1,100 Attend Manning Rites at St. Vibiana

Cardinal Timothy Manning, who led the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese from 1970 to 1985, was eulogized as a man of “splendid sensitivity” Wednesday during a Mass at St. Vibiana Cathedral attended by an overflow crowd of about 1,100 worshipers.

Auxiliary Bishop John Ward said the retired archbishop, who died Friday of cancer at age 79, “had time for each one of us” in what became the nation’s most populous Catholic diocese.

After Manning was named an auxiliary bishop in 1946, Ward said, the Irish-born prelate’s “fingerprints were on every architect’s blueprints” during a period of rapid building in the archdiocese, but he still found time to conduct “tens of thousands” of confirmations. During those ceremonies, Ward added, Manning “never ceased to marvel when he looked into the faces of young people.”

Papal Message

Similarly, in a message from the Vatican earlier this week, Pope John Paul II said Manning, who had also served as bishop of Fresno in the late 1960s, “left an indelible mark on the history of the church in California.” The Pope praised him for his “outstanding priestly virtues and his renowned preaching.”

Manning, a wiry man who remained active even after his retirement, began undergoing radiation treatment for lung cancer early this year. His deteriorating health was made public only last month and his final public appearance was at the Mary’s Hour devotional service May 21 at the Hollywood Bowl.

Funeral rites began Tuesday night with a service attended by about 900 priests, sisters and laity. Also attending were 30 Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu leaders from the Los Angeles interfaith circles that Manning helped to create.

The series of rites will end today with an 11 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial attended by much of the nation’s Catholic hierarchy. At the time of his death, Manning was one of three retired U.S. cardinals. Six Americans, including a member of the Vatican Curia, are cardinals in active service.

Oft-Stated Wish

It was Manning’s oft-stated wish “to lie in death” in the cathedral, where he was ordained a priest in 1934 and later resided as archbishop until his retirement.

His decision to live on the edge of Los Angeles’ Skid Row upon succeeding Cardinal James Francis McIntyre in 1970 foreshadowed Manning’s low-key but sensitive approach to the less fortunate.

During the Mass, a white linen embossed with the cardinal’s coat of arms covered Manning’s casket. An open Bible sat atop a gold pillow on the casket and his bishop’s crosier lay nearby--all in front of an altar area decorated with masses of yellow and white flowers.

Among those attending the Mass on Wednesday were Manning’s sister, Joan Cronin, and a niece, Breda Lucey, both of whom live in Ireland.

The liturgy in the ornate, white-pillared cathedral began with a procession down the center aisle of 220 priests and 10 bishops, all garbed in white, who bowed in pairs in front of the casket before taking their places.

Bilingual Readings

Archbishop Roger M. Mahony, Manning’s successor, celebrated the Mass with his auxiliary bishops. Scripture readings included one in Spanish by Gail Gutierrez from the Holy Family parish in South Pasadena, where Manning lived in retirement.

Upon leaving the cathedral, worshipers were given an illustrated, 32-page booklet on Manning’s life and excerpts from his sermons and writings.

Outside the cathedral, where homeless people queue up each day for meals and beds at the adjacent Union Rescue Mission, the sidewalks were cleared of all but churchgoers. Cathedral officials said they had asked the mission to reroute the line to avoid clogging the Main Street entrance to the cathedral.

Starting Tuesday night, mission officials had the homeless enter their building through a back alley.

BACK DOOR TO THE MISSION Transients are directed to alley behind mission during funeral rites for the Cardinal. Page 3