988, we gratefully present Janie Hennessy with the first and only Sister Albertine Paulus Relentless Award.”

A long, standing ovation for Mrs. Hennessy followed.

“I love every person in this diocese,” she said. “I’ve never been anywhere in my life that I’ve seen so many devoted Catholics with such love in their heart for our Lord Jesus Christ. I’m very grateful to be here. Thank you.”

‘A joy to come back’

Bishop Johnston, who shepherds about 150,000 Catholics in his diocese, was accompanied at the reception by his mother, Pat. The Missouri bishop was the next speaker at the event and led its closing prayer.

“It’s really a great joy for me to come back and see so many people who were a big part of my life and have made up my life,” he said. “I tell people I always still have a special place in my heart for the diocese and for the people here. It’s especially great to be here for Janie’s presentation. Twelve of those 30 years she spent helping me at the Chancery, so congratulations, Janie.”

One future bishop knew another one when the diocese’s creation was announced in spring 1988.

“That day I remember very well, too, because I was a seminarian at the time, and I was spending the summer at Our Lady of Perpetual Help with Father Al and Father Mike Lindor. I was in residence. I was doing clinical pastoral education at Erlanger Hospital,” Bishop Johnston said. “That date, I began the day as a seminarian of the Diocese of Nashville, and one of my brother seminarians was a real nice fellow named Mark Beckman.”

Bishop Johnston said that late Bishop James D. Niedergeses, who led the Diocese of Nashville when the Knoxville Diocese was formed, was key in the new diocese’s history.

“I remember whenever he would come back after the diocese started, and he saw how well we were doing, Bishop O’Connell always referred to him as the grandfather of the diocese, and Bishop Niedergeses would just beam with pride and joy,” Bishop Johnston said.

“Bishop Niedergeses was really good in that he was very generous to the Diocese of Knoxville. … Nashville and Bishop Niedergeses were extremely generous with resources, money, people, all sorts of things.”

The only thing the Diocese of Nashville did not give its new neighbor was canon lawyers, Bishop Johnston pointed out.

“The reason I mention this is that it figured into my future,” he said. “I was ordained in 1990, and I remember I was at St. Jude as the associate, also teaching at Notre Dame, and right after a graduation for Notre Dame High School, Bishop O’Connell came up to me and said, ‘You’re going to be going to Catholic University to study canon law,’ and my heart sank.

“All I could see was maybe working in a marriage tribunal for the rest of my life. That’s what I was thinking. But he said, ‘Don’t worry, we’re not going to have a tribunal.’ Now, that changed. He said, ‘We’ll use Nashville. I need just a canon lawyer to help me. I want you to be the chancellor.’ So, I went off to school, and I came back in 1996.”

Bishop Johnston remembered “the spirit of the diocese” in its early days.

“It was a very hope-filled, happy attitude because we were starting something new. We were pioneers, and there’s something unique about that. It doesn’t happen very often, to be a part of something that you know is going to be impactful for generations,” he said.

Chancery meetings were even something to look forward to, the Knoxville native said, because “you were going to hear something new, something amazing that was going on, how we were growing.”

Two months to launch the diocese’s newspaper

Mr. Miller said after the reception that in the two months Bishop O’Connell gave him to start The East Tennessee Catholic, he had a computer with an 80-megabyte hard drive, no assistance, and an office with only a desk and the computer.

“If I had known then what I know now, I would say, ‘Bishop, I’m sorry. I can’t do it,’” he said.

Mr. Miller was accompanied at the reception by his wife of 66 years, Ghislaine, who assisted him with the parish notes and meetings-and-retreats columns in The East Tennessee Catholic and had an occasional byline herself.

Mrs. Keyes served in the JPIC office from 1991 to 2006. She recalled Father Michael Jennings and Sister Mary Dennis Lentsch and Sister Anne Hablas of the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary and others who worked with the office over the years.

