A Note from Laura: March 17th, 2023

Frank Griswold influenced generations of priests. There is a smaller circle of us who can add that we might not have been ordained had it not been for him.

“Sometimes a longshot can be an invitation,” he said to me when I reached out asking if he might consider becoming my spiritual director eight years or so ago. His support, wisdom, and love became pivotal in my decision to continue to pursue ordination.

We met several times a year over the years and he was one of my presenters when I was ordained at St. Martin’s on December 13th, 2019, months before the pandemic brought life as we knew it to a halt.

Frank has always reminded me of Archbishop Desmond Tutu because Frank’s faith was always alive with joy—a deep and abiding joy. Frank’s achievements are stunning, his intellect powerful, his compassion, boundless, and his love of Christ, luminous.

We last met in January. I knew Frank had been sick. He’d either been to the doctor the day before or was going later the next.

As our conversation was ending, I asked Frank if he was worried and he assured me that he was not. “I feel I have a few good years left in me,” he said.

“When you look back, was there a favorite time in all your years as a priest?” I asked.
“No,” he said, “I loved every minute of it.”
“Do you ever think about what your legacy will be?”
He laughed with that sparkle in his eyes. “I think that’s for others to decide.”
And then we said goodbye. It would turn out to be for the last time.