Bishop Wuerl says good-bye to Pittsburgh today, and Ann Rogers pens a farewell article:

Those are the same words others use to describe much of his ministry. Most attention focused on his most dramatic efforts: The reorganization that closed 39 churches, or the bold stand he took in 1993 to keep a child molester out of ministry after the Vatican’s highest court ordered him to reinstate the priest. Yet much of his ministry was accomplished with little fanfare.

He personally led converts into the church, among them Reid Carpenter, for decades an evangelical Protestant leader. Five years ago, Mr. Carpenter was drawn to Catholicism, and asked the bishop what to do.

The bishop invited him to his home for seven dinners over seven months.

"He said, ‘At the end of the seven dinners, if you decide not to become a Catholic, that will be fine. We will still be great friends. If you decide to do it, I’ll be there to welcome you,’ " Mr. Carpenter recalled.

"He was a teacher who … gave me a great deal of love and dignity and respect," said Mr. Carpenter, who is now Catholic.

(His installation as Archbishop of Washington, D.C. is June 22)