Emmanuel Boleslaus Ledvina (October 28, 1868 – December 15, 1952) 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 ...

. He served as bishop of the

Diocese of Corpus Christi The Diocese of Corpus Christi ( la, Dioecesis Corporis Christi) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southern Texas. It was founded on March 23, 1912, having been the Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville u ...

in Texas from 1921 to 1949.

Biography

Early life

Emmanuel Ledvina was born on October 28, 1868, in

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, to George Emmanuel and Mary (née Kiefer) Ledvina. His father was a native of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, and worked as an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and construction engineer. After attending

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

s in Evansville and

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, Emmanuel Ledvina returned to Indiana and entered St. Meinrad's College in 1883. Ledvina 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 the Diocese of Indianapolis by Bishop

Silas Chatard Silas Francis Marean Chatard (December 13, 1834 – September 7, 1918) was a Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Bishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Indianapolis in the United States. Life He was born Silas Francis Marean Cha ...

on March 18, 1893. Ledvina then served as a

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 Holy Trinity Parish in Evansville and afterwards at St. John's Pro-Cathedral in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. From 1895 to 1907, he was

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Joseph's Parish in

Princeton, Indiana Princeton is the largest city in and the county seat of Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana, Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana, Gibson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 8,301 at the 2020 United States Census, and it is pa ...

. Ledvina became vice-president and general secretary of the

Catholic Church Extension Society Catholic Extension (also known as the Catholic Church Extension Society) is a national fundraising 501(c)(3) organization which supports and strengthens poor mission dioceses across the United States. They provide funding and resources to diocese ...

in 1907. He was later named a domestic prelate in 1918, and an honorary

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the

Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe The Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe, officially called Insigne y Nacional Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe (in English: Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe) is a sanctuary of the Catholic Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary in her invo ...

in Mexico City in 1919.

Bishop of Corpus Christi

On April 30, 1921, Ledvina was appointed the second bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. 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 June 14, 1921, from Bishop

Joseph Chartrand Joseph Chartrand (May 11, 1870 – December 8, 1933) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the 6th Bishop of Indianapolis, serving from 1918 until his death in 1933. Biography Joseph Chartrand was born in St. Louis, Missouri, ...

, with Bishops Cornelius Van de Ven and Joseph Lynch serving as co-consecrators. He was installed at Corpus Christi on July 12, 1921. During his tenure, Ledvina increased the number of priests from 32 to 160, and erected over 50 churches, 53 mission

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s, and 47 rectories. He was named an

assistant at the pontifical throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Roman Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately belo ...

in 1931. He constructed Corpus Christi Cathedral in 1940, and a chancery office in 1947. He invited the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks of

Subiaco Abbey The Abbey of Saint Scholastica, also known as Subiaco Abbey (Italian: ''Abbazia di Santa Scolastica''), is located just outside the town of Subiaco in the Province of Rome, Region of Lazio, Italy; and is still an active Benedictine abbey, ter ...

to establish a community in the diocese and staff a new high school. He also became known for his efforts among

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

Catholics in South Texas and for his opposition to the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

. On March 15, 1949, Pope Pius XII accepted Ledvina's resignation as bishop of Corpus Christi for health reasons and appointed him as

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Pitanae''. Emmanuel Ledvina died on December 15, 1952, at age 84. He is buried in a

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

under the main

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

of Corpus Christi Cathedral.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledvina, Emmanuel Boleslaus 1868 births 1952 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States People from Corpus Christi, Texas People from Evansville, Indiana Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis Religious leaders from Indiana Catholics from Texas Catholics from Indiana