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 Father Bernard Harding was born February 15, 1921 in Washington, D.C, graduated from Eastern High School in Washington, DC in 1939. He held an M.S. in Secondary Education from Catholic University and began his novitiate in 1940 at the St. John DeMatha Monastery in Hyattsville, Maryland. He took Simple Vows on September 10, 1941 and Solemn Vows on September 10, 1944 at St. John DeMatha Monastery. His ordination to the Priesthood took place on June 10, 1947 at the National Shrine in Washington, DC. Father Harding was the Pastor of St. Lawrence Martyr Church 1978 – 1990. During Father Bernard's tenure as Pastor of St. Lawrence Martyr Church he appointed the first paid Coordinator of Religious Education for the parish, was instrumental in moving the Parish Rectory and office to its current modern building on Clark Road, purchased the special protective lexan coverings which preserve the fragile opalescent glass windows of the church, gave permission for the first set of U.S. and Papal flags to adorn the altar, brought in the first computer to assist in parish administrative and accounting operations, and laid the fiscal groundwork (with the first annual budget surpluses) for the remodeling of the church building in the early 90's. Father Bernard put great emphasis on the strengthening of the Pastoral Advisory Council and in making it a vibrant force in parish spiritual and temporal activities. Father Bernard celebrated his 50th anniversary as a Trinitarian Friar June 1st 1997 at a luncheon hosted at the Pikesville Monastery by the Our Lady's Guild of St. Lawrence Martyr Church. He passed away on September 13, 1997 after a long illness and is buried on the grounds of the Monastery.
In 1998, a Knights of Columbus Council was formed at St. Lawrence Martyr. Long time Knight and parish leader, Colonel Tony Naples, suggested Father Harding's name as the honorific title of the council. The charter was granted on March 19, 1998. |
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