Louis Joseph Reicher (June 14, 1890 – February 23, 1984) 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 was the first bishop of the new

Diocese of Austin The Diocese of Austin ( la, Dioecesis Austiniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church comprising 25 counties of Central Texas in the United States. The diocese includes 123 parishes and missions and six ...

in Texas from 1948 to 1971.

Biography

Early life

Louis Reicher was born on June 14, 1890, in Piqua, Ohio, to Jacob and Marie (née Krebsbach) Reicher. He attended St. James's College in Waterloo, Ontario, from 1905 to 1911. After returning to Ohio, Reicher studied at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio for a year before going to work for

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

. In 1916, he was accepted as a seminarian in the Diocese of Galveston and entered St. Mary's Seminary in La Porte, Texas.

Priesthood

Reicher 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 Galveston by Bishop Christopher Byrne on December 6, 1918. After his ordination, Reicher was appointed as

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, a post he would hold until 1947. He also served as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the Dominican Sisters chapter in Galveston, vicar for the

religious orders A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...

, a member of the Administrative Council, and founding

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. Christopher's Parish in

Houston 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 ...

from 1923 to 1941. He was raised to the rank of

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 March 1935 and a

protonotary apostolic In the Roman Catholic Church, protonotary apostolic (PA; Latin: ''protonotarius apostolicus'') is the title for a member of the highest non-episcopal college of prelates in the Roman Curia or, outside Rome, an honorary prelate on whom the pop ...

in July 1940. Investing $3,000 saved from his career as a steelworker, Reicher eventually became a millionaire. He used his personal assets to help support the diocese financially during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

Bishop of Austin

On November 29, 1947, Reicher was appointed the first bishop of the

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 ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

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 April 14, 1948, from Bishop Christopher Byrne, with Bishops

Joseph H. Albers Joseph H. Albers D.D. (March 18, 1891 – December 1, 1965) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Albers served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Lansing in Michigan in from 1937 until his death in 1964. He served a ...

and Mariano Garriga 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, ...

. On May 13, 1948, he was installed by Archbishop Robert Lucey at St. Mary's Church in Austin; in attendance were former Governor Texas

Dan Moody Daniel James Moody Jr. (June 1, 1893May 22, 1966), was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. Originally from Taylor, Texas, he served as the 30th governor of Texas between 1927 and 1931. At the age of 33, he was elected and took offic ...

, Texas Governor

Beauford H. Jester Beauford Halbert Jester (January 12, 1893 – July 11, 1949) was an American politician who was the 36th governor of Texas, serving from 1947 until his death in office in 1949. He is the only Texas governor ever to have died in office. Jeste ...

, and Austin Mayor Robert Miller. During his tenure, Reicher built or restored over 200 churches and facilities, including a chancery office, Holy Cross Hospital in East Austin, Texas,

Newman Center Newman Centers, Newman Houses, Newman Clubs, or Newman Communities are Catholic campus ministry centers at secular universities. The movement was inspired by the writings of Cardinal John Henry Newman encouraging societies for Catholic stude ...

s on five college campuses, and six church-sponsored, low-rent housing projects. Between 1962 and 1965, Reicher 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) ...

, where he contributed to the conciliar document on religious freedom, '' Dignitatis Humanae''. He was a strong opponent of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and supporter of the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. In 1964, Reicher transferred all of his wealth, approximately $5 million, to a trust fund providing direct assistance to the poor and sick along with low-interest loans to church institutions.

Retirement and legacy

On November 15, 1971,

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 ...

accepted Reicher's resignation as bishop of Austin. He retired to his ranch on

Lake Austin Lake Austin, formerly Lake McDonald, is a water reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Lake Austin is one of the seven High ...

, but suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

the next year. In July 1973, the

Sacred Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dicas ...

and the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy in Rome ruled that the Reicher trust fund should be controlled by the diocese of Austin. Citing Texas law, the laypeople running the trust refused to surrender control. Reicher's successor as bishop, Vincent M. Harris, then filed suit against the trust. In the lawsuit, the diocese claimed that diocesan funds had gone into the trust fund. In response to the church position, Reicher made this statement:

Never were any funds of any diocese used in creating this trust . . . Let me assure you that I have not alienated any diocesan property.”

After two years of litigation, the two parties reached a settlement. Louis Reicher died at his home in Austin on February 23, 1984, at age 93.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reicher, Louis Joseph 1890 births 1984 deaths The Athenaeum of Ohio alumni People from Piqua, Ohio Participants in the Second Vatican Council Catholics from Ohio 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States