What Cardinal George teaches on leadership

In 1950, a young Chicago boy named Frannie dreamed of being a priest in his hometown. But that dream was shattered when he suffered serious physical setbacks thanks to a bout with polio at age 13.

“To heck with you guys,” Frannie said, and instead he joined a religious order, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He was ordained a priest in 1963 — providentially in his hometown, where he’d also be sent as archbishop in 1997. 

This is Cardinal Francis E. George, a model of discipleship and leadership, remembered as one of the most widely respected bishops in American history.

The lessons one can learn from Cardinal George’s life are many. But those who might aspire to his caliber of leadership might see that these three lessons he learned through suffering and disability among the most important:

Never feel sorry for yourself. After he was diagnosed with polio, George spent months in the hospital. During that time — what his sister called “a horrible time” — George suffered greatly. A family friend came to visit him and gave him some advice that resonated to his core: “You’ll be all right. Remember, there are people worse than you, so don’t ever feel sorry for yourself.” 

Years later, George recalled the great impact of those words: “For a 13-year-old kid to hear that, especially when I was feeling sorry for myself, didn’t know whether I could ever play ball again, didn’t know what I could do. … That assurance that the worst thing I could do is feel sorry for myself has stayed with me as the best advice I’ve ever heard.” 

He knew we can’t be lost in self-pity. Instead of letting the polio destroy him, he let it shape him. We are more than the product of our misfortunes, and Cardinal George embodied that.

Be humble. After his bout with polio, there was never a day when Cardinal George wasn’t in pain. In 1990, at his ordination as bishop of Yakima, WA, he talked about how he was prone to falls because of his physical limitations. 

“I get around fairly well,” he said, “but occasionally, two to three times a year, if the way is slippery or I’m not watching my step, I fall. So, if this happens when I’m visiting you, don’t get excited; just reach down and pick me up, and we’ll go on together.” 

After roaring applause, he went on to say that he was also worried that he would fail in other ways – that he’d fail to listen, or lack wisdom or understanding, or make a bad judgment. When this might happen, his instruction was the same: pick him up, and they would go on together. 

Cardinal George, a prince of the Catholic Church, had the humility to be honest about his limitations.

Have hope. Cardinal George was known for many great one-liners. But arguably one of his most famous quotes is often referred to as his “prophetic” statement about the future of the Church, summed up as: “I will die in my bed, my successor will die in jail, and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.” It’s an often-quoted statement that many people use to point out a downward trajectory of the Church. But what some fail to mention is the final part: “...his successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the Church has done so often in human history.” 

That last part, the part that ended his thought experiment, should keep one going despite anything that might happen.