Reverend Monsignor Walter J. Donovan was born in Little Falls, New York, on April 14, 1916, and died on July 22, 2012, at the age of 96. His parents are the late John J. Donovan and Margaret Johnson Donovan. He attended the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester, N.Y., and was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church on July 1, 1944. He served the people of Georgia for the 68 years of his priesthood. He was appointed by Blessed Pope John Paul II as a Prelate of Honor with the title of Monsignor in 1994. Msgr. Donovan’s first pastoral assignment was the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah at a time when the Diocese of Savannah covered the entire state of Georgia. He also served at Blessed Sacrament Church in Savannah, Immaculate Conception Church in Dublin, St. Joseph Church in Athens, Blessed Sacrament Church in Atlanta, St. Thomas More Church in Decatur, and Good Shepherd Church in Cumming. His first assignment in Atlanta in 1948 was as pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Athens, where he served for 13 years. A pioneer for the Catholic Church in North Georgia, Msgr. Donovan said that he enjoyed his early days as a priest. “I found that you could discover Catholics in the most interesting places. In every little town there would be at least one or two Catholics,” he said in a 2004 Georgia Bulletin article. “It was interesting to be a part of the early growth of the church in Georgia.” In Dublin and later in Athens, his parishes covered 10 counties and he often went to rural areas to celebrate Mass for small groups of Catholics. In Athens, he established the first accredited Catholic elementary school in Georgia. His great service to that community over many years was recognized when the first Catholic high school in the Athens area was named The Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School. In Atlanta, Msgr. Donovan was the founding pastor of Blessed Sacrament parish, where he served for 11 years. He served as the executive director of Catholic Social Services of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc. from 1961-1962. Other appointments included serving on the Council on Latin-American Resettlement in 1962, Metropolitan School Board in 1962, chaplain for the Inter-Racial Council in 1962, Commission on Development in 1964, as president of the Archdiocesan Priests’ Senate from 1966 – 1968, and as Pro-Synodal Judge for the Metropolitan Tribunal in 1974. As part of his work in promoting racial integration, Msgr. Donovan participated in an interracial group of Catholics called the St. Martin’s Human Relations Council, which visited parishes “educating other Catholics” on issues involving civil rights. After his retirement in 1988, Msgr. Donovan resided at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in downtown Atlanta where he continued to perform many priestly duties for over 18 years. In 2006 he retired again, moving to St. George Village in Roswell. Msgr. Donovan was preceded in death by his sisters Anne Carswell, Helen M. Donovan, Elizabeth Wright, A. Rosalie Gossin and by his brothers John J. Donovan and Joseph P. Donovan. He is survived by nieces Eleanor Carswell, Mary Crandall, Anne Moller, Helen Abrams, Lois Cassillo, Margaret Kelly, Victoria Orr, Susan Knapp, Chrissy Putnam, and nephews Michael Gossin and F. William Gossin. Clergy and parishioners are invited to participate in the prayers at the reception of the body at 3:00 p.m. followed by the viewing and Vigil with a rosary at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 31, at All Saints Catholic Church located at 2443 Mount Vernon Road, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338 where the funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 1. The burial will take place at Arlington Cemetery in Sandy Springs at 12:30 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home, 760 Pollard Boulevard, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30315 or to Monsignor Walter J. Donovan High School, 590 Lavender Rd., Athens, GA 30606. Condolences may be sent to the family c/o Polly Callison, 2034 Dunwoody Club Way, Dunwoody, GA 30338.
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