Bernard Jacques Ganter (July 17, 1928 – October 9, 1993) was an American clergyman of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa in Oklahoma from 1973 to 1977 and bishop of the Diocese of Beaumont in Texas from 1977 to 1993.

Biography

Early life

Bernard Ganter was born on July 17, 1928, in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, to Bernard and Marie (née Bozka) Ganter. He studied engineering at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

for one year before transferring to St. Mary's Seminary in

La Porte, Texas La Porte ( ) is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, within the Bay Area of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 35,124. La Porte is the fourth-largest incorporated c ...

, to study for the priesthood.

Priesthood

Ganter 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 for what was then the

Diocese of Galveston In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

by Bishop Wendelin Nold on May 22, 1952.After his ordination, Ganter went to Washington D.C. 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. ...

, where he obtained 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 in 1955. After returning to Texas, Ganter was appointed as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at Sacred Heart Parish in Conroe and private secretary to Bishop Nold. In 1958, he left his position as secretary to serve as head of the diocesan tribunal. Ganter moved in 1966 to the role

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the diocese and diocesan consultor. The Vatican named him a

papal chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

in 1964, and he was elected to the presbyterate council the same year.

Bishop of Tulsa

On December 13, 1972, Ganter was appointed as the first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the newly erected Diocese of Tulsa 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 ...

. He received his episcopal

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on February 2, 1973, from Archbishop Luigi Raimondi, with Bishops Nold and John Morkovsky serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Beaumont

Paul VI named Ganter as the third bishop of the Diocese of Beaumont on October 18, 1977. He was installed on December 13, 1977 As bishop, Ganter established five new

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

, including the first

Vietnamese-language Vietnamese ( vi, tiếng Việt, links=no) is an Austroasiatic language originating from Vietnam where it is the national and official language. Vietnamese is spoken natively by over 70 million people, several times as many as the rest of the Au ...

parish in the United States. He started the permanent

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and ordained 36 men between 1979 and 1992. He also established a

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 spi ...

office, a diocesan financial board, a retreat center, and a

biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

school for adults. Ganter was a board member of Immaculate Conception Seminary in Conception, Missouri, St. Gregory College in

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma Cit ...

, the Catholic University of America, and St. Joseph Seminary in

Covington, Louisiana Covington is a city in, and the parish seat of, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,564 at the 2020 United States census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River. Covington is part o ...

Death and legacy

Bernard Ganter died on October 9, 1993 from a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

at age 65. He is buried in the Bishop's Garden next to St. Anthony Cathedral. In 1991, Ganter received a letter accusing a diocesan priest, Frank Paduch, of inappropriate conduct with minors at

Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School is a private, parochial High School located in Beaumont, Texas. It is a member of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont. A majority of students at Kelly come from various grade schools within the Diocese of ...

in Beaumont. Ganter passed the letter to the school principal who spoke with Paduch. Ganter did not notify police or suspend Paduch. In 1996, the parents of one boy said that Paduch served him alcohol and was abusive to him. Paduch was forced to resign from the high school faculty.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganter, Bernard J. 1928 births 1993 deaths Texas A&M University alumni Catholic University of America alumni People from Galveston, Texas Roman Catholic bishops of Tulsa 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Texas