USD Magazine, Spring 1995

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L MAN AC

Putting His Hand to the Plow Father Larry Dolan '62 has made the priesthood his life's work, and that voca– tion has taken him to so many places that it would seem saying goodbye would be just another formality. But last sum– mer, when Father Dolan left the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation in Southern Arizona where he had ministered for several years, he found that saying farewell never gets any easier. "I took a month to go to all the differ– ent villages and say goodbye," he recalls. "It was very difficult to leave, but the Bible tells us we must put our hand to the plow and continue our work." Father Dolan's unswerving dedication to his work is one reason he was selected to receive the 1994 Bishop Charles Francis Buddy Award at the annual Alumni Mass on Dec. 8. This year's cer– emony was one of the very few at which the award - given out annually to an outstanding alumnus or alumna - was presented to the celebrant of the Mass. "They really pulled a fast one on me," laughs Father Dolan, who was asked to take time off from his new role as pastor of St. Simon and Jude Parish in Huntington Beach, Calif., and return to Founders Chapel to celebrate the Mass. "Being the main celebrant brought back a lot of memories," he adds.

Father Larry Dolan '62 (center) is greeted with applause as he is named the recipient of the 1994 Bishop Charles Francis Buddy Award.

Father Dolan has many memories from USO, dating from his years at the College for Men and his tenure as chap– lain and director of campus ministry for the school from 1974 to 1984. Those memories also include the most difficult challenge of his life - recovering from alcoholism. But even that experience was built into a positive force, as Father Dolan used the lessons learned in his own battle with alcohol to help the many Native Americans on the Tohono O'odham Reservation suffering from the same disease. At the Mass, Carol (Burke) Couture '57, last year's recipient of the award, recounted Dolan's experiences in Arizona, as well as his work as pastor of Resurrection Church in Escondido, Calif., from 1984 to 1987 and his deci– sion to join the Franciscan Order in 1987. "Father Dolan is a shining example of the values for which our university stands," Couture said. "His passion for the healing of others, his humility and open expression of his struggles, and his brilliant career in religious life have dis– tinguished him among his peers." Couture noted at the Mass that Father Dolan faces significantly different cha!-

lenges at St. Simon and Jude Parish, the largest in Orange County, than he did on the reservations of Arizona. Father Dolan heartily agrees. "It was a bit of a culture shock coming from dirt floors and villages to swimming pools and walled-in communities," he says. "The pace is much more hurried here, and the people are very involved in the church and with social justice issues." Father Dolan returns once a month to Arizona, where he is on the board of directors of the Franciscan Renewal Center. But he hasn't yet returned to the Tohono O'odham Reservation. "It's too hard to go back just yet," he says, "and I want to give the new priest there some room to start." Although Father Dolan has not yet returned to the reservation, chances are he will not be forgotten there soon. As his selection as the recipient of USD's Bishop Buddy award indicates, even when Father Dolan says goodbye, a part of him stays behind.

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