Leroy Matthiesen (June 11, 1921 – March 22, 2010) 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 ...

. He served as the sixth bishop of the

Diocese of Amarillo The Roman Catholic Diocese of Amarillo ( la, Dioecesis Amarillensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Amarillo, Texas. It was founded on August 3, 1926 out of territory taken from the Diocese of Dallas and the Diocese of San Antonio on the same day ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

from 1980 to 1997.

Biography

Early life

Leroy Matthiesen was born June 11, 1921, in Olfen, an unincorporated community in

Runnels County, Texas Runnels County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,900. Its county seat is Ballinger. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1880. It is named for Hiram G. Runnels, a Texa ...

. He grew up on a cotton farm.

Priesthood

Matthiesen was ordained a priest by Cardinal

Amleto Cicognani Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Vatican Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1972 until his death. C ...

for the Diocese of Amarillo on March 10, 1946. After receiving a

Master of Journalism A Master of Journalism (abbreviated M.J., M.S.J., M.M.J.C., M.A. in Journalism, or M.S. in Journalism) is a master's degree awarded to students who have studied journalism at a graduate level. Like other master's degree programs, master of journ ...

degree in 1948, Matthiesen was appointed editor of the diocesan newspaper ''The West Texas Catholic.'' The paper featured his column “Wise and Otherwise” until 1998. In 1954, Matthiesen was appointed the founding pastor of St. Laurence Parish in Amarillo. In 1961. he received a Master of School Administration degree and in 1962 was appointed rector of St. Lucian's Preparatory Seminary in Amarillo. Matthiesen was awarded a Doctor of Journalism degree in 1961, and in 1968 was named principal of Alamo Catholic High School. During this period, he also served for nine years as pastor of St. Francis Parish in Amarillo.

Bishop of Amarillo

On May 30, 1980, Pope Paul II appointed Matthiesen as bishop of the Diocese of Amarillo. He was consecrated on May 30, 1980. by Archbishop

Patrick Flores Patricio Fernández Flores (July 26, 1929 – January 9, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served from 1979 to 2004 as archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas, bishop of the Diocese of El Paso in Texa ...

. Matthiesen received the Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice in 1984. In September 1981, in protest of the assembly of the

neutron bomb A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the b ...

at a facility in Pantex, Texas, Matthiesen called for workers there to resign their jobs in protest. None were reported to have obeyed his call. He remarked:

''I'm no rabble rouser. On the whole I accomplished what I wanted to by bringing an issue to the consciousness of people. It's amazing how people have begun to live with the unlivable.''

In 1992, Matthiessen called for a

stay of execution A stay of execution is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" does not always mean the death penalty. It refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed and i ...

for Johnny Frank Garrett, a Texas man convicted of raping and murdering 76 year-old Sister Tadea Benz at an Amarillo

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. Garrett was executed on February 12, 1992. Matthiesen admitted eight priests into the Diocese of Amarillo after they had undergone treatment following accusations of sexual impropriety. His most controversial priest assignments are John Salazar and Ed Graff. Both of these priests were known to be serious sexual abusers and Matthiesen was warned not to assign them to parishes by other Church officials.

Retirement and legacy

On January 21, 1997, John Paul II accepted Matthiesen's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Amarillo. Matthiesen received the Ketteler Award for Social Justice from the

Sisters of Divine Providence The Congregation of Divine Providence (or Sisters of Divine Providence) is the name of two Roman Catholic religious institutes of women which have developed from the work of the Blessed Jean-Martin Moye (1730-1793), a French Catholic priest. Th ...

in 2002. In 2002, he celebrated mass at a conference center in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of

New Ways Ministry New Ways Ministry is a ministry of advocacy and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Catholics. The national organization is primarily based in the state of Maryland. It was one of the earliest groups attempting to broaden the way Ca ...

. This mass violated a Vatican directive not to celebrate mass for this group. In 2003, the diocese settled a lawsuit brought by a Texas woman. She claimed that Rosendo Herrera, a priest in the diocese, had impregnated her when she was 17 years ago. The

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...

claimed that the diocese and Matthiessen tried to cover up the scandal. The diocese settled for approximately $27,000 for the child. In November 2004, the diocese settled a lawsuit for $50,000 in which Matthiessen was listed as a codefendant. A different female plaintiff claimed that Herrera had engaged in wrongful contact with her. Also in 2004, Matthiessen stirred controversy when he started a fundraising effort to assist three priests whom his successor bishop had removed from public ministry. In 2009, Matthiessen was presented with the Teacher of Peace Award from

Pax Christi Pax Christi International is an international Catholic peace movement. The Pax Christi International website declares its mission is "to transform a world shaken by violence, terrorism, deepening inequalities, and global insecurity." History ...

USA. In his retirement, Matthiesen published three books: * ''Wise and Otherwise: The Life and Times of a Cottonpicking Texas Bishop'' (2004) * ''The Golden Years: The History of St. Laurence Cathedral in Amarillo'' (2005) * ''Lieber Bernard und Elise: The Lives and Times of a German Texas Family'' (2009) Leroy Matthiesen died on March 22, 2010, in Amarillo at age 88.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthiesen, Leroy 1921 births 2010 deaths People from Runnels County, Texas 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Amarillo