“It was a joyful time. Marcus and I were just married. We worked like dogs for little to nothing, and we loved every minute of it,” she said. “The idea to try to encourage people to see all the good work for justice—we truly believed that care for creation was part of our faith and tried to be enthused about that message.”

Serving many offices

Ms. Torricelli was the first paid employee to be hired as a receptionist/administrative assistant to support Chancery offices when she started working for the diocese in 1992. She supported the offices of the vicar general, schools, evangelization, stewardship and development, strategic planning, and the office manager, business office, and finance office.

“There were ladies before me (from Sacred Heart) who answered the phones, and they were volunteers. When they hired me, I kind of started off doing those receptionist things,” she said. “I was the first one they hired to do that. It had been just Andrea and Linda then. Linda was the office manager, and Andrea was the bishop’s secretary. I was the first hired general secretary. I worked for Father Mankel and Sister Albertine.”

Ms. Torricelli also worked for the diocese’s first director of the Office of Stewardship and Development, Paul Terhaar, and a longtime superintendent of Catholic schools.

“I worked for Aurelia Montgomery for Catholic schools. I worked for Father Mankel at that time in his role as vicar general. I was providing support to all of them, and then they realized that I couldn’t keep up with the demand. That’s when Linda said, ‘I don’t want you working here—you need to go home when it’s time to go home,’” Ms. Torricelli said.

The hiring of Ms. Guise eased some of the workload on her, she added.

“Then Ann left, and they hired Janie, and they hired some other people. Gradually, as the diocese was growing, each office and each director needed a person,” Ms. Torricelli said. “Paul Terhaar was the first director of Stewardship and Development. Then Kathleen Hanks took over, and then when she resigned, Bishop O’Connell offered the position to me because I had been supporting that office all those years.”

The founding bishop’s support for “Catholics all over the region” was “amazing” during her years as stewardship director, Ms. Torricelli recalled.

“He was about everybody. He was so inclusive. He cared just as much about a little tiny parish that was trying to start and get formed as much as the big, beautiful cathedral parish here in Knoxville,” she said. “Part of my position there was working with the Catholic Foundation of East Tennessee. We raised money to support the founding of new parishes, to provide seed money for property and things like that. Bishop O’Connell worked really hard to do that across the entire diocese.”

Mrs. Torricelli said she was “shedding many tears today” at the reception, “tears of joy, seeing people that I love and miss, because working there, we were all brought together, a wonderful spirit,” adding that the video mentioned Bishop O’Connell’s ability “to almost see into each individual person and draw out your talents, and in doing that he coalesced a group of people, he brought out the best in all of us, and then we all were able to work together, celebrate each other, and make things grow. I don’t even have words to describe what he did.”

Ms. Torricelli succeeded Ms. Hanks as director of stewardship and development in 1996 and served in that role until 2003.

Mrs. Taylor served in her three roles with the diocese from 1988 to 2002. The spirit in those early days “was absolutely fantastic. It was exciting. Everybody had their work. We each knew what we needed to do.”

The idea for a Founders Mass

Mrs. Cox talked about her meeting with Bishop Beckman early this year regarding a Founders Mass and the upcoming 40th anniversary of the diocese.

“I told him that my worry is if we wait too long to get the people who founded this diocese involved, in three years we could lose an awful lot of people. We decided to do something early before we lost too many more,” she said. “So, that’s how it came about because we knew time was slipping by. And we wanted to get photographs and videos and memories made while we could.”

The Founders Mass and reception “could not have come together without the help of other people, particularly the staff of the communications office. Every single one of those people on staff helped with this event. It was wonderful,” Mrs. Cox said.

Bishop Beckman said at the reception that “I found it so beautiful to hear those stories of the original founders and to hear the first-hand witnesses, especially in the interviews in the videos, which were so beautiful. If we don’t share these stories now and hand them down, we will lose them.

“So, it’s wonderful that we’re doing this celebration right now. And we have to shoot forward toward the 40th anniversary of the diocese. We’re definitely going to keep celebrating. Also, I was deeply touched by the award given to Janie Hennessy, who is a great gift to this diocese.”

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