The Second Vatican Council had this to say about bishops: “Bishops continue the work of Christ and act in his person . . . like the Good Shepherd who came to serve and lay down his life for his sheep.”

Archbishop, you have made those words come alive for us in a very special way over the past 11 years.

As our chief shepherd, you have graciously laid down your life and your time to lead and serve us. Your efforts have borne so much fruit, in our own parish, and throughout our growing archdiocese.

It is hard to believe all that has been accomplished under your leadership. At the parish level, we have expanded the school and refurbished all the buildings. We have added our new parish center and parking facilities.

At the time, some said we did not need them; most of us thought we could not afford them.

Now we wonder how we could ever get on without them.

This is also the story of the enormous expansion of the wider church throughout the archdiocese.

Your “Building the Church of Tomorrow” campaign challenged us to support the opening of many new schools, services and parishes in the face of an unprecedented increase in our Catholic population. It took your exceptional leadership to make all this happen. We are proud to have been a part of it with you.

Archbishop, we want to thank you for your precious years of faithful service as our chief shepherd.

We congratulate you on reaching this special milestone, and we wish you many happy years ahead in God’s service.

Tonight I present to you three gifts from your parish family as a token of our gratitude and esteem.

First, in token of your immense contribution to Catholic education we would like to establish the Archbishop Donoghue Scholarship Fund to Christ the King School with an initial check for $10,000. We hope it will continue to grow in the Cathedral Fund you helped us establish.

Second, in token of our appreciation for all you did to support our expansion efforts, we would like your permission to name our new parish center the Donoghue Center with this insignia over our main door.

Finally, we would like you to accept this check for your personal use. It comes with the congratulations and prayerful good wishes of our parish family on your retirement.