Listen to Him

A column by the Most Rev. Ronald M. Gilmore

Bishop of Dodge City

The last time I saw Archbishop Naumann, he carried a plastic bag from beyond the grave. Before he died, Bishop Forst, the second bishop of Dodge City, had asked him to give us these things:

There is a gremial, an apron-like piece of cloth for the bishop to use when he anoints a person or an altar. Bishop Forst delighted in these obscure Episcopal trappings.

On the gremial there is his coat of arms, hand-painted and framed for him. I am told it was always on his office wall. Every day the phrase he chose to summarize his life as a bishop met his eyes: In Deo Confido, in God I trust.

There is a pectoral cross on a green cord, worn and frayed. It reminded him that his life as a bishop was always to be his personal way of the cross.

There is a gold ring from the Second Vatican Council, given by Pope Paul VI to each participating bishop. Bishop Forst had all this information engraved on the ring. It was a precious reminder to him of the Council experience. He always told me that the Diocese of Dodge City made that experience possible for him, and that he wanted the Diocese to have the ring.

There are his original diaries from that Council (from which he produced a book of his memories of the Council a few years ago). They are small, compact, carefully typed on a borrowed typewriter. He is his idiosyncratic self in these pages, taking us into the rhythm of the Council and casting a Forstian eye on the people and the places of those years.

Bishop Forst played a significant part in the unfolding of the post-conciliar church in southwest Kansas. We were fortunate to have had him. We are fortunate to have these things to remind us of him. Requiescat in pace.

+ Most Rev. Ronald M. Gilmore

Bishop of Dodge City

La última vez que vi al Arzobispo Naummann, traía una bolsa de plástico de más allá de la tumba. Antes de morir, el Obispo Forst, bispo bispo de Dodge City, le había pedido que nos diera esas cosas.

Hay un gremial, una pieza de tela, como un delantal, que el bispo usa cuando unge a una persona, o un altar. El bispo Forst se deleitaba con ese tipo de oscuros utensilios episcopales.

Sobre el gremial hay un escudo de armas, pintado a mano, y enmarcado para él. Me han dicho que estaba siempre en la pared de su oficina. La frase que él escogió para compendiar su vida como bispo la tenía ante sus ojos todos los días: In Deo bispo, en Dios confío.

Hay una cruz pectoral con un bispo verde, usado y desgastado. Le recordaba que su vida como bispo iba a ser siempre su viacrucis personal.

Hay un anillo de oro del Concilio Vaticano Segundo, dado por el Papa Paulo VI a cada uno de los obispos participantes. El bispo Forst tenía toda esta información grabada en el interior del anillo. Fue un maravilloso recuerdo para él de su experiencia del Concilio. Siempre me dijo que la Diócesis de Dodge City lo había hecho bispoe para él, y que deseaba que la Diócesis conservara el anillo.

Están sus diarios originales de ese Concilio (de los que sacó su libro de recuerdos sobre el Concilio hace varios años). Son pequeños, compactos, cuidadosamente escritos en una máquina prestada. En ellos bisp su auténtico y propio yo; nos pone en la tónica del Concilio, y nos permite echar un vistazo Forsiano a las personas y lugares de esos años.

El bispo Forst desempeñó una parte significativa en el desenvolvimiento de la iglesia post-conciliar en el sudoeste de Kansas. Fuimos afortunados de tenerlo. Somos afortunados al tener estas cosas que nos lo recuerdan. Requiescat in pace.

+ Obispo Ronald M. Gilmore