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Archbishop rewards infant's curiosity with gift of cross |
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By Dave Hrbacek
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Thursday, 27 May 2010 |
Originally published October 12, 2006
Joseph McGarry of St. Ambrose in Woodbury didn’t give Archbishop Harry Flynn the proper respect.
Joseph McGarry wears the pectoral cross given to him by Archbishop Harry Flynn. Photo by Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit
When the 9-month-old adopted son of Mike and Tracy McGarry was introduced to the archbishop, the Guatemalan-born infant grabbed the first thing he could reach and stuck it in his mouth.
It turned out to be a pectoral cross that the archbishop received as a
gift from Pope John Paul II.
Did Archbishop Flynn scold the boy? No. He laughed and eventually gave
the cross to the boy when he grabbed it a second time later.
“He put the cross around Joseph’s neck and said it was meant for him,”
said Tracy, who was holding her son at the time. “He also said, ‘Maybe
someday there’ll be a Bishop McGarry.’ We were all stunned and
speechless and happy.”
Meeting the archbishop
Joseph’s introduction to the archbishop came Sept. 27 at St. Odilia in
Shoreview before a funeral for long-time parishioner Tony Adducci. Mike
McGarry grew up just a few houses away from the Adduccis in North Oaks
and went to Totino-Grace High School with one of the Adducci children.
The couple brought Joseph, not to meet the archbishop, but to introduce
him to the pastor of St. Odilia, Crosier Father Jerry Schik, and to the
music coordinator, Dan Perry. Both were involved in the couple’s wedding
at St. Odilia two years ago, and Father Schik helped them with the
adoption of the boy from Guatemala.
“So, I went to the back of the church and [Father Schik] was there with
the archbishop,” Tracy said. “I introduced Joseph to [Archbishop Flynn]
and the archbishop immediately recognized that Joseph came from
Guatemala. And so, we struck up a conversation and Joseph was very
interested in his cross. He kept grabbing his cross and looking at it.
“After the funeral, I went up to the archbishop again and asked him to
do a blessing on Joseph, which he did. Again, Joseph was very interested
in the cross.”
Though word quickly spread about the encounter, Mike McGarry emphasized
that the archbishop gave the cross to Joseph quietly.
“He didn’t do it with fanfare,” McGarry said. “He wasn’t doing it in
front of anybody, just us.”
The group also included McGarry’s mother, Dolores, and brothers Dan and
Dave. Mike noted that the incident brought tears to his mother’s eyes.
Archbishop Flynn was traveling outside the United States and was
unavailable for comment.
Future in God’s hands
The story actually begins at an orphanage in Guatemala, where Joseph was
born Jan. 5. The McGarrys had been trying unsuccessfully to become
pregnant and chose to adopt.
“We chose Guatemala because you could get younger children and we wanted
an infant,” Tracy said.
“Mike’s cousins have adopted children from South American countries so
we thought it would be a good fit for our family,” she said.
Now, they will wait to see what becomes of Joseph’s encounter with
Archbishop Flynn and the gift of his pectoral cross.
“In terms of his long-term future, it’s in God’s hands,” Mike said. “We
think he has a plan for Joseph.”
In the meantime, the McGarrys hope to meet Archbishop Flynn again to
thank him for the cross. And, they plan to adopt another child from
Guatemala.
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