'Great Tribute'

By CLAUDIA McDONNELL

As the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Terence Cooke celebrated Mass and spoke many times in St. Patrick's Cathedral. Twenty—five years to the day after his death on Oct. 6, 1983, hundreds came to the cathedral to celebrate his memory, to recall his goodness and to pray for the cause of his canonization, now under way in Rome.

Cardinal Egan was the celebrant and homilist at the anniversary Mass and called the large turnout "a great tribute" to the late cardinal.

In his homily he described Cardinal Cooke as unswervingly faithful to the Gospel and unfailingly compassionate toward others.

Cardinal Cooke, he said, had "intense love" for the Lord and for all people, especially those in need: "the child in the womb, the aged, the crippled, the mentally and emotionally afflicted, the homeless, the stranger, the laborer without a job, the unwed mother—in a word, the hurting and the unwanted."

"They were his brothers and sisters," he said.

He added, "I know that every one of you has a story to tell about Cardinal Cooke," and he proceeded to tell his own.

In 1974, he said, Cardinal Cooke came to the North American College in Rome for a monthlong study program on the changes and reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Then—Msgr. Egan, who was teaching in Rome, presented three lectures on matrimony, and thought they were "right on target." But another priest—lecturer told his audience that "Msgr. Egan had got it all wrong," the cardinal said.

At the close of the month, a reception took place at the North American College. Cardinal Egan said that when he walked in, Cardinal Cooke spotted him, walked over and said, "Eddie, I loved what you had to say about marriage."

"He knew that there was someone coming into the room who might be a bit uncomfortable," Cardinal Egan said, "and he spied him, and came over, and made him his neighbor, his brother."

The Cardinal Cooke Guild, which works for the canonization cause, awarded its annual Cardinal Cooke Medal to retired Adm. James D. Watkins of the U.S. Navy; Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A.; and Dolores Hope, widow of the comedian Bob Hope, who often traveled with her husband on his trips to entertain U.S. troops overseas.

The honorees were chosen in memory of Cardinal Cooke's pastoral care for the men and women in military service when he was the Military Vicar, before that apostolate became a separate archdiocese.

Cardinal Egan presented the medal to Watkins; to Auxiliary Bishop Richard B. Higgins of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A., who accepted for Archbishop Broglio; and to Father Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R., who accepted for Mrs. Hope.

Watkins, who was a friend of Cardinal Cooke's, told CNY that the cardinal had often passed by his command under the Pacific fleet on his way to visit troops in Asia.

"He was a wonderful, saintly man," Watkins said. "I always felt like I was walking in the presence of a saint." He called the Cardinal Cooke Medal "a very special honor for me," and noted that he was representing those serving in the military.

Attending the Mass was the guild's coordinator, Patricia Handal.

Concelebrants included retired Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington, D.C.; Cardinal William W. Baum, major penitentiary emeritus of the Apostolic Penitentiary; Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien of Baltimore; seven other bishops and more than 50 priests.

Cardinal McCarrick and Archbishop O'Brien, originally New York priests, served as secretary to Cardinal Cooke.

That evening, at an anniversary dinner on the 35th floor of Mutual of America headquarters on Park Avenue, Archbishop O'Brien presented the Cardinal Cooke Right to Life Award to Dr. Kevin Cahill, an international humanitarian who served as physician to Cardinal Cooke. Thomas Moran, president, chairman and CEO of Mutual of America, hosted the gathering.

Msgr. Joseph R. Giandurco, vice postulator of the canonization cause and pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Suffern, was a concelebrant of the Mass, delivered the Gospel reading and led the congregation in a prayer for the canonization of Cardinal Cooke.

He told CNY, "The cardinal's memory is very much alive, and his example still inspires so many people."

Among the Cooke family members at the Mass was Patricia Sica, the cardinal's niece.

"The Mass was absolutely beautiful," she told CNY. She added that Cardinal Cooke would have loved the presence of dozens of children who attended from Catholic schools in the archdiocese. Adriana Valdivia, an eighth—grader at St. Paul's in Yonkers, told CNY, "We definitely learned a lot more about the cardinal."

All present were invited to visit the crypt under the main altar where Cardinal Cooke's remains are interred. Also buried there are other archbishops of New York as well as Pierre Toussaint, the 19th—century Haitian New Yorker whose cause for canonization also is in Rome and who has been declared Venerable.

The Rev. Terrence Weber, a Lutheran pastor in Queens who has worked for years on the canonization cause, noted the large number of people, including young people, at the Mass.

"It's a testimony to the love and affection that people still have for Cardinal Cooke," he said, "even those who haven't met him."