Charles Herman Helmsing (March 23, 1908 – December 20, 1993) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

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 ...

who served as

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 Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph in Missouri (1962–1977).

Biography

Early life

Helmsing was born on March 23, 1908, to George and Louisa Helmsing. He entered St. Louis Preparatory Seminary and then went on to Kenrick-Glennon Seminary before being ordained a priest for the

Archdiocese of St. Louis The Archdiocese of St. Louis ( la, Archidiœcesis Sancti Ludovici) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the City of St. Louis and the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perr ...

on June 10, 1933. He became a papal chamberlain (

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

) on February 15, 1946.

Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Louis

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

appointed Helmsing as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis and titular bishop of Axomis on March 17, 1949. On April 19, 1949, Helmsing was consecrated by Cardinal

Joseph Ritter Joseph Elmer Ritter (July 20, 1892 – June 10, 1967) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in Missouri from 1946 until his death in 1967, and was created a cardinal in 19 ...

. He took a marked interest in the propagation of the faith, the instruction of converts, the work of the

Legion of Mary The Legion of Mary ( la, Legio Mariae, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve it on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and civi ...

, as well as both foreign and home missions. He worked as secretary and master of ceremonies for Cardinal Ritter and took on a number of other positions, including director of the Diocesan

Society for the Propagation of the Faith The Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Latin: ''Propagandum Fidei'') is an international association coordinating assistance for Catholic missionary priests, brothers, and nuns in mission areas. The society was founded in Lyon, France, in ...

Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau

On August 24,1956, when Pius XII divided Missouri into four dioceses, he appointed Helmsing as the first

of the Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau. He was installed as bishop there on November 28, 1956.

Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

appointed Helmsing as bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph on January 31, 1962. In his installation

homily A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

on April 3, 1962, Helmsing explained his motto:

"In the sacrifice of the Cross, Christ our Lord identified Himself with the Old Testament servant of Yahweh, the slave of Almighty God, foretold by the prophets. It was this realization that impelled me to take as the motto of my life and work as a Bishop, the inspired words of the 115th Psalm, ''Servus tuus, filius anciliae (''“O Lord, I am Thy slave and the son of Thy handmaid”). It is in this spirit that I come to you with humble determination aided by our Lord’s grace to imitate Him as the slave of the Lord Who became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross; and also in imitation of His Mother, Mary, who when the greatest possible task was given to her of mothering the Son of God, referred to herself “Behold the slave-girl of the Lord”.

Helmsing attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

in Rome with future Cardinal)

William Wakefield Baum William Wakefield Baum (November 21, 1926 – July 23, 2015) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in Missouri (1970–1973) and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Wa ...

as a

peritus ''Peritus'' (Latin for "expert") is the title given to Roman Catholic theologians attending an ecumenical council to give advice. At the Second Vatican Council, some ''periti'' (the plural form) accompanied individual bishops or groups of bisho ...

(expert). During the initial debate on the schema for liturgy (''De Sacra Liturgia''), a note is made of Helmsing's intervention on point no. 39 on the importance of the

in the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. Mathijis Lamberigts notes that Helmsing argued that the homily ought to be systematic and

theologically Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

well founded. Helmsing took part in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council and was most influential in the composition of the Decree on Ecumenism (''Unitatis Redintegratio''). Helmsing returned to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, where he supported

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

and brought home the documents of the

and was responsible for implementing them in the diocese. In November 1963, Helmsing was elected to the Vatican

Secretariat for Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965. Po ...

, which worked under Cardinal Bea to collect statements to the secretariat concerning the schema. The result was 1,063 pages published in six volumes. This helped to prepare revisions to the schema which were returned to council fathers. In 1968 the ''

National Catholic Reporter The ''National Catholic Reporter'' (''NCR'') is a progressive national newspaper in the United States that reports on issues related to the Catholic Church. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, ''NCR'' was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964. Hoyt want ...

'' (NCR) was officially condemned by Helmsing for "their policy of crusading against the Church's teachings".1968 condemnation of NCR
greenspun.com; accessed September 24, 2017. When the paper was founded, Bishop provided diocesan office space and funds until the paper was able to move to the building where it continues to this day. In the late 1960s, Helmsing objected most specifically to the paper's strong stands on

artificial birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

, priestly celibacy and criticism of the hierarchy, citing an imbalance in news coverage. Sixty-six Catholic journalists signed a petition supporting ''NCR''.

Retirement and legacy

On June 27, 1977, Pope Paul VI accepted Helmsing's resignation as bishop. Charles Helmsing died in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, on December 20, 1993, aged 85. In the fall of 2006, Bishop Robert W. Finn named a new adult faith formation initiative in the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph after Helmsing. The Bishop Helmsing Institute offers a three-year faith formation program for lay people and has four full-time instructors.

References

External links

Bishop Helmsing Institute
''Unitatis Redintegratio'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Helmsing, Charles Herman 1908 births 1993 deaths People from St. Louis County, Missouri 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Kenrick–Glennon Seminary alumni Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis Roman Catholic bishops of Springfield–Cape Girardeau Roman Catholic bishops of Kansas City–Saint Joseph People from Kansas City, Missouri Participants in the Second Vatican Council Place of death missing