Happy 90th Birthday

Bishop Thomas Connolly, the 4th Bishop of our Baker Diocese turns 90 years old today. Even though he is not in the best of health as he is living at Maryville Nursing Home in Beaverton, Oregon, nonetheless we pray for him on this special day as becomes a nonagenarian. Bishop Connolly was born in Tonopah, Nevada on July 19, 1922, and was ordained a priest in his hometown on April 8, 1947. He was actually the second priest of Tonopah that was ordained a bishop, as only two months earlier, a fellow priest and townsman William Johnson was ordained a Bishop of Orange, California. Connolly was consecrated Bishop at the Cathedral on June 30, 1971 with an overflow congregation that included the Governors of Nevada and Oregon, 4 Archbishops, 18 Bishops, 135 priests and more than 600 lay people and nuns.
 

Bishop Connolly preaching on his 60th anniversary

Bishop Connolly was much beloved here in Baker City and even though he moved the Chancery to bend in 1987, people have many wonderful memories of him, and he was always welcome whenever he visited here. His last major celebration in the Cathedral was in October 2007 when he celebrated his 60th anniversary as a priest while on the same occasion he rededicated the Cathedral after the centennial renovation. We wish him the best of health, our prayers are with him and Ad Multos Annos!