George Leo Leech (May 21, 1890 – March 12, 1985) 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 Harrisburg,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, from 1935 to 1971.

Biography

Early life

George Leech was born on May 21, 1890, in

Ashley, Pennsylvania Ashley is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, one mile (2 km) from Wilkes Barre. The population was 2,588 at the 2020 census. History Ashley was first settled in 1830. Forty years later, in 1870, it was incorporated as a borough. It wa ...

, to William Dillon and Helen Mary (née Fitzimons) Leech. He attended Hanover Township High School in Hanover, Pennsylvania, and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. Leech 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 by Archbishop

Denis Dougherty Dennis Joseph Dougherty (August 16, 1865 – May 31, 1951) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1918 until his death in 1951, and was made a cardinal in 1921. He was Philadelphia's longe ...

on May 29, 1920. He then furthered his studies at 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. ...

in Washington, D.C., where he obtained his

doctorate in 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 ...

. Leech served as secretary of the Apostolic Delegation to the United States, and then as

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. Patrick's Parish in

Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the west bank of th ...

. He was raised to the rank of a privy chamberlain in 1925, and a

domestic prelate 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 ...

in 1934. He also served as

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...

of the Regional Holy Name Union and moderator of Ecclesiastical Conferences.

Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Harrisburg

On July 6, 1935, Leech was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg and

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 ''Mela'' by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

. He received his

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

on October 17, 1935, from Cardinal Dougherty, with Bishops Thomas O’Reilly and James Ryan serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. The pope named Leech as the fifth bishop of Harrisburg on December 19, 1935. After a month as bishop, he had memorized the forenames of all the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

of his

diocese 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 1946, Leech described

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

’s 1943 film ''

The Outlaw ''The Outlaw'' is a 1943 American Western film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, while Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director. Th ...

'' as "a destructive and corrupting picture which glamorizes crime and immorality". Leech 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) ...

from 1962 to 1965; Father

William Keeler William Henry Keeler (March 4, 1931 – March 23, 2017) was an American Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1989 to 2007 and was elevated to the College of Cardinals ...

served as his ''

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 ...

'', or expert, at the Council.

Retirement and legacy

On October 19, 1971, Pope Paul VI accepted Leech's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg and appointed him as titular bishop of Allegheny. Leech continued to reside at the episcopal residence. George Leech died on March 12, 1985, at Holy Spirit Hospital in Harrisburg"Bishop George Leech Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. March 14, 1985. at age 94. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Harrisburg. On August 1, 2018, Bishop Ronald Gainer, Leech's successor as bishop of Harrisburg, announced that the names of every bishop of Harrisburg from 1947 onward – including Leech's – would be removed from any building or room in the diocese named in their honor, due to their failure to protect victims from abuse.

References

External links

Catholic and Orthodox Churches in Northeast Pennsylvania
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leech, George L. 1890 births 1985 deaths St. Charles Borromeo Seminary alumni Catholic University of America alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Harrisburg 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Participants in the Second Vatican Council