Archbishop John Francis Noll

No other prelate has had a greater impact or more lasting influence on the Catholic Church in America than Archbishop John Francis Noll. His ideas turned into action which flowed into reality. His works live on, continuing to explain the truth and bring the beauties of the Catholic faith to millions of Americans. Although as Archbishop he held an important and dignified position among the clergy, to those who knew and loved him he remained simply “the Bish,” a good shepherd of his flock. Warm, witty, and personable, he was a humble priest with a strong and simple faith and a generous heart, serving his people and the American Catholic Church for fifty eight years. 

A man ahead of his time, long before Vatican II John Noll understood, appreciated, and encouraged the work of the laity in Catholic action. A peacemaker at heart, without in any way compromising his high standards or the tenets of the Catholic faith, he brought the country to the realization that it was possible to be both Catholic and American. During his lifetime, there was a great deal of prejudice against Catholics, and Noll was in the forefront of defense of the Church. Today, his spirit lives on in Our Sunday Visitor and in those who strive to educate in defense of the Church and Christian values in society. 

Noll’s life spanned one of the most tumultuous periods of American Catholic history, from the era of Pope Pius IX and the First Vatican Council to the threshold of change inspired by Vatican Council II. He lived during a period of unprecedented expansion and immigration in this country, when the American Church was growing exponentially. Catholics in America needed a sense of identity, a sense of self confidence and pride. Noll began to organize and educate an emerging Catholic laity. His was the first national Catholic paper, and it signaled the effort to unite American Catholics, bridging the regionalism and ethnic diversity with a corporate identity. A great churchman, Noll was always concerned with the welfare not only of his own diocese, but of the church at large. 

If you are not familiar with this great Catholic founder, visionary, and defender of the faith, you can read more about him in Ann Carey’s article at http://www.osv.com/mission/biography.asp.

If, on the other hand, you have a personal story about Noll you would like to share, we’d love to hear it. Please email noll@osv.com.

Maybe you can help Ann with her “detective work” on this book! 

One of the projects Noll was involved in was the seventeen foot statue known as Christ, the Light of the World, which stands today in front of the new USCCB building in Washington, D.C. This statue represented the fight against atheistic communism, but also stands as a reminder to our politicians of the stated values on which America had originally been founded: “in God we trust” and “One nation, under God,” both mottos that Noll greatly supported.

Noll commissioned the Austro-Hungarian sculptor Eugene Kormendi, a refugee and a professor in the art department of Notre Dame, to sculpt the bronze image of Christ. The same sculptor created this life size statue of Noll himself. We have this photo of the sculpture (below), but don’t know where it is. Have you seen it? If so, please email Ann.