Norman Francis McFarland (February 21, 1922 – April 16, 2010) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Orange in California from 1987 until 1998. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco in California from 1970 to 1976 and as bishop of the new Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas in Nevada from 1976 to 1987.

Biography

Early life

Norman McFarland was born on February 21, 1922, in Martinez, California, as the third oldest son of Francis and Agnes (Kotchevar) McFarland. He went to public schools and later attended Saint Joseph Seminary in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...

. McFarland earned his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1943 at Saint Patrick Major Seminary in Menlo Park, California. McFarland was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood on June 15, 1946, by Archbishop John J. Mitty for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.In 1946, McFarland was serving as an associate pastor at St. Andrew's Parish in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, when he was selected by Archbishop Mitty to attend the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

in Washington, D.C. McFarland earned a

Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

degree and returned to the archdiocese. McFarland served in several archdiocesan positions, including as a marriage tribunal official and a professor at

Lone Mountain College Lone Mountain College was a college acquired by the University of San Francisco (USF) in 1978. History It was built and founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart as Sacred Heart Academy in Menlo Park, California, in 1898. The school became ...

in Menlo Park, California.

Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco

McFarland was appointed by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Bida'' on June 5, 1970. He was consecrated on September 5, 1970, by Archbishop Joseph McGucken. His principal co-consecrators were Bishops Hugh Donohoe and Merlin Guilfoyle. McFarland was appointed as the vicar for finance, vicar for seminarians, and pastor in residence at Old Mission Dolores in San Francisco On December 6, 1974, McFarland was appointed as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Reno by Paul VI upon the resignation of Bishop Michael Green. As the administrator, McFarland was in charge of finances for all of Nevada and is credited with covering "its debt by spending eight days on the phone asking bishops around the country for grants and low-interest loans."

Bishop of Reno

Paul VI appointed McFarland as bishop of the new Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas on February 10, 1976. McFarland expanded the funding for

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...

Bishop of Orange

McFarland was appointed as bishop of the Diocese of Orange by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on December 29, 1986, after the death of Bishop William Johnson. McFarland was installed as its bishop on February 24, 1987. In 1995, after hearing McFarland's

homily A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

at the Red Mass for

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, several Orange County

Bar Association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separ ...

member lawyers formed the

St. Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord H ...

Society of Orange County.

Retirement and legacy

Prior to his 76th birthday in 1998, McFarland submitted his resignation which was accepted by Pope John Paul II on June 30, 1998. In 2003, McFarland was inducted to the Ring of Honor of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. McFarland was recognized during the annual spring Ring of Honor and Founders Circle Dinner for his contributions towards their community. Norman McFarland suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

and died in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...

, on April 16, 2010. His Mass of the Resurrection was held at the Holy Family Cathedral in

, on April 23, 2010.

Episcopal succession

McFarland's direct

Apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...

is delineated from Cardinal

Scipione Rebiba Scipione Rebiba (3 February 1504 – 23 July 1577) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a protégé of Gian Pietro Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV. He held a variety of positions in the Church hierarchy, including some of the most sen ...

. Over 91% of the world's more than 4,000 Catholic bishops alive today trace their episcopal lineage back to Rebiba.

Sources

''The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange'' www.rcbo.org Retrieved: 2010-04-20.

''The Most Reverend Norman Francis McFarland, D.D., J.C.D.'' www.rcbo.org Retrieved: 2010-04-20.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarland, Norman Francis 1922 births 2010 deaths Saint Patrick's Seminary and University alumni Catholic University of America alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Reno-Las Vegas 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States People from Martinez, California University of San Francisco alumni Catholics from California