November 14, 1909, Timothy Manning was born, who was to become the first Bishop of the Diocese of Fresno. On that same day he was baptized, as was the custom in many Catholic families in Ireland at that time. In growing up, he could identify with our valley, as his family lived in a rural setting, and had chickens, sheep, pigs and a cow, along with a number of domesticated animals. He was born in Ballingeary in County Cork, Ireland. Not far from this is Gougane Barra Lake, where Cardinal Manning would stay with friends who owned a Hotel there on his visits to Ireland. I had the great privilege of visiting him at that hotel in 1973 on a vacation trip to Ireland with Bishop Johnson who at that time was the rector of the Cathedral of St. Vibiana in Los Angeles. I remember well and fondly, playing the Irish card game of 110, which he loved to play, with him, Bishop Johnson, Msgr. Clem Connolly his secretary and two other priests, into the late hours of the night and into the early hours of the morning.
One of the many reasons Cardinal Manning was such a great homilist was that he had a tremendous memory and was a voracious reader. Some would say that he had a photo graphic memory. Before he left the local school in Ballingeary, while still in primary grades, he had memorized completely two of Shakespeare’s plays, “Julius Cesar” and ‘Macbeth.” We feel pretty proud just to remember a few lines from those two plays. Cardinal Manning was truly known as a great homilist. He had a tremendous command of the English language, and he masterfully used so often metaphors and figures of speech. I lived in the same rectory with him for 11 years at the Cathedral of St. Vibiana, from 1973 through 1984. He always gave beautiful and profound homilies, and was in great demand as a homilist. It was there that I came to know that he spent a great deal of time in prayer, reading and reflection preparing every homily he gave. He would then write out by hand each homily, and then memorize the homily, giving it with deep faith and feeling, with a changing cadence and with a flair for gestures.
In the time I got to know him at St. Vibiana, I knew him above all as a man of prayer. He always spent an hour of prayer everyday before the Blessed Sacrament, often getting up early to spend that time in prayer with our Lord, if he knew he had a long day ahead of him. He had a great devotion to our Blessed Mother and faithfully recited the rosary every day of his life. I always remember him saying one day, what a great comfort it will be to know when we come to the day of death, that we have said to our Blessed Mother thousands upon thousands of times in our life: “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” Every time he was scheduled for a Mass later in the day, he would always attend the 8 am Mass in the Cathedral. I was a young priest when I first was assigned to the Cathedral of St. Vibiana and often I found myself preaching to a Cardinal at my morning Mass. I always remember one day when Cardinal Manning had a celebration in the evening at St. Vibiana’s. After the Mass I commented on what a beautiful homily he gave. He then told me he got the idea from the homily I had given that morning. All I know is that I did not recognize any similarity at all between the simple words I had given at Mass that morning, and his polished and beautiful homily.
Cardinal Manning came to the United States at the age of nineteen and entered St. Patrick’s seminary in Menlo Park to study for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles-San Diego. He was ordained June 16th in 1934 by Bishop John J. Cantwell in St. Vibiana’s Cathedral in Los Angeles. Cardinal Manning loved Religious tradition and Church history, and had a special love for historical Church buildings as the California Missions, for Fr. Junipero Serra personally and had a special love for the Cathedral of St. Vibiana. For him it spoke of the rich history of the Church in Los Angeles, from the days of Bishop Amat who built the Cathedral in 1876, the rich history of the growth of the Church in Southern California, and an ongoing reminder of the many ordinations and Diocesan celebrations held in the Cathedral. He would never have imagined that one day it would no longer belong to the Church. It shows that what we build and treasure on this earth are not so important as simply loving the Lord, loving God’s people, seeking His will and serving him faithfully, which he did throughout his life.
After a brief time as associate pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Los Angeles, then Fr. Manning was sent to Rome in 1936 to study Canon Law, where eventually he received a doctorate. During his time in Rome in 1936 the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was created, creating also the Diocese of San Diego. While in Rome, Fr. Manning wrote to Bishop James Walsh of Maryknoll about doing missionary work in China. Bishop Walsh as we know later spent twelve years in a communist prison in China. I do not believe that Archbishop Cantwell was aware of this inquiry at the time.. Again this shows the love of Cardinal Manning for the Missions and for missionaries whom he supported so much as Auxiliary Bishop and Archbishop of Los Angeles, and zeal for souls, zeal for spreading the faith and bringing people to the Lord Jesus. After returning from Rome, instead of teaching Canon Law, Fr. Manning was appointed as the secretary of Archbishop Cantwell.
After just 12 years as a priest, now Msgr. Manning was consecrated a Bishop by Bishop Joseph T. McGucken in St. Vibiana’s Cathedral on October 15, 1946. It is interesting to note that Bishop James Walsh of Maryknoll was one of the co-consecrators. It was unheard of in those days ordaining a Bishop at such a young age and so early into his priesthood.
After many faithful years as auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, both to Archbishop Cantwell and to Cardinal Archbishop Francis McIntyre, Bishop Manning became the first Bishop of the Diocese of Fresno, with the separation of the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno. Bishop Manning was installed on the fifteenth of December 1967. In his homily at his installation Mass, Bishop Manning said: “As a lover to his bride, I now vow my life, my talents and my honor, to the service of this diocese. For it shall I spend myself, and be spent. Its joys and hopes, its griefs and anxieties, shall be my very own. Its people shall be my people, and its God shall be my God. By mandate the best part of my heart must be consecrated to its priests and seminarians. They are set apart for the gospel of God and are forbidden to be conformed to the world. Together with their bishop they share in the one and same priesthood. Together shall they assemble the people of God into a sacrifice, living, holy and pleasing to God until the Lord returns.”
After only about a year and a half, Bishop Manning was called by the Holy Father to leave Fresno and become the Coadjutor Bishop to Cardinal McIntyre in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He was installed as coadjutor Bishop on August 2nd, 1969. Though here in Fresno for only eighteen months, Bishop Manning erected four parishes and five missions. He formed a Priests Senate, was involved in trying to bring peace and reconciliation between growers and farm workers, and endeared himself to many people and priests throughout the diocese.
He became the Archbishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles in 1970 and appointed as Cardinal in 1973. With the limit of time, it is impossible to speak of the many accomplishments of Cardinal Manning in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, where he was chief shepherd till the installation of Bishop Roger Mahoney as the Archbishop of Los Angeles on July 16, 1985.
But those accomplishments are of very little importance in relation to the spiritual meaning of Cardinal Manning’s life. He could respond with St. Peter, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you” throughout his entire life. He died in 1989, Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth and baptism. Throughout his whole life he gave of himself totally and completely in serving God and serving God’s people. He experienced many crosses and trials, both in the Diocese of Fresno with the disputes between the farm workers and the owners, and especially in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, but he was always a man of faith, a man of prayer, a man of love, a man of God.
How blest we all are, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, and laity, for having had Bishop Manning as the founding Bishop of our Diocese of Fresno. He has given us the example of always seeking God’s will, with deep faith and humility, in all the joys and trials of our lives, seeking solely to serve the Lord, and putting ourselves, as Cardinal Manning, under the protection of our Blessed Mother. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”