Lawrence James McNamara (August 5, 1928 – December 17, 2004) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Grand Island in Nebraska from 1978 to 2004.

Biography

Early life

McNamara was born on August 5, 1928, in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He attended

Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary was an American seminary preparatory school administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago for Single-sex education, young men considering the Priesthood (Catholic Church), priesthood. It closed ...

in Chicago, then went to St. Paul Seminary in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. McNamara finished his education at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

in Washington, D.C., where he earned a degree in

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Priesthood

McNamara was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, on May 30, 1953. He also held an honorary degree of

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from

Benedictine College Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for ...

in Atchison, Kansas. McNamara held numerous diocesan and civic posts in the Kansas City area. He was a

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

and high school teacher, diocesan refugee resettlement director, chair of the United Campaign Agency Executives Association, chaplain of Jackson County Jail, and 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, the 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 The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...

of the diocese. Under his direction of the agency (1957–1969), its efforts expanded to include programs in job opportunity training, remedial and

adult basic education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

, tutoring for children in both

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and public schools, medically related services, family enrichment and

pre-Cana Pre-Cana is a course or consultation for couples preparing to be married in a Catholic church. The name is derived from John 2:1–12, the Wedding at Cana in Galilee, where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine. Description App ...

programs, services to the elderly and housing programs. His agency sponsored the first Out of School Neighborhood Youth Corps Program in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. 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 served as 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 (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...

(CRS), 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, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. 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.

Bishop of Grand Island

On January 10, 1978, McNamara was appointed the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Grand Island by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on March 28, 1978, from Archbishop Daniel Sheehan, with Bishops Charles Helmsing and John Sullivan serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. Subsequent to his ordination as bishop, 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 The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the service of the poor. Started by Frédéric Ozanam and Emmanuel-Joseph Bailly de Surcy and named ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). In his later years, he served as director of Catholic Relief Services; however, he stepped down in 1997 after

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

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.

References

External links