George Arthur Sheltz (April 20, 1946 – December 21, 2021) was an American prelate 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 ...

. Sheltz served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

in Texas from 2012 to 2021.

Biography

Early life

Sheltz was born April 20, 1946, in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

to George and Margaret Sheltz. He attended Annunciation Catholic School and St. Thomas High School, both in Houston. While in high school, Sheltz decided to enter the priesthood. After graduation, he entered St. Mary's Seminary and the

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

, graduating in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and a Master's in Theology.

Priesthood

On May 15, 1971, Sheltz was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Houston-Galveston by Bishop John Louis Morkovsky. After his ordination, Sheltz performed pastoral duties in five Houston parishes: Assumption, Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral; St. Vincent de Paul, Christ the Redeemer, and Prince of Peace. He also served at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in

Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands is primarily located in Montgomery County, with por ...

. While working in the parish, Sheltz also served as Dean of the San Jacinto Deanery and Episcopal Vicar of the Northern Vicariate. In 2000,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named Sheltz a

prelate of honor A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

, chancellor and

moderator of the curia Moderator of the curia is a top administrative position held by a Catholic priest in a diocese under the supervision of the bishop. The moderator coordinates the exercise of the administrative duties and oversees the office holders, or curia, in ...

for the Archdiocese.

Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston

On February 21, 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

appointed Sheltz as Titular Bishop of

Hirina Hirina (Hirena) was a city and bishopric in southern Tunisia, known only through ecclesiastical records, which became a Latin titular bishopric. Nothing is known of the city, the name of which may have been Hirina, Hiren or Iren., except that it ...

and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. He was installed and consecrated at the

Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart The Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is a place of worship located at 1111 St. Joseph Parkway in downtown Houston. The co-cathedral seats 1,820 people in its sanctuary. Together with the venerable St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Galveston, Sac ...

in Houston by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo on May 2, 2012. He served as Auxiliary Bishop until his retirement on June 22, 2021. In June 2019, an anonymous woman alleged in a letter to the Archdiocese that Sheltz had sexually abused her in 1971. The author threatened to make the charge public unless the transfer of her parish priest, Hai Dang, was reversed. The allegation was investigated by the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible ...

in Rome, which determined that they were totally baseless.

Personal life and death

Sheltz died on December 21, 2021, at the age of 75.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston Official Site

Episcopal succession

1946 births 2021 deaths

Bishops 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 ...

Clergy from Houston {{US-RC-bishop-stub