THE
P RTAL
May 2019
Page 7
EXCLUSIVE
The Papal Nuncio
His Excellency Archbishop Edward Adams
I came to
London on 24 May 2017. In the past, I had passed through
London while going to and from to other assignments that I have had in the
service of the Holy See, but then it was only a question of spending a few hours
in Heathrow Airport.
The last time that I had been here for any length of
time was when I came to Great Britain in 1972. As
a tourist, I left the USA for the first time and visited
London, Oxford, Birmingham and Canterbury in
Kent.
My coming back to London, after forty-six years,
has been a gift. I remember the London I saw during
my first visit, and it is a pleasure to see it again. I have
now been able to appreciate some new things that have
appeared on the London landscape since then, and I
continue to be delighted at the old and the new.
My parents are natives of Philadelphia but, like many
families in the USA, have a mixed ancestry. Mine has
Irish and German elements. My grandparents, all from
Philadelphia, were both Catholic and Protestant.
not within a particular
diocese of a given
country but in a wider
context. He carries out
his mission in whatever country he finds himself,
extending in some way the presence of the Pope.
The Pope himself has this mission; he is a bishop
for the world. His mission is not to propagate some
religious ideology or propose some kind of ethics. His
concern, and that of his representatives, is to facilitate
an encounter with God.
I have been in the external service of the Holy See
since 1976: for the first twenty years, I acted in a
subordinate capacity in various Nunciatures: in Africa,
in Latin America and in Europe. It was in 1996 that
I began my service as Head of Mission, that is, as an
Apostolic Nuncio, a Papal Representative.
My maternal grandmother was a Lutheran who
became Catholic on her marriage to a Catholic, while
My first mission in that role was in Bangladesh, where
my paternal grandfather was a Philadelphia Quaker
who became a Catholic on his marriage to a Catholic. I served for six years; thereafter, I was transferred to
Zimbabwe, for five years; to the Philippines, for three
I am the first Catholic priest in the Adams family.
and a half years; to Greece, for six years; and. since
My parents, as second generation Catholics, were May of 2017, to Great Britain.
close to the Church, had a sense of God and His
presence and raised their children in that atmosphere.
Forms of words for Making a Bequest
Both my brother and I attended Catholic schools. I
in favour of the Personal Ordinariate
can say that through my family, and through the good
of Our Lady of Walsingham in your Will
example I received from the nuns and the Jesuits who
I GIVE to the Ordinariate of Our Lady
educated me, my religious faith was deepened. I was
of
Walsingham, 24 Golden Square, London
eventually brought to the point of hearing a call to
W1F 9JR, the sum of ______ pounds (£
) and
serve as a priest and, later, as a bishop.
I DIRECT that the receipt of the Treasurer or other
proper officer of the Personal Ordinariate of Our
As you know, every Papal representative is also a
Lady of Walsingham shall be good and sufficient
priest, and many are bishops. The priest’s and bishop’s
discharge to my Executor.
or
life is one lived with God. His existence is to be in the
I GIVE the residue of my estate to the
company of God and to participate in, and to facilitate,
Ordinariate
of
Our
Lady
of
the great conversation, the great dialogue of truth and
Walsingham,
24
Golden
Square,
London
W1F
love that takes place between God and His creatures.
9JR, and I DIRECT that the receipt of the Treasurer
or other proper officer of the Personal Ordinariate
As priest and bishop, the papal representative has
of Our Lady of Walsingham shall be good and
this mission of truth and love. But his efforts are done
sufficient discharge to my Executor.