Lawrence James McNamara
Encyclopedia
Lawrence James McNamara (August 5, 1928 – December 17, 2004) was an American
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Bishop of Grand Island
from 1978 to 2004.
, and there attended Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary
. He also studied at St. Paul Seminary
in Saint Paul
, Minnesota
, and the Catholic University of America
in Washington, D.C.
, where he earned a degree
in theology
. McNamara was ordained
a priest
of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
, Missouri
, on May 30, 1953. He also held an honorary degree
of Doctor of Laws from Benedictine College
in Atchison
, Kansas
.
McNamara held numerous Church and civic posts in the Kansas City area. He was a parish priest
and high school
teacher
, Diocesan Refugee Resettlement Director, Chairman of the United Campaign Agency Executives Association, Chaplain
of Jackson County
Jail, President of the Kansas City Citizens' Alliance for the War on Poverty. He was also a board member of the Human Resources Commission of Kansas City, State Committee on Aging, and the Jackson County Civil Rights Commission and was Moderator of the Diocesan Family Life Bureau.
McNamara was known for his work in reorganizing and enlarging the scope of the Catholic Charities
of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Under his direction of the agency (1957-1969), its efforts expanded to include programs in job opportunity training, remedial and adult basic education, tutoring for children in both Catholic
and public schools, medically related services, family enrichment and pre-Cana
programs, services to the elderly and housing programs.
His agency sponsored the first Out of School Neighborhood Youth Corps Program in Kansas City
. He also sponsored a community action program through the Office of Economic Opportunity to provide social work service to adolescent youth and teenage gangs, and a program for the training of unemployed adults.
McNamara was chairman of the National Conference of Catholic Charities Commission on Housing from 1969 to 1972. He was the Diocesan Director for Catholic Relief Services
, the overseas aid agency of American Catholics. In the latter capacity, he was sent in 1970 on a visitation of CRS programs in West Africa
. He was appointed Executive Director of the Campaign for Human Development, United States Catholic Conference, in 1973 and served in that capacity for some five years.
On January 10, 1978, McNamara was appointed the sixth Bishop of Grand Island
, Nebraska
, by Pope Paul VI
. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following March 28 from Archbishop Daniel Sheehan
, with Bishops Charles Helmsing
and John Sullivan
serving as co-consecrators
.
Subsequent to his ordination as bishop, he served as He served as president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (1980-1983), President of the National Council of Catholic Bishops
' Committees for Liaison with Women Religious
, the American Board of Catholic Missions, Campaign for Human Development (and National Episcopal Advisor for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
in the United States
). In his later years, he served director of Catholic Relief Services; however, he stepped down in 1997 after African American
staff members became outraged by his use of a racial slur.
After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, McNamara resigned as Bishop of Grand Island on October 14, 2004. He died two months later, aged 76.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He served as Bishop of Grand Island
Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Island
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Island is a Roman Catholic diocese in Grand Island, Nebraska. It is suffragan to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha. It was founded on April 11, 1917, after a decree from Pius X in 1912 with the first bishop appointed in 1913...
from 1978 to 2004.
Biography
McNamara was born in Chicago, IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and there attended Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary
Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary
Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary was an American seminary preparatory school administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago for young men considering the priesthood...
. He also studied at St. Paul Seminary
Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity
The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was founded by Archbishop John Ireland in 1894, to provide ordained priests for the ever-increasing Catholic population of the Upper Midwest. The seminary now sits on the south campus of the University of St. Thomas,...
in Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and the Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he earned a degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. McNamara was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
a priest
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the state of Missouri in the United States, erected on September 10, 1880, as the Diocese of Kansas City, with territories taken from the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. ...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, on May 30, 1953. He also held an honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
of Doctor of Laws from Benedictine College
Benedictine College
Benedictine College is a co-educational university in Atchison, Kansas, founded in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College for men and Mount St. Scholastica College for women. It is a Roman Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts, and residential college located on bluffs overlooking the...
in Atchison
Atchison, Kansas
Atchison is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Atchison County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,021. It is the county seat and most populous city of Atchison County...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
.
McNamara held numerous Church and civic posts in the Kansas City area. He was a parish priest
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
and high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, Diocesan Refugee Resettlement Director, Chairman of the United Campaign Agency Executives Association, Chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
of Jackson County
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. With a population of 674,158 in the 2010 census, Jackson County is the second most populous of Missouri's counties, after St. Louis County. Kansas City, the state's most populous city and focus city of the Kansas City Metropolitan...
Jail, President of the Kansas City Citizens' Alliance for the War on Poverty. He was also a board member of the Human Resources Commission of Kansas City, State Committee on Aging, and the Jackson County Civil Rights Commission and was Moderator of the Diocesan Family Life Bureau.
McNamara was known for his work in reorganizing and enlarging the scope of the Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities is a network of charities whose aim is "to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire church and other people of good will to do the same." It is one of the largest charities in the United States...
of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Under his direction of the agency (1957-1969), its efforts expanded to include programs in job opportunity training, remedial and adult basic education, tutoring for children in both Catholic
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
and public schools, medically related services, family enrichment and pre-Cana
Pre-Cana
Pre-Cana is a course or consultation Catholic couples must undergo before they can be married in a Catholic church. The name is derived from John 2:1-12, the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee, where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine....
programs, services to the elderly and housing programs.
His agency sponsored the first Out of School Neighborhood Youth Corps Program in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. He also sponsored a community action program through the Office of Economic Opportunity to provide social work service to adolescent youth and teenage gangs, and a program for the training of unemployed adults.
McNamara was chairman of the National Conference of Catholic Charities Commission on Housing from 1969 to 1972. He was the Diocesan Director for Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the U.S. bishops, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 90 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and...
, the overseas aid agency of American Catholics. In the latter capacity, he was sent in 1970 on a visitation of CRS programs in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. He was appointed Executive Director of the Campaign for Human Development, United States Catholic Conference, in 1973 and served in that capacity for some five years.
On January 10, 1978, McNamara was appointed the sixth Bishop of Grand Island
Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Island
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Island is a Roman Catholic diocese in Grand Island, Nebraska. It is suffragan to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha. It was founded on April 11, 1917, after a decree from Pius X in 1912 with the first bishop appointed in 1913...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following March 28 from Archbishop Daniel Sheehan
Daniel E. Sheehan
Daniel Eugene Sheehan was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Omaha from 1969 to 1993.-Biography:Daniel Sheehan was born in Emerson, Nebraska, and ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 1942....
, with Bishops Charles Helmsing
Charles Herman Helmsing
The Most Reverend Charles Herman Helmsing was an American Roman Catholic bishop.- History :...
and John Sullivan
John Joseph Sullivan
John Joseph Sullivan was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Grand Island and Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph .-Biography:...
serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
.
Subsequent to his ordination as bishop, he served as He served as president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (1980-1983), President of the National Council of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
' Committees for Liaison with Women Religious
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
, the American Board of Catholic Missions, Campaign for Human Development (and National Episcopal Advisor for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
The St Vincent de Paul Society is an international Roman Catholic voluntary organization dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing direct practical assistance to anyone in need. Active in England & Wales since 1844, today it continues to address social and material need in all...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). In his later years, he served director of Catholic Relief Services; however, he stepped down in 1997 after African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
staff members became outraged by his use of a racial slur.
After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, McNamara resigned as Bishop of Grand Island on October 14, 2004. He died two months later, aged 76.