Requiem For A Faithful Patriot
Bishop René Henry Gracida has died. We will miss him. Bishop Gracida was a stalwart defender of the faith and of the republic, and grateful to both. Of how many shepherds can we say the same today? Bishop Gracida and I met long ago, in the early 1980s. I realized quickly that he was a patriot as well as a prelate. At the time, the bishop, ordinary of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, had already become well known as an American hero. A New Orleans native, he served in the Army Air Forces in World War II, flying 32 combat missions in the European theatre. When we met, I was staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. My tasks involved frequent official visits to countries south of the border. State Department embassy officials who hosted me in various countries were often surprised when I requested the opportunity to visit the country’s Catholic bishops, not only in the capital but in the
