The Pontifical College Josephinum bestowed its two highest honors on a member of the clergy and laity during the annual Good Shepherd Dinner held Monday, April 20.
Msgr. Frank Lane, a retired priest of the diocese, received the Good Shepherd Award.
The award is presented to a member of the clergy who exemplifies qualities of the Good Shepherd in his life and ministry. It recognizes the honoree’s promotion of vocations and support for the Josephinum and its seminarians.
Bill Burleigh, of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, received the Pope Leo XIII Award. Named for the Pope who granted pontifical status to the Josephinum in 1892, the award recognizes support of priestly vocations and the seminary.
The faithful men were honored during the Josephinum’s signature fundraising event, The Good Shepherd Dinner, which raises funds essential to furthering the seminary’s mission to form holy, generous, adaptable and resilient priests for the 21st century.
Bishop Earl K. Fernandes introduced Msgr. Lane.
“He is the man who maintains himself physically, spiritually and intellectually through the years and has truly become a great friend and companion, not only to me, but to many priests,” the bishop said.
“What is great about him is his commitment to the priesthood and to the holy people of God. He will sacrifice his time; he will sacrifice his energy, if people could really have faith.”
Bishop Fernandes subsequently announced that the Holy Father awarded Msgr. Lane the Cross Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice (Cross for the Church and Pontiff).
Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States and chancellor at the Josephinum, vested Msgr. Lane with the medal. A gold Greek cross with images of the Apostles Ss. Peter and Paul suspends from a ribbon, half yellow and half white, the colors of the Holy See.
The Cross Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice is the highest award bestowed on laypersons and clergy who have served the Church. The papal award was founded by Pope Leo XIII in 1888.
Msgr. Lane, who will celebrate the 60th anniversary of his priestly ordination next year, served as pastor at several diocesan parishes and on various boards and committees. He has led retreats for priests and seminarians nationwide.
“I feel very, very privileged to be able to say, to the gathered friends and supporters of the Josephinum and all of the people here that I have known over the years, I’d like to thank you for the support you’ve given me,” he said.
“I’d like to thank you for the understanding and the patience that you’ve had with me. It has not always been a glide to perfection. It’s been a long way from that, but it’s like every human life, it’s a drama and an adventure.”
The seasoned priest spent several years on Josephinum faculty beginning in 1992, serving as vice rector, academic dean, director of recruitment and a member of the Board of Trustees.
He continued his service into retirement as a spiritual director at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology in Cincinnati and as an administrator at parishes in the Columbus diocese.
As a military chaplain he earned two Army Commendation Medals. In 1996, he was invested into the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre – the only lay institution of the Vatican State – which provides for the needs of and activities and initiatives supporting the Christian presence in the Holy Land.
In his remarks, Msgr. Lane addressed the future generation of priests, speaking directly to seminarians present. He offered wisdom from his nearly six decades in the priestly vocation.
“The first thing is self-care – I don’t agree with that,” he said. “The first thing is care for the Other and then the care for others.
“You all have survival instincts. You’ll survive; but you don’t necessarily have the instinct to give everything you have to the Lord and to the people around you, and I think that’s really the great gift of the priesthood.”
Sister Anne Catherine Burleigh, OP (Order of Preachers) introduced the recipient of the Pope Leo XIII Award, her father. Vicaress general for the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee, Sister Anne Catherine serves on the Josephinum’s Board of Trustees.
“What I have always noticed about my dad is the marked way in which he pays attention to people and really listens to them. He usually doesn’t lecture or give advice unless asked, but that advice will always be sound and prudent,” she said.
“In my dad’s room is a well-worn breviary and a rosary he inherited from his own dad that he and Mom pray every day. This image encapsulates Bill Burley: faithful to God, faithful to family, faithful to all that has been asked of him.”
Receiving the award, Burleigh pondered the name “Leo,” which is shared by the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV; the award’s namesake Pope Leo XIII; and his uncle, named for the earlier pope.
“I’m humbled, honored and truly deeply moved. As I reflected on this evening and the name attached to the award that I’m receiving, I’ve come to realize what a serendipitous moment it means to me personally,” he said.
“It became ever clearer as I grew into adulthood how much I had profited from the pope named Leo.”
Burleigh spent 56 years at The E.W. Scripps Company, an American broadcasting company founded in 1878, holding the roles of president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board.
The seasoned journalist served as director of the Associated Press, chairman of the American Press Institute, president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors Foundation and as a Pulitzer Prize juror. He chaired the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington from 2005 to 2022.
A father, grandfather and husband of 61 years, Burleigh also serves as a knight in the Church’s Order of Malta and as a member of the Knights of Columbus and Dominican Lay Fraternity. He received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross for his distinguished service to the Church in 2020.
Burleigh expressed gratitude to three men he deemed “good shepherds”: Cardinal Pierre, Bishop Fernandes and Msgr. Steven Beseau, the Josephinum’s rector and president.
Cardinal Pierre announced during the Good Shepherd Dinner that Beseau was named a monsignor by Pope Leo XIV.
An official letter from the Holy Father granted a request to bestow upon Father Beseau the ecclesiastical title “chaplain of His Holiness.” The monsignor designation recognizes long and dedicated service to the Church and its people.
Cardinal Pierre commended the rector and president for his leadership of the Josephinum, a role he has held since 2019.
The cardinal, who has served as apostolic nuncio to the United States since April 2016, is set to retire in May. Pope Leo XVI announced the appointment of Italian Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia as his successor. The archbishop will also assume the role of chancellor at the Josephinum.
