Ironman RIP

Having been in hospice these last several weeks, the Premier See has announced the death of Archbishop William Borders at 96.

The 12th successor of John Carroll at the helm of the Baltimore church, which he led from 1974-89, the Indiana-born, Louisiana-bred prelate -- a particular favorite of the local crowd -- slipped away peacefully at 10.03 this morning.

A Bronze Star-winning Army chaplain during World War II, Borders kept a hard-charging pace even into recent months, and his grit through the years won frequent comparisons to Charm City's other Ironman -- Orioles' legend Cal Ripken, holder of baseball's record for consecutive games played (2,632). Before his promotion to the nation's mother-church, Borders was ordained the founding bishop of Orlando in 1968 -- a circumstance that, given the new diocese's boast of Cape Canaveral within its bounds, led the new prelate to dub himself the "Bishop of the Moon." (The Orlando church's best-known attraction -- Walt Disney World -- opened in 1971.)

Funeral plans remain pending, but it is known that Borders wished to be interred at the "New Cathedral" of Mary our Queen. More as it comes in.

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