Robert Louis Hodapp, S.J. (October 1, 1910 – October 26, 1989) was an American-born

bishop 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 c ...

of the

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 second Bishop of Belize from 1958-1983.

Early life

Robert Hodapp was born in

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

, to George J. and Elizabeth M. (Schmidt) Hodapp. He was educated at Loyola High School in Mankato, St. Stanislaus Seminary in

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 52,533, making it the ...

, Saint Louis University, and St. Mary's College in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. He professed vows in the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(Jesuits) in 1930 and was ordained a priest on June 18, 1941. In 1942 he arrived on the

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

where he taught at St. John's College, did pastoral work at Holy Redeemer Cathedral

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

, and became over-all superintendent of construction for the mission.

Episcopacy

On March 2, 1958 Pope Pius XII appointed him as the Bishop of Belize (

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

). He was consecrated by Archbishop Patrick F. Ryan, O.P., of Port of Spain on June 26, 1958. The principal co-consecrators were Bishops Edward A. Fitzgerald of Winona and John J. McEleney, S.J., of Kingston in Jamaica. Hodapp was the sixth bishop to serve in Belize and the second since it became a diocese. He was most unassuming, with little of the episcopal aura of the previous bishops and, with earthy simplicity, was perhaps the first bishop in Belize who seemed adapted to mission life from the moment he arrived in the country. He took right to his pastoral duties and Confirmation tours: "Bishop Hodapp travels by jeep, horseback, canoe (dory), boat, airplane, and on foot to reach the many people he administers Confirmation to each year." He took a strong stand against the introduction of

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s and organized gambling into Belize. "When Bishop Hodapp was shot in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

… there was some speculation that it was because he opposed the casino package." In 1959 he had begun turning over parishes to

diocesan In 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 provinces were administratively associat ...

priests. By 1972 diocesan priests were running 6 parishes. In 1969 he named Fr. Facundo Castillo the first Belizean pastor of the cathedral parish and

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' ...

of the diocese.Woods, Charles M. Sr., et al. ''Years of Grace: The History of Roman Catholic Evangelization in Belize: 1524-2014''. (Belize: Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City-Belmopan, 2015), pp. 252-278. In 1971 St. Ignatius parish covered the entire area west of downtown and south of Haulover Creek. Hodapp instituted

St. Martin de Porres Martín de Porres Velázquez (9 December 1579 – 3 November 1639) was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-r ...

parish for the western part of this area. In 2015 St. Martin's and St. Peter Claver in Punta Gorda were the two parishes in Belize still pastored by Jesuits.

Laity and religious

Hodapp attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

. In line with the Council's decree on the laity, he strove to activate the laity in the church. He had orchestrated the country's first national gathering of lay ministers, on 9–11 March 1984 bringing together 255 lay ministers and catechists, including 39

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

. During Hodapp's episcopacy five more groups of religious arrived in Belize. The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) came in 1967 and have increased their presence ever since, focusing mainly on the communications apostolates. In 1969, the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

and procurator of 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 ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

in Subiaco, Arkansas, paid a visit to study the viability of establishing a

in Belize. In 1971 they opened Santa Familia Monastery near Santa Elena in the Cayo District. Then in 1975 the first

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth (SCN) is a Roman Catholic order of nuns. It was founded in 1812 near Bardstown, Kentucky, when three young women responded to Bishop John Baptist Mary David's call for assistance in ministe ...

came to Belize, focusing on health ministry and adult faith formation. Next the Missionaries of Our Lady of the Light, "Madrecitas," began their ministry in the remote villages of northern Belize. Finally, Guadalupana Sisters from Yucatan served primarily in lay ministry in St. Francis Xavier Parish,

Corozal Town Corozal Town is a town in Belize, capital of Corozal District. Corozal Town is located about 84 miles north of Belize City, and 9 miles from the border with Mexico. The population of Corozal Town, according to the main results of the 2010 census ...

, in the 1970s until 1989. In March 1983

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 ...

visited all the countries of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, including Belize. List of pastoral visits of Pope John Paul II outside Italy#1980s Hodapp's episcopacy covered more than 25 years until November 11, 1983, when the Pope accepted his resignation. He died at the age of 79 on October 26, 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodapp, Robert Louis 1910 births 1989 deaths People from Mankato, Minnesota Saint Louis University alumni Saint Mary's Academy and College alumni 20th-century American Jesuits Jesuit bishops American Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Belize 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Belize Participants in the Second Vatican Council Jesuits in Belize American expatriates in Belize Jesuit missionaries Catholics from Minnesota Roman Catholic bishops of Belize City–Belmopan