While giving Nazareth’s 2010 baccalaureate address, Msgr. Shannon called for graduates to focus on justice, honesty, equality, and peace as they committed “to live not just for oneself but for others” and “to be in touch with the authentic moments of the human spirit.” We are at “the crossroads of human culture,” he continued, and should cultivate “a world that ensures for everyone a place at the table.” This was a steady message, one that even now reminds his friends and former students of the inclusive vision of Vatican II and Shannon’s own willingness to talk openly about the many issues facing us today, including issues central to women’s lives. “It was quite a breath of fresh air to hear him be so supportive of women and women’s causes,” says Karen Larimer ’66, former director of alumni relations at Nazareth. “He allowed us—and encouraged us—to examine our beliefs. I don’t know that most of us felt like we had that liberty. We felt empowered.” Elizabeth Osta ’67, who lives in Pittsford, N.Y., vividly remembers listening to Shannon’s proclamation in one of her freshman classes that the church, which had been teaching a theology of “damnation,” would instead be teaching a theology of “salvation.” “What a refreshing statement to the ears of an 18-year-old, grappling with the church and her place in it,” recalls Osta, who considered Shannon “a beacon of light and hope.” Jamie Fazio ’97, Catholic chaplain in Nazareth’s Center for Spirituality, always enjoyed watching former students flock around Shannon when he was on campus to celebrate Mass during alumni reunions. “Some he hadn’t seen in years, but he remembered their names,” he says. “It was like the years just melted away.” After Fazio became Catholic chaplain, he welcomed people to the Sunday liturgy by acknowledging Msgr. Shannon’s reputation and confessed that he didn’t take the position lightly. Afterward, an alumnus approached Fazio as he was shaking hands outside the chapel and said, “If you want to be a good chaplain, do what Father Shannon did. He loved us.” “Someone can be intellectually brilliant but not be able to connect with people, and he was able Msgr. Shannon delivering a Baccalaureate address in 1982. to do both,” Fazio says.
Msgr. Shannon greeting a well-wisher at his 90th birthday celebration.
“He inspired and challenged and loved all at the same time, making anyone he was with feel like the most important person in the world.” Barbara Staropoli, S.S.J., who met Shannon in 1971 when she was assigned to help the then-chaplain develop a successful campus ministry, agrees. They worked together in that partnership for about five years and always remained close. “In his friendship with me, he really showed me my own potential,” she says. “He took me seriously, and helped me to see that I had a very good mind.” In retirement, Msgr. Shannon continued to contribute frequently to national Catholic magazines and journals, as well as lecture at conferences in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. He continued to serve as chaplain for the Sisters of St. Joseph and to live at their Motherhouse. In fact, he was quick to say that he himself was a Sister of St. Joseph. From presiding over the weddings of former students—and the baptisms of their children—to his continued literary contributions (his final book was the self-published How to Become a Christian Even if You Already Are One), Msgr. Shannon left a legacy that reaches far beyond Nazareth’s campus. “He had great dreams, and his dreams became realities,” muses Bochen, who knew Shannon for 44 years and organizes the College’s annual Shannon Chair Lecture Series. “He was always a man of vision, wisdom, and deep faith, and through his personal growth modeled what it means to be human.” Donations in Msgr. Shannon’s memory can be made to the William H. Shannon Endowed Scholarship, Nazareth College, 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618 or online at www.naz. edu/makeagift. Msgr. Shannon’s funeral homily, delivered by Rev. Charles E. Curran, Elizabeth Scurlock University Professor of Human Values at Southern Methodist University, can be found at go.naz.edu/shannon-homily. Robin L. Flanigan is a freelance writer in Rochester, New York.
www.naz.edu
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